Creating a Path to Become a Doctor

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StrategyDriven Professional Development Article |Becoming a doctor| Creating a Path to Become a DoctorBecoming a doctor is a dream for many people when they’re children. But as they get older, many people can start to look at the reality of being a doctor and consider other paths instead. However, if you’re still interested in becoming a doctor, you might have what it takes to make it. Qualifying and getting your license is something that takes many years, but putting in the effort and dedication pays off in the end. There are many ways you can really make a difference as a doctor and lots of career paths for you to choose. If you want to be a doctor, you should think about how to create a plan or path that you can follow.

Decide If Being a Doctor Is Right For You

Firstly, you need to make sure that being a doctor is the right choice for you. Even if you decide that it is now, there’s still a chance you might change your mind later. Being a doctor is a hugely demanding job, and qualifying certainly isn’t easy either. You need to be able to recognize what it takes to be a doctor, including not just the academic ability but also the communication skills, the confidence and the ability to work under pressure. Doing plenty of research can help you to work out if being a doctor is right for you. You can try talking to doctors, reading or even watching documentaries.

Get a Bachelor’s Degree (If You Haven’t Already)

In the US, you usually need to have a bachelor’s degree before you can go to medical school. You may already have one, in which case you perhaps won’t need to think about this step. While there isn’t necessarily a particular degree that you have to have, some people choose pre-med or another related major, which can help you when applying to medical school. You should also consider any science requirements that you need to complete during your undergraduate degree. You will often need a year’s experience in chemistry, biology and physics.

Volunteer or Get Work Experience in Health-related Fields

While considering your path through school, it can also be helpful to get some experience under your belt. This is something you might want to consider doing while doing your undergraduate degree. Once you start medical school, it could be a struggle to find time to do anything else. You could seek out volunteering experiences, which might be at home or abroad. You can also see if you can find any work experience opportunities, which you might find through your college. Relevant experience can help with your applications to medical school and show that you’re serious about your goals.

Look at Medical Schools

When it’s time to look at medical schools, there are various options to consider. A few won’t require a bachelor’s degree, but the vast majority do. You’ll need to take the MCAT exam and get familiar with how to apply to medical school. When you’re considering where to go, it’s worth looking at schools in the Caribbean. Applying for medical school in the Caribbean can mean you can get your degree there, then complete your residency in the US or Canada. You might be able to save money, perhaps increase your chances of acceptance, and spend your time studying somewhere beautiful.

Consider Specialist Paths

There are many different specialisms that you can consider if you want to be a doctor. It’s not necessarily something you will decide before you’ve applied for medical school, but it is worth considering. It could help you during your applications or while you’re looking for work experience. It can even be useful if you’re deciding whether being a doctor is really the right choice for you. It might help you picture what being a doctor would really look like, from the environment you will be working in to what sort of people you might work with.

Have a Plan for Medical School

If you do get into medical school, there’s no getting around the fact that it will be tough. It’s a lot of work, and it only gets more difficult as you get closer to really becoming a doctor. Having a plan for how you’re going to approach it and how you’re going to perform well while at school can help you to start off on the right foot.

It takes time and effort to become a doctor, as well as talent, knowledge and skill. If it’s what you want to do, it’s useful to envision what your next few years might look like. If you want to explore other paths of becoming a Doctor, read this great article from online-phd-degrees.com

How the Rapid Growth of Ecommerce Is Driving Changes in Logistics and Transportation Management

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StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Article |Ecommerce|How the Rapid Growth of Ecommerce Is Driving Changes in Logistics and Transportation ManagementThe e-commerce industry is fulfilling one of the biggest needs of today’s shoppers: instant gratification. This means that American shoppers are drifting away from traditional brick-and-mortar stores and towards the so-called “Amazon effect”. This is causing the industry to grow by leaps and bounds.

Smart devices and wireless connections are now nearly everywhere and have already contributed immensely to the growth of the e-commerce industry. But, the desire for instant gratification is also forcing logistics and transportation businesses to provide delivery options that are faster, more cost-effective, and convenient as well as offer increased flexibility to the customer.

With the customers demanding faster deliveries, field service businesses are now looking to develop a more time-definite supply chain. They are in a race to conquer the “last-mile” and are seeking the most effective ways to deliver packages of all sizes directly to customers’ homes.

