Business students reach new record in global simulation
A team of University of Houston-Victoria students reached a new record ranking as part of the Global Business Simulation competition worldwide.
“For business students, achieving success is about more than just getting an A in the classroom,” said Jifu Wang, professor of management in the UHV College of Business. “To be truly successful, they must become capable: capable members of an organization and capable executives. The survival and success of any firm results from mastering different skills, such as interpersonal skills, communication skills and professional skills guided by sharp mind power. The business simulation is the best platform for training their talents for the business world.”
Each year, students in the Global Master of Business Administration program compete in the simulation as a part of their “International Business Strategy” course. During the week of May 5-11, there were 655 teams from 32 colleges and universities around the world that participated in the simulation.
The capstone course is intended to equip students for the workforce by incorporating a learn-by-doing simulation and providing hands-on practice. In the simulation, students apply what they learned in class to make business decisions and be held accountable for the results. In the simulation, each team runs a company that sells cameras and drones. Each week of the competition represents a year in the global market.
DreamLens, managed by Mohammed Ibrahim of Mississippi and Eman Hussein and Michael Johnson of Houston, tied for fifth place in the simulation’s Overall Game-to-Date Score rankings. The previous highest ranking by a UHV team was seventh. The following week, the team tied for sixth place.
“We were fortunate to have a team with members who worked together well and could be flexible when making decisions,” Ibrahim said. “We each were pursuing a different kind of business focus, and we used everything we’ve learned while earning our degrees to plan our strategy. It really showed how UHV has prepared us for our future careers.”
When the simulation started, the team decided to pursue different strategies for their company’s camera and drone products. At the end of the first week, the team finished at the bottom of the rankings. However, after the team was able to examine the data from the previous week, they adjusted their plans and improved, Hussein said.
“Our first week, we had assumptions, but after then, we had data,” Hussein said. “Once we had those data-driven numbers and were able to research the effects of what we were doing and what other teams chose to do, it made all the difference.”
The team met at least twice a week to review the results and make decisions for the next round of the simulation, Johnson said. As the students worked together, they made sure to keep their focus on the team’s strategy and encouraged each other to stick to their plan.
“Our success came from having our idea early on and staying true to that strategy,” Johnson said. “As that started to pay off, I began to feel better about pursuing more aggressive strategies in my own life and career, much like we did in the simulation. We each listened to each other, but we didn’t shy away from times when we each needed to be leaders.”
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 50 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.