Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)

The Bachelor specialization of Economics & Management is the broadest of the selection of bachelor specialisations, enabling students to understand management from an international and organisational, economy based perspective.

Knowledge of how the economy works has become essential to businesses around the world. The idea that the way companies and organisations, consumers and governments make decisions that will affect the operation, performance and eventual success of a firm has been embedded within business administration, which makes the program Economics & Management the broadest business degree on offer. Economics concerns the conduct of business within the local, social and political environment, as well as looking at the conduct of business, government policy-making, laws and restrictions and the enormous changes taking place within Europe, America, Asia, Africa and the rest of the world.

Management looks at the skills and competencies required to effectively manage a company or organisation within the economy, and the coordination of materials and labor within the scope of the organisation’s mission, goals and defined objectives. It looks carefully at the distinct relationships between the segments of an organisation, and how these segments are united to form a successful and thriving enterprise. Management students look at the way managers function, lead and make decisions, and they consider a manager’s decision making role and effect on the organisations operations.

This program covers many of the IBA fields but focuses on the management of core areas of business that are fundamental to the economics of the organisation, such as quality control and logistics as well as the comparative areas of financial management and business accountancy. Excursions to profit and non-profit organisations will be arranged and Economics and Management students will also be given the opportunity to create a start-up business, through a series of modules including the Business Plan module.

Key business modules include World Wide Business and Law, Logistics, and Quality Management. However, the Economics & Management program also fully prepares students for administering business through modules in Accounting, Bookkeeping and Finance.

During their second year, Economics & Management students will be taught a variety of specialisation courses. Procurement & Production, Business Philosophy and Managing Organisations are among them.

Procurement & Production focuses on the purchasing and supply function of an enterprise. Students have to show how these functions interrelate with the rest of the organisation.

The course Business Philosophy is concerned with the ideas of several economic philosophers (such as Smith, Marx, Keynes, etc.). In class, different approaches will be discussed in order for students to understand the political-economy. The main objective is for students to develop their capacity to read management literature from a more critical perspective and to develop their interest for fundamental questions as part of their evolution as effective executives or managers.

In the course Managing Organisations students learn to identify all organisational resources, including financial, physical and intangible resources and to analyse how they contribute to organizational capabilities and competitive advantage.

Students who choose the Economics & Management program will specialize in the field of understanding macro and micro environments in business and looking at the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. students learn about the management of assets and wealth and market forces which can change a product’s outlook or a company’s market share.

The Economics & Management program does not lead to an industry in itself as it is the broadest of programmes that encompasses literately all industries at many different levels of management. Based on their in-depth knowledge of the commercial environment in which they operate, business administrators who are strong in economics can quickly become key personnel in the management of both large and small organisations, directing and driving the company towards greater turnover, bigger yields and higher profits.

The career prospects of Economics & Management graduates are excellent, with around 30% of graduates choosing to continue their education at Master level and many graduates entering business directly in sectors such as the financial services and real estate sectors, but also companies dealing with international trade, import and export.

Graduates can be found as logistics managers at robust SME manufacturing companies, but also as financial specialists in larger corporations.