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Source: http://www.onlinecourses.org/5-advantages-of-online-courses/
More and more students are turning to online courses for a variety of reasons, but here are some of the best reasons to pursue online education–The Five C’s, with some caveats thrown in on potential disadvantages as well:
1. Convenience.
With online courses, you can learn on your own schedule and even continue working a full-time job in the meantime. Even better, you can read and study during the times of the day when you’re at your most productive and not when the registrar says you should be. Also convenient is that if you find that you’re truly overwhelmed with balancing the workload and your other commitments, you may be able to stop the course and restart when you’re ready.
Keep in mind that for some people, though, the convenience of online courses can quickly turn into a disadvantage; if you’re not good at organizing and managing your time and commitments, online courses may not be for you.
2. Control.
Aside from the time management aspects, with some online courses you have more control of the learning process, i.e., you can learn at your own pace. You have the freedom to skim subjects you know well from other courses or from work experience and instead spend more time concentrating on other material you’re having a hard time grasping.
In order for this to be a true advantage, of course, you must be honest with yourself about what you know and what you don’t know.
3. Connection.
Online courses are interactive, which means you will get feedback from your instructors and peers, and possibly even more individualized attention as well. With distance learning, you are immediately connected with students from all over the world, and this can greatly enhance your learning process and experience, opening your mind to a variety of viewpoints.
And because all your materials will be in one place–in your computer–everything you need will be at your fingertips when it’s time to communicate with teachers or fellow students.
Note he connectivity of online courses can turn into a disadvantage if you underestimate the time involved with reading class discussions about the course; it is easy to fall behind if you’re not checking your messages daily. You may also crave in-person contact with teachers and other students, so this could be a disadvantage for some as well.
4. Cost.
Online courses are usually less expensive than traditional courses, particularly if you’re not financially or otherwise ready to pursue a full degree program. You will save money on travel, books, and possibly even food.
Another advantage regarding cost is that you can budget when to take courses so that if you are feeling cash-strapped one semester, you can always take a break and go back for more courses when your wallet says you can.
5. Commitment.
No matter what class you’re taking, one of the most important lessons you will learn from taking online courses is how to commit to something and follow through. In order to successfully complete online courses, you must be responsible and manage your time and resources effectively and efficiently, even more so than if you were taking traditional courses in classrooms.
Although it may not be a major reason you choose to pursue online education, the enhancement of your personal growth and commitment is a definite advantage to taking online courses.
Source: http://www.inmycommunity.com.au/news-and-views/local-news/Safety-laws-woeful/7562423/
EAST Metropolitan MLC Alison Xamon has introduced a Bill to Parliament that she says aims to reform WA’s “woefully inadequate” workplace safety laws.
Ms Xamon said that in WA there was an average of one workplace-related death every 17 days and more than 3600 serious injuries each year.
The Greens MLC said her Occupational Safety and Health Amendment Bill sought to introduce industrial manslaughter legislation, which she said had precedent in the United Kingdom and the ACT.
She said the Bill proposed to introduce workplace safety improvement orders and increase maximum employer negligence penalties from $250,000 or two years’ jail to $3 million or 20 years’ jail.
Ms Xamon, who is also a lawyer, told the Eastern Reporter the “99 per cent” of employers who already addressed workplace safety would be unaffected by the proposed amendments.
But Housing Industry Association executive director John Dastlik said he did not agree with the notion of industrial manslaughter
“The idea of holding a principal employer up for manslaughter when something happens to an unsupervised sub-contractor is inequitable,” he said.
“Australian governments are working together to produce a national Act and you’ve got a WA MP trying to introduce legislation that won’t be in the national model.”
However, Unions WA occupational health and safety officer Linda Morich said she believed that several items in next year’s national model would be rejected by the Barnett Government, including increased employer negligence penalties.
She said Ms Xamon’s “fantastic” amendment Bill would “plug some holes” in the legislation.
Ms Xamon said any deviations from the national model should aim to encourage best practice workplace safety.
