Business, Organizations, and Management Major

The Business, Organizations, and Management major offers a dynamic interpretation of business, management, and organizations by utilizing a critical management perspective to better understand their relationship with contemporary society. Although the fundamentals of business and management are still relevant, the ever-changing environment of business, globalization, and the impact on society requires a more fluid and analytical understanding. The Department of Management encourages students to use the skills and knowledge they will gain to analyze contemporary issues in a critical manner that is unfettered by traditional frameworks. Workers, communities, and social justice are given equal consideration with profit and shareholder returns.

The Business, Organizations, and Management major is anchored in the social sciences, and reaffirms the central role of the liberal arts in studies of business, organizations, and management. Critical thinking, rigorous inquiry, and the acquisition of knowledge are central to the Business, Organizations, and Management major. The curriculum stresses intellectual boldness, creative problem solving, entrepreneurial thinking, and the practice of socially responsible management. It is an ideal major for anyone aspiring to a management or leadership position in business, government, the nonprofit sector, or any other organizational environment.

The Business, Organizations, and Management major offers a dynamic interpretation of business, management, and organizations by utilizing a critical management perspective to better understand their relationship with contemporary society. Although the fundamentals of business and management are still relevant, the ever-changing environment of business, globalization, and the impact on society requires a more fluid and analytical understanding. The Department of Management encourages students to use the skills and knowledge they will gain to analyze contemporary issues in a critical manner that is unfettered by traditional frameworks. Workers, communities, and social justice are given equal consideration with profit and shareholder returns.

The Business, Organizations, and Management major is anchored in the social sciences, and reaffirms the central role of the liberal arts in studies of business, organizations, and management. Critical thinking, rigorous inquiry, and the acquisition of knowledge are central to the Business, Organizations, and Management major. The curriculum stresses intellectual boldness, creative problem solving, entrepreneurial thinking, and the practice of socially responsible management. It is an ideal major for anyone aspiring to a management or leadership position in business, government, the nonprofit sector, or any other organizational environment.

The Business, Organizations, and Management major is designed to give students not only a solid grounding in core principles of business, but to do so within a framework that extends beyond traditional pedagogical views for studying and teaching business. Students will rely on a critical managerial perspective for understanding and analyzing the evolving relationships of businesses with local, national, and global constituencies.

Students who major in Business, Organizations, and Management will take microeconomics, accounting, organizational behavior, statistics, research methods, marketing, and ethics. Business, Organizations, and Management majors will also have the opportunity to explore the critical analysis of corporate finance, marketing, business law, entrepreneurship, small business management, and business policy and strategy. In addition, they can choose to critically study the complex relationships among individuals, policies, and structures within business and organizations through courses on organization theory, systems thinking, decision making, as well as topics related to the future of work, organizational culture, human resource management, leadership, employee motivation, and well-being.

Critical Action Learning Experience

Students in the Business, Organizations, and Management major should complete an applied, substantive experience outside the classroom before beginning their senior year, referred to as a Critical Action Learning (CAL) Experience. This can be accomplished through global study programs with the Center for Global studies, a registered internship with the Center for Career Engagement, and immersion projects with the Center for Public Service. Once the experience is completed, students are responsible for writing an 8-10 page reflection paper about the experience that is contemplative, introspective, and incorporates theories and empirical literature from the field of Critical Management Studies (CMS). Students will work with their Management Faculty Advisor to complete a reflection paper upon conclusion of the CAL experience.

For students relying on internships to meet the CAL experience requirement, please see details for registering the internship and documenting the experience. Once the CAL experience and reflection paper are successfully completed, the student will receive a satisfactory grade for the internship (if applicable) and “credit” towards the BOM major.

Please note that neither the CAL assignment, nor the internship credit count towards one of the 32 course credits required for graduation.

Please contact the department CAL and Internship Coordinator, Professor Duane Bernard (dbernard@gettysburg.edu), for further inquiries.

Business, Organizations, and Management checksheet

Scheduling Notes

  • BOM majors should plan to take ECON 103 (fall) and MGT 155 (spring) in their first year.
  • BOM majors should plan to take MGT 235 and MGT 270 in their sophomore year (either semester).
  • Students cannot declare a BOM major before their sophomore year.