Washington College Student Team Tied for First in Global Business Competition

A Washington College student team is tied for first place in a global business strategy simulation. The web-based simulation, BSG-Online.com (published by academic publisher McGraw-Hill/Irwin), gives students the opportunity to virtually run a fictional footwear company in a fast-changing competitive environment. Washington College's team, comprised of Business Management seniors Nick Handrick and Daniel Pierce and International Studies sophomore Khalil Karrakchou, bested more than 3,200 teams from more than 200 colleges and universities around the world. Pierce, who is also minoring in Economics, says the competitive experience “has been a great way to apply everything I've been learning at Washington College. I especially the game's global perspective.” When the latest results are announced each Saturday, Pierce confesses he gets nervous. “Once you get a world ranking, you want to hold onto it.”

The competition pits Prof. Drischler's students in BUS 311 Global Business Strategy not just against other undergraduates, but against grad students from some of the world's leading business schools, and from business professionals. Prof. Drischler notes that many firms use this global simulation as a training program for employees, making the Washington College student achievement even more remarkable. Students have to consider exchange rates, economic conditions, marketing and pricing decisions, and other aspects of global business.

If you want to track how Prof. Drischler's students do from here on, visit BSG-Online.com. Each week, the best-performing BSG-Online companies, as measured on four performance variables (overall score, eanrings per share, return on equity, and stock price), are recognized on the Top 100 list. During the week of Monday, October 5, through Sunday, October 11, there were 3206 teams from 201 colleges/universities participating in the simulation world-wide. Out of those schools, the Washington College team of Handrick, Pierce, and Karrakchou were in a three-way tie for first.