Lesser Explored Higher Education Prospects

The question of what higher education course to opt for haunts many high schoolers, graduates, and even experienced professionals. With a plethora of options available to choose from, it is quite often the select few that make it to the top of people's lists.

Either due to lack of information nr the lack of career prospects, many career options have been left unexplored for a long time. With changing times and requirements, a lot of these courses have come to hold more promise than they have displayed earlier. Let us have a quick look at some of these options.

Tourism

Tourism is not only Canada's, but also the world's fastest rising industry. There are several skilled and unskilled job roles that the industry has to offer. Several tourism schools have expanded the list of courses on offer and strengthened their base in acceptance of a surge in interest.

Job prospects:

Tourism is a very diverse industry with hundreds of career options on offer. You can opt for several old school jobs like a travel agent, tour guide, pilot, or flight attendant. Or you can go in for several new age jobs like a white water rafting instructor, gourmet food expert, or a virtual tour operator.

Courses requirements:

Owing to the immense diversity in expertise that the industry requires and the jobs that it offers, you would be hard pressed to find a single university or college that offers all relevant courses. You could refer to any Travel or Hospitality based college for help in narrowing down your options and understanding the requirements.

Fishing

To suggest to a Canadian to learn how to fish at a college has normally been laughed at. After all, we have to be doing things right if our fishing industry is one of the largest and most valuable across the world. However, more and more Canadians, have come to realize that higher education might further their business or career prospects.

Job prospects:

Apart from the actual role of fishing, the industry offers several jobs. You could also look to the Fisheries and Oceans Canada or DFO for opportunities in this industry. Various personnel for office, field, research, and coast guard posts are constantly required all across the country.

Course requirements:

Most fisheries courses are post-graduate courses that require a degree in B.Sc or a related environmental science or biological field.

Films

Vancouver serves as Hollywood's third favorite spot, right after L.A. and New York. Often referred to as North Hollywood, it has all the offerings of the land of movies and opportunities right here in Canada. While there is no success guaranteed in this business, education definitely helps bridge a large gap.

Job prospects:

The movie business offers several jobs right from the makeup and design to animation, direction, acting, production, sound production, post production, and a host of several others.

Course requirements:

For non-specialized jobs, the film industry welcomes new entrants with arms wide open. You should check with a reputed school like Vancouver Film School for more guidance.

Whatever your career inclination, if you're at the point where you are considering higher education, don't get boxed in with the traditional course options. Look at all that the world (and universities) have to offer, analyze what suits you best, and then make your decision.

What Is Grade Point Average (GPA)?

For those people who have the question what is GPA in their mind, and are clueless about what does it mean and stand for, GPA (Grade Point Average) is the method by which the standing and overall performance of student in school, generally from middle school through college, is computed. In calculating your GPA, you must be aware that every semester, you will be receiving a GPA based on the grades you gained in all of your subjects during that semester. However, one must put in mind that the way in which GPA is computed or calculated, and the particular ins and outs of evaluating the standing or performance of a certain student may be unique to a single school or even a country.

The Importance of GPA

1. For those people who aren't that familiar with the importance of GPA, and still ask what is GPA, even before college, the GPA is considered a determining factor whether or not one is qualified to take Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses while you are still in you junior and senior years of high school.

2. For admission, all colleges and universities consider your GPA and even your class rank which is being determined by the calculated GPA. So this only means, the higher your GPA, the better you're your chances of getting into the University of your Choice.

3. If you want to obtain an academic or athletic scholarship, the major consideration that the school will look at is your GPA. The same case with financial aid.

If you're a student, it is very essential that as early as possible, you start improving your GPA for you can't wait until your junior or senior year to start being concerned and troubled about your cumulative GPA. Every class you attend during your high school years gets averaged in, so your first and second year grades are just as important. If you put a full effort and study hard during the first two years, there's a big tendency to graduate with an above average GPA which is good.

