MILRs win awards at 2022 Purdue HR Case Competition
Eugene Tan, Quynh Nguyen, Viet Phan, Yen-Ting Yu, and Jenna Gimbar
Five Cornell MILR students (from left to right: Zhi Zhong Eugene Tan, Quynh Nguyen, Viet Phan, Yen-Ting Yu, and Jenna Gimbar) participated on the 2022 Purdue University HR Case Competition on November 11, 2022. The team received a $1,500 cash prize for their second-place accomplishment in the 2022 the Graduate Division. Jenna Gimbar also received the individual award for the Best Speaker in the Graduate Division.
PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay North America business was seeking creative ways to increase gender balance within their manufacturing facilities to better reflect the demographics of the communities where they “live and work”. The team analyzed PepsiCo’s internal data and conducted external labor market research.
As a result, they identified three areas for improvement:
(1) aligning job descriptions and marketing materials to better attract talent,
(2) creating flexibility in employees’ work shifts to balance personal responsibilities,
(3) and providing equal opportunities for employees to take advantage of childcare benefits across all manufacturing sites.
The team delivered recommendations to a panel of HR leaders on how to address these areas moving forward.
Comments from the team:
“We are grateful to PepsiCo for sponsoring and providing the graduate division case, Krannert HR Case Competition Committee from Purdue University for making this happen, and all the brilliant minds from universities across America for bringing this experience to another level.”
“As aspiring leaders, we are thankful for the opportunity to tackle a realistic business challenge through the lens of HR. Everyone on the team brought unique strengths to the table, which contributed to our overall success.”
“Special thanks to the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies, Professor Brad Bell, and Professor Chris Collins for your steadfast support!”