Management students face off in IBM Business Simulation

By Kevin Manne

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Thirty-five University at Buffalo School of Management students competed on Sept. 24 in a daylong, IBM-sponsored business simulation that replicated real, fast-paced corporate challenges.

Each team was given information that outlined the strengths and weaknesses of a mock technology company. Participants then created and executed sales strategies and made several simulated sales calls to try to sell their product to the judges.

“The IBM simulation is so useful because students learn how important it is to look at the big picture and the context of their negotiations,” says Mary Ann Rogers, clinical assistant professor of organization and human resources, who served as a faculty observer during the simulation. “These are lessons that transfer beautifully from the classroom to real life.”

Two teams emerged victorious after students squared off to showcase their sales expertise, leadership skills and strategic abilities to a judging panel of IBM professionals.

Sumit Arora, MBA ’17; Jeremy Bast, BS ’17; Ying Tung Chan, BS ’17; Pooja Duggal, MS ’17; Sohan Kallesha, MS ’18; Prashanti Naik, MBA ’17; Wenkai Qiu, MS ’18; Yun Qiu, MS ’17; and Saloni Ramesh Shah, MS ’18, made up the winning teams.

The winners received a certificate of achievement and IBM-branded gear.

The top teams from each of two competing groups were selected as overall winners based on financial performance (percentage of revenue growth in sales), strategy and execution, communication and professional ethics, and team collaboration.

“This competition truly had it all from a business perspective,” says Jeremy Bast, a student competitor from Team Gold, one of the winning teams. “Feedback from IBM professionals helped me understand the things we excelled in, the mistakes we made and how to handle specific business situations.”

Three IBM professionals served as judges: Bethany Brewer, MBA ’09, resiliency services lead financial advisor; Thomas Campanelli, director of finance, IBM Systems; James Peltier, BS ’08, WW IT financial consolidation manager.

In addition to Rogers, Charles Lindsey, associate professor of marketing, also served as a faculty observer.