West Arapahoe News

Adams State University business capstone students achieved a high ranking with Global Business Strategies. Matt Bathauer, Kylie Gregg, and Derrick Thaxton-Liggans, also learned valuable lessons during the course taught by Zena Buser, Ph.D., professor of business.

“I know more about the importance of understanding the competitive side in business,” Thaxton-Liggans said.

The three students formed a simulated corporation, Company A, that earned a Global Top 100 ranking on earnings per share (58th) and stock price (62) for their company’s Business Strategy Game (BSG) performance the week of Nov. 21. “Placing in the top 100 on any metric is a fantastic accomplishment,” Buser added.

The class brings together all the students have learned over the past few years and provides a simulated experience that aligns with all aspects of managing a real-world company. “What I learned from this class is nothing short of amazing because I learned that there is a lot more that goes into a business other than managing, marketing, and selling products,” Bathauer said. “The game taught me how to handle the bigger aspects when looking into a business such as where to place production facilities, how to handle private label operations, and how to increase our revenue greatly. The game was a lot of fun and I’m glad I got to experience it with my great team.”

Gregg learned about strategy and implementation as they “operated” factories in four different regions. “With this experience, we had to work together with different perspectives and knowledge,” Gregg added. “My group respected each other and we bounced knowledge off each other. This connection turned out to be a great asset for the team.”

Thaxton-Liggans, from Fairfield, Calif., received his business administration degree this fall. “The best part was coming together with my group and constantly learning new ideas.”

A business marketing major, Bathauer, from Kingman, Ariz., will graduate in the spring. He appreciated the collaboration with teammates. “We all got to run a business together and run it at tip top shape, because if you run a business and your team is not coherent then your business will fail. Collaborating with my team was the best part of this game. We figured out how we were going to be the best and be a well-oiled machine that created a ton of revenue, made a bunch of money on earnings per share, and tried to get the best return on equity.”

The class had six other companies besides Company A, and competed against other colleges and universities across the globe.

BSG, marketed by McGraw-Hill Education, Inc., is designed to give students in higher education the opportunity to compete in a global marketplace through the simulated environment.

BSG authors including Art Thompson, Greg Stappenbeck and Mark Reidenbach, said the performances by Adams State Company A reflect quite well on Buser and the caliber of instruction the students receive at Adams State.

The experience prepared Gregg, from Brush, Colo., for her future career by being able to apply skills and lessons learned with critical thinking, strategy plans, and communication. “Knowing business concepts helps, but the game takes it a step further to push you.” She earned her business administration degree with an emphasis in accounting this fall 2022.

Each week was a year in the virtual BSG marketplace. Every Monday, BSG compiled lists of the prior week’s best-performing companies worldwide based on four measures: Overall Score (current year), Earnings Per Share, Return on Average Equity, and Stock Price.

Original source can be found here.