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The Inaugural ICMP Business Plan Competition a
Success
HONOLULU — The JAIMS
Intercultural Management
Program (ICMP) Fall 2000 class held its inaugural Business Plan
Competition on January 9, 2001. Twenty-one ICMP participants presented
their original business plans to an audience and a panel of judges
to determine the most exemplary presentation by the end of the day.
The event was especially significant because
it was the first ICMP Business Plan Competition to be held. Linus
Kan, Manager of Academic Programs at JAIMS, noted that previously,
ICMP held a Speech Competition where participants spoke on a topic
they chose.
¿With the introduction of the Entrepreneurship
course,î he said, ¿we felt it would be more appropriate to have
a business plan competition that tests participants° application
of classroom lessons and their presentation [and] speaking ability,
both of which are very important workplace skills.î
Participants were judged according to the content
of their presentation, the use of business concepts, originality,
organization, the feasibility of their plan, presentation skills,
and their responses to audience questions.
¿It was very enlightening,î said judge Steve
Yoshihara, President and Principal Broker for Pacific Consultants
Inc. ¿It was very interesting to be part of [the] classÞ all did
very well.î
Although the judges agreed it was a difficult
decision, the award for first place was presented to Yasuhito Kusa
for his Bagus Gambar Architecture Drawing Firm business plan.
Although excited about the win, Kusa credited
his success in part to his instructors. "My presentation
consisted of a lot of skills taught to me in ICMP classes,"
he said.
Second place went to Yu-Ching (Roy) Lo for
eData Consulting, and third place went to Akihiro Oshima for Family
English.
As the best of the class, Kusa will receive
the distinction of being the first name engraved on the ICMP Business
Plan Competition's Perpetual Plaque as well as receiving a prize
at the ICMP graduation later in the week. The ICMP Business Plan
Award is one in a series of awards presented to ICMP students during
their final week of classes. |
