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JMSB Case Competition gets tougher 

Concordia hosts international competition from Jan. 5 to 10

By Karen Herland

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For the 28th year, Concordia was proud to welcome business students from around the world for the annual John Molson MBA International Case Competition.

Held from Jan. 5 to 10, over 200 students representing 36 schools participated in the event.

Unfortunately, traditionally strong teams from Quebec such as McGill, HEC, Laval and Concordia didn’t get to the semi-finals. But for organizer Rina Maarit Albala, new winners signals the competition's growing popularity and emerging strength of other teams.

“It actually demonstrates that the competition is heating up and the newer teams are really strong,” said Albala. This year, the University of South Carolina took home the title.

Albala and co-organizers Olivier Romain, Alex Dumesle and Catalina Zambrano applied to be the organizing team last spring. Their application was endorsed by the case competition’s board of directors.

The organizers work closely with the board throughout the planning stage. JMSB Dean Sanjay Sharma, Associate Dean Graduate Programs Alan Hochstein and Academic Advisor of the John Molson MBA International Case Competition Peter O’Brien represent the academic community on the board. The other 11 members come from industry. The student organizers handle the planning and execution of this event, backed by the guidance and experience of the board of directors.

“We get six credits for our work on the event, but sometimes it feels like the work of 10 classes,” said Albala. “Luckily, it’s an unforgettable experience and well worth the time and effort you put into it. This is definitely the highlight of my academic career.”

The organizers are responsible for fundraising, budget planning, overseeing registration, finding the 250 corporate judges needed to evaluate the teams’ performance and managing publicity and media. They also rely on four executive assistants who earn three credits for their role in the planning. Albala had been an assistant in the 2008 competition and enjoyed it so much she decided to return as an organizer.

Of course, a case competition depends on cases. Last May, Zambrano got in touch with professional case writers who submitted close to 60 possible scenarios for the competition. Of those submissions, five previously unpublished problems were selected for this year.

Participants are expected to demonstrate their abilities by responding quickly to these real-life corporate problems.

Throughout the week, each four-person team is locked in a room with a 20-page document outlining salient information about a corporation and an issue it is currently facing.

With no computers or cell-phones (just markers and acetates), the team has to break down the problem, present a solution and illustrate it in three hours. They then make a professional presentation to the judges. This year’s final case addressed the current woes of Starbucks.

The organizers are still finishing up and working on their final report.