Download Markets, Investments and Marketing-simulation Games

София 1700, Студентски град “Христо Ботев”,
Approved:
Adopted by a decision of the Faculty
„International Economics and Politics”
Protocol № /
Dean
Professor Antoaneta
Vasileva Ph.D.
CURRICULUM
Academic subject:
Subject code:
MARKETS, INVESTMENTS AND
MARKETING - simulation game
B63830
О0881
Educational and qualification
degree:
Status of the course
Field of higher education:
Professional:
Specialty:
Faculty:
Department:
Total student academic load
(average classes per course):
Non-contact student academic
load
Credits:
Lecturer of the course:
3.
3.8.
3.8.30
Bachelor of Arts
Optional Course
Social Sciences, Economics and Law
Bachelor of Economics
International Economic Relations
International Economics and Politics
International Economic Relations and
Business
30 / 0
70
4
Professor Rossitsa Rangelova Dr. Sc.
Идентификация на статуса: ОДНК_7.1.3-3/ Версия 01/Изменение ____/____________; стр. __/__
Ниво на достъп:
□ общодостъпен □ за служебно ползване □поверителен □секретен
ANNOTATION
1. Background of the discipline
The discipline "Markets, Investment, Marketing - simulation game” covers in a
practical form the knowledge from special subjects that are taught in International
Economic Relations.
For the first time the business game is used in the training of regular students
and post-graduates in 1986 in the sector “Market situation of international markets” of
the then existing department “Organization and management of foreign trade”. It was
practiced as special course for three academic years, causing great interest and
enthusiasm among students. The most interesting and even emotional were sessions
conducted as a competition between the leading teams of a company, composed only
from full-time students and only with post-graduates.
Despite the success and interest in this new for out higher education form of
education, it was abandoned. This was due to several reasons: scarce computing, the
cost for part-time teachers, changes in curriculum.
Now, twenty years later, this form of training in “International Economic
Relations” has been revived and modernized. There are prerequisites for this: the
modern ICT and practically unlimited access to information give the possibilities to
simulate to a full extent the real economic environment in business games.
Incoming knowledge for the business game can be derived from the mandatory
university courses: "Business Economics” and “Forecasting and Planning”,
“Fundamentals of Management” and from the following compulsory and special
courses: “International Market Studies”, “International Finance", “International Business
Operations”, “International Marketing”, "International Pricing Practices”, "Pricing and
pricing policy" and "International Financial Management”.
2. Description of the game content:
In view of their efficient participation the students should be familiar with the
structure and functioning of the financial markets, as well as to know basin principles of
the investment analysis.
The game is a simulation model, which covers the basis of the investment
process: analysis, risk evaluation and design, and decision taking. Using simulation
approach in the discipline "Markets, Investments, Marketing – simulation game” the
complex relationships and dependencies in the process of investment, production and
sale of products in a competitive market environment; it can be evaluated how the
economic fundamentals of capital construction are considered and their impact on
material flows in a particular company.
Participants in the game play the management team of a company and each one
is responsible for a portfolio of work and all together should develop a well thought out
and balanced option for the strategic and operational management of the enterprise.
Participants in the game use different information on finance and business
environment of real functioning companies. On this basis they evaluate the potential for
Идентификация на статуса: ОДНК_7.1.3-3/ Версия 01/Изменение ____/____________; стр. __/__
Ниво на достъп:
□ общодостъпен □ за служебно ползване □поверителен □секретен
2
development of the business units and the potential benefit from acquiring a share in
their capital.
A special attention is drawn to the applied aspects of the macroeconomic
analysis. In paralell with the process of monitoring and designing of short-term forecasts
for the countries’ economic development participants in the game have the opportunity
to increase the value of their own virtual finance assets portfolio dealing on the FOREX
market.
During the game participants get familiar with the basic tools applied in the
modern investment process. The programme foresee introdution in the technical and
fundamental analysis of the currency markets, as well as the Dupont system analysis
for corporate securities. The basic principals of the application of the portfolio approach
have considered. The immitation takes into account the influence of a set of
interconnection factors and their direct impact on the risk and investment profitability.
3. Language of instruction: English.
CONTENT OF THE CURRICULUM
LECTURES
№
THEMES
Acade
mic
load
First stage: CURRENCY TRADING AT FOREX MARKET
1.
2.
3.
