Our primary program is the International Business Ethics Case Competition. This competition is jointly sponsored by the Opus College of Business of the University of St. Thomas (MN), the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association and the Center for Ethics and Business at LMU. IBECC is generally recognized as the premier competition of its kind. The next competition will take place in May 9 and 10, 2013, in San Diego, California in conjunction with the ECOA's Sponsoring Partner Forum.
Students put together teams of 3 to 5 members and select an appropriate case. Each team prepares a presentation in which students explain the legal, financial and ethical dimensions of the problem. They then recommend a solution that must pass muster on all three counts. Presentations should last between 20 and 30 minutes. Presentations are judged by a combination of men and women from area businesses and university faculty. Teams are questioned for an additional 20 to 30 minutes by the judges, who then give the teams feedback on their performance. The idea of the exercise is to help students see that it is possible to do business profitably while at the same time act ethically. Competition Guidelines can be found here.
All teams participating in the intercollegiate competition will give their presentation during the preliminary round. The top four teams from this round will face off in a final round. Each finalist team will prepare an abbreviated 10 minute presentation dealing exclusively with the ethical dimension of their case. A panel of judges will select one overall winner and determine the number of runner-up awards. Additional details regarding the structure and format of the final round will be forthcoming.
