Become a Business Professional By Studying A BA Degree

Do you want to build a career in business? Do you aspire to work in a leadership position? Then a career in business administration (BA) is just right for you. It will allow you to explore your skills and abilities and build a booming career in the world of business. Let's take a look....

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BA is a vast career area which includes a wide array of leadership and management roles. Every organisation, whether large or small, needs skilled and trained administrators to make operations more effective and accomplish business goals. If you are a self-motivated and organised individual, then you will surely succeed in powerful environments. As you will know how your business works and be able to deal with stress, you will be able to expand your business.

What is the role of a business administrator?

Being a BA professional you need to deal with day-to-day operations and implement long-term business plans. You will need to work as a leader and a manager by taking care of various aspects related to a business. You can surely find a wide range of career opportunities across different industries as administrators are required in each and every field. 

As a business administrator, you will need to - 

• Set & implement organisational & departmental policies, procedures & goals
• Manage and monitor the budgetary & financial activities in your organisation 
• Adopt new technologies effectively in the workplace
• Supervise general activities of the business related to products & services
• Approve and/or negotiate agreements & contracts
• Collaborate with other managers, board members and employees
• Evaluate sales reports & other financial statements
• Assign tasks to managers & department heads
• Find ways to reduce costs and boost performance, productivity & profits

What career options are available? 

As a business administration professional you can get an array of leadership, administrative and management roles in public, private and non-profit organisations. You can also opt to work as a operations manager, business analyst, marketing specialist or human resources generalist across industries. In fact, you can even choose to become an entrepreneur & start your own business.

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 You will have several employment options in business administration and numerous opportunities to create a thriving and lasting career. Here are some of the common job opportunities available to BA professionals-

• Chief financial officers
• Chief information officers
• Chief operating officers 
• Chief sustainability officers 
• General and operations managers

What do you need to start a BA career?

The fact is to start a BA career you will need to earn a recognised BA degree or diploma so that your prospective will know that you possess all the necessary skills and knowledge required for the job. However, studying a full time BA degree means a heavy investment of both time and money, resulting in a crippling student loan and a delayed start to your career. Is that what you want?

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 If you ask me, one of the best solutions available for you is to pursue an accredited online BA top up program. This will help you gain comprehensive knowledge and skills needed for strategic planning, managing personnel resources and organisational leadership. Moreover, you will also gain a clear understanding of how a business works which will empower you to guide your business towards success. Moreover, as online top up BA courses are highly flexible and affordable, you can easily opt to work and study at the same time without making your bank account empty.

One of the greatest benefits of studying a BA top up is that it will fast track your BA degree and advance you to the final year for an MBA programme from an associated degree. This will allow you to earn a higher qualification and further boost your employability. As you will be able to earn a business degree, you will surely get the best job opportunities in the field of business and build your dream career without any hassle. 

What do you think? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions with us by commenting below.

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How NSFAS Can Help ‘Missing Middle’ Students In South Africa

The value of higher education cannot be underplayed as it is essential not only for personal development, but also for overall economic growth in countries worldwide. Hence, every government make sure that it takes all the necessary steps to improve the state of higher education and make it accessible for everyone, whether rich or underprivileged.

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Perhaps, it is for this reason the Higher Education Department in South Africa is currently searching for helpful ways that will enable it to offer funding to learners who are from families with too much family income to become eligible for the NSFAS (National Student Financial Aid Scheme), but not adequate enough to financially support tertiary education. 

Funding ‘missing middle’ students

Dr. Blade Nzimande, Minister for Higher Education and Training in South Africa, recently spoke about the issue while speaking at a media meeting in Parliament to announce the appointment of Sizwe Nxasana, outgoing FirstRand CE, as the chairman of the scheme. He said that the problem could result in unwanted and corrupt practices at the financing sphere. The Higher Education Minister claimed that many students who are unable to meet the funding criteria of the scheme often look for fraudulent means to access it due to their desperation. 

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The high demand for education is currently overtaking the allocated cash meant for the education funding scheme, even though the government is providing more finance to it in the last 5 years. The scheme receives an adequate portion of the entire budget of the department, which is at around R39 billion for 2014-2015. From this amount, the state funding vehicle received about R9.5 billion and it is predicted that the amount will increase to R46.3 billion in 2017-2018. But the department is currently guessing that this evident funding gap in higher education, especially at university level, through the 2016 medium-term expenditure framework may be around R35 billion. 

