Commercialization Of Indian Premier League

Commercialization Of Indian Premier League Cricket is just one of those many sports which was conceived by the English and perfected by the world; the Indian Premier League is just an extension of this phenomenon. The Twenty 20 format was invented in England in 2003 but it really took off when the master strategist that is Lalit Modi took it upon himself to take this format a step higher into crickets first franchise based sports event. In late June 2007 Lalit Modi who was then Vice-President of the Board of Cricket Control for India spoke to Andrew Wildblood of the International Management Group (IMG), a company with a vast experience in the whole area of sports management. IMG and Lalit Modi then sat down to discuss this model and finally came up with the idea that is the IPL in its current format. The idea behind creating city based teams was based on the model present in sports in US and UK. IMG designed the IPL after an intensive study of the primary sporting leagues around the world such as the NHL, NBA, NFL and EPL. They examined the theoretical models and also the result and impact of each of these leagues before arriving at the final blueprint. As in most other areas, there were at least as many learnings from the shortcomings and weaknesses as there were in the strengths and benefits mapped to the individual market contexts. What has finally emerged as the IPL design is one that has been meticulously refined to work for cricket.The league structure has been modeled so as to flourish in the uniquely Indian context, and drive the development of grassroots talent in Indian cricket. The idea had all the ingredients to be a success as it had the best cricket players of the world, fans from around the world and a dollop of glamour due to the presence of Bollywood celebrities, corporates and Indian politicos. The IPL was the first of its kind sports extravaganza of its kind, prior to this India has been fed a steady diet of 50 overs and test cricket. This kind of model which is common in the west but a first of its kind in India provided many new avenues for all the stakeholders. The grand old game of Cricket has undergone several makeovers in its history. Test cricket was followed by 60 over one day matches which later became 50 overs. The all white strip of the 70s gave way to the colored clothing and day-night matches of the Kerry Packer era. The Twenty 20 format which originated in England was devised to bring back the crowds in English County Cricket. The game in England was going through a major crisis and the introduction of T20 was instrumental in bringing a much needed dose of excitement in the game. Once again English were left to marvel as the sport they had created in their own backyard was spun into the Great Indian Tamasha by Lalit Modi and his comrades. Commercialization of IPL: Indian Premier League (IPL) has defined a new set of paradigm to do business in the Indian landscape. This was bound to happen someday, looking at the craze for the cricket in this country. IPL is not a yet another cricket extravaganza but an event where money is spun around with many different angles and huge stakes are involved in it. IPL has corporatized cricket in a unique way. It has added a new dimension of marketing and branding the sport in India. IPL is a business which has big economy of scale. India has seen the success of different businesses and the organizations or entrepreneurs running them and now it is the turn of IPL. Overall IPL itself has become a big brand under the leadership of Top management and it is a matter of interest that how it has been done as compared to the failure of its rival league ICL. The Value Positioning of IPL is Fast and Quick Entertainment Which has its own pros and cons according to the test and 50-50 Over Cricket Fraternity. The Making of the Franchises: The biggest USP of the Indian Premier League is that, here the teams are run and managed by various corporate houses or Bollywood celebrities. The owners of the teams went through a bidding procedure to buy the teams and after that, the cricketers were also put up forauction. The managements of the teams took part in the auction and bid for their desired cricketers, with a view to make their team the strongest one among all others. Cricketers from around the world, including the Indian cricketers were put up for auction. The BCCI actually followed the format of England`s most popular football event, the Barclays English Premier League (EPL) for governing the rules and regulations of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Right from the ownership of the franchises to the games themselves, IPL saw an exciting cocktail of Cricket, Bollywood and Business Barons. The people involved in buying these franchises were the whos who of Bollywood and Indian Business Houses.The winning bidders for the eight franchises were declared on 24 January 2008. The total base price for the auction was US $400 million but the auction went on to fetch US $723.59 million.On March 21, 2010, Pune and Kochi were unveiled as the two new franchises for the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League. The base price this time around was $225 million. While Pune was bought by Sahara Adventure Sports Group for $370 million, the Kochi franchise was bought by Rendezvous Sports World Limited for $333.3 million. The process was to have been completed on March 7 but was postponed by two weeks after many bidders and the BCCI objected to stiff financial clauses. The second franchise auction fetched total $703 million. This auction brought a lot of attention towards the IPL for the alleged involvement of Union Cabinet Minister ShashiTharoor . His involvement in trying to tip the scales in the favor of a particular consortium created much furore in the media Open Auction for Individual Players: Highest bidder becomes the buyer. Each player has a base annual fee which is on a pro-rata basis depending on his availability. Each IPL franchise has a max limit to spend on bidding for players. Television rights and sponsorships: The IPL is predicted to bring the BCCI income of approximately US$1.6 billion, over a period of five to ten years. All of these revenues are directed to a central pool, 40% of which will go to IPL itself, 54% to franchisees and 6% as prize money. The money will be distributed in these proportions until 2017, after which the share of IPL will be 50%, franchisees 45% and prize money 5%. The IPL signed up Kingfisher Airlines as the official umpire partner for the series in a Rs. 106 crore (1.06 billion) deal. This deal sees the Kingfisher Airlines brand on all umpires uniforms and also on the giant screens during third umpire decisions Television rights: On 15 January 2008 it was announced that a consortium consisting of Indias Sony Entertainment Television network and Singapore-based World Sport Group secured the global broadcasting rights of the Indian Premier League. The record deal has duration of ten years at a cost of US $1.026 billion. As part of the deal, the consortium will pay the BCCI US $918 million for the television broadcast rights and US $108 million for the promotion of the tournament. This deal was challenged in the Bombay High Court by IPL, and got the ruling on its side. After losing the battle in court, Sony Entertainment Television signed a new contract with BCCI with Sony Entertainment Television paying a staggering Rs. 8700 crores for 10 years. Sony-WSG then re-sold parts of the broadcasting rights geographically to other companies. Below is a summary of the broadcasting rights around the world. On 4 March 2010 ITV announced it had secured the United Kingdom television rights for the 2010 Indian Premier League. ITV will televise 59 of the 60 IPL matches on its ITV4 free to air channel. Sony