EMBA London Program at The University of Chicago - Admission/Application Essay Example

EMBA Admissions Essay I am impressed by what I have read concerning your faculty; teaching, and conducting research at the EMBA London Program, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. This is particularly important to me since I believe that your university will give me the necessary tools to engage in research and further develop my knowledge to be able to continue working and updating my information with experts in the field, not only concerning technology but concerning the human aspects as well. I will be able to put into practice what I have studied in theory and be able to implement this knowledge in my future venues. I am interested in pursuing an EMBA because throughout history businesses have always existed. These businesses have existed by trading off merchandise and/or by exchanging merchandise for currency. In this case, the merchandise is the technology service. Since then the manner of making business transactions have evolved to include technology. Although technology is a mechanism of performing business transactions more rapidly, we should not forget to maintain the human element vivid in them. I want to master my skills in business administration since throughout history it has lead to an economic empowerment for many corporations and countries. Having this economic crisis vivid in our daily lives, makes the seeking of new strategies and venues a must, to help get out of this magnificent rut. Forming part of your institution of higher learning will give me more insights of how I may make contributions in this area as an expert with the help of the expertise and experiences of your faculty members. I have had close to a decade (?) of experience in this area of business administration and I have had to make decisions that have been crucial to obtain successful business transactions results. In business it is not a good idea to make decisions on a trial and error basis. The bottom line of entrepreneurial ship is to be on the cost/effective side of the spectrum (the bottom line of a financial statement. By obtaining an EMBA at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, will give me ample information gathered by international experts and it will give me the opportunity to make decisions based on others´ experiences that have had positive and negative results. In doing so, I will be able to apply strategies and methodologies to make successful business transaction decisions based on others´ experiences and based on the case studies presented in classes. I see myself collaborating with others to make these business transactions a fruitful benefit for all of those involved in the business transactions. I want to be part of the EMBA program and become actively involved to work independently and work as part of a team to research cases and brainstorm ideas of why some businesses failed while others succeeded given similar situations and conditions. Having this opportunity will give me a chance to work positively in projects, continue the networking processes with classmates, professors, and future corporations where I will be able to gather academic information and make contributions that will help them acquire successful results. I am highly interested in applying to the EMBA London Program at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business due to the fact that I want to pursue a higher education degree. Your degree offers those courses which I am interested in pursuing, to be able to function in a borderless world due to the World Wide Web influence and mechanisms and the new ways of pursuing successful business transactions using a LAN. The Chicago Booth School of Business is a world renowned university offering excellent degree programs using the interdisciplinary academic approach and it is well known for its research, therefore, it has been my desire to pursue an EMBA from your university. Your university has an envious reputation of not only offering a highly personalised degree but you believe in promoting a wide scope of personal development by facilitating cross cultural interactions and community development with a high sensitivity towards the environment and conservation. Our contemporary life is fast paced and competitive, to the extent that people look at success as the only parameter of achievement. I believe, however, that we need to cultivate sensitivity towards issues that have a wide ranging effect on everyone and your university offers the best in academic programs and opportunities for personal development. Due to your institution’s focus and my background in cross cultural affairs given my work experience with a wide range of involvement and interactions with many people from many countries and different walks of life, being able to pursue a higher education degree will give me the opportunity to delve into the more personalised fashion of communication. Taking into consideration the culture, history, traditions, customs, idiomatic terms, and non-verbal communication will place me in an advantageous place. I will not only be taking into consideration the human element, but I will be incorporating the technology to help alleviate the process of communication between countries, developing technological resources that will excel the process, and seek successful business transaction results. I have leadership skills and public speaking skills. I also have good organisational skills. I work independently and as a team member. I know that there is no “I” in a team, but I am also aware of the fact that in this field one has to be ready to take responsibility for successes and failures and I believe that I have the strength of character and sufficient confidence to do so. I am used to juggling deadlines and I am also a team leader. I start and I end projects on or before their due dates and I am a multi tasks oriented person. I am not only business oriented but I am also interested in community affairs. I am a strong believer that the businesses should also help the community of which it is part of, no matter where they may be located in the world. For this reason, I believe in the incorporation of the idiomatic terms used in different countries, the