Poet Management Scholar : Jasmine Kang

In company of friends

October 30, 2025
The journey of starting a doctorate degree while working full time is daunting. In the ten months of being on this journey I have acquired a community of valuable friends and colleagues. There were moments in the initial phase of this journey where the pressure of work and school made me question. Did I oversubscribed myself? The momentum of getting into the academic way of thinking and reading met with headwinds from work travel, deadlines etc. This was the moment when my lovely new friends put their arms (virtually) around me. They encouraged me to continue moving forward. With a candor that only true relationships provide. They spoke straight from the heart and nudged me to believe in my ability to handle it all.

The diversity in our backgrounds and our desire for learning have created a strong connection. Our maturity in being ourselves and accepting each other with no judgment strengthens this bond. We feel supported and encouraged by each other. Making space for the school work in already full lives is challenging. However, we know we will get through. We have the support system around us. As the Beatles say, I get by with a little help from my friends.

During fall, some of us attended the DBA research conference. We were in the company of Doctors and aspiring doctors. We were able to meet other cohorts from the DBA program, witness them sharing their research progress. We also had the opportunity to present our initial research proposals at this conference and receive feedback. The feedback was invaluable. The perspectives from different faculties were helpful. Insights from our peers in previous, current, and future cohorts were beneficial from both academic and business lens. Presenting our proposals was an important first step, our first official debut of our topic in front of an audience. It lent to reflection on the strength and weakness of our thinking, the inputs made us question our direction. We ended the weekend energized and invigorated to dive into the next steps of our research. With the inspiration of words from one of my classmates I reflected on a verse to encapsulate the weekend.
```
In the company of Doctors

A weekend in academic setting we spent
Where doctors - current and future augment
Theories and business problems we discuss
We look at them through the academic lens

What, how, why we explore, 
From pipelines to female entrepreneurs
Identity of workers to home purchase decisions
Supply change transition to people transformation

Renege of offers to leadership interests
AI driven improvements to technology we trust
Questions from all sectors we explore
Bring in the real world view we implore

Advice and direction on our research topics
Academics and business folks provide
Enriched, encourages empowered we emerge
New connections, inspiration to continue our work

In company of doctors the weekend was spent
A brain fest - community of like minded nerds.
```
A Safari in Strategy world

October 25, 2025
```
With our Safari hats we embark
To find the Elephant in this park, 
In the management jungle we explore, 
We hear the Lords of strategy roar,

In schools of strategy we search, 
Where do management theories lurch, 
The familiar jargons in business seasons, 
Their origin, purpose and reasons. 

Dynamic capabilities, transaction cost theory
In multi national world what is their story, 
In bounded rationality we learn to decide,
In bounded reliability our boundaries defined. 

The reasons why some firms succeed, 
The ailing ones priceless lessons indeed, 
Purpose shaping strategy at firms, 
Strategy reshaping purpose in turn. 

Where our work fits in big picture, 
Our drop in vast ocean we structure, 
Many moments in this safari we smile,  
As we learn from each other's styles. 

Nuances our individual experiences provide, 
The Micro-foundations are our guide, 
Enriched, encouraged we emerge, 
Our thoughts, ideas, learnings converge. 
```
Our course on strategy was quite different from previous courses. This felt more connected with the business language we are used to. We discussed different strategy schools and the tools that have been traditionally used. The content felt more familiar as we all in the practitioner world have worked on strategy at some level. The case studies of multi national firms were helpful to understand how certain strategies had been successful whereas some had failed.

This history lesson about the strategy theories how they have evolved over the years was also very insightful. It was interesting to learn how one model had build on the other bringing newer elements. Unlike other courses which were focussed on how to do academic writing, this was a deep dive into strategic management tools.

The other element which was helpful in this course was each of us presenting different sections. It allowed us to bring our industry knowledge and background in the conversation which made the discussion richer. The strategy Safari as one of the books we read for this course had illustrated, we all look at strategy from our own lens. It is like a group of blind men touching different parts of an elephant and describing what an elephant looks like. This course helped us zoom out and see the whole elephant to best of our abilities.
The complexity of people

August 16, 2025
```
Who are we?

How do teams collaborate?
How do experiences translate?
New questions to contemplate
To probe beliefs, we elaborate 

Long held thoughts, beliefs we question
Into a new space new direction
To answer how and what transpires
Not just whether and when it applies

Grounding our findings in theory
Blending in we learn ethnography
Listening to discourses and stories
Explore inquisitively data inventories

Narration of stories is integral
Action the research time is critical
In conversations and stories, we find
New revelations emerge blow our minds

Who are we? We question our credentials?
To challenge - theories since time immemorial
Our lived experiences are our treasures
Unbound by traditional academic measures

If not us, who would create the uproar?
The power of AND versus OR
To build the bridge that must exist
Between practice and theory, we insist

Narration of past has reached a crescendo
Let us interpret through the lens of NVIVO
Human experience codes new threads
Contextualize, de-layer plain vanilla bread

As a poet and management scholar
My mind explores current world order
Who are we is no longer the question
Why not us is rather the intervention


My Reflections on the session
```
From Quantitative methodologies we moved on to Qualitative tools. This course blew my mind! For an engineer’s logical mind the flow of hypothesis to data to statistical analysis to proof makes sense. It is like reading a book you read long time ago. The complexity is there but one knows how to navigate the maze. The questions one asks in Qualitative analysis is what took me time to get my head around. These are not always What and Why questions, these are How and Why questions.

How does collaboration work in a certain environment but doesn’t work in another? The standard theories and frameworks we read in management books don’t always work in the practitioner world. Why does that happen? We work with humans, the human factor in a specific context is a significant factor which determines the outcomes. We often like to simplify the world. We prefer frameworks and models. Our preference is predictability of outcomes based on specific inputs. I have worked in management for a long time and experienced this not to be the case. As a leader, I thought I figured out how to motivate teams. When I tried my ‘model’ in a new role it failed miserably. The reason – different people!

In this course we started to learn to ask these questions. Our professor challenged us to look beyond the what and the deductive methodology. She encouraged us to explore the inductive, interpretive research. She challenged us to think about human factors which impact the business world. The conversation during our sessions probed us to ask questions we traditionally take for granted. This research takes us to the front lines, to users, to ask questions on adoption of a process or technology. Then analyze their feedback, the words, sentences to understand the themes. This starts to help us make sense of the situation in that specific context. The story telling is key in this research. There is a danger of interpreting incorrectly by overlaying our assumptions. The academic needs to be disciplined and thorough with their research to present their interpretations.

This led to a very insightful question asked by my colleague. She asked, Who are we? Who are we to challenge the existing theories and models? Who are we to question things that have been believed to be true for a long time? Our professor turned around and responded, Why not you? This was the moment I grasped the responsibility of a researcher. Embarking on this DBA, I am expected to ask questions that have not been asked before. I am expected to do thorough research to pave the path for those who will come behind me. This was a feeling of exhilaration and responsibility. As a new researcher, six months in my journey, this course has cleared the smudge off my spectacles. I see the path ahead of me with a renewed clarity.
Of Numbers and Stats

August 1, 2025

Math and numbers has been a love of mine ever since high school. I was fortunate to study under inspiring mathematics teachers who instilled a love for numbers in me. In my work life as an Industrial Engineer I have always been around some type of numbers and statistics. My favorite jobs were as Six Sigma Black Belt and Master Black Belt. I lived and breathed statistics in business environment for over five years. Hence, I was eager for our quantitative analysis course. Familiarity with statistics and numbers is not enough. The context in which they are used especially in academic writing takes time to grasp. I had struggled during our first course to understand the tables and statistics used by authors to validate their findings.

