Baker College of Port Huron students excel in Business Strategy Game against thousands

Baker College of Port Huron students in a business course during winter quarter got a taste of international business strategy when they took part in an online game, with one team consistently ranked near the top.

Students in the accelerated management strategy course, taught by Wendi Jones Hickman, MBA, participated in the Business Strategy Game. It’s an educational exercise where students assume management of a fictional athletic footwear company in direct competition with companies run by other participating students across the globe.

During the six-week class project, the top-ranked Baker College team of Denise Baranowski-Soyko, of Marysville, and Ryan Warczinsky, of Port Huron Township, was in the top 100 in at least one of the judging categories - overall score, earnings per share, return on equity and stock price - each week. For three consecutive weeks the team ranked in the top 100 in three categories, and it cracked the top 10 twice – in return on equity and stock price. They named their company Laces with Sole.

The game is ongoing; teams enter and exit according to the students’ class schedules, so the number of competitors fluctuates.

On Jan. 25, when Baranowski-Soyko and Warczinsky joined the game, 1,232 teams from 74 educational organizations were participating. When they left the game, March 6, there were 5,935 teams from 297 colleges and universities.

“This exercise gives students an idea of what’s waiting out there in the real world of international commerce, and it can give them a taste of success, which is a great motivator,” Jones Hickman said. “Even though it is a simulated business enterprise, students learn how complex and diverse business is, and how exciting it can be.”

Company operations parallel those of actual athletic footwear companies competing in a global market arena. The fictional companies sell branded and private-label footwear in four geographic regions: Europe-Africa, North America, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

Baranowski-Soyko and Warczinsky are earning Bachelor of Business Administration-Accelerated degrees. Both expect to graduate this year.

For more information about business programs at Baker College of Port Huron, contact Dan Kenny in the admissions office at daniel.kenny@baker.edu, 888.262.2442 or 810.985.7000, or visit www.baker.edu.

The largest private college in Michigan, Baker College is a not-for-profit higher education institution accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It serves more than 23,000 students on multiple campuses and online. Baker College grants certificates and associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 100 programs across diverse academic fields, including business, health sciences, engineering, information technology, education and human services. An impressive 97 percent of available graduates are employed. Every Baker College graduate receives Lifetime Employment Assistance—free and forever. Baker College is a pioneer in distance education and offers students the option of completing a degree 100 percent online, without ever visiting a campus. For information, visit www.baker.edu or follow Baker College on Twitter, @bakercollege, or on Facebook, www.facebook.com/bakercollege.