Source: http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/working-smarter/time-management-tips/five-tips-to-beat-procrastination
written by: Lucinda Lions
Is procrastination stifling your creativity, causing you stress, or tethering all your wonderful dreams? Here are five tips to help you beat procrastination, once and for all.
18 Apr 10 | Lucinda Lions
1. Make one teeny, tiny, little start
Sometimes a simple task can explode into something big and scary simply because you haven’t made a start. So, just take a really small first step, whether it’s making one quick phone call, writing one paragraph of a long proposal or reading one page of a very large document.
The point of this exercise is that by starting, you’ll realise that your project is not so big and scary after all, and you’ll probably end up finishing the task much faster than you’d anticipated.
2. Banish perfectionism
“ Procrastination can debilitate your business, but nip it in the bud and business will truly blossom. ”
Have you ever said to yourself, “I won’t follow that dream just yet because I’m not good enough”? And then, do you proceed to never actually get good enough to reach your goal?
Don’t worry – you’re not alone! Procrastination afflicts most of us because it feasts on perfectionism.
To limit perfectionism, try the following:
- Expect and accept that your first attempt may not be great. (But guess what? It probably will be great because you removed your high expectations).
- Tell yourself that doing something, anything, is far better than doing nothing at all.
3. Start at the end
I was asked to write a series of business tag lines a few months ago. I love writing tag lines, but I found it hard to get started due to the complexity of the project.
So I started with the end first. I wrote an email to my client that went something like this: “Thank you for contacting me to write your tag lines. Even though your industry is completely foreign to me, I enjoyed the process of researching and writing and I’m very happy with the end result.”
I believed every word I wrote! As soon as I finished writing the email, I launched into the research and the writing, and the first draft was finished by the next day.
4. Make a list
I love lists. They’re not for everyone, but they usually work for me. If I write something down on a list then I really want to put a line through it.
5. Give yourself an earlier deadline
In reality, we all fluff around on tasks far more than we need to. If we’re told to complete something in a week, then we complete it in a week. If we’re told to complete the same task in a day, it’ll get done in a day. We just stretch the task out to fit the length of the deadline.
To get things moving and beat procrastination, create your own earlier deadline, and make yourself accountable to someone to meet that deadline – you’ll find an excellent guide to making this principle work for you in this article.
If your task doesn’t have a deadline, then it’s time to set one!
Procrastination can debilitate your business, but if you can beat procrastination your business will truly blossom.
How do you beat procrastination in your business? Leave a comment today – it doesn’t have to be perfect, and you can start with just one teeny, tiny, word. What are you waiting for?
Source: http://biznik.com/articles/respecting-frontline-employees-how-hard-can-it-be
In most organizations, “respect” is a topic that gets plenty of attention. Employee handbooks state clearly that each person will respect others. So everything is understood and everyone respects everyone else, right? The thinking seems to be that if we just say it needs to happen, it will. Then why do we hear the recurring complaint from frontline employees that they do not feel respected?
Respect doesn’t just “happen” because of some section in the handbook. We may respect a title, for example, like “President” or “C.E.O.” But respecting the title a person holds is not the same as respecting that person. Perhaps we show respect for the person with the title, but we may not actually respect that person.
As stated by dictionary.com respect means: “esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability: I have great respect for her judgment.” So as I understand it, this means that we give worth to how a person conducts himself or herself. The human element in the definition cannot be ignored. When we respect someone we have decided that that person has worth. We have respect because there is something about the person that we have put value on in this person.
In many businesses, the front line employees are often the first and only representatives of the company that the customer ever sees. They are the customers’ impression of the company. They are counted on and missed when they are absent. A customer will often know the names of the employees and recognize them when never knowing any of the management. They affect almost every aspect of the business and are important to its success.
So, what is the “worth” of a front line employee? When front line employees are no more than a cog in the business it is easy to treat them as such, even if it is inadvertent. The employees will feel no less, demeaned and devalued, and ultimately demotivated in spite of good intentions. In essence, as the foundation that keeps the business going, their “worth” is immeasurable. They are the ones that deal first hand with the occurrences of the day and the face to face contact with the customers. Most certainly, they deserve respect before anyone who happens to have a title. Though a title is worked for and there is certainly meirt in that, the employees are the company.
My suggestion? Notice and praise your front line employees, treat them with dignity and respect them for their critical role in the business. Let then know their worth. Let them know the service they provide and how well they are doing. Take the time to let them know. They are very worth it!
Source: http://www.safetyculture.com.au/news/index.php/06/qld-recommendations-given-for-asbestos-concerns-in-schools/
An independent audit and review have found that asbestos exposure continues to be a problem for Queensland schools due to negligence and flaws in the way the hazardous substance is managed.
Criticisms have been directed at the State Government for a lack of enforcement of its policies and procedures on asbestos, with auditor John Gaskin making 13 recommendations.
Among the recommendation are training for principals and volunteers, a compliance plan for contractors, and an incident management plan for schools.
Separate incidents at schools in Mackay and Indooroopilly had involved fears of asbestos exposure to students and teachers, including an instance where students had to shower in their uniforms after the collapse of a ceiling that contained asbestos.
“The issues that contributed to the occurrence of these incidents included lack of communication, poor understanding of DET (Department of Education and Training) policies and procedures, and non-compliance with Workplace Health and Safety legislation by contractors,” Mr Gaskin said.
“An area of risk which needs to be addressed is the contractors and others who may be employed to carry out normal maintenance work in schools, or do so on a voluntary basis, as asbestos issues could arise through these activities.
“Principals are to be aware of any contractors employed on a day-to-day basis who undertake building or maintenance-related works of any description.”
According to Mr Gaskin, there is currently no requirement for reviewing a contractor’s compliance with BSA (Building Services Authority) licensing or asbestos management qualifications.
Education Minister Geoff Wilson said all the recommendations will be adopted, including a lifetime ban for negligent contractors.
“Any individual or organisation found to have contravened regulations in relation to working with asbestos will be dealt with severely,” he said.
“This includes the option of being indefinitely banned from performing future work on, or in Department of Education and Training Facilities.”
Article sourced from: http://sites.thomsonreuters.com.au/hrinsight/2010/06/09/comcare-to-prosecute-aust-post-over-unsafe-bikes/
By Occupational Health News on June 9, 2010
Comcare has initiated a prosecution against Aust Post after an investigation it conducted of Post’s NT Palmerton Delivery Centre allegedly turned up six unroadworthy motorcycles, including the bike ridden by a contractor killed in a road crash. Comcare stressed its investigation also found the bike’s condition hadn’t caused the contractor’s death. Comcare said it would bring civil proceedings under the OHS Act 1991 s16(1), which carries a maximum $242,000 civil penalty. It would allege Post breached its duties under federal law to protect its workers and contractors by not maintaining roadworthy and safe bikes. Comcare CEO Paul O’Connor said this action was the first time court proceedings had been lodged against Post alleging this type of work and H&S breach. He acknowledged Post had since taken steps to improve and monitor its bike inspection and maintenance procedures. “However, this court action will help underline the importance of ensuring that all motorbikes used to deliver the mail are safe and roadworthy every single time they are used,” he said. A Post spokesperson told OHN: “It was unacceptable that the safety monitoring of a small number of our motorcycles at one of our depots was found lacking, and we willingly and swiftly cooperated with Comcare to remedy this situation.” At presstime, Post couldn’t tell OHN how many motorcycles were in use at the centre when Comcare found the unsafe bikes. It has 7,400 motorcycles around Aust.
Here is some important OHS news from each state of Australia over the past week:
1) Tasmania: Depression hits forestry workers
2) Northern Territory: Factory evacuated after chemical spill
3) WA: Recycling Company fined $50,000 over loss of worker’s toes
4) NSW: Managing noise in the food and beverage industry
5) VIC: Worker dies after construction site fall
6) QLD: Willawong residents fear exposure to toxic chemicals from waste incinerator
1) Tasmania: Depression hits forestry workers: Rural counselors in Tasmania are concerned about depression rates among forest workers and farmers in the north, where services are becoming thin on the ground. View more on this article here.
