Smoking gun - Harvard - Successful business statement

Successful business statement

In my experience thus far, it has been situations where the logical and moral evaluations diverge that have proven to be the most challenging ethical issues for me to resolve, and they will likely remain so. In trying to use a similar approach to tackling each of two very different dilemmas, I learned that I needed to develop more flexibility. In fact, the combination of these two experiences has led me to identify the key to this flexibility: effective evaluation comes from the interplay, rather than the choice, between logic and morality.

While interning at a consulting firm that had recently made headlines for biased, unethical recommendations to clients, my boss asked me to change my fact-based analysis to arrive at a safer, more client-friendly conclusion. But my analysis was very clear; in this case there was a right answer and a wrong one, and he was advocating the wrong one. I let the facts drive my argument and re-approached my boss. At the end of the day, I allowed the fact-based accuracy of my work to convince him to change his approach.

In a different instance, I would rely on my morals to derive my answer. While between projects at McKinsey, I came upon a great opportunity. The clients were thoughtful and appreciative of consultants, the hours flexible, and the team top-notch. We were also hired to tackle a thoroughly interesting problem. The work, however, was for a tobacco company. After years of encouraging friends and loved ones to stop smoking, the task felt tantamount to asking me to sell

cigarettes. I could not quiet my conscience. At the same time, logic pointed me toward the project, since the firm would find others to do it if I wouldn’t, and my other options were limited. The more I tried to use logic to derive an answer—my default approach to problem-solving—the more I realized that the logical answer wasn’t my answer this time. I could not and would not work for the tobacco company. I turned the project down.

In the past, objective logic had been my default evaluative criteria, but this experience taught me to value my own moral code as well. Now, it is through a constantly evolving interplay between logic and morality that I look to answer ethical questions. I do not intend to go to business school to develop a perfect formula for addressing ethical dilemmas. Instead, through continued exposure to complex ethical questions, I will develop deeper competencies and more finely tuned instincts, so that I can more consistently choose the “right” path.

Analysis

The author of this essay sets himself apart by detailing the extent of his self-exploration effort. Through his experiences, he has learned that ethical dilemmas are rarely black and white. Instead, they require a delicate balance and interplay between his logical business judgment on the one hand and his sometimes conflicting personal moral code on the other. This essay topic presents candidates with another opportunity to share the experiences, personal and professional, that have shaped their values, as well as to demonstrate their potential as business managers. This writer does both effectively.

Neither naïve nor cynical, he is aware that ethical dilemmas will arise and strives to confront them using his deeply held beliefs. He provides two detailed examples from his career, one supporting his business logic and one supporting his ethical code, to illustrate clearly how his view on the interplay between logic and ethics has been tested and developed. He makes it easy for the reader to visualize these experiences through his straightforward and illustrative writing style. At the same time, the author uses these experiences to cleverly paint a picture of himself as an effective and dynamic leader. Through his thoughtful reflection and resolution of the dilemmas he describes, the author demonstrates pragmatic business strengths: flexibility, problem-solving, and communication skills. Furthermore, his maturity and forethought are conveyed in his awareness of how this conflict will affect him in the future. It will require continuous development and daily resolution as he deals with more important issues while progressing in his career.

From 65 Successful Harvard Business School Application Essays edited by the Staff of the Harvard Crimson. Copyright (c) 2009 by the authors and reprinted by permission of St. Martin's Publishing Group