business experience essay

How to Write a Business Essay for Impactful Communication and Analysis

So, you've got a business essay coming up, and you're feeling a mix of excitement and a tad bit overwhelmed, right? Totally get it. Writing a business essay might sound boring, but trust me, it's a skill that's gonna come in handy when you're out there in the real world.

In this article, we're dishing out some awesome tips just for you if you have question on how to start a business essay. Think of it as your secret weapon to tackle those business essays like a pro. We'll keep it real, easy, and super practical – no fancy jargon or complicated theories. Let's dive into the world of business essay writing, where your words can make a big impact. In case you lack time or motivation to finish your assignment, use our business essay writing service to streamline the process.

What Is a Business Essay

Business essays are written pieces that explore and analyze various aspects of business-related topics, often focusing on management, marketing, finance, or entrepreneurship. They provide a platform for students and professionals to articulate their understanding of business concepts, theories, and real-world applications. Typically written in a formal and structured manner, a business essay requires critical thinking, research skills, and the ability to communicate ideas effectively. Whether delving into case studies, discussing industry trends, or evaluating business strategies, the essay aims to provide insights, draw conclusions, and contribute to a deeper understanding of the dynamic world of business.

How to Write an Introduction for a Business Essay

A business essay introduction sets the tone for the entire paper and captures the reader's attention. Here are some steps and tips to help you write an effective introduction for a business essay:

• Understand the Purpose of the Introduction

Clearly understand the purpose of your essay. Are you providing an overview of a business concept, analyzing a case study, or arguing a specific point? Tailor your introduction accordingly.

• Start with a Hook

Grab the reader's attention with a compelling hook. This could be a relevant quote, a surprising fact, a rhetorical question, or a thought-provoking statement. The goal is to make the reader want to continue reading.

• Provide Context

After the hook, provide some background or context related to the topic of your essay. Help the reader understand the significance and relevance of the subject matter in the business world.

• Thesis Statement

Clearly state your thesis or the main argument of your essay. This should be a concise and focused statement that outlines what the reader can expect from the rest of the essay. Make sure it is specific and reflects the purpose of your writing.

• Outline the Scope

Briefly outline the main points or areas that your essay will cover. This gives the reader a roadmap of what to expect and helps them understand the structure of your essay.

• Use Clear and Concise Language

Keep your introduction clear and concise. Avoid unnecessary jargon or complex language that might confuse the reader. Aim for clarity and precision.

• Be Relevant

Ensure that every sentence in your introduction is directly related to the topic of your essay. Avoid going off on tangents or providing excessive information that doesn't contribute to the main points.

• Consider the Tone

Choose a tone that is appropriate for your audience and the nature of your essay. Business essays can vary in tone, from formal and academic to more conversational, depending on the context.

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Business Essay Introduction Example

Here’s an example of an introduction for an essay titled “The Rise of E-commerce: Shaping the Future of Retail”:

The retail landscape is undergoing a seismic shift as e-commerce continues to redefine the way consumers shop. In this essay, we explore the profound implications of this digital transformation on traditional retail models and analyze the key strategies businesses are employing to thrive in this dynamic environment. From changing consumer behaviors to the strategic use of technology, the impact of e-commerce on the retail sector is undeniable, prompting businesses to adapt or face the risk of obsolescence.

How to Write a Business Essay

Working on a business essay might seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be. In this guide, we'll break down the process into simple steps to help you navigate through it smoothly. In this next section. We’ll be breaking down the essentials of drawing up a business essay from start to finish. From defining your main argument to structuring your points effectively, let's explore the key strategies that will set you on the path to success. 

Analyze the Prompt

Start by carefully reading and understanding the essay prompt. This involves breaking down the question to grasp what it's asking for, identifying the main topics, and recognizing any specific tasks or points to cover. This step helps you set the stage for a focused and relevant essay by ensuring you address all aspects mentioned in the prompt. You can hire a business essay writer to expedite the process if you want.

Think of a Thesis Statement

When writing a business essay, think of the thesis statement as the essay's compass. It should be a concise, strong sentence that lays out your main argument or viewpoint on the topic. Your thesis guides the entire essay, so make sure it's specific, debatable, and gives readers a clear idea of what to expect in your writing.

Create an Outline

We’ve already shared tips on how to write an introduction for a business essay, so let’s move on to the next stages. Organize your thoughts by outlining the main points and structure of your essay. This doesn't have to be too detailed; just a roadmap that helps you see how different ideas connect. An outline ensures a logical flow in your writing and prevents you from going off track. By the way, have you already picked business essay topics ? If not, here’s a list of great ideas you can use!

Provide Topic Background

Before diving into your main points, the business essay writing format implies giving your reader some context about the topic. Briefly introduce the key concepts, relevant facts, or historical background that will help readers understand the importance and relevance of your essay.

Write the Main Body

Start developing your essay by expanding on the main points outlined in your thesis. Each paragraph should focus on a specific idea or argument supported by evidence or examples. Be clear and concise, ensuring a smooth transition between paragraphs. It’s the most difficult part of the assignment, meaning you can use our college essay service to simplify it.

Write a Conclusion

Summarize your key points and conclusively restate your thesis. The conclusion should tie up the loose ends and leave a lasting impression on the reader. Avoid introducing new information but rather reinforce your main argument. For more details about how to write a conclusion for an essay , please refer to our guide.

Add a Bibliography

List all the sources you used in your research. Be meticulous about citing your references properly, following the chosen format (APA, MLA, etc.). This adds credibility to your essay and avoids plagiarism issues.

Edit and Proofread

As you’ve learned how to write a business essay, it’s time to master the art of self-revising. Review your essay for clarity, coherence, and grammatical errors. Editing ensures that your ideas flow smoothly, and proofreading catches any overlooked mistakes. It's a crucial step to polish your essay and present a professional piece of writing. Do you have another assignment on business management ? This guide will help you!

Choose the Writing Format

Reiterate the importance of selecting and adhering to the chosen writing format throughout the essay. Consistency in formatting, citations, and other style elements contributes to the overall professionalism of your work.

Business Essay Example

Business essay examples offer practical assistance to students tackling assignments by showcasing the application of essential writing principles in a real-world context. As a tangible reference, it demonstrates an effective essay structure and how to formulate a clear thesis statement and provide coherent arguments. By examining examples, students can glean insights into research techniques, proper citation practices, and overall essay organization, empowering them to approach their business assignments with increased confidence and proficiency.

Example 1: “The Impact of Technological Advancements on Modern Business Operations”

This essay explores the multifaceted impact of technology on operational efficiency, innovation, customer relations, and global connectivity. From integrating automation and artificial intelligence for streamlined processes to facilitating global expansion through digital platforms, technology emerges as a driving force shaping the success and sustainability of contemporary enterprises. While acknowledging the numerous benefits, the essay also highlights the challenges and ethical considerations inherent in adopting these technologies, emphasizing the need for businesses to navigate these complexities responsibly for long-term growth and competitiveness.

Example 2: “Sustainable Business Practices: A Strategic Imperative for Corporate Success”

This essay explores the pivotal role of sustainable business practices as a strategic imperative for corporate success in the contemporary entrepreneurship scene. Addressing environmental concerns, social consciousness, and economic viability, the essay delves into the multifaceted benefits of adopting sustainable approaches. It discusses how businesses can align profitability with responsible practices, emphasizing environmental stewardship, social impact, and community engagement. The essay underscores the importance of regulatory compliance and risk mitigation in business by examining the economic advantages and innovation opportunities arising from sustainable initiatives.

Final Considerations

Students engage in writing business essays to develop essential skills and knowledge crucial for success in the professional world. These essays serve as a platform for honing critical thinking, analytical, and communication skills, allowing students to articulate and analyze complex business concepts. Through the process of researching, organizing thoughts, and constructing coherent arguments, students gain a deeper understanding of business principles and practices. Business essays also cultivate the ability to synthesize information, evaluate various perspectives, and present well-reasoned conclusions. If you find with task troublesome, you can always tell us, ‘ write my research paper ,’ and one of our wordsmiths will fulfill the assignment quickly.

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How Many Paragraphs Does a Business Essay Have?

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How to Write a Powerful MBA Essay—With Examples

The MBA essay is critical to your business school application. Read our guide to writing the perfect MBA essay, with successful admit examples.

Posted April 4, 2024

Featuring Victoria G.

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Table of Contents

What is the mba essay.

The MBA admissions essay.

Those words alone are enough to make most MBA candidates run screaming. Writing in general is hard enough. Writing about why you want an MBA? Your short-term goals and career aspirations? What matters to you most, and why? Forget it.

Of course, you still have to write these essays.

The MBA essay is perhaps  the most important part of the business school application. (It's also getting more and more important by the day, with some business schools moving away from traditional, quantitative measuring sticks, like the GMAT and the GRE.) Every other part of the application — your GPA, your test scores, your letters of recommendation — are quantified, cut and dried, or out of your control. The essay is your chance to show up as a fully realized MBA candidate, with hopes, dreams, and vulnerabilities. Admissions committees are not simply assessing your candidacy as a future leader — they're looking to admit human beings. That's where the MBA applicant essays come in.

That being the case, rather than being intimidated by it, treat the essay like the opportunity that it is — the chance for you to highlight your unique, iridescent self; the only moment in the MBA admissions process (prior to the interview) when you can speak directly to the admissions officers; the time when you'll show them who you really are. It's not easy to write something that will do that, of course, but with the tips and tricks in this guide, and some help from one of Leland's vetted, world-class admissions coaches, we know you can do it. Give the essay the time, attention, and respect it deserves, and you'll be on your way to an offer of admission at your dream school.

Without further ado, let's dive in!

Ultimate MBA Essay Guide

See the MBA essay prompts, top tips from experts, and real examples from admits with this comprehensive guide.

How Long Will My MBA Essay Take?

First thing's first: let's talk about timing.

The MBA application is a behemoth; between exams, resumes, gathering your official transcripts, letters of recommendation, and the applications themselves, there's a lot to juggle. That being the case, we suggest you give yourself ample time to draft, write, and revise your essays. The last thing you want is to be rushed to the finish line.

So, give yourself  at least three months to write your MBA essays. That should allow you ample time to draft, write, and edit. For more information on timing your entire b-school application, click here for  A Comprehensive MBA Application Timeline--With Chart .

Now, on to the critical question:

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What Makes a Great MBA Essay?

At the highest level, the answer is the one that is truest to you. The whole point of these essays is to shine through as an authentic, vibrant human being, so the best essays are the ones that cut through the clutter, and allow you do to that.

Which begs the question — how  do you cut through the clutter and shine through as a vibrant human being? Here are four critical tips to follow as you begin thinking about your essays.

1. Answer the Question

This one sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many applicants launch into their story, get carried away, and forget to answer the question. Follow the prompt, and answer the question the admissions committee has asked you. Those prompts can actually be very useful when writing your essays — it's a great deal harder to write when you have no guidance or guardrails. With the MBA essays, you have a very specific question you need to answer. So answer it!

2. Be Specific

Another mistake some MBA applicants make is to stay at a high level in their essays, keeping their writing abstract and therefore inaccessible to the admissions committee. If at any point, an admissions officer could replace your name with the name of another applicant, then your essay isn't getting deep enough. It's not enough, for instance, to say that you suffered adversity in high school, or that you really, really want a Wharton MBA. You need to explain, in detail, the adversity you faced, and give concrete and unique reasons why you think Wharton is the right program for you. The best essays offer hyper-specific examples and anecdotes, with details and anecdotes that no other candidate could bring to the table. To get those anecdotes, we recommend using the STAR template, as explained below:

• Situation : What was the situation you were facing? Where were you? How old were you? If you were in a professional role during this anecdote, what was the role, and how long had you been in it? If you were volunteering, at what organization? How long had you been volunteering there? Why did you start? Offer all the relevant information that the admissions readers will need to understand your story.
• Task : What was the task at hand? What went wrong? In your professional role, what was the challenge you faced? In that volunteering experience, what were the hurdles you had to overcome? You can't have a good story without conflict or tension, so after you set up the anecdote, explain what that conflict or tension was (and remember, be specific!).
• Action : What was the action you took to resolve the problem? What did you have to do to fix that issue at work? How did you clear that hurdle in your volunteer experience? Again, be specific about how you came through on the other side of that conflict/tension — and while you're doing it, highlight your leadership capabilities as much as possible! Remember that top MBA programs are looking for future leaders who can assess a situation and decisively take action. (We'll say a bit more about this below, in the Personal Statement section.
• Result : What was the result of your action? If you were facing a growth problem at work, were you able to increase sales? If so, by what percentage? If you were advocating for diversity and inclusion at your local charity, what new programs did you implement to help with that effort, and what was the enrollment like in those new programs? Detail what happened in your anecdote with as much specificity as possible — and quantify, quantify, quantify!

3. Get Vulnerable

Most MBA admissions essay prompts are written with the goal of getting to know as much about you as possible in the shortest number of words. To do that, you're going to have to share real things from your life — to get personal, intimate, and vulnerable. Do not shy away from this. If you're starting to get emotional during the reflection, drafting, and writing process, good — that means you're on the right track. Keep going. Pro tip: If it’s making you cry, it will make them cry. Another good rule of thumb is to put something real and true on the table. Admissions officers have to read literally thousands of applications from thoroughly qualified individuals, some of whom might come from similar roles to yours, with letters of recommendation from equally impressive supervisors. In order to cut through that noise, you'll have to share something honest. If you're doing it right, this can feel risky. At some point, you’ll likely think to yourself: “Can I say that?” The answer is: “Yes.” Of course, there is a line, you don’t want to be crass or offensive but err on the side of being open and authentic. The very worst thing you can do is be overly cautious, and write something you think will please the admissions committee. These poor people have to read thousands of essays. If yours is just like everyone else’s, they’ll fall asleep. Don’t let that happen. Wake them up by putting yourself —your true, bright, vibrant, quirky self—on the page.

4. Don't Exaggerate

Finally, do not exaggerate, over-inflate, or lie. This goes without saying, but admissions committees are looking for honest candidates. The surest way to get rejected is to lie about something. (Business schools do a background check on you before you're properly admitted, so they will find out.) Don't be the person who over-inflates on their essays, then has their offer letter rescinded.

The Types of MBA Essays

All right — since we've covered high-level approaches to the MBA essays, it's time to dig into the various types.

There are three general categories of MBA essays you'll see across the board.

1. Personal Statement

These questions ask you to offer up something sincere about yourself. They'll often touch on such things as your values and your character. In these, you'll want to be as authentic as possible, while also highlighting attributes like leadership, intellectual vitality, and teamwork, that business schools are looking for. Here are a few examples of personal statement essays:

• As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program? (HBS)
• What matters most to you, and why? (Stanford GSB)

2. Why an MBA/Why This School

The next category of essays is the "Why an MBA" / "Why This School" set.

In these, schools first want to hear about how an MBA will fit into your career, both short and long term. Top MBA programs are looking for candidates who will: first of all, be gainfully employed upon graduating, second of all, have an illustrious career that will make their institution look good and encourage future generations of applicants to apply, and third, be consistent and generous donors. That being the case, they want to know about your career trajectory, and how an MBA will fit into it.

Pro tip: Here, you want to be ambitious and inspiring in laying out your future career, but not naïve. Walk the line between shooting for the stars and sounding dreamlike and uninformed.

In this set of questions, you'll also encounter questions geared at figuring out why you would want to attend a specific school. MBA programs want to know that you're serious about attending their school — yield, or the percentage of admitted candidates who accept their offers of admission, is an important metric for them — but they also want to envision how you'll contribute to their admitted class. What will you uniquely bring to the table, the things that you'll do that the other candidates wouldn’t be able to offer?

We've heard former deans of business schools say that, in choosing a class, they're curating a world-class dinner party, and that each person invited to the dinner party has to bring something different. What will you bring to the dinner party?

Pro tip: To demonstrate that you've done your research, and to help the admissions committee envision you in their program, indicate which classes you might take when earning your MBA and why, which professors you might hope to study with, and in which clubs you might participate.

Here are a few examples of "why MBA / why this school" essays:

• How is a Columbia MBA going to help you? (Columbia)
• What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (Wharton)
• Why Stanford? Describe your aspirations and how your Stanford GSB experience will help you realize them. (Stanford GSB)

3. Behavioral/Other

Finally, most other essays will either be behavioral, asking you about experiences, traits, strengths, weaknesses, and achievements. There's a wide variety of topics here, but all the guidelines from above apply, with the final note to always prioritize authenticity (as mentioned in the Personal Statement section) and leadership ability (remember, business schools are choosing future leaders). Here are a few examples of behavioral/other essays:

• Describe the biggest commitment you have ever made. (Yale SOM)
• Tell us about your favorite book, movie, or song and why it resonates with you. (Columbia)
• Think about times you’ve created a positive impact, whether in professional, extracurricular, academic, or other settings. What was your impact? What made it significant to you or to others? (Stanford GSB)

Top MBA Program Essay Prompts (Updated 2022)

To help you get started, we've compiled the required prompts from a few top MBA programs below:

1. Harvard Business School (HBS)

As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program? (900 words)

For more information, visit A Guide to the HBS Essay .

2. Stanford Graduate School of Business

What matters to you most, and why? (650 words)

Why Stanford? (400 words)

Read What Matters Most When Writing the GSB Essays.

How do you plan to use the Wharton MBA program to help you achieve your future professional goals? You might consider your past experience, short and long-term goals, and resources available at Wharton. (500 words)

Taking into consideration your background – personal, professional, and/or academic – how do you plan to make specific, meaningful contributions to the Wharton community? (400 words)

For Wharton-specific advice, visit A Guide to the Wharton Essays .

4. Columbia Business School

Essay 1: Through your resume and recommendation, we have a clear sense of your professional path to date. What are your career goals over the next three to five years and what, in your imagination, would be your long-term dream job? (500 words)

Essay 2: The Phillips Pathway for Inclusive Leadership (PPIL) is a new co-curricular program designed to ensure that every CBS student develops the skills to become an ethical and inclusive leader. Through PPIL, students attend programming focused on five essential diversity, equity, and inclusion skills: Creating an Inclusive Environment, Mitigating Bias, Communicating Across Identities, Addressing Systemic Inequity, and Managing Difficult Conversations. Tell us about a time you were challenged around one of these five skills. Describe the situation, the actions you took, and the outcome. (250 words)

Essay 3: We believe Columbia Business School is a special place. CBS proudly fosters a collaborative learning environment through curricular experiences like our clusters and learning teams , an extremely active co-curricular and student life environment, and career mentorship opportunities like our Executives-in-Residence program .Why do you feel Columbia Business School is a good fit for you academically, culturally, and professionally? Please be specific. (250 words)

5. Chicago Booth

How will the Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and long-term post-MBA career goals? (250-word minimum)

An MBA is as much about personal growth as it is about professional development. In addition to sharing your experience and goals in terms of your career, we’d like to learn more about you outside of the office. Use this opportunity to tell us something about who you are… (250-word minimum)

Read more at A Guide to the Booth Essays .