From the size of shipments to the distribution networks and even the way warehouses may need to be built, e-commerce is impacting more than we realize. It is changing the entire logistics industry and the world we live in.

How is Ecommerce Transforming Logistics and Transportation Management?

To maintain customer loyalty and stand out from the crowd, most e-commerce companies are continually trying to offer cheaper and faster shipping or easier returns. This means that logistics companies need to rethink their fulfillment processes.

Transportation Needs Are More Complex

The fulfillment process is well-trodden territory for brick-and-mortar retailers: packages come directly to the stores at predictable intervals. However, for e-commerce businesses, shipping parcels to different locations safely and punctually requires complex planning. Expensive and complex processes, such as reverse logistics and last-mile delivery, mean that logistics businesses are continually adapting their processes to meet customer expectations and stay competitive.

The latest trend in last mile delivery management focuses on the localization of distribution, where the goal is to leverage the existing infrastructure and optimize it through technology. Cloud-based optimization may also help transportation companies handle the fluctuations in demand through better scheduling and planning.

Inventory Planning Has Become Crucial

Online shoppers are becoming increasingly demanding. A recent study found that almost 80% of customers want same-day shipping, while nearly 61% expect their packages to arrive within 1 to 3 hours of placing an order. Many logistics companies are struggling to deliver on this expectation. So, rethinking inventory placement is key to gaining a competitive edge over rivals.

Distribution Centers Are Closer to Customers

With the omnichannel approach to e-commerce gaining ground, there is a major need for distribution centers to be located near urban markets. The proximity to urban areas allows parcels to get delivered faster, which is a key differentiator. Companies with a planned network of strategically placed distribution centers will be better able to handle the scalability issues that the hugely growing e-commerce market is likely to impose on them.

Operation Costs Have to Be Reduced

With customers expecting free shipping and membership schemes that guarantee same day delivery, transportation costs have increased. Route planning tools can help plan and share accurate routes with the drivers to deliver the parcels on time, while ensuring the lowest cost of transportation. In fact, according to a McKinsey report, algorithmic route optimization results in an almost 16% increase in a company’s profit, without compromising on quality.

Conclusion

The rapid growth of the e-commerce industry will demand an equally strong response from the transportation and logistics businesses. To keep up with the increasing demands from e-commerce companies and to meet the expectations of customers, logistics companies will need to invest in warehouses and distribution centers.

Businesses that fail to keep up with the logistics trends will risk losing a competitive edge and falling out of favor with customers. The successful logistics businesses will be those that can quickly find innovative solutions to new problems and are ready to find solutions to more problems the day after that.

Evaluation and Control Program Warning Flag 1 – The Illusion of Accuracy

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Evaluation and Control Program Warning Flag 1 - The Illusion of Accuracy | StrategyDriven Evaluation and Control Article | Warning Flag“Measure with a micrometer, mark with a crayon, and cut with a chainsaw”
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Evaluation and control programs provide executives and managers with the critical information they need to make effective business decisions. However, an equally critical component of the decision-making process is the understanding that no data-set is a perfect reflection of reality. Therefore, it is important for business leaders to recognize the potential inaccuracies associated with their data in order to fully assess the risks these flaws pose to the achievement of desired outcomes.

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Scaling A Small Business Tips

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Entrepreneurship | Scaling A Small Business Tips | Scaling Business

It’s no easy feat scaling a business, it is pretty difficult and takes considerable effort. At the beginning of a business, the owners will practically do every job that needs to be done. Things that involve a wide spectrum of skills and knowledge from different business departments, such as dealing with sales and marketing. It also means understanding taxes and corporate compliance including employment regulations and laws. And finally, usually, for small businesses, It will involve having to interact with customers on a daily basis.

Spending all your time fulfilling these roles can make you think that your business is far from any growth or expansion and in doing so would damage its foundations. Sometimes this is not true. There is a light at the end of the tunnel for those who struggle to grow their business. Scaling a business is a strategic program framework and requires an element of planning with compiling the business assets into one fluent engine in motion.

Like anything else in life, including business, you will have to put in the time if you’re looking to reap the benefits of success. Don’t focus on the short-term outcome of your work but look to the long term and build sincere value to your customers.

Here are some ways a small business can prepare for growth and scaling up.

Build A Good Sales Funnel

One of the first ways to quickly grow a business is by building a sales funnel. If a business does not have one, they’re making a monumental mistake. Sales funnels can help to somewhat automate your business functionality making it more established.

