Period 6

CIOB GSC 2016 - Period 6

In this round the average percentage improvement is around 30% with a standard deviation of about 20% this indicates that there is space for some big movements.

There have been some perturbation in the top six Glasgow Caledonian's 'RMHS' rise one to first place whilst 'Cali Construction' slip from first place to third leaving Oxford Brookes' 'OB-one' split the two by rising from sixth to second. Loughborough University's 'Team Poseidon' break into the top six at fourth place rising from seventh. Greenwich's 'Continuous Flight Augers' make a significant surge of fifteen places to fifth place and HK Poly U's 'BRE Team 4' are now in sixth rising six places. The next six teams are only 10% away from the top six. There have also been big movements by West England's 'BC Group' and RMIT's 'Solid Foundation'. Sadly some teams have moved the other way!

Each decision in MERIT influences the outcome. For example care must be taken in staffing head office. Not enough in marketing will reduce bidding opportunities, too much will drive up overheads. Not enough measurement staff will reduce the recovery from each contract. In estimating too little effort will produce an estimate with a wide variation, if through little effort you produce an estimate that is low, and you won't know whether it is low or not, then either your bid will be rejected as unrealistic or you'll win a contract at a price that will make losses. A bid that is high won't win. When staffing the projects matching the project manager's skills with the project will affect the efficiency.

All decisions are about balance, it takes careful consideration and input from all team members to ensure that all the factors are considered. Running a simulated company in MERIT is not easy but neither is running a real company. Experience the pressures and demands of directors it will develop your skills.

Past winners have come from RMIT and Glasgow Cali previous finalists have come from, HKU, Loughborough, Greenwich, Deakin, Curtin and Newcastle (Australia).

There is still plenty of time and with big improvements any team can still make the final in Hong Kong.

Period 6 results

Preliminary results, subject to change. (Teams with a negative % have requested late submission or have been asked to resubmit)

Top 10

Team's improvement

Period 7

CIOB GSC 2016 - Period 7

A little shuffling in the top three Glasgow Caledonian's 'Cali Construction' rises two to return to top place and their 'RMHS' slips one to second. This could be a critical battle CIOB only invite one team from each University to the final so if both GCal teams are in the top six then the best one will be n Hong Kong. If there are two GCal teams in the top six then it will be of interest to the team lying seventh who will get the final invite.

Oxford Brookes' 'OB-one' slips one place to third. Greenwich's 'Continuous Flight Augrers' rise one to fourth. A break into the top six comes from Loughborough's 'Team Athena' who have risen four to fifth place and Cape Town's 'Prestige Worldwide rises eleven to sixth place ensuring that the top six isn't all from the UK.

Displace from the top six are HK Poly U's 'BRE Team 4' now seventh but could benefit from the two GCal teams if they stay there and Loughborough's 'Team Poseidon' who have slipped eleven places.

Just outside the top six are Chongqing's 'Oath Keeper', Curtin's 'CM Curtin 3', HK City U's 'Build Gates', RMIT's 'Solid Foundation', Bond's 'Bond Agents' and Deakin's '. So it is looking unlike that the UK dominance of the top six will hold.

A key factor to watch is how well you are using your company capital, have you got the biggest turnover you can have for the capital in the company? If not it means the capital isn't working as hard as it should. At nine times the turnover to capital there is the question whether the company is big enough to take on another project and this is determined by the client's discretion based on the company's record with that client. More than eleven times the turnover to capital it is assumed that the company doesn't have the resources to take on more work. The company can expand by borrowing. But the other side of this is that if your turnover to capital ratio is say only five it in effect means that you capital isn't working hard enough. The company has underutilized capital resources. The company faces the choice of expanding turnover if it can or reducing its capital base maybe by investing in other opportunities but that depends on the cash available and that is another aspect that needs managing.

There is still all to play for to gain a top six position.

Period 7 results

Preliminary results, subject to change. (Teams with a negative % have requested late submission or have been asked to resubmit)

Top 10

Team's improvement

Period 8

CIOB GSC 2016 - Period 8

After the Easter break teams are back refreshed and that has sparked some changes as there has clearly been some new thinking and analysis.

Glasgow Caledonian's 'Cali Construction' hold their top place but now in second is Loughborough's 'Team Poseidon' who rocket up from 13th to 2nd. Hong Kong's Poly U's team 'BRE Team 4' rise from 7th to 3rd. Deakins 'AGBA' rise four places to 4th. Oxford Brookes stay in the top six but slip to 5th place and Bond's team 'Bond Agents' rise six places to enter the top six at sixth.

So we have four new teams in the top six, with those dropping out of the top six being: Glasgow Caledonian's 'RMHS'; Greenwich's 'Continuous Flight'; Loughborough's 'Team athena'; and Cape Town's 'Prestige Worldwide'.

Well it doesn't get much more turbulent than that and shows that it is still very competitive. Look at the points gap between the top six and the chasers, it really couldn't be much closer, with the only team with a reasonable gap being 'Cali Construction'. If in the top 6, I wouldn't start scheduling an appearance at the final just yet there, as there will be more changes to come.

