MBA Admission questions

Question 1} Discuss an event or process from your work experience which has contributed to your personal/professional development under the following headings…

My leadership skills have evolved through a combination of experiences that helped shape my personality and skills. One of such incidents occurred as I was involved in a project with local city Power Supply Company aimed at implementing their energy savings programs for Small and Medium Business Organizations in California. Responsible for research on the existing standards used in lighting requirements by these business owners and benefits the program was expected to generate for the company and the community, I had to complete my work with a proposal outlining various energy savings programs. My involvement was also important since being of Indian descent I could more easily connect with local Indian community business owners targeted by the program.

I saw the project as an opportunity to help people with energy conservation, a task I consider of great importance both to society and individual businesses. This approach worked as more and more people were beginning to see our project as a helping hand that solved some of the most pressing concerns of their businesses. As a result, our company was able to service many customers, supplying business owners with the lighting equipment required for implementing the savings program. Apart from enjoying this as a personal success, the most important benefit I received from the program was the contribution to my professional development.

In meeting local community leaders and members of the chamber of commerce, I learned a great variety of perspectives, received important insights into the life of our community, and built an extensive network of connections in different industries and public entities. Since our target audience was not limited to Indians, through interaction with professionals from different ethnic and racial backgrounds I developed cross-cultural skills and learned the value of respect and harmony in such relationships. I learned successful cooperation, working together with business development managers from power supply companies in search for mutually beneficial solutions. Finally, I learned the importance of presentation skills that often decide the success or failure of a project. This experience proved invaluable in other projects, helping me see trite issues in a new light.

Question 2} What are your aims for your future career development?

How will MBA assist you in achieving your aims?

At the moment, I am engaged in a wide range of company initiatives as various levels, participating in many projects and assisting on the marketing aspects of planning and organising. Although my professional activity in itself offers great possibilities for professional development, I feel that at this point I also need a more strategic focus to my activities. Through MBA courses, I hope to learn different models applicable to the business situations in my organisation and find more effective ways to promote its success. An MBA degree will also be an effective tool for helping me rise one step further in the hierarchy, reaching a point where I can turn my strategic vision into a greater contribution.

My ambition is to rise through the ranks, achieving a position in the senior management. Although future will define the height to which I can get, I have the ambition to become the Chief Executive Officer of a reputable business organisation, possibly a multinational company. Adding an international touch to my career is my long-standing ambition. At this point, I have profited from personal atmosphere of the local business that allowed me to develop most important business skills. In the future, I want to move into the international environment where my experience of going through an MBA program with a diverse body of students will definitely be an asset.

Thus, I view MBA as an important instrument of professional enrichment and upward career mobility. Receiving this degree will expand my knowledge, develop my skills and help me occupy a position that will realize my full potential.

Question 3} Describe how work experience could be used as a source of information for your learning and for contribution to group discussion?

The bulk of my work experience is connected to the marketing aspect of business. In my opinion, this function provides exposure to many different aspects of organisational activities and gives a bird-eye’s view of the company’s strategy and prospects.

Thus, my current enrolment in California-based KMK Supply Company as Marketing Manager has given me insights into the energy sector, a crucial part of the US economy. Involvement in this sector has also exposed me to interactions with a vast variety of businesses from different industries that all use power in their work. Implementing different energy conservation projects, I learnt many new things about the environment in which our organisation works and the US economy in general. This ability to see things in perspective will be valuable and help me contribute to group discussions.

In my previous job as Marketing Executive at Vardhaman Chemicals, I was exposed to various aspects of manufacturing and marketing various chemical composites. I have intuitively understood many aspects of the company’s operations, gaining knowledge that I hope to expand through courses of the MBA program. Interacting with people in a large organisation on a daily basis, I honed my intercultural and interpersonal skills, strengthening my knowledge of human psychology and negotiation skills. Nevertheless, my career has included many difficult episodes of interaction with different kinds of people from all layers of the organisational hierarchy that will make a valuable addition to the scope of the course content. Having experience with different functions of business, I can effectively draw on my past professional experience in discussions of classroom topics.