The Field of Communication

LESSON 3: The Field of Communication

I. Understanding, Defining and Meaning of Communication:

Many communication experts have attempted to define Communication.

Communication is the process of sending and receiving ideas by means of verbal symbols.

In this sense communication is a process through which human beings interact.


Communication can also be defined as the entire process through which the sender and receiver exchange message in form of information, experience, ideas, facts, beliefs, and attitudes.

In other words, communication is the process of sending, receiving, and interpreting messages through which we relate to each other and to our larger world as well.

ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION

From the definition of Communication, we can see clearly that communication occurs when somebody says something to someone for a purpose.

There are several important elements of communication.

1. Sender (Source): this is the person from which the communication starts.

2. Message: This is the information or something the sender intends to send.

3. Receiver: This is the person who receives the information( message)

4. Stimulus: Something which propels communication. It is closely associated to the Source.

5. Medium: this refers to the form by which the source transfer his message to the receiver.
There are three media available to the source are oral, written and non verbal media.
Oral: when the source decides to speak out his mind
Written: when the source decides to put it in black and white
Non Verbal: the source decides to use gestures or body language.

6. The channel is another important element of communication. Channel is different from Medium. The medium is the form that the source used to put the message across while Channel is the actual conveyor of the message. For example, channel can be face to face, radio, television, telephone etc for oral communication, Letter, memorandum, report, newspaper, magazine etc for written communication while drawing, carvings, painting, sculpture etc for non Verbal Communication.

7. Feedback: This is the receiver's response to the sender's message. Without feedback, communication is incomplete. Feedback determines the success or failure of the communication between the sender and receiver.

8. Noise: This is also another element of communication because it can affect the success of communication. Noise refers to all distractions, which may obstruct any stage of the communication process.
There are three types of noise:
Physical noise: any natural of event which can be seen, heard or touched but has nothing to do with thought or mind. E.g radio, television sound or any impairment of hearing, vision or speech.
Psychological noise: this is traceable to the expression of mind and may include emotional outburst, poor mental attitude or fatigue
Linguistic noise: This concerns the inability to use or understand the language of communication effectively.
e.g Semantic noise: wrong choice of words, misinterpretation of words and unfamiliarity of words.
Grammatical noise: This may be as a result of syntax error or wrong use of grammar.
Phonological noise: This may occur as a result of poor pronunciation, poor intonation or poor stress.

9. Signal: This is the last element of communication. this refers to symbols and codes employed by those involved in communication. If the source understands the language of communication well, he will be able to encode the message perfectly. A thorough understanding of the language will also enable the receiver to decode the message accurately

How Do You Deal With Conflict?

How Do You Deal With Conflict?

How Do You Deal With Conflict?

A good communicator knows how to deal with conflict. His goal is not to do away with conflict but to handle it in such a way that it brings about growth and constructive solutions. We all have our own ways of dealing with conflict, our own styles of handling difficult situations. How do you manage conflict to minimize risks and maximize benefits? How can you handle conflict in a way that increases your growth potential? The following lists are different ways we deal with conflict in a small group:

The Avoider: Some people strive for neutrality because they are uncomfortable with anger in any form. Sometimes their avoidance creates conflict or makes a heated situation worse. Avoidance can be of benefit to you if you are not part of the problem or part of the solution. It is not always your responsibility to "fix" every conflict that arises in your home or workplace.

The Accommodator: The Accommodator tries to make everyone happy. This person's objective is superficial harmony, not necessarily an equitable resolution of the conflict. Accommodation is preferred when the issues are minor or when the relationship would be irreparably damaged because tempers are too hot. Here the solution is only temporary.

The Compromiser: The Compromiser offers a solution which, at first glance, appears to resolve conflict. However, both sides are left unsatisfied because both give up something they
wanted. Compromise works best when time is short and both parties benefit. But it's a less than perfect situation because everyone loses something.

The Competitor: For the Competitor, conflict is a game. Power gets this person's attention. The competitive approach is best when all parties recognize the power relationship between themselves and know that action is imperative. Like the others, this is merely a temporary answer. This conflict returns, perhaps in a more powerful form.

