Reflection Paper
Why am I seeking a career in business or other profession?
Business covers almost
every aspect of our society. When we walk around campus we are surrounded by things
that have to do with business. For example all the vending machines that have
been spread all around campus. Some companies must have made some kind of
agreement with the school to have their machines there. The soda machines
consist of Pepsi products and that gives me the idea that they must have either
overbid Coca Cola Companies or maybe Pepsi arrived first, I do not know. Most
things today seem somehow to be connected to business. Fresh air for example,
used to be considered a free good. Now
we talk about global warming and in
My father is an economist
working with the concept of sustainable development. He is an adviser for the
Norwegian government and he goes to seminars all around the world to find ideas
and partners in order to find good solutions to world problems regarding
sustainable development. At the moment he represents the Norwegian government
in an international working group with the task of developing ISO 26000 which
shall become an international standard for social responsibility for business
and other organizations.
My elder brother, who is
also an economist, has now got the task of developing a social responsible
investment (SRI) profile for his company. In that connection he is right now on
a business trip to
The point I am trying to
make through the examples above is that a business education gives me a lot of
choices as far as a career is concerned because so many things in society involve
business. I think an education in general, not only business, is very important
in the society we live in today “the educated person will represent society in
the post capitalist world in which knowledge has become the central
resource”.(288).If I study medicine I would probably become a doctor. If I study
nursing I would become a nurse and so forth.
Since I am only a young man
and many young men want to explore, I want to work abroad. I have heard stories
about people who my dad has met on his trips. They have great ideas about
making the world a better place now and in the future. I think I want to work
in some kind of organization that works with these kinds of issues. Non-profit
organizations may be one place for me to work. But it is also possible to work
with such issues within commercial companies. My elder brother is an example of
that, as mentioned above.
What kind of
role do I seek as my career in business or other profession
The first thing I have to
do when I am to find my role in my business career is to find out what I am
good at. This is a hard task according to Drucker. “Most people think they know
what they are good at. They are usually wrong”. (218). I have been a telephone
salesman for four years and I have sold a lot. When I work with sales and I
manage to sell, doesn’t this mean that I am good at selling? I think I am good
at selling and I think I am going to do something related to sales. Either in a
commercial business, a non-profit organization or a government office.
Non-profit organizations need salesmen. Such organizations need funding and in
order to get funding someone need to convince or sell to someone (the
government, private persons, private companies etc.) the message that this
organization deserves funding. With my education I hope I can use my knowledge
to help my future organization reach their goals “educated persons will
practice their knowledge as members of an organization”. (292). Even
governments need salesmen to sell their policies.
When I was working with
sales I did not believe in the products I was selling, meaning that I would
never buy the products myself. I still managed to sell a lot. If I work for an
organization where I believe in the products I am selling, I think I will do an
extremely good job. So the role I am seeking in my business career will
probably be related to sales.
What do I believe I
can contribute to society in that role?
Like my father and my elder
brother I want to use my education to work for a more ethically, socially and
environmentally global development and a better world for everybody. If I work
hard and do a good job with organizations dealing with sustainable development
I think my contribution to society seems pretty clear.