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I have 3+years of exp. in management consulting and business dev. in India. Going forward I wish to apply for a post graduate program with focus on Organizational Strategy and People with a view that it gives me the necessary grounding in Quantitative and Qualitative Research for a PhD program and at the same time gives helps me build a knowledge base to consult with global organizations on leveraging people for effective execution of strategy.

I have completed a 4 year-Bachleors Degree in Information Systems (Hons.) and also hold a 2- year Post Graduate Diploma in Management from leading Indian Insitutitions.

My intent is to apply to some of the leading institutions in UK (September 2010 intake) and would really appreciate if all of you could reply with your thoughts.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Warm Regards,
An aspiring organization Dr. :-)

Hi,

Have you looked at either Warwick or Lancaster yet?

Warwick has a strong organizational behaviour research unit which runs a Masters course which ESRC recognize for training purposes. Lancaster has Management Learning which offers a Master in HRD / Consulting and Organisation, Work & Technology which offers a Masters in HRM & Knowledge Management. Again, I think both of these courses are recognized by ESRC.

Would you be looking to self-fund? It can be expensive for international students.

Warwick and Lancaster tend to have large amounts of funded places but these tend to very competitive.

Hi there, Thanks a lot for replying.

I have looked at Warwick and Lancaster and have shortlisted the following programs:

Warwick:
1. Masters- Management & Organizational Analysis
Lancaster:
1. Masters- HRM and Consulting
2. MRes- Management

In addition to this, I have also shortlisted MRes- Management offered by Manchester Business School as another program of interest.

My apprehensions at this stage:

1. Which is to best place with of study for both Organizational Behavior and Strategy as my area of interest is an intersection of both these fields of management.

2. I am well settled in my job and I have been doing well, but I really need to expand my horizon and get more specialised education in this domain. So will it be a wise decision at this stage to quit my well paying job and get back to education? But at the sametime I cannot delay it any further in the interest of not losing time in my career.

3. Are there any other courses where this confluence of OB and Strategy happens and I could possibly look at applying as an International Student

4. As you rightly mentioned, I would be looking at possible funding options while evaluating a course, as where I stand right now it seems I will be paying for it through a educational loan and hence would love to get any assistance that I can

Please do reply and share your thoughts.

Thanks in advance.

Warm Regards,
SG.

Hello again,

So, in turn:

1.) If you were going to undertake the Masters with a view to going on to the PhD I would guess it might be worth to look at potential supervisors. I suppose Glenn Morgan at Warwick would be ideal. If you start to read the literature and profiles of those at these universities you will see who fits in here.

2.) This would be for your good self to decide – Although it is my understanding that due to the ‘financial crisis’ many people from a management / finance background may also be looking in to this.

3.) While I don’t know the full details – Bath, Leicester and Queen Mary all seem interesting places to be. Further afield both Copenhagen and Lund may be worth a look.

4.) Perhaps it would be worthwhile contacting lecturers now and broadly explaining your situation. Something along the lines that you would be willing to self-fund for the Masters but would look for funding for the PhD. If you had a broad interest in social theory and could frame your application around this it may grab someone’s attention.

All the best.

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