| Name | Email | From | Lives In | 1 | Ahmed Mahmoud Turki Al Darabseh | ahmadturki88@live.com | Jordan | UAE | 2 | Andrew Thompson | at4933@ship.edu | USA | USA | 3 | Xandrea Lancaster | Xandrea.Lancaster11@stjohns.edu | USA | USA | 4 | Fabiana Florenço Gil | fabianaffgil@gmail.com | Brazil | Brazil | 5 | Nurfatin Binti Walid | nurfatin_walid@yahoo.com | Malaysia | Malaysia |
The Mobius Social Learning Platform (Mobius SLIP)
Professor Djamel Eddine Laouisset
Faculty of Business
2014-2015
Contents Abstract: 2 Background 3 Products/Services 3 Economic Environmental Factors 4 Geography and Demographics 5 Cultural Environment Factors 6 Political and legal Environment 6 INDIA 7 LATIN AMERICA 8 ENTRY MODE AND STAFFING 9 PRODUCT AND PRICING 13 DISTRIBUTION AND PROMOTION 13 Works Cited 15
Abstract:
Mobius SLIP is a web-based tool that allows student s to submit writing samples and receive anonymous critiques from other students in the class. In short, students submit an essay, and the Mobius SLIP system randomly assigns each student to an anonymous peer group. Students then rank the quality of each submission and provide actionable feedback. Students also rank the quality of the feedback for each assignment. Mobius SLIP produces performance analytics and recommends a grade based on these rankings, and instructors provide feedback (if desired). This session will demonstrate the system and present evidence of learning from three business classes.
The Mobius Social Learning Platform (Mobius SLIP), is a Learning Management System (LMS) released in June of 2012 under Complex Task Assessment Solutions and Information Technology (CTASIT) LLC, now assumed to do business with the name Social Learning Solutions, started in Greensboro, North Carolina at the University of North Carolina. Social Learning Solutions develops and markets social and peer-to-peer learning information systems, according to the company website. The company strives to uphold the mission, “advancing students’ creativity and critical thinking, empowering faculty, and making assessment more meaningful.”
Background
Currently, Social Learning Solutions offices are located in North Carolina and Chicago, Illinois while operating in both the United States and Canada. All developmental operations occur in Vancouver and British Columbia Canada.
Products/Services
As of late, Social Learning Solutions provides three key products: Mobius SLIP, Mobius SLIDE and Mobius SLIM.
Mobius SLIP is the main product, categorized as a Learning Management System, which provides online courses for students, preferably college students, and allows them to work on challenging assignments while interacting and evaluating the work of their peers from across the world. This product can be introduced in virtually any new market that has access to the internet. It would be best to target colleges and other learning institutions for future plans of entering new markets.
Mobius Social Learning Interactive Discussion and Evaluation (Mobius SLIDE) is a discussion board application that can be incorporated in online and face to face courses generating learning analytics around student discussions and mutual evaluations.
Mobius Social Learning Idea Market (Mobius SLIM) is a web based environment that allow instructors to create, post, share, license, monetize, borrow, evaluate, contribute to complex assignments, cases and generates analytics on the quality and popularity of instructional materials.
Competitors
Competitors include Edutor and Learnpedia Edutech Solution. Edutor is similar to Mobius SLIP in that it is a Learning Management System that provides coursework for students. However, it seems as though Edutor has a broader age range for which the product is designed, which is K-12 and higher. Also, they provide the students with a personal tablet device on which the Edutor software is installed. Pricing for Mobius SLIP is stated to be around $25 per course. In terms of Edutor, the company provides tablets as well as the course software, one can assume that the price of Edutor’s service will be significantly higher, although not stated on the company website.
MARKET SUCCESS FACTORS
Economic Environmental Factors
Learning Management Systems (LMSs) or Educational Learning Management Systems are a stimulus for students and instructors. LMS can be a useful tool in improving development by increasing efficiency, and building critical thinking and logic. LMSs provide interactive content for students, enabling them to receive material that is commensurate with their capabilities. This is done using visuals or audio, and provides an opportunity for students to communicate through communication channels, which stimulate and allow them to follow-up and evaluate other student’s performances.
