It has been long since ALA has implemented the idea of having the Student Enterprise Program (SEP), and it has made the programme run like real life business settings.Students are put into teams based on their interests and passions, and even career aspirations.
During the course of developing the enterprise programme, the Entrepreneurial department has been putting its main focus on making sure that the businesses generate income and continue growing. However, the aspects of handling personal affiliations have been overlooked. Through my own observation, having friends working as partners is the one aspect which need immediate focus.
It is not that friends cannot develop good work ethics, but the emotional attachment makes it had to draw the line when it comes to professionalism. There are, this far, a lot of enterprises which are mainly made up of a circle of friends, and honestly, no one knows what goes down behind the creative ‘well-functioning’ enterprises. It is only during reflection and written feedback period where people ‘vent’ their feelings.
I feel like it is also a good idea to try and find ways in which the students could learn about the aspect of being friends in the professional business world. Could this be caused by the fact that people find it hard to confront their friends? Well, you would never know unless you form part of such a team. What could be the advantages and disadvantages of having friends running a company? Can work accountability break friendships? These are the questions I ask myself at most times and wonder if I would ever get to know the answers before I venture outside, into the real business world.
