‘Nova graduate students don’t need ‘The Donald’ to succeed

Graham Sinclair

Villanova University took another major step toward integrating social responsibility and ethics into its MBA program when a four-person team competed at the annual Net Impact Case Competition in February hosted by University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business. The competition focuses on the relationship between business decisions and societal impact and this year had the most competitive field ever – 20 of the premier business schools in the United States and Canada, including six top ten Business schools (B-schools).

Teams of MBA students competed to present the best solution to a case in terms of profitability, sustainability and focusing on corporate social responsibility.

The invitation to this elite event was extended to the Villanova MBA program after Graham Sinclair (MBA ’04), president of the Villanova chapter applied for acceptance. The team included Christine Vanacore, Sam McCloy and Jodi Nawrocki. “meeting students from 19 other programs, including many of the top business schools in North America, was enjoyable and interesting,” McCloy said.

This year’s problem focused on GlaxoSmithKline, the multinational pharmaceutical company. The issue was based on a case from the London Business School covering GSK’s AIDS/HIV drugs program in developing countries. Having received the name of the company the week before the competition, the University’s team arrived in Boulder expectant and ambitious. The question was released at 7 p.m., with presentation documents due in by 8 a.m. Saturday, with presentations every 45 minutes. The four pools of five schools were drawn – Villanova was in the same pool with the Wharton School.

The unusual format of the competition encouraged team work and sleep deprivation. “This experience was the most intense and comprehensive in my graduate school studies. For a week and a half, sleep moved from a commodity to a scarce resource,” Vanacore said.

Drawing the first time for their presentation, Villanova worked until about 1:30 a.m. preparing a three-point plan, with a final recommendation to focus on drug pricing based on the UN’s Human Development Index. “We learned to think big picture, we learned to think out in left field, and we learned to be detail oriented,” Nawrocki said.

She saids the team may have been too good. “We learned so much, the sheer amount of information we presented in 15 minutes might have overwhelmed the judges!”

Vanacore said the event offered a rare insight into real life as a B-school student. “As individuals we were challenged to overcome differences in personalities, skill levels as presenters, and individual skill sets in order to attain a finished product that seems balanced and polished.” Not quite “The Apprentice,” but not far removed either.

Villanova did not make it to the final round. Eventual winners, University of Minnesota, prevailed over University of North Carolina and University of Denver, and left the Ivy-league schools empty-handed. The merits of the winning position were debated through the rest of the evening at the awards reception. The goal of bringing MBA students together from different schools and to extend the network seems to have been achieved.

Students said they felt an affinity with other students battling to fight the view that profits are the only thing in business. The Philadelphia connection was strengthened, with Wharton and Villanova agreeing to share ideas of their respective Net Impact chapters. Villanova students currently pioneering the Student Managed Fund (invested on a socially responsible basis) tapped the knowledge of students doing similar work at University of Southern California’s Marshall School and NYU’s Stern School.

Students cited support from faculty Professors Chiaradonna, Clark and Doh. Rules precluded them from consulting the students on the merits of the case, but they provided feedback on case competition strategies and presenting style. Dean of Graduate Business Mohammad Najdawi was an ally from the start.

The merits of the winning position were debated through the rest of the evening, with various degrees of enthusiasm, and coached by entry-level red wine at the awards reception. The goal of bringing MBA students (and future business leaders) together from different schools and to extend the network were comfortably achieved – the organizers struggled to herd the students into the presentation function where the Rocky Mountain Institute founder and renowned author L. Hunter Lovins (Natural Capitalism) challenged and entertained.

A strong affinity was found with other students battling to fight the view that profits are the only thing in business. There was also a strong affinity to cut short long speeches. This was best illustrated by Graham dozing off after slide seven of 18 then trying to fake a “pensive moment” when found staring at his shoes. Mercifully the doors opened shortly afterward, and students braved the rainy evening for a tour of Boulder’s finest. The Philly connection was strengthened with Wharton and Villanova agreeing to share ideas and events of their respective Net Impact chapters. Villanova students currently pioneering the Student Managed Fund (invested on a socially responsible basis) were able to tap the knowledge of students doing similar work at University of Southern California’s Marshall School and NYU’s Stern School. The support from faculty Professors Chiaradonna, Clark and Doh was excellent. Rules precluded them from consulting the students on the merits of the case, but their feedback on case competition strategies and presenting style was insightful. Dean of Graduate Business Mohammad Najdawi was an ally from the start in January. Falvey Library’s Michael Foight was a great resource for the massive data and background search. The competition created a great learning experience “… both challenging and inspiring,” according to Sam. Dean Najdawi was confident about the value the competition experience brings to the B-school: “The opportunity this competition gives to the students and the school is obvious. We will definitely be sending a team in 2005Villanova MBA Net Impact aims to tie up with the MBA capstone course (8900 Strategic Management) to leverage students’ business case analysis skills in their final course. The 30th anniversary of Villanova’s underdog win at the Final Four may be matched by the ambitions B-school students.