How to Apply to International Universities?

How-to-Apply-to-International-Universities

Do you want to gain a broader career prospect by studying abroad? Well, as much exciting as the thought can be for enthusiastic learners, it is indeed a daunting task. Generally, students have confusion regarding where to apply, how many universities to consider, and when to apply for such universities.

However, applying to a foreign university is not that difficult. You have to know the correct ways and steps in proper sequence. If you’re also worrying about how to apply to international universities, no need to stress out! UniVisory consultants have the best solution for you.

UniVisory is a pre-eminent consulting company for undergraduate admission in Ivy League and other elite universities worldwide. Our team will be there at every step, from shaping talented student’s academic and extra-curriculum to the final offer letter from top universities. 

Key Factors You Must Consider When Applying for International Universities

Here are some essential factors that UniVisory will guide the students for their lifelong success:

1. Consider Different Alternatives

Even if you have set a goal and already chosen the university you want to opt for, you must always consider the other alternatives. Therefore, it will be best if you do not solely depend on one university. Rather keep open to other options and apply for three or four universities. Then, if you do not get through your desired college due to any circumstances, you always have the other alternatives right in front of you.

2. Be Informed About Academic Requirements

Before applying to foreign universities, you must be practical and check all the requirements for being accepted by those universities. Most of the time, these details about the academic information and available programs exist on their website. However, you can also easily contact the respective department of advisors from the university if you have any queries or confusion to get a more transparent and broader perspective.

3. Know About the Procedure

You must have a detailed knowledge of the whole application procedure. Then, you can submit the required documents directly to their website or send them via post. Furthermore, you must always discover ways to submit your application. As the online admission procedure is easier and more convenient in most countries, it helps you apply to multiple universities at once.

4. Pay Attention to the Paperwork and Other Details

You should always follow the same steps and name of the universities in order of your preference to not miss out on any details when you are applying to different universities abroad. Also, it will be best if you are very careful with the authenticity of your paperwork. All the documents must be translated and legally authenticated by authority into the official language of the respective countries of the chosen universities.

Documents You Must Keep Ready Before You Apply

When you seek admission to universities, there are some essential documents you must keep ready with you. However, the document requirement usually varies. Here are a few very common and important certificates that are mandatory to submit:

  • The Application Form: This contains all the necessary information about yourself that you need to mention and sign the form at the end.
  • Grade Certificates from High School: Many international universities require a copy of all your grade cards (in English) from high school either from you or directly from school authorities.
  • Passport Copy: A copy of your passport is needed so that they can issue a visa letter for you.
  • Financial Statement: You need to provide your bank statement in English to prove that you can afford to study abroad.
  • Standardized Test: You need to take standardized tests like SAT/ACT and IELTS, TOEFL, etc., for undergraduate programs.

Steps for General Application Submission Procedure

Most universities follow some general guidelines for students applying to their universities:

  1. Online Registration:Online registration is a much convenient procedure that helps the authority and students to apply for admission easily.
  2. Submission of Essential Documents:Universities ask for necessary and all relevant general information regarding yourself. This step is compulsory for the process to go further.
  3. Submission of Personal Statement/Essay:Many universities require personal statement/essay from the students, which shows the ability to perform well. It should include all your skills and achievements.
  4. Entrance Exams: Usually, the registration is followed by an entrance test mandatory to pass to get into the desired universities.
  5. Interview Round:A consultation follows the entrance exam to find if you are actually eligible to get admission to their universities.

Final Words

The procedure may be quite a task, but without worrying about how to apply to international universities and postponing the applying process, connect with the UniVisory team. We will help ignite your intellectual passion and provide the right pathway to build academic rigour in your educational journey.

Top 7 Popular Career Options in Artificial Intelligence

Career Options in Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is one of the emerging technologies of the decade. Studies suggest that the industry will have 2.3 million positions by the year 2030. Artificial Intelligence is being used for multiple applications in multiple industries leading to more openings for AI jobs. AI will not seize jobs from us but is creating more jobs and making our mundane tasks easier and faster.

