Business Management, is it worth it?

[Coke-aholic]

Hi, I'm currently taking up business management and I'm still having doubts in pursuing this course. Most of my relatives told me that I don't need to take it up as a course because it's just a matter of practice and 'diskarte'.

So guys I need you help. :( Is the course Business Management worth taking up?

[KuyaDanny]

Our opinions will only make sense to you if you can tell us what other courses you are considering.

[atenean_blooded]

Like most things in college, it really depends on whether or not you make good out of what you study. Management courses can help prepare one for corporate work, and ideally, really train people to be managers (leaders, not just 'dirty-workers' who are only good in one field) and/or entrepreneurs.

Of course, a lot of business know-how and skill is learned through experience/practice/'diskarte.' But then again, it might be a plus to get some sort of technical training, and to brush up on literature that recounts the experiences and best practices of successful businesses.

[Coke-aholic]

Our opinions will only make sense to you if you can tell us what other courses you are considering.

Accounting. That's the course my relatives want me to take up. However, one major problem is that I don't know what accounting is all about. They kept on telling me the 'debit' and 'credit' stuffs which I don't have any idea on. (Yeah stupid me)

Actually, I recently shifted from Computer Science to Business Management because I've realized that programming isn't what I want to do for the rest of my life. I always ended up staying infront of the computer doing algorithms and programs for our projects. Tapos ngayon wala pang ilang buwan, e parang hindi sila masaya sa course na napili ko. And honestly, hindo ko alam kung totoo yung sinasabi nila na managing a business is about 'diskarte' :(

Any idea guys?


** Sorry for my poor grammar both in English and Filipino.

[KuyaDanny]

Here are some quickie comments. Please forgive me if they are not as organized as you would like.

1) For many educated people, the college training they received did not mean they ended up doing the same thing for the rest of their lives. Engineers and accountants have become businessmen. Teachers and doctors have become administrators. Geologists become financial analysts and social pundits. Lawyers and businessmen become politicians. Athletes become movie stars. Movie stars become politicians. Psychologists become psychotics, and sometimes also become politicians. You get the drift.

Your college education gives you tools to learn and improve yourself, so that you can make wise choices as you navigate a complex and changing world. More than preparing you for work, education prepares you for life.

If, while getting a good education, you have unfortunately chosen the "wrong" major, you have not really lost much.

2) Diskarte is important in business, as well as in other careers. I don't know that college is the best place to acquire diskarte, though. But can you imagine how powerful you might be if you could think, analyze, question, communicate, persuade, lead, as well as having diskarte skills?

3) Accounting and management are related disciplines. You will be required to take accounting subjects in a Business Management program. And depending on which accounting program you go through, you will end up taking many subjects also required of Management majors.

And any businessman worth his salt, even with all the diskarte in the world, had better understand some accounting. Kung hindi, baka diskartehan lang siya ng accountant niya.

[rabbaddal]

Coke-aholic,

The others have already posted some good advice about studying business management. However, getting a solid summer internship will also help you get the most out of your business education. Don't just accept any practicum offer that comes on a silver platter. If your university can't facilitate a good practicum for you, try to find one yourself.

[SUX2BÜ]

Geologists become financial analysts and social pundits.

Are you talking about my apprentice there, huh? :laugh:

Sorry for being off-topic. I'll post my comments later.

:)

[Coke-aholic]

2) Diskarte is important in business, as well as in other careers. I don't know that college is the best place to acquire diskarte, though. But can you imagine how powerful you might be if you could think, analyze, question, communicate, persuade, lead, as well as having diskarte skills?

And any businessman worth his salt, even with all the diskarte in the world, had better understand some accounting. Kung hindi, baka diskartehan lang siya ng accountant niya.


After reading these lines for the 4th time, I'm very much convinced to pursue this course. It made me realized some significant things. :)

Thank You Kuya Danny, Atenean_blooded, and rabbaddal ! I really appreciate your responses. :)

[flsfnoeraekadad]

Iskulmeyt, worth it yan. Kasi kahit mag-BMG ka may Accounting in the form of ACCOM din naman eh. Saka hindi ka lang nagffocus sa accounting, mas multi-dimensional yung approach ng BMG kesa sa BSA kasi you are trained to manage, take part and help businesses as a whole. Saka kahit nasa Econ part pa lang ako nung double major ko eh yun yung sabi sakin ng upperclass friends ko saka yung relatives. And like BSA, hindi biro ang BMG sa La Salle kasi mataas ang cut nila dun. So swerte ka na napasok tayo dun. It's worth it. *okay*

[scroll]

hello! BMG grad here. and here's what i think.

is it worth taking up? NO. in fact, if i were to go back to the past, i would have chosen a different course. accountancy or engineering.