The Negotiator: This person seeks consensus and works tirelessly to get it. Negotiation works best when all parties have problem-solving skills. Negotiators work to find methods satisfactory to both parties while keeping goals and values intact. This is the best remedy for communication breakdown.

The first goal in resolving conflict is to deal constructively with the emotions involved. Keep in mind that you should treat the other person with respect, listen until you "experience the other side," and to state your views, needs and feelings. Though talking may trigger conflict, it is also the only means of resolving it.

Talking must focus on defining the problem by saying, "I hear..." looking for agreement by saying, "I agree ..."; understanding feelings "I understand ..."; and stating views calmly. "I think..." Some people plunge head first into conflict without determining if their timing is right to resolve the situation. Some forget to set the terms for the confrontations. Others jump into a conflict without knowing if the other person consents to the terms.

Using the method described above encourages the genuine and direct expression of feelings by one person at a time. When feelings are expressed, heard and acknowledged, they are transient. When they are not expressed, heard or acknowledged, they fester. This approach can rapidly defuse emotions so differences can be discussed more productively.

Learn How To Talk To Your Kids About Failure

Learn How To Talk To Your Kids About Failure

Learn How To Talk To Your Kids About Failure

When your teens talk about their failures and mistakes in everyday activities, listen for a tendency to blame others or to give up too quickly. If your children aren't doing well in school, do they blame the teacher or say, "What's the use"? If their school project turns out awful, do they blame the materials or give up in anger?

If they lose the game, do they blame their teammates or decide they're just no good? If your kids are reacting like this, they may believe that failing at one or two things makes them a total failure.

Perfectionists, especially, feel that their self-worth depends on external factors, such as being successful at everything do. These teens need to learn about the positive side of failure.
Find Opportunities To Talk

Mistakes are a positive part of everyone's daily life, so it's not difficult to find opportunities to talk about this subject with your child. When your teen brings home a school paper with a mistake, for example, don't focus on the grade alone; talk about the error. "Making mistakes is one of the ways we learn things.

So let's see what you can learn from this mistake." Then help your child find me correct answer. If your child tries to put together a project and it falls apart it's finished, encourage him or her to use this event constructively. Ask, "Why do you think it fell apart?" "What can you do differently the next time?" "Let's see you give it another try."
Talk About Your Own Failures

You can encourage your kids to risk failure by talking about your own experience with risk taking and by admitting your mistakes and failures. You might talk to kids about the time you ran for class president and lost, or tried out for a team and didn't make it, or tried to build a model airplane by yourself but found that you needed help. These admissions give teen permission to fail also.
Help Your Children Practice Failure

Everyone needs accept that no one can be the best at everything, that no one can win all the time, and that it's possible to enjoy a game even when you don't win. In short, it's human to fail and make mistakes, this imperfection does not diminish our self-worth or reduce our chances of succeeding in the future.

One way to teach this lesson is to arrange situations in which you occasionally let your teens fail. If you play card or board games, for example, don't always let your kids win. If you play tennis or basketball, don't consistently give them the advantage. Let them experience the disappointment of losing in a protected environment.

Then encourage them to try again. It's these little lessons that give our children the confidence and perseverance they'll need to master difficult tasks and pursue challenging goals in their lives.

2 Steps To Becoming A Better Listener

2 Steps To Becoming A Better Listener

2 Steps To Becoming A Better Listener

Step 1: You can become a better listener by first deciding to take listening seriously! The first step to improvement is always self-awareness. Analyze your shortcomings as a listener and commit yourself to overcoming them.

Good listeners are not born that way. They have worked at learning how to listen effectively.

Good listening does not go hand in hand with intelligence, education, or social standing. Like any other skill, it comes from practice and self-discipline.

You should begin to think of listening as an active process. So many aspects of modern life encourage us to listen passively. We "listen" to the radio while studying or "listen" to the television while moving about from room to room.

This type of passive listening is a habit - but so is active listening. We can learn to identify those situations in which active listening is important. If you work seriously at becoming a more efficient listener, you will reap the rewards in your schoolwork, in your personal and family relations, and in your career.

Step 2: Learn to resist distractions. In an ideal world, we could eliminate all physical and mental distractions. In the real world, however, this is not possible. Because we think so much faster than a speaker can talk, it's easy to let our attention wander while we listen.

Sometimes it's very easy - when the room is too hot, when construction machinery is operating right outside the window, when the speaker is tedious. But our attention can stray even in the best of circumstances - if for no other reason than a failure to stay alert and make ourselves concentrate.

Whenever you find this happening, make a conscious effort to pull your mind back to what the speaker is saying. Then force it to stay there. One way to do this is to think a little ahead of the speaker - try to anticipate what will come next. This is not the same as jumping to conclusions.

When you jump to conclusions, you put words into the speaker's mouth and don't actually listen to what is said. In this case you will listen - and measure what the speaker says against what you had anticipated.

Another way to keep your mind on a speech is to review mentally what the speaker has already said and make sure you understand it. Yet another is to listen between the lines and assess what a speaker implies verbally or says nonverbally with body language.

Communication Styles: Which One Are You?

Communication Styles: Which One Are You?

Communication Styles: Which One Are You?

One element underlying everyone's personality is which of the senses they favor. Does someone revel most in what they see, hear or touch? (The senses of smell and taste are usually peripheral, important only in situations such as eating or love-making.)

Most humans do have a slight preference for one of these, but some people have an extremely distinct liking for one sense or the other, which informs their personality and can frequently show through visibly in their body language.

1. Lookers: Lookers tend to have good posture but tense shoulders. They're often thin, with tight lips. Obviously they'll choose clothes and furniture for visual impact - they feel good inside when they see attractive things. Not only this, but they also think mainly in pictures, which causes horizontal brow-furrowing, so they may have forehead wrinkles on an otherwise unlined face.

2. Listeners: Listeners think sound is important - words as well as noises. Their usual posture is with head slightly down and to one side, as if listening, or with one hand up to their face or ear - the 'telephone posture.' When thinking something through, you'll often see their lips move, as if talking to themselves.

They love rhythm, and may beat out mental riffs on tables, on chair arms or in the air. They'll have the car stereo set to turn on when they start the ignition.

3. Touchers: Touchers - who are typically very emotional people - are often rounded in shape. They may not actually be plump, but they tend to lean in, and have slightly rounded shoulders and full lips. They breathe deeply, move in a rather loose, relaxed manner and often have deep voices. Their style is based on how things feel rather than look, so they will choose for comfort and softness rather than fashion.

There are pros and cons to each sensory preference. Having a tendency toward one rather than another does not put a person at a disadvantage in life, though it may mean that they are more suited to some tasks than others.

Never, for example, ask a listener to tell you what to wear to a party, while fashion advice from a looker will ensure that you look superb - but won't guarantee that you will feel comfortable. Equally, if you spot that your interior decorator is a toucher, you may want to hire someone else!

Check to see if you yourself have a strong preference for one sense. If you have, prepare for potential problems when you meet someone with a strong preference for another.

If you're a looker and a friend is a listener, drawing him a picture of your new apartment will be useless; tell him about it instead. If he, in return, tries to describe his new girlfriend, you may need him to show you a picture before you can really be enthusiastic about the relationship.

Even more subtly, lookers, listeners and touchers differ in their basic communication styles. A looker will, literally, need to look a lot while talking - which may make a listener feel invaded; meanwhile, a listener, who tends to look away while speaking, may make a looker feel unappreciated.

And if, during a squabble, your toucher friend moves closer to get reassurance, he isn't invading your space, just following his sensory preference; if you hug him, he'll find it easier to feel good again.

Women In The Workplace: Is Your Attire Communicating The Right Impression?

Women In The Workplace: Is Your Attire Communicating The Right Impression?

Women In The Workplace: Is Your Attire Communicating The Right Impression?

