Objective:
This case study presents an interactive method of introducing the skill and important of networking to a social enterprise. Students are introduce to the art of networking and given an opportunity to practice in a safe and fund environment. Through setting a brief, students gain an understanding to the importance of networking, and in social enterprise in particular, being able to bring together a range of roles and skills can be key to success.
- To have an experience of networking with peers
- To have an understanding of the importance of personal networks and how they can contribute to a business
Introduction
Adapted from an activity introduced at the International Enterprise Educators Programme (UK), this is a networking game that gets students to role play and have conversation in character with each other. A challenge is then set for students to get into groups and consider the skills set in their group. This activity takes approx. 1hr, with approx. 15-40 students workings in groups.
Activity
Approach to Group Work: The author uses this exercise at the start of a session, whilst it can be attached to almost any subject where you have a group task to undertake, this is used to allow students to self-select their groups based on the challenge brief set that they then subsequently work on in phase two.
Whilst the students are familiar to working in groups on class challenges , the first part of the task (The networking part) aims to get the students out of their comfort zone get them, away from working with their friends and the method of selection will mean speaking to nearly everyone in the group.
Phase one
As students enter the room they are handed a business card. The students are then told that they must assume the role of the person on the card as they take part in the game
Students are given one sheet of paper to take notes and given the instruction to circulate around the room speaking to as many people as possible and finding out what they do and how they might work together in a business sense. – This is time bound activity so can be as long as the teacher requires. I usually give 10-15 minutes depending upon the size of the group.
Student then have 3 minutes to look through their list to review who they have met and who may be of use to them in their business.
Phase two
The students are then set a challenge (which can be made specific to the subject you are teaching).
Example brief: You intend to set up a social enterprise that produces and sells a range of merchandise for fundraising events. To do his you decide to look through your immediate network to see who you could ask to join and support the development of the enterprise. You now have 5 minutes to get together a team of 5 people who you would want/need for the success of your enterprise.
Give the students the 5 minutes to get into groups, there sometimes is a lot of shifting around as students are asked to join one team and then another person comes along that seems more appealing. Student tend to respond to this in different ways, some jump at the chance to get a range of job roles in their group, some stay within their friendship circle with no thought for roles in the group and some just see who’s left .
Phase three
In their groups of 5, students are each asked to say what they can contribute to the social enterprise in terms of skills, contact and time. The time here can be flexible, I usually allow up to 15 minutes.
Next the students have to draw up a list of any missing roles/skills and using their collective networking contacts establish if there is anyone else in the room who would make their enterprise complete.
Depending upon the number of group and time I then ask each group to do a three minute feedback on who is in the group, what they bring to the social enterprise and what is missing. Student can then consider the consequence of those missing people to their business.
Impact
Student’s initial reactions to this task can be mixed. At the start there is a feeling of what is the point of doing this, but by the end they can see the connection with making good contact and more importantly having a clear understanding of what different roles and people have to offer.
One students commented ‘whilst at the start I did not see the point to pretending I owned a merchandise company, however once the brief was given and we formed groups I could see how such a company was important in sourcing supplier of the products. At this time, one group really got in to the role play and not only brought to the table the skills and knowledge the students thought they would have but also improved to add in fictitious family members who could also be brought into support, which opened up a discussion with the students on how our family and friend can be a rich source of support for an enterprise.
Resources:
For the game you will need:
- a set of business cards ideally created with a range of job titles that would suit the subject being taught (these can be purpose-made or just a collection of local business cards)
- Sheet of paper for students to gather names and job title/role in part one
- Pen
- Flip chart as a mean of students feeding back at the end (optional)
References:
Allerton, J.(2007) The ‘Strength of Weak Ties’: Social Networking by Business Owners in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Sociologia Ruralis.Vol.47,(3) pp228-245 .
Johannisson,B.,Ramírez-Pasillas, M & Karlsson, G. (2010). The institutional embeddedness of local inter-firm networks: a leverage for business creation. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development: An International Journal. Vol. 14, (4).
Author:
Track Dinning, School of Sport Studies, Leisure and Nutrition Liverpool John Moores University