Are you willing to take the ‘Risk’?

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Every business faces risk. These risks present potential threat to the success of the business. Risk is defined as a probability or threat of damage, injury, liability, loss, or any other negative occurrence that is caused by external or internal vulnerabilities, and that may be avoided through preemptive action. 

What I found interesting, is the next part of the definition of Risk here: Risk is not an uncertainty (where neither the probability nor the mode of occurrence is known), a peril (cause of loss), or a hazard (something that makes the occurrence of a peril more likely or more severe).

So Risk is not an uncertainty and it can be avoided with preemptive action. This is where Risk Management in business comes into play!

What is Risk Management?
risk man·age·ment
noun
(in business) the forecasting and evaluation of financial risks together with the identification of procedures to avoid or minimize their impact.

 

Risk management is a proactive process for resolving problems before they occur. It focuses on identifying what could go wrong, evaluating which risks should be dealt with and implementing strategies to deal with those risks. Businesses that have identified the risks will be better prepared and have a more cost-effective way of dealing with them. Risk management is the practice of using processes, methods and tools for managing these risks.

 

A risk management process is pretty simple and involves following steps:

  • Identification of the risks (there are several kinds of risks: strategic, compliance, financial and operational) surrounding the business  activities
  • assessing the likelihood of an event occurring
  • planning the framework to respond to these events
  • implementation of the plan of action as necessary
  • monitoring the effectiveness of your risk management approaches and controls

 

There is another interesting aspect of Risk Management : Apart from assessing the effect of the negative; It’s also about managing the positive outcome of risk: opportunity. More and more businesses are now focusing on harnessing the ‘opportunity’ for their strategic success.

Our Online MBA Risk Management caters to the demand of specialised risk managers in the global business arena. It explores the range of concepts and functions of risk management and associated practices within the business sector. Download the catalogue to learn more about the programme and the enrolment process

 

3 British Universities, 31 Online Programmes to choose from

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Robert Kennedy College is a private educational institution in Zürich, Switzerland that was founded in 1998. RKC is a pioneer in online education and provides Swiss Quality Education from Universities based in the United Kingdom. Thus our slogan “Swiss quality, British tradition”. At Robert Kennedy College, we offer Online Masters programmes in exclusive partnership with three British Universities.

 

 

Our Education Partners:

  1. University of Cumbria

The University of Cumbria is ranked on the Guardian University Guide. A number of courses come out “Top in the North              West” and the university is Ranked in the Top Three in the North West for Business and Management studies. The University offers a high-quality learning experience in a supportive environment which enables students to achieve their personal and professional potential wherever they study. RKC in collaboration with University of Cumbria offers Online MBA and LLM Programmes. You can choose from the wide array of specialisation that suits your career requirements; from MBA in Leadership and Sustainability, MBA International Healthcare Management, MBA Media Leadership to MBA Energy and Sustainability and MBA Finance and Sustainability are the most popular courses amongst the students worldwide. Online Master of Laws LL.M is offered in International Business Law. The University of Cumbria is ranked 15th in the United Kingdom in the Guardian University Guide for Law (2014).

2.  University of Salford

Thanks to an exclusive partnership with the Robert Kennedy College in Zürich, Switzerland, the University of Salford Business School MSc Programmes in Global Management, Project Management, Financial Services Management, Marketing, and Procurement, Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Human Resource Management and Development, Information Systems Management, International Banking and Finance and LLM International Commercial Law are now available on a global basis via online learning. In this video, Prof. Dr. iur. David Costa, Dean Robert Kennedy College, explains why you should consider RKC to pursue your Master of Science, MSc Programme:

 

3. York St John University

Today the University is based on an award-winning campus in the centre of the ancient city of York where its students study a broad range of subjects. It has a highly recognised reputation for its teaching and learning, and a wide network of regional, national, and international partnerships which now includes Robert Kennedy College. Programmes offered include MBA Leading Innovation and Change and MBA Management Consulting amongst four other specialisations. Verify our exclusive partnership with York St John University here.

Talk to our education advisor today, to know more about the Online Masters programmes offered.

 

 

Fear of Failure

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In life, on several occasions, the real-world situation unfolds in an entirely different manner than what we are advised or we envision it would. We are taught to be leaders, be confident and be certain of every action we take. Of the several traits and qualities of being a competent leader, we are taught to be fearless. However, the fear of failure is an all-pervasive part of the human psyche. Failure is defined as the ‘lack of success’. Lack of which induces a feeling of paucity, in turn further inducing the ‘fear of failure’ in the future endeavours.

“Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. It is the ability to resist failure or use failure that often leads to greater success. I’ve met people who don’t want to try for fear of failing.” – J.K. Rowling

Fear can adversely affect one’s ability to do things, confidence  and willingness to face any challenges that arise. We are afraid of deploying any ingenious methods, stemming out of the reluctance of taking even minor risks. We fear not only of the outcomes, but also of the deemed image; especially when one is at a leadership position.

“Failure isn’t fatal, but failure to change might be” – John Wooden

Fear cripples the progress and creativity. Change is inevitable and one must embrace the change and advance with valour. First, we must create an environment in which failure is not ridiculed or shamed but encouraged. Teams should strive for a culture rooted in trust because it grants the members a greater capacity for innovation

 “It’s failure that gives you the proper perspective on success.” – Ellen DeGeneres

 

Second, we must not be risk-aversive. Once we are surrounded by those who are more accepting of failure, we can encourage and pursue taking risks early. Fail hard, and fail fast.

 “When you take risks you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important.” – Ellen DeGeneres

By taking risks early on, we contrive plans to embrace larger repercussions, and the confidence bolstered in those unconventional decisions, results in greater achievement.

Reflection session

Reflection session

Now taking risk not always commensurates to the need of the hour. Planning the ‘next step’ and thinking ahead is vital. Risks come with only a chance of success, and sometimes the odds are not in our favor.

 “You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.” – Johnny Cash

We can instead redirect our efforts on what to do next. We encourage this outlook to prevent plateauing personal growth with negative emotion, which also has a high chance of affecting the team’s performance and our future level of contribution.

Finally,

“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” – Denis Waitley

 

Do not let fear come in your way to advance your studies. Talk to our advisor today about the courses offered online and get your customised study-plan.

 

How to choose a career for yourself

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When It Comes to Careers, Change Is a Constant

Apparently, it is one of the toughest and most crucial decisions (apart from choosing a life partner) that each one of us take in our lives. You can be at any stage of your life – a professional working in the field for several years – trying to do something new or just venturing into the practical world after finishing your education; determining your career path can prove to be an extremely overwhelming process.

There are hundreds and thousands of career options. And with the advancements in technology, social media and online interfaces, newer careers have boomed in last few years. The more choices we have, the more anxiety it causes us and the more we fear the consequences of making the wrong decision. We have a natural tendency to not want to close doors, so instead we will scramble back and forth to keep each option open “just in case.” Instead of helping us, this leads to a debilitating sense of indecision.

 

For most of us, our career paths are predetermined. Predetermined by parents, friends, peers, society and circumstances. As a child, we swim (or just try to) in the river, which our parents and society trust is the best path to our successes. We are told how to keep afloat and follow the pack and what our goals should be. Our job isn’t to think about our path—it’s to succeed on the path we’ve been placed on, based on the way success has been defined for us. Now, some of us develop passions and interest on the path they are put onto and make successful careers; whilst others are left pondering on their career decisions. But everyone, (including the successful ones) should pause and introspect if it was really them who chalked out their career paths? The map of your career path should be self designed.

With a little self-exploration and some research, you can easily choose a career that will leave you feeling fulfilled.

Ideally, everyone would know their true calling early in life and find happiness in their work, but it often doesn’t work that way. One survey (of New York professionals) found that they expected to change careers three times in their lifetimes; lifelong careers may not be the norm any more.

Here is what you can do:

Identify your skill set : Evaluate yourself on the various aspects where you are good at. Ask friends, family, colleague for their inputs and narrowing down your strengths.

Jot down your interests and passions: Enlist the things you love to do. It could be sculpting, nature walks, travelling, volunteering, building things, woodcraft etc.

Determining the Option Pool: Bringing together your wants and the reality (skill set), you get a pool of practical options for your career choice.

Be lead by your own aspirations and not societal expectations: Your career choice should be an informed personal decision based on a thorough knowledge of your own strengths, skills, interests, style and values; and not what society expects to become or do in life.

and most importantly,

Believe in yourself!

 

For more information about our Online programmes that can help shape your career; download the catalogue.

 

 

Master’s…Now or Later?

