A Perspective for the Education of Business Management: Implementation of Internet-Based Learning as a Type of Adult Education

Abstract

As widely stated, the business administration in the terms of both a field of study and profession is sharply affected by global socio-economical conditions and cultural interactions on which are generated through all societies’ toward each other. This leads to place the business activities and enterprises(with all of basic functions and organizational goals) at the centre of whole social occasions although they seem only economy-based(Mucuk, 2003). Thus, the human and information technologies are the fundamentals of such structure that requires constant development and perfection.
It can be said that, in the period of rapid globalization since the 1980’s, the socio-economical and technological factors that fastened by the concept of market economy caused many tragical changes(both positive and negative) in social areas including education and learning facilities(Şaylan, 1999; Timisi, 2003; Sayılan, 2006; Merriam, 2008). In such an age of re-designings and re-buildings, there are main characteristics described and inscribed for social and educational dimensions in the contemporary world of globalization. For instance, re-exploring and rising of “lifelong learning” in response to incompetency of formal education systems and rapid growth and widely implementation of information Technologies and mass communicational affects on societies(in the terms of global village and information society)might be regarded as ongoing significant issues(Tekin, 1996; Timisi, 2003).
At the learning and education dimensions of that era, as a consequence of both technological opportunities and political tendencies, lifelong learning and adult educational philosophies have emerged and gained importance. Through the characteristics and principles of lifelong learning(without limitations of time and space; without school and teacher; at any time and anywhere; problem and demand-focused,…etc.)philosophy and in concordance with basic assumptions of adult education which regards adulthood’s typical requirements and capabilities as main learning incomes(self direction, problem based, past experiences, readiness to learn,…etc.), there have been new learning and education approaches developed(Okçabol, 1996; Tekin, 1996; Merriam, 2008).
From the point of technological and educational development, after the general improvement of information technologies and mass communicational innovations, it might be stated that the computer-based life and internet-based environments resulted in new dimensions for the approach of distance education. Thus, the distance educational basics have become one of the main instruments of adult education. Within this framework, in this paper, the technique of literatural review has been applied. After discussing the development of information and communication technologies, the distance education systems’structure which is related to adult educational requirements has been described.
Finally, web-based information and learning instruments and implementations’ components and its posibble benefits and downsides have beens tated. As a result of discussions, it has been argued that due to defficiency of formal educational systems and the necessity of lifelong learning activities, (as an output of contemporary information and communication technologies) the web-based learning and education models may fulfil variable and everlasting learning and educational demands which come from socio-economically active and ready to learn(everlearning) youngs and adults(Erkunt ve Akpınar, 2002; Miser, 2005;Odabaş, 2011; Aktürk ve diğerleri, 2011).