Four WSU business students took first place at the Consortium of Undergraduate International Business Education (CUIBE) global strategy case competition, which took place from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1.

Aaron Motley, McKenzie Polsak, Sterling Smith and Marinn Young competed against 16 schools throughout United States and Canada, which were highly recognized for their International Business programs.

The team got together at the beginning of the semester and had been assigned to work together in spring semester of last year.

“Kalvin Joshi thought we would all be assets to his team, so I feel special that we were all chosen,” said business major and team member, Marinn Young.

“The team prepared extensively,” said Kalvin N. Joshi, clinical associate professor of management, information systems, and entrepreneurship in the WSU Carson College of Business and the teams coach. “Each student equally brought his or her individual strengths and capabilities to the team.”

The team presented their strategy in front of a total of four judges and competed against three other schools for a spot in the final round.

“All of the judges throughout the preliminary and final founds were highly skilled professionals in various fields,” said business major and team member Aaron Motley.

The team’s project was a case from the Ivey School of Business in Western Ontario regarding a small boutique winery located in Israel.

“It was on a wine company that was trying to successfully enter the Chinese market in 2009 and was unsuccessful,” said Young.

Israeli wine had little exposure in China, and the team’s goal was to increase the company’s profit margins in a region where they originally failed.

“We presented them with a two-part strategy starting in year one with a partnership with Air China,” said Motley, “The airline would offer the wine to first and business class customers to gain attention of our target market.”

The following year would propose a partnership with a luxury wine distributor, focused on getting the wine in hotels, restaurants, and promotional events.

“The team’s strategic business plan and presentations were robust, cogent and persuasive,” Joshi said. “This is why they were selected by the judges to advance to the finals.”

“There was no physical award for winning the competition,” Motley said. “However we brought recognition to the Carson College of Business, and we will hopefully increase our rankings among other nationally recognized business programs.”