charges Rs 4-5 lakh per 10 seconds, (top soaps charge Rs 1.5 lakh per 10 seconds). According to Television Audience Measurement (TAM), the average Television Rating Points (TRP) of the first 14 matches in Season 1 was 4.97; in Season 2 it was 4.52, and in Season 3 its grown to 4.69. If IPL-1 reached 77 million people in the first 14 matches, IPL-2 went to 96 million and IPL-3 is at 108 million. The ratings have also raised team earnings. Winning Bidder Sponsorships: Indias biggest property developer DLF Group paid US$50 million to be the title sponsor of the tournament for 5 years from 2008 to 2013.Other five-year sponsorship agreements include a deal with motorcycle maker Hero Honda worth $22.5-million, one with PepsiCo worth $12.5-million, and a deal with beer and airline conglomerate Kingfisher at $26.5-million. Revenue and Profits: The UK-based brand consultancy, Brand Finance, has valued the IPL at $4.13 billion in 2010. It was valued at U$2.01 billion in 2009 by the same consultancy. There are disputed figures for the profitability of the teams. One analyst said that four teams out of the eight made a profit in 2009.]While the London Times said that all but Kings XI Punjab made a profit. In 2010, the IPL expects to have 80 official merchandising deals. It has signed a deal with Swiss watchmaker Bandelier to make official watches for the IPL. Official IPL applications: DCI Mobile Studios (A division of Dot Com Infoway Limited), in conjunction with Sigma Ventures of Singapore, have jointly acquired the rights to be the exclusive Mobile Application partner and rights holder for the Indian Premier League cricket matches worldwide for the next 8 years (including the 2017 season). Recently, they have released the IPL T20 Mobile applications for iPhone, Nokia Smartphonesand Blackberry devices. Soon it will be made available across all other major Mobile platforms including the Android, Windows Mobile, Palm others. How Does IPL make Money? Auction of broadcasting rights. Title sponsorship and corporate sponsorship. Sale of Tickets (20% allocated to IPL). Auction of Franchisee rights. Official Umpires sponsorships. How is the Income Distributed? Share of the broadcasting money with franchisees. Share of the sponsorship money with franchisees. Share of ticket money with franchisees. Inauguration expenses. Prize Money. Sources of Income for an IPL Franchise (ROI) Share in revenue from the broadcasting rights. Share in the sponsorship money. Share in revenue from the sale of tickets. Revenue from In-stadium Advertising. Sale of Players to other franchise. Revenue from own sponsorship and corporate sponsorship. How is the franchise income distributed? Franchisee fees: 10% of the total franchisee costs every year to IPL. Players cost. Match fees and Inauguration expenses. Rent of Stadium. Marketing and promotional cost. Fees for coaches, physiotherapists and other members. Administrative cost. Franchisees can earn profit in IPL as Team owners get 80% of broadcast revenues, 60% of sponsorship revenues, 100% of team sponsorship revenues, 80% of ticket revenues, 87.5% of all merchandising revenues, and 100% of all hospitality revenues. Brand Finance, which came out with IPL brands latest valuation at $ 4.13 billion, said that the brand alone has risen significantly, providing tremendous economic value to its owner, BCCI. Although the English Premier League is valued much higher at $12 billion, the IPLs valuation has risen above $4 billion in just three years, Brand Finance pointed out. Indian Premier League would generate revenue of $1 billion this season, thanks to huge fan following across the globe, attracting a large number of advertisers. Indian Premier Leagues brand value has more than doubled to $4.13 billion (over Rs 18,000 crores), while Chennai Super Kings has emerged the most valued franchise this year, says a study. Ranked fourth last year, Chennai Super Kings led by MS Dhoni has moved to number one with a valuation of $48.4 million, followed by Shahrukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders ($46 million) and Shilpa Shettys Rajasthan Royals ($45.2 million). The valuation of teams pale in comparison to the IPL brand itself, which has more than doubled from last years $2.01 billion. The individual franchisees have also seen a fair amount of uplift in value since last year. Vijay Mallya-promoted Royal Challengers Bangalore is ranked fourth this year with a valuation of $41.9 million and is followed by Nita Ambani-owned Mumbai Indians ($40.8 million), Delhi Daredevils ($40.5 million), Kings XI Punjab ($36.1 million) and Hyderabad Deccan Chargers at the bottom with a valuation of $34.4 million. Consider this. Chelsea, one of the wealthiest, most powerful football clubs in Europe the Premiership giants, who were bought by Russian oligarch Roman Abrahmovic for  £140 million (Rs 966 crores) in one of the most high-profile takeovers in international sport in 2003, would appear a mid-table struggler if compared to the  £246.35 million (Rs 1,702 crores) Sahara splashed out to buy the Pune team. While it is almost certain that Rendezvous Sports pumping in money for a Kochi-based T20 franchise sounds the death knell for Keralas traditional favorite, football, at Rs 1,533 crores, the cricketing venture heads both Chelsea and Liverpool, which was taken over by US ice-hockey team owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks for  £219m (Rs 1,511 crores) in February 2007. It should be noted that seven seasons ago, the Russian oligarch was paying the amount he did for an established brand, one that was almost a century old, while the Indians paid these astronomical sums merely to gain entry into what is still a fledgling venture, which recently began only its third season. IPL SWOT Strengths The IPL is set up upon the T20 cricket game which should be completed in 2.5 hours. That means that is fast-paced and exciting, and moreover it can be played on a weekday evening or weekend afternoon. That makes it very appealing as a mass sport, just like American Football, Basketball and Soccer. It is appealing as a spectator sport, as well to TV audiences. The IPL has employed economists to structure its lead so that revenue is maximized. The more unified the sport, the more successful it is. Weaknesses Twenty20 has been so popular that it could replace other forms of cricket i.e. damage the game that generated it. Some fans will also have to pay for travel to the ground. There may be large queues for the most popular games. There may be some distance between where the fan lives and the cricket ground. Stakes are very high! Some teams may not weather short-term failures and may be too quick to get rid of key managers and players if things dont go well quickly. Famously, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) sacked their CEO Charu Sharma for watching his team lose 6 from their first 8 games. Some teams have overpriced their advertising/sponsorship in order to gain some short-term returns (e.g. Royal Challengers), and some sponsors and are moving their investment the more reasonably priced teams. Opportunities Since it has a large potential mass audience, IPL is very attractive as a marketing communications opportunity, especially for advertisers and sponsors. The league functions under a number of franchises. Each franchisee is responsible for marketing its team to gain as large a fan-base as possible. The long-term success of all of the franchises lies in the generation of a solid fan-base. The fan-base will generate large TV revenues. Different fans will pay different amounts to watch their sport. There will be corporate hospitality, season tickets, away tickets, TV pay-per-view and other ways to segment the market for the IPL. There is a huge opportunity for merchandising e.g. sales of shirts, credit cards and other fan memorabilia. Grounds