Integrated Business Case Competition - Objectives

Learning Objectives
  • To infuse a strong dose of real-world experiences into the curriculum.
  • To help students integrate what they have learned during their tenure in the undergraduate program in business at UNT.
  • To highlight the value of taking a holistic and integrated approach to managing an organization.
  • To help students organize their thinking around an integrative planning framework
  • To provide incentives for students to give of their best
Operational Highlight

The competition is an integral part of the capstone "Business Policy" course. The course exposes students to conceptual material from strategic management, business process redesign, and other areas that help them to make connections across traditional functional departments. Experience in applying the material prior to the competition is gained through discussion, case analysis, and practice team projects. The classroom practice-sessions also serve the purpose of allowing team members to get to know each other, assess their strengths, and develop the ability to work in teams. The competition itself occurs near the end of the term. The case describes a real world business situation. Students take on the role of a business consulting team and offer integrative solutions to the firm. Teams are provided with an initial set of information but must supplement this with both outside research and through interviews with the CEO or other senior executives from the company under study. The completed analysis and recommended solutions are then presented to a panel of judges.

Creating a Competitive Real-world Experience

To provide an incentive for students, and to reward them for their hard work, we have endeavored to extend the team project from a routine classroom exercise into a much anticipated “event.” To this end, faculty from across the G. Brint Ryan College of Business get together to shortlist top teams in the course. The shortlisted teams advance to the second round where presentations are made to a panel of judges that includes C-level executives from businesses in the DFW area. Based on the presentations, judges determine the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams. Members of the winning teams are awarded prize money, certificates, and recognition throughout the college.