[Student Interview] Jisuk Shin, PMBA Class of 2022: On work-life balance as a business professional and an MBA student
- SKKGSB
- Hit6356
- 2021-01-06
Jisuk Shin (PMBA Class of 2022) is a business consultant at Fuji Xerox Korea, an IT solution and service provider company that supports its client companies in improving their business processes and solving related problems. In this interview, Mr. Shin talks about his experience as a Professional MBA student, his current profession, and future career aspirations after the MBA program.
Q. Please introduce yourself and tell us about the company you are currently working for
A. I am working for Fuji Xerox Korea as a business consultant. I have been working for this company for 13 years, including two years working overseas in Hong Kong. As a business consultant, my primary role is to make the customer’s work that is related to documents more efficient. If a customer is using an excessive number of printers unnecessarily, I design optimized solutions in order to reduce costs. Besides, if a customer’s task is simple and repetitive, then an RPA* software robot can be used to automate the task.
* RPA solution (“Robotic Process Automation”) is a form of business process automation based on algorithms and patterns. There is a convenience factor with robots doing the work of humans in detecting business bottlenecks; companies can thus get highly efficient solutions with greater accuracy and without worrying about possible human errors.
Q. What made you pursue an MBA at SKK GSB? Please tell us about your experience as a PMBA student.
A. The industry is experiencing rapid market-trend changes. The printer-related hardware industry will not be profitable anymore due to the digital work environment in line with paperless and electronic documentation. Therefore, I wanted to increase my competitiveness and become a valuable employee for my company. I came to the conclusion that pursuing an MBA would bring me closer to the goal I wanted to achieve.
I chose SKK GSB for both its prestige and uniqueness – SKK GSB offers English-only MBA classes in a multicultural environment. I have always wanted to expose myself to an English-speaking culture in order to overcome language barriers and learn more about global business trends. As I hope to expand my network during the MBA program, I am also working as a board member for the PMBA class.
Q. What activities do you engage in as a PMBA board member?
A. I believe networking is a vital aspect when it comes to an MBA experience and business in general. All of our cohort board members have wanted more active networking events, and we had planned a number of exciting activities at the beginning of the school year, such as hiking, golfing, and surfing. However, the ongoing pandemic has prevented us from turning our ideas into reality so far.
Nevertheless, as business professionals who highly value networking, our class is very motivated and determined to initiate activities when the right time arrives. We hope to expand our networking soon with the other MBA programs within SKK GSB as well as with the MBA students from other schools in the country.
My ultimate goal is to create a formal networking platform within two years, integrate all the students from PMBA classes, and then expand it to other MBA schools.
Q. How has your MBA experience been so far, and how has the experience helped you in your current career?
A. So far, my MBA experience has been great, and I am happy to have met and worked with my strong-willed classmates based on our shared goals despite COVID-19. SKK GSB has done well in providing a contact-free remote working environment, which I believe will persist even after the pandemic, and this experience has truly been worthwhile since we can prepare ourselves better for the near-future working environment.
Some of my favorite classes so far include “Operations Management” taught by Frank Huettner, “Management of Organizations” by Jaepil Choi, and “Managerial Economics” by Chengwei Wang. I found “Operations Management” to be very practical, especially in my field of work. In “Management of Organizations”, I learned the importance of networking and how to expand my network. Finally, in “Managerial Economics”, I learned the importance of balancing between quantitative and qualitative analysis. The MBA classes have positively impacted my attitude and mindset, and I am thankful for this experience.
Q. What are your career aspirations after the MBA program?
A. I have two aspirations regarding my future career. First I hope to become more competitive and advance within my company. I have the ambition to become an executive at Fuji Xerox. Second, based on my global MBA experience, I hope to relocate to an overseas Fuji Xerox office and work in a multicultural setting.
Irene So and Bomi Kim, SKK GSB PR Committee, Class of 2022