Education Perspectives - Admission/Application Essay Example

Inserts His/her Inserts Inserts Grade (26, 09, Admission Essay Why MBA? Why now? Why CKGSB? Education, in my opinion, is always helpful for a person because it gives us different perspectives to view the world around us. It also allows a human being to expand his or her thinking about the world in general and about the society in particular. I have always been interested in acquiring more and more knowledge through my professional jobs and from the people around me. Everyday a person learns something new from the society, and in my opinion it makes a person a better human being. I have always believed that I am better today from what I was yesterday, and each day I feel the same. In today’s business environment trends are changing quite dramatically and it is not possible to rely on experience only. Only professional education can help a person grow in potential in the realm of business and this is the main reason why I have opted for masters in business administration. This degree will help me cultivate newer ideas about management and will also aid the experience that I have accumulated over the years in supply chain management, project management, and manufacturing. Practical experience is very important in any field but I have realized that latest professional education of high standards can help me more in perfecting my management skills. I also believe that there is no age limit for acquiring education, especially in a today’s fast moving world. Trends are changing at a remarkable pace and newer techniques are changing the business environment on a regular basis. It is important to keep up with the latest trends and therefore at the age of 52 I have decided to enter into an MBA program. Age should not be a barrier for gaining knowledge especially if it can positively impact a person. I think that every learned human being can also contribute to the society. Education guides us in our social relationships and this positively impacts the society. I have chosen to pursue a master’s degree in business administration as it will help me in my professional life. Job market has become competitive and it is important to enhance our skills in order to gain a competitive edge over others. An MBA degree will put me above my competition as I have a vast amount of experience in management already. Learning the latest management techniques will help me improve my skills to a great extent and therefore I see my age as a positive point. My choice of Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business was not random. I was looking for an institution that will provide me with a high quality of education and at the same will prepare me for the challenging global business environment. There is no doubt that China will be the future economic superpower of the world. The whole world is looking towards the country therefore I thought that I should get acquainted with the business environment of China. CKGSB will provide me with an opportunity to learn some Chinese language as well as the customs and traditions of the country. All this will help me perform better in the future business environment in which China will have a formidable part to play. The demanding and selective process of CKGSB also attracted me towards your institution because I am a person who wants to face challenges. I believed there is a match between myself and what CKGSB is looking for and this is why I am applying in your institution. I understand that your focus is on globalization and I have previously worked for a company that went global therefore there is an obvious match between your requirements and my experience. What is Entrepreneurship? Entrepreneurship for me is doing something new and creative that can affect a considerable portion of the society and at the same time it should be profitable. Starting a new business is a very narrow definition of entrepreneurship. Anyone can start a business but I believe it is important to change the lives of the people around you so that considerable amount of benefit can be achieved, both in on an individual basis and at the societal level. It is also important to operate profitability. I believe that entrepreneurial spirit is motivated by profits primarily but social benefits can also be targeted. It is important to reconcile profitability with social benefit. One of the problems with business people is that they either prefer profitability or social benefit. Both are extreme approaches and this is why social benefit is often compromised. There is either nonprofit organization that operate on charity or ruthless capitalistic firm. It is essential to bring forward an ideology of profit making firm that can also work for the benefit of the society. This can increase the effectiveness of entrepreneurial ventures. I also think entrepreneurship is all about taking initiatives that can affect the lives of many people. It is my belief that people should try to start their own business ventures in order to gain profits in a sustainable manner. But self started business ventures are not the only way entrepreneurship can be carried out. Changing or doing something big, even in the company one is working in should also be appreciated. The term today used in management today is ‘Intrapreneurship’. I think this is also a part of entrepreneurship because it involves taking an initiative that is changing lives. Innovation is also a part of entrepreneurship. Creating something new is important for any entrepreneur and can be regarded as the main prerequisite of entrepreneurship. Innovation in the form of product, service or idea is essential for entrepreneurship. Successful ventures can only work if they are based upon an innovative idea. Novelty is an important part of entrepreneurship. Coming up with a new idea is very important for a firm to be successful because it will differentiate it with other firms. Entrepreneurial ventures should also be profitable because profits are extremely important for a firm to grow. It is also natural for a person to work for profits because it can serve as a motivation to work hard. It is also important for a person to react in a manner that is not harmful to the society. Sustainable profit making should be allowed and encouraged, but profit making at the expense of society is not something desirable. I believe an entrepreneur should think about the environment around him but at the same time should be making profits. In this way suffering of the society can be reduced in a natural manner. There exists a dichotomy between interest of society and profit making firms. This dichotomy should be eradicated so that people in general can benefit. The idea that profit making can be done at the same time by helping the society should be promoted. How do YOU define CSR? Corporate social responsibility, in my opinion, is an obligation of a corporation with regards to the society as a whole. In today’s competitive world firms are trying to get ahead of their rivals in order to maximize profits. It is therefore essential for firms to play a role in the betterment of the society. CSR is not the reconciliation between profits and social benefit; rather it is obligatory in nature and calls for social benefit by spending the firm’s money with an altruistic gesture without any hope of profits. Capitalistic mentality breeds rampant profit making without taking into account the social expense at which the profits are being made. We can see a clear divide between rich and poor of the world. The economic disparity, all over the world, is increasing and ruthless profit making mindset is the