MBA in a Box
Business and Management Skills
Training
Provided by Online Training Directory
Fast and easy-to-use methods to create success in any small business.
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MBA in a Box
MBA in a Box
Full Description
Outcomes:
Assessment:
Week 1
Why "Change" is not a Four-letter Word - How to move forward
Change is hard for everyone to one extent or another. Moving out of the comfort zone is not only painful but can be downright frightening. In a world that is fast-paced and ever-changing, the successful business manager cannot afford to be paralyzed by fear of change. The first portion of this very enlightening module is based on concepts from the #1 Bestseller book, "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson, M.D. A self-assessment assignment will be given.
Also in the first week we will identify and define the key components that are vital to small business success. Most small businesses fail because they tend to overlook or ignore the fundamental building blocks that create success. The students will gain an understanding of how these factors have affected their business. These will be written down and will become the building blocks that will be explored in more detail in the following weeks.
Week 2
Top 10 Reasons That Small Businesses Fail - How to Minimize Your Risk
In week two we will explore in more depth the reasons why so many small businesses fail. Many business managers are setting courses that will eventually doom them to destruction unless they change their course. There are many ways to run aground in the business world. The best cure is prevention. This module will analyze these top ten reasons. Each student will do an in-depth exploration of his or her own business regarding each point of risk. By the end of this module, each student will have their own brief summary of how they will address each of the ten risk factors to minimize their own business risks, and be able to focus on success.
Week 3
Find the Hidden Money in Your Business by Increasing Your Operational Effectiveness
With the fundamental having been explored previously, it is now time to delve into the operational aspect of the business. Some of the questions that each manager needs to ask himself/herself is which of the functions in the day-to-day activities of the business that are the core essentials, which are important but not critical, and which are nice but not real important? This week will deal with the identification of key operational components, and their order of priority.
It is common for most people to believe that the only way to succeed in business is to hit the proverbial "home run". The truth is that only about one in a thousand ever hits a home run. Real and lasting success in business requires that the manager look for the 100 different things that can each make a 1% difference in the effectiveness of the business. This module teaches the student how to find the "needles in the haystack". These principles can then be applied to almost any business with significant results.
Week 4
Merging Management and Technology in Business
In this module students will get a comprehensive view of how today's managers can effectively utilize technology tools to get ahead of the competition, and stay there. This portion will explore the various options for technology tools that business managers can use to stay on top of the vital information for their business - peopl, time, and money. The student will identify the specific managerial needs for their business and create a plan of how to bridge the technology gap in their business.
This week also concludes the introductory section of the "MBA in a Box" course series. By this time each student will have a much better understanding of the essential ingredients that comprise a successful enterprise. The final project is a written strategic plan that was created by the student piece by piece throughout this course. Now is the time to bring it all together into one comprehensive whole. This strategic plan will be submitted to the instructor for a final grade. This plan will serve the student as a basic roadmap for building future business success.
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SAMPLE LESSON WEEK 1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WEEK ONE
Course Title: BUS205 MBA in a Box
Instructor: Donald L. Robison, M.B.A.
Home Number: (636) 584-7253
E-mail address: donrobison@mailbin.com
Welcome to week one of “MBA in a Box”. I look forward to working with you on this exciting and rewarding journey to achieving your business objectives.
This is a 4-week course. The weeks will begin on Wednesday and end on the following Tuesday. You will be given lecture notes on Wednesday of each week along with assignments that will be due by the following Monday. Some of the assignments are for practice and will not be graded. However, it is vital that each student complete all of the assignments. The course is designed to build on the preceding week’s coursework and assignments. These assignments are to be submitted to me, and I will provide helpful feedback on them. You will be given a short quiz or self-assessment each week that touches on the key learning concepts. These quizzes and self-assessments will be a part of your overall grade.
Course format:
Class facilitation will be done through an asynchronous environment. That is, I will post lecture notes, quizzes, self-assessment worksheets, exercises, and resources to the learning room. Each student will view the posted information and complete the necessary items on their own time. Once completed, these will be submitted to me via e-mail or through the learning room. Please feel free to contact me at any time via e-mail for questions, clarification, or concerns regarding the course. I will respond in a timely manner.
Point value for the course assignments are weighted as follows:
Quizzes 25%
Self-assessments 25%
Course Project 50%
Week #1 -- Why “Change” is not a Four-Letter-Word – How to Move Forward
Learning Objectives:
1. To gain a clear understanding of the need (and way) to get out of the “comfort zone”.
2. To identify key components that are vital to small business success.
Lecture Notes:
Change is hard for everyone to one extent or another. Moving out of the comfort zone is not only painful but can be downright frightening. In a world that is fast-paced and ever changing, the successful business manager cannot afford to be paralyzed by fear of change.
It is clear from a historical perspective that any business that is not constantly reinventing itself is destined to become obsolete. This mindset of reinventing oneself must begin with the business manager. In other words, every organization must be a learning organization. This means that there is no such thing as the status quo in the world today. A good analogy of this concept is that of being on an escalator that is going down. If we don’t take action to continually climb up the steps we will end up at the bottom, stubbing our toe.
Business organizations are in the same boat. The escalator of change is constantly moving downward. Too many business managers are blindsided by seemingly sudden changes of events. A classic example of this is the encyclopedia industry. The industry spent many years building a direct sales organization that was strong and effective at selling multi-volume printed versions. However, along came technology that changed the picture. The CD-ROM was invented that could hold all of the information including interactive media on a single CD. Suddenly, there was a whole new game being played in the encyclopedia business. For a mere fraction of the cost the consumer could get the same information. The unwillingness to change the business model cost the encyclopedia companies a large portion of their market share.
For another example, I was talking with the owner of a small business several months ago. He had started his business over 14 years ago. In his industry and location there were no other competitors at that time. Since then, several other strong competitors have moved into the marketplace and have significantly eroded his market share. This all happened gradually over a period of years. He has not changed his business plan at all during this time. If left unchecked, his competitors will eventually put him out of business. There is no reason for this, especially since he could easily afford to make the changes necessary to thwart his competition if he takes action now. In just a little more time it will most likely be too late.
One more example. I’m sure everyone has heard of the analogy of the frog in water. But I will repeat it here for emphasis. It is a commonly known fact that if you drop a frog in a pot of hot water it will immediately jump out of the pot. However, if you set a frog in a pot of cool water it will sit there. If you gradually increase the heat of the water in the pot, the frog will continue to sit there until it is boiled to death.
In my many years of dealing with hundreds of small businesses I have watched far too many frogs (businesses) be boiled to death. The reason is that the managers fail to constantly check the temperature of the water with reliable and accurate instruments. If you get nothing else from this course, I hope that you make the decision to choose reliable and accurate tools to measure your business and environment. Then, go one step further, and make the necessary changes.
The second part of this week directly relates to the concept of measuring and changing. It focuses on learning what aspects of your business to measure. In future weeks we will discuss how to make changes. However, for now, we will concern ourselves with what key components are vital to the successful operation of your business.
Every business is unique in the product or service that it is offering, and the method and way in which business is carried out. The objective at this point is to get you to explore and ponder in-depth the vital aspects of your business. The key areas of every business are; people (customers and employees), money (revenues and expenses), and time (allocating and prioritizing).
Each manager must know what makes his or her business special and unique. In other words, why are you in business, and what business are you in? On the surface this may seem like a simple question. But by digging a little deeper it becomes evident that the answer is not so simple. For example, let’s say that you are the manager of a trucking company. What business are you in? Is it the trucking business? Or is it the transportation of goods business? Are your competitors just other trucking companies? Or, do you compete with other carriers such as trains, planes, boats, etc.? Do you know what changes are taking place in the trucking industry, and do you monitor (measure) other related industries that compete for the same customers? Are there changes in trends, preferences, technology, or substitutes that you have missed that could greatly impact your business?
Knowing what to look for and having reliable and accurate ways to measure these key aspects of your business are vital to remaining a viable business entity. These key aspects are the building blocks that form the foundation of your business. These will create a lasting success for you when understood and measured. As part of this week’s assignment, these will be written down and will become the building blocks that will be explored in more detail in the following weeks
Week One Assignments:
As a reminder, these are due by the following Monday.
1. Write a brief biographical sketch of yourself (approximately one page).
2. Prepare a brief overview of your business and your role in the business (approximately one page).
3. Self-assessment assignment. List three things that you can do to recognize when you are becoming a boiled frog (both personally and in your business).
4. Self-assessment assignment. List and explain at least five key components of your business that are critical building blocks.
