Online courses directory (51)

Building an effective online presence is critical for growing your business as it gives your company access to thousands or millions of local, national or international customers who are searching, interacting, sharing and shopping online. In this course you will learn why you must get your business up and running on the Web using e-commerce sites, review sites and social networks. You will also learn that having a Website which is easy to navigate, is informative, and has a good domain name, the right design template and memorable Web copy will help your business stand out from the competition. The course discusses why it is important to have a presence on the mobile Web and how to attract your target audience using tools like Google AdWords. This course will be of great interest to all business owners who are thinking of setting up a Website for their business but are uncertain of how to go about doing it. It will also be beneficial to any company or organisation that wants their existing Website to be more effective at attracting potential customers.<br />

Operations management is important to any organization, whether they are manufacturing companies producing physical products or organizations offering services. ALISON's free diploma in operations management online course reviews a wide variety of topics from the development of operations management, to the role of the operations manager, the transformation model, planning and scheduling methodologies and practices, and inventory and quality management. <br /><br />The Diploma in Operations Management will give you a thorough understanding and knowledge of operations management and its organizational and managerial applications. <br /><br />The course is ideal for anyone who would like to contribute to the development of an organization in the area of operations management.<br />

In the free online course, John Doerr talks about how to succeed as a venture capitalist. John is a legend in venture investing having played a key role in the emergence and development of some of Silicon Valley’s most successful companies. He is a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield &amp; Byers, joining them in 1980, and has sponsored a series of investments including Compaq, Cypress, Intuit, Macromedia, Netscape, Lotus, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, S3, Sun Microsystems, Amazon.com, and Symantec. In this course he talks about what distinguishes successful companies from others. He views entrepreneurs as missionaries and gives valuable advice on assembling a great team of people. He discusses important new disruptive technologies and the impact of social entrepreneurship. He gives valuable career advice and predicts what the future of technology and venture capital will look like. You will learn what it takes to become a great venture capitalist and also how to treat negotiations when pursuing initial venture capital funding. This course will be of great interest to entrepreneurs and business professionals who would like to find out how venture capitalists work and what it takes to persuade them to financially back your company or business idea.<br />

Marissa Mayer has led product management efforts at Google as Google's Vice President of Search Products &amp; User Experience products. Her responsibilities cover such products as Google Search, Gmail, Google Chrome and Google Labs. She believes that ideas for new products can come from every employee and department within an organisation, and also from end users of the product or service. In this free online course, Marissa explains how Google’s open culture and flat management of the organisation encourages creativity and brilliant ideas. She explains how Google sets asides 20 per cent of each employee’s time for creative projects and how this has proved to be a massive success. You will learn that Google do not make their product decisions on company politics but on data and facts. She explains how their focus on users and the software tools that keep users returning to Google has been at the centre of their success. This course will be of great interest to business and IT professionals who want to learn more about Google's success and business practices that created this success.<br />

What you do not know about money can really affect your entire life! Financial Literacy is a free, online introductory course about personal financial management. In this interactive multimedia course, a series of seven dynamic modules covering everything from how to set up your first bank account to planning for your retirement will put you on the path to financial fitness!

Vinod Khosla grew up dreaming of being an entrepreneur and in 2004, he formed Khosla Ventures which offers start-up assistance, strategic advice and financial backing to entrepreneurs. The firm helps entrepreneurs extend the potential of their ideas in both traditional areas like the Internet, computing, mobile, and silicon technology, and also supports clean technology areas such as bio-refineries for energy and bio-plastics, solar, battery and other environmentally friendly technologies. In this free online course he explains how his ambition in life from a young age was to be an entrepreneur but how he had to learn from failure early on in his career. He explains his business motto of why you should think big and act small. He talks about taking risks and why companies are more successful when they have a mission to change the world. You will learn what areas of investment interest and excite him and why he considers any big problem to be an opportunity. He discusses his views on technology driven entrepreneurship and why social entrepreneurship is so important. In terms of teamwork, he explains how to build strong teams and why great CEOs must build great teams. This course will be of great interest to entrepreneurs, business professionals and anyone who wants to learn from the experience and wisdom of a very successful business person.<br />

Jeff Hawkins is the co-founder of Palm and Handspring and is the architect of many computing products such as the PalmPilot and the Treo smartphone. In this course he will take you on a journey through his career, how he became an entrepreneur and the importance of believing in your product. He teaches valuable lessons about the importance of experience, following your passions and how to keep a work/life balance. He discusses how to design successful products, the role of market research and the need to continuously test products. In terms of the company workplace, he talks about how a good business culture and a strong human resources policy are vital. You will also learn about the importance and inevitability of portable technology. This course will be of great interest to business professionals who will learn much from the experience, knowledge and wisdom Jeff Hawkins has gained over his career. It will also be of interest to business students setting out on their careers, in particular those who would like to become technology entrepreneurs.<br />

This free online project management professional certification course from ALISON offers a comprehensive review of project management such as methodology, tool sets and documentation, and the project life cycle including analysis, planning, design and evaluation. The course also includes a project management case study. <br /><br />With project management in great demand internationally, the diploma in project management course will greatly enhance your career prospects.<br />

Investment and tax principles are very important topics in finance and professionals who act as investment and taxation advisors must have a thorough knowledge and understanding of these areas. In this free online financial course you will learn more about risk-and-return concepts, capital markets and explore various aspects of taxation such as understanding what tax deductions are and how to calculate the upper and lower bounds on forward settlement prices. This course will be of great interest to financial and business professionals who would like a greater understanding of investment and taxation practices and procedures, and to learners who would like to learn more about these fundamental areas of finance.

