Adoption of business game under the perspective of an excellence model in an MBA course: multicriteria peer evaluation analysis

Abstract This article describes a business game, one of the last courses in an MBA syllabus. The database analyzed consists of outcomes from 47 classes and 1410 students. The aim of the game is to integrate the skills and abilities acquired during the program. The game considerers an evaluation system with 39 items based on an Excellence Model that covers important aspects of the management process. Only six evaluation items are financial goals; the remaining 33 go through a peer evaluation. These items deal with consumer-supplier aspects and management issues. A reduction in dimensionality was attained through a Factor Analysis that yielded 14 factors. Is it possible to identify the relevant factors for winning the game? Two distinct tests (significance of a logit model parameters and t-test for equality of means) are performed to answer this question. A generalized linear model using a logit link function and a Bernoulli distribution was fitted to the data, confirming that most factors with statistically significant differences in the mean between winners and other participants were also significant in the model. Participants’ feedback confirmed that the game was well received by the students: it boosted students’ morale and interest in the subject, fostered entrepreneurship and less absenteeism, increased the degree of class participation, awareness of teamwork, and planning, and created an environment that favored a discussion on business ethics.

摘要 本文介绍了一款商业模拟经营游戏，该游戏属于MBA培养方案中的最后一批核心课程之一。本次分析的数据库涵盖47个教学班与1410名学生的实训成果。该游戏的核心目标在于整合学员在MBA培养阶段所习得的各项技能与能力。本游戏采用基于卓越绩效模型（Excellence Model）的39项评估指标体系，该模型覆盖了管理流程的核心维度。其中仅6项评估指标为财务目标，剩余33项均采用同行评议（peer evaluation）方式进行考核，该33项指标涵盖供需关系与各类管理议题。研究通过因子分析（Factor Analysis）实现维度降维，最终提取得到14个公因子。能否识别出影响游戏获胜的关键公因子？为解答该问题，本研究开展了两项独立检验：logit模型（logit model）参数显著性检验与均值相等性t检验（t-test for equality of means）。本研究以伯努利分布（Bernoulli distribution）为基础、采用logit连接函数构建广义线性模型（generalized linear model）并适配至数据集，结果证实：多数在获胜者与其他参与者间存在统计学显著均值差异的公因子，在该模型中同样具有显著性。学员反馈显示本游戏获得了广泛认可：该实训有效提升了学员的学习积极性与课程兴趣，培育了企业家精神，降低了旷课率，提升了课堂参与度、团队协作意识与规划能力，同时营造了利于开展商业伦理议题讨论的良好氛围。