Management Majors Balance Business Dollars and Sense

A Major for Every Manager 

The management major is built for flexibility, welcoming students with a wide range of career objectives, according to Michael J. Sale, associate professor of business administration and Management & Business Analytics Department chair. “We encourage students to work closely with their advisors to design a curriculum that works for the direction [in which] they want to take their degree,” he says.  

Additionally, Stonehill’s Dual Degree Direct Entry Program gives students the ability to be admitted into one of Stonehill’s graduate programs, such as its MBA, and graduate with two degrees in as few as four years.  

And while the program features pathways for students interested in specific aspects of management — such as human resources and information systems — the mix of classes available to students leads to career opportunities that go far beyond these two disciplines. From sales and entrepreneurship to nonprofit, entertainment and construction management, the skills of a Stonehill management major are transferrable to countless pathways.  

What sets Stonehill’s program apart, notes Sale, is its human-centered approach. Though management students at Stonehill take courses in statistics, finance and operations, they also develop an aptitude for human motivation, decision-making and negotiation. “Our students learn management as a relational practice, not just a technical one,” Sale says. “They develop an entire people-focused set of tools in addition to understanding the fundamental science of management.” 

The program provides ample opportunity for students to apply these skills in real-world settings. Most management students complete at least one internship, landing in roles with organizations such as Massport, Staples, WB Mason and the YMCA.  

In addition to managing others, students are pushed to learn how to manage themselves.  Various aspects of the curriculum are designed to help them understand themselves better, exploring things like their strengths, weaknesses, decision making and conflict styles etc. This helps them develop the self-awareness foundational for growth throughout their careers. 

Another valuable tool in the program is DECA, a national case study competition that challenges students to present solutions to real-world business problems. “It teaches students to improvise and make decisions under pressure, skills they carry directly into today’s business environment,” says Sale, who serves as the group’s on-campus faculty advisor. 

Building a Career From the Business of Shopping 

For Zach Dangel ’25, an internship at The TJX Companies was a full-circle moment; as a child, he’d accompany his grandmother on shopping trips to TJX stores, fascinated by ever-changing product assortment and unique business model the company’s stores offered. “I wanted to understand the operations behind these one-of-a-kind stores where every shopping experience was completely different than the last,” he says. 

As a merchandising intern at TJX, Dangel got to do exactly that, combining data analysis and presentation skills from his classes to identify sales trends and take his buying category suggestions directly to senior leaders. Upon graduation, he will tap the same skills as a full-time allocation analyst with the company.  

Dangel says Stonehill’s management program set him up for success in a full-time role with one of the region’s top employers by imparting strong analysis skills, a keen appreciation for ethical business practices, and an understanding of global business. Yet some of his most important lessons were found in interactions with faculty beyond the classroom. “I have benefitted from individualized advice from professors, who offer a wide breadth of knowledge and corporate experience truly want to help their students,” he says. 

Putting Negotiation Into Practice 

Glasheen points to one class in particular — Managerial Negotiation and Decision Making, taught by Hilary Gettman, professor of management — as the theory she learned and skills she practiced in the class proved to be relevant an invaluable in her current role with Mass General.  

“A lot of the negotiation we do in my job is around models of how people work — how many weekends, for example,” she explains. “My job is to balance individual needs with staffing needs, to stay within our model but also maintain staff satisfaction. Those skills come directly from the real-life cases we argued in Professor Gettman’s class.”  

Beyond negotiation alone, Glasheen says the strength of Stonehill’s management program is in its holistic approach, which prepares graduates to jump in well prepared for any situation.  

“I am versatile – I can balance revenue and costs, weigh in on data strategies and effectively manage diverse projects with people from a range of backgrounds,” she says. “The interdisciplinary approach at Stonehill sets its students up as well-rounded professionals.”  

Teddy McElaney ’23 discovered the same mix of skills through his Stonehill experience. “I gained a strong foundation through both coursework and practical experiences, equipping me with transferable skills that have continued to benefit me in my career,” he notes.  
 
Though he entered the Management program unsure of his future career plans, advice from professors helped McElaney find his way to a role in sales; he now serves as a business development consultant for the software giant Oracle. “I frequently need to negotiate through challenging situations — how to deal with different personalities and keep people happy,” he says. “Navigating this kind of pressure and accountability in the work world is nothing new after my Stonehill experience.”