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Thursday 15 December 2011

Development in the Role of Human Resources Leadership

In order to be recognized as a successful HR leader, there are three roles you must manage. The first is the ability to implement organizational strategy. The second is controlling the strategic planning process by sorting through the positive and negative outcomes associated with making a decision. Lastly, one must manage the formulation of a strategy to protect against the negative effects caused by unexpected outcomes.

Working to obtain a human resources certificate, you will learn what it takes to become an efficient manager. You will be able to understand and explain the three major roles of HR. Additionally, you will learn how to control business strategy and make alterations to current strategy. This will lead to more successful business activity. As an HR leader, it is important to be able to be conversant about issues that may delay positive decision making and develop solutions “on the fly” to these problems. This agility is a common benchmark of successful human resources leadership.

Human resources leadership as a theory has been changing and reinventing itself over the past 30 years. HR started as a very conformed and structured area of business and has developed into a strategic and open-ended one. In circumstances of constant change, it is crucial to understand what HR leadership means right now, at this very minute, and what it means to be a successful HR leader today. Being a good strategist and leader are the first steps toward becoming a role model of human resources leadership.

These days we hear a lot about the concept of human resources leadership and many are unsure what it actually entails. In order to understand how HR has developed, we will take a look back through the history books. During the 1970s, the job of an HR leader was to act like a police officer and make sure the managers did not make illegal or discriminatory decisions. This was in response to the equal-employment opportunity legislation of the 1960s. It was during the 1970s that the Supreme Court was deciding what was legal within the employment context, especially with regard to employment discrimination.

Around 1980, the recession in the US forced many companies to cut back and lay off employees. Traditionally, HR had been one of the first groups to get downsized. HR leaders were forced to decide what role they should be playing and what changes had to be made in order to ensure that next time a downsizing came along that they would not be the first ones cut off. Their job role had to be viewed by others as important and necessary to the running of a business. Therefore, the idea of strategy in HR was developed and put into action. Originally, strategic HR was heavily based on functionality. Every role and job related to HR had to somehow work into the overall strategy of the business model.

Once 1990 came along, another recession occurred which led to yet another rethinking of the role of HR. Dave Aldrich wrote two books entitled Organizational Capability and Human Resource Champions. These books became models that would redirect HR thinking during the 1990s. Within these examples was the idea of a strategic partner; this meant that HR should partner with business leaders to help the company develop its strategy. Additionally, Aldrich recommended restructuring HR to make it more effective and efficient through the three-legged-stool concept. The first leg was the HR manager out working with the businesses in the field. The second leg was the corporate centers for excellence, which consisted of the training function, the staffing function etc., located largely in the corporate headquarters. The third leg was the transactional aspect of the employee relations, and the handling of day-to-day transactions that take place within HR.

Another global recession and rethinking of the role of HR occurred during the beginning of the 21st century. During this time, the three roles of HR leaders were determined: implementer, controller, and manager. From this point on, future HR leaders will learn what it takes to be an ultimate director in the field by completing a human resources certificate training.

Leadership

Life in the Fast Lane: Why Leadership Training Should Get Us to Slow Down

03:37 Komentar

"There's never enough time. I'm behind at work, at home, everything seems to pile up. My team members seem to have an endless supply of complaints that need my attention. How can I find time to listen to all of that when I have so many other demands on my time?" Many leaders fall into this trap. It's like the old saying, "The hurrier I go, the behinder I get!" It is a common lament in leadership training, "This all sounds nice but how in the world can I possibly find time to do this? I can't do everything that is expected of me as it is."

As a part of a major change effort, the leadership team of the small electronics factory had implemented a system in which the teams could identify obstacles to their objectives and present them to management. Sometimes these issues were presented with proposed solutions but sometimes the problems were outside of their scope of authority, abilities, or access to resources. Each week the leadership team reviewed the issues and made decisions about what to do. They had committed to respond to 100% of the issues with one of three responses:

1) Yes! We will take action right away.

2) No! We are not going to take action and here is the reason. The "no" responses were always delivered face-to-face. No e-mails or memos!

3) Maybe! If the response was a "maybe," it was assigned to a member of the leadership team with a date for resolution.

The team who identified the issue had the right to ask for the status of the issue and had the final word on whether the issue was closed or not. When the leadership team first agreed to this process, they believed that they would need to deal with a dozen or so issues each week, a manageable number. It was not long before we all realized that was a massive underestimate. Issues poured in by the hundreds. Soon, the leadership team began to complain that the process took all of their time. They were getting behind on their other tasks, working long hours, starting to feel out of control. So, we did some problem solving.

