Administrative Assistant Applications

A new section of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when lessons are released. You will have access to all lessons until the course ends. However, the interactive discussion area that accompanies each lesson will automatically close two weeks after the lesson is released. As such, we strongly recommend that you complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

The final exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the final exam has been released, you will have two weeks to complete all of your course work, including the final exam.

Lesson 1
Since many organizations are going global, you can increase your value by knowing what's taking place in the world economy. In our opening lesson, we'll define the phrase "world economy" and then present the concepts of business cycles and economic growth. You'll learn the differences between gross domestic product (GDP) and gross national product (GNP) and macro and microeconomics. At the end of the lesson, you'll discover the importance of economies of scale and the experience curve, and you'll see how econometric forecasting helps you determine the future.

Lesson 2
In this lesson and the one that follows, we'll emphasize accounting and financial concepts and fundamentals to help you increase your readiness to use financial information. You'll gain a strong foundation by learning about the general ledger, by seeing the difference between accounting and bookkeeping, and by investigating the different types of accounting. We'll demystify debits and credits and present the accounting equation as a cornerstone of all modern accounting systems.

Lesson 3
Now that you've absorbed the basics of accounting, it's time to learn how to apply financial information. We'll start off by reviewing two vital financial statements that you will find at nearly every organization?the balance sheet and the income statement. Next, you'll find out how to account for inventories and then discover the significance of cash flow. By the end of the lesson, you'll clearly understand how sound cash management helps companies stay on the right path.

Lesson 4
Administrative assistants need to know the basics of business law. While we don't expect any of you to become lawyers, we do want to make sure you have a good grasp of key legal concepts, such as the principal-agency relationship and the basics of contracts. We'll start things off by looking at the idea of law, going through an overview of the legal system, and discussing the essence of commercial law. We'll tackle the essentials of contracts, such as the elements and the various types, and finish up by discussing Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code.

Lesson 5
In today's lesson, we'll examine the four most popular organizational forms: sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, and corporation. You'll learn all about organizational politics, and see that wherever people work together, you'll find politics. We'll also touch on business ethics, a critical concept that has received much attention in recent years.

Lesson 6
Firms are pursuing international business at rapid rates. After you complete today's lesson, you'll know where to look to help your company meet their international business objectives. We'll explore the origins, characteristics, and definition of international business. You'll learn of the various ways to get started with international operations, including exporting and joint ventures. We'll conclude by exploring how international business varies by key area, including economic, political, legal, culture, technology, and demographic considerations.

Lesson 7
Life is filled with opportunities, problems, and choices. When you effectively plan and control your activities, and also make timely decisions and solve problems, you become a valued asset. We'll look at the ins and outs of planning because just about everything you do begins with a plan. We'll help you learn about the counterpart of planning: control. By the time you finish Lesson 7, you'll know all about problem solving and be able to apply a model of decision making.

Lesson 8
Organizing is a critical topic that many companies struggle with. In this lesson, you'll discover how resources are organized so employees can productively perform job duties and complete tasks. We'll begin by studying the purpose of organization and examining several coordinating principles, including authority, power, and span of control. You'll learn the purpose of the staffing function and how to evaluate such key elements as recruitment, selection, appraisal, and development. We'll conclude this lesson by looking at six different forms of organizational charts.

Lesson 9
It's often said that motivation and leadership are two sides of the same coin. It's difficult to have one and not the other. Today, we'll begin by defining motivation and exploring four theories of motivation, and then we'll move into leadership. You'll learn about the different types of leadership and discover the difference between delegation and empowerment. We'll also examine creativity and help you see how you can increase your creativity levels.

Lesson 10
We find that most people believe marketing is either advertising or selling. Our primary objective in today's lesson is to make sure that you clearly understand the distinction between marketing, advertising, and sales. You'll discover what it means to be consumer oriented. Also, you'll learn how to apply the four Ps (product, place, price, promotion) and see how these variables work together to form marketing strategies.

Lesson 11
Operations management is one of the unheralded activities at a company. The folks that work in this area don't receive much credit and don't lead a glamorous life. They're the behind-the-scenes people that keep the ball rolling so that customers are happy and the company makes profits. Today, we'll explore the diverse nature of operations management and see how selecting, designing, operating, controlling, and updating play an important role in all operating systems. We'll explore such key concepts as forecasting, capacity, and make-or-buy analysis, as well as discussing their importance.

Lesson 12
In our final lesson, we'll discuss why change is so important, review why people are reluctant to change, and explore strategies that can help you overcome resistance to change. We'll help you establish a winning team and lead you through the stages of recruiting, evaluating, and selecting team members. We'll explore the concepts of a core team, extended team, and the overly important team. We'll finish up by discussing the complete performance planning process, including how to address performance problems and how to make reviews more meaningful.