5. (Optional) read the book “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson, MD. It is fairly short (90 pages) and is extremely valuable.
| This is a 4-week course that is designed to put the owner or manager of a small business in the drivers seat of their enterprise. Each week vital topics will be explored that will make or break any small business. The participants in this course will get hands-on experience with critical components taught in every MBA program at the top business schools in the nation. All in a simple and easy-to-use format. Each module is designed to provide the participants with the practical tools needed to take control of their business and move past the competition. |
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Upon completion of the course students will be able to: 1. Identify key components of a successful small business 2. Know how to select and use management tools 3. Understand the effects of external and internal influences 4. Know how to control key drivers for a successful business |
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The student's performance will be assessed by the following criteria: 1. Completion of a strategic plan that charts a course for future business success 2. Completion of self-assessments and quizzes 3. A written summary of at least 10 new insights gained during the course |
Change is hard for everyone to one extent or another. Moving out of the comfort zone is not only painful but can be downright frightening. In a world that is fast-paced and ever-changing, the successful business manager cannot afford to be paralyzed by fear of change. The first portion of this very enlightening module is based on concepts from the #1 Bestseller book, "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson, M.D. A self-assessment assignment will be given.
Also in the first week we will identify and define the key components that are vital to small business success. Most small businesses fail because they tend to overlook or ignore the fundamental building blocks that create success. The students will gain an understanding of how these factors have affected their business. These will be written down and will become the building blocks that will be explored in more detail in the following weeks.
In week two we will explore in more depth the reasons why so many small businesses fail. Many business managers are setting courses that will eventually doom them to destruction unless they change their course. There are many ways to run aground in the business world. The best cure is prevention. This module will analyze these top ten reasons. Each student will do an in-depth exploration of his or her own business regarding each point of risk. By the end of this module, each student will have their own brief summary of how they will address each of the ten risk factors to minimize their own business risks, and be able to focus on success.
With the fundamental having been explored previously, it is now time to delve into the operational aspect of the business. Some of the questions that each manager needs to ask himself/herself is which of the functions in the day-to-day activities of the business that are the core essentials, which are important but not critical, and which are nice but not real important? This week will deal with the identification of key operational components, and their order of priority.
It is common for most people to believe that the only way to succeed in business is to hit the proverbial "home run". The truth is that only about one in a thousand ever hits a home run. Real and lasting success in business requires that the manager look for the 100 different things that can each make a 1% difference in the effectiveness of the business. This module teaches the student how to find the "needles in the haystack". These principles can then be applied to almost any business with significant results.
In this module students will get a comprehensive view of how today's managers can effectively utilize technology tools to get ahead of the competition, and stay there. This portion will explore the various options for technology tools that business managers can use to stay on top of the vital information for their business - peopl, time, and money. The student will identify the specific managerial needs for their business and create a plan of how to bridge the technology gap in their business.
This week also concludes the introductory section of the "MBA in a Box" course series. By this time each student will have a much better understanding of the essential ingredients that comprise a successful enterprise. The final project is a written strategic plan that was created by the student piece by piece throughout this course. Now is the time to bring it all together into one comprehensive whole. This strategic plan will be submitted to the instructor for a final grade. This plan will serve the student as a basic roadmap for building future business success.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SAMPLE LESSON WEEK 1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WEEK ONE
Course Title: BUS205 MBA in a Box
Instructor: Donald L. Robison, M.B.A.
Home Number: (636) 584-7253
E-mail address: donrobison@mailbin.com
Welcome to week one of “MBA in a Box”. I look forward to working with you on this exciting and rewarding journey to achieving your business objectives.
This is a 4-week course. The weeks will begin on Wednesday and end on the following Tuesday. You will be given lecture notes on Wednesday of each week along with assignments that will be due by the following Monday. Some of the assignments are for practice and will not be graded. However, it is vital that each student complete all of the assignments. The course is designed to build on the preceding week’s coursework and assignments. These assignments are to be submitted to me, and I will provide helpful feedback on them. You will be given a short quiz or self-assessment each week that touches on the key learning concepts. These quizzes and self-assessments will be a part of your overall grade.
Course format:
Class facilitation will be done through an asynchronous environment. That is, I will post lecture notes, quizzes, self-assessment worksheets, exercises, and resources to the learning room. Each student will view the posted information and complete the necessary items on their own time. Once completed, these will be submitted to me via e-mail or through the learning room. Please feel free to contact me at any time via e-mail for questions, clarification, or concerns regarding the course. I will respond in a timely manner.