6. Kellogg Northwestern

Kellogg’s purpose is to educate, equip and inspire brave leaders who create lasting value. Provide a recent example where you have demonstrated leadership and created value. What challenges did you face and what did you learn? (450 words)

Values are what guide you in your life and work. What values are important to you and how have they influenced you? (450 words)

Read How to Nail Your Kellogg MBA Application Essays

7. MIT Sloan

MIT Sloan seeks students whose personal characteristics demonstrate that they will make the most of the incredible opportunities at MIT, both academic and non-academic. We are on a quest to find those whose presence will enhance the experience of other students. We seek thoughtful leaders with exceptional intellectual abilities and the drive and determination to put their stamp on the world. We welcome people who are independent, authentic, and fearlessly creative — true doers. We want people who can redefine solutions to conventional problems, and strive to preempt unconventional dilemmas with cutting-edge ideas. We demand integrity, respect, and passion.

Taking the above into consideration, please submit a cover letter seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA program. Your letter should conform to standard business correspondence, include one or more professional examples that illustrate why you meet the desired criteria above, and be addressed to the Admissions Committee (300 words or fewer, excluding address and salutation)

Applicants are required to upload a 1 minute (60 seconds) video as part of their application. In your video, you should introduce yourself to your future classmates, tell us about your past experiences, and touch on why MIT Sloan is the best place for you to pursue your degree.

How to Start Your MBA Essay

So you've read about the types of essays, and seen some of the prompts from top MBA programs. Now it's time to actually start diving into the essay.

The very first thing to do, before putting pen to paper, is to look inward.

Why do  you want an MBA? What role will this degree play in your professional growth? How do you imagine it will shape your life? What do you want out of your career? What is the most important thing in the world to you?

Yes, these are life’s deep-end questions, but you’ll need to tackle them in these essays, so before you start writing, take the time to think through them. Go for a run, swim some laps, bake a cake—however you get into the flow — and start a dialogue with yourself. Put down your work, turn your phone off, and give your mind permission to go to the places it usually avoids. That’s a good place to start. That’s where the answers are.

Pro tip: The first sentence is the hardest one to write. When you're starting out if it can intimidating and anxiety-producing. The trick is to simply put  anything  down — and don't look back. Keep putting one sentence after the other. You can edit later: let whatever comes to you out onto the page. If you’re struggling with self-critique, dim your computer screen until you can’t even see the words you’re typing. Then keep going.

Additional Tips & Tricks

Once you've started your essay, it's a matter of persistence: keep writing, then keep drafting and editing until you have something you're really proud of.

To help you with that process, here are a few more tips and tricks:

• Take Breaks

When you hit the wall — you will hit the wall — stop. This is your brain telling you it needs to do something else. Walk your dog. Take a lap around your room. Eat some cheese. Your body needs sleep every night to function; your mind is the same way. That next leap of inspiration will come exactly at the moment when you’re least expecting it.

• Read it Out Loud

When you finally have a draft, print it and read it out loud to yourself. Your ear will catch things your eyes miss. Reading out loud is the best way to pick up on spelling errors, clunky transitions, and paragraphs that still need ironing out. It’s also a good way to envision how the admissions committee will experience your essay.

Don’t be precious with your essay. Send it to anyone willing to read it. Solicit as much feedback as you can. If you don’t like what people have to say, you don’t have to incorporate it, but you need an impartial third party to give notes on what they’re seeing, thinking, and feeling. (You’re too close to things to do it for yourself.) This is where a Leland coach comes very much in handy!

• Complete Everything Early

This is more of a timing consideration, but you do not want to trip at the finish line because your internet went down the night before the deadline, or your credit card was denied when paying your application fee (it's happened before). Don't let that be you!

Here is another article to get you started, written by an expert essays coach: 7 MBA Essay Tips to Make You Stand Out in 2022 .

Example MBA Essays

Finally, here are two essays to help inspire you. The first, a personal statement essay, was submitted by an admit to Berkeley Haas' Executive MBA program; the second, a career goals / why MBA essay, was submitted by an admit to Chicago Booth's deferred MBA program.

Haas Admit:

A person’s identity is shaped by many different aspects, including family, culture, personal interests, and surrounding environments. Please share a facet of your identity or story that is essential to who you are. (300 words) My upbringing in India, filled with countless myths and legends, had a profound influence on me. The most formative tale was about a sage who prays for years to the goddess of knowledge, but in vain. In the end, the goddess didn’t appear for the sage because he was turning his prayer beads the wrong way! As a child, this story upset me: the sage worked so hard and had the right intentions. As an adult, though, I’ve come to realize that the goddess of knowledge was right: you can’t succeed unless you do things the right way. Seven years ago, two friends and I started a company, XXXX: a digital health platform that would allow patients to store medical records online and consult doctors remotely. We had early success—we brought on 2,000 patients at XXXX, a gynecology clinic in XXXX—but ultimately we didn’t have the resources to properly scale, and had to shut the company down. Among the many lessons I learned, the most valuable was that ideas and hard work are common; businesses succeed or fail based on execution—on doing things the right way. Two years ago, I relearned this lesson in the most painful way possible: when my marriage ended. My wife and I loved each other, but we weren’t there for each other when it mattered most. Our feelings weren’t enough—we had to back them up with the right actions. It’s disheartening when you have good intentions but still fall short. When this happens, though, you have to keep trying—because eventually you will do things the right way. I carry the story of the sage with me always, not as a harsh lesson, but as a motivating goal: one that keeps me striving towards doing things the right way.

Booth Admit:

How will the Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and long-term post-MBA career goals? (250 word minimum)

I want to start a geothermal company that will help lead the energy transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy—by targeting existing oil wells as sites for geothermal plants. Oil fields are close to electric grids and have high nearby subsurface temperatures, making them ideal sites for geothermal plants. By building geothermal infrastructure nearby, my company will produce cleaner, cheaper energy, making it more profitable for operators to switch from oil to geothermal. As oil companies decommission their wells, I’ll negotiate for their land rights, so I can use their existing wells for new geothermal vents. I want my company to prove the case for economically viable, carbon neutral energy production. After getting an MBA I want to start a geothermal company which will help me lead the energy transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. I plan to target developed oil fields in Texas, where, in many places, producing wells are flowing enough hot fluid to generate clean energy. Using this geothermal heat, the carbon footprint of oil and gas extraction will decrease as fewer fossil fuels are utilized to power surrounding infrastructure. As the wells approach their economic life, I will negotiate the lease from various operators, saving them millions in plug and abandonment costs, and retrofit the wells for direct geothermal energy production via closed loop binary fluid systems, bringing emissions to zero. To accomplish this goal, I need to shore up my knowledge of energy economics and entrepreneurial finance, develop a strong sense of leadership, and build a network of like minded individuals that will help me lead the transition and I believe I can get those things at Chicago Booth. My immediate career goal is to develop my first co-production site in Shelby County, Texas at the Blanton well site, which produces abnormally heated fluid from the flanks of an active salt dome. Before investing in capital expenditures, developing a strong sense of energy economics and broader markets is necessary to verify financial feasibility. University of Chicago, through the Graduate-Student-At-Large: Business program, is already allowing me to accomplish this goal with my enrollment in “Microeconomics” with Professor Andrew McClellan. His instruction helped me understand the impact taxes and subsidies have on market equilibrium, an important aspect of renewable energy as green energy tax incentives continue to change on a yearly basis. As my company continues to grow, having a strong finance and accounting foundation is imperative to building and sustaining a healthy company. Electives such as “Accounting for Entrepreneurship: From Start-Up through IPO” will provide the skills I need to be successful by following the life-cycle of a business that originates as a start-up, and covers topics such as building an initial accounting infrastructure. I understand that execution of the business is as important as developing the idea and proof of concept, and Booth is the best place for me to develop financial fluency. Leading the energy transition will require a strong sense of leadership. Not only will I need to lead those I get to work with over my career, but to lead the energy transition, and reverse the impact fossil fuels have had thus far, I must have the emotional intelligence to inspire others to join me in my journey. The “Interpersonal Dynamics” course at Booth will allow me to develop my communication skills and better understand the emotions and perceptions of my colleagues. These skills, synthesized with leadership development acquired in “Leadership Practicum” will prepare me to act as a relational leader, who understands the needs of others. As a relational leader I hope to foster an environment which promotes happiness, and maximizes efficiency, not only to make our efforts in changing the world more successful, but to excite other people to join our cause.

To find the greatest chance of success in leading the energy transition, I will need a network of like-minded individuals who can provide a diversity of thought. Chicago Booth provides the opportunity to develop that network through different community experiences. The Energy Club’s “Energy Forward” conference, which designates time to topics in oil and gas and renewable energy will allow me to hear from industry leaders, build meaningful relationships with peers and contribute my sector experience to the public forum as I learn from those around me. Opportunities through the Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Group such as “SeedCon” will help me connect with successful entrepreneurs and early-stage investors whose ideas and funding might change the course of my venture’s trajectory. Even in the GSALB program I have had the opportunity to connect with other students in various sectors, including the energy industry. I hope to continue to strengthen those connections and continue building new ones with matriculation into the full time program.

Here are several other articles that you may find helpful as you put together your MBA application:

• The Most Frequently Asked Questions on MBA Applications
• How to Answer the "Why an MBA?" Essay Question
• My Top Piece of Advice for MBA Applicants
• How I Nailed My MBA Interview and Gained Admission to Top 10 Business Schools
• 4 Expert Tips on Paying for Business School

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Everything You Need to Know About Business School Essays

Padya Paramita

February 8, 2021

You’ve worked hard to achieve a good GMAT score and beef up your resumé as you prepare to apply to your top-choice MBA programs. While you’ve got those components out of the way, you might still need to work on the element which could make all the difference between an acceptance and a rejection from the admissions committee: your business school essays .

Business school essays are program-specific and are geared towards helping admissions committees understand who you are and how their institution can help you reach your goals. In order to answer these prompts, you need to frame the biggest factors behind your choice of a school in terms of how they align with your personality and aspirations. 

You must take advantage of this essay component to give admissions committee members a concrete and memorable idea of who you are. To guide you through what to expect, we’ve outlined the 2020-2021 prompts for the top 20 MBA programs, how to answer common questions, explained the importance of the essays in the admissions decision, as well as  shared some final tips to aid you through the process.

Prompts for Top Schools

Here’s the thing: not all business schools ask for the same essay. In fact, for most schools, you have to answer multiple short prompts that add up to convey a bigger picture of who you are. While the prompts and word limits differ, they all ask questions which help provide context for other parts of your application, as well as demonstrate how you would fit into the school. Without further ado, let’s look at the prompts for business school essays assigned by the top 20 MBA programs for the upcoming cycle:

As you can see from the table, essay prompts and lengths vary from school to school. One personal statement won’t cover all of the MBA programs on your list! Nor can you copy one essay and directly paste it for another prompt, as you have to be specific to each school and its specialties. 

How to Tackle Common Prompts

Now that you’ve read the prompts for business school essays you’re likely to encounter, it’s time to analyze how to answer them. For any MBA response, it’s important to think about the following:

• Who you are
• What you’ve done so far
• Where you hope to go
• How an MBA from the school of your choice can help you reach your goals

To further break down specific ways to answer some common questions, let’s look at how to answer three typical MBA prompts you’ll almost certainly have to tackle.

The “Why Our School” Essay

Anyone can say they want an MBA from a top school. The “why our school” essay is your chance to convince admissions committees that you’ve done your research on their program and are convinced that this is the institution for you over any other. Each school frames it differently, and assigns their own limits such as:

Penn : What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (500 words)

Columbia : Why do you feel Columbia Business School is a good fit for you? (250 words)

There’s no beating around the bush. You’ve made a choice to apply to the program, so make it clear why you’ve done so. Writing this essay will also prepare you to confidently back up your decision if you are invited to interview with the school. This is your chance to demonstrate that you know the program and aren’t writing generic statements that can apply to any MBA. Whether it’s Columbia’s J-Term or the Harvard Business School Case Method , know what opportunities you would have at the school whose essay you’re tackling that you can’t find anywhere else. 

Most importantly, remember that this is your business school application. Just outright stating that these resources are great won’t do. You have to tie them to the experiences you’ve had, the kind of business you want to engage with in the future, and how these resources can help you get where you want in your career. How can the school of your choice help you hone your teamwork skills? Is there a particular leadership program at the school that can benefit your long-term plans? Show the admissions reader that you know the opportunities inside out, that you’re aware of exactly which fellowships or seminars are perfect for you, and in turn, outline how you can contribute to the class environment.

The Career Goals Essay

For a lot of schools, the career goals and “why our school” questions are fused in one prompt. A few of the top schools ask you to write about where you see yourself at various points in the future:

Michigan: Michigan Ross is a place where people from all backgrounds with different career goals can thrive. What is your short-term career goal and why? (200 words)

UVA : What is your short-term, post-MBA goal and why? (150 words)

While attending business school and receiving an MBA can open you up to new career possibilities, admissions committees want to know that you’re an ambitious, reflective, and driven individual. Since you’ve probably taken time to step into the workforce for a few years, you should use this prompt to connect these dots and your forward-looking vision. If your word limit is restricted, don’t focus too much on the past. Mention the most meaningful aspects of your work experience or the field you wish to join, describe your biggest aspirations, and how an MBA from that specific school can help you get there. If a school has asked the “why our school” and career goals questions separately like Columbia has, make sure you haven’t repeated any information; each essay should convey something new.

Similar to the “why our school” question, the career goals essay also provides great practice for your interviews because schools will undoubtedly want to hear more extensively about what you’ve done where you plan to go, and how the institution fits into it all. A carefully written response can help you set up a compelling answer for your interview. So, make sure you don’t exaggerate or write about anything you can’t elaborate on if faced with the question in person.

The “Tell Us Who You Are” Essay

The “tell us about yourself” or “introduce yourself” questions for business school essays can seem broad. Where do you even start? Schools frame this type of question very simply, or sometimes in unconventional ways:

UT Austin : Please introduce yourself (250 words) 

NYU : Describe yourself to the Admissions Committee and to your future classmates using six images. 

However worded, it’s time for you to reflect on what makes you a unique, memorable candidate when compared to thousands of others from all over the world.

The key to writing such an essay is to stay organized. Don’t write down every single thing you’ve ever done in your response. Take a hint from the Cornell Johnson prompt: “Please help us get to know you better by sharing ONE example of a life experience, achievement, or passion that will give us a sense of who you are as a potential community member.” When you’ve got limited words and readers with very little time on their hands, you need to narrow it down to the most compelling aspect about yourself. 

Think about leadership opportunities, honors and awards, and your family background. You could talk about your biggest passion and how it arose, you could talk about any experience which has shaped your perspective, or you could talk about your family background and how it has directed your career choices. No matter what you cover in your essay, you have to make sure it paints a memorable picture. Using anecdotes to drive your points home is an effective way of showing rather than telling. If you want to talk about work experience, make sure you’re not just writing about how you worked at a consulting firm where hundreds of your peers have also worked. It won’t help distinguish you to admissions officers. In fact, it might just do the opposite. You have to find a unique spin.

Make sure your response has a clear focus, so that the admissions committee members will be able to remember you easily once they’ve finished reading.

The Importance of Your Business School Essays: What Admissions Officers Look For

Your business school essays make up one of the most important components of your application, as they provide admissions committees the chance to understand your personality, figure out what matters to you, and gauge whether you would be a good fit for the school. No matter how strong your grades or test scores are, weak responses to essays can definitely prevent you from making it to the acceptance pile. Remember, your business school essay is not the place for you to explain why you have shortcomings in your application—schools typically have a separate addendum section for that. If your topic and writing are stellar enough, admissions committees might overlook slightly lower numbers. Of course, you need to work on your other elements as well, but the essay acts as a highly valuable opportunity to differentiate yourself.

When reading your essays, admissions committee members look to get a greater sense of who you are and how you’ve taken steps to pursue your interests. While your resumé outlines what you’ve done so far, the business school essays tie the most important pieces of it together to portray why your experiences matter. It’s crucial that you expand on a story that is your own—not your parents’ or your friends’—and one which helps admissions committees understand you beyond your grades and consulting experience. 

Business schools have specific characteristics that they look for in students. For example, Harvard Business School wants leaders who can thrive in a fast-paced environment and actively collaborate with their community. So, an important part of school research is ensuring that you know what kind of characteristics the school wants you to bring, and letting those traits shine in the anecdotes and points you bring up in your essays.

Final Writing Tips 

• Authenticity and Uniqueness are Key - Trying to figure out what admissions officers want to hear, instead of actually reflecting on your career and goals, is the wrong way to approach MBA applications. Your business school essays should stand out as your chance to tell business schools your unique story. Think about whether or not your response will help you become a memorable candidate in admissions officers’ eyes. If you have a professional or personal experience that you know your peers won’t have, that’s what you should consider writing about in your essays.
• Be as Specific as Possible - Saying you want to work in consulting or in investment banking once you’ve received your MBA is far from enough. It tells nothing unique about you. Why do you want to work where you do? What kind of consulting firms are you looking for and why? How do you hope to leverage your experiences and education to create something bigger? The more specific you are to your own goals and story, the more you can stand out to the reader.
• Start Writing with Plenty of Time in Hand - If you’re applying to a handful of business schools, chances are you’ll have over 10 essays to write! In order to make sure all of your essays are as polished as possible; you need to give yourself plenty of time to work on each carefully. So, don’t wait until 3 weeks before the deadline to start. Plan ahead and put your best efforts into convincing admissions officers why you’re ideally suited for their MBA program.

Business school essays provide a great opportunity to emphasize your individuality and supply context on how your background, work experiences, and interests can contribute to the MBA program, as well as the world of business once you’ve graduated. Think carefully about topic choices, and let the admissions committee know that there’s more to you than just your grades and work experiences. Show that you will prove to be a wonderful asset to their institution.

