Management Advising Guide

College of Business: Management Concentration

What is Management?

Management is one of the most dynamic roles in any successful organization. All organizations need managers, leaders who are responsible for setting the long-term direction for the organization and managing the day-to-day activities to ensure success.  Managers must be attuned to the organization’s environment to be vigilant for opportunities that allow the organization to grow in order to fulfill customers’ needs.  Managers must also be aware of the organization’s resources and strengths and take action to continuously improve the organization.

All businesses and not-for-profit organizations need effective managers.  Organizations need general managers who oversee the entire operation and area-specific managers who specialize in the various functional areas, such as accounting, finance, human resources, marketing, legal, and operations.

All managers must have effective communication, analytical, and motivational skills.  It is often the manager’s responsibility to hire the best employees, and to develop and retain them and our human resource concentration curriculum prepares individuals to be effective managers in many types of organizations.

For students who are creative and want to establish their own companies, the entrepreneurship concentration will meet your needs. This concentration explores the needs of small, new, and growing businesses. These management needs are often the most challenging as managers must be well versed in finances, negotiation, planning, accounting, marketing, and economics.

Career Opportunities in Management

Managers and entrepreneurs are needed in all industries.  Our graduates find employment in healthcare, steel manufacturing, shipbuilding, hospitality, professional services, energy, power, wireless communications, and automobile manufacturing.  Managers can be generalists, overseeing an entire business or organization or managers can specialize in fields such as human resource management, accounting, finance, marketing, and operations. Entrepreneurs operate as both generalists and specialists at different stages of start-up and growth.

Salary Trends in Management

According to a recent survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, managers and entrepreneurs’ salaries in the United States vary. Salaries earned by managers and entrepreneurs are dependent on type of degree, level of management, type of managerial role, years of experience, and geographic location among other things. For example, the cost of living in lower Alabama is one of the lowest in the United States, so salaries in this geographic region will likely reflect the cost of living difference. To provide you an overview, a sample listing is provided below.

Please visit the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website for a more complete and up-to-date listing.

High School Preparation

Many students are not exposed to business and management until college; however, even if your high school does not have business management courses, there are still high school classes you may find useful before entering college and declaring a major or minor in Management. Depending on the particular area of management you are considering, look to take courses in the social sciences, such as economics, history, social studies, as well as math and statistics. Aspiring entrepreneurs may find physical sciences like biology and chemistry useful. If you are considering an international career path, you will want to study foreign languages. Generally, computer skills are important, as are good writing skills. Courses that encourage critical thinking are especially useful. Some high schools have business or leadership associations for students that you might find exciting and can help provide a good foundation.

How to Major in Management 

Bachelor of Science Degree Requirements - Major in Management

To graduate, students complete a minimum of 122 semester hours with an overall institution grade-point average (GPA) of 2.0 (38 hours of general education requirements and 84 hours of business courses). In addition, a 2.0 GPA is required in each of the Basic Business Techniques courses (200-level core courses) and the 300-level business core courses. A 2.0 GPA also is required for all courses counted in the Management Major, which include the following for each area of concentration:

Concentration in Entrepreneurship

MGT 334        International Management                                                      

MGT 340        Organizational Behavior                                                         

MGT 351        Human Resource Management                                               

MGT 345        Creativity and Innovation                                                       

MGT 355        Legal and Financial Aspects of Entrepreneurship                  

MGT 365        New Venture Creation                                                            

MGT 483        Social Entrepreneurship                                                          

In addition, students choose two electives from the following:                    

ACC 321         Accounting for Entrepreneurial Businesses 

MGT 347        Franchising       

MGT 356        Strategic Issues in Family Business     

MKT 384        Market Research          

MGT 492        Management Analysis and Consulting            

Concentration in General Management

MGT 334        International Management 

MGT 340        Organizational Behavior 

MGT 351        Human Resource Management 

MGT 492        Management Analysis and Consulting

In addition, students choose five electives from the following:

