Trying to get into business school can be gruesome, and you’re not even guaranteed a spot on the consultancy firm you’re eyeing even if you graduate. The statistics are alarming: Wall Street has lost 34,000 jobs, and only fourteen percent of MBA graduates at the average business school secured consulting jobs last year (down from twenty-four percent five years ago). But getting into a top-rated business school might just get you that extra lift you badly need to get to the top yourself.
Getting into a business school is difficult, depending on your brains and your financial means. First, you need to think about what specific field you want to study. When you have done that, the next thing is to acquire a decent budget.
Remember–the top has its price, and it isn’t cheap.
After you’ve done that, try looking at their requirements; most of them have units in finance as prerequisites or require job experience (for graduate school). Preparing yourself for the interview is very helpful, as some of the top-rated business schools tend to accept students with better-developed personalities. State business schools are a way to go if you want a decent school without the “price over quality” tag some private business schools have. Some state-run schools are top rated, too, but admission is very competitive.
If you’re planning on entering a private business school, there are many to choose from. Try to research which field the school is known for and then weigh your options. A well-known name or a general reputation of a school may appear more than it actually is, so you have to be careful not to be deceived with this. A true top business school produces the best students; research the top executives running the big companies or those who own successful consultancy firms today and see which school they graduated from.
Once you’ve entered business school, you will find that the lessons are more realistic in a sense that the cases you study or are presented with are from actual situations in the corporate world. You might be embedded in a lot of research work for this and that can become overwhelming if you’re working part time. Don’t get fooled by Tom Cruise in “Risky Business”. These schools can be exhausting.
Another thing to check is the faculty and research facilities they have. How many books have the faculty published and how efficient are the laboratories and libraries? Scheduling for a campus tour must cover these things.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
International Business Case Study - How Would You Handle This Customer Counter Offer?
International Business Case: An Extreme Counter Offer
Dr. Ling, SingCast Cable's V.P. of Products, was in full control of the meeting. He sensed it was time to push for more concessions from CyberWave's negotiating team. CyberWave, the four year incumbent e-mail platform provider, had been very uncooperative in renegotiating the current contract. But with eWeb's (a Singapore start-up company) competitive offer on the table, Dr. Ling had a real opportunity to significantly cut his growing e-mail operational costs.
Dr. Ling looked directly at Mr. Hua, CyberWave's Sales Director, and stated in a quiet, gentle tone "Mr. Hua, we cannot afford any longer to supplement CyberWave's licensing fees for subscribers who sign up for free accounts. As you will see in the counter-proposal in front of you, we expect your company to charge nothing for these subscribers going forward, but of course we will pay for those subscribers who opt for a 'for fee' package."
Trying to mask his displeasure, Mr. Hua interjected "Dr. Ling, this is most difficult to comprehend."
Barely pausing, Dr. Ling did not respond and continued, "We are also leaning towards outsourcing the entire e-mail hosting operations to the selected vendor. We expect 'all' operational and technical costs to be included: hardware and software, telecommunications bandwidth, and any direct or indirect costs associated with the migration of the subscribers to the selected vendor's facility. Furthermore, we we will go through a formal RFP process if we cannot reach a mutual agreement that meets our satisfaction."
Dr. Ling glanced at the only American in the room. He was surprised that Mr. Hua's manager had not reacted. He knew he was asking for a lot, but it was his job to ask for as much as possible. Dr. Ling knew that incumbent vendors detested formal RFP's. He really did not have the time to orchestrate the RFP process, but he would do so if he thought he could put more pressure on CyberWave to lower their prices. For all he knew, CyberWave might just be desperate enough to agree.
Dr. Ling continued, "Mr. Hua, I am sure you are aware that a new vendor has emerged -- eWeb. They have crafted a very creative business proposition that many within our company view as a long-term business commitment. Obviously I am not at liberty to provide you with the details of their proposal, but I would encourage you to be very creative and aggressive with your business model. We are looking to award this contract for a three year term."
Dr.Ling was not sure how is subtle threat would be received. He liked CyberWave's technology and their ingenuity, but he thought that they were starting to take his business for granted.
He continued, "CyberWave and SingCast have had a good business relationship over the last four years. But as discussed in our last meeting, SingCast feels that your company has not been proactive enough in finding a business model to lower our total cost of ownership. If you value our business, now is the time to demonstrate your commitment."
Patrick Wilson, the American and Mr. Hua's manager, could not believe what he was hearing. Patrick could not remember the last time he heard such an "extreme" opening position for a contract re-negotiation with a customer. Threats, massive price concessions, and a competitive RFP was a lot to digest. It took all of his mental strength to refrain from interrupting, but today he was going to take his cues from Mr. Hua. Since Mr. Hua remained stone faced, he did the same. This was Patrick's second trip to Singapore. After twelve years of selling globally, he knew better than to let his "American emotion" take control of his tongue. Instead of talking, he decided to write Dr. Ling's points down on his note pad. He wrote:
SingCast Counter:
1. Charge nothing for any new subscriber that does not sign up for a "for fee" account
* Reaction - Ridiculous! We have no control of "how" SingCast charges for their packages. Whether they charge or not, a subscriber is using our software, we need to get paid.
