Developing Competencies with the General Management II Business Simulation Game

The paper describes a solution to the need to find adequate ways of developing management-related competencies for students and trainees, which we consider a relevant pursuit for both literature and education practitioners knowledge. It is based on the case study method, describing the experience of the authors with the TOPSIM General Management II (GM2) business simulation game and the outcome regarding the development of competencies for participating students from two master programs from the Faculty of Engineering in Foreign Languages in Bucharest/Romania in the last 8 years, exploring the development of 21 management-related competencies. The chosen competencies and individual characteristics are: analytic thinking, strategic thinking, team work, defining goals, opportunity recognition, problem recognition, problem solving, decision making, proactive thinking, time management, communication, intuitive thinking, responsibility, argumentation, creativity, delegation, diplomacy, conflict management, flexibility, courage and self esteem. By showing the positive impact of students' GM2 participation in the development of management-related competencies from both professors and students point of view the paper adds a valuable best practice insight that can be used in universities and companies at an international level.