Undergraduate business students from the Shidler College of Business delivered a stellar performance winning the 8th Annual CUIBE (Consortium for Undergraduate International Business Education) International Business Case Competition held at Northeastern University D'Amore-McKim School of Business in Boston from November 2-4. This year, 16 teams from leading undergraduate international business programs across the nation participated in the competition. This is the first time a Shidler team advanced to the final round in the CUIBE competition and won first place.
The CUIBE case competition gives students an opportunity to showcase their knowledge in international business through a competitive environment. Each team is given a different case study to analyze 24 hours before the competition begins. The winners of each bracket move on to the final round. The teams are judged on their analysis, recommendations and overall presentation.
In their case study, Shidler team members Kelli Sunabe, Christina Rivers, Eryn Yuasa and Jessica Eggers provided recommendations to the executives of Pharmacorp on its business future in the Ukraine. The team analyzed the company’s business environment, political challenges, overhead costs, and marketing strategy in order to present a fully integrated solution to increase profits, expand consumer reach and succeed in less than ideal conditions.
Team caption, Sunabe said, “We practiced for two months in preparation for this competition. We wanted to take a strategic approach to train for this competition and focus on the three main components of the case study—analysis, creating the report and executing the presentation. Everyone contributed a different and unique perspective that brought great value to our team.”
According to Sunabe, after every practice session Shidler Faculty Advisor Constancio Paranal always asked the team if they were proud of their presentation. “I can honestly say that I am so extremely proud of the presentation we created and the team we've become.”
Paranal said, “The girls worked hard for this, not only to make a statement, but to show the international business education community that the Shidler College of Business can win a national business case competition. This is for everyone in Hawai‘i.”
At the end of the competition, judges and other competitors praised the Shidler team for their exceptional performance and commended the college for its commitment to quality education and their focus on international business.
CUIBE International Business Case Competition 2017 Winners
First Place – The University of Hawai‘i, Shidler College of Business
Second Place - Washington University in St. Louis, Olin School of Business
Third Place - Washington State University, Carson College of Business
Fourth Place - Temple University, Fox School of Business
