Education News: Top Stories

Maharishi University of Management MBA students finish in top percentile in worldwide business simulation
by Ken Chawkin and Jim Karpen

Maharishi University of Management Translate This Article
10 March 2017

Fairfield, Iowa, USA — A team of MBA accounting students at Maharishi University of Management* recently finished in the 99th percentile in an online business simulation that involved 1,136 master's-degree-level teams worldwide, competing against teams from schools such as Indiana University, Kansas State, Temple, University of Georgia, University of Northern Iowa, Ohio University, and California State.

This is the fourth time MBA students from MUM have finished in the top percentile at Capsim Management Simulations since they began participating in the simulation in 2011.

Andrew Bargerstock, PhD, CPA, Director of MBA Programs
at Maharishi University of Management
Indicates readiness for job markets

''We had five teams that participated in the simulation for three weeks in January, and as a group they performed better than two-thirds of participating MBA schools,'' said Professor Andy Bargerstock, who taught the capstone course that involved participating in the simulation. ''As faculty in the business college, we feel that the simulation results demonstrate the readiness of our students for job markets now and ultimately for executive leadership positions.''

The team's results in this ongoing simulation were confirmed by Brianne Haustein, client relations consultant with Capsim Management Simulations in Chicago, Illinois.

How the simulation works

In the online Capsim simulation, points are earned through well-defined metrics based on the Balanced Scorecard, a concept developed by Robert Kaplan at Harvard University. It recognizes four perspectives for measuring performance: customer, financial, internal business processes, and learning/growth.

The students must manage both short-term and long-term metrics across eight rounds of decision-making, with each round representing one year. This entails using their knowledge of marketing, finance, operations, human resources, accounting, problem-solving, and data analysis.

The teams act as executives who plan strategies and implement tactics across eight years of business activities.

The top team this year included Rahul Kedia (India), Sushil Aryal (Nepal), and Ankhbayar Sukhmaa (Mongolia)
The basis for comparison

While not a real-time competition per se, the ongoing simulation allows MBA teams to compare their performance with all the other teams who have participated in the previous six-month period from the end date of the last round of decisions.

By the time Dr. Bargerstock's students participate in the simulation, they have taken a variety of courses such as marketing, finance, human resource management, operations management, business law, and lean management. Then they apply everything they've learned by participating in the simulation.

''We began participating in the simulation for a couple reasons,'' Dr. Bargerstock said. ''It's an excellent exercise for applying everything they've learned. But I was also really curious how our students matched up with other MBA students around the world. It's gratifying to know that they compare favorably and are clearly ready to be high-level professionals.''

Success in the job world

As students leave campus to fill paid practicum positions, and as they have completed their degree and taken positions as alumni, they have shown remarkable success.
∙ Ganesh Baniya, CPA, is the manager of financial accounting and reporting for The Washington Post in Washington, DC. He was on a student MBA team that finished in the top 1% in Capsim.
∙ Charles Njoya, CPA, is the director of audit and assurance for Community CPA & Associates, Des Moines, Iowa. He was on a student MBA team that finished in the top 5% in Capsim.

Many of the students take online distance education courses toward becoming Certified Public Accountants or Certified Management Accountants while in the practicum phase of the program, thereby entering the job world as a CPA or CMA.

200 MBA students enrolled at MUM

MBA students at Maharishi University of Management come from around the world. Those participating in the simulation are students in the Accounting Professionals Program. They spend eight months on campus taking specialized courses, and then begin their practicum, in which they work as an accountant for up to two years at a U.S. corporation and complete their MBA via distance education.

Approximately 200 students are currently enrolled in various specializations in the MBA program, including those on campus, those in their practicum phase, and those in special-purpose corporate MBA programs.

Accreditations

In addition to being accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, which accredits universities in the Midwestern region of the U.S., the business program at the bachelor's, master's and PhD levels at Maharishi University of Management has met the stringent requirements to be accredited by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education.

Copyright © 2017 Maharishi University of Management

*Maharishi University of Management (MUM) is a private, accredited university featuring Consciousness-Based^℠ Education, designed to develop the student's total potential. The curriculum offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the arts, sciences, humanities, and business, and also integrates self-development programs. All students, faculty, and staff practice the Transcendental Meditation^® technique, which develops integrated brain functioning, promotes wellness, and enhances learning ability and academic performance. For more information, call the Admissions Office at 800-369-6480 [toll-free in US; outside US call: +1 641-472-1110] or visit http://www.mum.edu.

Translation software is not perfect; however if you would like to try it, you can translate this page using:

(Google)
(Altavista babelfish)