There are no subjects at secondary school that you must take to study business at Otago, although English-rich subjects and statistics are recommended.
Match your academic strengths and personality to a Business major or minor
Accounting
- Able to keep information confidential
- Honest, with an eye for detail
- Methodical, logical and able to make sound judgements
- Good mathematical and numeracy skills
- Works well under pressure to meet deadlines
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
- Excellent communication and people skills
- Enjoys being part of a team
Business Analytics (minor only)
- Interested in extracting insights from data
- Has good mathematical and numeracy skills
- Is methodical and logical in solving problems
- Interested in computer programming and new technologies
- Interested in data visualization and decision-making
- Is detail-oriented
- Has good communication skills
- Works effectively in teams
Economics
- Interested in human behaviour
- Good research and problem-solving skills
- Demonstrates decision-making ability
- Excellent communication and people skills
- Good mathematical and numeracy skills
- Thinks logically, laterally and is creative
- Interested in people and society
- Highly developed analytical skills
Entrepreneurship
- An ambitious and proactive self-starter
- Good at recognising opportunities to create value, profit and well-being
- Thrives on flexibility, openness and independence; able to experiment, learn from mistakes, pivot and adapt
- Excellent at motivating and inspiring others to reach long-term objectives
- A strong negotiator and persuasive communicator
- Capable of making difficult decisions
- Strategic thinker who sees the bigger picture
- Tūwhitia te hopo, mairangatia te angitū: Feel the fear and do it anyway
Finance
- Calculated risk taker
- Good research and problem-solving skills
- Demonstrates decision-making abilities
- Good mathematical and numeracy skills (statistics and calculus)
- Accurate and patient
- Able to make good judgements and adapt quickly to change
- Works well under pressure to meet deadlines
- Excellent communication and people skills
Human Resource Management
- Interested in working with people
- Approachable, helpful and reliable
- Exercises detail-orientation
- Excellent communication skills
- Concerned about organisational and employee well-being
- Managing talent in organisations
- Balancing multiple stakeholders’ objectives
- Strategic management of people
Hospitality (minor only)
- Great listener and can pick up on non- verbal cues
- Excellent oral communicator
- Strong customer orientation
- Thrives under pressure
- Enjoys upholding quality standards
- Willing and able to work hard
- Multi-tasker
- Effective planning and time-management
- Good leadership skills
- Information Science
- Interested in changing the world with technology
- Project oriented
- Interested in computer programming
- Creative and inventive
- Likes gadgets and new challenges
- Has good research and problem-solving skills
- Practical thinker
- Excellent communication and people skills
International Business
- Interested in other cultures and knowledge of global events
- An aptitude for cultural competency
- Interested in foreign affairs and trade
- Willingness to explore languages and engage with others
- Excellent communication and people skills
- Engaging with diverse practices
Management
- Able to motivate and inspire others
- Works effectively with teams
- Strong research and problem-solving skills
- Diplomatic and persuasive
- Able to analyse, synthesise and interpret data
- Able to think strategically
- Excellent communication and people skills
- Able to make sound judgements, and adapt quickly to change
Marketing
- Good problem-solving skills
- Creative thinker
- Enquiring and analytical
- Likes to know why things are as they are
- Interested in people, behaviour and how things work in different cultures
- Able to analyse, interpret and understand a range of information and data
- Good research and evaluation skills
- Effective planning and time management
- Excellent communication and people skills
Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE)
- Interested in solving the world’s problems
- Oriented towards public service
- Excellent communication and people skills
- Curious about ethics, politics and society
- Good mathematical and numeracy skills
- Interested in human behaviour
- Highly developed analytical skills
- Excellent planning and time- management
Sustainable Business (minor only)
- Concerned for the planet
- Wants to improve current social and ecological outcomes
- Emergent leader and change agent
- Creative problem-solver
- Passionate about developing a deeper understanding of individual and organisational sustainability practices
- Excited by the opportunities that businesses and entrepreneurs have to be good corporate citizens
- Interested in learning to evaluate. critique & guide organisational sustainability responses
- Craves meaningful work
Sustainable Finance (minor only)
- Passion for solving environmental and social issues
- Strong research and problem-solving skills
- Creative and future-perspectives thinker
- Demonstrates decision-making abilities
- Able to analyse, synthesise and interpret data
Tourism
- Excellent communication skills
- Well organised
- Looks and plans for opportunities
- Great networker and relationship builder
- Able to grasp new technologies
- Open-minded
- Detail-oriented
- Committed to customer service
- Friendly, enthusiastic, welcoming personality with people of all cultures and backgrounds
- Adaptable and resourceful
- Good leadership skills
