Learning outcomes

The main competences worked throughout the course are

  • team work,
  • managerial decision-making,
  • critical mind,
  • the ability to diagnose,
  • written and oral communication,
  • creativity.

Goals

The objectives of the course are multiple:

  • Allow students to make a first summary of their courses in management attended so far;
  • Enable them to implement the theoretical concepts discussed in their courses in management;
  • Introduce them to managerial decision making and to the empowerment towards the consequences of their decisions;
  • To make them sensitive to interpersonal relation and team work issues.

Content

The business game as envisioned in the course is a group decision-making exercise. Using a computer-based management simulation (“business game”), students are entrusted with a virtual company and exercise all the management functions of a company (production, finance, marketing, HR, etc.) in realistic conditions (competition between companies and economic contingencies). Based on the baseline analysis, participants set medium-term goals and plans. They make decisions about all the functions of the company. The interaction of these decisions, those of their competitors and the economic and social situation influences the outcome of each company. On the basis of these results, successive decisions are made. At the end of the simulation, the course of the simulation and the results achieved are analyzed and discussed.

During the game, the virtual companies communicate in a written way (via memos, notes, reports) but also orally (via discussions or via formal presentations) with the various stakeholders of the company (general assembly, boards of directors, banks, trade unions, advertising agency, consulting firm, etc.).

Table of contents

The course is organized as follows

  • Week 0 (end Q1): general presentation of the course and formation of the teams
  • Week 1 (1st week of Q2): decisions for quarter 1
  • Week 2 (2nd week of Q2): decisions for the second quarter
  • Week 3 (3rd week of Q2): decisions for quarters 3 and 4
  • Week 4 (4th week of Q2): decisions for quarters 5 and 6
  • Week 5 (5th week of Q2): Decisions for quarters 7 and 8
  • Week 6 (6th week of Q2): writing and submission of the management report
  • Week 7 (7th week of Q2): preparation of the presentation and oral defense of the management report
  • Week 8 (as soon as possible): evaluation and final feedback

Teaching methods

With the exception of one or two plenary sessions, the course is mainly based on decision preparation (calculations, simulations, analyzes ...) and effective group decision making (interaction between group members) as well as on interactions with the game coaches (a professor and a teaching assistant).

The simulation consists of 8 quarterly periods (2 years) related to the management of a company. The simulation is computerized and the decisions are submitted via an online platform. Beyond the actual decisions, the simulation also requires the production of management reports, notes, excecutive summaries and oral presentations (in English for the most part).

The simulation begins in the first week of the second semester and continues for the next 6 or 7 weeks. One trimester is played per week during the first two weeks. During the following 3 weeks, 2 trimesters are played per week. See the "Table" section for more details.

Although the course is mainly taught in French, most written documents and the final presentation are in English.

Assessment method

The overall assessment of the groups is based on an evaluation in the following 4 areas:

  • Student participation (engagement in the game, communication with stakeholders, quality of the submitted documents, intermediate reports, etc.)
  • Company’s management results (economic, human, financial, etc.)
  • Management reports
  • Final presentation (oral defense)

The written exam is primarily designed to test students' knowledge and analytical skills when faced with a complex problem. The exam consists of various practical exercises: analysis of a news article, numerical exercises, and more theoretical questions related to the concepts covered in the course.

The student must have a comprehensive and critical understanding of the course to make connections between its different parts.

Sources, references and any support material

See prerequisites courses (important to refresh your accounting skills!)

Language of instruction

French
Training Study programme Block Credits Mandatory
Bachelor in Economics and Management Standard 0 5
Bachelor in Economics and Management Standard 3 5