Tags : applying to mba programs , mba essays , b school , applying to business school , MBA , business school essays

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• Sample Essays

Sample Business School Essays

Studying business is a great way to gain valuable working experience across many industries. As such, many students decide to further their education with a degree in business. To help set your business school application apart from the others, having a stellar application essay can help tremendously. Before writing your own essay make sure you explore our sample essays to gather a few ideas and thoughts on how you can make your essay unique and engaging.

This section contains five business essay samples:

Business School Essay Sample One

Business school essay sample two, business school essay sample three, business school essay sample four.

• Business School Essay Sample Five

Watching my brother transform from a man who had lost his ability to walk to a man who can play basketball with my father kindled my fascination of the physical therapy world. The Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates the field of physical therapy to grow faster than average in the upcoming years. I hope to join this field during an exciting time of growth, furthering the rehabilitation of those who have been injured.

Following graduation from ABC Business School, I intend to serve a marketing team in a local physical therapy company, such as Ridgeview Physical Therapy. My short-term goal is to lead a team, furthering success in the Ridgeview area. Due to the popular physical therapy company thirty miles from Ridgeview, much of the local population is unaware of the quality services Ridgeview Physical Therapy has to offer. I hope to increase visits by 40 percent in the first 5 years of my employment. My long-term goal includes extending the company’s reach into surrounding cities, and eventually beyond national barriers, becoming a global marketing manager.

I expect to gain skills and experiences from ABC Business School that will propel my short and long-term goals. I hope to develop an experiential and diverse learning experience and have the opportunity to interact with different groups of people to learn from their business insights and endeavours. From ABC Business School, I seek the tools and resources needed to further engage in my marketing knowledge, perform professional strategic analyses, and re-evaluate my past work experiences. I look forward to taking courses from Professor Jim. W. Reid, who has published the research of the success of Matthews and Marketing in his book, “Matthews Commerce,” which has helped me continue my career this far. I also look forward to taking the unique classes taught by Professor Rachel E. Davis, introducing me to the physical therapy world and enriching my business skills in that area.

When my brother’s car accident in 2011 caused immobility in his left leg, he never thought he would be able to play his favorite sport again. David Andrews, a 1994 graduate from ABC Business School, ensured that that would not come to pass. I spoke with Andrews about his journey, and he told me that it was through the opportunities and education he received from the professors and students at ABC Business School that helped him open his own practice. I hope to follow in Andrews’s footsteps. With the passion I have for the success of Ridgeview Physical Therapy, and the determination I learned from watching my brother, all I need to complete my goals is the knowledge available to me through an MBA at ABC Business School. I look forward to completing my career aspirations using the tools received from ABC Business School to contribute to my professional career.

The world of physical therapy is growing, and with my skills in marketing, I hope to grow the local Ridgeview services across the globe.

In this essay, the applicant is assigned to answer the prompt in approximately 500 words. The admissions officer expects a clear and concise essay that does not veer off the question and exemplifies quality writing, grammar, and punctuation. In questions similar to these, the admissions officers are looking for: Student’s understanding and knowledge in answering questions: The writer explains his short and long-term career goals, referencing the future of the career (Bureau of Labor Statistics) and quantifying his goals (Increase by 40 percent within the first 5 years). A deeper look into who the applicant is: Writer shares personal information that also relates to answering the question (brother in physical therapy). Make sure that any personal information you share does not veer off of the question that needs to be answered. Proper research on the school to adequately answer the second question: Student mentions names of professors who have demonstrated help in the past (professor’s business research book) giving credibility to the student that he believes they will be able to help him in the future. Avoid flattery and only speak of the school in a way that shows proper research and answers the question presented.

Nancy, the CEO of Jasmine Publishing House, bought me a coffee and told me I should invest in warm gloves as we sat down at a corner diner for what would be a game-changing business meeting. As the leading publishing house in Europe, Nancy informed me that JPH was interested in closing a multi-million dollar deal with our fashion magazine, Zoelle, provided we changed the magazine's appearance to attract a broader European audience.

As production manager, my job was to lead and supervise a staff of 30 to match Nancy's vision, working closely with the design team, photographers, production staff and marketing team. After three weeks of heavy brainstorming, we developed a fresh appearance for the magazine.

I invited Nancy to a meeting with me and three of our executive producers. I shared with her the strategy we had created in order to solve our appearance problem, as well as estimated costs and complications. Nancy agreed that the direction our magazine was going fit well with her vision and audience, and that JPH would be happy to work with us within the next week.

Although the team was excited to accept the offer, I was concerned that we were not prepared to complete the project so quickly. Though the executive producers did not understand, as our production team was to begin work on the next issue the following day, I explained that there may include deep financial consequences if we rush into the process. I wanted to ensure that JPH received a consistent layout from Zoelle magazine. Nancy agreed to wait until the upcoming issue was complete before beginning work on the new look.

We began work the following Tuesday, after the latest issue was produced. I collaborated with an eight member marketing team to develop new branding for our magazine and mediated this branding with the design team, ensuring that it was able to blend well with their ideas and insights based on the first meeting with Nancy. I led the operation of the first issue to be published via JPH, supervising 30 employees.

After the issue was published, our sales increased by 42 percent in the first week. After leading the Zoelle team to a business deal close and a fresh start, I learned that with the proper leadership, a staff of varied talents, insights and opinions can work closely together to produce a magazine that continues to increase its sells each issue. My initiative helped provide Zoelle with its largest new contract that year, a $2 million deal. Customers from Europe and the United States commented with positive remarks on the new look, showing interest in the replacement of the former look, which had been being published for seven years.

After this leadership experience, I was able to see my potential as a leader. I can communicate effectively with all members of a group and help connect them with one another to make a larger picture. I protect my business discernment even against an upset crowd, and am able to properly persuade others to understand other perspectives. Through learning more about leadership every day with my work in Zoelle, I hope to continue to strengthen these abilities and witness the success they can bring to media production.

In this essay, the applicant was asked to detail her leadership abilities through the application of a relevant example. She was asked to do this in approximately 550 words, using concise language and proper grammar and punctuation. In questions similar to these, the admissions officers are looking for: Applicant's ability to share leadership qualities with a relevant example: This writer shared leadership qualities of communication (brainstorming with different staffs and helping them connect their ideas together), listening (brainstorming and understanding staff concerns), delegating (ensuring each team did what was supposed to be done), and managing (managed and supervised a staff of 30) through the use of an example from her work with Zoelle Magazine. Proof of a potential growth in these leadership skills: The writer hopes to “continue to strengthen” her leadership skills. She provides examples of how she learned from previous leadership roles. How these skills will help further your career: The writer used an example from her current career and concluded her essay with a look into the potential of leadership in her field.

I looked across my celebratory cheesecake and beamed up at my new coworkers. I couldn't believe I had finally landed my dream job. All of the senior editors were having lunch in the cafe across the street from the bakery where the finance team and marketing team shared dessert. I had been hired as a budget analyst at my favorite magazine. My job was to work alongside the business manager to help create a more healthy marriage between the finance and marketing departments, thus improving our sales and workplace environment. On my way home, I reflected on my relief in finally having an exciting and secure career.

Just three months later, we met at the same bakery where I had celebrated my new job. Every department from our small, close-knit staff was present. As the publication manager began to tell us the news, I remember how our faces fell. Our publication company was going out of business, and every publication was to be shut down. She explained that they had tried to find another publishing company without success.

Not only did I feel as though I failed the company, I also knew that I, as well as the other 17 employees, was out of a job. We went back to our offices and packed up our things. Writers and designers were frantically calling around, asking for open positions. An employee from the finance department began tweaking his resume, and the marketing department apologized to the publication manager and editor-in-chief, who responded graciously.

I had to leave my apartment not long after losing my job. I stayed with a friend on the north side of town as I tried to find a job in a shrinking economic suburb. It took six months to find a position, and though I had to move and leave behind my dream, I found a new way to work toward my new dream.

From this experience, I learned the importance of adaptability. Only through my ability to embrace the change happening around me was I able to find a new job and start a new life with new visions and goals. Applying for my MBA would have sounded bizarre to the disheartened, homeless idealist who lost her dream. But now, after finding in me the strength to persevere, I am able to take what I learned from my previous job and pair it with what I learn from the university. This knowledge will help me ensure that the future companies I work with will not have to endure a similar fallout.

However, if there comes a time when I am again involved in a lost company, I know how to repair. I know how to restore.

In this essay, the applicant was asked to recall a challenging situation to which the writer overcame the boundaries. The writer was asked to do this in approximately 450 words, using concise language and proper grammar and punctuation. In questions similar to these, the admissions officers are looking for: Applicant's ability to identify a challenging moment in her life: This writer uses a relevant example of a challenging situation, describing the challenge of losing a job, losing housing, and having to move to a different city. Examples of how the applicant overcame these challenges: The writer cites her “adaptability” as the reason why she was able to overcome this challenge. Instead of giving up, the applicant tells of applying for other jobs, even ones that were out of her comfort zone and in another city. Brief insights to what the applicant learned from the challenge: This writer learned how to maintain strength, perseverance and adaptability in challenging situations. The applicant tells of continuing the learning process in her MBA program and allowing it to help future companies.

“Gallery Furniture saves you money today!” As a child, these words rang out to me, sandwiched in between the episodes of Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh that I gleefully watched every Saturday morning. During commercial breaks, an older gentleman known as Mattress Mack would dominate all 24 inches of my cartoon box with his signature hundred-mile-per-hour pitch, reserved for sputtering off the praises of American-made furniture sold at affordable prices. Mattress Mack reigned as a household favorite in the Greater Houston area; in fact, my cousin and I made games out of memorizing his lines and spitting them out as fast as we could whenever his ads came on TV.

Mack’s distinctive elevator-pitch talking style stemmed from the financial difficulties he faced at the start of his career. At that time, Mack invested his entire life savings in a single ad that aired on two stations. While watching the ad himself, he grew unhappy with the producers’ work and ad-libbed a rapid pitch which would be later recognized as one of his greatest sparks of unconventional genius. Mack's unique re-branding has taught me to recognize the value of bootstrapping and developing creative solutions to solve problems.

Beyond his unorthodox sales strategies, Mack also had a heart that was truly the size of Texas. In August of 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall and caused $125 billion in damages, and several people that I personally know lost everything. While most of us worried solely about our own survival, Mack opened his two biggest showrooms and provided food to those who needed it most. His heroic actions eventually earned him his own day, August 26th, appropriately named Mattress Mack Day. He has inspired Houstonians just like me to pursue entrepreneurship opportunities that put social focus on the forefront.

As Harvey pummelled through the Gulf Coast, I noted the amount of devastation the hurricane has caused for our local automotive industry. This sparked an idea. As a passionate watchmaker and a car enthusiast, I partnered with my co-founder to create one-of-a-kind wristwatches from wrecked supercars with stories to match. A portion of each sale would then be donated to Habitat for Humanity to rebuild communities affected by natural disasters. My dream came to fruition, and over the last two years, the work I did has gained the attention of Mayor Turner, Capital One Bank, and various other notable individuals and organizations across Texas, Florida, Switzerland, and the UK. Born from a company bootstrapped with a $10,000 award from Capital One Bank, we are now projected to take in a revenue of $500k in the coming year.

Mattress Mack’s unconventional business approaches have taught me that tackling problems with limited capital yields the most innovative solutions and that the numbers, albeit essential, are not the end-all-be-all of a company. His ability to see equal importance in their lesser-noticed counterparts -the people his business serves and the community he resides in- are what sets him apart from traditional bosses as a truly effective leader. His actions have taught me that marrying unconventional problem-solving skills to a strong moral code is the key to greater personal success.

Business Sample Essay Five

Fuqua was the first business school I visited at the beginning of my application journey. No one in my family has ever attended college, let alone business school, so my visit opened a new world of opportunity for me. I sat in the auditorium with 300 other Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) fellows soaking up facts about Fuqua’s collaborative culture, global perspective, and distinguished faculty. My most vivid memory of the experience was at the end of the first day when the Black and Latino MBA Organization (BLMBAO) came on stage and helped me understand what it truly means to be on “Team Fuqua.” Dancing, cheering, and wearing their Blue Devil gear, the students made it easy to see a cohesive community for students of color – one that I have not felt so palpably at any other business school since. As I sat in that auditorium, I began to imagine myself as a part of “Team Fuqua,” and after the visit I became more confident that there was a place for me at Duke. For these reasons, I am seeking a spot in the entering class of 2022.

Post MBA, I plan to work as a Product Manager in an innovative digital healthcare company focused on using technology to transform patient care. Specifically, I would like to work in wireless tech and data analytics focused on chronic disease management similar to Twine Health, a platform integrated into patients' Fitbits to monitor diabetes-related vitals. In preparation for a career in healthcare, I plan on being a part of Fuqua’s Health Care Club (HCC). I look forward to contributing to this community through my perspective in healthcare consulting as well as my experience in the health insurance marketplace. By participating in the HCC, I will leverage the insight from 2nd year students as I navigate the healthcare recruiting process during HCC life line sessions. In time, I hope to return the favor by helping new students navigate recruitment, coursework, and life in Durham. Particularly, I am excited to gain valuable insight into the healthcare industry through programming coordinated by HCC such as the Duke MBA Health Care Conference and panel discussions throughout the year. HCC will not only provide me the knowledge and professional aptitude for a meaningful career in the healthcare sector, but will also grant me a life-long network of Fuqua healthcare leaders. To further promote health, I want to take part in the Fuqua Running & Triathlon Club. As a cross country athlete in high school and college, I look forward to exploring the Raleigh-Durham area and sharing my love of running.

Beyond my involvement in the Fuqua healthcare community, I also plan to join BLMBAO. It is very important for me to be part of a collective of leaders of color that empower each other to reach their full potential in business. For this reason, I am interested in joining the leadership cabinet of BLMBAO and shaping events such as the MBA Minority Business Conference. I want to continue BLMBAO’s work of increasing the visibility of underrepresented minorities, engaging Fuqua on issues of race and inequality, and being an advocate for women of color in business. For example, as a Fellow and alumna of MLT, I will commit myself to building a pipeline for Latina prospective Fuqua MBA students. This will include holding workshops that focus on the application process and challenges specific to Latinas in management.

In the end, Duke is the ideal place for me to become the business leader I know I can be. The opportunities in healthcare at Fuqua with HCC in conjunction with the school’s close proximity to the research triangle are second to none. A Fuqua MBA will give me the opportunity to learn, grow, and lead among lifelong friends. As a part of the incoming class, I will continue to learn more about Fuqua and expect that the “Team Fuqua” spirit will stand out in all of my interactions within the larger community. Just as BLMBAO students inspired me on my first day at Fuqua, I hope to one day inspire a young Latina professional setting her sights on business school.

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MBA Essay Examples, Tips, and Analysis

Y our MBA application essays are your best opportunity to share meaningful life experiences that hide in the “white spaces” of the resume and to tell admissions officers not only “what” you have achieved but also “why” those achievements are meaningful to you.

Your MBA application essays are going to be crucial if you are competing for a spot at one of the world’s top business schools.

These resources will show you how to excel in the rigorous MBA essay writing challenges ahead of you, provide you with the guidance to create MBA essays that will impress admissions officers, and share MBA essay examples that illustrate our advice in action.

Second, we survey the five most frequently asked MBA essay questions. We preview video essay questions and link to detailed guidance on how to tackle this emerging class of application essays.

Third, we will teach you how to choose topics and stories for your essays and share a story-outlining technique to help you tell those stories.

Common MBA Essay Forms: Persuasive versus Narrative Essays

There are two primary forms that MBA application essays take: persuasive essays and narrative essays. In a persuasive essay, you must persuade your reader that your argument is a sound one. An op-ed column in a newspaper is one example of a persuasive essay.

The classic “What Will You Contribute to the Class?” question is an excellent example of a persuasive essay question that MBA programs like to ask. The essay you write must persuade the admissions committee that you will enrich next year’s class. You will generally present evidence from past experiences and achievements to support your claims about what you can offer the MBA community.

The other style of essay you’ll encounter in your MBA applications is the narrative essay. Certain MBA essay questions don’t sound like questions at all; they are, in fact, an invitation for you to tell a story. We refer to these as narrative essays – but others call them behavioral essays or expository essays.

The Leadership Story Essay is a perfect example of a narrative essay. It’s one thing to claim to be a leader – but it’s quite another to show the admissions committee that you’re a leader by telling a captivating leadership story in which you played the starring role.

While MBA essays often fall into these two categories, the actual prompts will differ from school to school. Let’s discuss the five most frequently asked MBA essay questions. ↑ To the Top

The Five Most Frequently Asked MBA Essay Questions

Every business school application requires you to answer one or more MBA essay questions. Although the essay prompts differ from application to application, we identified five types of MBA application essay questions that appear again and again.

Career Goals Essays

A career goals essay question regularly appears in one form or another on just about every MBA application. Even if you aren’t required to write this type of essay, you will almost certainly be asked about your post-MBA career goals during an admissions interview.

Admissions committees ask about your career plans because they want to understand what you aspire to do after your MBA and how the MBA degree fits into your career plan. As it turns out, a strong career goals essay is one of the best tools in your application to stand out from MBA candidates who don’t have a compelling career vision or haven’t effectively articulated their professional goals in their MBA application essays.

Leadership Essays

Leadership essays are your absolute best opportunity to convince MBA admissions committees of your leadership abilities. Remember that MBA admissions officers will be interested in your leadership achievements both inside and outside of work.

You probably won’t be asked directly, “Are you a leader?” Instead, you’ll be asked to tell stories about your leadership achievements. When given the opportunity, you need to supply evidence that you can rally other people and motivate them to work together to achieve an important shared vision or goal. Therein lies the objective of a great leadership essay.

Why MBA? and Why Our School? Essays

The “Why MBA? Why Our School?” essay is your chance to convince admissions officers that their school is the perfect fit for what you need from an MBA program. The best answers to these types of questions are both personal and specific. You need to effectively convey what you are looking for in an MBA program and tell the admissions committee why their school will best satisfy your learning goals and help you achieve your career development objectives.

“What Will You Contribute?” Essays

The “What Will You Contribute?” essay presents you with an opportunity to tell the MBA Admissions Committee why you would be a valuable addition to their incoming class. The schools are looking for candidates who can put in just as much as they take out. One critical thing to understand when preparing to answer these questions is that concrete and tailored answers about what you can contribute to each MBA program are crucial.

