OU students win international business competition

A team of three Oakland University Business Scholars took First Place for Best Overall Performance in the 52nd International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition (ICBSC) at California State University in Anaheim. The ICBSC allows students to experience what it is like to run a manufacturing company in head-to-head competition, as well as network with business executives and students from around the world.

Accounting/Management major Olivia DeMarco; MIS major Andrew Hutcheson; Marketing major Paul Mets; and coach Professor Joy Jiang represented Oakland at the competition.

“This was a very close win,” Jiang said. “The team met a super strong competitor from Shantou University in China. The OU team won with a consistent strategy, flexible implementation and more sustainable competitive advantages.”

The students embraced the opportunities to test the skills they learned in their business education in a career-building environment.

“Participating in the competition was an incredible opportunity to learn how business in the real world works,” Hutcheson said.

“I learned so much because the competition involves all aspects of business,” added DeMarco. “Learning to collaborate with a small team for a big project was an incredible experience.”

This is the second time an Oakland University Business Scholars team taken part in this competition. Here student teams, in simulated real-world competition, take over management of a virtual company making 20 rounds of quarterly strategic and operational decisions. This year, 28 teams representing 20 universities from around the world competed.

Each team is responsible for a strategic business plan, an annual report and one formal oral presentation to judges, who serve as the simulated Board of Directors. After completing 12 rounds of quarterly decisions from February to April, the OU Business Scholars team went to Anaheim, California, for the final intensive on-site phase to make the last eight quarterly decisions. The students run the companies over a five-year period, competing directly against four or five other firms run by competitor teams in its simulated world.

The students found the experience challenging and rewarding.

“The competition really pushed my limits past anything I've ever done before,” DeMarco said. “I am honored I had the chance to represent Oakland University there.”

Photo caption: OU Business Scholar competitors (left to right) Marketing major Paul Mets; Accounting/Management major Olivia DeMarco; MIS major Andrew Hutcheson