WORLDWIDE PRACTICE ENTERPRISES NETWORK TRADING AT THE EDGE OF REALITY

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WORLDWIDE PRACTICE ENTERPRISES NETWORK
TRADING AT THE EDGE OF REALITY

• Janez Turnek, Srednja ekonomska ola Celje,
  SloveniaSlovene Centre for Training Companies,
  Slovenia

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WHAT IS A PRACTICE FIRM?

• Practice firm is a virtual company run like a
  "real" business silhouetting a "real" firm's
  business procedures, products and services.
• Each practice firm trades with other practice
  firms, following commercial business procedures
  in the practice firm's worldwide economic
  environment.
• A practice firm researches the market,
  advertises, buys raw materials, transports,
  stocks, plans, manufactures simulated goods,
  sells simulated products or services, and pays
  wages, taxes, superannuating etc.
• Practice firm represents a simulation of work
  process, where trainees and teachers are employed
  at concrete work places in a company.

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WHAT IS A PRACTICE FIRM?

• Work is organised in a classroom, which is
  equipped as a business office with modern
  equipment and divided into job assignments.
  Usually trainees divide their assignments in
  accounting, secretarys office, recruitment
  service, marketing and purchasing department.
• Trainees form a practice firm and are actively
  involved in so called common market of practice
  firms at home and abroad.
• Trainees deepen their previously achieved
  theoretical knowledge by performing their tasks
  and gain practical knowledge in the field of
  computer science and information technology,
  entrepreneurial and economic legislation,
  economic operations and correspondence,
  accounting, business mother tongue and foreign
  languages, communication and etiquette under
  teachers supervision trainers who run work,
  monitor, analyse, direct and advise.

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OPERATION OF A PRACTICE FIRM

• There are full-time and part-time practice firms,
  depending on the target group. Full-time practice
  firms (mainly for participants in retraining
  courses) work 8 hours per day, each day of the
  week. Part-time practice firms (mainly for
  business school, college and university students)
  work from 3 to 12 hours per week.
• Each practice firm develops a business plan,
  organisational structure and board of directors,
  and reports regularly. It trades with other
  practice firms during normal office hours and
  through the trading year as specified by the
  programme or curriculum under which the practice
  firm operates.
• Usually there are between 15 and 20 trainees in a
  practice firm, depending on the facilities
  available (e.g. computers).

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OBJECTIVES OF PRACTICE FIRM MODEL

• The practice firm participants learn to work as a
  team and develop inter- personnel skills in
  working with others, and improve their learning
  experience by performing the various tasks.
• They are able to use the information technology
  to contribute to the planning, organising and
  monitoring of the work, including preparing
  minutes of meetings.
• They can design documentation and contribute to
  the improvement of there and the businesss
  performance.
• The business enables them to be involved in
  problem solving with their colleagues as well
  with their customers and suppliers. They learn by
  actions to initiate and evaluate any potential
  improvement to the services they offer.
• The model represents lessons oriented into
  practice, which are strongly connected with other
  subjects and based on theoretical knowledge which
  trainees get during usual school lessons. Most
  tightly is the model connected to two subjects
  accounting and business operations.

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THE ROLE OF TRAINERS (TEACHERS) IN PRACTICE FIRM

• Practice firm model also represents a novelty
  in educational field therefore educational
  organisations has to adopt it and incorporate it
  in its strategy. Working in a practice firm
  students get skills that are necessary for
  working area
• empirical learning / learning by doing
• feeling of responsibility
• co-operation
• team work
• initiatives
• self-learning

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THE ROLE OF TRAINERS (TEACHERS) IN PRACTICE FIRM

• The role of the teacher is changed because he or
  she does not use frontal method of teaching but
  active working methods.
• A teacher in a practice firm takes the role of a
  link between theory and practice, an adviser at
  learning, a head of working process and an
  operating advisor at team work and team decision
  making.
• Students solve problems in groups. Solving
  problems includes research learning where
  students by simulating business functions during
  learning process clearly perceive business events
  in co-operation with a teacher who
• - must have high education in economy,
  enterprise, work
• organisation, management and operation,
  information
• technology and computer science etc.

