Students Experience Real-Life Pressures in Business Simulation Competition
First and second year students from the Business Administration program at Selkirk College recently experienced the pressures real-life business owners face with regards to marketing their products and making their business financially successful.
The fourth annual Business Simulation Competition was held in the beginning of March as an event that engaged students and the general public while they competed for the best marketing campaign and the best business strategy.
Students were given three weeks of class time to prepare for the event. Working in teams of 4 - 6 individuals and using visual aids with various media, first year students did a public presentation of a marketing campaign for an adventure bike in “The Pit” at Castlegar Campus in front of a panel of judges. Simultaneously, second year teams of students were busy running a virtual bike company and presenting and defending their strategic business plans before a second panel of industry judges.
Business student Krista Batting said the competition was of great benefit to her education. “It encouraged me to ‘think outside the box’, to be creative, develop my team-building skills and put together a marketing plan that could be applicable in today’s business world. It was a great experience all around.”
Judging for the marketing campaign competition was based on evidence of preparation, identification of the target audience, advertising and sales objectives and for providing rationale for the types of marketing media used. Judging for the business strategy competition was based on responsiveness to the virtual market and economy and the implementation of a sound business strategy.
“The students did an amazing job. They were well prepared, innovative and confident,” explained panel judge and Selkirk Marketing Coordinator, Sharon Stoddart. “I particularly enjoyed the fact that social media was a part of their promotional initiatives – something that we are moving forward with at the college itself.”
Winners of the competition enjoyed over $4,500 in cash, tuition and prizes supplied by the sponsors of the event: Columbia Basin Trust, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC, the Kootenay Association for Science and Technology (KAST), KBS Radio, Kootenay Savings Credit Union, Okanagan College, Thompson Rivers University-Open Learning Division, Yule Anderson Chartered Accountants, and the University of Lethbridge.
First place winners were teams “Apex” (Mark MacGregor, Kento Hoshino, Taumi Cleaver, Todd Hoodicoff, Angela Vrooman, Nicholas Maloff) and “JPL” (JoAnn Anderson, Philip Poznekoff, Lareena Rilkoff). Second place went to “Everest Cycles” (Louise Lessard, Dustin Handley, Rachel Li, Cyndel Miller, Karl Hanson) and “Everest Cycles (second year)” (Zoe Dupuis, Emily Langman, Jeff Reibin, Luis Valcarcel). Third place was given to “Climax” (Jeff Ashton, Kalynn Cook, Philippe Audet-Gariepy, Paige Phillips, Sheldon Strong, Michelle Duchesneau) and “Straightline Cycles” (Kasey Graff, Naomi Onizawa, Jamie Shaw, Eric Zoobkoff).
Selkirk College offers two year diplomas in accounting / finance, professional management and office management. For more information on the Business Administration program, visit selkirk.ca/programs/ba or call 1.888.953.1133.
First published on March 16, 2009
