NASHUA — More than 400 future
business leaders gathered at Daniel Webster College yesterday
to learn about teamwork and decision making.
For the fifth year in a row, DWC played host to the 34th
Future Business Leaders of America Fall Leadership Conference.
FBLA members from 24 New Hampshire high schools attended the
conference's interactive workshops for a taste of what being
in the business world will be like.
"There is great honor in the contributions you can make as
an entrepreneur," said Michael Fishbein, vice president for
academic affairs and dean of the college, as he welcomed the
students to the conference. "You are the guys who are going to
run the world."
However, before they run the world, the students need to
learn how to make the right business decisions. To aid them,
the DWC faculty and members of Phi Beta Delta created
workshops that tested the students' abilities.
The first workshop, Decision Making Traps and Techniques,
was led by Thomas Anastasi, professor of business and
management. Using trick questions, and movie clips, Anastasi
taught the students common decision-making mistakes and how to
avoid them.
The second workshop, The Apprentice: A Leadership and
Teamwork Adventure, took a more hands-on approach. Based
loosely on the Donald Trump reality television show, students
were randomly assigned to different teams and given less than
an hour to create and market a new product. The teams were
given items such as cardboard boxes, string and plastic
bottles to create their products.
Ryan Kane, a DWC junior and member of Phi Beta Lambda,
said, "This workshop is about using resources and coming up
with something grand."
FBLA members flexed their creative muscles and made objects
such as a floating mailbox, a miniature golf putting green and
a string puppet. Members of Phi Beta Lambda selected six
finalists and a winner was chosen by a round of applause.
During the first session of The Apprentice, the students
chose one team's creation, Birthday-In-A-Box, to be the best.
The product was a cardboard box that contained, among other
things, balloons, hats, and party favors.
Winners from The Apprentice workshop were awarded
certificates.
Neil Parmenter, professor of business and management, said
he was pleased with the work Phi Beta Lambda did to put on the
conference. "They worked just beyond belief on this."
