Essay 1
 
Discuss your intended career plans and the Ivey School’s place in those plans. Why do you want to pursuit an MBA Program Now? (700 words)
In the future, my career will follow the rapid ascendancy of Asian businesses. Initially, I plan to work in an advisory capacity, such as in consulting, but ultimately I believe that I will fill a leadership role in a multinational company. My career plans come from my diversified experiences with two highly reputable companies and from my observations that there will be tremendous opportunities in Asian business in the near future. With China’s entry into WTO, there will be a huge demand for people with a first-hand knowledge of China’s business environment that have also been trained in Western business methods through a high class MBA program such as the Ivey School of Business.

At the time that I graduated from university, my uncle and my father were raising money to start their own business. They established a small mechanical manufacturing facility in Shenyang with my uncle as the manager. Although he had never been involved with a business before, he was very successful. The company developed new metal molding products and was awarded a patent. The factory grew very quickly and made high profits. I was astounded by the fact that from such a small beginning the factory had three hundred employees when I visited there during my summer vacation.

My dream then became to someday act as a financial manager for my family’s business. To gain experience in the financial field, I joined the capital department of a famous foreign bank, the Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank (DKB) in Dalian, China, as one of its first ever Chinese employees. I was chosen to take charge of the Foreign Exchange Transactions and Loans department. During my two and a half years with DKB, I gained tremendous knowledge of the international capital market, multi-bank loans and international monetary settlements. More importantly, I gained valuable experience with the big bank-led corporation system of Japan and the operations of foreign banks in China.

I then decided to join my family’s business, which unfortunately went bankrupt due to a variety of factors, including a large investment mistake, weak company fundamentals, unfavorable tax planning, poor management, rapid market changes and a severe lack of market information. I was deeply disappointed and discouraged as my career dreams were destroyed by the final closure of the factory. I was determined to find the true answers for the collapse of the business in such a short time. During a conversation with my uncle, he encouraged me not to let his business failure deter me from a career in business. He told me that anyone who had never experienced failure probably didn’t have what it takes to build a business. He also said that if what you are doing is worth anything then failing now and again is inevitable. Ultimately, success is about getting past the setbacks that you encounter. Since that conversation I have set a new career goal of starting up a consulting company to help companies such as my family’s business in China.

In 1997, with a desire to learn and accumulate management experience, I found a position with the Legend Group. The Legend Group has been praised as the “Best Managed Company” in China according to a survey conducted by Finance Asia and is involved in the severely competitive Information Technology industry. My responsibilities with Legend in the areas of public relations, human resources and office automation have given me a well-rounded knowledge of the business environment in China. My work experiences are an important asset that will surely aid in my pursuit of MBA studies at Ivey and subsequently the development of my future career.
The Ivey School of Business is very strong in the case method of teaching from a global perspective. Ivey is the largest producer of Asian-based cases, which will greatly foster my future career development when combined with my previous Asian work experience. Compared with other top business schools, Ivey performs exceptionally well in the international mobility and goal achievement of students, which is essential to me in choosing an MBA program. Ivey has distinguished internationally mobile alumni. I feel confident that Ivey’s MBA program will prepare me for a successful career in consulting and eventual leadership of a multinational company.