Some of the industries impacted by AI include manufacturing, healthcare, business intelligence, transportation, education, supply chain management, construction, retail, cybersecurity, and information technology.

When it comes to careers in AI, these industries stand out. Gartner’s report suggests that enterprise applications for AI have grown 270% in four years. Likewise, the number of industries using AI is also increasing rapidly. This has paved the way for qualified job candidates to take up AI jobs.

Let’s take a look at the career opportunities in AI here.

Robotics Programmer

As industries turn toward AI adoption, many industries are looking forward to hiring robotics programmers who can program their machines. Robotics programmers are generally involved in robotics design; an assemblage of robotic devices; corrective or preventative maintenance of the robotic systems; disassemble, repair or reassemble of robots or their components, test performance, train operators, and develop path programming.

A robot programmer earns about USD 54,600 per year or USD 28 per hour in the USA.

AI Engineer

AI Engineers are responsible for the commercialization of AI in businesses. AI engineers are responsible for designing and implementing AI applications; understanding business problems and find solutions with AI; apply the right AI computing technologies to solve the problems. They are mainly responsible to transform the entire infrastructure of the organization.

In general, the national average salary for an AI engineer is USD 1,15,320 in the United States.

Computer and Information Research Scientists

It is a special designation where professionals use data to design new technological solutions for businesses. They develop innovative applications by using existing and emerging technologies. The professionals may work with robotics, AI programming, algorithms, and cloud computing.

The average salary for a Computer and Information Scientist is USD 115740.

AI Research Scientist

Research in Artificial Intelligence is as important as other application careers in AI. Discovering ways to advance AI technology is as important as applying the technology. AI research specialists help to advance the data systems, get actively involved in the development of new software, and look for new possibilities in the domain. They are accountable for creating new AI tools.

Studies show that AI Research Scientist earns about USD 109,859 per year.

Machine learning engineer

Machine learning forms the core of AI projects. Machine learning engineers are responsible for understanding theoretical data science models and scale them out to production-level models which can handle terabytes of real-time data.

In fact, machine learning engineers command high salaries with a record salary of USD 127,000 per year.

Working in the defense department

Professionals having an AI certification and a relevant degree can land a position in military forces. The AI professionals here are generally involved in developing smart weaponry. They also have the option of pension after their retirement period.

The AI professionals in the military force earn about USD 73,000 per year along with a benefits package.

Video game programmer

This is an interesting AI job profile. Candidates with AI degrees, AI certifications, and computer languages are eligible for this job. They also should know 2-D and 3-D animating and design and its related themes. They are mainly responsible for role-playing mechanics and improve the user experience.

Currently, video game programmer earns about USD 75,000 to USD 125,000 per year. 

To conclude…

These are some of the most popular career options in Artificial Intelligence we find today. To choose anyone among them, it is best recommended to hold an AI certification along with a degree. Being a problem solver along with business skills is much needed to ace a career in Artificial Intelligence.

How To Become An SEO Expert In 2021 (Step-By-Step Guide)

How To Become An SEO Expert In 2021 (Step-By-Step Guide)

Before delving into the details of how to become an SEO Expert, it is imperative to fully understand what SEO means and how it works as a digital marketing strategy. SEO is all about optimizing the content that you are going to publish. So, why is content optimization necessary? It is important because if your content is optimized, your website will rank higher on any search engine result page. This is basically going to generate more traffic for your website. More traffic for your website means that more people will come across your website. This in turn means that your business will hopefully have more sales. SEO is a complex and crucial part of content marketing. To have a successful marketing campaign, some knowledge about SEO is imperative. It is also a fantastic branding tool. It is gaining a lot of popularity in the world of digital marketing.

Now that you know about why SEO is important and how it works, the rest of this article will take a look into the steps you can follow to become good at SEO.