thing is, BMG is so overrated. it's just commerce, for chrissake. honestly, i didnt learn anything worthwhile from the course (even the practi subjects, such crap program. we just played with our financials - from net loss we were able to reverse it to come up with net profit? haha. see?). really, everything that you need to learn in business, you can learn it somewhere else. look at the successful entrepreneurs out there, i doubt it if they did any feasibility studies before they launched their businesses. thing is, you can learn business methods from books but inclination to business is something innate. look at me. BMG undergrad and now a few units shy from getting my MBA degree BUT i still dont have a freaking clue how to integrate my learnings with our business. i guess i do lack the business acumen to be an entrepreneur. point being is, if i dont have it in me, regardless how many business units i have tucked under my belt, i still wont succeed in this field. im just stuck in it so i dont have much choice but to try to work it out.

ok, that is if you want to be in business...

if you want to work, answer is still the same. taking up BMG is still not worth it.

thing with being a BMG grad is, you dont have a specialization. you're jack of all trades. you're considered half-baked. hilaw. really, BMG is a mish mash of all the courses in CBE. we know accounting, we know our basic legal principles, we know finance, marketing, advertising, production, etc. but really, when it comes to the real world, we are not given much value. harsh, but we are even considered mediocre (rightfully so since our country's overpopulated with commerce grads). managers (or whoever does the interview) arent really impressed when they see 'business management' in your CV. you have to have extraordinary credentials (not to mention impressive scores in the pre-employment exams) for them to notice you.

so you wanna work? chances are, you'll end up with something totally unrelated from your course (like answering calls, perhaps? haha).

but really, if i were you, choose something that will make a professional out of you (those courses that have board exams). at least you'll take the title to your grave. plus you'll have less chances of ending up in call centers (HAHA!)

[greenDestiny]

i think that the answer to this question would depend on what you want to be. you cannot take up a course simply because your relatives/family told you to do so. let's say you want to be a good businessman after college. if that's the case, then taking up business management, apparently would be worth it, most especially if you receive your degree from a very good institution.

for me, the main and maybe even the whole point of taking business management is for one to acquire not only the technical know-hows such as those one learns from accounting, business law, finance and other major courses taken, but also the different strategies formulated, used and proven to be effective (or not) by people, successful or not. even if one might argue that these things can be learned by reading business magazines, learning is still different when one gets different perspectives from other people, which is in your case your professors.

moreover, in relation to the previous paragraph, one also learns through the different activities given to him by his professors. major examples are creating business proposals and implementing them. after several months of squeezing your brain juices out just so you can come up with what you think are already the best strategies/ideas which would work for your business, your professors (and even your classmates) would be there to prove you wrong. and so again, only through the combination and contention of ideas which you experience in class will you become the better businessman i think you wouldnt become had you decided to take a different course in college, then in the future enter the business world.

i recently graduated with a degree in business management. my dad has been telling me it's such a common course and that money doesnt come easily with it. despite that, i still stand firm in my belief that all that i have acquired from my majors and my professors in my 4 years in college are all worth it. through the activities, homework, and projects that i had gone through, i know i have become more critical and analytical of how things work, how businesses work- why some succeed and why some fail.

and if this may even be a bonus, being in business management teaches you to be flexible. it gives you an idea about accounting, law, marketing and more. rather than you limit yourself to just being an accountant, a lawyer or a financial adviser, MGT helps you become a little of each of these things. unless of course, you really want to just focus on being one of the professions i mentioned, then it would be a totally different story.

in the end, it really is up to what you wanna be and what your priorities are. if you want to become a better businessman equipped with MORE ideas and your own choice is at the top of your priorities, rather than what your family/relatives' choice is, then it is worth it. or at least it would be in the end.

[JeoffDomingo]

Dumb major. Good coaches don't take coaching classes they learn the game well and the management aspect is learned on the job. Having owned two businesses- at one point employing over 50 people-- and managed businesses for over 3 years at 2 different companies I can assure everyone all they're going to learn about management will be done on the fly-- some of which is partly natural. Those wishing to properly run businesses should major in business and learn the subject as a subject-- learning to manage is only done well on the job.

[LeoNell_Mercado]

^ I totally agree.

I, too, find this to be a rather pointless course of study. Management is something that can only be experienced once you're on the job. The best strategy would be to learn more about your field. A banker, an accountant, a coach, a teacher, or a lawyer cannot manage people if they don't know anything about their own professions. This simple fact has caused management to take a back seat to other disciplines in business schools like accounting and finance.

[blueLOCO]

^ ey guys diba puros management ang courses sa Ateneo de Manila?

