Business Administration — Operations Management Concentration, BA

Department of Decision Sciences, College of Business and Economics

88-90 credits

Introduction

The Business Administration program has been designed to prepare students for leadership roles in business and the community. One program objective is to provide students with the perceptual and analytical skills necessary in making decisions and evaluating policy in business; another is to develop student understanding of the social, economic and regulatory environment of business. The program is designed for students with a variety of career goals, including opportunities with financial institutions, manufacturing and retail firms, service industries and the public sector.

Learning goals	Learning objectives
1. Understanding of business and economics	Demonstrate breadth of knowledge and skills in general business and economics
	Demonstrate disciplinary knowledge and skills
2. Effective communication skills	Produce quality business documents
	Deliver a professional quality presentation supported by appropriate technology
3. Ethical and legal perspective	Analyze problems using an ethical perspective
	Analyze the legal implications of business decisions
4. Creative problem solving and critical thinking	Critically analyze problems
	Generate multiple alternative solutions
	Defend resolutions to problems
5. Quantitative skills	Solve business problems using quantitative techniques

Why Consider an Operations Management (OPS) Concentration in the Business Administration Major?

It 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 the 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 market place. 

Contact Information
CBE Admissions & Scholarships Dean’s Office Parks Hall 419 360-650-3896 cbe@wwu.edu	Department Chair Craig K. Tyran Parks Hall 343A 360-650-2207 Craig.Tyran@wwu.edu	Major Information: Academic Department Manager Michelle Stach Parks Hall 343 360-650-3275 Michelle.Stach@wwu.edu

Sample Careers

Production Supervisor | Quality Control Specialist | Inventory Control Specialist | Administrator | Operations Manager | Buyer | Supply Chain Consultant | Logistics Manager

Major/Career Resources

www.wwu.edu/careers/students_choosingamajor.shtml

How to Declare (Admission and Declaration Process):

How to apply: For consideration as a pre-major, provisional major or full major for the Business Administration - Operations Management Concentration, complete the online application form at: cbe.wwu.edu/apply-cbe.

Pre-major: Students who have not completed their foundation course work may apply to the College and be given pre-major status. Pre-major status is granted to students who are at least sophomore level, or who have been identified as top quintile students, and who, at the time of application, meet the following requirements:

• Minimum of a 2.50 cumulative college-level GPA including all previous institutions. The cumulative GPA is calculated on all college-level course work completed by the student, including any transfer work.
• 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.

Students with pre-major status may only enroll for foundation or core courses listed. Their progress will be monitored by the College. When students are in provisional full major status (during the quarter they are enrolled in their last foundation course(s)) they will be contacted via email and asked to complete an additional application for the concentration.

Full major: For admission to the Business Administration - Operations Management Concentration as a full major a student must meet the following requirements:

1. Minimum of 2.50 cumulative GPA after having completed all foundation courses. The cumulative GPA is calculated on all college-level course work completed by the student, including any transfer work.
2. Minimum of 2.50 Western cumulative. 
3. Students must have a Western cumulative GPA of 2.00 or higher to be considered in good academic standing with the University.

Students will be contacted via their Western email and asked to complete an additional application for the concentration.

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 in the concentration
• Past academic performance
  • Western GPA is the primary factor considered but other factors may include:
    • Performance in business courses taken at Western
    • Trends in academic performance
    • Performance in courses taken at other institutions as listed on the Transfer Equivalency Report
• Admission priority will be given to students with the best academic performance relative to the rest of the applicant pool.
• Academic performance will be the primary decision factor, but other factors may be considered (e.g., rationale for pursuing field of study, related work experience, student leadership, etc.).

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.