The Global Management Challenge (GMC) Kenya has announced the Kenyan teams that have made it to the second stage of the Challenge. These teams will have the chance to compete for a place to represent Kenya at the GMC international finals.
The GMC is a global business management competition which gives teams the task of creating high performing companies to generate maximum return for their investments, using an online simulator.
Each team receives their company history and management reports detailing company performance for the last five quarters, which they use to outline a corporate strategy. The challenge consists of four stages in which the teams implement this strategy, including two selection rounds, one national final, and an international final.
“The Global Management Challenge was launched in Kenya to help bridge the gap between academic knowledge and real-world needs at the work place. Through the competition, students and professionals get the chance to develop a variety of analytic and strategic skills that help to improve their performance in many different environments. They also develop a holistic understanding of how businesses operate,” explained Ravi Shah, Director at Greener Pastures.
Each stage of the competition sees the teams go through five developing decision periods, to identify teams with the best investment performance. The leading teams from across eight groups come from local universities and workplaces.
The Kenyan chapter of the competition has brought together teams from University of Nairobi, Strathmore University, JKUAT, Kenyatta University, Egerton, Daystar, Oshwal College, Pan Africa Christian University and Kabarak University. The national finals will be held on March 5th 2016, while the international finals will be held in Macao during the first quarter of 2016.
GMC Kenya is managed by Greener Pastures, a local human capacity building firm.
“We are very excited at the quality of competitors. This is the second time we are doing this in Kenya, and there is still a lot of potential to grow the challenge further. Initiatives like ours, outside schools and our work places, will play a big role in helping Kenya’s human resource retain its competitive edge in the region,” he said.
Through the process, they understand the impact their decisions have on the success or failure of a company as it works to meet its primary objectives. The online simulator measures each team’s investment ‘return’ for shareholders, taking into account the value of their company stock, shares sold or purchased, as well as any dividends received.
“One interesting trend we have noted is the narrowed gender gap that we hope can be replicated across all sectors and industries in the country – about 60 percent of our competitors are female, with the leading teams predominantly led by women.
Shah says Green Pastures has reviewed credentials of the competitors and will be analysing the decisions they make.
“We wish these teams all the very best – beyond the opportunity to take on their peers from across the world, we are confident that their experience with team-based problem-solving will further improve their employability.”
The GMC is the world’s largest management & strategy competition and has been running since 1980. It is currently present in 35 countries worldwide and has more than 500,000 university students and company managers participating globally. T
