Students to participate in Johnson & Johnson case competition

Margaret Ekblom, Senior Writer

 

Each year, the University participates in the University Case Competition, sponsored by Johnson & Johnson (J&J). Teams from different universities complete a case and prepare a presentation to compete against one another. Each team consists of five to seven group members who are interested in the accounting, finance, and management disciplines.

On Feb. 2, University alumni and members of J&J presented the guidelines to the participants and outlined what J&J is looking for. Scott Thistlewaite ’94 explained that University students are usually strong competitors, and he looks forward to seeing the innovation behind the minds of students this year.

The J&J competition offers students many benefits, including the opportunity to gain real world experience and perform an analysis for a group of board members. This is a great preview to what the real world can be like. Students also develop analytical and financial modeling skills and apply them to real-life situations. Students will also be able to get a foot in the door at the company itself.

This year, the students will be given a pharmaceutical case to analyze and present an argument for. Students will use tools and technologies such as Microsoft Excel to support planning and decision-making. Their task is to gather data and explore what they think is the best solution for the case. Students should provide results using a sensitivity analysis and a competitive analysis to share their results.

The University’s competition will be held on March 1, and the winners will move on to competing with winners from other universities New Brunswick, N.J. Some of the other universities competing are Rutgers, Ohio State, Seton Hall, and Penn State.

“My hope for the 43 students participating in the case competition is that they will add to their knowledge and skill set by being part of a team outside a classroom” Melissa Gutkowski, Assistant Director for Experiential Programs said. 

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