A team of York University human resource management students won the annual case competition earlier this month against teams from two other Toronto universities.
Suman Seth, Harminder Singh and Mindy Aujla beat out teams from Ryerson University and the University of Toronto to win the Organizational Behaviour/HR Case Competition hosted annually by Ryerson. They were coached by Ron Alexandrowich, a professional HR consultant who teaches in Atkinson’s School of Administrative Studies.
The competition was intense, says Marie-Hélène Budworth, human resource management professor. Students were given an organizational business problem to solve and presented their solution to a panel of judges. Teams were given the case 24 hours in advance. The questions they were expected to answer were handed out one hour prior to making their presentation.
The competition simulated a real HR problem and conditions, such as deadlines and incomplete information, and teams are expected to produce workable, action-oriented recommendations. "In a nutshell, they were determined, focused, prepared and professional – all the key ingredients in hiring an HR student," said Alexandrowich.
The judges included faculty members from all three Toronto-area universities.
This spring, the Human Resource Management Department will hold an internal case competition in which students solve a case presented by a Toronto-area organization. The winners will represent York at national case competitions. The internal contest is supported by the School of Administrative Studies with the assistance of Atkinson’s Experiential Education Office.
For more information, contact Marie-Hélène Budworth at budworth@yorku.ca.