A team of students from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Haslam College of Business took first place in a case competition at the Tennessee Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Conference and Exposition in Chattanooga.
Miranda Epperson, McLane Evans, Emma Rowan and Jason Winkler, all students in Haslam’s Master of Science in Management and Human Resources (MSMHR) program, competed against other graduate student teams from Tennessee SHRM chapters to win the event. Debbie Mackey, distinguished lecturer and faculty advisor for the UT-SHRM student chapter, served as the team’s coach. A panel of business professionals and representatives from national SHRM judged the competition.
The win is the latest in a string of successes for teams from Haslam’s Department of Management and Entrepreneurship. Mackey says, “UT-SHRM has been competing in case competitions for over 10 years, on a regional level and in state competitions. Our undergraduate and graduate teams have won seven of those years.”
Using Team Strengths to Solve Challenges
National SHRM provided the competition’s case, in which the students played the role of consultants hired to help a fictional hospital develop a social media policy. Considering laws and regulations that protect free speech and patient privacy, the team worked together to find a solution that would benefit all parties involved.
For Winkler, the experience provided valuable insight into the world of human resources (HR), especially regarding how to use a team’s various strengths to solve a problem. “My biggest takeaway from the competition was appreciating the value each of us brought to the well-balanced team,” he says. “Once we learned and embraced each other’s strengths, the case solved itself. We leaned on each other’s experiences, and none of us were afraid to compromise.”
Practical Skills and Personal Growth
Mackey explains that participating in case competitions offers a wide variety of benefits for students. “Case competitions are a great opportunity to apply your HR knowledge, build your resume and prepare for the HR certification and your HR career.”
MSMHR program director Jackie Jacobs says, “Working collaboratively to solve a real business problem is such a valuable experience. Students are challenged to apply the knowledge they learn in the MSMHR program to understand the problem facing the corporation, generate and critically evaluate alternative courses of action and offer innovative solutions to the judges. Case competitions are also a great way for students to hone their presentation skills and network with business leaders from various industries.”
For Rowan, the competition also imparted several intangible lessons. “During the business case competition, I learned that success is not just about having a great idea — it’s about effectively implementing, presenting and executing that idea, working as a team and continually adapting to challenges,” she says. “It was a valuable experience that goes beyond winning or losing — it’s about learning and growing.”
About Haslam’s Master of Science in Management and Human Resources Program
Haslam’s cohort-based MSMHR program combines business strategy, leadership development and human resources to provide graduates with the skills necessary to lead and manage people in the workplace. The program is flexible and allows students to earn their degrees around their own schedules, including 12- and 21-month options and a learn-from-anywhere modality that allows students to join live classes synchronously online. Applications for the next cohort are now open. Visit the program page to learn more.
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CONTACT:
Stacy Estep, writer/publicist, sestep3@utk.edu
Photo, L-R: McLane Evans, Miranda Epperson, Debbie Mackey, Jason Winkler, Emma Rowan