non-verbal communication, the culture, the traditions, the history, and the customs should be a detrimental part of education and the professional realms of the everyday tasks. By taking these elements into consideration will enhance ours prospects. These are as follows: The non-verbal communication used in each of the identified countries, how it may be obscene and/or an insult to other people from other countries using the same language will place me in a position to reach the personnel from different countries with positive attributes. It will help me develop better communication skills. The cultural elements will help me differentiate between the cultural assets and attributes that any given country may have, how they interact with other cultures, and how it is seen by a given country and how others may view them. The traditions will make me become familiar with the country I will be doing business with, to demonstrate how the similarities and the differences, if not taken into account while dealing with business transactions may hinder or benefit it. The history will place me in a position as to become familiar with the plights of the people from other countries and give me a better understanding of why they struggle in their own countries and in others that they may be involved with. The customs will sensitise me to the similarities and differences in cultures and how to be in a better position to introduce new strategies taking into consideration how they perform on a daily basis. These elements along with the technological factors to be incorporated will help enhance global decision making and make the transitions smoother. Thus, maintaining the excellence levels of interactions and performance. The inclusion of these elements with the Spanish speaking countries, for instance, will help me make distinctions between countries. The Spanish speaking countries are comprised of people from different countries and continents. They may come from North America, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, or Europe. Each one of these countries although influenced by Spain, differs from each other due to their idiosyncrasies. They have the influence of the indigenous people that lived there and others that were brought as slaves from another continent, Africa. It is, therefore, that a closer view and interaction needs to take place. Diversity is very important to me for my personal and professional development. I realise that before I continue to become an expert in an area, I need to have the knowledge of related fields. I realise that I have to understand the culture, the society, the history, the traditions, and the customs to be able to make successful business transactions on an international basis and make sure that the technology is part of my educational and professional endeavours. Your university offers a variety of courses that will help me achieve my goals. I am particularly interested in the interdisciplinary studies you offer on campus. I believe that tackling social issues and concerns can never be properly deliberated by approaching it with a single discipline. I want to perform research in a variety of fields and work with fellow students and professors conducting their research in these areas. I am a disciplined person. I start and finish tasks before or on their due dates. I work independently and as a team member. Given that I am aware of the differences and similarities of cultures I will be in a position to become an asset to faculty members that are conducting international research. The bottom line for any company is to be cost effective. International businesses have been taking these before mentioned elements into consideration for over two decades so as to not have transactions fail as with the soft Coca-Cola drink in Thailand, the powdered Nestle milk in Africa, the NOVA automobile in Venezuela, and the Pinto automobile in Brazil. By being able to speak other languages (identify which ones) will give me the opportunity of doing research from primary sources in those languages. I will not only be able to translate information into the English language, but I will also be familiar with the customs, culture, history, traditions, and idiomatic terms. Translating documents from other languages does not only entail the grammar components but it also needs to take into account the elements mentioned above. It is very important to have these elements in mind while conducting research. We do not want to repeat history as in these cases: Nestle Milk Powder; NOVA automobiles; Coca-Cola; and, the Pinto automobiles. These are international companies that did not do their research in marketing or in their publicity. For instance: Nestle Milk Powder took their milk powder to Africa and gave instructions that the milk powder was to be mixed with water. Easy instructions it seemed to be. As a result thousands of infants died. Why? During their research process they neglected to tell the user that you first had to boil the water. The water that was being used was from a river where they washed their clothes, performed their human needs, and washed themselves. The water was contaminated. This was a good court case and the bottom line was in their finances. This business transaction failed and there were deaths as a consequence of negligent research. As a result when you purchase Nestle Milk Powder, in their instructions for preparation they state that you need to boil the water first. NOVA wanted to do a business transaction in Venezuela. They also failed to do their research. NOVA in Portuguese may mean “new” but in Spanish it means “it does not go”. Sales which was the objective of the automobile company also failed. No one wanted to buy a car that does not run. Coca-Cola wanted to do business in Thailand. They also made the same mistake. They had a slogan that they thought would trigger the market. Not doing their research resulted in a translation that meant, “Your ancestors will return from the dead”. That business transaction failed because the Asians are very respectful of the elderly and once they pass they are still honoured. They did not want their ancestors to return. That slogan was an insult to them. Pinto was the name of a car that sold very well in The United States