Are professional or traditional doctorates more
significant in today’s economy? A paper by Banerjee and Morley reviewed the
growing trend of professional doctorates and the possibility that they are more
aligned to the executive needs of running modern companies. A professional
doctorate is more focused on applied type research based within real world
business scenarios. Traditional Ph.D.’s are primarily focused on theoretical
underpinnings and are more concerned with a broader theoretical base. Should one earn a DBA or a Ph.D. in business?
Some have argued that the professional doctorate is
superior because it focuses more closely on workplace issues and uses theory in
a practical and applicable manner. The
traditional Ph.D. is seen as an academic degree most applicable for teaching
and academic research. Fundamentally, the two degrees are perceived as having
two different purposes with the professional doctorate more in align with corporate
needs.
It is believed that universities face increasing
pressure to provide knowledge management skills as offered in a doctorate
program. It is believed that PhDs have a greater focus on theory to enhance
business school prestige but are not focused on solving practical problems.
Thus, an industry-academic divide has been created and the professional
doctorate balances the need of turning theory into strategic practice.
DBAs have the capacity to draw from a wide range of knowledge
and use that knowledge to focus on the issues that are currently important in
the marketplace. The professional doctorate pushes academia to be more relevant
to modern business problems and in turn creates additional support for doctoral
education.
The key to any successful doctorate program is to
the ability to use past knowledge and theoretical understandings to create a
process whereby the information is blended with professional knowledge to solve
practical problems. As graduates develop the research skills they can continue
to use knowledge, theory, experience, and professional skills to develop
problem solving frameworks. It is seen as a degree of empowered knowledge.
Even though the paper doesn’t specifically state
this concept there are fundamental differences between a Ph.D. and a DBA. The
Ph.D. generates theoretical knowledge that creates a deeper underpinning to
practical knowledge but is relatively removed from solving direct problems. The
DBA is a reflective practitioner that generates knowledge that is more closely
associated to a current problem at hand and can be implemented without major
processing. It is the difference between asking “What if?” and “How to?”. The Ph.D. creates the scholar and the DBA
creates the scholar-manager.
The process of earning a DBA
includes the research, writing, and defending of a dissertation that helps to enhance
the analytic, rhetorical, and critical thinking abilities of the graduate. In
addition, the training provides an opportunity to learn new writing styles and
how to use analytical methods to further ones understanding of day-to-day
business practices. Statistics and analytical analysis helps to ensure accuracy
of the research in order to push for more relevant results.
One can conclude that a Ph.D. and
DBA have two fundamentally different outcomes with one focused primarily on
theory and the other on the practical application of that theory. Both share a
level of similarity in education and methodology. Even though the report does
not indicate this concept, it would seem that the increased need for the
practicality of the DBA and the growth of online education show a similar
trend. As the majority of online students work for a living, and may already be
focused on maintaining their careers, the DBA would be most aligned with their
needs as well as the needs of their employers.
Banerjee, S. & Morley, C. (2013). Professional
doctorates in management: toward a practice-based approach to doctoral
education. Academy of Management Learning
& Education, 12 (2).
