Introduction / What
The consideration of this paper is a review of the possibility of proactively going into the Indonesian market by Argosy University, a for-profit American University, and part of an umbrella of secondary schools that are already established on the ground and online.
Why – tier one – on the ground and Opportunities / Threats
When taking on a project of this scope is likely that among the smarter things to do would be to ask as many pertinent questions as possible. In this section our questions of why focus on the country of Indonesia, its people, whatever online education it may have and the larger consideration of its culture.
A sub consideration pauses to note the larger context of Indonesia as compared with India and China.
Quick sketch on why Indonesia
There are varieties of reasons for the choice of Indonesia. During the Egyptian crisis of early 2011, Madeline Albright, when asked about a model for a presumed result, referred to Indonesia (what had been a dictatorship upon its independence that indeed transitioned successfully, relatively bloodlessly, to real democracy; albeit slowly and with challenges) (MSNBC, 2011). Of the most populous four countries on the planet (China, India, the US and Indonesia), three are democracies, and given the relativity of India's established democracy, it is arguable that the long-term interests of the US would be better served supporting the culture of Indonesia (for its demonstrable greater need).
Other reasons include the expanding middle class, to ensure political stability, larger youth base and a lack of University wealth that India and China have.
Other countries on the planet do not have any schools; other countries have schools that are not as competent. The geopolitical positioning for the choice of Indonesia not only extends EDMCs (Education Management Corporation, the umbrella collective of Argosy U, South U, Brown Mackey and the Art Institutes) reach, and if a second layer of development occurs beyond this document, it may be found that federal dollars could underwrite the project.
Analysis of the customer and consumer needs
There is a ripe choice of fairly any demographic one might hope for. With over 17,000 islands stretching wider than the US, there are a lot of regional and subcultures from which to choose. However, we are not speaking of a brick-and-mortar location, so the marketing target becomes pan-Indonesian, which effectively translates to appealing to those most prone to university education. Therefore, marketing would occur in any city of any consequence (of which there are many), and seek to reach those who strive to improve their lives (the transitioning youth from high school, as well as professional adult learners looking to go back to school).
That we would be seeking to reach those who want to improve their lives, as opposed to simply targeting youth, because in Indonesia your education is assured through " junior secondary school" (what we call middle school, or junior high school in the US). The government has and runs “senior secondary schools” (high schools), but they are significantly fewer (not necessarily accessible or available to everyone), and of those that do exist, not all are run by the government; that is to say, not all of them are free. Therefore, if someone is graduating from a senior secondary school, that student (and family) has already demonstrated an effort in the direction of furthering the individual's education.
This is especially true if the individual has graduated from at least one, and perhaps two of the three kinds of senior secondary schools. Technical schools prepare mechanics and factory workers. However, business secondary schools seek to create base employees for the office environment, and academic secondary schools have the primary focus of preparing students for a university experience, specifically (Red Apple Education Ltd, 2011).
There was a reference made earlier in this document to China, India and the US, with emphasis on the muscularity of democracy. Here is a different perspective. Let us consider the comparative literacy. By total population, Indonesia as a literacy rate of 90.4%. It is easy to see that the government has in fact been working diligently for quite some time now on elevating the educational quality in its country. Arguably, the greatest competition for the US being the Chinese, their literacy rate clocks in at 91.6%. For comparative purposes, India stands at 61% while the United States has a 99% literacy rate. Marketing an online education opportunity in Indonesia or China, based on these numbers alone, would seem an easier lift. These countries are demonstrating a commitment to educating the people in a way that is working (CIA - World Factbook, updated bi-weekly [retrieved Feb. 12, 2011]).
Analysis of the competitive environment
This paper goes some distance in establishing the education priority in the Indonesian culture. Despite this healthy foundation, and even with a relatively tech savvy generation of age, as is true throughout most of the world, online education has yet to either gain traction or respect. Perhaps a measure of gratitude is in order for Indonesia, as the former traction is more the case than the latter respect. Please note that online education is an American contrivance, and as the topic is something as important as education, online education may seem more analogous to MTV music or an iPad (and therefore not as easily embraced). Consequently, online education, as compared to the United States, is virtually nonexistent in Indonesia. One website touting all online programs for Indonesia came forth with this fallacy: “Your search did not match any schools. Try broadening your search”. (WorldWideLearn [], 2011)
Now that is not to say that there is no expression of higher online education in place. A few schools of some consequence have begun to make inroads, but very few. Typically, one finds online schools for message, engineering, pharmacy, scuba etc. (clearly a mixed bag).
The opportunity is there, and golden, and is simply a matter of marketing more than anything else. (Expat Web Site Association Jakarta, 2011)(Edinburgh Business School; Heriot-Watt University, 2011)(FutureMELD, LLC. BrainTrack [], 2011)(Learn4Good Ltd, 2011)(Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011)
Analysis of the overall environment, including economical, political, technological, social, & cultural
Being an archipelago in the twenty tens, Indonesia has a very powerful cell phone tower and satellite capability. While the rest of the infrastructure can be argued, some strong, some nonexistent, the government rightly saw the inextricable need to make sure that communication was in place.
Since gaining its independence in March of 1945, the country has seen a slow and sometimes painful, yet nonetheless steady progress toward a more authentic democracy. Its citizenry has slowly but steadily seen "all boats lifted" in kind. Economic prosperity has come more than gone. Socio-cultural phenomenon has steadily shown smarter and more liberal expressions.
The author would be remiss not to mention that this is the largest population of Muslims on the planet. Despite incidences of terrorism, for the most part the country enjoys integration with its religious minorities (Muslim 86.1%, Protestant 5.7%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 1.8%, other or unspecified 3.4% - CIA - World Factbook, updated bi-weekly [retrieved Feb. 12, 2011]). Given the long-standing healthy relationship with the United States, though often taken for granted, a major gesture on our part (such as a big education support) would only further strengthen our larger geopolitical position.
Analysis of the customer and consumer needs referenced “marketing would occur in any city of any consequence (of which there are many)”. Admittedly, this is under-defined, and in the initial years, a concentrated effort be centered to the following islands of Java, Sumatra and Bali. This "tightened" correction has to do with population densities and the concentration of marketing dollars.
Another customer and consumer need overlooked is that much of the online experience in Indonesia continues to take place in Internet cafés. As University faculty here in the United States, even this writer occasionally comes across students who do not have a computer in their own home. To address this challenge an admissions effort needs to interview and determine exactly what computing power is in the home. If, in fact, the appropriate computational power is compromised, or altogether lacking, a (branded, reduced/close to or at cost) net book would become part of the cost of initial tuition.
In the “Analysis of the competitive environment” section, delineated is the relative absence of credible online education. However, the absence of an American University offering online education is completely absent, and this needs emphasizing for purposes of first to market and potential Blue Ocean strategies.
Under the heading of “Analysis of the overall environment, including economical, political, technological, social, and cultural” is acknowledged that working in concert with the US State Department may prove to be beneficial, particularly financially. However, this would be by no means the only US agency worth pursuing (US Department of Trade, US Chamber of Commerce, etc.). At least as true is the value of exploring analogous agencies on the Indonesian side of the equation. There are also institutions which straddle the fence; the US Indonesian society, and so on.
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