What if you were told as a master student at the beginning of your first semester that you could spend about six extra hours, one day a week, over the next month at LUSEM. You would be expected to cooperate with people you never met before under extremely stressful conditions and receive merciless feedback on your and your group’s performance by teachers and business executives. And for this you will receive no credits, no merits or bonuses of any kind, but possibly the opportunity to do it again under even more stressful and demanding circumstances. Would you sign up?
This is how Ola Mattisson, Senior Lecturer and Programme Director of the Master in Management (MiM) programme presents the Case Competition Training that is open for LUSEM’s students and yearly arranged by LUSEM Case Academy.
This evening 40 motivated students spent yet another Monday evening reading a case, analyzing, thinking, constructing a presentation and delivering solutions and advice within three hours.
This time the business case was about Harley Davidson and how the iconic motorcycle brand should plan ahead for the next ten years considering sustainability, diminishing revenues, areas of development and more. For the challenge, the groups comprised of four students each, got a 20-page paper with the company CEO’s 10-year plan, financial information and some background. After a three hour pressure cooker experience where they had access to a classroom with a whiteboard, their laptops and each other, each group delivered a 25 minute powerpoint presentation followed by fifteen minutes of feedback and questions from the case judges.
”This is the third Monday in a row where they do cases and presentations and their learning curves have been on steroids and through the roof”, says Ulf Ramberg.
The format resembles the prestigious John Molson MBA International Case Competition, but the feedback from the judges is more coaching and aimed at helping the students improve, rather than a motivation for points as in the competition.
We asked Carl, one of the students how come he decided to participate in the Case Challenge?
”Mainly because it seems like fun, but I also see it as a super preparation for the future. Many strategy students here want to work within management consulting and I think this gives us an invaluable edge, since many job interviews make use of cases in similar ways”, says Carl.
There actually is a silver lining to all the hard work, being that out of the 40 participants eight will be chosen for a final case session and in the end the judges hopefully can select four that get to represent LUSEM at the Molson Case Competition in January 2024.
”Our school has acquitted itself very well against competition from all over the world, and in 2019 LUSEM actually placed second”, says Mats Urde and in conclusion he adds that he has been very impressed by the participants and their presentations.
”Yes, I have a very good feeling and look forward to the competition in January”, he says.
