Bringing a Global Perspective on Business Studies to IGCSE Underprivileged Youths - Essay Example

Bringing a Global Perspective on Business Studies to IGCSE Underprivileged Youths Introduction This project is aimed at teaching business concepts and ideas to underprivileged youths studying at an institution called ‘Ideas Academy’ who will be sitting for their IGCSE examinations. Most of these children are refugees from countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Myanmar. These kids are in the midst of learning commerce as part of their syllabus and since we, as students, come from a business environment and atmosphere whereby we are exposed to various global concepts and ideas as to how business actually works, our idea was to bring this knowledge to these underprivileged youths. Our intention was to teach them through the use of visual aids such as interesting and easy-to-understand videos and diagrams that will appeal to the children. On top of that, we also provided the children with detailed descriptions to the theories, processes, examples, and definitions of the topic. As part of their syllabus, our project was aimed at teaching the chapter on advertising, which was chapter eight. As guest lecturers and facilitators, we conducted lessons based on the content in their text book, while using external content to explain and describe the concepts in a much more thought-provoking level. We also heavily relied on ‘student-facilitator interaction’ to ensure that the students thoroughly understood all the ideas relayed to them. Activities - both group and individual work - were also carried out as part of the class, and home projects were also given to prompt the students to do research on the topics taught by themselves as well. This project spanned a course of four weeks and covered a chapter on advertising in great detail while hopefully ensuring that the students managed to garner a more ‘out-of-the-box’ style of thinking when it came to commerce and business. Organizational Structure ‘Organizational structure’ refers to the people conducting and carrying out the processes within the Organization. It also describes the different functional areas within a corporation and how well they work together to complete their task in the most effective and efficient manner. It is well understood that organizational structure directly impacts the alignment between business units (Iyamu and Mphahlele, 2014). This emphasizes the need for a fluent structure in order to streamline the business operations in a more complete manner that will allow for more efficient and effective operations. Having a good and complete organizational structure will lead to better a decision-making process in order to achieve long term goals (BusinessDictionary.com, 2016). The following parts will explain the hierarchical order of the organizational chart for this project, as well as a detailed elaboration of each of the main organizational roles. Organizational Chart Simply defined, an organization chart is a graphical representation of the people in a project team and the relationships and linkages between them (Gliffy, 2016). The organizational chart here shows the duties and responsibilities of each individual involved in this project from a hierarchical perspective. This chart also gives an idea of what the flow of operations are and how it was throughout the term of the project. These positions in the organizational chart were the main ones held by the people implementing the whole project, and it would be important to note that there was a heavy interaction between these positions. According to Venkitachalam and Bosua (2014), “the use and transfer of knowledge are considered important activities of knowledge mobilization”. This was exactly what the project team exhibited when dealing with one another in the process of the project’s action plan. Each individual communicated with ease and transferred key information to their project teammates.   Organisational Roles ‘Organisational roles’ refer to the specific duties that each individual within the team upheld. It is of absolute importance that individuals within a project team understand their roles and responsibilities so that they can work together and achieve common objectives and goals (Businesscasestudies.co.uk, 2016). These duties were in effect throughout the course of the entire project and was directly related to the completion of the whole project. Project Manager: The project manager was in charge of overseeing the whole entire project from a holistic point of view. This included participating in the operations, finance, as well as the transport process of the whole project. The project manager usually was in charge of driving meetings and discussions and then leading the team into action and implementation of the procedures and processes that would enable the project to be completed in an effective and efficient manner. The project manager for this was Navinder Singh. Content Manager: The content manager’s role was to prepare all the study materials and content that would enable the classes to be carried out in its utmost effectiveness. The content manager referred to the IGCSE Commerce textbook and paid special attention to the chapter on Advertising that this four-week project was based on. Based on the textbook, the content manager created and structured content that were in the form of PowerPoint presentations. These presentations consisted of key theories, ideas, concepts, and examples of the many aspects of Advertising. To make this workshop even more effective, interesting videos and photos were also added to make the class more appealing. Activities were also planned so that the class was interactive to ensure that students understood the concepts at hand. The content manager for this project was Ng Suk Kyi. Finance Manager: The finance manager’s job was to allocate monetary resources for the entire project duration. The aspects that the finance manager looked at included the cost planning for the implementation of the project such as transport, equipment, facilities, food expenses, etc. These were planned out for a four week period and were allocated as such. Furthermore, the finance manager did work with Ideas Academy (the school) to plan out these budget allocations. The finance manager for this project was Joshua