OSU MBA team takes second in international competition

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Left-right Jennifer Bruns, Michael Tapley, Alyssa Heath and Mary Nemcok display the trophy they earned along with prize money for their second place finish in international MBA competition.

A team of four Master of Business Administration students from The Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University placed second among 20 teams competing at the 2007 International MBA Case Competition at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. this month.

The OSU team finished just behind the University of Toronto and ahead of the third place winner Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. OSU team members included Mary Nemcok, Blanchard; Alyssa Heath, Tulsa; Jennifer Bruns, Morrision and Michael Tapley, Tulsa.

The three rounds of competition offer the MBA students an actual case study to use as the basis for developing strategies to improve a non-profit business. Each round requires they make a convincing presentation of the team’s recommendations within a strict time limit and answer direct questions from a panel of judges. This year, the teams of full-time MBA students analyzed information provided about AARP to compete for the top spot.

Panels of judges, composed of executives from AARP, evaluated the presentations and scored each team on content and form. Winning second place represents steady progress for the OSU team, which tied for fifth place last year and tenth the year before. The team finished ahead of well-known MBA programs from Wake Forest and the University of South Carolina as well as teams from Italy and Hungary.