MAGNOLIA, Ark. — For the second year, students from Southern Arkansas University’s Phi Beta Lambda and Students in Free Enterprise team have successfully hosted the Walgreens Wrangle, a case competition that challenges students to solve a real world business problem for a company.
While students receive a rare opportunity to hone their business skills before beginning a job, the participating host and sponsor companies each year have the chance to see first hand the skills and work habits of potential employees.
“The goal of this is to try and get the top students from the participating schools directly involved with the company representatives,” said Wrangle Project Coordinator Grant Toms, a junior marketing major from Taylor, Ark. “Personally, the project helped me to learn the importance of delegation. When you have people working for you, you have to have the right people in the right places, so you can trust that every task is accomplished smoothly and on schedule.”
Fourteen universities from across the country participated in Wrangle this year held on October 25-October 27. Each team was challenged to prepare a marketing research study for the Rodney D. Young Insurance company of Dallas. The role of SAU SIFE/PBL members was to host the visiting students and executives for the weekend, including coordinating their lodging, meals and research facilities. Some members also served as team liaisons. Not only were team liaisons responsible for clarifying questions about the competition, but also served as university and community ambassadors providing directions and other needed support. About 25 SAU students participated in the event.
Toms, the project leader, said the insurance company received marketing strategies from all the teams and the teams encouraged Rodney D. Young Insurance to select one logo that would in time become synonymous with their company instead of using several logos as they had in the past.
The champion for the competition was the University of the Ozarks-Clarksville, Ark. First runner up was John Brown University-Siloam Springs, Ark., second runner up was Drury University-Springfield, Mo. and the third runner up was Kansas State University-Salina, Ky.
This year’s SIFE/PBL Team Captain is Kristina Treadway, a senior business administration major from Atlanta, Texas. The SAU SIFE Sam Walton Fellow is Dr. James Clark, associate professor of marketing and the SIFE/PBL Adviser is Traci Hughes, a college of business instructor and former SAU SIFE/PBL member.
Hughes said it is amazing to see what the student teams are able to develop with only 36 hours to come up with a solution. The experience of solving a real world problem for a real business will undoubtedly help them in the future.
“Today’s students need to be able to apply what they have learned in the classroom to the real world and activities like Wrangle provide an outlet for that type of development,” Hughes said.
Essential funding from Walgreens and Rodney D. Young Insurance made this year’s Wrangle possible. SIFE/PBL members rely on corporate sponsorship donations and fundraisers to cover the expense of their projects and trips to state, regional, and national competition. Phi Beta Lambda is the post-secondary division of Future Business Leaders of America. Membership is open to all students interested in careers in business or business education. SIFE is an international nonprofit organization active on more than 1,400 university campuses in more than 40 countries.
SIFE teams create economic opportunities in their communities by organizing outreach projects that teach market economics, entrepreneurship, success skills, financial literacy and business ethics. For more information about SAU SIFE/PBL Dr. James Clark at (870) 235-4313.
