1. BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS
RSMT 5001-0LA
FINAL GROUP RESEARCH PROJECT
The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes of Global
Business Management students towards Online Courses in an effort
to improve its services at Humber College.
SIM GROUP
JEEVAN DISSANAYAKE – N01140935
MUHAMMAD POOKHAN – N01120998
GAJENDRA SINGH – N01129810
DINNA DSOUZA – N01132230
BALJIT KAUR – N01126976
YAGAPEN VINAYEGEN - N01127075
Submitted to:
Prof. Candice Warner-Barrow
April 22th
, 2016

2. Executive Summary
The purpose of the research is to analyse the efficiency level of online course in the Global Business
Management (GBM) programme at the Humber College and determine if it is worth continuing in the
future. Since online course is newly introduced at the college and the GBM Group is the first batch to
experience it, we carried a research to evaluate how productive and efficient it is for the students. The
online course is implemented for two specific modules namely Fundamentals of Marketing and
Managerial Accounting & Finance and it is broadcasted through Blackboard via a collaborate platform.
Moreover, students can also follow the course through their smart phones and give them more flexible
time in their learning convenience. The collaborate platform is easy and simple to use, providing the
necessary tools to communicate with the professors and with peers. However, the main issue is the
content of the modules and how it is presented to the students. As mentioned earlier, online course
provides flexibility to the students, they can listen to the recordings at anytime which is more convenient
to part time working students. However, the subject has its drawbacks like health issues, unclear notes,
no individual attention is provided compared to traditional classes.
The objectives of the research are to examine the attitudes of online courses and its impacts in providing
its services to students, to analyse the rate of adaptability of the online courses for the students and
compare them with what a successful online course would have, to determine if the online courses could
be implemented for other programs and to understand the pros and cons of online courses. Furthermore,
we invested much of our time, energy, budget and other resources in both primary and secondary
research. Our primary research was gleaned by distributing questionnaires of open and close ended
questions format to a population of 75 students in the GBM programme. Information provided were
also sourced from observation and asking questions in quite an informal manner to students about their
personal experience and views to the online course. Besides, secondary research information was
derived from the internet, textbooks, newspapers articles and magazines. Both qualitative and
quantitative research technique were used throughout the study. Descriptive research is the type of
research methodology that would be used. Various types of charts have been used to analyse the results
of the survey. The results would then be compared against the variables that would make a successful
online course. Based on information and views gleaned from students, many find the online course
convenient in terms of time, especially those who work. In terms of learning materials
comprehensiveness, there are mixed views and feelings about the course. Many feel that modules such
as Accounting and Finance cannot be taught online as it involves some complex calculations and
requires practical exercises to be done in traditional class and monitored by the professor. On the other
hand, students are more eager to have modules of more theorised nature online.

3. Table of Contents
Contents Pages
Executive Summary
1.0 Project Background 1
2.0 Purpose of the Research
2.1 Research Problem
2.2 Research Objectives
2
2
2
3.0 Research Methods
3.1 Data Sources
3.2 Research Design
2
2
2
4.0 Results/Findings
4.1 Analysis 3
5.0 Limitations 8
6.0 Recommendations 8
7.0 Conclusions 9
8.0 References 10
Appendices
Appendix A: Effectiveness of online courses 11
Appendix B: Survey Questionnaire Format 14
Appendix C: Budget and Timeline Schedule 17
List of Figures
Figure 1: Enrolment of Global Business Management Students 3
Figure 2: Working while studying Global Business Management 3
Figure 3: International Students vs Local Students 3
Figure 4: First experience with an online course 4
Figure 5: Impact of online courses 4
Figure 6: Use of a matrix to rate the online courses 4
Figure 7: Recommendations to better the online courses 7
Figure 8: Implementation of online courses in the coming semester 8
Figure 9: Favourite aspect of online courses 9
Figure 10: Online courses relation with student’s learning style 10
Figure 11: Performance in the online courses 11
Figure 12: Online courses vs Classroom courses 12
List of Tables
Table 1: Timeline 17

