Judges, Criteria, Process

2022 DEI Global Case Writing Competition

Judging Criteria

Topic/Content
- The protagonist and/or the case dilemma is clearly focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
- Content focuses on a business effort/challenge that is compelling and significant within the DEI space.
Inclusive Case Design
- Diversity and inclusiveness is reflected throughout individual case elements such as the protagonist, writing style, and language.
- Case is written with sensitivity to intercultural differences.
Teaching/Learning Value
- Engages students in an active learning mode.
- Provides students opportunities to analyze/solve relevant, practical, and regional business issues related to DEI.
- Contains elements allowing students to exercise higher-order, complex thinking. Requires more than just comprehension and memory.
Intro/Overview
- Addresses the problem to be examined and arouses interest and curiosity of the reader.
- Introduces key decision makers and examines the parameters or limitations of the situation.
Protagonist/Organization
- Introduces the protagonist with appropriate detail about their role in the organization.
- Provides enough details about the organization or company including mission, revenue, evolution, other appropriate profit and loss statements, culture, and geographic location(s).
- Provides adequate context for both protagonist and the organization, relative to the concept of the case.
Dilemma
- Clearly identifies the decision point early within the case.
- Clearly identifies the specific time frame of the decision point.
- The dilemma can realistically be solved by the protagonist.
- The problem has applicability beyond the immediate situation described in the case.
- Specifies at least two questions that students need to address in solving the case.
- Challenges students to analyze the situation and develop multiple, integrative solutions.
Format/Writing/Teaching Note
- Case is appropriate length based on difficulty of the situational context described.
- Case is accompanied by a comprehensive teaching note that includes clear, measureable teaching objectives, pedagogy, and case analysis.
- Case submission is free from structural, grammatical, spelling, and typographical errors.

Review and Judging Process

First and second rounds of reviews will be double-blind, i.e., the reviewers will not know the identity of the submitting author(s), and vice versa.
Finalist judging will be reverse single-blind, i.e., finalist judges will not know the identity of the submitting author(s), but authors will know the identity of the finalist judges, as they are featured below.

Finalist Judges

Kim Eric Bettcher

Kim Bettcher leads the Center for International Private Enterprise’s (CIPE) Policy and Program Learning initiative, which captures lessons learned in democratic and economic institution-building around the world. The initiative shares strategies, best practices, and lessons with an international network of reform leaders. Dr. Bettcher has written and edited numerous resources for CIPE, especially toolkits on public-private dialogue and anti-corruption, a report on Creating the Environment for Entrepreneurial Success, three case study collections, the CIPE Guide to Governance Reform, and CIPE’s 25-Year Impact Evaluation. Bettcher has published articles in the Harvard Business Review, Party Politics, SAIS Review, and the Business History Review. He has taught as an adjunct professor at George Mason University’s School of Public Policy and was previously a research associate at Harvard Business School. Bettcher holds a Ph.D. in political science from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College.

John Lafkas

John Lafkas is a senior editor at Harvard Business Publishing. He has co-authored several cases and was previously an instructor at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received his M.A. in Management.

Greg Merkley

Greg Merkley is Director of Case Publishing for the Kellogg School of Management. He and his team havedeveloped over 600 case studies, simulations, and technical notes that are used in over 1,300 institutions in more than 100 countries. Before joining Kellogg, Merkley was Vice President at Verio/NTT America, where he managed a$40 million line of business with the company’s Tokyo-based parent NTT Communications. Prior to Verio/NTTAmerica, he managed the Asia-Pacific division for Galileo International, a joint venture company created by United Airlines. Merkley started his career as a strategy consultant with Booz, Allen & Hamilton (now Strategy &). He earned a BA in Japanese Language and Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles. He later received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. He has lived and worked in Japan and speaks fluent Japanese.

Kavitha Prabhakar

A proud immigrant, American citizen, mother, woman in technology, and champion for social change, Kavitha Prabhakar is the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Officer for Deloitte US and is Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP. She also co-leads the firm’s Black Action Council, focused on architecting a long-term strategy to advance Black colleagues and communities by developing a culture of anti-racism both inside and outside Deloitte’s four walls.

Along with Deloitte’s CEO and Purpose Office, Kavitha recently championed $26 million in pro bono and donations to organizations for improving social justice, employment, wealth, and equal educational opportunities, with additional funding for organizations addressing anti-Asian discrimination. She also plays a key role in Deloitte’s commitment as a founding member of OneTen, a coalition to create more than 1 million jobs for Black Americans over the next ten years. In 2020, Kavitha spearheaded the release of Deloitte’s first-ever DEI Transparency Report which set a new standard for racial, ethnic, and gender data transparency and accountability.

Previously, she led a $1 billion practice with nearly 5,000 professionals as Deloitte Consulting’s civil government sector leader. She is committed to increasing STEM awareness and is involved in Girls on the Run and Girls Who Code. She also supports charitable causes including the Race for Hope, Walk for Wellness, and Helping Hand Center. Kavitha has a M.S. in Computer Science and MBA with concentrations in strategy and finance from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She also holds a B.S. in Computer Science and Mathematics from State University of New York, Buffalo.