2. Outsource entire e-mail operations
*Reaction - Could be a great opportunity to generate new fees and leverage services from a 3rd party outsourced sub-contractor
3. Outsourcing costs would have to include: hardware and software costs, monthly telecommunications bandwidth costs, and all costs associated with the migration of the consumer accounts
* Reaction - Need more fact finding. A model like this has revenue potential, but many risks (we could financially lose our shirts). Not sure how we would account for and control bandwidth costs
4. eWeb is the competitive vendor - Is Dr. Ling threatening us?
* Reaction - Very scary! The CEO, James Li, is an ex-CyberWave VP of Engineering. James was with the company for three years and was responsible for the e-mail solution product development. He took three of the best developers with him to start the company in Singapore.
* James knows our product inside and out and if he has built a new product - it is probably very good.
5. Three year term for the contract. Looking for a new business model that lowers total cost of ownership
* Reaction - Since he said new, probably safe to assume that we have to change all of our pricing terms and the model.
SingCast was Singapore's number two market share broadband vendor. After only two years from receiving its government license to offer consumer services, SingCast was on pace to surpass MediaOne, the market share leader for broadband connectivity and consumer e-mail subscribers. SingCast's multi-million dollar bet of wiring fiber-optic cable directly to consumers' homes was paying off. Consumers in droves were cutting the cord with MediaOne, primarily due to its poor customer service, high prices, and aging technology infrastructure. SingCast's stock was hot, up 42% in 9 months. The shareholders were pleased with SingCast's new strategic emphasis on consumers versus its previous strategy of primarily targeting enterprises.
Dr. Ling was uncomfortable with all of the praise and attention he was rec
eiving. He was the visionary leader who convinced SingCast's CEO and board to bet big on wiring the fiber-optic cable directly to consumers' homes. But with the corporate success, two significant challenges were emerging. First, SingCast's server farm was not keeping pace with subscriber growth as SingCast underestimated just how popular their solution would be with the Singapore consumers. Second, the initial contract pricing model with CyberWave was netting CyberWave millions of dollars of licensing fees for "new" subscribers who could sign up for the SingCast service for free.
Dr. Ling knew early in the project that the licensing fees paid to CyberWave could become a financial issue, but he lost the argument with the marketing department. They were adamant that the only way to get MediaOne subscribers to change vendors was to offer "free" accounts. Hence, hundreds of thousands of subscribers had converted their basic personal email account, but less than the predicted amount opted for the "for fee" packages. To the financial markets and shareholders, the appearance of all these new subscribers was a positive, but in reality SingCast profit margins on these subscribers was very small and the cost of acquisition very high.
Case Questions:
1. Construct two possible reactions to Dr. Ling's opening offer and support each with pro's and con's of each reaction.
i. List new possible pricing models.
ii. List ideas to control costs.
iii.Suggest new ideas for Dr. Ling to propose to the marketing department regarding SingCast product packages.
2. List two possible approaches in dealing with eWeb Wizard and support each with pro's and con's.
3. List any relevant issues that may pertain to this customer being in Singapore.
Dr. Ling, SingCast Cable's V.P. of Products, was in full control of the meeting. He sensed it was time to push for more concessions from CyberWave's negotiating team. CyberWave, the four year incumbent e-mail platform provider, had been very uncooperative in renegotiating the current contract. But with eWeb's (a Singapore start-up company) competitive offer on the table, Dr. Ling had a real opportunity to significantly cut his growing e-mail operational costs.
Dr. Ling looked directly at Mr. Hua, CyberWave's Sales Director, and stated in a quiet, gentle tone "Mr. Hua, we cannot afford any longer to supplement CyberWave's licensing fees for subscribers who sign up for free accounts. As you will see in the counter-proposal in front of you, we expect your company to charge nothing for these subscribers going forward, but of course we will pay for those subscribers who opt for a 'for fee' package."
Trying to mask his displeasure, Mr. Hua interjected "Dr. Ling, this is most difficult to comprehend."
Barely pausing, Dr. Ling did not respond and continued, "We are also leaning towards outsourcing the entire e-mail hosting operations to the selected vendor. We expect 'all' operational and technical costs to be included: hardware and software, telecommunications bandwidth, and any direct or indirect costs associated with the migration of the subscribers to the selected vendor's facility. Furthermore, we we will go through a formal RFP process if we cannot reach a mutual agreement that meets our satisfaction."
Dr. Ling glanced at the only American in the room. He was surprised that Mr. Hua's manager had not reacted. He knew he was asking for a lot, but it was his job to ask for as much as possible. Dr. Ling knew that incumbent vendors detested formal RFP's. He really did not have the time to orchestrate the RFP process, but he would do so if he thought he could put more pressure on CyberWave to lower their prices. For all he knew, CyberWave might just be desperate enough to agree.
Dr. Ling continued, "Mr. Hua, I am sure you are aware that a new vendor has emerged -- eWeb. They have crafted a very creative business proposition that many within our company view as a long-term business commitment. Obviously I am not at liberty to provide you with the details of their proposal, but I would encourage you to be very creative and aggressive with your business model. We are looking to award this contract for a three year term."
Dr.Ling was not sure how is subtle threat would be received. He liked CyberWave's technology and their ingenuity, but he thought that they were starting to take his business for granted.
He continued, "CyberWave and SingCast have had a good business relationship over the last four years. But as discussed in our last meeting, SingCast feels that your company has not been proactive enough in finding a business model to lower our total cost of ownership. If you value our business, now is the time to demonstrate your commitment."
Patrick Wilson, the American and Mr. Hua's manager, could not believe what he was hearing. Patrick could not remember the last time he heard such an "extreme" opening position for a contract re-negotiation with a customer. Threats, massive price concessions, and a competitive RFP was a lot to digest. It took all of his mental strength to refrain from interrupting, but today he was going to take his cues from Mr. Hua. Since Mr. Hua remained stone faced, he did the same. This was Patrick's second trip to Singapore. After twelve years of selling globally, he knew better than to let his "American emotion" take control of his tongue. Instead of talking, he decided to write Dr. Ling's points down on his note pad. He wrote:
SingCast Counter:
1. Charge nothing for any new subscriber that does not sign up for a "for fee" account
* Reaction - Ridiculous! We have no control of "how" SingCast charges for their packages. Whether they charge or not, a subscriber is using our software, we need to get paid.
2. Outsource entire e-mail operations
*Reaction - Could be a great opportunity to generate new fees and leverage services from a 3rd party outsourced sub-contractor
3. Outsourcing costs would have to include: hardware and software costs, monthly telecommunications bandwidth costs, and all costs associated with the migration of the consumer accounts
* Reaction - Need more fact finding. A model like this has revenue potential, but many risks (we could financially lose our shirts). Not sure how we would account for and control bandwidth costs
4. eWeb is the competitive vendor - Is Dr. Ling threatening us?
* Reaction - Very scary! The CEO, James Li, is an ex-CyberWave VP of Engineering. James was with the company for three years and was responsible for the e-mail solution product development. He took three of the best developers with him to start the company in Singapore.
* James knows our product inside and out and if he has built a new product - it is probably very good.
5. Three year term for the contract. Looking for a new business model that lowers total cost of ownership
* Reaction - Since he said new, probably safe to assume that we have to change all of our pricing terms and the model.
SingCast was Singapore's number two market share broadband vendor. After only two years from receiving its government license to offer consumer services, SingCast was on pace to surpass MediaOne, the market share leader for broadband connectivity and consumer e-mail subscribers. SingCast's multi-million dollar bet of wiring fiber-optic cable directly to consumers' homes was paying off. Consumers in droves were cutting the cord with MediaOne, primarily due to its poor customer service, high prices, and aging technology infrastructure. SingCast's stock was hot, up 42% in 9 months. The shareholders were pleased with SingCast's new strategic emphasis on consumers versus its previous strategy of primarily targeting enterprises.
Dr. Ling was uncomfortable with all of the praise and attention he was rec
eiving. He was the visionary leader who convinced SingCast's CEO and board to bet big on wiring the fiber-optic cable directly to consumers' homes. But with the corporate success, two significant challenges were emerging. First, SingCast's server farm was not keeping pace with subscriber growth as SingCast underestimated just how popular their solution would be with the Singapore consumers. Second, the initial contract pricing model with CyberWave was netting CyberWave millions of dollars of licensing fees for "new" subscribers who could sign up for the SingCast service for free.
Dr. Ling knew early in the project that the licensing fees paid to CyberWave could become a financial issue, but he lost the argument with the marketing department. They were adamant that the only way to get MediaOne subscribers to change vendors was to offer "free" accounts. Hence, hundreds of thousands of subscribers had converted their basic personal email account, but less than the predicted amount opted for the "for fee" packages. To the financial markets and shareholders, the appearance of all these new subscribers was a positive, but in reality SingCast profit margins on these subscribers was very small and the cost of acquisition very high.
Case Questions:
1. Construct two possible reactions to Dr. Ling's opening offer and support each with pro's and con's of each reaction.
i. List new possible pricing models.
ii. List ideas to control costs.
iii.Suggest new ideas for Dr. Ling to propose to the marketing department regarding SingCast product packages.
2. List two possible approaches in dealing with eWeb Wizard and support each with pro's and con's.
3. List any relevant issues that may pertain to this customer being in Singapore.
Benefits of Doing An Online PhD Course
Any university degree is worth having, even more so are the advanced degrees such as the PhD's because these sort of degrees certify you as an authority in any field which you decide to specialize in. These fields may vary in nature but if you have a PhD you tend to set yourself apart from the rest in your field and increase your capacity for potential and future earnings. Few people can boast of having a PhD degree with no employment or career prospects as an advanced degree almost always guarantees some better form of career placement. This career placement better positions you in any career or occupation where you decide to place yourself.
PhD's aren't all about career advancement and earning a bigger paycheck. In any field which you choose to get your PhD, there will be specialists imbued with such knowledge who can help you by telling you more about what you need to know in your field of learning. The level of knowledge that you get will also help you in deciding how best to proceed with any future career prospects. Sometimes in different work scenarios we need some differentiation between others who have more or less the same skills and capabilities that we possess. By getting and additional degree you give yourself an edge over other people.
There are different places where an individual can get a PhD degree. You can enroll in an institution of higher learning for such purposes. These institutions of higher learning have different faculties and different courses which you can enroll in all in order to get the knowledge that you desire. Most people however have problems with finding a university to enroll in, in their immediate neighborhoods, part of the reasons limiting their ability to enroll for these programs is largely due to their employment constraints.
For people who have these constraints in terms of getting the education that they need, they can easily enroll for higher learning courses online. Enrolling for these courses online will give you the ability to get your degree flexibly. All you have to do is have an internet connection and a computer with which to download your course material where you will. You can also submit your assignments and any project material that you have to submit through these same means. Attendance at the physical campuses of most online institutions is hardly necessary. You can get your degree while you're at home or in the office, it's all up to you.
There are different benefits to getting a PhD degree online; these different benefits include the flexibility in terms of scheduling and the cost issues. Getting a PhD online is cheaper than getting the degree by physically attending the institution. You save money from everything from the costs of tuition to the money you also save on transportation visiting one institution of higher learning or the other. Most schools also require that people physically attending courses in such institutions pay fees and dues for other unnecessary activities. As an individual taking a degree online you are usually exempted from auxiliary fees dues and other unnecessary payments that you'd have to make.
PhD's aren't all about career advancement and earning a bigger paycheck. In any field which you choose to get your PhD, there will be specialists imbued with such knowledge who can help you by telling you more about what you need to know in your field of learning. The level of knowledge that you get will also help you in deciding how best to proceed with any future career prospects. Sometimes in different work scenarios we need some differentiation between others who have more or less the same skills and capabilities that we possess. By getting and additional degree you give yourself an edge over other people.
There are different places where an individual can get a PhD degree. You can enroll in an institution of higher learning for such purposes. These institutions of higher learning have different faculties and different courses which you can enroll in all in order to get the knowledge that you desire. Most people however have problems with finding a university to enroll in, in their immediate neighborhoods, part of the reasons limiting their ability to enroll for these programs is largely due to their employment constraints.
For people who have these constraints in terms of getting the education that they need, they can easily enroll for higher learning courses online. Enrolling for these courses online will give you the ability to get your degree flexibly. All you have to do is have an internet connection and a computer with which to download your course material where you will. You can also submit your assignments and any project material that you have to submit through these same means. Attendance at the physical campuses of most online institutions is hardly necessary. You can get your degree while you're at home or in the office, it's all up to you.
There are different benefits to getting a PhD degree online; these different benefits include the flexibility in terms of scheduling and the cost issues. Getting a PhD online is cheaper than getting the degree by physically attending the institution. You save money from everything from the costs of tuition to the money you also save on transportation visiting one institution of higher learning or the other. Most schools also require that people physically attending courses in such institutions pay fees and dues for other unnecessary activities. As an individual taking a degree online you are usually exempted from auxiliary fees dues and other unnecessary payments that you'd have to make.
Wealth Masters International - Work From Home Business
Wealth Masters International was founded by CEO Kip Herriage in 2005. Kip has an extensive background in finance and worked for Wall Street for a total of 15 years, before starting his Internet marketing business. His colleague Karl Bessey and President of Wealth Masters International comes from a Multi Level Marketing (MLM) background.
Wealth Masters International offers their members to join the business at the following three different levels/courses.
Masters 1) Would cost $1495 to join. (No Pass Up Sales)
Masters 2) Would cost $8495 to join. (No Pass Up Sales)
Masters 3) Would cost $12,995 to join. (No Pass Up Sales)
You are not required to purchase one of the Masters levels to become a member/consultant with Wealth Masters International. They do have the option of joining for $149, which would make you a member/consultant on a yearly membership basis. However, if you decide to join at this level you would be required to pass up your first three sales to your sponsor, before you are fully qualified. After the third sale you would receive full commission on your sales.
Wealth Masters International offers the following personal development products: Education for family members, How to incorporate your business, How to repair your credit and gain great credit scores.
In conclusion, you have the potential of making decent money with this company, but it would initially be an investment for many, unless you are willing to come in at $149. However, then you would have to pass up your first three sales. This was the first reason why I decided not to join. In addition, the products are not available online, they would need to be sent through the mail which means they are not available instantly upon purchase. This was the second reason why I decided not to join. I believe in this day and age all Internet businesses should be 100% automated when purchasing products.
Wealth Masters International offers their members to join the business at the following three different levels/courses.
Masters 1) Would cost $1495 to join. (No Pass Up Sales)
Masters 2) Would cost $8495 to join. (No Pass Up Sales)
Masters 3) Would cost $12,995 to join. (No Pass Up Sales)
You are not required to purchase one of the Masters levels to become a member/consultant with Wealth Masters International. They do have the option of joining for $149, which would make you a member/consultant on a yearly membership basis. However, if you decide to join at this level you would be required to pass up your first three sales to your sponsor, before you are fully qualified. After the third sale you would receive full commission on your sales.
Wealth Masters International offers the following personal development products: Education for family members, How to incorporate your business, How to repair your credit and gain great credit scores.
In conclusion, you have the potential of making decent money with this company, but it would initially be an investment for many, unless you are willing to come in at $149. However, then you would have to pass up your first three sales. This was the first reason why I decided not to join. In addition, the products are not available online, they would need to be sent through the mail which means they are not available instantly upon purchase. This was the second reason why I decided not to join. I believe in this day and age all Internet businesses should be 100% automated when purchasing products.