Good customer service is vital for all businesses, large or small. It can have a direct impact on customer loyalty and where potential customers choose to spend their money. Simply put, the higher quality customer service you provide, the higher level of customer satisfaction you will enjoy, and that will translate into repeat business and more revenue.<br /><br />This free online course from ALISON introduces the basic concepts of customer service and dives into effective customer service techniques and practices. It will benefit anyone who deals directly with a business or organization’s customers.<br /><br />Gain thorough knowledge and understanding of customer service practices and become confident in handling enquiries, complaints, and communications.<br />

Personal financial debt can be a source of great anxiety and worry for many people, and it can be difficult to know where to start when you want to take control of your financial debts. This free online course helps you get started on the road to reducing your personal financial debts and becoming debt free. The course offers you a clear way of understanding exactly how much money you owe and to whom by setting up a debt spreadsheet, how to contact credit card companies to request a break on interest rates, how to prioritise which debt to pay off first, what strategy you should use to pay off debts based on minimum monthly payments or highest interest rates charged, and how to implement an emergency debt elimination plan if needed. This course will be of great interest to personal finance professionals who work with people who find themselves in financial difficulty and to anyone who wants clear guidance on how to reduce their personal financial debts and become debt free.<br />

eBay is now a household name as during the past decade it has become the world’s leading online marketplace. eBay allows anyone sit in their living room and buy and sell for their pleasure or as a business. In this free online course we get an insight into the workings of how eBay was born as a company, how they managed the creative processes as well as their marketing strategies. Along with eBay there is also a discussion about PayPal, created by the team at eBay to function as their payment scheme for customers but which is now the world’s leading online payments company. The course also reviews their acquisitions projects, the successes and failures experienced by the company, potential growth sectors and the future of eBay and PayPal. This course will be of great interest to all business and marketing professionals, and budding entrepreneurs who would like learn how a world-class company like eBay grew and prospered.<br />

This module explains the Safety Management Pack for construction contractors with 20 or less employees (SMP 20). SMP20 will help you to plan your work in a safe way and protect your employees and the people around you. By following the simple steps outlined in this module, you can develop your own safety statement and improve how you carry out your work. A detailed look at risk assessment is also provided. This module was developed by the Construction Safety Partnership to help you, and will take approximately 45 minutes to complete. Afterwards you will be given instructions how to purchase your copy of SMP20 from the Construction Safety Partnership.

This free HR ALISON course introduces you to the world of Human Resources management (HRM) and is a useful introduction to those who wish to learn and understand more about the role it plays within organizations.<br /><br />The lessons examine the various functions of HRM in organizations including responsibilities and objectives, the employment cycle, job analysis, recruitment and selection, and performance appraisal as well as employee relations, and managing change within the workplace.<br />

In this free online accounting course you will be introduced to accounting and its use in making business decisions. You will learn how to identify and describe the three basic forms of business organizations, and also distinguish among the three types of activities performed by business organizations. The course then describes the content and purposes of the income statement, statement of retained earnings, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows. You will learn about the basic accounting equation and describe its relationship to the balance sheet. The course then shows you how to prepare an income statement, a statement of retained earnings, and a balance sheet, and also how to analyse and use the financial results—the equity ratio. This free online accounting course will be of great interest to entrepreneurs and business professionals who would like to get a thorough introduction to accounting principles, and to any learner who is interested in accounting as a future career.<br />

&quot;21 Steps To Building A Web Business&quot;&quot; is ALISON’S free online course covering the skills and techniques needed to create a successful online business. Chris Farrell, voted Number 1 Internet Marketing Service Provider, describes the process of developing an online business in a non-technical and step-by-step manner.<br /><br />The course is ideal for those who've always wanted to create an online business but lack the skills or knowledge to do so. <p> </p>

Using an interactive presentation style, ALISON's accounting course dives into the terminology employed in financial circles, the principles used in basic accounting and the systems put in place to ensure financial control is maintained. The accounting course explores the main financial statements including the profit and loss account, the balance sheet and the everyday adjustments that have to be made. After completing the accounting course, you are expected to be aware of the importance of prudential financial management and the factor it plays in the success or failure of businesses and organizations.<br />

<p>This free business skills course introduces you to the world of operations management and is useful to those who wish to learn and understand more about the role it plays in organisations. </p> <br /> <p>Using an interactive presentation style, the lessons go through the role of operations management in both manufacturing and service organisations. It also covers strategies used, such as capacity planning, facilities location planning, aggregate planning and scheduling, as well as inventory management techniques and quality management. </p>

<p>This online course is aimed at people interested in IT project management and builds on other business and IT courses available online at ALISON. </p> <br /> <p>Every competent project manager needs to know the various phases and project management software and tools available do the job properly (such as the Gantt Chart). This free course will identify these phases and tools, enabling you to successfully manage any project. </p>

Guy Kawasaki is best known as “chief evangelist” of Apple. In this free online course he gives important lessons about entrepreneurship. He explains why he thinks that the most successful companies will be those that aim to create a positive change in society. He explains how to make meaning in your company so that you can make a difference. You will learn about mantras, getting going, defining a business model and creating a niche for your company. He also recommends that you hire “infected” people, people who love the product or service. You will also learn about lowering barriers to adoption, approaching sales and how to become a “mensch”. He discusses how to find evangelists and soul mates and what is the career path to becoming an entrepreneur or venture capitalist. This course will be of great interest to all business professionals or budding entrepreneurs who are interested in starting up a business and would like to hear advice and guidance from someone who has already done it successfully but who has also been very close to extraordinary achievement in the area of the growth of high technology businesses.<br />