2008 Woodie Awards
John F. Welch College of Business case competition a success
Kathleen Vissichelli
Issue date: 12/6/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
On Thursday Nov. 29 approximately 35 MBA students participated in the first ever case competition.
The students involved were among those in the organization management class taught by Dr. Jill Woodilla and Professor Stephen Koch.
In an MBA management class, a case is usually about a real company or manager that has one or more problems or issues.
"Students must analyze the case to determine the "real" underlying problems using theoretical concepts and models, then recommend actions for the protagonist to solve his or her problems," said Woodilla.
The analysis had to include an implementation plan and metrics for determining the success of the actions, she said.
The company chosen was the Fox Relocation Management Corp. Students had to help the owner expand, because the current structure, culture and compensation schemes are unconventional.
The competition took the case study to a higher level. "Instead of writing a paper, we presented our business plan to a group of people," said Jonathan Phillips.
"The competitive atmosphere of the presentation felt like a real world business situation," he said.
In the first round each team had half an hour with a panel of two or three judges. Then the scores were averaged and the top four teams advanced to the final round.
In the final round everyone apart from the students in the four teams was a judge and had one vote.
"The teams did not make a second presentation but they answered questions. Students who did not make the 'final four' could ask questions and see how these students had made their analysis and recommendations," said Woodlilla.
They could find out why the team had decided something different from their recommendation.
The winners, Chris McDonnell, Jonathan Phillips and Tom Mager were presented with a $200 American Express gift card by Dean Brown.
"They had in-depth understanding of the case, their solution was realistic, and they were able to answer any and all questions posed to them by the judges" Woodilla said of the winning group.
The judges from the contest were Professors in the John F. Welch College of Business and other faculty members, including Dean Brown.
"All of the judges were familiar with the case before the competition, so it was exciting for us to see how the graduate students approached the solution to the case," said Jack Woodilla.
"It was a great opportunity to present in a different environment besides the typical classroom setting, he said.
The competition took the case study to a higher level according to Phillips.
"Instead of writing a paper, we presented our business plan to a group of people. The competitive atmosphere of the presentation felt like a real world business situation," he said.
The students involved were among those in the organization management class taught by Dr. Jill Woodilla and Professor Stephen Koch.
In an MBA management class, a case is usually about a real company or manager that has one or more problems or issues.
"Students must analyze the case to determine the "real" underlying problems using theoretical concepts and models, then recommend actions for the protagonist to solve his or her problems," said Woodilla.
The analysis had to include an implementation plan and metrics for determining the success of the actions, she said.
The company chosen was the Fox Relocation Management Corp. Students had to help the owner expand, because the current structure, culture and compensation schemes are unconventional.
The competition took the case study to a higher level. "Instead of writing a paper, we presented our business plan to a group of people," said Jonathan Phillips.
"The competitive atmosphere of the presentation felt like a real world business situation," he said.
In the first round each team had half an hour with a panel of two or three judges. Then the scores were averaged and the top four teams advanced to the final round.
In the final round everyone apart from the students in the four teams was a judge and had one vote.
"The teams did not make a second presentation but they answered questions. Students who did not make the 'final four' could ask questions and see how these students had made their analysis and recommendations," said Woodlilla.
They could find out why the team had decided something different from their recommendation.
The winners, Chris McDonnell, Jonathan Phillips and Tom Mager were presented with a $200 American Express gift card by Dean Brown.
"They had in-depth understanding of the case, their solution was realistic, and they were able to answer any and all questions posed to them by the judges" Woodilla said of the winning group.
The judges from the contest were Professors in the John F. Welch College of Business and other faculty members, including Dean Brown.
"All of the judges were familiar with the case before the competition, so it was exciting for us to see how the graduate students approached the solution to the case," said Jack Woodilla.
"It was a great opportunity to present in a different environment besides the typical classroom setting, he said.
The competition took the case study to a higher level according to Phillips.
"Instead of writing a paper, we presented our business plan to a group of people. The competitive atmosphere of the presentation felt like a real world business situation," he said.
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