Lee. Facilities Manager: The facilities manager was in charge of the equipment and location set-up for the implementation of the project. Things like computers, speakers, cables, and extra devices were all allocated by the facilities manager for smooth implementation of the project. The facilities manager was also in charge of operating these equipment during class. Furthermore, the facilities manager also looked into taking photographs of the entire project process. The facilities manager for this project was Salman H. Project Planning Process Project Resources The primary backbone of the initiation on the mission will be dependent on sufficient manpower that may require volunteer candidates that are committed throughout the course of the project. Total number of volunteer tutor will consist of 4 people that has extensive knowledge on commerce and capable of executing interactive teaching. Digital accessory is fundamental to the flow of teaching and serves as a yardstick for impactful interactive learning for the refugee student. Materials needed are typically laptops which is prepared by the institution for e-learning and also properly function projector for screening educational material. Assigned personnel from the team will then prepare and designed the PowerPoint Slides catered to the exact learning module for every week classes. Complete learning with visual aids must be accompanied with compulsory audio equipment’s such as loud speakers/amplifiers provided by the Institution. Besides stable internet connection is to be expected by the institution in utilising online e-platform learning such as YouTube for detail illustration on topics discussed. Institution will ensure an assigned classroom which is on the 3rd floor of the premise with all basic amenities setup for steady flow of lessons. Also, teaching material such as commerce text reference and other magazines or journals essential for student engagement would be supplied by the Institution. Project Schedule In the project planning stage, the work breakdown would be centred on the contents and deliverables that is relevant to the current modules of the students learning. The scope of study is based on IGCSE curriculum with regards to commerce theme. Preparation for the class will be held privately at agreed time of approximately 2 hours in drafting a proper flow chart and study plan steer towards the proposed lessons according to module guideline. Time allocated in PowerPoint design is fixed in 40 minutes by carefully placing each content with prioritise sub-topic in sequential slides. Proposed timeline for the whole project is fixed in shortly 4 weeks where only once a week lesson is taught to the refugee students for a duration of 1 hour. Class schedule is set on every Friday of the week from 10:50 am to 11:50 am tentatively assuming no abrupt changes in student timetable. Thoughtful planning on estimated time for each tutor presentation during the 1-hour period is essential for smooth flow of lesson ideal to student uninterrupted attention and knowledge absorption. Initial warming up session in asking relevant on-text question may require 3-5 minutes following on delivering knowledge on each sub-topic with screening of online video would consume up to 10 minutes. Each presenter with a clear caution on time would be limited on 15 minutes teaching before switching to other presenter. A final call for Question & Answer session will be conducted for about 5 minutes in checking the students level of understanding during the lecture. Project Cost According to Sears et al (2010), the application of thorough estimation is direct to the case of the current project as it ensures clear overview of the total cost involved for the project in an early stage of the project life cycle. Following this, a careful estimation of cost before the initiation of project is to be conducted with the management team in breaking down the direct cost for all task concerned. Main direct cost concerned for the project involved transportation which requires to and fro travel along with additional parking charges which may together amount to MYR150 for the span of four weeks. Surplus material such as survey forms for student feedback and additional study notes which require printing services may add up to an amount of approximately MYR40. Another overhead cost that may incur will be expenses on food and beverages that is necessary for the team involved in the volunteer work which amount to MYR160 for the total of 4-week period. Also, the usage of internet data in constructing the study plan via online acquisition of resources such as multiple video streaming will incur additional cost of up to MYR100 within 4-week period of lesson. Furthermore, there is unforeseen indirect cost for possible damages on equipment such as volunteer team’s camera and backup projector that prone to malfunction due to mishandling by the students that need to be considered. Overall, total cost tabulated for a period of 4-week project is amounted to a sum of RM450 which is still an acceptable controlled budget for a volunteer cause. Project Monitoring and Control Process (During Implementation) In a project, control is defined as the act of comparing progress to plan so that corrective action can be taken when deviation from the plan occurs (Heagney, 2011). The monitoring and control process has several purposes, which is to allow the team to monitor tasks, evaluate outcomes, identify alternatives, and resolve problems and carry out corrective changes (Saladis et al, 2011).  