International Business Education Is Key to Global Success
Gain the leading edge by attaining an education in International Business! Today's global market is exploding with diverse and multicultural commercial and private industries; the more skills you can acquire to meet these growing demands, the better your chances to succeed. Some good training in International Business (Global Business) could be the key to your success.
Many business schools offer International Business training as a specialty. Students can find opportunities to earn professional certifications or business degrees with emphasis in Business Administration, Marketing, Economics, Finance, and even Human Resources. A common prerequisite for enrollment includes proficiency in a foreign language; in addition to possible studies abroad.
A good education imparts working knowledge of global business operations. Classes can include a diverse curriculum that encompasses International Business and Principles, Multicultural Business Protocols, foreign language courses (E.g., French, German, Spanish, etc.), Global Issues, International Macroeconomics, and Relative Economics. Additional classes may also include International Financial Management, and Marketing and Information Technology, just to name a few.
With a college degree in International Business, graduates are qualified for professional careers such as International Affairs Directing or Sales Management, Global Market Research Analysis, International Information Technology, Global Communications, and many other related fields. (Occupations and earnings will vary, depending on level of education and experience.)
If you are ready to enter the diverse field of Global Business as an educated professional, take a moment now to contact vocational schools, colleges or universities on our website that offer courses in International Business.
DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERAL OVERVIEW and may or may not reflect specific practices, courses and/or services associated with ANY ONE particular school(s) that is or is not advertised on our website.
Copyright 2008 - All rights reserved by Media Positive Communications, Inc.
Notice: Publishers are free to use this article on an ezine or website, provided the article is reprinted in its entirety, including copyright and disclaimer, and ALL links remain intact and active.
Many business schools offer International Business training as a specialty. Students can find opportunities to earn professional certifications or business degrees with emphasis in Business Administration, Marketing, Economics, Finance, and even Human Resources. A common prerequisite for enrollment includes proficiency in a foreign language; in addition to possible studies abroad.
A good education imparts working knowledge of global business operations. Classes can include a diverse curriculum that encompasses International Business and Principles, Multicultural Business Protocols, foreign language courses (E.g., French, German, Spanish, etc.), Global Issues, International Macroeconomics, and Relative Economics. Additional classes may also include International Financial Management, and Marketing and Information Technology, just to name a few.
With a college degree in International Business, graduates are qualified for professional careers such as International Affairs Directing or Sales Management, Global Market Research Analysis, International Information Technology, Global Communications, and many other related fields. (Occupations and earnings will vary, depending on level of education and experience.)
If you are ready to enter the diverse field of Global Business as an educated professional, take a moment now to contact vocational schools, colleges or universities on our website that offer courses in International Business.
DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERAL OVERVIEW and may or may not reflect specific practices, courses and/or services associated with ANY ONE particular school(s) that is or is not advertised on our website.
Copyright 2008 - All rights reserved by Media Positive Communications, Inc.
Notice: Publishers are free to use this article on an ezine or website, provided the article is reprinted in its entirety, including copyright and disclaimer, and ALL links remain intact and active.
International Business Education Is Key to Global Success
Gain the leading edge by attaining an education in International Business! Today's global market is exploding with diverse and multicultural commercial and private industries; the more skills you can acquire to meet these growing demands, the better your chances to succeed. Some good training in International Business (Global Business) could be the key to your success.
Many business schools offer International Business training as a specialty. Students can find opportunities to earn professional certifications or business degrees with emphasis in Business Administration, Marketing, Economics, Finance, and even Human Resources. A common prerequisite for enrollment includes proficiency in a foreign language; in addition to possible studies abroad.
A good education imparts working knowledge of global business operations. Classes can include a diverse curriculum that encompasses International Business and Principles, Multicultural Business Protocols, foreign language courses (E.g., French, German, Spanish, etc.), Global Issues, International Macroeconomics, and Relative Economics. Additional classes may also include International Financial Management, and Marketing and Information Technology, just to name a few.
With a college degree in International Business, graduates are qualified for professional careers such as International Affairs Directing or Sales Management, Global Market Research Analysis, International Information Technology, Global Communications, and many other related fields. (Occupations and earnings will vary, depending on level of education and experience.)
If you are ready to enter the diverse field of Global Business as an educated professional, take a moment now to contact vocational schools, colleges or universities on our website that offer courses in International Business.
DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERAL OVERVIEW and may or may not reflect specific practices, courses and/or services associated with ANY ONE particular school(s) that is or is not advertised on our website.
Copyright 2008 - All rights reserved by Media Positive Communications, Inc.
Notice: Publishers are free to use this article on an ezine or website, provided the article is reprinted in its entirety, including copyright and disclaimer, and ALL links remain intact and active.
Many business schools offer International Business training as a specialty. Students can find opportunities to earn professional certifications or business degrees with emphasis in Business Administration, Marketing, Economics, Finance, and even Human Resources. A common prerequisite for enrollment includes proficiency in a foreign language; in addition to possible studies abroad.
