DIGITAL LEARNING BUSINESS /E-LEARNING BUSINESS
Executive summary:
The digitalisation has been expanding the scope of ideas and concepts of business and the e-learning has been one of the consequences of such exploration. In Australia, there has been a huge number of establishments favouring online learning, the one which would be explored is B online Learning which began its journey in the year 2006 in Sydney. A coherent PESTLE analysis has been done to understand the impact of the external analysis over the company and also the problem statement has been highlighted in this assignment.
Table of Contents
Executive summary: 2
Introduction 4
Background of the selected case project: 4
Business description: 4
History: 4
Current status 4
Problem and issues: 5
Objectives: 5
Environmental Analysis through PESTLE 5
Competitive Analysis 9
Table 2: Competitive Analysis 11
Market Research 11
Market segmentation: 11
Target market: 12
Market trends: 12
Conclusion 12
References 13
Introduction
Background of the selected case project:
The transformation through the technological development has been touching almost every sector and industry on a global level and this has added on to the demand for new innovations and establishments for exploring the resources to its optimal level. The digitalisation has been expanding the scope of ideas and concepts of business and the e-learning has been one of the consequences of such exploration. Education has been the reason for the technological development and technology development has been laid the path for providing a variety of techniques and methods of learning (Fiske, 2019, p.51).
Business description:
Digital learning or e-learning has been gaining its importance in the last 10 to 15 years which has been accelerating with high pace along with technological innovations. In Australia, there has been a huge number of establishments favouring online learning, the one which would be explored is B online Learning which began its journey in the year 2006 in Sydney, Australia. In 2007, it got registered itself and provided online learning AQTF qualifications. It provides a wide range of services which includes practical application, e-learning modules, live expert webinars, etc. The services also include certified articulate training, content development, rapid courses, and professional developments.
History:
The company was founded by Bec Hall, Beck Berity, and Bronwyn Stell who are the Chief Executive Officer, Creative Director and Solutions Director, respectively. The company awarded as Best Hosted LMS (Learning Management System) in 2008 and in 2011 it was awarded for providing the best learning management solution (B Online Learning 2019). In 2017, the company expanded to North America and a year forward launched Birch learning Platform at Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. The company carries a vision or objective of serving the customers by providing the best solution and improvising through technological developments.
Current status
E-learning could be called the digitalised way of education which has been utilising the technological developments for adding on to the knowledge of the people of all group. The education industry has been hugely impacted by the technological advancements and the application of the technology in the education system or industry has created or invented a new and transformed industry that is e-learning industry. The e-learning industry has been gaining importance since last two decades which has been speeding up gradually as it aligned with the technological industry. The alignment of the two industries has given birth to the new form and methods of learning which has added on to the competitors of the education industry. As per Global Industry Analysis, which is a market research firm, stated that by 2015, the e-learning industry would reach a business of $107 billion and it happened (Forbes.com 2019). And the future expectation of the industry by 2025, the size would grow to $325 billion. The industry has been increasing in size due to the scope which it is creating through its services to expand and enhance the workings of other business and industries. If the education industry grows, it would provide the human resources with the best ingredients and qualities which would make up for the resources of other industries. It could be said that the transforming education industry is the creator of the resources for other industries.
Problem and issues:
Most common issues in E-learning is the lack of computer literacy and adaptability. In most of the cases, students are not much enough mature in computer and also managing time in e-learning is another issue.
Objectives:
The main objectives are:
To understand the concept of the e-learning
To determine the external and internal environment over the company.
To identify the issues regarding the current system
Environmental Analysis through PESTLE
Factors
Analysis
Political
The political scenario and the actions impact the business and other development to a great extent. E-learning has been impacted by the change in the political scene around the globe as well as in Australia and the stable situation has been the reason for the inventions provided by the technology industry which has been impacting the learning or education industry to such an extent that it created a new industry that is eLearning industry (Naa.gov.au 2019). The ruling or the governing body has been gaining an understanding of the importance of education and the needed acceleration into it which brought in a number of businesses in Australia concerning e-learning and b online learning has been one of it. The Australian politics has been favouring the establishment of a new era of digitalisation which has been impacting the education system of the country and this helped the concerned company in gaining business.
Economic
The Economy of Australia has been on an increasing trend and the Gross Domestic Product has been gaining bigger numbers through the five pillar economy concept of which the centre pillar is the education (The Conversation 2019). The GDP of Australia has been 1.32 lakh crores USD in the year 2017, has marked a hike from the previous year and this reveals the investments and the output of the education system which has been transforming through the technological impacts. It is expected that the country’s GDP would increase or grow by 2.8% in the year 2019 to 2023 which would mark the highest forecast among major advanced countries.