Professional Experience Essays

The professional experience essay is an executive summary of your career thus far. A resume is a record of jobs and achievements — a Professional Experience Essay provides the connections and interrelationships between those jobs and brings your resume to life. An effective Professional Experience essay will give the admissions committee a sense of the career decisions you’ve made, your major achievements in each step of your career, and the skills and knowledge you’ve acquired along the way.

MBA Application Video Essays

MBA admissions committees are increasingly relying on technology to help them evaluate and manage their growing applicant pools. MBA application video essays are becoming a popular tool, as MBA programs can use them to learn far more about candidates than the traditional application permits. In recent years, leading MBA programs including Kellogg Northwestern , MIT Sloan , and Chicago Booth have incorporated a video component into their evaluation process. Video essays are excellent screening tools that allow admissions officers to assess candidates’ professional presence and communication skills.

Free MBA Essay Writing Course

Please enter your email below to gain 30 days of free access to our MBA Essay Writing course. Learn about the five most frequently asked MBA application essay questions and access our brainstorming tools and sample essays.

No matter which type of MBA essay question you are tackling, your primary objective is to provide evidence that proves you possess the qualities that admissions committees value most. By doing so, you will move one step closer to an acceptance letter from a top business school.

Now that you have a better picture of the classic MBA essay questions you’re likely to face, let’s cover selecting the strongest stories to present in your MBA application essays.

How to Choose the Best Stories for your MBA Essays

Story selection is something all MBA applicants wrestle with. When you first read the MBA application essay questions, it may be hard to figure out which topics to cover or which of your stories to tell. We’ll explain how to go step-by-step to choose your best stories. Here are the steps:

Research the School’s Fit Qualities

Categorize the question.

• Brainstorm Topic/Stories

Choose a Topic or Story

To choose your best stories, you need to know what qualities MBA programs truly value when evaluating applicants. You want to tell stories that prove to the admissions officers that you possess the attributes they seek in MBA candidates. We refer to these as the school’s Fit Qualities . You might think of them as the highest-common denominators among the candidates who are accepted.

Early in your MBA essay writing process is the time to make some strategic choices about which qualities and strengths you will put front and center in your MBA essays. If you attempt to feature all of your strengths, you run the risk that admissions officers will finish your essays with no clear idea of any of them. Instead, select three or four of the qualities that your research tells you the school you are applying to prizes most of all.

Second, study the essay question to determine if it falls into one of the five essay categories discussed earlier in this article.

By categorizing each question, you’ll have a better idea of what the admissions committee will be looking for in your response. You’ll know the criteria for scoring top marks in that essay style, which will guide your application essay design decisions.

Brainstorm Topics/Stories

Third, you are ready to start brainstorming potential topics and stories. Remember that your central objective is to find opportunities to feature the key elements of your application strategy .

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help you to choose your best topic or story:

Are you the star of the story or supporting cast?

With very few exceptions, you need to write stories where you play the starring role. Don’t make the mistake some applicants make of writing a thrilling story about their parents’ hardships and triumphs, leaving little room for their own.

Did the experience occur recently?

It is usually best to choose stories that happened within the last three years. If an older story is incredibly compelling, then keep it on your list. However, bear in mind that admissions officers are rarely interested in reading about your high school glory days.

Does the essay feature several Fit Qualities?

Review your topic ideas objectively and ask yourself if they exemplify the school’s Fit Qualities. Because you’ll be limited to telling only a few stories, you’ll want to choose the ones that feature a few different Fit Qualities if at all possible.

Once you have selected your best stories, it is time to create an outline to organize your thoughts before jumping into the writing process. ↑ To the Top

How to Outline Your MBA Essay Stories

The persuasive essay writing style is prevalent in university and work settings, so it may have been some time since you were asked to write a story. For that reason, we want to share a powerful outlining technique called the STAR framework that will help with the “story-telling” essays you may be asked to write in your MBA application.

The STAR framework is designed to help you tell a concise story with a beginning, middle, and end.

The “S” in STAR stands for Situation .

The Situation is the time, place, and context of the story; you can think of it as the setting, but it might also include the broader challenge or conflict you or your organization faced. In essence, this is the set-up of the story.

“T” in the STAR acronym stands for Task . The Task is your role and goal in the story. What were you expected to accomplish by the end of the story? An effective story has built-in conflicts and complications.

The Action of the story is what admissions officers are really interested in because this is their chance to see your strengths and qualities in action. While it won’t be necessary to write down every step you took at the outlining stage, you’ll want to jot down the highlights.

Below is an MBA essay example told using the STAR framework. It outlines a story written by a candidate who served as a donation chair for a fundraising event for a non-profit organization.

Task: Assigning specific jobs to committee members, checking on their progress, helping teammates meet agreed-upon deadlines for obtaining the donations, and offering other assistance

Action: Motivated my team by having them meet Literacy Now children. Assigned tasks and checked in regularly. Successfully mediated team disputes. Visited 20 restaurants and called 12 wineries. Ensured deadlines were met.

Sample MBA Essays: MBA Applicant Beware!

MBA Prep School’s guide is replete with essay writing tips, and we do provide excerpts from sample essays to illustrate the most common MBA essay categories. However, while you will find page-after-page of helpful advice and building blocks for constructing your own original MBA essays and stories, we don’t publish an extensive catalog of MBA essays written by MBA Prep School’s past clients.

The problem with collections of sample MBA application essays is that they can mislead you into thinking that if you can just replicate one of those sample essays, you’ve got your golden ticket into business school. Unfortunately, the opposite can be true. The reason those essays “succeeded” is because they were an integral part of a complete story about an impressive human being whom the admission committee concluded belonged at their business school.

And the scary truth is that reading MBA essay examples might even harm your chance of admission for several reasons:

1. They might stunt your creativity and ability to express yourself. If you are trying to mimic someone else’s essays – the content, the style, or the approach – your story and voice are likely to get lost in the process. Admissions committees want to be impressed – but they want to be impressed by you. Feature the traits and tell the stories that depict “you” at your best.

2. Sample MBA essays can undermine your confidence in your MBA candidacy. The essays that get published as samples are often truly eye-catching, dramatic, and sensational – stories of exceptional accomplishment, rare feats, or extreme obstacles. It may seem, in comparison, that none of your stories stack up. The good news is that the whole package is what matters, not a single defining moment in a candidate’s life.

The last thing you need is to doubt your abilities or have a crisis of confidence when you’re trying to put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard). Trust in your own experiences and tell stories about what you – and only you – will bring to the MBA program.

3. Admissions officers can tell when you’ve “sampled” from sample MBA essays. The pesky thing about MBA admissions committees is that they’re filled with brilliant people who know how this game is played and what resources are available. They can spot themes and clichéd stories inspired by sample essay collections. More importantly, they can sense when you’re telling someone else’s story or when the story doesn’t ring true to your MBA application’s other elements. Don’t give an admissions officer reason to doubt your authenticity by risking even the appearance that you “sampled” from MBA sample essays that are swirling around on the Internet.

At MBA Prep School, we work with clients we believe in and help them tell their stories, not someone else’s. Remember that the MBA application process is not a storytelling contest; even if it were, the winners would be chosen based on the authenticity, originality, and integrity of the stories they tell!

Final Thoughts

Critics of MBA essays often wonder if they still have a place in the application process when admissions committees can rely on quantitative data points to choose among applicants. However, your transcripts, test scores, and resume are historical documents that only tell a fraction of the story. Your MBA essays represent a powerful opportunity to communicate your goals, strengths, reasons for applying, and potential contributions to the class.

The process of writing MBA essays provides you with a rare opportunity for self-examination and self-expression. Many applicants value the introspection required of them in the MBA essay-writing process and find they can better articulate their strengths and goals during their subsequent MBA interviews as a result. By putting ample thought and effort into brainstorming and writing your MBA essays, you will almost certainly increase your odds of being accepted to a top MBA program.

Related Articles: Essay Examples

• Career Goals Essay Example
• What Will You Contribute? Essay Example
• Why MBA? and Why Our School? Essay Example
• Leadership Story Essay Example
• Professional Experience Essay Example
• MBA Video Essays
• Consulting Terms & Conditions

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How to Write a Business Essay: an Ultimate Guide

Table of Contents

Writing an essay can be boring. A lot of essays are basically the same thing over and over again. You write an introduction, then you write your supporting paragraphs, and then you create a conclusion. Overall, the process is not a lot of fun, and you can often feel as though you are simply going through the motions for the sake of churning out extra work. But since you have to write an essay, it’s worth considering the many ways that you can make the process faster and easier. In this ultimate guide, we’ll discuss the best way to write a business essay so you can get through the process faster and with relatively little trouble.

It might seem obvious, but the first thing you need to do when you write an essay is to read the essay question. You need to be sure you understand each part of the essay question and how the parts of the question work together. You would be surprised how many students only glance at the question and then write a paper that only partially addresses the assignment. You don’t want to lose points because part of your paper isn’t on topic. If you find any parts of the paper that you don’t understand or that require explanation, be sure to contact your instructor for clarification before you start writing.

Read the essay rubric

These days, most essays have a grading rubric included with the question. A grading rubric is like a cheat sheet for writing your essay. When you review the essay rubric, you’ll see exactly how your instructor will grade your paper and what your instructor will be looking for. When you write your paper, you will therefore know exactly what to include and how to write about it in order to maximize your points—and you’ll also see what you can spend less time on because it won’t contribute to your overall grade.

Make friends with your library

Many students automatically turn to search engines like Google in order to research their papers, but this is not the most effective way to find high-quality business sources for your paper. Instead, take advantage of your library’s databases. Your college or university library will likely have dedicated business databases that collect high-quality academic articles on business topics. Using these resources in your paper will make your essay stronger and more effective, and it will put your paper on a solid academic footing.

Compile your sources before you write

Many students use the start-and-stop method to write their papers, composing a sentence or two and then stopping to look up more information in order to keep going. This, however, is an inefficient way to work. A better way is to read through your research sources before you start and copy into a separate file a series of quotations and facts that you might use in your paper, creating in-text citations and reference list entries for each before you start. Doing so will make sure that you don’t have to stop for research and have a ready bank of pre-cited material to work with as you write.

Outline before you write

Outlining is an important skill that will both save you time and improve the quality of your essay. Take time before you write to lay out your paper from beginning to end. Start with your thesis statement and carefully lay out the body paragraphs with a topic sentence, supporting details (including research, quotes, and citations ), and a closing paragraph . Plan your transitions to link paragraphs together. Any amount of outlining can be helpful, but the more effort that you put into outlining at this stage, the easier it will be to write your paper, and the less likely it will be that you get stuck in a tangent that goes nowhere or meander into a point that requires you to change your thesis and revise you whole essay.

Remember to revise and proofread

When you finish the draft of your paper, you aren’t done yet. The first draft is rarely the finished product. You should always set aside time to read your work back and to make revisions to make it clearer. You also need to carefully proofread for mechanical grammar, punctuation, and syntax issues to ensure that your paper is as close to perfect as possible. You don’t want to leave points on the table because your paper had easy to fix minor spelling or grammar errors.

Consider professional writing help

Another great way to get your paper done quickly is to seek out custom professional help from an essay writing service with academic experts. An online writing company such as this can create business papers for college students and deliver them fast. When you utilize professional writing assistance, you can receive a custom-written essay that can serve as a great model to help you understand how a professional would approach your business topic and organize and develop an essay to address your assignment. Using a model such as this can save you time and effort as you work on your own paper, allowing you to focus on the learning process more than the mechanics of academic essay writing.

Join the thousands who have sharpened their business writing skills with our award winning courses.

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5 business school application essay tips

Good news for potential business school applicants: the personal statement doesn’t need to be the most daunting part of your application package. While it may be some time since you’ve sat down to write an essay—particularly if you’ve already been in the professional workforce for several years—the essay you’ll write to accompany your MBA or business master’s degree application should be a rewarding challenge.

Think about it: This is your opportunity to craft your own narrative, to put on paper the kind of professional you aspire to be, to trace the steps that have brought you to where you are and to set the stage for your next accomplishment. Follow these five tips to write a business school application essay that stands out from the crowd and makes you impossible to ignore for the admissions committee of your program of choice.

Respond to the prompt

Your typical business school application will give you some guidance in composing your personal statement. This can be as specific as a numbered set of questions to address either sequentially or in the course of one cohesive essay, or as general as a guideline to discuss your experience, goals and suitability for the program. The application for the online MBA and online Master in Management programs at Marquette University, for instance, directs applicants to compose an essay “covering your career goals, your interest in the program and how the program will help you achieve your goals.”

Whatever you are given by your business school of choice, it is of primary importance to respond directly to it. To ensure you do so, it may be helpful to begin composing your personal statement with an outline broken up into sections addressing each element of the question. For the above prompt, you could create headings of “career goals,” “interest in the program,” and “how the program will help you achieve your goals. Follow each of these with a bulleted list of responses, and then take this list and expand it out into paragraph form.

Be specific and personal

The last thing you want to do is submit a personal statement that looks like it could have been written by any other business school candidate. Your story is uniquely your own, and it deserves to be framed in a way that makes you stand out from other applicants. Try to avoid descriptive cliches like “I am an ideal candidate because,” which can make your essay feel flat and limp, and focus instead on using active language that makes your passion and energy apparent to your reader.

Try to include illuminating examples to illustrate major points that you make throughout your essay. This will help your reader connect your story to specific experiences and build a vibrant image of you as a person and a professional. If possible, dedicate some time to discussing obstacles you have overcome on your journey to this point. Admissions committees want to see candidates who have the strength and perseverance to face any challenge that might stand in their way. You want it to be clear that you are the type of committed individual who will be an asset to your classmates and to the program on the whole.

Highlight your goals

The best application essays are clear about not only what you will bring to your business school to improve the experience of those around you, but where you hope your experience there will take you in your professional future. Think about where you would like to end up and detail how a graduate-level business education will help you get there.

Do you have a field that you would like to pivot into? A job title that you aspire to? A concrete set of digital or other professional skills that you know would improve your performance in the workplace? Lay out each of your goals of this nature, and discuss how your program of choice is the right one to help you achieve them.

Focus on your audience

Not all MBAs and business master’s degree programs are interchangeable, and you want to make it clear to your readers on the admissions committee why the specific program you are applying to is the only one that can take you where you want to go. Research the program that you’re applying to as thoroughly as you can before you write your essay, then focus on aspects of the program, the university, the school or any other associated elements to give your personal statement the specificity it needs in this regard.

Does your program of choice offer elective courses you can’t find anywhere else? Or does their alumni network feature connections in organizations or industries that are high on your list of desired landing spots for your future employment ? Do their faculty bring specific expertise or experience that will benefit you on your chosen career path? If any of these apply, or if any other elements of the program are uniquely tailored to your goals, be sure to mention them in detail.

Revise and perfect

One of the goals of a personal statement is to frame yourself as a conscientious and polished professional. A major part of this is the attention to detail you demonstrate through the quality of your writing, both in terms of your tone and voice and by ensuring you turn in a clean, error-free document.

Proofread your application essay for grammar, punctuation and word choice. Once you are done, proofread it again. And after that, don’t hesitate to enlist the help of a trusted friend or colleague to read it once more. A second set of eyes is often what you need to make sure you catch every lingering typo.

Ace your application to an online business program at Marquette

With a winning application essay in hand, now is the time to apply to the online MBA or online Master in Management program from Marquette University’s Graduate School of Management. Read about the rest of the application requirements for both programs , and check out our tips for requesting strong letters of recommendation .

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Business Essay Examples

13 Business Essay Examples for Students

14 min read

Published on: May 1, 2023

Last updated on: Jan 30, 2024

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Are you struggling to figure out the structure, research, or data required to make your essay stand out? Or frustrated by the lack of inspiration and ideas for your essay?

But don't give up yet! We have a powerful solution that will make your essay writing a breeze. Our list of business essay examples is here to help! 

We have compiled expertly written business essay examples that will illustrate how to write a striking business essay.

With our examples, you'll be able to see how to structure your essay and generate creative ideas for your topic. And our tips will help you make the most of these examples.

So, let's dive in and get ready to learn!

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What is a Business Essay?

A business essay is a type of academic writing that focuses on business-related topics and issues. These essays can cover a wide range of topics such as marketing, finance, management, entrepreneurship, and more.

The importance of business essay lies in presenting a well-researched and informed analysis. To do this effectively, writers need to conduct extensive research and analysis on the topic at hand.

Referring to examples of business essays can help you gain insight into the structure, tone, and content of a well-written essay.

Business Essay Examples For Students

Here is a list of business writing examples

Business Essay Examples Pdf

Business Essay Example Grade 10

Business Essay Example Grade 11

A Level Business Essay Examples

University Business Essay Examples

International Business Essay Examples

Short Essay About Business

College Essay About Starting A Business

Types of Business Essay with Examples

When it comes to business essay writing, there are several different types that you might encounter. 

Here's a brief overview of each type, including their characteristics and an example of each.

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Case Studies

A case study is an in-depth analysis of a specific business situation or problem. It involves extensive research and data analysis to provide recommendations.

Case studies often showcase the application of theory to real-world business scenarios.

Research Papers

Research papers involve a more academic approach to business writing. They typically require an extensive literature review, data analysis, and original research. 

Business research papers aim to contribute new knowledge to the field of business. These often involve a hypothesis or research question.

Argumentative Essays

Argumentative business essays aim to persuade the reader to adopt a particular point of view or take a specific action. They present an argument and use evidence and logic to support their claims. 

Argumentative essays can address various business topics such as management practices, ethical issues, or market trends.

White Papers

A white paper is a document that provides a detailed explanation of a particular issue or problem, often with recommendations or solutions. 

White papers are typically used to educate stakeholders about a specific topic. These are often used in the business-to-business (B2B) context.

Comparative Essays 

Comparative business essays compare and contrast two or more topics or ideas. They typically analyze the similarities and differences between the topics to evaluate their pros and cons. 

Comparative essays can focus on various aspects such as products, companies, markets, or strategies.

How to Structure Your Business Essays

As you begin writing your business essay, it's important to structure it in a clear and organized way. 

Here's a step-by-step guide with business essay samples to help you do just that:

Executive Summary

The executive summary is a brief overview of your entire essay. It should summarize your main points and highlight your recommendations. 

