Не удивительно, что один из наиболее частых вопросов эссе - это вопрос о том, почему вы решили получить степень МВА. Бизнес-школы хотят понять, как вы пришли к решению получить степень, что вы надеетесь получить от процесса обучения и от степени, и как МВА вообще вписывается в ваши долгосрочные карьерные планы.

"In a recent employee newsletter I wrote, “Change will be the only constant in the deregulated energy marketplace of the future. As natural gas and electric industries continue to converge into what will be the largest commodity-driven industry in the world, opportunities for success will abound with market victories going to those companies who are agile enough to adapt their corporate cultures.” Of course, what I should have written is, "Changing a corporation's culture is much easier said than done, for there are no right or wrong answers ... only right or wrong decisions."

As a member of a joint Columbia/NiSource merger integration team, I have learned the hard way, that there is nothing soft about the process of cultural change. The business lessons an acquired company must endure can be just as hard as the marketplace itself. Yet, it is here, at the intersection of cultural change and business decision that I believe my professional calling is rooted. Whether as a consultant reengineering global processes or as an informed manager directing domestic operations, 1 know that managing organizational development is my ultimate career goal.

A career implementing organizational change is a direct reflection of my personal interest and the logical extension of my professional experience. Over three years ago, I came to Columbia as one of 16 analysts (undergraduates) and associates (MBAs) recruited to participate in rotational-based management development program know as STEP. It was the expressed mission of the STEP pool to bring new talent, fresh ideas and innovation to evolving and transforming company emerging from bankruptcy From communications to commercial services, I moved from rotation to rotation searching for stretch experiences that would enable me to apply my skills and focus my imagined career path. During each of these rotations, I enjoyed a broad range of functional responsibility, yet always knew that I was more interested in the subtext of our internal business practices—the subtleties of organizational development, interpersonal relationships and the belief systems which informed them.

As a STEP associate evaluating marketing synergies throughout the company, I was close enough to the fire to see how the cumulative effects of downsizing, the introduction of new management and the fear of the unknown devalued our cultural capital. Now, as a manager directing communications and overseeing the dissemination of information, I have the greater responsibility of actively defining our evolving culture. Although my managerial status affords me greater knowledge about organizational dilemmas, in this stage of my professional development I am unable to connect all the dots necessary to effect meaningful change. In the context of organizational learning, I have reached a natural fork in the road, and therefore need a professional training that will allow me to process my real world experiences and answer some of the questions I have already begun to ask.

Given my career interest in organizational development, I briefly entertained the idea of pursing an advanced degree in the discipline. After exploring various organizational development programs, I concluded that while a formal behavioral science education provided excellent insight into organizational management, it did not offer the core business skills required to effectively manage organizations. Consequently, my decision to pursue an MBA is driven not only by the professional applicability of the credential but by the degree's ability to unite personal interests with a broad professional focus that values and rewards my previous marketing and communications experience.

While many MBA programs will increase my functional competence an develop business specific aptitudes, I decided to apply to SMU because о the unique philosophy that is the Cox Advantage. Through research m the Cox School of Business and discussions with current students, I have become keenly aware of SMU's unwavering commitment to innovation, globalism, corporate interaction, class intimacy and hands-on learning create a supportive learning environment that is unmatched in terms of student satisfaction and placement. It is obvious that the Cox School`s commitment to students, faculty and the business community-at-large is the cornerstone of a truly unique and rewarding educational experience.

Ultimately, I am confident that my maturity of character, intellectual hunger and professional experience have prepared me for the discipline and sophistication a Cox MBA will merit. In what I know to be the next logical step in the refinement of my career direction, I am positive that receiving a strong grounding in the financial, strategic and operational systems which inform management theory and practice, will make me a wiser manager today and a more effective change agent tomorrow."

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