can also sell refreshments and other services during the games. Marketers believe that the teenage segments need to be targeted so that they become the long-term fan-base. Their parents and older cricket fans may prefer the longer, more traditional game. The youth market may also impress on their parents that they want them to buy their clubs merchandise on their behalf as a differentiator or status symbol. Franchise fees will remain fixed for the up until 2017-18, which means that the investment is safe against inflation which is traditionally relatively high in India. Threats The level of competition that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) can generate determines long-term viability of the league. If the level of competition drops, then revenue will fall. For example, if the top names in cricket cannot be attracted to India, the appeal of the game will fall. Often getting hold of the big names is a problem Australian domestic cricket runs concurrent with the IPL and if players move from Australia to India to follow the money then their domestic game will be hit. This is known as Free Agency. If the franchisees fan-base does not generate income then they may not have the cash to pay the salaries of the best players. However, if you invest in the best players and they do not win the trophies, then you may not see a return on your investment. It wont be a quick return on investment so owners need to be in it for the long-term. The most highly priced teams may not be those that have the early success. Revenues will come from the most highly supported teams. Marketing Strategy: IPL The DLF Indian premier league is a concept sell. It is clearly observed that IPL is a perfect example of controversy marketing Strategies: Auctioning the franchisees. Auctioning the players participating in the IPL tournament. Advertisements on various TV and radio channels. Cheerleaders were one of the most important things that is talked about, foreign girls attracted huge crowd. Worldwide telecast. Locations: the venue chosen for the cricket matches was a strategic choice of places which are named after franchisees, which helped attract people. Conflicts with some media partners and some other cricket boards again demanded the attention of people. Timing: IPL has shown its strategic application of intellect by choosing the evening time for the matches, which made people watch game comfortably. ICL: the rival ICL had been one of the reasons for the publicity and emergence of IPL. People started comparing the IPL ICL that caused the huge publicity for the IPL Opening ceremony gala, Live Concerts. Franchises taken by film stars like Shahrukh Khan, Pretty Zinta and Juhi Chawla etc are the center for attraction, which made some Bollywood stars come for the game. Use of models and Bollywood stars for anchoring and promotion of teams like Akshay Kumar for Delhi daredevils, Shahrukh khan for Kolkata Knight Riders. The commentators were not less than PROs, use of phrases that pleased sponsors and made them pay more. Example: for every six it was a DLF Maximum, for every special moment it was city moment of success. Advantages and Disadvantages Players: Advantages Disadvantages Earn at least Rs 80 Lakhs ($200000) or more per season on average. Due to the tight schedule of international cricket, Chances of injury lowers the tenure of career. Bonuses and Prize Money from Team owners. Neglecting other forms of cricket A great stage to show case skills and compete with the best in the world. Fast game. Stamina and patience to build an innings and bowl tirelessly to get wickets is lost. The top 4 highest earning international cricketers are Indians, with the captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, leading the way with annual earnings estimated at US$10m, Tendulkar at US$8m, Yuvraj and Dravid earning in excess of US$5m. Franchise: Advantages Disadvantages Using the cricket property to promote other businesses. Financial Loss if the IPL fails to take off. Prize money if the team wins. Franchises Pays the team and financial costs i.e. Cost of acquisition. They earn from the share in revenue from IPL. Promotional expenses have to be paid by franchises. They also pay the franchisee fee e.g. RCB has to pay $11.16m p.a. for 10 years. Sponsors: Advantages Disadvantages Spot rate charged from advertisers of IPL. Spot Rate may go down if any IPL season is not a blockbuster. Improves customer base. Too much reputation at stake tied to the fortunes of the franchise teams as a whole. Sponsors get branding and recognition. BCCI: Advantages Disadvantages The BCCI makes good money solely from the sale of TV rights, promotion and franchises. May forget to put efforts to promote other forms of cricket Domestic and Test Cricket. Got a great source of revenue. Viewers: Advantages Disadvantages Unlimited Masti and entertainment. Chances of family fights over Channel viewer ship. A great arsenal to make the case strong against the Saas Bahu fans in the family. Capital costs in terms of additional investment in television sets. A very good reason to increase productivity in office Return home by 8 pm. A to Z of IPL Controversies A for Australia Anyone remember that the Aussies had the biggest problems at the beginning of IPL? There were issues regarding the protection of Baggy Green sponsors and availability of the players with certain tours. Our relations with Cricket Australia were at an all-time low. A is also for Andrew Symonds who got a record price in the first auction raising a lot of eyebrows and people wondered how he would fare in the IPL. Now Symmo is on his way to becoming a desi and no-one will bat an eyelid if any Aussies takes Indian citizenship. B for Betting When cricket is played in India, can rumours of betting be far behind? After the Modi-Tharoor spat, everyone is talking about it again. A recent Forbes report puts the illegal cricket-related betting annually at a whopping Rs 160,000 crores. How much of that is IPL related? The Karnataka Home Minister called the shifting of the semis from Bangalore to Mumbai a result of the powerful betting lobby. Even the I-T raids that are taking place on the premises of BCCI and IPL have a betting angle to them. One hopes that nothing comes out of all this for a Betting Scandal has the potential to be the biggest game-killer of them all. C for Cheerleaders They have been controversial right from the beginning, but they continue to charm the crowds. The all-white cheerleaders have raised many an eyebrows in a past edition of IPL. A row was kicked up over two coloured ones being sent home. No case was filed. Various groups at various times have protested against them while there have been uproars in political assemblies too. Bans have been demanded. But Indian or not, they are here to stay. D for Dada Was Sourav Ganguly a victim of the KKR management? Was John Buchanan a villain in wanting to show him the door? Was Shah Rukh Khan foolish in getting into a conflict with him? Did SRK interfere too much with the strategy of KKR? Did Dada refuse SRKs request to talk to the government for tax favours? Did the troika of Dada-Buchanan-SRK fight all the time? One thing is for sure. Theres never a dull moment when Dada is around. E for ECB The ECB was the other board apart from CA that had a lot of issues with the IPL. Player concerns resulted in Dimitri Mascarenhas being the only signed player in 2008. In order to break free of the IPL, the ECB attempted the Stanford 20/20 with the WICB. That ended in a disaster when Texas billionaire Allen Stanford was charged with fraud. Things are finally okay and English players like Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collinwood have done pretty well in IPL3. F for Fake IPL Player Is there anything the IPL doesnt have? As if Twitter wasnt good enough, you had