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Archive for February, 2012

CalMU Business Spotlight: Ludus Sports

February 29th, 2012 No comments

It’s time to shine the CalMU Business Spotlight on another successful story, and this time it’s all about something all of us love: traveling and sports. San Diego’s Ludus Sports, founded in 2003 by former track and field legends Adam and Jessica Dailey. From right here in San Diego, Ludus Sports operates worldwide, offering tours and hospitality to epic sporting events around the world.

From the Olympics and World Cup to The Masters and Winter Games, the Ludus Sports team offers myriad packages catered to everyone’s interests so that you can focus on the teams or events you want to. They also have extensive local knowledge of the landscapes to ensure that their customers can enjoy the best overall experience with choice accommodation and hospitality.

Ludus Tours, their sister organization, transcends the sports world to offer cultural tours throughout the world. Keen on guzzling beer and devouring schnitzel in Germany for Oktoberfest? Want to run with the bulls in Spain (okay, maybe not literally)? How about soak up the vibrant Carnaval festival in Brazil? Well they’re the ones that will make it all happen and help you create unforgettable memories while you’re there.

That’s not why we chose to feature Ludus Sports in our Business Spotlight for the week, though. They are truly much more than just a travel and hospitality company. From 2007 to 2010, they achieved a 1253% increase in revenue, skyrocketing from $182,023 to $2.5 million. They were ranked by Inc. Magazine as 2011’s 2nd best travel company and 8th most successful business in all of San Diego.

And again, it’s not just about the astronomical increase in revenue and business that got them to that point. They have helped plan and organize events for corporate giants, including Nike, Clif, Burton, Budweiser, the National Hockey League Players’ Association, Fila and yes, even The Colbert Report. Their customers rave endlessly about their trips and experiences with Ludus, and it all boils down to one main reason: passion. They truly love their business and clients and that passion pervades all aspects of their business operations. Their team is highly qualified and very knowledgeable about the sporting and cultural events they attend, and through local knowledge, thorough research and a solid base of contacts across the globe, Ludus Sports and Ludus Travels have become a travel and hospitality powerhouse in the US.

As their website states, and I think this sums it up perfectly: “Want a cookie cutter program for your clients? Or do you want to hug our staff goodbye as we’re dropping you off at the airport at 5:30 in the morning?” I don’t know about you all, but I’m going with option #2 for sure!

Thank you Ludus Sports and Ludus Travels for being such an inspiration for business success and serving as a constant reminder that as long as you love and are really passionate about what you do, success will come naturally.

Categories: Business Buzz Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Best and Worst Things To Do In an Interview

February 27th, 2012 1 comment

A couple years ago Megan Ahn, President of accounting and financial professional search firm Accountants Direct, spoke here at California Miramar University. She was a wonderful guest speaker who discussed myriad interview tips, how to hire the most qualified and talented professionals and what constitutes the most professional resumes, among many others.

We were thrilled to have her speak at CalMU so we decided to go back and re-release a couple of valuable interview tips that all business people should learn, especially students of traditional, Hybrid and online MBA programs.

What is the best thing to do on an interview?

Be patient and LISTEN. Before speaking about your credentials and why you will be valuable to their business, listen to what THEY need and what THEY are looking for. Then you can tailor your credentials and work experiences to fit their goals and show them that you are truly the ideal candidate for the position.

Transcript of Interview Tip

Don’t talk;I’m not kidding. Listen. The more that you can listen and learn about the company and what they need to have accomplished, the more successful your interview is going to be. If you listen and you find out what they need to have accomplished, then you can share your experience that is valuable for them to hear about.

What is the best thing NOT to do in an interview?

Sometimes the best things to do are the things you should avoid doing altogether. While being punctual is vital for everyday of your professional career, there is a big difference between arriving early and arriving on time.

Transcript of Interview Tip

This is my favorite tip to give people about interviewing. Everybody tells you that you should show up early. Mine favorite tip is what you should never do on an interview: is show up early! Arrive early outside, wait in your car, listen to your favorite song on the radio, and then go into your interview at the appointed time. Just be on time.

