| Program
Description |
(the following are excerpts from
the Coordinator's Resource Binder)
INTRODUCTION
Business Education is in the midst of many changes. Educators
across the country are looking for ways to enhance or modify their
business programs in order to prepare students for success in the
twenty-first century, high tech global economy, Many schools now
know that teaching business from at textbook to a class in neatly
designed rows is not the way to give students any approximation of life
in the "real world." More and more classroom teachers
have found ways to bring the business world to their students through
the Stock market Game and Junior Achievement. These programs teach
entrepreneurship and practical skills that are essential to career
readiness while promoting healthy competition to motivate
students. Virtual Enterprise follows in the footsteps of these
other efforts and has the added advantage of linking in a global
business network.
DESCRIPTION:
Virtual Enterprise is a School-to-Career Business Program. The
Program is a simulated business that is set up and run by students to
prepare them for working in a real business environment. The
students determine the nature of their business, its products and
services, its management and structure, and learn the daily operations
of a business under the guidance of a consultant/coordinator teacher,
with the support of a real business partner. Emphasis is placed in
using current business software packages and the Internet for business transactions.
This is a network of student-run businesses. Enterprises
are linked together in regional, national and global networks so that
the firms have each other as trading/business partners. Such a
network permits standardization and coordination of activities among all
firms within a city, state, or country. A more important feature
is that as the firms begin to interact with other virtual enterprises
worldwide the students/employees are getting first-hand knowledge of
doing business in the global economy.
Click here for a History of Virtual
Enterprises
|
| Start
Up Essentials! |
The most important start up
essentials for this program are: a supportive administration; regular
instruction periods (preferably 2 hours daily, for 10 hours weekly, but
it can be done in single hour, 5 hour weekly formats); a physical class
space; an Internet connection (preferably multiple connection outlets);
computer hardware and software (minimum of 4 stations, with a preference
for up to one per student); office furniture; and willing and capable
teacher/coordinator. It is desirable to have an outside phone
line, a FAX and a copier. This program uses a good deal of
paper and general office supplies as well.
It is mandatory to pay the initial start-up/membership fee of $1,000
to the California Virtual Enterprise Network. This is an annual
fee that covers the support network, banking services, training, on-line
materials, e-mail accounts, financial records, evaluation tools, and
general needs of any virtual enterprise in the California Network.
It is a bargain at the price.
Additionally, it is mandatory that any coordinator take the
Coordinators' Training at the Kern County Schools' site in Bakersfield,
CA. Coordinators are also required to attend bi-monthly
Coordinator's Conferences.
|
| Student
involvement and experience |
A Virtual Enterprise is a full
business simulation class designed to give students the experience of
working in a real business environment. The students determine the
nature of the business, its product(s) and/or service(s), its management
and its structure.
It also includes a full personal finance simulation for each
individual student. The students, after being hired for positions
within the business, use their simulated salaries to organize a personal
lifestyle scenario. Using the other Virtual Enterprises and
phantom businesses as necessary, they are to purchase goods and services
to support that lifestyle (housing, utilities, food, clothing,
entertainment, etc.).
In the daily operation of the business students will conduct
transactions with other Virtual Enterprises businesses throughout
California, New York, Canada, Australia, Brazil and Europe.
Upon class enrollment it is mandatory that students engage in a
variety of specific activities ranging from marketing and research,
advertising, buying and selling products or services, paying wages and
taxes, through negotiating loans with the VirtuBank.
This business venture provides opportunities for employees to gain
the knowledge and skills to work effectively in work-group teams, use
new technologies, use office software applications and boost their
communication skills through a variety of mediums.
This class and its lessons are task-oriented. Student/employees
will learn about tasks in all departments and specialize in departments
of their choice (following an interviewing and hiring
process).
Link to the Student's Program Outcome statement
Link
to Business Skills Development According to Bloom's Taxonomy
|
| Teacher/
Coordinator Responsibilities |
As a teacher/coordinator you
will be responsible for teaching and coaching students in a wide variety
of situations.
BUSINESS SELECTION:
When the Virtual Business class meets for the first time as a group,
there are many things to consider and to decide upon. The first
major decision for this group may be the selection of the type of
business they want to establish. They will need to determine if
their business will be a service-based company, a product-based company,
or a combination. Then they will need to decide what will be their
service(s) and/or their product(s).
