News Release: Finance and Economics, Student Life, Teaching
May 17, 2011
MBA Students Take on Real-World Problems
First-year MBA students present to judges as part of the 20th "presentation day" for the Goizueta Marketing Strategy Consultancy. Photo by Tony BrennerFor two decades MBA students at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School have worked with top companies on real-world problems. The Goizueta Marketing Strategy Consultancy (GMSC) wrote a new chapter in its history May 5, 2011 with a round of guest speakers, presentations and professional judging.
Six teams of first-year MBA candidates went head-to-head in the 20th Anniversary GMSC Presentation Day Case Competition. For the past semester, teams worked to help clients solve a marketing strategy challenge. Competing teams presented findings and recommendations to a panel of Atlanta-area marketing, finance, and consulting executives.
Clients paid a fee to work with a team of MBA students eager to apply professional, life and classroom experience to an assigned problem. Students each spent approximately 10 hours per week to develop a 35-50 page final report including a situational overview, an industry and competitor analysis, findings from secondary and primary research, strategic and tactical recommendations, financial justifications and implementation plans.
Coursework Must Be Relevant, Collaborative
“GMSC provides students an opportunity to truly experience the dynamics of consulting allowing them to be more competitive during the internship and full-time job search,” said Danielle Miller, Managing Director of the 2011 GMSC competition and a former team member. “While GMSC utilizes a proven problem-solving structure, students have the freedom to push the envelope to develop solutions for their clients. Having an energetic, rigorous team of students looking at marketing challenges provides companies a fresh perspective.”
Marketing professor Reshma Shah, GMSC's advisor, echoes the importance of live projects in the curriculum saying education is in the midst of a paradigm shift. Students interact in real-time and the coursework must be increasingly relevant and collaborative. She met with teams weekly through the semester to guide their thinking and their approach to problem solving.
Ehancements to Loyalty Rewards Programs Wins First Place
The team of Sandra Dube, Fei Meng, Richard Vincent, Cameron Blume, Tom Rittle, Mike Farrell and Meghan Hawthorne finished in first place for their work with a global entertainment and amusement park company to develop a strategy to enhance its loyalty rewards program.
The first runner-up team worked with a Georgia company – Mohawk Industries. Those students – Mark Leutzinger, Kevin Park, Griffin Fulmer, Sheena Nix, Ty Heath and Jennifer McNeil – worked with the Mohawk Home Division on a new marketing strategy for its Karastan brand. The team also received the Best Final Recommendation Paper award.
Team Anisa International was first runner-up for Best Paper. Members include Jordan Enoch, Pallavi Jaishankar, Jessica Talpos, Sid Sharma, Patrick Crowley and Shobit Arora.
Heath was also presented the 2011 GMSC Outstanding Team Member Award while Dube won the 2011 GMSC Outstanding Academic Performance Award. Jerome Stickland, a second-year MBA candidate was awarded the Outstanding Team Guide Award for his guidance and mentorship. Varina Lin, also a second-year MBA, won Outstanding Teaching Assistant.
About Goizueta Marketing Strategy Consultancy (GMSC)
Emory University's Goizueta Marketing Strategy Consultancy (GMSC) partners talented MBA students from the Goizueta Business School with leading organizations to create strategic marketing solutions. GMSC teams have been successfully providing value-added recommendations on pressing business issues to their clients for the past 20 years. In the past, GMSC has taken on projects for brands like Coca Cola, GE, IBM, Kodak, Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Delta Air Lines, Cartoon Network, AT&T, Equifax, Georgia Lottery, HP, Kimberly-Clark, Motorola, Saab, SunTrust, UPS, Turner Broadcasting and The United Way among others.
About Emory University’s Goizueta Business School
Emory University’s Goizueta Business School is home to an Undergraduate degree program, a Two-Year Full-Time MBA, a One-Year MBA, an Evening MBA, an Executive MBA (Weekend and Modular formats), a Doctoral degree and a portfolio of non-degree Emory Executive Education courses.
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