Wharton students get real world experience

Future business consultants were given the chance to use the ideas and techniques they are learning at the University in a real world experience on Saturday. About 40 members of the Wharton Finance Club participated in a case study competition sponsored by the Arthur Andersen consulting firm. Students met in small groups to work on a case involving the Miami Herald newspaper. Their goal was to choose and present the most attainable operating improvements for the Herald, based on a write-up of the company's situation that each student received. Patrick McCormick of Arthur Andersen said the competition was part of a "campus-wide recruiting effort" for the firm. After the competition, McCormick critiqued the students' performances, explaining why different ideas would and would not work. Herald General Manager Joe Natoli was also on hand to discuss the case and its complexities, and later answered questions for the participants. The judges, consultants from Arthur Andersen, chose the "team that had the broadest viewpoint and was the most convincing," according to Natoli. The winning team – Wharton sophomores Vincent Scafaria, Brian Khan and Leonard Lee and Wharton senior Jeannie Plessinger – received a plaque commemorating their success and $100 each. "I'm very much interested in strategic consulting," Scafaria said. "I'm really glad that finally there is a forum for practicing what I want to be in real life." He added that participating in the competition was helpful because he "learned that a group is going to contribute more than an individual." Kahn attributed his group's success to each member's individuality and ability to contribute to the group. "We all had our different strategies," he said.