The students may do this in a variety of ways. They may get
together in groups, research different company ideas, and write up a
rationale as to why the class should have this as their business.
The consultant (teacher) may want to set guidelines for this process and
limit the voting to perhaps three of the best rationales. The
students could also invite various local business representatives to the
class to talk about their companies and then vote.
In our case, we first brainstormed
ideas as a full class group. Through discussion and voting, we
settled on five potential ideas. The students then each signed up
to work with a group charged with developing a business proposal for one
of the five ideas. Students then conducted research (based in
large part on Internet sources) on the positive and negative attributes,
potential income, needs, target market, and general information about
each potential business. They then were responsible for developing
a PowerPoint presentation of their findings. Each of these
presentations were then delivered to the full class for
consideration. The class then made a final determination of which
business proposal they wanted to select and run.
Some of the following considerations for the type of businesses
decided upon could be:
* Is this service and/or product easy
to market and sell?
* Who will be the buyers of this service and/or product?
* Is this service and/or product marketable to teens?
* Is there another Virtual Enterprise company with the same
service and/or product?
* Is there an appropriate local corporate business that would
serve as partner to the VE?
It is possible for the business and corporate business partner to
already be chosen before the students arrive in the fall. However,
the students should also have a feeling of buy-in and ownership in order
for the business to be successful.
Then the coordinator will alternate between teacher and coach
throughout the year as the business progresses.
|
| One
Coordinator's Observations |
-----
This is truly a collaborative process. I, as the coordinator, have
had to work closely with the VE Network to meet standards and
timelines. They have helped me work on the content of the class
and this web page. They gave permission to use these materials in
our own web site to make it easier access for our students. They
also oversee the content as part of the program. Other students
and coordinators throughout the world are invited provide feedback as
they visit our web site. Working with the students on the design
and development of the site has also been interesting and educational
for all. The students are excited about the development
process. And they have stayed quite involved in the process.
It has been difficult, because the ftp process has been blocked through
the District tech department. We have begun negotiations and hope
to soon resolve that issue. In the meantime, we work on the page
at school, then I bring home the ideas and post them. We hope that
will change and that the students will have the opportunity to
participate in all aspects of this web development and maintenance
process.
-----
This has been an extremely challenging and rewarding program to
facilitate. It has taken many hours to develop and present to
students (and administrators). Yet the available resources through
the California Virtual Enterprise Network, school resources, other
coordinators and Internet resources has proved invaluable. Mr. Jay
Eliades from Kern County Schools has been a most valuable resource,
always there to help, educate and encourage me and my students
throughout this process.
-----
I was absolutely amazed at the cohesive nature of these students.
Each of them came in with a real desire for achievement and
excellence. I believe that is because of the nature of the class
itself. There was only one student who was placed in the program
by the counselor without a real buy-in to the business aspect. She
made a variety of noises of "too much work" and "this is
too hard" at the beginning. Her stated intent was to check
out of the class at the semester. At this point the infectious
nature of the excitement from the rest of the class has taken over, and
she is producing and talking about the rest of the year in the
class. Her turnaround has been quite rewarding and says a great
deal about the class composition and attitude.
----
At one point we had our first "disaster" hit when the
administration somehow got the wrong impression of costs and
expectations. Actually we had an early discussion in September
about costs and needs. That was sorted out and the program was
allowed to continue. It is important to know at this time, that we
have a new Principal this year who was not a part of the program
development and approval. When she arrived at the school, she
inherited this and many other programs that were resource intense
without an understanding of their scope and value. That has
created some misunderstandings and stresses. At one point, through
a series of miscommunications, the message our Principal received was
that the program could cost much more than expected! That was a
serious concern, and she decided to not pay the fees, since it might
encumber more resources than were feasible for one class. She had
a valid point. The result was a real classroom challenge to
overcome the immediate withdrawal from the VE network. It created
a "real life" crisis that really took over the program.
At first it was quite negative. But we treated it as a learning
opportunity and did some real strategizing for success and re-enrollment
in the program. I contacted Mr. Eliades, and he was also very
helpful. Finally we managed to track down the cause of the
communication, and straighten out the real financial situation. We
successfully resolved the issue and are now back in the system.
The students and I all learned from the situation. And it truly
acted as an additional cohesive experience for all concerned.
