Monday, July 20, 1998
Students get taste of business world
By Cathy Willoughby
Staff Writer
The air at the University of Findlay Friday morning was charged with competitiveness as companies on the cutting edge of technology presented their newest products.
Yet shoppers may not be able to buy a Royal Comfort Shoe, or a soft drink in the Fridge-A-Can any time soon.
These were just two of the creations of groups of high school students - including three from Seneca County - learning about the business world during a simulation sponsored by the Ohio Business Foundation.
Thomas Rutan, executive director of the Ohio Business Foundation, said the group has been holding two week-long sessions involving students and sponsoring businesses from across the state 10 ten years. The foundation would like to expand the program to more weeks and locations.
''The goal of the program is to foster a greater understanding of the free enterprise system for the next generation,'' Rutan said. ''And to teach students and educators the values and benefits of the free enterprise system.''
The Seneca County students, Tricia Flechtner, who attends Hopewell-Loudon High School, Chad Elchert from Calvert High School, and Katey Nieset from Clyde High School, are attending the programs that ran last week and this.
Rutan said each school recommends one student to participate. ''Some are referred to the program by a business teacher or a guidance counselor,'' he explained. ''But the word on the program has spread mostly by word of mouth. That is the strongest sales force in America - peer pressure.''
The cost for students is $50 for the week; the larger cost of $350 is often picked up for the students by local service clubs or businesses. That covers the supplies, overnight accomodations and other costs.
The students are divided into groups of 11 and assigned a company letter. During the course of the week, they hear from guest speakers sharing information on different aspects of business, have small group sessions, and meet in their small groups.
Each student ''company'' last week used computer simulations to help them invent a product, develop advertising and marketing strategies, and prepare financial spreadsheets. The finished eight-minute presentation was judged by members of the business community on Friday, with the results announced Saturday morning.
Nieset was part of Company D, otherwise known as Polar Products, which was ready to market a new product, the Fridge-A-Can. The can's properties, explained by a Dr. Sara Poindexter, allow a beverage to automatically cool when the can is opened, eliminating the need for refrigeration.
One of Nieset's responsibilities was to keep the presentation moving along with the appropriate speakers. After the presention, the students were relieved that it was over, as well as optimistic that their chances were good of winning the award for best presentation.
Although she enjoyed working with her group, Nieset said she found the lectures boring. ''I'm not really sure what I want to do as a career, but I know now that it's not business. Part of the reason my guidance counselor recommended the program was to help me decide what I didn't want to do,'' she said.
Elchert, who will be a senior at Calvert this year, said his accounting teacher at Sentinel Vocational School recommended he become involved in the program. He was part of Company L, which developed the Royal Comfort Shoe. ''It has a cushioned insole that conforms to the bottom of your foot, and gel on the heels and toes to give it the ultimate in comfortability and support,'' he explained.
He helped produce the required 30- to 60-second radio spot for presentation. He felt his company also did well with its presentation.
''We gave a lot of information to the judges. There were only three questions they asked us,'' he said.
''It was really fun,'' Elchert said of the program. ''I would recommend that younger students come to it. And it was really tough to run a computer simulation, it was a lot of work.''