WatSPEED

Business Administration - Online Courses

These online courses are 6 weeks long, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week. You are not required to be online at any specific time. You register and pay on our website and instructions on how to access your course will be emailed to you immediately after registration.

Building Teams that Work

Building Teams that Work

Teams are becoming a staple in today's workplace. In this course, you'll learn the components of a successful team and the stages of its development. You'll master the skills you'll need to effectively manage projects, make decisions, and solve problems in a team setting. Plus, you'll have a chance to learn the pitfalls of unhealthy group interaction and minimize any of its effects on your team.

Along the way, you'll follow real-life examples and scenarios to help you identify with the team-building process. There's a lot more to it than just getting a number of people together in a room at the same time. Are you eager to develop your leadership qualities and be a quality team participant? Many of today's teams rotate leadership roles, so it's crucial to understand both perspectives as you learn the best ways to communicate and work together for positive change.

Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1

Learning All About Teams
If you're on a team, this course is for you. Only by understanding teams fully and completely will you be able to create an outstanding team that works effectively and with high energy. In our first lesson, you'll learn the characteristics of teams, the ways they can transform your workplace, and how to deal with resistance.

Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2

Building an Enthusiastic and Productive Team
Do you want to know the secrets of building passionate and dynamic teams? It's not as hard as you might think—I promise. We'll begin today's lesson by going over the basics: The different kinds of teams and the optimal number of members. Then, we'll discuss how to choose participants and clarify everyone's roles and responsibilities.

Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3

Developing a Strong Team
Don't go into a team blind. In this lesson, you'll learn all the stages that teams go through and how to move successfully through each one. We'll also discuss the importance of creating a strong charter that will guide your team in accomplishing its goals. What can you do if members don't live up to your charter agreements? We'll also discuss how to approach them and get the best response.

Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4

Cultivating Leadership Skills
Are you aspiring to be a team leader, or do you already have a team to direct? A lot of today's teams even have rotating leadership where everyone gets a chance. In either case, this lesson is for you. First, you'll find out what your specific leadership qualities are. Next, learn how to develop the two areas of leadership responsibility: designing and coaching. By the end of this lesson, you'll be confident enough to accept a leadership role with poise and purpose.

Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5

Ramping Up Team Spirit
Everyone needs to understand how to work well with other teammates. At the beginning of this lesson, you'll measure your affinity for working with a team and learn how to develop strong relationships. Team spirit comes along with those strong relationships, rounding out your interactions to be complete and fulfilling.

Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6

Holding Great Meetings
Have you ever attended a meeting that made you yawn and want to dash for the door? Nobody likes to sit through those. In this lesson, you'll learn how to avoid those types of meetings by understanding the ground rules. We'll also talk about some of those first-day jitters every new team has. Finally, we'll talk about the problems that derail meetings from their full potential.

Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7

Making Decisions and Solving Problems
Your team exists in order to make good decisions and solve one or more problems. Communication is the key to accomplishing both. In this lesson, you'll learn how to communicate in a team setting as well as different techniques your team can use to make the best decisions possible and solve problems effectively.

Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8

Completing Team Projects
Your team's job is to deliver the project on time, within budget, and working well when it's first put into place. This is a lot of responsibility, and in order for the team to get going, it needs a plan. In this lesson, we'll talk about how you can create this plan. You'll also learn how to share your plan with stakeholders, people who aren't on the team but experience the effects of your decisions, and how to interview those stakeholders so you can take their input into account.

Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9

Assembling a Virtual Team
If you're a fan of all the technology gizmos on the market today, I think you'll really like this lesson. Have you heard of virtual teams? With these teams, members live and work in different places. Today, you'll discover what virtual teams are, what technology they use, and how teammates can work well in this environment.

Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10

Avoiding Obstacles
You have your team up and running, and all of a sudden, things start going awry. Why? You may be facing one of the many obstacles that teams confront. It's better to know how to avoid negative traps before you fall into them. In this lesson, you'll learn how to deal with common team obstacles, including the bandwagon effect, the Abilene Paradox, core group domination, and escalation of commitment.

Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11

Dealing With Interpersonal Conflicts
In this lesson, we're going to deal with something that none of us likes very much—conflict. You may think that because teams come together to achieve a common goal, everyone should be working for the greater good and harmony should rule. Nothing could be further from the truth. Conflict is a natural part of dealing with other people, and it's typical in teams as well. We'll look at what conflict is, how it comes about, how to handle it, and how it can actually benefit your team.

Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12

Assessing Team Progress
How do you know your team is doing what it's supposed to be doing and if there's room for improvement? The best way is to assess your team's progress and use different methods to realign when necessary. That's what we'll discuss today as we finish up the course.

Course Details
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time.

In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning.

Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam.

The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later.

Certificates
Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.

Choose your course start date:

Jun 14, 2023Jul 12, 2023Aug 16, 2023Sep 13, 2023Oct 18, 2023
Business Finance for Non-Finance Personnel

Business Finance for Non-Finance Personnel

Are you interested in making better business decisions to increase your company's profits, move you up the corporate ladder, and help you reach a better, personal financial position? If so, this course is for you.

Using practical explanations and real-life examples, this course will show you how money flows through a typical business. You will learn the basics of how a business operates, including how to develop successful business strategies and how to use financial statements to make better business decisions.

Whether you're an employee, sales executive, supervisor, or manager, this course will help you understand basic financial information and use that information to make decisions that will positively affect your company's financial situation.

This is a business finance course for non-financial employees and managers. By taking it, you will obtain significantly improved business acumen skills and financial understanding. Position yourself to be more confident in your business and financial decisions.

Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1

Getting Business Finance Basics

In this first lesson, you will learn the difference between financial knowledge and business acumen in a way that's easy to understand. You will also be introduced to a few basic financial strategies and explore what business finance can do for you, your company, and your personal finances.

Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2

The Business Model and Financial Flow

To gain a strong foundation in business finance, you need understand the basic business model, its components, and how they fit into the larger organization. You will see how finances flow through the business and begin to master basic financial terminology. At the end of this lesson, you will be able to apply what you've learned to your personal household and finances.

Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3

Financial Terminology and Concepts

Do you know what ROI refers to? What's a Sales Forecast, and why is it so important? In this lesson, you will learn these terms and many more. You will also gain an understanding of financial forces, which provide a foundation for developing financial strategies and driving profit.

Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4

Financial Statements

Financial statements can be one of the most mysterious parts of business finance. As you will see, however, all you need is to make sense of the three basic financial statements. With this lesson under your belt, you will be ready to take on the next crucial step: recording and tracking the annual finances on these statements.

Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5

The Income Statement

In this lesson, you will gain a broader understanding of the first of the financial statements you will be considering: the Income Statement. You will visit the hypothetical company Bouncy Balls Incorporated (BBI) and examine its annual statement to comprehend what all these numbers mean.

Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6

The Balance Sheet

Still working with the fictitious company BBI, you will explore what information is included in the Balance Sheet. You will continue your work to determine BBI's financial position and see where changes in business strategy may be needed.

Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7

The Statement of Cash Flows

You will finish your introduction to the basic financial statements as you review the Statement of Cash Flows. You will see how financial personnel use this statement as you continue your tour of BBI. As you work through the Statement of Cash Flows, you will start to put all the information together to improve your understanding of BBI's financial position.

Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8

Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A)

In this lesson, you will listen in at a roundtable meeting of executives at BBI as they discuss the company's financial statements. The meeting offers a great opportunity for you to get an insider's look into how executives develop the Management's Discussion & Analysis (MD&A).

Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9

Business and Financial Strategy—The Process

Now you are going to put all of the financial knowledge you've gained during this course to work as you consider some strategies for improving BBI's financial condition. You will explore how executives bring their financial knowledge in line with business needs to make solid business decisions that will have a positive impact on the company financials.

Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10

Cutting Expenses to Boost the Bottom Line

In this lesson, you will tackle a key issue in business: cost cutting. Expenses are such a huge part of business. Here, you will see how to use your new knowledge of financial reporting and your business acumen skills to develop strategies that have a positive impact on a company's bottom line.

Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11

Inventory and Cash Strategies

Continuing your exploration of financial strategy, you will use the decision-making process to examine the inventory situation at BBI and develop strategies to increase supply and production efficiencies. You will also see how to develop strategies to improve the BBI cash position so that more things can be done to increase the bottom line.

Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12

SWOT Analysis and Strategy Implementation

Now that you've gone through various strategies to increase sales, decrease expenses, and better manage company assets, it's time to see how to complete an overall strategic analysis of an organization. This lesson focuses on using an analytical process called SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) to develop strategies to move your business and your personal financial life in a positive direction.

Course Details
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time.

In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning.

Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam.

The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later.

Certificates
Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.

Choose your course start date:

Jun 14, 2023Jul 12, 2023Aug 16, 2023Sep 13, 2023Oct 18, 2023
Creating A Successful Business Plan

Creating A Successful Business Plan

Turn your business ideas into a solid plan for financing and long-term success. Committing your idea to paper in the form of a business plan not only increases your chances of obtaining financing, but also in keeping your business strategically focused. With the support of your instructor and a network of like-minded students, you'll work through all of the major components of writing a business plan and emerge with your first draft in hand. And most importantly, you will have completed the first--and most difficult--step on the path to small business success.

Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1

A Strategy for Success
In this first lesson, as you take that first step along your entrepreneurial path, you'll meet your instructor and learn about her childhood, growing up in ChocolateTown USA. You'll meet several leading entrepreneurs and determine if you have similar passions and skill sets. And, you'll discover that business plans are not just for funding your dream, but for guiding it along the path to success (as you choose to define it).

Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2

Defining Your Business
Today, you'll start to mold your business. You'll develop a vision and a mission for your enterprise. You'll define and refine your product or service, and you'll uncover your niche. This is the fun part of the journey—your only limitation is your imagination!

Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3

The Role of the Customer
We'll focus on the customer in this lesson. Today's successful companies focus not on the products and services that they offer, but on the customers that they serve—on many levels. Together, we'll position your company to be customer-centric. And, you'll learn how to move that customer from satisfied to loyal (and perhaps even an advocate for your business).

Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4

Structuring Your Organization
In this lesson, you'll structure your organization so it's in the best position to provide your product or service to your targeted customers. I'll help you create a board of experts to guide you along your journey. You'll discover the role that change plays in your entrepreneurial evolution. Change is good—it shows that you're thinking!

Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5

The Marketing Plan
Today, we’ll explore the plan within the plan—the marketing section of your business plan. We'll lay the foundation for your marketing efforts and we'll define sales and marketing (there is a difference!). We'll also explore the features and benefits of your product or service, and we'll begin the ongoing task of market research. This is where you can differentiate your product or service from that of your competition.

Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6

The Competition
For today's lesson, we'll explore three separate areas of marketing. First, you'll learn about your competitors so that you can better position yourself and discover just how solid your business ideas are. We'll discuss one of the most difficult issues of new business—pricing. Finally, we become the SWOT team—analyzing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7

Marketing in Action
Today, you'll join a panel of outstanding marketing, public relations, and graphics experts who are also entrepreneurs and believe in the power of networking. We'll explore graphic design, logos, image, public relations, and guerrilla marketing. And you'll also discover marketing in action in this lesson.

Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8

Operations, Manufacturing, and a Surprise!
Today, we'll start by hearing Alice in Wonderland explain to the Mad Hatter that, in a topsy-turvy world, it seems like (you) have to do something wrong first, in order to learn from what not to do. And then, by not doing what (you're) not supposed to do, perhaps (you'll) be right. But (you'd) rather be right the first time, wouldn't you? Confused? We'll tackle manufacturing and operations concerns in this not-so-topsy-turvy lesson.

Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9

Understanding the Finance Section (Part I)
In this lesson, you'll learn that both successes and failures can be tremendous teachers—but you'll have to apply those lessons learned to other life or business ventures. For today's lesson, we'll take a bird's eye view of the financial section of a business plan. We'll also briefly explore the capital equipment list, the balance sheet, and break-even analysis.

Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10

Understanding the Finance Section (Part II)
In this lesson, we'll discuss three additional financial components of the plan. We'll explore the projected income statement (always a fun area!), cash flow, and historical financial records. Be sure to take some time to explore the Supplemental Links area (in this lesson and in all the others) for outstanding online resources.

Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11

Financing Your Business
Today, we'll continue our focus on money, but from a different perspective than in the previous two lessons. We'll focus on funding and financing opportunities, and by the end of this lesson, you should have a better understanding of financing. You'll also find out where to locate traditional (and not so traditional) sources of funding.

Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12

The Final Document
In our final lesson, you'll end one journey while beginning another. First, you'll write an outstanding executive summary. We'll discuss a few important document formatting tips, and you'll learn what supporting documents you should add to your final business plan. You now hold all the keys to the doors along your entrepreneurial path. Journey well!
Microsoft Word or other word processing program.
Course Details
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time.

In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning.

Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam.

The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later.

Certificates
Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.

Choose your course start date:

Jun 14, 2023Jul 12, 2023Aug 16, 2023Sep 13, 2023Oct 18, 2023
Distribution and Logistics Management

Distribution and Logistics Management

Distribution and logistics management is a critical company function. Professionals in this field play a key role in fulfilling customer demands, ordering and managing inventory, controlling inbound and outbound shipments, reducing costs, saving time, and meeting company objectives. This course will not only show you how to create and operate a logistics function, but it will also show you how to achieve success through a combination of strategies and tactics.

All elements of distribution and logistics management will be covered, including physical distribution, warehouse selection, material handling, packaging, order fulfillment, customer service, inventory management, receiving, production stores, and returned goods. The course will also address key technology issues such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), bar coding, electronic data interchange (EDI), electronic commerce (e-commerce), and distribution resource planning (DRP).

Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1

Overview of Logistics
Your success in the logistics field depends on planning and facilitating movement of the right things, at the right time, at the right place, and at the right cost. In our first lesson, we'll discuss the nature of logistics, review its history, and examine how it's currently used. You'll learn about the importance of logistics and discover the role of supply chain management.

Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2

Logistics System Elements I
Today we'll start with a whirlwind tour through the various elements of a logistics system, examining how each element contributes to its overall success. Then we'll look more closely at two of the major elements: warehousing choices and physical distribution. We'll talk about planning, setting up, and operating a warehouse. We'll explore the scope and function of physical distribution, and finally, we'll study carrier transportation modes and methods.

Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3

Logistics System Elements II
Today's lesson will broaden your horizons regarding material handling, packaging, order entry, and customer service (order fulfillment). You'll learn about the different material handling options and discover several dimensions of packaging. You'll also see how the order fulfillment cycle can benefit your organization and determine how to calculate the order fill and line item fill methods.

Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4

Logistics System Elements III
Receiving starts the ball rolling for logistics activities. After all, you can't do much until you receive raw materials, equipment, and supplies. Today we'll discuss receiving, production stores, and ways to address inbound delivery problems. You'll learn the specific steps of the receiving function, and see that there are two types of production stores arrangements—the closed and open system. You'll also discover different ways to store materials and find out the difference between expediting and tracing. Finally, you'll obtain a few strategies to bring lost shipments in on time.

Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5

Inventory Management
As a logistics practitioner, you're responsible for controlling inventories. To help you do this effectively, today's lesson will cover two key techniques: the ABC classification and the economic order quantity (EOQ) formula. ABC helps you classify inventories based on their characteristics. The EOQ formula balances the cost of obtaining with the cost of keeping inventory. You'll also find out how to set and manage an inventory budget so you come in at or under budget.

Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6

Freight Documents and Returns
Logistics systems move products, material, and equipment in and out of organizations. So, it's important to maintain documentation that reflects the pattern of movement and also designates ownership. Doing so will allow you to effectively manage customer returns. You'll learn how to do this today. We'll also talk about the customer return process and study basic transportation documents, including the bill of lading and the freight bill.

Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7

Computer Technology
Once upon a time, people had to take, fill, ship, and bill orders without the use of computer technology. But today, it's hard to remember a time when computers weren't used in logistics. We'll start this lesson with an overview of how computers and technology are used. We'll also address specific forms of information technology, including electronic data interchange (EDI), electronic commerce (e-commerce), bar coding, and enterprise resource planning (ERP).

Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8

Deregulation and Freight Rates
The regulatory reform that took place in the logistics field during the late 1970s brought about great change. Revisions in laws and regulations opened the doors for new opportunities. Today we'll explore the events connected with these changes. We'll also examine how shipping rates are set and used, and finish up by looking at public warehouses and evaluating the pros and cons of outsourcing warehousing activities.

Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9

Personnel Management
Today we'll focus on the managerial pieces of logistics. We'll start with planning because just about everything you do should begin with a plan. Then we'll move on to the counterpart of planning: control. We'll consider the purpose of organization and then discuss motivation and leadership. You'll learn how to effectively delegate so your requests are completed on time and with the desired performance.

Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10

Distribution Facility Selection
Selecting the right location for distribution facilities is one of the most critical decisions logistics professionals make. It involves huge expenditures of money that you make in a context filled with volatile events. Today you'll learn about the benefits of forecasting, long-range planning, capacity planning, and facility selection. We'll cover factors you need to consider for a general and a specific location and how to evaluate them. You'll also discover how distribution resource planning (DRP) can effectively synchronize demand and supply.

Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11

Project Management
Logistics personnel have frequent opportunities to work on projects, ranging from improving ongoing operations to opening a new distribution center. Today we'll discuss the need for project management. We'll differentiate projects from programs and tasks, explore the temporary and unique aspects of projects, and look at how critical scope definition is to a project's success. Finally, we'll examine the phases of the project life cycle and critique elements of project management that will help you position your project for success.

Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12

Performance Measurements
Joseph Juran, noted quality expert, said, "If you don't measure it, you don't manage it." The flip side is, if you do measure it, you manage it, and that means you can improve it. So in our final lesson, we'll examine performance measurements—a way to keep track of progress. We'll start off by looking at human nature and performance measurements. Then we'll consider what makes a performance measurement effective. We'll finish up by discussing traditional and progressive measurements of performance.

Course Details
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time.

In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning.

Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam.

The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later.

Certificates
Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.

Choose your course start date:

Jun 14, 2023Jul 12, 2023Aug 16, 2023Sep 13, 2023Oct 18, 2023
Fundamentals of Supervision and Management I

Fundamentals of Supervision and Management I

If you have recently been promoted to a supervisory or management position or want to learn how to become a more effective manager, this course will help you master the basics of business by learning the language of management.

You will learn how to make a successful transition from employee to manager and you'll learn how to manage your time so that you can deal with the constant demands of a managerial job.

You will learn the skills required to delegate responsibility and motivate your employees. A large part of a manager's job involves getting things done through other people, and this course will help you understand how to influence and direct other people's performance.

Finally, you will learn how to solve problems and resolve conflicts so you can accomplish your job more effectively. 

Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1

Introduction to Managerial Work
How has management theory evolved over the last 100 years? In this lesson, we'll take a fascinating glimpse back into the days of assembly lines and scientific management. Why did we need managers in the first place? We'll look at the ways organizations are structured and describe managerial jobs in terms of the technical and managerial tasks that are performed.

Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2

Making the Transition Into Management
Let's see if we can identify the characteristics of a typical supervisor's day, as well as ways that we can handle the challenges of that day. We'll talk about ways to make the supervisor's path smoother, such as empowerment and communication. We'll also go over some helpful hints on managing your image as a supervisor in your organization. How does one begin to think, act, and look like a manager?

Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3

The Tasks of a Manager
Is leadership distinct from management? Do you have what it takes to be a leader, or are you cut out to be just a manager? In this lesson, we'll look at the evolution of leadership research and begin to discuss the fascinating field of motivation. Believe it or not, a good leader can build motivation right into the design of a job.

Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4

Managing Tasks, Performance, and Time
In this lesson, we'll look at the ways a supervisor can handle the challenges of delegation, performance management, and time management. Once we understand the challenges of the typical day, we can certainly understand the importance of time management to a supervisor! In this lesson, we'll identify time-wasters and time-savers.

Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5

Introduction to Motivation
It's time to really dig into the topic dear to many managers' hearts-motivation! In this lesson, we'll clarify what managers need to understand about human motivation, and help you to understand the links between motivation and productivity.

Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6

The Best-Known Researchers in Motivation
Motivational theories are great as long as they truly help you to manage people at work every day. We'll look closely at four theories that pass that test in this lesson: Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Herzberg's two-factor theory of motivation, the three levels of human need in Alderfer's theory, and the three needs outlined by McClelland.

Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7

Motivation Theories
Do you believe that people naturally want to do a good job? Or are people lazy by nature and need to be watched? In this lesson, find out if you're a Theory X or a Theory Y-type of manager. There are self-fulfilling prophecies to each of those beliefs, and we'll go over both in this lesson. We'll also discuss goal-setting theory, management by objectives, and the various types of conflict you may meet when motivating people.

Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8

Understanding the Theories of Motivation
In this lesson, we'll define two more very practical and influential motivational theories; equity theory and expectancy theory. Then we'll wrap up our theoretical discussion by making sure we understand the importance of creating a motivational environment.

Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9

Introduction to Conflict Resolution and Problem-Solving
Now comes the hard part: when real life doesn't work out the way the theories told us it should.  What happens when conflict arises? We're going to talk about conflict and conflict resolution in this lesson. We'll include specific techniques of negotiation, a particular type of conflict management.

Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10

Models of Conflict Resolution and Problem-Solving
We'll broaden our thinking a bit in this lesson: We've been looking a lot at individuals, but what about conflict and problem-solving in work groups? In this lesson, we'll identify means of solving conflict between groups. We'll also learn a problem-solving model that is useful in work and in life!

Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11

Working Through Problems
In this lesson, we'll continue to explore the problem-solving model introduced in Lesson 10 by talking about the importance of establishing objectives, generating alternatives, and choosing a solution.

Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12

Implementing Solutions to Problems and Conflicts
Lesson 12 concludes our discussion of the problem-solving model by explaining the importance of having a plan of action, and giving you the tools you need to carry the plan through to completion. We'll conclude by taking a final look at the conflicts that can arise while solving problems and completing action plans, and we will discuss the appropriate use of power to solve some conflict.

Course Details
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time.

In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning.

Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam.

The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later.

Certificates
Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.