It looks like many teams have reviewed their original strategy. If you haven't you really are nearing the point when it might be too late. One thing to keep an eye on is the market conditions. If the spend on marketing in the right sectors isn't adequate it will result in fewer jobs to bid for. If the market is tightening this could be significant. This is just one factor. All the others need controlling as well, including head office staffing, estimating effort, bids, project manager selection, project staffing, company capital, borrowings, investments, dividends, retained profits. They all matter; no one said a director's job was easy. Enjoy the challenge. Your finance director needs to watch the turnover: capital ratio if it is low then your capital isn't working hard enough. Might be time to offload capital by investing elsewhere, a shame that an external investment can earn more than your own company but it is a course of action. Your procurement director needs to watch the forward workload, this is measured in your performance but it is no good having a forward turnover with very low or even negative margins the forward margin on your workload is a key factor. So you need to in profitable work.

Two rounds to go at this stage some successful decisions get described as heroic and inspirational other less successful ones as simply foolhardy. Good luck.

Period 8 results

Preliminary results, subject to change. (Teams with a negative % have requested late submission or have been asked to resubmit)

Top 10

Team's improvement

Period 9

CIOB GSC 2016 - Period 9

It's still turbulent with two teams returning to the top six: Greenwich's 'Continuous Flight' rise four places to third and Cape Town's 'Prestige World' rise three to sixth. Slipping out are Loughborough's 'Team Poseidon' dropping to seventh from second and Oxford Brookes' 'OB-One' dropping to ninth from fifth. Still holding first place is Glasgow Caledonian's 'Cali Construction' but with a very slightly reduced gap to Hong Kong Poly U's 'BRE Team 4' who rise one place to second. Deakin's 'AGBA' stay at fourth and Bond's 'Bond Agents rise one to fifth. So in the top six at the moment are; one Scottish team, one Hong Kong team, one English team, two Australian teams and one South African team. So the Global Student Challenge is living up to its name of being global.

There is movement outside the top six too with Chongqing's 'Oath Keeper' rising four places to eighth and only 32 point behind the sixth place.

So with one round to go it's too early to say that the top six are secure with movement of four and five places in both directions I wouldn't be rash enough to predict the final top six, it is still game on.

The last round is always one of tension. The leaders are being chased, probably being cautious, afraid of making errors or bad decisions. The chasers are free to be courageous and take risky decisions that they might not have otherwise, but there is little to lose. It is time for decisions which if successful are described as courageous if unsuccessful described as foolhardy.

But remember your forward work load needs profits to be valuable the tactic of bidding low to get work at any price is not a sensible tactic.

Good luck to you all, can't wait to see next week's results.

Period 9 results

Preliminary results, subject to change. (Teams with a negative % have requested late submission or have been asked to resubmit)

Top 10

Team's improvement

Period 10

CIOB GSC 2016 - Period 10

The finalists have been decided and even in this last round there has been a significant change. Chongqing's 'Oath Keeper' has leaped from eighth to third to secure a place in the Hong Kong Final. Chongqing nearly made it last year but this is their first time in the Final. Sadly slipping out were Greenwich's 'Continuous Flight Augers'. Greenwich have been in previous finals but not this time.

The other five finalists were in the top six in the last round. Leading, as they have done since the round 6, are Glasgow Caledonian's 'Cali Construction' and as if to indicate their intent they even stretched their lead. The CIOB West Of Scotland Annual Dinner was held in Glasgow last Friday and yet another prize was presented to last year's GSU winners Glasgow Caledonian's 'Saltire'. Seeing the continued acclaim from winning may well be inspiring this year's team.

Holding onto second place is Hong Kong Poly U's 'BRE Team 4' maintaining a Hong Kong presence that has been in every final. In the long experience of MERIT it is not usually the leading team at this stage that wins. There is greater competition in the final and decisions are taken under time pressures and there are distractions so the team with the greatest discipline will succeed and quite often the pressure of leading from the front proves to be too great. So 'BRE Team 4' could well be the first HK team to win. We've also had experience of the team in sixth place at this stage winning. The increased competition of the final makes anything possible. It will be exciting.

In fourth, up two places, is Cape Town's 'Prestige Worldwide'. We've yet to have a SA winner, it could be this year. In fifth and sixth are two Australian Universities with Bond's 'Bond Agents' and Deakin's 'AGBA'. RMIT were the inaugural winners of the GSC so we might have another Australian winner this year.

The ranking scores of those just outside the top six show how close it was and those who nearly made the final can be proud of their efforts. Many teams put in fine performances. We trust all the teams who didn't make the final enjoyed the GSC 2016 competition and 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. MERIT supporting the GSC has a long record of raising aspirations and influencing future training and development as individuals think about what role in the industry they aspire too. The advice in taking part was to think like a director and act like a director. If you liked the role then set out to train to be a director, chose your professional development that will lead you in that direction. The industry needs leaders and you could be one of them.

For the tutors we trust that you found the GSC a good experience and that your students enjoyed it and benefitted from it. Some Universities use MERIT in their teaching modules. Feedback suggests that the lessons in teamwork, leadership and disciplined decision making have been shown to be the most important. As a teaching tool students always seem to respond well to the active participative form of learning and the competitive element seems to stimulate them.

Period 10 results

Preliminary results, subject to change. (Teams with a negative % have requested late submission or have been asked to resubmit)

Top 10

Team's improvement

Period 12

CIOB GSC 2016 - Period 12

Period 13

CIOB GSC 2016 - Period 13

Period 14

CIOB GSC 2016 - Period 14

Period 15

CIOB GSC 2016 - Period 15

Period 16

CIOB GSC 2016 - Period 16

Period 17

CIOB GSC 2016 - Period 17

Period 18

CIOB GSC 2016 - Period 18