The champion team at this year's Hong Kong Management Game - Team "We Can" from Wharf T&T - attributed its victory to its members' varying areas of expertise and complementary skills.

Carol Pau Wai-man, from Wharf T&T's business market and sales department, Dickson Lee Kok-tung, from the property office's finance and business administration department, and Dick Wai Lik-hang - who was not able to attend the final - were all first-time entrants.

"None of us work in the same office," Lee said. "We met [after work] to iron out the strategies in the initial rounds of the game. With great teamwork, we reached joint business decisions."

He added that because each member was from a different department, each one brought distinct skills and expertise to the table.

"For instance, I am good at numerical analysis," he said. "[Pau], being in the sales department, has come across many real business cases and accumulated a wealth of knowledge. She has been able to apply her updated market insights to the game."

Pau said that whenever the team encountered challenging moments during the final round, they relied on their faith in each other's expertise.

Formulating strategies under strict time constraints put team members under tremendous pressure, Lee added. "It was a matter of good communication and reaching consensus."

In the final round of the game, the finalist teams could see how strategies they had adopted earlier in the competition had an impact on later results. Lee said it was crucial to spend time analysing the causal relationship between previous strategies adopted and results before strategies for subsequent rounds were finalised.

"We did not just do it on our own," Lee said. "We vied with the other finalist teams. The toughest challenge was when we had to speculate about the strategies of the other teams before we could make any decision. That's why the game is relevant, because it mirrors the real market environment."

Pau and Lee both said they would recommend the game to their colleagues because of its high relevance to actual market situations. "It is a holistic management training tool in which participants can learn about various ways to handle different situations," Lee said.

The team will represent Hong Kong to compete in the regional management game in 2014.