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.
Thesupportive 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 students 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.