Print this articleJust posted up the week 8 written paper and am done! This class consisted of reading, LOTS and LOTS of posts in the class forum, and a 4-6 page paper EVERY WEEK! But it was no big deal really it was actually pretty fun.
Going into the class I really though it would be B.O.R.I.N.G!!! But it turned out to be very relevant on issues that we are reading about every day like the decline of the dollar, inflation, China import/export Personal savings etc.
All-in-all this really was a fun class!
Going into the class I really though it would be B.O.R.I.N.G!!! But it turned out to be very relevant on issues that we are reading about every day like the decline of the dollar, inflation, China import/export Personal savings etc.
All-in-all this really was a fun class!
At the end of Week 3 in Managerial Econ I'm pretty pleased that it's not the typical type of class where it focuses on the numbers, graphs and statistics side of Econ!
The discussion forums are really vibrant and allow us to discuss differing views on the class topics. And the last 2 weeks I've particularly enjoyed the Simulations we've done. This is where you go through a multimedia case-study and make decisions all along the way to a final conclusion. This week we covered Monolpoly, Oligopoly, Duopoly, Perfect Competition etc....pretty dull, huh??!!
But Check out the link to one of the simulations and see how cool it is! (I hope it works for you!)
http://63.146.179.207/StudentGuides/Reader/MBAC600/sim/economics2/economics2_market_structures_simulation.html
The discussion forums are really vibrant and allow us to discuss differing views on the class topics. And the last 2 weeks I've particularly enjoyed the Simulations we've done. This is where you go through a multimedia case-study and make decisions all along the way to a final conclusion. This week we covered Monolpoly, Oligopoly, Duopoly, Perfect Competition etc....pretty dull, huh??!!
But Check out the link to one of the simulations and see how cool it is! (I hope it works for you!)
http://63.146.179.207/StudentGuides/Reader/MBAC600/sim/economics2/economics2_market_structures_simulation.html
OK...so in College I got a "D" in Econ!
I had to take it over in a Summer Module....which in fact was awesome because I got an "A" ....but also, you go to class 8 hrs one day and the next day start off taking a test on what you learned the previous day...how much could you really forget??!!
So MBA-Level Econ what not really something I was totally looking forward to!
But one of the textbooks is one of the easiest-reading books on the subject I've ever seen!!
Naked Economics
It really brings alive a really potentially boring subject.
The 1st two weeks in this class have been on Micro economics and how price and demand and supply interract. It's really interesting when you drill down deep on a topic to look past what you typically would to see the various market and demand drivers in action!
Plus the Regis University discussion forum that is part of the required weekly activity is so vibrant that you can really get a deeper understanding of topics from your classmates input!
I had to take it over in a Summer Module....which in fact was awesome because I got an "A" ....but also, you go to class 8 hrs one day and the next day start off taking a test on what you learned the previous day...how much could you really forget??!!
So MBA-Level Econ what not really something I was totally looking forward to!
But one of the textbooks is one of the easiest-reading books on the subject I've ever seen!!
Naked Economics
It really brings alive a really potentially boring subject.
The 1st two weeks in this class have been on Micro economics and how price and demand and supply interract. It's really interesting when you drill down deep on a topic to look past what you typically would to see the various market and demand drivers in action!
Plus the Regis University discussion forum that is part of the required weekly activity is so vibrant that you can really get a deeper understanding of topics from your classmates input!
So you need to write a short...or long paper, or article and need research??
Check out what I found, this just shortened my research time in HALF!
Instant Article Wizard is a tool that helps you find the research needed to write....
it does NOT write it for you ........but gives you the tools to find the info you need!
Click on the link and see if it will help you too.
(the demo and info talks about creating articles for the internet, but you'll also see that it's perfect for research papers on ANY topic.
The really cool thing is it's like Google on steroids!
Not only does it search out a topic and help you build the content, but it also gives you the reference links to where the research info came from so you can cite it properly!
Quite a find!
Check out what I found, this just shortened my research time in HALF!
Instant Article Wizard is a tool that helps you find the research needed to write....
it does NOT write it for you ........but gives you the tools to find the info you need!
Click on the link and see if it will help you too.
(the demo and info talks about creating articles for the internet, but you'll also see that it's perfect for research papers on ANY topic.
