Stetson Wins Second in Division in International Ethics Case Competition

Stetson University Business Ethics team, from left to right:
Stetson University Business Ethics team, from left to right: Megan Christopher, Sarah Klass and Leah Hauserman.

Stetson students placed second in their division in the International Business Ethics Case Competition (IBECC), held last week in Cambridge, Mass. The Stetson team of Megan Christopher, Leah Hauserman and Sarah Klass, coached by Jim Beasley, Ph.D., professor of business administration, and John Tichenor, Ph.D., associate professor of decision information science, competed against undergraduate teams in the three categories of the competition. The Stetson team placed second in the full presentation (25 minutes) in a division including Holy Cross, Marywood and La Salle Universities. Two other categories of presentations included a 10-minute presentation and a 90-second presentation. Overall, the field of competitors included 19 institutions from the United States, Canada, Spain, Australia and Hong Kong.

Stetson was one of three universities from Florida in the competition, with teams from St. Petersburg College and the University of Florida also participating.

“Preparing for this competition allowed us the opportunity to sharpen our analytical skills and present our arguments in a convincing and persuasive manner,” said Christopher ’18, a finance major from Kirtland, Ohio. “Overall, the experience was well worth the hard work we put into it, and we were happy to be representing Stetson in an international event.”

Hauserman ’18, an economics and finance major, echoed her colleague’s sentiment saying, “Among the most important things I learned by participating in IBECC was how to better support my arguments with quantitative data and how to be persuasive without the appearance of bias.”

“One of the most significant growth experiences associated with participation in this competition,” said Klass ’18, a marketing major from Madison, Conn., “was learning to work as a team to deliver a performance of which we could be proud.”

Teams invited to the IBECC competition select their own case for presentation at the event. The Stetson team prepared a case entitled, “Just One More Penny: Publix Super Markets and the Fair Food Program.” Student teams were asked to assume the identity of consultants who are offering advice to a company considering its approach to an ethical dilemma. They were required to deliver a 25-minute presentation, a 10-minute presentation, and a 90-second presentation on the financial, legal and ethical implications of the decision facing the company’s board of directors.

Beasley and Tichenor are in their third year of preparing students for ethics case competitions. Both were complimentary of the strength of the Stetson team for IBECC, citing the fine analytical skills of the team and the extraordinarily strong presentation talents of each its members.

“The IBECC judges were very impressed with the polished presentation and argumentation skills displayed by all three students on our team,” said Beasley.

“The outstanding performance of Megan, Leah, and Sarah on this national stage is both illustrative of the capability of our students and supportive of the core values of the university,” said Tichenor. “Jim and I hope to give increasingly more students the opportunity to gain this kind of practical educational experience.”