MBA students place third in Katz Invitational Case Competition

The national competition promotes real-world skills while promoting diversity

Four Bowling Green State University Master of Business Administration students placed third in the Katz Invitational Case Competition in Pittsburgh on Nov. 6, 2021.

The Katz Invitational Case Competition, hosted by the University of Pittsburgh’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, showcases the skills and expertise of MBA students from around the country. BGSU MBA students, Zaresha Neal, Deja Peterson, Busang Magosi and Michael Johnston, were selected to compete and only had one week to prepare.

This year’s case competition encouraged MBA students to envision transformation that enhances diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, and their focus was a fictitious software company in a major Midwest city. They were asked to critically analyze the case and present creative and feasible recommendations centered around fostering a diverse inclusive business environment. 

The team gained valuable, life-long skills as they evaluated the challenges many organizations may currently be experiencing and presented their recommendations to a panel of senior executives and professionals from a range of backgrounds and experiences related to the topic of diversity, equity and inclusion. This includes members from Vibrant Pittsburgh organization along with professionals and executives working on these specific challenges within organizations. 

Tom Daniels, Master of Business Administration assistant director and team advisor, said these types of experiences are exactly what BGSU's MBA students expect.

“Competing in a case competition like this helps the students learn beyond the classroom, something we really value within the BGSU MBA program,” said Daniels. “I’m very proud of the students for saying yes to this opportunity and doing so well in the competition.” 

Team members Neal, Peterson, Magosi and Johnston first participated in a preliminary round where they presented their case analysis and recommendations. Following this stage, judges conducted a ten-minute Q&A session where students were given the opportunity to receive feedback. After the panel reviewed the participants, the top teams were announced to compete in the final rounds later that afternoon. 

The BGSU team successfully made it to the final round which was open to the public. They presented within a strict 20-minute guideline and again fielded questions from the judges.

Presentations in this case competition were judged based on the team’s ability to analyze the presented information within the case details, as well as their overall ability to communicate a recommended course of action that is both clear and effective. Extreme importance was placed on the creativity of the response and the feasibility of each team’s solution. 

Some of the largest schools in the country competed in this competition, and, after only one week of intense preparation, BGSU’s MBA team took home the bronze medal, placing third in the competition. Not only did their hard work pay off to earn them a top prize, but this experience provided critical business skills that would be hard to replicate in the classroom: professional communication, critical thinking, networking, and application of business problems to the real world. 

Zaresha Neal said the experience was deeply impactful for her and shared her perspectives about diversity.

“Diversity and inclusion mean more than just two words. Rather, these words come together to breed innovation, increase creativity, and encourage others to change; this is the foundation of implementing diversity and inclusion.”

BGSU is immensely proud of these MBA students and the work they dedicated to this competition.