Iona Student Team Earns Four Rankings in Global Top 100 of Business Simulation
Left to right: Iona University students Chris Poli ’24 and Anthony Arjune ’24.
A team of Iona University business students earned rankings in four Top 100 measures of the international GLO-BUS business competition, including seventh overall best-performing company in the simulated camera and drone industry.
During the Spring 2023 semester, there were 2,464 student teams from 133 college and universities participating in the simulation worldwide.
GLO-BUS is a completely online global simulation run by McGraw-Hill/Irwin where the focus is on competitive strategy. Student teams run companies that produce wearable-action video cameras and camera-equipped drones in head-to-head competition against companies run by other class members.
Company operations parallel those of actual technology companies. Just as in the real world, companies compete in a global market arena, selling cameras and drones in four geographic regions—Europe-Africa, North America, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.
The competitive online business game is a required semester-long assignment in the capstone course, Business Policy and Strategy, taught by Dr. Jeffrey Alstete, professor of management in the LaPenta School of Business.
Outstanding students Chris Poli and Anthony Arjune also won first place among Iona class participants and earned certificates awarded as industry champions.
In addition, as winners at Iona, these students are eligible to compete in the next Best-Strategy Invitational, where high-performing companies worldwide face off in a two-week competition hosted three times per year.
Poli said, “Glo-Bus challenged me to make executive business decisions under pressure. I feel as if I gained real business experience through the strategy and decision-making process”.
Arjune said, “As someone who isn't the most skillful with numbers or statistics, GLO-BUS made me realize how crucial those key factors are when it comes to the contribution to the success of a business. Therefore, I am truly honored to have been granted the opportunity to participate in this simulation and my confidence mindset has propelled substantially because I ended up winning this year's Glo-bus in an industry setting”.
Prof. Alstete has used active learning simulations since 2005 and writes peer-reviewed research journal articles about teaching strategic management.
ABOUT IONA
Founded in 1940, Iona University is a master's-granting private, Catholic, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. Iona's 45-acre New Rochelle campus and 28-acre Bronxville campus are just 20 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. With a total enrollment of nearly 4,000 students and an alumni base of more than 50,000 around the world, Iona is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence and the values of justice, peace and service. Iona is highly accredited, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees and numerous advanced certificate programs. Iona students enjoy small class sizes, engaged professors and a wide array of academic programs across the School of Arts & Science; LaPenta School of Business; NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences; and Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Iona also continues to be recognized in prestigious national rankings. Most recently for 2025, Iona has been named one of the nation’s best colleges by The Princeton Review, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and others. Additionally, U.S. News & World Report recognized Iona as one of top for social mobility in the country, while Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) ranked an Iona degree in the top 5 percent nationally for long-term return on investment. Iona’s LaPenta School of Business, meanwhile, is also accredited by AACSB International, a recognition awarded to just 6 percent of business schools worldwide. In addition, The Princeton Review recognized Iona’s on-campus MBA program as a “Best Business School for 2024.” Iona also offers a fully online MBA program for even greater flexibility. In July 2021, Iona announced the establishment of the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences, which is now principally located on Iona’s Bronxville campus in collaboration with one of the nation’s top hospitals. Connecting to its Irish heritage, Iona also opened a new campus in County Mayo, Ireland, located on the historic 400-acre Westport House Estate. A school on the rise, Iona officially changed its status from College to University on July 1, 2022, reflecting the growth of its academic programs and the prestige of an Iona education.