CI Professor and Students Win Business Strategy Game Awards

Camarillo, Calif. Sept. 22, 2009 – The Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics at CSU Channel Islands (CI) recently won two awards in a national Business Strategy Game program run by a company of the same name.

Dr. William P. Cordeiro, Director of the MVS School, said that each semester students in Business 499 are divided into teams and enter an online business strategy game with teams from all over the world. Last year there were 3600 teams competing from 209 universities worldwide.

The business simulation game starts all competitors on an equal footing: equal sales volume, revenues, profits, costs, and so on. CI business student groups are in competition with other student companies in other universities as they begin their competitive decision making and strategy formation.

“This is as close to real life business applications as you can get,” said Cordeiro. “In accordance with our interdisciplinary approach to learning, this project includes a group approach to work, pressure under deadlines, and integrated decision-making.” All of the simulated activity parallels a real company’s operation in a global market. Students received weekly updates on their ranking from Business Strategy Game, the creator of the game, and did very well throughout the semester.

At the end of the program there was an invitational two-week competition that pitted teams from around the world against each other. One of CI’s teams was the top winner and received an award from The Business Strategy Game which stated that they were, “The first placed company in a globally competitive simulation,” and mentioned further that “… the winning company out-competed and outperformed companies managed by outstanding students at business schools across the world.”

Professor Horst Liebl, who guided the winning class, was awarded a certificate naming him as a Hall of Fame Member and Master Professor. The certificate stated that he was, “Honored for outstanding achievement in teaching the concepts and tools of strategic analysis enabling students to display high-caliber skills in crafting and executing business strategies in a globally competitive market environment.”

For media inquiries contact Nancy Gill, Director of Communication & Marketing at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-8456 or nancy.gill@csuci.edu.

CSU Channel Islands is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

CSUCI Mission Statement
Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives.