Business As Usual

All About Business Administration

Are you interested in being a Business Administration major at Furman? The Business department is actually one of the unique majors at Furman to which students have to apply. When you come in your freshman year, express to your advisor that you are interested in Business Administration, and you will then be on track to apply to the major your sophomore year. Before applying to the major, you must take four prerequisites which can include a statistics, calculus, economics, and accounting course. After completing the four courses and the application, you will find out your acceptance in March of your sophomore year.

After declaring Business Administration, your junior year you do a semester-long program called the Business Block. The MBA-style program consists of four integrated courses including accounting, finance, marketing, and supply chain. These courses have a focus on group-work and collaboration while developing business knowledge and skills.

My Experience 

I have spent this past semester in the Business Block, and I have been able to learn a plethora of valuable business knowledge, skills, and professional development. As apart of the semester-long projects, Block students are divided into groups and assigned a business which they are to analyze. My group’s company is Lululemon. Throughout the semester, we have completed components analyzing the finances, marketing, accounting, and supply chain of the company. Other examples of companies that groups analyzed were Johnson and Johnson, Carnival Cruise Line, and Best Buy. We have spent the past semester applying our coursework to our project which we will present on exam week in Burgiss Theater in front of the Business Department.

 

Also, along with the coursework in the academic classroom, apart of the Block requirements is completing your Bloomberg Market Concepts Certification. Using the Bloomberg Terminals in the Data and Analytics Lab, Block students are able to complete the modules to earn their Bloomberg certification as well as use the terminals throughout the year for projects and research. 

Along with the coursework and group projects, the block also consists of professional development Fridays where there is no class but some sort of guest speaker or professional development activity. Block students were to dress in business causal as the Malone Center did multiple workshops on resumes, LinkedIn, and interviews and guest speakers from nationally-known companies came to talk about their roads to success. 

 

A Note from a Business Block Professor 

“For over a decade, the Business Block has served as the cornerstone of Furman’s Business Administration program. Inherent to the unique pedagogical design of the Block is the critical importance of students grasping the integrative nature of business. Students quickly learn that business success is a function of firm performance across multiple dimensions. Not only must firms deliver strategic product innovation, they must also engage in the efficient management of operations and logistics, and the appropriate capitalization and financial management of the firm.

It’s profoundly satisfying to see our student groups presenting their final projects where everything from the semester comes together.”  – Dr. Underwood 

 

 

Notes from Business Block Survivors

Preston Wickremesekera

“The business block gave me the opportunity to engage with other members of my block and explore the intricacies of a number of different major businesses, helping me better understand their finances, marketing, supply chain, and accounting capabilities” -Preston Wickremesekera, Class of 2022

 

 

Catherine Hare

“The business block taught me how to manage my time and be flexible. I took the block last fall during unforeseen Covid times. The professors were very creative in making sure we had a great experience including learning to network over zoom!” -Catherine Hare, Class of 2022

 

 

 

-Claudia