How to build business image: advice of professional
Higher School of Finance and Management of AlmaU firstly in Kazakhstan applied in practice innovational educative technology, organizing simulating game-trainer for its students called “Market Place”. Project is realized together with “Business Link” company, represented by the trainer-consultant Urken Karakulov.
The idea of the game is that participants are divided into teams which open virtual firms online and distribute roles: director, financier, jurist and etc. They are suggested different situations (kind of cases), which they should solute with the lowest losses, ideally – without them.
In total 125 students took part in the game which was held both in English and Russian. In October and November of 2015 4th year students of the specialty “Management”, “Marketing” and “Finance” of Almaty Management University (earlier IAB) became participants of the experiment.
The online-trainer itself is developed by professor Ernest Cadotte from University of Tennessee. The game is directed at detection of analytical abilities of students, formation of entrepreneurial skills. At the initial stage, AlmaU bought licenses for 150 students of Higher School of Finance and Management (HSFM) and was the first who applied this technology in educational process. Training on the format of “Market Place” game was passed by not only students, but teachers of HSFM. Initiators of implementation of this technology in AlmaU are dean of HSFM Kaiyrzhan Abdykhalykov, vice-deans of HSFM Ainur Ashimova and Galima Zhanzhigitova.
According to the words of participants, business-simulation has become original introduction in practical marketing for them. Reports of students were corresponding: “Market place helped me to understand general principles of business”, “…in spite of virtuality, scenario of business-simulations allowed to feel yourself in the role of business owner, where the real competition takes place…”, “permanent change of market situation and positions of competitors obliges to analyze financial data all the time that helps to make the right decision…”.
Unique online-game allowed students fully master the process of business decisions-making. Separate teams were leading most of discussions out of the classes, summing up results of their activities on the practical classes. It was noticeable, as with development of the market and growth of competition, virtual businessmen were learning from their mistakes, correcting their strategies and thinking about new tactical movements. Teams learned how to forecast sales, plan cash flows, calculate income and expenses.
“The level of preparation of AlmaU students allowed to easily involve them into the process of business decisions-making. Participants fully mastered all the functional of simulator and diversity of chosen specialties allowed them to assess applicability of business simulations for the wide specter of disciplines”, - notes trainer-consultant Urken Karakulov.