a blogging controversy to boot. A player claiming to be part of KKR started baring all the details of dressing room talk, strategies gone wrong, all the backbiting and salacious gossip in 2009. Was he real? Was he telling the truth? It didnt matter. He got lakhs of visitors and also came out with a book called The Gamechangers. Fake or real, this is the most famous anonymous dude around. G for Glass of Beer In IPL2, a spectator offered a glass of beer to Shane Warne and the Aussie actually crossed the boundary and drank it! Critics cried foul. Others defended him. It was the strategy break! It was technically outside the cricket field. Its just IPL, good pure entertainment! Out of all of Warnes controversies, the spinner will probably rank it at its lightest. Vijay Mallya must have been sniggering somewhere in the background. H for Harbhajan Some people draw controversies like a magnet. Call it the Passion of Harbhajan Singh, but you just cant keep him quiet on the cricket field (or off it, for that matter). The ICC had rules on what to do if a player slapped a player on the field. That dead clause came to life when Harbhajan slapped mercurial S Sreesanth at the end of a match. A sobbing Sreesanth was all over the TV screens and some even said he got what was coming to him! But still it was a grave act for technically Harbhajan could have been handed a life ban. Ouch! I for Icons They were announced with great fanfare and the IPL and the franchisees clung on to them in the hope of drawing popularity and brand recall. But as the IPL progressed they were slowly dispensed with. Rahul Dravid was given the boot from the captaincy and VVS Laxman from the team. Yuvraj Singh hurtled from one disaster to another and was also stripped of his captaincy. Virender Sehwag gave up his mantle on his own. Sachin Tendulkar looked the tired man in the first two seasons and only came on his own in IPL3 when the whole concept of Icons was shelved. J for Joint Ventures While some teams were owned outright by single company, most of them were owned by a group of people. Who owned what percentage and paid how much money? While all this was swept under the carpet in the first two seasons, it suddenly became a hot topic in IPL3 when Modi put up the holding details of the Kochi franchisee. In the beginning was a Modi Tweet Kochi shareholders are: Rendezvous 25% free, Rendezvous 1%,Anchor 27%, Parinee 26%, Film waves combine 12%,Anand Shyam 8%,Vivek venugopal 1% K for Kochi and that directly brings us to the Mother of All Controversies. It encompassed Shashi Tharoor, Lalit Modi, Twitter, North-South Politics, Lok Sabha, I-T Raids, NCP Phew! Who would have thought that something from Kerala would have brought down the whole IPL pack of cards in one huge sweeping stroke! Sunanda Pushkar washed her hands off Kochi and Shashi Tharoor finally had to bid goodbye to his ministry before his first anniversary. And the can of worms has just been opened. They keep coming out one after another. L for Lalit Modi Mr. Lalit Modi. Some time back you could have easily have said IPL = Modi and Modi = IPL. This man is no stranger to trouble. In fact, now controversy has become his middle name. Charged in a US court, in trouble with the authorities with the way he ran the RCA, Modi has been hurtling from one disaster to another in the IPL. And getting away with all of them to boot! He famously declared in a TV channel that he swatted controversies like flies. But such is life where even the greatest of grandmasters can be checkmated! M for Media In season one, the IPL tried to impose all sorts of media restrictions related to images and were faced with a boycott. The IPL backed off and the Indian Newspaper Society played ball. In season three, it was the turn of the broadcasters. A controversy erupted over the amount of footage TV channels could use and another boycott loomed and that too was sorted out at the eleventh hour. N for Ness Wadia While all the KXIP action has been around Preity Zinta and Yuvraj Singh and all that hugging, Mr Wadia is also an owner and has been part of the behind the scenes action. He came in th

Impact Of Outward Bound Singapore Sport Essay

Impact Of Outward Bound Singapore Sport Essay What is outward Bound Outward Bound believe in reaching out to people who constantly seek to challenge themselves people with the will to chase their dreams and the zest to drive others forward. Through a wide range of fun and unique activities, Outward Bound brings out the dynamics of teamwork and drives people to go beyond themselves. Outward Bound believes that no obstacles are insurmountable as long as we work together. Outward Bound Singapore is part of global network of Outward Bound centres and is recognised locally and internationally as a leader in outdoor education and adventure learning. Outward bound is a learning adventure one that impels you to discover more about your inner self as it challenges your body, mind and soul to respond to an unfamiliar journey. It inculcates both mental and physical ruggedness and enables you to be more adaptable to changes and unafraid of the unknown. It also fosters teamwork and prepares you for the service of the larger community. OBS believe that while life slices and values may be taught in the classroom, they only gain true meaning through real life experiences. Through direct and purposeful outdoor experiences, OBS facilitate their trainees to face adventures and move beyond their personal boundaries to discover themselves. How Outward Bound (OB) was developed OB was established in 1941 in UK. Outward Bounds outdoor education courses are based on the principles learnt from training young British seamen to survive in the North Atlantic Ocean during the second world war. It was inspired by Dr. Kurt Hahn who was a German educator. Dr. Kurt Hahn recognized the needs of Lawrence Holt who is the head of the Blue Funnel Shipping Line which was a merchant shipping company. During World War II, when Blue Funnle Shipping Line was hit by German torpedoes the new seamen from Blue Funnle Shipping Line could not endure the surroundings in the lifeboat as compared to the sophisticated seamen Hahn felt that not having enough life experience might be the reason for the Blue Funnle Shipping line to be unable to endure the conditions in the boat during World War II. The German experienced seamen learnt a lot of piratical skills and they also knew how to handle a difficult situation which enabled them to have more confidence and ability to cope with the demanding challenges. Enhancing the young people confidence and the capacity to cope with life was the main intention of the intensity and mini-life experiences of outward bound To discover his students true capabilities through life experience that would help them find their greater capabilities, was one of Hahns philosophies. The name Outward Bound was given by Lawrence Holt. Outward Bound is used to refer to the flag Papa, flown on a ship when it was soon to leave port. It would be a signal to the sailors to return to the ship if the Outward Bound flag was flying. Outward Bound literally refers to the moment a ship leaves the harbour. This symbology remains important in Outward Bound, and participants on courses in many Outward Bound schools today receive a pin lapel of the flag papa. History of Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) In 1967, the idea of an Outward Bound School of Singapore (OBSS) was suggested by the Minister of the Interior and Defence and Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Association, Dr. Goh Keng Swee. Then, the nation was going through a period of uncertainty and to face challenges ahead, Singapores leaders had called for the building of a rugged society. The original school was started by two New Zealanders Hamish Thomas and Al Cameron in December 