DBA Program Geneva

This course introduces students to the plethora of behavioral science techniques that have emerged as management tools to tackle the bias of the irrational mind. While people’s choices may be irrational, the body of literature suggests that they are irrational in predictable ways. Hence, behavioral science (a branch of study that encompasses psychology, psychiatry, sociology and anthropology) has been incorporated in business and management studies in recent years, demonstrating that organizations have a vast array of tools at their disposal to tackle unconscious bias, instincts and the choices people make. These tools that promote business efficacy range from nudging to other debiasing tools that help redirect peoples’ behavior and choices without actually restricting them. Today, behavioral science is applied in multidisciplinary fields from economics, management studies, decision making and persuasion techniques, negotiations, etc.

This doctorate module is designed to introduce the tools and application of econometrics, the field of ‘economic measurements’. The module delves beyond statistics and provides a useful and practical approach to doctorate research in all subjects. The module covers simple and multiple linear regression analysis, the ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation, the question of hypothesis testing and construction of confidence intervals, nonlinear models and problems of regression analysis, including heteroscedasticity, causation and endogeneity. This module uses case studies and practical examples throughout the learning process and, as a test, it introduces the computer software of SPSS/Stata to practice the regression analysis. It also provides further examples, cases and sources for real-life application.

In recent years, business activities have come under increased scrutiny from a range of stakeholders. There is a rising awareness of the need to balance short-, mid- and long-term business strategies with economic, social and environmental sustainability. This course is designed to equip business professionals with the key knowledge and skills essential for the management and leadership of change for ethical and sustainable business models. Topics include ethical thinking, corporate social and environmental responsibility, stakeholder management, professional ethics and ethical leadership.

This course is an introduction to advanced concepts of entrepreneurship and innovation and examines why they are combined in today’s business world. Innovation looks like an oxymoron: or does it fuel wealth production? To understand why innovation is necessary now and in the future, this course will start by defining innovation cycles since the emergence of industry around 1800 in Great Britain and France. We will also examine industry ruptures and inventions, particularly innovation cycles, and milestones recurring at different moments of history or periods. Then, the class will focus on what happened in the last cycle of innovations, particularly since the explosion of IT (information technology) and digital transformation. The course will include insider contributions to innovation startups and innovation parks, and examine new technologies introduced during the last half-century.

This course provides an introduction to the fundamental principles of data analysis, walks the student through the thinking necessary for extracting useful knowledge and business value from the collected data and examines the many data-mining techniques in use today. Students examine real-world business problems to understand these principles. Thus, students will learn how to improve communication between business stakeholders and data scientists and also how to participate intelligently in a company’s data science projects. The student will also discover how to think analytically with regard to data, and fully appreciate how data science methods can support business decision-making, understand how data science fits in an organization —and how this organization can use it for building competitive advantage. The emphasis throughout the course is on the acquisition, application and discussion of models and techniques through analysis and practice.

This covers different aspects of finance and accounting, such as the role and management of finance, the source and uses of finance, understanding financial and management accounting fundamentals for managers, stockholders, financial analysts and creditors. Students learn to analyze and create alternative investment projects and to prepare corresponding budgets. Specific topics include the managerial approach to financial analysis, budgeting, planning and control, the management of working capital, long-term assets and long-term financing. In addition, the course looks at the analysis of accounts and financial information from the point of view of the users and emphasizes the international dimension. It covers financial reporting, principal financial statements, international accounting issues (US GAAP and IFRS), other sources of information, principles of credit analysis, analysis of stockholders’ equity, inventories and long-lived assets, interpreting and analyzing financial statements.

Digital transformation is the integration of digital technologies in all areas of the organization: it is composed of digitization – migrating from analogue to digital systems and solutions, and digitalization – changing how a business operates and delivers value to customers. It also requires a significant cultural change and buy-in across the organization and requires businesses to constantly challenge the status-quo, experiment and get comfortable with failure. This sometimes means leaving behind current practices and implementing new ones that are still being defined. The aim of this course is to develop hands-on knowledge of digital trends, digital transformation methods, the implementation and challenges of digital transformation, as well as foster outside-the-box thinking when considering how to digitalize an organization.

What is the goal of business? This course starts by demystifying the ultimate reason for business activity, whether it is to generate employment, boost production, increase shareholder or stakeholder value, or incorporate corporate social responsibility, ethics, sustainability, etc. The COVID-19 pandemic served as a catalyst that accelerated the quest for a new world: this is not a crisis, but a new system. What is emergent is that sought values are multi-dimensional, growing ever faster, and taking new shapes and forms. The world today is fundamentally different from that of yesterday. Debt crises demonstrated the end of Keynesian and monetary policies, while accentuating the downward trajectory of the currency race. The modern international system is archaic, yet destinies are more interconnected than ever. The issues of climate change, trade sanctions and embargos, resource competition and depletion, mass extinction, developing economies, migration, etc., are among the many challenges which we face today in an interconnected world.

Current and aspiring senior managers and professionals must have a knowledge and understanding of the nature and conduct of management research, set within an appropriate degree of methodological rigor. In addition, given the holistic aims of the DBA program, the dissertation is the primary integrating piece of work demonstrating that graduates can address business and management problems and projects competently. Therefore, a high standard of achievement will be expected, and the project should draw on the intellectual and analytical skills and knowledge developed during the academic components of the program.