Problem definition essay examples

Executive Summary

WebYeshiva. org is a site that offers online courses about the Torah. It is a project of Atid, a non-profit organization that is also a registered Amuta in Israel (See http://atid. org/contactus/kesher. asp).

WebYeshiva. org took in its first students in November 2007. It is unique from other online study sites that offer Torah courses because it is the first one to be completely interactive. Aside from providing robust course materials and having Rabbis with excellent credentials and reputations, it also allows videoconferencing. This makes it possible for classes to be conducted in real time, although students still have 24×7 access to classes on all levels.

The company plans to grow and further improve WebYeshiva. org to be able to service more Jews around the world. However, the following obstacles prevent the company from doing so:

The company needs more financial resources to advertise the website. Their marketing efforts are not very successful. They make ineffective use of their resources, and they have a difficulty getting help from donors. In addition, competition in the online learning sphere is becoming tougher.

There is also the problem of Webex not being compatible with iPads. Webex is one of the technologies used by the site. In addition, the average age of the target students for the site range from 40 to 50, and this age group is not very educated in the field of technology.

Recommendations

Tie-ups with academic institutions to gain credibility
Increased and improved services by having guest speakers give lectures
Fostering a relationship with the site’s members through regular communication
Increased advertisement sales and cross-pollination efforts
Creation of a Youtube video to demonstrate the registration process and use of the site
Follow-up communication from the staff to persuade new registrants to enroll

Recommendations
The writer makes the following recommendations for the promotion of the WebYeshiva website:
1. Establish a relationship with academic institutions so that fees can be charged for lessons.
2. Have a guest speaker give a lecture each month via the website WebYeshiva. In return, the guest speaker’s books can be promoted on the website. An affiliation with Amazon may also be formed so that the website’s users can easily access book information and make a purchase on Amazon from the WebYeshiva website.
The group is convinced that having a guest speaker once or twice a month to provide a lecture on any interesting subject will be appealing to different kinds of people. Possible guest speakers can include important Rabbis or other important figures in Israel. This can possibly catch the attention not only of people who are interested in learning the Torah but also of people who are interested in finances, economics, Israeli history, and much more.
This can benefit not only the WebYeshiva website but also the guest speakers/authors who can potentially get increased sales of their books through the site. An agreement can also be made that WebYeshiva will receive a certain fraction of the sales proceeds.
3. Maintain a list of contacts to whom website updates will be regularly sent via email. These emails will contain announcements on guest speakers and special programs. These emails will also emphasize WebYeshiva’s relationship with academic institutions, if any.
4. Increase advertisement sales (See the list of categories for potential advertisers in the appendix) and perform a cross-pollination to further generate revenue.

Cross-pollination can be implemented by posting other websites’ ads on the

WebYeshiva website in exchange for free advertising space on their websites.
5. Create a YouTube video to aid users who encounter difficulties with signing up online.

This Youtube video will be intended as a step-by-step guide for people aged 50 years

old and above who find a difficulty in registering. The group tried to register with ten
persons from this age group, and most of them commented that the process was too
complicated. It is hoped that the video will help increase the number of registrants to
the site.
6. Have a staff member call or send an email to a user after the new user registers to persuade the newly registered user to enroll for a specific course. This is a practice performed by many trading companies and that may also work for the WebYeshiva website.