Category: Business Administration

Occupational Research

Proper career choice is vital towards self-satisfaction and optimal performance in the career field. I have opted for a career in Business Management and Administration. Thus, this reflective treatise attempts to explicitly analyze the requirements of this career and create a testing matrix for its effectiveness. Business management and administration careers encompass proper management skills and the ability to make critical decisions. Reflectively, the career operates within the parameters of being proactive, creative, and critical thinker with keen risk analysis sense (“Career Development Center”, par. 3). Upon doing comprehensive research in the United States Career Development site, I have acquired knowledge in self-testing as a prerequisite for correct career choice. In the self-testing module, I have come up with the following questions.

Personal Evaluation

True or False Questions

1. Am I good at listening to others’ opinions and appreciate diversity in opinion?
2. Am I a critical but consultative decision maker?
3. Am I a self-inspired person who operates best in a teamwork environment?
4. Is the ability to understand group dynamics critical towards business management and administration career development?
5. Do I have the right academic qualifications to join this demanding career?

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following forms the most critical decision-making platform for choice in a business management career?
   1. A. Self Inspiration
   2. B. Career market demands
   3. C. Proper understanding of workplace group dynamics
2. What makes a business management Career more unique than other careers?
   1. A. It is very dynamic
   2. B. It is self satisfactory
   3. C. Personal ability to make critical decisions determines its success
3. What personal trait is critical in the decision process to pursue a Business Management Career?
   1. A. Proactive personality
   2. B. Creative thinker
   3. C. Being an extrovert
4. Besides personal traits, which other factor is most important in business management career choice?
   1. A. Labor market demand
   2. B. Academic qualification
   3. C. Career progress evaluation plan
5. What determines the success of a business management career?
   1. A. Self-positioning
   2. B. Proper understanding of the career
   3. C. Ability to make critical and consultative decisions

Essay Questions

1. What informed the choice of a business management career?
2. From the research information gathered, is a business management career the best choice?
3. What challenges am I likely to face in the pursuit of a business management career?

Answers

Part 1

1. True
2. True
3. True
4. True
5. True

Part 2

1. A
2. C
3. A
4. C
5. B

Part 3

1. Business management career choice was informed by a personal passion for a challenging, interesting, financially rewarding, and self-satisfying career. Fortunately, business management and administration careers possess these aspects. Besides, I believe in consultative decision-making and teamwork. Besides, I am good at listening to people and being part of solutions to their problems. These skills will be vital in a business management career.
2. Reflecting on the available literature in a business management career, it is apparent that this career field matches my dream career. I possess academic qualifications and the strong personality required. As indicated in the statistics gathered from the career site, a business management career offers an opportunity to explore different decision-making environments and be active in the solution creation matrix.
3. The first challenge I contemplate facing is the inability to balance personal feelings with the scientific decision-making process. Besides, the dynamics of this career vary from one setting to another. Besides, the unstable labor market swings might lower optimal career performance since I am expected to bear the cost of any business-related decision.

Works Cited

Career Development Center: Career Transition Solutions for Individuals and Employers 2012. Web.

Management is the art of understanding the things that you want to do and seeing that they are done in the most appropriate way. According to Kotler (2003), management is the process of controlling and directing a group of individuals or entities for the purpose of coordinating and harmonizing that group towards accomplishing a goal. A Master of Business Administration (MBA) program is a very important program in the plight of taking a career like finance to the next level. Students who have mastered business are normally awarded this important postgraduate degree. Therefore, the three valuable things that have been gained from this program and which in turn have facilitated the overall development of becoming a “world class manager” are business knowledge, leadership abilities and networking.

The business knowledge gained from the MBA program is very important in implementing business strategies and concepts. United Network comments that this program is not confined to business as many people understand it, but it can also benefit individuals to enter into executive positions in the public sector and government jobs as well (p. 4). This means that, having majored in finance among other degrees; accounting, business management, economics, entrepreneurship, information systems, marketing and operations management, it is possible to operate or rather get a position in a business oriented organization as a finance manager. Most firms in the world have a set of plans which are implemented in order to achieve the stated objectives; these plans may involve projects of the continued operation of existing activities. Financial knowledge is one of the vital elements of business administration and it is wholesomely gained from learning MBA. This implies that careful resource selection and application in a view to reach a competitive advantage towards the future events or trends in business can be implemented through the knowledge gained from Business Administration, thus it has facilitated my development of becoming a world class manager.

Another aspect of MBA is gaining leadership abilities. Through assignments, rigorous training, reports, presentations, assessments and group projects, this program have presented me with the needed skills to tackle real-life business situations. In this light, there is a distinction between having the vital business skills and not having the required abilities; essential business knowledge enables people to become leaders in their chosen field. The MBA program has enhanced the ability of creating strong vision, risk taking, efficient communication, adapting to change and strong values which are all essential elements of leadership. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2008), the work of financial managers is to “oversee the preparation of financial reports, direct investment activities, and implement cash management strategies” (p. 1). All these functions are learned through a Business Administration degree and hence have facilitated my leadership abilities in becoming world class manager considering the fact that most organizations in the world have one or more financial managers.

The final vital concept that has been gained from MBA experience is networking. The alliances formed during the MBA course between classmates through group projects, presentations and assignments have improved the overall association knowledge. United Network(2009) notes that, “the associations formed during the MBA course are resources that are invaluable and can be drawn upon for years after the MBA degree has been achieved” (p. 6). Thus, in the development of becoming a world class manager, basic knowledge of business agreements and associations in business administration are essential. For instance, managers are normally involved in organizational buying behavior in which organizations ascertain the need for purchasing products and services and evaluate and choose among alternatives (Kotler, 2003). In this context effective buying decisions are made through collective structured decisions which need cooperation among the managers and also the organization and its suppliers; this concept has been experienced through the MBA program.

In conclusion, the MBA program is relevant to all businesses and sectors through the experience of business knowledge, leadership abilities and networking which help individuals to build on their anticipation of having a business management career as “world class managers”.

References

1. United Network (2009). Masters of Business Administration (MBA) Programs.
2. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2008). Financial Managers. Occupational Outlook Handbook.
3. Kotler, P. (2003). Marketing Management. New York: Prentice Hall.