The third annual John Molson Undergraduate Case Competition
In welcoming business school undergraduates from all over the planet to compete at the John Molson Undergraduate Case Competition (JMUCC), Concordia is providing students international contacts and the opportunity to learn outside their own classroom.
“[John Molson School of Business] students go to competitions around the world and succeed,” says JMUCC 2011 President Mariann Rossi, “but we also want to show other competitors what we’re capable of putting on in our own building.”
The JMUCC will be held during reading week, February 20 to 26 in Concordia’s Molson Building and at the Hilton Montreal Bonaventure (900 De la Gauchetière St. W.).
To accommodate an unprecedented number of teams competing this year – 24, an increase of four from the previous year – organizers of the biggest undergraduate case competition in the province have created a new division.
The competition has grown from five divisions of four schools to six divisions of four schools. In their respective divisions, all teams will compete in a round robin of three case competitions – for each case, they will be given scenarios from real companies for which they must develop a viable strategy in a short time, to present to a panel of judges.
The best team from each division will advance to the final round on February 26, where they will battle for the JMUCC crown.
Rossi says organizers have also made a distinct effort to approach international companies to provide the scenarios for the competing teams. Last year, organizers solicited cases from Montreal-based companies such as La Senza, the Montreal Port Authority and VIA Rail.
While Rossi cannot disclose the companies providing the cases or the scenarios this year, she says the cases were written exclusively for the JMUCC using these companies’ current situations.
“These are real companies and real problems they are facing right now. They all require very strategic business thinking,” she says, stating the combination of more teams and a broadened international reach will make the competition that much more fierce.
Another element unique to the JMUCC is that the panel of judges for every case will include a high-level representative from the company presenting the scenario. “The company might consider it free consulting, but it’s also a big opportunity for students to come in contact with a high-level corporate player,” she says.
But the JMUCC is about more than just ruthless rivalries; it’s also an occasion to socialize with other students and business associates in hopes of forming relationships that may extend beyond scholastics and into careers. Aside from assorted social soirees, this year’s main social event will be February 22, when competition-goers will attend an evening at the circus performance facility La TOHU. They’ll enjoy a show as well as a Quebec-themed dinner and cocktail party for participants, faculty advisors, volunteers, members of the organizing committee, and sponsors.
Rossi, who has been involved with the JMUCC since its inception, says the skills she’s learned through the competition will carry well beyond the classroom.
“I’ve learned negotiation skills, time-management skills, how to communicate with people . . . it’s really given me a framework to solve many problems and be proactive.”
This is the third edition of the JMUCC. This year Hadi Azar, Mitch Robitaille, Kirsten Law and Adam Forlini will represent the JMSB.
Last year, the competition was won by Royal Roads University from Victoria, B.C., with the JMSB delegation placing third. In 2009, the University of Washington took the JMUCC crown; the JMSB did not make the final round.
Prior to 2009, the event was called the Undergraduate National Case Competition (UNCC), which began in 2002.
Related links:
• John Molson Undergraduate Case Competition
• JMUCC on Twitter
• JMUCC on Facebook
• John Molson School of Business