Business and Management Studies

Business and Management degrees are becoming one of the most popular courses at universities and colleges thoughout the UK from student from all bacgrounds. So, if you fancy yourself as another Bill Gates or Richard Branson then read on…

Business and Management Studies

Business and management studies proved the most popular subject at degree level for full-time students starting in autumn 2001. A recent survey by the Association of Business Schools (ABS) also discovered that nearly half of 16 to 17 year-olds think of taking a business and management degree see themselves as running their own business after graduating. “There's much more of an entrepreneurial spin these days," according to Jonathan Slack chief executive of the ABS. "A lot of students are looking to work for themselves, and business studies courses are reflecting that. It's not just about working for a big multinational anymore."

Business Studies Degree
A business studies degree, whatever you decide to do with it increases your employment prospects look rosy. Six months after graduating, almost 94 percent of business graduates seeking employment have found it, compared with an average across all subjects of 92.6 percent.

You can boost your marketability by choosing a four-year sandwich course. These now account for just over half of business studies degrees. Work placements can be key to students seeking employment as a large percentage of companies go on to offer its placement students a job on graduation.

But as well as offering valuable work experience, business studies degrees also come in a various shades and formats which increase their flexibility and give you a chance to specialise from the outset. Specialisms and/or joint honours degrees can often include accounting, banking and finance, business economics, transport management, languages etc. The kind of degree you choose will influence exactly what you study, but generally expect to explore organisations and the external environment in which they operate and their management, along with following areas such as markets, customers, finance, information systems, communications and IT, and business policy and strategy.

Applying for a Degree in Business and Management Studies
To apply for a degree in business and management studies the good news is that your choice of A-levels need not include business studies, and there are plenty of providers. "The newer universities tend to have larger business schools and have been working strongly in this area for many years, but all in all there is a great choice for prospective students," says Slack, whose organisation represents more than 100 of the largest schools.

Business and Management Graduates
Business and Management graduates are extremely successful in gaining employment once they have completed their degrees. Typical employment includes business consulting, managing voluntary organisations, customer service advising and business analysis.
Employers increasingly expect graduates to offer not only knowledge and expertise in one subject, but also considerable strength in the personal skills needed to work effectively in organisations. These include communication skills; the ability to work in groups; an understanding of how organisations work; and the ability to work in information technology-intensive work environments. These skills lie at the heart of each of the business and management degrees offered at universities in the UK.
Graduates are taking on managerial responsibilities at increasingly early stages in their careers where they are expected to manage teams of people, financial budgets and projects.

This occurs in large organisations, in business and government as well as in a wide range of much smaller firms and start-up companies. Business graduates therefore have a distinct advantage over other graduates in the workplace. The wide variety of areas they experience through their studies means they are able to bring a high number of skills and knowledge to the workplace.

 For more information on studying a degree in Business & Management Studies contact:
The Association of Business Schools (ABS)
www.the-abs.org.uk

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