Video Transcription by GMR Transcription

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Hop On the Blog Bandwagon

February 24th, 2012 2 comments

Okay, let me first start off by commending companies and entrepreneurs who have blogs for their business and post on it regularly. Seriously… this is very important. Not only are blogs a great way to express your thoughts on your business industry, they are also a great way to promote your products and services by showing the world – namely your target market – that you are a leader in your niche and know what you’re doing. This is especially true for small businesses and startups because many have yet to hop on the Blogosphere bandwagon.

Moving beyond the whole ‘expert status’ designation they imply, blogs are also very crucial for your SEO and Local SEO campaigns. You can incorporate keywords and hyperlink them to relevant pages on your website, which are then indexed by Google and, after time through a sound campaign, will help increase your rankings in search engine results and thereby increase your overall bottom line.

Now for those of you who are not yet blogging for your business, it’s time to smell the roses and start writing. And I’m not talking about blogging once or twice a month. Rather, to really see results you should be blogging at least two times every week. Intelligent blogs are sustained, determined and creative; this is the only way you will become an authority in your field.

There is also a big difference between having a blog and posting a couple times a week, and having a blog, posting a couple times a week and thinking outside of the box. A great way to do this is by incorporating unique sections that complement your business ethos and appeal to your target market. We have been doing our MBA Mondays blog section since we started this blog last year, and are very excited to have just introduced our new Business Spotlight blog section on Wednesdays.

Our MBA Mondays blogs include snippets of classes from our online MBA programs, while our news Business Spotlight section literally puts the ‘spotlight’ on businesses we determine are successful and role models in their industry after thorough research. Having blog sections that are unique for your business and show people that you are innovative and willing to take risks can really take your business to the next level. This is just one example of something to do, and I will elaborate more on this topic down the road, but blogs are something that all businesses should be into and if you’re not, make it your 2012 March Resolution.

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CalMU Business Spotlight: FortuneBuilders Inc.

February 22nd, 2012 No comments

We are very excited to introduce the newest section of our blog: the CalMU Business Spotlight. Each week we will be going to different cities and choosing a business that encompasses true business success, which will inevitably be diverse and different for every Spotlight.

For businesspeople, students enrolled in traditional, hybrid or online MBA programs, or anyone who is simply interested in business/economics/entrepreneurship/anything really, the weekly California Miramar University Business Spotlight Series provides a refreshing look at the myriad definitions of business success. So visit us every Wednesday and let us know at any time if you have any recommendations for the next Business Spotlight; we are always welcome to suggestions!

As the first Business Spotlight of our blog and after much research and deliberation, we are pleased to put the Spotlight on San Diego’s own FortuneBuilders Inc. They are one of the most venerated and successful real estate education entities in the United States and were ranked #1 in Education by Inc. Magazine, underscoring how they have really changed the entire real estate investment game.

Led by four very talented real estate investors – Than Merrill, Paul Esajian, JD Esajian and Konrad Sopielnikow – FortuneBuilders teaches its students how to intelligently invest, market, wholesale and drastically increase their ROI in the real estate market. They hold a Mastery Implementation Coaching Program, which is reserved for a small group of their “most motivated students” and is truly the pinnacle of real estate coaching.

For the other 99% of their customers, from beginning to advanced students, FortuneBuilders University is a brilliant program that provides a comprehensive step-by-step walkthrough of how to make a living investing in real estate. (And by living I mean a really, really good one.) Some of the world’s top real estate investors show you the ropes and work closely with you to ensure that you leave FortuneBuildersU ready to hit the real estate world, network and start seeing profits right away. What’s more, which is very important in the real estate world, this program provides you with many new contacts that are vital for networking and your future growth as a real estate investor.

