“Team vs. Team” or “Direct Competition”
This is what most people consider competitive.  It is competitive, just like a football game or a tennis match.  When one team scores a goal it is at the other teams’ expense.  When one player wins a point it is at the other players’ expense.  When a team in a directly competitive simulation gets sales in a market segment, it is at the expense of another team.  I don’t think anyone would argue that this isn’t competition so I will move on.

“Team vs. Computer” or “Benchmark Competition”
 This is the type of competition that people often dismiss as not competitive.  It is competitive, just like a golf tournament (i.e.; the US Open) or a cycling time trial.  When a golfer posts a score in a tournament, he or she is facing the course as does every other competitor, and the person who does the best wins.  When a cyclist sets a time in a time trial, he or she is on the track alone on the same track as every other competitor, and at the end of the day, the person who went the fastest, wins.  When a team gets the highest net profit in a benchmark competitive simulation, it is against the same simulated environment as every other team.  Some would argue that this isn’t competition; I can’t see how it isn’t.

I’m a competitive person by nature, as are many people.  A great New Zealand rugby player once made a comment about a game of rugby not being “tiddlywinks” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiddlywinks), referring to the much more physical nature of rugby.  One observation I would have is that even tiddlywinks played with a group of highly competitive athletes, would be a real competition.  There are many examples of competitive people turning everything into a competition.  I am reminded of the classic Michael Jordan and Larry Bird advertisement where they compete against each other for making trick shots (and I am not going to go into Jordan’s reported competitiveness on the golf course).

I’m at Darden right now in the MBA for executives program.  We have played benchmark competition simulations and I can assure you there is a competitive element to these contests.  We have even done non-computer simulated exercises, which easily conjure up images of back room gambling houses as we compete to win (with nothing other than pride on the line).  Students in business courses are competitive, we compete for grades, we compete for jobs, and we compete because business is about competition.  Just because we don’t have to do it at the direct expense of others, doesn’t mean there isn’t a competitive edge.

My point of this article isn’t to advocate for one type of competition or the other.  What I want to do is to ensure that direct competition isn’t mistakenly considered the only type of competition.  My personal view is that simulations need competition to bring another dimension to the classroom; however, I believe whether direct or benchmark competition, both brings the same level of competition.

Anyone who watched this year’s US Open and Wimbledon Tennis Final would struggle to label either as not competitive.  They are different in set up, but both had an intensity that is achieved only through competition.

Tony Naidu
Vice President, Sales and Marketing