MBA Admissions Essays - My Three Most Substantial Accomplishments
Although trained as an engineer, my most substantial accomplishments have been in non-engineering sectors since the management and finance divisions of my company necessitated my involvement and a change in my career goals.
From the early 1990's, after the introduction of the free economy in Poland, almost all of our companies in our family owned business began losing money, and I needed to help save it. There I was, the poor little textile engineer, answering questions asked by people from Citicorp, the agents from Soros Funds, and many other local banks. Despite my lack of business expertise at the time, our issue was overbooked, and by the following three weeks we collected the money from the first privately issued bond in Poland. I worked with a team of highly dedicated and experienced professionals with degrees from the finest institutions of the world. Through teamwork, I helped to save my company; I consider this the biggest achievement in my professional life.
My second biggest achievement was again saving the company. Our biggest textile plant, consisting of about seventy percent of our group's asset, was bought through tender from the government of Poland under its denationalizing scheme. The payment was to be made through half-yearly installments, but our company began defaulting in late 1997. By that time Peregrine collapsed, and we were on our own. I proposed the board raise money by offering some of the company's vast vacant land for joint venture. Although the proposal was believed impractical and unattainable, I nevertheless contacted a number of multinationals. Only Cemex Cement of Mexico responded, but our deal eventually fell through and the government began preparing for takeover.
As a last minute resort to save the company, I prepared an attractive offer and contacted Scancem of Finland and Holderbank of Switzerland. Holderbank responded and opted for outright purchase of the land. However, they attached a condition that we complete all the formalities needed to set up their plant in Poland before they make any agreement with us. We agreed and started working on the endless list of permits, permissions and licenses that one faces by investing in Poland. I guided the whole process and coordinated the activities of engineers, lawyers, bureaucrats, financial advisors, etc. I also was forced to deal with the highest body of religious law, the Islamic Foundation, since there was a mosque in the designated plot and the mosque had to be relocated -- a very rare and sensitive issue in Poland.
Greta, niece of Lukas and a recent MBA graduate, has newly joined Deutsche’s board of directors and must make a recommendation on three issues: the financial plan for 2001, the declaration of a quarterly dividend, and adoption of the proposed incentive and compensation package for Oleg. The financial plan includes a 7 million euro investment in new plant and equipment for the Ukrainian operations in 2001, followed by a 6.8 million euro investment in 2002 for a new Ukranian warehouse and distribution center. This is a significant investment, and the practicality of rooting themselves in the Ukraine in this manner needs to be fully assessed before Deutsche commits to such an expensive endeavor.
My family owned and operated a jewelry business for 8 years, since I was 10 years old. I grew up with this store, among the earrings and ornaments, always surrounded by things made from a unique substance called gold. Gold is a well-known element, atomic number 79; of course, everyone knows of its international monetary value. However, gold also has a deeply personal resonance; and upon closer examination, this material provides an emblematic picture of my past, my future, and what I offer Harvard University.
Fr Jose Maria Arizmendiarrieta, a Catholic Priest, founded the Mondragon Corporation, a cooperative in the Basque region of Spain in 1956. The region suffered greatly during the Spanish Civil War (Thomson, 2010) and Fr Jose felt it his calling to help his regions people recover, allowing them to continue to support themselves. Fr Jose’s motive was to promote individuals’ moral character as well as social justice through the creation of a new kind of work place, one that encouraged hard work, cooperation, shared rewards, and individual responsibility. At the same time, he sought to generate employment and income in a region that had been impoverished by war, dictatorship and neglect (Lafuente, 2012). The initial cooperative was successful and from that much other cooperative business emerged in industries including banking, manufacturing, distribution and education. The Mondragon Corporation multiplied until it became the biggest employer in the region (Witzel, 2003). The Mondragon Corporation now consists of over 82,000 people in an integrated group of so...
Authors often have underlying reasons for giving their stories certain themes or settings. Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, The Crucible, is a work of art inspired by actual events as a response to political and moral issues. Set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, The Crucible proves to have its roots in events of the 1950’s and 1960’s, such as the activities of the House Un-American Committee and the “Red Scare.” Though the play provides an accurate account of the Salem witch trials, its real achievement lies in the many important issues of Miller’s time that it dealswith.
Thirty years ago when my parents left behind a comfortable life in South America to pursue opportunities that would truly change their lives, they had no idea they would be foreshadowing the recent events of my life. After working for two years as an engineer, I have realized something that I had suspected all along: I do not belong in the world of business or engineering. I need to be in a profession in which I can establish unique relationships with people by having a positive impact on their lives.
Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is a complex and ambiguous public exploration of key human experiences surrounding the aspects of revenge, betrayal and corruption. The Elizabethan play is focused centrally on the ghost’s reoccurring appearance as a symbol of death and disruption to the chain of being in the state of Denmark. The imagery of death and uncertainty has a direct impact on Hamlet’s state of mind as he struggles to search for the truth on his quest for revenge as he switches between his two incompatible values of his Christian codes of honour and humanist beliefs which come into direct conflict. The deterioration of the diseased state is aligned with his detached relationship with all women as a result of Gertrude’s betrayal to King Hamlet which makes Hamlet question his very existence and the need to restore the natural order of kings. Hamlet has endured the test of time as it still identifies with a modern audience through the dramatized issues concerning every human’s critical self and is a representation of their own experience of the bewildering human condition, as Hamlet struggles to pursuit justice as a result of an unwise desire for revenge.
Money and fame do not motivate my goals. Engineering in all forms is a field of innovation and invention. Aspirations of any great engineer should be to introduce to the world a new idea, product, or service that will make people happier and the environment safer. Success in these challenges is a reward greater than any dollar amount or public recognition. Engineers bring societies to new levels of civilization through their advancements in technology and discovery. The challenge to provide people with ever-increasing standards while at the same time feeding the population with ideas of what could be attracts my imagination, intelligence, and curiosity far more than any other career option. The engineering field embraces these challenges.
These examples of career changes reflect a common trend—increased job mobility. The linear career path that once kept people working in the same job, often for the same company, is not the standard career route for today's workers. Today, many workers are pursuing varied career paths that reflect sequential career changes. This set of ongoing changes in career plans, direction, and employers portrays the lifetime progression of work as a composite of experiences. This Digest explores how changing technologies and global competitiveness have led to redefinition of interests, abilities, and work options that influence career development.
My love for business is not something I was born with. It took over a decade of experience and exploration to discover my passion. This discovery began ten years ago when I accepted a position at The Pitney Bowes Corporation. My job was to make unsolicited phone calls to prospective businesses in order to sell our base model postage meter. All that was required was reading a script, word for word, to potential buyers. Yet, after a week of working at Pitney Bowes, I still didn't know important details about the meter, like what it looked like, and how it actually operated. My manager acted a bit surprised when I asked to see the meter, but she agreed, and I took a walk to an adjacent building where I saw first hand what I was selling. It looked completely different from what I had expected, but by viewing and touching it first hand, my ability to convey to people what I was offering improved dramatically. Once I viewed the device, I felt more confident to adlib on the sales pitch. In a couple of weeks reading my hybrid pitch led to a higher rate of sales. People were more apt to buy from someone who sounded like a person and less like a robot. My sales steadily improved and in my third month I was the number one sales person out of over 200 employees. Management implemented some of my changes in the selling process and as a result, overall sales of the entry model postage meter increased significantly.
In traditional and modern, ghost reflects death and fear, and it never change. In Hamlet, the ghost is a symbol of Hamlet’s father who is killed by Claudius. Its propose is to demand Hamlet to avenge its death. Although the ghost only appears three times in front of Hamlet, it is a specify role to develop the whole story and plot. Through Hamlet, the ghost is the motive to make Hamlet kill Claudius, and the ghost plays a critical role to influence Hamlet.
On the first day at my new job right after graduation, the Vice President asked me why I became a structural engineer. My answer was “I want to contribute to society and my local community using my strengths in numbers and analytical thinking.” This answer has never changed to this day.
I work to maintain a balanced lifestyle: excelling academically, while allocating time for extra-curricular activities, volunteer work, a part-time job, family, and friends. I am the type of person who thrives under pressure and challenges. I enjoy having responsibility; I take charge and I am exemplary at it. I am a conscientious achiever and with well-rounded talents, I find myself continuously involved with everything that I am able. For the same reason, I bring it upon myself to take on roles of responsibility and leadership. Helping others is often a rewarding experience and I believe it is important to find the drive to inaugurate change. Similarly, leadership in athletics is vital to a team’s success; it is necessary to have a player
come to one 's mind. All I thought as a little girl was what to play with next. Of course school
I have made many achievements in my life. I am happy to be such an achiever at things. I remember my first achievement which was in kindergarten. In kindergarten I got on the honor roll for the first time. I was so happy, but I was just happy because my mom was happy. I didn’t even know what honor roll meant, but I finally founded out that is meant that I got all A’s. My mom was so happy for me, and I got lot of money for my A’s. After that my next achievement was that I learn how to ride a bike. When I first started to ride a bike with no training wheels I kept on falling. After I kept falling I didn’t want to learn anymore, but I saw that my little cousin was riding a bike, so I just had to learn how to ride a bike. Finally, after all the sores and burses, I learned how to ride a bike. I still fall every now and then.
Looking back after nine years, I could not feel more assured that at that time, I made the right choice. My unusual combination of experiences sets me worlds apart from not only a normal engineer but also from a marine engineer at similar position. Working for a big shipping company, exclusively on international assignments in high tech, capital intensive and rising LNG industry is the kind of job I had envisioned at the time of finishing my graduation. I could not have come here without that choice I made back then.