According to the latest Inc. Magazine statistics from September 2011, the last 3 years have seen a staggering growth of 2629%, with their 2010 revenue ($14.2 million) nearly triple that of their 2007 revenue ($520,300). They were founded in 2005 and have grown to a staff of about 25 employees. I am very interested to see how they evolve as the real estate market improves and how that will affect their business model, strategy and overall bottom line.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that Than Merrill, Paul Esajian and JD Esajian also appeared on Seasons 3, 4 and 5 of A&E’s hit show Flip This House, which is about – you guessed it – purchasing a house, renovating it, and then flipping it for a profit.

FortuneBuilders Inc. is a real estate dream team and I am very honored to be featuring them as the first ever CalMU Business Spotlight. If you are looking to go into real estate, do not forget about their programs. You will definitely come out with a better understanding about every process of investing and a more complete toolkit to start making the big bucks.

Categories: Business Buzz Tags: , , , , , ,

What should I do if I don’t know what to say when I am networking?

February 20th, 2012 No comments

For this week’s MBA Mondays blog we have some more great business advice from Nancy Drew, Founder of Drew and Associates International. Check out this great 2 minute video on how to really and genuinely network and form strong business relationships. Remember: it’s not just about getting your business card out there to as many people as possible. Learn to listen, stay focused and follow up with them later to really establish a strong connection that will benefit all parties involved.

That’s a great question. A lot of people go to networking events and they feel shy, they don’t know what to say, so they try to comment on what you’re wearing or, you know, they try to talk about themselves. Nobody is interested in being sold to, and when we get to these networking events a lot of people have practiced their elevator pitch.

Well nobody wants to hear that so you really need to begin the conversation with asking about them, and when you know that someone is interested in you then you’re more open to asking them and you actually take an interest in what they do, and reverse. So you always want to be the one, you give before you get. So what I would suggest to say to different people is to start off and ask them, “I am very interested. What is it that you do?” And then people will start to talk and then you give them feedback, so that’s great, “How long have you been doing it?” Not an inquisition, but sincerely listening and being part of the equation.

And then when they continue on, say to them, “I’d like to help. What kind of customers could I refer to you?” And then that person would be happy; they’ve gotten out what they wanted to say; they feel that they’ve been listened to; they are happy that you want to help them; and now there is some reciprocal relationship going on and they are in a much better place to start asking you, “Well what do you do?” And now they’re going to listen. And now they’re going to want to help.

What happens a lot of the times is we go to these events and we take business cards and the big dilemma right now is follow-up failure. We get a business card and maybe we add it to our database, but we don’t do anything with it, and really what we are is professional visitors. But what we need to be is taking these relationships and making them work. It’s good to be friendly but you also need to be able to get some business out of this as well.

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The Best Jobs to Look At To Gain Experience For An MBA Degree

February 17th, 2012 No comments

If you’re considering or are already in the midst of completing an online MBA, it’s a good idea to get hands-on job experience even before you graduate. Online MBA programs enable you to study as you please and gain valuable work experience that, when coupled with your degree, with undoubtedly give you a leg up on your competition. As with any chosen field, there are jobs that are excellent training for an MBA candidate and those that are less beneficial. Here are several of the best jobs for experience when you’re pursuing an MBA degree.

If you ask recruiters, professors and MBA graduates which job is perfect for you, you’ll likely get several different answers. Investment banks and banks in general are typically a great place to get on the job experience for an MBA. Where else would you not only work directly with money, but also learn about investments and banking practices? Nonprofit organizations are also a good place for individuals seeking an online MBA to get experience in managing finances down to a zero balance. If you’re up for more challenges, immerse yourself in an investment firm and watch the professionals throw money into and out of investments throughout the day, subjecting you to valuable experience that will make you stand out with future employers.

The most important thing to take into consideration when seeking a job to gain experience is what your goal is after graduating from traditional, hybrid or online MBA programs. If your interests lie in management, you may find it easier to shadow a nonprofit manager rather than one who works at a bustling investment firm. An MBA can be used in nearly any field, so if your side interests include history, working in a local museum can give you experience that meets your educational needs as well as your interests. Restaurants often have MBA graduates at their helm, either on the scene or behind it, so don’t rule out your favorite dining establishment for great job experience.

