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Why MBA

Why not ? I finally seem to have my answers.
So after weeks of soul searching and reading and researching the net and discussing with wise ppl, I feel that my interests would be best served with a focus on operations + strategy. Why operations ? Because it gives the big picture of how any firm (manufacturing or otherwise) begins its process from procurement to delivering the final product to management of its logistics. Because I have close to 4 years of experience in the distribution sector and have developed a fair interest in SCM. Because I would like to get into operations consulting post MBA, and then move on to lead the supply chain strategy of some manufacturing firm, or lead the distribution sector of an IT firm, and in the longer term become a COO.

COOl ?

I am still trying to research the various career options available after an MBA in ops and an engg. background, and one misconception that has been cleared is that one need not end up on a factory/plant to manage the various things even if one needs to go into hard core operations. I will compile a list of essential reading from the net and post it here very soon for career options post MBA in ops.
A lot of MC firms (AT Kearney e.g.) have a focus on operations consulting, so thats one big area. Another good area is the application of SCM in various industries, be it aerospace to automobiles to retail and consumer products to finance and banking ! Yes, thats right, I can end up in a financial services firm after an MBA in ops !!

This seems to settle my mind a bit, else its been a lot of mixed results and unclear thought processes ever since I began my research. Now that I've decided on my core specialization, I can check if my list of colleges are in tune with what I want, as well as what other electives they offer. I am particularly interested in strategy, and an amalgamation of strategy + operations + economics and information technology. And as per my initial research, I have noticed an admirable list of subjects in most of the colleges on my list. I already have 7 US colleges on my list so far, so need to scale it down or keep it there, so as not to increase the number every time I find any other prospective college to my liking :-)

So its 7 US colleges and 3 in Europe, and my biggest worry is to get recommendation letters for 10 colleges !! It would have been polite enough to ask for a couple of recommendations, but 10 is really stretching the limit of politeness !! So I need to sequence these letters carefully, lest the 8th, 9th and 10th letters start affecting my chances of getting in - negatively !

Careers in operations + strategy after an IT background - tips solicited and would be extremely helpful :-)

Specialization

From general mgmt with focus on ops and strategy, to ops/SCM, to finance, to fin+strategy, and now back to ops+strategy. Can I be more unclear ? This is what happens when you have remained a generalist throughout your life - I am unable to map my skills to the right goal. Should it be finance since I'd like to use my prob solving + analytical skills ? Should it be operations as I have some exposure in this area, and somewhat an interest in supply chain ? I definitely want to study strategy. I am equally interested in a lot of other subjects as well.

Its not easy for me to think in terms of what profession I would like to be immediately post MBA. I can think in terms of role - a lot of responsibilities, a lot of challenges, leadership, a lot of analytical thinking, with the biggest focus on the last aspect. This gets so broad that almost anything out of an MBA will fit the label. So to get more specific, I am trying to zero in on ops+strategy, and specifically SCM and IT in SCM. Why was I leaning towards finance ? 'Cos it would be give me ample prob solving opportunities and number crunching. Somewhere deep inside, I guess thats what I want. So you can assess my level of clarity so far !

So for today, its going to be ops+strategy. How do I marry my IT background with this ? Well SCM in IT = ERP (to some extent). Thats something I can relate to. My short term goal will be getting into a business consulting firm with a focus on operations consulting, and then moving on to head the SCM strategy for a manufacturing firm/IT firm. Sounds good ? I hope I do not gain newer insights which will affect the decision by tommorrow , or day after !!

I know that the process should work backwards from the goal, but in my case and if you know me (which you don't), things are not always the way it seems. I just hope I don't have a hard time explaining the same to the adcoms.

On the scheduling front, 9 days are already over and I haven't begun any essays yet. Yes there are a few essays which I need to work on for IIM C. And then another one for the scholarship. I hope I finish my research soon enough. Setting the deadline for the drafts by 22nd June. Hope to keep my word and hence posting it here, to track if this can persuade me strongly enough to do so !!

Asked Linda

Have you ever thought of taking professional help for your MBA applications ? The thought just crossed my mind (though I'm sure I'll never avail). Reason being a very kind and generous (and honest) response from Linda Abraham on a BusinessWeek forum to my queries on profile evaluation and selection of colleges. Though I think I knew the answers deep down, she has reinforced the same and it makes me come back to the same thought process - What do I want after an MBA ? I am very clear on why I want to do an MBA, and what I want from an MBA, but still vague about the above question.

More about Linda - http://www.accepted.com/aboutus/editors.aspx?editorid=1
Thanks so much ma'm for your time.

I post here my queries and her responses below, see if you identify to any extent with them - (red/blue - Linda)
Q.1.
Would really appreciate if you can evaluate my profile and lend your valuable comments.
Indian IT Male - work ex. of 5.5 years (worked with 2 top MNCs), have worked for reputed clients ranging from finance to retail to CPG, though my core experience is in IT consulting and IT management life cycles. In a leadership role with multiple responsibilities since the last 2 years with 1.5 years international experience(europe), and professional awards in almost every year of work.
Academics - Good acads, Engineering from NIT with 76%, which will put me in the top 10% in a batch of 400.(GPA conversion yet to be done)
EC - A lot of awards and certificates in inter-school, inter-college dance and singing competitions and some literary events. Nothing significant at workplace apart from being one of the many active members of a fun club which organises some events periodically at workplace.
GMAT - 770(balanced)/5.5
Congratulations!
Why MBA - LEARN and challenge myself, transcend from core technical base to a role where I can harness my skills aptly.
The red part is too broad and general to be meaningful. You could study any number of subjects and "learn and challenge yourself." It doesn't answer "why MBA?" What does "harness your sklils more aptly" mean? What skills? You need to be more specific in answering that question for real, both in interview and essays.
Goal - General Management with a focus on Strategy Consulting.While you are clearer than the person I was referring to in "MBA Admissions: What is a goal?" I think you would still find that post helpful.
Colleges shortlisted -
US - Stanford, Wharton, and still researching to finalize 3-4 more out of Kellogg, Ross, MIT Sloan, Columbia, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Chicago
Outside US - Cambridge(Judge), Oxford, INSEAD
Query - Please be brutally honest and comment upon my selection of colleges, and pls suggest the colleges which I should add to this list (in US).
Good options. I would pick Kellogg, Ross, Tuck, and MIT Sloan, or Yale.
Thanks a ton !
You're welcome. Good luck!

Follow up, Q. 2 -
Thanks Linda for your inputs.
For 'why mba' and 'goal', though I would obviously expand on my skills etc., I have a query for you -
Given my situation and work ex., its been tech. and IT heavy and I've excelled at it. My takeaways are - demonstration of my excellent analytical skills, experience of leading teams and mentoring people, teamwork, dealing with ambiguity, managing work, people and situations, and adaptability with working across geographies, to name a few.
Now I understand that these skills will come in handy in whichever industry I work for, and not just IT. What I do not know honestly is which other industry or function will be a better fit for me (cos I don't have any other exposure), and hence, I feel that since I understand the expectations from general management and probably strategy consulting, they will be closer to my preferred roles after mba.
So my query - my 'real' reason for doing an mba is to get a holistic business education, and in the process evaluate if something else interests me more (maybe some aspect of finance, maybe brand management in marketing, etc.), and not just be limited by my IT background. If I state this as my goal, won't it sound very hazy as being specific is essential in mentioning your reasons ?
That's exactly my concern.
You wrote in your previous post that you have worked in multiple industries. Can you focus your goal somewhat based on your exposure to those different industries? Didn't some appeal to you more than others? Can you try to determine a likely or desirable career path in one of those industries that had greater appeal? Now is a great time to ask for a few informational interviews to learn about a specific industry. Have you noticed how many posts there are in this thread from Indians in IT who want to go into strat consulting? Frankly there are an equal percentage in the MBA applicant pool. Do you want to sound just like all of them? somewhat vague and undirected?? Do the research now to clarify a most likely or most desirable single path. You are not signing a contract and can do some exploration in b-school. But also realize that b-school is only two years long and that recruiting for that crucial summer internship begins in the fall of the first year. You won't have a lot of time for exploration and research when you arrive at a top-ranked b-school. The time you invest now could big time not only in the short-term, but in the longer term.
Also, my 'real' goal would be - something that I would like to do - work and lead in the NFP sector and make a difference (I know that's again too broad). Again, wouldn't such a goal sound far-fetched and distant from reality, since I have absolutely no exposure in this area ?
It would. You can either get involved in an NFP now, which again does not give you a lot of time, or stick with a for-profit professional goal, perhaps supplemented by a NFP commitment.
Thanks for your time.
You're welcome. Good luck!

