Bhawanipur Case Study Competition

One might have definitely wondered as to why are case studies so important and why competition based on case studies are so rigorous? Well, Case Studies for sure help in discussing something that is far more realistic than theoretical studies for all the ones participating. Case studies help students to see that what they have learned is not purely theoretical but instead can serve to create practical solutions to real dilemmas. Often, there is a perceived gap between college and post-college employment, with the assumption being that much of what someone has learned in a classroom will not necessarily apply to highly specific scenarios that this person will encounter in the workplace. Case studies help mitigate this problem by providing students a variety of scenarios that force them to examine issues from multiple perspectives and then synthesize a solution, which is the same sequence in which they will later solve problems as part of their full-time employment.

Well, to mitigate this very same problem and to enable students to reach out to a problem from multiple perspectives, the students of The Bhawanipur Education Society College under the guidance of Prof. Dilip Shah, organised one of a kind case study competition that encouraged students to team up, to think, to present a best fit solution and in due course learn to respect the multiple perspectives of their own team members and others. The Bhawanipur Case Competition was held between 13th January 2021 – 23rd January 2021, with the closure of registration process and release of the case on 13th January 2021 to the QnA round with expert being held on 17th January 2021 and the final presentation round being held on 23rd January 2021.

A total of 10 strong teams competed against each other in the final round. The final round began at 11am Sharp on Sunday, 23rd January 2021 and ended at 4:30pm. Each team that presented consisted of 3 participants either from first, second or third year. The judges of the final presentation round were Prof. Mohit Shaw and Prof. Ankit Patwari. The teams were judged on the basis of their presentation, content covered by them and accuracy of their solution.

But before the final round, on Sunday, 17th January 2021, an expert QnA round was held for the participants. The expert for the QnA round was Mr.Amit Bothra, an alumni of The Bhawanipur Education Society College who is currently positioned as Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers ( PwC) UK.

Mr.Amit Bothra briefly spoke about his journey and gave the students an overview of the consulting world before going ahead with explaining the case in such a way that showed the students the correct path to solve cases without revealing the correct answer. He explained the importance of BCG matrix, financial ratios and other such considerations that must be used while solving cases. The session began at sharp 6pm and lasted for 1 hour with 33 student participants attentively listening to the suggestions being made by Mr. Bothra.

The case provided to students was a unique one which not only challenged their financial solving skills but also tested them on their understanding of markets and behaviour. The case spoke about a hypothetical business owner who wants to expand his heritage business of trading cloth fabric by entering into the manufacturing segment as well. With costs and other details such as time taken and market scenario provided in the case in story manner, the participants had to present their solutions which should state the future decision of the owner of whether to enter the manufacturing segment or not and forecast the company’s future based on his decision. The case was no doubt an extensive one that completely challenged the students to think beyond.

With such a challenging case, there’s no doubt in stating that the final round was rigorous and highly competitive. Majority of the teams consulted that the owner should not enter the manufacturing business due to heavy losses and high interest rate whereas a few teams suggested that the owner can enter into the market. Each team had 15 minutes to present their PPTs. This time period also included the QnA round where the teams were challenged by the judges on their PPTs. Again, there’s no doubt in saying that the QnA round was highly exhausting for the participants as they were heavily grilled by the judges. This QnA round also enabled them to look out for the alternatives that they may have missed and encouraged them to make impromptu but correctly calculated decisions.

Towards the end of the final round the judges announced the winners. The Second Runners’ Up were Team Conquerors with a score of 38 out of 60. The First Runners’ Up were Team Alpha with a score of 39 out of 60 while the Winners of the competition were Team Advisors with a score of 40 out of 60.

Team Details:

Team Advisors – Winning Team

• KASHISH BURMAN

Stream: B.sc Economics Hons, Semester: 5

• HARDIK VORA

Stream: B.sc Economics Hons, Semester: 3

• NEHAL MEHTA

Stream: B.sc Economics Hons, Semester: 1

 

Team Alpha – Second Runners’ Up

• ARPIT AGRAWAL

Stream: B.com, Semester: 3

• AYAN KAR

Stream: B.com, Semester: 3

• SOHAM CHATTERJEE

Stream: B.com, Semester: 3

 

Team Conquerors- Third Runners’ Up

• PRIYODEEP DEY

Stream: B.com, Semester: 3

• ARANYAK CHAKRABORTY

Stream: B.com, Semester: 3

• DEBMALYA DATTA

Stream: B.com, Semester: 3

 

Out of the 10 teams that participated, 5 teams including the top 3 winning teams were eligible and sent for the IMA Case Study Competition 2021.