COTR business students winners at competition

Cutline: (l-r) College of the Rockies Business Administration instructor Butch Butalid helped coach students Daniel Marti (Junior Division), Kyler Robertson (Junior Division), Shaun Penner (Senior Division), Abdul Haseeb Riaz (Junior Division), Waldemar Klause (Junior Division), Harinder Kaur Dhanoa (Senior Division) and Michael Savarie (Senior Division) to victory at the 2014 Western Canadian Business Competition. Not pictured Derek Carlson (Senior Division).

Two College of the Rockies Business Administration teams came out winners at the 2014 Western Canadian Business Competition held March 21 to 23 at Okanagan College in Kelowna.

The Senior Division team members, students in the College’s Bachelor of Business Administration, Sustainable Business Practices program, won the top prize for the pre-weekend simulation held prior to the official competition weekend.  The Junior Division team, consisting of Business Administration diploma program students, came away with a second-prize win for the weekend simulation in Kelowna.

All competitors, including teams from Kingston, Ontario, Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna and Medicine Hat, were tasked with running a simulated bike company.  Team members assumed the roles of Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operations Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer. Judging was based on each team’s strategic plan report, two team oral presentations and the results of the company’s operations.

“I am very proud of both of our teams,” says College of the Rockies business instructor and team coach, Butch Butalid. “This competition is such a great experiential learning opportunity for our students and it is wonderful to see them being rewarded for their hard work.”

To assist with travel costs, the teams received financial support from College of the Rockies’ Students’ Association, College of the Rockies’ Faculty Association and the Rotary Club of Cranbrook.  “Without the assistance of our sponsors we would not have been able to send two teams to Kelowna for the competition,” Butalid continues. “Our accomplishments are, in large part, due to them.”

“College of the Rockies Business Administration students have won individual and/or team medals in each of the Western Canadian Business Competitions held in the past 10 years,” adds Business Program Coordinator Greg McCallum.  “We are delighted to continue our tradition of success.”

For more information on College of the Rockies’ Business Administration programs, go to: cotr.ca/BusinessAdmin