One question we asked was, "How many of those other tasks do you really need to be doing?" The leadership team then went through an analysis to see what tasks could be given up. Many of the things that they had been doing were simply done out of habit. Reports that nobody read. Unnecessary double-checking that added no real value. Meetings that no one wanted to go to. Etc. The result was a little like cleaning the clutter out of your office. By the time they were done, they found that they had plenty of time to deal with the issues coming from the teams. In fact, once they started making real progress on resolving the team issues, they had even more time than they did before. Wisely, they used that time to do a better job of thinking strategically about the future and to attending development activities for themselves. Their conclusion was that our real work is responding to these issues.

One of my largest clients has not yet learned this lesson. Their culture is a fast-paced, demanding one. It is not uncommon to hear hallway conversations like this. "Wow, I worked 50 hours last week." "Oh, that's nothing. I work 60 hours every week." "In my department if you don't work at least 70 hours, they think you are slacking." It is a contest. In fact, little more gets done in environments like that than in companies where employees work far fewer hours. It is easy to look busy. Putting in the hours is not the same as getting things done. Actually, it is often true that less gets done in organizations where people put in extremely long hours than in environments where people are highly engaged for shorter periods of time. The high-pressure environments are often plagued by:

• High turnover. Turnover is expensive. The average cost to replace a competent employee who quits is about 1 and ½ times that employee’s salary.

• High stress. Stress is expensive. It translates into more absenteeism, higher medical costs, increased errors, poor productivity.

• Poor morale. People complain, withhold information, slack off, subtly sabotage organizational goals, retaliate, point fingers, etc.

• Game playing. People channel their energy and creativity into finding new ways of making their supervisors and managers miserable. It is amazing how cunning an unhappy team member can be.

• Less creativity. People's ability to think clearly and in new ways is just not as effective when they are fearful and fatigued.

Some companies have programs to increase work/life balance. That is, employees are expected to work hard but not to extremes. They should take vacations, go see their child in the ballet performance, have a date night with their spouse and so on. In some companies, this is genuine. Their leaders recognize that a whole person with a real life outside work makes a better team member than one who lives only to work. In other companies, however, it is just so much lip service. The joke often goes like this, "We have a meeting every morning at 6:00 a.m. to discuss the new work/life balance program. It's the only time we could squeeze it into our schedule."

I often tell participants in my leadership training workshops that if their people are consistently working more than 40 hours per week, they have failed as leaders. Most jobs require the occasional week in which everyone has to roll up their sleeves and put in the extra hours. That is normal. But, if that is the norm, something is wrong. If people are always expected to work lots of extra hours, the team will lose sight of its real purpose. Good leaders want healthy, complete, whole human beings. It takes such people to make an effective team. Leadership training that encourages leaders to examine how they are scheduling work may be a step in the right direction.

Some leaders are overly demanding because they mistakenly believe it is a sign of loyalty or effectiveness. "Look how many hours my people put in." Others may do this because they are not good at saying "no" to the powers that be. Or they may be fearful that they will not look good when compared to their peers. This kind of behavior is exaggerated in companies where performance reviews include strong ranking systems. If their team members don't put in an excessive number of hours, their wages will suffer or they may even be in jeopardy of losing their job.

Whatever the reason, learning more effective communication skills will help. Listening, really listening, to your team members can go a long way toward helping them be better problem solvers, more independent, creative, productive, and more likely to pitch in when you really do need extra effort. Being able to confront respectfully when the behavior of a team member, peer, or manager is interfering with your ability to be productive can make a significant difference in your effectiveness.Leadership training that emphasizes learning these skills and how they can help make the team more productive will free you up to do the kinds of things that leaders need to be doing. You will have more latitude to schedule development activities, think clearly about strategies, and coach your team members when they really need it. It will also make an impact on your life at home. The old cliché is, how many people would have, "I wish I spent more time at the office," engraved on their tombstone?

Education

How to Build Effective Metaphors

08:47 Komentar

Metaphors are a double-edged sword. If it works, it can lend your piece an extra-special color; if it slips, it can destroy leave your meaning confusing and muddled.

You’ve probably experienced it yourself. Some of the world’s most memorable speeches, after all, use metaphors that conjure a very vivid image in the audience’s mind. In the same way, even a well-written piece, duly worked on by an advanced writing software, can leave you bewildered when an off-base metaphor suddenly finds itself thrust in the middle of your reading.

