Students of Nyenrode Business University supported Lessos in IT and Business Management

Lessos Education Center is a profitable, family owned, primary and secondary school in Lessos, Kenya.

The Business case
The management of LEC asked SharePeople to search for experts who could advise them on the use of ICT in education.  LEC also wanted to find out which improvements could be made to make the organisation more efficient,  so a scan of the total organisation was required.

Four students of the Nyenrode Business School were found suitable for this Business case. These experts shared their knowledge in IT and Business Management with LEC. The division in domains,  made the team work in two groups. One team supported LEC by providing IT-improvements and  by coaching teachers on "how to use IT in a classroom setting". The other team focused on the financial - and the overall management strategy of the organisation.   

Analysis
The experts analysed that LEC has a team of highly motivated employees and the school provides high-quality education. (in the top 1% of the nation's ranking) Nevertheless, there was not enough knowledge and hardware.  Also there was a lack of focus in business strategy and implementation was poorly managed. No budgets were assigned and no performance indicators were available to measure improvements.

Results

• 4 main focus points were identified for the business strategy

• a development path for the organization was developed for a period of 3 years

• local hardware and software is checked and improved

• 14 teachers were trained in the use of Excel, Word en PowerPoint

• the already written business plan was being improved

• Insights are given (performance indicators and budgets)

• Improvements on tax declaration were suggested
Impact on the partners
The experts' view on working in a developing country has changed. "The positive energy and the kindness of the people were heartwarming"

"We used a flexible and cooperative approach to make sure everyone was on the same page" This attitude resulted in shared effort and positive energy for all who were involved.

Follow up 

General support will be given via e-mail. Also, further assistance will be needed from a system administrator and a financial controller. The experts already set up job profiles for those functions.