This course was just what I needed – to refresh my memory on the statistics and understand its application in academic writing. Correlation and advanced regression, familiarizing myself with terms such as bootstrapping, Winsorization etc. All this was new and started to make some sense during the session. Using Stata to perform statistical analysis was a new skill I acquired during this course.

Majority of academic articles especially those using deductive methodology use quantitative tools to validate their findings. As a consumer of the academic content in the past I had not questioned the validity of the papers. Putting on my producer cap I explored new questions. What is the robustness of the measure the authors are using? Does the sample tell the complete story? Is the correlation being used to explain causation? One of the most challenging part about doing research is to get the data for your hypothesis. Often business research is not conducted in a controlled setting. Hence it is challenging to replicate a with and without scenario. Controlled and uncontrolled group studies are often performed but these can be expensive and not always feasible. There was an interesting article we read during the course about efficacy of online education in higher education context. The authors studied the impact of online and in-person class room sessions used by a college as a response to COVID-19 pandemic. Our professor had carefully curated such articles where the academics had creatively used life events to study different phenomena. This has made me more observant of events around me. I am looking at business world through a different lens to look for research opportunities with opportunities for data collection.

There are so many quotes about statistics. One of the most famous – “There are lies, damned lies and statistics” – Mark Twain. However, world revolves around facts and numbers. In the current times of information overload, we look for the numbers and facts to validate theories presented to us. Karl Pearson said, “Statistics is the grammar of science”- hence we can’t get away from it. As aspiring academics despite our consternation with statistics, they are an integral part of evidence based research. They play an important role in story telling as an academic. Often they are the main protagonist who saves the day or discovers a new land. Telling stories with numbers is not easy, the dense tables and multiple charts can often make our eyes water. As a new academic my challenge will be to tell the story of numbers in an interesting and engaging manner.

Quant Life of a Poet

The Mean and Median stare
Descriptive statistics I prepare
Correlation and Regression plot
Dependent variable is fraught

Hetroskadastic and clusters
New words I mutter
Fixed effects agitate
To quasi-experiments I relegate

Experimental research is the key
Selection bias is the quandary
Quantifying Standard error determines
Comparative studies importance- it underlines

Statistics – challenging to comprehend
Numbers, tables we struggle to apprehend
The story, theory it narrates
Its capabilities often intimidate

I pause and ponder to compare
Poetry – lines, stanzas similar affair
Composition of Rhyme, Meter and Form
Terse style, in rhythm it performs

A poet also lives in numbers
The metrical feet is a wonder
Feet in a line chosen by the creator
A poet is also a number manipulator
I have a Theory

July 20, 2025
```
I have a Theory
Pursuit of meaning came before truth
Without knowledge there is no understanding of truth
The dependent variable lacked control over destiny
The independent variable wrote its symphony. 

I have a Theory
Constructs are necessary for a meaningful dialogue 
Propositions fade away in presence of monologue
All phenomenon can be represented
In a theory model the researcher constructed

I have a Theory
Deductive is always at odds with Inductive
Clear hypothesis - the path is predictive
We search for clues in the inductive expedition
Abduction is a loop applicable for certain construction

What is a theory?
In Philosophy of science I felt bewildered
Words made sense, with sentences I was disoriented
Learning these foundations my mind expanded
Generalizability of theory - it took time to command it

The theory 
With patience, slow progress and new reflections
Through historic lens we make future connections
Brick by brick the structure starts standing
New theories, models, discoveries they start banding
```
Philosophy Of Science

This course was a challenge to wrap my head around. Academic research needs to be grounded in some traditional theory that you are building on. One very rarely starts from scratch. I feel that writing is a retelling in a different context. The difference being, new learning occurs in a different environment with different variables and in a different voice. You can start with your idea of the research topic, and frame your research questions, yet not be tied to it. Before you start doing your research, you need to read deep and wide. As my professor explained, “you should be capable of giving a lecture on the topic.” The lecture should explain everything that one needs to know about it. That felt daunting, how will know that I know enough?

