Japan Business Case Challenge 2017

The Japan Business Case Challenge (JBCC), a case competition held in English for Japanese undergraduate students, was held at APU from November 30 to December 3. In total, 12 teams of 48 participants joined the event. 20 participants were from APU and the rest came from other universities all over Japan, including Aoyama Gakuin University, Okayama University of Science, Keio University, Akita International University, Saitama University, University of Tokyo, Hitotsubashi University, and Ritsumeikan University.

On November 30, Associate Professor Damon DRUMMOND from APM held a preliminary workshop for the participants. On the second day, top managers from Robert Walters Japan K.K. and Joyfull Co., Ltd. delivered keynote speeches. A discussion session followed with the organizers of the Global Business Case Competition.

Afterward, the case for the competition was announced: participants were asked to develop strategies for Robert Walters Japan, a leading company in the human resources industry, to increase revenue. Robert Walters Japan is a naming sponsor of the competition.

After 22 hours of preparation, each team delivered their qualifying presentations. The 12 teams were divided into three divisions, and the teams that received the highest evaluation from the jury panel in each division advanced to the final round.

Although the case was quite straightforward, the participants were able to come up with very creative and detailed strategies, including introducing personnel from ASEAN countries as candidates and building up language training programs to train bilingual elites. In the tight final round on the last day, APU team ‘Office Workers’ took first place.

JBCC was created with the aim of raising the number of globally competitive Japanese students by cultivating skills necessary for global business through a series of workshops and challenges that improve English, communication, and presentation skills. 2017 marks the third iteration of the event. This year, the event was sponsored by Robert Walters Japan K.K., Japan Airlines Co., Ltd., Joyfull Co., Ltd., ABeam Consulting Ltd., SMBC, Yanmar Co., Ltd., APU Alumni Association, Gyakukyujin (operated by Gstylus Co. Ltd.), and Misumi Group Inc.

JBCCHP: http://apujbcc.ciao.jp/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JBCC.APU/