SDSU MBA Students Take Second Place in National Case Competition forMission Federal Credit Union

Contact: Randy Carmical, Director of Communications
(619) 594-0206 Randy.Carmical@sdsu.edu

SAN DIEGO, Thursday, February 22, 2007  –  San Diego State University MBA students placed second in the “graduate – specialized” category of the Small Business Institute’s (SBI) Annual Field Case of the Year Competition. The award was presented in Orlando in January at the SBI’s annual meeting, co-hosted by the U.S. Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

The marketing study, supervised by marketing professor Don Sciglimpaglia and IDS professor Gretchen Vik, was conducted for San Diego-based Mission Federal Credit Union (MFCU). The project involved a study to increase the company’s Gen Y consumer acquisition over a 5-10 year period.

”Working with our team of students proved extremely rewarding and beneficial,” said CEO of Mission Federal Services Tom Leyva. “Based on the findings of the team, we developed a microsite with a unique, distinctive look and feel targeted to Gen Y which we branded ‘Generation Next.’  The research revealed that Gen Y like to educate themselves, so we provided content on the GenNext site which gives information on financial products and services, interactive online tools such as calculators, online account opening access, and personal finance articles.  Future enhancements call for additional interactive tools, live chat and blogging.”

The team, comprised of four SDSU graduate students (Darren Greenhalgh, Keiichi Hashikawa, Sarah Scannell and Tood Tarplee) began the study by breaking the project into five smaller objectives.  Each objective incorporated secondary research from credible institutions, as well as five individual interviews. The students also conducted customer and potential customer research, analyzed the market, examined growth potential, and assessed trends and competition. In the end, they used the findings and conclusions of the study to formulate the required action plan for MFCU.

 “Our team worked extremely well together,” Darren Greenhalgh said.  “We were all motivated, able to define functional responsibilities that complemented each of our individual expertise, and worked cohesively through the suggestions and evaluation of each other’s work. The structure of the program was beneficial, as well. Without the defined milestones, examples, deadlines and help from our advisors, we wouldn't have been able to get all this work done in just 16 weeks.” 

The Annual Field Case of the Year Competition, sponsored by the Small Business Institute Directors Association, is designed 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.

This is the sixth consecutive year that an SDSU MBA final consulting project supervised by Sciglimpaglia has placed first or second in the competition. In 2001, a project conducted for San Diego Magazine won the competition, followed by first place awards for projects conducted for the San Diego Downtown YMCA in 2002 and for Pharmatek, Inc. in 2006.

In addition to the project for Pharmatek, which won the SBI competition, two other graduate teams supervised by Sciglimpaglia also won national competitions last year.  One of the projects, a marketing research study conducted for Honda, helped position the introduction of the new Honda Fit.  The other was an international research competition sponsored by the Moroccan American Trade and Investment Council to assist the Kingdom of Morocco's efforts to promote economic growth and stability through its private sector.

About the Small Business Institute
The Small Business Institute® (SBI®) is the premier professional association of small business/entrepreneurship educators and researchers involved in student analysis projects. Its mission is to strengthen the small business/entrepreneurship sector of the free enterprise system. SBI enhances and improves entrepreneurship education through an extensive network of Small Business Institutes® at colleges and universities.

About the College of Business Administration - Leadership for the Global Marketplace.
With over 6,000 students, the SDSU College of Business is one of the largest business schools in the U.S. Its programs in international business and graduate entrepreneurship are ranked among the top programs in the country by U.S. News and World Report. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu/business.

About SDSU
San Diego State University is the oldest and largest higher education institution in the San Diego region. Since it was founded in 1897, the university has grown to offer bachelors degrees in 81 areas, master’s degrees in 73 areas and doctorates in 16 areas. SDSU’s more than 34,000 students participate in an academic curriculum distinguished by direct contact with faculty and an increasing international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu.