Case Competition Details

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Event Structure

Case Competition

The West Coast Case Competition is broken down into two separate competitions: a junior tier and a senior tier. The junior-level competition is designed to test basic business acumen and analytical abilties for students in their first or second year of their university studies. The senior-level competition is designed to test the students' ability to identify key problems, to fully dissect the issues that face the company, to utilize the applicable analytical tools and frameworks on both the quantitative and the qualitative information available, to analyze and incorporate market conditions, and to offer original insight as a means to provide a fully-loaded recommendation to the company. The senior-level competition is restricted to students in their third year of study or higher.

Each tier will consist of ten competing teams and multiple rounds of cases and presentations. The first round is the preliminary round which is held prior to the main event. Teams are given a case and four hours to develop a recommendation and a presentation. The top give teams will advance to the next round to be held at the Main Event. For this round, teams are given new cases that are more complex and more involved with three weeks to analyze and prepare their presentation. The Main Event will be held on March 6th, 2010. At this time, the top five teams will be expected to provide an executive summary and to give a 30-minute presentation. Judges from the world's top management consulting firms will select the winners. For the junior tier, this is the final round and the winner will be selected and announced. For the senior tier, this is the semi-finals and two teams will be selected as finalists to present in the main auditorium before the judges and delegates. The judges will then select a winner between the two finalists.

Main Event

The Main Event will consist of the final round for the junior competition and both the semi-finals and the final round for the senior competition. During the initial rounds of the main event, lunch will be served in the main auditorium along with networking opportunities for all participants and delegates. The presentations will be in separate boardrooms and spectating will not be allowed. Once the initial rounds are over, dinner will be served along with guest speakers. Following the gala dinner, the finalists will present in the main auditorium in front of all the judges and delegates.

For a more detailed itinerary, please scroll down.

Cases

Cases in the preliminary round will be different than the final round.  The cases will be different for the junior competition and the senior competition.  Cases will be distributed and teams will be given 3 weeks to complete the case before submitted their recommendation a week prior to the final event.

Networking

Participants, delegates and sponsors will have the opportunity to network over a gala dinner consisting of a keynote speaker and catering dining.

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Key Dates

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Event Schedule

 

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Rules & Regulations

Teams

1. Each team will compete in their respective tiers. As such, a team comprising of both junior (first and second year) and senior (third and fourth year undergraduate students) will not be allowed.
2. Each team will consist a maximum of four students and must be submitted by 3:00PM February 4th, 2010.  Although exceptions may be made, it will be highly recommended that each team consist of four students.
3. Only teams who have paid the entire registration fee will be allowed to compete.
4. Only a limited number of teams will be allowed to enter the competition. Registration will be on a first-come first-serve basis, based on the complete payment of the registration fee of each member.
5. All participants who have been eliminated in the preliminary round who plan to attend the main event must RSVP by March 1st.  Attendance to the main event is INCLUDED in the registration fee regardless of the results of the preliminary round.

Competition

1. Each team will be given a specific time to pick up their case for the preliminary round. They will be given EXACTLY 4 hours before their presentation.
2. Cases for the final round will be distributed on 10:00AM February 10th.  The final copy of the case analysis needs to be sent in electronically no later than 10:00AM on March 3rd.
3. Each team is expected to present an original analysis without the assistance of other students, mentors, or faculty members.  All work must be produced by the members of the team.  All additional research must be properly cited.
4. All teams are expected to work separately at all points of the case competition.  Any indication of plagiarism or collusion between teams will result in disqualification of the team(s).

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How do I attend this competition?

To compete, all teams must pay a registration fee and have registered by February 4th.

Registration fee is $100 per team (equivalent to $25 per person).  Registration will enable students to:

• Compete at the preliminary round
• Be a delegate at the Main Event, regardless of the results in the preliminary round.
• Lunch & networking during the initial rounds
• Gala dinner & speaker
• Final Round

Students who do not participate in the competition will be allowed to attend the Main Event for $25. This will include:

• Lunch & networking during the initial rounds
• Gala dinner & speaker
• Final Round