What you wear at work makes an individual statement about you that communicates to others. It could be a way of saying to your boss that you're ready for promotion or, to your colleagues, that you're a friendly person; it could be an assertion to a client that you know what you're talking about.

So it's wise to think about your agenda and choose your clothes accordingly - and, for a woman, that includes your accessories, makeup and hairstyle as well.

Is it important, for example, for you to be seen to have power and authority, perhaps because you want to influence a client or be taken seriously as a freelancer?

The days of power shoulders are over, but the fact still remains that if they want to appear powerful, both genders have to adopt some of the non-verbal icons of masculinity. For women, the key lies in shape and color, picking up on the slightly tailored look that is reminiscent of a man's suit, in coordinated outfits, using dark or toned-down shades, with light makeup and a simple hairstyle without too many feminine curls.

Say, on the other hand, that you want to create a cooperative, rapport-filled relationship at work - perhaps because your job involves a good deal of one-to-one interaction or support.

Then you need to choose clothes that reflect more feminine emblems - such as lighter, brighter colors, patterned rather than plain materials, and unstructured shapes that signal relaxation and an accepting nature.

Women can also use makeup to accentuate those parts of the face that are most expressive - eyes and lips; but keep the colors toned down so as not to slide over the boundary between femininity and sexuality.



You may need to look knowledgeable in your job because the product or service you're dealing with has an 'expert' or scientific image. Pick up here on the icons of the professions who dress entirely in black or white.

Black says 'expertise and intellectualism' because it's associated with the church and the law, while white says 'wisdom and compassion' because it's associated with medicine - which is why some cosmetics counters dress their assistants in white uniforms.

To support the nonverbal message being given out, women might need to play down their gender signs so as to appear professionally asexual. Tie hair back off the face and choose small, simple accessories and a natural or unnoticeable makeup.

All these agendas - power, rapport, sexuality and expertise - will almost certainly mix and match in whatever work you do. You will want to appear powerful but approachable, knowledgeable yet friendly. Hence, you'll blend styles in order to create the very best effect possible to fit your agenda.

Teaching Men On How To Communicate With Women

Teaching Men On How To Communicate With Women

Teaching Men On How To Communicate With Women

The most effective way a man can improve his communication skills with a woman is by listening to her feelings. This may not be easy since he is coming from a different perspective.

The first thing a man should do is to keep in mind how quickly unpleasant feelings can arise in a conversation that he feels is going well.

These feelings come from not listening with an understanding of the woman's point of view. In order to have a good gender communication take place, a man must start taking the responsibility for understanding the way women talk.

Don't blame her when you start to become upset. Her feelings are valid even if they don't make sense to you right away. Before coming to any conclusion, try to see the situation through her eyes.

Keep in mind a woman's primary communication needs and use your conversation to make her feel validated, respected and understood.

Take the time to reassure her and let her know that you care about what she is saying and feeling. Make her feel that you are listening to her and your communication will improve.

Sometimes males experience uncomfortable emotions because they do not know what to do to solve things. To improve on communication, men must learn to resist the urge to take the problem completely off a female counterpart's shoulders.

Don't offer more solutions. Because women talk about problems does not mean they don't know how to solve them. Women want men to listen to them.

To have good communication with women, you don't have to always agree with them. If you disagree, however, you'll be better able to get your point across if you wait until they are finished talking.

Men often try to talk over each other when they disagree. They raise their voices and interrupt each other. Women interpret these actions as power plays, and communication suffers.

In addition, do not pretend to understand when you don't, and do not automatically start defending yourself. You communicate better with women if you admit when you don't understand.

If you disagree and feel strongly about the issue, let her know that what she said is important to you. Then gently explain your point of view. If you make a mistake, especially when you have slighted her feelings, apologize.

If you listen and acknowledge her feelings, you'll close the gender gap and open the door to effective communications.

