Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between business unit managers and general managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a business unit manager and a general manager. Additionally, a business unit manager has an average salary of $122,782, which is higher than the $71,581 average annual salary of a general manager.
The top three skills for a business unit manager include continuous improvement, customer service and product line. The most important skills for a general manager are customer service, cleanliness, and food safety.
| Business Unit Manager | General Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $122,782 | $71,581 |
| Hourly rate | $59.03 | $34.41 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 295,151 | 442,690 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.25 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A business unit manager handles a unit or segment of the company. This unit may be a specialized team on specific projects or a part of a significant production process. The business unit manager ensures that the unit works efficiently and productively by implementing strategies and techniques that will enhance the productive output. A business unit manager also provides suggestions, offers solutions to problems, handles tasks delegation, planning production processes, and training and monitoring of employees in a unit.
A general manager is responsible for handling the overall operations in the business. General managers manage the staff tasks efficiently, monitor the productivity and efficiency of the work environment, implement new strategies to improve the business performance, recognize the team's best efforts, and effective allocation of budget resources. A general manager must have excellent communication, decision-making, and critical-thinking skills to identify areas of improvement in handling customer complaints, connecting with vendors and other lines of businesses that will direct the company towards its successful objectives.
Business unit managers and general managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Business Unit Manager | General Manager | |
| Average salary | $122,782 | $71,581 |
| Salary range | Between $81,000 And $184,000 | Between $40,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | East Providence, RI | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Citi | NVIDIA |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a business unit manager and a general manager in terms of educational background:
| Business Unit Manager | General Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between business unit managers' and general managers' demographics:
| Business Unit Manager | General Manager | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 82.8% Female, 17.2% | Male, 70.7% Female, 29.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |