MBAs and Executives Pass Milestone While Addressing Real Business Issues;
"Live Case" Consulting is Integrated into MBA curriculum

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pepperdine University Graziadio
School of Business and Management's Education to Business (E2B) Applied
Learning Program began work this trimester on 15 new "live case" studies as
integrated class curriculum for the MBA program. Fortune 500 corporations and
small regional privately-owned companies have been among the 100th MBA
consulting projects since the program's inception in 2002. The E2B program,
which includes full-time students and professionals earning their MBA
part-time, delivers practical, results-oriented strategic-level work
experience by addressing and offering solutions to real company problems.

"To get to the 100th project demonstrates the huge need for fresh thinking
that equates to better organizational performance," said Doreen Shanahan,
faculty member and E2B program director. "This program is supported by a
generous gift from Farmers Insurance and contributions from Baxter
International Inc., both participants in the program. Now that the E2B program
is part of the on-going MBA curriculum it enables us to offer extraordinary
MBA-level consulting to executives that face a wide range of business
challenges."

This trimester Graziadio School MBAs will be working with first-time company
participants as well as companies returning for their second or third project.
Projects this trimester include developing a U.S. market entry strategy for a
non-U.S. bottled water company, marketing plan for a rapidly growing
dermatological company, and consulting on retail brand awareness in Southern
California for a major global bank.

E2B brings executives and students together in the classroom to solve real
business issues in real-time. During the 15-week trimester, three to six teams
compete on each company assignment. Executives from the participating
companies spend between 18 -- 28 hours in case development, class
participation, student interaction, feedback and evaluation.

MBA students invest hundreds of hours researching, analyzing and developing
recommendations for their assigned company with faculty collaboration. At the
end of the trimester, each MBA student team delivers a comprehensive oral and
written recommendation addressing the partner company's specific business
issue.

Over the last five years, some of the unique companies and issues addressed by
MBA students and partner companies include:

-- Ironclad Performance Wear -- a Los Angeles company that makes technical
work apparel and gloves, partnered with Pepperdine MBAs to identify new
potential growth areas. Based on recommendations and plans submitted by the
MBA students, two sectors were pursued; oil services and the military. The
company reports that they have since dedicated resources to these two channels
and they are quickly becoming a significant part of their business.

-- Dean Foods Company Alta Dena -- based near Los Angeles, the major dairy
worked with Pepperdine MBAs to resolve its growing milk crate shrinkage
problem.  The company was spending more than $4 million each year to replace
the crates it uses to ship dairy products to supermarkets and food-service
clients. It's an industry wide problem (an estimate $100 million loss to the
industry each year). The company was loosing about 3,000 cases a week (10-12%
of cases not coming back). Pepperdine MBAs worked with the company to create
an awareness program for the company's employees, incentives to get a higher
crate return (i.e., 5 cents per crate returned -- money goes to employees),
recommendations for making crate theft illegal, etc. Almost immediately, the
company was ordering 10% fewer crates following implementation of several of
the student teams' recommendations.

-- Security Base, a $3 million dollar security company based in Huntington
Beach, CA, worked with Pepperdine MBAs on a marketing program that included
expanding its distribution channels. The company now retails the security
product in Sam's Clubs and has had talks with Costco and Smart and Final.

-- StarBrand Media, based in Pacific Palisades, CA, provides an online
shopping source for fashions and other products featured in television shows
and movies. In spring 2006, the company worked with Pepperdine's E2B program
to create a marketing strategy for increasing advertising penetration of
featured product companies.

Generally, an E2B project starts with faculty-guided case development to
define strategic issues. Participating companies invest in face-to-face class
time and via phone and e-mail providing feedback to MBA students as they
research, analyze and develop recommendations for resolving the company's
specific business issue. Companies walk away with comprehensive alternatives
to advance their business. Likewise, students gain real work experience to
advance their careers.  It also provides excellent networking opportunities as
companies gain direct access to top quality MBA talent and faculty; and
students gain access to experienced executives.

E2B is supported through sponsorship from Farmers Insurance Group Inc(R), as
well as funding provided by Baxter International Inc. More information about
the E2B program can be found at: here.

About the Graziadio School: Founded on the core values of integrity,
stewardship, courage, and compassion, Pepperdine University's Graziadio School
of Business and Management has been developing values-centered leaders for
contemporary business practice since 1969. Our portfolio of fully accredited
MBA and bachelor's completion business programs provide personalized attention
in an intimate setting, emphasis on applied and relevant business practices,
and the convenience of six campus locations throughout Southern California.
With an alumni network of more than 30,000 business professionals, the
Graziadio School delivers superior flexibility, quality of experience and
depth of knowledge for professionals continuing their education as full-time
students, fully-employed degree recipients and senior executives.

SOURCE  Pepperdine University

Douglass Gore, Director of Public Relations of Pepperdine University,
+1-310-568-5580, GraziadioPR@pepperdine.edu