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Whether you are a business major or seeking your MBA, earning a business degree actually involves learning a wide variety of theories, skills, and approaches and then being able to apply them to different scenarios. In fact, the case study is a powerful tool in business education, with students first studying real-life cases to see how business leaders reacted to situations and then with students analyzing how they would react in the same scenario. In fact, some of these case studies have become integral to studying business, so that the top schools for business publish and sell their own case studies.
The study of business usually begins with an examination of the structure of the business environment. This involves an examination of the various types of business structures: sole proprietorships, corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, cooperatives, and S corporations. It also discusses the various stakeholders in a business and how their interests impact business goals and ways of doing business. The study of business also examines how the external environment impacts an organization’s growth, including factors like the globalization of business.
Another critical area of study for is human resources. While the study of human resources touches on some of the laws that govern employers and employees, it also goes beyond the law. Human resources also focuses on business communication and ensuring that employees and managers are properly trained to communicate effectively. Human resources generally oversees organizational training, therefore motivation, leadership, management, corporate culture, and crises management all fall under the human resources’ umbrella.
Of course, no study of business is complete without an understanding of accounting and finance. Understanding money helps a business major understand how to get funding for a venture, how to approach working capital, how to develop a budget, and how to handle incoming and outgoing accounts. The study of finance may also touch on more complicated concepts such as ratio analysis and even delve into assessment of the stock market. However, a more in-depth study of finance and accounting is usually done in tailored accounting or finance courses.
Marketing is also an important topic in business. Outside of the business realm, marketing is often confused with advertising. However, marketing involves much more than advertising a product. Marketing is concerned with the 4Ps: selecting a Product; determining the Price; selecting a distribution channel or Place; and developing a Promotion strategy. One element of marketing is understanding supply and demand, which is often taught to students through the use of Forio’s Root Beer Game. Furthermore, with globalization, global marketing strategies and the use of e-commerce have become critical elements in marketing.
Finally, the study of business looks at operations management. While operations management may seem like a catch-all phrase, its overarching goal is to ensure streamlined business processes that optimize efficiency. Operations management examines: costs and revenues; profits; break even analysis; production planning; distribution channels; project management; and quality assurance. In fact, much of the continuing education and training that business people receive is focused on operations management; a Six Sigma black belt can be described as an expert in operations management. [ Show Less ]