MBA Program Reflective Essay: Growth in Professional Development

This reflective essay chronicles an MBA student's transformative journey from engineering to business, marked by ethical dilemmas and evolving perspectives on leadership and capitalism. Initially disillusioned with the program, the student grappled with ethical questions surrounding labor and wealth distribution. A turning point came with the realization of leadership's importance in business, leading to a deeper understanding of marketing, human resource management, and finance. The essay culminates in the student's embrace of venture capitalism, fueled by a desire to support small businesses and a newfound passion for project management, illustrating a complete career and ideological shift. The student's experiences and insights are available for review and study, with Desklib offering a variety of resources for students seeking solved assignments and past papers.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ETHICS

Reflective Essay
I enrolled myself in the MBA program to understand business knowledge and change my
career path. Previously I was enrolled in the Engineering program of the University of Alberta.
Though I was fascinated by what the course had to offer I knew that opportunities were limited
in the field that I was pursuing. Research in the field of electromagnetic induction was a prospect
I looked forward to, but after budget cuts and hiring freezes, I perceived that for me this field
was a dead end and I decided that changing my field of expertise will be the only way to explore
new opportunities. Being an entitled millennial I knew what the future held for me; a dead end
job with 35 easy weekly desk hours making $50,000 a year. I reviled this prospect and decided
that it wasn't going to be enough for me. I started a freelance writing career and began working
for an essay writing website to sustain myself. I began writing about my Ideas on money and
began seeing over 1000 visitors per day on my website. This small career brought many
opportunities to my doorstep but I was determined that I was destined for something more. One
particular assignment that I wrote for some anonymous student was about how to create a
sustainable business out of scratch. Researching for content I found that my brain was
captivating ideas that I knew might have had substance but I could not have been sure if I did not
gather more knowledge on this particular subject. That was the turning point I was looking for
and decided that business was what I was destined for. Studying business would provide me with
opportunities for a limitless future.
I enrolled in this full-time MBA program and was ardent about the fact that this was my
calling. Turns out like the majority of confused pseudo-liberals out there I was confused and
dramatically wrong. I did not understand half the course that was taught in the first year and the
other half which I could understand; my liberal post 20th century mind could not identify with. I
appeared for a semester exam with a heavy heart which was repeatedly blaspheming. For me that
was one of the reason I was severely self-sabotaging. The first year flew by while I dwell in self-
crucifixion trying to justify what my liberally conservative mind told me was completely against
ethics. The questions that haunted me were somewhat like this; why would someone providing
twice or even thrice the labor than a management employee would earn so less? Less than an
executive sitting in a cushy chair attending nothing but meetings and fly on jets that were fruits
of a worker’s labour. My mind dwelled on the ethics of business management and that is where I

found solace. It not only justified the actions of a capitalist but made me realised that leadership
was essential in running any endeavour, especially a business. A workforce without proper
leadership is like a headless body running around, working, and producing but without any
direction. This realisation was another one of those turning points in my life. I began identifying
with the concepts of managing the workforce. I understood that workers in a factory were just
cogs in a machine; the same machine that we as business administrators were a part of. I began
indulging in case studies of miracles in the business management world. I researched brands that
changed the world like Levis or Nike. I understood why leadership was essential and by the
second year of the course I finally shed my old liberal skin and became an open market capitalist.
I understood the concepts of marketing. It was just unethical of harvesting the needs of the
human mind, and I thoroughly understood the needs of the human mind. I understood that the
human subconscious wants more than it needs. It appreciated symmetry. I understood that it was
the human mind that wanted trends and rejected them as soon as they become trends. And
finally, I could relate the things that I was taught and my own personal beliefs. I began
understanding the concept of human resource management where the workforce is treated with
utmost priority but case studies showed that they were inaccurate as well and required guidance,
leadership; which could only have been provided if relevant details were not provided. This
sense of relevant knowledge could only be gained if relevant literature was understood. So I
began my journey of understanding why business management was essential and how it was
justified.
It was in my second year; I have this vivid memory of this class where they discussed the
ethics of finance. I understood that the literature promoted a view where everyone was paid
according to their contributions and its human nature and not capitalism or liberalism or even
communism that defined corruption. It was just corruption. Flaws of the human mind led to a
situation where workers were dying because they could not afford a basic first world or even a
second world existence and executives were roaming around the world in jets that could feed a
country for about a year. My liberal do going mindset understood human corruption and my
engineering subconscious told me that any structure that has been corrupted need to be fixed
from the inside. I understood why liberals were wrong because they never wanted to understand
the full picture. These issues that have become a boiling point for developed nations like ours or
the US or Canada or Germany; I personally could have an informed opinion on these factors that

were dividing cultures. I understood business in a simple way that dated back to the barter
system where goods were exchanged on the basis of need. I understood the basic concept of
being a business owner. I could finally separate idealism from reality.
These revelations were enough to get me through my semesters next year. As I went into
the last semester of the syllabus I thoroughly studied the literature that was recommended. I
learnt how to deal with discontent inside the workforce and how to deal with the workforce
itself. I studied the factors that determined that human beings could be treated as resources. I
learnt how the different organs of an organisation function together to achieve their own
collective goals. Different case studies that I made me understand the mission and vision of
multinational companies that have changed the world. I started focusing on marketing.
Understanding markets and planning production accordingly was key to my aspirations. By my
last semester, I was engrossed in my coursework. I began studying small business, calculating
their growth potential. I set sights on becoming a venture capitalist. I wanted to help small
businesses grow up to potential. By this time my website was reaching 10,000 hits per day and I
had saved a considerable amount of capital. I decided to invest it in a few small business
ventures around the locality. I observed local trends and evaluated my options. I came across a
small website that was selling apparels in the campus area. They had limited stock but I had seen
their designs being worn by some campus students. Their products were attractive and they had a
simple yet attractive website. I could see potential as they understood current trends in the
apparel market and tried to change them with their own innovation. I did a SWOT analysis and
came to the conclusion that though there were risks, they did not outweigh the opportunities. I
contacted the owners made a detailed business plan and invested some capital to expand their
distribution throughout the state. I was anxious about the new equity that I had bought from the
company. After a month my investment turned a hefty profit which I decided to invest in other
ventures. I had finally found my calling. I became obsessed with small business ventures and
realised I had to study further about managing projects. So after I completed my course in
marketing I decided to enrol in a business and project management course. This course
introduced me to new opportunities and also helped me understand the inner workings of a
business organization better. I knew how to sell a product but now I could efficiently lay down a
production plan that maximizes profit and minimise effort. In my final year when new
opportunities were frequently knocking on my door and old investments were turning out a

considerable amount of profit, I accepted that I had finally found my calling. The concept of
risks and rewards was never this clear to me. I had risked everything by deciding to change my
career path from comfortable academia to high-risk business endeavours and now I was reaping
my rewards. Now that am nearly finished with my course I am empowered with knowledge and
cannot wait to venture into new territories. I might fail but I'll pursue all avenues until I've
exhausted all my options.