By Ryan Pierce

MBA students from nine universities across the country competed in Baylor University's Ethical Leadership Case Competition Nov. 13. Pepperdine University earned the top spot for the second time in the event's three year history.

The annual competition gives MBA students an opportunity to apply what they are learning in the classroom about professional ethics to a practical, realistic business dilemma. It has become an important part of the Dale P. Jones Business Ethics Forum, hosted by Baylor's Hankamer School of Business.

The nine teams, each with four MBA students, were randomly divided into leagues of three. The students received their cases on Thursday and then presented their solutions the following morning before their league's panel of three judges, one Baylor Business faculty and two business professionals. One team from each league then advanced to the finals in the afternoon.

Students from MBA programs at Baylor University, Clemson University, Pepperdine University, the University of Florida, the University of Illinois, the University of Iowa, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Washington and Wake Forest University participated in the competition.

Following the champions from Pepperdine were the University of Iowa in second place and the University of Illinois in third.

Chris Lang, an MBA student from Baylor, explained that the competition helps illustrate how ethics pertain to the business world. "It gives us experience - like putting pressure on us in such a way that it really makes us think about what ethics means to us on a personal perspective and a global perspective."

Over $8,000 in prizes were awarded to the winners. The top team received $5,000, second place $1,200 and third place $900. The best presenter from each league received $250 and the best Q and A person from each league receive $100.

1st place team: Pepperdine University

Meghan Barnes, Bryan Zirkel, Sebastian Bartl, JC Garrett

2nd place team: University of Iowa

Tara From, Wesley Harrington, Megan Schuelke, Sachin Gupta

3rd place team: University of Illinois

Alan Auyeung, Osama Al-Hamad, Jessica Anderson, Yuva Sharanyah Murugan

Best Presenters

Marty Wilson - Wake Forest University

Nick Digirolamo - University of Florida

David Coyle - University of Washington

Best Q/A

Bentzen Falb - Wake Forest University

Sebastian Bartl - Pepperdine University

Megan Schuelke - University of Iowa

More News ...