McCombs Fall 2015

Case Competition
Kickof
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 format

NOTE: 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 participant
o 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
Dont wait until the last minute!

Please welcome

Company Q&A
Tuesday, November 10th
7:15 8:30 PM
GSB 2.122

Financial 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

Structure
Plan

Analyze

Prepare

Present

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 wellresearched 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

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

*You must be in the EDS

Company
Company Website
(10K)
S&P Net Advantage
Thomson One
Mintel
Bloomberg*

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

Present
Communicate your solution efectively 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 of other members as they are answering.