Vol. 2, No. 1, Fall 2006
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We are pleased to announce the newest addition to our family of simulations, the Global Business Game (GBG). Similar to the Marketplace Business simulations, GBG is completely web-based, user-friendly, with the participants competing in a global business setting. GBG is authored by one of the eminent leaders of the business simulation arena, Joseph Wolfe, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Tulsa. Joe is a past President of the Association for Business Simulation and Experiential Learning (ABSEL) and past chair of the Academy of Management's Management Education and Development Division. He has served as Business Section Editor for Simulation & Gaming and also serves on the editorial boards of Management Learning, the Case Research Journal and the Journal of Simulation Practice and Theory. We are proud to add Joe’s Global Business Game to our portfolio of simulations. In GBG, the students manage a virtual international company, operating in the television set segment of the Household Audio and Video Equipment Industry. Students take over an established company that manufactures 25-inch and 27-inch television sets. The ultimate goal is to take advantage of new business opportunities and increase wealth for themselves and the company's shareholders. Student teams compete at the global level by marketing and selling their television sets in the NAFTA countries of the United States and Mexico, the EU countries of Germany and Spain, and/or Japan and Thailand as members of APEC. Just as in the real-world global business environment, students weigh the pros and cons of manufacturing the goods in their home country versus offshore production. They learn to manage and optimize their firm's distribution channels through the network of international distribution centers, company owned and independent wholesalers and sales offices. They face the challenges of just-in-time supply throughout the world by managing their firm's logistics. In addition to manufacturing and production, students will also face equal amounts of exposure into each business function of an international company. In order to be successful, students must master strategic level decision-making in marketing, logistics, distribution, production and quality control, as well as finance. For the instructor, GBG offers customization of the game's many different aspects. The instructor can set the simulation's complexity and dynamism. They can choose the number of firms in each game or industry, the number of countries put in play and the number of environmental changes their students face. There are ten critical incidents highlighting cultural and ethical business issues that can be introduced into the game. Before play begins, the instructor can also choose the country of incorporation for all the industry's firms. This tells the simulation to trade the firm's stock in that economic zone's major financial market and to report all results in the Home Country's currency. There is also the capability to adjust the built-in performance indicators by adjusting the weights for profits, rate of return on assets, rate of return on equity, earnings per share, stock price, and a weighted composite index, as chosen by the Instructor. We are working hard to bring quality and variety to our customers, and are sure you will be as impressed with GBG as you are with Marketplace. To view more in-depth information or a demo for GBG please visit our website: www.onlinegbg.com. For more information about Joe Wolfe, the author of GBG, please visit www.onlinegbg.com/about. GBG is now in beta testing. It will be widely available in January, 2007.
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