4. Page | 1
1.0 Project Background
In 2016, online courses have been introduced in the Global Business Management (GBM)
Program in the second semester of a two year Post Graduate Certificate at Humber College.
The reasons for doing this research study was to analyse how the introduction of online courses
have impacted the style of learning for the students. Modules such as Fundamentals of
Marketing and Managerial Accounting & Finance were taught on the Blackboard Humber
website (learn.humber.ca) via a Collaborate Interface. Since this is a new concept that Humber
College has implemented, it was significant to know to examine the attitudes of students
towards online courses and determine whether they were able to adapt themselves to this new
system. Blackboard Mobile Learn, a mobile application for Blackboard users is also available
on ITunes and Google Store which makes it convenient for students to keep up with their
courses by giving access to them wherever and whenever they want. The researchers are actual
students of Global Business Management who have been using online courses in the two
modules mentioned before. It was important to know if this innovation has been helpful to the
students and therefore it can be implemented to other programs as well in the coming semesters.
Also this research has helped to understand the challenges faced by students in using the new
system. This would help to make necessary changes in the existing system before implementing
it in other programs so as to provide a better learning experience to the students.
Many new technologies have been introduced in the education industry all over the world.
These innovation have changed the way of learning in education. Nowadays, there are various
learning management systems that have enhanced the learning style. These provides students
the possibility to use interactive features such as threaded discussion forums, video
conferencing, etc. Nevertheless, it is important to take into consideration the drawbacks that
technology may bring. For example, students may find it difficult to adapt to new technology
and may find themselves isolated in their studies. Health related issues and practical skills
required to effectively use the learning management systems software are other drawbacks that
could be observed.

5. Page | 2
2.0 Purpose of the Research
2.1 Research Problem
The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes of Global Business Management students
towards Online Courses in an effort to improve its services at Humber College.
2.2 Research Objectives
The objectives of the research study are as follows:
a) To examine the attitudes of online courses and its impacts in providing its services to
students.
b) To analyse the rate of adaptability of the online courses for the students and compare them
with what a successful online course would have.
c) To determine if the online courses could be implemented for other programs.
d) To understand the pros and cons of online courses.
3.0 Research Methods
3.1 Data Sources
Primary Data
Questionnaires were used to survey 75 GBM students to obtain primary data based on a series
of questions related to their attitudes on online courses. Due to various limitations, only 55
students participated in the survey.
Secondary Data
Internet data, newspaper articles, magazines and the textbook were used to extract information
about the requirements of an ideal online courses, the pros and cons and the types of questions
that could be asked to students to make the research effective.
3.2 Research Design
The survey research method was applied research design. Convenience sampling technique
was used as the GBM students would be easy to reach since they are the only ones who are
actually having online courses this semester. Each respondent was given a questionnaire with
both open and close ended questions which would normally take about 5 to 10 minutes to fill.
Both qualitative and quantitative research technique will be used throughout the study.
Descriptive research is the type of research methodology that would be used. Various types of
charts have been used to analyse the results of the survey. The results would then be compared
against the variables that would make a successful online course.
For a description of what would make a successful online course, see Appendix A.

6. Page | 3
4.0 Results and Analysis
4.1 Results
The results for each of questions that were asked to the participants during the survey are shown
in the figures below.
Question 1: Enrolment of Global Business Management Students
Figure 1
Question 2: Working while studying Global Business Management at Humber College
Figure 2
Question 3: International Students vs Local Students
Figure 3
100%
0%
Currently Enrolled
Full Time
Part Time
67%
33%
Currently working while
studying
Yes
No
0
10
20
30
40
50
Yes No
42
13
International Student

7. Page | 4
Question 4: First experience with an online course
Figure 4
Question 5: Impact of online courses
Figure 5
Question 6: Use of a matrix to rate the online courses
Figure 6
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Yes
No
32
23
FIRST TIME TAKING AN
ONLINE COURSE
0
10
20
to a great
extent
somewhat neutral very little not at all
14
19
9
6 7
TO WHAT EXTENT HAS THE ONLINE COURSES
POSITIVELY AFFECTED YOUR DAILY ROUTINE
WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF ONLINE COURSES
8
4 3
10
4 5
7
4
23
20
15
18
12
15
17
21
14 13
20
10
23
15 15
18
9
11
15 15
13
15 14
9
1
7
2 2 3
5
2 3
0
5
10
15
20
25
Overall Rating
Not Well at all Mildly Well Fairly Well Quite Well Extremely Well

8. Page | 5
Question 7: Recommendations to better the online courses
Figure 7
Question 8: Implementation of online courses in the coming semester
Figure 8
Question 9: Favorite aspect of online courses
Figure 9
Detailed
Explanation
27%
More time to
complete
assignments
15%
well
organised
27%
pretesting
4%
accounts
should be in
class
16%
no online
course
11%
FEEDBACK TO IMPROVE
18%
73%
9%
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT ONLINE COURSES
SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED IN THE COMING
SEMESTER?
yes no NA
9
20
18
6
2
0
5
10
15
20
25
Like most about online courses
Convenience Flexibility no travelling Nothing Technology

