Introduction
Business degrees are becoming popular nowadays. People are diving into this field to enhance their job opportunities.
Reports of the National Centre for Education Statistics (NCES) show that the business courses are one of the most popular courses.
According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS), the growth rate in the business field is significantly high.
Researchers expect it to grow by 5% between 2019 to 2029. This rate is even greater than average.
As the importance of business degrees is increasing rapidly, people should know their meaning clearly.
Business administration and business management provide business degrees to the people. Though they are different, people tend to use them interchangeably.
However, both fields have some similarities.
Many universities provide degrees in business administration and business management. The Bachelor’s degree in business fields is generally four years.
Despite the similarities, there is a very clear line of differences between the fields.
Before pursuing any of the degrees, the students should know the differences between them. Such differences will help them to align their interests with the subjects of the courses.
So, let us have a glance at the differences between business administration and business management.
Various factors like salary, degree, and courses affect the differences between the two.
What Is Business Administration?
Business administration is one of the most applicable degrees in the field of business. It relates to a particular role or job in the business domain.
Hence, the most important feature of Business Administration is specialization in a core subject of business.
For example, an individual studies various subjects in the business administration course. But they may specialize in any subject.
Specialization depends upon the preferences and interests of the individual.
Different subjects in business administration include accounting, business regulatory framework, marketing, finance, economic, etc.
Thus, business administration aims at teaching the technical aspects of the business to the students.
These hard skills help individuals to plan, organize, and conduct business operations smoothly.
What Is Business Management?
As the name suggests, business management refers to managing the business of an organization. As opposed to business administration, business management aims at generalization.
This means the degree in business management does not focus on a particular role or area. Being a broader term, it deals with the human aspects of operating a business.
You can get information about businesses and the way to run them through these courses.
Thus, along with business subjects, business management includes learning various soft skills. These soft skills help the practitioners to manage the business.
For example, with a degree in business management, you can learn leadership roles. Other roles in this field include the following:
- Planning
- Personal operations
- Growth strategies
- Human resources
- Supervision
- Marketing techniques
Business Administration vs. Business Management
Workplace
A smaller company has less difference between business administration and business management. But this difference is clearly visible in a larger organization.
The reason is that a corporation with a complex structure has many activities. More activities lead to more job roles.
A business management degree helps an individual to handle bigger issues of the organization. They may become the leader of the organization.
With effective skills of leadership, communication, and management, the individual may manage the entire company.
A business manager is required to monitor the activities of different levels of management. During this process, they come in contact with different people.
So, business management teaches team working and collaborative skills to individuals.
The individuals ensure the smooth functioning of the entire organization. This is possible through skills of business management like decision making and problem-solving skills.
On the other hand, a business administrator works in a specialized area of the Organization. They do not oversee the functioning of other departments.
However, there is a similarity between the functioning of a business administrator and a business manager in the workplace.
This happens when the business administrator gets proficiency and expertise in a particular area.
Such knowledge compels them to become a leader of a particular department. In the capacity of a leader, a business administrator practices the skills of business management.
They make decisions, solve problems, and supervise the activities of the department.
For example,
- An accounts administrator makes sure to balance the books of accounting.
- The IT head supervises the computer functions. Also, they would overlook the functioning of the team.
- The building administrator relates to the physical activities of the firm. By overseeing physical activity, they ensure efficiency in this department.
Hence, the managers set a goal for different departments of an organization.
On the other hand, the administrators help to attain these aims. They do this by creating various strategies for their departments.
Check out the best business jobs in the market here!
Degree
A business administration degree teaches all business subjects to the students. This knowledge helps the students to decide the subject that interests them.
After choosing a subject according to their requirements and suitability, the individuals can specialize in it.
Various core subjects are taught to individuals through this program. You can choose any field like operation, research, business computer application, business law, etc.
On the other hand, courses in business management teach business subjects and leadership skills. The subjects include courses like business ethics, business communication, HR, etc.
The students can also take part in various conferences and events to strengthen their soft skills.
For example, they may work in a school club or student organization. This will help them to learn team working and leadership skills.
Moreover, individuals learn how to achieve goals using various problem-solving skills.
Take a look at the list of the degrees in both the fields below.
Business Administration
Associate of Arts in Business Administration
This course teaches various business topics to the students. Besides the business subjects, there are some liberal arts subjects as well.
Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration
Students can specialize in a specific business area using this degree. It is more extensive than the associate’s degree.
The degree teaches two levels of subjects to the students- simple and advanced. The subjects can be accounting, economics, management, marketing project.
Master of Business Administration
MBA is one of the most popular degrees in business. It is a more advanced course as compared to the previously mentioned degrees.
The students specialize in a particular subject of their undergraduate course.
MBA teaches two types of courses to the students.
First of all, students learn business subjects like economics, marketing, etc. Secondly, various courses in management and entrepreneurship are also taught to the students.
Doctor of Business Administration
DBA is the most complex and the most advanced degree in Business Administration. It consists of two types of programs. These programs include- research programs or professional programs.
Business Management
Associate of Arts in business management
An Associates Degree provides a basic introduction to the management subjects. These subjects can be business ethics, human resources management, etc.
Bachelor of Arts in Business Management
A Bachelor’s degree has advantages over an Associates’ degree. It provides better career opportunities. Also, it gives more extensive knowledge than the Associates’ degree.
The students can have knowledge in different fields of management like:
- Business law
- Entrepreneurship
- Marketing
- Research
- Leadership
Master of Arts and Business Management
It provides a vast knowledge of management-related topics to the students. The course is aimed at providing managerial capabilities to prospective managers.
The subjects can include:
- Project management
- Negotiation
- Team working skills
- Leadership
Hence, both the fields consist of the same business courses. But, business management includes additional management courses.
The students learn communication, administrative practices personnel operations, performance management, recruiting techniques, etc.
The graduates of both fields have the same job opportunities. This is because graduates initiate from the entry-level. Their final career depends on experience, skills, and performance in the field.
Salary
The national average salaries in both fields are as follows:
Business Administration
- HR specialist – $51,115
- Marketing Specialist- $70,615
- Accounting- $54,735
- Business Analyst- $79,149
Business Management
- Public Relations Specialist- $49,401
- Financial Reporting Manager- $122,032
- Operation manager- $72,594
- Management Analyst- $67,373
- Sales Manager- $99,298
