1. DOCTORATE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (DBA)
Supervision and Examination Criteria
Presented by: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nik Maheran Nik Muhammad
Faculty of Business Management
UiTM Kelantan.

2. DBA and PhD supervision and examination criteria:
What are the issues?
What are the differences between DBA and PhD
DBA vs PhD
DBA program structure in Malaysian University
Supervision and Examination criteria
Issues of ‘Contribution’
Content/report presentation
Supervisors expectation
5. Proposed framework.

3. ISSUES / PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Given that the DBA dissertation could be different from a PhD thesis, how should it be supervised and examined?
In many circumstances, the criteria used to examine DBA dissertation and PhD thesis are the same although focus of both program are different
the criteria used by examiners for DBA dissertation are not standardized and there is no clear, agreed definition of that which constitutes a ‘contribution’—a major criterion for some research theses

4. ISSUES
Lack of consistency across institutions regarding the nature of examining and qualifying DBA program particularly on the dissertation reports.

5. DBA vs. PhD
GENERAL DIFFERENCE:
DBA (Professional doctorate program) requires a portfolio of course work, seminar presentations, and industry-relevant research reports. Encourages the candidate for more applied outcomes.
PhD (Traditional doctorate) focus on single PhD thesis. Expected to contribute to new body of knowledge.
DBA is a professional doctorate for managers and the PhD is a professional doctorate for academics.

6. DBA vs. PhD Qualifications and knowledge on entry into the program;
MAJOR DIFFERENCES:
Qualifications and knowledge on entry into the program;
Focus of the program (learning outcome); and
The nature of the doctoral report
DBA dissertation is only partial requirement and the PhD is full.
Duration to do research for DBA is shorter and the PhD is over a longer time period of time.
the thesis requirement is heavier for PhD than DBA
(Association of Business Schools, 1997; Bourner, Bowden & Laing 2001 ;Perry and Cavage, 2002).

7. (1) Qualifications and knowledge on entry into the program
DBA
PhD 1.
DBA usually requires an MBA degree or the equivalent,
PhD program requires at least a two-semester masters/honours award 2.
significant executive or management/professional experience in the public or private sector
(Bourner, Bowden & Laing 2001;
USM, 2008)

8. (2) The focus of the program (Learning Outcome)
DBA
PhD 1.
Research Capabilities:
The DBA is a professional doctorate
for managers or management
professionals,
To carry out research project in
terms of management practice
within organization.
DBA program’s focus on
managerial outcomes and
implications
focuses on a contribution to
academic literature and prepares
usually younger students for a
career in academic research.
ability to make original
contribution to knowledge in
chosen field of study 2.
Professional Development:
Capacity to plan and manage own
learning and continuing
professional development 3.
Knowledge of Business Management:
Understanding theories and practice in
Business and Management.
(Bourner et al. 2001, Lockhart & Stablein 2002)

9. (3) DBA and a PhD is the doctoral report1.
DBA focuses on the management problem –
delimited to the context of a particular
industry and/or country.
‘implications for management’ section of the
final chapter could highlight issues for
management practice and so should be a
major part of the DBA dissertation
Research problem with regards to gap in
the literature
PhD focuses on how to develop
new body of knowledge
Emphasize on application of theory and
further research 2.
Action-related research.
Contribution to knowledge of practice,
DBA candidates are expected to be able to
show that their research has had an impact
on their professional practice
Basic research
Contribute to academic theory 3.
DBA theses/dissertations were required to be at least 45,000 words in length and maximum of 60,000 words
PhD thesis is normally about 60,000 words to 100,000 word (Phillips & Pugh, 1994). 4.
the literature and methodology chapters in a DBA dissertation may be less extensive than the equivalent chapters in a PhD thesis
Rigor and extensive
(Association of Business Schools 1997, Bourner et al. 2001).

10. DBA PROGRAMS IN MALAYSIA
Table 1
DBA program structure at different university.
Institution
Course work
Consultation/
training
Dissertation
Compre-
hensive exam
Total Units
Duration
(years)
Units %
Group 1 – Malaysia Public University (Mode 2)
UKM 38
60% -
Partial
40% 2
3 ½ - 5
UiTM 36
70%
30% 1 48
Group 2 – Malaysia Public University (Mixed mode)
USM 18
22% 21
26% 42
52%
none 81
UUM 33
50% 6
10% 27 66
3 ½ -5
Group 3- Malaysian Private University
MMU
56% 32
43% 74
3-7
Group 4 – Australian Affiliated
SEGI (UoN) 80 20
240**
3 - 9
MIM (RMIT)
34%
66%
ITD (UNISA)
* Training in Research methodology capabilities.
* *MBA + DBA ( 80 units + 160)

11. SUPERVISION THE DBA dissertation
CONTRIBUTION
CONTENT / REPORT PRESENTATION
EXPECTATION OUTCOME

12. SUPERVISION THE DBA dissertation
Issues of “Contribution”
“ something nobody has said before and/or carrying out empirical work that has not been done before”
DBA award is aimed at making a contribution to practice…
PhD ‘‘is principally intended to develop academic..…

13. SUPERVISION THE DBA dissertation……cont.
2. CONTENT – emphasize
research-coursework for DBAs should be more flexible than research-only PhDs.
Less rigorous
Less exhaustive - literature reviews
Less extensive - methodology
Focus on managerial problem (instead of bridging the gap of the literature/theory) example
Emphasized on managerial/practical implication (theoretical implication)

14. Content Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3
Table 4: Structure of DBA – Research Portfolio (Australian University)
Research Component
Content
Words
(Approx.)
Stage 1
Research or a review of the literature on a topic of interest to candidates, that contribute to background of the study; motivation of the study (problem statement); objectives; research questions; significant of the study.
10,000 words
Stage 2
Research or a review of the literature on a topic of interest to candidates, and which may not necessarily be related to the key research topic in Stage 3.
AND
Research methodology OR
An exploratory case study
Stage 3
Discrete Research Report - Findings and data analysis (including tables and figures but excluding references and appendices)
 Building on research from stages 1 & 2, to provided discussion and conclusion but not a overlap work in work completed in stages 1 & 2
Examiners are reminded that a professional doctorate such as the DBA is both theoretically -and practically-focused, and should include implications for practice for both the profession generally and the workplace specifically.
Therefore, examiners should expect to see considerable discussion of the practical implications of the study findings in the final chapter.
40,000
words and no
more than
50,000

15. SUPERVISION THE DBA dissertation……cont.
3. The question remains as to the level of specialization of a DBA supervisor, or differences in supervising DBA versus PhD candidates – supervisor’s expectation:
In many cases these supervisors of DBAs have graduated from research-based PhDs and are often skeptical about the DBA program.
Unless if they were part of the design-, accreditation- or program advisory teams (Kemp 2002).
Therefore, the supervisors need to have a good understanding of the objectives of DBAs (researching professional vs. researching academicians)

16. EXAMINING THE DBA dissertation AND PhD Theses
CRITERIA
IMPORTANT
RANK
DBA
PHD
Research apprenticeship 1
capacity to conceive, plan and conduct research; capable of working independently.
aims to develop researching professionals
Aims to develop academic researchers
Report Presentation:
Length
Rigorousness
Focus
Theory 2
40,000 – 60,000 words
Moderate and flexible
the applied nature of the DBA research report(s) in terms of strategic implications and outcomes- focused than methodology
application of appropriate theories and research to professional practice
60,000 to 100,000 words
Exhaustive literature/methodology
Basic/Fundamental research
a gap in the literature

17. EXAMINING THE DBA dissertation AND PhD Theses…Cont.
CRITERIA
IMPORTANT
RANK
DBA
PHD
Contribution:
carried out original/significant research in the field; major advancement; contribution to knowledge in the field 3
implication to managerial practice.
greater emphasis should be tied to the implications for managers and
professional practice
new theory and new body of knowledge
Academic contribution
Literature:
relevant to thesis, showing understanding of the field of research 4
less extensive
Very extensive
gap of the theory
Analysis of information/data 5
Less extensive
Extensive
Research question: 6
justification and delimitation to managerial objective
Highly focus on achieving theoretical objective

18. EXAMINING THE DBA dissertation AND PhD Theses…Cont
CRITERIA
IMPORTANT
RANK
DBA
PHD
Methodology: 7
appropriate choice
DBA is targeted at individuals who wish to study their field in depth in order to improve their professional practice, but who do not wish to do this using the methodology of a single research topic as required for a PhD
Required extensive methodology
Research output:
Publishable
Practical application 8
suitable for publication
Applicable to business/managerial context.
Must be publishable (original and new contribution)
Conclusions: soundly based, showing implications 9
Research has had an impact on their professional practice.
‘implications for management’ section of the final chapter could highlight issues for management practice and so should be a major part of the DBA dissertation.
a PhD thesis focuses much more on implications for theory and for further research

19. PROPOSED FRAMEWORK for supervising and examining DBA dissertation
Theoretical and Practical - focused
CONTRIBUTION
New knowledge for managerial/professional practice
Impact to managerial practice
Length – 40,000 to 60,000 words
REPORT PRESENTATION
Problem statement
- practically-focused -
Literature review and Methodology
- Less extensive -
Discussion
- implication for management -
EXPECTATION
Capacity to conceive, plan and conduct research independently
Practical application and suitable for journal publication

20. CONCLUSION
The DBA is designed to make a significant contribution to the enhancement of professional practice in business administration (public and private sectors, education, hospital, professional, and general management) through the application and development of theoretical frameworks.
In comparison, the PhD places more emphasis on the development of new knowledge and innovative theoretical perspectives
the DBA has different goals from a PhD, for the DBA is a professional doctorate for managers rather than for academics.
Research for DBA is partial requirement but full for PhD; duration to take the research for DBA is shorter than PhD; requirements for DBA and Phd are different…
Criteria to examine DBA dissertation and PhD thesis should be different.

21. THANK YOU
QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME…..

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