Business

When I was applying to Chinese University, I stated that my key goal is to use my experiences abroad to contribute back to the fast growing Chinese market. This has not changed and has further been emboldened by happenings in the global economy.  China is now increasingly playing a much more central role in global recovery from the present economic downturn. Chinese Universitys Chinese Business concentration undoubtedly enriched my skills regarding the emerging market.

 However, my professors and fellow classmates told me that classroom materials are not enough for me to understand fully the business arena of China. Furthermore, more and more multinational companies are realizing the ineffectiveness of staffing corporate leaders through an ethnocentric approach.  The main reason is that managing Mainland Chinese employees is becoming a more dynamic process. Many companies in China experience difficulty retaining their employees through only compensation.

Based on this understanding, I believe multinational companies will begin employing a workforce combining experienced people from abroad with employees familiar with local culture and expertise. To truly understand the targeted marketplace, one must experience the culture and social standards firsthand. Through greater exposure to China, I will be able to improve my language skills and become a more effective team player.

One of my key weaknesses is my lacking ability to communicate effectively in Mandarin Chinese. To overcome this barrier, I have enrolled in Chinese language courses at the university during the last term and this term. My language skills have improved immensely, but I realize that the classes are not sufficient to truly practice the language.

I have been seeking opportunities to speak to my fellow classmates from China or Taiwan.  Nonetheless, these conversations with classmates only provide a small amount of interaction outside the classroom. Living in a Mandarin speaking city would provide me many opportunities to practice and further develop language abilities.

Apart from developing my language skills, I hope to enhance my experience by working with people from different cultures. After working in the consulting industry for close to four years, I have gained a great deal experience from working with a variety of project teams. I have come to appreciate that each project team is composed of members with different working styles.  I have learnt to adapt and develop flexibility.

However, when I began working with my classmates in CUMBA, I realized that my prior was not enough. While I had experience working with many different professionals in the U.S., most were American. I had not worked with professionals from Europe, Korea, Taiwan, or Japan, until when I began my education, and I discovered the great value of working with individuals from vastly different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Therefore, studying at another institution will provide me greater perspective on working with diverse individuals, especially those from Mainland China.

It is my desire to move in the direction of greatly understanding the Chinese market and its unique dynamics.  Given my consulting background and my experience in working with diverse groups of people and teams, the opportunity to move into a position where I will have to make the extra effort to learn in order to positively contribute in my assignments will ultimately make me a better worker and person.  With china rising in the global corporate battlefield, where cutting edge and innovative business ideas support emerging entrepreneurs, I want to be where global language and interculturalpersonal skills make the difference.  This I believe is where I can make my best contribution.

The opportunity to study in China will give me a better and holistic understanding of the Chinese way of doing business and give me a clear picture of what to expect as a result of taking this chance to widen my scope.  I am willing to accept the challenge that will come with replacing my narrow security with broad uncertainty.  It is my choice to put all my effort in fully developing and playing out my talents.

The opportunity of learning while under the tutelage of Citicorp will expose me to practical issues of doing business in china.  The Citi Global Young Fellowship program by its very design will give me the opportunity to apply theory, models and techniques I have learnt in class and avail to me the opportunity of being part of an environment teeming with boundless innovation.  For all intents and purposes, Citicorp is the vehicle I need in order to get to my next level in intellectual development.

If given the chance to study abroad in China, I will take full advantage by being a proactive student who will learn from both my classmates and society. I will improve my language skills because of the greater opportunities to practice, and I will also expand my abilities in working with others through my interactions with a distinctive and diverse group of classmates. As mentioned above, more multinational companies will be seeking professionals with both local and international skill sets. Through CUMBAs exchange program to China, I will be better prepared for a career in Mainland China.