Articles:
- The Czech Republic team wins the International final
- Accenture is the sponsor of the year
- First time entrants: ‘a beginner’s experience’
- Photos


The Czech Republic team wins the International final

The team from the Czech Republic was the winner of the 2006 International Final of the Global Management Challenge that took place in Macau, in April 2007.
This is the second time that a Czech team has won this prestigious event, the first victory being in 2001, when they first joined this competition of Management and Strategy.

Professional, exact and competence were some of the characteristics of this Check team. Five young people, in a mix of students and professionals, they worked hard to obtain the title of champions.   ”We are a little surprised with this victory. It was hard to win, as the competition was so strong.  We were ready for some unexpected situations and had to respond fast.   We have used a strategy different from the semi final round and that made us very successful”, said Tomas Marsalek, representing the Czech team, after the results were published.   As usual, the final took place in two rounds.   On the first day the teams competed in eight groups of four, the best two teams from each group being selected to compete in the final round the following day. The Czech team, like most of the teams, aimed for victory from the very beginning, and with such a statement of intent, planned a strategy to achieve this objective.   A few of the teams were just happy to be there competing at such a high level of expertise and with the hope that this experience will stand them in good stead for the future.

In a competition as intensive and competitive as this, wining is the ambition of almost all participants, certainly this is true at the outset.   However, only the very best reach the podium. In the 2006 Edition, as before, Poland achieved a very close second place.   Naturally, the Polish team members were disappointed.  On the first day, one member of the Polish team told us:”we are making our best effort and because we are a mix of students and professionals and this has resulted in very good team dynamics”.   There could well be something in this theory because the winning Czech team also consisted of a mix of students and executives.

The Peoples Republic of China took third place.The will to win, the tenacity of their work and the fact of having more victories than defeats, makes this country one of the most competitive in this Management Challenge competition. However this time their performance, although highly commendable, was just not enough to defeat the winners, although the place they obtained did surprise the audience a little, because their reputation, and the audience’s expectation, was so high. The French team was fourth.   In the semi-final day they said “we are confident that we will have a good classification. The teams are very strong, which make the competition more interesting”.

Also disappointed with the result, were the members of the Portuguese team.
“It is not a bad position being fifth place, but we hoped for more” said Rui Braz of the Portuguese Team. On the forth decision the team was in second place, but the last decision made them fifth, and disappointed. To understand where they went wrong, they promised to analyse all management reports. Because the Global Management Challenge simulates reality, one bad decision or a better one affects the results of the company.

After Portugal, in sixth place, was the Russian team. This country was the new entrance in the international final, the only one of all the new this year. After the Russian team was Germany and in eight place Belgium.

Outside the first eight places were Greece, Italy, Slovakia, Mexico, Romania, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bolivia, Brazil, Spain, Denmark, United Kingdom, Angola, Ukraine and the hosts Macau.

The Organization of this International Final was managed by the Macau Management Association (MMA), a partner in this Region.  Chui Sai Cheong, president of the MMA, said during the event that “Macau is an International Region and it is a privilege to show visitors what it will be like in the future.” The Gala Dinner where the prizes were awarded was provided by Chui Sai On, Secretary for Social and Cultural Affairs in Macau
Following on from Macau, Bucharest in Romania will host the next Global Management Challenge 2007.

In this final 25 countries will compete, including Turkey the most recent entrance for this competition.

The longevity of the Global Management Challenge is due to the commitment of the promoters and the support of the sponsors. To distinguish the important role of the sponsors, in each International Final the Organizer of the event nominates and awards ‘The International Sponsor of the Year’. Accenture was declared the winner of this prestigious award for 2006.
Portugal, Spain, and Angola are the three countries supported by Accenture.

In Macau, Luis Pereira, Vice President of Accenture in Portugal, received the award.
“It is important for us to receive this award. We are a global company, committed to be near companies and initiatives that are entrepreneurial.” said Luis Pereira, on receiving the award.

When asked about the possibility of Accenture sponsoring the Global Management Challenge in other countries, the Vice President of Accenture in Portugal said “That decision belongs to the local offices, in most cases. However, the success of this initiative at a Global level, may influence the sponsorship in other countries”

At present, the Global Management Challenge is developed in 25 countries and more than 360,000 individuals competed. Luis Alves Costa, President of SDG and International Organizer of the event, stated that the success of this competition” is result of the support of its sponsors”.  This is why, every year the International Organizing Committee, composed by the organizers of every country involved, distinguishes the sponsor that is most active in the promotion of this event.

Ukraine, Russia, United Kingdom, Angola and Denmark, were the five countries that participated for the first time in the International Final of the Global Management Challenge of 2006. In each of these countries the success has been great.

In Ukraine the Global Management Challenge is already a major success.  In the first edition, 192 teams of executives participated. Anna Degtereva, from the Ukraine organization stated that “the Global Management Challenge is good for the creation of team spirit among company’s executives” this is without doubt one of the reasons it draws participants in this and other countries.

But not only Ukraine was able to attract a great number of participants for this competition.  Russia had 112 executive teams, comprising of student and mixed teams.
“This is a unique project in the world” says Vyacheslav Shoptenko, from the Russian organization. The Russian organization projects to have 200 to 300 teams in the next year’s competition. The success obtained in this International Final demonstrated a strong debut for Russia, in the Global Management Challenge.

 As a beginner, the United Kingdom made a good start. Thomas Mason, from the British organization stated “This event attracts the more ambitious students. In our first competition, only student teams participated. Young people love this experience and companies also.” They anticipate the best perspectives for the next year’s competition.

With the participation of Angola, Africa is now represented in the network of continents, in which the competition is held. Victor Fernandes, the event organizer, reflected that Angola, after experiencing difficult times, is starving for initiatives contributing towards the future development of the country. “It is important that students from Angola understand that more qualifications than a degree are necessary” says Victor Fernandes, and the Global Management Challenge contributes these extra business experiences.

Denmark was the last country to join the initiative and attracted 60 teams in its first year.