This section should be written after completing the essay, as it gives a clear picture of what the essay covers. 

Here is how you start a business essay sample:

Introduction

The introduction sets the stage for the rest of the essay. It should introduce the topic, provide background information, and explain the purpose of the essay. 

Here is a business essay introduction example:

Industry Analysis

In this section, you'll conduct a thorough analysis of the industry in which the business operates. You should examine factors such as competition, market trends, and customer behavior. 

Here is a sample industry analysis

Key Issues or Problems

This section should identify the main issues or problems faced by the business. You should provide evidence to support your claims and analyze the impact of these issues. 

Here is an example paragraph:

Solutions or Recommendation

Here, you'll provide solutions or recommendations to address the issues identified in the previous section. Your solutions should be well-supported and feasible. 

For instance:

Implementation Plan

For this part, you'll outline a plan for implementing the solutions or recommendations you've proposed. This is sort of a description of the business model you suggest. 

This section should be detailed and include specific action steps. 

For example:

Finally, you'll wrap up your essay by summarizing your main points and reiterating your recommendations. 

This section should be clear, concise, and impactful. 

By following this structure, your business essay will be well-organized, coherent, and easy to follow for your readers.

Tips for Using Business Essay Examples Effectively

Now that you have quite a few business essay examples at hand, you should know how to use them effectively:

• Use them as a guide, not a template : While it's great to learn from examples, you should never copy them outright. Instead, use them as a starting point for your own research and writing.
• Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the essay : Take note of what works well in the example essay, as well as any areas that could be improved. This will help you understand how to make your own essay even better.
• Use them to inform your own research and writing : Pay attention to the research methods, sources, and evidence used in the example essay. This can give you ideas for your own research and help you strengthen your arguments.
• Avoid plagiarism and ensure proper citation: Whenever you use ideas or information from an example, make sure to cite your sources. This will help you avoid plagiarism and maintain academic integrity.

You now have a plenty of business essay examples on different topics to help you get started!

By following our tips and studying the sample essays, you can confidently write your own essays that are clear, concise, and impactful. 

However, if you still find yourself struggling with your business essays, just reach out to our professional business essay writing service . 

We have the best online essay writing service and are ready to provide you a high-quality business. Our writing service has subject specialist writers who can tackle any business essay topic.  

So why wait? Contact us today and let our AI essay writer take your business essays to the next level!

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Essay About Business: Top 5 Examples and 7 Prompts

We see business in action in every aspect of our life. So if you need to write an essay about business, look into this article to find examples and prompts to help you get going.

The word “business” encompasses a broad range of activities and branches. However, in its most straightforward meaning, business refers to an institution or a group that works together and engages with others to achieve a goal that will benefit them. 

To give you an idea of how prevalent business is, think of all the times you buy from a store. Any time you get something from an enterprise, big or small, you’re already in business with them. However, businesses such as charities, churches, and volunteer services organizations also envelop transactions not for profit.

To aid you in writing an excellent essay about business, here are examples you should read, followed by prompts to give you ideas on what to write about.

1. Don’t Sell Yourself Short by Manya Whitaker

2. my personal experience in business by shannon murphy, 3. business ethics and work ethic essay by writer annie, 4. the importance of business study by shyam soni, 5. essay on environment, sustainability and business by  aastha singhal, 1. my business aspirations, 2. businesses i want to support, 3. business in the future, 4. business and ethics, 5. what makes a business more appealing, 6. how businesses affect my community, 7. my bad experience with a business.

“Like a good researcher, I did some investigation into what it meant to run a small business… While the initial work seemed intense, the service itself was no more work than I’d been doing for free. And as my father always says ‘don’t sell yourself short’…so I decided not to.”

Whitaker recounts her life experiences and how she came to think of starting an educational consulting business. Next, she goes through the hoops of when to best start her business, what fees are acceptable, and how to let people know her business exists. She then shares her many tips with professors who want to start their businesses and ends her essay by encouraging them to utilize their talents. 

“Businesses today require not just setting a plan but also about the investment and proper management of people, assets, live time opportunity, and risk to make the business expand and develop. I see myself contributing to the development of good business practices in years to come where I will be leading a great business organization effectively.”

Murphy discusses why she wanted to study business enterprise, saying that “business makes life interesting and worth living.” She also talks about her encounter with a businessman and how he motivated her through his stories. Finally, Murphy shows her determination to go through with her career plans in the business industry through her essay.

“Work ethics comprise more than the desire of the job or career but also how one claims his/her path of achievement… I believe work ethics demonstrate many aspects of a person and how a person is within. So, I ask a question to myself today, what are my work ethics and what do I define them?”

In this short essay, the author decides on what work ethic means to her. She includes traits that make her believe it’s a virtue and even offers an example. She also believes that work ethic is intrinsic and ends her essay by sharing the two fundamental traits of her work ethic: humility and treatment.

“Business has become indispensable in our lives. Nearly everything an individual does is directly or indirectly related to business.”

In his essay, Soni expounds on how business affects every aspect of our lives. For example, businesses encourage people to give their best to the world, benefitting everyone. He also lists some of these benefits, such as business helping in choosing a career, understanding business strategies, and recognizing our contribution to a nation’s success.

“Admittedly, the process of changing corporate mindsets and culture to embrace sustainability can be a challenge for some enterprises… maintaining an environment that enables continued prosperity is imperative for any organization’s survival and growth.”

In her essay, Singhal distinctly shows the connection between our surroundings and survival with businesses. She presents how businesses should lead the demand for environmental sustainability because they can make a relevant change. However, at the same time, businesses can also damage the environment and be detrimental to sustainability. 

She further explains what businesses today are doing to answer their green consumer’s call, such as green regulations and more efficient usage of resources. Finally, she ends her essay with a quote identifying the challenge of the twenty-first century: for people to have a decent standard of living while preserving other aspects of life.

Do you want to upgrade your essay paper? Then, check out this list of the best essay writing apps to help refine your work.

7 Prompts on Essay About Business

After learning more about the subject, write your essay with these easy but enjoyable prompts:

In this essay, you can explain why you want to have a business, including your inspirations and motivations. For example, maybe your family already has a business, and you want to continue it. Or perhaps you want to create a business that will help others. Include personal anecdotes and descriptive paragraphs to convey your thoughts and feelings.

This essay prompt lets you list the businesses you want to get more exposure to. Aside from identifying which business you want to see grow, present why you want them to have more recognition in the first place. 

You can write about a small local bakery from which you always get your bread and share the owner’s story. Or you can shift the attention to a charitable organization that needs more donations to continue its mission. Share why this specific organization is dear to you. You’ll not only end up with a great essay but also help these businesses.

This prompt is perfect for you if you want to talk about curiosity-inducing business-related ideas. You can present propositions on how businesses will be conducted years from now. Do you imagine advanced and intelligent AIs capable of holding a conversation to sell a product successfully? What about flying cars? Don’t be shy, and include all of your concepts. 

There has always been a gray area between business and ethics. As a party to this affair, you can share how important ethics is to the business and its clients. You can talk from the client’s point of view – do you still buy a product of a business with questionable ethics? Or do you only support businesses that hold their ethics in high regard? Then, explain why.

There are many marketing tactics businesses use to attract customers. But what if those do you think are most effective? You can write your essay and include the advertisement types that work for you and why. 

You don’t need to go far to find something to write about with this prompt. Identify the things that businesses in your area directly affect, positive or negative. For instance, having businesses in your community makes accessing comedies easier. On the other hand, having many businesses could make a living in your area more expensive.

To make your essay more compelling, you can recount a bad experience with an establishment. Then, narrate it like a story to engross your readers by describing how management handled things and what you felt during that time. Did it discourage you from going back to that business?

You can also add how you think the people in charge should have acted by suggesting a specific course of action. Again, this will give potential business owners a glimpse of how they can run their businesses better.

Note: Improving your paper’s readability score is also a key criterion when editing for grammar.

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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7 Common MBA Essay Questions and How to Tackle Them

There are a handful of business school essay questions that seem to capture the heart and imagination of many an MBA program.

It seems that, across the board, admissions committees feel these queries offer the best insight into the minds of their applicants. You are likely to see a version of one or more of these common MBA essay questions on your b-school application . These tips will help you craft the perfect answer.

1. Describe your specific career aspirations and your reason for pursuing an MBA.

This may be the most important essay question you tackle. You must convince the admissions committee that you deserve one of their few, cherished spots. Reference your background, skills, and career aspirations, demonstrating how this degree is a bridge to the next step in your professional life. Be sure to speak to how this particular program will help you realize your potential.

It's okay to present modest goals. Deepening your expertise and broadening your perspective are solid reasons for pursuing this degree. If you aspire to lofty goals, like becoming a CEO or starting your own company, be careful to detail a sensible (read: realistic), pragmatic plan.

Read More: Find Your Business School

2. What are your principal interests outside of work or school? What leisure and/or community activities do you particularly enjoy?

There's more to b-school than the library. The best programs buzz with the energy of a student body that is talented and creative and bursting with personality. These students are not just about case studies and careers. Describe how you will be a unique addition to the business school community.

B-school is also a very social experience. Much of the work is done in groups. Weekends are full of social gatherings or immersion experiences, and the networking you do here will impact the rest of your career. Communicate that people, not just your job, are an important part of your life.

3. Who do you most admire?

The admissions committee wants to know the qualities, attributes and strengths you value in others and hope to embrace. Drive, discipline and vision are fine examples but try and look beyond these conventional characteristics. Tell a story and provide specific examples. If you choose someone famous (which is fine), remember that you risk being one of many in the pile. Instead, consider a current boss, business associate, or friend. Know that your choice of person is less important than what you say about him or her.

4. Describe a situation in which you led a team. What challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them?

The committee isn't looking to see how you saved the team through your heroic efforts (so put yourself on ego alert). They want to see how you helped foster an environment in which everyone contributes, illustrating that the sum is greater than its parts. B-schools like leaders, but they like leaders who can help everyone get along and arrive at a collaborative solution.

You should shift gears for this question. Almost the entire application process thus far has asked you to showcase "me-me-me." Now the focus of your story needs to be on the "we" and how you made the "we" happen.

5. Our business school is a diverse environment. How will your experiences contribute to this?

This essay gets at two concerns for the admissions committee: (1) how will you enrich the student body at this school and (2) what is your attitude toward others' diverse backgrounds?

Diversity comes in many shapes. If a grandparent or relative is an immigrant to this country, you can discuss the impact of his or her values on your life. Perhaps you are the first individual in your family to attend college or graduate school. Maybe you are involved in a meaningful or unusual extracurricular activity. Whatever you choose to write, it's vital that you discuss how it contributes to your unique perspective.

6. Describe a personal achievement that has had a significant impact on your life.

Don't pull your hair out just because you haven't founded a successful start-up or swum across the English Channel. Smaller accomplishments with a lot of personal significance are just fine if they demonstrate character, sacrifice, humility, dedication, or perseverance. A good essay describes how you reached a personal objective and what that meant to you. Maybe you didn't lead a sports team to a victory. Maybe the victory was that you made it onto the team .

Read More: 20 Must-Read MBA Essay Tips

7. Discuss a non-academic personal failure. What did you learn from the experience?

Many applicants make the mistake of answering this question with a failure that is really a positive. Or they never really answer the question, fearful that any admission of failure will throw their whole candidacy into jeopardy. Don't get crafty. You should answer with a genuine mistake that the committee will recognize as authentic.

Write about a failure that had some high stakes for you. Demonstrate what you learned from your mistake and how it helped you mature. This is a chance to show b-schools your ability to be honest, show accountability, and face your failures head-on.

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Business Essay and the Best Way of Its Writing

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Business is an essential aspect of today’s evolving world. It is a lucrative industry that impacts many sectors, including education. Business-related courses are popular as many students are pursuing the programs. There are many branches in the business field, from business management to finance. College tutors often give students different business papers to test their knowledge as part of the assessment.

A business essay is an academic assignment that involves writing a paper that responds with a strategic and analytical approach to specific situations occurring in the market. Each business essay has a different topic that students tackle. However, the primary purpose of such essays is to collect relevant facts that align with the research question and analyze the data to get solutions.

Writing a business essay might seem simple, but it requires impressive writing skills and extensive research. You must be familiar with the topic to know the paper’s direction. Topic selection is a tricky section that affects the entire writing process. It is essential to identify a relevant topic to assist you in crafting a remarkable paper. You have to write a well-structured and compelling paper to get good grades. Presenting accurate arguments with supporting examples from reliable sources is an essential research aspect. Thus, a business essay must follow the required academic standards and theoretical frameworks.

However, writing is not everyone’s cup of tea, and incorporating logical arguments can be challenging. If you are stuck, you can check any business essay example online to understand the format. You will know how to structure the paper and relate it to the relevant themes.

That is why our writing service is here to help needy students craft exceptional essays. We will connect with a proficient business essay writer to help with the research and writing process. Get flawless documents from us and earn the best score in your class.

Business Essay Format

Most learners often overlook the importance of having a business essay format. It is imperative to use a format to help you outline your work. Proper thought organization and articulation are essential aspects that translate into a well-written business essay.

Below is an example of the format:

• Introduction
• Background information
• Introduce main topics
• Thesis statement
• Topic sentence
• Research explanation
• Restate points
• Significance of the study

The above outline is a map that will guide you to know what to include in each section. In addition, you will understand what the assignment requires you to do from the introduction to the conclusion.

If you still find it challenging to get the proper format, you can study a relevant business essay example from our site and jumpstart your paper. Whether you need a business school essay or a business plan essay, we have you covered.

Write Business Essay In 5 Steps

While writing might seem challenging, with the proper format and topic familiarity, you are on the right track. It is imperative to understand the writing process before composing your business essay. You need to read the prompt carefully to know what you are supposed to research and write about.

Here is an overview of the writing process in 5 simple steps:

• Topic Selection

Choosing a good topic is mandatory in crafting an excellent paper. You must select a theme that aligns with the research question. Additionally, ensure you select a familiar topic you are passionate about to avoid writing mistakes and illogical paragraphs.

• Extensive Research

Conduct extensive research to get facts and supporting evidence. Narrow down your theme and include only good points. Avoid broad topics because you will waste time during research.

• Essay Outline

Make sure you use a proper outline to organize your thoughts and line of arguments. Follow the format essay

Start writing your paper while using the required academic format. Organize your work and include the introduction, main body paragraphs, or conclusion.

• Editing and Proofreading

Finally, edit and proofread your essay to eliminate grammatical and spelling mistakes.

The above steps will help you during business essay writing to craft remarkable papers. It would be best to plan your time adequately to avoid rushing through the process. However, you must select an appropriate topic for your paper. It could be a business management essay or a marketing paper. No matter the subject discipline, ensure you follow the correct procedure.

Business Essay Topics

Our experts have compiled a list of different business essay topics to inspire your writing:

• Discuss the importance of bookkeeping in a business.
• Evaluate the impact of value addition in products.
• An analysis of income and expenditure transactions.
• Analyze the supply-chain industry.
• The effects of product promotion in business growth.
• How to develop an effective marketing strategy.
• Impact of policymaking in enhancing company productivity.
• What is multilevel marketing?
• Impact of technology in the business world.
• Discuss the challenges affecting entrepreneurship.
• Significance of human resource management.
• Explore the importance of budget analysis.
• How does technology impact advertising?
• The importance of a financial strategy.
• How to start an online business.
• How can organizations profit from sustainable practices?
• How to develop a positive organizational culture.
• The importance of employee diversity in an organization.
• Effective ways of fraud prevention in a company.
• Explore the communication channels in an organization.

Let us look at interesting argumentative business essay topics

• Discuss the influence of cultural differences on international companies.
• A comprehensive analysis of cryptocurrencies.
• Discuss the ethical dilemmas in international organizations.
• The influence of globalization on the business community.
• Should large organizations have a social media presence?
• Causes and effects of economic recession.
• Impact of politics on business growth.
• Discuss the effective strategies of negotiating cross-cultural business deals.
• Explore the integrity of online entrepreneurship.
• The impact of corporate social responsibility in an organization.

The field is quite diverse with various course programs. You can derive different topics from these programs to get logical arguments. So, get inspiration from the compelling business school essay examples and craft exceptional papers.

How To Start A Business Essay

Knowing how to start a business essay is essential for academic writing. The first step entails topic selection because it will determine the essay’s direction. Identifying a relevant topic is vital, and you need to ensure you get the suitable theme. It will also help save you time during research and simplify the writing process.

When it comes to essay writing service , business papers are among the assignments that require extensive research and analysis. Read the essay prompt carefully to understand the tutor’s expectations. Then, make sure you conduct a comprehensive brainstorming session to get the major points for your paper. Having the right points will help you compose logical arguments in a flawless manner.

Moreover, it would help to read previous essays and publications from reliable essays widely. You will get essential data to support your arguments. Besides, the sources will help you cite your essay correctly.

Start your essay with an insightful introduction and include your perspective regarding the topic. Incorporate a powerful thesis statement that informs your readers of the paper’s direction and the major points you will discuss.

Proceed to write the body paragraphs with a topic sentence that captures all significant arguments. Each paragraph should have well-explained arguments that flow logically.

Finally, conclude your business essay by restating your main points and the significance of the study.

Still, need help with your paper? Worry no more. Our competent business essay writers are on standby, ready to assist you with any academic paper. Stop wasting time and reach out to us. We will help you score top-of-the-class grades within no time.

The paper “Enterprises Resource Planning Success and Failure” is an outstanding example of a business essay. An Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system according to Aslan et al. (2012, p.693) is a management system within an organization that has sets of connected inclusive software, which may be used when espoused and put into practice effectively, to oversee and connect every organizational function. Basically, ERP systems may be employed as a tool for helping to improve the supply chain network as well as the level of performance by helping in decreasing cycle times.

Besides that, ERP systems have been utilized routinely in capital-intensive industries like building, construction, manufacturing, as well as defence. Latterly, ERP systems have advanced further and nowadays they are prevalent in industries such as education, health care, finance, hospitality, and telecommunications. Fundamentally, the benefits of ERP systems are hard to realise not unless a strong disposition, as well as participation, is established within the organisation; so, the article seeks to critically analyse ERP success and failure experienced by organisations.