reason behind it. Large corporations cannot mend their ways, at least in short term, therefore it is vital that they are made to contribute to the society. Corporate social responsibility is a way through which firms can give back to society. The aim of corporate social responsibility should be to enhance the public benefit in the society. CSR may involve investing in schools and colleges to improve literacy in poor countries or improve health facilities in poverty stricken areas. CSR should be something ‘extra’ a firm is doing in the process of promoting benefit of the society. Some people think that following international regulations and business ethics is also a part of a corporation’s social responsibility. This, I believe, is not CSR because it is not something ‘extra’ a firm is doing for the society. Firms are required to abide by the rules and regulations, or otherwise they will face legal repercussions. CSR should be characterized as doing something out of the normal way for people in general. The idea that a firm just has to follow regulations is not enough for a prosperous society. Good is not the absence of bad but the presence of something good. A firm is not doing CSR if it is not cheating authorities or customers. This mindset has caused firms to make more and more profit, and have made them become less and less responsible with regards to the society. CSR should be something that can promote a thinking that firms should not only operate ethically rather they should play a role in the betterment of the society. A small share of profits can be contributed by any firm for the interest of the society therefore this should be financially pragmatic. There is a lot that can be done with a little initiative by powerful corporations. Firms have today acquired monopoly power and are earning considerable profits globally. It is therefore expected of them to share their profits with the community and this is called CSR. Firms can collaborate to bring about changes in the society and this can be done quite easily and effectively. The change that the firms can bring about is immense because they have sufficient resources to do so. No one is talking about an overhauling of society as a whole with a ‘Robin hood’ approach but efforts can be made to bring basic health and education facilities to the poor. If every firm can take responsibility of a small portion of poor people in their community then this can bring immense happiness for the whole society. Some firms are also using CSR for marketing purposes which is not something desirable. The basic principle underlying CSR is doing something without any hope of material gain. Otherwise it cannot be differentiated from a marketing campaign targeted to enhance the brand image. Such distinctions are not clear in the society because the moral values have depleted. Profit motive has captured every firm and social good is ignored. Again it is important to do ‘good’ for the good itself instead of for some material gain. CSR can also be done on an individual level. I believe that it is also important to act on an individual level for the betterment of the society. CSR has different meaning on individual level for me. As a person it is difficult to make a difference on a big level. I have not personally gone to teach children of poor remote areas, I admit. But I have tried to follow the right path by not engaging in criminal activity in a country in which small criminal infringements are not considered bad and security is a big problem. In such a country I have attempted to live an honest life and protect my family. This I believe is my service to the community. It is in my value system to not engage in unethical activities and I have done that. I am not setting different standards for corporations and myself. I believe that bigger resources and position brings bigger responsibility. A corporation earns a lot therefore it is a must for them to contribute to the society at a larger scale. They have a bigger responsibility towards the society than an individual. An individual can follow the law, protect his family, and can contribute to society in small ways and by doing this he or she can contribute to the society. But corporations need to share their income with the society as well because their share is much bigger than that of individuals. MBA related Question and how will you answer it I would like to choose a question related to supply chain management because I have worked in this area. Supply chain management is a growing field because customer demand is becoming more and more complex, and firms are focusing on increasing profits by lowering their costs. The firms are also focusing on their core competences and outsourcing everything else to the specialized companies. This has made supply chain management even more important in today’s business world. This is why I would like to answer a question related to supply chain management. The importance of diversity is also important because of globalization. Employees from different backgrounds are working together and there diversity management is important for an MBA, therefore I will like to answer how diversity can be managed in the paradigm of supply chain management. Diversity is more important for China because it is a global economic giant of the future. Employees from all corners of the world will come in China to work therefore diversity question is appropriate for me. Cultural and ethnic differences can increase employee friction therefore diversity is important to tackle. Supply chain management is important for firms to reduce inventory and other supply related costs. The focus is shifting from keeping large inventories to almost no inventory at all. Work is also being outsourced to experts all over the world so that quality can be achieved at a high price. This has increased diversity in the supply chain and managers have to take into account the cultural and national differences. Suppliers have different perceptions and they have to be taken into account. A festival or a national holiday has to be taken into account because it can disrupt the whole chain of supply. Unawareness of cultural differences of suppliers can increase cost and can delay production or distribution. Adding value to the end product is an important part of supply chain management. Diversity can also affect the end product delivered to the customers. A firm in china may have a different opinion about quality from a firm operating in Australia. This can create many problems for the end product. The parts of a product are being made in different parts of the world therefore they have to be of the same quality. All the firms should be on the same page if value added product has to be delivered to the customers. Diversity can also create problems because inter personal differences exist between people from different cultures. Even in China a firm can face diversity issues if it has to negotiate with an Asian or a European. Both have different ways of negotiating and this should be known by the firm in order to work together effectively. Interpersonal differences can also affect a meeting where people from different cultures are coming. Some cultures permit a laid back approach where lateness is a norm. Other cultures cannot compromise on time. Such differences exist in between firms. Diversity therefore can play an important role in supply chain management in future where diversity will surely increase. All the firms in the supply chain must be on the same path and cultural differences should be mitigated or taken into account in order for firms to operate efficiently and effectively. Read More