SoteICT Teacher Manual - First Edition 2014

Teacher Manual
First edition 2014

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About the Project and Its Aims
SoteICT is a project of the partnership of Pontis Foundation (Slovakia) and Kasigau Wildlife
Trust (Kenya), made possible through SlovakAid co-funding. Sote, which in Swahili means
everybody, stands in the title to demonstrate project’s commitment to make ICT accessible
to a higher number of students in Kenya and so raise their future employability through
improved soft and computer skills. We develop these skills in educators and learners alike
through equipment and software donations, continual trainings, cooperation with school
management and establishment of student IT clubs and training companies. Having started
in 2010 with only one school, Moi High School Kasigau, the scope of the project has
broadened beyond 10 secondary schools and so helps improve lives of thousands of
students all around Taita Taveta County.
What We Do and Why It Is Important
The high penetration of mobile phones, a higher rate of success of businesses which are
able to market their products online or employers demanding job applicants to possess
computer skills all demonstrate that ICT has become an integral part of the Kenyan society.
With high rates of unemployment especially among young people, employers today can pick
and choose those who best suit a profile of their desired candidate. So, the job market is
becoming extremely competitive and to stand a chance, the candidate needs to
demonstrate a set of skills serving as their competitive advantage. The goal of soteICT is
therefore to provide students with this advantage through enhancing their critical thinking,
creativity and business skills. This is done through recombination of three important aspects
which will be dealt with further: integration of ICT in schools at all levels, project-based
learning and establishment of ICT clubs and student-led training companies. We have
focused on rural schools in Taita Taveta based on the advice of our partner Kasigau Wildlife
Trust and gradually expanded our presence in the county whilst supporting the cooperation
between Kenyan and Slovak schools in project based learning through training companies.
This manual is an attempt to create a practical guide for teachers that introduces simple but
powerful ideas and resources and summarizes our experience. We hope the guide will make
it easier to expand our soteICT programme to other schools in and outside Taita Taveta and
Kenya.

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Contents
ICT Integration in Education .................................................................................................................. 4
Project-based Learning .......................................................................................................................... 5
soteICT Clubs .......................................................................................................................................... 7
Training Companies ................................................................................................................................ 8
From a Teacher to a Mentor ............................................................................................................ 10
Simulation Game ............................................................................................................................... 25
Training Company Organisational Structures ............................................................................ 26
Setting Up a Training Company ...................................................................................................... 34
Keeping the Companies Active ....................................................................................................... 37
Appendix A: CVs, Cover Letters and Emails ................................................................................. 42
Appendix B: Slovak – English Dictionary for SCCF Internet Banking ...................................... 54
Appendix C: Our Teachers’ Practices ............................................................................................ 58
Appendix D: Certification requirements of Practice Enterprise Network ............................. 61
References and Useful Sources ....................................................................................................... 83

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ICT Integration in Education
In order to turn students into perspective young job applicants or entrepreneurs, the
integration of ICT in education is inevitable. Moreover, as it will be shown further, the use of
technology in schools has many advantages not only for the students, but also for the
teachers and administrators.
How Students Benefit from the ICT Integration in Education
First and foremost, the biggest advantage of integrating ICT is the interest and motivation it
induces in students. Instead of “chalk and talk” methods the students are exposed to more
engaging processes, using visual and audio content such as pictures, graphs, presentations,
records, videos and many more, which have a positive impact on their attention.
Recombining these types of content in a lesson helps students understand initially and
hence process the information more effectively. The increase in interest and attention then
positively influences students’ motivation and therefore also their attitudes towards
studying and the overall education. The effective and balanced use of technology can
improve academic performance and the innovative methodology of project-based teaching
enhances soft skills, such as team work. This can increase chances for graduates both for
university entry and future employment. Innovative teaching methods are also beneficial for
the school as through these results it gains good reputation and recognition.
Still, there are many more benefits. Working with a computer and browsing internet
requires students to find information, think critically, distinguish the important from the
unimportant, carry out instructions, make decisions, solve various problems and take
initiative over their own work. All of these skills are essential for students’ future
professional and even personal lives. They learn to present their own ideas and themselves
effectively, and by being exposed to ICT it makes them more comfortable with it, which
results in increase of their self-confidence and self-esteem. Moreover, with internet they
can get in touch with schools from the whole world (e.g. through Skype, FB or email), for
example with the Slovak students in the case of this project. This online cooperation not
only makes the experience of other cultures more vivid in the classroom, but it motivates
students to learn from each other and be competitive. Through regular competitions and
collaboration with other schools students get timely feedback and volunteers mentor them
on important life skills such as CV writing, job interview simulation and working in student
training company.
How Teachers Benefit from the ICT Integration in Education
By integrating ICT tools in their classes, teachers can instil excitement about studying and
engage their students in ways that plain “chalk and talk” methods cannot do. Technology
enables demonstrating complex concepts so that they are easier to comprehend at the first
hearing, and therefore lessen the time a teacher would spend repeating them. Of course, in

the beginning it may take some time to learn how to create an effective presentation, but
once it is done it may prove as a great time saver as it can be re-used multiple times with
some updates according to the valid curricula. Moreover, ICT helps teachers illustrate the
students such situations, which would be unsafe or risky in the real life, such as, for
example, chemical processes with poisonous gases or behaviours of dangerous animals.
Further, not only teachers’ free time is enhanced, but also the time at the class can be used
more effectively focusing on students’ questions and understanding, rather than redrawing
graphs, charts, etc…
The lectures become improved also by teachers’ unlimited access to information and
resources available online or in various e-learning programmes. The option of storing
students’ data for years, such as personal details and results, is a great assessment tool. It
allows to track student’s progress over time and identify the areas which need to be
improved or focused on further (e.g. if we find out that a student is good at maths but every
year keeps having problems with geometry tests). Such electronic portfolios may be also
displayed in communication with parents to inform about their child’s performance.
Finally, teachers can use ICT to expand their own opportunities, practice or increase their
competence by overcoming the classroom isolation and getting in touch with colleagues via
professional networks to share experience, ideas and resources. This can be done in
teachers’ work time when they do not have classes, but also after work as a part of their
professional and personal development.
For teachers, there are many advantages of using professional networks. On a personal
level, the networks allow them to socialise with their counterparts, discuss their experience,
communicate easily or join together for a common cause. Professionally, the contacts can
help them to acquire information or arrange inter-school partnerships. Furthermore,
potential employers can look up a person via a professional network based on their profile.
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Project-based Learning
The presence of new technology in classroom doesn’t magically improve student
performance without effective and innovative methods that use the transformative
potential of ICT. The successful implementation of project-based learning (PBL) can present
such innovation that can multiply positive effects of technology in education. It introduces
student projects of various complexity and duration. They help learners combine their
knowledge of various subjects from the curriculum and create a final product: research
outcome or a solution to a certain problem. This outcome is presented publicly in a form of
a presentation, text, blog article or artefact. It shifts the focus from instruction of curriculum
to construction of final products based on the knowledge gained from the curriculum. The

students hold various positions within their project teams in PBL and the teacher assumes
the role of a facilitator. The students learn in the course of PBL various so called 21st century
skills – collaboration, independent problem solving, communication, project management
and critical thinking. These skills combined with effective use of ICT tools can help to
prepare students for real life responsibilities such as, for example, in their future jobs.
Project-based teaching also cultivates collaboration between teachers as well as the
application of knowledge in one subject to practical problem solving that involves other
subjects. There are potential risks in overestimating the final product and underestimating
the group dynamics. In this case not all students in the project team gain the same skills and
the team leaders do work on behalf of the weaker members. But effective facilitation and
regular feedback from the team can help prevent these negative aspects.
Today, PBL is commonly used in extracurricular activities even without noticing. For
example, when a particular group of students prepares for a scientific competition or
creates a school magazine. Our soteICT programme intends to promote PBL across the
whole spectrum of the school activities and help the students to develop their presentation
skills through ICT. For instance, student ICT clubs can help school administrators to prepare
school presentations, brochures, calendars, magazines and business cards using tool like,
e.g. MS Publisher or PowerPoint software. The ICT club is also a place to develop a long term
project we introduced – student training companies which help the students simulate
business operations and make use of the knowledge they have learnt during their Business
Studies. Besides presentation skills we stress the importance of typing using the automatic
grammar correction tool and effective business communication skills in preparation of a
Curriculum Vitae or cover letters. We conduct regular competitions between schools in
promotional video creation for student companies, CV and essay writing.
There are various levels of PBL integration in daily life of schools. Our project also helps the
schools to improve the presentations for their scientific competitions and develops various
soft skills in students during their weekly ICT clubs. But we strongly believe that teachers of
all subjects can benefit when they embrace not only technology (email, text editor,
presentation software, internet, etc.) but also the new possibilities of technology in project-based
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learning.
We encourage teachers to get further information on PBL and connect through their
colleagues through professional networks such as Partners in Learning operated by
Microsoft or blogs like Edutopia.

