Students win, place and show at high-profile case competitions

A team of first-year MBA students at the UW Business School took first place honors at the University of Kansas CIBER International Case Competition in early March.

Maxine (Wei) Chen, Lauren Hemingway, Kevin Kirn and organizer Matt Kuffel bested teams of mostly second-year MBA students from the University of Wisconsin, Ohio State University, the University of Connecticut and the University of Kansas, all schools that house a federally funded Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER).

In the competition, the teams were asked to create a strategy to develop a general aviation market in China. Rather than theoretical airspace, this was a live case presented and judged by representatives of Cessna Aircraft.

In addition to taking top overall honors in the competition, the UW team also was recognized for creating the best international analysis.

A veritable academy of Business School faculty, staff and second-year students helped prepare the UW first-years for the competition, including Debra Glassman, faculty director of the UW Global Business Center; Judith Kalitzki, director of professional development for the MBA Program; Frances Maloy, lecturer in finance and business economics; Susy Schneider, teaching associate; Dan Turner, senior lecturer in marketing; second-year MBAs Ben Lower, Theodoros Iaponas and Roby Kurian; and Gordon Neumiller, team advisor and director of the MBA field study program.

The 30 CIBERS across the country contribute to the international competitiveness of American business by developing and supporting international business programs for students, faculty and the business community.

The UW Business School’s Global Business Center houses the only CIBER in the Pacific Northwest.

UW MBAs take second at “Rose Bowl of case competitions"

Four UW MBA students captured second place in the fourth annual Pac-10/Big Ten MBA Case Competition at Arizona State University. The team earned high marks for its analysis of the selected case, which examined international growth strategy and financial risk management for Rayovac Corporation.

Before selecting the competition winners, a panel of senior executives from corporations and national consulting firms questioned all participants, including UW team members Elisabeth Bykoff, Theo Iaponas, Ben Lower and Kelly Schermer and judged the students on their analytical, communications and presentation skills.

The judges said the UW team had the best dynamics and provided the most in-depth analysis of the case, but ultimately wanted a more simplistic explanation. Additionally, Schermer was judged "Best Presenter" among the 22 participants.

This academic case competition is named after the Pacific-10 and Big Ten athletic conferences and has been referred to by organizers and participants as the "Rose Bowl" of college case competitions.

Preliminary rounds began last fall, in which teams of MBA students from business schools within the Pac-10 and Big Ten conferences faced off in their respective competitions. Only the top three teams in each conference advanced to the finals. Finalists representing the Pac-10 were Arizona State University, University of Southern California, and the UW. University of Minnesota, Ohio State University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign were the Big Ten representatives. University of Southern California claimed this year's victory.

Teams received the details of an undisclosed business problem and had 24 hours to develop a solution to and prepare a presentation on the given case. After presenting to a panel of judges Saturday morning, finalists presented for a second time that afternoon.

Business School faculty members Dan Turner, Jennifer Koski, and Judi Kalitzki helped prepare the team and MBA staff members Gordon Neumiller and Dan Poston provided additional coaching.

Undergrads take third at McGill International Case Competition

A team of undergraduates at the UW Business School placed third at the McGill Management International Case Competition in Montreal in late March. Lanna Wei, Yuki Chan, Gil Lopez, and Sumner Ohye represented the UW against teams from business schools in Canada, Singapore, Hungary, Hong Kong, Thailand, Ireland, New Zealand, the Czech Republic and the United States.

Their task was to create a compelling expansion plan for the Japanese bicycle company Shimano during 24 hours of non-stop research and strategy, then present their recommendations twice to boards of exacting judges from the corporate community.

Students from the National University of Singapore won the competition – one of the most prestigious in the world for undergraduates – followed by Simon Fraser University and the UW.