of America. It did not do very well in Brazil, since Pinto in Portuguese means a small male sexual organ. No man wanted to drive a car with such a name. These examples are only a few of the disasters that have been performed while doing business transactions on international levels. These mistakes not only influence the business transactions but the relationships as well. These examples may be extrapolated into the technology aspects as well. If for instance, a word is misused in technology, or a word that is used and accepted in some countries is a taboo in others, it may hinder the entire process of doing business and the technological processes may be hindered as well. Relationships that have been successful while performing other business transactions may fail and the bottom line of any financial statement will suffer the consequences of not performing the correct research to attain positive results. I have clear goals and objectives. I am pro diversity and your university shares the same perspectives as I do concerning diversity issues. I hope the EMBA London Program at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business gives me the opportunity to be part of its graduate program so that I may achieve my goals and objectives. Being part of a university such as yours will allow me to open doors in the future and make your university proud that I was once one of its graduate students. I am an analytical person. I am an organized and a detailed person. I work independently and as a team member. I start and finish projects before their due dates. I am a detailed oriented person. I am an achiever and I seek the same from others and I believe it is important to maintain high quality standards and abide by them. I am able to maintain “vigilance” for the company I work for, I am prompt for unexpected situations, I am ready for emergencies, and I am careful in taking care of people and their needs, both personally and professionally. This puts me in a position of being able to act and react promptly. I have supervision and evaluation skills as to make sure that the processes are kept and that the quality is maintained as expected. I keep quality control in my venues and I keep customers satisfied when dealing with the clients. As you will have noticed I have been involved in academia and the workplace and I have also taken the initiative to work in others areas of interest. All of these areas have helped me to become the person I am now. I am well suited to become a graduate student. As I have stated previously, I have good communication skills, I am diligent, I have research qualities, I am knowledgeable in research methods, I am well versed in statistics, I am computer literate, and I speak other languages. These are skills that work well in an academic environment working with fellow students, professors, and researchers. As a graduate student I will be most cautious to take these elements into consideration, while partaking in national and international research. There are similarities and there are differences and these have to be evaluated taking the countries´ particular intricacies into consideration. As an example, another case is the countries where Spanish is spoken. Travelling from one country to another, if you are not aware of their customs, traditions, history, culture, idiomatic terms, and non-verbal communication, you may be offending the natives of those countries you are visiting. The Spanish speaking countries cannot be placed all in the same jar since even the Spanish language varies from country to country. I would be honoured in becoming part of your graduate program. The research projects that your faculty may be involved in, will give me the opportunity to learn in the process and I will be able to share my views through personal knowledge and through research. I have a desire to be part of your milieu. Having research skills will broaden my horizons in my educational and professional life. I will also be in a position to continue to make contributions in the business world with updated information and using new strategies for the successful business transactions and I will be able to develop and maintain the human component and the technological component synchronised. I hope that the EMBA London Program, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business gives me the opportunity to become part of its program, so that I may achieve my goals and objectives as a professional later in life. I will be an asset to the university since I have the practical core tools that along with the academic element will place me in a position to make positive contributions. To conclude this essay, I would like to leave you with a part of wisdom that Mark Twain shared, “It were not best that we should all think alike; it is difference of opinion that makes horse races.” Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at your earliest convenience. I hope to hear from you soon. Have a good day. Essay 1 Please update your professional, academic, and community activities since your previous application and highlight what you have done to strengthen your application since you last applied (maximum one page, single spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman). Since my last application, I have professionally been involved in the Manage Cloud Computing Engagements across EMEA, iTricity. Academically, I successfully completed a Master in Computing Science, Knowledge Management. I have changed positions as an Enablement Manager responsible for cloud computing engagements for EMEA. I have incorporated more experiences in the decision making processes to make sure that this joint venture with IBM will be one of success and endurance. I have had experience that deals with the C level. I have covered EMEA countries and I have performed business at the highest level. At this point in my life, I am interested in advancing to the next level of my career. At the moment I am an ________.. I want to become a __________, followed by becoming a Senior Manager. I have strategically planned my life’s goals and objectives and this is one more I wish to pursue. I plan to pursue a _________ position within a year and a higher ranking managerial position upon graduation. After that