ACADEMIA

Wharton Executive Education today announced that students in a Business Policy class at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania recently were the first in any executive education certificate program to use a new computer-based simulation authored by Randy Chapman for LINKS Simulations. “Simulations are widespread in marketing, with topics such as product positioning and marketing strategy, but are unusual in a business policy class,” said Claudia Lewis, director of Wharton Programs for Working Professionals. LINKS is a sophisticated management simulation designed in a modular fashion that can be applied in a variety of educational/instructional contexts. Management, marketing, and supply chain LINKS simulation variants exist. In the simulation used in the Wharton Executive Education program, called “Enterprise,” teams of students make specific business decisions and immediately receive the results of those decisions. This compresses multiple rounds of competition into a short timeframe. The capstone simulation, during the sixth and final course in the Wharton Business Essentials Certificate program, allows students to test their ability to integrate a wide spectrum of concepts. At the same time, they respond to rapid and unexpected changes, replicating today’s fast-paced business environment. “I’m always looking to vary the kinds of learning experiences I can make available to the students,” said Diana Day, adjunct associate professor in Wharton’s Management Department, who teaches the Business Policy class. “I used to teach this class using mainly lectures, readings and lots of cases, but a simulation helps students learn by getting them actively engaged. They make all kinds of business decisions in an integrated fashion -- without the risks involved in making them for real.” More than 8,000 business professionals participate in Wharton Executive Education programs annually. Wharton has offered executive education courses for more than 40 years and is committed to creating and refining programs that not only keep pace with the current business climate but anticipate and respond to emerging needs and challenges. The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is recognized around the world for its academic strengths across every major discipline and at every level of business education. Founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school in the nation, Wharton has approximately 4,600 undergraduate, MBA, Executive MBA, anddoctoral students, and an alumni network of more than 80,000 worldwide.