Participating in the Executive Doctorate Program - Admission/Application Essay Example

My Goals for Participating in the Executive Doctorate Program 1. Why do you want to earn an Executive Doctorate in Business? What are your long-term goals? I am seeking an Executive Doctorate in business for the simple reason that I am committed to achieving the highest level of excellence in my career. A successful professional in the field of Business Intelligence, I have developed high levels of skill in problem solving and solution management. I have learned to acquire and interpret data in order to direct operations and optimize efficiency, and in doing so have worked across many business models and integrated the knowledge of many departments. In this time, I have come to learn the complex systems that are involved in making a business succesful. I have learned that the maximum amount of knowledge must be acquired to implement solutions that will bring success. And in doing so, I have discovered that to be most effective I must acquire additional education. In my Business Intelligence career, I have worked with and integrated extremely complex networks of information. I have developed solutions that require interactions among widely disparate business departments and the integration of a variety of knowledge bases. I have seen the vast body of knowledge that goes into creating and directing a successful business. I have found much success already in my career, implementing solutions and projects that have advanced the success of each company for whom I have worked. But along with this success has come a desire to learn more. The systems I have worked in have indeed been expansive, but there are yet more systems that contribute to these, and much in the world of business with which I am yet unfamiliar. An Executive Doctorate will allow me to more fully understand the world in which business operates in the modern world. I am well-educated, with a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and a master's degree in Finance, but I know that I lack a well-rounded education in the foudnations of business. My work has shown me the complexity of business operations in our increasingly technological world, and I wish to acquire as many skills as possible so that I can fully understand the operations of the business world at large. I have the technical background to develop a strong understanding of these concepts, and the academic knowledge I will gain in a doctorate program will help me to achieve my goal of becoming a strong, skilled and knowledgeable high-level leader in the field. The addition of foundational business skills to my real-world experience will allow me to pursue my long-term goal, which is to become a CEO of a corporation that focuses on Business Intelligence and solution management. With an Executive Doctorate, I will be able to lead with the authority that a CEO needs in today's competitive market. My knowledge will be both well-founded and up-to-date, and I will be able to combine this knowledge with the success I have been able to achieve in the practical world. Theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge are both most useful when combined, and the theories of doctoral study will be at the highest level. Thus, I will be able to go forward with my career knowing as much as I can, and thus bring the highest level of excellence to my career and to the world of business at large. Ideally, the corporation that I ultimately lead will present cutting-edge solutions that will optimize efficiency in all areas of business operations. Such a corporation must be led by a professional with a great deal of complex knowledge, and one can only gain such knowledge in an Executive Doctorate program. Real-world experience and hands-on success count for a great deal in today's world, but a leader must be able to apply theoretical knowledge as well as practical. This theoretical knowledge will also allow me to more fully understand the systems I have worked within to date, and help me to repeat my successes and build upon them as well. I believe that I have the potential to be highly influential in the world of business. My success in integrating complex systems and devising optimized solutions suggests that I have the capacity to work within the most intricate business models. Understanding these models, of course, will be key to achieving the most success, and the highest level of understanding can be gained only by the highest level of study. Therefore, I am pursuing an Executive Doctorate so that I can achieve excellence and lead the business world to excellence as well. 2. What are your goals and expectations for participating in the program? My goals for participating in the Executive Doctorate program lie within the context of my professional goals. As described above, my ultimate professional goal is to direct a company that specializes in Business Intelligence. To do this, I need to acquire as much knowledge about business systems as is available to me. The highest level of success requires the highest level of knowledge, and the highest level of knowledge is to be gained in a doctoral program. I have the capacity to understand these high-level, complex systems, and I aim to acquire that understanding by the conclusion of my doctoral study. I intend to understand the development of modern business models, and the way its various systems fit together. I aim to integrate this knowledge with my technical background, and develop a thought process that will allow me to use that technical expertise to devise cutting-edge solutions to modern business issues. I also hope to gain experience in higher-level academic study, which will allow me to think and solve problems in an empirical and thoughtful manner. My education to date has been highly practical, which has served me well. But I seek to truly excel in the businsess world, which means I need to develop as many problem-solving approaches and ways of thinking as possible. Doctoral level education will broaden my scope for devising solutions and allow me to search for solutions in new ways. The Executive Doctorate appeals to me primarily because of its in-depth exploration of busienss topics and its integration of research methodology. With this new way of looking at business systems and issues, I will acquire a more well-rounded approach to problem solving and a more deliberate way of solving