2) Northern Territory: Factory evacuated after chemical spill: Emergency crews have attended a chemical spill at the Conoco-Phillips premises at East Arm in Darwin. View more on this article here.
3) WA: Recycling Company fined $50,000 over loss of worker’s toes: A Midland recycling company has been fined $50,000 over an incident that resulted in the amputation of two of a 15-year-old employee’s toes. View the article here.
4) NSW: Managing noise in the food and beverage industry: This guide has been produced by WorkCover Authority of NSW it provides employers in the food and beverage manufacturing industry with a tool to manage noise in the workplace. You can view this guide here.
5) VIC: Worker dies after construction site fall: A construction worker who was seriously injured after a fall at a domestic construction site in Victoria has died in hospital after being taken off life support. WorkSafe Victoria has urged people working at height to do the job properly – without taking shortcuts. View this article here.
6) QLD: Willawong residents fear exposure to toxic chemicals from waste incinerator: More than two dozen homes and businesses might have been put at risk of exposure to cancer-causing chemical emissions from a waste incinerator in Brisbane’s south. View more on this article here.
Derek Stockley is a training, learning and performance consultant based in Melbourne, Australia. This article explores the staff development question facing many managers.
Managers have to make decisions about their commitment to staff development
Should you spend time and money developing your staff?
The answer is yes, but the question then becomes: how much?
All the organisations I worked for as an employee had a strong commitment to training and development. Many organisations saw it as an obligation, not only to the organisation itself, but also to the wider community. The State Electricity Commission of Victoria had wide scale traineeship and apprenticeship programs. My private sector employers also had comprehensive internal skills development and management development programs.
In recent years, there has been a trend to recruit people who already had the skills. You were only employed if you already had the full range of skills necessary. Naturally, this was a short sighted approach, as evidenced by the widely discussed skills shortage in Australia and overseas. This assumed that somebody else was training your employees for you. If everyone makes this assumption, the whole system breaks down.
More recently, there has been another change. Many organisations are making a strong commitment to develop their talent from within. Many employers recognise that most skills can be taught and that expertise can be developed on the job. These employers focus more on selecting staff with the right attitudes and basic (generic) competencies like commitment and communication skills. The technical competencies are built on over a period of time.
A wide variety of options exist
I was personally very fortunate to be introduced to the concepts of continuous improvement and lifelong learning at an early age. The formal in-house training programs that I participated in complemented my formal tertiary studies. I sincerely appreciated the opportunities that were provided. I participated in many formal and informal development activities.
Development opportunities can also come through involvement in voluntary organisations. On a personal level, the opportunity to attend my first Train the Trainer program had a profound effect on my life. I will always be very thankful and very grateful for my Jaycee president saying: “Derek, I would like to nominate you for this course.” That program cemented my lifelong involvement in training. Of course, through other development and training programs, I have broadened my range of activities, but training is still my core activity.
What is the best approach?
Research is now confirming the importance of ‘engaged employees’, a regular theme of mine.
Development and training is one easy way to help your employees become more engaged. People choose to work with organisations that encourage development. More importantly, employees stay with you if you continue to provide opportunities for development, whether formally or informally.
People produce their best work when they are interested and committed to what they do. If they believe in their organisation’s products and services, and they can see that the organisation values their contribution by supporting their development in concrete ways, they are very likely to be ‘engaged’.
Can you provide too much development?
The discussion that prompted this article was with a senior company manager in an industry that had many larger competitors. We were discussing a staff member being nominated for a public training course. The manager was committed to staff development and felt that the nominee had a lot of potential. During the conversation, the manager commented that at some point in the future, the employee would probably outgrow the company, as there was an eventual upper limit to the scope and responsibilities of the position held. The employee would want to move to a bigger position with more diverse operations and a larger number of staff to manage.
The senior manger was still committed to providing the development opportunity. I have a bias (it was my public course we were discussing), but I think that this is the right approach. Most employees will move on at some stage, particularly those starting their careers. But as long as employees have the opportunities to grow and develop, they will be more inclined to stay. You want people to stay as long as they can, but like making the jump from secondary school to further studies, eventually it has to happen.