Steps to become good at SEO

Here are the steps that you can follow to succeed at SEO:

 

1.  A comprehensive understanding of how search engines work:

What do people use search engines for? To find answers or solutions to questions or problems they have. When you search for something in your browser, you’ll see thousands of results pop up providing you links to websites or blogs that answer your question. Search engines, therefore, perform 3 main functions- crawl, index and rank. You need to first acquaint yourself with these three functions of search engines before moving on.

2.  Develop core skills:

After you’re well-versed in how search engines work and the three primary functions performed by search engines, you have to then work on the core skills required to become an SEO Expert. A few of these core skills include-

  • Keyword research
  • Basics of coding
  • Content marketing
  • On-page optimization
  • Link building skills
  • Content audit.

The aforementioned skills are all technical skills that you must have. Along with that, you also need to have certain soft skills such as communication skills, negotiation skills, and the ability to compromise and reach a middle ground.

3.  Effective competitor analysis:

To be good at SEO, not only do you have to create optimized content but must also learn how to perform competitor analysis of websites. In this way, you will learn where your website stands in terms of ranking as well as the ranking of competitor websites. This in turn will help you expand your knowledge about the market.

4. Keep upgrading your knowledge-base for SEO:

If you wish to become an SEO marketing expert, it is essential to find situations where you can apply your acquired knowledge. Practical experience is essential to become successful. Implement your SEO skills in any content that you create. Owing to the fast-changing, ever-evolving nature of the field of SEO, you will also need to keep yourself updated with any new developments and information in SEO. Read blogs, attend workshops, network, and join industry associations to stay updated with any new developments in this field. 

5.  Choose an area of specialization:

After you’ve mastered all the aforementioned basic technical skills and soft skills, to become successful SEO personnel, you need then choose an area of expertise. You need to have in-depth knowledge about a specific filed under SEO. This is as important as having a broad understanding of marketing knowledge. A few important areas of expertise include:

  • On-site content
  • Technical SEO
  • Link building
  • E-commerce
  • Social media
  • Email marketing
  • Data and analytics

 6.  Tracking SEO performance:

Another requirement to pursue a career in SEO is to be able to analyze and calculate SEO performance. You have to be able to track as well as review web traffic, your ranking, and conversions. This will help you understand where your website stands in comparison to competitor websites. To be able to do this, you have to include metrics such as average position, keyword rankings, backlink profile breakdown, content marketing results, etc. You have to update and adjust this report on a daily basis.

7.  Building a strong SEO network:

In order to learn and improve your SEO skills, networking is essential. You should definitely network with experts in the field of SEO. This will help you come up with new ideas, share tactics and tools for SEO as well as meet new clients who need your expertise.

8.  Ability to explain SEO in layman terms:

To have a good client base, you need to have the ability to explain how SEO works and its relevance, in simple terms that your clients can understand.

Follow this step-by-step guide and become an SEO Expert!

Latest Trends In Human Resources

Latest Trends In Human Resources

As organizations start managing their workforce in a post-pandemic world, here we have listed the 10 ways HR professionals expect the human resource sector to evolve:

Diversity and Inclusion

The Black Lives Matter protest impacted America’s corporate culture in many ways. Organizations actively reacted to it by updating their anti-harassment policies training and internal complaint processes. It also led companies to prioritize diversity and inclusion within the work environment. The diversity and inclusion programs are nothing new to the workplaces but now due to the heightened emphasis on the adverse influence of systemic racism, many companies are looking forward to making improvements in their D&I initiatives.

As of now, businesses are creating strategies to increase the cogency of D&I initiatives. Having a diverse and inclusive work culture will help businesses with recruitment, employee engagement and productivity, brand image, and employee retention. Those having a career in HR must closely pay attention to D&I best practices and work forward to top-to-bottom business strategy and not just an HR program.

Long Term Remote working

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced corporate offices to shut down on an immediate basis, the workforce had no choice but to quickly adapt to working remotely. But what started as a temporary experiment has now proven to be a more permanent solution for many businesses around the world. Though many organizations are initiating remote working for their employee wellness and safety reasons, other organizations are looking for a long-term remote working solution due to the demand of employees.

