Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership - Admission/Application Essay Example

The Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership is a degree program that aims to link scholarship, leadership, and practice through a number of teaching and training courses. With full cognizance of the modern leadership requirements, the doctorate degree program aims at enhancing the critical thinking skills of both current and future leaders in line with the dynamic global challenges (Fairholm, 2009). Additionally, the program aims at improving the creative and decision-making abilities of scholars with leadership ambitions. The modern scholar ought to connect his/her academic prowess with the reality through superb leadership skills that the doctorate degree provides (Schein, 2010). The doctoral program is workable for any leadership enthusiast like me, depending on the readiness of an individual. The faculty at the University plays a significant role in nurturing skills of doctorate students in addition to ensuring continual improvement in the weak areas of the program (Schein, 2010). Personally, I agree with the philosophy of the Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership degree program from the University of Phoenix primarily because it nurtures purpose-driven leadership through the relevant courses.

The structures, mission, and resources of the doctorate program align with my personal goals and contexts, which makes it relevant for me to pursue the program. My personal objectives are to provide competent leadership to the world in whatever capacity that I will be privileged to serve. According to the structures of the mission of the Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership degree program, decision-making and critical thinking skills are the key aspects of modern leadership that doctoral students ought to acquire. I aim at honing my critical thinking skills to help me deal with the future challenges that will emerge in various circumstances. The world is full of challenges that require critical thinking skills, most of which will be provided at the University of Phoenix under the Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership degree program (University of Phoenix, 2016).

According to my leadership ambitions, I hope to get placement at level where I will serve by making key decisions that will affect organizational successes. Some of the decisions that I will make in future will have far-reaching impacts as far as contemporary global issues are concerned. Subsequently, I will need to employ the skills that I shall have gained from the doctorate degree program. I understand that organizational leadership is dynamic, considering the emergence of new technologies and operational processes that managers ought to keep abreast with to beat the competition. For that reason, I envisage the theory and practice course as having important contributions to my life both personally and at the professional level. Leadership is a multifaceted phenomenon that requires practice and academic process in order to make critical decisions within an organization (Zaccaro, & Klimoski, 2001). 

When it comes to critical thinking skills, the doctorate program focuses on management professionals who determine organizational success at different levels. My context of a successful organization is one with a problem-solver at the top. When corporate managers have the capability to fathom and solve various organizational issues, their organizations prosper. My intention is to become a problem solve in every organizational situation that I am faced with, my educational background notwithstanding. The doctorate degree program prepares its students for the corporate leadership by merging best practices with the current theory, specifically in the area of leadership. The structures, resources, and mission of the doctorate program resonate with my career aspirations, considering my leadership ambitions within the corporate sector after I complete my education (University of Phoenix, 2016).

The doctoral program offers essential leadership skills that can help managers be universally competent. The readiness of the program in unquestionable, considering the numerous leadership challenges that arise out of inappropriate skills at top levels. The integration of leadership theory into practice gives credibility to the program. Most of the existing leadership programs, including undergraduate programs, do not provide sufficient links to the real world. The doctorate program is true to its mission in the sense that it envisages the contemporary organizational issues that most managers are faced with, particularly in the global context. Besides, the degree program offers the doctoral identity through its numerous courses in the sense that students who undergo the program elevate their thinking to the doctoral level (Schein, 2010).

In relation to the strategies that are crucial at the doctoral level, the Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership degree program surpasses the minimum criteria. From a personal assessment perspective, I understand the research conceptualizations and management philosophies that make up the critical components of the degree program. The University of Phoenix incorporates quantitative research in the program with a view of establishing the emerging practices within organizations, especially at the managerial level. Organizational management requires unrivalled ethical standards to establish and intervene in sensitive organizational issues (Fairholm, 2009). The doctorate degree program aims to equip scholars with the required research skills to assess situations and offer corresponding solutions to organizational matters. Although some of the undergraduate courses offer instrumental managerial courses that are applicable in the corporate world, they do not offer the in-depth analysis to the contemporary organizational issues, as the doctorate program promises to offer (Schein, 2010).

