2023 MERIT champions predicably irrationals

'Predictably Irrational' first showed their strength in period 8 of the Early Years when they broke through to achieve first place. But they had a tussle with 'Wacky Workforce' who displaced them in periods 9 and 10. However they remained tucked in second place and their resolve showed through as they regained top spot in periods 11 and 12 demoting 'Wacky Workforce' to second place and the tussle between the two remained an ongoing one.

However the pattern was set and in the six Final rounds 'Predictably Irrational' retained their first place throughout to be crowned Champions. Not only did they retain their leading position they widened the gap against the others. 'Predictably Irrational' entered the final rounds with a lead of 200 points over 'Wacky Workforce' and ended the Final with a lead of 722 over 'TITANS' who overtook 'Wacky Workforce' to gain second place.

'Predictably Irrational' can readily be described as runaway winners. They must write up the story of their strategy and tactics in managing MERIT which have shown such success and publication of this will educate future contestants.

The placings in the Final round are shown in the diagram below.

merit2023 p18 results merit2023 p18 Share

The winner in the Sponsors Award, measured by the companies with the three teams entered were: AtkinsRealis India, followed by COWI, Mott Macdonald and Binnies UK.

MERIT 2023 was the 33rd time the competition has run strongly supported since its inception in 1988 by the Institution of Civil Engineers MERIT has a strong record of providing initial training in business, company and financial management in a construction context. MERIT also develops teamworking skills and leadership skills which serve the participants throughout their careers. Having given the participants a simulated insight into decision making at the senior management level MERIT influences choices in future development and training as participants career ambitions have been heightened.

 

Click here for the Full results

announcing24

Registration is now OPEN for the MERIT University Tournament 2024.

Aimed at university/college students (undergrads or postgrads, full-time or part-time) the game will run March to June 2024, with an online Final held between the 3rd and 14th June 2024.

Registration is open, and will remain open until 12 April 2024, with pricing starting at £250 per 4 person team.

In order to take full advantage of the Trialling period, we do recommend that you Register as early as possible.

 

MUT2024 flyer
Click to download the
MUT 2024 Flyer

          

For the game's current status and submission timetable,
please Click here for the MERIT University Tournament 2024 game page

 

fireworks 2023

Leading from the start, AtkinsRealis India keep their strangle hold on the team classification for the eighth consecutive year, and take home the MERIT 2023 Sponsor's Award.

As the Early Years of MERIT 2023 draw to a close, the six Finalists have also been decided.

The top six teams all remain in place but with a slight change in order. 'Lounge 4' and 'Team 1' slip one place to fifth and sixth. 'Team 1' just clinging on recording an improvement of -5% beating seventh place 'Ozzy' by 39 points. 'Ozzy' seemed to have missed their chance recording an improvement of -1%.

SPARTANS rose two places to fourth.

So the finalists for MERIT 2023 are 'Predictably Irrationals', 'Wacky Workforce', 'TITANS', SPARTANS', 'Lounge 4' and 'Team 1'

AtkinsRealis India's teams holding places three and four and Andun Engineering Consultants Ltd's teams holding places five and six are the companies best represented in the final.

The record shows that, more often than not, the team in first place at this stage fails to become champion. We have also experienced the winner coming through from sixth place. Given the points score of the finalists and another eight rounds of an even more competitive competition under time pressure any team can win. We look forward to the tension and excitement of the battle to come. All we can promise is the final will be competitive with the high motivation of all six finalists.

Many teams put in fine performances and we trust all the teams who didn't make the final enjoyed the MERIT 2023 competition and especially the training experience in company, business and financial management, together with the experience of the need for team work and leadership to deliver disciplined decision making, a skill that will have a lasting benefit throughout your career.

MERIT has an established record of raising aspirations and influencing the choice of future training and development as individuals think about what role in the industry they aspire too. Many senior staff benefitted from the MERIT experience when they were developing the broader aspects of their work experience. The advice in taking part in MERIT was to think like a director and act like a director. If you liked this role then set out to train to be a director. What skills do directors have that you need to acquire. The industry needs leaders.

 

Click here for the Full results

bread

As the speculated performance of the top teams reduce, 'Predictably Irrationals' rise to the top spot from second with 10% improvement. The other five only improved by between 3% and 6% leaving the opportunity for others to catch up. BUT the highest improvement in the chasers was 'Hacksaw' rising to seventeenth from twenty second with an 8% improvement. All other chasers had lower improvements such as 0%, 3%, 5%. These gains weren't going to catch the leaders and we can't remember a time when low scores have been so extensive across most of the teams. It looks like the chasers may have missed an opportunity.

The top six are the same as before with 'Wacky workforce' dropping to second. 'Titans', 'Lounge4', 'Team1', and 'SPARTANS' all remain in positions three to six. Only 548 points separate the top six, it is close but it has been even closer in the past.

'Ozzy' in seventh are only 108 points behind the sixth place and 'KAPtains' in eighth are 250 points adrift so changes are still possible even from further back.

With one round to go there will some tension in both the top teams defending their position and the chasers still chasing. The positions may well change but it's impossible to predict. Experience suggests that the chasers will take the biggest risks in their pursuit of a top place. The top six will probably check everything many times to ensure that they don't make last minute silly mistakes that wreck their performance. Lower down everyone will still be trying to improve their final position. There is genuine satisfaction in generating an improvement at this stage and ending on a higher ranking.

The top six still have things to prove in order to defend their position making sure there are no mistakes. The immediate cluster chasing the top six are stressed by kneading to identify the decisions that will propel them upwards. Other teams are stressed trying to improve their recipe so as to end on a higher ranking.

We can't wait to see what comes out of the oven.