1967. It began with the objectives that still form the basis of the OBS today: To provide education, leadership and character training; developing the physical, mental and spiritual faculties of boys, girls, young men and women of all races of Singapore. The management of OBS was moved from the Peoples Association to the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) in 1971. Besides providing adventure training and leadership training to young men and women, it was an avenue to give ordinary Singaporeans a taste of military life. OBS was returned to the Peoples Association in 1991 and the school was been renamed Outward Bound Singapore. The aim of the school was to offer Singapores young people exciting activities to develop their physical and mental ruggedness, personal confidence and leadership qualities. What is OBS mission vision, motto and core values? MISSION To develop character, leadership skills and team spirit through direct and purposeful experience in the outdoors VISION To be a world-class Outward Bound centre for outdoor education and leadership development OBS MOTTO To serve, to strive and not to yield Their core values are: Safety Minded Safety is the foundation of the OBS. We are committed to the highest safety standard in whatever we do. Teamwork We contribute individually and as a team to achieve our vision and mission. Professionalism We strive for integrity and excellence in our work and conduct. To be the best in our field of contributions. Learning Driven We constantly challenge ourselves towards new areas of improvements and growth. People Centred We value our staff. We recognise good performance of our staff and are committed to developing them to their fullest potential. Customer Focused We value our customers and commit ourselves to constantly deliver excellent quality service. We strive to meet and exceed expectations. OBSs target group OBS does not only target youths, it is for everyone. With the wide range of courses, there will be something for everyone at OBS. OBS courses is customized to meet the society needs. Outward Bound Singapore target groups can be categorized into: Professionals, Youths, Kids and Family and for outdoor enthusiasts. Professionals In the corporate arena, leadership is the key to success and teamwork is essential to getting things done better, faster and more efficiently Many corporate leaders need to hone their ability to lead and motivate their teams. Through OBSs specially designed programmes, they will have the perfect opportunity to unleash their true potential and take themselves and their team to new heights. For executives looking to grow in the areas of leadership, team-building and change management, OBSs Professional Development Programmes (PDP) has a range of course that will help equip them with skills to overcome future challenges. Youths At OBS, they believe in helping young people make the most of their potential. Through learning-driven outdoor activities including rafting, kayaking and climbing guided by OBSs professional instructors, they give youths the opportunity to challenge themselves and develop valuable life skills. Step out of the classroom and venture beyond the textbook For kids and family OBS offers customised programmes for students aimed at fostering independence and interdependence life skills. Making use of outdoor experience such as camping, trekking, raft building, rock climbing and more, these programmes give children the opportunity to learn from each other and develop leadership qualities early in life. In addition, OBSs family programmes are designed to maximise quality time together for parents and children in which emotional bonds and family ties can be strengthened. When it comes to nurturing future leaders, an early start goes a long way. For Outdoor Enthusiasts Whether youre a newcomer to the great outdoors or an experienced outdoor leader, OBS has training programme which will hone your skills and enhance your development Nothing makes for a better outdoor experience than total confidence in your skills. OBSs Programmes OBS programmes are designed to be physically and mentally rugged, the programmes utilise the outdoor settings to develop character, values, mental ruggedness and a community spirit. By allowing them to learn through focused discussions and practical applications within fun environment, OBSs programmes complement what the participants have learnt in schools to provide them with a complete learning experience. Some programmes offered by OBS are: Character and leadership programmes Global programmes Special programmes/Youth-At-Risk Character Leadership Programmes OBS Youth Programmes are drawn out to attract the youth with an action-packed blend of adventures and surprises. Youths develop competencies such as self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship management and responsible decision making as they move progressively through challenging problem-solving activities and expeditions. Orientation Induction Programmes Esprit de Corps My Outward Bound Journey A Leaders Journey Orientation Induction Programmes Esprit de Corps The Orientation Induction Programmes aims to build greater understanding and cohesion, school or class spirit in newly formed school cohorts. This programme focuses on self and team discovery. In Primary four and Secondary One, the students are relatively new to each other. In order to build greater understanding, cohesion, class spirit and strong bonds between the class mates, there is a special designed programme which is specially made for them, which is called â€Å"Camp Discovery.† Character Development Programmes My Outward Bound Journey Outward bound programmes is not only an outdoor adventure, it sis essentially an inward odyssey. It helps an individual to find out about his or her capabilities or potential and also learn to improve personal and leadership qualities. Character building, teamwork , dealing with the unfamiliar, familiarity with Challenge, Initiative, Tenacity and Personal Mastery are what one can gain from My Outward Bound Journey. Leadership Development Programmes A Leaders Journey By developing the key characteristics and competencies of an effective leader, one can be equip with the knowledge and skills of leadership through A Leaders Journey by OBS. The leadership Development not only allows personal growth but as well as acquirement of team management skills. Numerous leadership theories are included in each module and can be included in the Primary Four syllabus. Characteristics and styles of a leader and models of leadership are also used in the programme. Global programmes OBS also has overseas programmes. They have partnered with overseas Outward Bound and adventure centres to bring richness of an overseas experience to the participants. These overseas programmes are designed to give our youth a global outlook in life. OBS aim to inculcate: An Adventurous Spirit An adventurous spirit is basically helping youths to: Accept and overcome challenges and obstacles. Discover new horizons. Go beyond their limits. An Enterprising Spirit Help youths to: Knowledge the value of teamwork, trust, mutual support, leadership in decision making and problem solving skills. Become resourceful and creative. An International Perspective To help youths to: Knowledge the richness of culture, social and economic diversity available in other countries. The reason why OBS started the Global Programmes was because they wanted to give young people exposure to foreign cultures and environments. Each programme helps youths in building confidence, leadership, tenacity and other personal attributes aimed at helping youths develop a more adventurous and enterprising attitude. Through a global disclosure the Global Programmes are intended to give youth a global outlook in life, aimed to inculcate