9. Page | 6
Question 10: Online courses relation with student’s learning style
Figure 10
Question 11: Performance in online courses
Figure 11
Question 12: Online courses vs Classroom courses
Figure 12
For the survey questionnaire format, see Appendix B.
10
18 18
9
0
not well at all mildly well fairly well quite well extremely well
how well do the teaching style of the online
courses match your learning style?
Very Bad
(1)
Bad (4)
Mediocre
(18)
Good (27)
Excellent
(5)
online courses
18%
classroom
courses
82%
What would you prefer out of the two
options below?
online courses
classroom courses

10. Page | 7
4.2 Analysis
The analysis of the results for the survey are as follows.
 All the 55 Respondents were Full Time students in Humber.
 35 Respondents work Part Time while studying and 18 don’t work.
 42 respondents are international students and 13 are domestic students.
 32 respondents are taking the online courses for the first time and 13 respondents have
taken the online courses before as well.
 Maximum respondents said that the online courses have somewhat affected their daily
routine in a positive way.
 On a rating scale of 5 with 1 as the least and 5 as the most, maximum respondents rated
overall satisfaction, learning effectiveness, clarity of the course content, ease of navigation,
professors teaching style, quality and helpfulness of professor’s feedback as 2, and course
length and pace as 3.
 40 respondents said that the online courses should not be implemented in the next semester
at all, only 10 said they do not mind having the online courses in the next semester.
 Maximum respondents said that these online courses do not match their learning styles.
 Respondents like the online courses because it is flexible, convenient, they need not
commute to Humber College.
 27 respondents say that their performance is good in online courses and 1 respondent says
it is very bad.
 Maximum of the respondents i.e. 45 of them answered that they do not prefer online courses
over classroom courses. Only 10 prefer online courses over classroom courses.
 In order to better the online courses, maximum respondents said that the online courses
should be more organized and professors should explain the topics in detail as they would
do it in class.

11. Page | 8
5.0 Limitations
During the execution of the research, there were various limitations that occurred. They are
described below.
 It was difficult to get responses from the other batch of Global Business Management as
the scheduled of their course were different.
 Respondents were over loaded with lot of research questionnaire from other students, so
there are chances of this aspect affecting the results.
 As a student, we were not experienced in this research field and hence, this was a limiting
factor for us while obtaining accurate information.
 Time was a limitation as we have so many assignments, presentations together so we were
not able to invest a lot of time for this research as expected.
 Time Constraints - Limited time to complete the research study
 Cultural Differences - Respondents are from different countries with different cultural and
educational backgrounds. Hence, they have different views on online courses.
 Non-truthful answers – Central tendency effect as students tend to answer most of the
questions on average.
6.0 Recommendations
The majority of the students (67%) are part time workers. They have responded that the online
courses have positively affected their daily routine and also they like online courses because it
is flexible, convenient and they need not commute to college. In that sense, it is recommended
to conduct online courses in coming semesters also.
But on the other hand, over 60% of students are taking the online courses first time. They have
rated the overall course satisfaction, learning effectiveness, clarity of the course content, ease
of navigation, professors teaching style, quality and helpfulness of professor’s feedback as low.
Also they have said that these online courses do not match their learning styles and need to be
more organized and professors should explain the topics in detail.
According to the above facts, students need experience, exposure and much information on
online courses before implementation. So it is recommended conducting some non-credit
online courses in the first year to get the exposure. Also it is recommended conducting more
theoretical subjects such as Organizational Behavior and Business Geography online rather
than applied subjects such as Finance, Marketing or Accounting.

