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Business & Finance: The Retail Business Challenge – The Launch! – Introductions, Objectives, & The Business Strategy Task with Elaine Darby & Andrew Hull from Henley Business School, University of Reading
22nd January 2018 @ 12:30 - 13:15
The Retail Business Challenge is a series of connected activities devised and hosted by highly experienced and enthusiastic faculty professionals and student ambassadors from Henley Business School, University of Reading. It is designed to encourage Year 12 and Year 13 students to solve hypothetical problems and propose solutions for a real business.
The Retail Business Challenge comprises three sessions which will run over a two week period (Please click to see the other two sessions in the series):
Session 1: January 22 @ 12:30 pm – 13:15 pm – The Launch! – Introductions, Objectives, & The Business Strategy Task
Session 3: February 5 @ 12:30 pm – 13:30 pm – All Things Must End! – It’s Presentation Time
Between the sessions each school group taking part will be allocated an undergraduate mentor who will help your students formulate their response via a closed facebook page.
By joining the team at Henley for this series, which is free for schools and colleges, it is expected that your students will:
- – Gain greater insight into how businesses function;
- – Gain greater insight into how different business functions connect and contribute to the success of the business as a whole;
- – Develop a range of professional skills including confidence, teamwork, presentation and communication skills, which are essential in the workplace;
- – Benefit from the guidance and support of programme leaders and student ambassadors from Henley Business School, University of Reading;
- – Engage in friendly competition with students from other schools/colleges who may come from diverse backgrounds and have different perspectives.
Please find below the agenda for this, the first of three webinars, The Launch! – Introductions, Objectives, & The Business Strategy Task:
12.30 Elaine Darby welcomes the schools, sets the scene, and presents the Challenge, including the judging criteria.
12.40 Andrew Hull provides the first intervention focusing on how firms analyse the business environment and develop strategies. He will explain the first task.
12.55 Schools discuss the overall Challenge and the strategic task within their groups and identify any questions.
13.00 Andrew and Elaine address questions raised by each school in turn.
13.10 Schools are introduced to their student ambassador mentors (Each school will be allocated an undergraduate mentor from the Henley Business School and a closed Facebook page will be set up so that questions can be raised and progress shared between sessions).
13.15 Close.
Lecturer Biographies (Please Click): Elaine Darby, Andrew Hull
Suitable For: Year 12s and Year 13s interested in Business, Finance, Accountancy, Enterprise.
Preparation/Pre-Reading: There is no preparation required for the first session although students may wish to familiarise themselves with the Retail Industry and the business climate within which retailers are operating. Students will be guided within Session 1 and 2 so that they are clear about the tasks and the preparation required for the next session.
It is anticipated that, a minimum of 2.5 – 3.0 hours will be required outside of the sessions in order to complete the tasks and prepare the final presentation.
The final session will incorporate the presentations. Students may use PowerPoint slides. These must be provided by 9.30 am on 5 February.
The IT Setup: The setup is similar to Skype, using a pc and webcam, although students take part as a group with the image projected on a whiteboard rather than as individuals in front of lots of pcs. Dedicated videoconferencing equipment is also compatible if available to the school. We will work with your IT department to ensure everything is set up and working prior to the event. We are looking for no more than four schools/colleges to take part in this event to maintain the interactive nature of the experience.
Booking a Place: If you have a group of students that you would like to take part in this series of events, please contact us via email or via the contact form at the top right of this webpage (or at the bottom if you are on a mobile device). Subject to availability we will book a place for you. Please note that you will be signing up for all three of the sessions and we are looking for a firm commitment to this so that students from all participating schools and colleges gain the most from this excellent opportunity.