Why Some People Engage In More Eye Contact Than Others

Why Some People Engage In More Eye Contact Than Others

Why Some People Engage In More Eye Contact Than Others

Eye contact is one of the primal ways of communicating. It serves a crucial role in mother-child bonding. In fact, research conducted in the 1940s showed that the image of two eyes is the minimal visual stimulus infants need to elicit a smile.

We also know that eye contact increases adults' brain activity and heart rates.

However, before we go any further, let's distinguish between gazing and making eye contact. Gazing refers to looking at different points on the person's face besides the eyes; we might be distracted by a mole on the right cheek or caught by the peculiar way he/she turns up their mouth. Eye contact denotes looking into the other person's eyes.

Patricia Webbink, a psychologist who has studied the eyes and their place in human communication for more than two decades, defines eye contact as, "The mutual interaction that occurs when two pairs of eyes meet." It plays a powerful role in interpersonal bonding, she explains. "In a world characterized by mechanization, threats of violence, and social alienation, the need for increased interaction between people is apparent.

The power of eye contact is very real: the mutual gaze is a major form of communication that promotes intimacy." In fact, many people who are deaf insist on eye contact in interactions; they depend heavily on the emotions expressed in the eyes to supplement the vocal intonations they miss in the conversation.

Although we may crave eye contact with others, it is a rule of nonverbal communication that no one maintains it exclusively or continuously. We sustain eye contact approximately 60 percent of the time during interactions. That means most normal everyday interactions are a combination of gazing and eye contact.

In the course of a thirty-second interaction, research tracking the eyes has shown that people will gaze at fifteen different spots on or near the face, including the unusual design on the frame of a friend's glasses, tan ear popping out of her hair, her nonverbal affect, the peculiar way she moves her lips along with her eyes. We can predict you will engage in more eye contact if:

1. You are discussing easy, impersonal topics.
2. There is nothing else to look at.
3. You like or love your partner.
4. You are interested in your partner's reactions; you're interpersonally involved.
5. You are trying to dominate or influence your partner.
6. You are from a culture that emphasizes visual contact in interaction.
7. You are an extrovert.
8. You have high affiliation needs or inclusion needs.
9. You are listening rather than talking.
10. You are a male and are more physically distant from your partner.

General Business Management MBA Degree Programs

The General Businesss Management MBA degree program is designed for the manager desiring to obtain a comprehensive masters education business management. While general business management MBAs may vary from one business school to the next the over goal of the general MBA is to equip managers with the business management skills required to effectively manage, administer and run corporations in the twenty-first century.

An General MBA Program offers a range of benefits for the successful applicant, including:

Business Management Knowledge: The General MBA program will provide you valuable knowledge about business and all its related aspects. You'll learn about business strategies and concepts, not just on paper, but also how these skills are applied in the real world, in day to day business operations.

Leadership Abilities: A very important focus of the General MBA degree is leadership. This MBA involves rigorous training, a variety of assignments, reports, presentations, and group projects, all of which are geared to equip you with the necessary abilities to deal with real-life business situations. This helps to set you apart from those who do not have such expertise and can help you become a more effective leader in your chosen career field.

Networking: One of the most valuable aspects of an MBA is the opportunity it provides for networking. The relationships that you develop with your classmates and the faculty and business network that you create is believed to be one of the most important and valuable things that an MBA program can provide. MBA graduates have often felt that the associations formed during the MBA course are resources that are invaluable and can be drawn upon for years after the MBA degree has been achieved.

If you are considering earning a general MBA degree we highly recommend that you thoroughly explore each of the schools listed below. While each school offers exception MBA programs one program may be more tailored to your career goals than another.

University of Phoenix MBA Degree Programs Online

Founded in 1976, University of Phoenix is dedicated to meeting the needs of working students. Now the largest private university in North America, we offer conveniently located campuses and learning centers as well as a flexible online learning format available in most countries around the world. Regardless of where or how you attend class, you’ll receive a real-world education with real value.

• Earn your degree sooner than you think.
• Attend class at times and places that fit your busy schedule.
• Learn from instructors with advanced degrees, most of whom also work in the fields they teach.
• Acquire knowledge and skills that are in high demand.
• Receive personal attention in small, interactive classes.
• Apply what you learn immediately to your career success.

