Competitions for MBAs Encourage Practical Solutions

Competitions for MBAs Encourage Practical Solutions

Two just-concluded competitions involving business schools stand out among the many sustainability contests and challenges we hear about at 3BL Media. For the Business and Society International MBA Case Competition, sponsored by the Aspen Institute with lead partner BNY Mellon, 1,000 MBA students from 25 business schools analyzed illycaffé, a premium coffee company, through a case study by the Yale School of Management.

Competitors proposed practical business decisions to create a more equitable supply chain for the company. Five teams came up with winning strategies. The other notable competition, Morgan Stanley’s Institute for Sustainable Investing, presented with the Kellogg School of Management, asked business school students to develop new financial ideas to address sustainability issues at scale. Proposals from 10 finalist teams, selected from 104 investment proposals, were reviewed. The winning team, from USC’s Marshall School of Business, focused on private investment in agriculture in Angola.

The idea of both initiatives was to encourage the next generation of business leaders to think innovatively about the role of business in solving the world’s most complex challenges. Mission accomplished.

I’m John Howell for 3BL Media.