Statement of Purpose

Statement of Purpose

            My name is Jim and I am currently a first year student in the University of Scranton pursuing my Masters in Business Administration. I attained my undergraduate degree in Business Management from the Capella University and my business interests were shaped by the job experience I acquired from Sprint while serving as the District Sales Manager. I have held this position for a period of six years and the most challenging aspect stems from labor and customer management. I have to admit that human diversity as shaped by cultural and personal differences acts as a significant restraint and challenge within the working environment. Being a manager acted as a revelator to the intricacy of the human nature in terms of behavior and decision-making and this was a source of conflict for me within the working environment. I applied various leadership concepts towards reducing the conflicts by altering them to points of constructive criticism. This reaped positive results, yet retrospectively, I strongly feel the need to acquire an in depth understanding and knowledge about the human nature and psychology as this will act as an impetus towards an enhancement in better human handling.

I believe that my prospects will be met within your learning facility, Fielding Graduate Institute, for a PHD program in Clinical Psychology. Quality practices within the working environment are a pre-requisite towards the achievement of the customer-centric approach within the service industry. Before I joined the sales department, I had worked with the Navy for a period of four years and an additional six years as a police officer in the State of Colorado. My motive for joining the navy stemmed form the need that I believed I needed to offer towards my country and fellow Americans. It was made apparent that our sole goal was to ensure security across the water bodies as tensions were being experienced in our society due to an increase in nuclear proliferation and research indications that have attached high probabilities to possible chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear warfare aimed towards the West, and especially the American continent. During this period, I often pondered on the question as to what factors propelled human beings into harmful practices against others. What actually goes in through the mind of an individual who would strap a nuclear weapon on a marine vessel, and direct it to helpless people for mass destruction?

I carried the same concern as I moved to the police department as a law enforcer. A rather worrying observation was that the youth comprised of the highest percentage among the many criminals arrested on a daily basis. These youngsters were often booked on charges of rape, assault, theft with brutality, and a few on murder. Bearing in mind that this group comprised of the future leaders and residents of the American society, it pained me to see them indulge in these destructive practices. Being a good listener, I would take time to talk to as many young individuals as I could but in most cases I would be met with a lot of resistance or I would feel inadequate in identifying the root cause of the problem. With this, I chose to establish my own psychological practice aimed at helping families, and especially children and young adults through the development phases like teenage and coping with situations like divorce and broken families. I lacked adequate information on the setting up of business organizations and this led me towards the study of business management that will help me be a wise entrepreneur in this very competitive environment.

The apparent inhibition after the attainment of management skills will be the lack of adequate psychological knowledge and ability to counsel an individual. I do not disapprove of the fact that I undertook psychology as a unit within the police department yet it is very limited with the prospects that I want to achieve as a counselor. Attaining an admission entry within your learning institution will equip me with the knowledge that I need for my practice as evidenced by the courses you offer, with a bias towards neuropsychology, violence deterrence and management, health psychology, among others.