MBA Students Win National Case Consulting Competition for Pharmatek Project

A marketing consulting project conducted by students in the MBA program has placed first in the “graduate – specialized” category of the Small Business Institute’s (SBI) Annual Field Case of the Year Competition. The award will be presented in Tucson this month at the SBI’s annual meeting, co-hosted by the U.S. Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

The marketing study, supervised by marketing professors Don Sciglimpaglia and Sara Appleton-Knapp, was implemented for Pharmatek Laboratories, Inc., a San Diego-based biotech firm. The project involved a study to increase sales of Pharmatek’s Hot Rod Chemistry Formulation Screening Kit. The students conducted customer and potential customer research, analyzed the market, examined growth potential, and assessed trends and competition.

"We were extremely satisfied with the quality of the students that we worked with, their preparation and their dedication to the project," said Tim Scott, president of Pharmatek Laboratories.  "The results of their research and conclusions that they drew from it have led us to new strategies for marketing our Hot Rod Chemistry kit."

The Annual Field Case of the Year Competition, sponsored by the Small Business Institute Directors Association, is to recognize outstanding student work on field cases. These field case projects provide students opportunities to help make lasting improvements in their client's business operations.

Two students were offered jobs based on their successful work on the project. Elizabeth Hickman was hired by the project client, Pharmatek, and is its current marketing manager. Graduate Keith Moynehan credits the project with gaining him a job in the surgical instruments field.   “It helped me land my current role as Product Manager at Karl Storz Endoscopy,” Moynehan said. “I think this capstone course in the MBA program is one of its greatest selling points and I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.”

This is the third time in the past five years that an SDSU MBA final consulting project supervised by Sciglimpaglia has placed first in the competition. In 2001, a project conducted for San Diego Magazine received the award, followed by another first place win for a project conducted for the San Diego Downtown YMCA in 2002.

SDSU Students Provide Counsel to National City Business Owners

From left to right: Student Randy Hencken, Mercados Rodeos owner Noemi Linares and her sister Sylvia Chavez, Student Rory Hillenga (bottom row) Students Melissa Smith and Marja Young.

For the students of professor Howard Toole’s Small Business Consulting class, their final projects have earned them more than just a grade. Their projects have given them the opportunity to use the skills they have acquired throughout their academic careers and apply them to a real world situation.

Throughout the fall semester, students assisted various National City business owners with marketing, web site creation/enhancement, accountancy, sales, physical (store) improvements, and strategic business planning. Last year, the first project with National City was initiated through professor Don Sciglimpaglia.

A team of students who worked with Martin’s Vogue in Flowers, for example, focused their business objectives on creating a web site, streamlining accounting procedures, and increasing market share. The team also included suggestions for interior and exterior improvement designs, as well as specific sales and marketing strategies, which included ways to increase visibility and advertisement.

 “The project was a good complement to all the other classes we have taken. It made us think of what we had to do for the client. We used our thinking, and not just textbook, skills,” said Marja Young, a member of the Mercados Rodeos consulting group.

Mercados Rodeos owner Noemi Linares, who attended the final presentations, was happy to work with the students and was pleased with the group’s work. She vowed to make changes to her business based on the students’ recommendations.

Toole’s classwrapped up the fall semester on December 20 with presentations to Robert Paz, National City’s Deputy Director of Economic and Community Development and members of his staff.

According to Paz, the project is a great win-win situation for both parties. “This has been the best example for our small businesses. They get technical assistance from the students they may not normally have. While an individual may know how to make a wedding dress, they may not know how to build a web site. The students provide for that gap. Likewise, the project gives students real world experience and the opportunity to bring out their own personalities. They can get a gauge of how they will be as consultants and as business people.”

email: business@sdsu.edu