No matter what you want to do later in life, gaining work experience is vital to advancing your career and making yourself stand out to employers after you graduate. Know what you want to do but don’t be afraid to think outside of the box and take risks. After all, doing something innovative and unique will show future employers that you are willing to take risks and will do whatever it takes to come out on top. Oftentimes the path less traveled leads to a more promising future.

Categories: Online Education Tags: , , , , , ,

Learn to be an Expert

February 15th, 2012 No comments

Introduction

Experts are in … generalists are out!

I realize this statement may shock some of you, but it is my opinion that today companies look for people who have a specialized know-how, skill-set, knowledge-base, and proficiency that can help them run their businesses better. Just consider the continuation of companies’ outsourcing specific jobs to professional groups who have specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Buying expertise (outsourcing) contrasted to building expertise (investing in the workforce) hasn’t always been common. There was a time when companies hired and trained their workforce to complete all job tasks, but something happened along the way to change all of that. And that change in attitude and action is now standard among most companies … it is widespread. And while the change has been slow in coming, it seems it will never return to the way it was. But what brought about this change?

It is my opinion that three main factors help usher expertise as ruler: Globalization, Technology, and Attitude.

Globalization

Almost every organization can boast of having a diverse workgroup. Some of the workers may be housed in the same facility and interact with each other face-to-face on a regular basis, while other workers may be half-way around the world and never see each other. Similarly, an organization’s customers, competitors, contract workers, regulators, and shareholders may be local and global. What this means is that each stakeholder (employee, customer, competitor, contract worker, regulator, and shareholder) has its own set of ethics, values, morals, beliefs, and assumptions as well as its own goals and expectations. Today, an organization must be aware of the similarities and differences among its stakeholders because each wants something a little different from the other. Therefore, an organization needs people who are specialists in many areas.

Technology

Steady and rapidly changing technology makes it easier to retrieve information more quickly and more fully than ever before. In fact, the Internet has made it easy for almost anyone to get information. While this is the good news because it helps us stay up-to-date, there is the bad news. First, the source of the information can be questionable since almost anyone can post almost anything on the Internet regardless of their expertise. This leads to suspecting the reliability of the information as well as the author. Secondly, as changes occur rapidly in the world, it is nearly impossible to be current at any one given time. This means information is almost a commodity. However, there is a bright spot … it matters how we use the information to become an expert; process is as important as content. So, again, someone dedicated to a particular field can be of great help.

Attitude

At one time, the attitude about careers was that you picked one and stayed with it. Career changes happened infrequently, and with some people in some careers never at all. Today, the attitude about careers is different. Changes in careers occur more often. Today changing careers is often seen as focusing on improving oneself through various experiences, on broadening and deepening one’s understanding and using knowledge. Today, if the career-changer has broadened and deepened his knowledge, skill, and ability he is considered to be the valued knowledgeable authority.

Attitude plays a big part in becoming an expert because it reflects’ one’s outlook on life in terms of how one thinks, feels, acts, believes, and deals with complexities and changing conditions. We often hear of flexibility as a key attitude trait. Yet, developing and maintaining the right attitude is easier said than done especially when one’s basic core ethics, values, morals, beliefs, and assumptions are challenged.

Plan for Expertise

Prioritize

Prioritizing is all about establishing what is important and what is not is important. While this includes setting specific, measureable, attainable, realistic, and time-driven goals, it increasingly is more apparent that learning-by-doing is taking on more importance. Getting your hands dirty and learning from successes and mistakes are vital. Volunteering for projects, interning with companies, and offering up your knowledge, skills, and abilities for free are more common now than ever before. Critically thinking, analyzing, and objectively arriving at a sound conclusion set apart those who succeed from those who do not. College degree seeking people should concentrate in an area.

Exposure

Learning to get noticed by others helps make a distinction between succeeding and falling short. In this context there are two fundamental principles. One, get acquainted with those people who know more about something that you want to know more about, i.e. experts. Two, while developing your expertise, identify the target audience who values what you have or will have. If others are unaware who you are and what you can do, then your expertise is less useful.

