3RD ANNUAL APICS NORTHEAST DISTRICT STUDENT CASE COMPETITION
Eight students from the School of Business participated in the APICS Student Case Competition on April 16, 2011. This event, sponsored by APICS -- the Association for Operations Management -- and held at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, provided an opportunity for student teams comprised of four members each, to analyze an operations management/supply chain case and present their recommendations to a distinguished panel of judges.
The SCSU School of Business student participants, mentored by MGT/MIS Assistant Professors Sandra Eddy and Ellen Kramer were:
Team 1: Ohkee Kim, Chadney Nixon, Devin Reid, Adam Richardson
Team 2: Vincent Morcaldi, James Norton, Ian Phiri, Imran Sarfani
Team 2 succeeded in finishing in fourth place.
Above, left to right: Adam Richardson, Ohkee Kim, Chadney Nixon, Vincent Morcaldi, Devin Reid, Ian Phiri, James Norton, Imran Sarfani
The judges included Manny Gasper, Sourcing Leader, GE Measurement Controls; Ray Gosselin, Director, Operations, Planning, Strategy and Innovation, Welch Foods; Tom Hall, Senior Manager, Global Sourcing, Covidien; A. Donald Janezic, Jr., CFO, Bigelow Tea Company; Bruce Murphy, Director, Demand Planning and Purchasing, GN Netcom; Peter Murray, Supply Chain Development and Innovation Leader, Dupont and Nemours Company; Himanshu Parikh, Director, Northeast Operations, BD Biosciences; Mary Scheibner, Director, Global Supply Chain, BASF; and Jack Shields, President and COO, Webster Industries.
The participating universities included Boston University, Bryant University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, Quinnipiac University, Rutgers University, Southern Connecticut State University, University of Buffalo University of Connecticut, University of Massachusetts - Boston, and Western Connecticut State University.
Student participants were pleased with the experience of participating in the competition. One student said, "My experience at the APICS student competition exceeded my expectations. I believe that it is something you should participate in to really appreciate operations management. I'm glad that I was given the opportunity to represent Southern Connecticut State University." Another student said, "I learned from this event that presentation skills are among the most valuable skills a person can have. Even if one doesn't necessarily have a perfect answer to a question, the art of presentation can be a savior." A third student remarked, "This experience is one that we would be wise to remember when we go out into the working world. Your fellow team members (or co-workers in the real world) are an immensely valuable resource. Everyone has a different wealth of knowledge within them, and by combining the abilities of several people rather than hoping a single person knows all of the answers, difficult problems such as the ones we faced in the case study can effectively be solved. "
Dr. Ellen Durnin, dean of Southern's School of Business, said, "I was pleased to attend the awards ceremony and to be able to network with our students, professors and members of the APICS professional community. Additionally, I visited Professor Eddy's class and had the opportunity to hear the team members debrief the experience to their classmates. As a result of this experience, our student team members were awarded free student membership in the APICS chapter for one year. Also, the APICS officers followed up with me, offering opportunities for students to attend plant tours, and to be eligible for mentoring, internships, and placement experiences. I congratulate our students, and thank our faculty members for providing this professional development for the teams."
Overall, Kramer said, participation in the competition provided the students with opportunities to network with students and industry executives; develop team building and leadership skills; learning about current trends; earn recognition; enhance presentation skills; build analytical and decision-making skills; apply information technology to real-world cases; and increase functional knowledge of operations management.
The School of Business aims to educate students both inside and outside the classroom, infusing real-world experiences, with traditional classroom learning.