Metaphors are also important is creating quality contents. This can make your writing good while you stick to the rules on how to use them. Moreover, your content can basically express a lot of meaning as you use metaphors to discuss your topic further.

What’s good about it? Simple, it draws your readers closer to your writing while they actually have their own interpretations while understanding the concept of your topic.

Excess use of metaphors is not really good but knowing how to use them well can help you a lot. It is because it gives your content a colorful glow which makes it clearer and interesting in the eyes of your readers.

Besides, it also helps to maintain every emotion that is express in your writing. It allows your readers to think behind what their eyes can see, thus, it makes them think further and imagine the picture in your writing.

What makes you a good writer? It is by knowing how you will create your content and to use the right words to describe the topic well. If you don’t have any ideas how metaphors play an important role in your content, then don’t worry about that.

Every problem has its own solutions and if you having a hard time in writing metaphors, there are ways that will help you out.

Whatever is your purpose in writing and where you will publish you work, metaphors are always allowed to boost your skills and creativity as you face your writing tasks. Just avoid bad metaphors so that you won’t mess up with your content later.

Most often, bad metaphors are the result of one of two things:

• Poorly-chosen comparisons. Some metaphors just aren’t the eight choices. Either they don’t improve clarity, they don’t match the subject of comparison or they bring absolutely no color to the discussion. The latter is especially common with beginning writers who are prone to using obvious and common comparisons.

• Mixed metaphors. The “mixed” part refers to conflicting halves of the comparison – the first part just doesn’t match the second, leading to writing that sounds awkward and forced. As a result, any impact the metaphor is supposed to achieve just ends up falling short.

When building effective metaphors, look towards the following guidelines to help you avoid the previous problems:

• Ensure consistency, making sure the entire statement relays a unified message.
• Make it easy to visualize, using words that paint a clear picture.
• Make it accessible, using familiar images that people can identify.

Education

How to Write With a Basic Structure

08:46 Komentar

Structure holds a piece of writing together by giving it a framework, one that’s designed to satisfy your reader’s natural need for order. Whether you realize it or not, a genius idea is only as good as the manner in which it is presented, that’s why we’ve been harping over and over at the importance of using a robust writing software. Structure allows you to present your thoughts in a way that can help the reader take it all in, without requiring too much on their part.

It is very important that you know the basic structure for writing contents or even writing passages. A writer should know what to do before and during their writing task in order to avoid any bad writing later on.

Basically, most writers would always plan everything first before they will start writing the topic down. Planning includes what to discuss, what to consider, how to structure your contents and what are the necessary information that you will have to include in writing the subject. It’s like planning how your outline would work and your purpose in writing.

To create such good quality writing, make sure it’s content is structured effectively to avoid any weak points in writing. Normally, we should start from the basic.

The most common structure for writing is, knowing what’s the main idea of your topic and let it show from the beginning or introductory part of your content.

This always gives your readers a hint on what to expect later on while they continue to read your writing down to the last part.

Here are a few tips for you to apply:

1. Decide on a logical order right from the start.

Structure can change throughout the course of your writing. However, it’s always easier to revise a structured piece, compared to one whose ideas have been randomly patched. In order to truly master using structure, you must write with forethought and deliberate expressions. Organize your ideas (a mindmap is a good way to do this) before sitting down to write your first sentence.

2. Make your points quickly.
Present your evidence and write your arguments as quickly as possible. Don’t worry about word count or a lack of build-up – these are both things you can work on later during the editing phase. Instead, focus on writing each section of your piece in as brief and succinct a manner as possible.

3. Keep sections short.

How long should you keep up one argument? According to most experts, the magic number is 300 words. It’s short enough to read continuously, yet long enough to allow a full-bodied discussion. If you can relay the exact same ideas in even shorter paragraphs, however, go for it.

Coming Up With Your Structure

If you can’t decide how to structure your piece, try writing a one or two sentence summary of the thoughts you want to go into it. Most of the time, short summaries can organically reveal the correct framework that your subject requires.

Business

Ajian/mantra Pelet Nusantara Indonesia

08:40 Komentar

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Education

How to Accelerate Your Writing Speed

08:10 Komentar

This has been everyone’s problem. Surely there are times where you want to speed up your writing so that you can complete your work on time. Not to mention all the pressures that you encounter while doing your task in writing.

But how is it possible to write fast while avoiding any difficulties in writing? There is nothing to worry about since there are expert writers who manage to write fast within an estimated amount of time.

