My Personal Statement for Lums

WHY LUMS

The first time I ever visited LUMS was in the year 2009 when I wished to apply as a Teaching and Research Assistant at the Suleman Dawood School of Business. I had heard a lot about the might of LUMS and to become a part of it would have been a dream to me. Hearing something and then actually experiencing it with your own eyes is hugely different. I felt that particular difference during my visit when I was rendered speech less, over whelmed with surprise, awe, excitement, and sadness. A few friends over there took me on a small visit which engulfed me into an emotional frenzy.

I learned about the student bodies, the societies, and the clubs, I was explained about the talented and diverse faculty, the discipline that was maintained, so much so that even the architecture had an impact on me and I wondered what it would feel like to be a part of all this. I had initially decided to apply to LUMS for my MBA but due to some personal reasons I was not able to do so. Being there and seeing all that LUMS offered, I was left with a sense of ambition in me once again.

I inquired about the possibilities of applying for PhD here and learnt what it demanded. I learnt about the pre-requisites. I realized that a dream was born and I decided that I would fulfill it. I would begin my professional career; I will build it and gain adequate experience. I did not regret doing my MBA from elsewhere since it had helped me to become a more knowledgeable person and made me see the difference too. It provided me with the perfect base to start my professional career. I knew it will be tough to begin with but with LUMS as my final destination, I was willing to go all out. And when I felt I have what it requires, I will come back to LUMS to begin a journey that might just change my life and the entire perspective of it. I know what I need from life as a professional and for that I chose LUMS. And thus here I am, in pursuit of that same dream.

MY DISCIPLINE OF CHOICE

I have given this a lot of thought and I have opted to do a PhD in Organizational Behavior. I have an MBA to begin with and while I was out in the market and focusing solely on my job I realized that something in regard of how people act as individuals and as groups within an organization and how that particular behavior impacts the organization as a whole, needs attention. I am aware and I completely understand that it is a not a single and straight forward discipline but actually a combination of sociology, psychology, communication, and management. I would proudly like to admit that there is not one subject in that row of discipline that does not fascinate me and encourages me to delve further. And so, after all this thought, a doctorate in Organizational Behavior is what I want. The specific research problems that I would like to concentrate my doctoral studies on would be the Organizational Framework. Instead of opting to go for micro-organizational behavior as a topic and research the finer points of behavior within a large organization, I would like to concentrate on the four models of organization. I understand that we have autocratic, custodial, supportive and collegial – these four describe the framework that organized behavior commonly follows. The autocratic framework works based on a leader or team of leaders that instructs the rest of the people or employees to follow a specific set of rules. The employees follow the leader to survive within the framework. The custodial model operates on economic resources; managers employ a custodial model to motivate a group of workers to work toward financial security and benefits. The supportive model uses leadership in the form of friendship and support; managers use this model to encourage and support workers to strive for better work results. The collegial model employs a team-work approach to get work done. During my experience out in the market, while at various jobs, I felt that companies in Pakistan do not necessarily follow a certain pattern. They work in a haphazard way and when I probed a little further I observed that this trend is repetitive. I did not find one company that actually followed any rules for Organizational Frameworks. It had me thinking what can be done to improve that and also the fact that perhaps the problems that we are facing might just be because of these reasons. So during my research, I would like to work on improving the way things work here in Pakistan. I would still like to ensure that what I research applies internationally and therefore I plan to work on international case studies as well, as and when the opportunity exists. I would like to find out if there is enough potential for companies here in Pakistan to accept such formal methods of operations. I would like to find out whether the underlying foundations are strong enough to sustain the pressure. I would like to cause change and that is why this particular field.

WHY PHD

I will confess to the fact that a lot of people told me that a PhD in Management Sciences might not really help that much with my professional career and it might not be a means to an end especially since I will be out of the active market and in the school for quite some time. To me PhD is not a means to an end; I will consider my doctorate to be an end in itself and that is what I aim for since I am fully prepared to give it my complete dedication, time, energy, and of course attention. I am an avid reader and I would like to extend that to include myself being a profound writer as well. I have a passion to write and that shall become evident in my work. I am hoping that this doctoral research will take me on a personal journey and I am prepared to evolve intellectually. More importantly, I love to research and I would like to take this opportunity to make a difference as a doctoral student who knows what she is talking about. I would like to leave the world with a contribution on my behalf, by taking a chance to demonstrate my skills as an expert on Organizational Behavior. My goals after getting my doctoral degree will be focused around being an organizational behavior consultant. I would like to conduct trainings and lectures on small as well as large scales, I would like to impart knowledge by writing for various national and international publications, be they online or offline, along with teaching and researching regularly.

Why PhD from LUMS you might ask. As per my knowledge, the PhD at SDSB focuses more of its attention on real-life case studies giving it a practical approach that adds variety along with giving a real-world perspective. I also feel proud in admitting the fact, not that I am trying to brag about myself being the patriotic soul, that I wish to study at LUMS rather than going abroad because I feel that once I get through this, Pakistan might really need skills that I have gained and I might actually get to make a difference in my country. I had my mind set that if I am staying in Pakistan, it is going to be LUMS for me. I also admit that here in our country, you can either be the best of the best or nothing at all to get what you want from life. It is a widely believed notion that PhD is more of a student’s own doing and might not have a lot to do with the place of study but I have a firm belief in the fact that the environment LUMS provides to its students will have a huge impact on the way I work, its long list of frequently visiting lecturers and trainers from abroad, its wide variety of research opportunities, the serene surroundings, the motivational environment, and the fact that LUMS encourages and helps its students to go abroad for their research, are a few in the very long list of points that compel and attract me to become a part of this over all experience offered at LUMS. Furthermore, there are many universities and schools that specialize in their own fields and for LUMS it is their business and management studies. I trust that specializing in a field from a school that which has its business and management studies as its strength has its own perks which I am more than willing to divulge into. In short, I need LUMS!

HOW THIS RELATES TO MY PRIOR EXPERIENCE AND HOW WILL THIS DEGREE RELATE TO MY FUTURE

I have done my MBA previously and the studies prepared me well for the market. When I started my first job it was just to gain relevant experience and to actually apply what I had studied for two years. My eventual aim was to be able to impart knowledge, to teach people what I know. I know this from personal experience that I was always more satisfied with teachers who knew what was going on around them, teachers, who had a complete hold over their subject and were aware of various little relevant aspects. In my university I had the chance to attend lectures from notable personalities and otherwise I had the chance to attend a few lectures in various hotels and I found that people who were most impressive to me, were those who understood the background and foreground of their subject, and even though were not active in the market, they knew exactly what happened and how it happened. That is what motivated me to equip myself with enough experience so as to deal with the pressure of the knowledge later on. I do not have any responsibilities on my head apart from my own therefore I can pay full concentration to this program utilizing my full potential. After I get done with this doctoral program, I would use it to pursue wider goals that I had set for myself like turning into a corporate consultant, a trainer, a professional teacher, and hopefully so much more. I have mentioned previously that I would like my chance to make a difference and this degree, to me, is the perfect opportunity.  I feel I am well equipped professionally and personally to cater to the requirements of this program and I have the will power, the stability, and the experience to handle what responsibility comes with it.