Cal Poly's graduate students have very successful academic experiences. Here is a sampling of just some of the awards and accomplishments of our graduate students.

2007-2008 Competitions

• National Intercollegiate Business Ethics Competition - 2nd place
• International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition
• Bank of America Low Income Housing Challenge

2005-2006 Activities

• PolyHouse Project

Competions & Activities from previous years

• 2006-2007
• 2005-2006
• 2004-2005
• 2003-2004
• 2002-2003
• 2001-2002

2nd place in the National Intercollegiate Business Ethics Competition

Pictured from left to right: Matthew Fencl - MBA, Martin Flores - MBA,
Nicholas Miura - MBA & MS Aerospace Engineering,
Advisor Sean Martin - MBA 2006, Jeffrey Mohr - MBA, and Gary Chou - MBA

A team of five Orfalea College of Business graduate students won the second place, Kerrigan prize, for the annual event hosted by Loyola Marymount University's Center for Ethics and Business. The competition, involving prominent schools (Loyola Marymount, UCLA, Dartmouth University, Duquesne University, New York University, University of Arizona, Villanova, Cal Poly and the US Naval Academy), is designed to help students see that it is possible to be both ethical and profitable in business at the same time. The Cal Poly team presented a compelling case about tansparency in the retail mareket for organic foods. Only five of the 31 teams advanced to the final round, which included McGill University, Cal Poly, Montgomery College, St. Joseph's University and University of San Francisco.

The heart of the Business Ethics Competition is a student team case/presentation.
Each team, acting as a consulting company, prepares a presentation to explain the legal, financial and ethical dimensions of a selected problem. (The range of possible topics is virtually infinite and can relate to any area of business) Teams recommend a solution that must address all three topic areas. Not surprisingly, even though all three topic areas must be addressed, judges place special weight on the strength of the ethical analysis of the problem and the ethical acceptability of the solution. The ethical character of analyses and recommendations are evaluated from the perspective of "philosophical ethics." That is, judges look for discussion of at least: the amount and type of tangible good and harm involved; and the intrinsic character of the actions involved.

International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition

Pictured from left to right: Jesse Bilsten, Naomi Guy, Martin Flores, Amy Engldahl, Erik Slyater, and Faculty Advisor Dr. Dave Peach.

A team of five graduate students from the Orfalea College of Business represented Cal Poly at the 44th Annual International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition held in April in San Diego, California. Teams from as far away as Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, traveled to San Diego to participate in simulated business decisions. In all, twenty-four talented teams from eighteen top universities took part.

The purpose of the competition is to teach students the immediate effects of business strategy decisions from both an internal and external perspective. Students face the challenge of making real business decisions at a rapid pace; learn the consequences of business and ethical decision making, and the importance of creating and maintaining competitive advantage. In addition to making a broad range of business and ethical decisions, students are required to complete a comprehensive business plan, annual report, and several other management reports reflecting goal attainment and strategy changes.

The simulation-based competition begins each February via an Internet decision-making process and culminates in the intense phase of competition when Cal Poly MBA students go toe-to-toe with other high caliber MBA students from across the country.

Bank of America Low Income Housing Challenge

A team of College of Architecture and Orfalea College of Business graduate students represented Cal Poly at the 17th Annual Bank of America Low-Income Housing Challenge. Cal Poly's Collaborative Housing proposal received high praise. In the opinion of the jury, Cal Poly's proposal "exhibited the best demonstration of project functionality, with architectural and land-use features that complemented the built environment and conformed to planning/zoning requirements."

Award

PolyHouse Project

PolyHouse Project, part of Professor Roya Javadpour's graduate level technological project management course (IME 556) takes the "learn by doing" philosophy to a new level. Students test their skills while planning and managing a technical project that involves fund-raising, scheduling, allocating resources, budgeting, assessing risk and monitoring progress.

"Through hands-on involvement in a real project, EMP students test their abilities to take action when needed, to make mid-course adjustments on plans, and to recover from unexpected problems. The house project provides a rare educational platform that goes beyond the classroom setting into the actual implementation." Dr. Roya Javadpour

Funding for the project comes entirely from the generous donations of local businesses and individuals in the form of materials and monies. For more information on the project, go online to www.polyhouse.org