RBDOCFBA - Doctor of Business Administration

The Doctorate of Business Administration is a professional doctorate programme which is distinctive in that its aim is to contribute to both knowledge and practice for responsible business/ management through undertaking doctoral research. Central to this DBA is the development of the self-awareness required for purposeful and socially responsible practice. It makes a unique contribution to the market and aligns with the principles of inclusivity and social justice expressed in the university’s mission and strategy.

Principle one - Courses inspire experiential learning that truly transforms lives: developing confident, creative & connected professionals
This professional doctorate is designed for senior executives, managers and leaders from a wide range of sectors and backgrounds wishing to develop their professional knowledge, research and problem-solving skills to tackle complex issues in contemporary business and organisations. Working at the intersection of theory and practice, students will engage in active scholarship to achieve sustainable, organisational impact. This programme will enhance students’ professional capability, creativity and credibility, impacting positively on their self-development, career options and organizational outcomes.

Principle two - Courses meet the needs of our diverse communities
This programme is designed inclusively in order to meet the needs of our diverse student communities situated both locally and internationally. Through its flexible design (interdisciplinary content themes and multi-faceted assessment), it will appeal to senior executives, managers and leaders from a highly diverse range of sectors and organisations, reaching from IT, financial services to the arts and creative industries as well as higher education. Employers supporting candidates for the LMU DBA will benefit from the development of both individual specialist knowledge and practice development, international networking opportunities and work-related, robust research and problem-solving techniques enabling a sustainable, competitive advantage.

Principle three - Courses are part of a coherent portfolio within a professional/ practitioner subject area
This programme completes GSBL’s portfolio of business and management courses as it creates potential student pathways from foundation year through to post-experience doctoral study. Alongside GSBL’s PhD programme, the DBA programme will prove to be a valuable, distinct progression route for senior executives, managers and leaders driven by a desire for self development as practitioner researchers and making a sustainable difference to their organisation through work-related research. Awareness of the ethical challenges associated with being practitioner researchers and navigating research ‘at home’ will be emphasised throughout.

Principle four - Courses enable students to develop as inclusive, collaborative and socially responsible professionals in their discipline
On this DBA, students will work collaboratively to analyse organisations, practices and markets, and in addition synthesise literature for their own research, in order to explore their own contexts more critically and reflexively with the aim of finding sustainable solutions to key challenges in their working environment. This DBA programme will utilise a blended learning approach through a mixture of synchronous and non-synchronous activities that allow students to choose a pathway through the DBA that suits their work-life balance. This includes face-to-face and virtual delivery modes of interactive workshops, lectures, seminars and supervisory meetings. Such a blend of on-site and online activities will offer a flexible learning journey – also open to international students – and enable a supportive student community engaged in active learning and networking.

Teaching strategy

Overview
The DBA will enable students to:
• Develop a deep and critical understanding of key conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of their chosen area of research into business, management, organizations and scholarship for business education.
• Develop personal, consultancy, problem solving and research competences so that they demonstrate criticality when undertaking rigorous, original and work-related research at doctoral level.
• Create and interpret knowledge demonstrating enhanced performance, evidence-based practice and reflexivity as an experienced responsible professional.

The programme is delivered in three main parts that are structured to support learners from a range of sectors and organisations in their professional research, problem-solving and personal skills development:
Part 1: students will complete two modules that enable them to plan their DBA journey and gain a theoretical foundation in relevant areas of organization and management studies. This will help students to formulate their research issue/problem and plan their research project.
Part 2: students will complete two modules that enable gaining a sound foundation in research methods and design a detailed research project, skills development and impact plan for their DBA studies.
Part 3: students will first complete a pilot study and then, drawing on feedback from this, conduct their organisational research project. They can choose either an academic or consultancy focussed route.