Well , so thats how it is. I just took a quick look, and with all due respect, http://www.accepted.com/services/servicesdetails.aspx?serviceid=236 is too costly for me ! I'm sure the costs would be justified and Accepted will do a real good job, but its not for me.

I can't let others help me out here. I've always been like this, good at what I do and a very 'generalist' person to be interested in only one specific area. I cannot see it as a strength at the moment, and it may become the difference between my getting in or being left out. Scary thought.

Any techie who has worked in the Indian IT industry would know how much industry knowledge are we able to gather as a part of our work. I have worked for a project in the finance sector for 2 years - so how much of finance did I learn ? Yes there was a basic course in asset management that we all had to do, we learnt about the options and the futures and a few things more, but then, how much did I learn ? I can go through the web and learn those things again in a day, but would that constitute experience in the finance industry ? Absolutely not, as far as I'm concerned.
For over 3 years now I've been working with a top client in the Consumer Packaging and Goods Industry, in the Distribution sector. Does it mean I have a good understanding of this industry ? Hardly ! Not that I haven't tried, I can read a lot of literature on it, but that won't qualify me, right ? So what do I do ?
My experience has been in the IT services. I have led people. Mentored them. Managed multiple projects. Dealt with customers. Have solved acute problems. I can say with a degree of certainty that I have an experience in IT project management. But this isn't what I want to do post MBA. I want to apply my skills above, all of them, and a lot more, but how do I state with clarity what role or position or industry will help me in achieving that ?

I know. With limited options, I need to introspect further and find out the correct fit for me. Something that I would not just like to do after an MBA, but also something that I can highlight from my current experience which will be logical. I can think of remaining in the tech. industry, or supply chain management , for that matter.

The essays and interviews would be about convincing the school. First, I need to be convinced myself, and make the right choice.

Do you have any inputs on this ? If I come across as completely unclear about my goals, I'll attribute it to the Indian IT industry - this is what it does to sane people like me. Leave me with no choice.

So, onto more research. Wish we had a google for our brains and our minds, and I could select the I'm lucky option.

5th W

What have I been doing in the past few days ? I've been researching - the net, the colleges' websites, the various forums, and trying to shortlist the colleges where I plan to apply. Its not the easiest thing to do, but its definitely very interesting. Though I wonder how much influence a college's website's presentation and layout have on prospective applicants. I think that we all go to a new college's website, which we've never visited before, with a knowledge of its brand value mixed with some other perceptions - whether college A is good for marketing or B for finance etc., and then try and evaluate the whole experience of browsing that site (perhaps more than just the information presented by it) and then stack it in our minds viz-a-viz other colleges. So once the stack starts overflowing and we are not able to say NO to any particular college,the confusion begins.

I know, I know. Some of you, or rather, most of you out there might be better informed. I can honestly say that I am not, when it comes to deciding my list of schools. And I know this is a dangerous way of going at it, the matching of your vision or goals with the college, instead of the other way round. This raises questions like whether these are stretch colleges, dream ones, realistic, or I-can-do-better-than-this types.

We all know that its the 3 Ws which will enlighten us. Not the world wide web(but of course, most of our theoretical learning comes from the net, right ?), but the 3 big questions -
Why MBA ?
Why you ?
Why us ?
And if I can add a 4th one,
Why now ?

Do you have the answers ? More importantly, do you have the right answers ?
I think I do. The answers, and maybe not the right ones. I also think that I'm looking for some answers during the MBA - how bad is that ?
I've begun the process, and will end it for sure. Positively.
If you have any comments, suggestions, inputs, feel free to post them. Unless you have questions, like me :-)

To end with the 5th W - WTF is wrong with me ?? WTF am I doing all this ??

Need some serious answers. More on it later.

Things happen

And now, its time to make them happen the way you want.
I know I'm onto something big, a lot different, and hence needed to jot it down, keeping it safe here.
This isn't my first post on this blog, but I'll remove everything else that was posted before this.
Welcome to my journey towards an MBA. It wasn't meant to be this way, but then, things happen. And I'm looking forward to the whole gamble.
Play on.

Penultimate

Today I feel I'm one step closer, and one step away from realizing my dream.
We'll meet again, or never again, depending on how the story unfolds.
In less than a month from now.
Atb.