Close

In summary, this article proposed that becoming an expert is essential in being successful in today’s competitive marketplace.

In conclusion, the more you believe in yourself, the greater the chances of your career success. Stay hungry and stay focused. Lastly, do not worry about failing, you will at sometime in your life. Focus on succeeding.

Categories: Career Advancement Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

What is the Biggest Mistake Business people Make? A Talk with Nancy Drew of Drew & Associates International

February 13th, 2012 No comments

This is Nancy Drew, international business coach and guru and Founder of Drew & Associates International, giving her rundown on what a business’ biggest mistake is.

In the end, failing to plan IS planning to fail, right?

Well, as a business coach, the number one thing that I see is when people come to us, they’re not coming to be proactive in their business. They are coming to us because things have gotten bad. So I need a coach; I need someone to help me; these are the problems I’m having and to be honest this can be a very emotional time for people. It’s not unusual for people just to feel like this is the last straw and they’re running out of time.

The number one thing that I see repeatedly – and these are not stupid people, these are business people that are running companies, successful companies but it’s just not where they need to be – is that they don’t have a plan. Ninety percent of the people that come to us maybe had a plan to get funding, they wrote something out on the back of a napkin when they first had their idea, but they’re not working their plan.

And when you’re not working your plan you do not know if you are getting a return on investment that you need to be getting. You do not know what your next step is. You do not have the confidence of knowing that you have taken the right actions and things can become very overwhelming. You think you should be doing a hundred different things.

But really success is not doing a hundred different things and spending a lot of money; success is knowing what three or four things generate your income, make your business stronger and continuing to do those things. If you don’t have a plan, you’re not working that plan, not monitoring that plan, not watching the effects of it, you’ve got the ‘Going Out of Business’ business plan. That’s the biggest mistake.

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What is a “Green MBA”?

February 10th, 2012 No comments

With the world constantly turning into a global community, more and more businesses and industries are focusing on catering to the world market. As consumerism and industrialization increase around the globe, resources are fast depleting and there is a demand for both conservation and research into the development of new resources and discovery of alternate resources.

The business community world over is currently faced with several environmental challenges, and for them to be able to successfully manage production and impact on the environment, there is a need for a green MBA. The New Year holds endless opportunities for green MBAs and Universities are now providing great online MBA programs that allow students to work and study. Further, introducing sustainable business concepts and development in already existing programs is something that should be stressed and we take pride in emphasizing in our courses.

A good, accredited MBA offers a green curriculum that covers many aspects of green science and conservation. Most programs focus on teaching through a combination of theoretical and practical methods that aid green MBA students in problem solving, whether it is coming up with energy conservation ideas or incorporating ecological aspects into a project while keeping costs under control. Since more programs are beginning to grasp and emphasize sustainable business development and practices more than ever, going green doesn’t necessarily mean getting an MBA in sustainability or environmental business. It simply means stressing good business relations that stay in line with the capitalist market but are geared towards forming and maintaining strong business and social relationships.

With most resources fast depleting many industries are looking for green MBA’s, namely the beauty industry, the oil and gas industry, the government sector and the construction sector. Green MBA’s allow these businesses to work without harming the environment and help them become responsible businesses and help them manage social responsibility. An MBA in Sustainable Futures, Environmental Stability or Energy and Development is quite a great choice as the demand for employees who can help a company manage its environmental responsibility cost effectively is quite desirable.

But whether or not you want to go for the strict definition of a green MBA is irrelevant. No matter what you study, MBA programs worldwide are stressing sustainability with many different backdrops.

Categories: Online Education Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Tips on How to Write the Perfect MBA Admissions Essay

February 8th, 2012 No comments

Admissions committees at both traditional and online MBA schools must sift through thousands of applications each year. To make yours stand out, focus on writing an MBA admissions essay that lets your personality shine. Admissions officers read these essays to get a feel for the real you, to gain insight that cannot be deduced from your transcript and resume and to understand what makes you, well, you.