In 2014, Educause, a nonprofit association geared to advancing higher education through information technology, conducted a study that included more than 17,000 faculty from 151 institutions, and more than 75,000 students from 213 institutions who responded to an Educause core data service survey. Key factors derived from the survey included the following information: the average age of an LMS user is eight years old, mobile friendly LMSs are important, and a better understanding of the product will increase effectiveness. Overall, it was found that 99% of institutions use LMSs, and 15% of US institutions plan to replace it within three years.
It can be concluded that the U.S market is open to new LMS technology. From the study, 15% of U.S institutions want new LMSs such as Mobius SLIP to replace older LMSs. It is also no surprise that 99% of institutions use LMSs, adding to the ease of doing business, in an ever-changing technologically driven society.
In a new market, it is best if it shares similar characteristics to the U.S market. These characteristics include technology friendly institutions, access to the Internet and readiness to try new educational LMSs. Typically, Mobius SLIP charges students a fee of $20 per course per semester, payable by a credit/debit or prepaid code card, at the time of enrolling in a course. Income level can range from lower middle class to upper class because of affordability of the product. In addition, students who use Mobius SLIP in multiple courses in the same semester receive discount coupons to reduce cost.
Geography and Demographics
Mobius Slip software is user friendly and easily accessible software that allows for international expansion to countries with Internet access. Moreover, age distribution and educational level are important because only someone who is capable of understanding its properties can use the core product. It is important to mention that if one person knows how to manage the software, he or she can teach another, in order to then heighten education in a community. For Mobius SLIP, education level is aimed towards college/university students with age distribution on average ranging from seventeen to thirty.
Desirable regions or locations suitable for Mobius SLIP are most countries with a moderate to strong technological background. Students, educators, and researchers should have a certain competency level in order to effectively use the product and share information. In Europe, specifically, we can see in a recent 2015 Micro Market Monitor report that current projections of Tremendous European LMSs growth with expectations to grow from $486.4 million in 2014 to $665.8 million in 2019. The current market is led by the need to improve student’s collaborative learning environment.
Cultural Environment Factors
Expansion of Mobius Slip to international countries can lead to great success if customer preferences agree with the product. According to the International Journal of Computer Theory and Engineering (2012), The role of culture in E-Learning is a critical primary variable that influences the effectiveness of E-Learning. Students’ acceptance of the product is in fact a key element to success of technology-based education and dramatically depends on culture. As stated previously, it is best to expand the product to a country or market that is both technology driven and demonstrates moderate to a high level of computer self-efficacy.
In English speaking countries, LMSs seem to dominate and experience higher success rates. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, notable LMSs are WebCT, Blackboard and TopClass. In claims by The Observatory on Borderless Higher, 2002, Australia has a high number of Blackboard and WebCT users with 76% of the country’s thirty four institutions participating in the use of LMSs.
Political and legal Environment
The Political and legal environment refers to a set of rules and regulations needed in order for citizens and foreign investors to conduct business. Under legal environments civil law, religious law, environmental factors, political stability, employment laws, taxes, corruption, foreign direct investment and government policy trade should be taken into consideration. It is important to examine the political and legal environmental factors for any country we want to do any expand the product, Mobius SLIP.
With the innovative use of Mobius SLIP, Students are given the opportunity to advance their creativity. They develop their critical thinking through examination of peers solutions and receiving constructive feedback to their own work. Mobius SLIP teaches students to provide candid assessment and actionable feedback in a self-regulating environment. In addition,the simple three-step workflow, over a series of assignments, ensures an effective set of stimuli for students to exert their best effort in both creating solutions and evaluating solutions of others reinforcing desired behavioral patterns through social norming. Double-loop social learning encourages students to learn from others, to set personal goals, to internalize their experience and to expand their competency.
For government, the incorporation of Mobius SLIP in colleges and universities, there can be an increase in cost effectiveness of education and training systems. The LMS could possibly support and enhance the quality and relevance of existing educational structures as well as encourage innovation and opportunities.
SELECTING NEW MARKETS
INDIA
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has altered the practices of business, governance and education in India. India has a massive 1.2 billion population (Census, 2011) with a higher proportion of young people. The demand for education in developing countries such as India has dramatically increased because of the high regard for social, economic and political mobility (Amutabi & Oketch, 2003).