Organisations will gain the most from employees if the employees have the opportunity to develop their skills and competencies. A highly skilled employee is a very productive employee.
An organisation with a strong commitment to development is likely to have ‘engaged’ employees. An ‘engaged’ employee is a motivated employee.
A skilled and motivated employee is a high performance employee. Lots of high performance employees mean high performing organisations.
Summary
I strongly believe in the thoughts expressed in this article. Yes, I have a bias, because developing individuals and organisations is what I do. I am strongly engaged with my work. During every training course I receive feedback that shows me this is the right approach to take.
I encourage you to develop your employees. Your company will be rewarded, and so may you personally.
View this article: http://derekstockley.com.au/news-07/089-importance-training.html.
Below are 4 pieces of OHS related news for this week:
1) Employee fined over fumes explosion
2) Safety Alert: Tractor roll-over protective structure (ROPS) limitations
3) Crane collapse at school
4) Preparing for Hendra Virus
1) Employee fined over fumes explosion: SafeWork SA has highlighted employee duties following the prosecution of a worker who lit a cigarette near his colleagues who were painting a large pressure vessel. The paint fumes ignited and two of the workers were severely burnt. View the article here.
2) Safety Alert: Tractor ROPS limitations: an alert has been put out to plant owners/operators, including workers, employers, self employed persons and suppliers, of the circumstances that led to a tractor driver sustaining fatal injuries when the roll-over protective structure (ROPS) attached to the tractor failed during a roll-over incident on a sealed road. Read more about this here.
3) Crane collapse at school: A crane collapsed at a school in Sydney’s south-west, injuring a construction worker. Read more here.
4) Preparing for Hendra Virus: If you have a horse related business, now is a good time to review your risk management systems for Hendra virus in order to protect you, your workers and others from this serious disease. Read more about the Hendra Virus here.
To keep up to date with OHS legislation and safety/ hazard alerts, please refer to our site here.
I have some very exciting news…Line Management Institute of Training is now offering two brand new Nationally Recognised qualifications:
- (BSB41507) Certificate IV in Project Management
- (BSB51407) Diploma of Project Management
Qualified Project Managers are in great demand across all industry sectors as they help companies achieve greater efficiency, performance and profit by having the ability to meet allocated budgets, organise scarce resources, deliver projects on time and contribute to continuous improvement processes.
If you’re looking at becoming an effective Project Team Member (Cert IV PM) or a Project Manager (Diploma PM), our PM qualifications will give you the skills and knowledge to do this.
Let me ask you this, have ever experienced the following when assigned a new project at work:
- Had no idea where to begin?
- Couldn’t meet the deadline?
- Couldn’t find the resources to do it?
- Budgets weren’t met?
- Didn’t have the right team of people behind you?
- Implemented the project but didn’t know how to monitor the success of it?
If you answered yes to any of these, a course in Project Management may be ideal for you.
Undertaking a course in PM will give you the skills to:
- Develop accurate project schedules
- Meet deadlines
- Track resources
- Meet budgets
- Discover ways to be organised, thorough and meticulous
- Generate maximum team performance and
- Implement continuous improvement processes
Our Certificate IV in Project Management takes you through the skills and knowledge required to become an effective member of a project team and you will learn the fundamental concepts relating to successful project management. Job titles relevant to this qualification include: Project Coordinator, Project Management Officer or Project Team Member. Click here to view more information on the Cert IV course.
Our Diploma of Project Management is ideal if you have had experience in managing projects, or have been involved as a team member and looking to progress your career as a Project Manager. This course provides you with the skills and knowledge to manage projects from planning them to implementing, monitoring and reviewing them. Job titles relevant to this qualification include: Project Manager, Project Leader, Project Management Facilitator or Project Administrator. Click here to view more information on the Diploma course.
I hope this gives you a clear idea on what our PM courses can do for you. This may even prompt you start a career in Project Management! Please feel to contact us if you would like to discuss your options.
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