Poland

LECTURES ON SAVOIR-VIVRE IN BUSINESS

On 8th of June 2018 the students from our school participated in a lecture on "Savoir – vivre in business" which took place on Lazarski University. The lecturer was Ms Julita Panufnik – a carieer counsellor in the Department of Career at Lazarski University and a psychologist - clinical psychology graduate of SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw).

The topics which were discussed during the lecture were as follows:

- non-verbal communication (gestures, the choice of meeting place, clothes - research examples)
- precedences and entitling at a university
- netiquette (savoir-vivre in e-mails)
- savoir-vivre in telephone conversations
- self-presentation in business contact
- etiquette in negotiations
- savoir-vivre at a job interview 
- personal branding on the Internet (how to build a positive image of yourself/your company on the Internet)


SWOT ANALYSIS OF A TRADITIONAL POLISH PRODUCT
(before the mobility in Finland)

Before the mobility in Finland our students created a detailed description of a chosen traditional Polish product which in this case was OSCYPEK - a kind of cheese made in the Tatry Mountains. They also prepared the SWOT analysis of the product. 

CAREER DAYS IN OUR SCHOOL

On 1-5 March 2018 our school held meetings with representatives of various jobs and occupations. The students had the opportunity to learn about advantages and disadvantages of their work, their career path from the very beginning up to the present day, they could also ask the guests any questions they wanted - which were much appreciated by the visitors. 

The guests represented a variety of jobs such as: an actor, a radio and press journalist, an economist and politician, future film director (a student with passion at the moment), a nurse, a beautician, a travel agent and young entrepreneur, an owner of a sports club, an owner of event club etc. 

All of them did their best to answer all the questions from our students at the same time outlining what kind of knowledge, experience and skills are necessary to be successful in the jobs they do, and how to cope with barriers inside and outside us. 

The students loved the meetings and their guests and they found all the event highly valuable and would like it to be held in our school every year.  

WORKSHOPS ON FAIR TRADE

On the 30th of November 2017 a group of 50 students from our school participated in business workshops connected with fair trade. After watching two films about the food industry entitled FAIRTRADE  and IN DEFENSE OF FOOD,  students analyzed cheap and easy production processes, advertising concepts and how to boost demand for products. They created their own business models based on fair trade assumptions. 

A PRESENTATION BY OUR STUDENTS 
BERNARD CZOSTEK AND MARTA ŻEBROWSKA 
ON STARTING COMPANY IN POLAND 

THE ECO-PRODUCT INVENTED BY OUR STUDENT BARTŁOMIEJ SIKORA
(before the mobility in Romania)

ECO-CLOCK!

Description by Bartłomiej Sikora: 
This clock was made from less and less popular CDs that are slowly replaced by flash drive as in the flash drive you can store much more files to be smaller plater. The other parts of this clock are:

- old clock mechanism whose shield was destroyed

- CD case as a part of the hanging for the wall

- and glue (droplet or super glue type)

It really worked! :-) 


POLISH TRADITIONAL CAKES - VIDEO RECIPIES

1. Kasia, Paulina and Janek :-)

                                                                    WZ CAKE

2. Wiktoria and Klaudia :-)

                                                     CHOCOLATE BLOCK

3. Marta and Weronika :-) 

                                                       MAZUREK CAKE

4.  Weronika and Asia :-)

                                                        GINGERBREAD

NAIL CREATOR! - THE PRODUCT INVENTED FROM SCRATCH BY OUR STUDENTS
(before the mobility in Italy)

Our students invented and sketched a product which they advertised during the mobility in Italy. 
It seems to be a simple device which quickly does one's nails - you do it only by placing your fingers inside it and selecting a proper shape for your nail/nails. 

The product won the first place among teachers - they seem to be in bigger need of saving time!  

INTERVIEWS WITH ENTREPRENEURS:

1. Paulina:

2. Natalia and Patrycja:

3. Agata and Zuza:

How to become a hairdresser?

Interview with Aneta Madziar

Interviewer: Good morning. Could you please say something about yourself and your background as a hairdresser?

Aneta Madziar: Yes. My name is Aneta Madziar, I'm middle-age citizen of Warsaw. I have a husband and two teenage daughters. I have been working as a hairdresser for 15 years and since April I'm an owner of my own hair salon.

I: I know that before having your own business you worked at someone's else salon. How would you compere those „working styles”?

AM: Working at your own salon is much harder and committing. Relying on someone's decisions is obviously easier and gives you more freedom and time to focus on work. When you're a boss you can't just take time off because you have to take care of the business. I'm obligated to stay in the salon.

I: Do you agree with the saying „Having a business is a full-time job”?

AM: Definitely! I barely remember the last time I had proper holidays! Sometimes I work 5 hours per day and sometimes 12. And somedays it's not even a work with a client, I just sit and pay the bills and check documents that come with having a company.

I: What helped you to become an entrepreneur?

AM: I have always been very ambitious and clear with my goals. I'm not afraid of failure but I believe in hard work. Also my family has helped me a lot. They were the first people that I told about my plan and were helping me through the whole process of it.

I: When did you decide to start a company?

AM: I always knew I want it and always had it in the back of my head but the main decision has been made after years of working at somebody's salon. I was a manager and I realized that I'm capable of combining those two things – working as a hairdresser and an employer.

I: What are two main advantages of owning a business?

AM: One of pros is bigger salary, which can be tricky because you have to learn how to administer the money. You realize how expensive it is to run a company. The next advantage is a possibility to decide on many things. I can choose how I want my career to develop, what courses I need to become a better hairdresser and with who I want to work. That's a huge freedom that you don't have while working at someone's else place.