A good education imparts working knowledge of global business operations. Classes can include a diverse curriculum that encompasses International Business and Principles, Multicultural Business Protocols, foreign language courses (E.g., French, German, Spanish, etc.), Global Issues, International Macroeconomics, and Relative Economics. Additional classes may also include International Financial Management, and Marketing and Information Technology, just to name a few.
With a college degree in International Business, graduates are qualified for professional careers such as International Affairs Directing or Sales Management, Global Market Research Analysis, International Information Technology, Global Communications, and many other related fields. (Occupations and earnings will vary, depending on level of education and experience.)
If you are ready to enter the diverse field of Global Business as an educated professional, take a moment now to contact vocational schools, colleges or universities on our website that offer courses in International Business.
DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERAL OVERVIEW and may or may not reflect specific practices, courses and/or services associated with ANY ONE particular school(s) that is or is not advertised on our website.
Copyright 2008 - All rights reserved by Media Positive Communications, Inc.
Notice: Publishers are free to use this article on an ezine or website, provided the article is reprinted in its entirety, including copyright and disclaimer, and ALL links remain intact and active.
Get Higher Organic Rankings With Less Effort - Focus On the Major Ranking Factors
Got a website? Not enough visitors? Ready to rank higher on the major search engines but don't know how to do it? This article is for you -- we'll have a look at the basics of optimization for the major search engines, covering the key points for getting better rankings naturally for your site. Enough reading countless blog postings by folks simply speculating on search algorithms (I know, I've spent countless hours doing it myself, to no avail!) Statistical analysis of the major ranking factors used by the search engines has been performed -- there's no reason to do more. The factors and their weighting have remained relatively constant for years. Focus on these important points, then spend your efforts building a better, more attractive, more easily navigated, more informative website -- for once these visitors actually arrive, you'll want them to enjoy themselves while they're buying you out.
Let's start with the all important formula, the 40:40:20 ratio. Through statistical analysis of thousands of sites, these numbers appear to be fairly accurate across the major search portals: 40% of rankings are a result of 'on-page' factors, 40% a result of off-page factors (backlinks and same site links), and 20% a result of the page URL (the exact percentages vary slightly between engines). The beauty of this is data is the resultant simplicity of the approach to achieve better search results for your important keywords. Keep your eye on the ball, work diligently on each factor, and results will come. For the small business owner with a web presence (either as a primary sales channel or component to a larger advertising strategy) there is certainly always work to do. With discipline and focus, one can become efficient in their search engine ranking efforts.
First, on-page factors: Get your keywords in all the right places, with the right density, for each important page on your site. (Don't know about keyword development yet? Use seobook.com's keyword tool, and see what people are typing in to all the major engines. For example, a site owner that sells aromatherapy products might type in 'aromatherapy' or 'essential oils' -- the tool will return all the permutations of those terms. Develop pages following the 40:40:20 formula for each of the terms that you can, focusing on one or two keyword or keyword phrases per page -- more than that is self-defeating, diluting your efforts; make a new page instead.) So what are the right places and right density? Get the keyword in the title tag, the description tag and the keywords tag. DO NOT STUFF these tags, be elegant and think about your reader. Experience has shown minor variations to be insignificant in terms of rankings, and more often than not, it seems folks go overboard with their keywords. As often as you might think, "I'll add it in just one more place on the page", it might be helpful to always consider the possibility that one LESS time might improve your rankings too.
Let's look at the latest data for the 'sweet spots' for on-page ranking factors. A 10 to 20% density keyword density for the tile, 10% for both the meta keywords description is optimal. The keyword at or toward the beginning of each of these is optimal, but not necessary. What's this mean? If we use the term 'essential oils' again, an optimal title tag might be 'Pure Essential Oils and Accessories for Natural Health Professionals'. The keyword list would be ten to twenty words, comma separated, with the most important words at the beginning, and ALL words should appear in the body text of the page. The description can be (but doesn't have to) a well written, attention grabbing sentence -- it will likely be displayed in the organic search results, so you'll want it to be both SEO and customer friendly. Again, 20 or so words, keyword near or at the beginning. Keyword can appear twice, but no more than that. Body text: 1000 words or so (+/- a couple hundred), with a 2% keyword density, and the keyword (or words) appearing near the beginning, in the middle, and near the end of the page code (not just the output text). There are tons of density analyzers on the web -- pick one, focus on the body text number and ignore the rest. You'll get a lot of conflicting reports from various sites -- this can be confusing, misleading, and can can make you think you've got to go re-tweak other factors. Don't. You'll spend hours optimizing for that tool, only to find the next tool gives a different answer. Use the numbers here and move on.
Briefly, other notable on-page factors are image alt tags, H1-H6 tags, bold and italic text, and the number of outgoing (inter and intra site) links. Here's the scoop: Alt tags matter. Get your keywords in them, but don't overdo it. Don't use H tags, as according to the data, they'll bring your rankings down. Use bold and italics if it suits the design and readability of your site; they may be a positive factor, but not a huge one, and don't stuff your keywords in them. The higher the number of links on a page, the better. One hundred links seems optimal, but don't sweat it. Always keep in mind that usability and aesthetics are crucial too. Having javascript on the page appears to be a positive ranking factor. Finally, page size (all the text, minus the images) is optimal at 50-60k. This number is shown adjacent to the page in search results. A note on on-page code in general, a balance is important -- the search engines don't care what your page looks like from a design standpoint, they only see the code. But your customers do. And while data is not available, it is more than likely the major search portals are noticing how long a visitor stays on the page, recording whether they return to the search results to find another page. Strive to make your site clean, useful and engaging -- this will pay off in more ways than one.