Coping with challenges

However, the distribution of loans for the scheme’s has become the central reason for aggressive student protests in various college campuses across the nation in the past few years as a result of the lack of funding. According to Dr. Nzimande, the students who are considered the so-called “missing middle” are children whose family income is more than the benchmark of the scheme, presently set at R122,000 per year. These students realised they were trapped in a rather desperate situation. 

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He said “I have asked (the scheme) to look into this issue. I am told the report was submitted on Monday. It’s ... your ordinary civil servant. Your teacher, your nurse, your police (officer) who are earning slightly more than (R122,000).” More details about the report regarding how the “missing middle” students may receive funding will become available once further discussions are conducted with different government stakeholders.

Need for identifying corruption

The South African Higher Education Minister recently said that the department was unable to identify how widely corruption had spread across the scheme, “but we have a lot of anecdotal evidence.”

Dr. Nzimande added “We need to tap into that.... We hope that Mr Nxasana’s background is even more of an advantage, particularly to reach out to business to make additional contributions.”

What do you think? Add to the discussion by commenting here. We would love to hear from you. 

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Can An MBA Help You Achieve Your Career Goals?

Are you aspiring to be a manager? Or looking forward to move into leadership roles? Want to change your career field or planning to become a business owner? If you wish to move your career forward then an MBA can certainly provide an edge and help you accomplish your career goals faster and more easily. By studying an MBA you will get to develop various business & management skills, “like the fundamentals of finance and how it ties a business together,” according to Peter von Loesecke, CEO and managing director of The MBA Tour, which hosts various events worldwide.

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Why study MBA

Being an MBA student you will acquire comprehensive knowledge about various aspects of a business like marketing, finance, economics, business strategy, human resource management, ethics, that will better enable you to run an organisation successfully. Through a series of group projects, case studies, networking and even real world experiences you will develop the essential skills that will enhance your business perspective and acumen.

Von Loesecke said “An MBA will teach you to think holistically when solving problems. In today’s business world, you have to learn how to look at the influences, work in groups under pressure, make decisions, even when the facts aren’t clear, and be flexible enough to change those decisions when needed.”

Scott Shrum, director of MBA admissions at graduate school admissions consulting company Veritas Prep, said that an MBA “degree is designed to help you think more as a manager should - critically, strategically and globally. But one of the best reasons to get an MBA is the exposure you will gain to people from all different backgrounds and walks of life. Your network will grow and you’ll learn a lot. That exposure has lasting business value.”

Changing environment

However, if you think that earning an MBA degree means you will instantly land a high paying job with a swanky corner office then you might be expecting too much. Although it might have been true earlier, but after the last financial crisis the whole scenario has changed drastically.

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Von Loesecke said “Before 2001, companies would hire new MBA grads even without a defined slot for them. They’re more judicious about hiring now, and 'employability,’ plays a large part in getting into schools and getting hired afterward.” I should mention that here 'employability' refers to relevant work experience which most employers tend to value more these days than a college degree. Shrum added “We’ve been seeing a trend of education inflation for some time. Two generations ago, a college degree was impressive. A generation ago, a graduate degree was impressive. Now everyone has a bachelor’s degree and many people have graduate degrees.”

So is the MBA still worth it?

Shrum believes that it is. He added “Yes, it’s still a good career investment if you choose the right program, for the right reasons and have realistic expectations.” However, first you need to gain some work experience, he said. Shrum continued “Future employers want to know what you have done and accomplished. They’re looking for talent and results. If you go straight to grad school from college, you’ll lack real-world experience, yet still expect a higher MBA salary when you get out. That’s a mismatch in today’s job market.”

Then what should you do?

If you ask me, the answer is simple, yet effective. Nowadays, online top up MBA courses have gained immense popularity due to quality education, affordability, flexibility and the numerous benefits it offers to the learners. Moreover, with rising tuition fees at B-schools and universities across the globe, more and more aspiring managers are now opting for online MBA. But how does it help you?

Apart from the providing you excellent learning opportunities and a cost-effective way to earn a degree, these courses offer high levels of flexibility and convenience. Hence, you can opt to work and study simultaneously and gain relevant work experience in your preferred industry. As the content and materials are easily accessible and available online, you can choose to study at night, at your leisure or while you are on the go and still manage time to work a full time job. Earning a recognised top up MBA degree from a reputed university in UK will also help you to get better opportunities and boost your employability. Now most employers accept and recognise top up MBA from UK universities as these provide high quality business education and offer accredited qualifications.

So if you are gearing up for a lucrative career in business management and wish to climb up the career ladder without any hassles then it's time you get enrolled for an online MBA course.

What do you think? Feel free to share your views and opinions by commenting below. I would love to hear from you.

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Top 5 Emerging Online Educational Platforms for Africa

Amongst all the issues that Africa has to tackle , education is a stem concern which leads to poor development of the African Countries. Unavailability of proper educational resources and insufficient funding for higher education lead to the significant increase in the illiteracy rates and hence unemployment.

But with the onset of technological revolution into education, Africa has got a new boost. Recently the ICT conference in Johannesburg had big plans for African IT and Communication studies with corporates eager to invest into technology education.

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As we all are aware of the Africa civil and economic crisis, development in education will not be possible unless foreign investments are increased.

Online Education has definitely been a boon in disguise for the African students who wish to pursue higher education but the lack of resources drag them behind into illiteracy. 

Open University Uk , British Council, IBM, and other Technology Corporate of education and technology have leaded their hands to bring about technology and innovation into online learning and hence involve more and more of the students into higher education.

Here are few Online Learning Platforms designed and marketed in the African Nations to promote and sustain huge revolution in online education.

1. Sterio.me

As far the tag line goes "Homework on your mobile phone for teachers and their learners." It clears indicates that the students have no longer spend hours in their classrooms and like wise for the teachers who spent more than 20 hours of a week going through the classes and checking homeworks.

All they need to do is listen to the sterio of the pre-recorded lesson and then finish the assignments online and submit it. The App is so designed that the lesson sterio can also be played on the basic mobile phones.

Sterio.me founder and co-chief executive officer (CEO) Christopher Pruijsen says that Sterio.me aims to save teachers significant amounts of time by automating the homework preparation, distribution and marking process.

 This is a gaint leap for the mobile learning technology.

2. Rethink Education

It is an interactive online learning platform designed to help both teachers and learners using. The platform has a huge data base of powerpoint presentations and also interactive chat sessions on Maths, Natural Science, Physics and Chemistry. This online and mobile learning platform is convenient , cost effective and even allows the teachers and parents to monitor the students progress. Rethink Education currently only operates in South Africa, but sees Ghana and Nigeria as ideal targets for expansion due to similarities in the mathematics and science curricula in the three countries.

3. Ubongo

Ubongo online educational platform aims you in teaching children Mathematics through fun videos. Currently its operational in Tanzania, and allows participation via simple SMS. The videos hit more than 1.4 million viewers in Tanzania .

 

4. Youngsoul

As an initiative from the ICT conference , Youngsoul is the technology platform which produces e-learning software in the West African country and also improvises on the implementation of ICT in school level education. It aims to produce computer literate young Nigerian minds through VirtualClass. 

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The software tools contain animated videos, simulation exercises and teaching tools to enable Nigerian schools to meet the requirements of becoming ICT enhanced organisations. The tools are so designed that can help the teachers to closely evaluate the student progress at the individual level.

5. Obami

Obami came into existence in 2009 founded by Barbara Mallinson describes it as a “generic social network” and since then it had undergone various developments and has now finally relaunched as a profitable organisation providing a variety of educational solutions. Obami is the one stop solution for the students, teachers and parents, as well as governing bodies, NGOs, small businesses and corporates. It is available both on web and mobile versions.

All these educational platforms have been developed and marketed to help the government overcome the education challenges of Africa and hence increase its education standards to an international level.

 

What do you think? Feel free to share your thoughts and views with us by commenting below. We would love to hear from you.

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How You Can Get A Job In Microsoft With An Online IT Diploma

Do you dream of starting a career in IT? Want to work for the global leaders in the IT industry? How about landing a job at Microsoft? Yes...you can get employed as an IT professional at Microsoft provided you have the rights skills and knowledge. This is where a recognised information technology course can help you in boosting in employability and preparing for a career in the foremost IT firms. Take a look....

Build your career at Microsoft

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Microsoft is one of the leading multinational technology companies in the world that can take your IT career to new heights. Bill Gates became the richest person on the planet from a mere college dropout by working for this company. So there is no doubt that Microsoft can also help you to boost your professional and personal life. The fact is most of the employees in the company claim they have an ideal work-life balance, and they work passionately with different teams in an enhanced working environment.

But are there adequate opportunities with the company?

Yes! Recently, the technology giant invited Newcastle IT specialists Technology Services Group for their exclusive global advisory council. The council, consisting of only 27 official reseller partners worldwide, meets twice every year at the Seattle headquarters of Microsoft. Technology Services Group (TSG) is among the 2 businesses in UK who were offered a seat.

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 Paul Burns, National Technical Director at TSG, said“As one of the UK’s largest end to end IT solution resellers, this is huge news for TSG. The Global Partner Advisory Council gives us a great chance to talk to other large partners from around the world as well as to represent our customers directly in front of Microsoft. ”

Burns added “The council is the perfect platform to feedback to Microsoft what we see among products as working well or not for our customers. So we have an opportunity to influence the development and delivery of their products which will ultimately improve the experience for our customers.”

David Stonehouse CEO of TSG said “This recognition shows how Microsoft values TSG as a key partner with a suitably influential audience of good, mid-market sized businesses. Our envied status as a Microsoft partner demonstrates that we have the right breadth of experience and expertise across everything from Dynamics NAV and SharePoint to Office 365. This means that we’re perfectly aligned to support our customers’ investments in their IT strategies as they grow with us.”

Now it's your time

As you can see, there is a lot of opportunity for growth with Microsoft, whether

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you want to work with them as a partner or as an employee. But do you have what it takes to get a job in Microsoft? If you do not have a degree in computer science or a comprehensive understanding of coding, you can still take the right steps to prepare yourself for a lucrative career. How?

Simply opt for accredited information technology courses online as these will help you gain the necessary knowledge and skills required to build a thriving IT career. Pursuing a recognised online IT course from a reputed institute will enable you gain a comprehensive knowledge about IT and computing. Moreover, you will be able to acquire a recognised IT and computing pathway (Diploma + Top Up = Degree) , without the need for taking out heavy student loans.

However, the biggest advantage of computer information technology online courses is that these offer you high levels flexibility and convenience. Hence, you can easily opt to work a full time or part time job and gain relevant experience while you study. This will undoubtedly take you closer to your dream job with Microsoft.

The bottom line

There is no doubt that once you have gained the required knowledge and skills, you will surely be able to build your career in the IT industry the way you want to and give your career the boost it deserves.

What do you think? Feel free to share your thoughts and views with us by commenting below. We would love to hear from you.

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6 Excellent Tips For Doing An Internship Successfully

If you want to prepare yourself the best way possible for a lucrative career, then an internship can certainly help you to gain some excellent insight and experience in your preferred field. Internships are a great opportunity for you to learn how a business works and how you can apply your knowledge and skills in the real business world. Although it can be rather challenging in financial terms, but doing an internship in your chosen industry can be highly beneficial in the long run.

Louise Hodgson, Director of The Undergraduate Awards, wrote for Huffington Post “I did a year-long internship with a music magazine when I left college. I committed to working for peanuts for 12 months in order to follow my passion. To supplement the peanuts, I waitressed at night and at the weekends -- something I was used to doing throughout college anyway. In fact, it was one of the best years of my life, and I managed to secure a full-time role with the magazine at the end.”

She added “Now that The Undergraduate Awards runs a quarterly internship program, I see the advantages from the other angle. As an employer, internships allow me to find new talent at times when perhaps I wasn't looking for full-time members of staff.”

So if you are also planning for a summer internship, here 6 great tips that will help you to make the most out of it:

Select The Right Internship

Most students have a vague idea of what they wish to become and in what area they want to build their career. Internships are a great way to experiment with different fields and job roles. So it is essential you pick the right ones.

Start-Ups Are Great

Doing internships in start-ups will help you get adequate exposure and hands-on experience in business development. You will be involved in various types of tasks and bear multiple responsibilities to improve the business.

Get A Second Job

Let's face it...many businesses do not pay the interns; however, they make sure you gain the right experience and exposure for all the hard work you put in. Hence, it is often wise to get a second or an additional part-time job to supplement your earnings. You can find several part-time work opportunities online.

