How can I use SBC in my class(es)?

Here is a list of suggestions on ways to integrate SBC into your curriculum.

Grade 9/10

Introduction to Business

SBC gives students a basic understanding of running a business in a competitive marketplace.  It will allow students to see the impacts of business decisions such as pricing changes, product improvements and marketing expenditures.  In addition, students will get an idea of how to manage the money they have in order to maximize profit.  This is a fun way to introduce basic business concepts to students.

Potential Assignments: Students could be asked to make up a company logo as well as define roles for each member of their team.  They could also be asked to perform some basic analysis based on the financial statements provided including graphing trends and providing plans for the future or an explanation of why they had the results they did.

Information and Communication Technology in Business

Over the years, many Computer Science students have participated in the competition.  SBC is entirely web-based and allows students to develop some ideas of interfaces, the algorithms that are presented in the back end of the system and the components of this type of interactive site.

Potential Assignments: Students could be asked to redesign some of the interfaces or to make suggestions on how they would redesign the pages.  They could also be asked to do online research about the industry on which the SBC is based. Students could also develop a website for their fictional firm.


Grade 11

Financial Accounting Fundamentals & Accounting Essentials

SBC provides students with a number of financial statements including a Balance Sheet and an Income Statement.  This allows students to analyze financial statements as well as see how business decisions affect the different statements.  It can help students develop an understanding of the purpose of accounting and how it fits into business by showing them financial statements similar to those they would find in a real business situation.

Potential Assignments: Students could be asked to look at different aspects of the accounting statements to determine how their decisions impact the statements.  They could also be asked to explain how each of the Balance Sheet, Income Statement and Statement of Cash Flows is useful independently of the other statements.  They could be asked to graph the trends of some of the information or to perform ledger entries based on the limited number of entries they do.

Entrepreneurship: The Venture & Entrepreneurship: The Enterprising Person

SBC is ideal for Entrepreneurial studies as the teams or “firms” are allowed to make the types of decisions an entrepreneur would make, such as how much to invest in Research and Development or Marketing. It also helps demonstrate to students the concepts of market share and the laws of supply and demand. Although the business plan is already developed in SBC, students looking at venture planning will be able to determine how much they should invest in the different aspects of the organization. This includes initial amounts at start-up, which can be challenging, as many students do not invest enough money to meet the initial demand for their product.

Potential Assignments: Students could be asked to make up a company name and logo as well as define roles for each member of their team.  They could also be asked to explain the decisions they make and what they expect the result to be.  A log could be kept with respect to what entries they made, what results they expect, what the actual results were and a plan for the next round.  Another option is to have students develop a financial plan.

Information and Communication Technology: The Digital Environment

Over the years, many Computer Science students have participated in the competition.  SBC is entirely web-based and allows students to develop some ideas of interfaces, the algorithms that are presented in the back end of the system and the components of this type of interactive site.

Potential Assignments: Students could be asked to develop interfaces for their firm’s business or a business plan on how their firm would enter electronic business.  They could also do research on the product that is being “sold” in SBC through the Internet. Students could also develop a website for their fictional firm.

Marketing: Goods, Services, Events & Marketing: Retail and Service

SBC fits in very well with any marketing course as it was originally developed as a tool for university marketing students.  Students will be able to see the impact different marketing decisions have on their sales and market share by making decisions such as how much to spend on Advertising, Research and Development, and Sales Support (input decision in SBC Xtreme only).  Students will be able to see the complementary role of Advertising, Research and Development, and Sales Support and see how the demand for their product is affected by marketing.

Potential Assignments: Students could be asked to develop a marketing plan for their product.  This may include a company name and logo, advertisements, market segmentation, identifying opportunities.  Students could also be asked to compare their marketing expenditures with their results to try to determine the influence of marketing on sales.  However, it must be considered that all other inputs will also affect sales and marketing will only make up a portion of these differences.


Grade 12

Financial Accounting Principles

SBC provides students with a number of financial statements including a Balance Sheet and an Income Statement.  This allows students to analyze financial statements as well as see how business decisions affect the different statements.  It can help students develop an understanding of the purpose of accounting and how it fits into the business.  It will also allow them to make decisions based on the financial statements.  It will show them financial statements similar to those they would find in a real business situation.

Potential Assignments: Students could be asked to look at different aspects of the accounting statements to determine how their decisions impact the statements. They could also be asked to explain how each of the Balance Sheet, Income Statement and Statement of Cash Flows is useful independently of the other statements. They could be asked to graph the trends of some of the information or to perform ledger entries based on the limited number of entries they do.

Accounting for a Small Business

SBC will provide similar benefits to the students as are listed for the course “Financial Accounting Principles” but has the additional benefits since the decisions students will be making are high-level decisions similar to those that would be made by a business owner.  A good understanding of market share will also be developed.

Potential Assignments: Students could be asked to look at different aspects of the accounting statements to determine how their decisions impact the statements.  They could also be asked to explain how each