Businesses play a crucial role in shaping the economy. Business professionals are involved in the daily operations of businesses. They perform a diverse range of management and organisational tasks to help their companies thrive.

Depending on their role, their responsibilities may involve negotiating contracts, managing marketing efforts for products and services, overseeing financial matters, preparing budgets and creating business development strategies.

Studying a business administration degree can help you gain valuable skills and insights into the fast-paced business industry. Some courses cover multiple disciplines as well such as accounting, finance, economics, management and more. This allows you to expand your career opportunities as you will gain exposure to these fields to prepare you for your role.

Some programmes require you to do an internship as part of your curriculum. Not only will your degree exhibit your theoretical business knowledge, but you may also obtain practical industry experience that is highly favoured among prospective employers.

What you will learn in business administration courses

Studying a business administration degree can help you gain a diverse range of practical skills that can be applied in your career. Some of the subjects commonly covered in business administration courses include:

• Business accounting: Explore the role of accounting and finance in making informed business decisions. You may delve into the language of accounting to facilitate communication with accounting professionals and learn how to examine and interpret accounting information.
• Principles of management: Attain an understanding of activities involved in managing individuals, teams and organisations. Some topics that may be covered include communication and effective decision-making, sustainability and the future of work, and the importance of teamwork.
• Organisational behaviour: Learn how individuals behave in a professional context. This helps students understand work cultures and improve management practices, leading to better organisational operations.
• International business: Gain knowledge of essential theories and practices involved with the global marketplace. Students may learn about international trade and business strategies, the foreign exchange market and how other countries’ trade policies affect international business management.
• Strategic management: Acquire an understanding of how strategies are planned, executed and monitored. You may learn how organisations implement strategies based on their long-term objectives, resources and capabilities.
• Business communication: Learn how to communicate effectively with anyone within the business environment. This includes both oral and written communication.
• Entrepreneurship: Discover the steps involved in starting a business venture. You may learn how to identify business opportunities, prepare a business plan and calculate the resources needed.
• Business law: Develop an understanding of Malaysia’s legal frameworks in the business environment. Some topics that may be covered include contract law, hire purchase, consumer protection and dispute resolution.

Career opportunities in business administration

One of the benefits of studying a business administration course is that it can lead to various career paths. Here are some general business roles if you are considering which area of expertise to specialise in:

Marketing executive

• A marketing executive is involved in creating and reviewing marketing plans and campaigns for an organisation’s products or services. These professionals work with in-house or external agencies to develop marketing materials.
• You may also be responsible for finding business opportunities by examining market trends, competitors and customer activities.
• Average salary: RM3,300 to RM4,000 monthly.

Management consultant

• As a management consultant, your role could entail using your financial and business knowledge to advise an organisation’s management team on how to improve their profitability.
• Your responsibilities may involve reviewing financial information, recommending alternative methods to update organisational structures and following up with management to examine the performance of the recommendations.
• Average salary: RM4,000 to RM5,000 monthly.

Sales manager

• This role involves leading a team of sales professionals to execute sales plans and achieve business targets.
• Other duties may include creating sales strategies, managing budgets, monitoring the sales team’s progress, tracking customer satisfaction and calculating the sales potential of goods and services.
• Average salary: RM5,750 to RM8,250 monthly.

Brand manager

• A brand manager strengthens a client’s public image by implementing various marketing initiatives.
• You may find yourself networking with journalists, media outlets and influencers, supervising social media accounts, creating blog posts and articles, and managing the marketing team.
• Average salary: RM6,000 to RM7,000 monthly.

Business development manager

• This position involves identifying and building long-term business relationships with clients to grow your company’s revenue. You may also plan business development strategies for goods and services.
• Some of your responsibilities may involve performing market research to find opportunities, presenting business proposals to target clients and negotiating contracts.
• Average salary: RM6,000 to RM8,500 monthly.

Product manager

• Product managers develop products or services that fulfil customer needs.
• You may also manage an organisation’s product portfolio, form product strategies and monitor the performance of the products or services in the market.
• Average salary: RM7,000 to RM9,000 monthly.

Operations manager

• An operations manager oversees the daily operations of an organisation and identifies ways to optimise productivity.
• You may also be involved in planning long-term strategies to achieve business goals, reviewing departmental budgets and ensuring compliance with regulatory and safety standards.
• Average salary: RM6,550 to RM9,050 monthly.

Entrepreneur

• This position involves starting a new business venture that fills a gap in the market. You assume all the risks to grow all aspects of your business.
• You also need to source and raise capital to finance your business.
• The average monthly salary of an entrepreneur varies as it depends on your company’s size, industry and success.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

• As a CEO, you lead the development of your organisation.
• Your duties may involve collaborating with high-ranking senior executives to plan growth strategies, becoming the face of the company at public meetings and events, and setting targets for all departments to ensure the quality of their operations.
• The average monthly salary of a CEO depends on the size, performance and industry of your organisation.

Top institutions offering business administration degrees

Undergraduate level

Postgraduate level

FAQs about business administration degrees in Malaysia

Launch your business career

Graduating with a business administration degree allows you the opportunity to work in various fields within the business world. These courses help you build an in-demand skill set to advance in your career. Take your first step and discover a wide range of business administration courses offered by leading universities in Malaysia at the top of this page.