University of Phoenix offers the following Online MBA programs:

• General Master of Business Administration
• MBA/Accounting
• MBA/e-Business
• MBA/Global Management
• MBA/Health Care Management
• MBA/Human Resource Management
• MBA/Marketing
• MBA/Public Administration
• MBA/Technology Management

Contact us today to receive additional information on the University of Phoenix online distance Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree program.

Technology Management MBA Online Degree Programs

Today, technology is an integral part of any successful business. This is why top companies are always hiring qualified and skilled technology professionals and business professionals with well developed technology skills. Not withstanding its vital role, technology is a complicated area of business and requires constant attention from technology "gurus" as well as skilled technology managers. A technology management MBA degree program is a valuable qualification for anyone desiring to succeed in a variety of industries and is the perfect degree for those wishing to achieve high level positions in a technology company. A technology MBA will also provide you the knowledge to perform with confidence and competence in a challenging and ever-evolving business environment.

Online Technology Management MBA degrees are provided from a variety of business schools and institutions that specialize in both business education as well as online learning. These degrees are designed specifically for working adults and career oriented professionals that need to pursue their education without sacrificing their careers. In an online technology MBA program you will learn all of the same skills and knowledge as you would at traditional campus based MBA program.

If you are already working with technology in your career or are desiring to launch your career in a technology related areas the Technology Management MBA could be the key to your success. With this qualification you can prove to employers that you have what it takes to move on to a higher level management position that requires an integral understanding of technology.

Health Care MBA Online Degrees

Of the top 25 occupations projected to grow the fastest between 1998-2008, SEVEN are related to the healthcare industry! The Health Care industry truly is one of the fastest growing industries in the United States. The career opportunities for trained health care professionals appear endless when you consider there are 460,000 health care establishments nationwide, 2,800,000 projected new jobs, and occupational growth averaging 14%.

Rapid growth in the health care industry has spaned demand not only for health care practitioners but also trained health care managers and administrators. Our Health Care MBA online degree programs are design to help you learn the "lastest and greatest" in health care technology, management and administration. Graduating from a Health Care MBA online program you prepare for both entry level and management level positions in a large number of health care related industries.

For those already working within the healthcare service, a Health Care Management MBA is the ideal way to position yourself for new career as well as career advancement opportunities. There are many opportunities within the healthcare service for experience healthcare professionals with the right qualifications and skills, and gaining your Healthcare Management MBA will provide you with the necessary skills and knowledge to improve your prospects of promotion and enjoy a long and rewarding career in this area.

A number of very high quality education institutions offer online Health Care Management MBA programs. We recommend that you check the eligibility criteria and course structure to ensure that program you select will best help you accomplish your career goals.

Finance MBA Online Degree Programs

Earning your MBA or Masters degree in Finance could possibly be the most important career move you ever make. Not only are finance professionals in high demand but they have a very unique and not easily replaceble skill set. Finance professionals work in just about every industry imaginable from Investment Banking to Health Care to Retail Management. If you are a working professional interested in settin yourself apart from the competition then a Finance MBA online degree can help you achieve this goal. Our Finance MBA and Masters online degree programs are 100% online allowing your to earn your finance degree at your own pace from wherever you are.

Most Common Finance Career Fields:

• Commercial Banking
• Corporate Finance
• Financial Planning
• Insurance
• Investment Banking
• Money Management
• Real Estate

