The Fighting Five: Business Problem Solving
Author: Bryan Fields
Business Problem Solving
When retail data science company 84.51 wanted ideas for convincing Kroger customers to purchase more, five Mendoza Business Analytics students stood above the rest. The team, named the Fighting Five, were chosen by the company for presenting the best case in their Business Problem Solving section spring semester. The students designed a new coupon strategy for Kroger to get more people in the door and buy more. They targeted younger loyalty-card customers who were regular shoppers but weren’t brand-loyal or using coupons. The Fighting Five cleaned data Kroger provided, looked at products customers needed but weren’t buying, and tied into a hot social trend of the “pink tax,” where women’s healthcare products often cost more than men’s. This strategy also aligned with Kroger’s mission of being a pioneer in health and personal care by selling more in these product categories.
The Fighting Five
Professor Timothy Balko
Fighting Five was one of five student teams presenting cases to the company in a Business Problem Solving class taught by Tim Balko, associate teaching professor, Department of Management and Organization.
During the one-week cases, companies first meet with classes by video to explain a challenge they’d like the students to solve. Companies stay in touch during the project and then visit at the end to hear students’ presentations. Cases are presented to 36 teams across all four sections, five per semester. Cases are fictional but use “real-life possibilities” that illustrate common challenges these companies face.
“Students get an exceptional teamwork experience,” Balko said. “They learn how to take advantage of diversity of experience and strengths, a great benefit after graduation because all companies work in teams. This is an excellent example of problem-solving and experiential learning that you’ll have at ND.” Students also are exposed to different types of companies and environments. This exposure may change their course of study or even career path. In addition, students and professors broaden their viewpoint by hearing perspectives from outside the university. Companies benefit by getting to know students and seeing those in action whom they might want to hire later.
The Growth of the Program
“The program has grown continuously during the last 10 years”, Balko said, “up from four or five
cases a semester to ten or more companies now involved”. Mendoza generally finds companies through them employing a core of ND alumni who want to take part, or through referrals from other ND departments.
84.51 continues to stay involved through its ND alumni, including Megan Allen (ND ’22), data scientist and one of the judges. Allen praised Fighting Five’s use of data and insights for backing their winning strategy. “The group’s slide design, structure of their presentation, and data visualization helped to build a compelling case for why their strategy would be effective,” she said. “Overall, we were impressed by the group’s willingness to think outside of the box, and their ability to address and design an effective strategy that solved a previously unaddressed issue.” Fighting Five’s members said their winning experience taught them new things about themselves and will help prepare them for successful careers.
Thoughts from the Fighting Five
“It was a great opportunity to learn a topic I didn’t have a lot of experience in,” said Camille Case, Marketing junior. “It was good to see a real-world application of what we learned in textbooks. I learned a lot that I can apply later.”
“I was able to get insights out of data from my teammates,” said Christopher Liu, senior majoring in Business Analytics and Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics. “Coding is a pretty easy part of what I do, but getting insights out of data is something I can improve upon.”
“I had to know what my strengths are and my teammates’ strengths and trust their insights,” said Krista Lourdes Akiki, senior studying Business Analytics and cyber security.
“I enjoyed the team dynamics,” said Anthony Kim, Management Consulting junior. “This was the first time I couldn’t do a lot up front and had to rely on Chris and Krista.”
“We get so much experience in our majors,” said James London, junior majoring in Finance and Economics, “but this let us work with different people just like in the business world.”
Learn more about how Mendoza’s Undergraduate and Masters Business Analytics programs can prepare you for success.