There are lots of advantages if you can write fast. Most of all, you can be productive enough with your writing task. However, increasing your writing speed don’t just only end there, it also requires writing quality contents and there are techniques to do it.

Want to speed up your writing speed? Sure, there are tricks you can pull to hasten your workflow. If you want to really improve your process for the long term, though, here are things we believe you should be focusing on.

1. Setting goals. Without goals, you’re just another random writer waxing poetically on a page. Having goals let you know where you’re going at all times, quickly overcoming one of the most common excuses for procrastination – being unsure about what to do.

2. Setting priorities. Goals aren’t enough. You’ll have to prioritize each one too. Plus, you’ll have to take into account all the other things that you need to attend to, including children, spouses, errands and more. Being able to set priorities for all of those things is the true secret to a balanced life – one that will help keep writers on their path.

3. Sound planning. Writing fast depends as much on a solid plan as it does on your skills. The better you’ve prepared in the pre-writing stages, the smoother the actual writing can happen.

4. Compartmentalize your research. Complete your research materials before getting to work on the piece. If, during the middle of actual writing, you realize you need to verify some facts or get some new stuff, save them for later. In your timeline, always keep research work in isolated boxes.

5. Learn to write without editing. The secret to writing really fast is to understand your subject, let the words flow and worry about the rest later. Editing for one minute can set your writing process back for more than double that time, so avoid it at all costs.

6. Edit thoroughly. Save all your editing energy after the initial draft is finished. At that point, edit thoroughly, pulling out every trick you learned in school to improve your material.

7. Use automated tools to your advantage. There are many tools out there for career writers, from novel editors to screenplay organizers to grammar checkers. Used well, they can speed up your writing time like no other.

8. Never give up. Writing is hard, especially when you decide to take on it as a career path. Embrace that and realize that you probably wouldn’t be happier doing anything else. Otherwise, you would have changed course long ago.

Education

Three is the Magic Number

08:08 Komentar

Have you ever heard of the tricolon? In writing, this refers to the use of a three parallel constructions in a series as a way to enhance your writing’s impact.

Many have proven its three magic in writing. have you use a tricolon in any of your writing tasks? Maybe you don’t know what a tricolon means or does it really exist but there are instances where you could have encountered it in your writing too.

To make it clearer, tricolon is a kind of sentence where it is consists of three independent clauses. Therefore, a single sentence can have three equal parts that can always stand alone.

The beauty of writing tricolon is that, it can draw your attention towards this kind of sentence easily. Generally, it is powerful yet so easy to understand. However, it is very explanatory and anyone can get the idea of the sentence without any problems at all.

In writing, it is best to use your creative way of thinking on how you will enhance your tricolon more. But others only end up in messing their own writing.

You can only write a tricolon successfully if you will just stick to the main idea that you are trying to point out in your sentence. There are two types of tricolon, the ascending and descending tricolon. The difference between the two is of course, the length of each phrase in every break.

You will see this employed all the time in great speeches, comedic routines and advertising slogans – three things that rely heavily on the impact that words will have on their audience. And using a tricolon, despite its latent simplicity, is one of the most dependable techniques for achieving just that. Provided you use a writing checker to make sure your grammar and spelling don’t get in the way, of course.
Want to see tricolons in action? Take a look at these examples and determine the impact of a tricolon:

“I came; I saw; I conquered.” – Julius Caesar

“…with malice toward none, with charity toward all, with firmness in the right…” – Abraham Lincoln, in the most famous expression of his second inaugural address

“…life, liberty and the pursuit of happoness.” – The Declaration of Independence

“Instead of language we have jargon; instead of principles, slogans; and instead of genuine ideas, bright suggestions.” – Eric Bentley

“Can I get you anything? Cup of coffee? Doughnut? Toupee?” – a punchline from the Dick van Dyke show, said to a bald man

Threes are well-noted in almost all forms of culture. As such, it isn’t surprising that they work so well in writing too. As a general rule, you should use tricolons for lists whenever applicable, such as when detailing only the most important features of a movie for a reviews (“It was fast-paced, exciting and filled with action from start to finish”) or when describing an object with adjectives (“The plan was cold, calculated and precise”). Not only are they easy to read, the triumvirate creates a natural rhythm too.

Internet

Simple Web Design Tips For Beginners

08:07 Komentar

Web design is a relatively new trade. But even so – take note – this new trade is all the rage these days. Every smart person looking to set up his or her own business knows that a business website is important, even crucial, to success.

As an aspiring web designer, what do you do with this information? You get better. Everybody starts somewhere. As an amateur web designer, I suggest you follow these simple tips to help you design a high quality and professional-looking website.