Employees from different organizations are finding remote working much more flexible and productive. So, in 2021, HR leaders will have to reimagine the technological solutions that can help them attain an effective remote workforce for the long term. Moving forward, they would be required to consider the HR practices and policies that can perpetually influence the integration of remote work.

Automated HR Processes

HR professionals have recently experienced a massive elevation in the use of cloud software to automate and manage their workflow led by the COVID-19 pandemic. As we enter 2021, this trend is expected to grow further.

Many organizations make use of automation services for their hiring and onboarding processes. But the pandemic raised the need for digitizing these processes up to a great extent. As someone having a career in HR, you will be expected to take up virtual HR processes like automated onboarding and remote hiring. Competing in a post-pandemic world will require organizations to move to the cloud as much as possible including offline HR activities.

Employee Well-being

The biggest hot topic that emerged in the pandemic is workforce health and wellness and for a good reason. Organizations are now aware of the importance of employee health and mental well-being and its impact on organizational success than ever before. But during times like pandemic employee well-being is more likely to record a drop. Therefore employers and HR people must focus on improving employee health programs as they adapt to the new normal.

Organizations must find ways to create a healthy work culture and a flexible working environment to support mental well-being in these tough times. Business leadership can significantly improve employee wellness and health by creating transparent processes and initiating clear communication within their teams.

How certification courses can help HR thrive in 2021?

The workforce is becoming highly global which intensifies the demand for human resource professionals to contemplate extensive strategies for hiring, firing, and managing employees across different teams in the organization. Certification courses in HR can help them gain an insight into the functioning and requirements of a modern human resource department.

The certification courses in HR can enable HR professionals to acquire both the practical competencies and specialist knowledge that will help them to develop and enforce effective HR strategies for recruitment, employee development, and retention.

Major Revenue Streams at Investment Banks You Should Know

Major Revenue Streams at Investment Banks

A career in investment banking is lucrative and finance graduates tend to build their career in investment banking. The salary they earn is also more as compared to most of the other financial services.

What makes them earn so?

Yes, their hard work! They spend 90-100 hours a week on the job.

Investment banks perform a variety of activities. They sell their services to the government and corporations and make huge money during their activities. Let’s take a closer look at the revenue streams at investment banks and understand their working nature here.

Revenue streams at investment banks:

Basically, investment banks finance trade and investment. They have diversified sources of income and hence have a stable flow of income despite drying up of any one of the sources. Take a look.

Brokerage:

As simple as it is, the investment banks connect buyers to sellers for a commission. As the deal gets closed in billions, the banks witness a huge amount of commission for every single successful deal.

Advisory fees:

Yet another simple and risk-free way of making money is by demanding advisory fees. Investment banks have the best knowledge about the financial market status. As a result, many companies seek their advice when raising capital through public issues or other means.

In fact, the banks have a separate department dedicated to the advisory practice. They advise their clients on using instruments, tapping the markets, or timing the public issue. The investment bank charges a high consulting fee in return as they are given by seasoned professionals.

Asset management:

There are investment banks across the world where they invest money on behalf of their clients for a percentage of the above-average return. As they invest their money, they stand as the beneficiaries of the profits generated through trading.

Similarly, another way of making money is looking for arbitrage opportunities through proprietary trading. This is an important source of income because they generate risk-free profits using their strong background knowledge and skills. 

Mergers and Acquisitions:

Investment banks charge fees for facilitating various transactions involved in the merging of companies or one company buying the other, i.e., acquisition. The contracts involve multi-billion-dollar businesses.

Securitization:

Investment banks sell securitized assets, i.e., they buy pools of loans or assets from commercial banks and use them with credit enhancement techniques for high-grade investors. They make huge profits through tranches and selling them for higher prices. But it is a risky business though and they may come to the verge of bankruptcy.

Research fees:

Investment banks possess a huge pool of research analysts who can provide up to data reports to their clients. The research reports carry a lot of value and they sell these for a better fee to the individuals or companies who want to access these reports. This is another source of making money for investment banks.

