What would you like the GGSB admissions board to know about your professional work and/or academic experience?
A strong application to a business school like GGSB begins with an honest account of one’s professional and academic journey — not just what was achieved, but what that experience reveals about the way a candidate thinks and what drives them forward. I think one of the best qualities which I possess is my dedication towards work. It is this quality which has helped me achieve my dreams and progress successfully in my career. I am an Engineering graduate specialised in the field of Information Technology, possessing high technical and analytical skills.
Apart from the regular studies I showed greater interest in understanding the application of technology in the real world. Motivated by my lecturers I presented papers with innovative ideas which were highly appreciated. One of the most outstanding works was the Simulation of Cellular Network, which was presented in various institutions in the state and earned many awards. It is now being used by my institution in classes to demonstrate the basic functioning of cellular networks for better understanding.
The final year project was the most challenging work I encountered in my academic life. I had chosen to apply my knowledge of IT in the field of Biotechnology. Being new to this field, I initially struggled to improve my understanding of the application. Leading a team of three, the responsibility of success weighed more heavily on me. Together we spent all days and many sleepless nights to bring out a working model of a concept which had previously existed only on paper. This work was taken further and later presented by my project guide in an international conference in Hong Kong.
Soon after my graduation I stepped into the next phase in my career, joining as a fresher with L&T Infotech. During the initial days I had the opportunity to observe what a real professional’s work involves. In no time I became a part of this world, interacting with clients all around the globe and providing back-end support. Responsibilities increased with time and now I single-handedly support the back-end system of a global reporting application.
My most substantial accomplishment has been the implementation of an online system in the backend for testing purposes. The experience I gained through these many years enabled me to guide the entire team technically, also helping to bridge the gap between the functionality of the system and its technical implementation. Due to the short span of time allocated for this project I had to be proactive, take a lead in motivating people, and complete the task. This testing tool was shared with the clients and was highly appreciated.
Why are you interested in our particular programme, and how do you see it helping you to reach your future goals?
The world is full of opportunities, comprising a vast array of sectors, each having its own global implications. Many industries are now driven by technology, reaching considerable heights within a short span of time through efficient management. The need of the day is to be in step with the change and evolution of technology. By this, not only can one provide solutions to real-time problems but can also present the most effective ones.
Working with an IT firm has opened up a fascinating world of science and technology to me. I want to learn more about the industry and look at the business and its technology from a much broader perspective rather than from the individual components for which I have been responsible. I would consider it my professional achievement to be placed high up in the corporate ladder, and to be involved in the decision-making and planning of the organisation.
I strongly feel that technology and management are two sides of the same coin which, in unison, form the foundation of an organisation. But the application of technology and making it successful requires an in-depth understanding of business and the risks involved. A proper integration of technology and management plays the key role here.
While possessing a strong technical background, I feel a management degree will help me sharpen my skills and provide me an opportunity to excel in both fields. This will also provide a window to new ideas from different perspectives. As I go higher in my profession, I will have the responsibility of building strong teams, making critical decisions, communicating with distinct customers from different backgrounds, and coordinating with other team members to work towards a common goal.
I am confident that my creative, strategic, and analytical abilities will aid me in becoming an able manager. For this, I look forward to graduating with an MBA degree from a top-class college so that I can enter the corporate world fully equipped with all the diverse skills needed to face the complex business environment. GGSB, with its world-class infrastructure, highly experienced faculty and research base, has been my first choice. The Management of Technology, being one of the pillars of Grenoble Ecole de Management’s development and its international recognition, appeals to my professional interests.
What did you experience when you first went abroad or visited a different culture than your own? How did you overcome the cultural differences?
India is a land where diversity varies from state to state. India is only one-third the size of the USA, with three times the latter’s population. Though there are 14 different major languages spoken across various states, India has one of the largest English-speaking populations in the world.
India is the largest democracy in the world and it fiercely protects freedom of speech, press, legal rights, religious rights, minority rights, and human rights. The civilisation in India is one of the longest surviving, dating back to 3300 B.C. The culture and civilisation has been gradually shaped over time by many great thinkers. In Indian thinking there are no absolutes, in the sense that there is a cyclic order in everything and finite and infinite, dark and light, matter and energy, beginning and end, and so on, co-exist. There is an uncanny similarity between this way of thinking and the findings of modern science.
There is a marked difference between India and countries in the West when it comes to the sense of privacy. People would drop in at any time without giving any notice whatsoever and would be welcomed and served sweets or a meal, even an invitation to stay overnight in some instances.
People in India almost intuitively live within their means. Even the very poor tend to save for hard times. The notion that if a person earns $2 a day they are miserable is not quite accurate. Their purchasing power for life’s essentials is like $80, since a dollar is the equivalent of approximately Rs. 40. So the vast majority of people in India pursue life, liberty, and happiness, rather successfully.
As Geert Hofstede’s (2001) framework for cultural dimensions suggests, differences in power distance, individualism, and long-term orientation between South Asian and Western European contexts can produce significant misunderstandings in professional and academic settings; developing awareness of these dimensions is precisely the kind of cross-cultural competence that an international MBA programme is well positioned to cultivate. For prospective management students from technology backgrounds, the GGSB admissions essay is not merely a formality but an opportunity to demonstrate self-awareness, clarity of professional purpose, and the capacity for reflective learning that distinguishes future leaders from technically competent but insufficiently adaptable specialists.
References
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3992.2000.tb00185.x
Mintzberg, H. (2004). Managers Not MBAs: A Hard Look at the Soft Practice of Managing and Management Development. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Earley, P. C., & Ang, S. (2003). Cultural Intelligence: Individual Interactions Across Cultures. Stanford University Press.
Trompenaars, F., & Hampden-Turner, C. (2020). Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business (4th ed.). Nicholas Brealey Publishing.