BodyAs mentioned by Hellens et al. (2005, p.283), ERP systems are built upon a single database and application, as well as a coordinate that is unified in the whole organization. For that reason, every application serving different departments such as HR, accounting, and supply chain are integrated firmly under a single ERP system. Al-as observed by Al-Masha et al. (2003, p.354), ERP systems are useful when successfully implemented because they accelerate the process of decision-making. So, the success of ERP systems depends on the ability of an organisation’s managers to efficiently oversee the operation of a business, given that ERP systems can help them reduces operation costs.

Success drivers of ERP systems can be categorised into two: operational and technological drivers. In this case, operational drivers are associated with ways of improving organisational performance, supporting business strategies, as well as cutting production costs. On the other hand, technological drivers are predominantly associated with compliance with existing rules and regulations. The notion of success varies as the process of implementation continues, in that for planning and implementation (the first two stages of the cycle) success is mainly rooted in completing the ERP project to the standards that are acceptable within the budget as well as a time limit.

As pointed out by Hanafizadeh et al. (2010), stabilization as well as Improvement (the last two stages of the cycle) success is founded on the seeming impact of the ERP system on the performance of the organization. As indicated in Hanafizadeh et al. (2010) study, there are scores of factors vital for the success of ERP systems; support is top management one of the factors, and it involves encouraging commitment, positivity, and support of top management in the ERP project. Another factor is the utilization of knowledge as well as experience of system and technology consultants.

Additionally, the balanced project team is crucial for the success of ERP systems because it includes the integration of employees and information technology with the broad knowledge of the processes in the organization. As evidenced in Hellens et al. (2005) study, the accuracy of the information is crucial to the success of ERP project, so, data loaded from accessible legacy systems must at all times be of high quality. ERP project cannot succeed if the project management teams do not have a well-defined, detailed project plan related to the goals of the project.

Change management is also a success factor in the implementation of ERP project; so, careful attention has to be offered to this, considering that several changes in business processes are experienced during ERP systems implementation. Training and education are also important given that technical expertise regarding the ERP system, its reference model, and facts regarding its working are useful in the process of implementation. Other factors crucial for success consists of, availability of experts who aside from being in top management will frequently help the organization realize ERP system benefits.

Failure of ERP projects has been prevalent, and this has continued to bite worldwide across all business platforms. As pointed out in Xue et al. (2005, p.279) study, ERP poise substantial benefits like improving customer service, reducing manufacturing costs and boosts productivity, but these benefits are only realised after successfully implementing the ERP systems. Nevertheless, statistics show that implementation of ERP systems is still a failure amongst scores of companies. Statistically, 90 per cent of ERP systems implementations in Asia countries, especially China are either completed late or use more money and resources than those stipulated in budget.

In Xue et al. (2005) study, where they differentiated implementation success of ERP system in China as well as western countries, they noted that China had a higher percentage of failure which was attributed mainly to lack of support from top management as well as data inaccuracy. Other factors that led to ERP failure include poor participation, education and training, insignificant time ensuing from a minimal understanding of cross-operational organisational processes (Dechow & Mouritsen, 2005, p.691). Furthermore, ERP systems are exceedingly expensive, and also the need for the organisation to hire consultants to assist in the configuration as well as implementation, results in further escalation of price; thus, creating a high possibility of failure.

The cost used on consultants is almost thrice the cost of an ERP system; this negatively affects the productivity of the company and can lead also to the failure of the ERP system. ConclusionIn conclusion, it has been argued that ERP systems are beneficial because they improve the flow of information between every function of the company and also manages the connections to external stakeholders. Currently, the key basis of competitive advantage is the capability of a business to improve the processes of the supply chain.

This necessity has created the need for more advanced information systems like ERP systems. The articles have heightened numerous factors critical to the success of ERP, and which have allowed companies to efficiently plan their resources resulting in business efficient functionality and increased productivity. Failures as discussed in the article are caused by lack of support from top management, data inaccuracy, and lack of sufficient education and training.

The paper “New iPhones Show a Hit For Apple as Quarterly Profit Fluctuate 13 Percent” is an outstanding example of a business literature review. Yao (2014) explains that China is expected to provide information about its weakest growth since the occurrence of the global financial crisis within the third quarter while the property downturn is assessed based on manufacturing and investment. As a result, more pressure has been put on Beijing to unveil new stimulus measures. According to Yao (2014), the market assumes that the Communist Party leader will be able to adjust to the gradual slowdown. This will happen only in circumstances where there are no possibilities of experiencing a potentially destabilizing fluctuation in unemployment. However, anything weaker would lead to more speculations of key stimulus measures, for instance, an interest rate cut. Although the leadership has consistently provided steady aid specifically to vulnerable sectors of the economy, it has been noted that several stimuli have been ignored because China is still struggling to pay a huge local government debt (Yao 2014).

Article 2: New iPhones show a hit for Apple as quarterly profit fluctuate 13 percent

Due to strong demand for APPLE’s new larger-screen iPhones released in September, its quarterly profit increased by 13 percent. This also enabled APPLE to overcome the sluggish iPad sales (Jones 2014). Despite the more intensifying competition felt by Samsung Electronics as APPLE’s leading Smartphone competitor, Jones (2014) points out that the iPhone is attracting more consumers who are also ready to pay high prices particularly for cutting-edge handsets. Through its latest phones, Apple is profitably catching with its major competitors, such as, Samsung that have from time to time managed to post attractive sales of larger phones. It has also been noted that the marketing strength that iPhone has gained stands in contrast to sluggish iPad sales and the issues affecting Samsung’s Smartphone business (Jones 2014).

Article 3: Coal not the solution for poverty

Couchi (2014) examines that cheap coal-fueled electricity is highly considered by miners and politicians as the best alternative way out of poverty, particularly for developing nations. However, Africa has not considered this. In the business report provided by Couchi (2014) about the U.S financial group Citi, it can be noted that the booming market for African electricity has been a result of the coal approach. In the attempt to reinforce coals bearish outlook, Couchi (2014) reports that Citi discovered that a new International Energy Agency (IEA) outlook on the commodity is in contrast with the idea of BHP, the US coal producer Peabody as well as the Minerals Council of Australia which maintains that coal would play an integral role in minimizing energy poverty, particularly for developing countries. Despite its metallurgical and thermal forms, coal is considered the second-biggest mineral exported from Australia after iron ore (Couchi 2014).

Article 4: Ebola could be in the headlines, but tobacco is yet another killer in Africa

Research conducted by The Guardian (2014) shows that although Ebola dominates the headlines, there is yet another killer pandemic of great importance that continues to kill many people in the African continent unnoticeably. It is has been noted that tobacco kills at least one between two long term smokers. Currently, it is anticipated to kill 1 billion people globally before 2100. This is relatively more compared to the current number of people who die of Ebola. The Guardian (2014) terms this global issue as injustice and inequality because Transnational Tobacco Companies (TTCs), such as UK-based British American Tobacco (BAT) earn humungous profits yet they cause economic damage worthy over half a trillion dollars each year. Besides, TTCs contribute more to environmental degradation and thus create risks that compromise the health as well as the sustainability of populations. To earn more profits, TTCs are currently shifting and expanding their business to untapped markets in regions with unrestricted opportunities for growth (The Guardian 2014).

Article 5: NAB, ANZ lead pack in building home-lending share

The home loan is still considered the major driving force in recovering credit growth for banks. In this case, National Australian Bank (NAB) and ANZ are on the frontline to encourage the big banks in taking the advantage of the mortgage market, while home and business lending are sustainably becoming strong. Therefore, NAB and ANZ have put on media their fastest growth out of the big in all the past three months (Yeates 2014). Despite the faster growth and expansion made by NAB compared to their rivals in home lending, Yeates (2014) notes that analysts see business lending as a bigger concern because the bank has lost shares and faced more pressure, particularly on its margins. Generally, the home loan market is considered a major driving force that enables banks to recover from credit growth regardless of the risks associated with life specifically in business lending (Yeates 2014).

The paper “Globalization and Culture” is an outstanding example of a business essay. Today, it is common to hear people refer to the world as ‘a global village’. This has been a result of the process of globalization. This process has opened up and improved trade across regional and national borders. Not only has globalization enhanced economic interactions across nations but also improved access to information and uplifted the fight for human rights, among other benefits. Recent technological and communication developments along with improved road networks have been the key drivers of globalization. However, critics of globalization say that these benefits have been realized at a very high price: that of surrendering regional and national cultural values, mainly, for Western morals (Kwame, 2007).

Regarding this debate, two key schools of thought emerge. From one angle critics argue that globalization spreads out any and every culture all over the realm, leading to cultural heterogeneity and deeper understanding between diverse groups. This is mainly defined through the global production and distribution of commodities such that people in different parts of the world have access to commodities they would otherwise have never seen. A case in point is the cultural interaction between the United States and Japan. Teens in the U.S interact with the Japanese culture through their comic books, animations and video games, while teens in Japan interact with the American culture through watching TV shows and Hollywood movies produced in the U.S (Kwame, 2007).

On the flip side, critics argue that globalization erodes the regional and national cultural identity through cultural homogeneity. This leads to a cohesive global culture constituting diluted varieties of regional and national cultural nuances. For instance, French pastries, ‘American’ fried chicken, and Japanese sushi can be eaten in almost any part of the world. Restraint chains such as MacDonald’s and Starbucks have influenced traditions and behaviors in different countries. Even though champions of globalization claim that this merely affects consumer goods and media broadcasting, critics contend that it deteriorates customary culture ((Kwame, 2007; Czinkota, 2003).

Culture is a prevalent aspect in business whether it is in marketing, production, or human resource management. It is a key variable in the function of success in new markets (Czinkota, 2003). People’s purchasing decisions are based on a product’s design, style or color that supports their religious beliefs and practices. Empirical evidence shows that the success or failure of a company, especially, in a foreign market is reliant upon the effective managerial exercise of local religious beliefs and practices. Therefore, managers ought to be on familiar terms with their market’s religious differences given that religion influences people’s attitudes. For instance, Asians have a different attitude toward authority and women that differs from Western beliefs and practices. Whereas many parts of the world, including Asia, South America, and Africa, value collectivism very much, Americans are more individualistic. Chinese, Latin Americans and Koreans take time casually even as Americans are more proactive.

Failing to appreciate the religious beliefs and practices of the market will often lead to lots of inadvertent mistakes, such as being socially violent, cultural mix-ups, tarnished interpersonal relations, poor negotiations. As a consequence, the company’s future performance dwindles as profits decline. Lack of religious competence, or religious dogmatism, can easily put at risk millions of dollars through fruitless negotiations, lost purchases or sales, and pitiable customer relationships (Czinkota, 2003).

Cultural Literacy

Culture is a broad system that includes traditions, beliefs, attitudes, values, institutions and social interactions. This system reflects the global crunch facing the human race, and so it is a cultural catastrophe (UNESCO 1997). Dealing with such a cultural diversity calls for an important skill referred to as cultural competence. Chrisman (2007) defines cultural competence as ‘attitudes, practice skills, and system savvy for cross-cultural conditions’. The key force in work involving cultural competence is the people’s flexibility and ability to appropriately consider and treat the general public politely and in a proper way fitting their culture. Cultural literacy takes account of cultural competence plus the capacity to analytically mirror, and if needed institute change in, one’s a specific culture. Cultural literacy also comprises the capacity to examine the actions of central cultures measured against other cultures. This becomes very much useful in business. A case in point is the understanding of the effect of globalization or cross-cultural businesses on indigenous cultures all over the world.

Cultural literacy has been likened to an iceberg, through the iceberg model of culture. This is due to the expanse contextual material one requires to understand the culture. Cultural literacy often involves much more than the information essentially spoken. In other words, to understand the meaning of a cultural term, one has got to have much information that is not revealed by the bare meaning of that term. The clear cultural meaning of the term is like the ‘tip of an iceberg’ meaning that the deeper understanding lies below the casual meaning of the term and it constitutes a person’s own applicable information. It is known that 15 per cent or less of an iceberg can be seen above the water surface, 85 per cent or more of the iceberg is submerged below the water surface. This means that there is quite a different picture depicted shallowly from that which is the actual translation in the literature, giving the imprint that implied information comprises relatively tiny bits and pieces of information, left out by the correspondent due to dismissal or suitability (Hawkes, 2001).

Figure 1: Iceberg Model of Culture

It has been stated earlier that culture is a broad system that among other aspects involves religion. The world is very diverse in terms of culture as well as religion. Each culture embodies a creation in itself and yet it is not closed. Cultures give religious convictions semantics, and religions provide decisive connotation to each culture. Religion is a way of life for numerous cultures saturating every one human action. In other cultures, it characterizes the utmost ambitions of human life, and for others, religion is an institution that claims to convey a meaning of deliverance (Hawkes, 2001).

The paper “The Different Communications ” is an outstanding example of a management assignment. Phone: 23 rd August: the communication was made to remind that the bill for the mobile phone is outstanding and if not paid within the date will have a fine imposed on it. The communication was successful as it helped to fulfill my need and acted as a reminder. Further, the call also ensured that it was complete and all the details like outstanding amount, due date, late fine, and other details were provided. The call was complete and highlighted the important aspect which if ignored could have an impact on my usage.

Radio: 24 th August: The communication was made regarding the areas which are having huge traffic and showed the roads which should be avoided. The communication was successful as it helped to fulfill my requirements by highlighting the different roads which need to be avoided and which need to be used. The communication was further clear and loud regarding the different roads and path which should be avoided. This method acted as one where proper guidance was provided and acting in the correct way was highlighted so those correct decisions can be taken.

Communications that were unsuccessful

Television: 24 th August: The communication was made regarding the sale of women’s garments. The communication was ineffective because in the first instance it didn’t meet my needs and requirements as I was not looking to shop. Secondly, the message was not constructed properly as it didn’t speak about the brands which were available on sale, the different garments which were available, and also didn’t highlight the date when the sale would end.

Phone: 25 th August: The communication was made regarding the mobile bill payment which has already been made. The call was ineffective because it was not required as the payment has been made and I had the required receipt. The call was instead a wastage of time. In addition to it, the call was not constructed properly and required to focus on areas through which a message would have been enough as a source of communication to ensure that the payment was correctly entered.

Reasons for communication not to be successful

The communication process can be improved in the following ways

Firstly, ensuring that the communication which is made is required and is addressed properly so that the person who receives the communication gains from it (Nicholas, 2013)

Secondly, providing complete information is essential as it will serve as a benchmark to evaluate the manner in which different information is passed (Anne & Bochner, 2007). It will also help to understand the important matter which has been spoken and will help to highlight the manner in which changes can make so that proper communication and message is passed

Thirdly, the targeted audience was wrong and it is important to correct the audience (Mehrabian and Susan, 2007). This will help to improve the validity and reliability of the communication and will ensure that the process of communication becomes effective and is directed towards the correct person

Fourthly, the process of communication needs to be improved and changed so that the message is correctly interpreted and passed with the same intention (Imahori & Lanigan, 2012). This will help the listeners to evaluate the message in the correct form and will help to ensure maximum response.

Fifthly, the media which are used needs to be chosen wisely as the usage of a message instead of a phone call for bill paid confirmation would have been more helpful and could have caught the attention of the audience in a better way. This would have multiplied the effectiveness of communication and would have helped to understand the important points and issues.

The process of communication thereby requires working on the smaller and important aspect so that the overall process of communication improves and helps to provide the required dimensions through which effectiveness can be gained in the manner messages are passed.

The paper “Why Did Telefonica Initially Focus on Latin America” is a perfect example of a business assignment. Based on Telefonica’s objectives of rapidly increasing shareholder value, profits and achieving growth, it had to take advantage of location economies. Hence, the company initially focused on Latin America, as it must have perceived FDI to be a means for circumnavigating trade barriers. Indeed, the reasons why Telefonica initially focused on Latin America are perceivable through the lens of the Uppsala Model Theory.

According to the theory, the internalisation of a company across many foreign markets is correlated to psychic distance, where the first entry is to foreign markets that are familiar and closer in regards to the psychic distance of the host country, before making subsequent entries in foreign markets with greater psychic distance. Psychic distance comprises the differences in culture, language and political systems (Falvo & Parshad 2005).

Within the perspective of Uppsala Model Theory, it should be argued that companies tend to gradually increase their activities in international markets through a series of incremental stages, where the succeeding steps are anchored in learning and adapting to foreign markets (Pandian & Sim 2002).

This implies that the firms fast gain experience from the markets, where they have closer cultural ties before expanding to foreign markets. For instance, Telefonica had to first gain experience as a telecoms operator in Latin America, since the region has deep cultural ties with Spain, where it is headquartered.

Strategic competitive advantages

The company’s decision to slowly expand to Europe appeared opportunistic as well as strategic. Europe had initially possessed trade barriers that lowered the chances of successful entries. Essentially, there is a correlation between culture and national competitive advantage, where countries that are likely to impose trade barriers, in terms of competition are bypassed in preference to those that are less competitive (Enu & Attah-Obeng 2010). This argument is based on Dunning’s Eclectic Theory, which hypothesises that a company will always seek to leverage their specific advantages, including marketing, knowledge, skilled personnel, technology and information (Dunning 2001).

In this case, the Latin American markets were growing rapidly. They also experienced an increased high adoption rate and usage of mobile phones and internet connections. Additionally, after the Spanish government privatised Telefonica and deregulated the Spanish telecommunications market, the company’s core objective became increasing shareholder value, profits and achieving growth.

This implies that profit maximisation is a major drive to foreign direct development; through the use of particular advantages the company has (Glesem et al. 1990). It, therefore, had to select a region that would enable it to achieve higher profits. The company selected Latin America over Europe. Latin America had few entry barriers, such as competition and government regulations, while Europe had greater barriers due to more competitors. This implies that imperfect competition within the marketplace is a key incentive for expanding abroad. Besides, European mobile telecommunications operators had agreed they would not invade each other’s markets. However, after the entry of America Movil into Latin America, Telefonica faced a stronger competitor, forcing it to expand to Europe.

Commenting on other student’s post:

Why did Telefonica initially focus on Latin America?  Why was it slower to expand in Europe, even though Spain is a member of the European Union?

While the student hinted at the growth of multinational enterprises, a brief outline detailing why the company expanded and reasons for expansion could have provided a more relevant backdrop. Additionally, the reference to the Socialist Party by Popular Part in the general election of 1996 was irrelevant and out of context. The student’s decision to link the factors for the European Union to the opening of the telecommunications sector was misplaced. Rather, the student should have selected reasons why Telefonica selected to begin operating in Latin America before making headway to Europe. However, reference to high competition in the sector in Europe was justified.