Built into this design are three potential exit points with PG Cert, Dip and MSc qualifications. The delivery will be blended (including face-to-face and online options for attending classes and supervision meetings) and student-centred, providing learners with flexible opportunities to collaborate and connect. Indeed, students will be part of a strong DBA and wider PGR learner community with access to all PGR resources, skills training and attendance of/presentation at the annual LMU PGR Student/Staff conference

It is anticipated that attendance/engagement will be organized as follows:
Phase 1: 2 days attendance per week, or the equivalent in block delivery, plus online activities
Phase 2: 2 days attendance per week, or the equivalent in block delivery, plus online activities
Phase 3:
60 credit Impacting organizational practice: research pilot study. block attendance during the first 4 weeks followed by online supervision and peer activities
360 Organisational research project: online and face to face supervisory and peer activities

Suggested delivery patterns (FT and PT September starts)

FT (September start)
Attendance TBC in Stages 1 and 2
Block attendance at the beginning of Stage 3
Semester Stage Codes Modules
Year 1: Semester 1 1 MN7207 L7 Planning your DBA journey (20 credits)

1 MN7208 L7 Contemporary issues in organisations and management (40 credits)
Year 1: Semester 2 2 MN7209 L7 Developing as a practitioner researcher (20 credits)

2 MN7210 L7 Fundamentals of research design (40 credits)

Year 1: Summer studies period 3 MN7P64 L7 Impacting organizational practice: research pilot study (60 credits)
Year 2: Doctoral stage (years 2-3)
4 MN8P02 L8: Organisational research project (360 credits)

PT September start
Stages 1 and 2, TBC , modules in parallel at each stage, block delivery
Block attendance at the beginning of Stage 3

Semester Stage Modules
Year 1: Semesters 1 and 2 1 L7 Planning your DBA journey (20 credits)

L7 Contemporary issues in organisations and management (40 credits)
Year 2: Semesters 1 and 2 2 L7 Developing as a practitioner researcher (20 credits)

L7 Fundamentals of research design (40 credits)

Year 2: Summer studies period 3 L7: Impacting organizational practice: research pilot study (60 credits)
Year 3: Doctoral research stage (years 3-6) 4 L8: Organisational research project (360 credits)

Experiential Learning
The LMU DBA is an example of high-level experiential learning as a practitioner research degree. Candidates will be supported to identify a real-world problem that they will explore through ethically and well-designed research. Through this experience, they will develop as practitioner researchers and organisational leaders who are able to make practical and sound decisions based on reliable evidence. Candidates will record their developing profiles through reflexive accounts of progress.

Employability focus (including attribute development)

Overview
The LMU DBA is designed to enhance the employability of experienced senior managers, leaders and executives from a wide range of sectors and organisations such that they develop the self-awareness and practical knowledge to influence organisational outcomes based on sound evidence and decision making.
The programme acknowledges the complexity of many organisational contexts and work-related challenges and will enable candidates to develop the skills and attributes required to bring about influence and change. The core principles of inclusion and social responsibility in organisational research will be emphasised at all stages so that they are relevant for each candidate and their own research interests
A key area of focus throughout will be the ethical issues associated with practitioner research, navigating research ‘at home’ and the identification of changing roles and associated risks.

Confidence
The LMU DBA will enable candidates to research complex organisational contexts and&

The programme aims to advance candidates’ proficiency in the analysis and problem-solving of contemporary business and organisational issues of their own choosing and that are pertinent to socially responsible business and management practice in a wide range of sectors and organisations. The course has three main aims:
- to contribute to knowledge and practice in the area of business and organisations;
- to contribute to the sustainable effectiveness of the organisation in which the research project takes place;
- to enhance the professional competence of the learner as a practitioner researcher.

The programme promotes the use of a range of teaching, learning and assessment methods, which develop the students’ intellectual abilities, self-confidence and ability to study independently.

The course has been devised with reference to the subject benchmark statement for L8 doctoral study. The subject specific knowledge and skills, cognitive abilities and non-subject specific skills outlined in the benchmark statement are referenced in the relevant sections of this document.

On successful completion of the programme students will be able to:

1. Design and implement an original research or advanced scholarship project to a standard acceptable at level 8 with an immediate relevance to organisations (LO1)
2. Demonstrate research design capability and analysis skills in order to support work at a doctoral level (LO2)
3. Develop a sound understanding of the relevant conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of the chosen area of research to enhance professional practice in organisations (LO3)
4. Gain the ability to apply key problem solving and critical thinking skills to achieve a set of objectives and make informed judgements on complex organizational issues (LO4)
5. Apply for and adhere to ethical standards in order to recognise, evaluate and minimise the risks involved in the research design and execution and its impact on the environment (LO5)
6. Aim to provide or create new knowledge and / or solutions that can maybe applicable to similar contexts (eg, product or service, function, organisation, market, geography) (LO6)
7. Demonstrate practical impact through research and applied problem-solving techniques (LO7)
8. Discuss confidently from an informed position the use and impact of research within different organisational contexts (LO8)
9. Communicate effectively and disseminate research output and creative solutions to various audiences including contextual stakeholders (LO9)
10. Enhance individual performance as a reflective practitioner and enhance professional skills and practice (LO10)
11. Demonstrate confidence, resilience, ambition and creativity and will act as inclusive, collaborative and socially responsible practitioners/professionals in their discipline (LO11)

The course will equip students with the knowledge, skills and attributes to achieve a set of objectives and use research techniques within different business and organisational contexts as a vehicle for personal and organisational improvement and development. Students will gain a distinctive qualification to pursue senior management positions in a variety of organisations both at national and international levels. The course brings together university and School distinctiveness, and - as it is inherently multidisciplinary - refers to the QAA statement for L8 doctoral study.

https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/quality-code/doctoral-degree-characteristics-statement-2020.pdf

https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/quality-code/qualifications-frameworks.pdf

Assessment strategy

Principles
The course adopts the four assessment strategy principles of the School that are developed in the spirit of the university’s Equality and Social Justice Framework. These are:
i) The School is committed to ensuring that each student should not have more than 2 assessment points per 20 credit module.
ii) We provide balanced forms of assessment, both in terms of its overall volume (measured in terms of assessment points and output required (see Table below)) and the types used.

Assessment Tariffs

Credits Assessment Points Assessment Type (weighting) Tariff
20 1 Individual Essay 3,000 words
20 2 Individual Essay (60%)/ Exam (40%) 1800/80 minutes
20 1 Exam 3.0 hours
20 2 Group presentation (20%)/ Individual Report (80%) 20 minutes/1,000 words 20 minutes/1,500 words

iii) At PGR level group activities are part of the learning and teaching strategies but assessment should be at the level of the individual. Thus, assessment should focus on individual reflections and learning from participating in a group activity.
iv) Flexibility/choice in assessment methods will be introduced wherever possible (subject to PSRB requirements and QAA subject benchmarks) in order to facilitate different learning studies and support personalization

• Course Strategy

Introduction

The course adopts an assessment approach that enables candidates to develop their abilities as practitioner researchers from the first stage of the course through to being able to identify, undertake and report upon a practice-related research/consultancy study at Stage 3.

Assessment and feedback practices: reflection, consideration of professional practice, and subject-specific and educational scholarship;
The LMU DBA assessment strategy adopts the principle of enabling candidates to develop as ‘reflective practitioners’ in the context of their own professional practice, and to record their developing awareness through reflexive accounts and impact statements at Stages 1,2 and 3. Advanced scholarship associated with contemporary organisational and research theory and practice is included in Stages 1 and 2. Pedagogical approaches will reflect advanced educational scholarship for doctoral development and include online and face to face opportunities, collaboration, supervision and the recognition of significant milestones.

Dialogue between staff and students to promote a shared understanding of the basis on which academic judgements are made;
A partnership approach will be developed between DBA candidates and the staff team to support the creation of an enabling academic and practitioner community such that the rationales behind academic judgements are transparent and freely available. Assessment criteria will be available for the programme and for each module. Written feedback relating to the criteria will be provided for each assessment item. In addition, feedforward will provide key areas for development.

The provision of opportunities to develop an understanding of, and the necessary skills to demonstrate, good academic practice;
Candidates will be introduced to the expectations of good academic practice from the first stage of the programme, The modules Planning your DBA journey (Stage 1) and Developing as a Practitioner Researcher (Stage 2) provide the opportunity to identify areas for development as academics and practitioner researchers, and to monitor progress on their development

The volume, timing and nature of assessment and how it enables students to demonstrate the extent to which they have achieved the intended learning outcomes;

Assessments in each Stage have been mapped to ensure candidates are able to demonstrate their learning and have enough time to do so to a high standard. The programme is also designed so that each Stage contains two modules which complement each other in terms of development requirements, content and type of assessment.