Point value for the course assignments are weighted as follows:
Quizzes 25%
Self-assessments 25%
Course Project 50%
Week #1 -- Why “Change” is not a Four-Letter-Word – How to Move Forward
Learning Objectives:
1. To gain a clear understanding of the need (and way) to get out of the “comfort zone”.
2. To identify key components that are vital to small business success.
Lecture Notes:
Change is hard for everyone to one extent or another. Moving out of the comfort zone is not only painful but can be downright frightening. In a world that is fast-paced and ever changing, the successful business manager cannot afford to be paralyzed by fear of change.
It is clear from a historical perspective that any business that is not constantly reinventing itself is destined to become obsolete. This mindset of reinventing oneself must begin with the business manager. In other words, every organization must be a learning organization. This means that there is no such thing as the status quo in the world today. A good analogy of this concept is that of being on an escalator that is going down. If we don’t take action to continually climb up the steps we will end up at the bottom, stubbing our toe.
Business organizations are in the same boat. The escalator of change is constantly moving downward. Too many business managers are blindsided by seemingly sudden changes of events. A classic example of this is the encyclopedia industry. The industry spent many years building a direct sales organization that was strong and effective at selling multi-volume printed versions. However, along came technology that changed the picture. The CD-ROM was invented that could hold all of the information including interactive media on a single CD. Suddenly, there was a whole new game being played in the encyclopedia business. For a mere fraction of the cost the consumer could get the same information. The unwillingness to change the business model cost the encyclopedia companies a large portion of their market share.
For another example, I was talking with the owner of a small business several months ago. He had started his business over 14 years ago. In his industry and location there were no other competitors at that time. Since then, several other strong competitors have moved into the marketplace and have significantly eroded his market share. This all happened gradually over a period of years. He has not changed his business plan at all during this time. If left unchecked, his competitors will eventually put him out of business. There is no reason for this, especially since he could easily afford to make the changes necessary to thwart his competition if he takes action now. In just a little more time it will most likely be too late.
One more example. I’m sure everyone has heard of the analogy of the frog in water. But I will repeat it here for emphasis. It is a commonly known fact that if you drop a frog in a pot of hot water it will immediately jump out of the pot. However, if you set a frog in a pot of cool water it will sit there. If you gradually increase the heat of the water in the pot, the frog will continue to sit there until it is boiled to death.
In my many years of dealing with hundreds of small businesses I have watched far too many frogs (businesses) be boiled to death. The reason is that the managers fail to constantly check the temperature of the water with reliable and accurate instruments. If you get nothing else from this course, I hope that you make the decision to choose reliable and accurate tools to measure your business and environment. Then, go one step further, and make the necessary changes.
The second part of this week directly relates to the concept of measuring and changing. It focuses on learning what aspects of your business to measure. In future weeks we will discuss how to make changes. However, for now, we will concern ourselves with what key components are vital to the successful operation of your business.
Every business is unique in the product or service that it is offering, and the method and way in which business is carried out. The objective at this point is to get you to explore and ponder in-depth the vital aspects of your business. The key areas of every business are; people (customers and employees), money (revenues and expenses), and time (allocating and prioritizing).
Each manager must know what makes his or her business special and unique. In other words, why are you in business, and what business are you in? On the surface this may seem like a simple question. But by digging a little deeper it becomes evident that the answer is not so simple. For example, let’s say that you are the manager of a trucking company. What business are you in? Is it the trucking business? Or is it the transportation of goods business? Are your competitors just other trucking companies? Or, do you compete with other carriers such as trains, planes, boats, etc.? Do you know what changes are taking place in the trucking industry, and do you monitor (measure) other related industries that compete for the same customers? Are there changes in trends, preferences, technology, or substitutes that you have missed that could greatly impact your business?
Knowing what to look for and having reliable and accurate ways to measure these key aspects of your business are vital to remaining a viable business entity. These key aspects are the building blocks that form the foundation of your business. These will create a lasting success for you when understood and measured. As part of this week’s assignment, these will be written down and will become the building blocks that will be explored in more detail in the following weeks
Week One Assignments:
As a reminder, these are due by the following Monday.
1. Write a brief biographical sketch of yourself (approximately one page).
2. Prepare a brief overview of your business and your role in the business (approximately one page).
3. Self-assessment assignment. List three things that you can do to recognize when you are becoming a boiled frog (both personally and in your business).
4. Self-assessment assignment. List and explain at least five key components of your business that are critical building blocks.
5. (Optional) read the book “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson, MD. It is fairly short (90 pages) and is extremely valuable.
Contact Hours: 6
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