MMICC Blog

1st Place – Thammasat University

Slides from the other nine competing teams can be viewed online on our Slideshare space.

With the added pressure of competing against former winning schools, and with the weight of their school on their shoulders, expectations were very high on the students at MMICC 2010. The case on Cirque du Soleil further opened the floor for creative strategies, making the judges’ work more challenging than usual. This year’s competition could be called a photo finish. It has been revealed that several teams moved in and out of the top three throughout deliberation, but ultimately did not place. Locked in a room, it took two hours before the judging panel could settle on the winners, making it the longest deliberation in years and clearly, a close call for the podium.

Thammasat University claims the top spot, while Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the University of Pennsylvania (The Wharton School) win second and third place trophies, respectively.

Jiraya Boonyasait, Kattareeya Teeraratpol, Monsinee Sattayarak and Vorawan Wangpanitkul made up the Thammasat delegation. They were coached by advisor Satjaporn Tungsong.

The winning team has overcome an unwritten odd at this case competition. In recent years, none of the teams selected to present first were able to make it to the top 3. Until now.

Despite being chosen as team number one and facing the pressure of presenting first, Thammasat delivered a solid strategy which set the tone for an intense day of competition. In the end, they remained undefeated and took the champions’ plate home.

The teams from HKUST and Wharton represented their school well and achieved a great comeback. HKUST had not ranked since winning 1st place in 2004, while Wharton’s last win was in 2005 (1st place as well).

Alex Chun Kit Wong, Hoh Yan Jasmine Ling, Wai Ying Yip and Xue Yuxing made up the delegation from Hong Kong and were coached by Lynn Pi.

The team from Wharton comprised Cameron Rouzer, Casey Klyszeiko, Raymond Flores and Mindy Zhang, who were coached by Keith Niederneier.

The three winners were announced during Closing Ceremonies, at the Intercontinental Hotel in Old Montreal. Participants, advisors, organizers, judges and former co-chairs since 2001 gathered for the evening to find out the results.

The McGill Management International Case Competition marked its tenth anniversary this year and took place March 23-27. The event was co-chaired by McGill BCom students Emily Price and Khaled Kteily.

Cirque du Soleil is the subject of this year’s selected case! Over the last 24 hours, the teams have been analyzing the entertainment company’s partnership with MGM casinos, while the Cirque looks to enter new markets at Tokyo Disney Resort, Macao and Dubai World. They will have to recommend a sustainable model that can be as profitable as its relationship with MGM Mirage.

The following summary is officially made available to the public attending the presentations as of Saturday March 27 at 9:00am, when the first two teams are set to present.

The case describes the history and business model of Cirque du Soleil (CdS). The case allows for a rich discussion and analysis of Cirque du Soleil’s business model with an emphasis on how it interacts with that of MGM Mirage. Le Cirque and MGM’s business models complement one another: MGM makes important capital investments in theaters tailored to CdS’s shows that are located in the middle of MGM casinos, CdS acts as a magnet for traffic for an exclusive clientele that spends large amounts of money at the casino. CdS’s partnership with MGM has been tremendously profitable.

This raises the question of why hold up and opportunism have not destroyed competitive advantage for both entities: What features in CdS and MGM Mirage’s business models have resulted in such a successful partnership? The case is set at a juncture where Daniel Lamarre (CdS’s CEO) is looking for new opportunities for growth.

Lamarre is pondering the likelihood of success of Cirque’s first resident show in Asia at Tokyo Disney Resort, its entry in the Macao market, and a new partnership with two subsidiaries of Dubai World, the sovereign wealth fund of the Emirate. The question is: Can Le Cirque find a new model of complementary relationships that will be as profitable as its relationship with MGM Mirage?

The presentations will be open to the public, and will run from 9am to 5:30pm at the Desautels Faculty of Management, 4th Floor. The winning teams will be announced online by Sunday morning.

Team Washington about to present at MMICC 2007

At most case competitions, the judges typically watch a certain number of presentations in a preliminary round, then a certain number of finalists. At MMICC, the judges are actually required to sit through all of the presentations, and they cannot miss one.

With 10 teams competing this year, each judge is committing to 5 hours of presentation. In any other year, 6 hours. Yet, they honour their task and consistently seek to accomplish it with passion and the utmost impartiality. For many judges, MMICC has become an annual rendez-vous.

At this 10th edition, the judging panel comes from many diverse industries: financial services, health care, telecommunications, insurance, education, retailing, consulting – and this year, mining. All have senior experience, great connections and are leaders in their own field.

The companies represented in 2010 are Freedom 55 Financial, Deloitte, Chubb Insurance, Rio Tinto Alcan, McKesson Canada, National Bank Financial, TelcoBridges, Tim Hortons, The Kinderville Group, SavantSoft and Gildan Activewear. In total, 14 judges will be separated into 2 presentations rooms, where teams will alternate in the morning and afternoon, looking to deliver 2 solid presentations – a key to earn the top spot at MMICC.

Once the teams are done and get ready to change for Closing Ceremonies, the judges are gathered in a room and face the difficult challenge of determining a winner. At MMICC, there is no grading system, no points, no evaluation grid, although we provide the panel with a set of criteria to use as guidelines. The judges are asked to rank, not grade, and they remain free to use whatever system makes sense to them.

Just like in a real business situation, the question often becomes “who would you hire as a consultant”?  Still, this is not an easy task. The playing field is international. The calibre: very high. But it must be done and there is always a winner. A consensus may be reached in just 20 minutes one year. Or it may take 5 hours another (this has happened once!). Only the top 3 winners are announced, and anything can happen at MMICC. The results are in the envelopes!

Stay tuned to find out which team will become champions of the 10th Annual McGill Management International Case Competition! The winners will be announced by Sunday online.