A team of Penn State Smeal College of Business MBA students took first place in the National MBA Case Competition in Ethical Leadership held at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
Jordan Crespo, Greg Wommer, Zahidul Zakaria and Chris Blanchard teamed up to outperform 11 other teams.
The team analyzed a case focused on a business in Uganda that was struggling to manage its people and was dealing with issues like theft and embezzlement of company funds. The case provided a lesson about fostering an organizational culture for ethical leadership that exists in a country where the standards of ethical behavior are affected by poverty and corruption.
The Smeal team, in addition to using core management and business principles, reflected on how the Smeal Honor Code and efforts such as the monthly Integrity Insights e-newsletter, Donuts and Dilemmas, and other initiatives have bolstered a culture of ethical behavior at Smeal.
“It was rewarding to see how we were able to take concepts that we have learned over the past year, and apply them in a real-world scenario,” Blanchard said. “It shows that the quality of education being delivered at Smeal is world class, and that these concepts can make a difference in the world.”