A little planning along with hard work during high school years can definitely help you earn and obtain a satisfying cumulative GPA later on and can surely make a difference by the time when you will send in your college applications. Study hard in during your freshmen and sophomore years for this will raise your chances of admission to AP, IB, honors or even an accelerated course. Studying hard is your key to a higher GPA because they are frequently given more weight on the GPA scale. One must inculcate in mind that a low GPA prevents anyone from getting into college; some four-year colleges necessitate a 3.0 or higher for admission. Don't relax once you receive your acceptance letter. Remember that your future college will continue to monitor your performance through the end of your senior year and expect a final transcript. For some who wonder what is GPA, it is a ticket for a better future!

The Current Placement System of Delhi University Needs an Overhaul!

This year, during the admissions of Undergraduates in Delhi University (DU) Colleges one significant remark echoed over students and parents "Please choose course over college. It is a rational long term benefactor for the student's future" source: - HTcampus. This made me go back to the days of my admission in DU three years back, the same idea had struck me, I had been delayed for the admissions in Delhi University colleges as I was lagging behind the cut off percentage criteria in the North Campus Colleges (DU). With more conviction on the curricula and my diligence, the prospects of a better tomorrow were the least ambivalent.

Soon I realized that my hopes were meant to be dashed between the systemic stragglers and status quo. I cared about the code of conduct, but failed to understand the logic of 'policy of non-engagement'. To explain further, the colleges with no administrative framework for placements and market-association justified the status quo as a policy measure. Can someone explain the reasoning of policies which precede a 'flawed' practice over merit? The rationale for evaluating colleges as good or not-so-good (affiliated to the same University) is the systems in place which give opportunity for experimenting a young mind's prowess and specialization, viz. to take it a 'step further' from the rectangular pages or virtual learning to the social practice.

In spirit of the subject, I would like to suggest the anomalies and remedial measures in the placement procedure in practice with colleges which do not have a separate college placement cell in position:

1.) Colleges associating with the Central Placement Cell of the University should opt for a standardized layout of updates, company profiles and other relevant information. The current system is defective with indirect communication and irregularities. For example, the students do not get an official notification on the company profile, dates of interview, recruitment rules etc. from the college. In most of the cases, the interested students have been asked to trail the selection procedure and apply on their own. College endorsement is minimal.

2.) Colleges should encourage a 'positive' preparatory ambiance for young aspirants. There is no workshop/ seminar/ lectures by the prospective company representatives, being organized by the college administration. Kept voluntary, it should be an integral part of the college annual diary of events.

3.) The location is a matter of concern and tangent prejudice, with companies preferring to come to North campus colleges for selection of candidates. There should be a fair representation of the South Campus colleges by the companies opting to come to the campus for placements. This would be huge plus for the students with a positive learning experience.

4.) Colleges should ensure that the meritorious candidates shall be rewarded aptly by giving them a fair chance to prove their aptitude. This would rule out no mid-term dejection's and inter college transfers for the talented. The foundation of course over college would then be well-placed!

5.) Making an extended branch of Central Placement Cell (CPC), North campus in the South campus as well where all the students who are not able to appear in CPC North Campus will stand a fair chance to get to appear and get placed with equal standings.

How Can Social Media Be Used In Engagement Marketing

Taken in the simplest term, a sale is the transaction between a seller, a buyer, and a product or service sold. Broken down into two slightly-more advanced categories, there can be sales when the buyer seeks out the seller to get something he needs or wants, and sales where the salesperson has to elicit the interest of the buyer. This second category, where the seller must find their customers, can further be dissected. There is the type of sale where the salesperson asserts himself to the buyer and pushes the sale, and there is the salesperson who encourages the potential buyer to engage with the product or service, and make a connection with the salesperson, and ultimately, the company or the brand.

It is this final definition that is commonly known as engagement sales, or engagement marketing. This is probably the most advanced, and positive form of a sales transaction, because nothing is being pushed and no expectations are merely looking to be satisfied. Instead, there is a network between buyer, seller, and brand that reinforces one another, with companies reacting and responding to what consumers want, thereby organically improving their products or services.

Today, one cannot begin to think of a progressive sales strategy without taking into account social media. Social media is giving individuals incredible new powers to research, discuss, and engage with brands and products in novel ways that really empower the consumer. And it is no surprise that social media is perfectly suited to engagement sales, as communication is central to being engaged.

Twitter

Begin a brand Twitter account. Have individual employees at the company have their own Twitter accounts as well, giving a human face to the company. Have Twitter events like question and answer periods ("AMA"s or 'ask me anything'). Have contests and where people can win products. Use crowd sourcing for customer feedback.

Facebook

Create a fan page for your brand or product. Hold events and promote them on Facebook. Encourage users to ask questions or begin discussions on the homepage, where threads can be easily-followed. Have customers upload photos or other media demonstrating their engagement with products or with the brand.

Reddit

This is another great tool for crowd-sourcing and AMAs, so long as the company is sincere about where they are coming from, for Reddit users (or Redditors) are very quick to suss out any corporate meddling. Reddit is also a great site for getting passive, uncensored feedback.

Instagram

This picture-sharing site lets users and brands share their experience on-the-go in a visually-stunning platform. Its mobile capabilities are perfectly-integrated with Facebook (who now owns it) as well as Twitter.

Integration: this final point is critical for sales management today. Not only does a brand want all of their platforms integrated together to create a fun and networked consumer experience, but this level of integration should be at the heart of the engagement between buyer and seller. Social media can be the glue bringing together these real, virtual, and global interactions not just for the quick sale, but for the long term engagement.

Debunking Negotiating Tactics

In business-to-business sales, deals are hardly ever reached simply and quickly, with one side setting their terms and prices and the other side simply agreeing or declining. Business to business sales are, in this respect, nothing like your everyday commercial retail sale. More often than not, there is a lot of back and forth negotiating before a deal is agreed upon.

There are many sales gurus who give seminars or publish books that are full of negotiating strategies and techniques. Some of them are as complex as creating imaginary competitors to make your deal seem more sought after. Others could be as banal as instructing you how to arrange your furniture for a negotiating meeting, placing the other party on lower chairs or facing the windows so the sun shines into their eyes. While there definitely are some interesting and productive methods for managing a negotiation, many of these tactics are based around some sort of trickery or diversion that takes the focus away from the pure and simple act of both parties agreeing upon a good business deal.

Negotiations should be about good business. Two parties reaching an agreement about a mutually-beneficial business transaction should not need to employ tactical maneuvers. Good sales management should make their sales team f`miliar with some tactics, but more for the purpose of recognizing them and not to use them. Here are three examples of typical negotiating tactics and why they ultimately don't amount to good business:

Take It or Leave It

This is the tactic of setting strict and definite terms that the other part must accept or there is no deal. This bully-style negotiation is seen as aggressive and could reflect poorly on you and your company, jeopardizing future business and your reputation. Also, a refusal to compromise might work against you in future negotiations when you do not have the upper hand.

Shift the Importance

Pretending something is extremely important to you when it isn't, and conversely, taking an extremely important item and acting like you don't need it. This is supposed to achieve the effect of getting what you want for less, while letting the other party think they have a decisive item in their command. This is tricky because you might get what you asked for, meaning, what you only pretended to want.

One More Thing

After long and arduous negotiations, this tactic is a way to slip in final terms at the last minute, pretending they are of little significance, in hopes the other party will agree just to finish the deal. This can exasperate the other party. It can also clue them in to your bluff and make them realize the importance of this last detail, thereby giving them a major advantage and running the risk that they will be able to re-define the terms for this much-needed item.

Negotiating strategy, like sales strategy, should focus on good research of the other party, exchange of reliable information, and finally, sincere confidence in your ability to hold up your side of the deal with top satisfactory results.

Damage Prevention and Control: How to Handle Bad Sales

The goal of a sale is the sale itself. If this seems like an easy formula, almost redundant, then that is because it is an over-simplification. Focusing on the sale itself is short-sighted and irresponsible. Perhaps a better way to look at things is, rather than focusing on the goal of the sale, focus on the goal of the sales team.

Making a sale is far less profitable, and thus far less rewarding, then establishing a good relationship with a client. If salespeople who do and say whatever they feel actually get that signature and close the deal, then the sale ends there and the relationship ends with it. In sales, sincerity is everything. This is more than business ethics, it is just good business. Sincere sales practices do result in more contracts, and more profit, through repeat business with the same client, to referrals, and to overall positive brand reputation.

