Running head: Business Administration and its Many Routes

Research Essay
Josiah Wilson
Prof. Leslie Drake
Research Techniques and Technology 7:00-9:30
October 24, 2016

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Business Administration and its Many Routes

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Abstract
When developing an idea of what a business degree it is difficult to choose what major or
concentration to hone in on. Business administration has many opportunities when looking at the
today's workforce. Research has been done for this topic but not for the question in intention to
answer. There are many options of gaining a business degree. There is the option to go into
undergrad and then gain a Bachelors degree. There is the option to go to a school of business and
gain a degree there. Internships and experience plays a role in the job market. A business degree
has various options to choose from and all of them may not fit the hard work one has put in to
gain the job or position. To all these different options of achieving a degree and position; it tends
to feel like it was all for noting in most cases when finding a job is difficult. This research essay
is exploring to see if the curriculum is worth it in the end.
Introduction
Business administration is one of the many degree's is the business department. It give
one an overall education of how day-to-day work in happens business. The job market is
growing in hires and internships. With this happening it is becoming one of the most chosen
majors in the country. This is in correlation of business majors being the one of the most sought
after degrees in the country. There are many different ways taken to attain this degree. It is
difficult to see the justification of a business administration education without looking at the
process and outcome of the degree.
Routes Taken for Degree
Business administration has a couple ways of learning the tool to be successful in this
specific field of work. In most cases the traditional four year degree is the one route most people
take. Two year programs will not give the results that one might look for. This is why it is better

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to get a four year degree opposed to a two year degree; "for the most earning and career
potential, working towards a bachelors degree is the best option for the majority of students.
Once you have a four-year degree under your belt, opportunities will open up with a wider range
of businesses seeking professionals to help them with the management and operation of their
company"(What is Business Administration, 2011). A business administration degree is valued
more when a four year degree has been attained. Nowadays there is the possibility of going to
online school and receiving a degree. There are positives and negatives about online classes but
both situations achieve the same goal."There are many online degree programs available for
business administration as a major.The curriculum will essentially be the same as in a traditional
program, so dont be deterred from considering online classes"(Business Administration, 2016).
A positive about online classes is as unexpected as it is students interact much more than in the
usual classroom setting. A negative of taking online classes would be to the face to face
explanations of coursework a person would get when taking traditional classes. Either taking
classes traditionally or online will get the same result of a degree.
Internships
Internships are jobs provided by companies to give job experience to interns and they are
usually given to undergrad or graduate students. Internships also help students make a
connection between what is learned in school and what is needed to know for the workplace.
Another big aspect of having an internship is creating a network to help increase the possibility
of getting hired. Like in most cases of finding a job it is who a person knows not what they
know. The problem becomes how much internship opportunities are out there in the world?
Recently internships have become the new way of interviewing potential employee's. It is easier
to hire people that can learn the role of their job and fit in within the time of the internship. "It

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turns out that may be the easiest way to secure a full-time gig, as 69% of companies with 100 or
more employees offered full-time jobs to their interns in 2012"(Smith, 2012). That is a good
probability of getting an internship since companies are turning to hire interns more often than
interviewed individuals. How much does having an internship help ones chances of being hired?
College students begin to understand how important job experience is when searching for jobs.
Employers really like job experience on a rsum saying, "relevant work experience is preferred
by almost 75 percent of employers, and 60 percent of employers say they prefer work experience
gained through an internship or co-op experience"(Percentage of Students with Internship
Experience Climbs, 2015). That is a good majority of employers' wanting prior job experience
from potential employee's. Internships actually help develop the employee's ability to be hired
working with their schooling. It does not give an automatic bid for a job. Studies approve that,
"the internship as a component of experiential learning that can enhance the employability
development opportunities offered by institutions of higher learning" (Gault, 2010). This means
individuals who go to college and partake in an internship is just building on what they have
learned in school and not solely working on job opportunities. Internships are very important in
the process of gaining a position but would not devastate the chances of getting a job without
one. Internships are also a great way to test out the job desired, 54 and 45 percent of interns
confirmed their expectations of career fit, respectively (Rothman, 2016). It is has been a case of
where the best internships are; Without internships, job hirings and job experience would be
hard to find. Specific attributes and needs of small businesses maximize the potential positive
effects of internships on their performance (Degravel, 2011). Small businesses are a good
platform for possible internships so it would smart to look to them first in ones search.
Internships not only do well for the individual taking it on and the business. It also creates good

