C-Falls student team excels at business simulation competition

The Columbia Falls High School team “Inkomo Inc.” took second place for the Montana Business Challenge’s fall semester.

The business simulation, coordinated by the Montana Chamber Foundation in partnership with Reach Higher Montana and the Montana Council on Economic Education, entails high school students putting business concepts studied in the classroom, to work over eight weeks. In this year’s challenge, students operated mock businesses that manufacture and market digital music players.

Inkomo competed against more than 150 teams from around the state. Winners were selected based on stock prices.

The Columbia Falls team, which includes Ian McKenzie, Bryce Bennett, Ayden Role, Trey Spalding and Jordan Thompson, ended with a total stock price of $89.75.

“This team really buckled down in the last half of the competition, increasing their stock price by $79.75 per share,” said Tim Alzheimer, the business simulations coordinator for the Montana Council for Economic Education in a press release. He noted it was the largest stock gain in more than a decade of recognizing “most improved” teams.

The top eight teams with the highest stock prices will compete with the top eight teams from the 2019 spring semester for a chance at scholarships.

“I am so proud of these students and how hard they worked,” said Diane Marsh, business teacher at Columbia Falls High School. “With these seniors being so close to graduation, this simulation gives them an opportunity to experience how a business is ran. They had to make decisions that were related to product development, hiring and firing practices, marketing, cash flow, production, and quality management.”

Students reviewed balance sheets and completed a cash analysis worksheet for each week and submitted their decisions. The overall competition was based on stock prices that were the result of the decisions the students made.

The top eight teams advance to compete with the top teams from the 2019 spring semester in May for a chance at scholarships. The spring semester challenge begins Feb. 13, 2019.