| Michael |
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| Below is one of Michael's essays for his Michigan application. We present the essay in its original form, with just cosmetic changes made to protect the author's identity. We then provide comments and suggestions, based on the advice available in Your MBA Game Plan. |
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| The question that he answers in this essay is: |
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| When and how should personal or social values influence the decisions of business leaders? Please explain how personal or social values have influenced a business decision in which you were involved. Alternatively, evaluate a recent decision of a business leader and how it aligns with your own personal and social values. (500 words) |
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Another stop traffic sign on my way home. Another orchestrated routine of braking, stopping, looking sideways and proceeding. But as I pulled into the garage, it all became too obvious. I discovered the solution to my conundrum.
It all started when I was inspecting a software module. The deadline of the all-important software project was a couple of weeks away. I discovered that our source code was strikingly similar to one of my earlier open source projects. After confronting him, my colleague confessed that he had copied the code but he did not realize that his acts had legal repercussions. I went into turmoil.
I had two choices: report the incident or ignore it. Delving into the issues, I discovered that the software’s open source license required that any derivative software be released under the same license. By releasing a software product under our proprietary license, we would not only corrupt the spirit of the open source but also infringe on its copyright. I realized then that this was an elementary case—we could not use the open source code.
As I strolled through my teammates’ cubes, the half-eaten slices of pizza, towers of empty Pepsi-cans, and carelessly strewn pillows reminded me of their tireless dedication over the previous six months. The new version of our software product was poised to put us years ahead of our closest competition. By reporting the incident, I would jeopardize the product release and undo all of their labor. I recognized that my issue was with my colleague’s action rather than the colleague himself, and that by reporting him I would not only destroy the project, but also put his job at risk. With the ethical debate reopened, I subscribed to the dichotomy of my ethical watchdogs.
From my readings of Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative, I reasoned that any moral person would choose to report the coworker. My understanding of Mill’s utilitarian approach, however, taught me that morality is not about rules and duties, but consequences.
In this confused state of mind, the stop traffic signs, on my way home, showed me the way. Like the stop signs, our moral and ethical values serve as signposts in our life. A failure to observe these signposts at seemingly unimportant occasions can very well manifest into a deep-seated habit. A glance at the corporate world revealed that all unethical business practices started out as minor violations to observe these signposts; Gradually, these unethical methods became the way the business was run. In the short-term, failure to report the incident would have resulted in a smooth release of our product and bring happiness to my team. In the long-term future, however, there were sure to be repercussions to both my teammate’s actions and my decision, as order and accountability were defenestrated.
I was convinced that reporting the incident was not only the right choice, but also the only choice. I reported the incident to my manager, but made sure that the ignorance of my colleague was also highlighted. My manager was very cooperative and instantly formed a special team to develop our own solution to the problem and replace the offending code. After a lot of hard work, we managed to finish the new coding shortly before the project deadline. |
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| Comments |
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Overall, Michael's writing is strong. He uses an interesting metaphor that captures the reader's attention and then moves into his ethical dilemma and how he went about resolving it. He also does an excellent job of capturing his options and taking the reader through his thought process, showing that he didn't necessarily have an easy decision on his hands. The fourth paragraph is especially powerful as it reflects the fact that his decision had implications for the entire team. |
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At first glance there appears to be little wrong with the essay, but a quick examination of the question reveals that Michael has violated for the first rule of essays... he didn't fully answer the question. |
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Michael doesn't really discuss "when and how personal or social values influence the decisions of business leaders". It is critical to respond to this, because Michigan wants to know the applicant views the relationship of values and business. It wouldn't take much more than a few sentences to address this, but failure to address it could be costly. This should be addressed near the beginning of the essay. |
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Similarly, Michael never takes the time to discuss his own personal and social values. Yes he mentions Kant and Mills, but the reader is never told specifically what Michael values. Again this could be expressed in a couple of sentences, but is never truly captured. It could quickly be captured in sixth paragraph. |
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While the metaphor is great and the example that Michael chooses works really well, his failure to fully address these two critical aspects of the essay weaken it a great deal. Michael should find a way to incorporate both without diluting the strong components that he already has in place. If he needs room, he could easily remove his citations of Kant and Mills without taking away from the strengths of the essay. |
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