1. Make Navigation Easy
Driving visitors to your website is one thing, keeping those visitors glued to your website is another thing. Amateur web designers should take note that link navigation plays a huge role in keeping visitors from leaving your website.

Ask yourself, what's the first thing visitors look for when they open your homepage? What other subjects might interest them to prevent them from moving on to another website?

2. Polished Layout Design
Visitors tend to stay longer on websites that looks polished and makes effective use of white space – think Yahoo! and Google.

Also I know it's tempting to use unique-looking fonts that you don't see everywhere, but at the risk of your website not working on some computers or web browsers. Are you willing to take that risk?

3. Start Learning CSS Programming
Table-based websites are old, they're a thing of the past, and you know the modern Internet age doesn't deal well with things that are old.

Modern web designers are slowly trying to transition to programming using pure CSS. CSS is a lot more accessible, has high reusability, and makes for generally smaller file sizes.

4. Minimize Loading Times
Loading time is very important to a website. Visitors tend to stay away from websites that take more than a couple seconds to show everything on the screen, especially those with slower Internet speeds because, hey, not every lives in South Korea.

As an amateur web designer, make sure your website loads as quickly as possible. Do this by reducing the amount of visuals and Flash content on your website to keep the general file size low.

5. Account For Different Screen Resolutions
Different computers are connected to different monitors, and each of these monitors have different screen resolutions. You need to account for all these when designing a website. Or else what looked like a work of art on a 1440 x 900 resolution turns out to be a complete mess when viewed on a 1280 x 800 resolution monitor.

6. Make Sure Your Website Is Browser-Compatible
A great website means nothing if it isn't compatible with popular web browsers, mainly Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Apple Safar, Opera, etc. You need to make sure as an amateur web designer that your website will run smoothly on these browsers which, when put together, constitute 90%+ of the world's web browsers.

Web design is easy if you’ve got the fundamentals down. Follow these simple tips and you'll be designing great websites in no time.

Internet

How To Hire A Web Designer

08:05 Komentar

So, you've got the Great Idea. Your strategy is laid out. On your checklist is getting a website done. Problem: you don't know how to do web design. And you won't trust the job to your colleague's goofy son. So what one you do to get a nice-looking site up and running quickly?
1. Hire A Pro.

Pro web designers are to amateurs what contractors are to DIY enthusiasts. You don't let DIYers loose on important parts of your enterprise. They may do the job badly, leading you to hire professionals to fix what the amateurs did wrong.

Hire a professional who can give you reasonable rates, a realistic timetable and most importantly, offer clever suggestions you didn't consider when you started the job.
2. How To Find One.

Pro web designers can be found via search engines, on forums and on freelance websites. The latter have rating systems. These give a good idea of quality. However, check just what the designer is being ranked on. Some do 30 little jobs and garner good ratings. That doesn't mean they'll be good enough to code your ecommerce website with a shopping cart and forum. Find someone who's done the work before.
3. Clearly State What You Want Done.

Many designer-client problems stem from thin specs and unspoken assumptions. You'll save money if you set out, in detail, what you want done and what you don't want done. It's a smart move to point to examples of other people's work and say: "I want that feature from that site and this feature from this other one".

What you need is a contract. A document that describes what's required of both parties in the deal. This could save you a lot of argument later. Keep this short and sweet. An email, with simple contents, can be a contract. You just state:

What you want done;
When you want it done by;
Who you want to do it;
How much you want to pay for it and
How you are going to pay.

If either party fails on these particulars then the contract is broken.
If some of the work is confidential then an NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) may be necessary. You should only use this if there truly is commercially sensitive information involved.
4. How Much Should It Cost?

Web designers charge for price-work or by the hour. By the latter I mean you decide in advance how much in total you'll pay for the total job. I think this is the best way. It avoids escalations in costs. However, the designer is within his rights to say "No more" if he did what you asked but not what you intended i.e. you thought you wanted X but what you realised you needed, halfway through the project, was Y. And then Y + 1.

In this case, the designer has the right to demand more money or time. Or both. This returns to point 3, above. 'Be clear in advance about exactly what you want done'.
5. How Should I Pay?

Pay in stages. A deposit up front, then in three or four stages according to the amount payable and the amount of work done. This means you don't get ripped off for a large amount upfront and the designer is motivated to continue with the job. Give him a bonus if he does a good job. He'll be delighted and you may make a friend!