an adventurous enterprising spirit, and cultivate an international perspective. Participants can anticipate an experience that ranges from 8 to 26 days in an abroad centre. The programmes are categorized into series of the Adventure Challenge Courses. Adventure Challenge A Global Perspectives Classic 21-Day Challenge The ultimate of OB Experience Other Customised Programmes Adventure Challenge A Global Perspective OBS takes secondary and tertiary students on an exhilarating Outward Bound journey to Sabah, Perak, Brunei Darussalam, India, Mongolia, Philippines, Croatia, Taiwan and Australia for Adventure Challenge programme. Having severe expeditions in deep snow conditions in South Korea, Japan and China is a challenge that will be faced by the student leaders given by OBS. Awareness of personal and group goal-setting, planning and coordinating as a group, team development and personal leadership styles are skills that will be developed in the participants through the disclosure to unknown tropical and winter environments. Classic 21-Day Challenge The ultimate of OB Experience To help young adults realize their potential, a mentally and physically demanding course that features a range of activities and challenges are designed. The surrounding islands of Singapore and the rural environment of Pulau Ubin is the classroom of the classic 21-day Outward Bound programme. The programme uses the journey concept and allows participants to experience an array of elements and multi-expeditions which keep them on the move most of the time. It will help participants develop their personal attributes and contribution in the context of a group while also exploring their leadership potential. Other Customised Programmes OBS is specialized character development and/or leadership development and team development. OBS alter programmes just to meet the precise needs of their customers. Before arriving at the final conclusion of the programme design, OBS works with their clients to establish objectives, expectations and desired outcome. These programmes can be targeted at explicit profile groups such as Gifted Education groups, Integrated Programme schools, International schools, Specialized Independent schools, School Staff Training (Teachers/ HODs /Principal) and many more. Sharing by two students who have attended Outward Bound Singapores Global programmes: â€Å"Ill definitely remember this Outward Bound Course for life because it has given me immense satisfaction. The safety precautions are all kept in check, and I have never once felt that my safety has been compromised. It has indeed been a fruitful experience, and it has helped in shaping my character and building up my ability to adapt to different situations and face greater challenges in my personal, academic and work life.† Tong Pei Shan, undergraduate (after completing her South Africa programme) â€Å"I have learnt that as we step out of our comfort zone, we adapt to our new environment and grow stronger in the process, if we were to stay in our comfort zone, we can never be successful in life. This programme to Australia has left great impact on me and I learnt a lot in the 10 days and this is something that cannot be achieved in the classrooms.† Chen Libo. Hwa Chong Institution (after completing his Australia programme) Special programmes/Youth-At-Risk OBS does not only cater to normal youth but also there are programmes that help youths who needs special needs and youths who had once gone through a bad phase in life (youths that had done things which are against the law). The special programmes are: Youth at risk programmes Special needs programme These programmes are developed by using programming principles based on psychology and social work research. Youth at Risk Programmes These altered programmes are made to help the youth to learn and know more about themselves. Development of life skills and promotion of healthy lifestyles, attitudes and perspectives are also achieved by these programmes. Basically what this programme aims to do is to instil this phrase in them, â€Å"a difficult past does not mean a difficult future.† These programmes might give the youths a fast and good solution on the spot but rather it is helping them to create opportunities to help them discover that the solution they are seeking for is found within themselves and no one else. Special Needs Programmes In these programme, the participants may have an intellectual disability, learning disability and or a physical disability. Through this programme these participants with special needs can experience what outdoor is. They will also be able to build self confidence and develop life skills like teamwork, communication and leadership. Below are some comments shared by the special need programmes participants: â€Å" Dont give up easily, persevere, be patient, cooperate†¦and only we can overcome our fear. There is no way we can overcome our fear if we dont want to, no matter how much our friends or parents or others encourage us, if we dont want to overcome it, we cant.† â€Å" I learnt that I should be more cooperative towards others and when we make mistakes, the issue is that we should learn how to admit it, learn from it and dont repeat it again†. â€Å"I learned life lessons its our CHOICE, our LIFE. Learn to walk out of DARKNESS.† Conclusion OBS helps people discover and develop their potential to care for themselves, others and the world around them through challenging experiences in unfamiliar settings. â€Å"OBS nurtures the youths to be physically and mentally strong. They develop self-confidence, resilience, leadership and teamwork. They are instilled with the resolve to strive and succeed, and the sense of responsibility to give back to the society. Through the ruggedness of the OBS course, inner strength is built up and values vital to the success of our nation are imbued.† Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong The question is how does OBS benefit the society? The answer is by instilling values in them, by teaching them beyond the classroom. The sense of community service, teamwork, self-confidence, discipline and values inculcated during OBS course are very important for an individual to have. OBS does not only help youths, it helps the whole society; everyone, from young to middle age to old and even special children (having any kind of disability). One of OBSs target groups is the corporate world. In the corporate world there will be new challenges everyday and we will need good leaders to lead. Not only do we need a good leader but a good team who can work well with each other and have the â€Å"never give up† attitude to overcome any obstacles. Outward Bound Singapore does help companies with this; Outward Bound Singapores programmes will have the perfect opportunity to unleash the leaders true potential and take themselves and their team to new heights. Instilling values in oneself is never too early. OBS programmes for kids and family instil leadership qualities in the kids who will one day go into the working world and apply their values that they have learned in OBS. Not only that, OBS strengthens the bond between the family members too. There is more to learn outside the classroom. Outward Bound Singapore gives the society these opportunities to learn and instil the values which will be life-long and priceless values. They help individuals to overcome their fears, challenge themselves, instil values like perseverance, confidence, discipline, teamwork and also unleash their potential. All these do benefit the society, it benefits every individual who goes for the Outward Bound Singapore course and I think it will be a life changing experience if one were to go for OBSs course. OBS is indeed an organization that makes a difference in the society and gets a youth ready for anything in life. Below are