MBA Online

The DBA Program

The Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy (ICS), Hitotsubashi University, began offering a doctoral degree program for business executives in October 2002. The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program, which is conducted in English and designed to provide business executives with doctoral-level education, is available at the university’s campus in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo.

Hitotsubashi ICS offers a DBA degree rather than a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) degree, because a DBA program places more emphasis on business problem-solving and its practical implications, while a PhD degree is intended to provide the necessary theoretical and scientific foundation for an academic career.

The three-year DBA program accepts two categories of students. The first category includes individuals who are graduates of the MBA program at Hitotsubashi ICS. These students are required to spend three years of the program under the supervision of their faculty advisor as full-time students, devoting the second year mostly to doing research and developing their thesis proposals, and the third year to writing their theses.

The second category consists of business practitioners, who have received an MBA degree from other business schools, a Master’s degree other than an MBA, or those deemed qualified by the Admissions Committee for exceptional cases. These students will spend the three years of the program under the supervision of their faculty advisor as part-time students, devoting weekends and winter/spring/summer breaks to doing research and developing their thesis proposals, and writing their theses. DBA candidates in this category may work full-time, but they must maintain residency in Japan while they are enrolled in the DBA program. DBA students in this category may audit MBA courses in the ICS International Business Strategy Program, subject to approval by their advisor and the faculty member teaching the course.

Professor Christina Ahmadjian is Director of the DBA Program. Students may select any member of the ICS faculty as their thesis advisor, contingent on approval by the DBA Program Committee and the faculty member.

For detailed information on admission procedures to the DBA Program at Hitotsubashi ICS, including all submission deadlines, please download the Application Package by clicking the link below (PDF format):

ICS , Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy

[Term 2] Corporate Governance (N. Shimizu) (2008/Term 1&2 (Fall&Winter))

Corporate governance has recently received increasing attention not only in Japan but also in many western countries. The arguments often contrast the shareholder-oriented Anglo-American model with the stakeholder- (particularly, shareholder-) oriented Japanese and German models. Furthermore, they often imply that Japan and European nations should change their systems of governance as the Anglo-American model seems to have brought revitalization to those economies over the past decade as the world has become increasingly globalized.

The objectives of this course are twofold, one regarding systems of governance and the other regarding actions of individual corporations. First, this course tries to develop an understanding of various systems of corporate governance related to such questions as the following:
• What are the pressures on different corporate governance systems resulting from globalization?
• In which direction are the various systems moving?

Such issues as the social responsibility of corporations and new forms of governance required for the “new economy” are included in this discussion.

Second, the course intends to promote an understanding of some representative approaches currently practiced by successful companies in order to maximize shareholder value.
Course Structure

The first one-third of the course discusses the background as well as pros and cons of the different corporate governance systems and ongoing changes in those systems, and reviews some theoretical views on the differences. The second one-third focuses on various tools adopted by successful corporations that are mostly working within the Anglo-American model. The final part discusses issues that are often ignored by the theorists of corporate governance but are essential for corporations to internally accumulate the capability to innovate and remain socially responsible.
Teaching Method

My teaching approach is to encourage open discussion. In class, we will share our insights and develop our analyses together so that we can all learn from each other. Readings and case studies will be assigned throughout the semester. It is important that you be there, be on time, and be prepared. If you are absent or unprepared, you cannot meet your responsibilities to your fellow classmates.

ICS , Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy

[Term 1] Knowledge Management (I. Nonaka / K. Ichijo) (2008/Term 1&2 (Fall&Winter))

The objective of this course is to offer an overview of knowledge management through philosophy, academic articles, and case studies. Starting with the definition of knowledge, students will learn various aspects of knowledge creation and utilization and are expected to understand the theory of knowledge creation as well as the practical application of knowledge management.
Course Structure

The course starts with the definition of knowledge by such philosophers as Descartes, Nishida, and Plato. Next, classical organization theoretical works, such as those of Barnard, Simon, and Maslow will be discussed to see how organizational knowledge-creating theory is based on them, and how it differs from them. Then, the theory of organizational knowledge creation will be discussed, including various components such as ba, knowledge assets, leadership, and enablers.

The theoretical part is followed up by the study of case studies to learn how firms have built their knowledge-based business systems. Companies such as Suntory, Seven-Eleven, Eisai, Honda, NTT DoCoMo, and the U.S. Marines will be studied.

Students will also learn about theory building methodologies to construct their own theory. Finally, the application of knowledge creating theory to broader fields, such as regional or national knowledge creation, will be discussed.
Teaching Method

The theoretical part of the course will be conducted mostly through the use of lectures and the dialectic approach. The application part of the course, which deals with knowledge creation within companies, will be conducted mostly through the use of case studies and discussion, augmented by outside speakers representing the respective companies taken up in the case studies. Also, throughout the course, students are required to make presentations in small groups on what they have learned.

ICS , Graduate School of International Corporate Strateg

The Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy (ICS) offers students the opportunity to earn an MBA degree in International Business Strategy at Hitotsubashi University. In order to meet the requirements of an MBA degree, students must take a minimum of 66 credits during the First Year. This requirement applies to students in both the One-Year Program and the Two-Year Program at Hitotsubashi ICS.

Course work in the MBA program consists of two-credit or four-credit courses. Individual classes are 120 minutes in duration. Therefore, typically, a two-credit course is a four-month-long course that meets once a week for 2.0 hours per week, or a two-month-long course that meets twice a week for 4.0 hours per week. A four-credit course is typically a four-month-long course that meets twice a week for 4.0 hours per week. Classes are scheduled in three or four time slots: once in the morning (9:45 am start) during Term 1, and twice in the morning (8:30 am start) during Term 2 (Winter), Term 3 (Spring), and Term 4 (Summer), and twice in the afternoon during all the terms.

Students in the Two-Year Program have the option of custom-building their second year curriculum, which is basically comprised of activities that apply what they have learned in the First Year to the real world. They consult with faculty members in choosing from a wide array of options, such as participating in a company internship program, spending a semester overseas in a student exchange program, developing a business plan for starting up a new venture, conducting an individual research project, or searching for post-MBA job opportunities.

For detailed information on admission procedures to the MBA Program at Hitotsubashi ICS, including all submission deadlines, please download the Application Package by clicking the link below (PDF format):