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K-State Today

November 29, 2018

Phillips 66 Business Ethics Case Competition awards $5,000 to K-State students

Submitted by Brent Fritzemeier

The winning team of Ben Heath, Tara Bunker and Mary Carnes.

The Kansas State University College of Business Administration recently awarded $5,000 in scholarship money to students participating in the Fall 2018 Phillips 66 Business Ethics Case Competition.

A total of 293 students representing 80 teams entered the competition, which was organized by the college's Ethics and Responsible Business Citizenship Initiative and sponsored by Phillips 66.

This year the competition presented teams with an ethical challenge faced by processed food giant Nestle in the Brazilian market. Each student group was responsible for analyzing the situation, applying appropriate ethical and strategic management principles, and developing a viable set of recommendations. After a contingent of faculty from the College of Business Administration evaluated the initial written analyses, five teams were selected to compete in the final round where they presented their analyses and recommendations to a panel of judges.

"This competition provides a unique opportunity for our students to improve their analytical, decision-making and presentation skills," said Bill Turnley, Sam and Karen Forrer Chair of Business Ethics and Head of the Department of Management. "The finalists' presentations were very compelling, with recommendations that were well justified and did a nice job of balancing strategic and ethical concerns. We appreciate the support from Phillips 66 that makes this competition possible."

The winning team included Tara Bunker and Ben Heath, both seniors in accounting, and Mary Carnes, senior in entrepreneurship. Each member of the winning team received $500.

The second place team was comprised of Ben Fernandez, Roland Massimino and Brock Monty, all seniors in finance. Each member of this team earned $350.

Taking home third place and $250 each was the team of Kayla Goth, senior in accounting, and Johnathan Godfrey, Amanda Hardy and Derek Kilian, all seniors in management.

Members of the remaining two finalist teams received an honorable mention award of $150 for advancing through to the final round. Those receiving the honorable mention designation include the team of Sarah Zuspan, junior in management, Alex Taussig, senior in marketing, and Tim Randel, senior in finance, as well as the team of Noah Modean, senior in management, Matt Pearson, senior in finance, Katie Siemsen, senior in management information systems, and Skyler Stevenson, senior in marketing.