1

www.sbs.edu

DBADoctor of BusinessAdministration

2

Dean’s MessageMany now hold to the pro po si ti on that the Doc tor of Bu si ness Ad mi nis tra ti on (DBA) is to the 21st cen tur y what the MBA was to the lat ter half of the 20th cen tur y. Wit ho ut en ga ging in that de ba te it is cer ta inly the ca se that wor k en vi ron ments fa ce chal len ges wit ho ut his to ri cal pre ce dent. Bu si ness and go ver nment le a der s e ver ywhe re are con fron ted by no vel si tu a ti ons for which past the o ri es, prac ti ces and stra te gi es do not se em to pro vi de the an swer s. Chan ge con ti nu es to ac ce le ra te and the im pacts of glo ba li za ti on, at on ce pro fo und and sub tle, af ect all in sti tu ti ons and or ga ni za ti ons. No lon ger can le a der s be con ten ted simply to apply know led ge, they must le ad the ge ne ra ti on of know led ge in the ir own or ga ni za ti ons that in for ms prac ti ce and po licy pe cu li ar to the ir cir cum stan ces. In ot her wor ds, bu si ness le a der s to day must be ab le to le ad the con duct of wor k re la ted re se ar ch. This DBA is de sig ned to e qu ip can di da tes with this ca pa bi lity. The SBS In ter na ti o nal DBA of er s an op ti on for or ga ni za ti ons and in di vi du als loo king to im pro ve the ir bu si ness per for man ce thro ugh the de ve lop ment of a su pe ri or ca pa city to in ves ti ga te and re sol ve or ga ni za ti o nally ba sed is su es, whi le de sig ning and car r ying out o ri gi nal re se ar ch. It e qu ips se ni or ma na ger s with the skills to apply cur rent re se ar ch met hodo logy to is su es of cor po ra te con cer n and en han ces can di da tes’ re se ar ch and con sul tancy skills. Re ad a bo ut the many be ne fits the SBS DBA par t-ti me prog ram will pro vi de for yo ur ca re er .

Bert Wolfs, Ph.D.Academic Dean

The mission of the institution is to

educate individuals who will contribute to the management

and leadership of global organisations

Accreditation and Ranking

SBS Swiss Business School has received spe-cialized accreditation for its business programs through the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE), located in Olathe, Kansas

The educational programs ofered by SBS Swiss Business School have received accreditation through the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs, located in Overland Park, Kansas

Accredited by a CHEA-Recognized Accrediting Or-ganizationRecognized by the U.S Department of Education

EDUQUA is a Swiss Quality Assurance Certificate for providers in the field of adult learning. SBS Swiss Business School Holds a certification by EDUQUA

SBS is a certified member of Swiss Label. The trademark of Swiss label is the crossbow - a protected symbol in Switzerland. Certification is granted to members with genuine Swiss high-quality services and products.

ACCREDITED

Ranking

3

DBA vs PhD

DBA• Practical - Oriented

• Contribution to your line of work

PhD

• Theoretical Approach• Contribution to Science

The DBA dif er s from a Doc tor of Phi lo sophy (PhD) thro ugh its fo cus on prac ti ce, po licy or stra tegy, wit hin the con text of the in di vi du al’s wor kpla ce. Both doc to ra tes in vol ve the de ve-lop ment of sub stan ti al o ri gi nal wor k. Ho we ver , a pro fes si o nal doc to ra te such as the DBA re qu i res a dif e rent type of re se ar ch de ve lop ment from that of the PhD. For a PhD, re se ar ch ne eds to ma ke a sig ni fi cant con tri bu ti on to an a re a of know led ge. For the DBA, re se ar ch ne eds to ma ke a sig ni fi cant con tri bu ti on to prac ti ce, po licy or stra tegy. The re se ar ch in vol ved in the DBA is ap pli cab le to bu si ness is su e(s) and is car ri ed out in the con text of pro fes si o nal prac ti ce.

3

Features of SBS DBA

Program adopted to serve the

needs of capable students, regardless

of their field of experience

We teach academic professionals how to build upon the master’s level

core skills and knowledge to develop a higher level of competence in conducting

applied research

Help institutions adapt to change and lay the

foundations for sustainability

Bring theory and practice to bear on decision making in

complex organizations

Designed to meet the special requirements of working academic and business professionals

who have the motivation to expand their knowledge

and skills

Doctoral studies adopted to permit busy professionals to balance the demands of career

and family

4

SBS has a re pu ta ti on for ex cel len ce in ma na ge ment and

bu si ness e du ca ti on

Personal development and career advancement

World-class doctorate program

Time flexibility a vital feature that busy professionals truly appreciate.

