Emerging Online University Models

Online education is as credible as traditional education and is growing every year. Despite heavy regulation and the desire to support traditional models it is suspected that most universities will offer online classes to augment their expensive infrastructure. As online models change and adjust to meet multiple stakeholders and regulatory shifts one has to wonder about stronger emerging models.

Models come and go but those that are likely to make it might transform higher education models as to provide what stakeholders need while still capitalizing on the efficiencies virtual colleges provide. Their biggest challenge is not their quality, as based in research, but their credibility as defined by a few bad actors and lots of protectionist language.

That doesn't mean things will be this way forever. As traditional colleges adopt online techniques and online research supports the virtual model that image will change. The lines between virtual and traditional will be blurred as each seeks to mimic the benefits of the other. Eventually online leaders and elite schools will emerge creating new demographic markets.

Online schools will also start producing research with public appeal. They may be partnering with other universities for the hard sciences but will be engaging in lots of different types of research on their own. Professors, whether working out of an office, or in their homes, will be conducting investigatory studies and publishing their findings.

Regulation will also change. It will come down hard like a hammer so that people can make political blowing about how they are doing something about the bad actors. As regulation moves into overkill mode it will also damage their traditional stakeholders and slow down Americas competitive position in higher education leading to the pendulum shifting back in the other direction.

Ultimately, the good that can come out of regulatory gaming is that some online institutions will transform their models to meet new requirements and will come out stronger when the pendulum does swing back. They will master both playing fields and be even more competitive than their traditional counterparts. They can beat the metrics game while providing a superior product that has wide appeal not only to Americans but also the international community. 

China at the Crossroads of Reform

China is at the crossroads between a path that goes left and one that goes right. To the left is political stability that pulls from the bag of old fashion communist economic policy while to the right is a path that forces Chinese businesses to be compete without as much government support. The process of reform will become more apparent as time moves forward. Recent market corrections are an opportunity for Chinese businesses to reach out to American companies for collaborative partnerships that expand both economies.

Both mentalities come with some risks. Communist approaches provide for control and stability but ultimately lead the country to less wealth and growth. Something closer to communism with capitalistic overtones has been used to try and manage parts of the economy through one lens and other parts of the society through another. Until now officials were able to keep the balance.

The Chinese leadership had a solid strategy for the past couple decades and their ability to raise their position from market followers to market leaders. Their primary advantage was the cheapness of their labor and abundance of resources. They had a hungry population willing to work hard do what it takes to succeed. Labor mixed with modern manufacturing led the day.

That situation is changing and countries have found parity in manufacturing thereby damaging the fundamentals of the Chinese economy. The same policies that helped push the economy forward through centralized control are the same policies that led to today's market correction. How they approach this issue will determine China's future its long-term stability in an international market.

America on the other hand is growing and appears to be on solid financial footing. Protecting American intellectual property rights, investment opportunities, and fair cross-border trading policies will connect the two economies closer and bring greater stability for both. Chinese-American partnerships will need fair Chinese policies that protect the interests of both parties while ensuring international partnerships have an open regulatory environment to succeed.

The Lines of Bureaucracy-Models of Inefficiency

Bureaucracy can be difficult to deal with. Waiting in lines, filling out large forms, waiting weeks for a response, and trekking down to some physical location can be pretty tough. Where we experience bureaucracy we generally feel annoyed and sometimes devalued as a person. The modern conveniences of this century sometimes feel absent when large clunky operations grip with white knuckles to ineffective models. Those organizations that don't change eventually are buried in history. 

You know you are standing in one when everything looks worn out, old, and dilapidated. Bureaucracy breeds incompetence and stakeholder indifference that manifests in general customer annoyance. Bureaucracy become inefficient because it 1. ignores the legitimate complaints, 2. monitors the wrong things, 3. delays decision making, and has 4. biased oversight (Prendergast, 2003)

Bureaucracies have many layers of management but are ultimately separated from the needs of their stakeholders. Their operations are often inefficient and costly leading to incentives for additional waste and inefficiencies. The effectiveness is weak and the outcomes are poor. One of the only benefits it provides is control based upon rigid rules and policies.

These types of businesses can be found anywhere but often are found more in government than anywhere else. Even though we know poorly management branches cost taxpayers a fortune to continue to run inefficiently it is possessed in seeking resources to feed its needs. These resources become wasted in programs that don't work and within the operational inefficiencies embedded in layered management and bloated departments.

There are ways to improve bureaucracies by borrowing from modern business techniques. The advantages of continuous updating and improving help to ensure that ultimately stakeholder needs are being met. In government bureaucracies politicians and government decision-makers have a responsibility to ensure that their oversight is using tax payer money in the most efficient manner as possible through increasing departmental performance. Bureaucracies in the business world have nearly all been wiped out by more efficient models.

Prendergast, C. (2003). The Limits of Bureaucratic Efficiency. Journal of Political Economy, 111 (5).

Customer Service Failure and Recovery

One of the worst things a business can do is lose trust and credibility with their customers. It happens all the time and it can lead to a lifetime of lost sales. Each customer should be treated with respect and poor customer service shows that the customer not only not important but also artificially inflates the need of the company and/or the employee. When service "slip ups" occur a faster recovery is necessary to keep the revenue stream.