[LeoNell_Mercado]

^ ey guys diba puros management ang courses sa Ateneo de Manila?
E, alam mo naman ang Ateneo. That school cares more about its image than their students. :lol:

[JeoffDomingo]

E, alam mo naman ang Ateneo. That school cares more about its image than their students. :lol:

Tama! *okay*
And their students care more about its school's reputation than their own learning. They strive so hard to win in mga pakontes... lalo na kung telivised... lahat na sasalihan sumikat lang ang skul bukol na yan. :lol::lol:

[escadasport]

personally, I think it's a waster of time and money. My achi took that course, sabi nya "walang kwenta". If you wanna take business management just to learn the theories, finance, etc.. why not take the course that you really love and audit on the business courses? Or, read lots of business books and magazines. Learn from friends who have had experience. Read the newspapers, watch the news. Or take seminars about business related stuff. You don't have to be a college graduate to be successful in a business or for you to be able to start a business. My dad didn't even finish his elementary. Yet, he was able to provide his 3 children an education until college (which costs P90k a year), and provide living expenses for his siblings (laging utang lang kasi ang alam nila). unless of course, the program of Business management in your college is more on hands-on then theoretical, then it's probably worth it... probably...

[Coke-aholic]

Thanks sa inyong mga opinions regarding business management. Nakapagbigay kayo ng mga good points na napaisip talaga ako. Mahirap talaga pag walang goal sa buhay. Hay... :(

[LeoNell_Mercado]

Accounting. That's the course my relatives want me to take up. However, one major problem is that I don't know what accounting is all about. They kept on telling me the 'debit' and 'credit' stuffs which I don't have any idea on. (Yeah stupid me)

Actually, I recently shifted from Computer Science to Business Management because I've realized that programming isn't what I want to do for the rest of my life. I always ended up staying infront of the computer doing algorithms and programs for our projects. Tapos ngayon wala pang ilang buwan, e parang hindi sila masaya sa course na napili ko. And honestly, hindo ko alam kung totoo yung sinasabi nila na managing a business is about 'diskarte' :(

Any idea guys?
I realized you're not a troll.

I majored in business but I got thrown into an accounting job after college. Accounting itself is pretty boring and mundane. If you're a typical accountant for a firm, you work the normal 9-5 (except for January and February when you put in about 60 hours a week to close the books). There is little variation in your job and you can plan on staying behind your desk the majority of the day with little interaction with anyone. A great job for introverts! But if you're like me -- you like to get out of the office, travel a little bit, and talk to different people... If this is the case, you may be suited for an auditor position. Auditor's either travel to different companies or they work with one company to verify accounting practices. You talk to many different accountants, only problem being that no one looks forward to seeing an auditor because it means you have to do some investigative work and then you better make sure your numbers are right. The other option is to be a CPA and have your own practice, which is cool because you make good money, you're your own boss, you constantly interact with different clients, and you have the satisfaction of helping people with their finances. Be prepared though - studying for the CPA exam is a rigorous process especially in UP and once you have your license (full pledged CPA), the learning doesn't stop there. You have to complete a certain amount of class hours every 2 years or your license will be revoked.



** Sorry for my poor grammar both in English and Filipino.
Atenista ka ba? :D ok lang yan. madaming atenista bobo sa ingles. but your english is fine, seriously. *okay*

[greenDestiny]

i feel very sorry for the people who found the need to create alternicks just so they can support their own arguments. pathetic. truly pathetic.

[urs2pid]

^ ^ Those alternicks all belong to gerry_lim, the ACET flunkie. :nuts:

They're very easy to identify -- very anti-Ateneo; terrible writing skills (i.e., horrible grammar and spelling); poor argumentation skills; illogical; and fictional but camouflaged as "factual" (mostly cut and paste articles that are altered).

The levelheaded UPians, who he refers to as "Vivid UPians,":lol: are ashamed to be identified with him.

[Kopibun]

^ ^ Those alternicks all belong to gerry_lim, the ACET flunkie. :nuts:

They're very easy to identify -- very anti-Ateneo; terrible writing skills (i.e., horrible grammar and spelling); poor argumentation skills; illogical; and fictional but camouflaged as "factual" (mostly cut and paste articles that are altered).

The levelheaded UPians, who he refers to as "Vivid UPians,":lol: are ashamed to be identified with him.

naka-ilang alternick na po siya? Pakilist naman po lahat. Thanks ;)

[gox]

Take whatever interests you.

Business courses, especially those taught at the undegrad level are really not that helpful. Only real world experience will make you a good businessman. I know alot of former BM classmates who did spectacularly well in school, but ended up becoming poor businessmen..vice versa.

I think it is useful to take up classes in accounting, finance, and marketing as electives, but other than those classes, I suggest you focus on liberal arts courses like Enlgish, psychology, philosophy, and math in your undergraduate study. Liberal arts courses will only help you later on in life. So do what interests you, perform well, then work and gain experience in the real world. If you feel that being corporate is the way to go after years of work, then consider an MBA. IF you are an entrepreneur, and feel you need advice and help from classmates and professors, there alot of good entrpreneurship masters programs out there. You dont need a business degree for undergrad, but admittedly, it helps (slightly) when you first go out to find a job..especially in a corporate environment. But I have seen and worked with the best corporate leaders in the Phlippines, and alot of their undergrad majors were completely unrelated to their career.

[winter_season00]

E, alam mo naman ang Ateneo. That school cares more about its image than their students. :lol:


e bket gnun pa ren ang ratings nila sa mga publications and reputable mags?