Introduction into fundamental analysis. Origin and development of
the world currency system; factors influencing on a given currency
behaviour; theory of the exchange rate; basic definitions in the
fundamental analysis (purchasing power parity, interest rate
differential, balance of payment approach).
Теchnical analysis. Tendencies in the technical analysis (graphical
analysis/chartism, wave analysis, derivative indicators analysis); basic
concepts (trend, level of support and resistance, figures in the
technical analysis, kinds of technical indicators); ways of using and
reliability of the technical analysis means.
Маcroeconomic
analysis.
Macroeconomic
determinants;
measurement and estimates; economic cycles; interconnection
between the environment parameters and impact on the investment
process.
4
3
3
Second stage: SECURITIES TRADING AT STOCK EXCHANGE
Идентификация на статуса: ОДНК_7.1.3-3/ Версия 01/Изменение ____/____________; стр. __/__
Ниво на достъп:
□ общодостъпен □ за служебно ползване □поверителен □секретен
3
4.
5.
6.
Analysis of public company economic results. Basic indicators of
the firm status (profitability, capital structure, leverage); interrelation
among the individual indicators – Dupont scheme, principles of
company’s results using as a basis for argumentation of forecasts for
its short or medium term development.
Securities portfolio: Relationship among the individual economic
branches and business cycle phases; principles of diversification,
evaluation criteria and securities selection: kind of evaluations
(market, accounting, investment), building of investment strategy.
4
Critical reassessment of the strategy chosen and followed:
adequacy criteria of the chosen strategy; analysis of the assets
portfolio profitability; explanation of the consequences as a result of
the taken decisions from the point of view of portfolio evaluation;
analysis of the argument for following or denial of the chosen strategy;
analysis of the plane fulfillment and decision evaluation.
4
3
Third stage: DISCUSSING THE RESULTS OF COMPUTER PROGRAMS
FOR ASSESSMENT OF THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE GAME
7.
Comparative assessment of the management team developed
strategies for development; analysis of implementation and evaluation
of decisions taken in the process of operational management; ranking
of management teams based on achieved business results.
4
METHOD / TEACHING STRATEGY:
Teaching is in the game shape in which students are trying to increase the
amount of the virtual investment portfolio. In the beginning of the game each one team
get an account with a fixed sum, which could be directed to purchasing different
financial assets. In the process of the game the students get to know the principles and
the functioning of the financial markets in conditions which are as close as possible to
the real ones. Access to the training accounts is permanent, which means participants
have the possibility to do permanent monitoring of their own assets and respectively can
react immediately in the moment when they take an investment decision and to judge if
they could undertake a corresponding action. Starting every class it is envisaged a time
for a short briefing on the transactions completed.
Necessary resources for training are several PCs in local computer network with
high speed connection, board and marker, compact time to conduct classes (e.g. 5
classes within six sessions).
INDEPENDENT WORK
During the course students are assigned with different task.
Идентификация на статуса: ОДНК_7.1.3-3/ Версия 01/Изменение ____/____________; стр. __/__
Ниво на достъп:
□ общодостъпен □ за служебно ползване □поверителен □секретен
4
EVALUATION METHOD
Excellent /6/
Very good /5/
Good /4/
A
B
C
80%
75%
70%
Credits are awarded as provided for in the plan
Fair /3/
D
60%
Poor /2/
E
FX
F
No credits awarded
50%
The method of evaluation is based on a comprehensive final evaluation of the
two stages of the game for each of the management teams involved in it. A computer
program is used to evaluate the strategies developed by participants, and also a
program for evaluation of the decisions taken in the process of operational
management.
RESULTS TO BE EXPECTED FROM THE COURSE
Management game “Markets, Investments, Marketing - simulation game” gives
participants practical knowledge on the following:







effectiveness of interdisciplinary approach in teaching economics;
the importance of systematic understanding of economic relations, processes
and phenomena arising at a company, national and international level;
existing relationships between economic indicators for international economic
relations and their actual functioning as a system in the company economy;
direct causal link between management decisions taken in different sectors of the
economy and the company received final economic results (presented by the
formation and distribution of profits);
"anatomy" of a market-oriented company. This knowledge is formed by analyzing
the links in the main sectors of corporate activity and examination of their
movement and interaction as aspects of the same whole, developed the same
idea;
formation of investment policy of the company and the actual conduct of the
investment process, which inevitably are designed to final financial results;
development of different versions in the choice of strategy for development of the
company and how actually is realized the chosen strategy.
