ACN Case Competition Debriefing

ACN Case Competition Debriefing

• 1.
  Sponsored by theAcademic Collaboration Network (ACN), A global partnership of the Susilo Institute for Ethics in the Global Economy at Boston University Questrom School of Business
• 2.
  This Presentation willcover…  ACN Network  Introduction to case competitions  Your objectives  Teams, deliverables and prizes  Timeline  Mentoring & mentoring expectations  Challenges  Virtual communication methods  Last year’s students said…  Final Tips
• 3.
  ACN Network  AcademicCollaboration Network (ACN), established by Boston University’s Susilo Institute for Ethics in a Global Economy  Your university is a member of this network   The ACN is a global faculty community designed to advance business ethics, research, teaching and practice. Members of the network collaborate on research, teaching and outreach activities relating to business ethics.  You will be working with students from all 7 of the ACN network partners to deliver a virtual case competition where you will be working in teams across time zones and continents.
• 4.
  What is acase competition?  In a case competition, participants strive to develop the best solution to a business or a education-related case study within an allocated time frame  Teams in case competitions are tasked with assessing a situation facing an organization, analyzing available information, crafting a solution, and defending their recommendations to competition judges.  The case competition concept originated in the United States. Competitions can be internal to a business/management school, or they can involve teams from multiple schools.
• 5.
  History of CaseCompetitions- Boston & Newcastle  Since 2014 Boston University Questrom School of Business and Newcastle University Business School students have collaborated on an annual ‘Transatlantic Case Competition’.  Competitions require students to work across time zones and continents working in a team on a business case set by a global company  Previous case competitions have looked at innovative financial payment methods, and devising a strategy for a global consultancy firm to expand its private equity market in North America “We learned to carry out primary and secondary research to make recommendations on a real business problem for a real company. I think the biggest obstacle we had to overcome was working through different time zones between the US and UK” –Ashley Castillo, part of 2014 winning team
• 6.
  This ACN globalcase competition will be involving students from the following:  Boston University Questrom School of Business (USA)  Fudan University School of Management (China)  Gordon Institute of Business Science (South Africa)  The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (India)  Newcastle University Business School (UK)  Tsinghua University (China)  Yonsei University Business School (South Korea)
• 7.
  Your objectives  Businessspans borders! Prepare for the world of work by learning to adapt and embrace the challenges of working in a virtual team, despite time & cultural differences, technical constraints and study/social commitments.  Understand the different ways in which students from other countries and education systems work in teams. Global firms need graduates with a high level of inter-cultural awareness, which you will gain from this competition!  Apply the knowledge learned in the classroom to a real life business scenario and learn new skills (e.g. creating video content and using new communication tools)  Build your network (mentors, teammates, judges)  Boost your career prospects and think about how you can use this experience on job applications and your CV/resume
• 8.
  Case Deliverables andPrizes Details of the case will be shared separately Deliverables each team needs to produce:  3-4 page executive summary, outlining findings and recommendations  4-5 minute video, (this will replace the traditional final PowerPoint presentation format and we will be providing teams with tips as to how to create video content)  2 page summary outlining how the team collaborated virtually, chosen methods of communication and learnings from the experience. This submission will be reviewed to determine which team will be awarded an additional $500 cash prize for collaboration. Prizes  Winners: $2000  Runners up: $1000  Collaboration prize: $500
• 9.
  Tips: Your Teammates Be committed! Case runs for 2 ½ weeks and you will need to work hard during this period  Make contact, swap details and get to know each other as soon as possible  Create a schedule and stick to it. Be aware of time zone differences, class schedules and website restrictions (e.g. China)  Appoint a team spokesperson to report back progress to the competition organizers  You will all have different working styles- part of the challenge is learning to adapt to this!  Ensure all team members are allocated responsibilities (the prize money will be split evenly between winning team members)  USE YOUR MENTOR!
• 10.
