By Colleen Bowen
After eight weeks of intense consulting, the third annual MBA Small Business Competition came to a close with the announcement that the student group working with Ralston Foods, a cereal manufacturer located in Lancaster, Ohio, won first place and $3,500. The company was among 26 Appalachian businesses that worked with 104 Ohio University MBA students for this year's competition.
The winning group helped Ralston look at the balance and coordination of the plant's resources relative to their current production plan. One of the group members, Logan Strohm of Bristolville, Ohio, said, "The opportunity to work in a real-world environment with a real client was important for all of us. It gave everyone an opportunity to get away from the academic aspect to see how things work in the real world." Other team members were James Gesing of Fairview Park, Ohio, Shirin Rastogoufard of Pepper Pike, Ohio, and Jill Theeler of Mitchell, S.D.
Second place went to the student team working with Good Stuff Sportswear in Woodsfield, Ohio. Third place was awarded to Dimex Corp in Marietta, Ohio. And the three remaining finalists tied for fourth place: the teams working with the City of Sistersville Ferry in W.Va., the Carpenter Inn and Conference Center in Pomeroy, Ohio, and Third Sun Solar and Wind Power in Millfield, Ohio. Each of the finalists won cash prizes to help offset costs for a study abroad summer consulting program.
Over the course of eight weeks, students worked with companies to resolve planning, operational efficiencies, financing, marketing, information systems and other critical business problems. Teams presented their recommendations during a semifinal judging round that narrowed the competition to six teams.
The finalists presented their recommendations in front of a panel of business leaders. The panel included Jack Zimmerman, former Intel executive; Pamela Lankford, director of the SBDC at Washington State Community College in Marietta; Donna Russell, vice president at People's Bank; Rick Krieger, director of ACEnet Ventures in Athens; and John Houston, CEO of U.S. Private Companies.
The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Ohio University's Voinovich Center for Leadership and Public Affairs and the Ohio University's College of Business pairs regional businesses with students as part of the Appalachian New Economy Partnership, which creates tools to allow Appalachia to compete and prosper in a knowledge-based, global economy.
Colleen Bowen is a graduate student writer with Ohio University's Voinovich Center.
