[UH-PROMES] JUNIORS AND SENIORS: Friday PROMES Course in Engineering Management (using a business simulation game)

[Zerda, Kathy]

I will be offering EGRP 1197:Engineering Management this spring semester.  It is especially good for those of you who are upperclassmen and have some work experience.



The course will meet on Fridays from 2:30-4 PM each week.  We will use an online business simulation game called Foundation (www.capsim.com<http://www.capsim.com>)  as a framework for the course:



*         Foundation business simulation is an engaging introductory simulation designed to teach all the essential elements of running a business: finance, the cause and effect relationship between functional areas, satisfying customer demands and competitive analysis.

*         Participants take the reins of a $40 million company that has no clear direction and poor financial results.  The task is to build the business, adding products and focusing the management decisions from every key department on the company's goals. In the Foundation scenario, the overall industry has two market segments: low tech and high tech. Each company in the industry begins with one product but can develop a portfolio of up to five. From five to eight years, each simulated in one round, the  management team shapes the company's future via decisions on Research and Development, Marketing, Finance and Production.

*         Foundation simulates the management decision processes in a true-to-life, competitive environment.  Each company competes for sales, profits, and market share while participants learn to read and understand financial statements, allocate resources and balance competing demands.



I have used this simulation game in both an undergraduate and a graduate course previously, and it is entertaining and educational.  You will learn how businesses operate, how to read financial reports, and how different business units work together to make a company successful.



There will be no textbook for the course, but you will have to pay $54 to register on www.capsim.com<http://www.capsim.com> in order to purchase your semester license to participate.  This fee is mandatory, but it is a bargain considering what you will learn!



If you need an extra hour of credit, I guarantee you will enjoy this course.  You can enroll through Peoplesoft by entering the Class Number of 38236 and searching for the course that way.



Please invite others to participate!  Students do not have to be in PROMES to participate.

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Katherine S.  Zerda, Ph.D., MBA
Director, Program for Mastery in Engineering Studies (PROMES)
Cullen College of Engineering
E316 Engineering Building 2
University of Houston
Houston, TX 77204-4010
Phone:  713-743-4224
http://www.egr.uh.edu/promes
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