Upgrade Your Technology

Scaling a business will require some essence of updating the current system in place that takes care of the business needs. Whether it is a fleet of smartphones or vans, sometimes the investment will need to be made to keep clients and customers satisfied with your products or services. If your business requires minimal IT but still requires digitalizing documents or even hosting a web site, check out Hudson Valley IT Services company, who will take care of your site needs.

Customer Management System

Now manually tracking transactions is hard and can take up a lot of space when storing them in cabinets. No one wants to do that. Paperwork can get burdensome as the business grows but if you want to scale quickly, use a customer management system. You can find plenty to choose from online and make sure you choose the right one that depends on your line of work.

Email Lists

Back in the day, it was a little book with all the client information but now one of the best and most effective ways to grow a business quickly is to build an email list. The more people you can send offers and deals to the more potential sales you will have.

Scaling up takes time and strategic measure need to be in place to be able to counter-act any problems that may occur. Have you scaled your business recently? Share your tips on what you found helped you in the comments below.

Here’s a Budget to Use if You Hate Tracking Expenses

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Budget Strategy|Here's a Budget to Use if You Hate Tracking ExpensesIf you’re looking for a budget strategy that suits your own personal approach to finance management, then you’ve probably considered plenty of options. After all, there are a handful of different methods out there, from the envelope budget, to the strategy that involves placing everything you can onto an automated payment process.

Probably the easiest option of all for people who hate tracking expenses is the 50/30/20 budget. This is a budgeting plan that recommends that you should be spending 50% of your income on the things you need (mortgage and food for instance), and 30% on the discretionary items that you want. The remaining 20% goes into your savings and helps you to tackle your debt.

So, how does this budget work, and is there a better option?

The Rules of the 50/30/20 Budget

The 50/30/20 budget is designed to help you manage and understand your money a little better. It requires you to look at your incoming and outgoing expenses and decide where you need to assign your cash to wants and needs. To use the 50/30/30 budget effectively, you need to understand the difference between necessary items like paying off your loans, and unnecessary or “discretionary” items like Netflix subscriptions.

Some people have a lot of trouble figuring out the difference between what they want and what they need. For instance, you know you need food, but you only want a specific brand and extra treats from the bakery aisle. Additionally, it’s worth noting that not everyone can handle the process of constantly classifying their needs and wants or tracking their spending.

If you’re not the kind of person who likes to watch every penny, then you’re going to struggle adhere to the 50/30/20 budget – that presents a bit of a problem.

The 80/20 Budget Alternative Approach

If you hate tracking your spending, you’re still going to need to make some changes to your expense strategy. For instance, you can’t just choose the first personal loan option you see because you can’t be bothered to compare your options for a better deal. Ultimately, good money management requires an active approach to spending. However, you don’t necessarily need to spend every day watching the pennies either.

The 80/20 budget asks you to place 20% of your money towards your savings, while the other 80% goes on everything else – that includes both your wants and your needs. The beauty if this strategy is that you don’t need to track your spending as often. You can simply take 20% of your income away from your monthly money and place it into a separate savings account. Then, you know the rest of your cash is left to spend on your must-have and discretionary items.

Of course, it’s still a good idea to track your spending from time to time if you want to look for ways that you can cut down on your regular monthly costs. However, the 80/20 budget will give you more room to spend money freely.

How to Use the 80/20 Budget

With the 80/20 budget, the best thing you can do is set up an automatic deposit that moves money from your standard current account into your savings account as soon as it comes to you each month. That way, you won’t accidentally spend it. Once your cash has been distributed into the savings account, your checking account money is yours to spend; however you need to use it.

Ideally, you’ll want to check on your spending strategy once every couple of months to see whether there are any trigger areas where you might need to cut back on your spending. This is particularly useful if you find that you don’t have enough cash left over after bills to spend on the things that you want, or if you want to put 25% of your income in savings instead of 20%.

You’ll also need to make sure that the money you’re going to spend on your bills goes out of your account before you start using money for discretionary spending. The last thing you want is to assume that you’ve got around $500 when you actually have $200 waiting to be taken out for your insurance bills.

Once you see how much money you have left after you’ve subtracted your savings, subtract the cost of your bills too, and whatever is left should be yours to spend. This budget requires some care and attention, but it requires a lot less work than the average 50/30/20 budget.