Customers are spending their money and time and desire to be treated with respect. As purchases are either based in their self-perceptions or needs poor customer service leads directly to a sting of the ego. It is kind of hard to get them to make additional purchases if that ego sting destroys the excitement and enthusiasm of buying the product in the first place.

It is important to understand that a single service mistake can damage the impression of the entire business. Perhaps they had great customer service throughout the entire process but it was the last person on the phone that did the absolute wrong thing. In this case, all of the great care the customer received went out the window.

People don't differentiate between an individual and the organization. A single rude interaction with a company worker represents the entire organization in the mind of a paying customer. The best way to enrage someone is to devalue them and their worth. Providing perfect customer service delivery every time is important for retaining business and earning big dollars.

Recruitment and training are essential for customer service delivery development. Without the right kind of personality coming in training will do little to change their perception of themselves versus others. Once you hire the right kind of personality it is necessary to train them on how to handle customers and how to fix problems. Customers want an immediate solution to calm the nerves and will stew about problems the longer they fester under a lack of representative conciseness.

Using Green to Create Functional Workplaces

Green is an eco conscious color that can tell a lot about a business and their working environment. Plants have many purposes that include workplace aesthetics as well as psychological comfort to workers. In a world where packing people into cubicles and personal space is declining it is important to enhance the aesthetics of the workplace to reduce stress and improve productivity.

According to a Public Health Report regular contact to nature can promote workplace health and reduce stress (Largo-Wight, et. al. (2011). People are biologically and psychologically designed to be around and in nature.  As workplaces become more compact and corporate we are less connected to our natural history and this can produce anxiety. 

There is little doubt that fundamental changes in society has produced large changes. There are simply more people, more things to do, more distractions, less time, and more pressures. Yet there is no reason to remove nature from our surroundings. That is the last thing we want to do. 

Companies can consider the benefits of using plants to create aesthetically pleasing businesses that look rich and well manicured. Boring corners can be spruced up with a potted plant and windows can be dressed up with flowers. Solid interior design should include some greenery and well placed foliage. 

It isn't all about how it looks. Using plants, pictures, and other nature connecting aesthetics can improve performance. When people are stressed and feel like they want to bail out of the workplace they are not likely to perform at their highest. Reducing stress and increasing performance through aesthetic adjustments can be beneficial in the long run. 

Largo-Wight E; Chen WW; Dodd V; Weiler R, Public Health Reports (Washington, D.C.: 1974) [Public Health Rep], ISSN: 0033-3549, 2011 May-Jun; Vol. 126 Suppl 1, pp. 124-30; Publisher: Association of Schools of Public Health; PMID: 21563720;

Making the Most of Your Time

Time is a limited commodity. We have choices between time and projects. Without some level of guidance in our lives and goals we can be wasting time on things that are not important to us, our companies, or society. Knowing what you want to accomplish and putting together some goals helps in aligning your time appropriately.

You define goals in your daily life and you can define goals for your career. Career goals are accomplished through your work. Ensuring that you understand your job and what is needed to succeed can be helpful in obtaining your career goals.

On any given day we have work to do that is both tedious and time consuming. We might procrastinate on that work hoping that it will magically disappear. Instead of being proactive we start wasting time on less important projects an activities that do not help our career or our goals.

Take a few moments and think about what is important to you. This could be anything that includes money, family, recreation, travel, etc... Then think about what is needed to obtain those things. You will need to know how much time and effort is needed.

In the work place your goals should align to the needs of the organization. If your organization requires a certain sales quota, or other activity to succeed, the majority of your time should be spent there. Other types of maintenance work may be necessary but should be minimized as much as possible.

Factors that Influence Veteran Tansition from Military Service to Higher Education

Transition from military life to higher education can be a difficult one. People make assumptions all the time of veterans and their difficulties. Coming from high organized and often dangerous environment veterans understanding of the world is very different than that of the traditional college student. They were forced to grow up quick and college becomes another major hurdle for them.

In university life, people are expected to be free thinkers. This may not be the case in everyday life, workplaces, or social circles but in our university work we are expected to think for ourselves. Military personnel were not expected to be free thinkers and the idea could be alien to certain members of the enlisted ranks. Their lives revolve around what is termed Total Institution.

Total Institution means that the person lives under authority, works in a batch of others, formal rules, and a general exclusion of knowledge over decisions (Goffman, 1961). The person lives within a collective of others that requires working as part of a unit and following commands without questioning the bigger picture.

Students are the opposite. They are expected to question their environment, decisions, and choices. People are fed knowledge regardless of whether or not they have the capacity to understand or take responsibility over that knowledge. Students often learn to be responsible only to themselves and take care of their own needs unlike the military where one is expected to sacrifice.

Military veterans moving into higher education often experience difficulties in task cohesion, structure, anxiety, experiences and social cohesion (Naphan & Elliot, 2015). Getting military students together into a group can be helpful. Both virtual and/or physical groups can help veterans rely on each other and work through adjustments.  They can share resources and work together on projects.

Goffman, E. (1961). Asylums: Essays on the social situation of mental patients and other inmates. New York, NY: Anchor Books.

Naphan, D. & Elliont, M. (2015). Role Exit from the Military: Student Veterans' Perceptions of Transitioning from the U.S. Military to Higher Education. The Qualitative Report, 20 (2)