BAB Seniors Complete A Business Simulation Game

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YEREVAN, Armenia — The Bachelor of Arts in Business (BAB) program of the American University of Armenia (AUA) offers a special experience to its senior students through the capstone course. This course links the theoretical knowledge and skills the students have gained in the four-year BAB program with business practices in real-world situations. In a business simulation game, consulting project, or thesis, the students have the opportunity to perform business tasks applying their interpersonal skills and demonstrate professional demeanor as in real business settings.

The business simulation game is a unique pedagogical method practiced by the world’s best business academic programs. In this endeavor, AUA partners with the BeSoft company that offers its business simulation products to leading European Business Schools. Team members are tasked to run virtual small- and medium-sized companies originating from China, Europe, and the U.S. Companies from the same country compete directly with each other and with local manufacturers. 

Although they manufacture and sell the same type of product, the size, economic and social profiles of these companies differ from one another. The capstone allows students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in and across the main functional areas of business, apply relevant theoretical frameworks and tools from these areas to real business situations, and perform business tasks. The participants make business decisions in a dynamic competitive environment taking into consideration the country-specific strengths and weaknesses of their companies. Each year, the BAB program revisits and revamps the business simulation game to offer the best and the most useful experience to seniors. 

“We achieved the highest result thanks to the brilliant BAB faculty and the teaching methods that we had during our four years of study. This model of future career tasks was, in my opinion, the most effective way to review and wrap up our knowledge in business. The simulation game enabled us to apply our knowledge in a real-life market situation, where we were responsible for all the ups and downs. Moreover, the business simulation game highlighted the importance of adhering to teamwork and corporate goals instead of working on our own to accomplish the task,” mentioned Bela Unusyan (BAB ’20), a member of one of the winning teams. “I am proud to call myself an AUA graduate.”

One of the advantages of the business simulation game is that the teams are encouraged to cooperate, negotiate, and partner with other companies both from the same and different countries. The members of another team, Kristina Gishian (BAB ’20), Lilit Harutyunyan (BAB ’20), Sanasar Ananyan (BAB ’20), and Daniel Danghyan (BAB ’20) noted in their testimonial:

“The business simulation game was a continuous learning process, full of interaction and excitement. Every new period was unique with its ups and downs. The most interesting part of the business simulation was negotiating with other teams, setting prices, and coming to a compromise. Making predictions about demand for the products in future periods and looking at the results at the end of each period were the most exciting moments. The model of a business simulation game was close to real life, which gave us additional experience and understanding of what to expect in the future. Overall, our team enjoyed the game.”

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, affiliated with the University of California, and accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission in the United States. AUA provides local and international students with Western-style education through top-quality undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values.