Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business

Doctor of Business Administration

Our DBA programme brings together future leaders in the public or private sectors to gain new knowledge, sharpen their intellectual and managerial skills and reflect on their past professional and personal experience. It is a three-year programme that is specifically designed to provide a rich learning experience for professionals who aspire to pursue a terminal academic qualification which is highly professionally geared and relevant. Students will have the opportunity not only to contribute to management theory but also they will be able to contribute to the advanced professional practice and development of professional knowledge.

Programme Objectives

  •  Enable students/participants to acquire an in-depth understanding of the business and management processes through learning, consultancy work and research on an increasingly multifaceted and demanding business world;
  • Assist companies and organisations in resolving critical problems and promote a business environment of excellent performance;
  • Advance the performance and quality of business decisions through reflective practice and active learning.
  • Provide a platform for experienced managers to learn from the academics, business leaders and themselves, in a highly conducive learning environment.

Target Audience

 Our programme is designed for seasoned, ambitious professionals who would like to bridge theory and practice, research a particular challenge in a business environment, and acquire advanced knowledge and skills of key business and managerial areas. DBA is an academically rigorous doctoral programme that is specially developed for senior, experienced professional managers and may be contextualised to a specific sector and career path.

Programme Structure

Our DBA programme is a mixed-mode programme (coursework and dissertation). Students need to complete 82 credits to graduate.

Component 1

15 credits in business fields

 

BDHS7013 Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness

This course aims to develop higher-order critical thinking and problem-solving skills to enable contemporary leaders to apply various theoretical and practical perspectives in strategically leading a successful organisation. Topics cover the need for strategic leadership; attributes of strategic leader-traits, knowledge, ability, skills and behaviour; evolution of leadership theories-traditional and emerging models; stimulating unceasing change; and ethical leadership for sustainable business.  

BDAK8033 Accounting Practice and Regulation

This course is designed to give a broad-based understanding of financial and management accounting, including auditing and corporate governance, with emphasis on empirical research methods and on accounting practice and regulation. It is primarily a seminar to increase understanding of some key topics in contemporary accounting practice and regulation as well as discussions on seminal research papers of the various branches of accounting. Students are exposed to a wide range of research paradigms in accounting, including from the positivistic, interpretive and critical perspectives. Topics include the role of accounting information in equity and credit analysis, corporate governance reforms, audit quality and strategic use of management accounting information.

BDFM8013 Corporate Financial Strategy

This course is designed to develop students’ capabilities to plan, evaluate and execute financial strategies within the context of a firm’s overall corporate strategy and ever-changing financial and economic environment. Emphasis is given to shareholder wealth creation and the theoretical and practical issues in capital investment and financing decisions.

BDMF8013 Global Economic and Business Issues

The course discusses and analysed the larger economic forces that shape production, trade flows, capital flows, interest rates, exchange rates, and other variables that create the global economic and business landscape. Tools of microeconomics and international economics to illustrate how globalisation influences performance, strategy, and policy within firms are also explored.

BDMM8033 Global Strategic Marketing and Competitive Analysis

This course enhances one’s understanding of important global strategic marketing theories and concepts. The significance of competitive analysis to a modern business organisation will be discussed and reviewed. For all practical purposes, this course encourages students to review and discuss current strategic marketing and competitive issues critically.

BDMM8043 Contemporary Issues in Marketing

This course aims to provide students with an overview of the latest developments in scholarship and practice in marketing and, importantly, make clear links between the two. The course covers selected key topics that are currently impacting on the way marketing is researched and practised. It also discusses emergent marketing ideas and applications. By locating these topics in their wider global, social and economic contexts, students will be able to identify a series of theoretical concerns surrounding the interrelationships between marketing, society and culture.

BDMH8013 Strategic Human Resource Management

This course discusses strategic policies, practices and functions of human resource management in a business environment.  In seeks to provide a critical understanding of the role of human resource management in the accomplishment of strategic business objectives and goals through the exploration of various theoretical and applied perspectives. Also, issues and challenges of local and global strategic human resource management are discussed. 

BDMH8023 Business Negotiation

The purpose of this course is to understand the theory and processes of negotiation in a variety of settings. A basic premise of the course is that while managers need analytic skills to discover optimal solutions to problems, they also need a broad array of negotiation skills to get these solutions accepted and implemented. Upon completion of the course, DBA students should be able to recognise the two major negotiating approaches (distributive and integrative) and understand the complexities that occur when multiple parties are involved in a negotiation.

BDMN8043 Managing Strategy and Innovation

Organizations are required to continuously find better ways to compete in the rapidly changing global business environment. However, the changing environment also accords opportunities for new businesses. This course exposes students about how to make strategic choices effectively and use a mix of approaches and techniques that promote innovation and entrepreneurial conduct in organisations.

BDMN8033 Organisational Change Management

The pace of global, economic and technological development makes change an inevitable feature of organisational life. This course focuses on various theoretical perspectives of change and analyses the change process and activities for successful organisational change. The need for developing proper attitudes and cognition to overcome resistance to change is also emphasised. Other topics to explore include the role of organisational policies, politics, structures, and culture for effective change management and strategy.

