Business School hosts another Basic Business Principles Programme as part of its social investment

NMMU Business School hosted a Basic Business Principles programme training session for Ray Mhlaba students as part of a Corporate Social Investment initiative in aid of underprivileged youth to gain valuable entrepreneurial and employee business knowledge.

The programme was presented at the Ray Mhlaba Skills Training Centre which is an extension of the EP Child and Youth Care Centre in Port Elizabeth. Training was aimed at displaced and vulnerable youth between the ages of 18 and 25. The students comprised of youth from children’s homes that lost one or both parents, youth living in households with no formal income and individuals from child-headed households.

The BBP programme was structured as a simulation game with teams competing as businesses against each other and learning basic but intriguing principles of business, how it operates, the challenges and what makes a business succeed or not. The purpose of the business simulations was to provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their skills and test their knowledge about starting and running a business. Critically, it also included a theoretical knowledge component and group discussions which enabled the students to reflect on owning their “businesses”.

The tasks in the programme were difficult at first, as the students did not fully understand the bigger goal and the integrated structure of the exercise. However, as the day progressed through buying supplies, producing boxes and trying to sell them, students realized that if they wanted to make the most sales and the biggest profit, they would have to work together as a team, despite employee strikes, machinery malfunctions and theft.

The programme ended off with all of the teams making a profit and gaining the valuable knowledge needed to run a business effectively.

NMMU Business School would like to thank the students for their eagerness to participate and would like to congratulate the teams on their success.

About the Basic Business Principles programme:

The programme helps foundational and baseline staff as well as entrepreneurs realise how their personal commitment will affect the company they work for or own. BBP is delivered over one to two days, comprising 8 or 16 contact hours respectively. Student knowledge and understanding is tested before and after the training intervention through pre- and post-assessment tests respectively. Students who successfully complete all the modules will receive an NMMU Workshop Certificate.