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soteICT Clubs
Computer literacy is often one of the crucial requirements of companies to their job
candidates. But ICT brings a great potential to improve much more than just computer skills.
Computing positively impacts critical thinking, creativity, initiative and accountability – all of
which are crucial for creating good working habits for both employment and one’s own
business management. However, due to the lack of resources, time or a high number of
students, the Computer Studies alone may not be sufficient to develop students’ individual
skills to the fullest.
Therefore, benefits of ICT integration in education can be enhanced through establishment
of ICT clubs. The advantage of ICT clubs is that they allow students to use technology in
ways which the regular Computer Studies class curricula do not provide. Thus, the ICT clubs
complement the classes, as besides equipping students with theoretical knowledge they
provide them with an opportunity to develop their skills through practical experience. While
the classes focus on teaching how to master a ‘tool’ (e.g. technical aspects – how to use
Microsoft Office), the clubs should use these ‘tools’ in order to teach practical skills (e.g.
how to use Microsoft Office tools to create an attractive CV design, how to create effective
databases, etc...). Also, the clubs put emphasis on students’ ability to use the ‘power of
internet’, find necessary information on their own, distinguish important from unimportant
and use the acquired knowledge for their own benefit (e.g. advice on how to successfully
pass a job interview).
As the clubs should be student-led, teachers’ position shifts from a ‘lecturer’ to a ‘mentor’.
This unburdens the teachers as instead of preparing extensive materials and
demonstrations they operate as motivators and facilitators (e.g. when teaching video
editors, the mentors give students essential information, but let them explore all the
functions of the editor themselves). In this way the students get advice and feedback they
need but they also learn working independently.
Setting topics and activities for the clubs, the teachers can be creative and try new and
challenging ideas, so that they can grow, learn and have fun alongside their students.
Moreover, they can search for some inspiration online (a good source of activity ideas are
for example www.teach-ict.com/teachershome.htm, www.parkfieldict.co.uk/ictclub/ or
www.simonhaughton.co.uk/2010/01/ict-club-activities.html). Furthermore, we encourage
student ICT clubs to focus a big share of their activities on another important aspect of the
soteICT project - the student training companies.

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Training Companies
With a 40 percent unemployment rate, the formal employment in Kenya is diminishing and
the impact of small businesses on country’s economy takes on greater significance. Every
year up to a big number of secondary school graduates start their own firms. However,
research shows that more than 60 percent (Ndeje, 2013) of these companies go bankrupt
every year as a result of insufficiency of resources, but mostly also due to the lack of
practical managerial and organisational skills essential for a successful business leadership.
In faith that these companies have a potential to grow and improve lives of individuals and
communities, this project aims to identify and address these problems by providing
computer-based business learning environment in which students can develop their
entrepreneurial skills and creativity.
What Are Training Companies?
Training companies simulate a real-business environment. Replicating all functions of an
actual firm, from production, to marketing, sales, customer relations, accounting, human
resources (HR), etc., they work within detailed structures and departments. Similarly to the
real firms, they keep their records, materials and documentations, such as orders, invoices
or shipping forms. In order to make the experience even more real, the global market is
simulated by cooperation of the practice enterprises working on import-export basis. In the
case of this project the Practice Enterprise Network connects training companies in Kenya
and Slovakia.
What Are the Benefits?
The advantage of training companies is that they cut across borders by developing business,
computer and life skills essential for students’ future once they leave high school. The real-world
skills acquisition occurs through learning by doing. Even though the students can
make actual products or partner with real companies, the training methodology by the
Practice Enterprise Network is not based on any real goods or money transaction and
stresses the need of close simulation of relevant business practice in Kenya. The re-connection
of education and development of real-life skills happens through replication of
real business processes.
Establishing the training companies the project aims to provide the students with a
competitive advantage to equip them for the job market and entrepreneurship. Usually
people who start their own businesses without any previous experience acquire the skills
and knowledge throughout the process. However, naturally the process of learning by doing

necessarily involves mistakes and failures. These are, of course, inevitable and often useful
as they can be learnt from. Still, in the real world, every mistake costs a company its money.
Practise enterprises give students an opportunity to learn from their mistakes, to be
creative, and test their ideas without the risk of a loss. Still, the reactions to their practice
come from the real world, which is represented by schools in Kenya and abroad, parents
and the Practice Enterprise Network which are used as testing grounds. In comparison to
their counterparts, who do not take part in training firms, by the time they leave school
these students will have known e.g. how to set up a business, manage their companies, how
to attract customers, which marketing strategies work and which do not, etc…
Furthermore, even the students who do not intend to start their own businesses benefit
from their involvement in a practise enterprise significantly. They acquire important work
habits, skills and experience, which may once serve as important points of reference in their
CVs when applying for jobs. In comparison to a high school graduate without experience
who can only put educational track in their CVs, the absolvents of training firms can also add
working experience, saying, for example, that they have worked as assistant managers of
the marketing department in a travel agency. And if they were active they can present their
certificate from the Practice Enterprise Network that acknowledges minimal standards of
the training company and achievements of particular students. This adds value to their job
applications. Also, by participating in various competitions by soteICT, these graduates get
an opportunity to succeed and use this success to point to in order to prove their skills and
competence in the future. Moreover, as the companies simulate the real world, they
provide activities through which their employees can improve their CV and cover letter
writing as well as their behaviours at job interviews.
In addition, the members also benefit from feedback of their teachers. In training
companies, teachers turn into mentors and motivators, providing advice and
encouragement. As the companies should be student-led, the members learn to work
independently and unburden their tutors.
For the companies to work effectively it is necessary to secure continuation of activities
through which the members develop their skills. If set up efficiently, the practise enterprises
equip the students with very concrete and practical set of skills and prepare them to enter
the real world of knowledge-based economy and so give them a comparative advantage on
the job market.
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From a Teacher to a Mentor
(the Role of Teachers in soteICT Clubs And Training Companies)
Even though the Kenyan curricula are very good at equipping students with an extensive
knowledge in order to prepare them for any professional choices, they can often feel too
compressed or heavily based on memorising. Therefore, the ICT clubs and training
companies aim to provide students with an opportunity to develop their “21st century” skills
in a way their regular classes may not. Naturally, with a shift from theoretical to practical,
the method of learning by doing brings a change in the role of teachers in this process. For
the students to learn the necessary skills, they need to be able to learn to work
independently, make their own decisions or judgements. Therefore, at the ICT clubs and
training companies, instead of a lecturer, a teacher becomes a mentor, a motivator and a
facilitator.
Mentor
What Is Mentoring?
Mentoring can be understood as an active relationship between an experienced person
(mentor) and a mentee, aimed at developing mentee’s knowledge and skills, which would
enhance their personal and professional growth. In comparison with teaching, mentoring
does not focus on providing the mentee with answers to their problems, but rather guiding
them towards the right direction so that they can resolve problems for themselves. An
important part of mentoring is a provision of critical, honest, unbiased and balanced
feedback in a suitable form, in order for the students to learn from and build on.
What Is the Role of a Mentor?
Mentor’s role changes according to the needs of individual stages of mentee’s development.
They pass on the benefit of their experience by sharing knowledge and resources, providing
guidance, advice but also they pose as role models by sharing information on their own
career path.
Instead of telling mentees what to do, mentors realise that the effectiveness of learning is
enhanced when students are responsible and feel ownership over their work. Focusing on
students’ total development, mentors help their students to clarify their goals and how to
achieve them.

