The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) Program is designed to enhance your professional ability so that you can meet the dynamic needs of modern organizations and academic institutions. The DBA program features a curriculum that focuses on practical business concepts and active research rather than a purely theoretical approach to research. The DBA is often referred to as a professional research doctorate.

The DBA program meets the needs of both working academic and business professionals who want to advance their careers. In the DBA program you will develop an expertise in conducting and understanding research, oral and written communication, critical thinking, problem solving, information literacy, leadership, business ethics, and diversity. You will also be able to learn the attributes essential to teaching at higher education institutions.

As a student in the DBA program, you can expand your critical knowledge through professional development while attaining the credentials essential to organizational leadership, management consulting and higher education instruction. During the program you will conduct research projects of actual change efforts that will enhance your evaluation skills. You will also have the opportunity to hone your leadership strategies to continuously improve operations in times of adaptation and change.

The DBA program has been developed to provide you with the opportunity to enhance your personal and professional competencies while you balance the demands of your full-time career, your family, and your education.

You can take classes online in our interactive classroom and learn from our experienced faculty who provide personalized attention in a small class setting. As a student at Argosy University, you will join one of the largest graduate student communities in the nation and enjoy a collegial, supportive academic environment.

As a doctoral student you must also attend a minimum of two residency programs. These interactive sessions are designed to enhance student success, provide the opportunity to network, meet faculty, and acquire knowledge and skills that will assist throughout their program. The residency programs will be offered at various campus locations throughout the academic year.

Argosy University offers the following DBA concentrations:

All doctoral students attend a minimum of two residency programs designed to enhance student success, provide the opportunity to network, meet faculty, and acquire knowledge and skills that will assist throughout their program. The residency programs will be offered at various locations throughout the academic year.

The first residency program is four days in duration, earns each student three semester credit hours, and must be completed within the first 15 semester credit hours of the doctoral program. The first residency program is required. It focuses on topics pertinent to beginning doctoral students, including: success for learning online, conducting research, critical thinking skills, an overview of Argosy University policies, procedures, and support systems, an overview of the comprehensive examination process and guide, an understanding of Argosy University library databases and resources, and successful navigation of the online course management system. Students do not pay an incremental fee for the residency; they pay for the three semester credit hours, their room, travel, and lodging.

The second residency program is three days in duration and coincides with registration for the first three semester credit hours of the dissertation. The second residency program is required, follows the successful completion of the comprehensive examinations, and earns each student three semester credit hours. This program focuses on the successful completion of the dissertation, including: the completion of the plan of studies, more in depth library research, dissertation formatting and style, mind maps, committee meetings, and an overview of the Institution Research Board and Dissertation Guides. Students will also have an opportunity to observe dissertation defenses and hear presentations from advanced doctoral students. Students do not pay an incremental fee for the residency; they pay for the three semester credit hours, their room, travel, and lodging.

The third residency program (one day in duration) is the dissertation defense itself and is not required. Students have the opportunity to make their dissertation defense in person during the Residency I-II. For those students unable to make their defense in person, they will make their defense via teleconference.

The fourth residency program is entitled the Pinnacle Seminar and is delivered as a three semester credit hour, blended delivery course. The Pinnacle Seminar is not required. Each student attends a 7.5-week online course that culminates with an in-person weekend of workshops led by a distinguished national leader in a topic related to their doctoral studies. In addition to working with the visiting professor, students interact with professors and peers in course activities. Students do not pay an incremental fee for the residency; they pay for the three semester credit hours, their room, travel, and lodging

The Doctor of Business Administration Program requires the satisfactory completion of 60 semester credit hours distributed as follows:

All courses are 3 semester credit hours in length.

There are 18 credit hours in core courses needed for the Doctor of Business Administration Program.

B7223 Strategic Planning and Implementation

Drawing upon a wide range of disciplines this course explores theory, research, and practice in corporate and business strategy focusing on the determinants of firm performance and results. Building on the focus of the doctoral program, doctoral students will gain an in-depth understanding of how to create, execute, and measure strategy effectiveness and business results. The course will develop critical and conceptual thinking skills by understanding the interplay of industry structure, competitive environments, organizational resources, competitive advantage, leadership, corporate structure, globalization, talent development, and uncertainty. By applying concepts to case studies, analytical problem-solving, business judgment, financial analysis, and synthesis will be refined.

B7432 Corporate Social Responsibility

This graduate course provides an in-depth review and analysis of the latest theories and research on corporate social responsibility. The course focuses on understanding governmental and quasi-governmental regulatory institutions and related corporate social responsibility business impacts; an understanding of the process of developing corporate social responsibility standards and policies, how to interpret them, and how to determine relative weight; and an understanding of how to assess, deal with and prevent corporate social responsibility risks. Emphasis includes working with and being a team leader and in collaboration. Communication projects will focus on critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making based on relevant research, information literacy, applied technology, integration, ethical and diversity concerns. Attention is focused on utilizing leadership and collaboration practices in corporate social responsibility within an organization, an industry, country, region, and world.

B7521 Global Challenges

This graduate course provides an in-depth review and analysis of the latest theories and research to provide the advanced graduate student with an understanding of a range of global challenges. The issues include management of global businesses, management of businesses that are impacted by globalization, and management of businesses that use the Internet. Cultural, ethical, standards of practice, political, and legal differences are examined. Communication projects will focus on critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making based on relevant research, information literacy, applied technology, and integration concerns. Attention is focused on utilizing leadership and collaboration practices in dealing with global challenges.

B7628 Leading Innovation and Change

This course approaches managing the innovation process through five levels of analysis: individual, team, network, organizational, and industrial. At each level of analysis, particular attention is given to the conditions under which innovation processes succeed and fail. The following items will be reviewed; literature on the innovative process, the contribution of individuals, cross functionality, geographic dispersion, technical communication, inter- and intra- organizational networks, organizational characteristics, organizational learning and market changes. The primary goal of the course is to provide a holistic view of the process of innovation while exploring the literature across the five levels of analysis. Doctoral students will be exposed to a variety of perspectives on innovation and will think in an integrative manner about the conditions under which innovation will be supported.

B7777 Solutions Leadership

Getting things done in complex organizations is difficult and the best leaders are those who know how to mobilize ideas, support, people and resources to address tough problems. Doctoral students in this class will develop in-depth understanding of the research and theory on leading strategic change/initiatives focusing on understanding the role of organizational history and corporate culture, the climate for change, organizational politics, resources and rewards, people and teams and communication play in solutions leadership. Students will also focus on challenges and solutions in their respective fields and work with colleagues to understand the interdependencies and impact on the business of implementing solutions.

B7783 Solution-Oriented Decisions Models

This graduate course provides an in-depth review and analysis of the latest theories and research to provide the advanced graduate student with an understanding of various models of decision making and how to select the best combination for appropriate solutions. The methods cover quantitative, qualitative, game theory, group dynamics, expert systems, ethical, and logical theories, research, and methods. Focus includes developing and instituting decision making audits to evaluate decision[s] that are to be or have been made. The use of information systems technology for decision support systems is analyzed. Communication projects will focus on critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making based on relevant research, information literacy, applied technology, integration, ethical and diversity concerns. Focused attention is on utilizing leadership and collaboration practices in solutions oriented decision-making.

There are 18 credit hours in Concentration courses needed for the Doctor of Business Administration Program (Must choose one: Accounting, Marketing, Management, or International Business).

B7630 Contemporary Accounting Theory

This course will involve an intensive study of recent developments, research and literature in accounting theory promulgated by the various professional accounting associations and regulatory agencies. This course will focus on an in-depth examination of contemporary issues in financial and managerial accounting within the context of pronouncements of the financial accounting standards board and their subsequent inclusion in Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

B7640 Accounting in a Global Financial Community

This course compares the theoretical basis of accounting standards from an international perspective. The impact of diverse cultures, the pronouncements of the IASB, and governments on the harmonization of accounting standards will be examined. Additionally this course will examine the reliability of internationally prepared financial statements from the perspective of SEC, investors and creditors.

B7650 Accounting Control Systems

This course will study the development and use of financial control systems. The primary emphasis of this course will be on the effect of legislation and the assurance services required by regulators and associations in the development, implementation and, monitoring of control systems. A secondary focus will be on issues faced by controllers and other financial managers in administering accounting control systems.

B7660 The Evolution of Accounting Theory and Practice

This course chronicles the development of accounting theory as a response to changes in culture. The goal of this course is to analyze the relations of accounting and the social world, in a historical context, to better understand why accounting and auditing standards have achieved their present state of evolution.

B7670 Financial Reporting Theory

This course will study the utility of financial statement interpretation in the strategic process of management. An intensive study and critical examination of accounting and financial reporting theories, concepts and standards; evaluations of the pronouncements of accounting standard-setters and financial reporting regulators will be an integral part of this course.