Basic Principles

The other interesting aspect I learned during Philosophy of Science was to define the basic principle being researched. This is regardless if I am doing deductive or inductive or abductive (combination of deductive and inductive) research. For instance, I am interested to research Energy transition and workforce readiness. It was helpful for me to break this down to the basic principle of “Changing nature of work”. This phenomena of changing nature of work has happened many times over in our history. When we mechanized industries and manual tasks. It also happened with the onset of computers and then internet. This has also happened in industries other than Energy transition sector – are there any parallels? Understanding this basic principle helped me use narrow search terminology. This proved helpful to find literature that was relevant to my field of interest on Google Scholar or ChatGPT.

Reading Modern Classics

The most challenging aspect of this course was reading modern classics explaining Philosophy of science. These readings were explaining the connection between philosophy and science – how these two are interrelated. I had never thought about this question before. Does philosophy explain the relationship between sciences like physical, biological, social, and behavioral? We read articles by contemporary classic writers including Hempel, Nagel, Kuhn, and Popper. It took me almost two to three readings to understand these articles. I also needed some help from my online mentor – Chat GPT. As I progress through this journey, I anticipate returning to these readings. I want to develop a clearer understanding of their thoughts and explanations.

As of now, I have initiated my journey.
From Consumers to Producers

July 8, 2025
Making the transition

For our first course our professor had a reading list of over twenty academic articles. It felt like a lot of reading, my mind was struggling to find a way to absorb all the information and make effective notes. Since we are management students, the breadth of topics were quite wide. The challenge was twofold- reading dense academic texts and to figure out what was I was supposed to absorb to participate in a meaningful way in the classroom session. The urge to master all the information was very strong, furiously I tried to take notes, summarizing the articles. The eagerness of performing in the first course and make a good impression felt quite overwhelming.

Within the first hour of our session our professor cleared it up for us. Our goal he said, is to turn you all from consumers of academic content to be producers of academic content. The goal of your reading is not to be experts in the content of the text, rather to read it critically, ask questions, do the authors convince you of their propositions and findings? I had never thought of questioning academic content in this manner before. We spent time dissecting these articles to evaluate their validity, their plausibility and their generalizability. It blew my mind and I felt quite energized, the challenge to critically analyze exceptional quality of work was daunting yet exciting.

Reading academic texts

The second learning was also about covering the volume of content that was expected from us. We have full time jobs and we need to be thorough in our research. There is an expectation to read broadly but with techniques that allowed us to know which articles we wanted to read in-depth and which ones are meant to be skimmed. These were also valuable lessons in how to write papers. Someday one hopes to be published, you want your abstract to be intriguing enough that the reader is interested to read further. You also want to write in an engaging manner to tell your story. He challenged us to summarize each article in one sentence, this was a challenging exercise but helped read texts from a different lens.

New Lessons
```
From consumers to producers, 
From doers to thinkers. 

As Practitioner-scholars we train, 
Construct, validity new words we gain.

The white space we search, 
To establish our proposals of research. 

Curse of knowledge we carry, 
Grounded in reality two worlds we marry. 

From consumers to producers, 
We are new knowledge creators. 
```
Poet Management Scholar : A Scholar’s mind, a Poet’s heart

July 4, 2025

We are often encouraged to keep our creative selves separate from our professional lives – as if artistry and management belong in different worlds. But I find myself asking – can the two co-exist? What if I am a poet who works in management?

After nearly twenty years in management, I began a new chapter as Doctorate in Business Administration student. Early in this journey, I have found a powerful intersection between theory and creativity through poetry.

Poetry has long been my way of making sense of the world. Over the years, my writing has evolved from life reflections to nature-inspired verses to faith-based explorations. Now, I step into a new genre: management poetry.

This blog is where I’ll reflect on my experiences as a management scholar. It will be sprinkled with poems that help me process what I’m learning and illuminate this new path I’ve embarked on.