Neeley faculty members Abbie Shipp and Meghan Wright partnered with Dell Technologies, Bell Textron and Alcon to bring a new case competition to students enrolled in a Management and Leadership course on organizational leadership and problem solving.
January 22, 2024
By TCU Neeley School of Business
A new case competition for Neeley students in Management and Leadership incorporated research, team-building and corporate mentors throughout the fall semester before culminating with the top three teams presenting before judges and the announcement of a winning team. The case, written by lead corporate sponsor Dell Technologies, was a broad and challenging scenario about how leaders can tackle organizational change.
The winning team for the inaugural Management and Leadership Case Competition addressed complexity and adaptability in addressing change and was presented by Ian Stinneford (Management and Philosophy double major). Teammates Paul Plowman, Hugh Le, and Vivian Nguyen were unable to participate.
“This inaugural case competition not only allowed students to consider current leadership challenges but it also allowed them to showcase our Management and Leadership major. We expect to see students placed in internships and jobs, as well as greater corporate involvement in future Neeley events,” said Abbie Shipp, the M.J. Neeley Professor of Management.
Neeley students enrolled in the management course, Organizational Analysis and Problem Solving, participated in the inaugural Management and Leadership Case Competition in collaboration with company partners, Dell Technologies, Bell Textron and Alcon.
There were 21 teams across three sections of the course taught by Shipp and Megan Wright, assistant professor of professional practice. One winning team from each section advanced to the final round of competition, which was judged by corporate executives from each of the three collaborating companies.
Students were asked to solve a problem related to leaders managing organizational change. The top three teams took different approaches for their corporate partners, but all provided innovative ideas and solutions.
To prepare students for the case competition, they were provided multiple support opportunities. One unique component to this case competition included each team being provided a mentor by one of the corporate partners. In addition, the students worked with TCU Neeley’s Professional Development Center for presentation training and they were assigned a presentation coach from the current Neeley MBA cohort through Neeley & Associates Consulting. More than 70 stakeholders from Neeley and its corporate partners volunteered time to support the students.
As part of the judging process, the viability of the solutions provided and the clarity of the presentation were key factors considered. Brent Amundson, senior vice president for global talent acquisition with Dell Technologies said the quality of work throughout the case competition was stellar.
“We were very impressed with the caliber of the presentations,” said Amundson at the conclusion of judging. To the students, he said, “We know you don’t have complete control over your teammates or company sponsors, but that’s real life. You don’t get to pick who you work with and who you work for sometimes, and what you are working on. Great job all around.”
Given the success of the competition, Shipp and Wright are planning more experiential exercises for Management and Leadership majors at the intersection of student learning and corporate engagement.