The role of ICT can be used as a tool to overcome the issues of cost, less number of teachers, and poor quality of education (McGorry, 2002). While the world is moving rapidly towards digital media, the role of ICT in education has become increasingly important. It has transformed the way knowledge is communicated by how teachers interact with students. In addition, it can provide networking structures and promote empowerment amongst students.
India has one of the largest existing higher educational systems with over 651 universities and 31,324 colleges of higher learning in the country according to the Higher Education in the 12th Five-Year Plan Report (2012-2017). In addition, the number of students enrolled in universities and colleges has increased to 13,642 million in 2009-2010 (MHRD, Annual Report, 2009-2010). The strong government initiatives pushing student enrolments in higher education and distance learning will keep pushing market expansion at an increasing rate.
Competitors to Mobius SLIP in the Indian market for LMSs include Zeus Learning and CommLab India. According to their official LinkedIn page, CommLab India, “is a leading learning solutions company with expertise in design and development of eLearning courses.” Created in 2000, CommLab India has more than 100 customers in more than 32 countries. On the other hand, there is Zeus Learning. Zeus Learning, as described on their company website, “is an eLearning company based in Mumbai, India, established in 2001.” They are said to provide end-to-end eLearning solutions and specialize in innovative use of technology. Also stated on the company website are awards that Zeus has been given for its proficiency in e-Learning. The excerpt from the site states, “The Discovery Education Science for Elementary website was awarded a BESSIE in the Best Science Website for Upper Elementary category in 2008. Zeus Learning designed and built the Interactive Glossary and Explorations, which are a core part of the interactivities on the website.” Zeus boasts about its proven delivery capabilities and great problem solving. As far as cost, Zeus operates on a, “Fixed Cost Basis as well on a man-month rate basis.”
LATIN AMERICA
In 2011 Latin America experienced e-learning revenues at $1.16 billion and is expected to grow at an annual growth rate of 14.6% according to the recent E-Learning Market Trends & Forecasts 2014 - 2016 report. In fact, Latin America is a largely consuming region, importing majority of all E-Learning products and technology from outside sources.
Specifically, Brazil is projected to grow at a rate 21.5%, followed by Colombia at 18.6%, Bolivia at 17.8% and Chile at 14.4%. However, although Colombia, Bolivia, and Chile are expected to grow at great rates, schools are the major buyers in Brazil which provide a possible market for Mobius SLIP.
English language e-learning is in high demand in Brazilian schools. According to Ambient Insight , American based LMS Open English serves the Latin American market and reports it has 70,000 customers enrolled in its online English teaching learning programs. Since its launch it has had over 100,000 students enroll in its system.
Comparing the two markets, both are promising markets for Mobius SLIP, however, India seems to be a better suited market for Mobius SLIP. At the rate at which e-learning is growing in India, the high population of young adults and one of the largest existing higher educational systems with over 651 universities and 31,324 colleges of higher learning; India would be the market to start with. The increase of students enrolled in universities and colleges recorded at 13,642 million in 2009-2010 is a large number of prospective consumers for the Mobius SLIP product.
ENTRY MODE AND STAFFING
In the assessment mechanism of social learning, firms make a general assessment of the feasibility of locating in a particular area based on existing economic activity. Imitation in this mechanism is Frequency based (Haunschild and Miner, 1997).
When considered jointly, the various theoretical approaches to clustering in location choice share an important feature. They all conceive of locating as a process that is – at least in part - driven by social information provided by the examples that others set. Firms appear to take careful notice of the actions and examples of the wider relevant economic community when deciding on locations. Thus, decision making on location bears features of a social learning or social modeling process, where focal firms learn from the economic location behavior of others (Cyert and March, 1963).
If Mobius SLIP offers chances of franchise it will be a great responsibility when putting technologies, tools, and the brand in the hands of the entrepreneurs. This risk, however, can bring great rewards. When processing a new franchise owner with an efficient system, it will successfully replicate the original the business model. Mobius SLIP will have to provide the necessary franchise needs in order for the product to sell. This requires organization database, training opportunities, and franchise services. Franchising is a great way to obtain expansion capital. In a franchise, it is possible to minimize risk, by not having to invest much money into adding each location.
First, it is important to say that to do all the strategies, companies need people to develop everything and practice it.
To start franchising it is necessary to rent someplace to do operations and deal with clients. The right place to rent an office is near to big universities because of the target - students and professors, we will need to hire people to manage fixed and variable costs.
