Business Case Studies Reinvented For Digitally-Native College Students

HADLEY, Mass., Nov. 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Knowledge Matters, the leading provider of cloud-based, interactive educational business simulations, today announced the launch of Virtual Business College (VB College) Case Simulations™. Case Simulations are the natural evolution of business case studies - interactive, visual simulations that put students in control of their own virtual businesses. Designed for two-year and four-year college business and marketing classes, Case Simulations are modular and extremely affordable, allowing professors to integrate business simulations with their current textbooks and curriculum as homework or in-class assignments.

Case studies for teaching business and marketing in college have remained the same ever since Harvard Business School adopted the teaching approach in the 1920s. Business case studies, written descriptions of a business problem, have changed little . . . until now!

VB College Case Simulations are full-fledged, interactive simulated business scenarios with AI-based algorithms that simulate the impact of specific business decisions made by students. Case Simulations use the same visual style as popular strategy games. As students make changes to their business - pricing for an item, the specific location of a retail store, and many more - the impact of those decisions play out in a visual business environment. Is the virtual business making a profit or losing money? Students can see the results and engage in a learning experience that reinforces the business principle or concept that they're studying.

Case Simulations were created out of the business education experience of Knowledge Matters CEO Peter Jordan, himself a Harvard Business School graduate.

"When I was at business school, I read over 900 case studies. It always felt like 'unfinished business'  -- like there should be a way to jump into those worlds and try out your ideas," Jordan said. "Today we are giving business students the opportunity to do just that. Students can test out the ideas and business concepts they've studied and see the real-time results of their decisions."

At launch, the Case Simulations Marketing Collection features 13 different Case Simulations that focus on one specific business concept (Pricing, B2B Marketing, Yield Management Pricing, Marketing Ethics, etc.) and two Case Simulation projects - lengthier exercises that put students in full control of a business and in charge of multiple business decisions and concepts. Additional collections are planned.

"Today's digitally native college students are on their phones or laptops nearly 24/7.  It's often hard for professors to engage those students. The challenge for business professors is "How do I reach these students and get them to fully engage and think deeply?" said Jordan. "We have an answer - Case Simulations - which are browser-based, interactive business simulations, built like real-time strategy games, that teach students by immersing them in virtual business worlds."

About Knowledge Matters
Knowledge Matters is the leading provider of simulation-based educational content for business, marketing, and personal finance. Knowledge Matters' visual sims allow students to control their own virtual businesses - learning valuable business and marketing concepts using simulation game technology. In the past year, Knowledge Matters served more than 3,750,000 simulation-based exercises. The company's Virtual Business line of simulations have been used in over one-third of all the high schools in the United States. The company's college line of advanced simulations are used by leading universities globally. Knowledge Matters also delivers corporate training solutions to Fortune 500 clients.

Media Contact:
Jeff Rutherford
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413-203-4431, ext 105

SOURCE Knowledge Matters