Career Goals

Where do you picture yourself in five years? Show admissions counselors that you are serious about your future by including both short and long-term goals. Do not just tell them what you want to do; instead; describe how their online MBA programs will help you get there.

Attributes

Anyone can write that they are a hard worker, have masters leadership degree worthy skills or can learn new concepts quickly. Instead of just listing your positive attributes, couple each one with a brief anecdote that demonstrates your capabilities.

Work Experience

You can use your essay to elaborate on your resume. Write about what you gained from your work experience and how it will make you successful in on-campus, hybrid or online MBA programs. Remember that this is probably one of the most important things to include and elaborate on. Having knowledge of and experience in the ‘real’ world will set you apart from other applicants and show admissions officials that you know where you’ve come from and what you want to do with your MBA degree.

Real World Experience

Going off of the last point, your life outside of work is just as important as your office life. Write about your ability to work with diverse groups of people, positive outlook or great sense of humor. Remember, admissions officers want to see your personality, so let it shine.

Presentation

Admissions officers may love your ideas, but your essay will be overlooked if it is riddled with typos and/or grammatical errors. Proofread multiple times and have someone else look over your essay. A fresh pair of eyes can often find mistakes that you overlooked.

With our rolling admissions we are always accepting applications and encourage you to apply for our accredited and reputed programs. For more information visit us at http://www.calmu.edu/main-navigation/admissions/admissions-process.html.

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Secrets to Optimize Yelp.com Video Clip from Secrets and Strategies for Successful Social Media Marketing

February 6th, 2012 No comments

Hey everyone,

Here is another video from the lecture I gave back on October 26 on social media marketing. The first video I posted was all about Google Love, and this one provides insights on how to optimize Yelp for your business.

Not only is Yelp a great place to find reviews about companies (and competitors) – it’s also a great way to market your business and build your brand with search engines. Google, Yahoo and Bing all hold Yelp in high regard and so it’s very important to encourage your customers to post positive review sites.

One tip for doing this: make it as easy for them to do as possible. Give them links via e-mails/pamphlets/whatever and tell them exactly how to do it. The easier it is for them to review you, the more likely they will (and the more likely you’ll get MORE reviews).

I hope you enjoy this video. Let me know what you think and if you have any questions in the Comments section below.

Best,

Ilana Herring

Transcript of the Lesson

Okay, strategy number seven, optimizing for Yelp. I’m not going to tell my anecdote to explain how you learn from this cool Yelp news, but I’ll just say that when I put up the press release about this event, people, someone from Yelp saw it and called. And Yelp is really interesting, like I shared about with your question, you know the reviews. You want people to write your reviews who are already active.

Now what you should think about is you might have customers who are active who you don’t ask to write a review. You should go to Yelp, if you’ve never done this, and see what’s already there. Okay. Then you should claim your business if you haven’t already done this. Go to Yelp for Business Owners; that’s going to get me there.

Okay. This is a screenshot of actually my dentist, of his Yelp page. Now he hates Yelp, he ignores it. He happens to be an amazing dentist, so I will show you on the next page all his reviews are stellar. His photos were put up by patients. Okay, most of us do not have the luxury of this. If you do, you should really be proud of yourself. I think that we should all think of our social media as both coming and going. We participate, we claim our business, we put up material and we hope our customers reply and our future prospects engage with us.

Okay, there’s other review sites as well that might be relevant. If you’re in the travel industry, TripAdvisor.com; definitely check out MerchantCircle.com, I recommend that as well. And when you claim your business you’re basically just going to be putting this information in, putting in some photos, and putting in your marker if you’re not on a map. So check it out, it’s a Google map. If you did your Google Places it’s probably already there, and it’s probably already right.

Okay. secrets for optimizing Yelp. Claim your page. So again, if you didn’t do that already, this is where you claim your business. So go to Yelp.com and look at the upper right hand corner for ‘Business Owners’.

Add in information about your business, your hours of operation, photos, et cetera. If you are a home based business and don’t have a street address that you want to advertise, you can just use your city and zip code. That’s really nice,that’s 2:09 for Yelp. I don’t think that applies for all social media, so embrace Yelp if you’re a home based business.

