Thursday 23 April 2015

Is Studying Postgraduate Diploma in Business Worth The Time, Money And Effort You Invest?

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Are you looking to shift to a management role? Do you want to earn more money? Are you planning a career change? Wondering if an MBA can help your career to boost? Well, an MBA degree can certainly help you acquire the right business skills and knowledge to give your career the push it needs. But with rising tuition fees in B-schools and universities worldwide, is an MBA worth the time, money and effort or you are looking for something different like Postgraduate Diploma in Business ? Let's find out...

What Is An MBA?

The MBA or Master of Business Administration degree is a master's degree in business management. These are usually one or two years graduate programmes offered by business schools or universities. During your study you will learn about the theoretical concepts as well as practical applications of business management. The MBA degree certifies that you have acquired generic competency in the most important management roles prevalent in contemporary corporations. An MBA is often considered as career booster that leads to management roles and higher salaries in different industries.

What An MBA Can Do For You

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 The MBA is perhaps the most popular degree in the world which is widely accepted by leading employers. During your study, you will learn about various business subjects such as management, marketing, statistics, accounting, finance, human resources, communications, entrepreneurship, economics etc. This will enable you to learn how a business works and improve your employability. Hence, you will get a wide range of lucrative job opportunities in different sectors.

Is An MBA Worth It?

Now the question you need to ask why you need to get an MBA? The obvious answer is career development. But does it make sense to quit your current job and take out 2 years from your career to earn a degree? With rising tuition fees in most institutes, does it make sense to take out a crippling student loan to study business? For me, the answer is no. Many business leaders and experts believe that pursuing an MBA by investing so much money and time can surely be worth it if you can get admitted in the Top 10 business schools worldwide. Deepak Chopra, public speaker and bestselling author believes that business education can help us cope with different corporate and social challenges. He said “We have immense problems right now- social injustice, economic injustice, climate change, war, terrorism, new epidemics of all kinds … and business is in a position to help.” Moreover, CEO of Lane Bryant, Linda Heasley, believes that “It’s an amazing networking opportunity.”

However, others think that is obviously better to work and remain employed and progress your career by moving ahead in your organisation. Joanna Coles, Editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, doubts if business education can actually offer the benefits it claims. She said “I wonder sometimes if business school is the corporatisation of education.”

The fact remains that an MBA is no guarantee for getting a lucrative job and earning high salaries. It all depends on your own skills, education, determination and performance. Business education can only help you acquire the rights skills and knowledge needed for career development.

Study Business Effectively 
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If you want to study business and improve your professional skills and boost your career, then I would suggest that you go for an online business diploma. Why? Online postgraduate diploma in business management programmes provide you excellent flexibility, convenience and affordability so that you can study business without affecting your current job and lifestyle. With an online MBA, you will not only be able to work in your existing employment, but also avoid student debt. Moreover, you can effectively choose to study while you work with ease. This will allow you to further hone your management skills and apply them at your immediate workplace.

An online postgraduate diploma in business will help you imbibe leadership & management skills and make you eligible for a wide range of managerial roles. This will allow you to start your career in your desired field, land the next big promotion or completely change your career. A recognised online business diploma from a reputed university or B-school will augment your career opportunities in different leadership and management positions across various business and industry.

Words Of Wisdom

Postgraduate Diploma in Business education can provide you a number of benefits for your professional as well as personal development. There is no doubt that business education is highly advantageous for your career, but you need to choose the right and smart way to learn what you want.

Do you think an MBA is worth your time, effort and money? Feel free to comment below and share your views with us.

Wednesday 15 April 2015

Online Learning - A Better Way To Study Business Management

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Planning to pursue a business degree? Then I am sure you are already looking for the best online business programmes available out there. If not, then it's time for you to go online. Nowadays an increasing number of aspiring entrepreneurs and business leaders are opting for quality online business management courses instead of traditional B-school programmes. Why? Keep reading to find out....

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 Is Online Education A Threat?

As higher education becomes more and more expensive, learners across the world are now enrolling for online business education courses to earn accredited degrees in an affordable way. In fact the demand for online business study is so strong that most of the leading business schools and universities have started to offer their programmes online. Many institutes fear that online courses and MOOCs have become a threat for expensive executive programmes as most professionals are now moving towards e-learning courses due to their affordability and high levels of flexibility. So if you are planning to earn a business degree or diploma to land the next big promotion, then an online Level 5 extended management diploma will enable you to work and study at the same time. You can easily find a number of recognised courses online offered by reputed business schools and colleges which follow the same curriculum as the on-campus programmes and are held by in-house faculty.

Online Is Simply Better

Heraldo Sales-Cavalcante, head of learning and director of strategic analysis at Ericsson, initially had doubts about the quality of education offered by online courses. He believes that learning in the classroom was a much better alternative as “there is magic when you meet face-to-face. You form great networks.” However, he was open to experiment with online learning and ended up changing his mind. The fact is online business courses cost you only “a fraction of the cost” of studying executive programmes. Moreover, as these highly flexible you will need to invest much less time on your education and effectively balance your work and family. With more than 120 employees pursuing online courses at Columbia Business School since January 2014, Sales-Cavalcante now believes that these courses are highly effective and encourages more staff to study online.

He says that more business will think twice about sending their staff to traditional B-schools as unless there is a strict need for “experiential learning”. He adds “Business schools need to think about how they reinvent themselves and how they leverage technology.” There is no doubt that leading institutes like Wharton, Harvard and Columbia, are now feeling threatened with the vast array of benefits offered by online business study. With advancement of technology and growing credibility of online learning, most schools are introducing a line-up of online programmes. However, I must admit, that these courses are not intended to replace traditional executive courses, but to supplement them.

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Making Education Affordable And Accessible 

Bharat N. Anand, Faculty Chair at Harvard Business School's online learning initiative HBX says that the rise in affordable and free online content may result in a drop in student enrollment in traditional programmes. This might also affect the revenue stream as well. But as businesses have various requirements, a number of models will eventually coexist, he says.

Another advantage on online business education is that it has substantially expanded the reach of education to numerous students from different parts of the world. Shilpa Patwardhan, connected learning director at Wharton Executive Education, says “In the past, the only option was to send people to campus. But (the costs) limited the number of people who could take the class. The reach that online education has is what organisations find attractive.”

I have no doubt that if you wish to gain the right business skills and knowledge and build your career as a successful business leader, then pursuing an extended diploma in management online is the perfect way to go about it. You can not only earn a degree without running into heavy student debts, nut you will also be able to hone your skills by working and studying simultaneously and getting the best employment opportunities.

What do you think? Are you ready for your online learning experience? Feel free to share your thoughts and views with me by commenting below.

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