Westminster College Business Students Place in Top 100 in Global Business Strategy Game

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - Students in the Westminster College "Strategic Management" capstone course recently placed in the Top 100 in their game-to-date performance in a global simulation known as the Business Strategy Game.

The students are competing with over 2,800 teams from 200 colleges and universities around the world. Each week of class simulates a year in the life of the organization that student teams manage. Westminster's team "Andes Athletics" placed 55th in their game-to-date performance in the last week of September and 98th in the first week of October.

The co-managers for Andes Athletics are Andrea Ridge and Troy Zema. Ridge, a senior business administration major, is a daughter of Allan and Susan Ridge of North Tonawanda, N.Y. and a graduate of Starpoint High School. Zema, a senior business administration major, is a son of Matthew and Nancy Zema of Sarver and a graduate of Freeport Area High School.

"I can't tell you how proud I am of Andrea and Troy," said Dr. Jacque King, assistant professor of business and course instructor. "I first met them in the "American Workplace" course and have watched both Andi and Troy grow into the leaders they are today. Westminster College is a better place because of students like Andrea and Troy."

"This is a credit to the caliber of education the students are getting at Westminster College and the caliber of professors who teach them," King continued. "We as a community of educators should be proud of team Andes Athletics and their accomplishments. We have seven more weeks in the competition and I expect more will hit the Top 100 as well."

During the game students operate an athletic footwear company and compete against other footwear companies in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America. Each company has co-managers that are responsible for making decisions on production operations, upgrading plants and expanding or reducing plant capacity, worker compensation and training, pricing and marketing, and more.

According to the Business Strategy Game website, "The competitive nature of a strategy simulation arouses positive energy and steps up the whole tempo of the course by a notch or two. The healthy rivalry that emerges among the management teams of competing companies stirs competitive juices and spurs class members to fully exercise their strategic wits, analytical skills, and decision-making prowess - much more so than occurs with many other types of assignments."

The business administration major at Westminster is under the Economics and Business Department, and addresses marketing, finance, human resource management, and business strategy. Recent graduates have found employment with PNC Financial Services, Moody Investor Services, Ernest & Young LLP, and more. Furthermore Westminster graduates have recently held or are currently holding six seats on corporate boards of directors, over 40 presidential positions, and more than 30-vice-presidential positions in corporations such as Aetna, Alcoa, Citigroup, Columbia Gas, Fireman's Fund, General Electric, Liberty Mutual, Mellon Bank and PNC.

The final component of liberal studies is the senior capstone course. The capstone is at least a four-semester-hour course within the major designed to provide an opportunity for students to evaluate and assess the strengths and limitations of their major field. Additionally, the capstone experience permits opportunity for structured reflection on the value of education in and beyond the major and provides another chance to strengthen communication and problem-solving skills.

The Strategic Management capstone course specifically focuses on general management skills involved in choosing an organizational strategy, committing critical resources to implementation, and appropriately reevaluating that strategy as internal and external organizational environments change. The course integrates the major business functions using top management's generalist views. The primary method of instruction is case analysis.

Contact King at (724) 946-7163 or email for more information.

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