Objectives
The VU Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program is best described as a research-based management program aimed at enhancing managerial capacity to make a significant, original contribution to business practices. The program is highly flexible: DBA participants can tailor their studies around their career needs and lifestyle. The DBA program provides a practical yet academically rigorous learning experience for a diverse population of traditional and non-traditional participants. The objectives of the program are three-fold :
- to prepare participants for a career in management or consulting at the senior executive level;
- to provide participants with the knowledge and skills necessary in order to conduct meaningful and original empirical research;
- to develop within each participant the fundamental expertise and skills required in order to become a college or school faculty member in an area of Business Administration.
The doctoral program is designed for both part-time and full-time DBA participants. Those who apply themselves should be able to complete the required coursework within three years. DBA participants must complete the program within five years after beginning their doctoral coursework. However, in extenuating circumstances, DBA participants may apply for an extension of up to one year to complete the program. After six years in the program, DBA participants must reapply if they have not completed all the requirements for graduation.
DBA & PhD
A DBA degree differs from a Philosophical Doctor (PhD) through its focus on practice, policy, or strategy, within the context of the individual's workplace. Both doctorates involve the development of substantial original work. However, a professional doctorate such as the DBA requires a different type of research development from that of the PhD. For a PhD, research often needs to make a significant contribution to theoretical literature, whereas the research involved in the DBA is generally applicable to more specific business issues and is carried out in the context of professional practice.
DBA Program Structure
Each DBA Program course is divided into two groups. With rare exceptions, DBA participants are required to follow the course sequence as shown below.
The "Industry Focus Workshop" provides DBA participants with a solid doctoral foundation.
The "Domain" allows a DBA participant the opportunity to develop further a specific area of interest.
The DBA finishes with a dissertation.
Participants for the DBA degree must complete a minimum of 80 credits, with a minimum GPA of 3.0. It is required that all participants attend the earliest scheduled seminar in the advanced study of business administration.
Every DBA candidate must prepare and present a dissertation. The requirement for a DBA dissertation is 45,000 words. DBA dissertations may be undertaken within any of the functional areas of an organization, e.g. information systems, marketing, accounting, and organization behavior but is not restricted to those areas e.g. there are emerging areas for research, which offer exciting possibilities, including small business management and family businesses.
Curriculum Structure
Industry Focus Workshop
DBSC9745 Strategy and Competition
DBLC9755 Leadership and Change Management
DBFD9765 Finance for Decision Making
DBSM9775 Strategic Marketing: Value Exchange
DBEP9785 Economic Management and Public Policy
DBMO9795 Managing International Organization
DBIE9805 Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Domain
DBRE 9701 Research Foundations and Research Methodology
DBDW 9702 Doctoral Workshop: Research Focus
Dissertation
DBDI 9703 Dissertation
Course Description
DBSC9745-DBIE9805
DBSC9745 Strategy and Competition
This course is designed to enable participants to:
Knowledge
- describe the competitive environment and drivers of competitiveness
- define the influence of internal and external factors on performance
- recognize the impact of industry and firm specific conditions
- understand the linkage between competitiveness and performance, and
- understand the role of scale and scope
Skills
- use qualitative and quantitative data to assess competitive advantage and strategic options
- integrate theory and practice in assessing complex competitive situations
- analyze firm financial, market, organizational and production data, and
- take responsibility for your own learning through application to current cases and business practice
Values
- appreciate the complexity of strategic choice
- explore the ethical boundaries of law, economics and corporate behaviour
- develop an interdisciplinary approach to understanding strategy and competitiveness, and
- understand the emerging impact of global and technology factors on performance
DBLC9755 Leadership and Change Management
This course is designed to enable participants to understand the role of strategy making to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in the context of increasing uncertainty in local and global business environments. It focuses on the strategic challenges and their management in a 21st century context – in particular the impact of the changing global, technological and knowledge based economy on how organizations grow and sustain growth and to take charge as leaders in the business context.
DBFD9765 Finance for Decision Making
The overriding objective of this course is to make participants competent in the use of accounting information. This necessarily involves an understanding of accounting concepts, techniques and language, but it does not require that the participants become technically competent in the detailed preparation of accounting reports. Upon completion of course is expected that the participants will be:
- Knowledgeable of the structure of accounting information – that is, have learned the general conventions and rules of accounting
- Competent in manipulating this data to give it meaning – that is, able to analyze and evaluate the performance of organizations through the use of financial statements
- Capable in using accounting data to solve problems faced by managers within organizations, both public and private – that is, able to analyze financial information in order to provide relevant information to assist in making resource allocation and usage decisions
- Able to analyze the financial need of organizations and be aware of the types and sources of financial resources available
DBSM9775 Strategic Marketing: Value Exchange
This workshop introduces participants to the new wave of strategic marketing. Participants will learn about the current nova of the value exchange concept, where an organization delivers value (which can be a combination of tangible and less tangible aspects of value - as perceived by the market(s); and in exchange the market(s) will deliver value back to the company. They will also learn to understand the real issues of what actually constitutes value. Participants will indulge beyond the normal seven P’s of marketing but also learn to include other value aspects such as image, perception, competitive stance, positioning in total, and many other aspects of value creation including culture, sub culture, regional cultural values and so on.
DBEP9785 Economic Management and Public Policy
The workshop would enable the participant to approach managerial decision problems using economic reasoning. The participant should have acquired a sufficient level of model-building skills to analyse microeconomic situations of relevance to managers. The emphasis is therefore on ‘learning by doing’ rather than reading and essay writing.
DBMO9795 Managing International Organization
This workshop aims to examine the role and function of manager in the global business activities for global business organizations. Specifically, learning will focus on multinational corporations (MNCs), advanced topics in dynamic business environment, international business management, diversified cultural background of MNCs, knowledge management, and CSR of MNCs.
DBIE9805 Innovation and Entrepreneurship
This workshop aims to examine the role and function of innovation and its strategic value to organizations. Specifically, learning will focus on the processes and determinants of the successful exploitation of innovation, describe a variety of creative styles and the principles of creative thinking, examine the impact of perception on thinking, concept development and innovative action, analyse the barriers to entrepreneurship development in individuals and organizations.
DBRE9701-DBRE9703
DBRE 9701 Research Foundations and Research Methodology
Topics of this course include scientific method, business information sources, research proposal development and evaluation, research design, scaling and instrument design, sampling design, statistical packages and applications, research reporting, writing, and ethical considerations in business research.
DBDW 9702 Doctoral Workshop: Research Focus
This workshop introduces principles and techniques of doctoral scholarship, and offers an overview of the development of theory and research logic, explores the relationship between theoretical and empirical constructs, and provides a wide variety of specific research methodologies. Participants study the principles of the scientific method and research design techniques common to both qualitative and quantitative research, including sampling methods and data collection techniques.
DBDI 9703 Dissertation
The doctoral dissertation requires a doctoral research on a business-related topic chosen by the participant in consultation with the instructor. Participants are expected to demonstrate their ability to conduct research and to present their research reports.
The dissertation has to be undertaken individually. The minimum length of the dissertation is 45,000 words. This amount of words does not include title, references, appendices, etc. Normally, writing a dissertation lasts for about 42 to 56 weeks.
Please Note: Participants of the Chinese Business Program must choose a China-related topic.