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A majority of the people struggle with this question, whilst contemplating to pursue a Master’s: should they start their Master’s now or later? Being at different stages of their lives, prospective students find the reasons to postpone the Masters primarily are lack of time (they have full time and demanding jobs), their jobs require them to travel a lot, lack of money and family responsibilities. So when is the right time to pursue your Master’s? Right after you finish your undergraduate degree? Or rather wait for couple of years and then become a student again?

There are on set ways and either approach works for different people.

Advantages of starting your Master’s right after finishing your undergraduate degree:

  1. Still in a habit of studying : People start working right after undergraduate degree to earn a salary, support life-style, family, buy house etc. and the delay becomes indefinite. When you start your Master’s early, you are still habitual to studying, attending classes, submitting assignments, without having to worry much about other chores of your life.
  2. Peer Support: Everything gets harder as the time flies. Generation gaps are huge these days, even between first and second year students. So when you start early, you will find peers of your age and generation and the support and understanding is better.
  3. Be able to plan ahead and define better goals: After completing your undergraduate degree you have a fair idea of what you want to do and where you want your career to head. A Master’s degree will help plan your future better and give it a definitive direction in the field you want to be in eg. Finance, Healthcare, Media, Human Resources, project or Information systems management.
  4. Give you an edge in job market: Appearing for a job interview and having a Master’s degree already on your resume, will give you an edge and put you way ahead of others.

Advantages of starting your Master’s later in your professional lives:

  1. Switch careers: This is one of the most popular and easiest way to switch your careers to different fields, no matter what stage of your career you are in. You can start alternate careers or even enrich your existing jobs with new knowledge of the Master’s degree.
  2. Fund your Masters: When you have worked for a couple of years, it becomes easier for you to fund your Masters’ yourself or even secure an education loan. You find yourself in a better position financially.
  3. Build a valuable experience: Most of the students studying online bring with them vast seas of practical knowledge and add to the quality of the course in group assignments, interactions, and discussions. You are able to apply the theoretical knowledge of the course to the practical business world in real time with the online programmes.
  4. Clarity of life and career: you would have a better vision and aim for your life and know exactly where you want your career to head.

 

Download our course catalogue, and speak to our advisors today about the next intake.

Sustainable Leadership

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” Good Leadership is a lifelong leadership process. The best leaders know the difference between a dream and                            a purpose  and they learn to follow their purpose” – Mama Jan Smith

Leadership is defined as the ‘action of leading a group of people or an organisation’.

In today’s complex business world where businesses are multifaceted and multicultural; leadership definition has taken a whole new level. Leaders are not only expected to ‘lead’ a group of people but also effectively manage and influence the group towards goals and values which are sustainable and contain a vision for the future.

YSJ - RKC - MALIC Signing

“Earn your Leadership Everyday” – Michael Jordan

Leadership is not confined to the top levels, to people with a ‘C’ in their business designations. To be successful, organisations need leadership ‘at all levels’ of operation. Leaders at all levels critically convert ideas to reality through far-sightedness and actively engaging in their environment.

Leadership ‘remains the No. 1 talent issue facing organizations around the world.’  Finding good leaders has, of course, always been a crucial issue for all sorts of organizations. This is why the armed forces, for instance, put so much effort into training their officers and why business schools and other providers of executive development have thrived. But the ’21st century leadership is different’.  Companies face new leadership challenges, including developing Millenials and multiple generations of leaders, meeting the demand for leaders with global fluency and flexibility, building the ability to innovate and inspire others to perform, and acquiring new levels of understanding of rapidly changing technologies and new disciplines and fields. No wonder organizations are coming up short.

At University of Cumbria, we offer MBA in Leadership and Sustainability and MBA Media Leadership programmes that cater to the increasing demand of distinctive managers with the aim of developing a unique leadership-oriented career opportunity.

Click here to know more about our programmes.

Future of Healthcare professionals

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HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY – STA·TUS QUO

Demand for healthcare services has unobtrusively risen over a period of time now and this growth will continue into the future. The demand for services translates into ever-increasing demand for healthcare workers – including nurses, physicians, allied health professionals, technologists and coders, leaders, and support personnel. Like any other industry, it’s an upward trend in the long term, for the healthcare sector employment. However, the healthcare industry does not seem to be prepared enough to cater to this increasing workforce demand. Increasing demand has been accompanied by a growing number of unfilled jobs, a serious challenge that can be perceived in the federal labor data and on the digital job boards of hospitals and health systems, where hundreds and even thousands of open jobs are posted. Both growth trends and growth challenges will continue into 2018 and beyond.

