Doctor of Business Administration

DBA in General Management

Career exploration guide

This guide provides tools to help you explore careers related to this specialization. Use this information to start researching this field and the opportunities in it. This research can help you make a transition into positions related to this field. Start by gaining an overview of this program and learning about the field, jobs, and employment settings that are related.

About this specialization

The DBA General Management specialization examines the scholarly and practitioner literature and emerging trends in the field of management. Learners design projects which address the challenges and opportunities for improving ways to manage, organize, and structure organizations. The specialization allows learners to analyze various aspects of management by selecting a composite of specialization courses in strategy and innovation, and organizational leadership before moving into more specific topic development. Learners gain an understanding of decision-making using relevant data and methods; deciding how to incorporate supply chains into organizational planning; consideration of how mergers, acquisitions, or coopetition may assist organizational success; or rethinking the types of management styles or processes that are used to establish successful business operations. Current and relevant topics surrounding management will be central to the work done in the specialization.

Skills gained through this specialization:

This specialization was designed to help you gain the following skills related to this field:

  • Communicate effectively as scholar-practitioners in the field of general management, for diverse audiences and purposes through digital, oral, and written formats.
  • Lead and execute projects within the field of general management, using structured research processes, qualitative and quantitative techniques, theories, frameworks, and models, to discern evidence-based solutions to current or forward-looking business problems.
  • Engage in reflective practice that demonstrates growth in personal and professional thought, behavior, and action by modeling personal accountability, decisiveness, and self-management when providing general management decisions in the workplace.
  • Demonstrate scholar-practitioner knowledge and expertise in general management, grounded in current theory, research, and best practices.

Explore this field

Professional associations, social networks, and other industry-specific resources can provide a wealth of information about a specific field or industry, including best practices, career overviews, trends and access to industry professionals. By reviewing website information, attending events, and connecting with people in the field, you can deepen your knowledge about the field. 

Professional associations

Industry information

Explore jobs and employers

In addition to exploring the field, take some time to research specific jobs and employment settings related to this program. Consider how these jobs and settings fit with your experience, skills, interests and values. This is a sample list of job titles and employment settings related to this field. To learn more, review job postings and talk with people who have these roles or work in these settings. You can find these professionals through LinkedIn, family, friends, schools, employers and community groups. Spend time researching your industry and prospective employers to decide whether this type of degree will help advance your career.

Related Job Titles to Explore*

  • Program manager
  • Management and program analyst
  • Product manager
  • Human resources specialist
  • Project manager
  • Management analyst
  • Compliance manager
  • Analytics manager
  • Business development manager

Employment Settings to Explore

  • Colleges, universities and professional schools
  • Offices of certified public accountants
  • Commercial banking
  • Financial transactions processing, reserve and clearing house activities
  • Direct health and medical insurance carriers
  • Other general government support
  • Administrative management and general management consulting services
  • Public finance activities
  • Other professional, scientific and technical services
  • Other information services

*These are examples intended to serve as a general guide. Some positions may prefer or even require previous experience, licensure, certifications, and/or other designations along with a degree. Because many factors determine what position an individual may attain, Capella cannot guarantee that a graduate will secure any specific job title, a promotion, salary increase, or other career outcome. We encourage you to research requirements for your job target and career goals.

 

**Educational and professional requirements for faculty positions vary widely by employer. Understanding your target employers’ particular requirements is key in deciding on a doctoral program.

Job boards

This is a sample of jobs boards with positions related to this field. Use them in your research to identify additional job titles, common hiring requirements and local employers. 

Further exploration

There are a lot of factors that influence whether a career is a fit or not. These can include monetary compensation, benefits, work environment, organization culture, work/life balance, etc. As you consider your career, think about what is important to you in your employer, role and setting. These resources can help you perform this additional exploration.

For a more detailed guide on career exploration, review Capella’s Career Exploration YouTube series that helps you identify what is important to you in your career and how that aligns with the world of work. 

Accreditation

Capella University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (hlcommission.org), an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.