Executive MBA Online Degree Programs Executive MBA online programs, commonly referred to as EMBA programs, are designed for busy executives and business professionals with substantial business experience and knowledge. The Executive MBA programs is designed to build on your current knowledege and skill set while teaching you the latest business management, finance and marketing techniques and strategies that are being applied in the world. An Executive MBA online programs offers a number of benefits over traditional MBA programs. Benefits: Stay current in your fast-changing career, while acquiring new knowledge and skills Learn innovative business tools, processes, and insights into leading organizations in the global economy Test new ideas and classroom experience on the job immediately Learn from a diverse group of experienced and intelligent professionals, in a spirit of partnership Develop a network of highly skilled colleagues that will last a lifetime Enhance your business judgment, analysis and decision skills to enable you to shift from functional to broad-based leadership Establish access to Neeley's extensive professional development resources for executives What really sets the executive MBA apart from many other MBA programs is the upper-level management experience and insights that students bring to the program. In most EMBA programs students' professional experience and expertise becomes an integral part of the curriculum. The EMBA is typically completed during the evenings or on weekends over a two year period or online. The Executive MBA program truly offers a level of education not obtained in any other setting.

AIU Online MBA Degree Programs

American InterContinental University's mission is to provide for the varying educational needs of a culturally diverse and geographically dispersed student body with the goal of preparing students academically, personally, and professionally for successful careers. AIU Online offers a variety of MBA degree programs.

The MBA curriculum lends itself to change and allows professors to prepare relevant, timely coursework for students that can benefit them in the real world upon graduation.

This accelerated program can be completed quite fast giving students the chance to make their next move up the corporate ladder sooner. The AIU Online MBA helps to position students for positions with great earning potential. It is designed to provide a unique, market-relevant combination of a comprehensive business education with real-world applications.

AIU Online's course delivery system incorporates Flash technology and rich, interactive multimedia to make the MBA one of the most sophisticated online degree programs in the education industry.

AIU Online provides the following MBA degrees and specializations:

• Master in Business Administration
• MBA in Accounting & Finance
• MBA in Healthcare Management
• MBA in Human Resources
• MBA in Management
• MBA in Marketing
• MBA in Operations Management
• MBA in Project Management

If you'd like to learn more about earning an MBA degree from AIU Online we strongly recommend clicking on the "Request Information" link below and filling out a contact form so that you can receive additional degree and course information.

Online MBA Degree Programs

The decision to pursue an Online MBA could not be made at a better time. Employers today are demanding more education from their employees than ever before. An accredited online MBA degree will carry significant value in any organization's hiring and career advancement decisions. Plus, there is a direct correlation between higher salaries and earning and MBA.

In difficult economic times, going back to school to build new skills -- and make yourself more attractive to future employers -- becomes extremely popular, even for people with full-time jobs. MBAs are especially popular since the degree is usually meant to prepare someone for more advanced, leadership roles in business (or even government). But is an MBA degree worth the extra years of schooling -- especially when you could be spending that time working full-time?

At first glance, the numbers indicate that the answer is a definite yes. A recent survey of accounting/financial workers of varying skill and seniority levels found that CFOs without a degree had an average salary of only $38,920, those with a Bachelors Degree earned $88,836, and MBAs earned an average of $104,284. The return on investment for an MBA certainly seems worthwhile. Some studies indicate the MBAs earn up to 145% more over their lifetime than non-degree holders. So getting your MBA, while sometimes expensive, is certaining economical.

However, there are many mitigating factors affecting an online MBA. Keep in mind that the salary figures quoted above are fairly flexible and can vary widely based on a number of factors. For instance, the type of work you're going into can make a huge difference; consulting jobs will often pay more than finance/accounting jobs, though each could have a different compensation/bonus structure. Your previous experience also speaks volumes. If you're fresh out of business school and go hunting for an investment banking job after years in a marketing firm, odds are good that your starting salary will be much lower than someone with greater comparable experience.

An online MBA is still a very good idea. The numbers are still very persuasive. Statistics from the Graduate Management Admissions Council (the folks who administer the GMAT) indicate that in many cases someone's pre- and post-MBA salary can jump 50% or more. For example, someone working in marketing making an average of $42,000 before getting their MBA can make an average of $80,000 after receiving their degree. That's nearly doubling your money!

An MBA may not be equivalent to a winning lottery ticket, but the odds are good that your earnings will increase after earning your degree -- making those extra years of school worthwhile. Just be sure that you're pursuing the right degree for the right reasons and, of course, good luck with that graduate school application!