Underwriting services:

It buys IPOs or buys every share of the company, markets it to the investor, and charges a flat fee. They buy shares at risk. They may get the money back or may at risk of losing.

Collateralization:

A collateralized instrument is nothing but a collection of debt obligations. Banks buy a lot of smaller loans and use them as one security, sell them and make a profit. They buy loans for cheaper costs and sell at higher prices on the market.

Dark pools:

Dark pools are meant to attract institutional sellers to secretive and anonymous markets while preventing front-running. For this service, the bank charges a fee.

Apart from these above methods, investment banks make money through swaps, market making, hedge funds, and private equity. As an investment banking professional, you have various avenues to learn and bring money to your organization.

The Impact of Blockchain Technology in the Banking Sector

blockchain-technology-in-banking-sector

Blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger that tracks the transactions between the two parties in an efficient manner. It combines technical concepts such as distributed data storage, point-to-point transmission, encryption algorithms, and distributed data storage.

This has attracted leaders from all industries to take a pilot project or implement the technology in their organization. Many industries have implemented too and several are allocating special budget for blockchain implementation. Let’s consider the most common industry-banking here.

Blockchain technology is very much promising in the banking industry these days. Blockchain is believed to transform the industry to a greater extent by:

  • Making the process democratic
  • Enabling transparency and security

Let’s understand how the characteristic features of blockchain impact the banking industry.

Impact of blockchain features in the banking industry

Transparency: The hash of the records in blockchain are immutable and irreversible. It denies any modification or deletion making the transaction process, smooth, trustworthy, and faster.

Storage of information: Blockchain’s distributed ledger nature allows storage of information in consensus and maintains data consistency across the users or participants.

Processing: Blockchain eliminates manual processing, maintains automated trailing of accounts while reducing time for reconciliations and data validations.

Documentation: Smart contracts facilitate the validation of business processes easily and the reconciliation process straightforward without any hiccups or loss of trust among the participating parties.

Time sensitivity: Blockchain can settle transactions in real-time reducing risk while improving customer experience.

Intermediary: The use of blockchain technology removes the intermediary processes, and thus lowering latency, manpower, and costs involved.

With these special features, let’s see how blockchain is disrupting the banking industry.

Use cases of blockchain technology in banking

Payment processing: Blockchain helps in cross-border payment without involving third-parties. This makes the transaction quicker and safer. Further, digital currencies and all types of currencies are considered here making the process smoother.

Verification: The traditional verification system such as face checking, identity can be replaced by blockchain where people are privileged to benefit from the withdrawal of the repeat registration process. Further participants can access the shared ledger system.

Money lending: The loans, know your customer details, or the Bank Secrecy Act can get linked to a single consumer block saving money and time as against the traditional long and costly process.

Accounting and auditing: Traditional banks depend on paperwork as we all know. With blockchain, banks can enter the transactions into the digital ledger system which is shared too. This helps to pay invoices automatically through smart contracts. The process of auditing is also easier as the information is shared between the authenticated personnel.

Crowdfunding: Online fundraising can be made easy using blockchain through ICOs. ICOs have the ability to sell tokens through the Internet due to decentralization.

Smart contracts: Smart contracts are executed automatically. The transactions are done cryptographically when the conditions are met without intermediaries.

Know your customer (KYC): KYC through blockchain eliminates duplication, reduces administrative work, and thus saves time. The verification of one customer in a bank could be used for verification in another bank when authorized making the process easier.

Though all these processes seem to be easier, they come with certain limitations too.

What are they?

Take a look.

Limitations of blockchain technology

Some of the limitations to implement blockchain are as mentioned below.

  • Though blockchain saves cost, the initial capital cost is very much higher.
  • The participants and employees must have knowledge of blockchain technology. As this is an emerging field, many are still in the learning phase. If you are a blockchain professional working in the banking industry, it is necessary to upgrade your skills in blockchain by earning industry-related blockchain certification.
  • The technology is still at its nascent stage regarding implementation. A large number of participants are necessary to achieve the real benefits.
  • There is an urgent need for addressing issues like scalability, storage, and security to implement the technology.