Choose your course start date:

Jun 14, 2023Jul 12, 2023Aug 16, 2023Sep 13, 2023Oct 18, 2023
Fundamentals of Supervision and Management II

Fundamentals of Supervision and Management II

What does a supervisor or a manager need to know? Have you ever felt technically prepared for a supervisor's role, yet felt defeated by all of the people issues that seem to arise? You are not alone; many people feel the same way.

In this six-week online course, you will learn how to be a more effective manager or supervisor. You will master the basics of communication, because effective communication is essential in your quest to be a good manager or supervisor.

In addition, we will discuss how you can develop your interpersonal skills, by understanding and dealing with the various people issues that arise at work. We are going to show you how you can understand various personality traits--in yourself and in others--and how they impact the ability to get the job done. These traits include emotional intelligence, the need for power, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and more.

You will be able to assess your own personality, as well as the personalities of your co-workers and boss, and you'll develop a plan of action to improve both your interpersonal skills and your work relationships.

Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1

Purposes and Elements of Communication
When a manager or supervisor begins to have problems in the workplace, it usually isn't due to any technical skill deficiency. More often than not, it's some kind of communication problem or interpersonal problem. This course will provide you with a great many tools you can use to help with the kinds of real-world issues that arise every day in the workplace. This first lesson will introduce you to some of the basic components of communication.

Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2

Direction of Communication Flow
As we begin to identify problems or issues with communication in organizations, it's valuable to have a framework to help us understand it. In this lesson, we'll look at the directions in which communication flows in organizations, barriers to communication, and organizational issues that block communication.

Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3

Communication Media and Effective Listening
How do you become a better communicator? Choosing the right communication method is a logical first step! This lesson will provide you with some tips for doing just that. We'll also talk about how to listen more effectively-the first step to being a more effective communicator.

Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4

Non-verbal and Written Communication
What we say is only part of what we communicate. The non-verbal message can be just as powerful! In this lesson, you'll learn all about nonverbal communication and some techniques to make sure that you're not sending the wrong message. Then we'll start discussing written communication as well as how to use the writing process more effectively.

Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5

Communicating with Groups and Running Effective Meetings
Communicating with individuals is a real art--communicating with groups multiplies the challenge! Here's we'll discuss groups and teams and how to best approach them with your communications. We'll also talk about some constructive criticism techniques as well as how to deliver bad news so that it is received and not resisted.

Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6

Communicating During Organizational Change
During times of organizational change it is difficult to communicate effectively, and sometimes hard to get your points across effectively. People are angry, tense, and anxious, and so are you! In this lesson, we'll look into what happens to the climate of the organization during times of change, and you'll learn how to communicate effectively when it counts the most.

Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7

Introduction to Interpersonal Skills
In this lesson, we'll begin to discuss the second major topic of the course: Interpersonal skills. Here we'll go over why these skills are important in any organization and we'll look into a concept called emotional intelligence.

Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8

Personality Theory and Personality Types
Personalities! They're all around us. You have one and so does everyone else. Many problems at work are blamed on personality conflicts. What does this really mean? We'll find out in this lesson. We'll begin by discussing the personality traits of introverts versus extroverts.

Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9

Personality Conflicts
In this lesson, we'll talk about an important trait called agreeableness. People can be high or low or somewhere in between on this trait. Wherever they (or you) fall, there are positive and negative consequences, and we'll explore them all in this lesson. We'll do the same with another important trait: conscientiousness.

Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10

Personality Characteristics
We'll discuss two more personality traits in Lesson 10--neuroticism and openness to experience. As we learned in Lesson 9, people can be high, low or somewhere in between on these traits, too. And wherever they fall, there are positive and negative consequences.

Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11

The Use of Power and Situational Leadership
A need for power? Does that seem a bit autocratic to even admit to? Most of us do have at least some need for power, control, and influence. What should you do with that need for power? And do you use your power for good or for evil? Does it have anything to do with being a successful manager? We'll answer all of these questions in this lesson.

Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12

Using Interpersonal Skills Throughout Your Career
We'll wrap up the course and our discussion on interpersonal skills with some useful tips on how to use these new skills effectively-not just with your employees, but with your peers and your boss, as well.
Completion of Fundamentals of Supervision and Management (or equivalent experience).
Course Details
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time.

In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning.

Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam.

The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later.

Certificates
Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.

Choose your course start date:

Jun 14, 2023Jul 12, 2023Aug 16, 2023Sep 13, 2023Oct 18, 2023
High Performance Organization

High Performance Organization

A key ingredient to the longevity of a company, is the performance and implementation to function as a High-Performance Organization (HPO). A High Performance Organization doesn’t evolve naturally it takes a proper foundation and resources. Any type of business from production to service based, would benefit from becoming a HPO. Benefits include increased profits, a high rate of success, and a desirable workplace. Competition is everywhere and may range from large and small organizations on a domestic and international level. An organization is better suited for long-term success if they build an initial foundation as a High Performance Organization. 

This course will provide you with the information needed to help your organization with its efforts to become a High Performance Organization (HPO). We’ll begin discussing the four principles of a HPO: Egalitarianism and Engagement, Shared Information and Trust, Knowledge Development and Performance Reward Linkage and how to link those principles with organizational activities to be a HPO to implementation of the principles. You'll also discuss leadership and how the organization’s culture can help or hinder your efforts to become a HPO.

Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1

Lesson 1
Learn the fundamental principles of a High-Performance Organization, designing a HPO, align an HPO with your company’s strategy and implement an HPO.

Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2

Lesson 2
Define the HPO principle of Egalitarianism and engagement and describe how you can empower your employees as well as how to create an empowered workforce.

Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3

Lesson 3
You will learn about the HPO principle of Shared Information and Trust and the different ways to communicate your vision for an HPO. This lesson will also identify the characteristics that make a good leader and how communication and a collaborative environment can be used to create successful teams

Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4

Lesson 4
In this lesson we will look at the principles of trust and integrity in an HPO and how shared information helps develop trust and integrity. We will also Identify ways to break down barriers and encourage trust and define the role of the Psychological Contract.

Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5

Lesson 5
Here we look at the three steps of the performance management process and the   four basic elements necessary to establish effective standards for performance management and describe what an effective performance management process looks like. We will also discuss how knowledge development supports an HPO.

Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6

Lesson 6
Motivating your employees is critical to an organization’s efforts to become a HPO. In this lesson we’ll identify ways to motivate your employee’s productivity,  how clearly defined roles and expectations can help your employees in a HPO and how training and development can help your employees to be high performers. We look at the benefits of the performance-reward linkage in developing a HPO also.

Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7

Lesson 7
You will learn the common causes of workplace disputes, the cost of workplace disputes, and the role of arbitration to handle disputes. We will also learn about a Human Resources Information System (HRIS) and   examine how an HRIS can help develop and maintain an HPO.

Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8

Lesson 8
Define organization culture. Identify your organization’s culture, the effects of culture on developing and maintaining a HPO. Discuss the statistics of a low performance culture. Explain how to design an organizational culture to implement a HPO and discuss the role of the mission statement in supporting a HPO.

Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9

Lesson 9
You will learn about diversity such as the definition of diversity, the benefits of diversity in a HPO and how you can manage diversity-related conflicts in the workplace.  We will also the role of leadership in a diverse workplace.

Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10

Lesson 10
Explore how implementing a HPO can improve your company’s bottom line and how motivating your employees can help your company be a HPO. We will also talk about the role of communication and delegating authority in creating a HPO.

Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11

Lesson 11
The focus of this lesson is participative leadership. You will learn ways to grow talent internally to become leaders for a HPO, the leadership role in an HPO and define leadership and management styles that contribute to a HPO.  We will also talk about how corporate governance contributes to HPO.

Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12

Lesson 12
The strategic planning process is the focus of this lesson. We will cover an organization’s strengths and weaknesses and how to implement and evaluate your strategic plan. You will also learn how to find the right strategy for your organization and explain how the strategic plan contributes to the implementation of a HPO.
There are no prerequisites for this course.
Course Details
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time.

In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning.

Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam.

The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later.

Certificates
Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.

Choose your course start date:

Introduction to Business Analysis

Introduction to Business Analysis

Give yourself an employment advantage by developing analytical skills that are consistently in high demand. This course will teach you powerful quantitative methods that will have you making better, more informed, and more effective business decisions. The days of making critical business decisions by instinct or coin toss are long gone. If you are planning a career in business, you cannot afford to miss this course!

Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1

Problem Solving and Decision-Making
Decision-making is one of the most important aspects of business. So, we'll start things off by exploring a variety of analytical approaches you can use for making business decisions. We'll also look at the basic steps involved in problem solving.

Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2

Introduction to Probability
This lesson will help you understand the probability of events. We'll talk about basic probability concepts and how you assign probabilities to experimental outcomes. You'll find out how to apply probability concepts to business situations.

Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3

Introduction to Sampling and Surveys
In today’s lesson, we'll delve into the concepts of mean and standard deviation and how they're used in business. We'll also go over survey analysis, the various steps involved in doing a survey, and the most common errors that people make.

Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4

Decision Analysis
Today's lesson is all about the use of probability in decision-making. We'll explore an analytical approach called Decision Analysis. You'll learn how to structure a problem so that when you decide how to deal with it, you know what result to expect. We'll talk about using an optimistic, conservative, and an in-between approach in making decisions. Finally, we'll examine the concept of Expected Value.

Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5

Utility and Decision-Making
What if the decision you want to make isn't the most sensible one from a financial perspective? There are times when you need to base the worth of a decision on its value to you. An example of this would be deciding to buy a lottery ticket. Sometimes it's appropriate to make business decisions this way. In today's lesson, we'll talk about this approach and where the different decisions can lead.

Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6

Forecasting
All businesses need to forecast sales and expenses. And the forecasts need to be accurate. In this lesson, we'll cover forecasting as it's done in business analysis. You'll learn about the two types of forecasting: qualitative and quantitative.

Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7

The Modeling Process
In today's lesson, you'll discover modeling, which is the application of mathematical constructs to decision making. We'll explore simple, intermediate, and complex types of models and discuss the two approaches to model development: reductionist and holistic.

Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8

Modeling in a Corporate Environment
Today is about how models are developed within a business organization. We'll talk about what needs to be done and who needs to do it in order to make the modeling effort a success. We'll explore the respective roles of the analyst (modeler) and the client for whom the model is being developed.

Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9

Financial Analysis
The most widely used type of business analysis is financial analysis. This probably doesn't surprise you too much since the point of any business is to make a profit. Today, we'll look at financial analysis and how it differs from accounting. We'll discuss cost estimating, and various types of business costs. You'll get familiar with the concepts of break-even analysis and benefit/cost analysis, both of which play a vital role in business analysis.

Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10

Project Management PERT/CPM
The techniques of PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) and CPM (Critical Path Method) have proven to be extremely valuable to project managers. In today's lesson, I'll explain the basics of PERT/CPM and how to utilize these techniques in your work. You'll meet a simple technique called a Gantt chart, which works quite well for planning a simple project with a relatively small number of tasks.

Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11

Computer Simulation and Risk Analysis
Risk is a part of any business situation, which makes it something you need to consider when you do business analysis. Simulation is an excellent method of performing risk analysis. So today we'll cover step-by-step procedures for creating and using a simulation model.

Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12

Computer-Based Information Systems
In this, our final lesson, we'll look at computer-based information systems. This includes such areas as Decision Support Systems, Optimization Analysis, and Knowledge-Based Systems. You'll learn what each of these areas constitutes, and I'll show you many business applications of each.
Proficiency with basic algebra.
Course Details
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time.

In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning.

Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam.

The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later.

Certificates
Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.

Choose your course start date:

Jun 14, 2023Jul 12, 2023Aug 16, 2023Sep 13, 2023Oct 18, 2023
Managing Customer Service

Managing Customer Service

As someone who participates in delivering high levels of customer service, you're an important ambassador for your organization. But do you truly feel empowered and capable of delivering top-notch customer service?  In this six-week online course, you'll discover a number of dynamite methods to bring out your best and also do the same for the people you work with. You'll learn how to measure customer service—from your company's point of view and from the customers—and discover how to anticipate the needs of your customers. As an added bonus, you'll unlock the power of leading by example and setting new trends for customer service in your business.

You may already understand that top-notch customer service begins with knowing your customers and their needs, but do you know how to evaluate those customers, or better yet, what to do with the data once you have it? We'll take a look at that, as well as identify how your customer service stacks up right now, and how you can build on even the sharpest of service policies. Plus, you'll learn how to communicate, resolve complaints, and build long-lasting customer service programs, all in six easy weeks.


Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1

Winning Customer Service
Do you know what winning customer service looks like? If you're like most of us, you know it when you see it, but you may not be able to replicate it easily within your organization. Well, that will soon change as you learn what it takes to provide the best service the first time.

Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2

Customers Revealed
Customers are complex and multidimensional. But the success of your organization depends on how well you understand what customers want and meet their needs. So let's get to work finding out who your customers are and how you can serve them best.

Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3

Customer Expectations
If you've ever handled a customer complaint, you know how expectations play a large role in ultimate customer satisfaction. Learn what motivates customers and the best way to appeal to them the right way, the first time.

Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4

Customer Service: Why Do It?
A lot of organizations still have the so what mentality when it comes to superb customer service. But you won't be one of them, will you? There are a lot of benefits to ramping up your customer service, the least of which is making your current customers happy. Discover the secrets today.

Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5

The Decline (and Revival) of Customer Service
If you're like a lot of people, you've probably noticed that in some places, on some days, customer service seems to be a laughable misnomer. Ironically, the better our service, the greater our collective expectations for high quality follow-through and innovation. Learn about the decline and revival of customer service and see what you can do to capitalize on consumer expectations.

Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6

Moving Forward With The Four P’s
Customers are happy when they get the right combination of product, price, and information. When you make the product available at the right time and place, you have a winning marketing mix—also known as the 4P's (product, price, place, and promotion). Today, you'll see how you can help your organization grow by harnessing the power of the P.

Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7

Traits of Outstanding Customer Reps
You may know already which of your reps are top performers, and which of them are lackluster. But do you know how to cultivate the best qualities in every rep on your team? You will after reading this lesson! Unlock the secrets to dangerously efficient and friendly customer service today.

Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8

Measuring Customer Service
It's great to know how to cultivate better service and how to pick the right team members, but it's also important to know how you measure the customer service you already provide every day. Join us for a simplified, user-friendly tour of the measurements and math behind your customer service counter.

Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9

Customer Service Communication
Your success in satisfying customers largely depends on the level of your communication skills. So in this lesson, we'll discuss the importance of clear and direct communication. Plus, you'll find out how to solve communication problems, especially the ones that happen all the time when you're doing business over the phone.

Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10

Helping Upset Customers
Today, you'll learn how to revive a troubled customer service program, deal with upset customers, and use technology to simplify your job duties. We'll also go over the steps to take when you face a difficult customer and review the use of call centers, e-mail, and the Internet.

Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11

Motivating Your Team Part I
Your team of customer service personnel could probably stand a little more training and a lot more encouragement. Luckily, you'll soon know how to take your employees to the next level with motivation strategies that really work.

Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12

Motivating Your Team Part II
As we close our course, it's important to reflect once again on how vital our customer service reps are to the company. Learn the best ways to reward and motivate them to treat their jobs as careers, and their customers as friends. As we all know, you only have one chance to make a first impression, and you don't want to waste it being busy or rude!

Course Details
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time.

In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning.

Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam.

The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later.

Certificates
Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.

Choose your course start date:

Jun 14, 2023Jul 12, 2023Aug 16, 2023Sep 13, 2023Oct 18, 2023
Mastery of Business Fundamentals

Mastery of Business Fundamentals

Are you interested in acquiring practical business experience in strategic planning, management, and finance without enrolling in an MBA program? This course is for you! You'll understand the significance of strategic planning and discover how external and internal environmental factors affect an organization.


You'll learn about various organizational structures and determine how to use leadership, motivation, and control for maximum impact. You'll understand how successful organizations use performance measurements to stay on track.

You'll also master the fundamentals of accounting and increase your knowledge about key financial terms, cash flow management, financial statements, and cost control. You'll learn the difference between financial and cost accounting.

You'll discover various financial investment models and you'll learn the basics of financial planning and budgeting methods. You'll even gain an understanding of the basic principles of business law, contracts, and the principal-agency relationship. And you'll explore the forms of business organization and learn about ethics and organizational politics.



Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1

The Basics of Strategic Planning
In our first lesson, you'll learn the ins and outs of strategic planning. You'll find out why you need to define your business in terms of the customer and why you must have the right ingredients in place to meet customer demands. We'll discuss how environmental factors, such as technology and economics, shape your company. You'll also see how the internal environment determines how well your organization responds to opportunities and threats.

Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2

Strategic Plan Implementation
I believe strongly in the phrase, "Plan your work and work your plan" because it has great applicability to strategic planning. We'll begin this lesson by discussing the elements you must use to effectively implement your strategic plan. We'll study vision statements, move on to purpose and mission statements, and discuss goals, objectives, strategies, policies, and procedures. Next, we'll focus on company culture and you'll find out why planning is beneficial. Finally, we'll look at the major strategic choices that you can choose from, ranging from core business focus to insolvency.

Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3

Organizational Concepts
Organizing is a critical topic that many companies struggle with. Once you have a good idea of how to develop and implement a strategic plan, you need to take the next step. In this lesson, we'll discuss how to organize resources so employees can perform job duties and relate to one another in the most effective way possible. I'll share the purpose of organization and present several coordinating principles, including authority, power, and span of control. We'll also spend time exploring the staffing function and evaluate the elements—recruitment, selection, appraisal, and development—and study six different forms of organizational charts.

Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4

Motivation, Leadership, and Control
Today we'll discuss three key management principles: motivation, leadership, and control. Motivation and leadership, as compared to control, represent a more subtle side of business. While control focuses on concrete things such as analysis and procedures, motivation and leadership rely on less tangible factors. We'll begin the lesson by defining motivation, exploring four theories of motivation, and then moving into leadership. You'll learn about the types of leadership and see how delegation and empowerment differs. We'll finish up by investigating control and learning how to effectively use three different control processes.

Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5

Overview of Accounting
In this lesson and the next four to follow, I'll help you increase your mastery of financial fundamentals. It's important that you increase your readiness to use financial information to identify and understand problems and opportunities, and also make decisions. We'll discuss the elements of the general ledger, explore a few key accounting terms, contrast accounting and bookkeeping, and investigate the different types of accounting. You'll learn about vital accounting concepts, such as the accounting equation, debits and credits, and the cost principle.

Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6

Statements and Cash Flow
Now that you have the basics of accounting safely under your belt, it's time to start looking at how to apply financial information. We'll start off by reviewing two financial statements that you find at nearly every organization—the balance sheet and the income statement. Without these two documents, it's impossible to determine how a firm is performing. After we cover the balance sheet and the income statement, you'll learn how to account for inventories and understand about the significance of cash flow. I'll explain why sound cash management helps any company stay on the right path.

Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7

Cost Concepts
Cost is the price you pay to acquire, maintain, produce, or use materials or services. Since most firms account for their operations at cost, it's essential that you understand how costs are determined and used. In today's lesson, we'll discuss the nature of discretionary, relevant, sunk, and variable costs, and many more. You'll also discover how managerial accounting differs from financial accounting.

Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8

Financial Planning and Investing
The largest investment that many businesses make is in their land and buildings. Firms also make smaller, more frequent investment decisions for items such as equipment and fixture purchase and replacement. Today you'll learn about the different types of investment decision-making models, including average rate of return (ARR), payback period, discounted cash flow (DCF), net present value (NPV), and internal rate of return (IRR). We'll also examine the nuts and bolts of financial planning.

Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9

Budgeting
In our last lesson about financial matters, we'll wrap things up by examining budgeting. In order to be successful and make meaningful decisions about the future, you must look ahead. One way to do this is by preparing budgets. Accounting, as a major organizational function, supports a number of different types of budgets. I'll show you how to use the major budgets, including the department administration budget (also known as an expense budget), the production materials budget, the maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) budget, the capital budget, and zero-based budgeting.

Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10

Performance Measurements
Today we'll examine performance measurements as a way to keep track of progress. Studies reveal that if you don't measure a process, you can’t properly manage it. We'll begin the lesson with a discussion on how human nature affects performance measurements. You'll learn about the attributes of effective performance measurements and see how traditional and progressive performance measurements differ.

Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11

Business Law and Contracts
The topic for this lesson is business law. Our objective is to help you develop a good overview of business law and also learn about some important concepts, such as the principal-agency relationship and the basics of contracts. We'll begin by talking about the nature of laws, move on to explore the basics of a legal system, and then discuss the essence of commercial law.

Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12

Forms of Organization, Politics, and Ethics
Now that you have a basic understanding of business law, we'll take a look at the four most popular organizational forms: sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, and corporation. We'll spend some time in our final lesson talking about organization politics. Wherever people work together, you'll find politics. We'll go over "good" and "bad" politics and discuss how ethics relates to politics.


Course Details
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time.

In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning.

Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam.

The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later.

Certificates
Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.

Choose your course start date:

Jun 14, 2023Jul 12, 2023Aug 16, 2023Sep 13, 2023Oct 18, 2023
Purchasing Fundamentals

Purchasing Fundamentals

Discover and master the fundamentals of purchasing by understanding your strategic and tactical roles as a purchasing practitioner. Improve your company's bottom-line profitability by learning and implementing key concepts such as negotiation, supplier sourcing and qualification, outsourcing and make-or-buy analysis. Learn the basics of supplier partnerships, capital budgeting and green buying.

In this six-week online course, you will learn how to define internal customer needs, generate purchase requisitions and purchase orders, expedite, trace and receive supplier deliveries, maintain effective purchasing records and create and manage various purchasing budgets. I will help you learn about business law, contracts, leasing, Six Sigma and total quality management (TQM). You will learn how to recruit, select and evaluate purchasing personnel, and learn the importance of business ethics.



Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1

Contributions of Purchasing
In this first lesson, you'll learn about the various types of professional purchasing certification, including those offered by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) and the National Institute of Government Purchasing (NIGP). We'll explore the breadth of the purchasing body of knowledge and identify several areas where purchasing provides value to organizations. You'll also discover the significance of buying on a total cost basis and learn how savings you generate for purchased materials and services improve your company's bottom-line profitability.

Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2

Organizational Strategy and Purchasing Response
Today, you'll learn how to set a vision and mission statement, and how to develop objectives and strategies. We'll also discuss the mechanics of creating purchase requisitions and purchase orders and how to use them effectively. We'll finish up by exploring different conditions that benefit from negotiation and the steps and techniques that contribute to a successful outcome.

Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3

Elements of the Purchasing Cycle
All organizations use a purchasing cycle to manage buying activities. To help you effectively manage purchasing activities, this lesson presents a seven step-cycle that begins with need recognition and ends with receipt of delivery. We'll discuss the first five steps in depth, and see how specifications, branding, and samples are three common methods for defining user needs. You'll also learn about four different forms of competition (monopoly, oligopoly, full competition, and perfect competition) and see how competition affects prices.

Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4

The Purchasing Cycle (Conclusion); Make or Buy Analysis; Leasing
In this lesson, we'll conclude our exploration of the purchasing cycle by discussing steps six and seven (perform follow-up and receive the delivery). Then we'll examine expediting, follow-up, and tracing as methods to enhance on-time deliveries. You'll also learn how purchasing supports the receiving function and discover the underlying concepts of make or buy and leasing.

Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5

Supplier Sourcing
As a purchasing professional, you depend on your suppliers. After all, without capable suppliers, it would be very difficult (if not impossible) to meet your organization's needs. So today we'll discuss the importance of proper source selection, and how to prepare a prospective supplier list. You'll find out how to evaluate each supplier-sourcing element and determine when to conduct a supplier visit.

Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6

Green Buying; Purchasing Records; Competitive Bidding
Green buying is an extremely important organizational concept. Firms that use it successfully achieve internal objectives and also satisfy societal goals. In this lesson, we'll discuss the purpose of green buying and review its 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle). To help you locate historical information when you need it, we'll investigate the various types of purchasing records and discuss electronic record keeping and reporting. You'll also learn all about competitive bidding and understand how to use a request for quotation (RFQ) or a request for proposal (RFP).

Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7

Business Law, Contracts, and Legal Forms of the Organization
In today's lesson, we'll discuss important legal matters that purchasing professionals encounter daily. We'll begin by looking at business law and then move on to talk about contracts. You'll learn about the principal-agency relationship and the four major forms of organization (sole proprietorships, general partnerships, limited partnerships, and corporations).

Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8

Six Sigma and Total Quality Management; ERP/MRP II
Suppliers rely on manufacturing and quality systems. Purchasing professionals need to know about these systems because their use (successful or unsuccessful) highly influences suppliers' abilities to fill your purchase orders on-time, with quality, and at a desirable price. Today, we'll look at Six Sigma and Total Quality Management (TQM), and identify how these philosophies and methodologies benefit organizations. You'll learn about the elements of a supply chain, Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II), and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).

Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9

Introduction to Budgeting
Purchasing, as a major organizational function, is involved with a number of different types of budgets. These budgets include the purchasing department administration budget (also known as an expense budget), the production materials budget, and the maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) budget. To use budgets wisely, you need to know how they work, what they are supposed to accomplish, and how they are constructed. In this lesson, you'll discover the primary purposes, advantages, and disadvantages of budgets. We'll cover how to select a budget period, review variable budgets, and understand budget variances.

Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10

Capital Budgeting
For many organizations, capital expenditures represent the largest disbursement of funds. And purchasing practitioners play a number of roles in capital budgeting including assisting with requests for capital expenditures, serving on capital budget evaluation committees, and leading teams to acquire capital assets. Today's lesson will help you effectively participate in these activities. You'll learn the definition of capital budgeting, understand the initiation process for capital request proposals, and examine different justification methods for project proposals.

Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11

Supplier Partnerships; Ethics and Organizational Politics
A supplier partnership is a fairly recent type of arrangement. It characterizes a progressive way for sellers and buyers to work together. Supplier partnerships require an extensive amount of preparation and commitment, but the payoff is substantial for firms that succeed. Today, we'll discuss the prerequisites and elements of a supplier partnership. We'll also explore ethics and organizational politics and study their effects on purchasing practitioners.

Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12

Recruiting, Training, and Evaluating Purchasing Personnel
In our final lesson, you'll discover how to recruit, select, and evaluate purchasing personnel. Then you'll learn how to implement a performance planning process, including administering performance reviews. And finally, you'll find out why so many people dislike giving performance reviews and get tips on how to make your reviews more meaningful.


Course Details
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time.

In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning.

Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam.

The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later.

Certificates
Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.

Choose your course start date:

Jun 14, 2023Jul 12, 2023Aug 16, 2023Sep 13, 2023Oct 18, 2023
Six Sigma: Total Quality Applications

Six Sigma: Total Quality Applications

Learn how to effectively apply the elements and methods of Six Sigma. Understand how more than 25 tools and methods relate to the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control) model. Determine the relationship of basic statistics to Six Sigma and learn about the Six Sigma business case including strategic planning, the voice of the customer (VOC), quality function deployment (QFD), benchmarking, and financial investment methods. Discover how to use brainstorming, Pareto charts, and critical to quality help define processes, problems, and opportunities. Master the use of other key tools such as cause and effect diagrams, checksheets, scatter diagrams, failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), and force field analysis.

In this six-week online course, you will learn how to apply the DMAIC model each step of the way. You'll learn how to define, plan, implement, and close a Six Sigma project. You'll also know how to use process capability and how to apply lean thinking. And you'll understand the basics of advanced Six Sigma tools such as sampling, design of experiments (DOE), analysis of variance (ANOVA), hypothesis testing, control charts, and probability distributions.

This course will help you prepare for the internationally-recognized Six Sigma Black Belt and Quality Manager exams offered by the American Society for Quality® (ASQ®).

Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1

DMAIC and Basic Statistics
In our first lesson, we'll start off by investigating DMAIC, the most popular acronym within the Six Sigma body of knowledge. It stands for define, measure, analyze, improve, and control. Then, to set the stage for the remaining lessons, we'll explore basic statistics. Since many of the Six Sigma methods and tools that we'll be discussing require that you have a basic knowledge of statistics, I want to make sure that you're well-prepared. I'll show you how to apply the measures of location—median, mode, mean—and the measures of dispersion—range, mean absolute deviation (MAD), variance, and standard deviation (SD).

Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2

Six Sigma: The Business Case
In this lesson, we'll take a look at the business side of Six Sigma. We'll start off by discussing strategic planning—a concept that looks at internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. We'll move onto two methods of identifying customer requirements—the voice of the customer (VOC) and quality function deployment (QFD). Next, we'll explore benchmarking, a technique that helps you determine how your company matches up to the competition and industry standards. Finally, we'll look at a few financial methods to help you keep track of key objectives.

Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3

Define: The D of DMAIC
You can't improve something unless you first define it. To help us identify what we're dealing with, we'll begin this lesson by reviewing the first element of the DMAIC model: define. We'll move on and cover the basic Six Sigma metrics—defects per unit (DPU), defects per million opportunities (DPMO), yield, and rolled throughput yield (RTY). Next, we'll investigate a few team techniques to help define conditions and situations—brainstorming, brainwriting, nominal group technique (NGT), and affinity diagrams. We'll finish up by seeing how Pareto charts and critical to quality (CTQ) relate to process and problem definition.

Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4

Measure Part I: The M of DMAIC
In our next two lessons, we'll tackle the measuring aspect of DMAIC. Along with defining a process, problem, or opportunity, if you don't measure something, you can't improve it. You'll learn about different types of data and gain an understanding of sampling by seeing how it's used to analyze and observe populations. We'll conclude the lesson by examining three graphical methods to measure a population: histograms, stem and leaf diagrams, and box and whiskers plots.

Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5

Measure Part II: The M of DMAIC
As we continue our discussion on the measure component of DMAIC, we'll begin today by looking at probability distributions, failure methods and effects analysis (FMEA), and physical measurement. The probability distributions that we'll review (binomial, Poisson, and chi-square) are discrete. We'll study their formulas and see how their distributions compare to the normal curve. FMEA is one of the most popular and effective Six Sigma tools. I'll help you learn about FMEA's risk priority numbers (RPN) and also provide a form to help you use FMEA. We'll wrap-up the lesson by examining a few members of the physical measurement family—metrology, tensile strength, micrometers, and optical comparators.

Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6

Analyze Part I: The A of DMAIC
In this lesson I'll present several tools that relate to the third component of DMAIC: analyze. Our first order of business today will be learning how to make sound decisions and assess risk. After that, we'll look at tools to help you investigate the processes, problems, and opportunities you defined and measured in the earlier lessons. I'll share how to use regression analysis and cause and effect diagrams. We'll also spend time on force field analysis, storyboards, decision trees, why-why diagrams, and finish up with checksheets and scatter diagrams.

Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7

Analyze Part II: The A of DMAIC
Are you familiar with the old saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words?" Since we're going to be spending a large portion of the lesson discussing flowcharting, I believe this quotation is very relevant. Flowcharts are a fine tool to define processes and analyze what's taking place. We'll look at the ins and outs and the subtleties of creating and using flowcharts. After we discuss flowcharting, we'll jump back into the world of statistics and examine hypothesis testing and analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8

Project Management Phases
In this lesson and the next one, we'll discuss project management as an essential vehicle to help you achieve your Six Sigma plans. We'll begin by discussing the different phases of the project life cycle. Then we'll move on and examine deliverables. Since they represent what customers expect, you need to know how to create and manage them. We'll also define stakeholders and talk about what they expect. I'll give special emphasis to the words "customers" and "stakeholders" to represent those inside and outside your organization.

Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9

Project Definition and Scheduling
Now that you have a good understanding of the different phases of a project and know all about deliverables, you're ready to learn how to "scope" and schedule a project. Scoping refers to making sure that you set the original boundaries for your project. When you understand all the variables of your project and define the scope properly, your plan and the results that follow have a much better chance of meeting stakeholder expectations. In this lesson, we'll talk about what is arguably the most valuable item in your project management toolbox—a work breakdown structure (WBS). We'll discuss two different versions of WBS and then we'll look at ways to schedule your project.

Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10

Improve: The I of DMAIC
If you like playing games and solving puzzles, you'll enjoy today's lesson. I'll address the "I element" (improve) of DMAIC by introducing design of experiments (DOE). Although DOE has been around since the 1920s, it's taken a while for organizations to accept it. We'll begin with an overview and discuss what a design and an experiment are. You'll learn about the history of DOE and its nature. I'll identify the principles of sound experimental design and help you work on three DOE problems: one factor at a time (OFAT), full factorial, and fractional factorial DOE.

Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11

Control: The C of DMAIC
Today we'll finish our examination of DMAIC by featuring the final letter—C for control. I'll share three tools to help you control your operations: run charts, control charts, and process capability. We'll discuss how to create run charts, go through an overview of control charts, and create two different types of control charts. I'll wrap things up by showing you how to use process capability.

Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12

Thinking Lean
You've just about completed all course requirements except for learning how to think lean—our topic this lesson. Whenever I hear people talk about lean manufacturing or lean thinking, for some reason I think about going on a diet. When I give this notion some thought, it does make sense. Lean thinking means doing more with less. I guess this is how companies succeed: providing more satisfaction and more quality with less effort and less frustration. Our focus on lean thinking will consist of eliminating waste, reducing lead time, and minimizing the impact of constraints.
Completion of Tony Swaim's Total Quality Fundamentals.

Course Details
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time.

In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning.

Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam.

The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later.

Certificates
Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.

Choose your course start date:

Jun 14, 2023Jul 12, 2023Aug 16, 2023Sep 13, 2023Oct 18, 2023
Start and Operate Your Own Home-Based Business

Start and Operate Your Own Home-Based Business

Starting a home-based business is the hottest trend in today's challenging business environment! Learn how to be your own boss and eliminate the stress of having a job. The benefits of working from home are endless! Earn what you deserve, be independent, have tax deductions, do away with traffic, office politics and more! Learn how to develop the entrepreneurial qualities - motivation, discipline, creativity - that you will need to succeed! This class is a great way to start your own business or enhance the one you already have.

Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1

Introduction to Home-Based Businesses
In this first lesson, I'll introduce you to the variety of reasons why most people want to operate their own home-based business. We'll take an honest look at the benefits as well as the challenges of working at home. And then you'll see what it takes to be an entrepreneur—and if this lifestyle will work for you.

Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2

Selecting a Business
What kind of home-based business should I start? Have you asked yourself this question? I sure hope so. Because this is one of the most important issues you need to consider. By thoughtfully exploring your options, you'll spare yourself costly mistakes that come with sinking your time, money, and energy into the wrong business. In this lesson, you'll focus on your talents and abilities so that your home-based business will be a great fit!

Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3

Names, Logos, and Legal Protections
Having the right name and look for your home-based business is essential. In this lesson, you'll find out how to create the image that will draw customers to you and bring them back time and again. You'll get creative with names and logos, and then you'll learn how to protect your work with fictitious name statements, trademarks, copyrights, and patents.

Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4

Zoning, Licenses, Permits, and Insurance
Did you know that not all businesses are allowed to operate from a private residence? It's vital that you are familiar with the rules and regulations for the area you live in—before you start! So we'll explore zoning laws, licenses, permits, and insurance issues.

Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5

The Business Plan
If you want to succeed at your business, you need to write an effective business plan. Your home-based venture is like a road trip; to get where you want to go, you need a map that shows you where you're starting from, where your destination is, and which route you want to take. In this lesson, you will learn how to put together a step-by-step action plan. This requires thorough research into each area of your business, so plan to roll up your sleeves and get to work!

Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6

Creating a Marketing Plan
To make your business thrive, you need to market it like a professional. So in this lesson, you'll learn how to create a marketing plan. Simply providing terrific products and services is not enough—you need to know who make up your marketplace, what your objectives are, and what your competition is up to. Remember, a home-based business doesn't have a convenient storefront. You've got to be creative about letting people know what you do.

Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7

Sales Techniques
Today, you'll learn a lot about the fine art of selling your product or service. It's so important to be real, to listen, and to know how to bargain and close the sale. Sound scary? Many people get cold feet when it comes to sales. But you don't need to worry. In this lesson, I'll give you the key to effective selling: Develop relationships based on trust and credibility.

Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8

Banking, Record Keeping, and Taxes
I'll bet you're just dying to learn about banking, record keeping, and taxes, right? No? Well, they're not the most exciting topics, I'll admit, but they are crucial to your business. Today you'll learn about expenses and deductions, maintaining the appropriate records for all your revenue, categorizing your expenses, and keeping track of sales tax. Grab a cup of coffee, and keep your eyes open for this lesson!

Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9

Setting Up Your Home Office
Do you know how to set up your office for maximum efficiency? If not, then you've come to the right place. Conducting your business from the kitchen table is really not the ideal situation. So join me and see how to find just the right area in your home that will allow you to work in a sane and productive fashion. Learn how to set boundaries for your office, figure out what size office and setup you need, and make sure your office is ergonomically and aesthetically pleasing. Taking the time to set up your home office today is an investment in your future.

Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10

Organize Your Business for Success
Today, we'll delve into getting organized. To some people, the word organize sounds constricting and limiting—everything has a place and must be in it at all times. Let's toss that idea right out the window! The goal in organizing your business is to give yourself freedom. Whether you're dealing with paperwork or time management, your system of organization should not restrict or confine you in any way. Come and see how organizing will work for you and never against you.

Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11

Your Professional Image
One thing entrepreneurs often overlook is their professional image—how their business looks to the outside world. When your 5-year-old answers the phone and starts playing guessing games with potential customers, or when your computer equipment still runs on DOS, you've got an image problem! The impression you make through your image can bring customers to you or drive them to your competition. So in this lesson, we'll look at what not to do and what to do regarding your personal appearance, attitude, and printed materials.

Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12

Balancing Business and Family
In all your hard work of building a business, you don't want to forget the most important people: not your customers, but your family. You'll need to clarify expectations, reach compromises that work for everybody, and especially set boundaries. In this last lesson, you'll learn how to protect your work and your relationships and have fun with both. It's all a matter of balance.
Course Details
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time.

In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning.

Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam.

The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later.

Certificates
Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.

Choose your course start date:

Jun 14, 2023Jul 12, 2023Aug 16, 2023Sep 13, 2023Oct 18, 2023
Start Your Own Small Business

Start Your Own Small Business

Learn how to take your dream of starting a business and put it into action. In this class, you'll learn everything you need to know about starting a business. You'll begin by discovering the tricks to picking the right opportunity for you. Next, you'll learn how to develop proven marketing techniques to easily build sales. Since every business needs money, we'll discuss traditional and nontraditional financing options. Finally, you'll learn easy-to-implement employee-management procedures and how to write business policies that help you build your business.

You, as a business owner, need to manage all your limited resources. One resource that often gets overlooked is your time. In the final lesson, you'll learn time-management techniques especially for entrepreneurs. While taking this course, you'll discover the secrets that separate the successful entrepreneurs from the struggling ones.

Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1

Starting Your Dream
If you've dreamed about starting a small business but didn't know where to start, you've come to the right place! In this first lesson, you'll learn why you should start a business, why now might be the perfect time to do it, and what separates successful business owners from those who remain dreamers.

Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2

Find Your Perfect Business Opportunity
Today, you'll find out about the three different ways to start a business. We'll explore the advantages and disadvantages of buying a franchise, buying a business, and starting a business from scratch.

Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3

Creating a Truly Unique Business
No matter what business option you're leaning toward, you must find and exploit your unique selling proposition (USP). Your USP is the reason a customer would do business with you instead of someone else. In this lesson, you'll develop your USP. Then you'll discover the single most valuable asset in your business and how it can create all the wealth you'll ever want.

Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4

Developing Your Business Plan
Alan Lakein, a leading expert on time management, says, "Failing to plan is planning to fail." Today, you'll learn all the advantages of having a written business plan. You'll see how it helps you take advantage of more opportunities and keeps you focused on achieving your goals. If you need to find financing for your business, having a business plan becomes twice as important.

Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5

How to Legally Set Up Your Company
Once you've chosen the business opportunity you're going to pursue, you'll need to legally set up your company. To do that, you'll have to choose whether to be an S-corporation, a corporation, or a limited liability company. Each of these structures has advantages and disadvantages. In this lesson, you'll find out how to decide which one would work best for you.

Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6

Power Marketing for Business Owners
Unless you have your own vault of money for marketing, you'll need to know the best way to spend limited resources to create the most sales. As a future business owner, you need to understand the importance of direct-response marketing along with tracking and testing. You'll learn about those things today as you discover how to expand marketing efforts that work and cut or improve those that are ineffective.

Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7

Advertising and Publicity to Skyrocket Your Business
In this lesson, we'll continue discussing marketing as we explore the pros and cons of two main forms of it: advertising and publicity. We'll take a detailed look at free publicity because it's one of the most cost-effective ways to market your business.

Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8

The Report Card for Your Business
No one can run a business effectively without proper accounting and financial statements. But few business owners take the time to understand the basics of bookkeeping. Today, we'll walk hand-in-hand with an actual business owner as she sets up her accounting records. By the end of this lesson, you'll know the basics of accounting and be able to analyze and develop your own financial statements.

Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9

Finding Money for Your Business
Most new business owners need to find money to start their business. In this lesson, you'll find out the most common, traditional ways to fund a business and a few nontraditional ways as well. Whichever method you choose, your desire to get your company going is what will make the difference. Many people give up too soon or don't use the feedback from a funding source to improve their plan. You don't have to be one of them!

Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10

Hiring, Motivating, and Parting With Employees
Employees can make or break a business. Just think about businesses you wouldn't use again because of the service the employees provided. Bad employees can cost a company thousands of dollars, and you, as an owner, won't have the luxury of hiring and training employees on an ongoing basis. Hiring, training, motivating, and parting with employees are all complex processes. Today, you'll learn tips that make them easier.

Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11

Business Policies
Having effective business policies in place helps your business run efficiently. It also gives your employees a framework for knowing what's expected of them. By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to develop your own business policies, including sexual harassment and ethics policies. We'll also discuss creating an employee manual.

Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12

Managing You
To ensure success, business owners need to be able to use limited resources efficiently. In this final lesson, we'll focus on how best to manage your time, relationships, and personal financial position. You'll leave this course knowing you've done all the preliminary groundwork to get your business off to a good start.

Course Details
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time.

In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning.

Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam.

The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later.

Certificates
Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.

Choose your course start date:

Jun 14, 2023Jul 12, 2023Aug 16, 2023Sep 13, 2023Oct 18, 2023
Supply Chain Management Fundamentals

Supply Chain Management Fundamentals

Supply chain management professionals play a key role in capturing customer demands, creating forecasts, developing schedules, ordering and managing inventory, controlling production orders, and maximizing customer satisfaction.

This course will help you succeed in the supply chain management field. You will learn which actions to take when confronted by almost any situation. You'll understand how to represent top management's interests on the shop floor, and you'll know how to translate such initiatives as strategic planning, sales and operations planning, and new product introduction into achievable, operational plans.

You'll understand all the necessary elements to fulfill the requirements of a formal supply chain cycle beginning with developing long-range production, sales, and capacity plans and ending with planning, implementing, and controlling daily manufacturing schedules. You'll master the fundamentals of supply chain management, including customer demand forecasting, master production scheduling (MPS), material requirements planning (MRP), capacity planning, and production activity control (PAC).

The course also includes essential information to help you prepare for internationally recognized supply chain and materials management certification examinations.


Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1

Certification and Systems
In this lesson, we'll discuss professional certification and get acquainted with APICS, the professional society for supply change management (SCM) practitioners. You'll find out about the concept of an operating system and the use of a supply chain. You'll also learn about Material Resources Planning (MRPII) and the role that it plays in an organization.

Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2

Sales and Operations Planning
MRPII creates a logical structure for information, activities, and material to flow. While beneficial, MRPII represents only half of what an organization needs to succeed. Today, you'll see the other half of the picture—Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP). It's a dynamic process that can make your company a world-class organization. You'll learn how to successfully use S&OP, identify key focus areas, and appreciate the benefits of following the S&OP cycle.

Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3

An Overview of Forecasting
In this lesson, we'll examine forecasting—defined as a prediction based on scientific observation. We'll explore the history and nature of forecasting, and discuss customer demand. You'll learn how to set forecasting objectives and create a process to develop and update weekly or monthly forecasts.

Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4

Forecasting Techniques
Today, we'll examine the components of demand: averages, linear trend, seasonality, and cyclical, irregular, and random factors. We'll cover many qualitative forecasting techniques, including the Delphi method, panel consensus, and historical analogy. You'll learn about quantitative forecasting by working on problems involving time series (simple and weighted moving average and exponential smoothing) and associative methods (linear regression and multiple regression analysis). You'll start to get a sense of which forecasting methods to use for which situations.

Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5

Advanced Forecasting Topics
In this lesson, we'll conclude our discussion of forecasting. You'll find out about macroforecasting and two forecasting techniques that really fit in the quantitative or qualitative categories: focus forecasting and pyramid forecasting. You'll discover how to develop forecasts for new products, and learn how to use techniques to effectively control your forecasts before they get too far off track.

Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6

Strategy and the Production Plan
All manufacturing operations have strategies, which are represented by a business plan and a production plan. A sound business plan identifies processing methods (technology and equipment), manufacturing facilities, human resource needs, material requirements, distribution methods, and warehouse locations. A production plan defines how products will be made available so that marketing can satisfy customer demands and the company can make a profit. Today, you'll learn all about manufacturing strategy. We'll look at the elements of the production plan as essential requirements to support the other elements in an MRPII system.

Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7

Master Production Scheduling
The topic of today's lesson is the master production schedule (MPS). An MPS breaks down the production plan in greater detail. To manage your MPS effectively, you'll need a master scheduler. We're going to look out how the master scheduler converts the production schedule to an MPS, applies a final assembly schedule, and uses available-to-promise (ATP) to satisfy customer orders. You'll learn how critical it is to measure and control your MPS and methods to keep it moving in the right direction.

Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8

Material Requirements Planning
The process called material requirements planning (MRP) is one of the great inventions of the 20th century. Today, you'll discover how MRP can help your company. You'll learn about the basics—dependent demand, bills of materials, and inventory records—and study the various reports and schedules. You'll also find out how to lot-size MRP orders and what it takes to implement MRP.

Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9

Capacity Planning
To succeed with capacity planning, you must manage the present and the future. You need to balance flexibility (being able to meet new and diverse needs in different ways) with capability (doing what you must do now). In this lesson, you'll learn about the goals and requirements to effectively manage capacity. You'll also discover how to use strategic capacity management, rough-cut capacity planning (RCCP), and capacity requirements planning (CRP) to define, plan, measure, and control output.

Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10

Production Activity Control, Part 1
Starting today, (and continuing for the remaining three lessons), we'll be discussing production activity control (PAC). PAC is vital because it activates all of your plans, including the MPS, MRP, and your capacity plan. We're going to look at the PAC cycle and its requirements and benefits. You'll learn how to apply backward and forward scheduling, manage bottlenecks, and optimize set up management. Then we'll cover linear programming as a way to schedule products when you face supply and demand constraints.

Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11

Production Activity Control, Part 2
Today, we'll examine another method with an acronym: production scheduling and control (PSC). PSC is the part of PAC that carries out all of your planning, going all the way back to the business plan. By the time you finish this lesson, you'll know how to develop and use a Gantt chart, understand basic scheduling principles, and know how to overcome production schedule challenges. You'll also learn how to use priority rules to sequence work orders, use shop loading, and manage work orders.

Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12

Production Activity Control, Part 3
In this final lesson, you'll learn all about lead-time. We'll identify its components and discuss how you can successfully control it. Then we'll conclude the course by studying operation overlapping as a way to improve production and keep materials flowing smoothly.


Course Details
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time.

In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning.

Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam.

The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later.

Certificates
Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.

Choose your course start date:

Jun 14, 2023Jul 12, 2023Aug 16, 2023Sep 13, 2023Oct 18, 2023
Talent and Performance Management

Talent and Performance Management

This program will prepare you for a career as a Talent Management professional. You will learn key issues facing organizations and their ability to attract and retain top talent in order to compete in a global marketplace.

You will explore talent management best practices and the effect of onboarding, performance management, and learning & development on employee engagement and retention. You will be prepared to articulate the issues around talent and performance management and to offer solutions, tactics and strategies to attract and retain key talent professionals.

Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1

Lesson 1
Learn strategies and tactics to attract, retain and manage the best talent.

Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2

Lesson 2
Take an in depth dive into the recruiting process. You will learn about interviewing techniques and practices for assessing both skill and cultural fit as well gain an understanding on how bias can influence the decision-making process.

Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3

Lesson 3
Finding talent that is the right cultural fit for the organization is essential. You will learn how mission, vision and values impact the success of the talent management function. In addition, you will learn about the process and techniques for assessing candidate fairly and introduced to some of the federal legislation that impacts this process.

Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4

Lesson 4
You will learn about managing talent once they join the team. Now that you have them, how will you keep them? This lesson explores onboarding/orientation, mentoring/coaching, and learning/development and the role each one plays to keep employees engaged and delivering results.

Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5

Lesson 5
Here we look take a look at talent management from an organizational perspective. You will explore creative leadership and change management principles and how these can be leveraged to develop an integrated talent management function.

Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6

Lesson 6
Improving employee engagement and performance is at the forefront of issues facing organizations today. In this lesson, you will explore how mentoring and coaching can improve performance. You will also review the performance management process and the impact of this process on employee engagement and retention.

Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7

Lesson 7
In this lesson we look at the role performance plays in further developing talent. You will be able to distinguish between career management and career planning as part of the overall career development process. We will also explore the role of experiential learning as part career planning.

Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8

Lesson 8
You will learn about HILO’s (High Impact Learning Organizations) and what is a high impact learning culture. In addition, you will explore the use of analytics to develop metric in order to assess organizational results.

Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9

Lesson 9
You will explore the importance of providing clear, consistent and regular feedback to others and the role of feedback on performance. You will also explore coaching as an organizational competence and the impact coaching has on engagement and performance.

Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10

Lesson 10
Explore the role high performing teams have on engagement and business outcomes. You will learn about the importance of teamwork, providing a safe environment for sharing ideas, and the importance of trust on achieving organizational goals.

Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11

Lesson 11
You will explore strategies for managing talent and performance, the importance of alignment with organizational goals, budget considerations and negotiation techniques for achieving compromise that all sides can live with.

Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12

Lesson 12
Strategy is the focus of this lesson. You will explore the role of leadership and the use of various tools that are essential in developing a talent management strategy that is aligned with organizational objectives and can be successfully implemented.

There are no requirements to take this program.

 

Course Details
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time.

In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning.

Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam.

The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later.

Certificates
Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.

Choose your course start date:

Total Quality Fundamentals

Total Quality Fundamentals

Learn how to effectively apply the fundamentals of total quality. Understand what quality is and learn about the history of the quality movement. Discover the role of customers in quality and determine the major elements of a quality system. Master key concepts such as the cost of nonquality, variation, and total employee involvement (TEI). Increase your value to your company by learning about various motivational models, leadership, and teamwork. Determine how to effectively apply quality standards by creating and implementing internal and external auditing activities. Learn the ins and outs of ISO 9000, ISO 14000, and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

In this six-week online course, you will learn how successful organizations apply quality to their everyday activities. You will find out how to use teamwork to make the most of employees' abilities and potential. I will help you manage the process of change, reduce customer complaints, and increase customer service. You will learn of a number of quality fallacies and how to lessen their impact.

Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1

Introduction to Quality
In our first lesson, we'll discuss the concept of professional quality certification as defined by the American Society for Quality (ASQ). Next, we'll come up with a universal definition of quality, a challenging proposition because so many people have different perspective of what quality is and what it isn't. You'll learn about the history of the quality movement and see how Six Sigma fits in. We'll finish up by examining Total Quality Management (TQM) and discuss its concepts and components.

Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2

Customers and Organization
Quality is best viewed as a total customer satisfaction package. You satisfy customers by effectively combining products and services. To help you get to know customers better, we'll discuss different customer types. We'll also discuss how you can minimize customer complaints. You'll discover the role that your organization plays in providing high customer satisfaction by maintaining a quality philosophy and creating quality systems.

Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3

Nonquality Costs and Variation
I've often observed that companies don't pay enough attention to problems until they begin to see sales and profits drop. Because of this tendency, an effective way to get top management's attention and hopefully increase their commitment to quality is to express problems in terms of costs. In this lesson, I'll discuss the cost of nonquality (also called the "cost of quality") and its components—external failure, internal failure, appraisal, and prevention costs. We'll also explore the concept of variation and discuss how you can use statistical process control (SPC) to meet customer requirements.

Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4

Assessment and Leadership
Companies grow by entering new markets and meeting unmet customer needs. To achieve and maintain this growth, it's important to have a healthy organization that has the right mix of leadership and power. Today you'll learn about the basic leadership styles and two leadership models. You'll also discover how the concepts of distinctive competency, competitive advantage, and organizational assessment position your organization for success.

Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5

Motivation and Change
In today's lesson, you'll learn what makes people tick and how to manage change. Reaching quality levels you desire will require dedication from everyone in the organization, so you need to know what motivates people in order to successfully work with and direct them. Also, as you work with people, you're faced with change. We'll talk about forces for change, learn why people resist these forces, and discuss ways to manage change.

Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6

Team Building and Training
It seems as if teams are everywhere. Despite the popularity of teams, far too many people report that their experience hasn't been too fulfilling. Six Sigma and quality projects rely on high-performing teams, so it's vital that you learn the secrets of team building. Many companies fail to devote enough time to training. After we complete today's lesson, I hope you'll be able to play a large role in making sure that employees receive the right type of preparation. When we finish, you'll have a solid understanding of how to build a strong team and effectively deliver training.

Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7

TEI and Measuring Performance
When companies decide to improve quality and better satisfy customers, they won't succeed unless all employees are behind these goals. Once you get employee commitment, you need to measure your progress. In this lesson I'll share a concept, "total employee involvement" (TEI), to help you get the most from the total power of every single person at your firm. You'll learn about the role that management and employees play in TEI. You'll also learn how to determine progress by using traditional and progressive performance measurements.

Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8

Standards and Auditing
Standards and auditing work hand-in-hand. The first helps you plan and the second makes sure that you follow your plans. Firms that conform to standards are more capable of competing. In this lesson, we'll explore the basics of standards and auditing. We'll talk about how standards are used and how they're developed. We'll also explore their benefits and discover how they're defined. Regarding auditing, we'll examine their features, discuss the different types of audits, and look at why auditing is a challenging activity.

Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9

External and Internal Auditing
In this lesson, we'll explore how your firm can use external auditing to assess suppliers' capabilities and internal auditing to improve company operations. You'll learn the difference between external and internal auditing. And I'll share the nuts and bolts of auditing and show you how to plan and conduct an audit and write a final audit report.

Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10

ISO 9000
I believe that ISO 9000 is one of the main reasons why organizations continue to focus on quality. It's difficult for companies to disregard quality once they make a decision to adopt the ISO 9000 standard. In today's lesson, we'll start out with some background about ISO, discuss what ISO 9000 represents, identify the challenges of implementing it, and go over a recipe for successfully putting ISO in place. We'll also talk about each section of the ISO 9001:2000 standard.

Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11

More Standards and Systems
In this lesson, we'll tackle a number of topics that will increase your knowledge about quality standards and systems. Although ISO 9000 has a high profile, other methods and structures also play a vital role in quality improvement. First, we'll close our study of ISO by looking at a series of standards to manage the environment—ISO 14000. Next, we'll dive into the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA), an esteemed award given for quality excellence in the United States. Finally, we'll explore three systems that apply to many of you: QS-9000, the Advanced Quality System (AQS), and the Conformité Europeenne (CE) mark.

Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12

Quality Culture and Fallacies
After you implement everything from the lessons of this course, you can safely say your organization has a quality culture. Without a quality culture, it's difficult to satisfy customers, improve processes, and reduce costs. In addition to discussing a quality culture, we'll also examine quality fallacies. We'll finish up the lesson by identifying the most common quality fallacies and discuss what beliefs should take their place.

Course Details
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time.

In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning.

Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam.

The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later.

Certificates
Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.

Choose your course start date:

Jun 14, 2023Jul 12, 2023Aug 16, 2023Sep 13, 2023Oct 18, 2023
Understanding the Human Resources Function

Understanding the Human Resources Function

No matter what role we play in an organization, we are all affected by human resources. This course is designed to help people without experience in human resources to understand this very vital link in the organizational chain. It will prepare both managers and business owners to handle basic human resource functions in a way that will ensure the best possible result. In particular, attention is given to the hiring process, including ways to locate quality employees in a competitive labor market. Employee rights and the legal side of the human resource field are also covered.


Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1

The History of Human Resources
Do you ever wonder why the field of human resources is the way it is? How it has evolved? In our first lesson, we'll travel through history to explore the roots of human resources. You'll see how the modern human resource function has evolved from trade guilds, through the industrial revolution, to modern times.

Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2

Human Resources Functions in Today's Organization
What exactly does the human resource professional do on the job? In this lesson, we'll take a look at the variety of vital activities that are frequently included in the human resources function. This variety can include everything from recruiting, hiring, and retaining employees, to labor management relations and workplace safety and training.

Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3

The Hiring Process: Part 1
How does someone go about finding and hiring a new employee? The initial preparation for hiring is often done in the quiet of an office, which may make it seem like new employees just magically appear. Today, we'll explore what goes on in that quiet office to ensure that the employee who appears is the right one for the job. We'll focus on preparing advertisements and application forms, how to review and screen applications, conduct interviews, and verify information to ensure that it's correct.

Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4

The Hiring Process: Part 2
Interviews and background checks are key components of the hiring process. The interview is your chance to evaluate the job applicant in person to see how well his or her skills match your job requirements. So today, we'll look at each part of the interview—from how to set it up and what approach to take to rating the person after the interview.

Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5

Finding Employees in a Competitive Labor Market
How do you get someone to apply for a job? Solid recruiting practices using both traditional and nontraditional techniques will ensure that you have a large pool of applicants from which to pick and choose. Traditionally, many companies simply run a classified job ad when they need a new employee, but in this lesson, we'll explore other alternatives that may be equally effective in recruiting.

Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6

Retaining Quality Employees
What motivates a quality employee to stay on the job? What can you do to keep employees happy and working? In this lesson, we'll analyze job satisfaction and the factors that keep employees happy. Then we'll look at some unique programs that provide incentives for employees to stay on the job a long time.

Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7

Respecting Employee Rights
What rights do employees have? What are moral rights and how can the company protect them? What is the difference between a moral and a legal right? This lesson explores both moral and legal rights and how they can be used to benefit employees. We'll also take a look at what to do if an employee complains that either moral or legal rights are not being protected.

Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8

Laws Relating to Human Resources
What legal responsibilities does a company owe its employees? Today's lesson provides an overview of the many laws that impact the workplace. We'll examine laws that govern union-management interactions, prohibit discrimination, set wage and hour requirements, and set benefit and safety standards. I'll also point out some Internet resources that will help you easily stay up to date as these laws change.

Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9

Policy Making
Do you have a policy manual at work? What policies are included in the manual? How does anyone ever decide what policies to include? In this lesson, we'll take a look at policy manuals—what they should include, what policies are most common, and what you should do to ensure that your policies comply with the law.

Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10

Employee Communications
How can workplace communication be effective? What should you do to ensure that communication is taking place on a regular basis? Today, we'll focus on the need for effective communication programs at work and how to implement them. You'll find out how to keep communication running smoothly throughout the organization.

Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11

Administration of Employee Benefit Programs
What should a strong employee benefit program include? What is involved in putting a benefit package together? Benefits are a great way to attract and keep employees. So today we'll take a look at such common employment benefits as insurance and retirement. We'll cover how to put together a benefit package, and options for including free benefits that are attractive to employees.

Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12

Human Resources—A Source of Quality
Have you ever wondered what makes a human resource professional successful? In our final lesson, we'll take a look at eight habits that successful professionals adopt. You'll leave with the insight and ability to achieve excellence at work!

Course Details
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time.

In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning.

Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam.

The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later.

Certificates
Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.

Choose your course start date:

Jun 14, 2023Jul 12, 2023Aug 16, 2023Sep 13, 2023Oct 18, 2023
Wow, What a Great Event!

Wow, What a Great Event!

Are you planning a special event and could use some helpful advice? Considering event planning as a future career? Curious about what other event planners are doing? Need new ideas and resources? Wow, What a Great Event! is an event planning course that's made for you.

This course reveals how all the pieces in the event planning process fit together to make any size or type of event successful, whether it's for your family or friends, your employer, or your favorite charity. It helps you avoid common pitfalls, embarrassing errors, and costly mistakes. It provides you with a solid educational foundation in event planning that will impress your current boss or future employers. And if you're a very experienced planner just looking for a few ideas, it presents you with exceptional resources you probably didn't know existed and can use in your own business.

Each lesson covers a completely new topic, every one important to planning a successful event. You'll learn about themes, venues, menus, entertainment, décor, and much, much more. You will develop skills, find resources, and gain confidence to plan any event. You'll discover proven tips, tools, techniques, and procedures that will make event planning easier for you. You'll gain access to event industry information compiled by and for event industry professionals.

We even point you in the right direction to meet other event and meeting planners and to join a professional association or industry group. You'll be so excited with your newly gained confidence and expertise that you'll want to start planning your next event even before this course is over.

 

Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1

Creating an Event Plan
No matter what you need or hope to accomplish, you'll inevitably need to plan it first. How many times can you recall being in a quandary and needing some direction? You'll get that direction after you read this first lesson! Today, we'll lay out a step-by-step approach for event planning that's simple, straightforward, and works every time.

Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2

Creating a Theme
You're surrounded by themes in your daily life. If you're a fashionista who follows all the latest fashion trends, there's likely a theme to your seasonal wardrobe. When you watch the home improvement shows on cable television, you learn how to create a theme that dominates your home decor. If you garden, you know that the selection and arrangement of your flowers, shrubs, statuary, and outdoor furniture will result in a theme. In this lesson, you'll learn when to use and when to avoid a theme at your events. Then we'll discuss how to bring your theme to life using your all of your senses. We'll conclude the lesson by looking at two theme examples to help spark your own creativity.

Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3

Selecting a Site
Today, you'll find out why there's a lot more to selecting a site than booking your neighborhood hotel or banquet hall. Location, location, and location are the three key words everyone uses when talking about any kind of real estate. An event site is a unique type of real estate and an important part of your event's success. In this lesson, we'll categorize various types of event sites and look at some criteria that will ultimately help you make your site selection.

Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4

Planning the Site
Now that you know which site you'll use for your event, it's time to get out your pencil and paper and start planning how you'll use the space. In today's lesson, you'll learn which site diagrams you'll need, how to develop a room layout, and which sketches you'll want to request or create yourself. I'll teach you how to walk through your site and make observations, noting everything that will be a potential help or hindrance to you, your guests, and your event.

Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5

Choosing a Menu
Have a snack and a beverage at your side while you read this lesson! Today's extensive discussion about the selection and serving of food and beverages will likely spur your appetite. It may also help you recall memorable meals that you've enjoyed in the past, or help you conjure up ideas about fancy foods that you'll want to feature at your next party. I'm sure you'll refer to this lesson long after you've finished the course!

Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6

Entertaining the Guests
Entertainment is a key component of most any event. There are many potential resources to go to for entertainment, but you have to know where to look. This lesson is chock-full of valuable entertainment source information for novice event planners and experienced professionals alike.

Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7

Making Decorating Decisions
Developing a decorating theme for your event can help you free your inhibitions and let your creative juices flow. If anything provides a limitation, it's usually the budget. But even then, you can beg, borrow, or buy at a discount to make your big ideas come to life! I'll show you how in this lesson. We'll also pay special attention to color and special lighting that will make your events eye-popping. This lesson may end up being your favorite in the course because it's just so much fun to decorate a space for a party or an event.

Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8

Raising Money
Today, we'll examine corporate sponsorships, which are proliferating and are an important means of covering the major costs of many events, maybe even some of yours. If you're not a fundraising professional, don't think that this lesson isn't for you. While we'll discuss donations and grants, we'll also talk about a lot more.

Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9

Promoting the Event
Ever worry that you'll go through all the trouble of throwing a grand event but no one attends? If you follow the advice you'll read in this lesson, you can almost ensure that you'll avoid that problem. In this lesson, we'll look at all the different modes of promoting your event, including word-of-mouth, print, electronic media, and media relations.

Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10

Staffing for Success
Few of us can handle all the little details of our events completely alone. You'll almost always need some help—sometimes quite a lot of help. But, as you'll discover in this lesson, you can hire anything from a small team to a large committee to help you with your own event. After we talk about who these people are and how they can assist you, you'll gain some insight into how to get the most out of their help, and you'll learn how to avoid the worst problems in personnel matters.

Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11

Evaluating the Event
Evaluating your events soon after they're completed is a great way to learn from your mistakes. How better to visualize the best way to proceed with your future events? In this lesson, you'll learn what to look at and who to consult as you do your own examination and evaluation. We'll also discuss surveys and focus groups.

Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12

Lifelong Learning
If you truly enjoy creating special events, you'll want to continue your education—formally or informally—and widen your circle of professional colleagues once you complete this course. In this lesson, you'll learn many ways that you can do both!
Course Details
This course is fully online, you require internet access and an email account. The course duration is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week period to complete the final exam (online, open book). Lessons are released on Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, for a total of 12. You are not required to be online at any specific time.

In addition to the specific lesson content, there is a discussion board with each lesson and often there is an optional assignment to apply the learning.

Following each lesson, there is a short multiple choice quiz. Your score on these quizzes does not count towards the final mark but completing these helps solidify your learning as well as prepare you for the final exam.

The final exam is an open-book, multiple choice exam and you need to achieve a minimum of 65% on the final exam to pass the course. There is only one opportunity to pass the exam. A certificate of completion from Ed2Go is available for printing immediately upon successful completion of the course and a certificate from the University of Waterloo will be emailed typically 1-2 weeks later.

Certificates
Many of the Ed2Go courses are eligible towards the various online certificates offered by WatSPEED.

Choose your course start date: