Rules 

Judge's Scoring Rubric – Written Executive Summary (40% of preliminary round weighting)

Judge's Scoring Rubric - Oral Presentation (60% of preliminary round weighting)

The SHRM State Student Case Competition is an oral presentation competition hosted by the Utah SHRM State Council. Student teams from across the state receive and analyze a business case study in advance and prepare a solution in and executive summary and PowerPoint format to be submitted to the Competition Manager prior to the event.  This same presentation is also used onsite for oral presentation the day of the competition to a panel of judges.  Teams are comprised of two to six students, and may be divided between Division I and Division II or other categories (e.g. Undergraduate and Graduate) based on age, work experience and level of education (optional). Preliminary round scores determine the top two teams to compete in the final rounds, also presenting their solution to a panel of judges.  Prizes will be awarded to the top team (with multiple winners if categories are utilized) following the final round. 

All competition materials will be sent to and must be received by a designated team captain only, including the Case Competition Integrity Statement. The Case Competition Integrity Statement must be agreed to before the case will be provided to the team captain.  Details about the formats of the submissions can be found below.

Remote Preparation

During this time, team captains will be sent the case study via email, along with a case prompt and other supporting documents in applicable, and asked to have their teams analyze the case and come up with a solution. 

Slide Formats

Slide Format

 Slides will be used during oral presentations on the day of the competition. The presentation may be no longer than fifteen minutes. A panel of judges then will ask questions they deem appropriate and judge the presentation. Five additional minutes will be allotted for Q&A.

• There is no minimum or maximum number of slides required, but the presentation should be created with the time limit in mind. When preparing the presentation, teams should take care to ensure that their solution is clear and concise.

• Although teams must not display the name of their college/university anywhere on the slides, they may include the names of the team members.

• Sound effects and video clips are not allowed in the presentation.

• Graphics are allowed in the presentation.

• The presentation must be saved in a Slide Show format and not as a PDF file. Computers provided will be equipped with Microsoft Office.
  
  

What to Expect at the Competition

Onsite Oral Presentation Rules

• Although every team member does not need to speak during the presentation, each must be present at the front of the room and available to answer questions.

• Presenters may use notecards during the presentation.

• Teams do not need to give copies of their slide deck to the judges as they will not have time to review.  Scores are based purely on the oral presentation.   

• Props, displays, or handouts of any sort are not allowed. 

Referencing Your Team

• To ensure no bias, perceived or real, teams are assigned a number and must refrain from referencing their college/university during the competition. This includes not wearing items with a university logo at any time during the event, including during onsite registration.

• Teams may share the names of their members with the judges during the oral presentation and include the names on the slide deck.

Onsite Oral Presentation Time Limit/Q&A

• The time limit for the onsite oral presentation is 15 minutes.

•   Judges will have an additional 5 minutes for Q&A.

• Time limits will be enforced by the judges.

Presentation Set-Up

• Team Captains (and any team members that wish to join) should ensure they are in the correct room to set up their powerpoint they will present.

Chapter Advisor/Faculty Member Rules

The State Student Case Competition is a student-only competition. Chapter advisors and faculty members are strictly prohibited from providing guidance or feedback from the time the case study is provided to the team captain until the completion of the onsite Case Competition event. This includes any nonverbal communication during the presentations.

Team Check-In

• Teams should check in at the designated time. Please refrain from wearing items with your university logo when checking in.

• All team members must be present when the team checks in onsite.

• Teams will be informed onsite during check-in of their designated presentation time.

Preliminary Round

All preliminary round presentations will occur first. If a team is late and/or misses its designated presentation time, the team will forfeit its competition slot.

• • • All team members must be in attendance and visible (computer/video cameras on) at during the presentation, even if they are not presenting.

    • Student chapter advisors, faculty members and individual students that are not competing may sit in on the preliminary round of judging; however, competition rules prohibit viewers from providing feedback to competing students regarding the presentations they view.

    • Those participating in the Case Competition are not allowed to sit in on any other team’s preliminary presentation.

Final Round

The final round will be held after all scores are compiled and finalists are announced. The finalists are the top teams who have the highest scores (in both Division I and Division II, if these or other categories are used.) Teams proceeding to the final round will not be able to make any changes to their PowerPoint presentations. However, teams will be able to change what they say for the final round.

• Teams will present in front of a panel of judges, other Case Competition teams and general attendees.

• Competition finalists will not be allowed to sit in on other teams’ presentations.

• Note: An exception to this rule is if two Divisions are used, Division I finalists will be permitted to sit in on the Division II finalists’ presentations since they will have already completed their final presentations.  The same applies if other categories (e.g. Undergraduate and Graduate) are used.

• If time permits, teams may be given a period to prepare before they present in the final round.   

• Preliminary round scores are not used in the final round; scoring is based solely on the final presentation.

Scoring

The oral presentations are scored based on the rubrics that are provided along with the case study. (Rubrics can be found under the Scoring tab)

• The three teams from each division with the highest point total will go on to the final round.

• The winning teams will be announced during the closing session.

Tiebreakers

• In case of a tie after either the preliminary round or the final round, the judges will reconvene and determine which team will move to the final round.   

Dress Code

Exhibit professionalism in appearance and demeanor (e.g., attitude, interactions with others). These factors contribute to the team’s overall score.

• • • Wear business attire.

    • Do not dress in college/university colors or wear clothing bearing any reference to your university. This applies to students and chapter advisors/faculty members during check-in and throughout the competition.

    • Please remove your name badges before entering the oral presentation room.

Reminders

Work on the case study must be completed by team members only.

• Teams are expected to conduct all necessary research through publicly available resources. Use of all library resources, class textbooks and websites (such as SHRM.org) are welcome.

• Teams are prohibited from securing input or feedback from any individual who is not eligible to compete, including fellow students, student advisors or faculty.  Please see Team and Individual Eligibility Requirements.

Any action that violates the SHRM Code of Ethics, the Case Competition Integrity Statement or the rules stated here will result in immediately disqualification of the team by the Competition Manager, whose decision is final.

It is the State Council’s intention to provide a fair and unbiased administration of the Utah SHRM Student Case Competition.  To maintain the highest level of integrity throughout the competition, all team participants and faculty advisors must agree to abide by the official Case Competition Rules and Regulations and Codes of Sportsmanship (for case competition team members and faculty advisors.)

The Team Captain will ensure the following:

·       The team reads and abides by the official Case Competition rules and Code of Sportsmanship for Case Competition Team Members.

·       Our faculty advisor(s) reads and is aware of the official Case Competition rules and the Code of Sportsmanship for Faculty Advisors.

·       Work on the case assignment will be completed by the team only.  

·       The team does not secure advice from advisors, professors, parents, friends, or other personal contacts.

·       The team will refrain from sharing information regarding the case, including the proposed solution, in any form prior to, during or following the event.

 The Team Captain of participating teams will need to:

·       Attest that each member of your team competing in the SHRM State Student Case Competition, as well as the team’s faculty advisor, will familiarize themselves with both the official rules and regulations governing the competition and the Codes of Sportsmanship.

·       Confirm acknowledgement of, and agreement with, the following principle:

“Any individual determined to be in violation of any official competition rule agrees to abide by the consequences established for violating the competition rule(s), up to and including being disqualified from the competition.  Action taken will be at the judgment of the Case Competition Management Team, following appropriate inquiry and/or investigation resulting from a complaint about violating the rules or Codes of Sportsmanship. All decisions are final.”