WHERE IS THE FUTURE?

The amount of money that is projected to be spent on healthcare in the future, is cogent indicator of rising demand for healthcare services and healthcare workers. More than doubling from 2010 to 2025, when it reaches beyond $55 trillion, expenditures include payments for all healthcare costs, including pharmaceuticals, equipment and technology. However, labor constitutes the single greatest cost for most healthcare organisations.

This growing trend, has translated into a flurry of jobs openings in the healthcare sector. Even in 2017, despite the continued debate over the future of healthcare policy, the healthcare industry has added an average of 24,000 jobs each month. That’s vigorous growth in any industry. Employment growth is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. While healthcare job growth will ebb and flow in the future, the trajectory of growth has been consistently upward.

HOW CAN YOU FIT IN THE DEMAND SUPPLY GAP?

While job openings have ascended steadily over the years, the job hires remained relatively static. Traditionally openings have outpaced job hires in healthcare and the gap between openings and hires has been widening rapidly since 2014. This swelling gap – which represents a cumulative number of unfilled jobs – shows the challenges that healthcare providers face in finding enough practitioners and support personnel to fill today’s job openings. Other data reveals that the problem of high demand for healthcare workers, and low supply of those workers, may continue well into the future. The statistics on the projected future job openings  provides the healthcare providers the crucial insight on the demand for healthcare services and healthcare professionals. These are the jobs that healthcare providers will need to fill in the future.

At Robert Kennedy College, we offer Online MBA International Healthcare Management Programme, in exclusive partnership with University of Cumbria, UK. Recognise the workforce shortage in the healthcare sector and be there where there are abundant jobs. The MBA IHM could prove be the key to your success and better future. Click here to receive the course catalogue and get a chance for free trial offers.

Achieving the perfect Work-Life-Study Balance

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If you are looking either to advance in or to switch careers; online education can help fastrack your career goals. An online student today, typically is a 34 year old, employed in high demanding jobs.

Juggling a career with education is a challenge.

Today, given the flexibility of online education, it’s no surprise that – it’s those very working professionals who are drawn to the virtual classroom.

 

Apart from making the decision about the choice of the University and choice of the course that you want to pursue, another major decision that most of our prospective students face is time-management and achieving that perfect work-life-study balance. Apart from money, time is the biggest commitment that you are going to make towards your Online Education. You may already be running deadlines at your workplace and at the same time have to keep up pace with Online lectures and ensure timely submission of assignments. Studying while working will require some sacrifices, particularly in your social life.
 
Finding this balance is becoming harder, not easier. ‘Healthy mind in a healthy body’ is one of the most popular slogans we have always heard; more so because it is so sensible. Both the mind and the body’s health is optimised by balancing your work life with your personal life. So here are few quick pointers that will help you maintain the most crucial balance of – work-life-study:
  • Make lists – Be organised and make lists of things to be done at work, study and home.
  • Set Goals – Set achievable goals and targets for yourself.
  • Manage your time – Plan your whole work/study week and what you have to accomplish really helps.
  • Do not Procrastinate – Do not leave things to last minute.
  • Do not succumb to pressures – There will always be work pressure. Studying will only add to the already sweltering pressures. Keep your calm. Remember that you are only a human and it is only so much you can do in a 24hour day. Divide ample time to your personal life as well after work and study.

 

Pursue your goal for higher education with Robert Kennedy College Online Masters’ Programme. Download the catalogue.

 

Procrastination.. Saving for tomorrow…….

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Normally I would have published this weekly blog couple of days ago; so what different happened this time?….. I did Procrastinate!

I had been thinking hard to come up with a relevant topic all last week, when this idea struck me suddenly, ‘This is it!’, I thought – this is something all, students and professionals, can easily relate to and deal with in their daily lives. I was smirking that I got so much to write on this topic, I will finish the blog in no time! I should start tomorrow.. I thought to myself. And here we are! 🙂

So What is Procrastination?

