Big Sky Biz Sim – Montana Council on Economic Education

Welcome to the Big Sky Biz Sim by First Interstate Bank!

We are excited with First Interstate Bank’s continued partnership to keep Biz Sim free for students across Montana.

Check out the video to encourage your students to participate, compete (earn money), and learn with an experiential simulation.

Congratulations to the Fall Simulation winners from Sidney High School!

Watch for Spring 2025 dates to register.

Montana’s premiere student business simulation is back for the Spring Semester 2025! Good luck to the teachers and students in running your business this semester.

Teachers can register HERE

This is an in-class business simulation where students make all of the operating decisions for their business to produce, sell and distribute widgets.

The decision inputs are then matched against other teams competing across Montana for the highest stock market price at the end of eight quarters, (weeks in the simulation).

With the new partnership with First Interstate Bank, the game has been streamlined for teachers and modernized to manage against potential remote learning disruptions. The Biz Sim software and game has been in schools in Montana since 2000 with over 31,000 students participating with the support of the Montana State Chamber Foundation. It was formerly called the High School Business Challenge.

MCEE believes strongly in education through experiential learning. Students who participate will learn teamwork, communication, flexibility, problem solving, critical thinking and grit. All skills that will serve students and their future employers.

When students experience the ups and downs of their profitability based on their decisions, they not only will be taught the fundamentals of managing a business, but set in a competition, we can light the spark of entrepreneurship.

Simulation Schedule:

Registrations due Monday, September 23 at 4 p.m.

All Quarterly inputs are due on Wednesdays, by 4 p.m.

Input Schedule:

Q1 Due October 2 – Mini-case A
Q2 Due October 9 – Mini-case B
Q3 Due October 23 – Mini-case D
Q4 Due October 30 – Mini-case G
Q5 Due November 6 – Mini-case H
Q6 Due November 13 – Mini-case J
Q7 Due November 20 – Mini-case K
Q8 Due December 4 – No Mini-case

Winners announced and prizes distributed

All inputs are due at 4 p.m. and mini-cases will be announced with team log-in distribution.

Cash prizes will go to the top 3 teams and every industry winner (15-20) teams in each industry, will receive a $50 Visa Gift Card.

Fall 2024 registration is open

click button to sign up

click button to submit Inputs

click button to view results

resources

Montana Council for Economic Education

An Overview of a Simulation

1. Management teams make a set of business decisions for a simulated firm and these are evaluated against decisions made by competitors.

2. Several teams are created for competitive play. A team can consist of no more than five participants, but ideally has two or more.

3. The team makes a set of decisions that one might find in a business setting.

4. Each time the teams make a set of decisions, it represents a period of 3 months in the life of the company being simulated. You will be playing the simulation for 8 quarters, thereby simulating two years in the life of the firm.

5. Once students or teachers enter the decisions, the program acts as the purchaser of the product, compares the relative merits of the decisions made by all teams, and computes the sales for each firm.

6. The program then prints a quarterly report for each team and this is distributed to the participants.

7. The teams analyze their results and prepare another set of decisions. This continues for eight quarters.

8. Upon the completion of play, winners are announced based on stock price.

The Company You Will Be Managing

The industry your firm is in is the highly competitive and quickly changing widget industry.

(A widget is a placeholder name for an object, or more specifically, a mechanical or other manufactured device. It is an abstract unit of production.)

Factors Used in Ranking Teams at the End of the Simulation

While opinions differ on the factors of excellent performance, the Montana Council on Economic Education is reviewing options between measuring Stock Price or Return on Equity. Will be determined by February 1.

Thanks to the generosity of First Interstate Bank, the top 3 teams will receive cash awards each semester.