Academics » Business and Technology

Business and Technology

Entrepreneurship Program

State Approved

 

Freshman Year

 

Business Technology Applications

The Microsoft Office Specialist Program enables candidates to learn and show that they have something exceptional to offer –proven expertise in specific Microsoft programs. The Microsoft Office Specialist Program is the only Microsoft-approved certification program of its kind. During the course of study, students will learn and test in the following software: Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The course is project led and involves presentations, class discussions, note taking, homework, formal testing and other assessments, and lab assignments.  Students will learn how the Microsoft Skills can be applied in a business setting.

 

Business Content Design                                  

The first half of this course is designed to introduce students to the basic elements of web design and development. Students will learn about content placement, use of color and graphics, typography and message using industry-standard software. Students are introduced to various web design software templates such as Wix and Google Sites.  The second half of the course introduces students to basic Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator skills.  The students will use these skills to assist them in making a website for the Mark of Excellence.  Students will also become familiar with marketing and other uses of websites; as well as ethical and legal issues related to websites.

 

Sophomore Year

 

Career and Financial Management

In this course, students will be able to:

 

  • Assess, and apply their skills, values, and lifestyle choices as they discover paths needed to shape their future.
  • Investigate and evaluate paths as they prepare to transition from high school to postsecondary education and careers.
  • Gain an understanding of the sources of job opportunities, documents required to secure interviews, as well as developing the skills to interview for positions and evaluating options after the interview.
  • Gain an understanding of how workplace regulation assist and protect employees and employers.
  • Understand the importance of developing career readiness skills and the role they play in an individual's personal and professional success.
  • Develop an appreciation for he value professional development has on an individual's career growth, advancement, and/or lifelong learning.
  • Recognize the impact that leadership and ethics have on career and life success.
  • Learn the skills and technology necessary to communicate effectively.
  • Develop a budget to help ensure goal attainment
  • Recognize the importance of money management and the skills and knowledge needed to become a financially responsible adults.
  • Be aware of the positive and negative implications of borrowing money and will develop the knowledge necessary to protect their financial identity.
  • Learn how to determine the cost of credit.
  • Gain an understanding of various investment options and their advantages and disadvantages.
  • Gain insight into laws governing consumer’s rights and areas for which they must assume responsibilities.
  • Gain insight into how insurance can provide financial and personal security.
  • Explore types of taxes as well as their purposes

 

 

Marketing

This course provides students with a comprehensive and practical foundation to concepts and activities that comprise marketing. Students will develop their marketing skills where they will learn how and why consumers behave.  Students will have to create pricing strategies, set up a supply chain and create promotions for their new products. In addition to the marketing foundational skills, students will learn how to design and deliver effective and engaging marketing presentations.

 

Junior Year

 

Principles of Management

This course was carefully cultivated with the goal of having the students be able to manage a team as well as a business. In order to be a successful manager, you will have to be able to evaluate the current and future business environment effectively. A successful manager must be able to not only formulate effective strategies but implement them as well.  Also, a manager will have to be flexible and adapt to any changes in the current business environment and make the necessary changes to their strategies.

Businesses cannot accomplish big goals or grow exponentially with a single worker. A business must be able to hire, train, and onboard employees. Students will take on the role of the human resources manager for New Utrecht's Entrepreneurship Program. They will have to recruit new candidates for the Academy and schools by reaching out to new students, eight graders, from local middle schools. 

A manager is required to help a business achieve its goals. A business will fail if they have a lackluster operational plan. Students will gain practical and real-world operational, managerial experience by creating, enacting, and overseeing all operations for the school's business, the mark of excellence, where they will be employed.

 

E-Commerce

The e-commerce course is designed for students to build upon their foundational marketing skills. Students will learn how to design products and websites that provide end-users with high-end user experiences. Students will learn how to make strategic e-commerce and marketing decisions by using the strategic planning tools of a SWOT, TOWS, PESTEL analysis. A critical component of any business e-commerce operations is to be able to market their products/services online successfully. Specifically, students will create an online marketing campaign for the school's business, The Mark of Excellences, through the use of social media and email marketing. 

There will be a focus paid on operations management in context of E Commerce. All E-commerce companies must be able to execute strong operations. Operations management for E-commerce companies is different from a brick and mortar. When designing new products certain products can work better in an E-commerce environment than in a traditional brick and mortar. This course students will examine which products are more likely to sell better and for more profit in an E-commerce environment. Students will design and create a plan to make and manufacture those products.

The major e-commerce companies like Amazon, Wayfair, etc are really operations-driven businesses. The reality is to be successful with e-commerce you have to accept that it's an operations play not a marketing and branding play. The reason e-commerce is successful, to begin with, is that it allows you to optimize an infrastructure to sell to a huge audience efficiently at low or high-value prices. It's also extremely convenient for the customer IF the OPERATIONS are sound. The only way to achieve this is with great operations management.

 

Senior Year

Financial and Managerial Accounting

This course is routed in the invest tenets of Warren Buffett, aka “the Oracle of Omaha.”  A goal of the Finance and Managerial Accounting course is to introduce students to the investment vehicles which allow a person to create, grow, and sustain long-term wealth. Investment topics will cover the stock market, bonds, real estate, retirement planning, tax efficient strategies, budgeting as well as building and protecting your credit score. Students will gain real world experience by evaluating and analyze the stock market in real time. Students will follow the same methods investment bankers use to research and select securities to purchase. Students will use SEC Forms 10-K and 10-Q to reach companies. Student will follow Peter Lynch’s mantra of “know what they own and why you own it” by creating an investment thesis.  Ultimately, this finance course provides a foundation for their future through formula:  Financial Knowledge + Discipline + Time = long-term wealth.  This course builds upon the knowledge that the students learned from the CFM course.

 

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is the capstone course of the Academy of Business & Technology. This course encourages students to think through every step of creating their own enterprise while learning economic, financial, and business concepts. Students will run the Mark of Excellence and understand what it means to be a part of a business.  Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • Create and test a Business Model using the Customer Discovery process.
  • Write and present a professional business plan.
  • Create income, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.
  • Use financial ratios to evaluate business performance.
  • Analyze markets and create effective marketing plans.
  • Use sources of capital.
  • Invest earnings.
  • Develop harvesting and exit strategies.

 

Work Based Learning

  • During the 9th and 10th grade, students will be required to complete at least 25 hours of community service each grade. They can choose their own community service activity with the approval from our Work Based Learning Coordinator. Students will be required to update their Employability Profile showing the dates they volunteered with a short description of their duties.
  • Students will have the opportunity to apply for an internship with our industry partners. We currently have multiple outside partners that will be giving our students internships. Each site will provide opportunities for the students to gain hands one experience from their industry.  
  • We currently have a real business in our school called the Mark of Excellence. The business provides services such as plaques and trophies. Students will be running the business fully with guidance from the Program Coordinator. 

Some examples of what students will do for the Business:

      • Reach out to clients.
      • Manage products.
      • Manage the website.
      • Create invoices.
      • Create Quotes
      • Create products.
      • Research new products
      • Manage HR.
      • Manage inventory.