Personal Statement

  Program: Organization Behavior

Cherishing the desire to fully¹ realize my self-fulfillment, I have always hoped that my entire life consists of materializing a succession of aspirations² and ideals. Whenever I formulate³ a major objective, I like to recite those lines “Hold fast to dreams, for when dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams, for when dreams go, life is a barren field frozen with snow.” This attitude of life makes me always passionate⁴ about life; and even though I have to seek career development in a fiercely competitive environment, I can still perceive the beauty of life. I am convinced that the beauty of life unfolds only to those who truly love life and make persistent⁵ efforts toward constant personal development.

 I completed my undergraduate education in the specialty⁶ of English and International Business at the School of International Business, XX University .As the most prestigious⁷ university of foreign languages, XX boasts of an unparalleled academic environment of foreign language teaching and foreign culture. The special emphasis of my undergraduate program on English language not only allowed me to master English as a tool of communication but also gain insights into the cultural, logical and mental dimensions behind the language itself. My natural endowments of strong perceptiveness⁸ and insightful understanding also led me to venture into the study of management, especially management psychology⁹, organization behavior and management science. I trace this interest to the interdisciplinary nature of management and to the requirement posed to the student to grasp the interrelationship between different subjects. My undergraduate study covers a wide spectrum¹⁰ of areas, not only completing my major with outstanding performance, but also completing my minor¹¹ in economics. In addition, I kept auditing¹² courses related to business management at the most celebrated¹³ XX School of Management of XX University, courses such as organizational behavior, social psychology, management science (for graduates), marketing¹⁴, microeconomics, and accounting¹⁵. I am convinced that a wide-ranged academic background is most important for the formative stage of my academic pursuit.

 In learning the management science, I underwent the process beginning with＂I don’t know that I don’t know”, through “I know that I don’t know” and I know what I want to know”, until finally “I know what I know and I know what I don’t know.”  When studying the basic knowledge of management, e.g. Taylor’s Theory of Scientific Management, I was surprised to find that management as a scientific discipline was so closely connected with our daily life. As my study of management became more systematic¹⁶ and deep-going, I started to realize the erudition embodied¹⁷ in the entire framework of its knowledge and its requirement for both scientific and creative thinking. This awareness¹⁸ led me to venture beyond the realm of management itself into fields of economics and psychology. The books I have read in relation to those fields include Enterprise Theory and the Reform of Chinese Enterprises and Property Rights, Reputation and Government by Prof. XX, a leading economist¹⁹ on information and property rights, Theories of Transitional Development and Beyond Government by Prof. XX, a major Chinese economist, and Competition Study and Strategies of Competition by Porter. In developing a framework of general knowledge about management, I have also ferreted out the unexplored realms of study which I am interested in.

 Among various subjects under the management science, I am most interested in organization behavior. In terms of research methodology, I am most interested in a psychological approach. This is because an organization is composed of people and the behavior of different individuals is governed by different but recognizable patterns. When different individuals within a group act and interact, they tend to exhibit group patterns (which will evolve into a culture, hence corporate²⁰ culture and religion) and a regular intra-group individual pattern. It is absolutely a fascinating subject to study. Moreover, in modern economies in which labor²¹ capital plays an increasingly important role, the research findings in organization behavior will contribute immeasurably to the improvement of organizational efficiency and effectiveness, allowing the entire society to operate in perfect accordance with the classical principle championed by economics—the optimum allocation of resources. The organization behavior study is particularly relevant to the developing and transitional Chinese economy.

 Those considerations naturally lead me to apply for an MSc program in social and organizational psychology. My choice of XX is motivated by the fact that it is the only UK institutions solely²² dedicated²³ to the social sciences in a thriving academic community; the program offers multidisciplinary coverage²⁴ of organizational contexts, processes and cases, uniquely emphasizing the development of analytical²⁵ skills and the integration²⁶ of theory and practice for the creative work in organizations. Your highly focused compulsory²⁷ courses and a wide selection of optional courses, plus an exciting group of international students with a diversity of academic, professional and cultural backgrounds, fascinate me. From your program I wish to be instructed in the latest theories and research methods in organizational social psychology. Besides compulsory courses, I am interested in such optional courses as Organizational and Social Decision Making, Knowledge Processes in Organizations, Issues in Organizational and Social Psychology, Organizational Life, and Cognition and Culture.

 In China, the transformation²⁸ of the state-owned large-scale enterprises has basically ended and countless²⁹ medium-sized private enterprises have emerged. I am interested in studying the organizational behavior/psychology of those two types of enterprises under the unique social and economic contexts of China. It is my belief that, by applying my knowledge from XX program, I will be able to do some pioneering research on this subject. My career objective is to seek a teaching position at the School of International of XX where I can offer a course in English on organizational psychology/behavior which will incorporate my research on Chinese enterprises.

 As a matter of fact, I have already done research on an important aspect of organization psychology/behavior. My BA thesis, Confucian Philosophy and Corporate Culture, offers an in-depth analysis of the relationship between Chinese ancient Confucianism and the current corporate cultures in China and how a highly efficient corporate culture can be developed from the Confucian wisdom. I would like to expand this research to make it more scientific, in-depth and systematic and my study at XX will add theoretical weight to my future research. During my internship³⁰ at XX Company, I studied its corporate culture as a distinctive³¹ branch of oriental culture. Since my graduation in July 2002, I have been working as project assistant at XX of XX University’s XX School of Management. My main responsibility is translating the XX Textbooks published by the XX of the United States and helping³² American professors preparing teaching materials on three courses—Organizational Behavior, Management and Art of Leadership, and Business Negotiation³³. Apart from that, I have attended the School’s New Year Forum³⁴, XX Forum on the Investment and Development of Chinese Private Enterprises, and Corporate Social Responsibility & Corporate Governance in XX. During the International Mathematicians³⁵ Meeting in XX, I listened to the lectures by XX and XX.

 Now, with a sound educational background, sufficient research potential and a spontaneous motivation, I am ready for academic pursuit on a higher level. I feel fortunate that, having just completed my undergraduate program, I have set on a career objective that closely accords with my interest and personality and is instrumental to our country’s economic development. Therefore, I will devote myself entirely³⁶ to it with initiative and commitment.