objective has been accomplished I will escalate to an upper level management position. I realize that an EMBA will give me the skills I will need to become a successful senior manager/executive. It will give me the necessary tools for communication and the necessary leadership skills to succeed in my life endeavours. I have had the opportunity to work in a variety of industries. I have been able to manage corporate financial affairs (given the economic crisis the world is experiencing), discipline myself in academic work, and become involved in community oriented activities. I have also had the opportunity of working with diverse groups. Working in different settings and diversity of personnel has helped me to improve my tasks as an independent person and work as a team member. My communication skills have enabled me to work in different cultural environments. With an EMBA, I will improve areas that need finesse. I want to improve my knowledge in finance, obtain confidence to work at a higher level of responsibility, and move forward into the executive realm of the world’s leadership. I have always enjoyed the finance industry. I possess leadership skills and I have strong quantitative, qualitative, and analytical skills that are important elements within the industry. I enjoy working with numbers and with my problem solving techniques I will be in a position to help evolve projects assigned to me and/or collaborate with other team players. At this moment I have strategies, knowledge, and I am eager to continue my pursuits in graduate school. Being an EMBA graduate student will help me obtain updated information and be exposed to a variety of case studies that will help me form opinions and systematically solve problems in finance versus on a trial and error basis. I am an independent person who hungers for knowledge and application, and I want to maintain myself in the “real” world to make contributions in corporations. I am competitive and I achieve self satisfaction by delving into my work and obtaining positive results. Essay 2 Please provide an example of a time you worked in a challenging group/team situation? What were the challenges? How did you resolve any conflicts? What was the final outcome? (Maximum two pages, single spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman). It has always been a challenge to work with teams from different locations and from different nationalities. The iTricity CEO adjusted the scope of a project which adheres to the Phase 2.5 delivery, to be changed during the solution development and requested no impact on its delivery dates due to the fact that there are legal concerns, such as contracts between the provider and the customer. I managed the situation by understanding well the CEO¨s iTricity drive and outlined that these changes in requirements cannot be done without an impact to resources or delivery dates. I requested additional resources to complete these requirements for my Silicon Valley team. They, however, had none. To solve the problem, I thought of flying two of the team members from Dublin to Silicon Valley but since our expenses were frozen due to the economics, I therefore had to seek innovative ways in solving the problem. This led to coordinating the Cisco partners with a customer in San Francisco and selecting the Dublin developers that had those skills to present the Blue Cloud Solution. The end result was a successful one. The expenses were fully paid by Cisco’s customer, our developers successfully completed the additional required tasks, and I was on time with the iTricity Phase 2.5 delivery. This is cost effective since the “…service management platform results in near-zero incremental management costs when more information technology (IT) resources are added to the cloud”. (IBM, 2008) I am able to handle change. We are in the integration process and thus far it is being handled efficiently meaning that I am able to adapt to new scenarios. My motto is, “Anything is possible if you put your mind to it.” That is why I want to be part of your EMBA Program. I want to continue to excel and continue making contributions in the corporate world on an international basis. I have been involved in business transactions and creating successful strategies for over ________ decades. I presently work for IBM Centre in Ireland and I am part of the first Cloud Computing Centre in EMEA (Barker, 2009). I am a highly dedicated technocrat currently working for IBM, Inc. in the Innovation Centre in Ireland as Project Manager. I am responsible to evangelize our mission across EMEA to CEOs and business leaders. I am currently responsible as a Project Manager for the first implementation of Cloud Computing Hosting Centres in Europe (Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg) (IBM, 2008) and I manage all engagements. Cloud Computing represents a new paradigm in the manner computing will be done in business enterprises. The potential of cloud computing as a business activity suggests that the market will be in the vicinity of $95 billion in the next five years (King, 2008). Cloud computing is an emerging technology for Information Technology that provides rapid delivery of computing resources that a business enterprise requires. These resources like computing services, storage services, and networking services are made available in a simplified way and on demand. Such an approach makes for rapid innovation and management of these innovations (IBM, 2009). My role in IBM’s activities in the new cloud computing services, is to help business enterprises, irrespective of their size to make use of the opportunities presented by this effective computing model (IBM, 2008) One of my main customers is iTricity and it is based in the Netherlands. I have an entrepreneurial mind and I am very interested in innovation. I am constantly working in developing the emerging technology and making it available to EMEA around the world. I am also the Project Manager working with the Silicon Valley team in California and I am directly responsible for the deployment of the entire solution which is deployed in phases. We are currently entering the Deploy Phase 2.5 that will increase the capabilities of the iTricity-IBM Blue Cloud. I am highly interested in obtaining more academic knowledge that I will be able to put into practice upon graduation from my graduate studies at your university. I am a highly focused and diligent person. I am very analytical and I am detailed oriented. I deliver tasks on or before their due dates and I am a team player that is a proactive team leader or follower, as the case may arise. Essay 3 Chicago Booth Career Services delivers innovative educational programming. It offers one-on-one coaching, provides numerous networking opportunities, and provides access to job search tools in order to support your career management. We would like to learn more about your career strategy and objectives. Please outline your career objectives, how you hope to achieve them, and what you hope to gain from the MBA to help you achieve them (maximum 1 page, 12 pt. Times New Roman). Due to the innovative educational programming that The Chicago Booth Career Services offers, I will be in a position to acquire updated and innovated information that I may be able to use once I obtain my EMBA. My experiences as a project manager implementing innovative projects have led me to believe in the advice of Drucker 1985, p. 98 that “…knowledge-based innovations can be temperamental, capricious and hard to direct”. Interacting with business leaders to understand what customers want and how this innovative technology would boost their business activities is an essential component of my role in the successful development of the cloud computing networks of IBM (Bower & Christensen, 1995). The purpose of cloud computing centres is to provide a solution to business enterprises, currently facing issues of ever increasing hardware and application software for their computing needs, and I will need to be able to convince business leaders that this innovative solution will create value for them (Sawhney, Wolcott & Arroniz, 2006). To be capable of this, I have to sharpen my knowledge and skills. It is with this objective that I have decided to embark on the study course of an Executive Management in Business Administration (EMBA). An EMBA offers minimum disruption in my work schedule (The Executive MBA). There are several reasons why I have chosen the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago to pursue the EMBA study program. In the first place, it is among the top ranked Business Schools in the world (Business School Rankings & Profiles). It will also prepare me to face the challenges ahead of me; teach me to think strategically and act decisively, to find the right solution; function with confidence in global business with a global network of contacts and how to collaborate as a team to meet objectives (Executive MBA Program). While I expect to receive these benefits through the MBA Study Program at the Booth School of Business, in turn I will be offering my experiences in implementing the innovative technology of cloud computing with IBM. Apart from being a highly self driven person, I am also ambitious and would like to reach the highest level of professional excellence, both in terms of gaining knowledge and experiences. The compulsions of the present times require versatility in the work ideology and functioning, thus making it imperative that new skills and strategies are evolved to meet the emerging challenges with efficiency and unmatched proficiency. The emerging new trends in the professional arena have changed the socio-economic dynamics of the society, thereby making it more competitive and at the same time more complex with the challenges of the diverse demands that has emerged as a result of global values. The degree would equip me with the necessary skills to meet the challenges of the new global scenario. This university program would instil perceptible understanding of the wide ranging implications of managerial issues in the overall development and help develop a wider perspective towards the issues so that I would be better equipped to promote their cause and consequences. Hence, the learning experiences in the various fields have made me determined to take the EMBA from this university. The various modules of the course curricula are designed to provide persons with a strong knowledge based degree which would facilitate more efficient and accurate decision making processes in management and administration. Indeed, the University is renowned in providing a state of the art technology and innovative curricula to meet the changing demands of the time and therefore I think that the EMBA from this university is the right choice for me. REFERENCES Barker, C. 2009, ‘Inside IBMs only European Cloud Centre’, ZDNet.co.uk [Online] Available at: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,1000000121,39619906-1,00.htm (Accessed March 16, 2009). Bower, J. L. & Christensen, C. M. 1995, ‘Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave, Harvard Business Review, January-February 1995, pp.43-53. ‘Business School Rankings & Profiles’, Business Week [Online] Available at: http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/rankings/ (Accessed March 16, 2009). Drucker, P. E. 1985, ‘The Discipline of Innovation’, Harvard Business Review, August 2002, pp.95-100. ‘Executive MBA Program’, CHICAGO BOOTH, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business [Online] Available at: http://www.chicagobooth.edu/ExecMBA/ (Accessed March 16, 2009). IBM. 2008, ‘iTricity Collaborates With IBM to Open a New Cloud Computing Hosting Center’ [Online] Available at: http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/24482.wss (Accessed March 16, 2009). IBM. 2008, ‘IBM Launches New Cloud Computing Consulting and Implementation Services’, IBM. 2009, ‘Cloud Computing’, [Online] Available at: http://www.ibm.com/ibm/cloud/ (Accessed March 16, 2009). King, R. 2008, ‘How Cloud Computing Is Changing the World’, Business Week [Online] Available at: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2008/tc2008082_445669.htm (Accessed March 16, 2009). Sawhney, M., Wolcott, R. C. & Arroniz, I. 2006, ‘The 12 Different Ways for Companies to Innovate’, MIT SLOAN MANAGEMENT REVIEW, vol.47, no.3, pp.75-81. ‘The Executive MBA’, MBA COURSES WORLDWIDE [Online] Available at: http://www.mba-courses.com/executive_mba.htm (Accessed March 16, 2009). Read More