A big emphasis is on the relationship between the mentor and the mentee. The students
can be often unconfident or afraid to share their thoughts with people who they naturally
look up to and respect. It is up to the mentor to create an atmosphere in which learners will
feel safe and appreciated. The mentee needs to be valued as a person and be paid attention
to. Providing non-judgemental support, honest feedback and maintaining confidentiality are
all essential for creating such an atmosphere.
In order to make the relationship work, it is essential that the mentor is interested in this
kind of work. The students need to believe they can trust their mentors and not to feel like
they bother them with their questions or problems. Mentors should possess active listening
skills, so that they can analyse and react to what the mentee is saying without interrupting.
Dealing with different kind of personalities, mentors need to be patient and ready to
support the students’ views and decisions. Still, an honest and critical feedback is always
desirable but must not be replaced by imposing mentor’s views and opinions.
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How Does a Mentor Benefit?
The mentoring relationship does not only benefit the mentee. Taking on the role of a
mentor is a rewarding and valuable position to be in, given only to professionals with a
proven record of experience and results. Throughout the process, mentors learn and
develop alongside their wards; they broaden their knowledge and develop new skills. By
cooperating with young promising persons, the mentors potentially increase their
professional and personal networks for the future. Mentoring not only gives them a new
dimension to their every-day job, but most importantly, allows mentors to see others learn
from their experience and based on that, grow into productive individuals.
Feedback
Often the reason hindering students‘ development rests in their misunderstanding or
disinformation about their performance. Without any consultations students may struggle
identifying their mistakes and hence also the areas for further improvements. Therefore, an
appropriate and regular feedback plays a crucial role in enhancing learners’s potential
through raising awareness of their strengths as well as areas to work on harder.
For any feedback to be effective it needs to be understood as an interaction between a
mentor and a mentee, rather than a one-way communication. It is then also highly valued
by the students as they know that it comes from someone who they know and respect.
A quality feedback should adhere to a few basic principles:

1. Timeliness – Feedback should be provided as soon after an activity as possible. This
allows the students to remember the process of learning or problem resolution
clearly, reflect upon it and think of rectifications. The mentor should operate in the
boundaries of “here and now”, which means that they do not bring up mistakes
stood up from previous assignments in order not to discourage a student. However,
in case there is a certain pattern of behaviours which needs to be emphasised, an
exception can be made.
2. Concreteness – A feedback which is too general or does not focus on specific
observations may lack effectiveness. Therefore, the mentors need to be clear on the
subject of their feedback, concentrate on specific issues and provide concrete
examples wherever possible. The mentees should be acquainted with intended
outcomes of an assignment. If possible, the point should be summarised again at the
end of a meeting session.
3. Practicality – After identifying the problematic areas clearly, it is important to
provide students with guidance or suggestions on alternative behaviours. The
mentor and the mentee should be able to agree on actions to be taken in order to
improve performance.
4. Balance – In order to prevent the student from taking a defence when receiving
criticism or getting discouraged, it is important to communicate the message
sensitively. Therefore, it is advised that a negative feedback is preceded by a positive
one. The purpose of the positive feedback is to highlight mentee’s strengths and
successes achieved so far. A student who has been motivated in this way is then
more receptive to a correcting message. In all cases, feedback should be provided
confidentially and in private.
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Motivator
Why Is Motivation Important?
A strong motivation makes the process of teaching and learning more effective, easier and
more comfortable for both teachers and students. Generally, if people see a purpose and
meaning in what they do, and find the end point attractive or useful, they pay more
attention, they are more collaborative and initiative. What may motivate students is also
the content of a class and the way in which information is presented. It can often be seen
that students tend to like or prefer specific classes because they find teacher’s personality
pleasant or the information is disseminated in an attractive way. Motivated students show
better behaviour, working habits and improved academic performance. They work harder

because they see the reason of doing so. As it has been mentioned already, one of such
tools of attracting students attention and increasing their motivation is, e.g. integration of
ICT in teaching. Another important advantage of motivation is that the students are
encouraged to move beyond their comfort zone and develop beyond their own limits.
Motivation instils positive attitudes to education and helps overcome difficult or challenging
times more easily.
If the students are motivated, it is not only beneficial for themselves, but also for their
teachers and the schools. The teachers find it easier to work with inspired students, while
the school can boast by better academic results positioning it well in the national ranking of
secondary education institutions. The very same proven record of results also ensures a
good reputation of teachers and broadens their opportunities for the future. Hence,
motivation helps to achieve goals of all – students, teachers and schools. It can be seen as a
smart way of leadership, which is also adopted by top Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of
companies worldwide. By getting all the support, encouragement and motivation from their
mentors, the students have a great potential to find their own confidence and become
effective leaders themselves.
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How to Motivate Students?
Motivation
Most importantly, for anyone to be motivated, they firstly need to see the meaning of their
effort. Mentors should make the students understand why it is important for them working
hard, trying new things, thinking outside the box. Further, the mentors should show the
students meaning behind all the activities, tell them where the actions taken are supposed
to lead them, what new skills they can develop through them. Often, the problem of
students’ passivity lays in the fact that they do not understand the purpose behind tasks
given to them. Even most useful educational tools, such as e.g. training companies, can
prove ineffective due to members’ inactivity caused by confusion over their purposes.
Therefore, the best motivators never go without explaining the meaning of every activity
and by doing so encourage better performance.
The roles of a motivator and a mentor have much in common and are related to each other.
Similarly as mentors, motivators need to develop mutual trust and respect with their wards.
Emotional support and person’s belief that there is someone who has faith in them seem to
be one of the best encouragement tools. Appreciation and well-communicated criticism
drive students forward and make them want to achieve more by working harder. On the
other hand, lack of appreciation may lead to loss of students’ motivation and interest in
their work. Rewarding does not need to involve any material tokens, a word of appreciation,

a letter or a simple certificate are enough. These certificates, of course, should explicitly
state the quality or the act for which the person is being rewarded.
The students get encouraged also by being exposed to inspiring people. Therefore, by
setting a good example for their wards, teachers can become role models and have a
positive impact on students’ desire to achieve their goals.
People often get discouraged when they do not understand their roles or feel like they
cannot change anything nor have any word in decision-making. Hence, motivation can be
ensured by allowing the students to get a hands-on experience through taking part in
planning, problem resolution or individually-assigned tasks.
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Communication and team work
Communication and team spirit are also essential. In order to be able to fully develop their
potential, the students need to feel they work in a safe environment. They need to feel they
can express themselves and will not be mocked for their opinions or actions. It is important
to be sensitive to students’ personal issues as it may be these which hold them back. Young
people are often under much pressure from their families, teachers and friends. Students
with worse performance are often convinced they are “stupid" and therefore designate on
any attempts to accomplish or excel at anything. However, the experience shows that each
person has different set of skills and the best qualities await to be discovered. Still, they will
not come on the surface if the student feels given up on or underestimated. Therefore, one
of the main roles of teachers is to help students find their talents and interests, and assist
them in their further development.
Students may be passive as a consequence of their lack of confidence. There are many
reasons for that; some may be bullied by their counterparts, some may feel they cannot
amount to much due to their personal background, origin, gender, looks, handicaps, etc…
The role of a motivator is to try to identify such reasons and by empathising with students’
situations provide them with support which makes them stronger. Again, no difficult or
sophisticated approaches are necessary. If you see that a student is shy and does not
believe in himself or herself, start with assigning them simple tasks which you are sure they
can accomplish. By carrying out challenging tasks and accomplishing them successfully, you
are showing the students the qualities within themselves and the sense of achievement
inculcates a higher self-esteem and gives them drive to continue developing further.
Also, it is not advised assigning multiple roles to a small number of students as the rest may
feel neglected or may think they are perceived by the teacher as unfit for the tasks. In their
mentoring positions, teachers should aim at securing development of the highest possible
number of their wards which can only be done by balanced division of tasks. At this point, a
mentor and motivator also becomes a facilitator.

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Facilitator
Who Is a Facilitator?
Facilitators are individuals who help a group to work effectively and achieve improved or
exceptional performance in order to bring about results. Therefore, an essential part of the
role is securing quality and continuity of activities which happens through following an
agreed-on agenda, as well as keeping records, deadlines and encouraging an active
participation of students. Facilitators support internal and external collaborations between
schools, clubs and training companies and promote good practice. Even though their
assistance should be unobtrusive, their guidance promotes mutual understanding, shared
responsibility, and advocates for fair and inclusive procedures in group’s work. Good
facilitation helps create a safe environment in which the group members are not afraid to
take risks or express themselves. The content of activities should be student-led, but the
role of the teacher is to facilitate the process of learning and its structure. The meaning of
doing so is to enable the students to benefit to the highest possible measure.
Good Practices
1. Time-management
Time management may be understood as everyone’s own system or a set of practices which
helps them create the time they need to accomplish a certain task or organise their lives
more efficiently. There are many benefits of time-keeping. It helps setting up one’s priorities
and positively impacts discipline, focus and attention, which then leads to a higher
productivity and therefore, success.
A good time management system prevents people from losing momentum. By giving their
work an exact structure it takes them closer to their goals and enhances development of
their skills. Meeting deadlines at work, at school projects or any team activities does not
only impact one person, but can have consequences for the whole group. Therefore it is
important for the teachers to do their best for their students to allow them to benefit the
most, as it is for the students to try hard in order to secure teacher’s good reputation and
work results.