-----
One challenge has been Internet access. Delays made it very
difficult to get started. We worked through it, but had a fair
amount of stress getting through the preliminary decision-making
process. We finally got one system in our classroom
connected. We are fortunate to be holding this class in the
technology lab of the school. That means every student has a
computer for daily use. The challenge is that only the teacher's
machine is on the net. We are making adjustments and sharing the
resource, so that is working for us, with some restrictions.
Hopefully that challenge will soon be solved as well.
-----
We have an advantage of being able to build a web page early in the
year. That has provided me, as the coordinator, an excellent
teaching tool. And it has provided the students with a resource
site, source of inspiration and a planning tool. Since I am in a
Master's Program, I have access to a server to house the page. One
of the Design Artists and the Dir. of Marketing and Sales are working
with me to develop this site. It is our desire to enter our web
page in the Ed's Oasis competition. That is a true motivator for
the students (and me). Then, since this is a part of my Master's
Project, the page will be left on the CSUS server (forever?). That
means that the students can use their digital portfolios when they apply
for jobs, schools, scholarships, etc. This benefits
everyone. It is truly a win-win situation!
-----
Developing the various parts of the business has been interesting.
It is my belief that I am there as a resource and guide-on-the-side
rather than a sage-on-the-stage. I point them to resources and
give the assignments. I keep them advised of our deadlines
(verbally and through the posted calendar), and encourage them
individually to meet those deadlines. As much as possible, I
encourage the officers and department directors to oversee the actual
work and deadlines. I am there as a resource, a supporter and an
evaluator. The students sometimes find this frustrating, then they
rise to the need and meet the challenges. It would probably be
"easier" for me and the students to give very clear directives
and provide them with handouts, etc. in a "cookbook" fashion.
But it is my philosophy that they would not learn as much, and would not
gain as much from that approach. When they struggle, learn and
grow on their own, they gain much more from the exercises. It
takes longer. And it takes more planning and patience on my
part. But I truly believe that the eventual learning, and student
buy-in is worth it all!
-----
I have agreed to become their first investor. Since I have been
given a sizeable start-up bank account, I have agreed to invest a
portion of it in the Versatile business. Until the students
develop a proposal for my consideration, I will not tell them how much I
am willing to invest. They must woo me as they would any other
investor. They say they are just about ready to have an investment
consultation with me.
-----
We have made contact with another VE business in the local area.
The Keep It Real enterprise at a neighboring school is a real estate
business. We will be purchasing our mall through them. Then
they will act as a property management firm to find renters, collect
rent, etc. They will also become our first tenants. This
seems to be an extremely equitable arrangement for all.
-----
One advantage to this system is having two very capable Information
System employees with real computer skills. Their job is more than
virtual. They are helping in the general maintenance and upgrading
of our computer lab. They also help out with needs of the other
classes in the same lab. This provides a very compatible and
cooperative environment with real-life experience for the
students. It saves down time for the entire class and lots of
frustrations for me. A part of the trade-off I have provided them
is access to some of the CISCO training materials, since I am a
qualified trainer for that program, with an Academy standing for our
school. They feel this will be very helpful to their career
preparation, and the in class activities provide hands-on experience
that should also be very beneficial. This is a serendipitous
result that really benefits everyone.
-----
This entire project is dependent on a combination of individual and team
work. The teams at this point are the various departments of our
company. Each employee is assigned tasks and must successfully
complete them. The overall success of each department and the
business as a whole are dependent upon the individuals within the
company. That makes each employee feel valued and valuable, as
well as responsible for achieving their tasks. It is a wonderful
example of teamwork, social and individual work ethics and habits.
-----
It is essential that students have access to the Internet. They
will need to stay in touch with other business for business
purposes. They will need to use this web site and the VE web site
for training, event planning, and activity planning. It is an
essential tool for this business. It is also important that they
use the web as a research tool for planning and conducting
business. It is truly a global process that takes them out of the
classroom and into the real world of work and commerce.
-----
Probably the biggest requirement for any teacher considering this
program is flexibility. It is not the same classroom of
yesteryear, and it changes daily. As students learn and grow,
their needs and desires evolve. This will soon grow beyond your
expectations, and in many cases your expertise. Be flexible enough
to use as many external resources as possible. And allow the
students to see that you are learning right along with them. They
will respect that much more than a hollow "bluff." It is
better to help them find the information than to try to be their
overarching expert on everything and limit their growth potential.
Learn and grow with them, and grasp the opportunities for success as
they arise.
|
Teacher's Corner
