Business administration basically means all the activities that are needed to keep a business running successfully. This includes organizing people by giving them a specific task, managing business assets, and making decisions that drive the business to meet its goal. Business administrators are key to ensuring that the business adapts to external changes by implementing internal reorganization. One school of thought that is commonly taught for business administration is Taylorism. The theory of Taylorism is also known as scientific management, which was developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor, who was an American mechanical engineer. Taylor’s main aims were to improve economic efficiency by getting optimum output from workers, reducing waste, mechanization, and enhanced sharing of information. Some of his principles were not considered humane treatment of workers and are now disregarded, but people have picked up modern skills keeping this as a base. There are certain skills that students should develop to become successful in the field of business administration:
- Social media management For any business, most of the customers are generally found online, and today’s businesses are heavily reliant on communicating with those customers. This makes it highly important for a business to be socially active in order to connect and engage with customers on a personal level. Some of the best social media platforms are Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Social media management can turn a faceless company active and recognizable. Social media methods enable the creation of a voice of the company that its customers can relate to, promote the business’s public image, and help to create associations with potential customers.
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Innovative technology and methods have changed the perspective of work on a daily basis, and exploring them is definitely a formula to expand businesses. A concept of this technological enhancement is ERP. This unique business process management software forms a chief repository for all data and information to flow across the business. Most of the businesses require administrative professionals to be familiar with ERP software to create custom report cards. Common ERP software for business are payroll and financial software like Pronto, SAP, and Oracle.
- Microsoft Office A clear knowledge of Microsoft Office programs is fundamental for students who want to take up a role in business administration. Microsoft Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Spreadsheet form the basis for most business processes and communications. A fresher like administrative assistant will only be required to generate basic reports and update existing files, whereas an office manager is expected to create new templates, procedures, and projects. Keeping Microsoft Office at their fingertips is an important election for students who wish to opt for a career in business administration.
Database management Being able to manage a database is a crucial skill in business administration. Each business makes use of different programs, and the databases depend on such programs. Ensuring that the data is being composed and managed in the chief data management system is very important and is the main concern for most businesses.