Off page factors -- these include links from within your site and 'backlinks' from other websites. You MUST get backlinks to rank well, and it's probably the most challenging of all search engine optimization to do. You'll need to continuously acquire backlinks, or your rankings will stagnate, or even slowly drop. Optimally, you'll get a few links a day, with a steady increase in the total number. The two most often used routes are link exchange (asking for links from other sites, and putting their links on your site in exchange) or article distribution. There's lots of information on the web about exchanging links, read some, develop a plan and stick to it. Once you've got a system in place, you'll likely be able to hire someone to help you. Article distribution is another matter. Articles should really be quality, readable, helpful information for prospective customers. You'll get to post links within the author resource box, which serves both as an enticement for readers to visit your site, a means to give credibility to your internet business, plus search engines will also see these links and use them in their ranking algorithm. An effective linking program will utilize both these link sources.
Remember, it's not the total number of links, but a consistently increasing number that has the greatest long-term results. Don't start a scheme that will give you 1000 links in one day, then none for the next month, or links that will slowly disappear -- this can do more harm than good.
Some caveats about links -- links from within your own site should be text links with the keyword in the link. So the Aromatherapy site would use 'essential oils' in all the links to their essential oils page. Off-site links should also use keywords in text links, but not always the same words. Mix it up. Here, for example, some of backlink text examples would be 'pure essential oils', 'organic essential oils', 'aromatherapy essential oil', and 'essential oils'. Further, about 30% of your links should just include the webpage address, like 'www.johnnysessentialoils.com' or 'www.bestbathproducts.com/essentialoils.php This helps your backlinks appear naturally created, rather than machine made search engine spider spam. A final note on backlinks, all pages that link to yours are not weighted equally. The older and more relevant the page, the more weight your link will garner. If your site is selling essential oils, links from a natural health website will likely be more beneficial than those from a poker website.
With that we'll describe the last 20%: the URL. Web pages with the keywords in the address, be it the homepage or any other page on the site, rank better. If the If you're just starting a site, getting your primary kewords in the url is useful. If not, and it makes sense to do so, use keywords in the filename like www.homepage.com/essentialoilspage1.html. Again, it appears better if the file does not have only the keywords in it, like the title and meta tags. If you already have pages without keywords in the filenames, you could create new ones and create a 301 redirect from the old ones to maintain any ranking status the 'old' pages had. Hyphens are still questionable, and are probably not needed. Short filenames and shallow directory structures appear best.
Some last remarks: A page's age means something. If you want to change a filename to include keywords in it, always employ a 301 redirect if the page has been indexed already -- do a little research to get this right. Search engine ranking change constantly, and some engines are quicker to appreciate your optimization efforts than others. Be patient -- it can take months to see results if the site is new, and sometimes weeks otherwise. Don't think you made a mistake just because nothing happened the first time a spider visited your new page. Keep working on your accumulation of backlinks; you probably have lots of pages targeting various keywords you can get links for. More optimal could mean higher quality -- the engines continually get smarter, and may be keeping track of how long visitors linger on your page versus your competitors. This leads us to the final important note -- visitors are only one part of the equation. A well-designed site, product mix and pricing, and customer service all play key roles in the health of your business.
Let's start with the all important formula, the 40:40:20 ratio. Through statistical analysis of thousands of sites, these numbers appear to be fairly accurate across the major search portals: 40% of rankings are a result of 'on-page' factors, 40% a result of off-page factors (backlinks and same site links), and 20% a result of the page URL (the exact percentages vary slightly between engines). The beauty of this is data is the resultant simplicity of the approach to achieve better search results for your important keywords. Keep your eye on the ball, work diligently on each factor, and results will come. For the small business owner with a web presence (either as a primary sales channel or component to a larger advertising strategy) there is certainly always work to do. With discipline and focus, one can become efficient in their search engine ranking efforts.
First, on-page factors: Get your keywords in all the right places, with the right density, for each important page on your site. (Don't know about keyword development yet? Use seobook.com's keyword tool, and see what people are typing in to all the major engines. For example, a site owner that sells aromatherapy products might type in 'aromatherapy' or 'essential oils' -- the tool will return all the permutations of those terms. Develop pages following the 40:40:20 formula for each of the terms that you can, focusing on one or two keyword or keyword phrases per page -- more than that is self-defeating, diluting your efforts; make a new page instead.) So what are the right places and right density? Get the keyword in the title tag, the description tag and the keywords tag. DO NOT STUFF these tags, be elegant and think about your reader. Experience has shown minor variations to be insignificant in terms of rankings, and more often than not, it seems folks go overboard with their keywords. As often as you might think, "I'll add it in just one more place on the page", it might be helpful to always consider the possibility that one LESS time might improve your rankings too.
