Weatherhead School of Management MBA students in the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit fellowship program competed at the Loyola Marymount University College of Business Administration’s International Business Ethics and Sustainability Case Competition (IBESCC) from Wednesday, April 12, through Friday, April 14.
Thirty-seven teams from 25 universities across six countries participated at IBESCC, which included an online and in-person division, as well as an undergraduate and graduate division. Students competed in three competitions that consisted of: A 25-minute presentation, a 10-minute presentation and a 90-second presentation.
Second-year MBA students Tyler Holsopple and Nikita Tayal and first-year MBA students Prmeeti Verma, Lucy Lin and Kendyl Biondich traveled to Los Angeles to compete in the 2023 competition, where they took home first place in the 90-second presentation.
“This was a great experience,” said Holsopple, who delivered the 90-second elevator pitch that won first place. “Our team was able to practice the critical skill of speaking to executives and was able to learn about the ethical responsibilities of corporations through doing so.”
The Weatherhead MBA team presented on MGM Resorts International and analyzed the ethical, sustainable, and legal issues associated with their energy consumption. They identified the areas in which MGM is consuming the most energy and proposed solutions in order to reduce their energy consumption, as well as utilize more renewable energy sources.
“The International Business Ethics and Sustainability Case Competition challenged us to think critically and creatively about real-world business problems,” said Verma. “We were inspired by the innovative ideas and solutions presented by other teams, and it was a great learning opportunity for all of us to apply what we had learned in the classroom to a practical setting and develop skills that will be valuable in our future careers.”
For the 25-minute presentation, participants were asked to select an appropriate business case that related to one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Each team prepared a PowerPoint presentation in which students explained the legal, financial and ethical dimensions of the problem and then recommended a solution that must be viable on all counts. The judges acted as the board of directors of the students’ chosen organization and asked questions in that role.
The 10-minute presentation focused on the ethical issues of the chosen company and was given by two or three members of the team. Teams imagined that this presentation was the result of being called back after their full presentation in order to give a shorter presentation strictly about the ethical issues of their topic.
The 90-second presentation was on sustainability issues and was given by one member of each team. The presenter imagined that they ran into an executive from their company and gave them their “elevator pitch” about why their topic needs to be addressed by the company.
“The competition was such a rewarding experience. Although it took me out of my comfort zone, it introduced a new perspective on sustainability,” said Lin. “Companies don’t have to sacrifice success for sustainability and ethics, they can do both by creating value for the stakeholders, by being impact positive.”
“The Fowler Center was proud to sponsor the students’ participation in the competition,” added Megan Buchter, director of the center. “We are so proud of the efforts of our student team and of their accomplishments and are pleased that they had such a rewarding experience.”