12. Page | 9
7.0 Conclusions
The research was aimed to study the attitude of the Global Business Management students
towards the online course in an effort to improve its services at Humber College. The survey
helped in acknowledging the respondents’ perception, views, attitudes and level of satisfaction
considering various factors of online course at Humber College. Furthermore, the survey also
helped in finding the expectation of the respondents together with a solution or suggestion for
those needs that a successful course -specially a postgraduate -should have.
Overall most of the students are not satisfied with the effectiveness and clarity of the course.
Even though they are satisfied with their performance most likely due to the fact that small
assignments all together give the respondents a boot on their grades, students participating in
the survey prefer more classroom course over online course, thus instead of making online
courses mandatory it should be optional whether the student wants to take it online or normal
classroom lectures. It is understandable that the technological advancement should take place
in students’ life but not at the cost of self-interest.
Online courses are an important step on this era of globalization because classroom based
course bring limitations when it comes to explore or learn new ideas and share knowledge from
different parts of the world and online learning can solve that limitation. If online courses are
modified in such a way which that leads to a better understanding of the material presented and
the main goal is reached by the participants while fulfilling their expectations it will lead to
better prosper and engagement of the students.

13. Page | 10
7.0 References
 Industry, e. (2011-2016). Learning Management Systems. Retrieved from
http://elearningindustry.com/subjects/elearning-software/learning-management-systems-
lms
 ITunes. (2016). Blackboard Mobile Learn™. Retrieved from
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/blackboard-mobile-learn/id376413870?mt=8
 Business Research Methods, 9th
Edition By WilliamG. Zikmund, Barry J.Babin, Jon C.
Carr, Mitch Griffin

14. Page | 11
APPENDICES
Appendix A
Effectiveness of online courses
Technology is undoubtedly the most effective tools in our modern society and is rampant in all
nations, domains, industries. Compared to ancient society where people did not have the
adequate resources and expertise to gain knowledge, it is nowadays more prevalent to access
information anywhere and anytime.
Our topic pertains to the effectiveness of online courses and to what extent it is impacting on
the learning process. Firstly, we analysed the pros and the cons of online courses, the best
online course system and compare it to the Global Business Management class at the Humber
College.
Based on secondary data research and observation, there are multiple aspects that makes a good
online course. These are:
1. Student – Friendly pacing
Good and effective online class provides productive time to students in focussing on major
assignments and at the same time avoids the boredom and monotonous atmosphere of a
traditional class. Students who works part time find it more convenient since it does not
clash with their work schedules. Besides the major advantage of online courses is that it
can be viewed and listened over and over again as it is recorded.
2. Sense of community
The best online course are created with community in mind. It allows students to interact
with their instructors during the process and it helps introvert students a great deal to ask
questions that would initially embarrassed them to ask in traditional class. Moreover
communities can be created in various ways and some of them are the off-topic discussions
where students can talk about anything or can ask help to topics pertaining the class.
3. Smart use of Multimedia
One of the major advantage of online courses is that instructors can post videos which make
the topic more interesting and at the same time enhance the learning abilities of students.
Students are able to assimilate the learning objectives by more illustrative measures made
possible via online courses and technology, eliminating boredom and monotonous feeling.

15. Page | 12
4. Ease of Navigation
The creator of the online course must make sure that the platform is friendly if not familiar
to its users trying to navigate through the course. A good online course is usually revised
and reviewed by outside parties making sure that students work through the platform
without unnecessary confusion.
5. The element of surprise
It is clear that designers of the best courses think outside the box. They avoid giving the
students the same repetitive experiences week after week and wonder them with real
opportunities to advance their thinking and grow as a learner. There’s no prescribed way to
do this – it’s the effort of designers thinking about what works and carefully crafting content
that makes learning meaningful.
Source: Littlefield, J. (2016). What Makes a Good Online Course? Retrieved from
http://distancelearn.about.com/od/distancelearning101/tp/What-Makes-A-Good-
Online-Course.htm
Based on the above examples, we talked about some of the advantages of efficient online class.
Let us now compare those factors which makes a good online course to the GBM online course.
It is to be noted that Humber College has just recently introduced the online courses and the
GBM class is the first batch to experience it. It has two online courses namely Managerial
Accounting & Finance and Fundamentals of Marketing. The blackboard collaborate platform
is used to access online classes.
Conveniences:
 Convenient to students working as a part timer
 Sessions can be listened afterwards.
 All students are already familiar with the Blackboard platform.
 Can be accessed through mobile applications
 High sense of community
 Access to grade records and instructors’ comments