Social
The social environment of Australia has been favouring the e-learning business of b online learning as the education system of the country has been transforming and has been taking up all the latest means of providing the education which would support the students and the learners to be comfortable in exploring the knowledge (Studyinaustralia.gov.au 2019). It is expected that through the e-learning business of online learning the nest employment opportunities would be created through the quality services which they provide and the accuracy in the solutions. The socialising factor of Australia has been quite active and the support has been complimentary in case of eLearning and socialising which has also become a part of providing education.
Technological
Australia has been one of the countries to explore and utilise the technological developments and innovations in an accurate and broad manner. This has helped the e-learning industry and the b online learning business in utilising the best technologies in their work and serves the people of the country. The government has provided about 55% of funds for the research and development sector which would help the industries and the other sectors to grow and develop through exploring the technological innovations (Abs.gov.au 2019). The eLearning business has been supported by this technological expansion and thus, the concerned business has been favoured and supported by the technological sector.
Legal
The legal laws and other services which need to be authenticated by the government such as contracts for utilising the technology in the learning processes needs to be legalised through proper and accurate procedures. Australian Government has laid down certain terms and conditions for the utilisation of some specific technologies in the education or earning system which needs to be followed by B online learning business in order to be authentic business executor. The concerned company carries all the rights and contracts for utilising the technologies in the eLearning services which has made it among the top five e-learning companies of Australia.
Environmental
The Environmental Protection Act of 1974 establishes the area or the procedure which the government of Australia needs to follow before taking a decision in any perspective or domain (Legislation.gov.au 2019). The consideration of the environment is an important consideration and in the eLearning business, though there is no solid waste or pollution created it impacts the atmosphere. Though the benefits gained through Bonline learning are huge and wide, but the companies are bound to abide by the rules and regulations as guided by the Australian Government.
Table 1: Pestle analysis of the Australian education system
Source: Created by author
Competitive Analysis
Competitors/Factors
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Online Courses Australia: Brisbane, Australia
Online Courses Australia is the number one Australian e-Learning business which carries the strength of wide goodwill spread over a large number of people. The brand image created by the company is the foremost strength of the company and the sustainability strategy adopted by the company has been the other strength.
The concerned company carries a weakness of not being a global company which could provide it with expansion in the customer’s list. The company carries a weakness of marketing and promotional activities which needs to be exploited by the company in order to be known on a global level. The company has been criticised for not utilising the marketing strategies aptly and it also has been observed that the company as the capability of increasing its profits but still it has been favouring and exercising low-profit schemes.
Through providing unlimited accessibility and self-paced features for online customers, the company has been creating the opportunity of being known and accessed by people all around the globe. This accessibility and self-paced features have been acting or creating an opportunity for the company to expand its business on a global level which would add on to the company size and profits too (Onlinecoursesaustralia.edu.au 2019). The feature of low prices also adds on to the opportunity of the company to be utilised by a large number of customers who wants their services.
Due to the increasing competition in the eLearning business, the company carries a threat of being replaced on its position if it does not take up some sustaining strategy which would help the business in creating more and more business for itself. Though the threat probability is low still replacement threat exists in the market or industry.
Learning Plan:
The Learning Plan carries a special strength of being utilised and used by both the educational institutes as well as by the corporate world. The company provides the services to the corporate world too where it creates an environment of learning through working. This is the core strength of the company which has positioned it in the second number on the list of top five eLearning businesses in Australia.
The company carries a weakness of carrying a high pricing strategy which makes it unattractive to the lower class. The services of the company are quite expensive which could be afforded only by the high class and this makes it lose many of its customers. The company has been carrying this weakness intentionally in order to gain and attract the high class which would create a status symbol. This makes the company unreachable to the lower class and thus, the equality phenomenon is ignored in this company which could be unattractive and unethical for many of the people and customers.
The company being diverse in nature and its services, it carries an opportunity of reaching the position of the topmost service providers of eLearning in Australia, all it needs to do is to work a bit hard and it could reach the first position. The company has the opportunity of creating a high level of profit through the diversity in its products and services and also the high pricing scheme (Learning Plan 2019). The opportunities for the company are broad and huge in number all it needs to do is take up some effective strategy which would channelize its steps.
The company carries a threat of being criticised for its high pricing strategy as the learning scheme is for the students mainly which could violate the student’s right. Though the company provides the corporate services too, still it needs to add on diversity in its pricing strategy as thas adopted in its products.
Table 2: Competitive Analysis
Source: Created by author
Market Research
ELearning has been an increasing trend which has served the customers and people on a wide scale. The eLearning industry has been the output of the education and the technological merger which has created its own market segment, its own customers, the behaviour of the consumers has been changing, the trends and the production techniques all have been diverse in nature. B online Learning company has been one of the company’s which has targeted the customers of the of all segments as they carry a vision of serving the one who needs it, for this, it has followed the low pricing strategy and has been focusing more on the quality of the solutions provided. The certification and other services all have been maintained well through concentrating on the market segmentation.