The really cool thing is it's like Google on steroids!
Not only does it search out a topic and help you build the content, but it also gives you the reference links to where the research info came from so you can cite it properly!
Quite a find!
....So on to the 3rd class@! The Economics of Management.
1st off I really didn't like (or do well) in Econ. in College, but like last class I didn't like Financial Accounting either....but I just found out today that I got an A- in the class!
So right off the bat Econ is a bit dry, but interestingly enough the 2nd day into the course I was having breakfast with a business associate and found myseld weaving into the conversation a point about Price Floor and Price ceiling...and it made sense!!
This week we had to read an article that was quite interesting: http://mwhodges.home.att.net/summary.htm
It pointed out all the MESS the Country is in with respect to 5 specific areas and how the generations before us really screwed it up....and obviously if the points incite us to anger enough....we should begin to do something about it.
See what you think!
Laters
1st off I really didn't like (or do well) in Econ. in College, but like last class I didn't like Financial Accounting either....but I just found out today that I got an A- in the class!
So right off the bat Econ is a bit dry, but interestingly enough the 2nd day into the course I was having breakfast with a business associate and found myseld weaving into the conversation a point about Price Floor and Price ceiling...and it made sense!!
This week we had to read an article that was quite interesting: http://mwhodges.home.att.net/summary.htm
It pointed out all the MESS the Country is in with respect to 5 specific areas and how the generations before us really screwed it up....and obviously if the points incite us to anger enough....we should begin to do something about it.
See what you think!
Laters
Whew!
I just uploaded the final week's assignment tonight!
Looking back on the last 8 weeks of the class, it was definitely harder than the 1st course....mainly because it was almost ALL Accounting and Financial statements. This may not be a big issue for many of you but for me it was tough to get my mind thinking in the right direction.
Here's an interesting "Factoid" I learned (not that it'll be of any help at all in the work-force)
You know in accounting there's "Debit's" and "Credit's"?
The Latin root for Debit is....are you ready ...."Left"!!
I means the left side of the T-Account.
Weird, huh! You would have thought it was going to be some deep Latin-esque-type derivation!
The neat thing is that the final assignment was to submit our completed Business Plan we had been working on all 16 weeks (over both of these classes)
It was really great to learn how to go deep in analyzing our chosen Company we created. To really think about the Mission Statement, target audience, your own strengths and weaknesses, your competition etc. I really learned a lot and now can apply this depth of thinking to any new business venture or project that I start in the future.
OK I'm done ....tomorrow starts the next class Managerial Economics....I'll let you know how it goes!
I just uploaded the final week's assignment tonight!
Looking back on the last 8 weeks of the class, it was definitely harder than the 1st course....mainly because it was almost ALL Accounting and Financial statements. This may not be a big issue for many of you but for me it was tough to get my mind thinking in the right direction.
Here's an interesting "Factoid" I learned (not that it'll be of any help at all in the work-force)
You know in accounting there's "Debit's" and "Credit's"?
The Latin root for Debit is....are you ready ...."Left"!!
I means the left side of the T-Account.
Weird, huh! You would have thought it was going to be some deep Latin-esque-type derivation!
The neat thing is that the final assignment was to submit our completed Business Plan we had been working on all 16 weeks (over both of these classes)
It was really great to learn how to go deep in analyzing our chosen Company we created. To really think about the Mission Statement, target audience, your own strengths and weaknesses, your competition etc. I really learned a lot and now can apply this depth of thinking to any new business venture or project that I start in the future.
OK I'm done ....tomorrow starts the next class Managerial Economics....I'll let you know how it goes!
Like I said previously....I just am NOT a detail-oriented....number-crunching type of person!
Give me a Small-Business owner or Sales Professional who wants to increase sales....and I shine!
(in fact starting my own Marketing Consulting Firm is why I decided on getting my Marketing MBA)
As I brainstorm with Sales Professionals the topic always comes around to "making my marketing message stand out from the competitors" and so I began working on www.TotalMarketingToolbox.com which is geared to choosing the right marketing tool integrated in the right sequence in a business to generate measurable increases in sales.
....anyway, back to today's post.
I just finished this week's assignment and here's the Overview from the Course Summary this week:
Pretty heavy stuff....but as I worked through the assignments and reading I found myself understanding a bit more how to analyze a company's financial data!
