McCombs Fall 2015 Case

CompetitionKickoff

September 9th, 2015 GSB2.126

Reminders• Email your resume to

McCombsFallCase@gmail.com (by Monday, November 9th 11:59 PM)• Turn in your refundable deposit• All of this information and more can be

found at www.McCombsFallCase.weebly.com

Presentation Day• WHEN: Saturday, November 14th, 2015• WHERE: McCombs School of Business• ATTIRE: Business Professional• MUST TURN IN BEFORE 7:30 a.m. in GSB

2.126: o ONE USB with your PowerPoint Presentation o FIVE hard copies of:

• Cover page: McCombs Case Competition, Date, Team Name, and Team Members

• One-page summary of your analysis and findings• Your PowerPoint Presentation printed in notes formatNOTE: USBs and paperwork turned in after 7:30

a.m. will NOT be accepted• Save a copy of your PowerPoint in your

emails

Presentation Day• Teams are divided into rooms for the first

round of presentations. The judges will select one team from each room to move on to the final round.

• Team presentations consist of: • 5 minute question-free introduction• 10 minute presentation • 5 minute question-free conclusion• 5 minute Q&A

* Final round will have 15 minute presentations

Awards • 1st place: $1600• 2nd place: $1000• 3rd place: $400• Winners must fill out forms within 7 days

of winning in the Office of Student Life

Guidelines• You are NOT allowed to use any sources not

accessible to every single participanto Sources must be public and citable

• You are NOT allowed to amend any part of your presentation after submission (after 7:30am)

• Violations of the competition rules will result in disqualification

• All teams MUST stay for its feedback session after lunch

Printing• The PCL will close early on Friday night, so plan

ahead

• Don’t wait until the last minute!

Please welcome

Company Q&A

Tuesday, November 10th 7:15 – 8:30 PM

GSB 2.122Financial Workshop (USIT)

Tuesday, November 10th 8:30 – 9:30 PM

GSB 2.122

Questions?

• Contact: McCombsFallCase@gmail.com

Case Competition Workshop

Tips, suggestions, and resources useful for successfully participating in a case

competition

Most Important: The Question

• Biggest mistake teams make is forgetting to fully answer the question at hand

• Focus on the question in every part of your presentation

StructurePlan Analyz

ePrepar

ePresen

t

• Plan: Approach the case and begin formulating the thesis• Analyze: Research to decide on a solution and find supporting evidence• Prepare: Construct a well-organized presentation to display your solution• Present: Communicate your solution effectively to the judges

Plan

Approach the case and begin formulating the thesis

Plan• Strongly review and conceptualize the case

individually before convening with the group to avoid groupthink

• Meet and summarize the problem so the team is on the same level of understanding

• Hypothesize and discuss potential solutions to address the problem

Plan• Select two to three strong solutions and briefly

outline the main points of each one• Outline research, analysis, and modeling required

of each solution• Assign responsibilities and set deadlines and

requirements for each member

Analyze

Research to decide on a solution and find supporting evidence

Analyze• Judges are company employees, industry experts,

professors, and UT alumni• Every point you make should have well-

researched evidence

UT and McCombs Resources

• UT Library Resources and Google Scholar• McCombs Business Information Center: http://

www.lib.utexas.edu/subject/business

Recommended Resources

Industry Company

• UT Library Journal• EBSCO• S&P Net Advantage• FirstResearch• FactSet*• Bloomberg*

• Company Website (10K)

• S&P Net Advantage• Thomson One• Mintel• Bloomberg*

*You must be in the EDS

Analyze• Remember to obtain quantitative and qualitative

evidence from referenced sources• Return to each proposed solution, and determine

whether researched data supports your initial intuition

• Determine whether your evidence can be framed to support a particular solution

• Come to an agreement about the solution the team will pursue

Prepare

Construct a well-organized presentation to display your solution

Presentation Overview• Introduction• Solution and Implementation• Financials, Risks and Alternative Solutions• Appendices

Introduction• Introduce yourselves• Go over the case problem• Provide and outline of the presentation• Summarize research that led to your solution

PresentCommunicate your solution effectively to the judges

Presentation Day• On the day of the presentation, make sure that

you have all of the required materials and arrive on time for the first meeting.

• It is recommended that every team have backup copies of the USB, presentation, and clickers for the event (Clickers can be checked out from the McCombs Media Services)

• Be very polite and professional with the judges. Make sure to greet and thank all of them as you enter and leave the presentation room.

Presentation• Order the presentation so each participant

presents on section instead of multiple exchanges throughout the presentation.

• Anticipate questions, and answer them as soon as judges ask. Do not ask them to wait to see other parts of the presentation.

• Every participant should participate in the Question and Answer Period, and make sure not to cut off other members as they are answering.