Donahue Center-sponsored Team Addresses Inequity of COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution
The Manning School of Business team of, clockwise from top left, Raj Aurora, Thomas Stranberg and Prabakar Adithya earned a pair of victories at the annual International Business Ethics Case Competition.
05/04/2021
By Ed Brennen
Eighteen teams from 17 institutions took part in the virtual competition, which requires teams to select a current business ethics issue, choose the perspective from which they will present arguments, and identify the role the judges will portray. Teams then make presentations in 25-minute, 10-minute, and 90-second competitions.
Sponsored by the听Donahue Center for Business Ethics and Social Responsibility, the UML team won the 10-minute and 90-second competitions in their undergraduate divisions 鈥� and a total of $600 in prize money. The competition included teams from Penn State, Fordham University and the U.S. Military Academy, as well as from universities in Spain and Turkey.
Representing the internal ethics advisory board at Pfizer, the team addressed the inequity of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution among underserved communities and vulnerable individuals from the pharmaceutical company鈥檚 perspective, with the judges representing Pfizer corporate leadership.
Aurora, an Honors business administration major from North Andover, Massachusetts, delivered the team鈥檚 winning 90-second 鈥渆levator pitch.鈥� He described his team鈥檚 wins as 鈥渟urreal.鈥�
鈥淧articipating in a competition that prioritizes ethics above anything else, and being able to express my perspective in these contemporary ethical issues, was a profoundly empowering moment,鈥� he said.
Last semester, Stranberg, Aurora and Adithya听represented the Manning School听in the Providence College School of Business Michael Smith Regional Ethics Case Competition.
The team spent the spring semester working with their faculty advisors 鈥� Visiting Instructor听Elissa Magnant, Asst. Prof.听Erica Steckler听and Louise Durand, a visiting faculty lecturer in management 鈥� to research and analyze their selected topic.
The team also consulted industry expert Nancy O鈥橦are, a healthcare executive working on frontline pandemic efforts and an executive guest lecturer in the Manning School.
鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 be more proud of the team for its wonderful achievement,鈥� said Business Dean听Sandra Richtermeyer.听
Since 2018, the Donahue Center has provided support and mentoring to student teams competing in business ethics case competitions.