Market segmentation:
The market segmentation that has been in focus for the concerned company, is the behavioural segmentation that is the response or the change in the behaviour of the customers through the change in the products and services of the company (Ernst & Dolnicar, 2018). This segmentation helps in maintaining a balance in the sale and the profits of the company and even the psychographic segmentation has been utilised by b online learning. The demographic segmentation has also been utilised by the company but it has not been the primary focus as it would limit the customers and the range of customers. The company has been targeting the market of education as the company provides the technological learning through online services, it could impact the traditional education institutions where the learning process is still through face to face interaction (Huggins et al. 2016).
Target market:
The targeted market of the company is to transform the educational market and make it a digital one through utilising technological developments. The customer’s behaviour has been similar for all the normal products and the consumer behaviour theory has also laid the trend or the path that the consumers follow in choosing a product or a service. The consumer behaviour has been matching or aligning with the consumer behaviour theory which makes the eLearning services of B online learning a normal product. The services of eLearning have been gaining the position of creating a trend which is being followed by the people at large.
Market trends:
The online services of education have been in trend since the 90s and have geared up in the 21st century. Though the initialisation was made in the 90s, through the introduction of the World Wide Web and other technological improvements, the actual era of digitalisation emerged in the last five years (Summers 2015). The increasing trend has been the reason for the increasing demand of the online services of learning which promoted the eLearning businesses and B online learning has been one of the companies which have actually explored and exploited this demand to the fullest through providing the quality services and adding diversity and variability in its services.
Conclusion
The exploration of the eLearning services in the context of Australia has been quite exploratory in nature and it has provided some tremendous and unknown facts known. The industry has been growing at such a faster pace and the high businesses of Australia which has been providing the concerned service have been working since the 90s and the transformation took so long to be accepted on a global level. The entire working of the e-learning industry has been supported by the external factors which have created the digitalised world of learning. The entire working and the execution of the activities of B online learning has revealed that the company has worked really hard to survive and compete with its competitors who are the topmost and the second positioned companies on the list of Australian e-learning businesses.
References
Abs.gov.au 2019, [online] Available at: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/8112.0 [Accessed 2nd Apr 2019]
B Online Learning. (2019). Evolving Technology for a Smart Workforce | B Online Learning. [online] Available at: https://bonlinelearning.com/about-us/# [Accessed 2 Apr. 2019].
Ernst, D. and Dolnicar, S 2018, ‘How to avoid random market segmentation solutions’, Journal of Travel Research, vol 57, No. 1, pp.69-82.
Fiske, E 2019, ‘Booming Corporate Education Efforts Rival College Programs, Study Says’, [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/1985/01/28/us/booming-corporate-education-efforts-rival-college-programs-study-says.html [Accessed 2 Apr. 2019].
Forbes.com. 2019, ‘E-Learning Climbing To $325 Billion By 2025 UF Canvas Absorb Schoology Moodle’, [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2018/07/31/e-learning-climbing-to-325-billion-by-2025-uf-canvas-absorb-schoology-moodle/#3f98f3703b39 [Accessed 2 Apr. 2019].
Huggins, K., Burger, J., Pretorius, M. and Overby, J 2016 ‘Two-a-Day: A Choice of Target Market Selection of Apple Export Business’ Business Case Journal, Vol 23 No. (2), pp. 85-98
Learning Plan 2019, Learning Plan. Creating learning that works. Call us on 1300 415 343. [online] Available at: https://learningplan.com.au/company/ [Accessed 2 Apr. 2019].
Legislation.gov.au, 2019. [online] Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2004C03783 [Accessed 2nd Apr 2019]
Naa.gov.au, 2019. [online] Available at: http://www.naa.gov.au/information-management/support/elearning/index.aspx [Accessed 2nd Apr 2019]
Onlinecoursesaustralia.edu.au. 2019, Why Choose OCA? | Online Courses Australia. [online] Available at: https://www.onlinecoursesaustralia.edu.au/why-choose-oca/ [Accessed 2 Apr. 2019].
Studyinaustralia.gov.au, 2019. [online] Available at: https://www.studyinaustralia.gov.au/english/australian-education/education-system [Accessed 2nd Apr 2019]
Summers, L.H 2015, ‘Demand side secular stagnation’, American Economic Review, Vol 105 No. (5), pp.60-65.
The Conversation 2019, Australia’s ‘five pillar economy’: education. [online] Available at: https://theconversation.com/australias-five-pillar-economy-education-40831 [Accessed 2 Apr. 2019].