Strategic management and decision making under uncertainty are important skills to have for future corporate leaders. To make the subject come alive, students have been using a classroom computer simulation game developed jointly by Assistant Professor Geng Xuesong, the Centre for Teaching Excellence and Singapore University of Technology and Design. The game “CoFounders of the North” has been used successfully in multiple courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate level at Singapore Management University.
The game is a digital multiplayer strategy board game. The development team is working on a web browser-based version of the game so that it can be conveniently adopted by users in other universities. Student players take on the role of “co-founders” as they build up an island. Each player has different objectives to achieve in order to win the game. At the same time, each player has limited resources and cannot win the game without collaborating with other players.
A key feature of the game is that the competitive environment is constantly changing depending on each player’s strategic moves. There is no right answer, or one-size-fit-all strategy that can guarantee the success. As a result, players need to constantly adjust their strategies according to the changing environment and other players’ strategic moves.
The uncertainty and complexity in strategic decision-making increase quickly as the game continues, thus holding the interest of students.
So far, more than a thousand students have used this game to deepen their understanding of dynamic business environments and the principles of decision making.
