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During the Spring 2025 semester, I integrated an AI-driven simulation into my BBA 407 Strategic Management course to immerse students in real-world executive decision-making. The simulation presented students with a series of complex strategic choices across a range of organizations, from start-ups to Fortune 100 corporations assigned randomly by the simulation.

At each decision point, students received dynamic feedback, including targeted recommendations for improvement and analysis of their strategic strengths. The simulation also tracked each company’s performance through changes in stock price or, for privately held firms, shifts in overall valuation, providing students with a tangible metric of their leadership impact from start to finish.

In addition, the simulation provided students with a rigorous, immersive experience that advanced the College’s institutional learning goals. As independent thinkers, students demonstrated critical reasoning and interdisciplinary synthesis by navigating high-stakes scenarios that required applying strategic management principles while integrating insights from ethics, finance, technology, and global affairs. They analyzed data, interpreted stakeholder dynamics, and evaluated outcomes with clarity and precision, showcasing their competence in information literacy and ethical decision-making. Just as importantly, students emerged as empowered leaders and civically engaged professionals, grounding their choices in empathy, cultural awareness, and a commitment to integrity. Their reflections revealed an appreciation for collaborative leadership, inclusive practices, and long-term stakeholder trust.

The simulation assigned established companies to 75% of students and startups to 25% of participants. The average return from all the simulations was 20.7%.

Following the simulation, the students completed a reflection paper on their experience. The reflection paper covered issues including key lessons learned, what surprised students, what they would have done differently, and their overall experience with the simulation (Likert scale ranging from 1: Very Dissatisfied to 5: Very Satisfied).

Key Lessons Learned:

• Strategic decisions are interconnected and complex: Students repeatedly emphasized how no decision stood in isolation. Each action influenced multiple business dimensions (finance, ethics, reputation, and operations)
• Ethical Leadership drives long-term success: A majority of students realized that integrity, transparency, and ethical choices were not only morally right but also strategically sound.
• Crisis navigation requires agility and empathy: The simulation exposed students to fast-moving crises, requiring emotional intelligence and adaptability in leadership.

What Surprised Students:

• Trade-offs over clear-cut solutions: Many were surprised that the challenges or opportunities presented in the simulation rarely offered a perfect answer. Each solution came with compromises.
• Realism and emotional engagement: Students were impressed by the emotional intensity and realism of the simulation, especially human-like stakeholder responses to their decisions.
• Soft skills mattered more than expected: Students were surprised that reputation, stakeholder trust, and cultural intelligence (sources of sustainable competitive advantages) often outweighed raw numbers or bold financial plays.

What students would do differently:

• Earlier action on internal signals: Several students mentioned that they would improve talent retention and cultural cohesion by acting sooner on “red flags.”
• Proactive risk management: Some would revisit their approach to regulatory, legal, or PR risks with more preemptive planning.
• Listening to advisors and teams more closely: Several students noted that they initially underestimated the strategic value of internal voices.

How students rated the simulation: Mean score: 4.4 (70% very satisfied; 90% satisfied or very satisfied)

• Immersive and realistic experience: Students described the simulation as realistic, detailed, and deeply engaging. “This experience felt incredibly real… I had to make tough calls with incomplete information, just like in real life,” one student explained.
• Broad strategic exposure: Students appreciated how the simulation forced them to consider everything from branding to global politics to ethics. “It tested business acumen, ethical judgment, leadership balance, and stakeholder awareness,” one student wrote.
• Interactive, reflective learning: Many were impressed how the simulation made them care about outcomes, learn from failure, and reflect critically. One student stated, “I actually cared about the company…”

Students also expressed ideas for further enhancing the simulation. Some suggested incorporating advisory messages or memos from key stakeholders into the simulation. Others wanted deeper character definition to better know the people whom they were working with or leading. One suggested lengthening the simulation.

The Spring 2025 AI-driven simulation in BBA 407 deepened students’ understanding of strategic management and brought Lehman’s institutional learning goals to life in a highly personalized way. By making difficult decisions, reflecting on their outcomes, and confronting the complex interplay of ethics, leadership, and global strategy, students gained knowledge and left with sharpened judgment, stronger empathy, and the mindset of thoughtful and empowered leaders.

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