Business education

Business education involves teaching students the fundamentals, theories, and processes of business. Education in this field occurs at several levels, including secondary education and higher education or university education. Approximately 38% of students enroll in one or more business courses during their high school tenure.

Secondary education

Business is taught as an academic subject at secondary level in many countries, including Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Lesotho, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Argentina, Sweden, Tanzania, Malaysia and the United Kingdom. At pre-tertiary level, it is often called Business Studies, and usually combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource management and economics.[1]

Undergraduate education

At the university level, students have the opportunity to take undergraduate degrees, usually a bachelor's degree, in business and management. Specific curricula and degree-granting procedures differ by program and by region. In general though, the program will comprise either preparation for management and general business, or a detailed - more academic - focus on a specific area. Regardless, all will typically include basic selections such as Accounting, Marketing, Finance, and Operations Management.

Management-directed programs[2] are designed to give a broad knowledge of the functional areas of a company, and their interconnection, and also to develop the student's practical managerial skills, communication skills and business decision-making capability. These programs thus incorporate training and practical experience, in the form of case projects, presentations, internships, industrial visits, and interaction with experts from the industry.

Subject specific programs, on the other hand, focus on a particular area, and are often more weighted towards theory. Even in these cases, however, additional to their major, students are exposed to general business principles, taking initial courses in accounting/finance, human resources, statistics, marketing, economics, and information systems.

Degrees offered here include:

Postgraduate education

At the graduate school level, students seek a variety of master's degrees, either in general management–very commonly the MBA–or in a specific area, such as marketing or finance. A further distinction is that students pursuing postgraduate degrees often have some business experience, although this is not always a program requirement.

Corresponding to both of these, graduate degrees in business and management are generally of two sorts. On the one hand, programs such as the Master of Science (M.Sc) or Arts (MA) or Commerce (M.Com) in General Management (sometimes also called Master in Management, or MIM) usually do not require professional experience. (Often the M.Sc in Management is for graduates with a first academic degree in a social science, while the MA in Management is for other backgrounds.) On the other hand, the Master of Business Administration (MBA) requires a minimum of two to three years of professional experience and is open for graduates from any field. A related distinction: the M.Sc in Management is more specialized than an MBA, and is more suited for academic research, while the MBA is more industry- and management-focused. The Master of Engineering Management, MEM, is aimed at graduates with an engineering background.

As regards degree structure, postgraduate business programs are, in general, designed such that students gain exposure to theory and practice alike;[4] the mix, though, will differ by degree and by school,[5] as discussed. Learning is then through lectures, case studies, and often team projects (“syndicate” work). The theory is covered in the classroom setting by academic faculty. Particularly in the MBA, the theory is then reinforced, and revisited, also in the classroom setting, through the case method, placing the student in the role of the decision maker, "complete with the constraints and incomplete information found in real business issues." Practical learning often comprises consulting projects with real clients, or at least addressing an actual case, and is often undertaken in teams. The practical elements (as well as the case studies) may involve external practitioners, and sometimes executives, supporting the teaching from academic faculty. One of the challenges for business academics is demonstrating that their curriculum is relevant to those who want to become managers.[6]

Degrees offered here include:

Doctoral

At the doctoral level, all degrees offered are research focused, although they do differ as regards their relative weightings of theory versus practice. Typically, the DBA, DPA, DHA and D.Mgt emphasize managerial practice alongside research; relatedly, the theses for these degrees will often focus on applied research. The other doctorates here are (exclusively) theory and research based. Entrance is usually on the basis of a relevant master's degree, and for practice-weighted degrees, relevant managerial experience. For the topic areas applicable to the thesis component see: List of fields of doctoral studies in the United States #Business Management/Administrative Services. Degrees offered here include:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Business studies".
  2. ↑ See for example BBA program outlines at: uregina.ca; Institute of International Trade
  3. ↑ "BBA and BCom: What's the difference?". News.utoronto.ca. University of Toronto – News@UofT. 10 June 2008. Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  4. ↑ See for example: "The HBS case-method", hbs.edu; "The Chicago Approach", chicagobooth.edu; "Practical Learning", jbs.cam.ac.uk; "Academic Experience", gsb.stanford.edu.
  5. ↑ Is the MBA Case Method Passé? forbes.com
  6. ↑ MacIntosh, Robert; Beech, Nic; Bartunek, Jean; Mason, Katy; Cooke, Bill; Denyer, David (2017-01-01). "Impact and Management Research: Exploring Relationships between Temporality, Dialogue, Reflexivity and Praxis". British Journal of Management. 28 (1): 3–13. ISSN 1467-8551. doi:10.1111/1467-8551.12207.
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