SBS AAA Standard • Accredited• Applicable• Afordable

Contribute to the world of knowledge

and professional practice

Effective Learning Resources

Reputation of excellence in

management and business education

The DBA program allowed me to keep an active profession-al life while learning and delivering new business research. Competent guidance motivated me to overcome the chal-lenges, be proud of results and its contribution to practice.

Gisleine SilveiraSBS DBA Alumna

Access to Online Libraries

International faculty of leaders in research and practice

Impressive Learning Outcomes

Strong links with diverse industries

The end result of going through this rigorous DBA means you develop not only cutting-edge knowledge and expertise and establish sound capabilities in management consulting, in-company action research as well as, academic research leading to publication of work in internationally acclaimed peer-reviewed journals. Candidates are assessed thought 50% coursework and 50% research work.

KEY Reasons for DBA at

5

COURSE

MGT600 Management Research Perspectives BUS600 Information Technologies for Business Research GLO600 Global Environments and Management Trends CRI600 Critical Analysis of Research

MGT650 Contemporary Management REM650 Research Methods in Business & ManagementMGT651 Management Research Design and Methodologies PRE650 Preparation and Presentation of a Research Proposal

Note: For successful candidates, the Master of AppliedBusiness Research is awarded.

COURSE

PRO650 Doctoral Research Project Proposal LIT650 Proposal Literature Review

DOC651 Doctoral Research Paper 1

COURSE

DOC700 Doctoral Research Paper 2

Note: Instead of papers, candidates may write a dissertation of 40,000 words.

Sem

este

r 1

Sem

este

r 1

Sem

este

r 1

Sem

este

r 2

Sem

este

r 2

FIRS

TYE

ARSE

CON

DYE

ARTH

IRD

YEAR

Course InformationPROGRAM STRUCTURE

The Doc tor of Bu si ness Ad mi nis tra ti on is an in teg ra ted co ur se wor k and re se ar ch prog ram that may be completed in a minimum of three years.The co ur se wor k com po nent ta kes pla ce du-ring the fir st ye ar . Co ur ses are con duc ted in the clas sro om in an in ten si ve wor kshop mo del with fa ce-to-fa ce se mi nar s. All co ur ses are as-ses sed by writ ten as sig nments.The tran si ti on from the co ur se wor k pha se to the re se ar ch pha se is by the can di da te

sa tis fac to rily com ple ting the set of as ses sed Re se ar ch Pro po sals (one for e ach re se ar ch pro-ject).On sa tis fac tor y com ple ti on of the co ur se wor k can di da tes en ter the re se ar ch pha se whe re they un der ta ke in di vi du al, su per vi sed re se ar-ch pro jects. The o ut put of e ach re se ar ch pro-ject is a re se ar ch pa per of pub lis hab le style and qu a lity.The dis ser ta ti on is sub mit ted for ex ter nal e xa mi na ti on.

NOTES

A dis ser ta ti on may be sub mit ted in pla ce of Pa per s 1 and 2 or al ter na ti vely ot her for ms of scho lar ly wri ting may be ac cep ted sub ject to the ap pro val of the Prog ram Di rec tor . E xa mi na ti on pro cess is de pen dent on the mo-de of sub mis si on of fi nal wor k. Whe re a pa per -ba sed sub mis si on has be en cho sen, suc ces sful com ple ti on of the DBA is by both pa per s be ing ac cep ted for pub li ca ti on by an In ter na ti o nal pe er -re vi e wed jo ur nal that has be en ap pro-ved by the Doc to ral Pa nel. The se jo ur nals are fo und on an ap pro ved list which may be chan-ged from ti me to ti me.Whe re dis ser ta ti on-ba sed sub mis si on (or ot-her than by pub li ca ti on) has be en cho sen, suc-ces sful com ple ti on of the DBA is by ex ter nal e xa mi na ti on by two in de pen dent ex per ts in the a re a of the re se ar ch study. The se e xa mi-ner s must be ap pro ved by the Doc to ral Pa nel at le ast 3 months be fo re sub mis si on.The ma xi mum com ple ti on ti me is 4 ye ar s. Ex-ten si on may be ap pli ed for bet we en the mi ni-mum ti me of one and a half ye ar s (11⁄2) and the ma xi mum ti me of fo ur ye ar s (4) sub ject to ap pro val by the Doc to ral Pa nel but ex ten si on fe es apply. Ex ten si on be yond fo ur ye ar s will only be gran ted in spe ci al cir cum stan ces and by writ ten ap pli ca ti on to the Doc to ral Pa nel.The DBA is a full fee-pa ying prog ram. Stu dents must ha ve re ady ac cess to a mo der n com pu ter (with ap prop ri a te sof twa re), e lec tro nic ma il, In ter net and use of mic rop ho ne/spe a ker s or he ad set for the du ra ti on of the prog ram.Con ti nu ing en rol ment in the prog ram is sub-ject to sa tis fac tor y prog ress which is re vi e wed e ach six months by su per vi sor s and the Doc-to ral Pa nel.The prog ram is sche du led and ti me tab led so that it is su i tab le for can di da tes who ma in ta in the ir full-ti me pro fes si o nal wor k.Can di da tes must sa tis fac to rily com ple te e ach pha se be fo re pro ce e ding to the next pha se.Can di da tes who sa tis fac to rily com ple te the co ur se wor k pha se only may e xit the prog ram with a Mas ter of Ap pli ed Bu si ness Re se ar ch.Du ring the re se ar ch pha se the re will be struc-tu red me e tings bet we en can di da tes and su per vi sor s ba sed on ag re e ments bet we en the par ti es.

