View 5 | International Issues and Business - MDDE 601/605

by Andre Gallant
Tags: business, China, international
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Overview

This fifth VIEW deals with my third area of interest, international issues. It also deals with business planning, which although not a particular interest of mine, does allow for a show of evolution of skills, through contrast with a later assignment.

In writing this assignment, I believe I have touched upon the following MDDE competencies:

1. Problem Solving, Analysis, & Decision Making

1.1. Recognize problems.
1.2. Define the aspects of problems.
1.4. Find and access information.
1.5. Evaluate the relevance of information for a given situation.
1.6. Compare alternatives.
1.7. Make reasoned arguments leading to rational solutions.
1.8. Justify these solutions.
1.9. Present them to others.
1.11. Adapt solutions to suit varied situations.

3. Communication Technologies and Networking

3.3. Justify the applications of these technologies in real-life contexts on the basis of theory and research.
3.4. Compare the relative advantages and disadvantages of these technologies in various distance education contexts.
3.5. Apply these technologies in distance education and in real-life instructional contexts.

5. Research

5.1. Frame research questions.
5.2. Apply theoretical considerations to proposed research.
5.3. Access and critically evaluate sources and content for quality, applicability and relevance.
5.5. Formulate questions and reasoned arguments, leading to rational conclusions.
5.6. Summarize and synthesize information with a view to pursuing deeper understanding.
5.7. Effectively communicate information, arguments, and analyses in the discipline of distance education, in a variety of forms, to suit different contexts and audiences.

6. Management, Organization and Leadership

6.1. Analyze the current and future climate of the distance education and distance learning industry, and formulate strategies to respond to that climate.
6.2. Describe the business and administrative functions in distance education organizations and discuss how business decisions affect financial and non-financial work results.
6.3. Make recommendations regarding the selection of learning technologies and assure that these selections meet organizational needs.
6.4. Outline the relative costs of appropriate technology-based communications methods in distance education and assure that the organization is receiving a good return on investment.


Reflection on Competencies

The final project for MDDE 601 required me to think of a business opportunity in DE, and design a program to take advantage of that opportunity (1.1). For me, this meant analyzing my surroundings in an effort to spot opportunities, and thinking of ways to deal with the challenges I might face while trying to take advantage of the opportunity I had decided upon (1.2). An immediate challenge I faced in gathering information as my project progressed was the language barrier. It took some research, and some help from my wife, who is Chinese, to get around the fact that much of the information I needed was easiest found in Chinese (1.3).

I had a broad idea of what I wanted to do, which was to create a DE training program from migrant workers that would allow them to finish their high school studies. My plan was to use mLearning materials to achieve this goal (3.3 – 3.5, 6.1). And so the first step was to see if this was a reasonable business idea (5.1, 5.2); otherwise an alternative would have been needed (1.6). I eventually found several government pages that had English content and that offered detailed statistics that helped me frame my argument (1.4, 1.5, 5.3, ), so I proceeded with my initial idea. The statistics I found actually showed that there was a huge potential for this type of business (1.7 – 1.9, 5.5, 5.6), although several adjustments were made to my initial plan along the way to make the business model more financially viable (1.11). The final conclusion was that, using realistic projections for student numbers, costs, and unforseens, the school could expect to be profitable in two years' time (5.7).

My First Focus on International Issues

A Later Assignment with a Similar Goal

A Global Experience

I've had the good fortune, in my 30-odd years of life, to have seen and experienced a large part of the world. I left Canada after leaving university, and except for a few visits over the years, I haven't been back. That's why I knew coming into the MDDE program that I wanted to focus at least some of my attention on international issues, and specifically on the country that I call home: China.

And so I was excited when I received my first opportunity to focus on this topic of interest in my first course, MDDE 601. Specifically, creating a business proposition allowed me to focus on the place where I live, China, and how I could potentially improve the lives of the people around me through my studies. I focused on an issue of vital importance to Chinese well-being: The education of the country's rural and blue-collar laborers. This is a massive segment of China's population, and one that is increasingly finding itself marginalized by development and opportunities given to other segments of the populace. Without access to an adult-education program that allows them to complete their secondary school education, this group is without options.

When designing my plan, I made sure to pay special attention to the unique challenges faced by this segment of society, namely low income, long work hours, and limited access to technology. This last challenge, in particular, caused me to change my opinion of how best to reach the people of developing nations. I decided upon the idea that pre-existing infrastructure should be used whenever possible, regardless of its discongruence with western practices. The idea being that local populations should find solutions that work best for them, not that are imposed on them. More on that in my next VIEW.

I have to say in hindsight, thought, that this business plan looks somewhat amateurish, although it's not without its positive aspects. To contrast it against a later production, I've included a business plan I created in MDDE 605, which I feel is much more complete. It includes, for example, a mission and vision statement, and details much more specifically the concrete actions needed to be taken in order for the business to succeed (6.2 - 6.5). The plan I had outlined for MDDE 601, meanwhile, was much more theoretical and pre-supposed several agreements and conditions I could not guarantee in the real world.

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