Business and management is the most popular undergraduate course across the UK, with approximately 17% of all students taking business and management courses at universities in 2020. This has been the case for many years and shows that the UK is one of the best places in the world to study and start a business. There are lots of top universities throughout the country, and many top schools have also started offering online courses too.
A business and management degree is so popular because of its versatility when it comes to applying for jobs. Most management positions require a level of higher education, and a business degree can open a lot of doors to higher positions. The knowledge gained through a business degree is also extremely useful, helping to create the next generation of business leaders.
If you’d like to study business and management, there are many different courses and specializations you can take. A specialization will help to focus your studies on a particular area of interest, an ideal approach if you have an area of business in mind that you’d prefer to work in. For example, a business international relations course is a great choice for anyone that is interested in how geopolitics affects the global economy.
What’s Included in a Business Course?
Business courses can be varied in the kind of information they contain, especially if you choose to study a specialized course. However, most business and management courses will cover a few key areas. These are:
1. Accounting
Accounting is the process of keeping financial records, an important step in any business. Failing to keep records will mean there’s no way to tell if a business is successful or not and will mean it can’t make changes where needed. It’s also a legal requirement to keep records for taxation purposes, so it’s an essential topic that any business course should cover.
2. Business administration
This topic covers the record-keeping of other areas of the business, such as employee and customer data and how to organize and archive business records. Again, keeping records is vital for a business to know what works and what doesn’t, and growing businesses can gain a lot from analyzing these records.
3. Economics
Economics is the study of how resources are produced, distributed and traded. It’s an essential area of understanding for anyone working in business, as it governs everything a business does. While it can be its own area of study, economics is usually included in a business course too.
4. Marketing
This is the process of telling people about a product or service, and gaining brand awareness through advertising and other means. Marketing is crucial for growing a business, and many companies spend a lot of money on their marketing budgets each year.
5. Business Law
Businesses need to follow the law just as people do, although the laws that govern business are often far more complex. Laws will affect how a business can hire people, what it can sell and how it operates. A good understanding of business law is important, although graduates aren’t expected to know everything.
6. Strategy
In a competitive industry, a business needs a good strategy to survive. Being able to set clearly defined goals and a plan of action to show how the business will compete in its market are crucial skills that anyone working in business will need to learn. A business strategy will generally focus on differentiation or cost leadership, aiming to set itself apart from competitors by being a different product or offering better value for money.
7. Managing People
A business is often only as good as its employees, and managing them correctly is essential. This involves recruiting, training and motivating employees to get the most out of them and reduce staff turnover.
