Herzlinger, the first women tenured at the Harvard Business School, hopes that team-based learning will also address the huge attrition rate of online students. According to a study HarvardX and MITX conducted on their 2012-13 online offerings, 95 percent of students dropped out before earning a completion certificate. “When students are on teams, they become much more committed to both each other and the class,” she says.

Drop out rates are high in online learning.  A woman’s intuition is that getting to know your fellow students will help.  Combining eLearning and eHarmony for an MBA

John Cassidy writing in the New York suggests the rhythms of the technology business which differ from other businesses.   Brian Arthur, an economist at the Sante Fe Institute, explained many years ago, the technology industry is different from most other businesses, where incumbents, such as Toyota and Hilton, build up franchises that are difficult to dislodge but which don’t take over the entire market. The tech industry, on the other hand, is defined by successive waves of innovation, and it operates more like a long-running lottery, with the prize for each drawing being a temporary monopoly. Microsoft is Microsoft because, back in the eighties, it won the lottery for the operating-system market. Facebook is Facebook because it won the lottery for the social-networking market.  John Cassidy on Technology’s Future   Refining the discussion is the assessment of Bill Gates’ return to Microsoft.  Bill Gates Returns to Microsoft

Microsoft and Google Both Interested

As Middle Eastern countries go, Saudi Arabia is relatively easy to do business in, if you are a man.  For women, it is far more difficult.  But the country is opening up and has rare opportunities for entrepreneurs.    Saudi Arabia in Brief

The Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative is encouraging small businesses in Saudi Arabia.  Background information is provided in an IFC report.

The WEI gives an overview of the current climate and possible issues. Saudi Arabian Initiative

Did you know that nearly 96 percent of consumers live outside the United States? And two-thirds of the world’s purchasing power is in foreign countries. As the numbers show, the international marketplace is a big one. So if you’re interested in exploring the world of exporting – or have gotten started but could use some guidance – check out these resources to help.

Export Assistance Centers

Did you know that assistance centers across the United States exist to help small business owners and entrepreneurs exclusively with exporting topics?

United States Exporting Assistance Centers (USEACs) are staffed by professionals from the SBA, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Export-Import Bank and other public and private organizations. USEACs can help you understand the global marketplace and get you organized to join in and succeed. Some USEACs also have SBA representatives who are available to help you with your SBA export financing needs.

Export Business Planner

The Export Business Planner is a downloadable tool that you can save and customize as you explore your exporting options.

The Planner starts with an introduction to exporting and helps you determine your export readiness, then walks you through training and counseling information; marketing plan and financial materials; transportation and documentation details and more.

The Planner also provides practical worksheets, templates and forms, in addition to a glossary of industry terms and even more helpful resources.

Export.gov’s FAQ

Export.gov is an ideal export resource. And its frequently asked questions page is great to browse, as they’ve organized responses by categories. From exporting basics to trade agreements and regulations, this is a good place to start if you’re looking to learn more but aren’t quite sure where to start.

USTDA Consultant Database

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) maintains a database of companies and individuals who provide fee-based consulting services to small businesses interested in importing and exporting.

Almost all contracts with USTDA are reserved for small businesses, most of which are opportunities for technical experts qualified in the areas of energy and power; project finance; health; manufacturing; mining & natural resources; telecommunications and information technology; transportation; and water and the environment.

Your business may be small, but there’s a big opportunity in selling your product or service overseas. And this handful of resources can help put you on the path to international success.

Related resources

• 6 Steps to Assess Your Small Business’ Readiness to Export
• 8 Ways the U.S. Government Can Help You Finance Your Small Business Exports            

Empowered by social media, feminists are calling one another out for ideological offenses. Is it good for the movement? And whose movement is it?  In the summer of 2012, twenty-one feminist bloggers and online activists gathered at Barnard College for a meeting that would soon become infamous. Convened by activists Courtney Martin and Vanessa Valenti, the women came together to talk about ways to leverage institutional and philanthropic support for online feminism. Afterward, Martin and Valenti used the discussion as the basis for a report, “#Femfuture: Online Revolution,” which called on funders to support the largely unpaid work that feminists do on the Internet. “An unfunded online feminist movement isn’t merely a threat to the livelihood of these hard-working activists, but a threat to the larger feminist movement itself,” they wrote.   Feminism’s Toxic Twitter Wars

Sarah Mavrinac, aidha, Singapore/United Arab Emirates.

Aidha provides financial education and entrepreneurship training to the world’s hopeful poor, serving migrant workers, especially women who leave their home countries to find work as domestic helpers. The organization offers confidence-building, money management, and business courses as well as microcredit services necessary to launch small businesses when migrants return home.

Since 2006, aidha has been providing training programs to foreign domestic workers in Singapore where they can learn financial and management skills for a brighter future. Over 2000 domestic workers have been trained at aidha and we continue to welcome domestic workers every month. The skills they learn allow them to manage their money, make productive investments and sustain themselves and their families back home.    Social Entrepreneurship

Erik Brynjolfsson, a management professor at MIT and a co-author, with Andrew McAfee, of the new book The Second Machine Age, calls this new approach to problem-solving “combinatorial innovation.” It’s his belief that invention and scientific progress typically come not from entirely new ideas, but from the right combination of existing ideas. What science and engineering companies need, therefore, are smarter ways to collect and grade all these potential idea combinations—the way Quirky uses in-house experts to advise on, tweak, and build promising ideas, rather than trying to turn every doodle into a new product. “There are a ton of potential ideas out there, and the bottleneck is being able to evaluate and consider them all,” Brynjolfsson told me. “The great thing about digital technology is that it’s easier than ever to get lots of eyeballs looking at our biggest problems.” Inspiration and Perspiration 

Health care in all its aspects is a burgeoning industry around the world.  It promises to continue to grow.  How do we direct our young people to jobs in this area?  How do we train them properly for the work?  What is the role of the community college in this effort?  And can women entrepreneurs start up new businesses directed at this job market?  Employment Situation Summary