AMHERST, N.Y. – Daemen College’s Business Administration Department has added specializations in the growing fields of social entrepreneurship and operations and supply chain management, giving students new educational opportunities in the business field.

Starting in the spring semester, the specializations will be offered to business administration majors along with the department’s other options in general business, human resource management, international business, marketing, and sport management. As with all business administration specializations, students will be required to complete an internship.

“Adding these specializations is a part of our continuing effort to enhance learning opportunities and expand career options for our students,” said Dr. Sharlene Buszka, chair of business administration. “These specializations are tailored to meet the particular skills required for the growing number of social enterprises being developed and to help meet the demand for operations management professionals.”

Social entrepreneurs develop solutions to social, cultural, and environmental issues through their businesses. In Daemen’s specialization, students will develop a solid business foundation in management, accounting and finance, marketing, and economics. The five-course specialization will cover social entrepreneurship, sustainable business practices, grants and contract development, and nonprofit management. Students will also be encouraged to take an entrepreneurship or sustainability minor, which are designed for all majors and career paths.

Buskza noted the specialization was created in response to heightened student interest in solving social issues as entrepreneurs by using a business approach that is sustainable and has a successful revenue management strategy.

According to a report on social entrepreneurship worldwide released by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the United States is among the nations with the highest level of social entrepreneurial activity. Also, in the State of Social Enterprise Survey 2015, social enterprises grew 40 percent more compared to small- to medium-sized businesses.

“The social entrepreneurship specialization has great potential for social good, job creation, and economic benefit while also help meet a growing demand in the business field,” said Buszka.

For the operations and supply chain management (OSCM) specialization, students will be prepared to manage an organization’s production and delivery of goods and services by focusing on policies, daily operations and workflow, managing inventory, and matching the design of the production system with the organization’s strategy. As part of this, supply chain management, which is a part of operations management, will train students on working with outside partners to procure parts, raw materials, and other resources for an organization’s production of goods.

“There is an increasing need in operations and supply chain management given the rapid growth of multinational companies like Amazon and for locally-based businesses in the Buffalo Niagara region such as New Era Cap, Rich Products, and Moog,” said Buszka.

Students in the OCSM specialization will be take courses in physical distribution management, production and operations management, accounting, project management, and human resource management.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of operations research analysts is projected to grow 26 percent from 2018 to 2028, much faster than the average for all occupations. The Occupational Information Network, an online occupational database, has identified operations managers as having a projected job growth of 7 to 10 percent from 2018 to 2028, which is faster than the average for other occupations.

To learn more about the Daemen business administration major and the new specializations, contact Dr. Sharlene Buskza at sbuszka@daemen.edu or at 839-8428, or visit daemen.edu/business.