some appreciation shown to OBS by some principals. The reason for putting this in this report is to show how much of a difference can OBS make in the society. Its very good programmes organised by OBS for my staff. We enjoyed and picked up some learning points that will be very useful for all of us. Mr Yap Juye Long, Principal, Yuhua Secondary School I enjoyed the morning at OBS very much. I appreciate the meaningful work and experience at OBS. Good place for my staff too. Miss Yap Wah Choo, Principal, Nanyang Girls High School Thank You OBS for your hospitality and for being our long-term partner in nurturing our sec 3 students each year, imparting the mental resilience they will need to succeed at their ‘O levels and in life. Mrs Tan Ming Fern, Vice-Principal, Tanjong Katong Girls School By the sharing of the principals and the special children (mentioned earlier in the report) experience from what they have learnt in OBS I hope we all can see how important is or rather how huge impact does Outward Bound Singapore does on an individual which makes up the society. I would like to end of the report by two sharing which is by Mr Lui Tuck Yew and Outward Bound International (OBI) â€Å"This is an important programme because it contributes to how we prepare our young well for the future. Prepare them well and we prepare Singapore well for the challenges ahead.† RAdm (NS) Lui Tuck Yew, Minister of State, Ministry of Education â€Å"As one of the longest established Outward Bound centres worldwide, your training programmes have contributed to the development of leadership, character and team spirit of Singapores youth and future leaders. OB Singapore has been a model global citizen, always willing and able to offer assistance across borders in many ways.† G. Kelly ODea, Chairman of the Board, Outward Bound International References: http://www.outwardbound.org.au/index2.php?option=com_contentdo_pdf=1id=1 http://wilderdom.com/outwardbound/ob.html http://www.obs.pa.gov.sg/1145960592565/1150181215714.html http://www.obs.pa.gov.sg/1216716473248.html http://www.obs.pa.gov.sg/1216716476527.html Magazines

Operation Barbarossa Essay -- essays research papers

OPERATION BARBAROSSA The invasion of Russia was the largest military campaign of the Second World War. Operation Barbarossa, as it was known, was launched on 22 June 1941 and completely took Russia by surprise. The widening war raging in Africa and eastern Europe were key distractions for Hitler from his ultimate goal of attacking Russia. Although the British army remained undefeated in the west, Hitler’s goal proved an urgency for him to begin moving on the east. Whilst planning was made throughout 1940 for the invasion of Russia, time was favorable towards the Russians and they continued to mobilize their resources and strengthen their defense forces. The invasion of the Germans was a complete surprise as Russian dictator, Josef Stalin, had failed to acknowledge the increasing German troop concentrations on the border and he had also ignored British intelligence reports stating that Germany had intended to attack. Hitler once again used the Blitzkrieg technique with German tanks and air power leading the attack. There were three powerful German armies, made up of over 3 million men which moved into Russia. As one army group headed north towards Leningrad, a center group headed towards Moscow and a southern group moved to capture the food producing area of the Ukraine. By now, the Germans were thrilled with their fast advancements and initial success, including the fact that they had captured over 400 000 Russian soldiers. In late July, the advance on Leningrad and Mosco... Operation Barbarossa Essay -- essays research papers OPERATION BARBAROSSA The invasion of Russia was the largest military campaign of the Second World War. Operation Barbarossa, as it was known, was launched on 22 June 1941 and completely took Russia by surprise. The widening war raging in Africa and eastern Europe were key distractions for Hitler from his ultimate goal of attacking Russia. Although the British army remained undefeated in the west, Hitler’s goal proved an urgency for him to begin moving on the east. Whilst planning was made throughout 1940 for the invasion of Russia, time was favorable towards the Russians and they continued to mobilize their resources and strengthen their defense forces. The invasion of the Germans was a complete surprise as Russian dictator, Josef Stalin, had failed to acknowledge the increasing German troop concentrations on the border and he had also ignored British intelligence reports stating that Germany had intended to attack. Hitler once again used the Blitzkrieg technique with German tanks and air power leading the attack. There were three powerful German armies, made up of over 3 million men which moved into Russia. As one army group headed north towards Leningrad, a center group headed towards Moscow and a southern group moved to capture the food producing area of the Ukraine. By now, the Germans were thrilled with their fast advancements and initial success, including the fact that they had captured over 400 000 Russian soldiers. In late July, the advance on Leningrad and Mosco...

Older Workers Essay -- Employment Jobs Essays

Older Workers The aging of the U.S. population is affecting the demographics of the work force. Between 2000 and 2010, the age group experiencing the greatest growth will be those aged 55-64; by 2005, people aged 55 and over are projected to be nearly 20% of the working age population, compared to 12.5% in 1990 (Barber, Crouch, and Merker 1992; Barth, McNaught, and Rizzi 1993). For a number of reasons, including financial need, longer life expectancy, and a desire to continue working, the number of individuals aged 55 and over in the work force is continuing to grow (Hall and Mirvis 1994). It is no longer unusual for individuals to retire from one job, begin drawing a pension, and seek new employment: since 1984, both the full- and part-time work of "retired" men younger than age 65 has increased noticeably (Herz 1995). At the same time that the number of older persons available for and willing to work is increasing, the workplace is changing as businesses seek to become more competitive. The most notable changes include downsizing, increased use of technology, and less-hierarchical work structures that use teams. As a result of technological changes and greater dependence on teams, training and retraining are hallmarks of today's workplace. Older workers have not fared particularly well during these changes. During the downsizing that took place from 1986 through 1991, proportionately more older workers were laid off, and, at the expense of retraining existing employees--especially older workers--firms spend more on training new entrants (Hall and Mirvis 1994). Kantor (1994) refers to the aging work force as a "mixed blessing [because] many companies associate it not with a loyal, experienced workforce knowledgeable ab... ...en." Monthly Labor Review 118, no. 4 (April 1995): 13-20. Kantor, R. M. "U.S. Competitiveness and the Aging Workforce: Toward Organizational and Institutional Change." In Aging and Competition: Rebuilding the U.S. Workforce, edited by J. A. Auerbach and J. C. Welsh. Washington, DC: National Council on the Aging and National Planning Associates, 1994. McNaught, W. "Realizing the Potential: Some Examples." In Age and Structural Lag, edited by M. W. Riley, R. L. Hahn, and A. Foner. New York: Wiley, 1994. Rothstein, F. R., and Ratte, D. J. Training and Older Workers: Implications for U.S. Competitiveness. Washington, DC: Office of Technology Assessment, 1990. (ED 336 608). Siegel, S. R. "Relationships between Current Performance and Likelihood of Promotion for Old versus Young Workers." Human Resource Development Quarterly 4, no. 1 (Spring 1993): 39-50.