My passion is Marketing and I see Financial Statement analysis relating to marketing because there will be many times that you'll need to decide if the last marketing project resulted in enough sales to warrant another round of the same techniques....or tweak it a bit. ....this is classic ROI (Return on Investment)
I hope you're enjoying reading through my journey to obtain my Marketing MBA, post up a comment, ask me a question and let me know how I can help you.
Until next time....
Give me a Small-Business owner or Sales Professional who wants to increase sales....and I shine!
(in fact starting my own Marketing Consulting Firm is why I decided on getting my Marketing MBA)
As I brainstorm with Sales Professionals the topic always comes around to "making my marketing message stand out from the competitors" and so I began working on www.TotalMarketingToolbox.com which is geared to choosing the right marketing tool integrated in the right sequence in a business to generate measurable increases in sales.
....anyway, back to today's post.
I just finished this week's assignment and here's the Overview from the Course Summary this week:
During some time in our lives we may find it necessary to borrow money – many companies find themselves in the same position. We often read about bonds but may not completely understand what that term means. This is an opportunity to study them. Companies also issue stock to raise funds for a variety of business needs. This week we will learn what is involved with such transactions and better understand the business section of the newspaper. The Income Statement, as well as the Statement of Cash Flows, answers many important questions about how well a company is doing. By studying the topics in this week and in this course, when these subjects come up in conversation or in the workplace you’ll understand what is being said and be in a position to provide your own insights.
This week we cover both Current and Non-Current Liabilities including debt, the Owners’ Equity section of the Balance Sheet including stock, dividends, and retained earnings, and conduct comprehensive reviews of the Income Statement from Revenues through Net Income and the Statement of Cash Flows.
Pretty heavy stuff....but as I worked through the assignments and reading I found myself understanding a bit more how to analyze a company's financial data!
My passion is Marketing and I see Financial Statement analysis relating to marketing because there will be many times that you'll need to decide if the last marketing project resulted in enough sales to warrant another round of the same techniques....or tweak it a bit. ....this is classic ROI (Return on Investment)
I hope you're enjoying reading through my journey to obtain my Marketing MBA, post up a comment, ask me a question and let me know how I can help you.
Until next time....
Essentials of Business Development II
Yesterday I started part 2 of the Essentials of Business Development, and it covers mostly Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting etc.
Not really my strong suit and I'm not sure that it'll be something I wake up in the morning jazzed to dive into!
But...it's part of the curriculum, and I do feel that even though I really want the Marketing part of the MBA program....the financial/statistics/economics course -work is all a part of the process of learning.
I thought you may like to "take a peek" inside the class!
(click here to see how this class looks)
http://blog.totalmarketingtoolbox.com/2008/01/08/2-course-started.aspx
Yesterday I started part 2 of the Essentials of Business Development, and it covers mostly Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting etc.
Not really my strong suit and I'm not sure that it'll be something I wake up in the morning jazzed to dive into!
But...it's part of the curriculum, and I do feel that even though I really want the Marketing part of the MBA program....the financial/statistics/economics course -work is all a part of the process of learning.
I thought you may like to "take a peek" inside the class!
(click here to see how this class looks)
http://blog.totalmarketingtoolbox.com/2008/01/08/2-course-started.aspx
PowerPoint Webinar on creating your own MBA-Level Marketing Plan!
http://blog.totalmarketingtoolbox.com/2007/12/21/marketing-plan.aspx
http://blog.totalmarketingtoolbox.com/2007/12/21/marketing-plan.aspx
So after 8 weeks, I've finished my 1st course....with an "A" no less!!
Looking back on it I noticed:
1) It did not totally disrupt my life!
2) It was so convenient to be able to log in at anytime to view the lectures and participate in the discussion forums
3) It actually had relevance in my work already!
The 1st course was 1 week of introduction, 3 weeks of Statistics 2 weeks of Marketing and 2 weeks of Economics
The project for the course was to create a Business Plan....and this is not just an outline of what you'd maybe-possibly like to accomplish on a topic....it's a 30 page MBA-Level Business Plan!
