Why Do I Aim for an MBA: MBA Application Essay

I want to earn an MBA so that girls in a small town of Rajasthan can get higher education in an English medium school, so that my family can know the real reason for my father’s first business failure, so that I get better at comprehension and application, and so that I can discuss ideas with the crème de la crème. But importantly, I want to enroll in an MBA program to think 5 years ahead of my time and country.

Indians set a right time for everything: a right age to complete education, start earning and even marry. Everyone has such a checklist. In my checklist, now is the time to earn MBA. I consider myself an optimum candidate since through professional experience; I now have right questions that the program answers. My transformation at a personal level brought the maturity to neither assume and nor expect. I have set clear goals for myself and have a plan to execute. I want to evolve by doing the next right thing: Masters in Business Administration.

After studying & working in two countries, in two different work cultures - a startup as well as a corporate, consulting the best companies of the world; I have seen and experienced quite a many things. To take my career to the next level by finding answers, and achieving my short-term and long-term goals, it is the right time for me to pursue MBA.

To learn and not to do is really not to learn. To know and not to do is really not to know.’ Stephen Covey isn’t wrong. The knowledge, exposure, and skills I aspire to imbibe, require being aware and open to learning every moment. Through years of retrospection and introspection, I’ve realized that my core strengths lie in making confident decisions and tactfully handling high-pressure situations that so very often become a part of our professional and personal lives. I actively wish to test my abilities in the harshest circumstances, wanting to gain experience in the verticals of operations & supply chain.

I’m clear about my life goals. While I wish to work in a leadership role, which involves solving hands-on problems, I don’t want to impose constraints of organizational structure upon my choices. I would consciously choose to work in a corporate environment since the professionalism and technology that a corporate entity brings is unparalleled.

In the medium term (5-10 years), I look to reinvent my work style to make it versatile by working in small or medium scale manufacturing-oriented startup or business, where my expertise adds value and propels business growth. I’ve been lucky to be part of one such company in my younger days which later became a multi-million dollar enterprise, and I would be willing to work in such environment again. It brings a new perspective to management especially giving a reality check on personal effectiveness. I seek to come to the esteemed D’Amore-McKim School of Business to get global exposure and have no reservations about locating to any corner of the world post the MBA. The corporate residency program and culturally diverse class would provide me with an excellent platform to learn and grow. Being brought up in a boarding school and having completed my bachelors in US, I highly value peer learning and personal relationships, and I feel Northeastern University can offer me that.
With an extensive scale of business, the focus of leaders must be to mentor the middle management, who quickly identify and solve problems before they snowball. When combined with the gain from the program, I am sure I will be able to successfully execute this model in MNCs, where I can see the complexities of supply chain.

Although many doors shall immediately open after pursuing MBA from your institution, I am objective in accepting that my plans shall not fold out the exact way I want them to. Hence, I am also currently working towards my long-term goal of starting my own manufacturing unit in India. By 2027 I wish to become an entrepreneur in the agro tech sector. I want to combine my experience, knowledge and network that I would have gained by then to build an enterprise known not only for its quality and technique but also for its sustainable and good business practices, ethics, approachability and outreach to the society.

As a believer in the line by Henry Ford ‘You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do,’ I request you to not judge me on my vision of efficient operational models or entrepreneurship; but the clarity, self-awareness, and outlook.