Department of Business Administration

Dr. S. P. Asawo

Ag. Head of Department

INTRODUCTION

The Department of Business Administration came into being with the establishment of the College of Science and Technology, the fore-runner of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology in 1980. The Department had housed several programmes including Banking and Finance, Management, Marketing and Mass Communications. The programmes grew to gain the full status of Departments. Consequently, by the approval of the University Senate, the Department of Management commenced in the 2002-2003 Academic session and housed the Management Programme, which had been the pillar of the old Department of Business Administration. With the transition from the NUC Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) to the Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CC-MAS), the Department was renamed Department of Business Administration with a change of programme from Management to Business Administration as well in the 2023-2024 Academic Session.

The Department of Business Administration itself came into being with the establishment of the College of Science and Technology, the fore-runner of the Rivers State University of science and Technology in 1980. The Management Programme has made a strong impact in the Faculty of Management Sciences, in the University as a whole, and in the business environment, as it has graduated many able technocrats and produced many who are presently in academia and politics. It has also produced six Professors and many Ph.D holders in the field who are incontestable international scholars. The University has for long recognized the need to have a full fledged Department of Management. This expected hope became a reality from the 2002-2004 Academic session.

The Department runs a programme that leads to the award of a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Business Administration. The programme is designed to provide fundamental knowledge and then deepen the students’ grasp of basic knowledge, attitude and skills in the various competence domains of Business and their application within and across context. It also introduces them to the techniques and tools of research, develops in them the spirit of enquiry and generally prepares them to face challenges and solve problems in the field of Business Administration.

B.Sc. Business Administration Programme

Overview

The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration programme provides students with all-encompassing knowledge of business theories and concepts and their application to real world problems. The course sharpens students’ analytical thinking on business problems and opportunities, how the different functional areas of business are interrelated as well as develop their leadership and entrepreneurship qualities. This course equips students with vital and creative decision-making skills to help boost students’ personal endeavours and job careers.

This Business Administration curriculum enables the students to develop a good understanding of the fundamentals of management and various aspects of managerial practice, as well as gain `practical experience in a real-world context with the new programme on internship. All the skills that a good manger needs, from the ability to critically analyze management issues to knowledge of managerial responsibilities in the socio-economic environment are provided in this programme.

Staff list in the Department

Name	Rank	Area Of Specialisation	Email
Dr. S. P. Asawo	Reader/Ag. HOD	Organizational Leadership and Behavioural Research	soye.asawo@ust.edu.ng
Prof. S. Accra-Jaja	Professor	Management	jaja.seth@ust.edu.ng
Prof. D. I. Hamilton	Professor	Business Policy and Strategy	donald.hamilton@ust.edu.ng
Prof. K. B. Bagshaw	Professor	Production and Operations Management	bagshaw.karibo@ust.edu.ng
Prof. A. O. Oparanma	Professor	Service Management and Entrepreneurship	oparanma.austin@ust.edu.ng
Prof. J. M. O. Gabriel	Professor	Organizational Behaviour and Management Information System	gabriel.justin@ust.edu.ng
Dr. I. Wehie	Reader	Business Policy and Strategy	wechie.ibekwe@ust.edu.ng
Dr. S. Lebura	Reader	Business Policy and Strategy	sorbarikor.lebura@ust.edu.ng
Dr. E. H. Ogbonda	Senior Lecturer	Organizational Behaviour	eyinda.ogbonda@ust.edu.ng
Dr. K. D. Gbarale	Senior Lecturer	Organizational Behaviour	korsi.gbarale@ust.edu.ng
Dr. P. L. Bayo	Lecturer I	Business Policy and Strategy	bayo.princewill@ust.edu.ng
Dr. P. O. Olomi	Lecturer I	Organizational Behaviour	progress.olomi@ust.edu.ng
Dr. C. N. Okwurume	Lecturer I	Organizational Behaviour	okwurume.clarance@ust.edu.ng
Dr. B. Aeba	Lecturer I	Business Policy	barine.aeba@ust.edu.ng
Dr. C. C. Wobodo	Lecturer II	Organizational Behaviour	chinoye.wobodo@ust.edu.ng
Dr. S. Owhorji	Lecturer II	Organizational Behaviour	sunday.owhorji@ust.edu.ng
Dr. C. N. Okposuogu	Lecturer II	Business Policy	aasca.okpusuogu@ust.edu.ng
Dr. O. G. Amadi	Lecturer II	Organizational Behaviour	ovunda.gideon@ust.edu.ng
Dr. A. G. Kpakol	Lecturer II	Organizational Behaviour	aborlo.kpakol@ust.edu.ng
N. Nyebuchi	Assistant Lecturer	Organizational Behaviour	nancy.nyebubuchi@ust.edu.ng
O. Okwu	Assistant Lecturer	Management	oroma.okwu@ust.edu.ng
J. Osai	Graduate Assistant	Business Policy and Strategy
Wifama, Wariye Mercy	B.Sc	Principal Confidential Secretary	wifama.wariye@ust.edu.ng
Omuku, Sarah Eneyi	B.Sc.	Administrative Officer I
Otua, Lucky Eva	M.Sc., B.Sc	Administrative Officer II
Nyekwere, Chituru	HND	Higher Executive Officer

