College of Business Administration teams compete in Target competition

Released on 04/26/2013, at 2:00 AM
Office of University Communications
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Lincoln, Neb., April 26th, 2013 —

            Nine students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Business Administration pitched solutions based on case studies to a panel of professional judges at the Target Case Competition on April 19 at the CBA Building. The competition included three student teams made up of three students each. The winning team received  $1,500.

            "Students made 20-minute presentations to a five-member panel from Target, including Kevin Oswald, director of recruiting for this area, and his boss, Rob Ruetten, the district team leader for eastern Nebraska and western Iowa,” said Rob Simon, associate professor of practice of marketing. "After each presentation, the judges had 10 minutes to ask questions."

            Simon initiated the competition at UNL based on similar competitions held at other schools. Each team looked at the same case study provided by Target.

            "Students were told to look at the case study, be creative and present a professional presentation that contains a realistic solution focusing on student research," Simon said. "Our Ph.D. students also helped mentor the teams."

            Simon said he would like to increase the size of the competition next year and also increase connections between Nebraska students and Target.

            "Target recruits a lot of our students right now who become executive team leaders, and who typically become store managers within three to five years," he said. "It's also a way for Target to give back to the community and for the students it looks great on their resumes."

            Student teams included:

            First place ($1,500 prize) -- Taylor Holland, White Bear Lake, Minn., marketing; Shelby Jacobs, West Des Moines, Iowa, marketing; Philip Kapalka, Apple Valley, Minn., marketing.

            Second place ($500 prize) -- Seonmin Bae, Busan, South Korea, marketing; Allison Jackson, Herman, business administration; Kelly Jefferson, Geneva, marketing.

Writer: Jennifer Snyder

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