Flexibility

This is by far one of the most popular benefits of studying online. Its flexibility allows you to reschedule your time to accommodate all the day’s activities. On most occasions, once you get a job, it becomes almost impossible to further your education because of the tight working schedule. Dropping the job in favor of studying further is equally impossible, because you have to earn a living. The current hard economic times do not make the situation any easier. Fortunately, the online platform enables you to pursue your career while allowing you to continue with your studies online. Talk of killing two birds with one stone! Various universities have introduced online degree programs that you can easily join and pursue your dreams.

Distance Issue Resolved.

Studying online gives you the chance to earn extra qualifications from the comfort of your own home or office. This is even when the institution offering your program is miles away in another country or continent. Yes, the internet has made the world a global village! Imagine how costly and involving it would be if you had to travel abroad just to earn an extra qualification. Extremely inconveniencing, right? Now all you have to do is to simply log on to the internet, find an institution offering your program of choice and pursue it.

Specialized Degree Programs

Most colleges do not allow students to pursue two major degree programs concurrently. You have the capability, but the college won’t simply allow you to pursue both of them. All is not lost, the remedy is online! Studying online will give you the opportunity to earn that extra qualification you need to be ahead of others when times come to seek employment.

Avoiding Unfavorable Weather Conditions

Nobody wants to wake up every morning during winter just to attend morning classes. Besides, there are some colleges that are forced to close down due to thunderstorms and other adverse weather conditions. During such a period, you may waste a lot of valuable time waiting for classes to resume. Well, you do not have to go by that because there are no weather distractions that can cause online classes to discontinue.

Evidently, online qualifications are much easier to achieve and can give you a jump start in your career. Other benefits of studying online include low costs, flexibility in completing assignments and the fact that you do not have to sit in a classroom to take the lectures. Definitely, there is every reason for you to consider earning extra qualifications online.

1. The London Film Museum: Simply a paradise for film lovers, The London Film Museum is one place that you cannot afford to miss. Thousands of displays provide you with an insight of the great history of country in the field. Some of the most cherished film treasures are on display.

2. The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art: Opened in the year 1998, the museum offers details about modern Italian Art that has influenced the artists around the globe for over 100 years now. The focus is on the art as developed from the year 1890 to 1950.

3. The Imperial War Museum: In case you have an eye for history, the Imperial War Museum is the one for you. Every minute detail related to battles starting from the First World War to present day has been covered. The present day’s British influence and modern thinking related to war is also on display. It also provides a deep understanding about the chances occurred in our life due to war.

4. The Freud Museum of London: Based on the findings and theories offered by Sigmund Freud – The Founding Father of Psychoanalysis, Freud Museum of London is another place you cannot afford to miss. The findings of Freud chanced the way we think about human brain. They also play a big role in understanding the psychological approach of a human towards life.

5. The Natural History Museum: Located in South Kensington in London, it is one of the largest museums in the city. Many natural and historical phenomenon are on display including dinosaur bones exhibit.

Basics:

A case study is an intensive analysis of an individual unit (e.g., a person, group, or event) stressing developmental factors in relation to context. The case study is common in social sciences and life sciences. Case studies may be descriptive or explanatory. The latter type is used to explore causation in order to find underlying principles. They may be prospective, in which criteria are established and cases fitting the criteria are included as they become available, or retrospective, in which criteria are established for selecting cases from historical records for inclusion in the study. [1]
Business research methods:

1. The research process.
2. Planning and designing research projects.
3. using the literature.
4. Secondary data sources.
5. Quality methods.,
6. Experimental research and observation.,
7. Questionnaire surveys.
8. Sampling and its implications.,
9. Survey analysis.
10. Statistical analysis.
11. Writing a research report. [2]

Although the books written on research methods have originated from many different fields and many are cross-disciplinary, management research poses its own distinctive problems and unique challenges. The authors of Management Research examine the particular characteristics of research in management, and the factors likely to lead to successful research in this area, including the personal qualities of the researcher. This volume presents a clear, accessible introduction to the practice and principles of management research. It takes the reader through the “basic” practicalities of undertaking research, from the planning of a project through to the presentation and dissemination of findings. Topics discussed include the philosophical assumptions underpinning research design, the choice of different methodologies, and the political and ethical dimensions of management research. A wide range of research methods and techniques are considered, from qualitative interviewing to such techniques as critical incident analysis and the repertory grid, and sampling and questionnaire design in quantitative research. Quantitative methods are reviewed in a way which even the non- numerate could understand; the chapter on finishing and writing up research contains several ideas, including mind-mapping, worthy of a more extended treatment. [3]

Organizations use research, especially in market research activities. Market research is used to identify potential markets, the needs and wants of each, how those needs and wants can be met, how products and services could be packaged to be most accessible to customers and clients, the best pricing for those products and services, who the competitors are and how best to complete against each, potential collaborators and how to collaborate with each — and many other applications of research. Organizations can conduct this research without having to have advanced skills. There are four levels of information that can be gathered from customers or clients, including getting their:
1. reactions and feelings (feelings are often poor indicators that your service made lasting impact)
2. learning (enhanced attitudes, perceptions or knowledge)
3. changes in skills (applied the learning to enhance behaviors)
4. effectiveness (improved performance because of enhanced behaviors)
Usually, the farther your research results get down the list, the more useful is your research results. [4]

Conclusion:

Business research methods ahve been developed in order to better and improve doing business. Various economists had their say on the topic and this is definitely the topic that will be talked about and developed even further.

