A team of five first-year MBA students from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) bested contenders from the world's leading business schools and won the Outstanding Industry Analysis Award at the Marshall MBA Global Consulting Challenge organized by the University of Southern California (USC) in February. The Industry Presentation requires students to make an assessment of the target industry's future.
The overall Champions of this year went to the host team USC Marshall School of Business. The London Business School won the Outstanding Consulting Analysis Award (teams discussed the high level process used to address company's business problems). The Outstanding Company Analysis Award (teams made specific recommendations addressing client company's issues) went to Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania.
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The case company of the competition was Herbalife International, a global network marketing company selling weight management, nutritional supplements, and personal care products. Competing teams are required to make analyses and recommendations regarding the company's strategic issues - recruitment, development and retention of top level management talent throughout their global organization.
The HKUST team comprised five full-time MBA students. They are Fritz Chen, Rebecca Chen, Tejasvi Devaru, Murli Madamsetty, and Jenny Shih. Fritz Chen said: "This was a great experience for all of us, the taste of which we will savor for the rest of our lives. We now fully know what we are capable of. We were able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow MBAs from the world's best business schools." All five members realized the importance of teamwork. "We worked together and our synergies showed. Everyone in the team learned from each other, while at the same time, made their unique contributions to the team," Chen added.
The judges from the Industry Analysis Panel commended the HKUST team's industry analysis as "innovative" and "did an extraordinarily good job addressing the complexity of the nutraceutical industry". The management from Herbalife also marveled at the team's "A++" and cutting-edge recommendations to help the success of their business.
"It was a privilege for me to accompany this dedicated team to USC and cheer them on to victory," enthused Prof. Larry Franklin, the team's advisor and Adjunct Professor of Finance and Business Law, HKUST Business School. Franklin sat in on the Judges' private evaluations. He said: "The ultimate compliment from the senior Industry judge was given to the HKUST team when one of the judges said: 'I want to hire those guys'."
Prof Steven DeKrey, Associate Dean and Director of MBA Program, HKUST Business School, said: "We are very pleased that the HKUST team won this prestigious award. They were in competition with the very best from around the world. I am impressed by their outstanding performance. Their success is a strong testimony to the quality of MBA education in Hong Kong."
Marshall MBA Global Challenge (February 9-10, 2006)
This annual competition organized by the Marshall School of Business, USC, is designed to challenge the minds and problem-solving abilities of the best MBA students from the world's leading business schools. Each team, with a maximum of five members, received details of the industry focus in early January and details about the client company approximately two weeks before the competition. Conference calls with industry experts, consultants and company representatives were scheduled to allow teams to ask clarifying questions and seek additional information.
The Competition was held on February 10, 2006. Each team had to deliver three related presentations: an Industry Presentation, a Company Presentation and a Consulting Presentation to the panelists/judges consisting of industry experts, analysts, consultants and company representatives.
Participating universities/schools:
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Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
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Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania
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London Business School
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Yale University
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HEC International Business School, Paris
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University of California, Los Angeles
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University of Southern California
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Emory University
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IPADE Business School, Mexico City
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Hong Kong University of Science and Technology