Program Overview

Introduction to the Business Administration Program

The Business Administration program at Western Washington University is designed to prepare students for leadership roles in business and the community. The program aims to provide students with the perceptual and analytical skills necessary for making decisions and evaluating policy in business. It also seeks to develop student understanding of the social, economic, and regulatory environment of business. The program is tailored for students with a variety of career goals, including opportunities with financial institutions, manufacturing and retail firms, service industries, and the public sector.

Learning Competency Goals

• Demonstrate breadth of business knowledge
• Produce quality business documents
• Analyze problems using an ethical perspective
• Analyze the legal implications of business decisions
• Critically analyze problems and defend resolutions
• Solve business problems using quantitative techniques
• Apply a global perspective in conducting business
• Identify and analyze social consequences of business activities
• Understand the importance of environmental sustainability

Operations Management Concentration

The Operations Management (OPS) concentration is critical for organizations to be effective and efficient with their operations. Operations managers are concerned with each step in providing a service or product, from acquisition of raw materials and component parts to delivery to the customer. They determine what equipment, labor, tools, facilities, materials, energy, and information are required, how these can best be obtained, and how they are used to satisfy the requirements of the marketplace.

Student Resources

• Department website: Decision Sciences
• Department advising: Visit the Advising section of the Decision Sciences website
• Degree Works: Current students should also log on to Degree Works to check student-specific program progress
• Career Services Center: Connect major to a career
• Sample careers: Production Supervisor, Quality Control Specialist, Inventory Control Specialist, Administrator, Operations Manager, Buyer, Supply Chain Consultant, Logistics Manager

Admission and Declaration Process

Pre-major

• Minimum of a 2.50 cumulative college-level GPA including all previous institutions
• Minimum of 2.50 Western cumulative GPA
• Students must have a Western cumulative GPA of 2.00 or higher to be considered in good academic standing with the University

Full major

• Minimum of 2.50 cumulative GPA after having completed all foundation courses
• Minimum of 2.50 Western cumulative GPA
• Students must have a Western cumulative GPA of 2.00 or higher to be considered in good academic standing with the University

A Decision Sciences faculty admission committee will review all full major and provisional full major applications that meet the above requirements. Admission to the concentration is based on space available, past academic performance, and other factors such as performance in business courses taken at Western, trends in academic performance, and performance in courses taken at other institutions.

Grade Requirements

A grade of C- or better is required for a student’s major or minor courses, and supporting courses for majors and minors.

Program Requirements

Foundation Courses (30 credits)

• ACCT 240 - Financial Accounting (4 credits)
• ACCT 245 - Managerial Accounting (4 credits)
• DSCI 205 - Business Statistics (4 credits)
• ECON 206 - Introduction to Microeconomics (4 credits)
• ECON 207 - Introduction to Macroeconomics (4 credits)
• MATH 157 - Calculus with Applications to Business and Economics (4 credits)
• MGMT 271 - Law and the Business Environment (4 credits)
• MIS 220 - Introduction to Business Computer Systems (2 credits)

Core Courses (24 credits)

• DSCI 305 - Applied Business Statistics and Analytics (4 credits)
• FIN 341 - Principles of Finance (4 credits)
• MGMT 311 - Introduction to Management and Organizational Behavior (4 credits)
• MIS 320 - Principles of Management Information Systems (4 credits)
• MKTG 380 - Principles of Marketing (4 credits)
• OPS 360 - Operations Management (4 credits)

Advanced Core Courses (4 credits)

• MGMT 495 - Strategic Management (4 credits)
• Or
• MGMT 491 - Small Business Entrepreneurship (4 credits)
• and
• MGMT 492 - Entrepreneurial Problems (4 credits)

OPS Management Concentration Courses (32 credits)

• MGMT 313 - Teamwork Basics (4 credits)
• OPS 455 - Environmental, Social and Governance Strategies for Operations and Supply Chain Management (4 credits)
• OPS 460 - Designing and Improving Lean Operations (4 credits)
• OPS 461 - Project Management (4 credits)
• OPS 468 - Global Supply Chain Strategy (4 credits)
• Two courses from:
  • OPS 462 - Management Science with Spreadsheets (4 credits)
  • OPS 463 - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (4 credits)
  • OPS 465 - Quality Management (4 credits)
  • OPS 466 - Supply Chain Management and Procurement (4 credits)
  • OPS 467 - Logistics Modeling and Analysis (4 credits)
• One course under advisement
• Take one Communication Focus (CF) course and a minimum of three writing proficiency points in approved upper-division writing proficiency courses (WP) at Western with a minimum grade of C-

University Graduation Requirements

• General University Requirements
• Writing Proficiency Requirement (WP)
• 180 Minimum Total Credits
• 60 Minimum Upper Division Credits
• Residency Requirement
• Minimum Grade Requirements
• Final Quarter Requirement