Teams of students will tackle some of the most pressing ethical issues in the business world – from big data and drug pricing to pipeline construction on federal land – at the International Business Ethics Case Competition, co-sponsored by the Center for Ethics and Business at Loyola Marymount University. The IBECC will take place from Wednesday, April 19, through Friday, April 21, at the JW Marriott Santa Monica Le Merigot.
In its 21st year, the contest will feature 35 teams from five countries participating in a series of contests designed to challenge their skills at ethical analysis and problem solving. Two teams will represent LMU, one made up of undergraduate students and the other representing the M.B.A. program.
“Students really benefit from this experience of applying ethical analysis to important business issues and presenting their conclusions before a business audience,” said Jeffrey Thies, IBECC intramural director and an assistant professor of management.
IBECC culminates months of research and discussion about the legal, financial and ethical dimensions of a business ethics problem. During the competition, the students propose a solution that must work on all three counts – and meet the satisfaction of a panel of business executive and faculty judges.
IBECC is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious event of its kind. It was founded by LMU Professor Thomas White and is jointly sponsored by LMU’s Center for Ethics and Business, the Opus College of Business at the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota), the W. Michael Hoffman Center for Business Ethics at Bentley University (Massachusetts) and the Ethics & Compliance Initiative.
In addition to making presentations in the required 25-minute, 10-minute and 90-second competitions, teams have the option of participating in “The World’s Most Intellectually Daunting Biathlon” – an academic/athletic fundraising event featuring a 4-mile run/walk along the Santa Monica bike path. Proceeds will benefit The School of Choice, which serves children living in extreme poverty in rural Haiti.
“We believe that at an ‘ethics event’ we should do more than just talk about making the world a better place,” said IBECC Founder Thomas White. “Our unique biathlon is our attempt to make a real-life difference.”
For more on the competition and teams, visit http://ibecc.net/.