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publicity and relationship, Internship programs reap dividends for businesses, students, and the
profession at large. They promote a comprehensive educational process and increase the
likelihood that top students will be attracted to the profession, thus helping to ensure internal
auditing's quality and status. Internal audit departments are finding that internships can provide
them with opportunities to beef up staff at low cost, screen and recruit potential new hires, and
support universities and the profession (Crumbley, 1998). This well help out the students and
universities since students need resources to find internships. What better way to have good
resources if the university one attends built a network for interns?
Number of Available Jobs
When coming out of college or an internship; jobs seem harder to find than expected.
Businesses are not hiring and resumes sent in to employers do not impress anyone. It begins to
seem like no one is hiring anyone which is not the case. Actually the job market is opening up;
"Washington U.S. employers advertised the most open jobs in April than at any time in the 15
years that the government has tracked the data, a sign that this year's steady hiring will likely
continue" (Christopher, 2015). Those coming out of internships and college have hoped to find
entry level jobs. With job openings becoming more and more open people being hired become
more skilled; "the number of hires dipped to 5.05 million, perhaps reflecting a skills mismatch. A
lack of qualified labor may curb job growth, but also push up wages for skilled workers"
(Investors Business Daily, 2015). This becomes a positive and negative for job hunters. A
positive would be the increase of wages because of the skills of workers not meeting demands.
This becomes a negative also since the level of skills is increased; people have to try harder to
get jobs. This current year of 2016 layoffs and discharges decreased to one percent. It is likely

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for a person to get a job and keep it. All in all, job openings are increasing every year and are
opening up to higher skilled personal which increases wages.
Job Satisfaction
When a person finds a job, it is hard to enjoy it since the job is usually not what they
expected. With going to college and finding a career one has put four years of hard work for; it is
expected for them to enjoy the job more. In studies job satisfaction is based solely on the
individual. For example, "On days when ice cream sales are high, the number of crimes
committed will also tend to be high, but this doesn't mean that ice cream sales cause crime.
Rather, ice cream sales and crime are related because each is the result of the temperature.
Similarly, satisfaction and performance are related because each is the result
of employee personality" (McAllister, 2007). Job satisfaction does not depend on level of job; it
depends on if the employee can grow and accepts their role in the company.

Conclusion
Business administration degree is justified by what ways a person can get a degree. A
four year degree improves the possible wages and availability to become hired. A two year
degree gets one a chance to become hired but it is more slim than having a four year degree.
Internships are becoming the new way of hiring employees for most companies nowadays.
Internships also help sharpen skills learned in the classroom and put them to real world use. The
most important aspect of internships is it gets job experience for the student so they can have an
easier time in their job hunt. The universitys help is necessary for its networking top help fond
internships for students. Also an internships work as a trial run for students to see if the job is
right fit for them. Small businesses benefit from the help of interns because it gives them cheap

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labor and also sets them up with possible person to hire. Job opportunities are hard to come by
for any person in the job search. Recently the job market has been steady with decrease in layoffs
so in return a steady increase of job openings. Job satisfaction is based off the individuals
character. Only the individual can change their satisfaction of the job at hand. Business
administration offers a wonderful insight on the way business works and is helpful in any career
one may pursue. Furthermore, the end result of finding a job in business administration does just
the overall education and and experiences to go along with it.

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References
What is Business Administration? (2016). Retrieved October 17, 2016, from My College Guide:
http://mycollegeguide.org/blog/2011/04/what-is-business-administration/
Business Administration. All Star Directories, Inc. www.allbusinessschools.com/business
-administration/. Accessed 28 September 2016.
Percentage of Students With Internship Experience Climbs . (2015, October 7). Retrieved
November 9, 2016, from National Association of Colleges and Employers:
http://www.naceweb.org/s10072015/internship-co-op-student-survey.aspx
Gault, J., Leach, E., & Duey, M. (2010). Effects of Business Internships on Job Marketability:
The Employers' Perspective. Education & Training, 52(1), 76-88.
Smith, J. (2012, December 6). Internships may be the Easiest Way to a Job in 2013 . Retrieved
November 9, 2016, from
Forbes:http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/12/06/internships-may-be-the
-easiest-way-to-a-job-in-2013/#757c7b1a4491
Christopher S., R. (2015, June 9). A sign of business confidence: Number of US job openings
jumped to 15-year high in April. Canadian Press, The,
Investor's Business, D. (2015, November 13). Job Openings Are Near Highs. Investors Business
Daily. p. A01.
McAllister, K. (2007). Job satidfication not linked to performance ; Personality traits are
common denomiator. National Post.
Rothman, M., & Sisman, R. (2016). Internship impact on career consideration among business
students. Education + Training, 58(9), 1003-1013. doi:10.1108/ET-04-2015-0027

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Degravel, D. (2011). Internships and Small Business: A fruitful Union? A Conceptual

Approach. Journal Of Management Policy & Practice, 12(2), 27-43.
Crumbley, D. L., & Sumners, G. E. (1998). How Businesses Profit from Internships. Internal
Auditor, 55(5), 54.