August 3, 2023
College of Business Administration student recognized in international competition
Tia Cole, a Kansas State University senior studying organizational management with minors in leadership and entrepreneurship, was part of a team that received a Best Team Award in the recent X-Culture Case Competition.
Students work in international virtual teams with peers from around the world for the competition, solving real-life problems presented by real-life companies. After passing a readiness test, students are assigned to a team of five to seven students from a minimum of three different countries, with some teams having representation from five or more countries. Cole's team members were from Italy, Switzerland, India and Ghana.
Teams select a business challenge from an approved list and then work collaboratively for seven weeks to develop a business plan for their client. Each plan is judged by a small group of international business experts, composed mainly of international business professors and coaches from around the world.
For the competition, more than 5,000 students worked on 1,289 virtual teams. Only 12 received a Best Team Award designation. As a participant on one of the best teams, Cole is invited to the 2024 X-Culture Global Business Week. Though the venue hasn't been announced yet, previous locations for the global business week include Poland, Italy, Canada and Singapore.
Cole participated in the competition as part of the International Management class taught by Marne Arthaud-Day, associate professor of management.
"X-Culture is a chance for students to improve their cultural intelligence by meeting and working with peers from other countries," said Arthaud-Day. "Students learn to navigate time zones, language differences and technology platforms. Even if they don't have plans to live or work abroad, X-Culture provides them with an opportunity to develop the skills needed to work successfully on global virtual teams, an increasingly common feature of the business environment."
The X-Culture project launched in 2010. Since that time, nearly 90,000 students from 115 countries and 701 universities have participated, and 16,846 international teams have been formed. Notable corporate partners include Mercedes-Benz, Louis Vuitton and Home Depot.
K-State first participated in X-Culture in 2014 and has participated each year since 2016. K-State students who have placed are:
• 2015: Allison Tanner
• 2017: Ewerton Garcia Ferraz
• 2017: Chris Nettey
• 2019: Grace Truelove
• 2021: Janie Failor
• 2021: Kole McCorkendale
• 2022: Kendall Rau
Learn more about the College of Business Administration's management program.