complex problems. The research experience that I will gain, focused on practicality as it will be within the context of an Executive Doctorate program, will allow me to examine even the most complex issues and approach them in a logical manner. I expect that the Executive Doctorate program will present me with a practical approach to advanced study. I have chosen this degree to pursue because of its practicality and its broad approach to business analysis and its focus on applying knowledge. A highly practical person, I desire to study in a program that will provide me with higher education that has a real-world focus. I expect that I will learn about the issues that face the business world today and the way that systems are integrated within typical and atypical business models, and how to approach these issues in a way that works within the context of the contemporary business world. Primarily, my expectations surrounding the Exeuctive Doctorate program relate to the way the program stands out from other types of study. I expect that the program will be more practical and real-world focused than a PhD would be, and I am pursuing this course for precisely that reason. Theoretical learning, for me, needs to be directed towards concrete applications and the implementation of solutions within the working world. However, I am seeking a program that is more in-depth than the MBA, and I expect to learn more details and background of business systems than I would in an MBA program. Ultimately, I expect to graduate from the Executive Doctorate program with the level of knowledge that a doctoral graduate would be expected to have, and an ability to implement that knowledge within the context of complex business systems. Upon graduating from the Executive Doctorate program, I expect to be qualified and well set up to direct myself towards executive positions. I expect to have earned the credibility necessary to direct business operations at an executive level and the knowledge to support this credibility. In short, I intend for the Executive Doctorate program to assist me in gaining both high-level knowledge and the skill necessary to apply that knowledge towards excellence in the business world. 3. In order to excel, doctoral students will need to commit 25-30 hours per week to their studies. What is your strategy for successful participation in the Executive Doctorate in Business program? As a person who holds a high-responsibility position, I understand the organization involved in invensive time management. In the field of Business Intelligence, professionals must be able to integrate a variety of ideas, projects and systems in a way that allows them to see a coherent solution. This skill will be invaluable to me as an Executive Doctorate student. In my work, I examine many highly complex systems on a daily basis. I am expected to be able to understand all of these systems and how they work together, without becoming overwhelmed or losing track of information. In meeting these expectations, I have learned to focus my attention while holding in the back of my mind other information that might be relevant. I am aware at any given time of many different projects, and the deadlines and time frames involved in all of them. I know what needs to get done soonest and what can be attended to at a later time. As an Executive Doctorate student, I will use this skill to add my coursework to this list of concerns. To successfully complete this coursework, I intend to integrate classes and projects into my existing system, which I trust to help me prioritize. Of course, I will need to integrate my coursework into the information systems and written records that I currently use to keep my projects in order and organized. As a Business Intelligence professional, I have learned how to keep records and maintain an orderly work space. These skills will assist me when I have many hours of coursework to complete in addition to my professional responsibilities. I make use of electronic schedules, integrated across multiple devices that allow me to keep track of my commitments at all hours. I have a well-developed organizational system installed on my computer, which is also integrated with other more portable devices, which allows me to find files on any project I need at any time. This will be immensely helpful when my projects include not only professional assignments but also projects related to my education. There is also, of course, the issue of personal health and wellness. I believe that a healthy personal life and commitment to physcial health is essential to professional success, so I have learned to integrate personal commitments into my professional calendar. Doing so helps me make time for family and friends, while meeting all of my professional responsibilities. I expect that once I begin studying, my schedule will be tighter, and I will need to prioritize. I expect to have significantly less personal time, but I am commited to maintaining connections with family and friends, even if doing so means that during my studies, I will be communicating electronically more and declining more invitations. I pride myself on following through with my commitments and exceeding expectations, and I have no doubt that I will be able to do so as an Executive Doctorate student. I will be more challenged in this way than I am now, but I have a strong support network that is supportive of my decision to study. My family has encouraged me to pursue this next step, and has told me that they are there to offer support when needed. Many friends are currently pursuing graduate study, and understand first-hand the time demands involved. Many have even offered to share time-saving tips and support me in daily tasks, as their own graduation dates are approaching and their educational commitments ending. In my social connections and support systems, I am fortunate. All in all, I feel well-prepared to undertake an Executive Doctorate program of study at this time. I possess the organizational capabilities to add this new commitment, and the capability to continue my professional path of excellence even under the addition of educational pressure. I have the social support that will prevent me from working myself into isolation, and the goal-oriented outlook to take on additional responsibilities cheerfully. I look forward to proving my commitment to excellence as an Executive Doctorate student. Read More