Home > About JA Titan
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About JA Titan
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Set in the year 2035, JA Titan creates a world in which players are CEOs
of their own companies. Originally conceived in the 1980s as the Management and
Economic Simulation Exercise, or MESE, JA Titan is a widely recognized
business simulation for high school students. During game play, students must run a
manufacturing company and master six key business decisions: price of product, production
levels, marketing expenses, research and development costs, capital investment level,
and charitable giving. Various corporate assistants “help” the player through
each phase, or “quarter,” of game play.
In 2000, Junior Achievement™ launched JA Titan under
its current name as a Web-based product. JA partnered with the Best Buy® Children’s
Foundation to unveil a third-generation simulation in February 2003 that is faster, sleeker,
and more sophisticated than its predecessors. This version was Flash-based, and features
changing economic conditions to gradually challenge student players.
In 2005, JA was able to expand on this version of JA Titan with a gift from
the Best Buy Children’s Foundation. JA Titan version 3.0 incorporates the
concept of charitable giving, challenges students with sub-decisions, and adds voices to
the characters, among other improvements.
Success in JA Titan is measured by a “Performance Index,” an evaluation
of each fictional company’s performance based on the following:
- Retained Earnings (50%)
- Supply and Demand Potential (20%)
- Productivity (10%)
- Market Share (10%)
- Growth (10%)
During game play, players attempt to achieve the highest Performance Index possible. At
game end, the player with the highest company Performance Index wins.
A school-based version of JA Titan also is available with lesson plans and
administrative features for teachers, and is available solely through local JA offices. For
contact information on a JA office near you, please visit www.ja.org.
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History of JA
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WHAT IS JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT?
Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to
educating young people about business, economics, and free enterprise. JA programs are taught
by volunteers in class and after-school at locations throughout the United States and in 98
countries.
CORE PURPOSE: To inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.
PROGRAMS: Programs span grades K-12, and focus on The Three Pillars of Student Success: Entrepreneurship, Work Readiness, and Financial Literacy.
PROGRAM REACH: Through over 140 U.S. Area Offices, JA reaches four million students
per year in inner cities, suburbs, and rural areas. Internationally, JA reaches another 2.6 million
students per year in over 100 countries.
SCOPE: JA programs are welcomed by teachers in more than 252,000 classrooms
around the world each year.
ABOUT THE VOLUNTEERS: JA's 178,000 classroom volunteers come from all walks
of life and include business people, college students, and retirees. These dedicated individuals
are the backbone of the organization.
PROVEN SUCCESS: JA is one of a few global non-profits to use independent,
third-party evaluators to gauge the impact of its programs. Since 1993, independent evaluators
have conducted studies on JA’s impact. Findings prove that JA has a positive influence
in a number of critical areas. These results are free and available upon request. Summaries of
the findings also are published in the JA Programs section
of www.ja.org.
A BRIEF HISTORY: Junior Achievement was founded in 1919 by Theodore Vail,
president of American Telephone & Telegraph; Horace Moses, president of Strathmore Paper Co.;
and Senator Murray Crane of Massachusetts. Its first program, JA Company Program™,was
offered to high school students on an after-school basis. In 1975, the organization entered the
classroom with the introduction of Project BusinessSM for the middle grades. During the
past 30 years, JA has expanded its activities and broadened its scope to include in-school and
after-school students in grades K-12.
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DISTINGUISHED JA ALUMNI:
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Mark Cuban, founder of broadcast.com, owner, Dallas Mavericks™
Frederick A. Deluca, founder & CEO, Subway™
Dick DeVos, co-founder, Amway Corporation™, owner, Orlando MagicSM and Orlando MiracleSM
Erica Dunlope, Miss America 2004
Millard Fuller, founder and president of Habitat for Humanity™
Arte Johnson, actor
Bruce Kennedy, chairman emeritus, Alaska Air Group, Inc.
Marshall Loeb, editor, Columbia Journalism Review
David Nelms, president and COO, Discover® Financial Services
Dr. Donna Shalala, president, University of MiamiSM
U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania)
For More Information, Contact:
Junior Achievement
One Education Way
Colorado Springs, CO 80906
800-843-6395
719-540-8000
Internet: www.ja.org
Email: press@ja.org
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Credits
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Consultants:
Scott Franklin, Principal, First Generation Consulting, Overland Park, KS
Tom Rowley, Educational Consultant, South Jordan, UT
JA Titan Developed by Red i Studios, redistudios.com
- Jenny Martin, Fearless Leader
- Locke Berkebile, Lead Application Developer
- Don Walters, Producer and Game Design
- Chris Allert, Lead Flash Engineer
- Dave Johnson, Application Developer
- Jonathan Moore, Application Developer
- Rob Baxter, Flash programming
- Steve Hoefer, Lead Engineer, JA Titan CD.
- Alex Martin, Application Developer, JA Titan CD.
- Anita Drieseberg, Animator
- Joe “Fun” Gray, Interface Design
- Jon Brzyski, Animator
- Takeshi Murata, Illustrator
- Julia Babiarz, HTML and Design
- Heather Perkins, Sound Designer
- Minay Bowers, Associate Producer
- Tom Bentley, Copywriter
- Tony Grahn, Developer
- Ben Noble, System Administrator
- Sam Stoller, System Administrator
- Voices: Edwin Bodensiek, Steve Gates, Don Walters, Minay Bowers, Denise Lenz, Joe Gray, Vicky VanBrocklin, Chip Harris, Sheila Greene, and Suzie Greene.
- Special Thanks to: Phoebe, Monroe, Bella, Brody, Christine, Carole, Tom Rowley, Edison, and the JA Titan 2.0 Team:
- Dave Johnson, Application Developer
- Locke Berkebile, Developer
- Karl Ackermann, Original Game Designer/Engineer
- Tomas Apodaca, Flash Developer
- Pam Fusco, Producer
- Suzie Greene, Creative Direction
- Jeff Southard, Information Architecture, UI, HTML
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