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 the 2023-2024 school year! Registration is Open! Deadline to register is September 27
Check out the video to encourage your students to participate, compete (earn money), and learn with an experiential simulation.
With the help of sponsors at First Interstate Bank the simulation is no cost to schools with a chance to compete for cash prizes.
New this year, Professional Development Training with $50 Visa Gift Card Teacher Stipend for 1 hour course. Will be Sept 28 with noon or 4 pm. option with teaching Entrepreneurship with Next Gen Personal Finance and Biz Sim Introduction.

Montana’s premiere student business simulation is back for the Fall Semester 2023! The competition will run from October 4th to December 6th with 8 weekly updates (1 week = 1 quarter).

New this year!  All registered teachers will be offered supplemental 1 hour zoom training opportunity with Next Gen Personal Finance Entrepreneurship and Biz Sim Introduction Course.  Two times will be offered, September 28th at Noon and 4 p.m. Attendees will receive $50 Visa Gift Card and 1 hour Professional Development Credit.

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 28,000 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.

Input Schedule:

Logins provided September 28

Q1 Due October 4
Q2 Due October 11
Q3 Due October 25
Q4 Due November 1
Q5 Due November 8
Q6 Due November 15
Q7 Due November 29
Q8 Due December 6

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

click button to sign up

click button to submit Inputs

click button to view results

resources

The BizSim software platform and resources are used under license from the Foundation for Free Enterprise Education © 2021. All rights reserved.

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.)
Your firm has been manufacturing and selling widgets. The overall industry is composed of a few large brand name manufacturers and as well as smaller firms such as your own that have the advantage of lower overhead cost, faster time to market a new feature on the product, and greater personal service to smaller retail chains. 
Since the market for this product is so fragmented, total sales is difficult to obtain. Your firm does not sell its product directly to the consumer but rather to wholesalers, distributors, and all types of retail stores as well as direct sales to department stores. This popular product has been selling in the $99 to $209 retail price range. 
The company in which you are assuming management has been in business only one year. The entrepreneur that established the company wishes to pursue other business interests. The company is a for-profit company and the stock in the company is held by a large variety of individuals. These stockholders (shareholders in some countries) have invested their monies in your firm and they expect your new management team to increase profits and dividends while maintaining high ethical standards.

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.