Dictionary
pro·cras·ti·na·tion
prəˌkrastəˈnāSH(ə)n/
noun
  1. the action of delaying or postponing something.
    “your first tip is to avoid procrastination”

Now that we have fair idea of what Procrastination means (I know, we know what it means, we live it everyday, well almost most of us..), I would like you to watch this interesting video that I found about procrastination:

Why do we procrastinate? According to Tim Urban, all of us have an instant gratification monkey within us. 🙂

Prof Pychyl says procrastination is making the choice to avoid doing something, even though we know this will cost us in the long run. He says it is different from intentionally delaying doing something, and it is not a problem of time management, but a failure to control our emotions. The problem is our brains are programmed to procrastinate.

“When we procrastinate, we are trying to improve our mood by avoiding doing something that feels unpleasant to us,” he says.

“A bit like getting drunk or comfort eating, it is a coping strategy to feel better by distracting ourselves with short-term pleasure and forgetting about a problem.”

Lecturers suffer from procrastination too, with academic Twitter feeds talking about “writing guilt” and the battle between marking papers and watching Netflix.

With more people studying online, procrastination is a greater problem than ever before. As a student studying online courses, we do postpone our assignments and research papers and even studying for exams. 

So what can we do to avoid Procrastination?

Well these are the top quick fixes that really help me get back on the track:

  1. Removing the obstacles to my task
  2. Re-aligning my focus
  3. Start from the start, no matter where I am – just dive into the task
  4. I don’t punish myself for not starting earlier….
  5. Set new realistic goals and be happy about it
  6. I tell myself that I don’t need to be perfect….it is alright to be imperfect
  7. Remove all fears about completing the task now
  8. And most importantly, I remind myself that all great people Do Procrastinate – from Steve Jobs to Frank Lloyd to Bill Clinton.

I interestingly, also found in a study that procrastination is in fact not that bad, as the procrastinators’ ideas were 28 percent more creative.

 

Do not procrastinate about your decision to study Masters. Find out more about the MBA, MSc, MA and LLMs programmes that we offer; get our catalogue now.

Writing Masters Level Assignments

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A Master’s degree is critically different from a Bachelor’s degree. Though similar on some, Master’s degree will involve a lot of different aspects than a Bachelor’s.

At Master’s level you could be studying one of the many specialised courses offered by Robert Kennedy College, as MBA International Health Management, LLM – Master of Law International Business Law , MBA Leading Innovation and Change or Master of Science Project Management.

Taught Master’s are usually modular in form, featuring a range of optional modules the student can choose from, with a final dissertation at the end of the course, usually produced over the final semester.

Writing assignments at Master’s level

You must use language appropriate to the academic environment, and a coherent and strong structure to your work is essential. Assignments will be longer at Master’s level, even for unassessed pieces of work. Do not be overwhelmed by larger word counts. Remember, you made a large step up in intensity of work from school to university, so another step-up is well within your capabilities.

Clarity is important. Do not use over-elaborate vocabulary and grammar just because you think you have to. It is more important to be understood.

Time management is crucial for the Master’s student – with a heavier workload you will find that a good weekly plan, and a firm grasp of deadlines, is essential. This is especially true with the dissertation which will be the longest assignment you will have done yet at university, usually covering a period of several months. It is important to set yourself deadlines for drafts.

Here are the various aspects of writing skills that Master’s students should be concentrating on in order to succeed.

THE MASTERS LEVEL

One of the first things most Master’s students notice once they have started is how much more intense a Master’s degree is than an undergraduate degree. It is a less passive experience; you will not be guided as much by the lecturers, and will be expected to think for yourself more.

Master’s requires a new way of approaching academic work, all the groundwork has been done at undergraduate level. Let’s look at the features of a Master’s more closely.

ORIGINAL RESEARCH

A Master’s degree is geared towards the delivery of a piece of original research. For research Master’s students this will be your primary focus. For those doing taught Master’s this will form part of all aspects of your degree, not just the final dissertation.

In your original research you should also aim for originality where possible. You are being asked to look at your subject in a fresh and innovative way, and finding a new or underdeveloped area of your subject, or a new way of looking at an established area, will help you gain better marks.

THEORY

Master’s are not exercises in description. You will need to find a theoretical basis for your work. Many Master’s will run modules on the subject of theory, it is advisable to attend all available classes on the subject of theory as it will help you to form an idea of the theory which surrounds your subject. Theory forms a useful framework to hang your research on.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Another important part of Master’s writing is critical analysis. A critical analysis is one which assesses the quality and usefulness of the sources which you are using in your assignments. This process involves considering all aspects of the source and its contents.

 

Download our course catalogue.

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