EXPLORING THE CAREER OF A BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR
Exploring the Career of a Business Administrator
Veronika Rodríguez
Damaris Ramos
Texas A&M International University
EXPLORING THE CAREER OF A BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR
Exploring the Career of a Business Administrator
Businesses play an important role in society because they establish the economic stability
between owners and their families. Small businesses create various jobs for workers and they
also create many opportunities to the people in the surrounding community. Additionally
businesses are considered the backbone of our economy, because they innovate and create jobs at
a faster rate than larger counterparts such as corporations. Business is important to the society
because is an exchange of goods and service that benefits the people. Consumers/Customers can
obtain goods and services that cannot grow, rise, or manufacture for themselves. Providers can
make be mutually good. The provider needs the customer as much the customer needs the
provider. Without businesses we wouldn’t grow as a population, without a food market we
wouldn’t have anywhere to go and buy daily meals.
Background on Business Administration
“Many top business executives will get their start working in office administration or in
hospitality, retail, sales or operations management. Executives and administrators work in every
industry, from one-person businesses to firms with thousands of employees. On the job, business
administrators: Establish and carry out departmental or organizational goals policies and
procedures, Direct and oversee an organization’s financial and budgetary activities, Manage
general activities related to making products and providing services, Innovate by applying new
technologies in the workplace, and Identify places to cut costs and to improve performance,
policies and programs.” (What You'll Do, n.d.) So, essentially a Business Administrator is the
backbone of an entire business. It is their job to carry most of the weight and enforce all rules
according to different business needs and also according to any drawn contracts and adopted
policies. Being such a big part of a company or small business holds great opportunities for
EXPLORING THE CAREER OF A BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR
anyone with the right skill set and drive to maintain an organized lifestyle. Being a Business
Administrator does take up time, but is very rewarding for all the time put in. The median annual
starting salary for a Marketing Manager with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration is
$105,260 “It is difficult to know what to expect from a business administration salary, as the
discipline opens up many possible career paths, each with varying levels of supply and demand.
As with almost all careers, the higher degree you hold, the higher your salary: A bachelor's
degree in business administration can add $2,000 to $5,000 or more per year in earning potential,
while an MBA can add yet another $7,000 to $11,000, though many MBAs start out in higherlevel management jobs with more responsibility, and consequently earn a larger salary that may
include a bonus package.” (What You'll Earn, n.d.)
Businesses are very important to society because they provide what society needs and it
helps society grow economically. Though all businesses are a very positive addition to society as
a whole and the economy, there are ethical dilemmas that occur in the everyday workplace; at
the same time with these dilemmas there are solutions to keep businesses on track.
Ethical Dilemmas:
Some ethical dilemmas that we can mention are pressures from management, unethical
enforced goals by management and discrimination.
Pressure from management is when upper management takes advantage of their titles or
their power over common workers and force them to do something that is not necessary or not in
their job description. They do this to play their part and be feared so that the workers know who
is in charge. Workers should not feel pressured to do things just in order please their bosses; and
EXPLORING THE CAREER OF A BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR
when they feel that they cannot point out their coworker´s or superiors´ bad behaviors it becomes
a more complex situation.
This pressure can also be linked to doing things that are against the law or immoral such
as falsifying numbers or taking credit for someone else’s work just to prove themselves.
“Although rare, some companies place their employees in impossible positions. If a supervisor
demands that you do something you find unethical or even illegal, such as fabricating financial
data or violating federal employment laws, you have options.” (5 Workplace Ethical Dilemmas,
n.d.).
Discrimination in the work place is highly frowned upon by society and is illegal. There
have been many cases of different types of discrimination. For example there is sexual
orientation discrimination along with racial and gender discrimination. People should know that
“No matter the situation, the point is that we should all be treated the same and included in the
same work activities regardless of our different characteristics. Many organizations are working
very hard to respect and appreciate diversity in the workplace.” (Sexual Orientation in the
Workplace, n.d.)
Sometimes even small things make a great impact on the attitudes of workers which
cause disturbances in the work place which lead to dilemmas all by themselves. “When things
are going well there can be increased productivity and everything is sweetness and
light. However workplace relationships can lead to competition, distraction and office
gossip. According to research four in ten employers have experienced problems with workplace
relationships. Issues that can arise include complaints of favoritism, decreased morale, bullying
if a relationship has ended, sexual discrimination, sexual harassment and constructive dismissal
all of which could have a negative impact in the workplace.
EXPLORING THE CAREER OF A BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR
It is difficult to have an outright ban on relationships, which would be difficult to manage but
there should be clear guidelines with regard to conduct. Consideration should be given to and
guidance provided on relationships between supervisors and those they manage, employees and
clients and possibly between team members. The circumstances under which relationships
should be disclosed should be included. The policy should apply to all members of staff
regardless of seniority, marital status or sexual orientation.” (Workplace Relationships, n.d.)
