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Use of e-learning in imparting basic financial knowledge for sustainable growth of small Business By Sattagouda M Patil Department of P G Studies, VTU, Belgaum Sattagouda.patil@gmail.com, smpatil@vtu.ac.in

Date: 05/11/2013 To The Convenor, International Management Convention, 2014 Asian School odf Business Management, Bhubaneswar, 751024 Odisha, India. Subject: Copyright Warranty and Authorization Form reg. DECLARATION I hereby declare that the research paper titled Use of e-learning in imparting basic financial knowledge for sustainable growth of small Business submitted by me is based on actual and original work carried out be me. Any reference to work done by any other person or institution or any material obtained from other sources have been duly cited and referenced. I further certify that the research paper has not been published or submitted for publication anywhere else nor it will be send for publication in the future.

Author Name: Sattagouda M Patil Designation: Assistant Professor Institute / Company: Department of P G Studies, VTU, Belgaum Official Address: Mobile Number: +919886230977, +919741978455 Email id: sattagouda.patil@gmail.com, smpatil@vtu.ac.in

Signature of the Corresponding Author

Use of e-learning in imparting basic financial knowledge for sustainable growth of small Business Abstract The need of the hour in todays competitive world is generation of entrepreneurs who can contribute to the countrys growth and prosperity but only generation of entrepreneurs will not instigate growth of the country, the entrepreneurs have to regularly contribute to the countrys growth which will only happen if they can sustain fierce competition and generate profits. The idea is to envision entrepreneurs to be provided a platform which would encompass basic financial knowledge in-order to build businesses that would not only grow faster but are capable to weather down competition, sudden changes in market place, new taxation policy by the government, financial benefits for certain business etc. Many entrepreneurs agreed that basic knowledge about finance could help solve most of the problems that are being faced by them in todays dynamically changing business environment. E-learning has been the most preferred medium of transferring knowledge because of its effectiveness and cost advantage. The paper also looks into using M-learning which has gained more popularity in recent times because of the growing tele-data using population, The process of designing a curriculum can be debated further as there are several models and techniques available for designing an e-learning courseware. Keywords: E-learning, entrepreneurs, business, course, design

Use of e-learning in imparting basic financial knowledge for sustainable growth of small Business INTRODUCTION Many individuals aspire to become entrepreneurs for reasons such as being their own boss, implementing their expertise in a particular area to generate profits, non-availability of product or service in the market place. Etc. There are very few entrepreneurs who have a deep and burning desire to tackle financial strategy. In fact, majority of entrepreneurs abstain from working the numbers.. Hence building a good financial foundation does not hold much importance among majority of entrepreneurs. It has been observed that smart people in businesses with smart ideas fail in the market place for the need of solid and smart financial strategy and the reason attributed to this has been that entrepreneurs lack the expertise and they tend to ignore or rather avoid taking any suggestions from experts as they assume it to be not so useful. There are various perspectives for a business to generate profits. A business can increase its profits by cutting costs, increasing sales, increasing inventory turnover etc. After having elaborative discussions with the local business community it has been observed that many small and mid size businesses are run on expert knowledge and experience of the entrepreneurs related to products and services which he deals with, but there is never a felt need to acquire basic financial knowledge which would enhance the business owners capability with respect to handling the business more efficiently. There have also been instances wherein profits have been growing consistently and businesses are sitting on a pile of cash which remains unutilized as businesses lack understanding of financial strategies which would provide them a definite source for investing their surplus money. The growth and profitability of any business depends heavily on the financial decisions being made at various junctures. Entrepreneurs cannot make decisions based on blind guesses and intuition. While discussing with entrepreneurs, the need for a high-level financial strategy is only felt when there is a desperate need. The initial taste of success will slowly dwindle and the reasons remain unknown due to lack of sound financial strategy.

It is well known that, government initiatives in all four UK countries have promoted e-learning as a means of empowering and engaging learners. This exactly shows that e-learning has been adopted by many countries as the outcomes have been excellent. The benefits are numerous from the use of e-learning. Among those benefits is the fact that elearning courses save on travel, administration, and facility costs. There are also significant savings realized due to less time away from work. More importantly, effective e-learning results in improved learning and improvements in productivity. Furthermore, Allen (2007) stresses that, as noted in the widely accepted theory of Educational psychologist William Glasser, we learn: 10% of what we read 20% of what we hear 30% of what we see 50% of what we see & hear 70% of what we discuss with others 80% of what we experience 95% of what we teach someone else Based on this scale, e-learning that includes interaction and personal involvement in the learning process has the potential to successfully deliver the highest learning possible (just short of them teaching someone else). As Horton and Horton (2003) point out, people, not technology, create and use eLearning. There are three specific categories of people involved in e-Learning design and utilization: producers; hosts; and the learners. The producers consist of the authors, designers, illustrators, programmers and other creative individuals involved in the design and creation of the e-Learning. The hosts consist of the organizations and equipment utilized to provide e-Learning to the learners. The learners are the users (students, readers, and/or workers) of the e-learning.