Solutions to the Air Pollution Problem in America Essay examples -- En

Solutions to the Air Pollution Problem in America   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is steadily becoming harder to breathe these days. Every major city in the world is experiencing the ill effects of air pollution. The level of toxic air pollutants, known as toxics, has been on the rise globally, though not nationally, since the Clean Air Act of 1990, according to Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards [OAQPS], an office within the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA]. However, though more regions -- i.e., cities, metropolitan areas, rural areas, etc. -- are meeting the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, certain areas were and still are designated as "nonattainment" areas. These areas are regions which do not meet all the National Ambient Air Quality Standards [NAAQS] for ground-level ozone, a primary constituent of smog (USEPA-- National Air--Ozone and Carbon Monoxide 1).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What are air pollutants and what is their composition? According to studies done by Brigham Young University on air pollution, air pollutants are made up of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, ozone, and lead (Health Problems 3). They are in particulate form meaning these compounds are particles 10 microns in size -- i.e., the diameter of an average human hair. In fact, most sources agree that these are the main components of outdoor, versus indoor, air pollution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Locally, the state of Arizona has had trouble with sulfur dioxide levels in the past near mining areas such as Globe-Miami (USEPA--Breathing Easier 5-2,3). Those problems have been addressed and have been reported as below the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (USEPA--Breathing Easier ES-2,5-2,3). The big problem which remains is withi... ...tants: A Citizen's Guide." March 1991. United States Envirmental Protection Agency. Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation. Office of Air and Radition. Environmental Indicators. [WWW document]. URL Go To, July 17, 1996. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. National Air Quality and Emissions Trends Report, 1995. Ozone and Carbon Monoxide Air Quality Update. [WWW document]. URL Go To, 1995. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Office of Air and Radiation. 1995 National Air Quality Trends Brochure -- Toxic Pollutants. 1995 National Air Quality: Status and Trends. [WWW document]. URL Go To, 1995. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Region 9 Air And Toxics Division. Breathing Easier: 1996, A Report on Air Quality in California, Arizona, Neveda and Hawaii. Update Report, September, 1996.

Art Essay

Why should we make art? What is the purpose? How does it affect our culture , generation and or world? Art is an expression of oneself that is shared between people due to many did efferent personal reasons that contribute to the happiness and satisfaction felt from c aerating, viewing and pondering art. Some of these personal reasons that people have to justify the creation of art is the pleasure it provides, the creativity it gives you, the feeling of freedom, and the lifelong challenge or self growth.Art effects are culture because it helps defines era's through t he way what kind of art was created and how the art was created. Art provides great pleasure for those who create art because of its relaxing an true. It gives you time to yourself and time away from stressful jobs, classes and relations pips that all require a substantial amount of energy from you. It simply gives you time to be alone a ND in solitude from the world.It allows you to think deeper than just the superficia l expression of he art and allows you to solve problems in other areas of your life through the simple relaxing nature of creating and viewing art. Art can give you an excess of creativity to use in other aspects of life. As you c intention to view and ponder art, you keep pushing yourself to see the art in different ways.

Online vs Classroom Education Essay

Online vs. Classroom, which format is better for you? Well that all depends on you as a student and what fits your lifestyle. They say that college students between the ages of 18-21, benefit more from attending a traditional college. They have more of a need for the social atmosphere, plus this means freedom from living at home. Students who are older most likely already have jobs and family to support. Therefore, they find that going to an online university or college fits their lifestyle better. In the following pages, I am going to discuss the differences between online and on-campus classes and how internet classes compare to face-to-face classroom settings. Being in the classroom provides an interactive setting. Having students all in the same classroom has the benefit of allowing students to exchange ideas and have discussions with the teacher included in the exchange without any communication barrier. I just recently graduated from a Summit Career College and there’s no way I would have gotten through learning all the Microsoft Office Applications if I wouldn’t have taken it in class and had fellow student’s, plus my teacher there in class to help me. Therefore, you need to think about what kind of student you are and what kind of education program you will need to get through the subjects you are taking. Online learning provides a different level of conversation between students and with their teacher. They interact through class discussion boards, e-mail, and student chat rooms. Student chat rooms make it easier for professors to be more readily available to students. In addition, you have the opportunity to meet people from other parts of the world. For instance, I have had fellow classmates that are over in Iraq taking the same classes. Which I have found to be amazing on their part and informative. Since I have started at Ashford University, I look forward to the discussion boards and getting feedback from my classmates through that of communicating. Classrooms tend to group students together in large numbers, which makes it easier for students with learning deficiencies to get lost in the shuffle. In addition, for students who are shy or reserved to speak up in class and taking part in class. I have experienced that first hand at my last college. I found that most of the students in class did not respond to the teacher’s questions for fear of getting it wrong and feeling embarrassed when they did. Online classes have more of a one on one perspective from the teacher’s standpoint. Because most of the teacher to student communication is through e-mail, discussion boards or student chat rooms. Therefore, for some students, that is less intimidating and they do not have to worry about the teacher calling on them. . With online classes, students that are shy or reserved are not afraid to speak up or taking part in discussions. Online education requires discipline, focus, dedication, and motivation as does on-campus. There are so many distractions when you are at home then when you are in class. When you are at home, you can pick the place and time that is best for you to do your study time. In addition, if you have a full time job to go to everyday, online classes make it easier for you to get your education that way. In class, you have a teacher in front of you to keep you focused and to help you pay attention. Online you have to keep yourself focused, you are responsible f or getting your assignments, and making sure, they are turned in on time. In class, you have more reminders around you for getting your assignments in on time and there is more structure. In conclusion, there are many advantages and disadvantages to either type of learning environment. It is to your advantage to use something from each method to its fullest. The combination of both online and classroom education might be what is best for some students. However, for some students having a consistent school schedule prohibits some students from furthering their education. It is up to the student to figure out which is better overall for them. So, do your research on which schools have and which format is right for you. I did about a month of research on online schools before I picked Ashford University. I would recommend you do your homework before you select a school for yourself.