B7680 Accounting and Corporate Governance

B7312 Culturally Responsive Marketing

This course examines the cultural, subculture, generational, class, life course, and group influences of consumer behavior based upon domestic and global marketing environments. Major issues to be discussed and experienced through case studies are: positive and normative managerial interventions; multiple interpretations of consumer creativity; and the probing of consumer behaviors. Integration of macro- and micro-level global forces shaping regional and global markets will be investigated through practical business experiences, current literature, research studies, case studies and current marketing practices.

B7315 Global and Multinational Marketing

Marketing and selling products into the global environment presents many demanding decisions that need to be updated on a consistent timeframe with hard-to-retrieve knowledge, information and data. Challenging decisions must be made in international marketing objectives/ strategies/policies, regional and country market selection, products that fit regions-countries, multiple distribution channels, communications to fit each global region, management models and organizations per region/country, knowledge/information/data management, exploration of cultural issues, competition, economies, and customers.

B7320 Marketing and Innovation

This course focuses on the processes involved in marketing innovative products to current and new markets. Taking a product from idea to development to actual launch, including: identifying potential/new markets, appreciation for the innovative product planning phase; understanding the customer’s potential needs/wants/behaviors pre-product introduction through diffusion; writing the potential/new market strategic plan; management processes and resources required for marketing innovative products; and the management processes necessary for the re-innovation or sustaining the marketability of the innovative product.

B7325 Marketing Organization and Control

This course examines the challenges of aligning and/or transforming a product-centric organization into a customer-centric organization. Major company and marketing issues discussed are: reassessment of the company and marketing vision-strategy-operations; utilization of company and marketing resources; direct and indirect effects on in-house and customer driven technology/communications/networks/ information management; organizational behaviors/changes necessary to convert employees to a new line of thinking; changes in revenues/ profits/earnings; and, customer services. The goal of the course is to provide a structure on how to align and/or transform company and marketing operations to maximize customer value.

B7330 Marketing Research and Design

This course is uniquely designed to introduce students to the conceptual and technical issues of marketing research and design based upon behavior research methodologies. Major topics are: behavioral research designs; variances in domestic and global market research data gathering techniques; filling the domestic and/or global product-market knowledge gap based upon company strategies; and analytical techniques applied to marketing data.

B7335 Theory and Research in Consumer Branding

Consumer branding is the focal point of all businesses, domestic and global. Challenges in developing effective consumer brands must be integrated with the company’s short- and long-term strategic and operational plans. One of the major goals is to identify branding issues in depth, experienced by marketing firms. Multiple venues are involved in this course—feature presentations by distinguished marketers in the region, corporate marketing professionals, combined with global marketing experts. Topics included are challenges and changes in marketing branding strategies that worked yesterday but likely will not fit tomorrow’s customer, managing the distribution channel to build brand equity, developing effective communication strategies in a digital environment, establishing effective global brands by region, issues/ attributes/challenges in building domestic and global customer relationships.

B7401 Advanced Organizational Behavior

The focus of this course is the theoretical and practical implications of organizational behavior, as addressed from a social science perspective. It stresses how being a consumer of organizational research can help the manager with ever yday problems, and help the researcher to answer organizational behavior questions. Upon completion of the course, the student will have mastered the concepts of the field, such as diversity in the workplace, perception and attribution processes, motivation and individual differences in organizations, group dynamics and decision making, team work, leadership, and quality improvement programs.

B7403 Management Science

This course provides an in-depth presentation of the tools and techniques of management science as applied to real-world problems. The subject matter includes linear programming, sensitivity analysis, distribution models, decision analysis, forecasting, PERT/CPM, financial models as certainty models, and simulation models.

B7406 Ethics in Business and Management

This course considers ethics in business and management from a research perspective. Topics of study include foundations, ethical codes, ethics education, ethics research, student perspectives of ethics, ethics by business application, and cross-cultural ethics research.

B7408 Organizational Development and Change Management

This course addresses planned change efforts in organizations, covering organizational design, structure, principles of organizations, human resources training, intra- and inter-departmental communications, coordination activities, and leadership growth and development.