 

Click here for the Full results

sailing

It all seems calm at the top as the top six are the same. 'Wacky Workforce' and 'Predictably Irrationals' retain positions one and two 'TITANS 'rise one place to three swapping with 'Lounge 4' who slip to 4. 'Team 1' and 'Spartans' retain places five and six.

Examining the percentage improvements show that the top six recorded improvement of 10%-15% except for 'Lounge 4' who managed only 8%. These were enough to keep them in the top six. Immediately below them most of the other teams had an under 10% improvement. Thus the chasers aren't showing a differential improvement above the top six which is why they are not catching them. 'Nott McDonalds' and 'We're InCrane' both rose five places with 13% improvement but are twenty and twenty first. Teams below the top six should calculate the percentage improvement needed to catch the top six and there are two rounds to go to bridge that gap. Its time for the chasing team take perhaps more risky decisions to gamble on a good improvement. Usually the top six, as said before, are likely to become cautious at this stage not wanting to lose their place so might not return high improvement figures making them easier to catch.

What will yield the biggest gains, winning work at the right price, getting the most experienced project manager on the right job will improve efficiency and return on that project, recovering your income on projects by having an appropriate level of measurement staff will improve your cash position, making sure the capital in your company is being well used watch the ratio of turnover to capital, review your overheads are their savings you've overlooked before and don't forget your shareholders they need rewarding.

Its time to rock the boat.

 

Click here for the Full results

chase

The top six are now the top seven as 'SPARTANS' and 'Ozzy' both rank equal in sixth place. 'SPARTANS' retained their sixth place with an improvement of 7% whereas 'Ozzy' dropped from third place to sixth equal with a -2% improvement. What decisions did 'Ozzy' take to drop or did they make a mistake in the entry, it has happened before!

Positions one and two swap places with 'Wacky workforce' rising to first from second and 'Predictably Irrationals' dropping from first to second their improvements were 14% and 10%.

'Lounge 4' are up by one place in third with 7% improvement. 'TITANS' also rise one place to fourth with 10% improvement.

'Team 1' back in the top six rising two places to fifth with 11% improvement.

'Master Minds' hold their place rising one to 11th with 11% improvement but 'Hacksaw' look the best performer rising from twenty fourth to sixteenth also with 11% improvement.

So there is still scope to catch the lower orders of the top six.

Its time for the chasers to chase hard. Take risks that, if they payoff, will catapult you up the league table. Of course with risks there is always the prospect that it will go the other way!

As the end comes in sight, the leaders start to get nervous enough to try to defend their position and their decisions start to become more cautious and less rewarding. Was this what happened to 'Ozzy'? This gives the opportunity for the followers to catch them.

But never the less, whether you're chasing or defending, the rigour of decision making must remain. The Team Leader needs to ensure that their team members all contribute, that they understand the consequences of the decisions they are proposing, and that the decisions are fully discussed. Disciplined decision making, teamwork and leadership becomes even more important when judging greater risks.

Also don't forget the shareholders. They own the company and are looking for their share of profits – low dividends will have a negative impact on share value. It's tempting to use the funds for dividends to bolster the company's other activities (marketing for example) but it's no time to abandon the shareholders in the pursuit.

 

Click here for the Full results

rapids

There's some turbulence in the top positions with newcomer 'TITANS' rising from eighth to fifth with a 15% improvement in their performance.

The new first and second are 'Predictably Irrationals' rising from third with 14% improvement and 'Wacky Workforce' rising from fourth with 17% improvement. 'Ozzy' slip a place to third on 10% improvement 'Lounge4' slip from first to fourth with an 8% improvement. 'SPARTANS' slip one place to fifth with a 6% improvement. Dropping out of the top six is 'Team 1' slipping one place to seventh with 8% improvement. You can see the differential in the improvement figures affecting the placings.

Further back 'Master Minds' rise twelve places, 'COWI Fix it' rise nine places and 'CE-Trix' rise six places with improvements of 15%, 16% and 13%. So it illustrates that good performance pushes the teams up the ranking. A couple more rounds like that and they'll be near to the top. There is still capacity for most to improve and improved performance depends on the decisions you take. Make sure that the decisions are fully discussed by the team members so you understand the effect the decisions will have. Guesswork doesn't produce success.

We look forward to more choppy waters in the rankings in the coming rounds.

 

Click here for the Full results

dip in the road

The overall performance of the top six has dipped from around 20% last period, to a range of 8% to 17%. This is caused by the restrictions of winning work and then having to deliver it. So early success can dampen future performance as different decisions are needed and may be more restricted. This could well test the leading teams, 'Lounge4', 'Ozzy' and Predictable Irrationals, as well as 'Wacky Workforce' who move up one place to 4, 'Spartans' to 5 and 'Team 1' that slip to sixth.

There is some movement below that. 'KAPtains' move up three places, 'KENT' move up two places and 'TeMERITty' move up seven places. This has been achieved by improvements in performance of 22%,20% and 22%. So it is clear that get the right decisions, improve performance and advance.

What the middle ranking teams are looking for is a differential performance level over and above those in front of them. It can be done.

Now may be the time to review your strategy. Discuss what you’re trying to achieve and how you might achieve it. Make sure all the team contribute to these discussions as the understanding of how to progress is locked in the minds of all the team members. This is the job of the team leader. Each team member needs to remember that it is team success that scores, so arguing your own view will may need tempering with the views of others. The team leader needs to get the thoughts out for discussion.

MERIT develops both leadership and teamwork. These soft skills last and benefit many aspects of your career development. Now is the time to practice them. These skills, in the long term, could take you all the way to the top. In the short term you could rise out of the dip!

 

Click here for the Full results