MBA case competition
Lerner College students prepare strategic recommendations for Dogfish Head
8:40 a.m., March 6, 2012--After a private tour and behind-the-scenes look at the operations of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, Del., graduate students in the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics are busy preparing strategic recommendations for the company for presentation at the annual Carol A. Ammon MBA Case Competition at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, March 16.
Related but separate, the MBA program will also host a roundtable, “Marketing and the Beverage/Service Industry,” with a panel discussion by University faculty and industry experts on Friday, March 9, at 6 p.m.
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Both events, which are free and open to the public, will be held in 125 Alfred Lerner Hall.
In preparation for the case competition, students are currently gathering information and perspective on Dogfish Head and competitor companies as well as the beverage industry at large.
“This year’s competition is unique because it focuses on a real company in real time,” said Amy Estey, MBA program manager.
On the day of the case competition, 54 students divided into teams will present their findings and analysis to Dogfish Head Brewery’s executive team. The three winning teams will receive a cash prize.
The roundtable panelists will provide context for the students involved in this year’s case competition as they discuss some of the opportunities and threats to marketing in the beverage/service industry.
Panelists for the roundtable, which will be moderated by Robert Nelson, associate professor in the Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management, include Anthony DiPilla, beverage operations manager at the University of Delaware; Ron Cole, assistant professor in the Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management; Carrie Leishman, president and CEO of the Delaware Restaurant Association; Scott Jones, professor in the Department of Accounting and MIS; and John Antil, associate professor in the Department of Business Administration.
About Dogfish Head
In June 1995, Dogfish Head Brewings and Eats opened in Rehoboth Beach, Del., as the state’s first brewpub and smallest commercial brewery in the United States. Dogfish Head’s popularity quickly grew and in 2002 the company opened a 100,000 square foot brewery in Milton, Del. The company now makes almost 20 styles of beer that are sold in over 25 states, as well as six types of hand-crafted spirits made in its Rehoboth Beach distillery.
About the Carol A. Ammon Case Competition
The Carol A. Ammon Case Competition, named after its founder, began in 2000. The case competition, open to all Lerner College graduate students, provides an opportunity for students to implement and exhibit the analytical and presentation skills they learn in class. Team presentations undergo two rounds of judging. In the first round, alumni and friends of the MBA program act as judges. The teams that excel from the primary round move on to the final round, which is judged by executives from that year’s case company.
Article by Arianne Minch