It was pretty neat how the course was set up because each week the topic related back to the Business Plan and we'd complete a section of the Business Plan until the end and it was done. It was a great feeling to look at a complete Business Plan and know that it is so complete that you could go to a bank to submit for business financing if you'd like!
*I found a really impressive tool that helped me in this assignment too, it's a software program that walked me through step-by-step each section with examples of how to complete the section of a Business Plan and gave 500 sample Business Plans for me to refer to so I could see how other people did there's etc. If you'd like to do a Business Plan for your business, whether you're in an MBA program or not it's an awesome tool!
CLICK HERE to see if it's right for you!
One last observation on this 1st course is that it's so totally different going to school in 2007 than when I went to College in 1989 (duh!)....but what I mean is that whenever I was doing a problem or assignment and wondered how to do it, I'd Google the topic (isn't it crazy that "Google" is a verb!).
But I'd research "How to use Excel to solve Binomial Distribution" for my Stats section.....and up pops page after page of sites that discuss that or showed me screen-shots of how to do it.....!! (too bad I couldn't just type in the problem and up pops the answer! But then I wouldn't learn how to do it on my own!)
I was talking to someone last night in the College and Career Sunday School class I teach who was telling me how he and his friends in High School would do just the minimum amount of work to pass a class so they could goof off!
I was thinking how different this mentality is from what I'm experiencing....I'm paying a pretty large chunck of change for this program.....MY MONEY....MY TIME....! And I want to learn it to apply to my Career and future!
So do I do just the minimum to pass so I can goof off....UH, NO!
One of the reasons I'm getting this Marketing MBA is to start a Marketing Consulting firm, and I started building a website of Marketing Tools that I'll focus all the consulting around....let's face it, Sales Professionals, Realtors, Mortgage Lenders, Insurance Agents etc are typically not savvy on cutting-edge marketing tools!
(I know because I work in the Mortgage Sales industry as a Senior Loan Officer for a large bank)
Keep an eye on my site: www.TotalMarketingToolbox.com
I start my next class in a few weeks, so check back for the summary of that class.
Until then BTW....I thought I'd recommend one of my favorite books!
Looking back on it I noticed:
1) It did not totally disrupt my life!
2) It was so convenient to be able to log in at anytime to view the lectures and participate in the discussion forums
3) It actually had relevance in my work already!
The 1st course was 1 week of introduction, 3 weeks of Statistics 2 weeks of Marketing and 2 weeks of Economics
The project for the course was to create a Business Plan....and this is not just an outline of what you'd maybe-possibly like to accomplish on a topic....it's a 30 page MBA-Level Business Plan!
It was pretty neat how the course was set up because each week the topic related back to the Business Plan and we'd complete a section of the Business Plan until the end and it was done. It was a great feeling to look at a complete Business Plan and know that it is so complete that you could go to a bank to submit for business financing if you'd like!
*I found a really impressive tool that helped me in this assignment too, it's a software program that walked me through step-by-step each section with examples of how to complete the section of a Business Plan and gave 500 sample Business Plans for me to refer to so I could see how other people did there's etc. If you'd like to do a Business Plan for your business, whether you're in an MBA program or not it's an awesome tool!
CLICK HERE to see if it's right for you!
One last observation on this 1st course is that it's so totally different going to school in 2007 than when I went to College in 1989 (duh!)....but what I mean is that whenever I was doing a problem or assignment and wondered how to do it, I'd Google the topic (isn't it crazy that "Google" is a verb!).
But I'd research "How to use Excel to solve Binomial Distribution" for my Stats section.....and up pops page after page of sites that discuss that or showed me screen-shots of how to do it.....!! (too bad I couldn't just type in the problem and up pops the answer! But then I wouldn't learn how to do it on my own!)
I was talking to someone last night in the College and Career Sunday School class I teach who was telling me how he and his friends in High School would do just the minimum amount of work to pass a class so they could goof off!
I was thinking how different this mentality is from what I'm experiencing....I'm paying a pretty large chunck of change for this program.....MY MONEY....MY TIME....! And I want to learn it to apply to my Career and future!
So do I do just the minimum to pass so I can goof off....UH, NO!
One of the reasons I'm getting this Marketing MBA is to start a Marketing Consulting firm, and I started building a website of Marketing Tools that I'll focus all the consulting around....let's face it, Sales Professionals, Realtors, Mortgage Lenders, Insurance Agents etc are typically not savvy on cutting-edge marketing tools!
