BECC Winners!
Friday, March 11th – The Center for Education on Social Responsibility held the final round of the 2016 Business Ethics Case Competition.
Six teams of Leeds undergraduates acting as consulting firms presented to a panel of executive judges: Tim Wolf, Barbara Mowry, Marc Prisant, and Beth Cross. Also in attendance were corporate partners and members of the CESR advisory board including Michael Leeds, after whom the business school is named.
Students proposed suggestions for a fictional business, Wholesome Grocers, that is expanding operations from the US to the UK and faces ethics concerns in the sourcing of its fish products. The current supply chain includes purchases from Thailand, infamous for a fishing trade rife with slave-labor and negligence toward sustainable fishing practices. The teams were charged with developing solutions to Wholesome Grocers’ supply chain, as well as addressing how the company may be influential in remedying the current injustices of the Thai fishing industry.
Following presentations, teams, judges, and audience members attended a reception for networking and the announcement of competition winners:
1st place – Axio Consulting | $6,000
2nd place – Sigma Six Consulting | $4,000
3rd place – Pathos Consulting | $2,000
The three non-placing teams were awarded $1,000 each, recognizing their work and thoughtful analysis of the case.
CESR’s 4th Annual Business Ethics Case Competition
For the past four years, the Center for Education on Social Responsibility has put on its annual Business Ethics Case Competition challenging Leeds students in their abilities to communicate personal and corporate values to stakeholders.
The competition is split into a preliminary and final round, each with a unique case charging student teams of 4-6 to grapple with the complexities of ethical decision-making within the business context.
Preliminary Round
On February 19th, 2016, ten teams of Leeds undergraduate students presented to CESR faculty judges and a small audience for the preliminary round of the 4th annual CESR Business Ethics Case Competition. Teams had 36 hours to prepare presentations on the subject of Uber Technologies Inc. Teams were tasked to balance ethics issues (passenger safety, driver pay, competitive environment) and business interests in the context of Uber’s expansion activities.
Background on the BECC
The BECC is an interactive way to deepen students’ understanding of the importance of creating ethical as well as profitable business cultures. Teams are provided with a business case leading up to the competition which they will have to analyze, create recommendations for, and present to a panel of judges.
The competition is sponsored by Tim Borden, a pioneering force in the development of ethical issues in corporate governance, a field that now includes corporate social responsibility, corporate citizenship, and sustainability.
Check out the event page for the competition here.