LEARNING METHODOLOGY Learning has a very close relationship with the following below. Hence the analysis of the below approaches are to be considered before designing an e-learning course Behaviorism and learning Behaviorism theory is of the view that learning can be best achieved when the desired behaviors from the learning program were created through repeated and reinforced approximation of that behavior. This theory faced serious issues related to flexibility in adapting due to changing situation. Cognitivism and learning The cognitive theory suggested that individuals create knowledge structures called schema. They process information through three different modes The sensory register - where information is received by the senses Short term memory - where information is stored for brief periods Long term memory - where information is stored for longer periods The process involves calls for application of effects which includes tasks commonly seen as practice, transfer, knowledge, schemas, and mnemonics. The learners may learn a particular way to perform a task, but that chosen one might not be the best. Constructivism and learning The theory of constructivism believes that learning designers have concentrated on how learners build their own representations of knowledge through mental processing and knowledge is constructed from experience. This theory is best suited to handle real life situations and with enhanced problem solving skills, knowledge can be applied more effectively to newer situations and challenges. It rather fails to address common approach to a task as its focus is on individualistic approach.

By analyzing all the models above, the cognitive theory would enhance financial knowledge of entrepreneurs as its focus is on building a learning approach which would be accepted by many entrepreneurs Learning can be effective when learners Solve real life problems Try out new learning by applying it Integrate the learning into the learners own world of Experience The e-learning would focus on maximizing the chances of succeeding and improving their performance. Developing an interactive e-learning would generate more response from the recipient and increase their involvement and hence the learning stays permanent and its application effective. The ADDIE model for process of designing and developing an e-learning course is as follows Analysis and Curriculum Design A curriculum is designed by curriculum coordinator with inputs from subject matter experts

Content Development The content is developed and peer reviewed by subject matter experts(authors)

Courseware Development and Implementation and evaluation Interactive flash sessions can be developed by graphic artist and developers and can be made available online for easy access

The ADDIE model revolves around the follow five components: Analysis/Assessment Identify needs and constraints Design Define learning activities, assessment, and media Development Produce training media, perform formative evaluation, and revise Implementation Deliver the instruction and obtain feedback for revision Evaluation Evaluate results and perform any necessary revision

M-learning technologies the new phenomenon E-learning facilitated by hand-held devices, such as mobile phones, Palms, pocket PCs and personal digital assistants (PDAs), is called m-learning. These technologies offer communication channels via e-mail, access to the Internet and voice and text messaging. Learning and teaching via mobile devices also is growing rapidly because they offer certain advantages (e.g. they are cheaper and easier to carry and handle than desktops and provide instant access to educational material). Learners can share lessons plans, exchange advice, opinions and tips or immediately apply their knowledge, such as in on-the-job and just-in-time training There are examples of M-learning being the most preferred service and has generated huge popularity among its users and an ever increasing use of data services on mobile has created a new platform for transferring knowledge through this medium. CONCLUSION Finally it would be preferable that these courses can be provided through e-learning mode which is both cost effective and can address larger business community with little complexity. These courses can be made mandatory for entrepreneurs with a fixed duration to complete their elearning as being practiced by many multinational companies. This practice would definitely yield stronger and better returns and would enable entrepreneurs to contribute towards the progress of the country.

RECOMMENDATION The need for implementing e-learning among entrepreneurs is immediate and would generate a good pool of self employed people in the country and would arm them with good financial knowledge so as to compete in the market. The methods of developing a proper courseware for effective utilization can be debated further but the suggested methods are found to be best suited for implementation. The paper provides a model which has been prominently used in developing and implementing courseware in different countries. References Learning design and e-learning by Dr Matthew Fox, Director of Design, Epic Group plc downloaded from http://www.dokeos.com/doc/thirdparty/Epic_Whtp_learningdesign.pdf E-learning methodologies A guide for designing and developing e-learning courses by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) downloaded from

http://www.fao.org/docrep/015/i2516e/i2516e.pdf

Horton, W., & Horton, K. (2003). ELearning tools and technologies. Wiley Publishing Effective Practice with e- Learning by Sarah Knight Pedagogy JISC Development Group University Programme Manager: e-Learning and of Bristol downloaded from

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/publications/effectivepracticeelearning.pdf

Developing Training Material With ADDIE by Griffin Productions

http://www.radford.edu/~igriffin/Docs/ADDIE%20Model.pdf

downloaded from