I intend to pursue a degree in business studies, with a particular focus in marketing, for two reasons.

The first reason being that I strongly believe I have all the necessary skills to be a good manager. Although I did my bachelors with a degree in politics and economics, and chose to work as a journalist after graduation, my long-term goal has always been to venture into either my family s business or to set-up my own. It is for this reason that I opted for an undergraduate degree that could on one hand allow me to gain insight into the field of political science -a discipline which interested me the most academically, and on the other hand kept me connected with the discipline of economics- various courses in micro and macro economics allowed me to enhance my knowledge of these concepts and prepared me to take up a much more focused postgraduate degree in business management. It was not just my interest in my country s political or social structure that I chose to work for a newspaper as a sub editor. A very important factor in my choosing this job was the fact that I was going to be a part of a team that was launching the newspaper. This I consider the greatest opportunity I could get at that stage of my life as in my current job, not only do I get to apply my academic knowledge of international and domestic political relations but by way of being part of a team that launched a new product in a highly competitive market, I believe I gained an experience which is valuable in more than one way. The media industry in Pakistan was booming when I took my current job and a new newspaper, that too in a language which is not the first language for an overwhelming majority of the country s population, could only be a success story if it was treated as an innovative, break-through product. My role in the launch of the newspaper was vital as I was, and still am, one of three persons incharge of the paper s main desk-the national desk. As a part of my job, I supervise six newspaper pages. This means my job responsibilities not only entail the basic tasks of writing, editing or reporting news stories but also coordination and communication between a) members of the national desk by way of assigning them tasks, b) the reporters who send in their stories that need to be edited and vetted before being published, c) the creative department that makes graphics and designs for specific news stories, d) the production department which deals with the making and printing of newspaper pages. Besides this, I also supervise the process of page-making by directing and helping members of the production department in terms of page lay-out. I have to carry out all these responsibilities simultaneously and thus my job has greatly improved my ability to multi-task, besides making me realise my true strength lies in management. Although I have studied various courses of business studies in O level, A level and during my undergraduate degree, I have never really focused on business management in particular. With a full-time master s degree in management or international business, I hope to develop a thorough understanding of various forms of the discipline. I also hope to acquire knowledge of the factors involved in the process of decision making and want to study market research and consumer behaviour. And with this, I come to my second reason for studying business management. My father is in the business of rice export for the past 30 years. During the course of my academic career, I have interned at his company several times, and each time I have become more aware of various aspects and opportunities left to be explored in his business. One such opportunity is

launching the company s own brand of rice. There are not many brands of rice in Pakistan and of those that exist, none is powerful enough to associate itself closely with households. My long-term plan therefore is to launch a brand of rice that is not only sold in Pakistan but is exported to other countries. In order to accomplish this goal, I have the necessary resources in terms of capital and investment in the form of my father s support but lack an understanding of business fundamentals and of the principles governing market and consumer behaviour. My second reason for acquiring a business management degree is that I want to acquire knowledge of the principles of marketing which I can utilise, together with my experience of being part of a launch team of a national newspaper, in launching my own brand of rice. A degree in business management, with a particular focus in marketing thus will help me meet my long-term, goal. Management skills alone are not enough for the organisation, coordination and fulfilment of tasks. An integral factor or rather the primary factor of any manager s success is his understanding of his/her respective field as this is an essential condition for progressing. And whereas I do believe I have the necessary skills of being a good manager, launching a new product or adding value to my father s business is not possible unless I develop a thorough understanding of the concept of marketing.