Tennessee Tech’s College of Business hosted the NIBS 2009 Case Study Competition in March. TTU has been a member of the Network of International Business Schools (NIBS) for 4 years. NIBS is a group of business schools from around the world who believe that the internationalization of business and the globalization of the economy are essential elements in the evolution of managerial practices.
The case competition is held at a different member school each year. Last year, the competition was hosted by The Coventry University Business School in the UK. TTU has competed in the competition each year since becoming a member in 2004.
The teams who competed in the competition include teams from: Bishop’s University, Concordia University, and Memorial University all of Canada; Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland; Helsinki School of Economics, Finland; Hogeschool Rotterdam of the Netherlands; International Business Academy, Denmark; Katholieke Hogeschool Kempen and Katholieke Hogeschool Leuven both of Belgium; and Tennessee Technological University.
The competition consists of teams responding to cases or business problems and offering ideas, feedback, and solutions. The teams have four hours to prepare their response for the cases with no outside help. The teams are judged by a panel that consists of business professionals and academic experts. The winning teams then go on to a semi-final and final round of judging.
Local businesses allowed students the opportunity to tackle some of their business challenges. Companies such as Averitt Express, Oreck, Sea Ray Boats, O’Charley’s, and TVA submitted cases for the students to tackle and present their ideas and innovations. Bill Fry, CEO of Oreck, attended the Oreck presentations taking the “real world” experience for the students to a whole new level.
The teams and their coaches were in Cookeville for the competition the week of March 8th. While in Tennessee, the teams were treated to fine southern cuisine and sightseeing in Nashville. Students and coaches visited the Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Lynchberg, followed by some shopping at Opry Mills. Many students were excited to take in the Predators game against the New York Rangers. The week concluded with a Gala Banquet at the Leslie Town Centre with Bill Fry as the keynote speaker.
TTU College of Business was proud to host this international event and would like to thank Dr. Bob Wood for his organization of the conference, as well as our many partners and sponsors: Averitt Express, Chartwells, Comfort Inn and Suites, Frontier Communications, O’Charley’s, Oreck, Sea Ray Boats, and TVA.
Visit Tennessee TechJessie DanielsDistance MBA Production Manager,
Tennessee Tech University, USA
jdaniels@tntech.edu