Warrington students compete in International Business Ethics Case Competition
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Undergraduate and graduate students from the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida took top honors at the International Business Ethics Case Competition in April. The graduate student team came in first place in the 10-minute presentation among graduate teams, and the undergraduate student team came in second place in the undergraduate division.
“The International Business Ethics Case Competition attracts some of the best university students in the world,” said Dr. Brian Ray, Director of the Poe Business Ethics Center. “It is tremendous to see Warrington students achieve such success against prestigious institutions like Holy Cross, Bentley, Boston College, and the University of Minnesota.”
The graduate team, Mark Elliott (BSBA Finance, MSF ’18), Brandon Hanley (BA International Studies, MIB ’18), Alex Maller (BSAc, MAcc ’18), Cameron Myers (BA Economics, MSM ’18) and Samantha Robinson (BA Criminology, MSM ’18), presented on the ethics involved with artificial intelligence and autonomous weapon systems technology developed at companies like Lockheed Martin. The team recommended the company minimize potential harm to key stakeholders by utilizing a framework designed to identify potential risks associated with the development of autonomous weapons at the procurement phase.
“To win is incredibly valuable to me,” Elliott said. “The most rewarding aspect was doing our case on something that is prevalent in the news every day. We will slowly begin to see artificial intelligence have a huge role in society, and potentially even in weaponry. Our presentation clearly showed that if AI weaponry gets in the wrong hands, the entirety of humanity could be at risk.
“Furthermore, being in Boston and having the opportunity to explore the city with some of our competitors was a great experience. It’s not so much about the prizes or winning the trophy, but more so about the learning opportunity that comes with analyzing a case, developing out a presentation and defending it against a panel of judges.”
The undergraduate team, Emily Dettlo (BSBA Marketing, BA-Spanish ’18), Crystal McDuffy (BSBA Marketing ‘19, Jared LeVine (BSBA Finance, BA Economics ’19), Arianna Acree (BABA, BA Economics ’19) and Susy Dabage (BABA, MIB ’18), presented on the forced removal of a passenger from a United Airlines flight due to overbooking. In their second-place winning presentation, the team recommended the airline used increased transparency to minimize the effects of the over-booking process and improving customer relations.
“As a senior, I am very excited to continue our success at the International Business Ethics Case Competition,” said Dettlo. “This is one of the most creative competitions that we get to go to, and we get to pick the topic that is relevant and interesting to us. Beyond the award, it is so fun to be able to interact with students from all over the world. We learn how we can actually incorporate ethics into the real world from many different perspectives. We will hopefully carry this knowledge to each of our respective fields and continue to make ethics a priority in our lives.”
The International Business Ethics Case Competition (IBECC) is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious event of its kind. Undergraduate and graduate students from around the world participate in the annual competition to identify problems and present solutions to some of the most pressing ethical issues in global business today.
