Business Management is the study of the nature and functions of businesses, the resources they control and examines key approaches businesses can take to ensure that these scarce resources are managed in the most efficient and effective manner possible, to ensure optimum resource allocation. It has never been more important for companies to employ highly qualified staff with good management skills as well as sound professional expertise in the field. This course aims to provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to survive and succeed in today’s business environment, whether it be in the public or voluntary/ community private sector. Providing a broad management base, this course produces graduates with a wide business knowledge who can operate successfully in the modern business world. The course is structured around the two key themes of management and personal skills. These themes are developed through a variety of teaching and learning methods, including field trips, visiting speakers from the business world and if you are interested, you have the opportunity to participate in an exchange programme with North American and European universities. The course content has been designed in response to the needs of business and to help further your career. On this course, you will develop a range of key core business skills, such as marketing, human resource management, finance and entrepreneurship You will also acquire a range of transferable skills such as presentation techniques, research skills, interpersonal communication skills and knowledge of various IT packages. Years One and Two have a strong emphasis on management, marketing, economics and human resource management. You have the opportunity to chose from a range of elective modules which will allow you to explore and further develop your particular interest - for example, students with a particular interest in marketing can focus their modules in that area. Years Three and Four have a strong emphasis on looking at the above themes on a more strategic level. If you continue to Year Four, you will also complete a dissertation in an area of your choice. Students have on occasion used their dissertation as a vehicle to increase their skills and gain employment.

Business graduates are much sought after and you will be in a position to choose from a wide range of interesting and challenging careers in areas such as: buying and merchandising; marketing; sales management; financial services; operations management; human resource management; running own small business; accountancy; and research. In addition, many students progress to study for a higher degree (MSc, MBA and PhD). Carol Campbell BA (Hons) Business Management I was very introverted during my childhood and this was carried through to my teens and also on to my working life and I found I had very little confidence in myself. Although I had managed to work my way up the ladder in the legal profession to become a conveyancer, I always felt I lacked the basic fundamentals in life: confidence, communication and time-management and I wished to develop these further. In 2005, I decided to go travelling for a year and this opened up my mind again to learning. When I came back to the UK I helped my daughter start up her own business and really enjoyed the challenge. I then decided to go to college and did a complementary therapies course, but upon completion of this course, I realised it was the challenges of getting the business up and running that I enjoyed and although I had attained some useful transferrable skills from college, I decided to embark on a foundation route to help me become equipped with the tools I would require for managing and running a business. QMU was an obvious choice for me as it offered the degree course I wanted and it is not as big as some other universities and has a 'family' feel to it. The new campus is very modern and has a good work/life balance feel to it. I am enjoying meeting lots of new people from different backgrounds and with different ethics. I would definitely recommend QMU. I am glad I did something about it rather than just thinking about it! Although it has been hard work, I feel that am reaping the rewards. Mark Riding BA (Hons) Business Management I didn't really know what I wanted to do when I Ieft school, but I had studied for a Higher in Business Management, enjoyed it and did very well in it. As a result, I decided to focus my further studies in that area. I knew people who had studied at QMU and it came with a glowing report, so I decided to apply as it offered the type of course I was looking for and was pretty close to home. At first I found the course quite difficult: the structure (which has changed now) at the start was quite challenging and it took me a wee while to adjust to university life after having come straight from school. The course was great though; really interesting, and the lecturers were brilliant. The staff were all very approachable and their down-to-earth attitude and friendliness made the learning process very pleasant. The modules which I studied were all very useful and I particularly enjoyed one at the start of Year Three where I worked with a partner to design a business plan for a company. In theory, the plan could have worked and we seriously considered starting the business. It was a really exciting time, but in the end we did not progress with the idea as we did not have the time due to our studies..who knows in the future though! Due to personal reasons, I left QMU before completing Year Three. Even with only two years of study under my belt, I had enough knowledge to get a 'business' job which I really enjoy and I am now working as a sales executive with a communications company called Holyrood Communications. I really enjoy it because it is politically led and covers current topics and issues surrounding the economy and various different sectors. Even although I had a great job, I still yearned to complete my degree however and I have since returned to QMU and am currently in the process of completing Year Three. And with QMU's flexible approach, I am also able to continue working. On the whole, studying at QMU has been a very rewarding experience and I have learned so many new things and met so many nice people and I can't wait to finally complete my Honours degree. I would like to become a company director some day or a successful entrepreneur. Funnily enough I wanted to be a teacher when I was younger but now I want to stay in management and progress up the career ladder