  Team Mentors: Whatis a mentor? ‘Mentors are people, who through their action and work, help others to achieve their potential.’ (Shea, 1992)  Each team will be appointed an academic mentor  Mentoring is an established tool, used by organizations to develop individuals and help them reach their potential. Each team will receive one mentor who can provide and guidance on your strategy.  The word “Mentor” comes from the Greek Mentōr, the name of the adviser of the young Telemachus in Homer’s Odyssey. Its general definition is “an experienced or trusted adviser”, whereas ‘to mentor’ is to advise or to train someone, especially a younger colleague. ‘A process which supports learning and development, and thus performance improvements, either for an individual, team or business.’ Parsloe & Wray (2000)
• 11.
  Mentoring- Expectations  Wewill be introducing each team to their mentor via email, then it will be the team’s responsibility to contact their mentor  Mentoring is a powerful development tool and mentors have volunteered their time to help you. Please use them!  The mentors are busy people- so please do not rely on them to communicate with you on a daily basis!  We have indicated to mentors they should aim to dedicate 1-2 hours per week working with you  Ask your mentor how they would prefer to communicate with you (some may prefer email, some may prefer to have video calls with you, some may prefer to iMessage, WhatsApp or WeChat you  Each team must contact their mentor at the end of the competition to inform them of the competition result
• 12.
  Challenges  We expectyou to find the competition challenging. Below are some challenges which may arise in your team and our suggestions on how to resolve them. Please contact your competition organizer if you have any problems!  “Someone in my team/our mentor isn’t responding to emails and is not collaborating with the team” Don’t give up- keep getting in touch and try not to get too frustrated. Let your competition organizer know as soon as possible. If we don’t know there is a problem, then we cannot help!  “We can’t find a suitable time for the team to meet up” This is part of the challenge! If you go on to work for a global firm you will be expected to make time to work with colleagues who may be in a different time zone/continent to you. There be may times when the entire team is not required to meet at once- think about allocating responsibilities out to avoid the team having to meet every day. Find out what your teammate’s strengths and weaknesses are and choose communication tools which will facilitate virtual collaboration.
• 13.
  Challenges Cont.  “Peoplein the team have very different working styles” Again, this is part of the challenge! We are expecting you to find it difficult working in such a diverse team, as you will all have your own expectations and different ways of working. Be patient, considerate and learn to adapt.  I’ve never created video content before/ My teammates want to use WeChat/WhatsApp to communicate, but I’ve never used it before” Again, this is part of the challenge! We don’t expect you to become experts in video production, but we need you to try your best- the way you deliver your video is up to you as a team. You can choose to film yourselves, or create slides and film them- be as creative as you can! Using new communication tools such as WhatsApp and WeChat will help you learn other methods of virtual collaboration, which you may find useful in the future!  “I’m not sure if the website I’ve suggested is accessible in China” There are a lot of websites which will help you determine whether a certain site is blocked in China. We recommend: http://www.blockedinchina.net/
• 14.
  Virtual Communication Methods We have written a document which gives you some ideas about communication tools you may consider using- this will be shared with teams  It is the team’s decision how they would like to work and it is your responsibility to schedule time to work together, selecting the method (s) of communication you would like to use.  Your mentor may have experience of working internationally- so ask them for advice on virtual communication methods if you are struggling!  Try and use different communication tools- be creative!
• 15.
  Last year’s studentssaid…  “This competition really pushed us to improve communication and organizational skills... We had to communicate difficulties and prior commitments with the rest of the team and be willing to adapt accordingly.”  “Although at times we were frustrated by the challenges we faced…this was a hugely enjoyable and educational experience for everyone on the team. It enabled us to learn and research an unknown topic, improve our team working abilities, make new friends and learn how to work effectively in an international team, which will no doubt prove useful in our future career paths.”  “As a team with multiple perspectives, we couldn’t have reconciled each individual’s cultural sensitivities, different opinions and experiences without a common denominator- empathy.”
• 16.
  Final things toremember  Schedule time to meet as soon as possible  Be aware of time zone differences- we are expecting you to find this challenging!  Try to use different communication methods u Always have a contingency plan/back up!  Use your mentor  Communicate regularly with the competition organizers- even if everything is going well  Please remember that the case is confidential- do not share the case details with anyone other than your teammates/mentor
• 17.
  Good Luck!