Responding to the Examiners’ Comments on My PhD Thesis

Managing transition: What’s the next chapter of my life?

Upaya Menjadi Caleg Bersih: Laporan Akuntabilitas Seorang Caleg DPR-RI 2014-2019

Persembahan untuk Kartini – Catatan Perjalanan Seorang Caleg Perempuan

Jakarta, 21 April 2014

Selamat hari Kartini!

Sekembalinya  ke Jakarta setelah menyelesaikan studi S3 di Canberra  31 Januari lalu, saya mendedikasikan waktu, tenaga dan pikiran untuk mempersiapkan Pemilu 2014, sebagai Caleg DPR-RI mewakili Jakarta Barat, Utara dan Kepulauan Seribu dari PDI Perjuangan dengan nomor urut 8.

Catatan perolehan suara, latar belakang, kegiatan sebelum dan sesudah pencalegan, laporan keuangan semuanya saya tuangkan dalam laporan berikut ini: Catatan kegiatan caleg Risa Bhinekawati 21 April 2014

Kelihatannya jumlah suara saya terlalu kecil untuk mendapatkan kursi di DPR-RI. Saya ikhlas dan tetap bersyukur karena diberi keberanian dan kekuatan untuk berjuang.

Back to Jakarta: Memories of my Australian Outdoor Activities

Jakarta, 12 March 2014

Hello again!  It has been more than two months since my last update.  I’ve returned to Jakarta on 31 January and has been busy with finalizing my report on the “Role of Government in Supporting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs): Australian Experience that may be Applicable to Indonesia.  The report will be launched in a seminar on 18 March.

In the meantime, I would like to capture my Australian memories that keep me smiling during my PhD journey: my friendship and outdoor activities.  Indeed, PhD has been one of the most tiring journey that I have undertaken in my life.  In my previous career, I usually worked with my team to solve both strategic and practical issues.  On a contrary, my PhD was very solitary.  I had to do all my tasks alone, starting from reading literature, conducting interviews, photocopying, tabulating data, analyzing, filing… and writing my dissertation.  There were my supervisors whom I could consult, but 90 per cent of my tasks had to be done in solo.

208th Week at ANU: In retrospect… I thank you all…!!

Canberra, 9 January 2014

Finally… I submitted my thesis on 7 January 2014, and I am very thankful!

First and foremost, I thank God the Almighty for countless blessings during my four-year PhD journey.  By surrendering to God, I have been able to overcome the various challenges that I have encountered along the way.  On a very personal level, my sincere gratitude goes to my husband, Adhyasa, and my son, Rifqi, for their continuous support and prayers.  They always encouraged me to believe that I could actually complete a PhD.  I also thank my parents, Rosad and Amalia; and my parents-in-law, the late Professor Yutono and Kistati, for trusting me in embarking on this journey.  Without the support of my family, I doubt this dissertation would have been written.

I would also like to thank my primary supervisor, Dr Royston Gustavson, for his dedication in guiding me and providing me with valuable insights throughout these four years.  I thank my supervisors, Dr Andrew Bradly and Dr Gary Buttriss, for giving me feedback and commenting on my drafts.  I have also benefited from the expertise of Professor Sidharta Utama of the University of Indonesia, who reviewed my final draft as my advisory panel.

I express my heartfelt thanks to Astra International for providing me with the knowledge and access to documents and interviews with its internal and external stakeholders on the cases of small enterprise development, manufacturing polytechnic and palm oil farmers’ development.  I am so inspired by the collaborative actions between Astra and thousands of its ‘grass root’ partners in achieving the aim ‘to prosper with the nation’.  Indeed, the case study of Astra has shown that mutual relations and trust between companies and communities could improve the dignity and prosperity of Indonesian society.

198th week at ANU: A Major PhD Milestone – Final Oral Presentation

Canberra, 5 November 2013

Wednesday, 31 October 2013 at 11.30am to 12.30pm, was the most memorable moment in my PhD life.  During that one hour, I presented my 3.8 years of PhD work in 40 minutes! The PhD oral presentation was attended by all of my supervisors: Royston, Andrew and Gary; faculty members and my PhD colleagues at Research School of Management, and my Indonesian friends: Kanya, Billy, Henri and Kiki.  The session went really well, with very positive feedback and comments from the audience.  I was so relieved! It was indeed a happy moment! Finally I could see the PhD submission within my reach;  after experiencing ups and downs of being a PhD student for so long!!

