By: Steve Caswell
Caitlin Anderson
Leanne Heffernan
Amy O’Connell
Overview
 Introduction
 Game Instructions
 Game Objectives
 Planning and Strategy
 Competition
 Risk Taking
 Managerial skills
 Learning
The Malaysian Business Game
 Ahmad and Osman
 Multi-cultural management training game
 Congkak
 Goal of the game is to collect more chips in your home
base than your opponent
The Malaysian Business Game
 Before you start you need:
 2 or more players, best with even numbers
 30 – 60 minutes
 10 small/medium bowls, 2 larger bowls, 50 poker chips
or marbles per pair of players
 Each player is paired up and sits across from their
opponent
 Each player gets five small/medium bowls with five
chips placed in them and one large bowl, these bowls
are placed in front of them
The Malaysian Business Game
 To play:
 Each opponent chooses one of their five bowls and
removes the chips from this bowl
 Each player then deposits one chip in each bowl starting
with the bowl to their immediate left and continuing in
a cycle
 The cycle includes your opponents bowl, however you
do not put one chip in your opponents home base
The Malaysian Business Game
 To play (continued):
 Once all those chips have been placed in a different
bowl, do the same thing with the bowl to the left
 Once you have reached your last bowl start with your
first bowl, you continue the cycle with your opponents
first bowl
 This movement of chips is continued until all chips have
been put into a home base bowl
The Malaysian Business Game
 Other game rules:
 You never move the chips that are in a home base
 If your cycle of chips ends in an opponents empty bowl
you are “dead” and do not take any more turns until your
opponent dies as well
 If your cycle ends with putting your last chip in an empty
bowl of your own you “acquire” all the chips in your
opponents respective bowl and place them in your own
home base bowl
 If your last chip of the cycle is put in your home base,
you can choose any of your own bowls to start again
from, this is where strategy comes in
The Malaysian Business Game
 The game ends when all chips have been moved into
either of the home bases
 The winner of the game is the person who has
accumulated the most chips in their home base
Strategy & Planning
 Communication
 Team members and opponents
 Focus and patience
 Planning your moves
 Observance
 Bowls, chips and opponents
Competition
 Foresight
 Intelligence
 Math skills
 Speed
 Confusion
Competition
 Unethical behaviours
 Aggressiveness
 Masculine attributes (need to win)
 Interest/enjoyment
 Feminine attributes (experience and sympathy)
Risk Taking
 Low vs. High uncertainty avoidance
 High uncertainty avoidance cultures may take more
risks
 Low uncertainty avoidance may make safe moves
 Long-term orientated cultures plan ahead
Managerial Skills
 Skills needed:
 Concentration
 Ability to strategize
 Foresight
 Team work
 Quick thinking
Learning
 Communication skills
 Working with team members
 Individualistic/Collectivist
 Listening skills
 High /low power distance
 Adapting
 Low/ high uncertainty avoidance
Questions?