Accordingly, the student should have explored the close cultural ties between Spain and Latin America, as the major drivers that triggered Telefonica to first launch in the region before expanding to Europe. In supporting the argument, a reference to a relevant theory, such as the Uppsala Model Theory could have pointed to the reasons why internationalisation of a company across many foreign markets is correlated to psychic distance (Uhasselt. be 2005). This includes why the initial entry is mostly made in foreign markets that are familiar and closer in regards to the psychic distance of the host country. Afterward, an explanation of what this meant to Telefonica based on the theory could have been appropriate (Gustafsson & Zasada 2011). For instance, the student should have stated that firms get to fast gain experience from the markets where they have closer cultural ties before expanding to foreign markets.

The student should have based his arguments on Dunning’s Eclectic Theory, which proposes that firms tend to use their peculiar advantages such as marketing, knowledge, skilled personnel, technology and information (Rugman 2010). Further, he should have stated that companies view FDI as a means to circumnavigate trade barriers before going forth to describe the correlation between culture and national competitive advantage, where countries that are likely to impose trade barriers in terms of competition are bypassed in preference to those that are less competitive.

While the student was also justified in arguing that the company sought to maximise profitability and to increase shareholder value, no basis was provided to support the argument, based on the case study. At this stage, the student should have suggested a theory to support his argument (Morgan & Katsikeas 1999). Later, the student should have provided examples from the case study to defend the choice of the theory he selected. However, the student provided examples outside the case study, such as “Telefonica has been able to establish footprints in 24 countries and having an average of 120,000 professionals with consolidated revenues of 24,957 million euros in January-June 2014 and more than 315.7 million customers at June 2014”

Additionally, the reasons the student outlined as the likely motivators for Telefonica to launch first in Latin America before making entries in Europe cannot be justified, as they have not been argued appropriately. For instance, in suggesting political developments, taking policy advantage and the fact that the markets shared a common language, the student should have discussed the concept of psychic distance and the related theory, such as the Uppsala Model Theory.

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Inspira Advantage

How to Write a Killer MBA Essay

Introduction.

Writing a great MBA essay is a crucial component of applying to business school . According to Lisa Koengeter , the Director of Admissions at Booth School of Business , your essay provides them with “a better understanding of you, your self-assessment and your aspirations.” 

This article will outline what MBA admissions committees look for in your essays, show you how to write a killer MBA essay, and tell you what mistakes to avoid.

Types of MBA Essays

There are a few different types of MBA essay questions you will answer as part of your MBA application. The type of essay can be determined through the keywords used in the essay question. Each type of essay will have its own length requirements, depending on the business school.

This type of essay asks you to detail your personal and professional goals and how attending business school will help you achieve them. An essay question that asks about your aspirations or what you hope to gain from an MBA program is classified as a goal essay.

For example, Wharton is one of many schools that ask for a goal essay from applicants using the question: “What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA?” Columbia , NYU Stern , Darden , Dartmouth Tuck , and McCombs are some of the many other schools that ask about your goals.

Self-Reflection

A self-reflection essay is an opportunity for you to showcase the values and characteristics that make up your personal identity. It also requires you to discuss how you handled a failure at some point in your life or how you would approach an ethical dilemma.

Yale School of Management is one business school that uses self-reflection questions in its MBA essays . They want to know what the biggest commitment you have ever made is, including why you chose it and how you went about making it. 

Answering this question will require you to do some deep reflection in order to answer it thoroughly. 

Contribution

The objective of this type of essay is to show an admissions committee how you will add value and contribute to their MBA program. 

Booth School of Business poses this question: “An MBA is as much about personal growth as it is about professional development. In addition to sharing your experience and goals in terms of career, we’d like to learn more about you outside of the office. Use this opportunity to tell us something about who you are.” 

Booth clearly wants you to elaborate on who you are, what you value, and how you live those values in your everyday life.

Some business schools want to know about the impact you will have on their program and pose a question that asks you to describe a time when you demonstrated leadership. This will involve discussing why you took on the leadership role in your chosen situation and your leadership impact.

Darden School of Business poses essay questions designed to gauge your leadership capabilities and the impact you’ll have on the program. As Dean of Admissions Dawna Clarke states, they are interested in “cultivating high impact leaders.” 

It’s no surprise that one of their essay questions from a recent application cycle was, “Darden strives to identify and cultivate responsible leaders who follow their purpose. Please provide an example of a situation in which you have made a meaningful impact.”

Instead of writing a traditional essay, some business schools ask you to submit a video essay. The types of questions asked for a video essay can range from a short introduction to longer, multi-component questions.

Kellogg is one business school that uses video essays . They will ask you three questions. First up is an introduction, and the second is about your career goals and how Kellogg will help get you there. 

The third question varies annually and is generally more randomized, so you and all the other applicants won’t necessarily respond to the same question. 

How to Write a Great Business School Essay

Successfully writing business school essays is tricky. Many factors go into constructing a successful one. However, the top tips we’ve provided below outline how to write an MBA application essay that stands out from the crowd. 

Pay Attention to Your Essay Structure

Blair Mannix , the Admissions Director at Wharton, noticed successful essays all had the same structure: the setup, the pivot point, and the future. 

The setup is the opening of your essay, where you tell the admissions committee about who you are, what you do, and what you have learned so far. 

The pivot point is where you shift from discussing what you already know and do to talking about what you would like to learn and how that will help you succeed. Mannix also describes this as a lightbulb moment, where something clicks, and you realize that if you had more education in one or two areas, you would be better at your job. 

The final section of your essay is your opportunity to describe how gaining knowledge and skills in the area(s) you identified in the pivot point will help your career and why that specific MBA program will make this possible.

For essays that ask you to describe how you will contribute to the institution’s MBA community, Mannix states successful essays are personal, set up as a story, and show how your experiences resonate with the community.

Consider the Tone You Use While Writing Your Essay

It’s important to be genuine in your essay. Admissions committees want to know about you as a person and know if you’re being insincere or simply writing what you think they want to hear. 

As Laurel Grodman from Yale School of Management states, your essay is an “opportunity to speak in your own voice about something meaningful and distinctive in your life.” Don’t waste this opportunity by writing about something you think will make you look better. 

Write something that actually matters to you.

Authenticity is another key element to incorporate in your essay. Clarke recommends integrating aspects of your personality into your essay. For example, she suggests showcasing your creativity, humor, or any other attributes you possess. This allows admission committees to get to know you even better.

The Best MBA Essays Are School-Specific 

At first, this seems like an obvious one; of course, writing a business school essay means writing about the business school itself. However, this is a great opportunity to show off your research and explain why you specifically want to attend this institution. 

Have you looked into the school’s curriculum? Have you found which extracurricular opportunities you want to pursue if you are admitted? Are there any research centers that you want to become involved in? 

Show how this school is the ideal stepping stone to help you achieve your future ambitions. The University of Cambridge Judge Business School provides two MBA application essay examples that highlight the importance of this: 

Example 1 - “The programme will equip me with an entrepreneurial toolkit, allowing me to efficiently evaluate and capitalise on future business opportunities, further bolstering my credibility with future stakeholders.”

Example 2 - “Upon completion of the MBA programme at Cambridge Judge Business School I want to be a decisive and successful business professional.”

The first example is far more compelling; it explains what the student will gain from the program and how they will use it to achieve future success. 

Pick an Event or Situation That Matters to You

When you select your topic to write about in your MBA essay, you need to make sure it is something that had a significant impact on your life and resonates with you personally. This will help ensure your authenticity shows through.

Kellogg Director of Admissions Jennifer Hayes , says that “the best essays [she has] read have heart, are not over-edited, and let the applicant’s personality emerge.” This is best done when you do not force yourself to write something you think admissions directors want to read, but rather tell an organic story that carries significant personal meaning.

The Importance of Storytelling in MBA Essays

Business school admissions officers want to see how you approach traits like leadership and commitment in your MBA application essay. Yet, if you describe an experience and don’t reflect upon it, you will not highlight your mindset, dedication, and motivation. 

The best writers outline the traits that business schools want to see by telling personal stories and anecdotes. But how can you do that? It’s simple — show how your experiences impacted you. Don’t just tell us about it. 

Indeed, to use the idea of commitment as an example, Yale’s admissions committee “cares less about the commitment you choose and more about the behaviors surrounding the commitment.” They want to “come away learning something new about you as a person that helps us understand your values and motivations.”

Illustrating how your experiences affect your values and motivations is difficult; this process requires a lot of introspection and self-reflection. The trick is to use plenty of real-life examples and explain how they embody your values. 

One way to successfully do this is to use the STAR technique . The STAR technique is split into four distinct steps: 

• Situation - Describe the situation and when it took place.
• Task - Explain the task and what was the goal.
• Action - Provide details about the action you took to attain this.
• Result - Conclude with the result of your action.

Using the four steps outlined above, you can create concise, compelling answers to your essay prompts. Let’s use one of the Berkeley Haas essay prompts as an example for an MBA essay outline:

What makes you feel alive when you are doing it, and why? (300 words maximum) . 

We can split this prompt into two sections: 

• Describe an activity, hobby, or anything that makes you “feel alive” when you do it. 
• Explain why you find so much enjoyment in this one thing. 

Storytelling is key here, and the STAR technique can help you break down exactly what you want to say. Remember, it is important to reflect upon your experiences and, in this case, show why you enjoy something. 

If you manage to do this in your essays and show how you achieved results along the way, you will submit a strong MBA application essay. 

Plagiarizing Your MBA Essay 

Plagiarism is a big deal. 

Even if a student doesn’t intend to plagiarize someone’s work, colleges can and will detect it. If colleges detect plagiarism, they will likely reject the application outright; UCLA’s Anderson School of Management rejected 52 MBA hopefuls for application plagiarism. 

Applicants can easily and accidentally plagiarize someone else’s work by following MBA essay examples too closely. Essay examples are useful, as they can inspire you and give you an idea of how you can reflect upon your experiences. However, someone has written that example about their own experience in their own words, and you can’t copy it. 

If you are worried about plagiarism, the simple fix is to be original. After all, admissions committees want to hear about your experiences, motivations, and opinions. 

Authenticity is also an extremely important part of writing well; you will come across as more genuine writing about your genuine thoughts and experiences. If you want to check your work, you can use reliable and low-cost plagiarism checker tools like PrePostSEO and Copyscape .  

MBA Essay Examples

US News wrote an article on what makes for a successful MBA essay. They provided the following MBA entrance essay sample essays written by applicants recently admitted into highly reputable business schools.

This sample was written for Fox School of Business at Temple University .

This essay was well-received by the admissions committee because it was written clearly and concisely, free of grammatical errors, and told a story. The candidate showed their personality and explained why a Fox MBA would help them achieve their career goals. 

This particular candidate was honest in their essay about their weaknesses and professional growth, which is generally well-received by admissions committees. The candidate detailed the initiative they had taken in learning about the MBA program at Fox and why they decided to apply.

This next successful essay sample was written for the Yale School of Management.

Similar to the previous example, this essay told a compelling story through a clear narrative. This particular essay began with an anecdote that demonstrated the candidate’s work ethic, initiative, leadership, and resourcefulness.

This show-don’t-tell essay displayed what was important to the applicant and offered the admission committee insight into their personality and values. It also provided as much detail as was possible, given the 500-word limit.

Don’t Rely Too Much on MBA Essay Examples 

While MBA essay examples are valuable tools to see what got applicants into business school, they all have one problem: They are not yours. Other peoples’ essay examples don’t focus on your achievements, values, motivations, or experiences. 

In their essays, originality and authenticity are two critical themes that business schools look for because your life is unique. Remember, MBA essay writing is all about getting to know you , and your essays should truly reflect who you are as a person. 

MBA essay examples are useful. They can provide you inspiration, an idea of what can work, and outline how to discuss your own experiences. However, you need to draw a line in the sand and write your own essay at some point. 

People are admitted to particular schools for a wide variety of reasons. While their essays are one of those reasons, what works for one person might not work for you. Try not to overthink it — write about your experiences, background, and, most importantly, opinion. 

Mistakes to Avoid While Writing Your MBA Essay

In addition to following the steps for writing a great MBA essay outlined above, there are also some common mistakes you’ll want to avoid while writing your essay. These mistakes are listed below, along with solutions to fix them.

Submitting an Overly Complex Essay

Admissions committees don’t want to know how many buzzwords and how much industry-related jargon you know. They’re looking to find out about you as a person, not solely as a business person. 

Committees may become frustrated if they have to decipher what you’ve written in your overly complicated essay, especially since your application isn’t the only one that needs reviewing.

The fix : Use your own words and write as if you were talking professionally to a coworker. That way, your essay will sound more straightforward and personal and allow you to make a better connection with your reader.

Not Reading the Essay Question Closely or Misunderstanding the Question

You need to know how to answer MBA essay questions. Misreading or misunderstanding the question will lead you to write an essay that completely misses what the admissions committee wants to learn about you. 

This can lead to your application being discarded.

The fix : Find the keyword(s) in the question first. This will provide you with what the admission committee hopes to learn about you in the essay. 

In the Types of MBA Essays section above, identifying terms such as “contribute,” “gain,” and “lead” shows what the admissions committee is looking for you to answer. It is also a good idea to seek clarification if you find the question confusing. 

Restating Your Resume or Letters of Recommendation

Admission committees don’t want your essay to be a restatement of what’s already outlined in your business school resume and letters of recommendation . Your MBA essay should be unique and should tell a story that can’t be found elsewhere in your application.

The fix : Take some time to think about what you want to write about that answers the essay question and isn’t detailed anywhere else in your application. But suppose the moment or experience you want to write about is already included. 

In that case, you could instead focus on a particular project and describe some of the challenges you encountered, how you overcame them, the project’s outcome, and what you learned from the experience. 

Starting Your MBA Essay Close to the Deadline 

Starting too close to the deadline means you won’t have enough time to put together a clear, concise, and expertly written narrative. If you’re rushed, you’re more likely to make simple mistakes.

The fix : Start planning your essay(s) as soon as the essay questions are made available. Take time to create an outline for each essay so you have a solid plan for when you start to write your draft. 

By starting well ahead of the application deadline, you’ll give yourself plenty of time to write and revise without being crunched for time and stressed.

Giving Half-Baked Reasons for Attending Business School  

Business school admissions committees use your essays to gauge your interest in their program and institution. So, if you are vague about your career plans and why you should get an MBA at a specific school, take the time to outline them. 

Admissions officers want to see applicants who demonstrate clear and well-defined goals. So, do your college research and explain why you want to attend their program. 

1. How Long Should My MBA Application Essay Be?

The length of your MBA essay will depend on the specific school; some schools allow up to 500 words, while others want a very short and to-the-point response of 150 words. 

The length set out by the MBA program you’re applying to is an important consideration, and it is not a good idea to go over the word limit. Admissions committees want to see that you can follow instructions and are capable of writing succinctly. It will not reflect well on you to go over the allowed word count.

2. Is the MBA Essay Less Important Than My GPA and GMAT Score?

No, your MBA essay is at least equally as important as your GPA and GMAT score . While your GPA and GMAT scores are good indicators of your academic abilities, the MBA essay is the admission committee’s first opportunity to get to know you personally. 

This is also the first impression you will make on the committee, so it’s imperative that you write a strong and compelling essay. Most business schools use a holistic approach to assessing applications, and your response to the essay question can determine whether you are a good fit for their program.

3. Is There an MBA Essay Guide for Reapplicants?

Many schools will require or suggest that reapplicants submit an additional essay. 

This will vary by school, and it is important to check with each school’s website for the exact details of what’s expected of reapplicants. If it’s optional, it is a good idea to submit one because it allows you to explain how you’ve grown personally and professionally since your previous application. 

4. Can I Use the Same Business School Essay if I’m Reapplying?

It’s unlikely you’ll be successful using the same essay since your response could have been the reason you were rejected the first time around. 

It’s best to consult with an MBA admissions expert or mentor to find out where you went wrong and what you can do to make your reapplication essay strong and stand out in the best way possible.

5. How Do I Edit My MBA Essay Draft to Make It Better?

First of all, make sure there are no errors with your spelling, grammar, and syntax. Business schools want students with superb communication skills, and having basic errors in your MBA essay does not demonstrate that you have strong communication skills. 

Then, you should go through the common mistakes outlined above and make sure those are not present in your essay; if they are, fix them. Seeking a second opinion from a friend, mentor, colleague, or MBA essay editing expert will also help locate errors or improvement areas.

6. How Can I Ensure My Business School Essay Stands Out?

Whether you are faced with the Wharton MBA essays , Harvard Business School essay , or Booth MBA essays , to name a few, there are a few things you can do to make your essay stand out. 

The event or experience you choose to write about should be something you are able to write about in a compelling narrative. It should also be something you can write about with passion, which will allow the admission committee to see your genuine and authentic voice. 

Your strengths should be woven in with the story you’re telling. These things will make your essay stand out to the admission committee and help them remember you.

Unlock Your Future with the Perfect Business School Essay

Knowing how to write a great MBA essay can be a challenging component of the business school application process. 

But, if you know where to start, make an outline for each essay, and get expert assistance, the process becomes significantly more manageable. Following these steps will help you write a killer MBA essay.

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8. Previous Research Experience Essay

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9. Sample Experience Essay

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10. Coaching Experience Essay

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11. College Experience Essay

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What Is an Experience Essay?

An experience essay is a composition that requires you to narrate an event that you have personally experienced. It is a type of academic essay that most high school, colleges, and post-graduation studies assign their students to write to improve their writing. Most scholarship applications also require you to write this essay. In addition, some people devise this as a part of their resume when applying for work. 

How to Compose a Riveting Experience Essay

Composing various literature essays will also require you to apply different skills. In that sense, this piece of writing will test your storytelling skills. How do you effectively narrate a story on a paper? You can discover that as you go through the process of learning how to devise this document.

1. Choose an Unforgettable Memory

In selecting an experience to tell, you should choose those experiences that considerably impacted your personal life. It can be either be a positive or a negative experience. For example, you can write about your best day or the worst experience you had. Most people would opt for unique topics, but that is not a requirement. The important thing is how to make your unforgettable experience memorable for your readers. 

2. Arrange the Sequence of Events  

Sometimes when people share something, they often tell another story in between and then go back to their original topic. That’s a no-no in writing your experience essay. It needs to be carefully structured. That said, you need to arrange it by properly sequencing the events. There are available blank outline templates online to help you with this task.

