Jennifer P. Pitts, associate professor of management information systems at CSU’s Turner College of Business, got her MBA students involved in a summer case study competition with Microsoft that had students examine the merits of products to gain a deeper understanding of how personal technology decisions are made.  Other objectives of the project were to enable students to: 

• Evaluate how consumer behavior transcends tangible and intangible criteria
• Collaborate effectively in a professional group setting
• Demonstrate how to develop a common framework for assessing multiple technologies and use cases
• Assess how technical and cultural factors affect the success of a consumer app
• Present their findings in a professional and clear manner

As part of the competition, Microsoft presented students in Pitts’ class with more than 30 new devices. Each student was provided with a Windows smartphone, and each team received an iPad, an Asus tablet and an iPhone 5 to test and compare various features of mobile applications. This evening’s series of final reports by the teams will culminate with an awards presentation by Microsoft’s Anna Kinney. Winners of the team competition will each receive an Xbox 360 video game console or a Microsoft Surface tablet.

As part of the competition, Kinney met with students earlier this summer to discuss Microsoft’s strategies involving mobile computing, cloud computing, social marketing and more.

For more information, contact Dr. Pitts at [email protected] or 706-507-8162.