Latin Business Challenge

Rules

1      Participation Criteria

  • Up to six teams will be selected for the Competition, including team(s) from Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management.
  • All participants must be enrolled in a full-time MBA program.

2      Team Composition

  • Each team should consist of four MBA students from the same university.
  • Each participant may only participate on one team.
  • Team members must select one student to be the Team Captain.

3      Application Process

  • All teams must submit the completed application form by Friday, March 9, 2018, at 11:59 PM CST. The application form will be available only through the Sign Up section of the Latin Business Challenge web page.
  • Up to six teams will be shortlisted and informed of the decision as soon as possible.

4      Preparation for the Competition

  • All Team Captains will receive via e-mail an identical business case on Wednesday, March 14th, 2018.
  • Teams are free to analyze the case and work on their presentation slides before the Competition, but will not be required to submit any document before the day of the competition.
  • All teams must work independently.  Team members may not discuss the case with others outside the team. Absolutely no assistance from other students, faculty, or others is allowed. Any kind of assistance will be considered cheating and will result in a withdrawal from the Competition.

5      The Competition

  • At the registration day of the Competition, each Team will be assigned a schedule for their final presentations.
  • Each team will be assigned a workroom for preparation and practice.
  • Teams must bring their own laptops and have the ability to put their presentations on a flash drive. Teams will be provided with access to printers, and appropriate audiovisual support in the preparation and practice rooms.  To ensure smooth transitions, all presentations must run on Windows/PC software.
  • Teams are welcome to use publicly available information before and during the day of competition. During the preparation period on campus, teams are permitted to use the Internet and bring textbooks for general information purposes.
  • There is no limit on the number of slides used to support the oral presentation to the Judges. However, the relevance and clarity of the slides will be part of the overall evaluation.
  • At the end of the preparation period, teams will copy their presentation material to a USB flash drive.
  • At the end of the practice period, each team will present their case analysis and recommendations to a panel of Judges.
  • Outside audience members may attend. To ensure neutrality, teams are not allowed to watch presentations from other teams.
  • Each team will have a maximum of 20 minutes to present, followed by a 5-minute question & answer period. Questions will be allowed only from the Judges.
  • Presentation slides cannot include any logo or reference of the participating school.

6      Scoring

  • A panel of at least three judges will be selected from the sponsor companies or other distinguished members of the business community.
  • Presentations will be judged based on the Team’s ability to analyze the information presented in the case, and to clearly and effectively communicate its recommendations.
  • Each team member is required to participate in the team’s oral presentation. There will be penalties for the team if one or more team members do not participate in the presentation.
  • Teams should keep their presentations strictly within the 20-minutes guideline, as teams may be asked to stop presenting after the allotted time.
  • After all the presentations have concluded, there will be an intermission for the Judges to determine the performance of each team. General feedback will be provided by the Judges following this intermission.
  • Team Awards will be distributed in the Award Ceremony following the Competition.

7      Final Considerations

  • Dress Code for the event is business professional attire.
  • The Guidelines and Official Rules may not cover all potential situations, and issues or disputes that have not been covered may arise during the Competition. The organizing team expects that these situations can be resolved in the spirit of the Competition.

 

Code of Conduct

During the Latin Business Case Competition, professional behavior is expected of all participants. Each team is required to maintain the highest standards of integrity throughout the entire Competition. Any violation of the Guidelines and Official Rules or breaches of integrity will subject a team to immediate disqualification.