As people are diverse, they all develop their own ways of effective time-management. Still,
the following steps may be useful for some inspiration:
1. Find out what needs to be done and what the deadlines are. Calculate how much
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time you have to accomplish the tasks.
2. Set up your priorities.
3. Set up your goals.
4. Classify the tasks according to their importance.
5. Create a time plan for completing each of the assignments. Be realistic and take into
account unforeseen circumstances.
6. If possible, you can break the assignment into smaller sub-tasks.
7. You can define a time limit for each subtask and delegate the students to carry them
out.
8. Create a check-list or a tick-box for each of the activities. It works best if you keep it
in a place where you can see it daily, such as your desk.
9. Keep an eye on students’ activities and progress to ensure success.
10. Keep re-evaluating the time you have left and act accordingly.
11. If there is a task which is holding back the whole group, delegate students who are
through with their activities to help the slower ones.
12. When accomplished, check the result of the work yourself and offer feedback.
13. If you have time, you can improve imperfections. If not, just submit it as soon as
possible so that you do not miss a deadline. In this case, all your work could be a
waste.
14. After completing or submitting the result, you can discuss the process with your
students. This will allow you to reflect on what the strengths of your team are and
what, on the other hand, needs to be improved next time.
In order to effectively follow-up a club or a company agenda and deliver the best outcomes,
these points are important:
1. Inform all the participants about the activity.
2. Explain the expected outcomes.
3. Set the time limits and never hesitate to remind the students of them throughout
the process.
4. Tell the students about the benefit of carrying out the task in order to motivate
them.
2. Securing Continuity
As it has been mentioned already, the main purpose of the soteICT project is to provide
students with very concrete and practical skills, which would once position them well on a

job market or in the business environment. Still, in order to really develop it is important for
the students to improve their skills continuously through regular and frequent assignments
with time-bound targets and specific objectives. Therefore, the soteICT team of teachers,
who are the biggest strength of the project, should make sure that their students’ progress
constantly and use the resources provided to them effectively.
However, on a way to success there may be many obstacles. Such are, for instance, weak
internet connectivity, insufficiency of time due to the tight schedules, passive students, or
non-existent customers for the training companies which may lead to a situation, when the
companies do not know how to progress with their activities. Fortunately, websites are full
of various ideas and suggestions for fun activities for the clubs. Generally, teachers can be
very busy and it is understandable if they do not have time to google and read websites
looking for information. In this case, they can contact the soteICT team, who are here to
assist the mentors in their roles and are very happy to provide them with some inspirations.
The following are some of activities which the ICT clubs can carry out to keep busy. For most
of them, internet connection is not necessary, even though it may come helpful. The ICT
clubs and the companies can adopt these activities but also recombine them or amend
them according to their will:
1. Typing assignments – Typing remains a challenge not only for the young students
but often even for people who have worked with a computer for some time now. In
order to master this skill, the students can retype a page from a magazine or a
textbook. They can even compete about who is the fastest. By having them write
essays, blogs, articles, etc., the teachers help improve this important skill. Very
helpful are typing instructors which are usually freely downloadable from web, such
as, for instance, Mavic Beacon software. (No internet necessary)
2. MS Office and other programs – If the school is low on internet, the students can
use the ICT clubs to enhance their abilities working in MS Office. They can learn how
to use the tools creatively, in a way in which they are not able to use them in class.
They can, for example, create various posters for the clubs or for the schools, design
business cards not only for themselves but also for the teachers, prepare leaflets,
information sheets for parents’ day or school functions. Moreover, if the teachers
are free, they can even download more programs freely accessible online, or contact
the soteICT team to provide them with some. An example could be AVS Video Editor,
or various chatter boxes and animators (Scratch), in which they can even create their
own PC games. The plan of activities for the ICT clubs could reflect upon the needs of
the companies; they can correlate. That means that if the companies need to
prepare a video that week, at the ICT classes they can learn how to work with
various editors and cut the shot material. (No internet necessary)
17

3. Thematical presentations – ensuring balanced participation, the students can be
assigned a theme about which they would have to make a presentation in Power
Point and pitch in front of the class. They may choose the topic themselves, or if
passive, the mentor can help. (No internet necessary)
4. Regular reports – the members of the ICT club and the companies as well as their
single departments can give oral and written reports about their operations and
functioning to the mentor on regular basis whilst changing the spokesperson so that
more students can benefit. (No internet necessary)
5. Blogs – it happens that the students set up their own blogs but struggle to update
them. This can be a great activity, as besides keeping them busy and developing their
typing skills, it also improves their writing, composition, presentation and the way in
which they express themselves. Instead of just uploading pictures, the teachers may
have them write regular articles about their activities, interesting topics, news from
the clubs, schools or their communities. (Internet necessary)
6. School magazines and yearbooks – in case the internet connection is too weak,
instead of blogs, students can create regular school magazines reflecting on hottest
issues or any topic of their choice (approved by the school administration) or school
year books. Insufficiency of printers, cartridges or paper is not an issue – the
magazines can exist only in an electronic form and in case there is a good
connection, they can be accessed online. (No internet necessary )
7. SoteICT contests – in order to keep the clubs busy, the soteICT team prepares
regular contests (e.g. video contests, Ambassadors of Change competitions,CV
writing contests, business case contests, etc.), which purpose is to help advance
students’ abilities and knowledge. All the information is distributed through soteICT
Facebook page and by emails directly to the teachers. Even though sometimes
internet may be necessary, these contests are mostly designed so that everyone,
even the schools without internet connectivity are able to join in.
8. Internal contests – Competitions can be organised within the schools when the
competing would be the individual students or the companies between each other.
Besides typing competitions, these may be such as poster competitions, photo essay
contests, cover letter contests, best marketing contests, best videos, best business
cards, etc. The contests can also copy the competitions carried out by the soteICT
team in order to enhance students’ abilities in the given field further. (No internet
necessary)
18

9. Business cases – if there is a problem of a missing customer, the mentor or the
students themselves can make up a business case. This means, the whole story of a
customer coming to use the services or buy the products would be just virtual.
However, this virtual customer would spend their money in the company and
therefore, all the departments would have to start operating and processing the
transaction as well as using the good service to illustrate quality of their firm in their
promotional materials. All of these activities, the mechanism and the structure of
companies’ functioning are explained in the next chapter. (Internet may be very
helpful but it is not essential)
10. Kenyan or Kenyan-Slovak cooperation – a wide network of the soteICT project
which reaches 10 schools in Kenya and a number of them in Slovakia can be used as
a great opportunity to start inter-school activities, beneficial for both sides. It does
not only increase the competition and therefore activity, creativity and general
performance of the groups, but also presents a great chance to learn from each
other, make friends and get to know other cultures. (Internet necessary)
11. Thematical months – in the beginning, a mentor introduces a topic, sets up rules,
standards and expectations and then lets the students work on their own. Finally,
after the task has been accomplished, the mentor would offer a balanced feedback
to each of the groups and gives some suggestions for improvements. The themes can
be practise enterprise related, such as marketing strategy months, but also
assignments focused on customer relations, financial management, and so on.
12. Wiki – Teachers can post all the information or instructions on their activities on
their page on Wiki spaces, which provides room for the teacher and the students to
communicate online. This allows the students to easily access the instructions any
time, double check if they are unsure about anything, practise what they have learnt,
repeat it again, and so master the tools. A great advantage is that this would also
enable them to work on their own, in the absence of the mentor. The teacher can
always update the materials from wherever they are. (Internet necessary)
13. Students’ initiative – the students can come up with their own ideas for the
activities. This would not only improve their creativity, but it could also boost their
confidence, teach them how to take the lead and responsibility for their own
projects, and last but not least, to work independently.
The clubs can post pictures and information about their activities and successes on soteICT
Facebook page, so that they can motivate others or get inspired themselves.
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20
3. Balancing the Participation
It is said that ‘if just one person is talking, very few people are learning’. Thus, for learning at
class to be effective, it is important that the students themselves take action and are able to
discuss issues lively. Such an opportunity to participate increases students’ interest and
therefore has a positive impact on their performance. It also allows them to test their ideas,
think more independently and develop their presentation skills. Therefore, progressive
teachers nowadays base their educational methods on participative activities. However, in
order to maximise the benefits of these activities, teachers need to approach differences in
students sensitively. Especially, this applies to the ICT clubs, where the mentors often work
with a high number of students from different classes and with various levels of skills or
knowledge. To ensure that the highest possible number of students benefit from the
project, the mentors should be able to address the following issues:
- The Issue of Dominance:
Throughout their profession, teachers learn to recognise mainly four types of students:
a) Students actively participating and thriving at classes,
b) Quiet students who usually speak only if spoken to but work hard (often timid
students who still score high grades),
c) Students who seem to be uninterested in the subject of discussion (this may show
either in their silence or class-disturbing behaviours),
d) Mixed cases (depends on how comfortable or safe they feel).
These differences in people are very natural, but if they are not handled well, they may lead
to an imbalance in the group dynamics. Each club or a company should have a leader. Still, it
happens sometimes that the person starts dominating the group with their skills and
knowledge, which may result in other students feeling intimidated or becoming passive.
Some of them may do it forcefully, but mostly these students just act out of their
enthusiasm for the subject. Also, as these students are usually very advanced for their level,
a teacher may unconsciously cause the situation by always appointing the same person to
carry out a certain activity, because they can be sure that these students will do it properly.
In both cases, the dominance of the club by individuals leads to a decrease in number of
members, who really develop. This problem is apparent especially when comparing
students’ presentation skills.
The dominant students should not be favoured so that they can overtake the group but
neither marginalised so that they lose motivation. Firstly, the mentor should focus on
monitoring group interactions and identify patterns of behaviours. If intervention is needed,

