Why do I say that corporate Human Resource Departments should use online Business English courses for corporate training? An Online Business English teaching website using Skype or a virtual classroom can be useful for developing their employees and increasing their competitiveness. There are also some other very good reasons.One reason is that there is a trend towards using more online learning courses in the corporate world. There must be some good reasons for corporations to be doing this. These online courses can be more flexible in timing, number of attendees, etc. They can be more effective due to having one to one training or smaller groups (not as costly so no need to have large classes to reduce the cost per person). Thus, an online course will take less money out of the HR training budget, or it will allow more people to be trained with the same amount of money.Why online courses?They can be cost effective. There will be no needed airfare costs to bring in a trainer, or to send the students to the location, and also there will be no lodging and food costs. A classroom may not be needed for the students to access the internet. With a virtual classroom it is just like a classroom: there is a whiteboard that can be used by both the students and teacher, the teacher can show videos, the class can review word documents, excel files, and PowerPoint presentations. Many of the virtual classrooms can have students online at one time from five different locations, so there may be no need to have a physical classroom for the students to take the online course. As well, because of the lower cost, the course can be given to fewer students and still be cost effective. The money saved by using online courses can be used to give more courses to the employees.If the HR departments and corporations are doing online training courses then why not online Business English courses? As shown above, online courses can have significant cost savings for companies. These can be used to upgrade and improve the English of the non-native English speakers in your corporation that have to deal in English in the business world. The courses can be customized to suit the needs of the company and the students. With fewer students needed to make the courses cost effective they can be even more customized for the students.Why online Business English courses?They can improve international communications for sales and business people. Employees, especially sales people, will be better able to give presentations. Employee will be more comfortable in business situations. There will be fewer communication problems with clients and suppliers. These courses can be targeted to an individual’s problem areas.What courses can be taken?There are many business English courses that you can take. For example Business English Courses: English Job interviews, Business Correspondence, Presentations in English, Writing, Resume Writing, and Business English, Negotiation, Meetings, Telephoning, Socializing, and other similar courses. There are many online English and Business English courses, some which use Skype and others that use a virtual classroom providing lessons. A virtual classroom will have an on screen whiteboard on which both the student and teacher can write and draw, be able to show Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, and be able to show YouTube videos during the class.What are the benefits to the company?The benefits to the company are many. Foreign companies can improve the English of local hires since most communication will probably be in English. Local companies can improve communications with foreign clients and suppliers. Your employees will be happier because they will be more comfortable talking with clients or suppliers in English. The clients and suppliers will be happier because there will be fewer problems caused by miscommunication. Online courses can be run with fewer students, so there will be a cost savings because the neither trainer nor the students need to be brought together.For headhunters and human resource recruiting companies their candidate will be more appealing to the client, and will be more marketable. They should do better in job interviews with the client and be more likely to be hired by a foreign or international company searching for local employees.In summary there are many benefits and savings from online Business English courses. Your employees will be more comfortable speaking English, there will be fewer communication problems, your sales presentations will go smoothly, and you will have lower training costs per employee. HR departments should use online Business English courses for all or part of their training needs if they are doing business internationally.
Online Learning Management Systems, Key Points for Effective Due Diligence and Return on Investment
OVERVIEW:
Online Learning Management alternatives will continue to evolve rapidly with greater options for new software, hosting and administrative services. Direct costs – typically software and hosting – have decreased with continued upgrades to navigation and user-interface, and now with added efficiencies of ‘cloud’ hosting. Indirect costs require careful review on multiple fronts, such as: a) An objective assessment of available/operational internal resource capacity to perform support, maintenance and administrative services or to engage with out-sourced vendor staff to support these services, and b) An accurate projection of LMS deployment scope. A company’s demand for online learning will rapidly increase and gain complexity over the next 2-3 years. Software and hosting options have almost unlimited capacity to meet demand. Services capacity is the bottleneck.
IN-SOURCED VS OUT-SOURCED LEARNING MANAGEMENT
The critical decision-point is whether to purchase LMS software and in-source the function or to contract with a LMS Services provider to out-source the function. Both options have multiple alternatives available in the market. A sample of key cost and risk elements are discussed in the following paragraphs.