I: Thank you for your time!

Zuzanna Pohl       Agata Lechnio

3. Janek:

Piotr Kleszko –age 48 , higher technical education.

Entrepreneur, professionally active for 25  years.

What’s the history of the company?

When did you start creating your own business?

The Gross System company was set up in 2000, as a continuation of an IT partnership started in 1994. 

in 2003 the first selling point was opened in one of Warsaw shopping centres and the number of the selling points has successively grown in the following years.

What is the scope of your company?

My company sells operating supplies for all kinds of printers, computer hardware and offers full IT service for other companies.

We own a chain of selling points, an online shop and we have a managing contract with one of the top IT distributors in Poland.

What did you do before creating your own company?

Before setting up my own business  I had studied wood technology at SGGW (Warsaw University of Life Sciences)and I had worked for the Rafpol company selling electronic supplies in the position of a manager of the sales department.

What are the pros and cons of running your own business?

Pros – A wide range of possibilities to develop both the company and personal skills, lack of a supervisor, unlimited working time, a wide range of contacts with other people and companies.

Cons - bureaucracy an entrepreneur often has to deal with, high costs of running a company, earnings depending on the condition of the company and the total economic situation.

Weren't you afraid of competition?

I am not afraid of competition but obviously I respect it and I always do my best to be one step ahead of the current trends.

Are you going to open more shops?

I am not likely to open new stationary shops, however I will develop the online shop as it is very much likely to become the main source of sales in the future.

Recently we have heard a lot about possibilities of development of small and medium-sized companies through aid programmes of the EU. Are you going to apply for EU funds to help develop your company?

In the near future I am going to claim a EU subsidy which I would like to channel into the development of the online shop as well as  the cycle of employee training.

If it was possible would you choose a full time job for another company or would you keep the current situation?

I stay with what I do at present.

Thank you!

4. Paulina and Kasia

- Hello, my name is Kasia Sztyk, can I ask you some questions?

- Good morning, my name is Michał Golba, so of course, please,

- The first question is - Could you tell us something about your company?

- Company Roboteco, which owner I am, organizes educational classes for children and teenagers. Classes are about robotics and programming. During the classes participants build robots, which are later programmed by them. We mainly use the Lego sets, which are standard blocks extended with electronic elements such as: sensors, servomotors, and a micro-computer, which control a robot. Thanks to using Lego participants treat the classes like a fun, and in the same time they gain a lot of knowledge: they get familiar with the principles of operation of mechanisms, physical phenomenon, thanks to which sensors work, count, learn how to program, handle computer, and develop imagination.

Classes are held mainly in schools, as extracurricular activities. We also organize educational birthday parties, picnics, presentations, and holiday courses.

-So, how the beginnings of your company looked like?

-I established the company with my wife, Paula, when we were doing the last year of our studies. That was the time, when we had more free time and could get more experiences.  However, for some time, we were thinking about setting up a company. The idea we had was to use our interests. I was studding robotics, and Paula was studding environment protection, and this is how Roboteco started a combination of robotics and ecology.

 At the begging it supposed to be an extra activity, however, it quickly turned up that it had a big interest. We decided to leave our works to focus on our own company.   

-Thanks, so let's move on to the third question. Is development of company in small towns harder than in big cities?

- It’s hard to say. We have classes mainly near Warsaw. In Warsaw market of activities is overloaded and it is hard to do marketing. In small towns, far away from Warsaw the interests is lower, and this is why we work close to Warsaw, there is a big interest  and a word of mouth marketing” works perfectly, which is the main source of advertisement.   

The company like mine may have problems in smaller towns, however in the 21^st century a lot of companies offer their services on the Internet and in this case geographical location does not cause any limits.

-To whom your services are directed?

-Services are directed to parents of primary school children. Participants are mainly boys, but there are also some girls.

-Is there a demand for this kind of services?

-I think so. During our classes children get knowledge in fields, which will be important in the future. Parents are aware of that and that is why they enroll children to our classes. The classes seem to be interesting so they are happy to join them.

- Could you tell us few advantages and disadvantages of running your own company?

- Let me start with advantages. The most important advantage is that I do what I want, no one gives me orders, I work how I want, and when I want. In reality I work a lot, but this is my own choice. Another advantage is financial benefit. Another one is ability of combining hobbies with work, and I also can develop myself in other fields.

Disadvantages are: work without breaks, constant planning and stress. Running a company is a big responsibility, and requires a constant contact with a client. Even if we are away we have to be available, answering mails and phones.

Running a company is associated with serious decisions. When I finished university I had to make a decision whether to look for a job in field I was studding and extending knowledge, which I got at the University of Technology, or to leave everything to set up my own company. My choice was a company, and after 4 years it would be hard to find a job in my profession. But I do not regret, running my own company gives me a lot of satisfaction and till the end of my life I am not planning to be an employee. I am just about to finish a MBA course at management to use the knowledge to run my company.

-Do you use any form of advertisement?

-The main source is a word of mouth marketing”, the website, and internet marketing. We also use posters which we hang notice boards at schools. This is a link to our site: http://roboteco.pl/

                 

-If you could start again, would you change anything?

-Establishing a company I learnt everything from the very beginning, so I am sure that I made a lot of mistakes.           Sometimes when I recall some decisions I wonder how I could have done something like that, fortunately they were not so important ones. If I started from the beginning I would try to develop my company quicker.

-Thank you very much for your time and for your willingness to answer questions.

-Thank you very much.