Improving PhD processes in management

One of the factors that can influence the economic status of countries is the education of the workforce. Improvements in education can positively impact economic growth. This paper is oriented on one program in particular, i.e. a PhD program in Industrial Engineering and Management with an emphasis on international issues. This program started in 1990 and recently more challenges with the quality of the research of PhD students were observed. This paper offers an exploratory analysis to determine key issues in the PhD program. It was concluded that many of the required skills should already be present in PhD students at the beginning of the PhD program in order to successfully complete it