Mba and Dba: Differences

The two degrees DBA and MBA sound pretty similar. And some companies indeed treat both an MBA and a doctoral program as equally valuable qualification of an employee. There are, however, important differences between a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA).

DBA and MBA: Content
The MBA is a general management degree with a strong practical approach. It provides an overview of the most important managerial functions and trains you in solving practical business problems. Full-time programs often include leadership seminars as well as practical periods such as business plan development, in-company projects, or internships, and your primary source of information is case studies.

In an MBA program, you are building up knowledge that is already there - and you receive that knowledge through books, lectures, case studies, or interaction with professors, classmates or businesses.

In a professional business doctorate, you read academic journals
In contrast, the DBA is a research program where you read academic journals. You become trained not in solving managerial problems but in becoming a researcher who is able to publish in academic journals some day. You are reading about the theories behind what is taught in the MBA and you learn the methodological tools necessary to generate knowledge as an academic.

In a professional business doctorate, you build up knowledge that is already there only during the course period. After that, you become a researcher and you generate new knowledge.

A concrete example
As an MBA student, you learn how to generate profits. You may "read" a case study where you put yourself in the shoes of a sales manager who faces a serious drop-down of his sales and after reading he case you try to solve his problem.

As a DBA student, you may rather try to understand where profits (or more sales) come from in general and "create" a case study. You may want to develop a model that explains conditions when sales are sensitive to demand fluctuations and when not, for instance. And you may want to test your model by empirically analyzing hundreds of sales managers and publish your results in your dissertation. Or you may analyze a specific business process in your own company and conduct a case study that may be applied in other companies as well.

Target groups
MBA full-time and part-time students typically are business professionals who want to develop their career in business. The core reasons for doing an MBA degree program are: increase your career options inside and outside your current employer; qualify for a leadership position; acquire managerial knowledge, for instance after you have become promoted; and acquiring knowledge and building a network for developing your own business. Compared to professional business doctorate students, MBA full-time and part-time students usually are younger and have less work experience.

Executive MBA students come closer to the typical DBA student in terms of age and work experience. Still, the motivation and career goals for doing an Executive MBA (EMBA) are different from doing a professional business doctorate degree. Similar to full-time or part-time MBA students, EMBA students look for gaining new knowledge and developing new capabilities that help them become better and more successful in their businesses. Also, building a network to other Executives through an EMBA program often is a strong motivation for doing this type of degree program.

DBA students, in contrast, are business professionals who look for a personal challenge and want to acquire the qualification as a researcher. They already have a successful business career behind them and may already have acquired an MBA - now they want to complement their knowledge as a practitioner by becoming a scholar and move between the business and the academic world. They are rather broadening and extending their capability profile than deepening their existing knowledge base.

MBA or DBA degree - what is better?
This question is risen in some internet forums and therefore seems to play a role for some people. In essence, the question is misleading, however, because MBA and DBA fulfil different purposes and hence are not interchangeable. By obtaining a doctoral degree in business, professionals learn how to do research whereas in the MBA they learn to become a better manager. Now the question is up to you: What do you need right now?

At Mantissa College, we deliver the Doctor of Business Administration programme (DBA) in collaboration with the Pole Paris Alternance (PPA)-France. The study duration for this programme takes around three (3) to five (5) years to complete with 100% assignment, no examination.

Join, Like, Follow, Subscribe to our social media channels to get the up to date insights (Mantissa Facebook Page) / (Mantissa Instagram) / (Mantissa Linked) / (Mantissa Twitter)

Ready to apply for the programme? Documents needed
i) Scan copy of your Master Certificate  AND ii) Scan copy of your Master Transcripts 

To apply for the programme, please provide us with the required documents to info@mantissa.edu.my or Click Here to Submit your documents

More Articles: you may also like to read up on 

• • 5 Questions to Answer Before Deciding to Study a DBA in 2021
  • Why Study A Doctor Of Business Administration?
  • Does Google Think You Should Do a DBA?
  • Earning a DBA? Prepare to Answer These Five Strange Questions
  • Five Ways DBA Can Improve Communication Skills
  • Three Reasons Why It’s Never Too Late to Get a DBA
  • Are Podcasts the New Frontier of Academic Research?
  • The Future Trends in Academic Publishing
  • Five Tips for Turning Your DBA Thesis Into a Book
  • Five Things DBA Students Should Plan For The New Year
  • What DBA Students Should Know About Life After Dissertation
  • How to Cope Psychologically with COVID
  • How Many Years Does It Take To Complete A DBA?
  • What Are The Benefits of a DBA Degree
  • Why journal publication were widely contributed by the males?
  • How to do Research as an Undergraduate
  • Prepare These Questions to Summarise the Benefits of Phd and DBA?
  • Four reasons why athletes and DBA are a perfect fit
  • Phd and Dba: What Is A Better Choice?
  • The Rise Of The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)
  • Four Money Management Tips for DBA. Students
  • Six Reasons To Study A Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) Programme
  • How a DBA is different from other types of academic study?
  • Four Ways on How to Improve Communication Skills via a DBA
  • Prepare These Questions to Summarise the Benefits of Phd and DBA?
  • Difference between phd and dba degree
  • Doctorate Candidate Numbers Rise with No Sacrifice to Quality in Malaysia
  • What DBA Students Should Know About the DBA Viva Voce
  • Why You Should Study Abroad
  • DBA vs MBA: Differences