Teams from across the Rocky Mountain region, including a team from The University of New Mexico's Anderson School of Management, are set to compete in the 2017 Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Consortium Case Competition Thursday and Friday, April 27-28 at the Hyatt Regency Denver (Colo.).

The 6th Annual Ethics Case Competition, hosted by The Daniels Fund, features 10 teams of 4-6 undergraduate business students participating in this unique competition, designed exclusively for universities that are members of the Daniels Fund Ethics Consortium from New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. The UNM Anderson School has finished in the top-3 four out of the five years the competition has been held. In 2015, The University of New Mexico won the competition. 

Students competing from ASM this year include: Julia Cotton, Atuoma Ezeh, Cori Hoover, Anand Macherla, Waverly Mathis and Carter Uhl. For Macheria, who's the team leader, it's his third year on the team. Uhl was on the team that recently won the New Mexico Case Competition. Uhl and each of the other team members are competing in the Daniels competition for the first time.

The Case Competition is a partnership to strengthen principle-based ethics education and foster a high standard of ethics in young people. The competition exposes college students to a thought-provoking business ethics case, similar to a situation that they might face in their professional careers. It challenges students’ ethical reasoning and raises awareness of the importance of principle-based ethics. Business and community leaders from across the four-state region volunteer their time to serve as judges in the competition.
 

Daniels Ethics Initiative Consortium Case Competition


“Involving business and community leaders in the competition is key, as they provide students with context of how principle-based ethics can be applied in real world situations,” said Linda Childears, president & CEO of the Daniels Fund.

Ed Rivera, president & CEO of United Way of Central New Mexico, will serve as head judge this year.

“I’m very honored to serve as head judge for an effort that promotes an understanding of ethics for students who are poised to enter into business and community life,” he said. “As future professionals, they have much to gain – and to offer – regarding how principles translate into positive actions.”

The event kicks-off with a team dinner Thursday evening. Friday includes a full day of team competition presentations, and closes with the awards dinner.

In advance of the competition, teams were provided with Part A of a business ethics case. They take on the role of a hired consultant to the fictional company in the case, conduct an analysis of the situation and prepare recommendations. At the competition, each team will present their recommendations to a panel of eight judges, who play the role of the company’s board of directors.

After a question and answer session with the judges, the team will receive Part B, a crisis that provides new information and puts a twist on the case. They have four hours to re-analyze their original recommendations based on the new information, and make a second presentation to the judges.

Judges will evaluate each team’s presentation against established criteria, including principles that Bill Daniels believed to be valuable business assets: integrity, trust, accountability, transparency, fairness, respect, rule of law, and viability. The judges will determine first, second, and third place winning teams, to be announced at the awards dinner.

For more information, visit 2017 Daniels Fund Ethics Consortium Case Competition.