In the course of active personal and collective participation of every student in
the management game are learned many useful and practical skills such as:


conversion of the results of market analysis and forecasting in strategic and
operational decisions for the development and market participation of a given
company;
making, comparing and evaluating the multivariate estimates of the parameters
for the development of corporate strategy for product innovations, investment
and marketing;
Идентификация на статуса: ОДНК_7.1.3-3/ Версия 01/Изменение ____/____________; стр. __/__
Ниво на достъп:
□ общодостъпен □ за служебно ползване □поверителен □секретен
5






simulation and analysis of variants of corporate strategy and selecting the best
among them;
critical reassessment of the strategy chosen in the course of its operational
implementation and justification of the reasons for ongoing change, if necessary;
conducting economic and trade negotiations with other market counterparties;
understanding of interactions in the production and economic activity and the
consequences of taking management decisions, especially when it comes to
selling their produce in foreign markets;
understanding of the practice of the relationship between the pursuit of solutions
that are optimal in one area, and their consequences in other areas;
taking management decisions, justified on the internal and market analysis and
forecasting.
Knowledge and skills acquired by the management game “Markets, Investment,
Marketing” provide a great opportunity to feel how in practice work and display the
economic relations in the reality.
THE COURSE IS ALSO TAUGHT
Business games are teaching method, which for decades and currently enjoy a
great interest and application in universities around the world. Moreover, skills those
students acquire from various management games have served as an idea for the
creation of another form of education. These are the practiced for decades
interuniversities annual competitions to solve problems of living practice. These racing
events are the "glory" of many graduate programs in Western universities.
The introduction of the business game “Markets, Investments, Marketing simulation game” again after twenty years in the specialized training of the bachelors in
“International Economic Relations” is an attempt for taking a course to accelerating
upgrading of knowledge and ways of teaching.
TOTAL STUDENT ACADEMIC LOAD
Type of classes/academic load
Lectures
Seminars
Laboratory training
Practical training
Term paper
Final thesis
Individual assignment
Interim exam/test
On-going assessment
Overall
student
academic
load
30
Student
academic
load,
average
classes per
week
2
Student
non-contact
academic
load
Total
70
100
Идентификация на статуса: ОДНК_7.1.3-3/ Версия 01/Изменение ____/____________; стр. __/__
Ниво на достъп:
□ общодостъпен □ за служебно ползване □поверителен □секретен
6
Exam
Total
30
2
70
100
RECOMMENDED BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Мinev, S., Applied Forex. Publishing House SIELA, 2010 (in Bulgarian).
2. Тimchev, М., Financial and Economic Analysis. Publishing House Nova
Zvezda, 2011 (in Bulgarian).
3. Baumohl B. "The Secrets of Economic Indicators ", FT Press, 3rd ed., 2012.
4. Brealey, Myers, Marcus "Fundamentals of Corporate Finance", McGrawHill/Irwin, 6 ed., 2008
5. Bulkowski T. "Encyclopedia of Candlestick Charts", Wiley Trading, 2008
6. Bulkowski T. "Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns", Wiley Trading, 2005
7. Colby R., "The Encyclopedia Of Technical Market Indicators", 2nd ed. 2002.
8. Lien K., "Day Trading and Swing Trading the Currency Market: Technical and
Fundamental Strategies to Profit from Market Moves", 2nd ed. Wiley Trading,
2008
9. Picker A. "International Economic Indicators and Central Banks" Wiley Finance,
2007.
10. Ross, Westerfield, Jordan "Fundamentals of Corporate Finance", McGrawHill/Irwin, 10 ed., 2012.
Internet addresses:
http://www.forexticket.co.uk
http://quote.rbc.ru/macro/
http://www.marketwatch.com
http://atnabtu.com/
http://www.reuters.com/
http://www.forexfactory.com
PREPARED BY:
Professor Rossitsa Rangelova, Dr. Sc.
Идентификация на статуса: ОДНК_7.1.3-3/ Версия 01/Изменение ____/____________; стр. __/__
Ниво на достъп:
□ общодостъпен □ за служебно ползване □поверителен □секретен
7
HEAD OF DEPARTMENT:
Associate Professor Ivan Stoychev, PhD
DEAN:
Professor Antoaneta Vassileva, PhD
Идентификация на статуса: ОДНК_7.1.3-3/ Версия 01/Изменение ____/____________; стр. __/__
Ниво на достъп:
□ общодостъпен □ за служебно ползване □поверителен □секретен
8