6

Co ur se 1: Ma na ge ment Re se ar ch Per spec ti ves (4.5 units)

This co ur se in ducts can di da tes to the na tu re of re se ar ch and com men ces the ir le ar ning jo ur ney thro ugh the bu si ness ad mi nis tra ti on and ma na-ge ment fi eld u sing the ri go ro us re se ar chper spec ti ves of the scho lar ly tra di ti on. As such, it ex plo res the de ve lop ment of doc to ral prog-rams, the ir pla ce in bu si ness-a ca de mic in ter-fa ce, and the ir po si ti on at the up per le vels of u ni ver sity en de a vo ur . It re in for ces the no ti on of a his tor y to the study of bu si ness, the de ve lop-ment of ma na ge ment as a dis cip li ne of study and its in ter con nec ti ons with ot her dis cip li nes of le ar ning. It e xa mi nes the per ce i ved dif e ren-ces bet we en prac ti cal - re se ar ch for day-to-day o pe ra ti o nal bu si ness mat ter s and scho lar ly re-se ar ch that re sults in o ri gi nal and/or ad ded va-lu e con tri bu ti ons to the prac ti ce of bu si ness and ma na ge ment.

Course 2: Information & Internet Technol-ogies for Business Research (4.5 units)

In to day’s re se ar ch wor ld, it is im pe ra ti ve that the re se ar ch u ti li ze in for ma ti on and In ter net tec hno lo gi es ef ec ti vely and ef ci ently. The in-for ma ti on tec hno logy to ols can pro vi de ef ci-ency ga ins in re cor ding and trac king re fe ren ce so ur ces and com ple ting re se ar ch pa per s. In ter-net pro vi des a we alth of re se ar ch in for ma ti on to be tap ped but can al so be a trap if the re se ar cher can not use ap prop ri a te se ar ch en gi nes and tec-hni qu es ef ec ti vely. This co ur se will e qu ip the re se ar cher with to ols and tec hni qu es for un der-ta king a re se ar ch pro ject.

Course 3: Global Environments and Man-agement Trends (9.0 units)

In an e ver glo ba li zed wor ld, ma na ge ment has be co me mo re chal len ging. The mo der n ma-na ger ne eds to be a wa re of mo ve ments in the glo bal en vi ron ments not only in the ir in dustr y but ac ross in dus tri es and con ti nents. This in tur n will af ect the ir ma na ge ment de ci si on ma king and le ad to stra te gi es that will res pond to the chan ging bu si ness en vi ron ment. In or der for ma na ger s to be ab le to be ef ec ti ve, they ne ed to bro a den the ir un der stan ding of chan ging

glo bal trends and ma na ge ment’s res pon se.(Pre-requisite: Course 1)

Co ur se 4: Cri ti cal A nal ysis of Re se ar ch (9.0 units)

A key com pe tency in do ing re se ar ch is be ing able to ac cu ra tely com pre hend what ot her s ha-ve writ ten on the to pic a bo ut to be in ves ti ga ted. This co ur se fo cu ses at ten ti on on how to a nal yze and cri ti cally as sess the re se ar ch ba sed li te ra-tu re by as king can di da tes to re vi ew e xam ples, pre fe rably re la ted to the ir cho sen to pic, and de-ve lop de pen dab le ap pro ac hes to re se ar ch qu es-ti on for ma ti on, met ho do lo gi cal de ve lop ment, and the pre sen ta ti on of re se ar ch fin dings. (Pre-re qu i si te: Co ur se 1)