3. Devise an Engrossing Introductory Paragraph

An impressive introduction should contain a compelling hook and a powerful thesis statement . The first paragraph of your essay can be a make or break factor for your entire writing. People often start judging the quality of your composition after reading your introductory paragraph. It sets the vibe and gives them the first impression. It is essential to pay a lot of attention to this segment.

4. Craft a Rousing Statement for Your Conclusion

Your conclusion paragraph should provide the gist and the purpose of your experience essay. In this last part, you should restate your thesis statement and summarize the underlying message of your writing. It should include a personal reflection regarding what that particular event made you learn about yourself. A conclusion for an essay should be powerful enough to rouse the emotions of your readers.

How should you describe an experience in your essay?

Writing a personal experience essay does not only require you to provide the order of events that happened in your experience. Instead, you should include describing what you are thinking and feeling at that moment. In addition, you should also mention the activities that are also happening during your experiences. Don’t forget to include the reactions of the people involved in your story.

What are good topics for an experience essay?

One of the most important factors to consider in choosing your topic is the thematic statement it presents. Do you want to write about love, friendship, or family? You can also choose to compose about the defining moments of your life. Such as the time you faced your greatest fears or the day you met your best friend.

What makes an experience essay different from a narrative essay?

An experience essay and a narrative essay are mostly similar. Both of these writings focus on narrating an experience of the writer. Despite that, there is something that sets them apart from each other. An experience essay focuses more on an individual’s discovery about oneself. On the other hand, the latter aims to inform the readers of how the experience made the writer realize things. Particularly the lessons regarding another person or an issue.

The act of composing this type of essay is a formative experience. In the process of writing it, you can learn lessons about yourself as well as on writing essays. Your life experiences are full of lessons. Ensure to capture the message and convey it to your readers. Secure that employment or that award certificate by crafting your experience essay thoroughly.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Life Experiences — Personal Experience

Personal Experience Essays

Personal experiences are the threads that weave the fabric of our lives. Writing a personal experience essay isn't just about storytelling; it's about finding meaning, connecting with others, and leaving your mark on the world. So, why should you write an essay about your personal experiences? Let's explore the importance together! 🌟

Personal Experience Essay Topics 📝

Selecting the right essay topic is key to crafting a compelling narrative. Here's how to pick one:

Personal Experience Argumentative Essay 🤨

Argumentative essays based on personal experiences require you to defend a viewpoint or argument. Here are ten intriguing topics:

• 1. Argue for or against the idea that personal experiences are the most influential factors shaping an individual's personality.
• 2. Defend your perspective on whether overcoming adversity through personal experiences builds stronger character.
• 3. Debate the impact of personal experiences on shaping one's political beliefs and values.
• 4. Argue for the significance of sharing personal experiences in order to promote empathy and understanding among diverse communities.
• 5. Defend the idea that personal experiences play a crucial role in career development and decision-making.
• 6. Debate the ethical implications of sharing deeply personal experiences in the era of social media and oversharing.
• 7. Argue for the therapeutic benefits of writing about and reflecting on personal experiences.
• 8. Defend your perspective on whether personal experiences should be a central part of school curricula.
• 9. Debate the influence of personal experiences on an individual's approach to health and wellness.
• 10. Argue for or against the notion that personal experiences can serve as catalysts for social change and activism.

Personal Experience Cause and Effect Essay 🤯

Cause and effect essays based on personal experiences explore the reasons behind events and their consequences. Here are ten topics to consider:

• 1. Analyze the causes and effects of a life-changing personal experience on your academic or career choices.
• 2. Examine how personal experiences can lead to personal growth, increased self-awareness, and improved well-being.
• 3. Investigate the effects of travel experiences on personal perspectives and cultural understanding.
• 4. Analyze the causes and consequences of sharing personal experiences with others, including its impact on relationships.
• 5. Examine how personal experiences can influence one's hobbies, interests, and leisure activities.
• 6. Investigate the impact of a significant personal experience on your family dynamics and relationships.
• 7. Analyze the causes of personal transformation through exposure to diverse cultures and environments.
• 8. Examine how personal experiences can shape one's attitude toward risk-taking and adventure.
• 9. Investigate the effects of sharing personal experiences through writing, art, or storytelling on your personal well-being.
• 10. Analyze the causes and consequences of personal experiences that challenge societal norms and expectations.

Personal Experience Opinion Essay 😌

Opinion essays based on personal experiences allow you to express your subjective viewpoints. Here are ten topics to consider:

• 1. Share your opinion on the importance of documenting personal experiences for future generations.
• 2. Discuss your perspective on whether personal experiences should be kept private or shared openly.
• 3. Express your thoughts on how personal experiences have shaped your sense of identity and self-worth.
• 4. Debate the significance of personal experiences in fostering empathy and compassion among individuals and communities.
• 5. Share your views on the role of personal experiences in building resilience and coping with life's challenges.
• 6. Discuss the impact of personal experiences on your approach to decision-making and problem-solving.
• 7. Express your opinion on the therapeutic benefits of writing or talking about personal experiences.
• 8. Debate the influence of personal experiences on your sense of purpose and life goals.
• 9. Share your perspective on how personal experiences can inspire creativity and artistic expression.
• 10. Discuss your favorite personal experience and the lessons or insights it has provided.

Personal Experience Informative Essay 🧐

Informative essays based on personal experiences aim to educate readers. Here are ten informative topics to explore:

• 1. Provide an in-depth analysis of the impact of a specific personal experience on your career choices and aspirations.
• 2. Explore the therapeutic benefits of journaling and writing about personal experiences for mental health and well-being.
• 3. Investigate the history and significance of storytelling as a means of preserving personal experiences and cultural heritage.
• 4. Analyze the connection between personal experiences and the development of emotional intelligence.
• 5. Examine the influence of personal experiences on decision-making processes and risk assessment.
• 6. Investigate the role of personal experiences in shaping cultural perceptions and worldviews.
• 7. Provide insights into the art of crafting compelling narratives based on personal experiences.
• 8. Analyze the impact of personal experiences on an individual's resilience and ability to adapt to change.
• 9. Examine how personal experiences can serve as valuable life lessons and sources of wisdom.
• 10. Investigate the therapeutic benefits of group discussions and support networks for individuals sharing similar personal experiences.

Personal Experience Essay Example 📄

Personal experience thesis statement examples 📜.

Here are five examples of strong thesis statements for your personal experience essay:

• 1. "Through the lens of personal experiences, we uncover the profound impact that seemingly ordinary moments can have on our lives, reshaping our perspectives and guiding our journeys."
• 2. "Personal experiences serve as powerful mirrors reflecting our growth, resilience, and capacity to navigate life's challenges, ultimately shaping the narratives of our existence."
• 3. "The sharing of personal experiences is an act of vulnerability and courage, fostering connections, empathy, and a deeper understanding of the human condition."
• 4. "Our personal experiences are the brushstrokes on the canvas of our identity, influencing our choices, values, and the stories we tell ourselves and others."
• 5. "In exploring personal experiences, we embark on a journey of self-discovery, unlocking the untold stories that shape our uniqueness and enrich our shared human tapestry."

Personal Experience Essay Introduction Examples 🚀

Here are three captivating introduction paragraphs to kickstart your essay:

• 1. "Amid the chaos of everyday life, our personal experiences are the constellations that guide us, the moments that define us. As we embark on this essay journey into the depths of our own stories, we unravel the threads of our existence, each tale a testament to the power of the personal."
• 2. "Picture a canvas where the brushstrokes are the chapters of your life—a canvas waiting for you to paint your experiences, thoughts, and emotions. The personal experience essay is your opportunity to create a masterpiece that reflects the colors of your journey."
• 3. "In a world of noise and distractions, our personal experiences are the melodies that resonate within us. As we venture into the heart of this essay, we uncover the symphony of our lives—a composition of highs, lows, and the beauty in between."

Personal Experience Conclusion Examples 🌟

Conclude your essay with impact using these examples:

• 1. "As we close the chapter on this exploration of personal experiences, we are reminded that our stories are the threads that connect us all. The journey continues, and each experience, no matter how small, contributes to the tapestry of our shared humanity."
• 2. "In the final brushstroke of our personal experience essay, we recognize that our stories are not finite; they are ever-evolving, ever-inspiring. The canvas of life awaits, ready for us to create new narratives and continue shaping our destinies."
• 3. "As the echoes of our personal experiences linger, we stand at the intersection of past, present, and future. The essay's conclusion is but a pause in the symphony of our lives, with countless more notes to be played and stories to be written."

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The new book of jobs: How India Inc. is navigating through a changing work environment

• Byline: Krishna Gopalan
• Producer: Arnav Das Sharma

Companies are scrambling to meet the demands of the disruptive post-pandemic business environment. They are creating new functions even as they confront a huge change in the composition of the workforce

For the past two years, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) has gone to business schools specifically looking for graduates inclined towards digital commerce. That’s nothing unusual, except that traditional sales and marketing functions have made way for new job descriptions. It indicates a changing India where many opportunities have forced companies regardless of size to look for talent but with a difference, and this comes forth in the BT -Taggd survey of The Best Companies to Work For in India this year. 

Just what is the change? Today’s talent—and there’s plenty of that in India—is looking for a new set of challenges and new-age roles. For them, a sales and marketing job is passé. For instance, HUL has created the position of e-commerce manager. Large FMCG companies see around 10% of their revenues in the digital age coming from e-commerce channels, and even the most conservative estimates suggest the number could touch 30% by the end of the decade. Besides, every company recognises the need to have a closer look at their business. That has led to the creation of new positions, with clear job descriptions.

“All this is in line with the change we are bringing about in each of our businesses,” says Anuradha Razdan, Executive Director (HR) and CHRO, HUL & Unilever South Asia. 

This process will test the mettle of the best companies as the workforce gets reoriented across levels.

“ At senior management levels, we are seeing a greater focus on reskilling with a robust understanding of tech. It is pushing them to focus a lot more on cognitive, EQ and leadership skills ” DEEPTI SAGAR Chief People and Experience Officer Deloitte India

Redefining Roles

This change is recent. Around a decade ago, any large organisation had a defined set of positions. There was a CFO, a CHRO, a CMO, a COO and, of course, a CEO. “Today, a Chief Data Officer or a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) are realities,” says Aditya Narayan Mishra, MD & CEO of recruitment and staffing services firm CIEL HR. Apart from talent wanting new-age roles, they also see the need to specialise in one area, he adds. 

Earlier, only a CTO would suffice; but in several companies there is a need for a CISO as well. “In a lot of industries, data protection is an important piece and a part of the overall boardroom agenda. A generalist may not fit the bill here in an age of such a specialised need,” explains Mishra. 

Speaking of new-age sectors—such as companies in the tech space—finance is a key role. Mishra points out that these firms tend to have a Chief Accounting Officer as well as a CFO. “For these companies, fundraising is a big part of their overall business. A CFO may be very good with a treasury function, but this is a very different requirement.” 

Likewise, a CHRO is now complemented by a Chief Talent Officer, who looks after the employer brand and areas related to talent management but will not oversee, say, issues related to payroll.

Digitisation has expedited the extent to which technology dominates business functions in a post-pandemic world. The consensus among experts is that what would have taken a decade to change, has happened in less than two years. The thrust on AI and its impact on our lives has been profound and the stage is set for an extremely dynamic future. 

Deepti Sagar, Chief People and Experience Officer at consultancy Deloitte India, says job profiles across levels at her organisation are being driven by technological disruptions, economic advances, and a progressive business ecosystem. 

“There are also macro trends like a heightened focus on ESG and an increasing proportion of Gen Z at work. All this means there is a significant shift in client demands and requirements from professional services,” she says. The result of this is a greater focus on newer job families and skills. “In the last 12-18 months, this has further been accelerated by the advent of Gen AI.”

“ For these [new-age tech] companies, fundraising is a big part of their overall business. A CFO may be very good with a treasury function, but this is a very different requirement ” ADITYA NARAYAN MISHRA MD & CEO CIEL HR

Time to Reorient

But one can’t just bet on tech disruption. For instance, in many industries it was believed that technology would supersede (and even replace) the conventional ways of doing business. But that has not been the case. For example, edtech flourished at one point, but once classrooms were back in vogue, its popularity waned. 

Mishra points out that large conglomerates like the Tata group, Reliance Industries, Aditya Birla Group, and the likes of Asian Paints and HUL struck up a healthy combination of both new-age and conventional methods of doing business. “The Tatas, for instance, launched Cliq and Neu, and even reoriented some of their older businesses like automobiles. However, it has been marked by judiciousness in investment at all levels.”

A new-age organisation needs people across levels to have a better understanding of the business. Bhavishya Sharma, MD of Athena Executive Search & Consulting, says a CFO, for instance, must necessarily grasp what social media is all about and its impact, without operating in a silo. The new B2C companies run on these fundamentals and that, over time, helps the more conventional businesses become more agile, he explains. 

“A large FMCG major today needs to look at its channel of distribution from the perspective of adding digitisation attributes. The reorientation is not only for the freshers off campus, but a reskilling across levels is the big theme.” He speaks of a large consumer company that his organisation works with where the requirement was to have a gamification of training for its blue-collar workers. “That was never the case before and it is an indication of how much things have changed.”

Deloitte’s Sagar highlights how at the entry level, jobs related to technology, AI, creativity, and sustainability are in demand. “At the mid- and senior management [levels], we are witnessing a greater focus on reskilling with a robust understanding of technology. It is pushing them to focus a lot more on cognitive, EQ (emotional quotient) and leadership skills to [get the] best out of the new generation and hone future leaders in an era of AI,” she explains.

For an organisation, a lot depends on where it is today and the industry it is in. While bifurcation of functions is very much the “done thing” today, a big development can radically change how the business is viewed. In that context, Sharma of Athena cites the example of, say, a conventional company on a steady growth path, being acquired by a private equity fund. “Suddenly, areas like cloud service and security become very critical. The company starts to invest in that and the composition of the workforce can look very different,” he says.

While the workforce is changing, where are we in terms of the change cycle? Ronesh Puri, MD of executive search firm Executive Access, says this is the beginning of a phase of much bigger changes. “The opportunities lie in the throes of multiple changes. In the next five years, we will see a transformation across businesses that will be more profound than what we saw over the last two decades.” 

That will happen because India is getting a lot of global attention and it being the fastest-growing major economy makes for a heady combination, he says. “The quantum of action has increased manifold across industries and we are still in second gear. For companies, the bet is on getting it right tomorrow and to make that possible, it needs to lay the foundation today.”

Puri says the need is for transformational leaders who have a clear vision of the future. “Companies are looking for talent with adaptability, humility, maturity, and confidence. The focus is on execution skills, people skills and the ability to look at the larger picture.” Much as strategy will be a key ingredient, a sound understanding of the market is necessary.

For recruiters, the FMCG sector was a happy hunting ground for talent. Executives from this space could easily move to industries like telecommunications and insurance, given their experience in sales, marketing and distribution. Sharma says this will not work anymore. People position themselves these days as growth experts with experience across sectors, he says. “Be it consumer or automobiles, they have the confidence to pull it off,” says Sharma. That is an indication of how things have changed and are likely to change in the times to come.

“ Companies are looking for talent with adaptability, humility, maturity, and confidence. The focus is on execution skills, people skills and the ability to look at the larger picture ” Ronesh Puri  Managing Director Executive Access

Puri of Executive Access says the need for premium talent will always remain, and those candidates demonstrating a hunger for growth will command a higher premium. “Nomenclatures will change when it comes to job titles but the person who can effect change is the one you want to recruit,” he says. In the middle of this disruption, employees who have been with an organisation for a long time may not gain substantially if they are unable to be a part of the change, adds Puri. In the coming years, the ability to manage change will command even more premium. “New blood coming in means challenging the status quo. A leaner and hungrier organisation with a constant focus on reorientation is what we are going to see for many years.”

As a result of this transformation, functions like data entry and analytics-led jobs have already been replaced, says Deloitte’s Sagar. “We see a lot more demand for roles like tech architecture, green UI/UX, cloud engineering, business experience, and insights management,” she says. “For example, clients can deploy Gen AI to design a new-age intuitive dashboard but would need help from partners like us for deriving real-time insights and driving a value-accretive call to action.” It means her clients need to be served across the end-to-end transformation cycle as opposed to just “advise, implement or operate cycles”. 

These days, roles and job responsibilities are being aligned with global requirements specifically in the context where a sizeable portion of the tech delivery for global clients takes place out of India. “There could be minor variations to suit the local market, but overall, new-age job families and skills are aligned with global changes,” she says.

That only demonstrates how much India Inc. needs to do to get the best out of its talent. But to do that, companies themselves need to continuously go through the process of reorientation. There is no letting up on that.

In the pages that follow, read about how companies are coping with these trends.  

UI Developer : Pankaj Negi Creative Producer : Raj Verma Illustrations : Anirban Ghosh

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Democratic values are eroding just as citizens perceive increasing corruption, with numerous cases implicating the highest-level politicians. Could perceived increases in apex corruption be weakening democracy? We first present event study analyses of more than 170 high-profile corruption scandals involving some of the most prominent politicians in 17 Latin American countries. We show that in the aftermath of such apex corruption scandals, support for democracy falls by 0.07𝑠𝑑, support for authoritarianism rises by 11% and violent protests rise by 70%. We complement these results with a field experiment in Mexico. Randomized exposure to footage of apex corruption scandals, particularly implicating politicians known for their anticorruption platforms, decreases individuals’ support for democracy by 0.15𝑠𝑑, willingness to trust politicians and neighbors in incentivized games by 18% and 11%, volunteering as election observers by 45%, and actual voter turnout by about 5𝑝𝑝, while raising stealing from local mayors by 4%. The undermining of democratic values produces latent effects that even cumulate four months later. Seeking solutions, priming national identity proved an unsuccessful antidote, but providing exposure to national stock index funds holds some promise.

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IISE Annual Conference 2024 4+

5/18 - 5/21 in montreal, qc‪.‬, designed for ipad, screenshots, description.

5/18 - 5/21 in Montreal, QC. The IISE Annual Conference and Expo will be held on May 18th-21st in Montreal, QC. Login to view Sessions and Papers saved as favorites. View schedules, locations, floor plans, and people. Attendees will now be able to facilitate their experience at the meeting using the mobile app.

App Privacy

The developer, Confex , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

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The developer does not collect any data from this app.

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