The Observer, November 30, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 12
Case students place second in ethics competition
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In their first appearance at the University of Arizona's Eller Ethics Case Competition, Annie Phalen and Michael Benning, both undergraduates, finished second out of 20 teams. The pair represented the Weatherhead School of Management during the October competition.
Prior to the competition, Phalen, a sophomore management student with a concentration in marketing, and Benning, a junior management student with a concentration in marketing and a minor in English, worked with Weatherhead professor Dr. Steven Feldman to prepare for the ethical dilemmas that awaited them in the desert.
The program began on Thursday, Oct. 25, with day-long team building activities, and the actual competition began the morning of Oct. 26.
The competition was composed of three rounds, during which teams were asked stimulating ethical questions and were judged on the depth of analysis, persuasiveness, and recommendation of ethical and practical solutions.
"I would like to go into a marketing or consulting career, and this competition was essentially about selling an ethical solution to the shareholders," said Benning.
The rounds "focused on a fictional case that drew on students' understanding of concepts such as ethical issues facing companies, private versus public company issues, executive compensation package issues, etc," said Tiffany Welch, senior coordinator within Weatherhead's Undergraduate Integrated Studies.
In the first round, students presented a 10-minute PowerPoint and were questioned by judges for five minutes. Of the 20 teams, 12 advanced. In the second round, the remaining teams were asked four or five questions by the panel of judges. Four teams then advanced to the final round, during which the finalists presented another PowerPoint presentation and answered a final question by the judges in front of a large auditorium of students and participants.
As a bonus, the winner of each round as decided by the judges received a $1000 prize to split.
The entire experience was "very rewarding meeting with actual professionals from large, respected companies was pretty intense. Also, Annie and I both made some great friends from universities around the United States," said Benning.
"It was a real confidence booster when we did well because we weren't expecting it," said Phalen. "I was also like, 'Yes! I chose the right profession!" said Phalen.
Of the performance of Phalen and Benning, Welch said, "Of course, for us [Weatherhead] it is an amazing opportunity to highlight the caliber of our students."
The competition was also good practice for the duo's future in the business field.
"I know that in any job I take, I'm going to have to be able to think critically and give presentations in front of small and large groups, so it was really good practice," said Phalen.
The college gathered an elite group of judges for the competition, including the U.S. vice president of value channels for imaging and printing group, Hewlett-Packard; the president and owner, Office Smart; and the president of EthicsPoint, Inc.
The University of Arizona's Eller College of Management annually hosts the weekend-long competition, and this year more than 15 schools participated. Interested in exposing students to thought-provoking professional ethics cases, the competition challenges "students' moral reasoning, provide[s] a wonderful networking opportunity, and in the end, raise[s] students' awareness of the importance of corporate social responsibility," claims the competition homepage.
Of the prize money she won, Phalen said, "I think I'm just going to save it for when I go abroad my junior year."