16. Page | 13
Inconveniences:
 Based on observation some courses like accounting and finance cannot be taught online
as it demands heavy financial calculations work and monitoring.
 Too many assignments to deal with every week – clashes pacing
 Lack of practical solutions from instructors.
 Dependant on internet connection
The following is a description of how a student can be successful in an online course according
to the Humber Website – Open Learning Centre.
1. Participate:
 Stay in contact with your teacher and your classmates through the discussion board and
other activities. Participation often contributes to your final grade.
2. Know your deadlines:
 Most online courses at Humber are NOT self-paced. Look for a critical path or a table
of deadlines when you first login to your course site.
 If you feel you can’t meet a deadline, let your teacher know as soon as possible – don’t
wait until the last minute as it is often harder to accommodate your request then.
3. Be patient:
 You have access to the course site 24x7, but remember your teacher and classmates are
not sitting at the other end waiting for your email or discussion posting. Give them time
to reply. Usually, you can expect a response within 48 hours or sooner.
4. Be organized:
 Manage your time appropriately. As a guideline, you should give yourself about 2-3
hours per week to work through the course content and another 3-4 hours per week to
complete assignments and participate in discussions and online activities.
5. Read
 It is very easy to skim information on the web, but it is important that you read through
the material in your course site to ensure a positive learning experience.
Source: College, H. (2016). Open Learning Centre. Retrieved from
http://www.humber.ca/onlinelearning/faq.php

17. Page | 14
Appendix B
Survey Questionnaire Format
Dear Participant,
The SIM Group, students of Global Business Management at Humber College has designed
this questionnaire for the purpose of a study aimed at examining the attitudes towards online
courses of Global Business Management students who are currently doing two modules namely
Managerial Accounting & Finance and Fundamentals of Marketing in their 2nd
semester. The
study is also being carried out to find out how the online courses can improve its services for
the students.
The survey should take a maximum of 10 minutes to complete. The survey is completely
voluntary. If you do not want to participate in the survey you are free to do so and you can opt
out of this survey at any time. It will be assumed that you have demonstrated informed consent
if you respond to any of the survey questions. We thank you for spontaneous cooperation and
collaboration in the survey.
STATEMENT OF CONFIDENTIALITY
Your responses will be anonymous and be held strictly confidential and will never be
linked to you. All responses will be used for the sole purpose of this study only and we
guarantee you that there shall be no dissemination of the responses.
Instructions
 Do NOT write your name on this questionnaire.
 To answer each question, you simply need to tick (√) in the box for the closed-ended
questions and write your opinions in the space provided for the open-ended questions.
If you have any query about the survey, please contact Jeevan Dissanayake at 647-713-0501
or at jeevan527@gmail.com .
The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes of Global
Business Management students towards Online Courses in an effort to
improve its services at Humber College.

18. Page | 15
1. In which one of the following are you currently enrolled in Global Business Management?
Full time student
Part time student
2. Are you currently working while studying at Humber College?
Yes
No
3. Are you an international student?
Yes
No
4. Is this your first time taking an online course?
Yes
No
5. To what extent has online courses positively affect your daily routine with the introduction
of online courses?
To a Great Extent
Somewhat
Neutral
Very Little
Not at All
6. How would you rate the online courses based on the following areas?
Very Poor Poor Fair Good Very Good
Overall satisfaction
Learning effectiveness
Course Length & Pace
Clarity of the Course Content
Timely Response of Graded Assignments
Ease of navigation of the collaborate platform
Professor’s Teaching Styles
Quality & Helpfulness of Professor’s Feedback

19. Page | 16
7. Being the first batch of students in Humber College to experience online courses, following
a pilot testing process what would you recommend to better the online courses?
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
8. Do you believe that online courses should be implemented in the coming semesters?
Yes
No
Not Applicable
9. What do you like the most about the online courses?
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
10. How well do the teaching styles of the online courses match your learning style?
Not well at all
Mildly well
Fairly well
Quite well
Extremely well
11. Where do you stand on this ladder according to your performance in the online courses?
12. What would you prefer out of the two options below?
Online Courses
Classroom Courses
YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE SURVEY.
Thank you very much for your participation.

20. Page | 17
Appendix C
Budget and Timeline Schedule
Budgeted Cost
The budget of the research study consisted of the costs of stationary items and 75 questionnaire
printouts. The total cost of this survey was around $10.00.
Timeline
The following table shows the dates and number of the days that were taken to complete each
activities of the research.
Activities Date Number of Days
Defining the research objectives 21/02/16 - 27/02/16 7
Planning the research design 28/02/16 - 05/03/16 7
Prepare the questionnaire sample 06/03/16 - 12/03/16 7
Collecting the data 13/03/16 - 26/03/16 14
Analysing the data 27/03/16 - 10/04/16 14
Formulating the final report 10/04/16 – 20/04/16 10
Table 1: Timeline