Essay for MBA to London Business School, Admission Essay Example

1.

I have over ten years Information Technology (IT) experience in various leading global organizations including IMS, HSBC Investment Banking, Morgan Stanley, Lloyds Banking Group & Tata Consultancy Services, UK. I have assumed professional roles as varied as the field of IT such as Strategy Consultant, Project Manager, Business Intelligence (BI) Data Architect, Technical Leader, OLAP Architect, DW/VLDB Developer, and Advisory Consultant. I have been fortunate to work on projects for both large and small organizations in various industries and have been amazed by the changes taking place due to globalization.

One of the things I have observed is that old business models and management theories are becoming obsolete and flexibility is the way to compete. Neither business models employed by large organizations nor those employed by small organizations are absolutely preferable to each other but instead the new approach is to employ strong elements from both models. Large organizations have market power and economies of scale and small organizations have entrepreneurial spirit and a greater willingness to be flexible. The leading organizations have also become less loyal to conventional management theories and in some ways, are ahead of the management researchers in developing new competitive models. One another change has been the adoption of management principles by traditionally technical professions such as Healthcare, IT, and Education because competition is forcing all industries to become more efficient.

I have a background in IT but today IT professionals cannot rely on only superior technical skills to succeed. I believe that the key to gaining competitive advantage in IT is through a better understanding of how the organizations are managed are operated and how different stakeholders including customers, suppliers, government, employees, and communities impact them. I am confident of my IT technical skills but want to improve my understanding of how organizations operate and how globalization is impacting them. One of the keys to provide effective solutions to clients is to understand the non-technical aspects of organizations because organizations are run by human beings who do not always act in a uniform or predictable manner. An MBA from London Business School will go a long way towards helping me achieve my long-term career goals.

2.

As an IT professional, I have worked on projects in different capacities. Some projects were individual assignments, others were as part of a team, and some required me to lead a team. Over the years I have discovered that I enjoy leading people and have strong people skills. I am able to see things from others’ perspectives and take a flexible approach towards decision making and solving problems. So far my career has been that of a field IT professional but now I am interested in taking more management responsibilities.

I expect myself to be in management and operations in one of the leading consulting companies worldwide such as Accenture, IBM, or Tata Consulting. Over the years, I have developed a good understanding of the business models employed by organizations of all sizes and how technology can be employed to make organizations more efficient as well as solve major operational challenges. My experience as well as my education at London Business School will provide me strong background to guide organizations in choosing technology solutions to their problems.

In the long term, I want to become a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of a major corporation, preferably in a non-technology sector. I read industry magazines to keep myself up-to-date on the changing roles of CTOs and have observed that CTOs are becoming increasingly involved in setting overall strategic directions of the corporations. Management is now more likely than ever to seek the input from CTOs because corporations now realize technology can be a major source of competitive advantage and no one else other than CTO understands the technology better in the management. I believe that technology is only effective when it takes into account the organizational culture as well as the strengths of the human capital of the organizations. That’s why I do not only focus on gaining technical competencies but also on understanding individual components of the system that together form an organization. Thus, it is my long term priority to keep myself up-to-date with the latest trends in management practices and leadership to prepare myself well for a potential CTO role.