Moreover, to hire people to work in a franchise we have to consider the organizational culture of Mobius Slip. Google, for example, has a relevant culture, because people that work there can play games and take a shower at the company, but also they have to achieve challenge goals.
After choosing the right place to use as an office, a franchise of Mobius Slip will need an expert from the head office, this person need to have leadership characteristics and excited to face challenges. Also, needed is someone who knows how to fix major software malfunctions, in other words, have an expert of the product/s. This person will be the director of the Mobius Slip franchise.
Mobius Slip has some advantages for franchise rather than starting an independent business. Some of these advantages summarized in;
- All the costs of setting up and staff training and the launch of Mobius Slip will be covered through franchising rather than the parent organization.
- Better Market Penetration
- Accelerates expansion overseas
- Franchisee operators are motivated to succeed
The team will be composed by managers of Marketing, Finance, Projects, Innovation, Sales and Human Resources. Each manager will have a team to help them and it depends of the functions. Interns, majoring in technology and business, should also be included as prospective employees for the company and the Mobius SLIP product. Interns from the target markets could possibly offer perspective, skills and be student ambassadors on their college campuses.
Because Mobius Slip specializes in educational software, employees can be from various countries; in Latin America it is essential to form a team of people who can fit the company culture. Moreover, the human resources team needs to have support from the head company for training and meetings with the CEO of the company.
Although partnerships can leverage each parties resources, it can be a risky decision. Three common partnerships include general partnership, limited partnership and limited liability partnership. In a general partnership, both parties share equal rights and responsibilities of the business. Limited partnerships allow one general manager and the partner/s to restrict personal liability to specific business investment. Limited liability partnerships involve all partners with limited liabilities.
In the case of Mobius SLIP, It is not recommended to enter into a partnership at this time, until Mobius SLIP has proven to be profitable in new markets or needs resources from another company with a proven track record. Partnerships can become a risky expense and hinder company growth if management practices conflict.
However, it is recommended that if a partnership were to be formed, a limited liability partnership would work best, assuming the partnership is within the same industry. Limited liability partnerships would allow for flexible management of each partner's own business and preserve the company brand.
A polycentric staffing policy requires host country in India to be recruited to manage subsidiaries, while parent country, Mobius SLIP to occupy key positions at corporate headquarters. The advantages of the polycentric approach alleviates cultural myopia, and it is inexpensive to implement. We decide to hired worker from host country India because easy to understand their business culture. Besides,cheap labor cost in India will be more cost efficient.
Therefore, will select the worker through the recruitment to find the best worker to fulfill job description and specification to be more efficient and smooth the process. As we know India is one of country which good in IT (information technology) so we will find and hired those who are highly skillful in IT. We plan to hire around 3 people with expertise in IT, which is enough to help us to manage the system aboard.
According to Industryweek.com, the ideal ratio of IT employees to end users, for a medium sized company (250-499 employees), is 64:1. The official Mobius SLIP website does not specify the approximate number of employees that it currently has, therefore we expect that they are in the realm of a medium sized company.
As far as geographic factors that are involved in this market expansion analysis, choosing India as a target market is justified by its extraordinary portfolio in the field of IT. As stated on info.shine.com, reasons for industry growth include, "Rapid industrialization and growth of IT parks in the country, partial privatization of telecommunication, development of SEZ; which also help IT companies get tax benefits, a large number of resource readily available in the country, low operating costs, tax breaks and sops offered by the government". These factors support the previously stated argument for hiring staff from the target market's country.
Payscale.com explains that the median annual salary for IT professionals is around $45,211. The site also states that employees usually move onto another position after about 20 years. With that being said, this piece of information gives assurance that the company will be able to retain employees for a significant amount of time.
PRODUCT AND PRICING
As stated previously, competitors to Mobius SLIP in the Indian market for LMSs include Zeus Learning and CommLab India. Both companies boast long lists of clientele and pride themselves in providing efficient eLearning service to educational and business related customers. The actual price that is charged by each of these companies is not specifically stated. For Zeus Learning, the official company website describes the cost as, “a fixed price or a man-month rate to execute the project” that is based on the estimated effort required to complete the project in question.
The product should be presented to the consumers by the principal social medias, for example Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, just because it is a software and one physical place to sell it is not necessary.
