A team of University of Vermont School of Business Administration students were divisional runners-up at the University of Arizona, Eller College of Management Ethics Case competition last week.

The team, comprised of Henry Sinkula and Will Nedds, presented their cases in a strong field of 32 teams divided into 4 divisions.  UT Austin took top honors in our division and progressed to the finals.  Our students however were a close second and took solace in the fact that when the results were announced, it was said that “the judges had to put on boxing gloves” to decide the winners of each division.  

"Eller was a great opportunity to analyze business decisions from an ethical perspective and realize what a systemic effect ethical decision-making can have on an organization. The importance of corporate social responsibility and ethics has been underscored repeatedly throughout the past decade and I think it's important to gain exposure to these issues early on" said Henry Sinkula. His sentiments were echoed by team member Will Nedds who noted "in an increasingly polarized society, it was refreshing to take part in a competition wherein we are challenged by a moral ambiguity that was relevant to the issues we all currently face. Through Eller we gained experience in corporate ethics that is rarely afforded in formal education."

BSAD lecturer John D. Monahan JD, who accompanied the students highlighted why experiential learning is so important “case competitions like this are a terrific experience for students" he said "they have to learn to prepare intensively, pay attention to detail, and deliver polished presentations.  These are really valuable skills to have.”

The overall competition winner was Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, BC) and second place went to Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario).