PROGRAM DETAILS
3 Yearsto complete your degree
Onlinecareer-focused curriculum
7-weekcourse length
Lock-stepdissertation model
Program Overview
Organizations expect their senior-level leaders to foresee shifts in the horizon of their industry and have strategies to adapt to change in their field. As companies continue to evolve, the same is expected in the next generation of business leaders.
If you’re looking for a degree that can prepare you for a senior leadership role and give you the insight into delivering change in your organization, let Johnson & Wales University’s Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) Organization Development concentration set you on the path towards an executive-level leadership position.
Our robust curriculum is designed to delve into critical areas of business, including large-scale business transformation, analytics, and executive decision-making. We give our students the tools needed to attain high-level leadership positions and prepare them to excel in those roles, no matter the industry. And our lock-step dissertation model is designed to help you complete your degree on time, so you can step into your new role seamlessly.
Enroll in Johnson & Wales University today, and begin the journey to the next step in your career.
This program is offered in collaboration with JWU’s College of Business.
Six months before defending my dissertation, I accepted a full-time position as an AI Strategist at Merchants Fleet. I believe that working toward my doctorate helped me get the job. Merchants Fleet was looking for a thought-leader with expertise in data and AI. They took a chance on me and it has been an exceptional experience — one that is aligned with my career aspirations as a leader and strategist.
Dr. Suzannah Hicks, ’24, DBA Read the Full Story
What You'll Learn
- Design, conduct and present applied research that addresses practical business problems.
- Employ advanced communication skills to share complex information, organizational vision, and actionable guidelines within business environments.
- Apply contemporary business leadership theories, knowledge of core business functions and evidenced-based practice to address issues faced by today's senior leadership.
Tuition & Fees
At Johnson & Wales University, we believe a high-quality education should help you reach for your career goals, so we are constantly working to provide competitively-priced college tuition.
DBA Organizational Development Curriculum
Your coursework for this fully online Doctor of Business Administration degree covers advanced business concepts with a high-level organizational development focus — from executive decision-making to business analytics to leading large-scale organizational changes, and much more. Those enrolled in the DBA Organizational Development concentration will take the following courses:
| Organizational Development Concentration Course | Course Description |
| Advanced Strategies in Organizational Development | This course focuses on aligning organizations with rapidly changing and complex environments through organizational learning, knowledge management and transformation of organizational norms and values. Key concepts of organizational development theory are discussed, including organizational climate (mood or personality, including attitudes and beliefs that influence members' collective behavior), organizational culture (deeply-seated norms, values and behaviors that members share) and organizational strategies (how an organization identifies problems, plans action, negotiates change, and evaluates progress). |
| Organizational Interventions – Disruption and Change | Organizations experience both externally imposed disruption and internally planned changes. This course prepares students to diagnose the internal and external environments when disruption and change occurs and develop plans to support the organization as it undergoes changes. Students utilize research in several fields to make informed decisions and collect research within organizations to make decisions, including psychometric assessments. The course also prepares students to understand the psycho-social impact of such changes on the workforce and make appropriate group-level and individual-level interventions. Students develop coaching and process consultation skills for future application in organizational development. |
| Leading and Managing Large-Scale Transformation | This course focuses on research, evaluation and application of management theories pertaining to large-scale organization transformation. This course builds upon the management foundations explored in the core courses of the program and complements the organization development concentration courses. Large-scale transformations of organizations are complex and multifaceted, and consequently require leaders to adopt numerous lenses to effectively understand and influence change. The four key theoretical frameworks are explored: 1) systems theories, 2) complexity theories as they pertain to organizational leadership, 3) global/international dimensions of organizational culture and 4) organizational ethics theories. Students analyze cases and synthesize scholarly research related to their industry/and or interest area to produce a literature review supporting their doctoral research. |
For the most up-to-date and complete course listing information, as well as full course descriptions, visit our catalog.
To view the full Doctor of Business Administration curriculum, visit the Courses tab on the DBA home page.
If you have additional questions about the program, contact Kyleen Nixon, Admissions Associate.