PROJECT MANAGEMENT SKILLS

Introduction

This chapter aims at enabling learners to develop the skills of applying the theoretical concepts of entrepreneurship education to real life situations.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION PAPER 2

This is a three (3) hours written examination which tests a candidate’s conceptualization of entrepreneurship education concepts and how to apply them to the real world situation.

Paper 230/2 has 6 optional questions and a candidate is required to attempt any four (4) questions, each question carries 25 marks. Questions in this section test how the candidate has developed the skills of applying the theoretical concepts of entrepreneurship education to real life situations.

KEY AREAS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT WORK

Candidates should take note that any project work question must have:

• Name of the business which must be meaningful and attractive
• Business logo
• Document title
• Business address and location
• Business contacts i.e. telephone contacts and email address
• Frame

SOURCE DOCUMENTS IN BUSINESS

A source document is an original record containing the details of a substantial transaction entered in an accounting system. It’s a document upon which details of transactions or accounting events are recorded.

Examples of source documents   in business include

• Cash sale slip
• Price list
• Catalogue
• Quotation
• Local purchase order
• Package sheet / packaging note
• Advice note
• Dispatch note
• Delivery note
• Invoices
• Goods received note
• Debit note
• Petty cash voucher
• Cheque deposit slip
• Cash deposit slip
• Clients information form
• Goods returned note
• Statement of account
• Receipt
• Stock card
• Stock ledger card
• Stock requisition form
• Fund requisition form
• Employee / personal record card for your workers
• Employees payment voucher (pay slip for workers)
• Payment voucher
• Cheque
• Cash withdraw form / slip
• Purchase contract note
• Share certificate

Key areas / features of source documents

Almost all source documents have the following features

• Name of the business which must be meaningful and attractive
• Business logo
• date
• Business address and location
• Business address i.e. telephone contact and or email address
• Frame which encloses all the particulars of the documents
• Source document title e.g. payment voucher
• Source document number
• Name and address of the recipient
• Particular of items / goods and their respective values
• Name and signatures of the authorities

Common words under source documents

Design /draft. A question that requires a candidate to design or draft means that as the candidate is giving his/her answer, he/she is not supposed to fill in all the details of the documents. Such details to be excluded in this case include the date, name and address of the recipient, particulars of items / goods and their respective values, names and signatures of the authorities.

NB

In most cases source documents come with pre-printed document number that usually appear in red ink. Hence whether the question requires the candidate to design or prepare, he/she is free to indicate the document number

Prepare/ write. A question that requires a candidate to write or prepare means that as the candidate is giving his/her answers, he/she is supposed to fill in a the necessary details in the document being prepared or written.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION PRESENTATION ON PAPER TWO (P230/2)

• This is an application paper that requires candidates to make an application of what they have learnt from the theory part of the subject.
• This paper has got challenges to many students in a way that most students have a misconception that questions for this paper are from financial management and purchasing management only. This is not the case. The paper extracts its questions from all topics of the syllabus.
• Therefore students should not draw a demarcation between papers in terms of topics but rather on formulation of questions.

1. DISTINCTION BETWEEN PREPARING AND DESIGNING DOCUMENTS

• This distinction only applies to source documents but not to; illustrations like, adverts, human resource documents such as job specification, description etc. it is not also applicable to programs, schedule and procedure, steps, process etc

Note. The format for all programs is the same. The variation is only on activities

1. QUESTIONS ABOUT POLICY DOCUMENTS/ GUIDELINES

• A variety of words can be used here e.g. prepare, draft, develop, propose, present, write, suggest, and formulate etc. However, the presentation shall remain the same irrespective of the word used in the question.
• The possible sources of such questions include; areas with ways, techniques, suggestions, proposals, tools among others. The answer to such questions is governed by 3 instructions;
• Use shall or present simple tense
• Be specific
• Avoid personalizing the business i.e. avoid use of I, My, We and Our.

This is because we do not draft guidelines for ourselves as owners of the business but the guidelines are drafted for the business.

• Business policy documents should also carry business name and address

1. WRITING SECTIONS OF THE BUSINESS PLAN

Irrespective of whether you are preparing a business plan for an existing business or for a business not yet established, a business plan is prepared or written using the present simple tense. This is because the business plan is a working document to which the business shall always refer. Other guiding instructions are;

• Being specific
• Avoiding personalizing the business

1. WRITING SKILLS

• Writing skills can be tested in various ways such as writing letters, circulars, notices, memos and reports.
• The most important skill tested here is the style/format of letter writing where by the candidate has to be consistent with the style opted for from beginning to end.
• Other important area tested here is the flow of information i.e., how parts of the letter are following one another. This information is tested from communication skills and a variety of work can be tested here.
• Also emphasize areas such as; whether you are writing to an insider or outsider which will guide you on how to write the receivers address. This implies when writing to an insider, the receivers address is same as the writer’s address unlike when writing to an outsider.

1. WRITING GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS

• This consists of a summary statement of the business that aims at explaining the following;
• Name and address of the business
• Physical location of the business
• Legal form or nature of the business
• Background of the business
• Goods offered by the business
• Customers of the business
• Description of the business assets
• The SWOT analysis
• Vision statement of the business
• Mission statement
• Goals of the business
• Objectives of the business

NOTE

• (i) Any of the vision, mission, goals and objectives shall represent the rest because they all rotate around the purpose of the business
• (ii) Use the present simple tense

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS

The possible sources of questions for A’ level entrepreneurship P230/2 financial management questions are;

• Financial statement Accounting
• Cash flow statements
• Taxation

To create a difference between “O” Level and “A” level Entrepreneurship, National Curriculum Development Centre NCDC) of recent puts much emphasis on interpreting the results of the business performance

• The interpretation of such results is basically based on definition of the ratio being interpreted or variables in the formula
• The candidate should master very well stating the different formulae, in addition to indicating the correct units for every answer got depending on what is being calculated.