Business Academy

This course is designed to provide students with the computer literacy
skills they will need to be effective. Students will begin working on
building basic keyboarding skills. Students will practice proper posture
while focusing on touch typing with correct HOME row usage and reach
techniques. Students will work together in a high-tech, hands-on,
engaging curriculum as they solve real-world challenges using computer
technology.

Students will learn  the various applications of Microsoft Office 365 (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote), creating multi-media projects, and using electronics to communicate effectively. Elements of business education are infused throughout the projects to prepare students for future success in any chosen pathway. 

Principles of Business, a project-based business course, develops student understanding and skills in such areas as business law, economics, financial analysis, human resources management, information management, marketing, operations, and strategic management.

Through four community-based projects, students acquire an understanding and appreciation of the business world. They develop a business analysis report, conduct an environmental scan of the local business community, and investigate business activities. Throughout the course, students are presented with problem-solving situations for which they must apply academic and critical-thinking skills. Formal reflection is an on-going component of the course.

In Business Economics, students work through six projects that expand their understanding that businesses are influenced by external factors that are often beyond their control. Consumer spending, government policies, economic conditions, legal issues, and global competition are addressed through practical, current applications to everyday societal and business life. Decision matrices are introduced, and the importance and costs of quality are stressed.

Students develop their knowledge and skills in such areas as economics, entrepreneurship, operations, and professional development. Throughout the course, students will be presented with current economic problems for which they are asked to determine solutions, often through the application of decision matrices.

Principles of Marketing is a project-based business course that develops student understanding and skills in the functional areas of marketing: channel management, marketing-information management, market planning, pricing, product/service management, promotion, and selling.

Students acquire an understanding and appreciation of each of the marketing functions and their ethical and legal issues. Decision matrices are employed to aid in market planning.

Principles of Management is a project-based business course that expands student understanding of management. Students acquire an appreciation for aspects of management, such as project management, human resources management, knowledge management, quality management, and risk management. In addition, ethical and legal considerations affecting business activities are stressed, and students develop a business plan that will be used to open their own business as part of the next course, Business Strategies.

Principles of Finance furthers student understanding of two specific business activities—accounting and finance—that were introduced in an earlier High School of Business course, Principles of Business. Through multiple projects, students make connections between accounting, with an emphasis on cash flow, and finance, with an emphasis on decision-making. Students acquire an understanding of financial statements, calculate financial ratios, and make business decisions based on their interpretation of those financial statements and ratios. In addition, students determine the impact of financial transactions on the accounting equation and examine business-financing options.

Business Strategies serves as the capstone course for the High School of Business program.

Students finalize marketing, financial, and management plans developed previously, incorporating them into a business plan for a nonprofit organization. The nonprofit venture is actualized during the course, requiring students to engage in risk assessment, strategic planning, and performance assessment.