Blockchain professionals or leaders are finding ways to ward off these limitations. Blockchain is going to transform the banking industry at its maximum very soon. The days are not so far.

Online Education in Digital Divide: US’s Connectivity Woes

Online Education in Digital Divide USs Connectivity Woes

The pandemic has ripped open a weakness in the American system, and now it has become an acute crisis for the children. It’s the deep-rooted digital divide.

This put not only primary schooling but also the future of higher education in the US at stake. With schools continuing remote education and the rising coronavirus cases shutting schools down once again, education is suffering to bits.

Millions of students can’t keep up with schoolwork without steady internet at home.

 Up till now, these communities cobbled up fixes such as taking library’s Wi-Fi, or that of McDonald’s. But now with public places out of reach, internet-poor communities are struggling to transition to remote learning. A crisis that began in spring and continues this fall.

What is school’s education management doing?

As an immediate relief, schools have tried to bridge this digital divide by:

  • Subsidizing internet by leveraging federal funds – the USD 2.2 trillion from CARES act COVID relief.
  • Some are handing out 4G connections and paying for the wireless hotspots for low-income families such as COMCAST’s ~$10/month package.
  • Many communities are stepping up to expand free internet in their area through public hotspots.

However, the dearth remains. What’s more, the challenge of digital divide and online education isn’t recent in the US, it has been continuing from before COVID-19, but the pandemic has merely exacerbated it to unprecedented levels.

Suffering Education Outcomes: Some Statistics

A study by Common Sense Media shows,

Of the 51m students, about 15m either had no home broadband or lacked enough quality broadband to handle hours of videoconferencing.

More strikingly,

As many as 400,000 teachers also lack a proper internet connection.

The study didn’t include cellphone service due to data caps and restricted bandwidth, along with the uneasiness of tiny screens.

This was about the digital divide that mostly refers to broadband. Many schools and students have highlighted another challenge for education management: the lack of home computers, or tablets.

Defining “Adequate” Internet Service

When sometimes low-income families do have access to the required devices and internet, it proves inadequate. The question arises, what is enough? While this question remains up for debate, according to general knowledge:

Broadband that can give at a minimum of 25 Mbps speed in download, and 3 Mbps in upload can be dubbed as “adequate.”

This is the same as what COMCAST’s essential service plan offers. These numbers can constitute good guiding factors for ensuring good access to online education.

Why the US has failed in bridging the divide?

The reasons that made large sections in the birthplace of internet struggle for basic internet services are many. They have compounded over the years.

The problem is a lack of priority (until now) to this issue. The private industry players couldn’t care much to take this task head-on given many poor neighborhoods aren’t considered profitable by these companies, and for public sector, it isn’t an issue they can solve on their own.

The pandemic by putting the future of higher education in jeopardy has fueled the long-stand connectivity crisis.

Satellite internet services are a good fix, but the ones that are present so far aren’t “adequate” and those of SpaceX Starlink and Amazon are yet to emerge fully.

Fixing the problem

Government officials and private industry must come together to save children’s future. In many states, top officials are getting involved at the ground level.

The CARES Act, though fixing the problem, isn’t a long-term solution. As Mitchell, Director of Community Broadband Networks tell, “these communities though are finding quick fixes for the problem, they aren’t planning for next year.”

The public and private sectors must go beyond subsidies. Government needs to enter deals with private players to align what’s right for the public and children, and also the US’s strong free-market ethos.

If not corrected now, children will face the brunt of the pandemic for long after it will be gone. Education management and leaders – from K12 to higher education – must get into the problem and act fast.

Things Private Equity Firms Look For Before Acquisition

Private Equity Firms Look For Before Acquisition

The private equity investors always look for various aspects in growth-oriented businesses. The main reason for this is that they can attract great offers and for deal-making changes. When an organization or the market one works in is growing, then through private equity fund, the investors will help recapitalize the organization by making a transformation so that the management team buys it.