Technology

The Blackberry Torch 9800, Improved For Gloating Rights

07:51 Komentar

If you are an avid and loyal Blackberry user, the newly released Torch 9800 gets you frothing at the mouth whenever you think about it. Before you run out and get your little hands on the new and improved Blackberry Torch 9800, let’s see what improvements RIM has developed to keep their loyal fan base, and avoid the switch over to its main competitor, the Apple iPhone 4.0.

The newly released Torch has improved its communication and entertainment facilities, trying to appease those Blackberry users who want not only the business capabilities but want a little fun too. Looking at the iPhone, it’s hard not to fall in love with all it’s apps, its photo and video capabilities, as well as games and Facetime additions. So Blackberry lovers can feel as though their not missing out on the fun, Blackberry has tried to enhance their fun with the new Torch 9800.

What it offers
The new 6.0 operating system on the Torch 9800 runs a lot smoother than the Blackberry Bold ever did. It’s faster and doesn’t cut out half of the information you request. The new OS 6 is familiar to Blackberry lovers, but has a few updated additions which make the Torch 9800 ergonomically easy to use. Web access is fast with HSDPA or Wi-Fi and the Webkit-based browser incorporates automatic search and pinch to zoom. The new system allows you to choose the amount of icons showing, and allows you to move between 5 different screens to arrange them in order of importance. You can easily rearrange the icons whenever needed.

Blackberry apps
Although Blackberry is still behind the iPhone in the app world, it has many useful productivity apps including a free social feeds app which organizes your social networking feeds. The Snaptu app is great because it consolidates all of your online services such as sports updates, social networks, TV, film, movie and restaurant information.

Visuals
There is still a toolbar at the top of the screen which displays your connectivity info including your network, Bluetooth and WiFi connections. The toolbar also includes a message bar alerting you to monitor messages from either email or Facebook and Twitter. Pressing on the messages bar, gets you a drop down menu of all messages sorted by its source.

The keyboard can be used in the big touch format developed for the storm 2 or the QWERTY keyboard of the 9700 bold. The touch screen still flaunts the editable AutoText. Anyone buying the Torch 9800 is likely to prefer a physical QWERTY keyboard. It has the usual 35 well-spaced keys, angled in RIM's uniquely thumb-caressing way, along with the keyboard, there is also an Optical track pad, Multi-touch input and a Proximity sensor. The handsets internal memory is 4GB and it can be easily expanded up to 32 GB using a micro SD card slot.

Entertainment

The Blackberry Torch 9800 has all the latest features of making communication and entertainment a more fun and simple process. The camera is 5 MP which has auto focus, LED flash with Geo-tagging, image stabilization and video recording. The new Torch 9800 has an Aunsoft DVD Ripper. This is a great addition to the overall entertainment factor. The Aunsoft ripper helps you rip DVD movies to your Torch 9800 compatible with .wmv or .mp4 format with 480x360 resolutions. It’s the best DVD backup software on the market. Have some work downtime? Why not watch a DVD and take a break.

If you are a tried and true Blackberry fan, the new Torch 9800 will definitely be a step ahead in your ability to fuse your business life with your personal life. That’s what Blackberry was challenged to do by the release of the iPhone 4.0, and it’s definitely a contender in the smartphone market. Now you won’t have to fade into the background whenever someone shows off their great new iPhone 4.0. Yell it out and be proud, “I’m a blackberry user, and this is what mine can do!”

Education

5 Strategies For Picking College Classes

07:41 Komentar

Picking classes should be one of the most exciting college rituals, but it can be overwhelming. With so many courses to choose from, how do you narrow them down and make the right decisions?

There's no step-by-step approach to picking classes that works for everyone. But employing the following five strategies should help you pick the right classes for you.

Strategy 1: Gather Intelligence

Seek out information about classes from these three sources:

• Other students. Especially when you are a freshman, upperclassmen are a great resource. Your RA and older friends or acquaintances should be happy to talk about their experiences in a particular course or with a particular professor.

• Academic advisors. Be sure to set up a meeting with your advisor. Your advisor should alert you to classes you are required to take, if you've forgotten to sign up for a discussion or lab section, or what the prerequisites are for courses that appeal to you. If you haven't been assigned an advisor, contact student services and ask what academic advising resources are available.

• The Internet. Most universities now post student evaluations of classes online. Try to determine what the general opinion of potential courses and professors have been. A student disgruntled by bad grades or personal conflicts with the teacher might post a scathing review, which can probably be ignored if most other evaluations describe the class positively.