the facilitators can use phrases like “Let’s hear from those who have not spoken yet”, “What
does the rest of you think?” or “This is a great idea but we need to move on so let’s discuss
it later”. The same can be applied when assigning tasks to individuals. Also, individuals
coming up with alternatives within a group discussion or decision making should be heard
out and given a serious consideration. All the communication must be respectful and all the
students should feel appreciated for their contributions.
With younger students, the method of a Talking Stick may be useful (the stick is passed on
among the participants and the one who holds it, that one speaks). However, to ensure
balance in older student groups, more sophisticated methods may be necessary. A ‘flip chart
method’ starts with a facilitator identifying a problem or a question to the entire group and
then hands out small cards and gives the participants time to work individually. After they
have written down their contributions, they place the cards on a flip chart. The ideas,
opinions or suggestions can then be reviewed proportionally. A great advantage of using
this method is that it does not favour anyone while at the same time it encourages more
timid individuals to participate, eliminating feelings of intimidation.
Another useful method is a determination of exact limitations on students’ participation.
This could be, for instance, provision of an equal time scope for everyone to present, or
putting a number on how many times the same individual may carry out a certain activity.
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- the Issue of a High Number of Participants
The higher is the number of active participants, the better is the quality of learning
outcomes, as the students need to compete and be more creative. In bigger groups the
participation can be balanced by creating a mechanism which will enable everyone to get
engaged in the activities. One such mechanism may be creating schedules for e.g. a month,
when every day two different students assist the teacher, carry out the assigned tasks, lead
the class, prepare presentations, etc. Furthermore, through these schedules, the
participants get to know when it is their turn in advance, which allows them to prepare for
their ‘shift’. This results in more confidence and thus, better outcomes. Especially more
timid or passive students will appreciate the method.
In a very similar manner, mentors may create various ‘class chains’ according to their wish.
Class chains are usually based on some kind of order – alphabetical; from the oldest to the
youngest (by the time it’s their turn, the younger students will have had learnt from the
oldest and perform better); or by the seat in the class – from the front to the back and the
other way around.

Especially within the training companies, a teacher can always appoint a person from
another department to give a report of their activities. Sometimes, it does not need to be
the president only; mentors can talk to department managers and deputies or have them
appoint anyone else from the group to do the speaking.
Last but not least, mentors may make the students work in smaller groups, create new
groups and change partners frequently. Setting up smaller groups may be efficient
especially at the training company business. If there are more than 25 students in a group, it
is more beneficial for the students to create two or more companies instead of just one. The
key thing is that smaller groups allow the participants to get a real ‘hands-on’ experience,
cooperate closely, learn from each other, and share their knowledge, skills and strengths.
More companies will also increase the competition between the groups. This could motivate
the students to work more creatively, they will also learn how to make their company differ
from the competition and through this added value, attract customers.
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- the Issue of Differences in Students’ Skills and Knowledge
The fact that the members of the clubs and training companies usually come from all the
forms and differ by skills, knowledge and age, may be one of the biggest challenges that the
soteICT mentors need to address. Also, there are students joining and leaving the clubs
every year, which could negatively impact the continuity of activities or the quality of their
outcomes. Therefore, it is important to minimise these threats and, if approached
creatively, use the differences for the benefit of the club and the training companies.
Naturally, when younger students join the soteICT clubs or training companies, their
knowledge of computers or business is significantly lower than the knowledge of their older
counterparts. As they don’t want to slow the others down, they let the older students lead
without contributing themselves. However, if the older students carry out all the important
activities and decision making, the younger ones do not really get space for learning and
improvement and they would rely on the leadership of the older students too much.
Moreover, this development does not only hold back the young ones, but also the older
students, who could be working on more complex things.
One of the ways around this problem may be splitting students into Junior (Form 1, 2) and
Senior (Form 3, 4) companies, where everyone would be able to participate, contribute and
develop in accordance with their skills or needs. This allows the younger ones progress and
learn together, while the older ones can work on a higher level. As the companies within
one school usually do not focus on a similar business field, they would not pose an unequal
competition to each other.

Within these schools with a Senior/Junior structures, but also outside them, a system of
sororities and brotherhoods may be effective. For instance, a president of a Senior company
has a sister from a Junior firm to mentor; then the twinning can be done on each level, also
between regular members. In this way, they can both learn from each other, the older ones
could develop their leadership skills further, while the younger ones would have support in
their counterparts and therefore should not feel intimidated by their roles. But this system
can be also used within a single company, especially after recruitment of new members.
These new recruits should be included in the departments where they are needed most –
hence, usually to cover the empty spots after the Form 4 students. The pairs would then be
created within these single departments. The responsibility of the older members is then to
acquaint the recruited with how the department operates and teach them to work with the
programs central to firm’s functioning so that they can catch up fast.
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4. Resolving Attendance Issues
Training companies operate as a simulation of real-life firms and therefore, similarly, the
attendance and performance of employees is the key to their success. Thus, irregular
attendance may lead to a decrease in productivity and quality of work as it impedes the
work of the other members. Due to insufficiency of work force, the firms may be missing
deadlines or be unavailable to potential customers. Furthermore, this development may
result in deterioration of morals and discipline within the companies. These problems could
show up in late arrivals and early departures, long breaks or unexplained and unscheduled
absences.
The first thing to do is, therefore, identifying the problem clearly. Each company and IT club
need to keep records of the attendance of their members so that the facilitator can monitor
the situation. Of course, reasonable absences and breaks are very natural to companies’
everyday functioning but if there exists a clear pattern, an action should be taken in order to
prevent the behaviour.
Students often do not understand what is expected of them, so one of most important
things is to set strong and clear standards for everyone in the beginning and acquaint them
with possible consequences of misbehaviour. In case that an intervention is necessary, the
facilitator can usually resolve the problems simply by communication. The problem may be
temporary, such as sickness, a need to work harder on school assignments, important
examination period, but also family illness or financial problems, or even serious issues such
as abuse. It is not teacher’s job to rectify the problematic issues, but rather to provide the
student with enough time scope or resources to be able to catch up with their work. All of
these, if handled well, can be resolved and a student can be re-integrated in the group.

However, if the absence seems to be chronic and the member struggles to explain the
underlying reasons, a teacher or the company itself (Human Resources - HR department)
should take an action and proceed accordingly to their internal rules. After sending a
warning letters, HR department may carry out a disciplinary process and in serious cases,
the member may be expelled. It may be harsh, but just the awareness that this may happen,
may make students realise that there is many of their counterparts who would like to join in
but cannot due to the high number of the interested and a limited capacity of ICT labs.
Hence, the student should start appreciating their positions more and act responsively.
After taking the corrective measures on the attendance and the re-integration of the
student, the facilitator should keep monitoring the situation as the elimination of absences
can shift into other undesirable behaviours or reoccur again after several months. In these
cases, creation of long-term improvement plans or schedules could be useful so that the
member can demonstrate an improvement.
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25
Running a Training Company
Simulation Game
As mentioned in previous chapters, the essential teaching method in training company
practice is simulation of the real business environment. Training firms replicate all the
functions, structures, organisation and working processes of real companies. They are
established by trainees – students with a support of a facilitator – a teacher. The simulation
method enables the students to gain hands-on experience through silhoutting the real
working environment – they can test their ideas and come up with new ones, learn from
their mistakes, take risks and accountability for their actions. Even though the firms are not
real, the inscenation requires the students to concentrate, develop their soft and hard skills
and approach the ‘game’ seriously. The point is to make the firms operate as real as
possible.
All the students involved in training companies hold concrete positions within the
departments and are assigned their own specific tasks for which accomplishment they are
responsible. This can be perceived as a role play. For that, all the members need to
understand their roles and what they are expected to deliver. The simulation allows
students to solve dynamic tasks, such as various business cases when the goods and services
are sold to virtual or imaginative customers or the firms can work as a cluster and trade
products or services.
Facilitator’s role is to ensure that the education is connected to reality. Teaching is
integrated in the simulation scenario and learning takes place during the process of work
adhering to real-world business organisation structures. The facilitator should create a safe
learning environment which would support students’ creativity and initiative.
The Roles of the SoteICT Structures in the Simulation Game
Even though the businesses may not be real, all the successes, failures, problems and
customer feedback that firms receive need to be reflecting those of actual people. This will
ensure that during their studies the members will have gained such experience and
knowledge which will help them to stand on their own two feet in the real world. In order to
ensure this, each of the soteICT structures plays a specific role in the simulation game.