According to the University of Phoenix (2016), the doctorate program will be beneficial to my personal and professional development because it offers extensive leadership training with a global perspective. For me to engage successfully at the doctorate level, I plan to adopt specific strategies. I need to enhance my research skills since the bulk of the doctoral program will be on research and seminar. Research plays an important role in informing current decisions in relations to management practices. Although the course will seek to equip me with advanced research skills, I will need to attend additional courses on research skills to keep abreast with recent trends and technologies in research methods and statistical analyses (Zaccaro, & Klimoski, 2001). 

Concerning the effectiveness of the statistical courses in the doctorate program, it is worth noting that one of the missions of the program is to connect theory to practice. The most practical way of linking theory to practice is by integrating data-driven research into the managerial decisions. Scholars have studied most of the organizational issues in the contemporary world. However, there is a missing link as to how best to incorporate such information into the real world. Accordingly, the Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership degree program provides an effective avenue through which current and prospective managers can hone their research skills. Research skills are important when it comes to decision-making and problem solving, both of which are fundamental aspects of the doctoral program (University of Phoenix, 2016).

Managerial decisions, as the doctoral program contemplates, depend on accuracy of information regarding the prevailing issues. The Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership degree program achieves this objective through three fundamental dimensions namely the leader, practitioner, and integrated scholar perspectives. Leadership is an integral component of organizational management and the skill can be acquired through appropriate training. The leadership dimension of the doctoral program approaches contemporary issues that arise out of organizational operations. Such emerging issues require the organizational leaders to think critically and employ their problem solving skills so that they can make informed decisions that will go a long way in ensuring organizational success. The leadership and practitioner aspects of the program are closely related in the sense that they involve the application of the scholarly work learnt in class. On the other hand, the integrated scholar perspective is essential in that it is the academic core for linking theory to practice (Fairholm, 2009). 

By virtue of the organizational leadership skills offered under the faculty, it is worth noting that a host of community building practices borrows heavily from the program. Community development requires substantial coordination efforts both at personal and communal levels, considering the diversity that exists in some communities. Professional ethics, which is an integral component of organizational leadership, applies in community building. Some of the community building practices require the aspiring leaders like me to rise above the diversities that exist among the people and play uniting roles. Other community building exercise may demand truthfulness and competent task delivery at all levels. The Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership degree program equips professionals like me with the requisite skills for managing communities and corporates in all situations (Zaccaro, & Klimoski, 2001). 

With respect to my research interests, I am confident to state that I am properly aligned with the Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership degree program. I plan to apply the data analysis and phenomenological approaches to assess current organizational issues, especially those bedeviling contemporary managers. The doctoral degree provides a leeway for scholars and professionals to conduct research in their areas of choice. Additionally, the program allows scholar and corporate leaders to adopt research findings in their organizational practices. I find this perspective useful primarily because I do not intend to be an academician but rather I want to conduct extensive research and apply my findings in various organizations. I believe that the contemporary corporate world is sufficiently dynamic to warrant constant research for continual improvement (University of Phoenix, 2016).

In conclusion, the mission, resources, and structure of the Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership degree program align with my personal ambitions and contexts. My career objective, as a management professional, is to develop the creative decision-making and critical capabilities to propel me through organizational success at various levels. The doctoral program will help me attain my personal and career goals through an elaborate course outline that merges the best practices with current theory and research. This approach ensures that all management professionals keep abreast of changing trends and technologies, which affect organizations in different patterns. As a doctoral students pursuing organizational leadership at the University of Phoenix, I am poised to gain essential problem solving, decision-making, and critical thinking skills, particularly through data-driven research. Additionally, I will inculcate transformational and ethical leadership skills into community building practices as will be relevant and appropriate (University of Phoenix, 2016).