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Printer-Friendly ModeSVSU students put together best legal case in competition
November 19, 2007 —
SVSU students Megan Biskup and Christ Reisinger were announced winners last week in the Student Case Writing Competition, held by Business Week magazine and the Society for Case Research. with The competition was open to any student attending a business school or in an MBA program in the United States.
Professor Tim Brotherton was the students' faculty advisor and taught the services marketing class that required students to participate in the competition, which helped students exhibit what they had learned.
"Because they were studying that stuff, they were able to talk about what they were learning in the case study," he said.
The students chose to do their study on Timothy's Fine Tobaccos in Bay City.
"I knew he offered excellent service and I wanted them to meet him anyway," Brotherton said.
Brotherton knew that the students' case study had to stand out to even be considered for an award.
"I knew it was happening when the case started to take form," he said. "I knew from reading other cases that they were on to something."
He also added he liked working as the students' faculty advisor.
"I just enjoyed it," he said. "It was a group of people trying to accomplish something."
MBA student Megan Biskup described the work involved in preparing such a study.
"Overall it was a lot of work," she said. "It was a lot of writing and rewriting and changing our angles."
The students were awarded $5,000 each, a team certificate, and a free one-year subscription to Business Week.
"I had never written a case study so it was really a new experience for us," Biskup said. "But obviously it paid off."
The case study was centered around the idea of whether or not Tim, the owner of Timothy's Fine Tobaccos, should obtain a larger facility for his business.
"The ultimate objective was to present a decision point for students," Biskup said. "The basic questions behind our case study were the dangers of moving and the risks behind it."
Biskup described the benefits of working with a small, relatively new local business.
"Working with a small business like that, it was easier to get financial statements and other information that you might not be able to get at other businesses," she said. "It was certainly something that I had never thought of doing before. It was definitely a good learning experience."
Brotherton hopes that students will be inspired to achieve similar success in the competition this year.
"It turned out very well from my perspective," he said. "Hopefully the lightning will strike again this year."