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Concentrations in Business Administration

Concentrations in Business Administration are available in:

 

Entrepreneurship Concentration

Entrepreneurship is the general description given to the process of identifying business opportunities, developing implementation plans to capitalize on those opportunities, and building and growing new ventures.  A new venture can describe a variety of business applications including new businesses, new opportunities for established businesses, new non-profits, as well as many other possibilities.

Entrepreneurship Curriculum

The entrepreneurship concentration is cross-disciplinary, focusing on the challenges of establishing and managing new and growing ventures.  The business environment and management skills required for success in new ventures are significantly different from those in established, mature organizations.  The entrepreneurship concentration is relevant to students preparing to work in a variety of entrepreneurial environments.

The entrepreneurship concentration is designed to prepare students in the following areas:

  • Integration of business concepts as they relate to an entrepreneurial venture
  • Building and growing a new venture
  • Understanding the investment communities for new ventures
  • Identification and analysis of opportunities
  • Researching, writing and presenting a business plan
  • Idea generation

Career Opportunities in Entrepreneurship

  • Starting a new venture
  • Being part of the management team of a new venture
  • Being an employee in a new venture
  • Providing services to new ventures
  • Investing in new ventures
  • Corporate entrepreneurship
  • Non-profit entrepreneurship

Required Courses (MIE 310 is a pre-requisite for this concentration)

All students must complete:

  • MIE 410:  Business Opportunity Analysis
  • MIE 411:  Managing the Growth Venture
  • MIE 413:  New Venture Planning

Plus, choose one from the list below:

  • MIE 412: Finance and Accounting for Entrepreneurship
  • MIE 416:  The Legal Dynamics of Entrepreneurship
  • MIE 418:  Social Entrepreneurship Practicum or MIE 419:  Entrepreneurship Practicum

Finance Concentration

All businesses, large and small, must make financial decisions.  Such decisions include the raising of funds necessary to operate, the cost of these funds, and a careful analysis of the use of these funds.  In addition, individuals must make financial decisions throughout their lives in terms of building assets to meet their financial goals.   Finance involves the study of all of these issues, whether for businesses or individuals, and the application of the tools needed to successfully make the crucial financial decisions that must be made on an ongoing basis. 

Finance Curriculum

Students in the finance concentration focus on financial markets, the allocation of financial resources by individuals, corporations and other groups, and the tools financial managers use to make business decisions. Topics of study include financial analysis and management, investment analysis and portfolio management, financial markets, business valuation, risk management, personal finance, and international finance.

 The finance concentration is designed to prepare students in the following areas:

  • Financial and decision-making skills for a wide range of applications
  • The integration of finance across functional areas of an organization
  • Expertise to exercise sound judgment in professional and personal financial decisions

Career Opportunities in Finance

The field of finance offers a wide range of career opportunities. These include careers with large corporations as well as self-employment opportunities, depending on the area of finance one chooses. Several of these careers consistently rank near the top in terms of overall job satisfaction, including working conditions and income potential.

  • financial analyst
  • financial planner
  • portfolio manager
  • registered representative
  • asset manager
  • risk manager
  • investment analyst
  • bank loan officer
  • real estate manager
  • chief financial officer

Required Courses (BUS 320 is a pre-requisite for this concentration)

All students must complete:

  • BUS 420:  Financial Management of Corporations
  • BUS 422:  Investments and Portfolio Management

Plus, choose two from the list below:

  • BUS 425:  Advanced Personal Financial Management
  • BUS 426:  International Financial Management
  • ACC 411:  Business Valuation
  • EC 474:  Economics of Financial Institutions and Markets

Human Resource Management Concentration

The world economy is clearly changing.  The majority of organizations today are in the business of providing services.  The list is endless: information technology, communication, financial, medical, education, communication, food and entertainment, consulting, and more. Today more than ever, the viability and true value of a business is determined less by its investment in facilities, equipment, and inventory, but by the value-added of its employees.  Companies that employ better workers, and manage them better, are more successful.  That means that the effective management of human resources is more critical than it has ever been.  The field of human resource management focuses on just that – effectively developing and managing the organization’s most valuable asset – its people. 

Human Resource Management Curriculum

Students in the human resource management concentration learn how to design and implement programs to more effectively manage the organization’s employees.  This includes staffing (planning, recruitment, and selection of employees); training and development; performance management; leadership; compensation and benefits administration; employee relations; and employee health, safety, and security.

The human resource management concentration is designed to prepare students in the following areas:

  • Core human resource management knowledge
  • Employment  and workplace law
  • Integration of human resource management with other operational and business functions
  • Critical thinking and analysis
  • Professional networking and presentations

Careers in Human Resource Management

Students who concentrate in human resource management typically pursue careers that involve assisting managers in the organization to effectively acquire, develop, and retain high quality employees.  They may work for private companies – from very large to start-ups; for local, state, or federal government agencies; for profit or not-for-profit organizations.  Possible job titles include:

  • recruiter/employment specialist
  • benefits administrator
  • human resource generalist
  • training specialist
  • career counselor
  • compensation analyst
  • employee relations specialist
  • labor relations specialist
  • human resource manager
  • human resource consultant

Required Courses (MIE 330 is a pre-requisite for this concentration)

All students must complete:

  • MIE 434   Compensation Systems
  • MIE 438:  Staffing

Plus, two from the list below:

  • MIE 432:  Labor and Employee (Industrial) Relations
  • MIE 435:  Leadership and Management
  • MIE 436:  Training, Development and Performance Management

Information Technology Concentration

There is great flexibility in Information Technology across a number of fields and types of companies, in contrast to computer science and computer engineering programs which focus on programming and lead primarily to development and programming jobs at technology-specific companies.