Practically I only had 11 days to prepare two very important documents after returning from Indonesia on 19 October. The first document was the final draft of my thesis that I should submit to my Advisory Panel for review.  For this draft, I had to incorporate inputs from Astra and from my three supervisors.  The second document was my presentation slides that should cover important points of the thesis so I could deliver the breath and the depth of the thesis to the audience in 40 minutes.  It was really a challenging task.  My Facebook status on 29 October: “2 days prior to my final PhD oral presentation; got a lot of butterflies in my stomach”.  I was stressed out!.

196th week at ANU: Finally, I can see the finish line; delivering the first draft of my PhD dissertation

Jakarta, 19 October 2013

“The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time” Abraham Lincoln

So happy that finally, I can see the finish line! Today is my last day of three-week trip in Jakarta, for my final field work to reconfirm my findings with my respondents. I don’t know how I did it, but I eventually managed to submit the first draft of my dissertation on 25 September, one day before my trip to Jakarta.  The last eight weeks have been very exhausting but rewarding, just like delivering a healthy baby after a long labor pain! Since September 1, I have been revisiting my literature review and methodology (chapters 2 and 3); finalizing my chapter 4 (research context – Indonesia), chapter 5 (Astra International), and chapters 6, 7, 8 (the three cases).  The most challenging parts were to write the cross-case analysis and discussion (chapter 9) and the conclusions, implications, limitations, and further research (chapter 10).  Finally, I managed to put all chapters together, wrote chapter 1 and submitted the whole thesis as my first draft on 25 September.  I gave the title of my thesis “to prosper with the nation: the social capital that bridges CSR programs and corporate sustainability in a developing country”.  I felt very exhausted actually, but relief. I still couldn’t believe that I could produce a thesis, my 3 ¾ years of work as an entirety.

188th Week at ANU: The journey to DPR-RI won’t be easy; it can be dangerous; but I’ll do it because I care…

Canberra, 25 August 2013

Few days ago, 23 August 2013, the Indonesian Commission of Election (KPU) announced the permanent list of candidates who would participate in the national election on 9 April 2014.  My name is there, representing Jakarta III (West Jakarta, North Jakarta, and Thousand Island area) from PDIP (Indonesian Democratic Party Struggle).  That means I need to get 100,000 votes from the area to secure my seat as an MP (Member of the Parliament) at the National Parliament of Indonesia (DPR-RI).

I have started writing about my motives in running for an MP.  My intention is to start building a more dignified Indonesia for my son’s generation and beyond, by being a change agent in DPR-RI.  I have posted my story at Neng Koala: http://nengkoala.com/2013/08/05/saya-bercita-cita/ and shared it on my FB wall and FB groups of alumni from secondary school to post graduates.  It attracted quite a number of readers.  After 20 days of posting, I had 1,556 readers.  Not bad.  I hope it could achieve 10,000 readers by March 2014, so it could reach its viral effects.

My postings in public domain have attracted many comments: pessimistic, optimistic, doubtful, encouraging… mixed responses.  From there, I can understand what people expect from me, if I indeed become an MP.  Below is an excerpt from one of my dialogues with a friend, taken from my post in the ILUNI UI (University of Indonesia alumni FB group, with the consent from the inquirer):

Q & A taken from the FB group of the University of Indonesia alumni:

186th week at ANU: My Last Ramadhan and Ied al Fitr in Canberra

Canberra, 13 August 2013

We have just celebrated Ied al Fitr on 8 August after fasting for 29 days.  It has been a tradition in Canberra that the Embassy conducts shalat tarawih every Saturday during the fasting month where the hosts take turn.  Usually, the Ambassador would host the first weekend of shalat tarawih at the residence.  The second, third and fourth tarawih were done at the ‘Balai Kartini’ of the Embassy with Indonesian Muslim community taking alternate responsibilities to host the tarawih.  At home, I was fortunate to have Pugo who stayed with us when Kanya was traveling to Turkey.  He was a good Imam, and he led our tarawih prayer during weekdays.

As for me, I could not attend the first tarawih at the Ambassador’s residence as it coincided with the welcoming and farewell of ANU students.  It was difficult to find a schedule to fit everybody so they could attend the event.  Both PPIA ANU farewell and the tarawih at the residence were important.  People were split between the two events.  Nevertheless, I decided to come to PPIA ANU gathering to meet and greet my new friends and my old friends who were leaving.  I was a small but nice and cozy gathering.  We truly enjoyed each others’ company.