(I know because I work in the Mortgage Sales industry as a Senior Loan Officer for a large bank)
Keep an eye on my site: www.TotalMarketingToolbox.com
I start my next class in a few weeks, so check back for the summary of that class.
Until then BTW....I thought I'd recommend one of my favorite books!
So I enroll in the Regis University Marketing MBA Online program....after much research, I decided on this one because I knew that I definitely wanted a Marketing MBA....not a Management MBA. Regis offered a nice program, with courses I really liked the look of (I wish they had a couple on e-commerce but I'll bet I could add that in later as an elective)
The 1st course is Essentials of Business Development 520 part I.
YIKES! a 500-level course right off the bat.....
It's been 18 years since graduating College and remembering Statistics class I knew it was NOT my best subject.....my Dad said there would definitely be Stats in the MBA program.
As luck would have it, the 1st class was....you guessed it....Stats!!!
The 1st week was all on how to use Excel in Stats....all the functions, formulas etc.
***NOTE***
If you're looking into any MBA program, definitely get an Excel Stats book or online course and learn it before you start so you can get a bit ahead!
The really cool part about Online learning is....it's ONLINE! And the video lectures you have to watch are all on the website to be viewed anytime you want 24 hrs a day! You log into the system and go to Week 1 and view your reading assignment, written work, and the video lectures and all loaded right in the Week 1 folder. By Sunday at Midnight you need to post up the assignment to the Homework Drop-Box, and then the Prof. grades it by Tuesday the next week.
The 1st course is Essentials of Business Development 520 part I.
YIKES! a 500-level course right off the bat.....
It's been 18 years since graduating College and remembering Statistics class I knew it was NOT my best subject.....my Dad said there would definitely be Stats in the MBA program.
As luck would have it, the 1st class was....you guessed it....Stats!!!
The 1st week was all on how to use Excel in Stats....all the functions, formulas etc.
***NOTE***
If you're looking into any MBA program, definitely get an Excel Stats book or online course and learn it before you start so you can get a bit ahead!
The really cool part about Online learning is....it's ONLINE! And the video lectures you have to watch are all on the website to be viewed anytime you want 24 hrs a day! You log into the system and go to Week 1 and view your reading assignment, written work, and the video lectures and all loaded right in the Week 1 folder. By Sunday at Midnight you need to post up the assignment to the Homework Drop-Box, and then the Prof. grades it by Tuesday the next week.
OK....so I enrolled in an Executive Online Marketing MBA program....no big deal right?
But it was a tough decision since I have a Wife, 4 kids (all under the age of 10) and a career in Mortgage Banking!
At age 40 I wondered if I could study at this level.....but with the encouragement of my wonderful Wife, and the fact that my Dad completed his PHD in International Business at age 62....I took the plunge! (he even had to go back in to take Undergrad courses to even enroll in his MBA....then after he got done with his MBA, and PHD....he took another 12 hours of Doctoral level Marketing courses!)
As I was looking aroung the Internet to decide IF I wanted to do the MBA at all.....I was serching for someone's experience....to see what it's like....to see if I could hack it.....but found NOTHING OF THE SORT!
And since summarizing something helps to reinforce the subject in your mind, I thought that blogging about my experience from start to finish will help me solidify my learning as well as to provide readers with a resource to help them see what an MBA program is really like!
So here we go!
But it was a tough decision since I have a Wife, 4 kids (all under the age of 10) and a career in Mortgage Banking!
At age 40 I wondered if I could study at this level.....but with the encouragement of my wonderful Wife, and the fact that my Dad completed his PHD in International Business at age 62....I took the plunge! (he even had to go back in to take Undergrad courses to even enroll in his MBA....then after he got done with his MBA, and PHD....he took another 12 hours of Doctoral level Marketing courses!)
As I was looking aroung the Internet to decide IF I wanted to do the MBA at all.....I was serching for someone's experience....to see what it's like....to see if I could hack it.....but found NOTHING OF THE SORT!
And since summarizing something helps to reinforce the subject in your mind, I thought that blogging about my experience from start to finish will help me solidify my learning as well as to provide readers with a resource to help them see what an MBA program is really like!
So here we go!