Mount Allison Commerce Student Wins Award for Research on Local Company
2010-07-05 10:35:36
SACKVILLE, NB — Mount Allison University Commerce student Samantha Lebans was recently awarded first prize at the Wallace McCain Institute Case Day for a case she wrote on Savonnerie Olivier Soapery, a local New Brunswick company. Lebans, from Moncton, and six students from universities across the Maritimes were selected in May of last year to participate in the MBA Case Project. Lebans was the only undergraduate student taking part. The students presented their cases, the product of a year’s work, this June.
Lebans’ project supervisor, Dr. Gina Grandy, of Mount Allison’s Ron Joyce Centre for Business Studies says, “This initiative is a fantastic experiential learning opportunity for students. Samantha had to conduct extensive research for her case and the results were exceptional and demonstrate the knowledge she has acquired throughout this process. It is a great example of how students learn best by engaging with organizations and experiencing first hand the links between theory and practice.”
Last summer Lebans worked with representatives from Olivier Soapery to write the case study and a teaching note for instructors detailing the organization’s history, values, operations, competitive situation, and current challenges. The case focused on the organization’s ability to replicate its unique competitive advantage as it pursued an aggressive growth strategy.
As part of the project the Wallace McCain Institute, located at the University of New Brunswick, had student case writers work closely with experienced case writers from Harvard University. One of the founders of Olivier Soapery, Pierre Pelletier says, “I am sure not too many case studies have the chance to be presented by a Harvard professor. This was by far one of our proudest moments — having university professors, students, and business owners discussing and debating our implementation plans, our strategies, and future growth patterns or threats. It was not only fun and inspiring, but gave us many, many ideas that we are experimenting with as we speak.”
Lebans says, “Writing a case was a challenging experience because it was my first exposure to the case study method. I was lucky to have Dr. Grandy, who guided me and pushed me to become a better writer. The staff at Olivier, especially Pierre, made it a very rewarding experience. The passion they have for their business is contagious and makes for a compelling case.”
Olivier Soapery is a retailer, franchisor, distributor, supplier, and producer of natural, handmade, and organic skincare products. It was founded 14 years ago by a wife and husband partnership, Isabel Gagné and Pierre Pelletier. Its headquarters is in Ste-Anne-de-Kent and it has numerous stores across the country and in the United States. Olivier will have a new site in June at the Chocolate River Station located in Riverview, NB. The Ste-Anne-de-Kent site houses an Economuseum, which was created with the help of Heritage Canada historians and exhibits over 140 soaps and shampoos. It is a unique company with a management team committed to its values of community connection and natural, quality skin care.
For more information please contact Dr. Gina Grandy (ggrandy@mta.ca), visit Olivier Soapery, or Wallace McCain Institute.
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