What investment strategies PE firms use

Every private equity firm has its investment strategy depending on its research for the industry and the economy. The firms also have their own kind of investment styles too. Few firms prefer buying the other companies, which are undervalued, whereas few like to target those that are inefficiently running.

The private equity firms mainly use leveraged buyout, or LBO to get the returns as well as to limit the amount of money that they require to invest while buying an organization. The firms take a loan from banks to buy an organization, and then use the organization’s profits to pay the debt over time. This strategy gives the firms to generate better returns as well as to limit the amount of money they have at risk.

What PE firms look for in organizations

Before choosing the acquisition targets the PE firms look for the following aspects:

· Focus on management

The private equity investors look for a company that follows a clear path to deliver results. They invest highly in the management of the target organization. They want to target the organization’s management to seamlessly execute in the following areas:

  • To decrease costs and make efficiency within the organization’s existing structure.
  • To transform the organization’s business model to reflect how the consumers and businesses want to purchase and use technology in the present world
  • To grow through effective sales motions, such as new joint ventures, alliances, and new customers.

The private equity investors look for a strong management team that possesses the ability to well-facilitate change, and who work closely with an aim on transparent communication. As the PE firms won’t be involved in the day-to-day activities for running the organization, the management will be. People who are looking for private equity jobs must have an understanding of these aspects so that they can help the PE firms.  

· Fewer capital requirements

If an organization is in need of a private equity fund continuously, it is very tough for PE firms to make money. That’s the reason they usually buy organizations that are in need of less capital investment. They invest in organizations that are self-sustainable after few investments.

· Research and development

The research and development play a crucial role in getting a clear path to success. The private equity firms look for how the target organization research and development competes and compares with other organizations in the current market. The target organization should spend ample time on research and development so that they can generate extra revenue. The organization needs to be well-positioned to grow within its sector.

  • Regular and reliable cash flows

The PE firms mostly prefer to invest in mature businesses where they can expect a steady cash flow stream because they are needed to pay interest payments. If they miss the debt payment which they have taken from banks, then the bank will take over the organization. This results in PE firms losing their ownership in the organization.

· Realistic business plan

The PE firms expect a realistic business plan because they are not interested to invest in an organization that has meager growth with a poor business plan. Only through a realistic and ambitious business plan they can expect the organization will perform well in terms of sales and profit growth.

The Importance of Digital Dexterity In An Organization

Digital Dexterity In An Organization

Over the last few months, we have witnessed organizations across the globe going completely digital due to the pandemic. As a result, many businesses are undergoing digital transformation while the organizational leaders and CHRO’s are focusing on recreating their sales, marketing, and employee retention strategies from scratch. However, it is the people of the organization that connects a business with technology on ground levels. 

Digital dexterity is an important element for organizations that utilize modern technology for employees. Some organizations can quickly analyze industry trends and as a result, start experimenting with different technologies while others might take months to adapt and infer the disruptive forces that lead to major business losses. Therefore, it is digital dexterity that can help an organization win or lose and make all the difference in making its way through unprecedented times.

What is digital dexterity?

Digital dexterity can be defined as the capability of the workforce to adapt to business shifts and environmental changes by using the latest technology to achieve specific business targets and outcomes. By encouraging employees to embrace digital transformation, businesses can gain positive outcomes on an individual and organizational basis. Individuals who possess superior dexterity skills are always ready to experiment with new digital tools, advanced technology, and different initiatives.

The advent of digital dexterity has led companies to work and coordinate with changing industry requirements, customer expectations and demands, business strategies, talent processing, and adjusting workflows. Thus, it can easily modify and transform both cultural and hierarchical systems collaboratively and effectively.