Course 5: Contemporary Management (9.0 units)

All academic research is a discourse with the literature, that is, the current understanding of management change and cross-culture im-pacts. The course extends candidates under-standing of the literature and furthers thatunderstanding by reference to the literature and contemporary research within the primary discipline of the candidate’s interest. (Pre-requisite: Course 3)

Course 6: Research Method in Business & Management (4.5 units)

It is expected that students would have had little interaction with the use of the scientific method in conducting research. This course in-troduces the main research methods adopted in business and management research. As background context, the general nature of

evidence-based and ethical research is exam-ined before focusing attention on the two major paradigms of investigative knowledge: quanti-tative and qualitative research. (Pre-requisite: Course 1)

Course 7: Management Research Design and Methodologies (9.0 units)

The purpose of this course is to help students focus on a realistic topic and design the research study in accordance with sound principles and good practice. It extends the knowl edge and skills required to research business and management issues. Specific attention is paid to individual methods, such as the popula-tion survey, focused interviews, case study and action research. As these various approaches are frequently used in management research, an understanding of their strengths and limitations is also examined. Extensive use will be made of technology tools for undertaking analyses of qualititative and quantitative data. (Pre-requisite: Course 2, Course 6)

Course 8: Preparation and Presentation of a Research Proposal (4.5 units)

The capstone course will ensure that a student can integrate the learning from this program into a well argued and documented research study that is embedded in the research litera-ture. It will also articulate the conceptual frame-work/model, the research questions, and the data collection and analysis methodologies. The research proposal will be a key measure of the student’s ability to undertake doctoral research. (Pre-requisites: Course 4, Course 7)

Course Description

7

DBA Admissions Requirements

Faculty

Applicants seeking admission to the DBA program shall normally hold:

• An MBA degree, or equivalent, from an approved university or equivalent;

OR• Where other masters degree level qualifications are held, applicants may be asked to complete a prescribed bridging program (normally designated courses from an MBA program);

AND• Substantial (no less than five years) experience at executive/management level.• All DBA candidates must be able to demonstrate their education and/or professional performance to undertake research at a doctoral level. They should be able to show success in their career to date and document how the DBA program fits into their personal or career plans for the future.• All DBA applicants must submit a 1,000 word outline of their proposed research topic/ idea as part of their admission application submission.• All DBA candidates must have a sound command of the English language, spoken & written, as evidenced by the criteria: Having completed a Masters degree in English;

OR• Submit proof of having achieved a TOEFL IBT score of minimum 90, IELTS test score of 6.5 or higher.

The final decision concerning the eligibility, acceptability of qualifications and research areas for the DBA Program rest with SBS Swiss Business School.

Dr. Mostefa IderPhD (Laval University), CanadaManagement Research Perspectives

Associate Professor CraigShoemakerPhD (University of Iowa), USAPanel Leader

Dr. Elena KasimovskayaPhD (University of Moscow), RussiaPanel Leader

Dr. Barry VannPh.D. Ed.D., University of Arkansas, USACritical Analysis of Research

Dr. Heinrich FurrerPh.D., University of Zurich, SwitzerlandContemporary Management

Our lecturers know you have business commitments. Most of our lecturers are also consultants and business people, so our program isn’t just academic, it is dynamic!

‘‘It’s great working together with a diverse group of people, committed to creating something greater than the sum of its parts.Our diferent experiences lead to much ‘learning fun’. ‘’

Stephen Gardner, Director of Investor Relation, Credit Suisse AGDBA Candidate

8

We are here: SBS Swiss Business School

Flughafenstrasse 3, 8302 Kloten-Zurich, Switzerland

Call to speak with a mem-ber of our dedicated team

+41 44 880 00 88

ATTEND AN INFO WEBINAR

LEARN MORE ABOUT SBS SWISS BUSINESS

SCHOOL SBS.EDU

VISIT OUR CAMPUS Monday to Friday 08:30 – 18:00

Send us an email enrollment@sbs.edu

ZURICH HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY RANKED AS ONE OF THE TOP CITIES FOR QUALITY OF LIFE AND AMONG THE BEST

STUDENT CITIES WORLDWIDE

TAKESTEPTHE NEXT

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SwissBusinessSchoolTwitter: www.twitter.com/SBSEDULinkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/sbs-swiss-business-schoolYoutube: www.youtube.com/user/SwissBusinessSchoolInstagram: www.instagram.com/sbs_swissbusinessschool/