Create An Impression

Being an intern, you will participate in different meetings. This is where you need to make your impression by adding something valuable to the conversation. Make sure you offer some suggestions during brainstorming sessions and provide feedback when asked for. Your efforts will be noticed and appreciated by your employer.

Be Valuable

It is important that you stand out and become indispensable, if you wish to get a full time job with the company after your internship over. Hodgson wrote “Think of it like you're actually creating that full-time role. Could the company use social media more effectively? Can you help research contacts for the sales team? Can you carry out some vital market research? Volunteer to do tasks that will add as much value as possible.”

It Is Never Too Late

If you are planning for a career change or if you want to move to different job roles, then doing an internship can help you out a lot, irrespective of your age. Louise Hodgson wrote that she had a friend who, “when he got laid off his journalism job with a magazine, knew he could transfer his skills to the growing social media content sector. On the cusp of turning 30, he took an internship with a small digital agency. A tough choice at the time, but it really worked out for him; he was offered a full-time role and has quickly moved up the ranks to management.”

So there you have it...some excellent tips to get you started on your internship and to help you use your experience to your advantage. With the effort and contribution, you can assure a full time position at your company.

What do you think about internships? Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences with us by commenting below. We would love to hear from you.

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How students can cash in by playing the scholarship game?

Applying for scholarships is partially a numbers game. It is not only for excellent academic performances students are given scholarships, but also for sports and extra circular activities as well, starting from singing to dancing to snooker. Such as-the objective of most sports scholarships is to help students advance a sporting career. As part of these scholarships, coaching, training, sports medicine, and financial aid are usually on offer. 
 

To organize a successful scholarship campaign, the first thing required is a winning a scholarship game plan. The most swiftest mode of scoring that cash is by getting a very high score in undergraduate Grade Point Average (GPA) as well as Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) programmes that MBA program officials will fall all over themselves to register your name. It is meant for USA and also other international students aged 18 and above in all areas of study. Since being open to all areas of study, this US 5,000 dollars scholarship award must be used only for educational expenses. Thus, those students who can use their own value into scholarship cash is what makes them eminently desirable. 

Better to learn from the past scholarship winners

The best way to master the scholarship game is to learn from those who have played it well in the past. In fact, it is beneficial to interview past winners of scholarships you plan to enter and many scholarship contests will provide a list of the names of the past winners on request. So, on playing the scholarship game, it is very beneficial to have a roadmap of what a scholarship game plan takes to win.

Plan to apply as many scholarships as you want to

A major mistake which most of the students make is maximizing their chances of winning by pouring all of their energy into one or two scholarships. If you apply in more than two scholarships you can maximize your chances of winning the scholarship. Adding to it, winning smaller awards provides you with additional credentials that you can include in applications for larger scholarships. 

Low Score but high value 
 
Winning awards of lesser value provides additional credentials that can be

included in applications for larger scholarships. Recent studies have shown that in the recent years women have outshone boys most of the time. Hence, with women making up only 36% of business school applicants in the 2013 to 2014 academic year and the number of female applicants to two year MBA programmes reducing to 37% in the year2014 from 39% in 2013. Thus, Business school executives are very keen to register the names of female applicant.

 Make your school work count towards your scholarship search 

This method is not restricted only to classroom tasks. Many schools provide some kind of independent study credit where students can pursue their own project under the guidance of a mentor. At many schools, you can even use a class period during the day to pursue the given work. Use the time to complete self initiated projects that add to your academic record and enhance your chances of getting scholarships as well as college admission success. Moreover, teachers serves as a useful source of early feedback for these potential scholarship submissions.

Creating a suite of generic reusable materials 
 

While for many scholarships, you require to create a suite of generic recyclable materials that saves both time and energy. More than just a reduction in your work load, reusing and rethinking old materials means a huge improvement as you repeatedly revise and edit the same work. In order to generate this suite of generic materials, first aim for developing standard essay responses to everlasting scholarship application themes, like old favorites, career objectives, college plans and also future contributions to the society. You can also go back into your annal of old scholarship applications and try to reuse those old essays and other past materials. So, focus less time on finishing your application requirements and more on modifying the material you have already organized.

Want to add to the discussion? Feel free to share your thoughts with us by commenting below. WE would love to hear from you.

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