Students – roles of company’s presidents, managers, their deputies, employees and other
personnel
26
Teachers – role of companies’ external consultants and advisors
Training companies – the network of businesses, a simulation of world’s business
environment. They can work as a cluster or compete against each other.
Schools, teachers, parents and the Kenyan – Slovak company network – testing grounds
for the potential of companies’ products and services; potential customers
SoteICT Centre – the simulation of state governmental business administration offices: the
registration office, tax office, etc… The Centre also organises trade fairs, vocational trainings
and other events.
Slovak Centre of Training Companies – is a partner and mentor of soteICT Centre and
registers training companies at Practice Enterprise Network (PEN). It also provides trainings
to Kenyan teachers on the PEN methodology and tools and organizes various trade fairs.
Practice Enterprise Network – is an international organization based in Germany that has
currently more than 40 full and associated country members. It is responsible for the
training company methodology and issues certificates for student training companies that
are well established and keep certain minimal standards. Slovakia is mentoring Kenya in
training company methodology in order for Kenya to become a full member.
Training Company Organisational Structures
Even though a product is very important, on its own it may not be enough to ensure
company’s success. Besides production, an effective firm needs to be able to attract
customers by appropriate advertising of the product, take care of company’s employees and
ensure their competence and performance, as well as manage the financial issues and many
more. A failure to secure all of these aspects may lead to a decrease in company revenue
and profitability.
The case of Walt Disney’s may be a good example here. After getting a long-dreamed-about
job in a newspaper, Disney was fired by the editor for ‘lacking imagination’. With a Mickey
Mouse existing only in his head at the time, he decided to start his own company. However,
despite being very skilled in drawing and creative when coming up with ideas for the stories,
Disney did not know anything about marketing or managing his finances. Thus, the company
did not do well. Therefore, Walt Disney asked his brother to help him. The brother turned
out to be great with numbers and advertising and after some time, the company started
profiting and grew into what we know as Disney’s today. This instance illustrates that

sometime, even despite the best product or an idea, the company cannot prosper without
securing all the other important aspects.
In order to be able to manage all of the aspects effectively, companies should work within
departments. A clear hierarchy structure will allow more students to benefit. We present
one example of company structure with traditional names for its leaders – President, Vice-
President, Department Managers. It should be noted, that company structure in the real
world varies considerably because of many factors – size, core business, legal requirements,
etc... Often the top management has different titles such as a Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
and a Chief Operations Officer (COO). Students are free to choose these titles or titles that
are common within their business sector in Kenya. But we decided to stick with the
traditional title of a President. Besides the presidents, vice-presidents and secretaries seated
in the Directorial Department, each department should have a Manager and a Deputy
Manager. This is efficient in terms of management of the firm – as there will be many issues
to deal with, it is better to ensure that smaller teams can manage their own work, instead of
leaving all the supervision and monitoring solely to the top management. The managers and
the deputies are responsible for operations of their departments and updating the President
on the most important issues, which should be discussed.
Hence, the picture below illustrates the example of structure to which each company should
adhere and have clearly described. The President, Vice-President and General Secretary are
together known as the Directorial Department, even though each of them has a separate
role. All of the other departments consist of a Manager, Deputy Manager and employees.
The Managers answer to the President, based on the agreed mechanism of firm’s internal
communication.
27
Customer
Relations
President
President
Vice-
President
Financial
Department
General
Secretary
Human
Resources
Marketing
Department
Production
Department
A President is a main director, executor and decision-maker. This means that s/he provides
strategic leadership by presiding over company’s day-to-day operations and overseeing all

the other managers and employees. The president holds the overall accountability to the
stakeholders, such as employees, investors, partners, customers, and also the general
public. His/Her duties include establishing firm’s strategies, plans and goals. Overseeing the
budgets, the President makes sure that all the resources are allocated appropriately.
Further, by organising frequent meetings with managers of the departments, the President
monitors if the departments meet their specific goals, and presides over the quality of their
work and products in offer. Presidents always look for new opportunities, initiate beneficial
partnerships and represent the firm at various occasions (in public, at business meetings, in
contact with governmental officials, etc.).
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Vice-President
A Vice-President is the second in command to the company President. Therefore, his/her
duties mirror those of a President with only little differences. In situation, when the
President is absent or cannot fulfil the duties for whatever reasons, the Vice-President acts
in his/her stand. Besides the surrogacy of the President, the Vice-President also has his/her
own roles to play. While the President sets up companies agenda, objectives and strategies,
the Vice-President carries out the plans and can be directly appointed to assign
responsibilities to the employees. Being directly involved in firm’s operations, the Vice-
President collects information, which is then passed on to the President or presented at
corporate meetings. Usually, Vice-Presidents are more accessible and are in closer touch
with the common employees than Presidents. Also, in order to increase the efficiency and
unburden the President, the two leaders can agree on splitting the care of the departments
between each other (e.g. the Presidents presides over the Secretary, Financial Department
and Marketing, while the Vice-President oversees the operations of Human Resources,
Customer Relations and Production Department). In this case, it is important that the
President and Vice-President meet regularly in order to inform each other and discuss
further procedures and developments.
General Secretary
Secretary’s main role is to support the President and Vice-President and, if assigned, even
the Managers of the departments. Secretaries maintain effective records on firm’s
operations, take care of administration and correspondence, and organise meetings. During
these meetings and negotiations, they take minutes and prepare the respective documents.
A Secretary may also be responsible for organising President’s time, and follows his/her
agenda. Among the duties also belongs making any travel arrangements, collection and

distribution of information and spreadsheets, and preparation of all necessary
documentation. It is advised that Secretary’s records are organised in a manner, which
allows an external auditor to get a clear picture about firm’s operations since the last visit
up to the present.
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Financial Department
The Financial Department is, first and foremost, responsible for company’s day-to-day
financial operations (any deposits, withdrawals, transfers, tracking and recording the
transactions, etc.). All the operations are done in PEN or Slovak Centre of Training
Companies tools for online banking. Therefore, the department, as well as the Directorial
need to ensure that company’s log-in details for online banking are kept safe.
Keeping records, the department informs on the financial situation of the company,
analyses current financial performance, and prepares annual budget and suggestions for the
future operations or policies of the company. It also creates payment policies for both the
customers and the suppliers.
The department does extensive reporting – from informing and discussing issues with the
President and Vice-President, to all the internal and external financial reports, such as
monthly or annual reports, to reporting for the government (for the educational purposes of
the training company these reports will resemble the requirements of Kenyan authorities
and will be delivered to soteICT Centre). Besides reports, the department also prepares
receipts, invoices, shipping documents etc...
The department is also responsible for preparation of annual reports and focuses on
transparency, assists auditors and also takes active measures to prevent financial crime and
fraud.
Another duty of the department is management of firm’s cash flow. The employees ensure
that the company has enough funds to make payments to its creditors. If saving is
necessary, the Financial Department prepares a plan of savings for a pre-set period of time.
In case a loan is necessary, this department asks for it in Mshindi KCB Mshindi (the training
firm at Marungu Secondary), fills in all the necessary forms, records the details sent by the
bank (loan numbers, conditions of the loan payments) and makes sure that all the
instalments are paid on time. The department also makes sure the company pays taxes
properly and on time.
Further, the department carries out payments of salaries to all the firm’s employees.
However, this responsibility can be delegated to the Human Resources Department.

Last but not least, this departments should monitor if and how the company prospers and
adjust all the financial operations and planning to the situation. The Manager of the
department informs the President about the problems and suggests solutions or further
procedures. The department can also create forecasts and advise the President on where to
invest or with whom to partner. Based on that, department’s head communicates with the
President on regular and frequent basis.
30
Customer Relations Department
The main role of the Customers Relations Department is to ensure customers’ satisfaction.
This section is concerned with customers’ perceptions of the company and its products and
services. The main objective of Customer Relations is to instil a positive image of the firm in
the public, in order to convert them to buy its products or services.
Firstly, in order to make sure that the firm produces goods or services, which are needed on
the market, the Customer Relations can conduct customer preference research. This allows
the customers to express their opinions and hence the firm is able to identify what the
customers want. This department should understand consumers’ buying habits - what
influences their decision to buy, and what, on the other hand, discourages them from doing
so. The company then adjusts to these findings and proposes innovative products or
solutions or improves its customer services in order to attract more customers and hence,
increase the revenue of the company.
It is important to realise that customers are central and overall important to any business.
Most companies operate locally and cannot rely on constant supply of new customers.
Therefore, their customer relations need to be developed in a way that they do not only
attract the customer to buy once, but convince them to come back and spread a good word
about the firm, as this, after all, is the best way of advertising.
Hence, in order to establish good customer relations, the department needs to ensure that
their consumers are provided with satisfactory services. Customers’ satisfaction is delivered
by a series of activities or steps designed to provide customers with what they need and
give them a positive buying experience. Effective businesses thrive to meet or even exceed
consumers’ expectations. This process is based on understanding customers’ needs and
behaviours. This can be done by effective communication based on asking questions and
building a rapport during direct interactions. In this way, firm employees can establish what
the customer wants and provide them with the best product or service.
One of the aspects which underpin customers’ satisfaction is ease of use. This means that
the buying experience should not be too complicated. Companies need to ensure that
information provided on their website or the website itself is easy to understand. In direct

