Personal Statement

 Program: Human Resource Management

How do administrators in multinational companies, which are natural consequences of global economic integration, efficiently coordinate among employees of different nationalities, cultural backgrounds and languages toward the achievement of common objectives? How effective communications can be made between the management system and the organizations with totally different work ethics? On what accounts are the government sectors in many American and European countries abolishing the lifelong employment system of public servants, gradually replacing it with a more flexible employment and dismissal system and establishing an incentive mechanism based on work performance? And finally, at the present stage in China, why have numerous state-owned large- and medium-sized enterprises, which lack neither advanced technologies nor well qualified professionals, failed to place those professionals on appropriate positions that can best tap their talents and create profits for the enterprises they work with?

 Those issues and other similar questions have long puzzled me. I have endeavored to seek solutions to them. Since its establishment as an academic discipline in 1980’s, human resource management has become a well-established subject in the West. With the advent of the so-called knowledge economy, alarming changes have taken place in the social and economic environments on a global basis. The external environments on which organizations depend, as well as the manner of competitions among different organizations, are also undergoing profound changes. Various organizations have to evolve new functions of management in order to keep pace with the prevailing trends and to meet the needs of the changing world through timely adaptations. In this regard, successful multinational companies and even the government organizations of advanced western countries have achieved innovative experiences in their HRM, which are absolutely valuable to their Chinese counterparts.

 The Master’s program in HRM offered by the Institute for Development Policy and Management, the University of XX, is precisely the program that will provide me as a student from a developing country with a platform to study the advanced concepts, strategies and policies of advanced western countries. Through your program, I wish to contribute my knowledge and efforts to the development of an effective HRM system in Chinese enterprises, a system geared to the new circumstances created by China’s accession into the WTO.

 To undertake your program, I believe that I am well qualified by having received nearly four years of rigorous academic training at the XX University of China, arguably the best university in social sciences. As a student majoring in English, I find that English language, with courses in translation, writing, and applied linguistics, is closely related to its social function—as a tool of communication. As a matter of fact, interpersonal communication skills constitute the most essential factor in management. For me, learning English has led me to a direct understanding western culture, including corporate cultures in many leading multinational companies. This makes it easier for me to study cross-cultural management. Reading many volumes of management works in their original English versions and auditing specialized courses of HRM for two years have furnished me with sufficient necessary knowledge in that field.

 My GPA of 3.7 automatically makes me the top student in my class and the winner of many top-level scholarships of my university. Apart from my strong scholastic aptitudes and the corresponding academic performance, I have also gained an in-depth understanding of the art of HRM through my participation in numerous extracurricular practices.

 I have worked part-time at XX, responsible for preparing and editing materials concerning enterprise management, and reporting on the existing problems in the status quo of HRM. Also, as one of the leaders of the University’s two student organizations International Business Association and China Enterprise Study Association, I have had ample opportunities to interview many of China’s leading entrepreneurs and to conduct comprehensive surveys in some of those enterprises. Those experiences have exposed to me a number of evils inherent in the HRM in Chinese enterprises, particularly in the state-own large and medium-sized enterprises.

 The HRM in many Chinese enterprises is still circumscribed by the conventional executive management patterns characteristic of the planned economy. Many essential functions of HRM have not been met and different modules in the entire HRM system are ill-matched or inconsistent, making it difficult to generate a comprehensive effect of the HRM. In applying HRM, some enterprises do not lack advanced HRM concepts from the West, but lack an effective mechanism to translate those advanced concepts into a scheme that is not only easy to operate but also accords with the unique circumstances of the Chinese enterprises.

 Both successful and abortive HRM cases demonstrate that the underlying principles of human resource development and management in the age of New Economy should be to understand people, to respect people, and to be people-centered.

 With an unswerving enthusiasm for HRM and a strong confidence in my ability to successfully complete my proposed program, I have decided to apply for your esteemed university’s IDPM in HRM. Your IDPM was awarded the maximum score of 24 - achieving excellence in all six aspects of teaching investigated in the review process. I appreciate the research principle that you advocate, that “Research is not viewed as a ‘stand-alone’ activity, but as a means for reducing the knowledge gaps and information problems which act as constraints on development.”

 If admitted by your university, I will make important extracurricular contributions. I have been a key member of the university chorus and the first-prize winner of university English speech contest. As vice chair of the departmental students union, I have been responsible for planning and launching several major campus art and sports events. I helped set up the volunteer group of the University Branch of XX and have acted as its vice leader. Together with my team members, we donated money to help a XX refugee. My dedication to public welfare will continue to make me an extracurricular activist on your campus.

 “Any important achievements are impossible if without passion or aspiration.” I am convinced that through my persistent efforts I will achieve my own success. I hope what you read about in this Personal Statement is an aspiring young student with important potential and a sound foundation.