9 credits in business fields

BDMR8053 Data Analysis

This course is designed to provide students with the necessary skills to convert and analyse quantitative and qualitative data to information in a systematic manner.  Students are exposed to various styles of interpretation of data, analytic approach, and the process of analysis. Students will learn the steps involved in analysing different types of data and how to report the different types of results in their research project to inform the research audience.

BDMI 8013 Research Proposal Construction

This course is designed to assist students in the preparation of their research proposal. At the end of the course, students are expected to submit an acceptable draft of their proposal that discusses the topic of study, the motivation of inquiry, key literature, and methodological approaches to studying the topic of interest.

BDMR8013 Business Research and Methodology

This course is designed to equip students with knowledge and skills necessary for the development and implementation of their own research dissertation based on quantitative and qualitative methods. The course covers three main phases of research-planning, design and implementation. Topics include the philosophical basis of research- ontology, epistemology and axiology; formulation of problem statement; literature review--systematic critical review and establishing a research gap; research design--applying the procedures and techniques of various research methodologies; data collection strategy; data analysis techniques; and reporting of results.

6 credits in business fields (students can choose from the following)

BDMF8053 Seminar in Business and Sustainability

This course examines and discusses issues on the link between businesses and society. Topics include the concept and theory of sustainability; the business case for sustainability; implementation of a sustainability plan; and governance and sustainability. One of the highlights of this course is a project on a real organisation of the student’s preference wrestling with the challenge of implementing sustainability. At the completion of this course, students will be prepared to bring an integrated understanding of sustainability to the economic challenges facing any business or community and evaluate their circumstances to support the design of strategic plans for change that will promote profitability, social well-being, and environmental conservation.

BDMF8043 Seminar in International Business

In the dynamic era of the 21st century, globalisation brings a series of opportunities and challenges to multinational corporations especially in penetrating emerging economies in the Asian and African regions.  Hence, it is pertinent for would be managers and executives dealing with various aspects related to international business to be exposed and prepared to deal with such uncertainties. This course endeavours to cover the complex but equally rewarding world of international business by providing a platform for debates and discussions of important issues around the globe.

BDME8033 Seminar in Corporate Entrepreneurship

The new, fast-paced, competitive environments are affecting virtually all parts of a business organisation simultaneously.  Growth-oriented firms need to adopt a new competitive mind-set, one in which flexibility, speed, innovation and strategic leadership are valued highly. The purpose of this course is to develop a detailed understanding of the opportunity in the environment and how the growing business venture can exploit. The course facilitates discussion on entrepreneurial leadership and entrepreneurial growth, and decisions entrepreneurs face in giving the growing venture a direction and strategy to adopt.  There are issues and decisions the entrepreneurs must consider in successfully managing the growth of the venture and eventually its consolidation.

Component 2 (Business Consultation 3 Credits)

Business Consultation (3 credits)

This course is a compulsory component of the DBA program. In this course, students are required to undertake a consultancy assignment in any SME or large firm as a case study project. Students are responsible for negotiating the details of the case study with the firm. This case study project is an ideal opportunity for students to integrate theory and practice.

Component 3 (Dissertation 49 credits)

 

Dissertation (49 credits)

This course provides students with the opportunity to explore an area of interest within strategic management in greater depth. Transferable skills in research, information and project management will be developed, equipping students for the continuously changing business environment of the 21st century. The aim of the course is to enable students to undertake a self-managed process of systematic academic enquiry within the domain of management.

 

Study Plan

Semester 1 (12 credits)

  • BDHS7013 Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness
  • BDAK8033 Accounting Practice and Regulation
  • BDMR8013 Business Research and Methodology
  • BDMF8013 Global Economic and Business Issues

Semester 2 (12 credits)

  • BDFM8013 Corporate Financial Strategy
  • BDMR8053 Data Analysis
  • BDMM8033 Global Strategic Marketing and Competitive Analysis
  • Elective I

Semester 3 (9 credits)

  • BDMI 8013 Research Proposal Construction
  • Business Consultation
  • Elective II

Semester 4-10 (49 credits)

  • Dissertation

Admission Requirements

For information about our admission requirements, please click here. Please note that all shortlisted applicants will be interviewed as part of the selection process.

Estimated Tuition Fee

Local students: RM53,700.00

Overseas students: RM65,100.00

(Note. Fees are subject to review).

Apply Online

To apply online, please click here.

Please make sure that you have the necessary documents to upload when you fill in the online application.

Contact Us

For more information, please contact the DBA Programme Director:

Professor Kalsom Kayat

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tel: +60 4 928 7107

OYAGSB KUALA LUMPUR
Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business (OYAGSB)
Universiti Utara Malaysia (Kampus Kuala Lumpur)
27-1B Tingkat 1, Wisma Sri Muda (UUMKL Menara 2)
Jalan Raja Muda Abd Aziz, Kampung Baru
50300 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
TEL: +604-928 7192/7194