B7413 Organizational Systems Theory

This course focuses on theories, research and practice at the organization level of analysis. Beginning with a brief overview of the history of organization theory, the course focuses on contemporary perspectives including resource dependence theory, structural contingency theory, social network analysis, organizational ecology and the impact of technology on work. The emphasis will be on the applicability of theory in organizational life. Readings will ground the DBA student in the literature and a project derived from the DBA students’ interests and professional experience will form the basis application of the theories and research findings to business. The course will also focus on what theory is, and what theory is not and also on how to apply theory effectively to develop robust solutions and achieve organizational results.

B7610 Leadership in Global and Multicultural Org.

This advanced course reviews and provides research opportunities on leadership issues in global, international, and multicultural organizations. Culturally sensitive leadership skills, styles, practices, models, trends, theories, and concepts are examined. Attention is given to international ethical, diversity, and conflict management research and practices. The course includes theoretical orientation and theory-to-practice experiences using case studies, demonstrations, and simulations. The course provides an in-depth review and analysis of the latest theories and research on leadership in global and multicultural organizations. Written projects will focus on critical thinking, problem solving, decision making and information literacy. Attention is given to team leadership, team collaboration skills within a culturally diverse world.

B7252 International Accounting and Taxation

B7315 Global and Multinational Marketing

B7602 Global Management Models

B7607 Comparative Economic Systems

B7609 International Project I

B7610 Leadership in Global Multicultural Organizations

B7616 International Business Law and Practice

Students selecting this concentration work with a faculty advisor to develop a learning contract tailored to individual and specific needs. Students are required to take four courses (12 credit hours) to complete the Customized Professional Concentration requirements. Two or more of these courses must be taken from the five 7000-level business concentrations. A maximum of two courses (6 credit hours) may be directed independent study courses. The Customized Professional Concentration must be approved by the campus dean or program chair.

Students may substitute the Elective S7200 for any of the concentration electives.

S7200 Pinnacle Seminar

This seminar focuses on a contemporary topic of scholarship through selected writings of a current nationally recognized author. The weekend residence portion of the blended online seminar will provide students the opportunity to personally interact with the nationally recognized author, serving as a visiting professor, in a structured but relaxed conference type setting. Throughout the seminar, students will examine an area of study through the writings and experiences of this expert, and explore the thoughts and leading edge ideas of the visiting professor's specialty.

There are 12 credit hours in research courses needed for the Doctor of Business Administration Program.

B7001 Business Research Writing

This course provides a solid foundation necessary for academic writing. Topics include formats, literature reviews, citations, problem statements, research proposals, research questions, hypotheses, critiques of journal articles, evaluation of dissertations and dissertation abstracts, and writing for journals. The course is completed when the student, after completing all prior assignments, submits a finished article to an academic journal.

R7103 Solution Oriented Research Methods

This foundation course in business research provides an overview of the concepts of probability theory, regression analysis, assumptions of multivariate analysis, use of computer software, and the ethics of research in business settings.

R7033 Research Methods for Data Analysis

In this course, students learn the basics of computer methods for data analysis, with an emphasis on data mining. Data mining is the process of using computers to discover useful patterns in data, in order to explain current behaviors or to predict future outcomes. Focus is placed on the processes of model building, execution, testing, and the interpretation and validation of model results. Course activities include lecture-presentations, discussion of case studies, and hands-on exercises. Students complete numerous exercises, a data mining project, and a take-home final exam.

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R7035 Methods and Analysis of Qualitative Research

This course introduces the assumptions, theories, and processes of qualitative inquiry. The purpose of this course is to provide advanced graduate students with the theoretical foundations necessary to understand qualitative inquiry, and to enhance their abilities to conduct qualitative research and evaluation.

R7038 Action Research Methods

The course advances the proposition that the action research approach is a useful paradigm in the field and worthwhile model for dissertation work. Historical, philosophical and theoretical foundations will be discussed, but practical application will be the primary focus simultaneously with learning. This is consistent with an action research approach. Collaboration and group work is also a hallmark of action research so students will demonstrate their abilities to design, diagnose, plan, implement, observe, and reflect in cooperation with classmates. The various roles and skills necessary to be an effective action researcher will be discussed, as well as important issues related to empowerment, contextualization, ethical considerations, and validity.

There are 12 credit hours in Dissertation Courses needed for the Doctor of Business Administration Program.

E7935 Dissertation - Business

The dissertation is offered in four, 3-semester-credit blocks, each lasting one semester. Block I

Block II

Block III

Block IV

NOTE: Students who do not complete in four semesters must apply for a dissertation extension