The design must be clearly and with the message saying clearly what the product is, how it works and the for who is designated. Is important to say that due the fact the product is one software the design is relevant only if the vision is to make one design that is useful for the target audience, the design must be universal, because people from every part of the world with internet access can use the product, so it must not be different in the targets markets.
To ensure product success in the new market, is extremely important to construct an universal brand, in other words, both in Latin America and India, Mobius Slip must establish itself as a brand that want to spread the education to positively impact society and make the world a better place and develop countries that needs a better quality of life.
DISTRIBUTION AND PROMOTION
Distribution for the Mobius SLIP product can be achieved two main ways: a solid social media platform and campus student ambassadors. Mobius SLIP was started by college students, so they should continue the use of talented college students who can build and contribute to the Mobius SLIP brand.
In 2014, a Forbes article titled ‘The Top 7 Social Media Marketing Trends Dominating 2014’, discussed the most promising social media platforms and the need for companies to invest and utilize them. “With 92% of business owners recently indicating that social media is important to their business (up from 86% in 2013), Businesses are continuing to reallocate budgets away from traditional methods of advertising towards social media and other inbound marketing strategies” (DeMers, 2014).
A possible social media platform to promote Mobius SLIP and the company products is Instagram. Currently there are YouTube videos of the product already out to the public but Instagram’s popularity can better attract and reach students. “According to Global Web Index data, while Facebook still remains the clear winner in terms of its user base, among social networking sites Instagram experiences the biggest rise in active user numbers between quarter 2 and quarter 4 of 2013” (DeMers, 2014). Instagram reaches over 300 million people and is considered to be one of the world’s largest mobile ads platforms (Instagram for Business, 2015). In addition, the use of micro-video, which was added as an instagram feature in the recent years, for brands and products can update and simplify information for users. At this point, this is how students can get involved and be creative. Since instagram works well for image-centric brands and products, Mobius SLIP needs to be creative with their use of Instagram.
In a 2013 study conducted by Ernst and Young among various social media-savvy organizations, in India, found that social media was used 41.3% in research, 76.1% to highlight brand development/news, 58.7% for customer service, 43.5% to generate leads and 95.7% to build community/advocates. It was also found that majority of social media accounts are managed by marketing teams who use standalone digital agencies as compared to Public Relations or Ad agencies - 40.9% responding to not being as satisfied with current agencies (Ernst & Young, 2013). This finding predicts an opportunity for organizations to turn to social media as an outlet. Social media budget is also very affordable for most organizations. It is recorded that up to 5% of the marketing budget is used on social media. Finally to conclude the report, overall social media was found to be beneficial for brands - 88.6% agreeing to social media ads successfully achieving their objectives.
Student ambassadors can be a great asset to the marketing director and team along with the assistant marketing intern/s previously discussed. Student ambassadors help to spread brand name and can also be used to test the market before being released to others. Professors could also test the product with their class to predict future success or failure that allow for adjustments. Apple and McGraw - Hill have established student ambassador programs that have proven to work best for both the company and students. Apple describes their program as a job for highly motivated student leaders who are comfortable with planning and frequently presenting, connected with groups and organizations at school and excited to expand their network (Jobs at Apple, 2015). McGraw - Hill claim that students will be involved in event planning, strategic marketing, public speaking and social media. Requirements include for students to be passionate about social media, interacting with peers, able to plan events and able to speak in front of large audiences (McGraw-Hill Connect, 2015).
Works Cited
DeMers, J. (2014, July 7). The Top 7 Social Media Marketing Trends Dominating 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/07/23/the-top-7-social-media-marketing-trends-dominating-2014/
Inspiration – Instagram for Business. (2015). Retrieved April 10, 2015, from https://business.instagram.com/advertising
Ernst & Young. Social Media Marketing: India Trends Study 2013. (2013). Retrieved April 10, 2015, from http://www.ey.com/IN/en/services/advisory/social-media-marketing-india-trends-study-2013
Jobs at Apple. (2015). Retrieved April 10, 2015, from http://www.apple.com/jobs/us/students.html#campus_rep_overview_new
Join the McGraw-Hill Student Ambassador Team | McGraw-Hill Connect. (2015). Retrieved April 10, 2015, from http://connect.customer.mheducation.com/student-ambassador/join/ 