So, yes there are many specific and broad ethical dilemmas in a business work environment, but
there are also many solutions to these dilemmas.
Solutions:
In each business they should stabilize some rules that employees, managers and the staff
should follow. The business should have certain limits in where everyone has to follow, for
example in IBC, they follow rules in where they have to be followed and respected. It is like
living in a city, citizens have rights and also laws that they should follow all the time. Testing
employees and hiring the appropriate persons how are prepared to their environmental areas.
Businesses should be careful on who they hired and see how well prepared they are. For example
a bank business would not hire just any high school graduate student, because they do not have
the knowledge to handle any large sum of money, and also its going to be seem really easy to
handle money to anyone, who asks for it.
Businesses should test their new employees to see how capable they are to work in their
business and the knowledge to handle their work area. In addition the businesses should ask for a
background of their new employees, any kind of background that includes criminal, educational
and even goals. Requirements of some educational/academic skills should be an important
EXPLORING THE CAREER OF A BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR
because it is basically describing the person type of person that it is. It tells you their past, their
present and also their future. Is like saying I came from here, I am where I am but I want to be
far away. It tells you how that person is going to be working at your business.
There is always a person supervising the employees that has the knowledge and is
prepared for any kind of problem or situation. Many new employees when they start working
they just do not know where to start, sometimes it is better to tell them what to do and having
someone supervising them. Is like teaching a little kid how to read or write, to tell them what to
do, how to do it, but always looking around them to see their progress or even just checking that
they are doing what it was told. Work as a team and always help each other out in any kind of
situation.
When we work in a company we have co-workers, people that are working together with
us. Sometimes we might not like them or even talk to them to any kind of reason, but you are
getting pay to work not to make friends, but in any company they all have to work together
weather you like them or not. For example you are working for a company and you have been
place with your enemy you still have to work together, that’s why you are getting pay for. In
order to a business to succeed is to work together as a team. Like the saying goes two heads are
always better than one, co-workers should always be together and also work as one.
Give specific targets to your employees. This means give a specific target to the employees or
staff to solve a specific problem, having a specific focus will help the employees have a better
knowledge and a better understanding to solve their own problems in their area. Giving them a
very difficult target would be a great idea to help your employees to get better and help them
succeed. Promote different ways of doing things, change routines, and never stick just to one
way of solving in it, have different options, think differently, have brainstorming sessions, bring
EXPLORING THE CAREER OF A BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR
up new ideas, encourage employees to participate and voice their own opinions without any fear
or judgment. Do not always stay with the same routine because something it will get boring and
the employees with not always do their best.
A business should be innovative and create new ideas of how to work more effectively
and keep workers happy. Always keep on having trainings to employees, keep in mind that the
era keeps on going and new things come and change in business. Employers should show
employees what a problem-solving looks like in the real world business. Keep always learning
new things, and innovate new techniques. Like they say practices makes perfection, keep on
practicing and stay updated.
Finally a business should have appropriate equipment (technology) in order to work
perfectly or as perfectly as possible. Proving the necessary equipment to the staff so they could
be able to solve any kind of problem, provide the tools that they need so they can handle a
customer complaint without calling any manager. This empowers employees and stimulates them
to work with confidence helping them improve service levels with customers and have a better
outstanding business.
It does not matter how small, or big a business is, it does not matter the style, the look or
the location. What it matters is how you manage it, it depends on how you set the goals of the
company, it depends on the staff that you have, how well prepared they are, how you manage the
control of the business, the customer service, the requirements that everyone that should have, It
is what kind of policies you want to implement in your business. Having the control of how is
the service, the potential, the relation between the staff, the respect that them have between each
other, the rewards that you might do and how to react into resolving a solution and how to
EXPLORING THE CAREER OF A BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR
manage it. It also depends on what the customer wants and the benefit of the company the
product, the service, the price range, the speed.
Concluding Statement
Being a Business Administrator might sound very easy to a lot of people but in reality it
is a lot of responsibility on what they have to deal and manage with. It is not only money but
time and dealing with a lot people. Managing a whole business by itself is not easy especially if
the business have goals into growing and expanding their company. Knowing to manage time is
way easier; having knowledge about time is what makes you a good Business Administrator and
a better person in life. “No matter the situation, the point is that [everyone] should be treated the
same and included in the same work activities regardless of [eveyones] different characteristics.
Many organizations are working very hard to respect and appreciate diversity in the workplace.”
EXPLORING THE CAREER OF A BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR
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