Understand the Yelp review filter. We already spoke about that. If you want to understand it more,Google, I hate the Yelp review filter – just Google “Yelp review filter” and you’ll find a video on it.

Okay this is cool. So back here where there’s photos; you can put up a photo about anything that is relevant to your business. One secret strategy you can use is you can make a coupon – 25% off, 10% off, whatever your coupon is – save it as a photo, as a .jpeg, and upload it as a photo. So now you’ve used that photo place to make a coupon.

Video Transcription by GMR Transcription

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5 Essential Things MBA Students Should Remember in 2012

February 3rd, 2012 No comments

An MBA is not just a goal or degree; it’s a means to an end. Achievable in myriad forms, including on-campus, hybrid, online and Masters Leadership degrees, they can help you get a job, advance you into higher positions and essentially make you more money.

Don’t take it for granted. You have spent a lot of time studying and learning about various industries and jobs and have gained new skillsets that will improve invaluable to your career. Now it’s time to choose the right career – one for which you have a passion and will excel.

Look for companies that have sustainable business concepts. For example, in 2012 there’s a push for more green products. Therefore look for jobs with companies that are passionate and aggressive about protecting and saving the environment. Examples include companies that sell solar panels, specialize in hydroelectric power and those seeking renewed energy sources, such as the ones using food or natural resources instead of oil or gas for energy.

Assess and use your key skills. You should have an idea of what you want to do your with online MBA. However, take time to fully assess your skills. You may uncover some innate skillsets that you never knew you had. Knowing all your skills and (specific) abilities will better help you prepare for your new job. ( Quintcareers.com lists some of these skills tests online.)

It is not always the most qualified people who get the job, even with an on-site or online MBA. Employers look for job candidates that can make an immediate impact. Show the hiring manager you are the right person for the job. Assume the role of the consultant and explain how you can help their company. Read articles about both the company industry (and location when relevant, mainly for small businesses) and understand some of their key challenges. Explain specifically what you can do to solve these issues.

Use networking to land your next job. Join professional associations and attend seminars and luncheons with people in your field. Contact mentors or people you know from college, or past business associates if you have business experience.

Categories: Online Education Tags: , , , , , , ,

The Relationship Between MBA Programs and Ethics

February 1st, 2012 No comments

Most people reading this probably know what encompasses an MBA and understand it is possible to pursue online MBA programs. While students are focused on developing themselves, their skillsets and their careers, they might also lose focus on the responsibilities that go along with being a business leader in the ‘real’ world. It’s essential to make ethical choices because globalization means increased cultural diversity and bad choices can turn into public relations nightmares in the present and down the road.

It is often said that stockholders hate a bad quarter more than public relations, but unethical choices affect everyone, including the parent company. The average person is the customer in many cases, and businesses do not prosper by insulting or harming the interests of those they serve. Remember, for most businesses it’s all about customer service; that’s what makes impressions and will set you apart from the competition. No matter what social or political affiliations you have, ethics transcends difference and is ultimately the tie that binds people together and drives B2C and B2B relationships.

In addition to losing customers and losing face, unethical choices might also be mechanically bad. After it was discovered that Enron Corporation had lied about its gains for many years, and its stock plummeted. This is essentially because investors lost faith that Enron could reliably pay dividends in the long-term and that it had fewer assets than the truth. The loss of credibility and the fall in stock made Enron undesirable to do business with and so what partial value it still had was also destroyed.

The pressures of delivering a good message make the temptation to lie overwhelming, and also to do very risky things to make gains. High risk maneuvers can succeed initially, but eventually the gambler falls against the odds. It is unethical to play roulette with other people’s money, and it is also financially disastrous.

Ethics include bad business choices, but also legitimate things that still attack the public interest. Remember that society is the whole, and that corporations and businesses are organs. The part must facilitate the whole for both to profit. Ethics is something stressed in our on-campus, hybrid and online MBA courses and we take pride in knowing that we are contributing to the world in a morally just way.

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