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Doctor of Business Administration

Doctor of Business Administration Course Descriptions

DBA-800: Critical Thought and Informed Action: Models of Decision Making and Organization Achievement (3 credits): Preview the Online Syllabus
This course will focus on the development of effective models of decision making in a dynamic business environment. The decisions that business leaders make on a daily basis define and refine the culture and impact the ability of the organization to achieve successful outcomes. Exploring and critically thinking about the model(s) used to make these decisions is important in creating a business executive with the skills necessary to lead an organization to accomplish the defined goals. Topics will include the exploration of methods, techniques, and theoretical frameworks associated with creating a systematic approach to complex decision making. By the end of the course, students will have a toolbox of effective decision-making tools and techniques that can be applied to increase effective outcomes.
DBA-801: The Global Business Context: Trends, Issues, and Markets (3 credits): Preview the Online Syllabus
This course provides a strategic analysis of the contemporary influences on globalization. Under investigation are the technological, sociocultural, demographic, political, legal, economic, and environmental factors in establishing and fostering worldwide business entities. Through readings and projects, students will critically evaluate topics such as trending opportunities, emerging markets, barriers to entry, national cultures and social structures, and contingency planning. Students will also debate cases on international financial management, cross-cultural leadership, and various negotiation styles.
DBA-802: Seminar in Economics and Finance: Models and Matrices of Sustainability (3 credits): Preview the Online Syllabus
The interactive seminar concentrates on applying economic theory and tools in examining real-world problems. Learners will utilize library journals and online resources to analyze economic and financial problems, and will work collaboratively in groups to maximize discussion and participation. Topics in the seminar include understanding consumer behavior, business approaches to economic problems, tax policy, and welfare economics.
DBA-803: Seminar in Organizational Dynamics: Leadership, Culture, and Change (3 credits): Preview the Online Syllabus
This course explores the interrelated individual and group behavior topics of leadership, culture, and change. Students reflect upon the classic theories in these subject areas and analyze the applicability of these theories to modern organizations. The course increases self-awareness in the areas of leadership style, the effects of culture on the individual and the individual on culture, and relationship to change as students analyze the interconnectedness of these concepts and their importance to organizational effectiveness. By understanding themselves better in terms of leadership, culture, and change, students will be more prepared to be effective organizational leaders.
DBA-804: Seminar in Strategic Planning and Organizational Effectiveness (3 credits): Preview the Online Syllabus
This course will focus on the importance of analyzing all elements of the strategic plan to reach optimum organizational effectiveness. Strategic planning is a cornerstone of crafting a successful organization that is forward thinking, action oriented, and able to adjust to a dynamic fluid marketplace. The elements of the strategic plan provide the framework for reaching the organizational vision and mission. Topics will include utilizing appropriate research methods and internal and external analysis tools, choosing an appropriate strategic approach to the marketplace, and using this information to craft a five-year strategic plan that acts as a living document to guide effective leader decision making. By the end of the course, students will have analyzed existing strategic plans, critiqued these plans, and created a new plan to improve effectiveness in an existing organization.
DBA-805: Seminar in Marketing and Entrepreneurship (3 credits): Preview the Online Syllabus
This course examines how organizations can leverage advanced marketing information, unique applications of consumer data, and organizational knowledge to effectively communicate value to consumers. Furthermore, this course addresses the importance of entrepreneurship and how this mindset can be encouraged and developed within organizations and by individual entrepreneurs. Topics include a full range of core principles and advanced theories to build upon current knowledge and expand students' understanding of marketing, ranging from market-oriented planning and competitive positioning to pricing and integrated communications, along with the variations of entrepreneurship. Emphasis is placed on applying advanced concepts through interactive discussions, cases, practical examples, and various doctoral-level assignments. By the end of the course, students will have developed an appreciation of advanced, next-level insights into the influence and impact that marketing has on organizational success. Students also gain significant insight in understanding how research and theory intersect with and increase marketing effectiveness at various organizational levels.
DBA-806: Empirical Entrepreneurship: Data, Technology, and Business Intelligence (3 credits): Preview the Online Syllabus
This course focuses on the development of techniques for assessing technology relative to entrepreneurship. It evaluates the trends and issues associated with the intersections among management, technology, and business. Central to the course is examining the integration of business strategy with technology, the evolution and predictive role of big data within the global business context, and modalities and methods for translating data into new knowledge, languages, and applications promoting empirical entrepreneurship.
