Business & Management VS Economics

[JonnyBoy]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and will begin my IB diploma program next year. If I would like to study business in university should I consider choosing Business Management HL or Economics HL? Will I learn the same things in university if I took Business Management? Thanks.

[__inthemaking]

Personally I'd recommend econ HL..I took econ HL and it was pretty straightforward and easy. Most of it is common sense and really applicable to "real life". I feel as though econ would be more useful than B&M, but that's just my opinion.

[Vvi]

I would say Business would be better, as it deals with the setting up of firms, accounts, advertising (a little bit at least) and more practical things. I took Business Studies at IGCSE level and Economics HL in IB, and the two are nothing alike. I had an easier time with business, calculating profits and so on. Economics is much broader and doesn't deal with individual companies; it focuses on how the economy functions, with inflaton/currency/demand and supply/trade and it's more theoretical than business in that you apply the theories to situations but don't focus on individual companies or anything. Economics doesn't teach you anything about mangagement, more about government policies.

[ROSEAN]

i decided for economics hl in ib diploma programme. it compares more with the german course vwl (volkswirtschaftslehre), which is offered at universitys there. business and management maybe compares more with bwl (betriebswirtschaftslehre) in germany.

Edited May 19, 2009 by ROSEAN

[wikinerd]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and will begin my IB diploma program next year. If I would like to study business in university should I consider choosing Business Management HL or Economics HL? Will I learn the same things in university if I took Business Management? Thanks.

My preference would be Econ HL.

(taking Econ SL... It really isn't that hard..)

[Tiara Angel]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and will begin my IB diploma program next year. If I would like to study business in university should I consider choosing Business Management HL or Economics HL? Will I learn the same things in university if I took Business Management? Thanks.

If you have the option to take both then I would recommend it. In terms of nature, the two subjects deal with different areas. Economics deals with supply, demand, the government's policies, unemployment, development, etc. Whereas Business deals with firms. The theory of the firm part in Econ might overlap that of Business. Economics would provide you with a good foundation for Business and so would Business studies. However, do bear in mind that if you go to the UK, Business is considered a soft subject.

[RAfter]

HI

I take BNM and it's hard to score even if you study hard. It's common sense with business tactics and terms in your answers. It's very subjective. Whereas Economics is hard core subject, it's not soft subject like BNM. Besides that they are increasing grade borderies to make Bnm a hard subject and no longer a soft subject. BNM internals is like a bnm EE except for the word count. The level of analysis is high, whereas in Eco, there are 4 internal assignment of 1000 words max. So I think Eco HL is surely a better option.

[Lex@]

It depends on what you want to study after IB. Economics teacher in my school sad that economics is more of theory, while business is more practical.

One more fact. For universities in UK all economics courses require you studying higher level maths. You should think about this issue too.

[Nurin Ayesha]

I have the same question, and at last I choose bnm.. and I don't know why.

[KiwiFruit]

Personally I would choose Business and Management due to the fact that it has a broad range of topics. I really enjoyed the diverse range of skills learned and the interesting case studies we got to examine. Also in comparison to the Economics Internal Assessment I believe that the Business and Management Internal assessment is a better experience. It forces you to go meet a company and do formal business report on a problem and how it can be fixed. I really enjoyed mine and I got a 7.

[Person]

I am currently studying Economics SL and it is really easy (I already got two 7s in a row). My friends who are studying Economics HL tell me that it is also easy. As for Business, based on what I see, I think it is harder, and that it needs more hard work. Anyhow, the Business students say that Economics is harder than business, so really you can never determine what is harder. But in my opinion Economics and common sense are close relatives. If I were you I would ask the university counselor at your school for advise.

Best of luck

[moskowgirl]

I'm taking both Business & Management HL and Economics HL - and they are completely different! The first few weeks are going to be quite similar - but after a while they go in totally different directions. Business then deals with Business strategies, Case studies etc whereas Economics is rather theoretical and there is lots of graphing and math. But its logical and easy to understand, whereas for business you do need some kind of talent - an "entrepreneural view" on things - but its also muich more fun than economics.

So - your choice depends on your skills/ character (are you a (creative) thinker oder a logical, structured person) and on what you want to do in the future. If you could consider to have your own business, as I do, I would definetly chose Business HL if I were you! You learn a lot of skills you will need. And I think that are more jobs in the "business & management" field than in the economics fiel, and they are usually also paid better.

