Team Retrograde presents to their case solutions to the judges.
Oglethorpe’s Hammack School of Business recently hosted its inaugural business case competition, open to students in all majors and disciplines.
Teams of three to four students were given a real-world business scenario to analyze, research and solve. Students had two weeks to review the case, develop a solution and organize a 10-minute video presentation delivered to a panel of expert judges via Zoom.
The students tackled the question “Did We Expand Too Quickly?” from Harvard Business Review, a fictionalized case study that presents problems faced by leaders in real companies.
The first place winner was Team Retrograde comprised of Tyson Quander, Logan Fuglestad, and Tyler Rover. The runners up were Karah Lindsay, Bri Ali, and Bre Malone (Team Karah Bri Bre), and third place went to the Oll Team, made of Daniel Ocampo and Roi Levi.
The competition was organized by Dr. Ilya Gokhman, lecturer in business, and Samantha Sick, assistant professor of accounting. They brought in expert Oglethorpe alumni judges representing top Atlanta companies: Michelle Chelemer Carnahan ’11 (Truist), Tony Golden ’13 (EY), and Rebekah Pound ’11 (Porsche).
The judges evaluated each team in five categories:
- Definition of the problem and challenges in the case
- Exploration of strategic alternatives and solutions to the problem presented in the case
- Selecting a solution and supporting it
- The team’s presentation
- How the team answered the judges’ questions
Interestingly, each team took a different approach to tackling the problem presented, some focusing on strategic and others on tactical approaches.
“We thank all of our student teams for their participation, hard work, and creative ideas!” said Dr. Gokhman. “We would also like to recognize our judges for their willingness to lend their time and expertise…(and) for your commitment to the development of Oglethorpe’s students.”
Dr. Gokhman also acknowledged the numerous OU faculty and staff who helped to develop and promote the event, saying that “putting this event together has truly been a team effort.”
Each student on the winning team was presented with a $50 Amazon gift card. The Hammack School plans to host a “case competition 2.0” next year.