interaction, the employees need to use vocabulary adjusted to customer’s abilities (e.g.
when talking to a customer about a computer, a sale assistant should firstly establish how
well the person understands ICT and then use the jargon appropriately). An emphasis
should also be put on building relationships with the customers. If the employee manages to
create a pleasant atmosphere, the customer starts creating positive relation to the brand
and may come more often. Therefore, a smile and a polite conversation are priceless.
Customer care starts with the initial contact and continues after the sale has been closed. In
order to make sure the customer is happy about the service and the bought product, if
appropriate, the department can send them a follow-up email asking about their
experience.
This section also deals with complains. There should be a set policy about how to proceed if
the customer is not satisfied or wants to return the product. It should not be forgotten that
unhappy customers tend to spread a bad word about the firm very eagerly,which negatively
impacts its reputation. Therefore, the employees must always be polite and ensure that the
customer leaves happy, even if it means that the firm needs to return the money. The profit
will come back as soon as the happy customer starts telling his friend about the great
services they have gotten. Sometimes, the conflict may be solved out by provision of any
complimentary products or offers and discounts. Of course, the money or the product
should be returned only if the complaint is reasonable. If it is not, the students have a great
opportunity to practice their negotiation skills and come to a compromising conclusion.
The department also answers customers’ questions and provides information about the
company to the public. This section should be responsible for updating firm’s website. The
role is not only to communicate with the old customers, but also to attract new. All the
positive examples and best practices can then be shared with the Marketing Department for
advertising purposes. These two departments also focus closely on building a good
reputation of the training company by creating and adhering to corporate social
responsibility strategy.
31
Marketing Department
Marketing is the process and means of communicating the product and its value to
customers in a way which will make them want to own the product or experience the
service. It is meant to influence their buying decision and convert them to close a sale.
Hence, similarly to the Customer Relations, the main role of the Marketing Department is to
focus on customers and their desires. For this reason, the two sections cooperate closely. In
order to be able to market their products effectively, the department needs to establish
who their customer target group is and adjust the advertising strategies around that.

The department is responsible for creating new marketing strategies, business plans and
keeping records on the achieved sales. These are later used to determine if the expected
outcomes have been met. If not, the information serves as basis for decision-making about
the next strategies and approaches. As advised by the Customer Relations Department and
the President, the marketing section sets up company’s pricing. They also develop the
tactics of how to reach the potential customers most efficiently – they create business
cards, posters, leaflets, billboards, commercials, brochures, catalogues, prospects, etc...
They need to come up with slogans and images which would best capture the advantages of
owning the product, while emphasising company’s uniqueness and core values. They can
produce those materials internally or externally and approach other training companies (for
example Dragon Advertising at Buguta Secondary) to send them proposals and select the
most suitable or cheapest one.
This means that the department is also responsible for building the brand for the company.
Being different is one of the main keys to success. In order to capture people’s attention and
lure them to use the service, the brand of the company should be positive, memorable, and
distinctive. In this way they ensure the brand gets noticed and imprints in people’s minds.
Looking for a service or a product, customers naturally choose the company which they
remember as interesting, price-friendly, with pleasant employees.
It is also advised that both the name and the logo of the company should be easily
memorable. The more words in the title and the more complicated the logo, the more
difficult it is for the customers to memorise the company, which will make it more difficult
for them to find the firm and identify the product. The point is to create and promote a
good, strong and trustworthy brand with an excellent reputation.
Furthermore, researching company’s competition is one of the essential responsibilities of
the Marketing Department. It allows the firm to spot a gap on the market and fill it in in
both product- and service-wise. It is necessary to observe in what ways the competition
communicate with their customer base and identify if it works for them. Then, the firm
needs to establish, how its marketing should differ.
Company’s advertising and marketing must always be active, therefore the departments
tend to employ creative and initiative individuals.
Powerful brands and leading companies have a corporate responsibility strategy that
defines how they relate to their stakeholders (local community, employees, environment
and suppliers) in a responsible way. This means active and strategic reduction of harmful
activities (paper and energy waste, pollution, irresponsible behaviour towards customers,
employees and suppliers) and active support for responsible initiatives (supporting local
community through philanthropy, reducing paper work, increasing ecological sustainability,
giving employees more benefits and flexibility than law requires, paying suppliers on time
and checking if they behave responsibly).
32

33
Human Resources Department
The Human Resources Department manages company’s manpower. Because firm’s success
depends first and foremost on its workforce, the Human Resources play a crucial role in
firm’s growth.
Among duties of this section belongs monitoring and determination of how many
employees leave the company and thus, how many people the firm has to recruit. This is
called manpower planning.
The section organises and oversees the overall process of recruitment. It prepares job
descriptions, which contain information on job responsibilities, work environment and the
skills which are required of the candidates. The goal is to recruit people who are the best fits
for the positions in order to make the company even more prosperous. After advertising the
job offers, the department short-lists the most interesting people for a job interview. The
job interviews take place in front of a panel consisting of Human Resources recruitment
specialists who effectively question the candidates in order to identify the best fit.
Further, after consulting the President, the department determines salaries of all the
employees, including the Directorial Department. After receiving money from the Financial
Department, this section sends out the salaries on regular basis.
Human Resources also keep records of all the employees. Such include employees’ details,
but also their performance, attendance or achievements. If an employee shows a pattern of
a problem with attendance, a disciplinary process can be started. The procedure of the
disciplinary process is embedded in the policies of the department. A disciplinary action can
also be taken against individuals who do not respect internal regulations or rules. Best
employees can be rewarded for their performance and contributions. This is an important
aspect of motivation of employees who need to see a meaning in their work and feel
appreciated. Appreciation encourages further development and thriving performance.
The company can also provide the employees with any necessary training, from the
introductory programmes to personal and professional development. These trainings could
be designed and carried out by internal Human Resources specialists.
In order for a team to work effectively, employees have to learn to communicate and work
together. Therefore, the department may organise team building events, like dinners,
games, or trips. The aim of these activities is that the members get to know each other
better and learn to trust one another.
In addition, the section monitors employees’ satisfaction and tries to solve any emerging
issues. It always tries to create the best working environment for all. Employees are the

most valuable resource of the company and need to be treated in respectful and
transparent manner.
Finally, based on all the collected information, the department after the discussion with the
President determines who to dismiss or make redundant. Again, strong internal policies on
the process need to be developed.
34
Production Department
The main responsibility of the Production Department is to turn inputs into outputs in the
form of concrete finished goods or services. It receives raw materials, makes records and
reports to the President. The section oversees that the products are made to the best
quality possible for the lowest cost. The Manager supervises the whole procedure of
production and ensures safety of employees.
The department orders or purchases the necessary components and technology to carry out
the process effectively. After the materials arrive, the section checks their state and quality.
All the equipment necessary for the production procedure is stored under supervision of
this section.
As the employees of the department are usually creative individuals, they can test their
ideas, come up with new ones and research on various options and opportunities. They can
propose the Directorial that they put new goods into production. Constantly, they try to
make production most cost effective.
As other departments, even this one keeps effective records. It monitors reception of
materials, the process of production, and the finished outputs. All the stock taken out of the
store is recorded, too. These records and their analysis are then reported to the President.
Also, they report on any damages or necessary maintenance of equipment.
Finally, the department is responsible for ensuring quality of outputs and report if the
products do not achieve required parameters. They can cooperate with internal or external
designer and conduct research and development projects to come up with innovative ways
of production that are cheaper, more ecological and with a better design.
Setting Up a Training Company

