Warrington duo places third at international ethics case competition
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A pair of University of Florida Warrington College of Business students finished among the top teams at the Inter-Collegiate Business Competition (ICBC), a student-run organization at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University in Canada. The team finished third in the final ethics case competition.
“The Inter-Collegiate Business Competition is the largest and longest running undergraduate business competition in North America. Now in its 48thyear, ICBC attracts students from some of the best business schools in the world. This year, over 400 students from 35 universities competed,” said Dr. Brian Ray, Director of the Poe Business Ethics Center. “It is tremendous to see Warrington students achieve such tremendous success in the world’s top ethics case competitions.”
The Inter-Collegiate Business Competition is Canada’s premier case competition. The main competition is split in two rounds, a preliminary and final round. The preliminary round is a written case competition designed to challenge competitors’ ability to write a quality business report. The top six teams from the preliminary round move to the final round, in which competitors have five and a half hours to prepare and present a case to a panel of judges.
Jacob Orlick (BSAc ’22) and Savannah LoPiccolo (BSBA ’22, MIB ’22) represented Warrington at the case competition. The case involved Orlick and LoPiccolo serving as consultants for a fictional pharmaceutical company. They were asked to advise on how the company should develop a COVID-19 vaccine program to present to the World Health Organization (WHO) for worldwide distribution.
“The fictional company in the case had developed three treatments, and our solution was to globally distribute the most affordable, short term vaccine under WHO guidelines until it was feasible to distribute the more costly, but more effective vaccine, which would be provided at cost by the company,” Orlick said. “It would mirror the Polio vaccination and eradication campaign, albeit on an even larger, faster, and more complex scale.”
First-time case competitor LoPiccolo added that transparency was a key aspect of their solution for the fictional pharmaceutical company, GeneTech.
“Our solution employed utilitarianism as we are simultaneously applying a virtue ethics outlook on what GeneTech’s desired final outcome and how people deserve to be treated,” she said. “As such, when it comes to disclosures, we suggested GeneTech conduct the most open, honest, and transparent proposal and vaccine distribution ever created. When it comes to how costs will be covered, we made our goal to make sure that we stay successful as a business while prioritizing global health.”
The Orlick-LoPiccolo team’s third place win at the virtual competition earned them a certificate and plenty of pride in their success.
“It was honor to represent UF and the Poe Center for Business Ethics as the only team from the United States to advance to the final round in the ethics competition” Orlick said. “The case was extremely relevant, and it was fulfilling to discuss such an important and difficult issue that the world continues to grapple with. We are so grateful for the support and encouragement Dr. Ray has given us and could not ask for a better mentor and coach!”
Dr. Ray is just as proud of Orlick and LoPiccolo for their dedication to studying ethics in business.
“The hard work and success of students like Jake and Savannah should be a tremendous source of pride for the Gator Nation,” said Dr. Ray. “Jake and Savannah’s analysis of the ethical issues associated with the distribution of the COVID vaccine clearly impressed the judges. It is wonderful to see that the programs offered by the Poe Business Ethics Center continue to make a significant impact on the professional development of our undergraduate students. GO GATORS…GO ETHICS!”
