SOM498 Capstone Course Case Competition

Objectives of the SOM498 Case Competition:
1. To further develop the SOM students’ research, analysis, organization, team interaction, and oral presentation skills in a time-constrained competitive environment.
2. Increase distinction of our SOM graduates.

Overview:
Teams of four or five students will analyze a pre-selected HBS case and prepare a 15 minute oral presentation on key firm indicators of performance and recommendations for improving competitive position.

Competition:
Teams will compete for points awarded for criteria as published by the SOM faculty. Panels of three or four community business professionals and SOM faculty will judge student performance. Teams will present in a single elimination, three round tournament. The first round will include all twenty-four student teams; the second round will consist of two groups of three of the best six of twenty-four teams from round one. The third round will be the final competition of the top two teams from round two with the presentation expanding to 20 minutes for each team. A first and second place prize will be awarded.
 

What is SOM 498?

SOM 498 is our Capstone Course for seniors – it’s a required course that helps our students pull together and
integrate what they’ve learned throughout their studies in the School of Management.

Course Description:
This course is an advanced examination of business models, business strategy, and competitive advantage. Students identify and assess business models from a cross-functional perspective, using all the core business functions covered in the SOM curriculum.

Student Learning Objectives:
This class integrates the specific core concepts learned up to this point in the GMU School of Management Curriculum - the principles of finance, accounting, management, and marketing, with an emphasis on information technology as both the 'glue' that links the functional specialties together and as a driving force behind emerging business models. Understanding how the various functional areas fit together and determining the performance of the firm is the essence of this capstone course. Students also learn more traditional strategy concepts including: the strategy process, the role of top management, industry analysis, firm resource analysis, strategy formulation, including corporate and business level strategies, strategy implementation, innovation and growth.