Business Administration Undergraduate Major (BA, BS, HBA, HBS)

The undergraduate curriculum in business administration reflects the increasingly complex economic, social, and technological aspects of modern business decision-making. Course work emphasizes the development of effective decision-making, an understanding of personal values and motivation, and the awareness of the interrelationships between business and society. Students can choose one of the following options: Entrepreneurship for Business Majors, General Business (online), Hospitality Management, International Business, Supply Chain and Logistics Management. Entrepreneurship for Business Majors The Entrepreneurship for Business Majors option prepares students to establish their own business, to operate in growing businesses, to become involved in family-owned businesses, or to work with innovative divisions within larger organizations. The program combines classroom study with case analysis to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary for success. Hospitality Management Course work within the Hospitality Management option is aimed at developing the students’ knowledge of strategic thinking and its application to the hospitality industry. We define the hospitality industry as including all organizations that provide overnight accommodations and/or food service, to include hotels, destination resorts, hospitals, residence halls, cruise ships, etc. Through an understanding of scanning techniques, the student will become acquainted with the major trends in the hospitality industries and will develop the analytical skills to interpret their current and future impact. From this understanding of environmental scanning and knowledge of the forces driving change in the hospitality industry, students will develop competitive methods that define the products and services in which hospitality firms need to invest to remain competitive. Students will then identify and evaluate core competencies in terms of overall value addition and competitive advantage to the firm taking into consideration both present and future effects. International Business The International Business option prepares students for positions in organizations engaged in international trade. Students study the economic, political, geographical, and socio-cultural factors that impact business across national boundaries. Areas of greatest opportunity for overseas assignments are with service organizations such as banks, consulting firms and accounting firms; with import/export firms; with governmental organizations; and in marketing and financial management areas of multinational firms. A career in international business can lead to exciting and rewarding opportunities abroad. Most multinational business firms, however, hire new employees first for domestic assignments in order to provide them with a thorough knowledge of the firm, its products, and its policies, or for specific assignments in one of the functional areas of the business, before providing overseas opportunities. Supply Chain and Logistics Management The Supply Chain and Logistics Management (SCLM) option, within the Business Administration (BA) undergraduate major, offers students an alternative focus that includes acquiring a solid mastery of international operations and supply chain and logistics management concepts and methods. This undergraduate option prepares graduates for operations, logistics, procurement and supply chain management in the service and manufacturing industries. In the past two decades, the loss of manufacturing jobs in the U.S. triggered attrition of innovation capabilities across many sectors of the economy contributing to the current anemic economic recovery.