ENYA - Shasheen Jayaweera - 18, West Pennant Hills, NSW

Shasheen is well qualified to speak about Australian Business Week. In 2002 his 'company' placed 1st in NSW!

Q1 Why did you do this program / enter this award?
I entered this award to challenge myself to take on the role of a CEO of a company and understand & experience the dynamics of business - the frame of mind needed, the way to deal with issues, lead a team, delegate tasks, coordinate operations, plan & budget properly. It was an opportunity to experiecne first hand what being the CEO of a medium sized busienss was in a simulated environment.

Q2 Was there a particular challenge you faced in your business that you thought it would help with? And did it help you?
My own business was very small in the form of a sole tradership and I felt quite confident on the technical aspects of running a business however managing a team of fellow directors and staff was somethign that was quite intimidating. How would I deal with treatign everyone fairly, trusting them to deal with delegated tasks. How do I motivate them and keep them active int he business? What do I need to do to set a good example and how do I reward the team members? How do we resolve conflicting ideas especially when faced with grueling deadlines!

The ABW program put me in charge of a team of 10 directors of our $4M virtual company. It helped me more than I could imagine! The program forced me and my team through so many challenges and a variety of different solutions that really helped me understand all these elements. But there is always more to learn, and the larger the organisation grows the more interesting its environment will become.

Q3 Tell us the positives and the negatives of the initiative?
The Australian Business Week Competition, over the course of a few days takes its aprticipants through many different aspects of runnign a business. We learn marketing through a trade fair stall, TV commercial and case study work, Finance through planning, budgeting, forecasting and modeling, the importance of sustainability, how to deal with shareholders at a Annual General meeting and general management skills. It is a unique opportunity to view a window into the world of management - something many people may not experience till they are graduates and have been workign for many years.

As for negatives, I don’t think there was any.

I had a great time entering the competition, I stressed a lot, I pushed myself to the max, and I came through. Sydney University's Faculty of Business & Economics did a great job at organising the competition and I would liek to see it grow! If I had to pick a negative it would be that the case studies at the National Compeition in Victoria were difficult to relate to however they gave us an entirely different perspective into the sports industry.

Q4 Do you think the program is suitable for young people, or needs more of their input in the design?
The program is designed very well for young people. The training meterial is excellent and allows for a great learning experience through experimenting in a simulated environment.

Q5 How has the initiative affected your business/biz idea or concept?
The program helps me to always keep a big picture perspective in a business whilst working on the smaller parts of any business. The insight into the way business works was excellent. The one best thing was that it has helped me to understand the corelation between the different functions of a business. How to balance marketing, Finance, Operations, HR and Management to achive the organisations goals in a way that no textbook can explain. Not to mention that it helped me meet some amazing people who continue to inspire me.