A major, a minor, a required class, or maybe a vague interest in the business world might draw you into the realm of the management department.
This department might go unnoticed by many due to the fact that it is a junior and senior level degree program that has little contact with the underclassmen. However, it is a very versatile major that prepares students for a wide variety of career opportunities.
Dr. Jerry Kinard, head of the department, said, ” It is a very versatile degree.” He added, “It offers students great flexibility in choosing a career.”
Graduates from the management department will be prepared to seek careers in fields like human resource management, manufacturing management, banking, retailing, health care management, and many more.
A student usually begins in this degree program during their junior year. For the first two years, students complete their general education requirements and gain a liberal arts foundation that will aid the students when they begin their concentrated course work.
Kinard notes that the students will normally take courses that include accounting, business law, economics, statistics, and computer classes during their sophomore year.
Once students enter into the program, they are expected to begin a portfolio that illustrates students proficiency in six areas. The portfolio serves and benefits both students and faculty.
The department faculty uses the portfolios to measure the student’s grasp of the material, but also to review the curriculum that they teach. It’s almost like a constant version of program review.
The portfolio also helps students during the interview process. This portfolio provides the students with a nice collection of work which can be used to prove their competency to prospective employers. It also helps students show those prospective employers the quality of work they are capable of doing.
Kinard said, “[The portfolio] is a very effective tool to use in interviews.”
The six areas students must demonstrate competencies in are: communicating, decision making, leading, working with others, professional behavior, and integrating other fields of study with management.
However, the portfolio is not extra work that the students must complete. Kinard describes the portfolio as not being another burden because students are compiling documents they have already finished.
The portfolio requirement makes the management department unique because they are the only department in the college of business to require one.
While the department has a low profile to those outside the Forsyth building, the department serves a larger clientele. Some of the courses offered by the department are required by other programs around campus. There are students from many different majors including sports management, hospitality management, and natural resource management. If you are interested in declaring a major in management and need more information you can contact the management department at 227-7401, or stop by their office on the third floor of the Forsyth building, room 326.