The importance and benefits of digital dexterity

Over the last few years, there has been a  growth in digital dexterity that indicates advanced technology will soon be common in most modern workplaces. Employees are now working on digital platforms that also increases the need for learning about different tools. To provide an improved customer experience, a business strategy integrated with digital skills can work best while optimizing operation and procedures.

Advantages:

  • Digital dexterity is no less than a boon during the time of pandemics as it helps in ensuring that employees can complete their targets within the safety and comfort of their home by utilizing digital tools in modern technology.
  • It allows employees to work with better digital opportunities that improve efficiency in their task management and working habits.
  • With the help of digital dexterity, team members can work at their own pace and perform better on projects with shifting targets while utilizing digital tools.

Steps to ensure digital dexterity as an employer

Adding digital dexterity to your business strategy and organizational agenda can be easy when you break it down into easily consumable tasks:

  • Digital experts can easily assess the ongoing technology trends and predict the future ones. Begin with identifying the tools that can help your organization grow and further create a plan on how they would influence the business practices and outcomes of your organization. Moving forward, analyze how employees can be made prepared for digitalization and required reskilling.
  • The onset of a digital transformation may become overwhelming for employees due to increased IT upgrades and technological modifications. Panel discussions and internal meetings can help business leaders to understand what is working for their employees and what is not.  Internal forums, retailers, and welcome videos can explain the use of a particular software efficiently.

Why Innovation Is Important For Businesses To Succee

Why Innovation Is Important For Businesses To Succeed

There are multiple reasons why many businesses grow and succeed in today’s volatile corporate environment. While some organizations are known for their products, others are popular for their captivating marketing campaigns and decisive brand image. But what makes such organizations stand out as the global leaders within their industries is innovation.

Talk about Amazon – a true example of how an innovative leader looks like. To break in the status quo, Amazon revamped the root business processes by embracing innovation. The all-time global leaders like Apple and Microsoft also owe their massive success to continued reinvention and modifications. Therefore, an organization that does not have a business strategy focusing on instilling innovation can not maintain a competitive edge.

The Importance of Innovation For Businesses

In the business world, an organization can pursue different types of innovation. Out of these, some are often connected directly to a product’s internal processes or workflows, or business models. Some organizations even incorporate all three to grow while adapting to the ever-changing marketplace. Again we will get back to the example of Apple – a global leader and an organization that truly embraces innovation at multiple fronts in its lifetime. What shaped Apple’s entire business ideology was its effective leadership in strategic management that resulted in a move of partnering with Microsoft and saving itself from the brink of bankruptcy. Further, the introduction of iMac was the turning point that proved to be the primary reason for Apple’s success.

For businesses to achieve success in today’s uncertain business environment the only universal approach that fits in is: Adapt or Die. Adaption is the reason why businesses have been urged to infuse technological refinements and expand more than ever before. However, the rising demand for growth and innovation is also providing a huge set of opportunities for businesses.

How Does Innovation Helps An Organization Grow?

A business cannot expect to survive in today’s harsh and highly competitive business world unless it does not embrace innovation and change. So, if an organization wants to grow to become more successful and profitable, leadership in strategic management can guide its way to achieving that goal.

Organizations can choose to go along their current path while revamping and innovating their existing products and business models. They can also choose to grow the business by merging or partnering with others. Another way is to reconstruct the products or business models from scratch that can lead to instantaneous growth and enable your quick scaling for your business.

79% of executives say that innovation makes it to their top three business initiatives.

-A survey by The Boston Consulting Group

Innovation helps an organization stand out

Broadly speaking, innovation is all about distinctly doing something from others operating in your space. If your organization is embracing innovation within its products and processes, you are more likely to save your time, money, and other resources while gaining a competitive edge over other organizations stuck in their systems. When an organization takes the time to try something new because sticking the old policies are no longer working is likely to stand out in an oversaturated market.

Though adding value to the customers should always be the central priority of an organization, doing the same in a way that is inventive and unique from others can become a standout factor for your brand image.

Wrapping up

The business environment is constantly changing and for your business to remain relevant and profitable, it will eventually need to adapt to meet the new realities.

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