News Release
For Additional Information, Contact Jim Nelson/Media Relations
(304) 327-4103, jnelson@bluefieldstate.edu
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The Bluefield State College student team (left-to-right) of Sylvia Vass, Kara Howell, and Sara Bulford-Harper participated in the recent “Capstone Challenge” international business simulation competition and finished among the top 10% of all undergraduate and grad school teams involved in the event. |
(Bluefield)—A Bluefield State College student team finished among the upper 10% of all competing teams during the recent Spring “Capstone Challenge,” a global online business simulation competition undertaken this fall by more than 600 graduate and undergraduate student teams worldwide. BSC students Sara Bulford-Harper, Kara Howell, and Sylvia Vass achieved a ranking higher than a majority of teams from larger universities and graduate school programs.
In Dr. Steve Bourne’s “Business Strategy” course, BSC students take part in the simulation “Capstone,” the most widely used business training simulation in the world. “The experience is a ‘hands on’ exercise, where students make business decisions in situations that are very similar to those they will make in a ‘real world’ setting,” explained Dr. Bourne, BSC Professor of Business. “They develop a business strategy and make adjustments throughout the simulated challenge. They work together, consult with each other, and apply much of the knowledge they’ve acquired in other Business courses.”
Although Dr. Bourne’s “Business Strategy” students aren’t required to take part in the “Capstone Challenge” tournament, they can earn extra credit for quality performance in the event. “This tournament enables our student teams to measure themselves against other students from around the world,” he continued.
“Our goal was to build the best product we could,” Ms. Vass explained. “We competed in one round each day. The competition required adjustments as market conditions changed.”
“After each round, we assessed the market share we held,” Ms. Bulford-Harper added. “We projected the demand for our product, and we took calculated risks.”
“Each member of our team is an accounting major,” Ms. Howell observed. “This helped us tremendously. In addition to being fulltime students, all of us hold down jobs. We spent a lot of time on our cell phones, often late at night, working on this project.”
“It was a tremendous amount of work,” Vass stated. “However, there was a point where ‘the light came on’ and I really began to understand how elements like financing, marketing, production, total quality management, human resources, and research & development fit together.”
“The Capstone Challenge provides an action learning device that is enabling students at all professional levels to learn in a risk-free environment,” said Dan Smith, president of Management Simulations, Inc. and adjunct professor at DePaul University, Chicago. "The global competition teaches important and complicated business principles that result in better-prepared and more-skilled students.”
“The success of Ms. Bulford-Harper, Ms. Howell, and Ms. Vass is much more than a reflection of the information or strategies they’ve learned in one class, because the simulation requires them to utilize lessons learned from all business disciplines,” Dr. Bourne summarized. “Their performance is actually a reflection upon the entire Bluefield State College School of Business.”
April 30, 2008
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