The implementation of the monitoring and control process allowed for a detailed view in each step through the project to ultimately deliver a smooth end result. Each member was assigned with specific tasks and responsibilities, albeit collectively assessed in terms of preparation, execution and performance. A meeting was held once a week, usually on Tuesdays to discuss and delegate tasks to each member, and every member’s progress in completing their task was constantly communicated to ensure minimal delays in completing the  preparation for the session on Fridays. The teaching content and style, which played a major role in the success of the delivery was constantly evaluated and scrutinized for more accuracy in presenting the concepts to the students. As the project was aimed at helping the students learn better through unconventional ways of teaching, the team was always brainstorming for methods to deliver the conventional textbook content with diverse approaches that will be memorable for the students. A large part of the preparation involves searching for suitable visual aids such as videos, images and classroom activities to provide the students with an in-depth but interactive way to understand the topic and its application beyond the classroom. While preparatory tasks were generally moving forward without any obstacles, the delivery of the content were not executed smoothly. Majority of the problems were centered on the technical aspects, which included a poor internet connection, malfunctioning speakers, slow-responding laptop, and discoloured projector. The aforementioned issues did not only disrupt the flow of the delivery, but also affected the students’ comprehension. Due to the academy’s outdated facilities, we brought our own laptops, speakers and projector to conduct a seamless session. To gain a better understanding, we garnered constructive feedback from the students at the final session, which will be vital information for us in order to apprehend our performance and to decide if it will suitable to be used in the long run. In the feedback survey, we had included five questions that we thought are the most relevant to gauge what students’ opinions are on our overall performance. Following the result of the feedback, we found that there is room for improvement on practical problem solving, which would require tutors to prepare more relatable problems to encourage students’ problem solving skills, and to provide more interesting activities that will garner students’ interest and result in a more effective learning experience. Project Risks and Threats In the literature on project management practices, ‘project risks’ are referred to as uncertain events that yield either a positive or negative effect on a project’s scopes or objectives (Project Management Institute, 2008). Indeed, unquestionably, uncertainty presents grave challenges to most projects (Hilson, 2010). Throughout a project’s life cycle, its emergence in the presence of risks and threats may affect a project’s planning and control ― everything from resource management to financial performance (Loch, Solt, & Bailey, 2008). Amidst predicaments and in spite of these difficulties, an organization must have a plan in place to deal with these risks effectively and conquer the quagmires (Patil et al, 2012). Risks may lurk dangerously in various areas, and are associated with all dimensions of the project, although the root cause can be traced back to the dynamics of the organization (Cooper and Edgett 2001). A number of risks manifested themselves in our project as crises, and became issues we had taken seriously. Constructing and presenting the course syllabus was our gravest concern; it became our duty to ensure the pupils comprehended the teaching materials sufficiently. Skepticisms of our capacity and dubious expertise was questionable given that some of us had never previously volunteered to teach refugee children. Doubts of whether the deliverables synced harmoniously with their syllabi betrayed our certainty and proved to be a crucial risk factor. In the same vein, the objective to engage students in the learning process, primarily to enhance their attention and retain focus, was another risk factor. More disconcertingly, we felt ambivalent about our knowledge of commerce and business - we could have been confronted with questions we could not grapple with. Our objective was to deliver successfully under short time constraints, and we found time to be inadequate to cover the curriculum. This resulted in the hindrance of the time gap between classes. Evaluation and Recommendation In view of long term project development, there is a need of recruiting more volunteers for the teaching programme as a method of approach that will be more dynamic and interactive while frequency of visits will likely be higher as of initial plan. Besides that, preparation for digital equipment such as backup projector and laptops are necessary due to prior experience of malfunctioned laptops and faulty projector from the Institution. In terms of learning content, volunteer team could break into groups for teaching different unit other than commerce such as mathematics or languages subject following the student’s module guideline. Also, there will be alteration in lessons schedule in fitting more than 2 class session for different modules at different day. For instance, alternate day teaching could be on a shift basis for each volunteer on the chosen subject for a length of 1-hour tutoring. Ultimately, a more refined budget on IT supplies will be encompassed in the contingency cost for unforeseen damages along surplus expenditures on tutoring material which may incur as the project progresses. This idea on further implementation can be conducted by various different faculties from many Universities in the Klang Valley. As mentioned earlier, the volunteers from these Universities and Institutions can bring wider and deeper insights into specific subjects being taught. For example, the Engineering faculty of a particular university could potentially conduct lessons on Mathematics and Physics based on the IGCSE syllabus by incorporation a tertiary level method of conduct. This could be done in an appealing way while using experiments and projects to make it interactive. Furthermore, the same can be applied to all faculties; Business, Culinary Arts, Architecture, etc. This will be an ongoing process that will span durations of 4 weeks for each volunteer team that are willing to conduct these lessons at Ideas Academy (Underprivileged - Refugee School). The Volunteers would consist of mostly students from Universities and Colleges as well as guest lecturers and staff of the admin department whom are interested to get involved in a project that is of a Corporate Social Responsibility nature. The project will then be done to fulfill CSR duties for the college in order to enhance their brand image, as well as for the students to gain some experience. It could also be done in order to fulfill module requirements for a Community Service subject which is a MPU requirement in most major tertiary institutions.   Read More