Record entry for Schools Management Game

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33819, 16 April 1975, Page 25

Record entry for Schools Management Game

A record number of schools throughout New Zealand have entered for this year’s Business Management Game in Secondary Schools. The entry of 245 schools is 19 more than last year, the president of the New I Zealand Society of Accountants (Mr I. G. Lythgowe) announced.

■ The 1975 Business Management Game in Schools is sponsored by the New Zealand Society of Accountants] in association with Inter-; (national Computers (New I Zealand), Ltd, to provide an ' opportunity for pupils from the 6th and 7th forms tot , gain an insight into the management decision-making I process and the use of man--1 agement information to arrive at business decisions. i Five successful com- ■ petitions have been coni ducted by the sponsors in New Zealand. In 1970, teams; ■ from 81 secondary schools' participated in the contest (which was won by Kings : ■High School of Dunedin. In 1971, entries were re-| Iceived from 13 schools. The' i winner of the contest in that I year was Auckland's Paku(ranga College. After the success of the ■1970 and 1971 competitions, T— — ' - ' -

the game was extended in! 1972 to encompass the i ; whole of New Zealand < i rather, than limiting partici- ; pation to the environs of the i 1 four main centres. A total oi i 192 teams participated in ; 1972 when the contest was < ■ won by a team from a dis-■t trict not previously in the ! t game, Taumarunui High School. ■; In 1973 a record 204 entries were received when the contest was won by the win- ■ ner of the South Island area, final, Christchurch Boys’- ■ High School. That school ■; ' also won the 1974 contest and is the first school to] ■take national honours twice. As in previous years, New Zealand is divided into three '!areas, north of the North Island, south of the North Is-j land and the South Island. Within each area, the game is played by dividing teams ‘ into groups of 3, 4 or 5 . teams.

Each team acts as a company marketing a consumer; durable. Each company starts in an identical business situation and has to decide on the employment of j available resources. This includes pricing, production. . marketing strategy and I transport. Decisions are processed by a computer, using a model which allows for the introduction of elements such ■as changing economic factors'which makes the competition more challenging and realistic. In a game of this nature, 'the criteria for determining success or failure are of necessity limited. The winner of each group is the ■ company accumulating the highest net profit after payment of interest and tax. It has not been possible to introduce factors dealing with human relations and the social implications of business decisions.

The contest is played on a knock-out basis, with two preliminary rounds conducted by mail, live area finals in Auckland and Wellington, and an area final: conducted by telephone link between Dunedin and Christchurch. The first of the two preliminary rounds concludes ■ on June 17, and will reduce participants from 245 to about 68 teams who will launch immediately into round 2 in which the last decision will be taken on August 8. The 15 teams demonstrating the greatest business acumen will then proceed to! the area finals. The winning : teams in the three areas will then travel to Wellington for the one day national final which will be held on September 20. The winner of the contest will receive the Business Management Game trophy ..which is held for one year! at the school of the winning! team. I