Berkeley Application for MBA – Graduate School Admission Essay
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates, The Apology by Plato
1. In light of the above quotation, please discuss a decision you have made which, in retrospect, has had a profound influence on your present circumstances. In hindsight, would you have made a different decision? Please explain. (500 words minimum ; no maximum length.)
When I was recognized as ‘the employee of the year’ in the department of trade in 19xx at xxx. thanks to the affirmative introduction of the position skill, my colleagues took my potential success as a trader for granted. Thus, the interview with the general manager for the transfer to the new field to which I had never been before was a great shock to my fellow workers. When I got the proposal of scout from international marketing team, a brand-new department in xxx, I considered which factor would be more favorable to my potential career among good success as a trader, high annual salary, and the acquisition of knowledge on the field of international market analysis.
I am a kind of risk-taker based on the rational calculation on the side of the so-called ‘Frontierism’. The sense of challenge as a risk taker rather than simple decision-making such as ‘High risk, High return’ serves as basis for my decision-making procedure. Since the international marketing team, a brand-new department in xxx was so risky due to no base for every task that they assessed my analysis ability and experience that I had obtained in the process of task as a analyst would be essential element for the establishment and management of specialized trading firm, my long-term goal.
In return, my role as an analyst was successful. Due to vigorous efforts of my colleagues and I, it was possible to introduce the business policies of xxx and xxx into the mainstream of business policy of xxx. In this regard, I am proud of its crucial role of decision-making procedure in terms of business policy. As far as I am concerned, the sense of challenge is the first step toward the achievement of all. As presigious historian Arnold Toynbee addressed, “ The history has been formed through the challenges and its responses”, the challenges and responses have served as the most important criteria for my decision-making. In retrospect, I overlooked many internal risks even though I tried various risk hedges as many as possible. To be more than honest, I carried out the task many times without recognizing such factors. Despite the successful career development up to now, I realized that there is a plausibility that my challenge may turn out a failure without in-depth academic achievement. A wide variety of curriculum in Hass that tries to link various fields such as accounting, finance, production, marketing, human resource management will help me get rid of many possible fallacies in decision-making process in the long term. This is one of the main reasons why I apply for Hass.
2. Please discuss your intermediate and long-term professional goals and why you want an MBA at this point in your career. In what ways do you think an MBA degree will help you to achieve these goals? What do you want from an MBA program and why have you chosen the Haas School? (500-750 words)
In 2007, I might be in the middle of wrestle with my brain in terms of purchasing conditions such as local buyer, price, and market in the Bulk cargo-trading firm. I might have to decide how the change in the market will happen and also how the decision-making procedure should vary. My short-term goal is to conduct the business as a trading manager who can analyze current situation of market, grasp the tendency of future, and make accurate decision as well as to maintain and develop the flow of efficient business with all the partners in East Asia including Korea. My long-term goal is to establish a professional trading company, introducing new selling technique based on a cutting-edge mechanism such as Internet Web Site. Highly necessary is the professional knowledge in the sense that I will have to learn through the curriculums of UC Berkely such as marketing research, international marketing, integrated marketing communications. To the best of my belief, I am confident that my experience for the past 5 years will serves as great help achieving my goal.
During the xxx Company, I learned the technique such as bridge loan, project finance, and risk hedge in the field of international finance as well as international marketing utilizing positioning in the field of international trade. In addition, I have analyzed the market price and the factors of demand fluctuation such as exchange rate occurred in international deal and the oil price. While working at xxx for about x years, I have improved my capability to conduct business based on a rational decision through my main work of the collecting and analyzing the market data. I learned the role as a member of our team and a coordinator in the sense that we can create synergy effect that might go beyond each and every one’s ability based on the teamwork. I chose UC Berkely for the following reasons:
First, small-scale classroom and small group interactions that UC Berkely provides are the primary reason why I apply for. My colleagues and I will be able to learn the importance of cooperation in supportive environment that UC Berkely will provide. Moreover, a variety of ethnicity of my colleagues will enhance my global perspective. Secondly, UC Berkely will help me achieve a series of processes such as strategic pursuing, negotiation skill, finalizing business deals with the limited data in an efficient manner. Third, the program of UC Berkely will serve as a decisive role in cultivating leadership in terms of the role not only as a manager on the spot in the short term, but also a leader in the establishment of a trading firm in the long term.