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About Us

MBA Case Competition

A team of MBA students participated in the 2004 Ohio MBA Case Competition sponsored by the state office of the Ohio Small Business Development Center.  The ‘case’ aspect of the competition is not ‘textbook’.  It is real business – a study of a contemporary business situation faced by a local company. 

Within ten weeks, the student team is expected to analyze the business situation, identify a problem therein, study the problem, propose a resolution, draft a report, and if possible assist in implementation.  The effort is recorded in written and oral reports that are evaluated by a jury composed of professional staff from KPMG.  KPMG, the Doermer School of Business at Kent State University, and the Ohio Small Business Development Center sponsored the competition. 

Ohio universities with MBA programs are invited to participate in the competition.  Teams from University of Dayton, Xavier, Kent State, Ohio University, and other Ohio schools participated in the 2004 event.  Each school was assigned a client in the team’s locale for study and resolution. 

In the 2002 and 2003 competitions, because we were out of state (Ohio), the organizers would permit our team to place among the top three teams, if earned, but not be eligible to receive any cash award.  Upon conclusion of the 2003 competition, IPFW and DSBMS were recognized with second place.  Given our strong showing in the 2003 and past competitions, at the conclusion of the 2003 event the sponsors agreed that IPFW in 2004 would be eligible for any earned place (first, second, or third) and the accompanying cash award.

Our MBA student team won third place in April 2004.  The subject company was Hy-Matic Corporation of Kendallville Indiana.  Jennifer Wilson, Tanveer Waheed, Sara Winebrenner, Lucas Amodio, and Manisha Bhasin composed the team.  All were Cole Entrepreneurship Scholars except Sara.  The subject was customer diversification.

In April 2005, our MBA student team won first place overall, first place in the written submission, and first place in the oral competition, DSBMS MBA students swept the Ohio MBA Competition with winnings of $4,500.  The subject company was Ottenweller Manufacturing of Fort Wayne, Indiana.  The subject was strategic planning of new markets.

The competition is also a form of external validation of the quality of the graduate education and learning at IPFW/DSBMS.  It is a direct assessment of the learning goals we set for our MBA students.