A Business Game is a simulation of business management where participants play the role of the manager of a particular company, or company sector, and practise making strategic and operational decisions and choosing company strategies and policies in an interactive, competitive context.

The object is to give them the opportunity to learn about the dynamics of the business world above their own level of competence and knowledge. The Business Game is a tool that guarantees maximum involvement of participants and leads to a variety of learning outcomes, both in content and method. There is strong element of fun, allied with the opportunity for both teachers and other participants to compare and assess (for consistency and effectiveness) the results obtained by every team taking part in the BG. The timing and effectiveness of the choices made, the confidence demonstrated in situations involving risk factors and uncertainty, the integration between output from different company activities and development of a team work plan: all these factors feature in BG simulations and contribute to participant learning. The BG allows players to develop a direct experience and overall vision of the company, highlighting the relationship between the different variables involved in its management (strategic, economic, and organizational).

It also provides practical training in collective decision making in complex contexts (involving assessment of resources, analysis of complex situations, distribution of tasks, identification of critical factors, decision making, monitoring of group morale, co-ordination and leadership skills). Since 1997 ISTUD has collaborated with Management Utilities (a leading producer of business simulation software) in developing its own Business Games. In our management training courses and MBAs, the Foundation makes regular use of Business Games based on General Management, Marketing and Distribution, Human Resources, and Economics.

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