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EUROPEN - THE WORDWIDE NETWORK OF PRACTICE FIRMS

• EUROPEN is a non-profit association that was set
  up on the 27th of October 1997. It used to be a
  European Project that was started in November
  1993 and financed by the European Social Fund
  (45) and the Land North-Rhine Westphalia
  (55).It is with over 5.500 practice firms in
  more than 42 countries.
• The EUROPEN Co-ordination Centre supports the
  development of the EUROPEN network and provides
  the national Central Offices and practice firms,
  professional organisations, educational
  organisations, interested companies and political
  organisations with assistance, services and
  information at their request.
• It supports the setting up of national Central
  Offices for practice firms and co-ordinates the
  work of already existing Central Offices and
  offers various services to the Central Offices
  and practice firms.

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EUROPENS MISSION, EUROPENS OBJECTIVES

• EUROPEN's mission is to support, co-ordinate
  and develop services adding value to the
  activities carried out in its member's national
  networks to promote and enhance the concept of
  learning in and from a simulated business
  environment and to expand the number of national
  networks. Facilitate exchange of information
• EUROPENs Objectives
• Provide innovative training tools to its members
• Promote the practice firm concept
• Represent its members at different government
  levels and private institutions

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COUNTRIES INVOLVED IN EUROPEN

• Europe Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and
  Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic,
  Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
  Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
  Montenegro, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway,
  Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovak
  Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
  Ukraine, United Kingdom
• North America Canada, USA
• South America Argentina, Brazil
• East Asia/Pacific Australia, China
• Africa South Africa

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EUROPENS SERVICES FOR CENTRAL OFFICES AND
PRACTICE FIRMS

• Client Server application for data transfer
  between the EUROPEN Central Offices
• Database banking software for Central Offices and
  practice firms
• EUROPEN credit card for practice firms
• Central electronic platform for electronic online
  shipment of export papers
• EUROPEN E-commerce Server Webhosting for
  practice firms
• EUROPEN Bulletin (twice a year) information
  from all EUROPEN countries
• EUROPEN WebPages (www.europen.info) with
  following contents Constant updated information
  pool for Central Offices and Practice Firms
  Meeting Area with file upload/download function,
  Detailed information concerning international
  trade, International practice firms database.

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TARGET GROUPS OF PRACTICE FIRMS

• Unemployed people
• Students in Business Schools
• High School students
• College and University Students
• Employees in real companies
• Other disaffected persons
• People wishing to set up their own business
• People with disabilities
• Future employees being assessed for a job

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CENTRAL OFFICE

• In Slovenia central office is called Centrala
  ucnih podjetij (Slovene Centre For Training
  Companies).
• Slovene Centre for Training Companies connects
  all practice firms in Slovenia and offers them
  professional support and services, which are
  necessary for continuous operation. It started
  operating on 1st September 2003 in Secondary
  school of Economics in Celje.
• Basic role of the central office would be
  offering services for the market of practice
  firms and simulation of state institutions and
  administrative organs.
• Central office would offer support for work in
  practice firms, establish and maintain
  international contacts and link practice firms
  with other entrepreneurial ways of education used
  in economy into an international net of practice
  firms which are oriented in practice.

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EVALUATION OF PRACTICE FIRM IMPLEMENTATION IN
SLOVENIA

• The method enables students to get knowledge,
  necessary for incorporation into working process,
  easier
• Students develop the feeling of responsibility
  for team work
• Students are enthusiastic about innovative
  teaching methods
• Teachers must follow the influence of factors on
  success in education
• Teachers of professional-theoretical subjects
  support such way of education
• Success in learning professional-theoretical
  subjects lies in correlation between education
  and practice firm
• On days of practice firm absence from school is
  lower
• Practice firm method is flexible and can be used
  also in other fields of education, e.g. for
  other professions
• Positive consequences in professional
  socialisation of an individual.

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CONCLUSION

• Practice firms can be established in almost any
  line of business, from wholesale to retail and
  services.
• The model approaches educational system learning
  by doing and can be introduced in different field
  of educational process on different levels.
• The model can also be adapted to the youth and
  adults, included in regular or post-regular
  studies.
• It can be given in a form of a seminar to gain
  specialist entrepreneurial knowledge.
• This form is designed for supplementing knowledge
  of those who are already employed, but it can
  also be used for the unemployed and for those who
  will retrain.