BusinessWeek and McGraw-Hill/Irwin Launch 1st Annual Case Writing Competition for College-level Business Students

BusinessWeek and McGraw-Hill/Irwin, the business and economics unit of McGraw-Hill Higher Education, launched a new annual college-level case writing competition for business students. The BusinessWeek Student Case Writing Competition will provide teams of business students with an opportunity to reverse roles with instructors -- by researching and writing a mini case, or critical incident, focusing on a specific business event.

The incident described in a case must be a real situation that impacts the decision-making and future of a particular business. The student teams will also write the teaching notes, including relevant questions designed to prompt additional classroom discussion. Faculty and students will then have an opportunity to use the details in these current issue-based cases to brainstorm options and make business recommendations. The development of this competition was borne out of BusinessWeek's continued commitment to supporting the academic efforts of business schools with the magazine's editorial insights, the Resource Center education Web site and a weekly classroom instructor's guide. By design, the competition will also provide up-to-date case materials for business schools.

  Highlights of the competition include:

   * The Student Case Writing Competition is open to any undergraduate or
     graduate student currently enrolled in a business or MBA program at an
     accredited college or university in the United States.
   * Each student team participating in the competition must consist of
     between 2 and 5 students.
   * Each university campus can select up to three team entries to submit to
     BusinessWeek.
   * The final team selections will include 12 honorable mentions and
     3 prize-winning teams.
   * Each student member of the 1st place team will receive $1,500.
   * The deadline for case submissions is December 1, 2004.

Joining the collaborative efforts of BusinessWeek and McGraw-Hill/Irwin on the project will be the Society for Case Research (SCR), a professional organization of faculty from colleges and universities involved in exchanging ideas leading to the improvement of case research, writing and teaching. Members of the society will provide academic expertise by helping establish judging criteria and assisting with the scoring of case submissions.

Barbara Nemecek, President of the Society for Case Research said, "SCR is particularly pleased to join with BusinessWeek and McGraw-Hill/Irwin in introducing this new Case Writing Competition. We think this will provide an excellent new learning opportunity for MBA students to apply research skills in the study of the business world, enabling a more comprehensive preparation for future corporate leadership roles."

The BusinessWeek Student Case Writing Competition was recently announced at the Midwest Business Administration Association (MBAA) conference in Chicago. MBAA is the joint conference of a dozen business disciplines, with faculty from across the U.S. coming together in one location to share professional experiences. Winners of the inaugural competition will be announced at the next MBAA conference in March 2005.

About BusinessWeek

BusinessWeek is the world's best-selling business magazine, with a worldwide circulation of nearly 1.2 million and 5.6 million readers worldwide each week. It is published weekly by The McGraw-Hill Companies in New York, and is distributed in more than 100 countries. The BusinessWeek global franchise includes BusinessWeek Magazine, BusinessWeek Online (www.businessweek.com), and BusinessWeek Television.

About McGraw-Hill Irwin

McGraw-Hill/Irwin is the business and economics unit of McGraw-Hill Higher Education, a leading global provider of educational materials and professional information. It is part of McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), a global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's and Business Week. Founded in 1888, the Corporation has more than 322 offices in 33 countries. Sales in 2003 were $4.8 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/

About the Society for Case Research

The Society for Case Research (SCR) was organized in 1978 to assist business educators in the development and distribution of business cases. SCR's primary objectives are to provide programs to facilitate the exchange of ideas leading to the improvement of case research, writing and teaching; to assist in the publication of written cases or case research and other scholarly work; and to provide recognition for excellence in case research, writing, and teaching. SCR programs include an Annual Conference, a Summer Case Writing Workshop, and four publications in the case research field. Additional information is available at http://www.sfcr.org/

For more information about the 2004 BusinessWeek Student Case Writing Competition, visit: http://www.resourcecenter.businessweek.com/mba/casefiles

SOURCE: BusinessWeek; McGraw-Hill/Irwin

CONTACT: Katherine Owens 212-512-4007
katherine_owens@businessweek.com
April Hattori 212-904-2078
april_hattori@mcgraw-hill.com

Web site: http://www.resourcecenter.businessweek.com/mba/casefiles
http://www.businessweek.com/
http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/