Let's look at the latest data for the 'sweet spots' for on-page ranking factors. A 10 to 20% density keyword density for the tile, 10% for both the meta keywords description is optimal. The keyword at or toward the beginning of each of these is optimal, but not necessary. What's this mean? If we use the term 'essential oils' again, an optimal title tag might be 'Pure Essential Oils and Accessories for Natural Health Professionals'. The keyword list would be ten to twenty words, comma separated, with the most important words at the beginning, and ALL words should appear in the body text of the page. The description can be (but doesn't have to) a well written, attention grabbing sentence -- it will likely be displayed in the organic search results, so you'll want it to be both SEO and customer friendly. Again, 20 or so words, keyword near or at the beginning. Keyword can appear twice, but no more than that. Body text: 1000 words or so (+/- a couple hundred), with a 2% keyword density, and the keyword (or words) appearing near the beginning, in the middle, and near the end of the page code (not just the output text). There are tons of density analyzers on the web -- pick one, focus on the body text number and ignore the rest. You'll get a lot of conflicting reports from various sites -- this can be confusing, misleading, and can can make you think you've got to go re-tweak other factors. Don't. You'll spend hours optimizing for that tool, only to find the next tool gives a different answer. Use the numbers here and move on.
Briefly, other notable on-page factors are image alt tags, H1-H6 tags, bold and italic text, and the number of outgoing (inter and intra site) links. Here's the scoop: Alt tags matter. Get your keywords in them, but don't overdo it. Don't use H tags, as according to the data, they'll bring your rankings down. Use bold and italics if it suits the design and readability of your site; they may be a positive factor, but not a huge one, and don't stuff your keywords in them. The higher the number of links on a page, the better. One hundred links seems optimal, but don't sweat it. Always keep in mind that usability and aesthetics are crucial too. Having javascript on the page appears to be a positive ranking factor. Finally, page size (all the text, minus the images) is optimal at 50-60k. This number is shown adjacent to the page in search results. A note on on-page code in general, a balance is important -- the search engines don't care what your page looks like from a design standpoint, they only see the code. But your customers do. And while data is not available, it is more than likely the major search portals are noticing how long a visitor stays on the page, recording whether they return to the search results to find another page. Strive to make your site clean, useful and engaging -- this will pay off in more ways than one.
Off page factors -- these include links from within your site and 'backlinks' from other websites. You MUST get backlinks to rank well, and it's probably the most challenging of all search engine optimization to do. You'll need to continuously acquire backlinks, or your rankings will stagnate, or even slowly drop. Optimally, you'll get a few links a day, with a steady increase in the total number. The two most often used routes are link exchange (asking for links from other sites, and putting their links on your site in exchange) or article distribution. There's lots of information on the web about exchanging links, read some, develop a plan and stick to it. Once you've got a system in place, you'll likely be able to hire someone to help you. Article distribution is another matter. Articles should really be quality, readable, helpful information for prospective customers. You'll get to post links within the author resource box, which serves both as an enticement for readers to visit your site, a means to give credibility to your internet business, plus search engines will also see these links and use them in their ranking algorithm. An effective linking program will utilize both these link sources.
Remember, it's not the total number of links, but a consistently increasing number that has the greatest long-term results. Don't start a scheme that will give you 1000 links in one day, then none for the next month, or links that will slowly disappear -- this can do more harm than good.
Some caveats about links -- links from within your own site should be text links with the keyword in the link. So the Aromatherapy site would use 'essential oils' in all the links to their essential oils page. Off-site links should also use keywords in text links, but not always the same words. Mix it up. Here, for example, some of backlink text examples would be 'pure essential oils', 'organic essential oils', 'aromatherapy essential oil', and 'essential oils'. Further, about 30% of your links should just include the webpage address, like 'www.johnnysessentialoils.com' or 'www.bestbathproducts.com/essentialoils.php This helps your backlinks appear naturally created, rather than machine made search engine spider spam. A final note on backlinks, all pages that link to yours are not weighted equally. The older and more relevant the page, the more weight your link will garner. If your site is selling essential oils, links from a natural health website will likely be more beneficial than those from a poker website.
With that we'll describe the last 20%: the URL. Web pages with the keywords in the address, be it the homepage or any other page on the site, rank better. If the If you're just starting a site, getting your primary kewords in the url is useful. If not, and it makes sense to do so, use keywords in the filename like www.homepage.com/essentialoilspage1.html. Again, it appears better if the file does not have only the keywords in it, like the title and meta tags. If you already have pages without keywords in the filenames, you could create new ones and create a 301 redirect from the old ones to maintain any ranking status the 'old' pages had. Hyphens are still questionable, and are probably not needed. Short filenames and shallow directory structures appear best.
Some last remarks: A page's age means something. If you want to change a filename to include keywords in it, always employ a 301 redirect if the page has been indexed already -- do a little research to get this right. Search engine ranking change constantly, and some engines are quicker to appreciate your optimization efforts than others. Be patient -- it can take months to see results if the site is new, and sometimes weeks otherwise. Don't think you made a mistake just because nothing happened the first time a spider visited your new page. Keep working on your accumulation of backlinks; you probably have lots of pages targeting various keywords you can get links for. More optimal could mean higher quality -- the engines continually get smarter, and may be keeping track of how long visitors linger on your page versus your competitors. This leads us to the final important note -- visitors are only one part of the equation. A well-designed site, product mix and pricing, and customer service all play key roles in the health of your business.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)