Communication Associate: Public Relations | Lori Melton | lmelton@d.umn.edu | (218) 726-8830
May 13, 2013 Jennifer Mencl | Associate Professor | Department of Management Studies | 218-726-7385 | jmencl@d.umn.edu
Lori Melton | Communication Associate | External Affairs | 218 726-8830 | lmelton@d.umn.edu
UMD Management Club Team Place Second in J.A. Corporate Titan Challenge
Three students from the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD)
Management Club, Kendra Eisenschenk, Laura McClellan, and Adam Orcutt, came in
second place in the Junior Achievement Corporate Titan Challenge on May 2.
The Management Club team was the only student team that participated in the
competition that included ten other teams from local businesses such as Minnesota
Power, U.S. Bank, the National Bank of Commerce, and Westmoreland-Flint. The
event was a fundraiser for Junior Achievement. This was the first time the Challenge
was held in the Duluth-Superior area.
The competition involved a computer simulation in which each team's company
manufactured and sold a device called a Holo-Generator through several quarters
and were evaluated on their firm's performance. Teams made decisions on such
things as pricing, marketing, product development, capital investment, as well as
charitable giving expenditures.
The UMD Management Club team estimates that they put in about ten hours per
person in prep time, including reviewing the J.A. Corporate Titan Challenge manual,
deciding on their strategy, and engaging in practice sessions.
Each of the participants found the event to be a very worthwhile endeavor. "The
Challenge gave the team a unique opportunity to practice making business
decisions. It's hard to get that kind of experience in class with a textbook. This was a
really great hands-on way to learn," said Eisenschenk, a junior majoring in
Organizational Management with a minor in Communication.
"The reason I decided to get involved with the Corporate Titan Challenge was because I like getting involved in the community that I live in. It feels good to be
doing things that help the community. I believe in what Junior Achievement does,
and I was happy that the Management Club was able to support them. It was a very
fun and welcoming environment. I've learned to take advantage of every
opportunity that comes along, because you never know what might come out of it,"
said Laura McClellan, a senior majoring in Marketing and an officer in the UMD
Management Club.
"I participated in the Challenge because it was an opportunity to network with local
business professionals and test my knowledge of how to run a business," said Adam
Orcutt, a junior majoring in Marketing and an officer in the UMD Management Club.
"It was a great experience to work with my peers in a fast paced setting; we were
given short amounts of time to make our business decisions so we had to come to a
compromise quickly. I am very glad that Junior Achievement gave us the
opportunity to compete with the professionals, and I definitely look forward to
hopefully competing again next year," said Orcutt.
Associate Professor Jennifer Mencl, from the Labovitz School of Business and
Economics Department of Management Studies, is the advisor for the Management
Club.
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