Posted on March 25th, 2025 in Blog, Business

Business Administration vs. Business Management

Business is the most popular major at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, ahead of education, healthcare, and engineering. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, business degrees accounted for 19% of all bachelor’s degrees conferred in the 2021-22 school year and 23% of master’s degrees.

The appeal of a business education is easy to understand. According to the Education Data Initiative, graduates with a business bachelor’s degree make nearly 8% more than their peers and have an 11% lower unemployment rate. And the degree pays for itself after roughly eight years in the workforce — three years faster than it takes for all other bachelor’s degrees.

Those who want to pursue a business education often choose a bachelor’s or master’s in business administration, although other majors are available. Comparing the distinctions in the fields of study — such as business administration versus business management — including their respective potential career outcomes is crucial.

Comparing Business Administration vs. Business Management

The business administration and business management fields share some similarities. Both entail high-level decision-making and planning. Professionals in business administration roles typically have some management responsibilities, and those in management roles often have duties related to business administration. However, there are key differences between them.

Business administration is a somewhat broader discipline than business management, with a greater focus on strategic planning and policymaking and oversight of the various aspects of a business to ensure they work together efficiently to achieve long-term goals. It involves multiple elements of an organization, including finance, marketing, human resources, and operations.

Business management is more closely associated with the day-to-day operations of an organization, including the management and optimization of people and resources. Business management involves supervising staff and strategically deploying resources to maximize an organization’s productivity and growth.

Business Administration vs. Business Management Degree Programs

Business administration and business management degree programs have distinct curricula and goals. While both typically cover foundational business topics, like economics and business law, they differ in their focus areas.

Business administration programs emphasize strategic planning and how to organize and manage different business functions, such as accounting and marketing, for maximum efficiency. They may also focus on helping students build their leadership skills, and often allow students to specialize in a particular business area like human resources or finance.

Business management programs, on the other hand, generally place a greater emphasis on helping students develop their leadership and management capabilities, including their interpersonal communication, team-building, and problem-solving skills. Organizational leadership programs cover similar ground, preparing students for supervisory roles with a focus on people-centered leadership and relationship management.

A key similarity between business administration and business management programs is that they’re both designed to prepare students for high-level roles in business.

Business Administration vs. Business Management Career Outcomes

Organizations always need skilled business leaders, generally making a business administration or business management degree a worthy investment. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that employment in business and financial occupations will grow faster than average over the next decade, with more than 950,000 job openings expected to be available each year between 2023 and 2033. Management occupations are also projected to experience tremendous growth, with about 1.2 million openings expected each year.

While there are parallels between business administration and business management programs, each degree can lead to distinct career paths.

Business Administration Careers

Within the field of business administration, there are numerous subfields and specializations, each with its own responsibilities and varying levels of seniority. Common roles for graduates of business administration programs include the following:

Accountant

Accountants play a key role in managing the financial health of a business, analyzing financial reports to ensure their accuracy and the business’s compliance with legal and regulatory standards. They also assess operations and make recommendations to improve efficiency within the organization. Their other core responsibilities include:

Preparing tax returns and ensuring timely, accurate payments
Analyzing financial records and accounting systems to identify fraud risks
Advising leadership on ways to cut costs, boost revenues, and improve profits

Accountants had a median annual wage of $79,880 in May 2023, according to the BLS.

The BLS projects that employment of accountants will grow by 6% between 2023 and 2033, creating more than 91,000 new jobs.

Marketing Manager

Marketing managers estimate demand for products or services, identify potential markets, and develop strategies to attract and retain customers. They direct the marketing team and are involved in the recruitment and training of new staff. Their additional duties may include:

Carrying out and analyzing market research studies to assess growth opportunities
Evaluating the efficacy of existing marketing campaigns and materials and making or recommending improvements
Collaborating with other department heads and staff on budgets, contracts, creative vision, and marketing plans

According to BLS data, the median annual wage for marketing managers was $157,620 in 2023.

BLS projections indicate that employment of marketing managers will grow by 8% between 2023 and 2033, as organizations continue to rely on these professionals to maintain and grow their market share. This growth is expected to create some 31,000 new jobs.

Human Resources Manager

In a role that both business administration and business management graduates qualify for, human resources (HR) managers oversee the recruitment, interviewing, and hiring of new staff. They also act as a liaison between an organization’s leadership and its employees. Their core responsibilities typically include:

Planning and administering employee services, such as payroll and benefits programs
Working with other managers on human resources issues, like equal employment opportunities and sexual harassment
Advising executives on ways to maximize employee productivity and efficiency

Human resources managers had a median annual wage of $136,350 in 2023, the BLS reports.

Employment of HR managers will grow by 6% between 2023 and 2033, creating about 13,500 new jobs, according to projections from the BLS.

Business Management Careers

A master’s degree in business management can lead to a wide range of career paths, many of which have significant growth potential. Popular roles for business management graduates include the following:

Project Management Specialist

Project management specialists coordinate and guide all aspects of their assigned projects, including the budget, schedule, and staff. They may also act as the primary point of contact for a project’s client. Their additional responsibilities include:

Collaborating with clients to establish the requirements and goals of projects
Developing the projects’ plans and assigning staff roles
Monitoring costs to ensure the projects stay within budget

Project management specialists had a median annual wage of $98,580 in 2023, according to the BLS.

Employment of project management specialists is expected to grow by 7% — creating nearly 70,000 new jobs — between 2023 and 2033, the BLS estimates.

Management Analyst

Management analysts, sometimes called management consultants, advise organizations on improving their efficiency and profitability by reducing their costs and boosting their revenues. To this end, a management analyst’s duties often include:

Gathering information about an organization through data analysis, on-site observations, and staff interviews
Identifying operational inefficiencies and recommending improvements, including new processes and systems
Working with management to monitor progress and ensure changes are working

Management analysts had a median annual wage of $99,410 in 2023, the BLS reports.

Their cost-cutting and profit-enhancing expertise will drive increasing demand for management analysts in the coming years, creating nearly 108,000 new jobs (11% growth) between 2023 and 2033, according to BLS projections.

Sales Manager

Sales managers oversee the sale of products or services to customers. In addition to leading sales representatives, they have numerous other responsibilities, including the following:

Setting sales goals and monitoring the sales staff’s progress toward those goals
Analyzing sales data and identifying customers’ preferences to inform sales strategies
Directing the recruitment, hiring, and training of sales staff

As leaders of one of the most important departments in an organization, sales managers generally earn competitive salaries. They had a median annual wage of $135,160 in 2023, according to the BLS.

Employment of sales managers will grow by 6% between 2023 and 2033, according to projections from the BLS, creating more than 34,000 new jobs.

Discover Your Business Leadership Potential

Degree programs in business administration and business management help aspiring leaders enhance their knowledge of various business functions and develop essential skills in management, strategy development, and decision-making. With demand for business professionals expected to rise in the coming years, graduates of these programs will be well-positioned to pursue a number of diverse career opportunities.

If you’re looking to launch a new career or take the next step in your current one, enrolling in Warner Pacific University Online’s Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration (BABA) or Master of Business Administration (MBA) program can help you gain the tools you need to unlock your potential and thrive in today’s competitive business landscape. Designed for working adults, either of the WPU Online programs can provide you with an accelerated pathway to a degree and the flexibility to balance your education with your work and life. WPU also offers many in-person programs.

Learn how WPU Online can help you prepare to succeed in the world of business.