Business Management, Personal Statement Example

My parents run their own business and manage all aspects of the operations from manufacturing of lighting products such as streetlights and lamps to their final distribution. Even though my family is well-off now, it was not always the case. We actually had humble beginnings and used to live in a single-room apartment. But now the business has grown significantly and we even have business partnerships with Chinese companies. My parents may not be educated but subconsciously they always understood the importance of sound business principles. They would often teach me the rules of business such as efficient allocation of resources and strict monitoring of costs and financial liquidity. I didn’t realize the importance of their lessons until the recent global financial crisis occurred. In order to better understand why the crisis occurred, I read several books and closely followed news and realized my parents had been preparing me for family business all along.

I am fortunate to be able to study in the U.S. but if it were not my parent’s discipline and loyalty to sound business principles, our business would never have grown and I would never have been able to study in the U.S. In addition, my quest to better understand the recent global financial crisis also helped me realize that sound business principles are almost the same everywhere whether they are large or small corporations and no matter what industry they may be in. Given my personal experiences and understanding of the world, it was apparent to me that business management is the best college major choice for me. Luckily for me, I also find business fascinating and every book I have read on business management, I found it easy to understand, thanks to my parents education of me.

Understanding business management books might also have been made easier by the fact that I have acquired multi-year experience in my parents business. I have worked in different departments including marketing and finance because I have always had an understanding with my parents that I will take over the business after completing my college education. Reading global news has made it clear to me that the competition will continue to grow, further increasing the importance of sound business principles. In fact, our Chinese partners regularly press us to achieve greater operating efficiency and aim for even higher quality standards.

I am proud of my parents and what they have achieved with few resources. I am determined to exceed their expansions and have goals to not only expand the scale of operations of our family business but also hope to branch into new product markets. That is why I am taking my college education very seriously and hope business management major will provide me with a strong foundation in pursuing my career goals.

The quality I am most proud of is my ability to change and being able to adapt to any environment and situation. I was originally from Korea but have spent six years abroad for education. I started learning Japanese at age 13 and made a personal decision to move to Japan to learn the language in local environment. The transition was not easy because I didn’t know anyone in Japan and was still very young but my strong social skills helped me quickly make friends. We had an English Drama Club in high school whose Director was British and barely spoke Japanese. On the other hand, students mostly struggled with English language but we somehow managed to develop a productive working relationship and created a well-received play in only few months. The experience taught me that we should not fear changes but instead figure out ways to adapt to it because where there is a will, there is a solution.

Later, I spent my second year of high school in Canada as an exchange student and quickly adapted despite weak English language skills at the time. In fact, academic experience in Canada inspired my decision to pursue college education in the U.S. Being in Canada allowed me to experience the benefits of cultural diversity and no other culture celebrates diversity as well as the U.S. What I particularly loved about diversity while being a student in Canada is that it opens up your mind and expand your thinking horizon. As you talk with people from different background, you recognize your bias and get rid of them.

An ability to adapt to any environment as well as growing appreciation for diversity will be an asset as I take over my family business. Globalization has increased economic interdependence among nations and the world will continue to change at a rapid pace. This will provide me with an advantage because I see change as an opportunity and not as a threat. I understand many businesses do not respond well to change or respond to change in timely manner. This will provide me with an opportunity to gain competitive edge by responding to changes on a priority basis.

I am glad for my life experiences because they have helped me become comfortable with change and I have no doubt I will quickly get settled in the U.S. I can’t wait to start my student life as a business management major and interact with students from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.