So, you want to go into business and you believe that a business degree is a step in the right direction. The assumption is sound but now comes the difficult part, which degree, which University should you choose?
The vast majority of Universities and Colleges of Higher Education operate Business and Management degrees. Within some Universities you will also find courses that focus on particular aspects of business, such as Human Resource Management, Marketing and Accountancy.
An initial decision for you is to decide whether you want a specialist business degree or one that allows you to develop your area of interest as you progress on the course. The vast majority of business management students choose this second option.
What do Business Degrees involve?
What are the constituent elements of business degrees ? These elements are related to what are seen as the knowledge and skills relevant to a successful career in business.
Working in business means that you need to have knowledge of the environment within which organisations exist. Knowledge of the economic, political and legal environments, both at National and International, are fundamental to the understanding of an organisation's operation and strategic development.
Organisations are about people. Without an understanding of how people feel, what motivates them, how they work together and, generally, how to manage people it will be difficult to succeed in a business career.
Managers have to organise and measure the effectiveness of their businesses. To undertake these roles there is a need for all managers to have a grasp of the fundamentals of accounting, statistics and systems and information technology.
The final element that makes up a business degree relates to your personal development; enhancing and developing your skills as a communicator, team member and leader.
The majority of business degrees will cover the elements discussed above but they will deliver these elements in different proportions and in different ways. Hence, the focus of the courses will differ. Some courses will focus on the development of your knowledge of the subjects or disciplines relevant to business, whilst others will give greater emphasis on the development of you as a manager and leader.
Hence, when choosing a course for yourself look at its aims, its structure and its curriculum. Try to find out the teaching and learning methods that are used.
But, what further factors should you consider when choosing a course? Today there are a number of external reviews of the quality of work at Universities. These include reviews undertaken by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). Information on these is readily available through appropriate websites, for example, www.qaa.ac.uk.
However, I would suggest you consider two further factors when choosing your business degree. Firstly, employability of the graduates from the course. This type of information is available from Universities in terms of the percentage entering full time employment on graduation, the nature of the organisations they have joined and the types of roles they have entered.
Secondly, is the course recognised or accredited by Professional Bodies? Look for bodies such as the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
Finally, visit the University, talk to the staff and, most importantly, talk to the current students, walk around the University, look at the library and IT facilities, visit the Student Union and decide whether you would be happy to be on the Business degree and at that University.