DBA-807: Seminar in Law, Ethics, and Global Society (3 credits): Preview the Online Syllabus
This course is an empirical and academic exploration of the impact of law and ethics on business practices. The course focuses on developing a practical and ethical approach to business in both domestic and international environments. Students analyze the value of a unified body of law in facilitating domestic business activity through consistency of expectations; they will compare this with the more varied influences that impact doing business around the world. Throughout the course, students evaluate best practices in legal compliance and ethics. Specific bodies of law including business law, employment law, labor law, and international law will be examined.
DBA-808: Teaching Adults: Archetypes, Tools, and Tactics - Andragogy Lab (3 credits): Preview the Online Syllabus
This course explores how to effectively design and teach business courses by examining diverse, effective structures and delivery methodologies. Topics include a full range of core teaching principles and advanced educational concepts to expand students' understanding of what effective teaching means, ranging from learner psychology and curriculum design to quality teaching dynamics and the use of active learning in the "classroom." Emphasis is placed on demonstrating effective business education foundations through interactive discussions, illustrative cases, practical examples of educational design, and various doctoral-level assignments. By the end of the course, students will have developed an appreciation of how to effectively design and deliver traditional and adult student courses in on-campus, online, and hybrid environments. Learners also gain significant insights into connecting professional experiences into their teaching while leveraging academic resources effectively.
DBA-809: Organizational Consulting: Process Consultation, Avocation, and Business Sustainability (3 credits): Preview the Online Syllabus
This course will focus on the process of consulting for organizations of all sizes and defining the role of the consultant through the development of a contract for services and deliverable schedules. A consultant must be able to create rapport with the client and define achievable objectives for the contracted services. Defining and agreeing on achievable objectives is the first step in the process. Once defined, the consultant must design an approach to gathering data, analyzing markets, and interpreting the information to meet objectives successfully. This allows the consultant to advocate for a specific set of choices that meet business objectives and support sustainability. By the end of the course, students will be able to create a contract, develop SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound) objectives, select data collection methods that fit specific scenarios, interpret information, and advocate for a set position in writing.
DBA-910: Scholar-Practitioner Field Project I - Research Methods, Project Identification, Framing, and Site Preparation (3 credits): Preview the Online Syllabus
This is the first of the three consecutive Scholar-Practitioner Field Project (SPFP) courses of the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree. The course focuses on writing the first two sections of the degree culminating field project. The student works collaboratively with the Capstone mentor to write the field project overview section and the literature review that integrates and applies key knowledge acquired from the DBA curriculum. The central focus of the course is describing the problem through information in the industry literature, defining the methodology, and writing a concise literature review supported by evidence-based literature and contemporary field experience. Key field project products completed in this course include: the field project overview section and literature review.

Advisory: All milestones in DBA-910 must be completed and approved before students will be allowed to enroll in DBA-920.
DBA-920: Scholar-Practitioner Field Project II - Research Methods Supervised Practicum: Data Collection and Analysis (3 credits): Preview the Online Syllabus
This is the second of the three consecutive Scholar-Practitioner Field Project (SPFP) courses of the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree. This course builds on the work accomplished in the first course (DBA-910) as students conduct the field project. Students will apply critical-thinking, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation skills they have developed throughout the degree program. Central to this course is the integration of data collection and cogent analysis within the context and conditions of the field project.

Advisory: All milestones in DBA-920 must be completed and approved before students will be allowed to enroll in DBA-930.
DBA-930: Scholar-Practitioner Field Project III - Project Completion, Presentation, and Publishing (3 credits): Preview the Online Syllabus
This is the culminating course of the three Scholar-Practitioner Field Project (SPFP) courses of the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree. This course enables the student to submit field project findings, articulating how the findings can influence, improve, ameliorate, or otherwise change the identified business-based problem or opportunity. Students are required to prepare an oral presentation of their finalized Capstone project. Additionally, students may propose a plan during a closing discussion to disseminate the project findings to the population(s) that could benefit from this project information.