Formative assessment supporting students in preparing for summative assessment;

The LMU DBA has a developmental approach throughout. All formative opportunities are designed to support summative tasks.

Feedback on assessment is timely, constructive and developmental;
Feedback on assignments will be provided in line with university policy and will be designed to be constructive and support the development of the research project and the candidate as a practitioner researcher.

The processes for marking assessments and for moderating marks are clearly articulated and consistently operated by those involved in the assessment process.

The procedures for marking and moderation will be published in the Course Handbook and be open for scrutiny through the university’s quality enhancement processes

Not applicable.

The delivery pattern will be adjusted to facilitate part-time delivery of the programme. This is likely to take the format of block delivery of modules.
Suggested PT pattern

PT September start
Stages 1 and 2, TBC , modules in parallel at each stage, block delivery
Block attendance at the beginning of Stage 3

Semester Stage Modules
Year 1: Semesters 1 and 2 1 MN7207 Planning your DBA journey (20 credits)

MN7208 Contemporary issues in organisations and management (40 credits)
Year 2: Semesters 1 and 2 2 MN7209 Developing as a practitioner researcher (20 credits)

MN7210 Fundamentals of research design (40 credits)

Year 2: Summer studies period 3 MN7P64 Impacting organizational practice: pilot study (60 credits)
Year 3: Doctoral research stage (years 3-6) 4 MN8P02 Organisational research project (360 credits)

All modules at L7 require a minimum of 50% pass grade. The assessment of the L8 module ‘Organisational Research Project’ is subject to the university’s doctoral regulations. Students need to successfully complete each phase to move on to the next phase. Students will normally be expected to achieve a minimum of a Merit pass at Level 7 (180 credits) to progress to Level 8. Students will also be expected to submit a full research proposal within three months of commencing Level 8, and attend a viva to discuss the proposal

PG Cert: Planning your DBA journey, Contemporary Issues in Organisations and Management

PG Dip: Planning your DBA journey, Contemporary Issues in Organisations and Management; Developing as a Practitioner Researcher; Fundamental in Organisational research design

MSc: Planning your DBA journey, Contemporary Issues in Organisations and Management; Developing as a Practitioner Researcher; Fundamental in Organisational research design; Impacting Organisational Practice: research pilot study

Reflective practice is a core part of this DBA programme. It is embedded in the teaching and assessment of the 20 credit modules (Planning your DBA journey; Developing as a Practitioner Researcher) where students are asked to identify their individual position as a practitioner researcher, reflect on and plan for their practitioner research journey and skills development, and develop an impact plan for their doctoral research project. Students will also be asked to reflect on their practitioner research journey and include an impact assessment as part of their final doctoral research project.

The DBA is an internationally recognised qualification and equips the learner with a unique set of professional, research and problem-solving skills to enhance their ability to tackle complex problems in the workplace and inform sustainable decision making. Unlike traditional doctoral programmes, it is designed to meet the needs of senior executives, managers and leaders and extends their professional competencies to become independent, critical practitioner researchers. As such, the nature and focus of this DBA opens up a number of opportunities for career development in industry and academia. The DBA is equivalent to a PhD, but its focus on engaged scholarship and enhancing professional practice and work-related research makes it more suitable for senior managers and/ or for candidates who wish to progress in their chosen field.

The focus of the programme is on socially responsible, professional practice, and application in business and management. This course is designed to enhance your management practice and improve your career opportunities in your chosen field of business, setting you up to pursue senior management positions within national and international organisations.

The DBA is equivalent to a PhD but with a focus on enhancing professional practice and work-related research. Due to the nature of this course, you could also choose to develop a career in academia.

Examples of areas that previous DBA graduates have been employed in include health care, education, banking, business development, marketing, hospitality, family business, law, finance and corporate governance.

You will be required to have:

• a master’s degree with merit or an equivalent recognised qualification
• five years’ experience in an appropriate professional role
• satisfactory outline of research interest summarised on the DBA Application Support Form and a successful interview

Please complete the DBA Application Support Form and email this to our course leader, Dr Hazel Messenger, on h.messenger@londonmet.ac.uk.