Information Technology Curriculum

Students in the information technology concentration learn the basics of computer hardware, software and networking, and more importantly, how to apply that technical knowledge to business functions such as finance, marketing and product management.

The information technology concentration is designed to prepare students in the following areas:

  • Software use and development
  • Database development and management
  • Basic computer networking and telecommunications
  • Information security and privacy
  • Knowledge management

Career Opportunities in Information Technology

  • systems analyst
  • technology consultant
  • software tester
  • database manager
  • data security analyst
  • web developer
  • network developer/coordinator
  • technology support specialist

Required Courses (BUS 340 is a pre-requisite course for this concentration)

All students must complete two courses from the list below:

  • BUS 440:  Database Management
  • BUS 441:  Business Data Communications and Networking
  • BUS 442:  Information Systems Development

Plus, two from the list below:

  • BUS 440, BUS 441 or BUS 442 (if not taken above)
  • BUS 443:  Decision Support Systems
  • BUS 444:  Systems Analysis and Design
  • BUS 449:  Information Technology Capstone

Marketing Concentration

Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, products and services to create exchanges that satisfy both individuals and organizations. Marketing professionals are interested in the buying behavior of consumers and organizations, and its relationship to the selling process. The marketing field includes marketing research and strategy, product/brand development and management, sales management, advertising and public relations, services marketing, and international marketing.

Marketing Curriculum

The marketing concentration provides students with the skills necessary to lead in environments where products, markets, and technology are rapidly changing. Sustainable competitive advantage comes from three key activities: value identification, value creation and value delivery.

The marketing concentration is designed to prepare students in the following areas:

  • Identification of customers and opportunities
  • Design of solutions and delivery of value
  • Development of goods and taking them to market
  • Communication with customers to ensure satisfaction and loyalty

Core courses deliver fundamental foundation skills, knowledge, and experience while the elective courses allow students to focus their learning in areas that are most pertinent to their career interests.

Career Opportunities in Marketing

  • advertising copywriter
  • brand/product manager
  • customer service representative
  • retail manager
  • sales person/sales manager
  • market researcher
  • market analyst
  • media buyer/analyst
  • promotions director
  • public relations specialist
  • marketing manager
  • advertising account manager

Required Courses (BUS 360 is a pre-requisite for this concentration)

All students must complete:

  • BUS 462:  Marketing Research

Plus, choose three from the list below:

  • BUS 460:  Consumer Behavior 
  • BUS 461:  Services Marketing
  • BUS 464:  International Marketing
  • BUS 465:  Integrated Marketing Communications Management
  • BUS 466:  Personal Selling
  • BUS 467:  Product and Brand Management
  • BUS 468:  Marketing Strategy

Operations/Supply Chain Management Concentration

The field of operations and supply chain management focuses on creating efficiencies in an organization’s global “supply chain” –  the network of interconnected businesses and activities involved in getting the organization’s products or services to the end users.  Supply chain management spans the sourcing of raw materials and components, their movements and storage, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods/services from point-of-origin to point-of-consumption.   The focus is improving the way the organization coordinates and integrates these “flows” within and among organizations.

Operations/Supply Chain Management Curriculum

Students concentrating in supply chain learn how to develop and evaluate business processes, perform strategic and tactical supply chain planning, and manage the activities and resources that transform inputs into finished goods and services.

The operations and supply chain concentration is designed to prepare students in the following areas:

  • Knowledge of how goods, services, finances and information flow through the supply chain
  • Analysis and resolution of customer and supplier business problems
  • Analysis and improvement of business processes to improve customer satisfaction and business performance
  • Understanding of how to link suppliers, internal customers, and external customers to create value
  • Resolution of real-world supply chain problems through project work with partner companies in the Supply Chain Resource Cooperative)
  • Resource Cooperative

Career Opportunities in Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management skills and abilities are applicable to virtually every business, including service organizations, manufacturers, for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.  In these settings, professionals can work on projects or manage groups that perform:

  • planning and scheduling
  • logistics
  • procurement
  • distribution
  • supply management
  • manufacturing and assembly
  • product, process and services design
  • contract negotiation

Required Courses (BUS 370 is a pre-requisite for this concentration)

All students must complete:

  • BUS 478: Business Process Management

Plus, choose two from the list below:

  • BUS 472: Operations Planning and Control Systems
  • BUS 474: Logistics Management
  • BUS 475: Purchasing and Supply Management

Plus, one from the list below:

  • BUS 472, BUS 474 or BUS 475 (if not taken above)
  • BUS 479: Supply Chain Management Undergraduate Practicum
  • ACC 420: Strategic Finance and Planning