SKILLS AND UNIQUE FEATURES OF THE PROGRAMME

Employability Skills

Students of this programme, at the time of graduation, should have possessed the following key skills that would enhance their employability and self-reliance such as the following:

communication: Both oral, written communication and listening skills; Business Administration graduates would be clear, concise and focused in their interactions and engagement;
teamwork: Graduates of Business Administration should demonstrate the ability to build positive working relationships that assist each team member to achieve business objectives;
problem solving: From a variety of courses offered on business decision, graduate should demonstrate the ability to implement logical and analytical approach to solve problems and resolve organizational conflicts and issues;
leadership: Graduates of this programme should demonstrate ability to influence and motivate teams and other members of staff to achieve organizational goals and objective through assigning responsibilities and delegating tasks to achieve results;
entrepreneurial skills: Spotting gaps in the market, suggesting ways to improve processes, or coming up with new ideas are all signs of an entrepreneurial approach; You 132 don’t have to set up your own business to make use of your enterprise skills; Many employers will be looking out for graduate recruits with these qualities;
lT skills: Students of business administration are empowered with critical IT skills with which they can demonstrate to employers their versatility in the use of different management software applications to enrich the work experience;
resilience: Graduates of this programme would be imbued with resilience quality which will enable them to cope with changes, problems and stress in the work place; and
analytical skills: Managers work with different kinds of information, patterns and trends from which they must draw meaningful conclusions. Hence, relevant courses build into the students’ analytical skills.

21st Century skills

The Business Administration curriculum was consciously designed with the 21st century reality in mind. It equips students with a combination of both soft and hard skills that are critical for a modern workforce. Some key 21st century skills in-built into the curriculum are: (1) critical thinking; (2) communication skills; (3) creativity; (4) problem solving; (5) perseverance; (6) collaboration; (7) information literacy; (8) technology skills and digital literacy; (9) media literacy; and (10) global awareness.

Unique features of the programme

Several factors make this programme a unique one. Some of these unique features are:

incorporated some innovative courses such as green management which give the students an edge by inculcating in them environmental consciousness and responsible resource management early in life;
prepares the students for the enormous business opportunities in the digital space with rich modules on e-Commerce and a number of IT-based courses;
the programme provides students with different pathways to successfully fit into a wide range of career paths in finance, management, manufacturing, teaching, consulting, administration and related fields;
the new internship programme would afford the students ample opportunities to operate in a real-world situation as well as interact with industry leaders and business players, thereby gaining the desired industry experience; and
this programme provides the students a diverse skills-set that can be used in virtually any type of profession, creating a higher demand for the graduates compared to other courses.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Candidates are admitted into the degree programmes in any of the following ways: (1) The University Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), or (2) Direct Entry (DE)

UTME Entry Mode

In addition to UTME requirements, the prospective candidate for a 4-year degree programme is expected to have obtained credit passes in five Senior Secondary Certificate (SSC) subjects or its equivalent including English Language and Mathematics and any of Economics, Financial Accounting, Marketing, Commerce and Business Methods at not more than two sittings.

Direct Entry Mode

In addition to O’Level requirements stipulated above, applicants should possess at least two A ‘Level papers in relevant subjects. For those who wish to read Business Administration, Mathematics must be passed at Advanced Level.
ND in relevant discipline with at least upper credit grade in addition to the five credit passes as in (a) above.
HND in relevant discipline with at least upper credit in addition to five credit passes as in (a) above.

PHILOSOPHY OF THE PROGRAMME

The underlying philosophy of business administration programme is to provide students with a well-rounded education which prepares the graduate for a creative and productive role in business as well as a capacity for self-development, while maintaining the highest ethical and moral standards. It ultimately grooms students with requisite skills of connecting business concepts to the larger global society and a clear career path as business professionals.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The overall objective of the business administration programme is designed to produce managerial manpower with appropriate knowledge, skills and aptitude to succeed in the ever growing and changing business environment. The curriculum is designed to enable graduates of the programme achieve the following specific objectives:

apply quantitative models analytical skills in handling problems of management and finance for sustainable business operation;
integrate in a systematic manner business-related problem with conceptual tools for analyzing and evaluating business issues;
demonstrate good leadership and interpersonal relations skills for successful business management;
develop an entrepreneurship mindset with enabling creative competencies for new business development to become job creators; and
demonstrate capacity for successful career in corporate organizations and public service with high moral and ethical standards.