References:

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_study
[2] ”Business research methods” by: TICEHURST G.W., VEAL A.J.
[3] ”Management Research: An Introduction” by: Mark Easterby-Smith, Richard Thorpe, Andy Lowe
[4] http://managementhelp.org/businessresearch/selecting-methods.htm

Research shows that, in general, graduate applicants seeking their first career jobs do not possess the personal, transferable and employability skills which employers require, and Dearing has recommended that most HE students should undertake work experience to remedy this limitation. This article describes the Working for Skills project run by Leeds Metropolitan University and several major local employers. Some 20 “skills and attributes”, identified primarily from independent research projects, are presented to students in a workfile. The workfile addresses two principal areas: experiential learning, and the use of (principally) work experience to grow the identified skills and attributes. A simple model of experiential learning is presented to help students to analyse their work experiences and build awareness of the identified skills and attributes. The article also reports on pilot trials, student feedback and discusses some of the problems associated with this type of material.[2]

As a result of education and business partnerships, there is general consensus that career and employability skills should be taught in high schools, since many students leave education without the requisite skills to succeed in the adult work world. This leads to the question of whether teachers are competent to provide instruction on employability skills, and whether teacher training programs are preparing teachers to do so. As an example of how to rectify this situation, one US university has developed and implemented a new course on teaching career and employability skills for its technical teacher preparation program. The case describes how the course was developed and how it is being delivered, as well as the content and process skills students are learning. The potential impact of the new course is discussed in terms of the extent to which new teachers are using the skills, the capability of their students, and ultimately, how local organizations view the graduates.[3]

The concept of employability is analysed and the prevailing tendency to create employability measures based on outcomes is critiqued. The outcome approach results in employability as being construed as an institutional achievement rather than the propensity of the individual student to get employment. The operationalisation of employability as a concept is examined and the implicit ‘magic bullet’ notion of employability-development opportunities is revealed. An alternative, more complex model is outlined but its applicability is subverted by the ‘irrational’ activities of graduate recruiters, which render useless any employability indicator based on the proportion of graduates obtaining work. An alternative approach, based on an audit of employability-development within institutions, is explored and some methodological pitfalls are outlined. The conclusion suggests that any evaluation of employability needs clearly to indicate areas for internal improvement rather than simply ranking institutions.[4]

Examines the role of prior learning assessment, the portfolio method specifically, in workforce development. Despite the continuous evolution of work, organizational provisions for career development have not necessarily progressed to reflect advancing demands on workers. Organizations may better enable the contemporary workforce to embrace the shift from employment to employability through encouraging enhancement of both personal and professional growth. Incorporation of the portfolio process promises to augment organizational learning and development approaches by more effectively supporting workers in taking greater responsibility for managing their own careers. [5]

The concepts of employability and career development learning offer a unique opportunity to bridge the ‘gap’ between these dimensions. Employability has both narrow and broad focus definitions differentiated mainly along temporal lines. The first focuses on the quality of immediate employment, generally measured by the First Destinations Research carried out on behalf of the Higher Education Authority (HEA), by all third-level colleges six to eight months after graduation. This rather crude measure does not take into account the time frame often necessary for graduates to make the transition into graduate-level employment. Arriving at the definition of what constitutes a graduate job is in itself hugely problematic. Further, it does not measure whether those jobs taken up under the system do in fact make use of graduate competencies. A second focus of employability is on ‘immediate employability’ – whether the student has the competencies and attributes to do a graduate job – the measure of this being ‘how well the student (as a new worker) can hit the ground running’. The third and most expansive focus is on ‘sustainable employability’. Yorke and Knight (2006) state that employability ‘does not rest when the first graduate job is achieved but needs to be continually renewed to be sustainable’. This, importantly, not only broadens the focus to include a wider range of attributes required to be successful within employment but also includes the attributes required to manage one’s career development in ways that will sustain one’s employability. [6]

Conclusion:

Employability depends on many factors. Having a good education and skills is a good start but what could also help is career development learning. Employment seekers shoudl be educated on how to search for a job pointing out their best qualities and skills.

References:

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Career_development
[2] ‘Why kick the “L” out of “LEarning”? The development of students’ employability skills through part-time working’ by Lloyd Davies
[3] ‘Developing career and employability skills: a US case study’ by Richard Zinser
[4]‘Defining and Measuring Employability’ by: Lee Harvey
[5] ‘Journal of Workplace Learning’ by Karen Romaniuk and Fern Snart
[6] ‘Key Skills Framework Enhancing employability within a lifelong learning paradigm’ by Aidan Kenny, Ray English and Dave Kilmartin