In-Sourcing Learning Management Services:
The upsides to purchasing an LMS are increased control and customization of the online learning function. As online learning demand increases (internally and externally), the business case for LMS in-sourcing gains strength. However, a common misjudgment is underestimating the multi-faceted nature of support required to operate and administer an LMS – most of these elements are “soft costs” not budget line items:
- Purchasing the software requires analysis but is the easiest part of the process. Good LMS software options can start at $12,000, plus upgrades every 12-18 months for half the purchase cost.
- The Cost/Time to install the software and achieve operational effectiveness within the client IT environment requires combined IT and Training resources. LMS software installation can be complex, depending on Server Operating Systems and the degree of specialized capacity available within IT and the Training team. Installation raises a range of client server security issues depending on the target user audience – internal staff (working from network computers vs remote) or external constituents.
- Time for the Training staff to learn how to administer the LMS: publish and upload courses, create curriculums and assign courses to curriculums, enroll/manage users, manage user gradebooks and activity reporting, etc.
- Cost to acquire/build course content (SCORM complaint)
- Time to establish course and LMS organization naming conventions and user groups, upload courses, design curriculums, transfer student records, etc. The setup of the user registration process and curriculum listing requires pre-planning prior to loading any content into the LMS.
- Establish operational back-up – that is, people – within IT and Training who can respond when primary resources are unavailable, leave the company, etc. Every system needs 24/7 IT support and user help support to respond.
Out-Sourcing Learning Management Services:
The key upsides to Out-Sourcing LMS Services are lower internal capacity requirements [the converse of the costs/risks cited in the In-Sourcing discussion above] and the vendor’s responsibility to manage all software, hosting and administrative matters. For example, client server maintenance and downtime, software patches, upgrades and access security plus all functions relating to user course/curriculum access are managed. A hybrid out-sourcing alternative exists in which the course and curriculum functions are supported by client staff trained on the vendor system.
- Understanding of the LMS vendor’s services cost structure. Many vendors will charge per-user-course-access fees. For example, in addition to upfront vendor licensing fees, the activity of 100 users per year accessing 20 courses and tests at $5 per access would equal $10,000 in “user fees.” Best to read the fine print.
- Determine the degree of customization available – such as company logo on access pages, costs for reporting, timing of reporting, security protocols for UserID assignment (internal vs external staff), etc.
- Time for Training staff to learn how to upload courses, assign courses, create curriculums, enroll/manage users, manage gradebook and reporting in the vendor system. Make sure the vendor has sufficient training and/or help desk resources.
- Cost to acquire/build course content (SCORM complaint)
- Time to establish course and LMS organization naming conventions and user groups, upload courses, design curriculums, transfer student records, etc.
- Establish operational back-up – that is, people – within IT and Training who can respond when primary resources are unavailable, leave the company, etc.
Online Learning Management can be a significant asset to your business. Effective due diligence will enable you to accurately manage all cost and capacity elements while receiving and/or delivering expert Learning Management services.
How to Get Your Online Finance Education
Does a trip to the bank thrill you? Do you love it when payday comes and you can successfully manage your money? You may be interested in getting your financial degree. You can get your online finance education with just a few simple clicks of the mouse. You no longer have to go down to the campus and stand in line and register for classes. You do not need to attend orientation at the college or get into your cold vehicle in the winter time just to make it to class on time. If you have children at home you no longer need to leave them at a sitters’ house so you can go to college. You can be home with them while you are going to college at the same time.There are several colleges that offer online finance education. You can graduate with an associate degree in about two years or go on to get your bachelors degree in four years. You learn at your own pace, everyone does and when you take courses online you can learn at your own pace. Although there is a schedule to follow on courses online you will still be able to attend school when it is convenient for you. It may be after the kids go to bed, after dinner, before everyone gets up in the mornings, and so one. The perfect time to go to college really depends on you.Registration for online finance education is done completely online so you never have to leave your home to go to the college. You can choose whether you want to be a full time or part time college student. You can even qualify for grants and loans to help pay for your college.Before choosing a college you may want to make sure that you verify that the college is accredited. If you want your online finance education to count you will need to make sure that the college is accredited. If you are just taking the classes because you want to then you won’t need to verify this. There are several ways to check to see if a college is accredited but they should display this information in easy access on their website.Going back to school may seem overwhelming but you will find that it is going to be the best decision you have ever made. Working full time, raising your family, and going to college; you are living the dream.