Consulting Contest Tests Professional Skills

The Harvard-Yale rivalry has always existed on the athletic field, but this weekend the Harvard-Radcliffe Consulting Club (HRCC) brought the competition to a more professional level.

In the first annual Harvard-Radcliffe Intercollegiate Consulting Competition, nine teams from Harvard, Yale and Wellesley battled for the top prize of $1,000 in Emerson Hall. Although two Harvard teams garnered second- and third-place finishes, the Yale team captured the check.

The $1,000 check was provided by the event's sponsor, the Monitor Company, a Cambridge-based management consulting firm.

The four-person teams attempted to solve a case study involving an obscure truck company called Consolidated Freightways Motor Freight (CFMF). During the Friday night event, the teams brainstormed solutions to CFMF's problem: high revenue but sluggish profits.

The teams were expected to digest several hundred pages of reading and give 20-minute presentations the next day.

"We never expected to be given so much information," said Yale sophomore Mark Volchek, president of Yale's Business Forum.

"By choosing a small company, everyone was on the same page," said Brett W. Dusing '00, HRCC's president.

The case description was lengthy, Dusing said, to force the competitors to weed out irrelevant information.

Yale sophomore Matt Terry, a member of the winning team, attributed his group's victory to "battling sleep deprivation and failed early theories" along with a morning spent on a "sugar and adrenaline high."

However, Terry said his winnings were already threatened by his rapid accumulation of Cambridge police parking tickets during the conference.

Harvard's third-place team had a more intriguing path to success.

The team of Lonne A. Jaffe '98-'99, Dylan M. Morris '99, Daniel J. Benjamin '99 and Puneet B. Sethi '99, who is a Crimson editor, read the cases and brainstormed ideas while playing poker.

Although the group was motivated by learning about consulting cases and winning the check, Jaffe noted an additional motivation.

"As much as I love them, we did it to escapeour parents on Junior Parents Weekend," Jaffesaid.

HRCC, which was founded halfway through lastyear, brainstormed the idea for a competition lastDecember.

"We couldn't find any competition to competein, except [one in] Washington Universitysponsored by [Arthur] Andersen [Consulting],"Dusing said. Left in the lurch, HRCC decided toorganize a competition.

But attempts to get firm commitments fromsurrounding colleges proved difficult, especiallywith the approaching start of spring break formost schools.

"We struggled with organization and we hadtrouble contacting people," said Chinwe Onyeagoro'00, HRCC's business developer.

Although the groups were given littlepreparation time, Onyeagoro characterized thepresentations as "excellent."

"They are directly related to the company andfocused on using the competitive landscape,"Onyeagoro said.

In the future, HRCC hopes to expand beyond theconference and allow members to experienceconsulting while still in school.

"We would like to provide training sessions formembers," Dusing said. "We want members to be muchmore knowledgeable and have marketable skills when[they] enter the recruiting process."CrimsonMelissa K. CrockerCHINWE ONYEAGORO '00, Business Developer ofHarvard Radcliffe Consulting Club awards the firstplace prize of $1,000 to a member of Yale'sconsulting team.

"As much as I love them, we did it to escapeour parents on Junior Parents Weekend," Jaffesaid.

HRCC, which was founded halfway through lastyear, brainstormed the idea for a competition lastDecember.

"We couldn't find any competition to competein, except [one in] Washington Universitysponsored by [Arthur] Andersen [Consulting],"Dusing said. Left in the lurch, HRCC decided toorganize a competition.

But attempts to get firm commitments fromsurrounding colleges proved difficult, especiallywith the approaching start of spring break formost schools.

"We struggled with organization and we hadtrouble contacting people," said Chinwe Onyeagoro'00, HRCC's business developer.

Although the groups were given littlepreparation time, Onyeagoro characterized thepresentations as "excellent."

"They are directly related to the company andfocused on using the competitive landscape,"Onyeagoro said.

In the future, HRCC hopes to expand beyond theconference and allow members to experienceconsulting while still in school.

"We would like to provide training sessions formembers," Dusing said. "We want members to be muchmore knowledgeable and have marketable skills when[they] enter the recruiting process."CrimsonMelissa K. CrockerCHINWE ONYEAGORO '00, Business Developer ofHarvard Radcliffe Consulting Club awards the firstplace prize of $1,000 to a member of Yale'sconsulting team.