What many business majors fail to realize is that Algebra is absolutely crucial to their progression throughout their professional degree program. The reason that algebra is so vital to their business career strategy is that Algebra is utilized in many ways in the business world depending on which sector that you decide to work in for the long term. Where the knowledge of Algebra comes in is when you are tasked with the objective of solving equations in everyday problems that utilize Algebra. When we look Algebra in high school, we learned a great deal about how Algebra could be applied to our environment within our schooling; however, there was little focus on how Algebra was a discipline that was so far beyond the relevance of what we were studying in high school. The reality is that Algebra is included all over the globe and given the proximity of the global markets due to globalization, Algebra has become a discipline that is necessary to survive in the corporate culture that is experienced to date. Thus, it is imperative for business students to take Algebra who are involved in accounting, finance, statistical calculations, prospective MBA candidates, and supply chain specialties. Having a working knowledge of Algebra in these sectors is crucial to your progression of your career to the next level.
Algebra is crucial for students who want to focus on the accounting sector for their career, (“Back to Basics – The Use of Algebra in Management Accounting,” 2012). A basic example of how Algebra can be used is in expressing the relationship between various variables involving equations that calculate numbers passed on roots and powers, (“Back to Basics – The Use of Algebra in Management Accounting,” 2012). Additionally, mathematical models that are prevalent in many different sectors of management accounting also express the pertinent relationships between variables in graphs and models, (“Back to Basics – The Use of Algebra in Management Accounting,” 2012). These models are crucial to fiscal decision-making in many companies, which is why having an up-to-date knowledge on these practices is vital if you are considering working in the accounting sector.
Algebra additionally is imperative for students who are going to focus on the financial sector of business, (Hacker, Andrew, 2012). The reason that Algebra is so relevant to finance is that the word problems that you actually complete in your finance class are directly related to the real world in that you have to solve for the missing algebraic variable in many cases. An example of this can be seen when you are at a bank calculating the interest rate for your mortgage or auto loan, (Hacker, Andrew, 2012). The professionals who are considering working in this area of finance must have a knowledge of Algebra that is error proof. Additionally, if you are going to go into the stock market sector of the financial world, you must be able to calculate the potential yield on an investment, which absolutely includes some form of Algebra, (Hacker, Andrew, 2012. For this reason, you are going to have to study Algebra carefully because the calculations that you make using Algebra can greatly influence your success rate and therefore, reputation as a stock broker in the future points of your career.
Algebra is very relevant to the statistics aspect of business as well, (“4 Ways College Algebra Can Help You With Your Career – Even Without a Math Degree,” 2016). Statistical analysis is another side of business that is often missed by many professional when considering where Algebra is needed. Companies rely on statistics for a plethora of reasons to include: marketing strategy, sales forecasts, and financial risk calculations, (“4 Ways College Algebra Can Help You With Your Career – Even Without a Math Degree,” 2016). This is precisely why companies need professionals in their departments that work with statistics on a regular basis to have a working knowledge of Algebra because one cannot get to the level of statistical calculation necessary without having a solid knowledge of algebraic skills first.
Supply chain is another area where we see a great deal of Algebra being used, (Foster, Steve, 2016). For this reason, any professional who is at the MBA level who is going to end up being a manger that has some involvement with the supply chain process is going to need to be well versed in Algebra. Supply chain requires a great deal of calculation regarding the appropriate amount of inventory to produce relating to sales numbers, (Foster, Steve, 2016). Supply chain also requires a great deal of forecasting to avoid waste in the company relating to having too much inventory producing and suffering a net loss, (Foster, Steve, 2016). Any manager who is going to be in a company that requires these practices is going to not only need to know Algebra, but is truly going to have to be an expert in it in order to be able to calculate those variables adequately and precisely to avoid critical errors.
If you have not had the opportunity to study College Algebra, do not fret because there are still viable options for you to consider as a working professional in the business arena. One aspect that many professionals forget is the valued of continued learning. If you have not have College Algebra because perhaps you had an unexpected career change, do something about it. Perhaps, enrolling in a night course to brush up on your high school skills would be a wise idea. If you do this on your own time, you will be essentially learning a new skill that will benefit you in your future positions and current positions as well. If you were not able to take College Algebra for whatever reason remember that continued learning is a great asset to your future success in your career. This thought process should also be applied to other seminars that may benefit your business job because if you continue to allow yourself to grow both professionally and personally, you will be able to get promoted quickly because your supervisors are going to witness your transformation that will be ahead of your colleagues. By maintaining your individuality and also sharpening your math skills in the business world, you will allow yourself to become an invaluable asset to your company for many years to come.
Upon entering the business world, it is crucial to understand that many coworkers, bosses, and classmates may not see the value of College Algebra in their day-to-day lives because they will essentially think that they can hire someone to do the calculations for them. This could not be farther from the truth because one needs to be able to understand these calculations in order to be an effective manager that makes sound business decisions for the corporation. If one takes the time to learn these skills well, then they can successfully delegate these tasks to others and represent the department and overall company with effective leadership.
References
“Back to Basics – The Use of Algebra in Management Accounting.” CIMA. 2012. Web. 18 May 2016.
“4 Ways College Algebra Can Help You With Your Career – Even Without a Math Degree.” StraighterLine. 2016. Web. 18 May 2016.
Dumbauld, Beth. “How to Get Started Into a Career in Business.” StraighterLine. 2016. Web. 18 May 2016.
Foster, Steve. “What Math Classes Do You Need to Take in College for Business Management?” SeattlePi. 2016. Web. 18 May 2016.
Hacker, Andrew. “Is Algebra Necessary?” The New York Times. 28 July 2012. Web. 18 May 2016.
