04-07-11

Iowa State's winning Big 12 MBA Case Competition team (L to R): Steve Harris, Dan Hinz, Akmal Mirsadikov, Ryan Kent. Photo provided by Tracee DeAntoni, University of Colorado-Boulder Leeds School of Business

Iowa State team wins Big 12 MBA Case Competition for a second consecutive year

AMES, Iowa -- A team of Iowa State University MBA students took first place in the fifth annual Big 12 MBA Case Competition at the University of Colorado-Boulder Leeds School of Business on April 1-2. It was the second straight year Iowa State took top honors in the competition.

Iowa State's Ryan Kent (Ft. Dodge, Iowa) was selected as an "Outstanding Presenter" at this year's competition. Other ISU team members were Dan Hinz (Corning, Iowa) -- a returnee from last year's winning team -- Steve Harris (Cedar Falls, Iowa) and Akmal Mirsadikov (Tashkent, Uzbekistan).

"It is a team sport and the reason that I was able to succeed is because my team was so supportive," said Kent, who earned his bachelor's degree in computer engineering from Iowa State in 2007. "We were all able to leverage our individual strengths, while still unifying as a team."

"I also was well-prepared, both through the MBA program and as an undergrad in the engineering program," he continued. "I received great education from professors who gave us the opportunity to gain experience by having us present in class."

Professor of Finance Roger Stover and Assistant Professor of Management Andreas Schwab served as the faculty advisors to the Iowa State team. Ron Ackerman, director of graduate admissions at ISU's College of Business, was also a staff advisor.

In the competition, student teams were presented a Harvard-style general business policy/strategic management case on Friday evening to provide the best strategy for the speed-dating company HurryDate, which had seen its prospects for growth stall amid intensified competition within the dating industry.

"That [type of case] is certainly not what we expected," Kent said. "Usually we anticipate cases involving larger companies that are in the news. But at the same time, that made it challenging because it was a case you didn't prepare for, so you had to do some more analysis and research. It also forced you to put a lot of creative thought into the solution."

Team members worked through the night Friday to analyze the case and prepare their recommendations. On Saturday morning, teams presented their recommendations to a panel of business executives, who role-played as the company's board of directors while serving as judges. Presentations were limited to 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of questions from the judges. The top team from each of the three divisions advanced to the final round on Saturday afternoon when they presented again to a new panel of judges.

"I saw all three final teams and I think what it came down to in the end was how well our students sold their argument to the judges," Ackerman said. "Because our students know how to present well, they're very convincing that their approach is the correct approach."

Baylor University and the University of Missouri finished second and third respectively in the competition, which included teams representing all but one of the Big 12 Conference schools.

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