Thursday, March 24, 2011

Banking in the Future

1) Watch the 3 commercials and find out what they have in common.
Which one did you find the most comprehensive / convincing? Why?

2) Team work: make summary for one of the videos below. Which banking related problem is being dealt with in the video? What are the solutions offered?

3) Answer the following questions:
What is virtual banking?
What are brick to click banks?
What are the advantages of online banking?

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Did you know? Shift Happens ...

1) An official update to the original "Shift Happens" video from Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, this June 2007 update includes new and updated statistics, thought-provoking questions and a fresh design ( Read about Karl Fisher and visit his blog The Fisch Bowl Have a look at the statistics used in the video "Did you Know?" Write down the most interesting ones)

2) Independent work: Watch a relevant video Did you know? Human Capital edition 2009. Answer the following questions:
- How many emails are being sent every day? What does this tell you?
- How much time would an average worker spend on checking emails? What does this tell employers?
- Why do organizations spend $130 billion a year on spam?
- How many social networks users are employed?
- Why is Social Networking called a "productivity killer"?
- What is India's major export now?
- Finish the sentence: If every Indian sent home $100 ...
- How many employees prefer to work by email rather than face to face?
- In 2020 that figure would be ...?
- What is being checked: daily / monthly / half yearly / once a year?
- How much does the human capital represent of total expenses of a company?
- How is China going to influence the English speaking candidate market? What does it mean for potential employees?
- How many jobs will today's learners have by the age of 38?
- Finish the statement: Half of what a student learns in his/her 1st year ...
- What kind of organizations are, in this context, limited in their potential? Why?
- If Facebook was a country, it ...
- What is the conclusion of the video?
3) Independent Research: Read about The Drivers of Employee Engagement at the workplace and find out how employers can use this concept to motivate their employees work better. Answer the following questions:
a) How does IES (Institute for Employment Studies) define engagement?
b) Give 5 more elements that define engagement at the workplace.
c) How was engagement measured in the 2003 IES survey?
d) Name the most important engagement challenges.
e) Give a short description of the IES Engagement Model. Draw the necessary conclusions.
f) Which 3 questions in the list 12 Questions to Measure Employee Engagement are the easiest and whoch 3 are the most difficult to answer? Explain why.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Millenium Challenges in Moldova

The Government of Moldova signed a five-year economic development Compact Agreement granting $262 million with the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to Moldova on January 22, 2010 .Read the article about The Millennium Project in Moldova and answer the following questions:

1) What will The Compact assistance be used for?

2) What is the main objective of the Compact Program?

3) What does The Program consist of?

4) How much was allocated for The Transition to High Value Agriculture and the Road Rehabilitation Projects?

5) What do the program management and oversight costs include?

6) What is the purpose of The Transition to High Value Agriculture Project?

7) What plans does the project include?

8) What will improving access to credit for agricultural projects and a technical assistance package co-financed by the United States Agency for International Development support?

9) What does The Road Rehabilitation Project include?

10) Which benefits will the repairs have?

How many households will benefit from the project?
Team Work:
Team 1 Create a short summary of The High Agriculture Project
Team 2 Create a short summary of The Road Rehabilitation Project

Thursday, March 10, 2011

E-Business in Moldova

More and more Moldovan customers prefer to buy and sell things online rather than going to markets and outdoor fairs. Today we are going to visit three of the most popular websites and rank them in the criteria below. At the end of the lesson you will have to decide which website is the best option for e-business in Moldova and explain why. I. Give the sites a score from 1 to 5
( 1 being unsatisfactory, 2 - poor, 3 fair, 4 - acceptable and 5 outstanding. )
999.md e-bun.md Makler.md
1) Which website has the best structure? (How clear is it from the home page what the site offers and where you can find the necessary information?)
2) Which site has the best visuals: icons, pictures, banners, etc
3) Ease of access - which website is the most user-friendly? (how easy is it to find the right product for clients, especially those who are not advanced Internet users)
4) Variety of services (which site offers a wider variety of products and services?)
5) Product information (which site offers a more detailed information about the products or services to be provided?)
Add up your scores and decide which site is the leader on the Moldovan market. Explain why.

II. Now, please write a short list of recommendations for each site - what can be improved / changed / enhanced / adapted / added / removed ?
Contrast and Compare: Check the Best Business Websites in 2010-2011 and compare with the Moldovan ones: 20 Best Business Websites
III. Next, let's read the expert opinion about what makes a good business site. Chose the article you like best and create a short 350 word summary.
Article 1: 35 Deadly Website Sins That will Kill Your Business!
Article 2: What makes a good business?
Article 3: 14 Steps to Good Business Website Design
IV Watch the video "Did you know 5.0" and write down the most interesting statistics.