MGT 311        Legal Environment of Business II       

MGT 345        Innovation and Creativity        

MGT 347        Franchising       

MGT 355        Legal and Financial Aspects of Entrepreneurship       

MGT 356        Strategic Issues in Family Business     

MGT 357        Leadership       

MGT 390        Total Quality Management      

MGT 430        Operations Research    

MGT 441        Service Operations       

MGT 450        Organizational Staffing           

MGT 451        Employee Training and Development             

MGT 452        Employment Law        

MGT 454        Compensation Administration             

MGT 455        Labor-Management Relations              

MGT 460        Organization Development and Change          

MGT 462        Negotiation and Dispute Resolution  

MGT 470        High Performance Organizations         

MGT 483        Social Entrepreneurship

Concentration in Human Resources Management

MGT 334        International Management

MGT 340        Organizational Behavior

MGT 351        Human Resource Management

MGT 450        Organizational Staffing

MGT 452        Employment Law

MGT 475        Strategic Human Resource Management

In addition, students choose three electives from the following:

MGT 451        Employee Training and Development             

MGT 454        Employee Compensation         

MGT 455        Labor-Management Relations              

MGT 460        Organization Development and Change          

MGT 470        High Performance Organizations         

Special Programs, Internships, and Directed Studies 

We encourage students to take advantage of the many hands-on opportunities in Management. Learning objective knowledge in the classroom is important, but so is developing tacit knowledge by applying what you are learning in the classroom through internships, directed studies, and/or study abroad opportunities. Numerous internships are available including Hargrove Engineering, the Marriott, Wind Creek, Austal, Shoe Station, Employment Professionals, the Principal Financial Group, as well as a variety of entrepreneurial opportunities. If you have an internship opportunity that is not listed, please bring it to the attention of the Management department and the director of the PREP program. We will work with you and the organization to see if and how we can make it happen.    

Students are especially encouraged to engage in independent research with faculty through Directed Studies and Senior Theses. Faculty have many contacts in the local area. If you have an area of interest, please talk to a faculty member, your instructor, or the department Chair. Alternatively, you may have a contact and an idea for research. Faculty can work with you on projects that can help you attain course credit, the organization solve a problem, and the faculty become even more engaged with the community! If faculty cannot work directly with you, they will be able to direct you to someone in the department who can. We also offer a general management minor and we will soon be offering a minor in entrepreneurship to help complement student interests in Management from outside of the Mitchell College of Business.

Management Highlights

The Management Department offers exciting opportunities for students to get involved and engaged. Here are some examples:

• Intern at a local, regional, or international company or entrepreneurial start-up
• Engage in community service through PREP or the MGT 483 Social Entrepreneurship class
• Present your research at professional conferences
• Attend guest lectures with knowledgeable and experiences business people and entrepreneurs
• Join our active and student-run Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Club that plans multiple events, lectures, and trips each year. Visit https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/mcob/student_orgns/shrm.html for details
• Become involved with our Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO) Club that plans multiple events, lectures and trips each year
• Apply for our numerous management scholarships and awards given out each spring at our annual MCOB Awards Banquet
• Work with other students on group projects with local businesses solving real-world managerial problems (available as an option in several upper division classes)
• Compete with other universities on solving group case studies in international case study competitions
• Engage with Engineering students and apply managerial and financial skills to real engineering problems in competitions

Study Abroad Opportunities 

Consistent with the University’s priorities, the Mitchell College of Business offers a range of international study opportunities in various regions of the world.  Options include semester-long study abroad experiences in fall and spring semesters and shorter-term options, such as faculty-led short-term courses, usually offered in the Maymester or summer.  Please check with the MCOB Director of International Studies for details.

Academic Plan

Following an academic plan will help you stay on track to graduate in four years. 

To see a sample academic plan for General Management, please click here.
To see a sample academic plan for Human Resource Management, please click here.
To see a sample academic plan for Entrepreneurship, please click here.

Degree plans provide only a suggested schedule; make sure to meet with your academic advisor to find the actual schedule that is right for you.

For additional degree information, visit the undergraduate bulletin.

For More Information

Please contact Dr. Bill Gillis gillis@southalabama.edu with any questions about our programs.

You can find us on campus at:

Department of Management
5811 USA Drive South
Mitchell College of Business, Rm. 347
Mobile, AL 36688-0002
Phone: (251) 460-6411
Fax: (251) 460-7909

Website: College of Business: Management

*The information on this page should be considered general information only. For more specific information on this and other majors, please refer to the USA bulletin or contact the department/College directly.