In university you are going to repeat the whole Business and Economics things so you can lean back and relax the first one or two years. However, if you take Business & Management now - you will not only gain knowledge but - most important - skills! And you can never have enough skills.

So - to put it in a nutshell - I would suggest you to take Business =)

[David Russell]

This question is a bit like asking "I am hungry, Should I go and eat a Ham Sandwich or a Chicken Pie?"

The difference comes down to what you would prefer doing, and what your final goal is going to be!

To simply say that you are planning on studying business is not very specific. You could decide to study commerce as a discipline (my first degree was a Bachelor's degree in Commerce), but in this discipline, there are various "subjects" including Accounting and Finance, human relationship management, Marketing and Commercial Law (which would be linked to B&M), and also subjects such as international business, and of course Economics. You will probably need to take a range of these simply to attain a BCom degree. So, a choice between B&M and Economics is not really going to benefit a BCom study more. Although, as mentioned above, B&M has been seen in some universities as a "soft" course.

It would be valuable for you to research the content of the courses...and then decide which one appeals to you more.

B&M is about the decisions facing a potential entrepreneur in the establishment, management and growth of a company, across all facets of the company's development, including as large as a multinational company.

Economics is about how money actually works. It deals with "close-up" issues such as Demand, Supply, and the interaction between producers and consumers (Microeconomics), right up to larger issues such as how countries manage their nation's money supply, how taxes are set, national budgets, international financial relationships and the like (Macroeconomics).

There are other issues in both topics, and you should do research into both.

Both are challenging courses.

The best strategy would be (in my opinion):

1. Choose both subjects (if you are able). There is good overlaps between the topics, which could be valuable to have a multidisciplinary approach to your EE, as well!

2. Interview the teacher for both subjects to get a feel for the content and the teaching style of the teachers.

3. Understand the requirements of each subject (4 essays, or a research project)

Then...and only then...Make a decision that you prefer!

[dyleila]

It depends on what you want to study after IB. Economics teacher in my school sad that economics is more of theory, while business is more practical.

One more fact. For universities in UK all economics courses require you studying higher level maths. You should think about this issue too.

Agree.

I once asked for London School of Economics what score is required to study Business and they said 7 for Math HL is a must.

I recommend Eco SL which would be easier to get 7 in Math HL.

That's what I choose.

Hope this useful for you.

[9d9]

My preference would be Econ HLEconomics is about how money actually works. It deals with "close-up" issues such as Demand, Supply, and the interaction between producers and consumers (Microeconomics), right up to larger issues such as how countries manage their nation's money supply, how taxes are set, national budgets, international financial relationships and the like (Macroeconomics). you will gain a lott frm eco rather then bm.

[Chitra K.]

Economics is usually on a macro level and it involves a lot of theory, whereas B&M covers a whole range of topics such as Marketing, Human Resources, Accounting and Finance and Operations.

The focus for B&M is about analyzing specific problems of a particular business.

The exam has 2 papers - one is based on a pre-issued case study and the other is answering 3 questions about separate case studies.

There is only one coursework involved and it is pretty simple and easy to get good marks in if you follow all the instructions.

I would definitely recommend it over Econ which has a lot of theory which can be difficult at times. If you have the interest, you can really do well at B&M as it is a very scoring subject.

Hope that helps!

[Guest]

B&M is definitely more fun...Its all understanding it way better than economics. If your thinking of the United States for college...then take BM but Uk....then you might want to rethink your strategy.

[Anansi]

From what I heard from my econ teacher (who's also teaches BM), econ hl has more credits for university and the difference between sl and hl aren't that big.

hope that helps

[fahadrebdi]

hey got some questions about these 2 subjects so please give me as much feedback as possible would be rlly healpful:

1. How hard are the two subjects at HL? Does it requires lots of studying for an over average student?

2. Is it a good combination of courses? (with my other HL is physics) What potential careers is avaliable?( considering the lowest grade is a 5 for example)

3. Does economics Hl involves writing essays or short answers in the exams,homeworks,projects..?

Thank you in advance

[ibisgh3y]

Some people say that IB Econ has parts of Business Management inside. However,people who take Business Management has lower grades than Econ, according to my teacher. So, taking that into consideration, I suggest Econ as it is the whole picture of our society.