Right resources

La’aleh Mohammed Al A’ali has just returned from Britain where she was pursuing her dream course in Human Resource Management at the University of Manchester.

A graduate from the American University of Sharjah and a product of Bahrain’s Sacred Hearts School, La’aleh was the youngest in a group of eight scholars to receive the prestigious Chevening scholarship from the British government in 2006.

Describing herself as a people’s person, La’aleh, 25, developed a passion for the subject on a two-week study tour to the US during her college years. Impressed by the atmosphere and practises of multinational firms such as IBM, FedEx and Motorola she concluded that people and their office environment are very important to an organisation’s success.

On completing her Bachelors programme in management and management of information systems in Sharjah, she began working with Nestle in Bahrain as a human resources (HR) executive and got to experience international HR practises first hand.

La’aleh then focussed her attention on specialising in human resource development. “Bahrain is going through rapid changes and every organisation has to gear up its employees to meet them.

“Managers should inculcate openness and a learning culture in every office. Day-to-day guidance is as important as specific training. Performance management and personal development is the backbone of human resources,” she believes.

Urged on by the need to learn more La’aleh set her heart on attaining a Masters in Human Resources Management through a long-distance programme.

By sheer chance she managed to apply for the Chevening scholarship two days before the deadline and was very unsure of her selection. 

She recollects: “I was told by the interviewers that I was the youngest among the applicants and personally I felt that I would have had a better chance with more full-time work experience.

“I always wanted to study in an international environment.  When I was seven, my mother, an English teacher, gave up an opportunity to study abroad so that she could look after her family. On receiving the scholarship I felt that I was bringing her dream to life. And to be honest I still don’t know how I got the scholarship.

“My school has played a big role in my life. Sacred Heart’s School is a strict school with students from many nationalities and we are taught to speak in English from our kindergarten years.

“In school, I learnt that education is not just about academics or extra curricular activities. It was about respecting people regardless of their ethnic group or community. This background helped me adjust in the UK.

“Before leaving I was advised to be very cautious especially as I wear a hijab. In Manchester, I found that people are very friendly. There was not a day when I felt that people were seeing me differently. I lived all alone in a private flat. I did my cooking and cleaning and learned to manage my time.

“Life in the university was not all about studies although a one-year programme is very demanding.  I was part of the international student community and we regularly went for trips and gatherings.

“The best part of the programme was that we were encouraged to work in groups. For the first time I had Japanese and Chinese classmates and I was impressed with their culture.

“I was impressed by the university libraries. We had easy access to resources and supervisors motivate and encourage the students to do well. The approach to our studies makes all the difference,” she said.

“The essence of the master’s programme is that it allows you to develop yourself. You have to have a focus and have to read, read and read – a skill I learned at school. You learn not to judge. You do what you believe in. I felt I was more myself in the UK than I was ever in Bahrain where culture restricts you.   

“I was fortunate that I have very open and supportive parents who pushed me and encouraged me to do well. I have always derived inspiration from my father, a businessman in Bahrain, who believes that ‘education is our weapon to the future’.”

La’aleh comes back to Bahrain with a distinction in her course work and is awaiting her dissertation results while waiting for the right opportunity to work in human resource management.