Virtual Enterprise: Taking a Leap Into Real Business

1. Virtual Enterprise: Taking a Leap Into Real Business Presented by: Bill Seawright Laurens District High School

2. Laurens High School and the Raider Trading Company are part of the South Carolina Virtual Enterprise Network

3. What is Virtual Enterprise? • Simulated Business • Set-up/Operated by Students • Teacher/Facilitator Assistance • Business Partnerships Students experience, in a simulated business environment, all facets of being an employee in a firm.

4. A Virtual Experience of Real World Enterprise • Human Resources • Accounting • Product Development • Production • Distribution • Marketing • Sales Enables students to understand how employees, workgroup teams, and departments interact with each other and work together for the goal of the company.

5. How Does VE Work? • Students elect to participate in the VE program • Students apply for positions in one of the departments of the VE firm CEO & Receptionist Sales & Marketing Administration Accounting & Finance Human Resources

6. Students develop or revise a business plan. • Students develop or refine methods and procedures required by the business. • Students make decisions regarding personal finance (checking accounts & budgeting). • Students engage in trade with other virtual firms via fax, postal mail, e-mail, the Web e-commerce, and trade fairs.

7. Curriculum and Standards The Virtual Enterprises International Program has developed a task-based curriculum that combines both academic and applied learning. It has also developed Economics for the Virtual Enterprise, a curriculum that aligns economic concepts to the day-to-day activities of the VE. The VE Program addresses national and local learning standards at the commencement level.

8. The VE experience enables students to develop: Business Skills Technical Skills Interpersonal Skills Problem-solving Skills Teamwork Skills

9. Students will take on the responsibilities of developing: -A Market Research Plan -A Business Plan -An Advertising Strategy • Students will also be involved in: -Buying and Selling Products & Services -Paying Taxes -Earning Income -Maintain a 401K plan

10. Types of Virtual Enterprise Businesses • Wholesale • Retail • Publishing • Tourism • Consulting • Banking & Finance • Electronics • Advertising • Cosmetics & Fashion

11. Benefits for Students • Using technology as applied in business, including the use of the Internet for global transactions and communications. • Develop entrepreneur skills. • Learning personal and corporate financial management. • Gaining hands-on experience in a variety of careers associated with business and industry.

12. Networking with business partners and other students throughout the world. • Developing skills in problem solving, critical analysis, time-management, personal communication and public speaking, negotiation, and teamwork. • Developing self-confidence and an understanding of the expectations of the workplace.

13. Interviews Cody greeting Mr. Jim Coleman Shamika making great eye contact with Mr. Barry Whitman

14. Teacher’s Role In the VE learning environment, the teacher’s role changes from “sage on the stage” to “guide on the side.” The teacher’s responsibility is to guide and direct student learning, not to deliver a daily prescribed “lesson.”

15. Travel • Travel to different locations for a National or an International Trade Fair.