COMMERCIAL Silent But Fierce Battle Coming To An End

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32323, 15 June 1970, Page 16

COMMERCIAL Silent But Fierce Battle Coming To An End

The vicissitudes of New Zealand business are extensively discussed, and avidly studied by investors. But one exciting battle between captains of industry is conducted very much behind the scenes, and the stock market is blissfully unaware of its impact.

It is the business management, game which is in progress in New Zealand, between the teams of 81 schools'.

The Chrijtchureh area is represented by 18 teams. For the 81 “Boards of Directors” throughout New Zealand making management decisions on the marketing of their “company” products, on research and development programmes, and profit margins, the “Game” is proving an exciting exercise in logic and skill.

Students taking part in the “Business Management Game”

already have shown very clearly that they are much less interested in purely “money-making” motives than they are in the inter-play of intellectual skills and reasoning, within a framework of healthy competition. The game which has been sponsored by the New Zealand Society of Accountants, in association with International Computers (N.Z.), Ltd, is now more than halfway through Round 1. Six of the eight decisions in Round 1 have been completed and results have been

processed weekly by a computer in each of the centres. The computer is programmed to interact between each of three competing teams and, as in actual business, the success or otherwise of the “company’s” operations, is governed to a large extent, by the actions of competitors.

Each week management reports are- printed by the computers and the results relayed back to the schools, in time for the next decision to be made the following week. Decision Making At their weekly “board” meetings, students have been debating their “company” results and making the next decision, with considerable enthusiasm and authority. The impression gained by adults in assessing results, is that the exercise has already revealed sound sense of responsibility and far-sighted-ness, among the students cancerned. The results also have revealed ingenuity in correcting unsatisfactory operations When these have been shown in the computerised reports.

All-Girl Teams

Some all-girl teams participating in the game have proved that skill and logic in making policy decisions are not entirely the prerogative of men.

The girls’ teams have been i as well orientated to decisioni making as the teams of boys, and their "board” meetings . have been conducted with an ! equal sense of order and re- . sponsibility. For the Christchurch area, after completing four decis- . ions of round 1, results show . the following interesting com- ! parisions: Prices have ranged from $3B to $99, marketing expenditure from a minimum of . $32,000 to a maximum of ! $1,200,000, and the profit range is from a loss of $2,343,000 to a maximum profit of $1.7.6,000.