DBA Doctor of Business Administration 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sampling technique ensures every member of the population has an equal probability of being selected?
- Purposive sampling
- Snowball sampling
- Simple random sampling (Correct answer)
- Quota sampling
Correct answer: Simple random sampling
Simple random sampling gives every population member an equal and independent chance of inclusion, reducing selection bias.
Question 2: In organizational behavior, 'psychological safety' as defined by Amy Edmondson refers to:
- Physical workplace security measures
- Belief that one can speak up without fear of punishment (Correct answer)
- Employee mental health insurance coverage
- Protection against workplace discrimination
Correct answer: Belief that one can speak up without fear of punishment
Psychological safety is the shared belief that interpersonal risk-taking—such as voicing concerns—is safe within a team environment.
Question 3: Which valuation method estimates a company's worth based on the present value of future cash flows?
- Market capitalization approach
- Asset-based valuation
- Discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis (Correct answer)
- Price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples
Correct answer: Discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis
DCF analysis projects future free cash flows and discounts them back to present value using an appropriate discount rate such as WACC.
Question 4: Porter's Five Forces framework is used primarily to analyze:
- Internal organizational strengths and weaknesses
- Industry competitive structure and profitability potential (Correct answer)
- National competitive advantage of countries
- Corporate financial performance ratios
Correct answer: Industry competitive structure and profitability potential
Porter's Five Forces assesses industry attractiveness by examining competitive rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, threat of new entrants, and substitutes.
Question 5: A DBA dissertation using grounded theory primarily aims to:
- Test a pre-existing hypothesis with statistical data
- Develop theory inductively from systematically gathered data (Correct answer)
- Replicate and extend prior experimental findings
- Conduct a systematic review of published literature
Correct answer: Develop theory inductively from systematically gathered data
Grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss) builds theoretical frameworks through iterative data collection and constant comparative analysis rather than testing prior theories.
Question 6: In mergers and acquisitions, 'due diligence' refers to:
- Post-merger integration planning
- Comprehensive investigation of the target company before deal completion (Correct answer)
- Regulatory filing requirements after acquisition
- Valuation negotiation between parties
Correct answer: Comprehensive investigation of the target company before deal completion
Due diligence is the systematic review of a target company's financials, legal standing, operations, and risks before finalizing an acquisition.
Question 7: The concept of 'absorptive capacity' in strategic management refers to a firm's ability to:
- Withstand economic downturns without restructuring
- Recognize, assimilate, and apply external knowledge (Correct answer)
- Absorb excess production capacity during downturns
- Integrate acquired companies without culture clash
Correct answer: Recognize, assimilate, and apply external knowledge
Absorptive capacity (Cohen & Levinthal) describes a firm's capability to identify valuable external knowledge, internalize it, and apply it for commercial ends.
DBA Doctor of Business Administration 3
Which sampling technique ensures every member of the population has an equal probability of being selected?