October 25, 2002
Aggies Take First Place in International Business Challenge
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AUSTIN, TX - The team from Texas A&M officially won the 2002 International Business Challenge (IBC), which concluded October 18th at the McCombs School of Business. But the Aggies weren’t the only students leaving Austin with a new sense of pride, accomplishment and a wealth of new knowledge.
Students from the 22 participating business schools also left the competition, sponsored by the McCombs School's Undergraduate Management Consulting Association, with new understanding and insight into their future role in the business world.
“We were given a real world problem with no right answer,” said Sarah Luebcke from Indiana University. “We were participating in a consulting situation and the company is actually considering our recommendations. It is all very real.”
The opportunity to network and interact with students from around the world, as well as the interaction with corporate executives, provided students with added insight and perspective.
“The competition is a great opportunity to interact with students from different countries and different cultures in both competition and friendship,” said Cherry Cheng from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “My business sense has definitely increased.” Beginning in 1995, the IBC is the first-ever national case competition for students and is one of only a few large-scale management challenges for undergraduates. The IBC is designed to give students the experience of facing senior representatives from sponsor firms, as well as providing the opportunity to network, expand management skills, and gain insight from other students and business professionals.
For the 2002 challenge, students were presented with a case involving BP Energy’s future distribution of liquid natural gas. The case required a comprehensive analysis of all elements of business, including finance, business law and marketing. Each team faced tough questions and debate about their recommendation from a panel of judges from BP Energy. In the final round, five teams, from Queens University (Ontario, Canada), Texas A&M University, the University of Minnesota, the Norwegian School of Management and McGill University (Quebec, Canada), faced the judges for 25 pressure-filled minutes of intense questioning.
Ultimately, said students, the experience led to an experience greater than what they could gain from a traditional academic setting. Each team was given comprehensive feedback from the judges. The final round was overflowing with students anxious to learn from the finalists.
“They learned more in four days than they learn in one full semester,” said Indiana University Faculty Advisor Peggy Hite. “The experience is invaluable.”
The Winner
Texas A&M is a competition veteran, participating in all but one IBC. This was the first time that they had made it to the final round.
“The level of competition motivated and encouraged our team,” said faculty sponsor Dr. Martha Loudder. “After getting over some initial intimidation, they viewed the high level of competition as a challenge, and it motivated them to perform at an even higher
level.”
A&M seniors Ty Popplewell and Hassan Jaffar, along with juniors Jared Morris and Victoria Phillips, performed practice cases before faculty judges to prepare for the competition. After completing their final presentation in the official competition, the students felt their analysis of the “complex and difficult case” was successful and their recommendation good enough to win.
“They were happy with the fact they had done their very best,” said Loudder.
The Finalists
The team from Queen’s University let out a collective sigh of relief when they re-grouped upon completing the final round. After handling intense, skeptical questioning from the judges, and a computer freeze that left them without key pieces of data for a few minutes, the students declared themselves successful.
“It was the most grueling experience of my life,” said Adrienne Bellehumeur.
“We were pushed, we were stretched,” added Ryan Jennings. “There is no way this can be done without doing it on lack of sleep and pure adrenaline.”
As for what ultimately got them to the final round, all of the members agreed it was team dynamics and the willingness to confront one another that resulted in their success.
“We did not shy away from conflict,” said Jennings. “We got into some heated discussion, but ultimately good ideas came from it, and we were able to create and implement a successful plan.”
For information on specific programs at the McCombs School, consult our contacts page. For media information, contact the Communications Director by phone at 512-471-3314 or by email at CommunicationsDirector@mccombs.utexas.edu.