In order to successfully set up an active training company, facilitators and students should
follow these steps:
1. Informative stage - A facilitator explains the students what a training firm is, and
what its purposes and benefits are. The mentor can use posters, leaflets, business
cards and brochures of older companies, or companies from other schools to
illustrate companies’ operations better. If there are no hard copies of such materials
available, the club can take a look at promotional materials which other firms post
on soteICT Facebook page.
Similarly as in the reality, the success of the training company depends on its
directorial and employees. Therefore, it is important to stress to the students that
the companies entail much work and focus which means that if they want to get
involved, they need to be serious about their engagement.
2. Choosing the business subject and creating a business plan – Firstly, the facilitator
initiates brainstorming about the business subject of the new firm. They allow
students to express their opinions and gives everyone serious consideration. When
choosing the subject, the group should use their knowledge of what their country or
their communities need – they know best what products are there in offer, what
products are absent and how services are provided. By observing and discussing how
the current market looks like, they should be able to identify a gap on the market
and try to fill it in or provide the services better. The students need to keep in mind
the ‘demand and supply’ rule in order to establish if their services are really
necessary and are able to make the firm profitable. The power of the brand and
marketing is crucial in most business sectors and you cannot only compete with
price. Students should make a market research and see which service or product is
missing in their neighbourhood. For example, if they want to open a café, they need
to find out how many similar companies operate in town, what are their prices,
quality of coffee and the customer service and try to beat the competition either in
price or in quality and the overal customer experience and market their brand as a
trendy lifestyle choice.
Further, the students can also look at the existing soteICT firm list and use their
creativity to come up with a special idea and fill in the gap there. Maybe they could
look at what the network lacks or how their company could fit into the cluster of
companies that creates synergy between their services and products.
3. Creating a company name – The students work on their suggestions of firm’s names
and decide upon the issue democratically. The company name should reflect its
35

business subject. Also, it should not be too long, in order to make it more
memorable for customers.
4. Setting up an email account – the firm members set up an email account for their
company in order to be able to communicate with their counterparts, and receive
necessary correspondence.
5. Registering the firm at the soteICT Centre – Altogether with the email address, the
company sends their details to the soteICT team that registers them at the Slovak
Centre of Training Companies (SCCF) and within the network of the project itself.
After a short time, the team will send the firm their details for logging in the SCCF
and PEN portals. Besides other benefits, both portals offer companies a tool of
internet banking through which they can deposit, withdraw and transfer the virtual
money, as well as track their records.
6. Splitting the members into departments – In order to manage the business
effectively, it is essential that the company consists of respective departments. Also,
working in departments gives more individuals an opportunity to actively participate.
The process of division should be student-led but the facilitator oversees the
situation and intervenes if necessary. The mentor should also make sure that all the
students hold concrete positions. There should be a top management and each of
the departments should have a Manager and Deputy Manager. In the beginning, the
students can do what they do best and what they are really interested in. After some
time the company may consider moving some people from one department to
another, so that they can learn more.
7. Researching the market and competition – before the firm can start operating the
students need to understand their competition and the market in the respective
field. This will allow the company to decide for appropriate ways of marketing,
setting prices for the products and services, etc… (e.g., who is the customer/target
group? How many companies provide similar services? Who is the main
competition? What is the pricing? What marketing strategies does the competition
use? How do the strategies work for them? How can you differ from the
competition?).
8. Starting company’s operations – Now, after gathering all the necessary information,
the company can start operating. The Production Department focuses on
development of their own product. The Marketing Department decides on the
marketing strategy and starts creating the first promotional materials, such as
posters, business cards, commercials, etc... Human Resources collect records on the
employees, monitor attendance or recruit other members if necessary. The Financial
36

Department works on setting up a bank account with Mshindi KCB in Marungu and
may also ask for a loan. Customer Relations conduct customer research and start
contacting potential customers. The Secretary can compose emails to send to the
soteICT team and the firms within the project’s portfolio to introduce the company
and possibly even initiate cooperation. The President and Vice-President oversee
and monitor the operations of single departments, do the main decision-making,
represent the company, look for new opportunities, etc… They also look for partners
abroad, cooperate, try looking for opportunities how to export their goods and
arrange Skype negotiations with other firms. The departments cooperate, share
relevant information or look for advice.
9. Running the company - After taking all the initial actions, the company is ready to
start functioning on regular basis and conduct all of its operations as described in the
part on the firm structure.
37
Keeping the Companies Active
One of the best things about training companies is that there is nothing that would be
limiting their activities. While real-world firms often fight difficulties such as insufficiency of
production materials, financial problems or missing customers, the training companies have
an advantage of being able to work virtually – hence, even the products and customers can
be virtual.
According to the Practice Enterprise Network methodology every operation of training
company is only for educational purposes and therefore they don’t start doing real business
and earn real money. However in some cases the school or local community might become
customers for example in case of printing business cards, calendars, etc... It can happen that
the students get discouraged if they lack means to finance their production or they struggle
finding customers. With the loss of motivation also the activity and effectivity of the
company tend to decrease. Therefore, it is important that the teachers remind the students
of the fact that the firms are here for them in order to learn and develop. Instead of being
seen as ends to themselves, the training companies should be perceived as a method of
teaching and learning. They should not focus solely on production, but help the members
enhance their business management skills in each of the aspects mentioned in the chapter
on the company structure. Thus, in some cases it may be even better for the students to
lack finances as this forces them to move from production, which is usually on a very high
level, to other attributes of running a business successfully. Even though this may not bring
them real profit during their studies, the gained knowledge and skills are surely going to pay
off once they look for a job or want to start their own businesses.

Best practices show that the companies do best in keeping active and progressing, when
they adhere to and balance the following points:
38
1. Emphasis Should Be Put on Activities of the Single Departments
If the departments are busy, the students are busy which means they are improving their
skills. This makes them bring the best out of themselves and consequently results in more
prosperous, successful companies.
As an example of how to put all the departments in move, a model situation will be used.
Let us say, that a company called XY deals with pottery. Unfortunately, for some time they
have struggled to sell their products and so they cannot afford buying new materials for the
production of any new goods. Therefore, they decide that even against the odds they want
to make the best out of their time in the training firms and agree on running their business
virtually. The unsold goods can now pose as a great material to use in their virtual marketing
strategies. However, because the school is having internet connectivity challenges, the firm
cannot do online marketing or contact other training firms to sell them the products. Still,
they manage to take pictures of the products and use them in their posters, leaflets,
brochures and catalouges. Before they can move to imaginative transactions, they firstly
check if they have carried out all the activities and steps as mentioned in the section on
Setting Up a Training Company. If they have, this means that the firm is ready for their first
customer.
Now, the firm asks the teacher to act as a customer and welcomes them to their company
or shop. The teacher is being taken care of by employees of the Customer Relations
Department who present the products and proceed according to firm’s internal regulations
on customer service. After being converted to buy, the teacher spends virtual 6000 KSh and
leaves with imaginative products.
The money is now sent to the Financial Department. The Financial Department prepares all
the necessary documentation – receipts if necessary, invoices, and records. They send the
information about the transaction to the Secretary and the Marketing Department. The
Secretary takes the record about the transaction, marks it in her/his books, and distributes
the information to the President and the Vice-President.
Further, the Financial Department puts the respective amount of money in their bank
account in Mshindi KCB from Marungu. They can also transfer the amount necessary to pay
off the employees to the Human Resources Department and then deposit the rest into the
bank (as they have 20 members, they divide 6000 shillings into 25 portions – they keep the 5
portions in the bank and use the rest for paying off the salaries). Consequently, they prepare

a report for the President informing about how much money there is in the account and
start working on their analysis of company’s performance. The information should, again, be
sent through the Secretary.
The Human Resources Department now accepts the transfer from the Financial
Department and depending on the agreed mechanism of paying salaries, starts preparing
the payments to their employees. Besides that, the section monitors all the departments
and employee’s performance based on which they prepare appraisals in forms of ‘thank
you’ letters or identifying an ‘employee of the month’. The department also researches
employee’s satisfaction and proposes amendments to be made in the future.
As the company does have the details of their customer - teacher, the Customer Relations
Department sends them a follow up email thanking them for choosing shopping in XY
Company. They ask the customer about their shopping experience and if they were satisfied
with the services provided. This is called customer satisfaction research. Based on the
answer, they prepare reports for the President and Vice-President, which is again sent
through the Secretary. The feedback is also sent to the Marketing Department so that they
can adjust the marketing strategies and advertising based on that. If the customer is
unsatisfied, the Customer Relations come up with the best solution and rectification. They
compose an apology letter in which they inform the customer about the proposed
compensation.
The Marketing Department now uses the information they have been given to improve
their marketing and advertising. They brainstorm and come up with an idea how to improve
their product or think of a new one. This decision must be based on the available account
balance. The money earned can now be used to increase the production. The department
consults the Customer Relations Department on whether the product would be wanted on
the market. If the answer is positive, the Marketing Department asks the Secretary to
organise a meeting with the President and Vice-President in order to discuss the issue
further.
In case that the Directorial Department has decided to go on with the production, they
agree on the amount which the Financial Department sends to the Production Department.
After the Financial Department has gone through with the transaction, the Production
section starts planning the producing process. They order materials and do all the necessary
paper work. Now, as the money which they have received is just virtual, they still cannot
afford buying real materials. Therefore, the section can create the picture of the product
using MS Office tools. Throughout the process, the manager of the department checks on
the quality of the product. After the product has been made, the Production section asks
the Secretary to organise a visit by the Marketing Department so that the marketers can
take pictures and use them in new promotional materials, such as brochures, posters,
leaflets, commercials, etc…
39

SoteICT Teacher Manual - First Edition 2014

SoteICT Teacher Manual - First Edition 2014

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SoteICT Teacher Manual - First Edition 2014