Business Management: How is it Different from Business Administration?
Whether you have already decided to pursue a business degree or are still exploring your options, it’s crucial to comprehend the differences between a business management degree and a business administration degree. These might seem like equivalent domains but are actually two different career paths with varied career opportunities and unique skillsets.
Let’s try to help you compare both these disciplines and hopefully assist you in making the right choice based on your career goals.
Business Management vs Business Administration: Key Differences
Things tend to get a little complex when talking about business studies. This is why here is the step-by-step guide to make things clean as a whistle.
- Let’s start with the basics: Meaning
- Business Management
Business management and administration are both concerned with directing and managing operations of an organisation. Students who pursue a career in either of these fields will be exposed to concepts such as finance, economics, functions of human resources, statistical analysis, long-term goal/mission/vision planning of an enterprise etc. However, as the size of the company you work for grows, the responsibilities diverge into more specialised roles, this is where business management professionals tend to thrive.
- Business Administration
For business administration professionals, the roles and responsibilities may not differ greatly while working in smaller organisations. However, business administration professionals are generally expected to deal with the efficiency of a company’s day-to-day operations. Students who pursue a degree in this discipline are exposed to concepts such as effective forecasting, strategic planning, research, and entrepreneurship.
2. Career Opportunities
When it comes to career opportunities, both business administration and management have a wide scope. The best part about these domains is that you’ll not be confined to a particular sector or industry. You can pursue a job role in marketing, finance, and even banking for that matter. So, it wouldn’t be erroneous to say that for both the domains, career opportunities are plenty. Let’s take some examples.
- Business Management
A degree or business management short courses online prepare students to take on an advanced role in developing an organisation’s strategy and aligning personnel as well as other resources to achieve those goals. If you earn a regular college degree or consider pursuing business management short courses online, you’ll be qualified to apply for entry-level management positions in almost any industry or sector. Job titles may include:-
- Management analyst
- Sales manager
- Office manager
- Purchasing manager
- Marketing manager
- Financial manager
- Account manager
- Business Administration
On the other hand, a business administration degree provides a solid foundation for a variety of career paths. While the jobs available for this role depending on the level of degree earned, the common job roles include:-
- Financial analyst
- Benefits administrator
- Budget analyst
- Marketing manager
- Business analyst
- Financial officers
- Human resources managers
- Operations manager
3. Important Skills
- Business Management
To thrive in this domain, you need a unique skill set which can be inherited by pursuing credible business management short courses online. These basic skills include:-
- Financial management
- Marketing, sales and customer service
- Communication and negotiation
- Leadership
- Project management and planning
- Delegation and time management
- Problem-solving
- Networking
- Business Administration
Business administration is more of an operational and functional role which requires you to possess the below-mentioned skillset:-
- Database management skills
- Problem Solving
- Supervising, Delegation & Team Working
- Organisational skills
- General Administrative Skills
- Planning and Research Skills
- Budget Management
4. Education
Both these programs offer an essential array of business environment knowledge that equips you in all aspects of a business. On the one hand, business administration focuses on the back end operations. And on the other hand, business management focuses more on decision-making skills with the help of technologies and data. In more detail:-
- Business Management
Business management degree programs from a regular college institution or business management short courses online are essential if you are aspiring to succeed in this domain. One such course you can pursue is the online general management by IIM Kozhikode. Offered on the credible Edtech platform, Talentedge, the online general management by IIM Kozhikode helps you gain a 360-degree view of the business functions and takes your career up a notch. Not only just that, but the eminent faculty of this program strives to enhance your potential and empower you to become effective managers of today.
Along with developing core general business management skills, the program in online general management by IIM Kozhikode boosts your leadership skills, unveils and sharpens the entrepreneur in you, enhances your analytical skills, and the works. So, whether you are a functional manager or a business head, this course from IIM Raipur can be the ideal choice for career advancement.
- Business Administration
To land an entry-level job in this domain, a bachelor’s or regular college degree in the field of management, marketing, finance, or human resources will suffice. Since this role doesn’t involve a specialisation, you can enter the corporate world by a college degree from an accredited institution. However, if you are aspiring to climb up the career ladder and land some exciting, lucrative jobs, consider pursuing business management short courses online. These courses allow students as well as professionals to gain theoretical and practical knowledge in this domain, which can help you take control of the threats and grab the opportunities as these strike the market.
Over to You
Now it’s pretty evident, at a practical level, the difference between business management and business administration. These fields have a plethora of job opportunities to offer you, and a good business program can make sure you are gaining access to relevant learning material – no matter what the tag says “administration” or “management”.
By looking deeper into business management short courses online and answering some basic questions can clear up the confusion. What type of online education do you expect to sign up for? Do these programs help with placement? Are these certified from an accredited institution? Do you have access to the instructor? Keep these common questions in mind while looking for an online course, be it in administration or management.
So what are you waiting for? Scout the Talentedge website for credible online courses from esteemed institutions like IIM Kozhikode , enrol yourself and make your way toward career advancement.