2023-2024 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Department of Business Administration
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Department Chair: Dr. Lindsey Nagy, Associate Professor of Economics
Professor: Miller
Associate Professors: Bergenstock, London, Doviak (Joint appointment in Business and Philosophy)
Assistant Professor: Collins
Senior Lecturer and Internship Director: Eisenberg
Lecturer: Stehlin
Muhlenberg’s Business Administration program provides students with an excellent preparation for professional careers and graduate study with the advantages of a liberal arts education. Students gain an understanding of the effective functioning of competitive enterprises and the critical roles and aspirations of business in our inter-connected society. From the earliest courses, students learn critical thinking, effective communication, and collaborative effort in the conduct of business. International, environmental, and ethical dimensions of decision making are interwoven throughout the curriculum, as are the interactions between business, accounting, finance, and economics.
Business majors successfully launch their careers in a wide range of fields and activities, including media, healthcare, construction, consumer packaged goods, and financial services industries, and in arts and other organizations in the nonprofit sector. Many students combine a business major with a major in economics, accounting, or finance. Business-accounting double majors have been especially successful in finding positions with “Big Four” accounting firms. Business majors also pursue double majors in other fields – Theatre, Dance, Psychology, and Media & Communications are popular combinations. Business is often the major of choice for students who wish to apply for law school. A Muhlenberg business major provides an excellent foundation for graduate studies in business, and many business students eventually pursue a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA).
All business majors, regardless of their concentration, enroll in a culminating undergraduate experience or “CUE.” This culminating undergraduate experience is taken in the senior year and is offered in one of three courses that integrate all earlier work in the major, and expose students to the interaction between the various functional areas within an organization and how they are affected by the dynamic external environment.
BUS 470 CUE: Marketing Management OR
BUS 472 - CUE: Leadership OR
BUS 475 - CUE: Business Policy & Strategy
Programs
The Business program offers concentrations in four areas: Arts Administration, Management and Organization Studies, Marketing, and International Business. The International Business concentration is delivered via the College’s Maastricht program. Students may also propose a “self-designed concentration” in consultation with their advisors. With advisor and department approval, participation in another study abroad program may substitute for, or be used to complement, a concentration in meeting the requirements of the business major.
No courses can be taken on a pass/fail basis to satisfy major or minor requirements.
Areas of Concentration
Business majors receive a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Business Administration. All majors are required to select a concentration, or alternatively, participate in a department approved study abroad program. Students may also propose a “self-designed concentration” in consultation with their advisors.
The concentration in Management and Organization builds knowledge of organizations, their structure and functions, and how they are managed, providing an excellent foundation for those who aspire to positions of high responsibility in the business, government, and nonprofit worlds. Students are supported to develop their abilities to lead, manage, communicate, strategize, write, make decisions, work in teams and analyze business problems. Courses are offered in organizational behavior, leadership, non-profit management, arts administration, small business management, managing human dynamics, and strategy.
Marketing is a skill set and an approach to service that guides the entire business organization. Its goal is to create customer satisfaction and profitability by building value-laden relationships with customers. In any business, the marketing department cannot accomplish this by itself and must therefore collaborate with other departments in the company and create partnerships with other organizations worldwide to deliver exceptional value to all customer groups. To prepare students for this challenge, Muhlenberg’s marketing concentration offers an interdisciplinary and global perspective, along with the opportunity to develop research techniques to guide the pricing, product distribution, and promotion decisions that companies make. Courses include marketing management, globalization and marketing, nonprofit marketing, electronic commerce, and marketing research.
The Arts Administration concentration serves the interests of business students who anticipate careers as leaders and managers in the creative industries. It allows students to combine an interest in art disciplines such as theatre, dance, music, and the fine arts, with an in-depth study of business. While it is rooted in the business disciplines of management, marketing, finance, and accounting, its focus is on the creative industries, and it is designed specifically to help students who anticipate working in either for-profit or not-for-profit arts organizations.
International Business and Study Abroad
For students with international business interests, the Maastricht study abroad program is especially attractive. The program was developed in cooperation with the Maastricht University in The Netherlands and is fully integrated with the Muhlenberg business major. Courses are offered by Maastricht University faculty to participating Muhlenberg students during the fall semester of their junior year. Students attend courses in international business, economics, and politics, taught in English. Besides deepening global and cultural awareness, students have opportunities to travel to France, Belgium, and Germany, all of which are less than thirty minutes away, and meet business and political leaders from those countries. The program offers a global perspective and international experience that students will find advantageous in both finding a first job and in subsequent career advancement.
Students who wish to participate in the Maastricht program or any other department approved study abroad opportunity should consult with their faculty advisor no later than the beginning of the second year of study.
Internship Opportunities
The department has an extensive internship program that provides the business major with a wide range of opportunities to gain valuable work experience. Supervised paid and unpaid internships, which can contribute to the degree, are available during the traditional school year. In addition, the department offers assistance in obtaining summer internships that may also contribute to the degree at Muhlenberg.
Career Development and Course Work
In the business administration major, students are encouraged to explore their career interests, develop their skills, and work toward their career goals as part of their work in the Core courses of the program. In BUS 233 Operations & Information Systems students research career opportunities and create a career plan. In BUS 236 Management , they enhance their abilities to write a resume and cover letter and receive feedback in applying for an internship. In BUS 239 Marketing , they learn to do informational interviews, create a Linkedin account and explore the process of getting an internship. And, in the CUE course, BUS 470 CUE: Marketing Management , BUS 472 CUE: Leadership , or BUS 475 CUE: Business Policy & Strategy , students work on their interview skills.
ePortfolios
Students majoring in business administration are required to construct an ePortfolio as part of their course work. The ePortfolio is an important web-based tool in helping students to showcase their skills and think ahead toward their careers. In the process, students demonstrate what they have learned through samples of their work, descriptions of key experiences, and their own thoughtful reflections. The ePortfolio enhances the student’s ability to obtain internships and jobs and provides a developmental forum for advising and planning.
The ePortfolio process begins in Operations and Information Systems, where students get training on how to construct their site and begin to post artifacts of their work, writing reflective statements, and descriptions of their skills and experiences. Students add to their ePortfolio as they learn from courses in the major and elsewhere and engage in extracurricular activities. Work is completed and graded as part of the CUE course, BUS 470 CUE: Marketing Management , BUS 472 CUE: Leadership , or BUS 475 - CUE: Business Policy & Strategy .
Honors Program in Business Administration
An honors program is available on an application basis to students who have completed the business core and have attained a grade-point average of 3.700 or higher both in the major program and overall. Interested students should discuss the requirements and rewards of the honors program with their faculty advisor before the end of their junior year. The honors program is an independent study that requires the completion of a one-unit senior honors thesis.
ProgramsMajorMinorCoursesBusiness Administration
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