Strategy 2: Fulfill General Requirements Early
Find out what classes are required by the university or the school within the university, such as the School of Engineering, you are enrolled in. It's wise to meet these requirements in your first year or two. Then, later on you can take classes required for your major and not have to fill up the rest of your schedule with other required classes.

Strategy 3: Aim for Variety Each Semester
In addition to mixing required classes with elective courses in subjects that interest you, it's smart to register for different kinds of classes each semester. You're in danger of becoming bored or overburdened if all your classes have you in lab all the time or writing a never-ending cycle of papers.

Strategy 4: Skim the Course Catalog
If you're hunting for literature classes, don't just look at the English Department offerings. Sometimes interdisciplinary courses are only listed in a single department, which means you might find the class of your dreams, "Dreams in Literature Since Freud," listed with psychology courses, but not English. So to maximize your options, peruse the full catalog.

Strategy 5: Know Yourself and Be Realistic
Do you take the 8:00 AM Chemistry 101 because everyone says the professor is great and your roommate is signed up? Or do you take the afternoon 101 with a less exciting teacher? If you never get up before 10:00 AM, you may find that even if the afternoon class isn't as exciting, you might do better, and be happier, getting the sleep you need in the morning without facing any disturbance.

Education

7 Strategies For Selecting the Best School For You

07:33 Komentar

Most high school seniors relish in those end-of-the-year pleasures of prom and yearbook signing, final pep rallies and graduation, but few are thrilled about the long and sometimes arduous process of choosing a college. Finding the right college that best fits your needs is exciting, but it can also be time-consuming, confusing, and leave students fearful about not making the right choice. These strategies can help you save time when choosing a college and make a thoughtful, well-researched decision about your education.

1. List Objectives in Advance
Determine what you want out of your education and college experience before you begin your search. Ask yourself questions such as: do I want a two-year or a four-year university, do I want to stay in-state or go out of state, do I want a campus experience or am I going to live off-campus. Also, make a list of requirements that includes extra-curricular activities you'd like to join, programs you want to apply for, and average amount you're looking to spend.

2. Consider Your Major
A college might appear to have everything you want, but you may find that they don't have the major you're looking for. Or, they might seem have the major on paper until you really dig deep into the methodology of the program and realize it's almost what you're looking for, but not quite. Be clear about the major and type of training you want before you choose your college. For example, if you're a photography major, do you want a commercial photography education or a traditional fine arts education? Each decision reflects the type of major you're really after and therefore the college you want.

3. Use College Comparison Sites
Exploring colleges is now easier than ever before with college comparison websites like U-Can. Run by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, U-Can helps students search colleges by one of 17 criteria including state, degrees offered, tuition and fees, religious affiliation, even average undergraduate loans owed at graduation. Sites like these can help you narrow down the criteria that are most important to you and find the colleges who can meet those specifics.

4. Check Statistics, But Don't Rely on Them
Every year, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review, and others publish college rankings and statistics about everything from happiest students to biggest party schools. While these rankings are important and are good to consider when choosing your education, they should not be trusted as the ultimate word on a school's value. Rather, you should use these statistics to give you general guidelines about where a school falls in relation to all others.

5. Tour the School
A school that looks one way on paper may be very different in real life. Promotional pamphlets and mailings only tell students one side of the school's story, and usually it's the side college administrators want them to see. By actually going to the school's campus and touring the grounds, you'll get an idea of what the student body is like, how the campus environment feels and whether the dorms and buildings look as nice and well kempt as they seem in the brochure.

6. Are You a Good Fit For Them?
A college should fit your requirements, but you should also be realistic about fitting theirs. Evaluate your GPA and SATS scores against what colleges you like are looking for and take them into account when considering whether to apply. While it is good to be ambitious, you don't want to waste your time and money on a school that's clearly above or below your skill-level.

7. Trust Your Gut
In the end, your gut instinct should be the final determination in whether or not to choose a school. If it seems right to you, then odds are it probably is.

Education

10 Ways the Government Will Help Pay For Your Online Degree

07:21 Komentar

When you get an advanced degree, Uncle Sam benefits just as much as you do. That's why he'll help you finance your degree. Here are ten ways the Federal government will help pay for part or all of your postsecondary education.

1. Federal Pell Grant Grant. The Pell Grant is available almost exclusively to undergraduate students and does not have to be repaid; the award range is $400 to $4,731.

2. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG). This grant if for undergraduates with exceptional financial need and doesn't have to be repaid; the award range is $100 to $4,000.

3. Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG). This grant is for Pell-eligible students enrolled at least half-time in their first or second year of study or in a certificate program of at least one year at a degree-granting school and doesn't have to be repaid; Up to $750 in the first year and $1,300 in the second.

4. National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (National SMART Grant). This grant is for Pell-eligible students enrolled at least half-time in third, fourth year or fifth year majoring in certain subject areas with at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA; award amounts equal up to $4,000 a year.

5. Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant. This is a grant for undergraduate, post baccalaureate, and graduate students who will be taking course work necessary to become an elementary or secondary teacher and does not have to be repaid; awards up to $4,000 a year.

6. Federal Work-Study. This is money earned while you're attending school, and it does not have to be repaid. Available for both undergraduate and graduate students, jobs can be on or off campus. Students are paid at least federal minimum wage, and there are no annual minimum or maximum amounts.

7. Federal Perkins Loan. A federal needs-based loan for undergraduate and graduate students that must be repaid; loans made up to $5,500 for undergrads and up to $8,000 for graduate and professional students.

8. Subsidized Direct or FFEL Stafford Loan. These are needs-based loans for students attending at least half-time and must be repaid. The U.S. Department of Education pays interest while the borrower is in school and during grace and deferment periods. Loans come in the amount of $3,500 to $8,500, depending on grade level.

9. Unsubsidized Direct or FFEL Stafford Loan. This is a needs-based loan for half-time students that must be repaid. The borrower is responsible for all interest, and loans range from $5,500 to $20,500 depending on grade level and dependency status.

10. Direct or FFEL PLUS Loan. These loans are for parents of dependent undergraduate students and for graduate and professional students enrolled at least half-time. There's no financial need required, but the borrower must not have adverse credit history. These loans are unsubsidized, so the borrower is responsible for all interest.

Take advantage of as many of these options as you can. An education can be the key to getting what you want out of your life, and it's a great step towards a brighter future.

Education

Are America's Public Universities Dying?

07:16 Komentar

The recent recession exacerbated a decades-long pattern of diminishing state dollars spent on public universities. Now, as some wonder whether the state schools can emerge from the economic crisis and regain their former robustness, a disturbing question is being asked: are America's troubled public universities dying?

Public Universities Financially Sick
The last twenty years have seen the positive trend of growing enrollment at public universities counteracted by the negative trend of decreased government support for these schools. From 1988 to 2008, the number of full-time enrolled (FTE) students at public universities increased 42 percent, while the amount of state money spent per FTE student declined 9.1 percent. Neither federal funding nor higher tuition has made up that loss. As a result, public universities' debt is up 54 percent just to finance their facilities.

Despite economic hard times, private universities have consistently outspent their public counterparts per student. This means they've been able to attract more prestigious faculty by paying more than struggling public universities, and they've also been able to fund graduate students better and make more improvements to their campuses.

Faced with the pressing need to bring in money and compete with private schools, many state schools are failing to meet their historic mission to educate citizens of all classes. Public universities still have impressive coffers from which to award student aid, but because students coming from out-of-state pay higher tuition, state research universities have started enticing these students with generous grants, regardless of financial need.

As a result, those who don't need them are being given price breaks at the expense of those who do. Unable to afford public university tuition, many poorer students are opting for community or for-profit colleges. At troubled public research universities, between 1995 and 2003, the number of undergraduate students with annual family income of more than $100,000 went up 12 percent. At the same time, undergrads with annual family income of less than $20,000 dropped from 14 percent to 9 percent of the student body.

How to Improve Public Universities' Health

Here are two suggestions for getting the struggling public universities back on their feet:

• Peter Orszag, 2009-2010 White House Director of Management and Budget, pointed out in a recent New York Times column that increases in state spending on Medicaid have been almost exactly equal to decreases in higher education spending over 25 years. Federal help in paying Medicaid costs, and containment of health care costs in general, should allow states to restore levels of funding for their university systems. The Association of Public and Land-Grant Colleges calculates that increasing the education allocation of state budgets just two percentage points would make a significant impact.

• Even without more funding, public universities could potentially improve their situation by spending the money they do have differently. The Chronicle of Higher Education quotes Cary Nelson, President of the American Association of University Professors, as saying that schools should spend less on ambitious but expensive "fantasy projects" and more on recruiting and paying faculty and other basic educational priorities. And the Education Trust asserts that public universities can choose to fund more low-income and minority students, and some already have begun doing so to great effect.

American public universities are still among the best in the world. Whatever their current troubles, eight U.S. public universities appear in the top 30 of the Times of London World University Rankings 2010.