HBS Dominates in B-School 'Oscars'

by Stacy Blackman Consulting, Mar 2, 2015

Harvard Business School took home a whopping six awards and experienced its best showing ever at the 2015 annual Case Centre Awards, a celebration of excellence in case writing and teaching from across the globe that are now considered the case method community's annual 'Oscars.'

Awards for cases are presented for nine management categories plus an Overall Winner Award. Each year, an award is made to recognize an individual who has made an Outstanding Contribution to the Case Method.

David B. Yoffie and Renee Kim of Harvard Business School authored the Overall winning case, Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in 2010. "The Cola Wars have been a classic competitive dynamic and industry analysis case for three decades," says Yoffie, who is the Max and Doris Starr Professor of International Business Administration at HBS.

"It is an industry that is easy to understand, but complicated to analyse, which always works well in the classroom. Understanding why this industry has been so profitable for so long makes it stand out," Yoffie explains.

Debapratim Purkayastha, associate dean at ICFAI Business School in Hyderabad, India, won theOutstanding Contribution to the Case Method award for his innovative and forward-looking commitment to transform case teaching and writing.

"To students, I would like to say that the process of case learning is more important than the results. Its not just about getting a good grade; its about developing the skills you will need in your future career," says Debapratim.

Case-based sessions are great fun when you are well prepared; and a big drag when you are not. Prepare the cases, participate wholeheartedly in the classroom keeping an open mind, and then spend some time for introspection after the class; you will be surprised by the results, Debapratim advises.

A new award debuted in 2015 for Outstanding Case Teacher, whichrecognizes an excellent practitioner in the case classroom. This award went to Casey Lichtendahl, associate professor at University of Virginia Darden School of Business. He teaches students how to apply advanced statistical and machine learning techniques to key business problems while immersing them in the world of practical data science.

Two case writing competitions are held each year to find an outstanding first-time case writer, and to identify the best new case written on a hot topic. Laurel C. Austin, associate professor at Copenhagen Business School, won theOutstanding New Case Writer competition with the case, UCSD: A Cancer Cluster in the Literature Building?Vlerick Business School professors Steve Muylle and Stijn Viaene won the best 'hot topic' case with Hello bank! The Birth of a Mobile Bank.

The Case Centre is a non-profit organization that advances the case method worldwide, sharing knowledge, wisdom and experience to inspire and transform business education across the globe. The Case Centre Awards are in their 25th year and have been awarded on a global basis since 2011.

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