EMPHASIZING MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMWORK AND ENHANCING COMMUNICATION SKILLS THROUGH DEVELOPMENT OF A CONCEPTUAL BUSINESS PLAN

摘要

As part of the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) grant the scholarship recipients at Eastern New Mexico University are required to register for a one-credit project course. The course encourages students to hone their communication skills and gain knowledge in functioning effectively on a multidisciplinary team. This article presents a conceptual business plan to assist students in understanding the components of effective teamwork and the importance of good communication skills. Students are provided with a weekly task. The first task includes choosing a company name, and providing descriptions for: the business, product or service, business location, the target market, and the business competition. The final task includes 'the first year, business survival" such as information on monitoring and evaluation, critical communication and credit, collections, product advances, market trends and summary. In addition to class meetings, students regularly meet outside the class to create a PowerPoint presentation. Students are required to demonstrate that they are making progress in understanding the issues involved in having a successful business.