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Wheeling and dealing
Students learn real-world business skills through simulated auto dealership
By Michelle Alaimo
Those passing by Homestead High School on May 25, might do a double take. The campus will be transformed into a satellite Raines Chevrolet auto dealership complete with new cars and signs.
More than 100 students will take part in the day-long simulated General Motors Learning Applied Business program that allows high-school business students to learn firsthand how an auto dealership works.
"It prepares students for the real world and teaches them that business is a complex amount of duties," business teacher Catherine Jacobs said. For the past four years, Jacobs has introducted her students, from freshman to seniors, to business class by setting up a mock dealership on campus. The exercise allows students to apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired through the year, including working within a budget and working as a team.
Each student in Jacobs' three business classes signs up to work in a particular department, like sales or finance. Students then take field trips to Raines Chevrolet to learn the aspects of their chosen position. One student has even developed a PowerPoint presentation on one of the car models that he will sell.
Jacobs said the jobs are varied and with wide appeal to different students.
Ninth-grader Stephanie Wu, who will work in the business office, said the experience feels real and nothing like a simulation at all. Wu said the experience will help her find her first job.
"I will be able to tell them I've had some experience in the world of business," Wu said. She adds she has learned people skills, teamwork, organizational skills and working within a budget.
The simulation is not only a hit with students but with Jacobs as well.
"I really like [the simulation] because it makes teaching more powerful," Jacobs said.
The simulated dealership is made more realistic with role cards that are given to students visiting from other classes. The role cards describe certain customer characteristics listing everything from age to income to credit history. The student "salesperson" then must sell a car to the buyer based on the information the "buyer" submits. Each salesperson is given the information about the car they are trying to sell.
To help complete the realistic business atmosphere, students working at the dealership must dress in business attire. "If they show up in T-shirts, they're fired and must go back to class for the day," Jacobs said.
The Berkeley-based company edVentures funded the simulation by giving Jacobs $1,200 to use for the students' budget. The money is actually spent on items students determine they need for their dealership, such as business cards, food for clients, raffle prizes, signs and tents.
The one-day event is open to the entire community.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
