Business Interdisciplinary Project - Tech-World
The Business IDP begins with the advantages and disadvantages of three types of business enterprises: sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations. It then progresses to an in-depth study of corporations through the examination of seven departments common to most corporations: Finance, Human Resources, Information Systems, Manufacturing, Quality Control, Engineering/Research and Development, and Marketing.
Students first learn the administrative aspects of running a corporation. They discover the importance of the finance department by studying the functions of a company's financial officer. In learning about Human Resources, students experience real-life scenarios that help them understand how to resolve conflicts in order to create an atmosphere that is conducive to good management-employee relations.
The storage and processing of information has become central to corporation in this high tech age. Students in Tech World examine how information is managed in industry. Next, students focus on the production side of a company. Implementing policies such as Just-In-Time manufacturing students learn the need to ensure efficiency and profitability in the manufacturing process.
Quality control is examined, and the importance of it permeating every aspect of a business is underlined. All of these experiences culiminate with the students taking on the role of a project engineer by designing a robot for their corporation.
Finally, students examine the role of the marketing department in promoting the product. They learn the value of public opinion and develop promotional literature to enhance the reputation of their robotics corporation. The Business IDP culminates the two-year Tech-World experience by providing students with the opportunity to apply all the skills and knowledge they have gained. By creating a virtual company, students see the relevance of their studies to the real world.