Baylor Business Students Take Top Honors In Prestigious International Case Competition
Baylor business students earned first place in the George Washington/KPMG MBA Case Competition held March 21-22 in Washington, D.C. The event brings MBA students from business schools across the world into competition, showcasing the talents of top MBAs who apply their skills and problem-solving abilities to issues involving prominent nonprofit organizations.
This year's GW/KPMG Case Competition focused on the National Geographic Society (NGS). The judging consisted of individuals from NGS and KPMG including the CEO and Chief Communications Officer of NGS.
The first place team members include Baylor MBA students Ken Jones of Clarksville, Tenn.; Matt Black of Santa Fe, N.M.; Neelabh Adhikari of India; and Joshua Begbie of Sydney, Australia.
"The group presented an image of complete professionalism," said Scott Pittman, faculty sponsor for the team. "Most importantly, they had a story to tell. It was a story that was easy to follow and included challenges, realistic time tables, data analysis and practical ideas."
Team members said that the style of the Baylor MBA program - which fosters working together to synergistically create a superior product or service, rather than focusing on individual internal competition - helped them be better prepared to excel in this team competition.
"Baylor's small size and quality, fast-paced, group-oriented focus forces us to work together," said Begbie. "You cannot make it through this program without getting to know each other, relying on the strengths of the other students, putting your personal ego in the back seat, and pulling off lots and lots of group presentations."
Agreeing, Adhikari added, "We had a positive approach from day one. We encouraged the free flow of ideas and suggestions. Each one of us played Devil's advocate whenever the situation demanded and that helped us in getting focused. The team dynamics were some of the best I have ever experienced."
Of course, the chance to interact with other MBA students from around the world was also a valuable experience, Jones said. "Although it was certainly nice to win the competition, coming in first is just the opinion of a couple of judges on a certain day. I was more thankful and appreciative of the compliments, feedback and interactions with members of the other teams. I felt like I got to know some quality people and spread the word that Baylor has a quality MBA program."
Black also felt the experience was more valuable than the 'win.' "The opportunity to work on a case where we could apply our business skills to the nonprofit world was particularly exciting for me," he said. "The preparation time built a sense of team among the four of us. Meeting the other teams in DC and getting to know other business school students from around the world was one of the highlights of the experience."
About Baylor Business
Students at Baylor's Hankamer School of Business encounter a variety of experiences that strengthen their value system, develop their leadership skills and help them build a global perspective based on a strong Christian foundation. Today, there are approximately 3,500 students enrolled in Baylor's business school. More than 22,000 Baylor Business Alumni are making a difference in business, in the world, and most importantly, in the lives of people.
Baylor University is rated as a "Best Buy" in the 2002 Fiske Guide to Colleges.
The Baylor Business undergraduate program ranks in the top 16% of accredited collegiate business programs in U.S. News and World Report.
Baylor Business graduate programs also garner national attention. The MBA program is rated in the top 20% of accredited collegiate business programs in U.S. News and World Report. In addition, the MBA program is ranked as one of the "Top 80 Business Schools in America," in The Princeton Review.
Baylor Business Executive MBA programs are recognized for excellence world wide. The Dallas EMBA is ranked 1st in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, 14th in U.S. and 25th in world by The Financial Times.
The Entrepreneurship program is ranked first tier by Entrepreneur magazine and ninth by U.S. News and World Report.
The Accounting program is ranked 10th by The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, for pass rate on 2000 CPA exam.
For more information, visit Baylor Business on the web at http://business.baylor.edu or http://gradbusiness.baylor.edu.
GW/KPMG Case Competition - Participating Business Schools:
1st Place: Baylor University
2nd Place: ESADE
3rd Place: Vanderbilt University
University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Baylor University - Waco, Texas
Bocconi School of Management - Milan, Italy
University at Buffalo - Buffalo, New York
Case Western Reserve University - Cleveland, Ohio
University of Delaware - Newark, Delaware
Escuela Superior de Administración y Dirección de Empresas (ESADE) - Barcelona, Spain
George Washington University - Washington, DC
Georgetown University - Washington, DC
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology - Hong Kong
Middle Tennessee State University - Murfreesboro, Tennessee
University of Minnesota - Minneapolis, Minnesota
University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
University of Tennessee, Knoxville - Knoxville, Tennessee
Vanderbilt University - Nashville, Tennessee
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University - Blacksburg, Virginia
Yale University - New Haven, Connecticut