This is not to say that sincerity is a guarantee for a successful sale. Products may arrive damaged, or simply fail to perform as promised. Services might not meet customer expectations. Finally, miscommunications during the sales pitch, negotiating, and contract finalization could also result in bad sales.

And while the salesperson should never resort to making excuses based on bad communication, there are several other methods of good sales strategy that could control or prevent these problems.

Prevention - avoid mistakes before they can happen

- Get to know your clients. Learn about their operations. This will help customize your sales pitch and anticipate any problems they may have. 

- Keep records of all your dealings with the client. Follow up phone conversations with email reiterations to have a paper trail. This will catch any miscommunication early. 

- If possible, supply your clients with samples and tests for them to try out in advance. 

Follow up soon after delivery of product or rendering of services. Don't wait until a client contacts you about a problem. 

- Be honest if you don't think you can provide exactly what the client wants. Work together to make compromises or find new solutions. 

- Do not make promises you are unsure you can keep. Make sure you keep all relevant staff, like manufacturing, in the loop. Sales is not an independent body but part of your company's team.

Control - maintain order after something goes wrong

- Assume all responsibility in analyzing the problem. If the problem is with the client, don't blame them. 

- Prioritize rectifying problems before pushing new sales. 

- Consider discounting or other incentives to make up for any losses caused by a bad product or service. 

- Keep extensive records of all problems and solutions for future reference.

Anyone can make a single mistake. But making the same mistake over and over is no longer a mistake, it is bad sales management. Reputations outlast contracts. So next time you push that pen and paper across the table, be aware that making the deal is just one small part of great and responsible sales practice.

The Sociological Nurse

Sociology and nursing: one wouldn't normally associate the two subjects with each other. Sociology is academic and theoretical, while nursing is practical. Someone studying sociology at the university level is not very likely to take a career in nursing. But you may be surprised to know that there are an increasing amount of nurses and nursing programs that incorporate the theories of sociology as part of their practice and programs.

There are many reasons why one would need the services of a nurse, from chronic illness to physical injury. The job of the nurse goes beyond administering medicine, helping doctors and bandaging wounds, but caring for individuals. sociology examines the relationship between individuals and the community they live and work in, it is very useful in the nursing industry to help people adapt to their environment when faced with new physical and mental health issues. If one is sick or injured, their relationship to their environment can change varying degrees. It could limit their ability to work, alter their relationships with family and friends, or heighten the levels of pre-occupation and anxiety about the state of their health in ways they may not have been prepared for. 

There are two kinds of sociological areas of thought that are related to the healthcare industry and are taught in nursing school: the sociology of health and the sociology of medicine.

Sociology of Health

This branch of sociology deals with the bigger picture of how society understands and deals with notions like life, health, illness and death. Our individual ways of making sense of these situations is often greatly influenced by how we, as a society, interpret and react in these cases. One of the main topics of sociology of health is the search and understanding of the causes of diseases. This pathological approach explores natural phenomena as well as the environmental impacts on our bodies, for example: over-crowded urban centres causing respiratory illness due to air pollution, or causing psychological alienation from mass anonymity. Another important theme explores the motivation for getting or avoiding treatment, and why certain kinds of medical aid are preferable over others. As a society, for example, we need to be aware of the limitations for resources for certain medicines, or the side-effects of treatments on large groups of people.

Sociology of Medicine

This branch of sociology may be more pertinent in a nursing program. Here, the specifics of medical institutions are examined and how they function within a community. It focuses on the relationships between medical professionals, like nurses and doctors, with patients and other professionals in the healthcare industry, like hospital administrators and pharmaceutical developers. Unlike the abstract study of life and death, medicinal sociology takes a micro look at the people and institutions of the healthcare industry in a practical way. For example, instead of studying how a society deals with disease, it will look at how a patient is experiencing his or her treatment.

Incorporating sociological studies into greater healthcare education means more rounded healthcare professionals. And this means better service and care for our communities.