Teaching or learning e-Business Management or e-Business Marketing is far from being an easy task. The main concern of this project is to improve the teaching of those subjects: its methods, its tools and its contents.

The project’s main goal is to provide the players of the learning process in the field of Business Administration and Web-Marketing with an interactive teaching and learning tool having the following characteristics:

• Simulates of a multiple players e-Business market with online sales;
• Based on real market data;
• Using Web based technology;
• Running inside or outside a Learning Management System (LMS) environment;
• Open source minded;
• eLearning quality assurance approach.

In order to achieve this goal, the development of a dynamic simulation model for a game adapted to e-Business has been needed. More precisely, this model has to simulate the behavior of a company acting on an e-Business market.

Two types of companies are targeted:

• The ‘pure’ e-business company whose activities rely on Internet;
• The traditional company, which gradually develop their activities while resorting to practices which concern the e-Business (like the die-intermediation of the sales).

The development of different market models is under consideration for the future. Initially the project wanted to concentrate on a market with the production of hard goods, like publishing, for which the Internet channel supplements the traditional practices but the project’s partners decided finally to opt for a simulation focusing on a market with a ‘pure’ digital product such as the online sales of digital music.

The design and development of a user-definable game scenario is a second specific objective of the project. It will allow the teacher to define the number of players (companies), the number of rounds (decision sessions), the functions (roles), the game schedule (time management), etc. Allowing a SCORM integration of the game software inside a LMS is the third specific objective of the project.

To produce a Business Simulation that will enable:

• the development of a wide range of transferable skills;
• the introduction of new knowledge;
• the development of existing knowledge;
• the integration of learning from many areas;
• the provision of more enjoyable learning.

It is also to provide a learning environment in which the decision-making processes

• reflect reality;
• are interactive and competitive;
• are based on real data.

The use of the ‘eMusicBusinesGame’ will favor a better understanding the e-Business management concepts. Especially, it should help the students to define and to test e-Business strategies. It will add value for the students, for the teacher and for the tutors:

• For the teacher/tutor:
  
  
  • A powerful decision-making and market simulation tool;
  • An easy to use software;
  • Pre-defined scenario available;
  • User-definable game scenario allows to create new scenario;
  • Refers to the real e-Business market data;
  • Allows classroom and distance Education/Training;
  • SCORM integration and use of the LMS features reinforce the teaching scenario;
  • Multilingual and international features;
  • User’s manuals;
  • Membership of the ‘eMusicBusinesGame’ teachers community allows the exchange of good practices and teaching material;
  
  
• Fore the learner:
  
  
  • Improved knowledge and skills in e-Business Marketing and Management;
  • the integration of learning from many areas;
  • Learning by doing and the provision of more enjoyable learning;
  • A learner centered approach;
  • Collaborative learning and multicultural team work;
  • Challenging game;
  • Refers to the real e-Business market data;
  • International minded approach;
  • User’s manual;
  • Membership of the ‘eMusicBusinesGame’ students’ community.

• The game model has been designed around two parts:
  
  
  • The players model (simulates the players’ decisions (companies))
  • The market model (simulates the market demand and computes the market shares between the players);
  
  
• Refers to e-Business models and to digital music market data;
• Simulates three market segments (‘pragmatics’, ‘middle men’, good deals’);
• Allows the market entry of several competitors;
• More than 30 decisions: Marketing, Financial, HR and Technological decisions;
• Displays a ‘Balanced Score Card’ (BSC) feedback;
• User-definable model;

Particular attention has been put on the quality of the teaching methodology within the eLearning process:

• The quality of content (learning objectives, prerequisites, content description);
• The quality of process (learning path, learning activities, tutorship, assessment);
• The quality of interactions (Internet communication tools, e-Learner-eTutor relationship).

• Faculty members from Business Schools and Universities
• Teachers in Business Administration or in Management;
• Tutors and e-Tutors;
• Freelance and in company trainers;
• Students in Business Administration and in Management;
• Executives and leaders of SMEs.

Read more about the objectives