DIVYA KARTHIKEYAN D.O.B: 8th March 1989 1) What does information management mean to you? Knowledge is a function of information.

The real worth of information is when it serves its purpose effectively. Growing up in a family of Research scholars, Computer engineers and Management executives, I have had good amount of exposure to these varied fields from a very young age. During the course of my undergraduate studies, I had an early insight into research and development from my mother who is a professor and researcher in Control Systems Engineering. My father, a Lean 6 Sigma Master Black Belt and an Operational Excellence expert, has been instrumental in my realization of the importance of right information and data for business process excellence. I learnt that data and information based decisions are one of the key success factors in business. The availability of the right information, in the right form, at the right time, can either make or break an organization. Information and its deployment has become central to the fact based decision making process which is the key for survival of institutions, thereby making information management one of the most promising fields for the evolution of new ideas. Information, analysis, and knowledge management are primary sources of competitive advantage and productivity growth in organizations. Information systems management acts as a brain centre for the alignment of an organizations operations with its strategic objectives.

2) What will you do with this degree? During the final year of my Undergraduate studies, my placement with a fortune 500 company, Cognizant Technology Solutions, one of the fastest growing IT companies, presented me with an opportunity to work with some of the best management principles in the world. Given the opportunity to analyse business concepts and communicate with people comfortably, associating business strategy with technology came to my advantage as it helped gratify my passion. With this introduction to management, the next logical step towards my aim would be a masters degree, to establish a strong foothold in management and IT. Project management is one field that is widely information dependant with the scope for a research on the quest for a better data analysis and management approach. With this foundation I aspire to move into the top management positions of an IT firm, which will provide me with ample opportunities to gain practical experience in business management. I desire to extend my scope to a broader horizon and in the long run be able to use the knowledge gained across different organizations, as an entrepreneur for my own consulting firm. I wish to take up challenging roles, responsible for managing organizational knowledge and improving performance to drive organizational competitiveness leading to business excellence.

3) Why did you choose the MSIM program at the UW Information School? How did you find us?

The responsibility in any management role centred on decision making has always fascinated me. Nothing can beat the satisfaction and motivation that I derive from witnessing the positive outcome of a logical decision I make and this has been a major drive for me to chose Information Systems as my preferred course. While on a quest for the best university where I could pursue my passion, Google and other online search engines were the source of information about the MSIM course at the University of Washington. The MSIM course at the Information School at University of Washington emphasises knowledge by practice and focuses on building qualities that make a complete information management professional. The MSIM curriculum, comprised of business and technology courses will be substantial in building adroitness in the basics of IT and management technology. The course structured to focus on cultivating the dexterity to analyze and communicate is very much in line with my interests and an inspiring reason for me to choose the University of Washington as my preferred destination to pursue my passion. By applying to the MSIM program, I intend to build a strong foundation in technical and management concepts.

4) Please give an example of an information management project that you have done in the past, either in school or at work. If you have not worked on an information management project, please give a project idea you might be interested in working on in the future. Business excellence is widely dependant on information. Thus the quality of information used is the key to any successful organization. Experimenting with data and information used in making Management decisions can open up numerous doors to enhance process excellence. From the choice of programming languages used to survey results, the validity of data used is a direct measure of its quality. The factors that could influence the quality of data are its source, correctness and collaboration among data sources. There are numerous volumes of data available on the internet accessible to everyone. Hence the inter relationship of the contributors may also play a role in the data quality. The source of the data on the other hand would be the primary aspect determining the data quality. The correctness of data can be determined by a research and survey on a large scale determining the accuracy of trend of data received from sources belonging to some common background. I would be interested in researching the quality of data and information used for business process and ther eby providing a better approach to data management.

5) Describe a situation in which you have demonstrated your leadership skills.

During the summer of my 3rd year Undergraduate studies, I had an opportunity to intern with Emmeskay Technology solutions which helped me build my team skills and connect with people more efficiently. This ultimately enabled me to secure the maximum grade in the Professional Skills course that focuses on competency in communication, putting ideas together and getting it across to the target audience effectively. I was the Team Lead in my final year project on developing a mathematical model for a fuel cell using LabVIEW under the guidance of Dr. N. Rajalakshmi, Sr. Scientist Centre for Fuel Cell Technology, Chennai, India. I enjoyed working as a team and found the ability in myself to take up responsibility and lead a team to a satisfactory climax, scoring the maximum grade of S. It was applauded as the best project of the year. This experience helped me build by team skills which came to my advantage as I entered the Quality Assurance team of 7 working on projects for Toyota Motor Sales in Cognizant Technology Solutions. With my previous experience in team projects I was able to communicate with the team members effectively and could take up responsibility in addition to being a contributor to the team.

6) During your career as an information management student and professional, you will be called upon to work in teams that are extremely multicultural and extended over time and space. How have your experiences and attitudes prepared you to work in this sort of environment? What is your experience with diversity/and/or diverse/multicultural groups? Discuss your potential to bring diversity/multiculturalism/globalization to the field of this profession. Pursuing my Undergraduate studies in a University that ranks 6th in India, I have had an opportunity to mingle with students from all parts of the country and also from other parts of the world. Technology was one language that was common to all which was the bridge between us. Interacting with students from diverse backgrounds not only gave me an opportunity to work in challenging environments but also to learn and gain knowledge from every other member. By the end of my Undergraduate course I had well adapted to work in a multicultural group and this came to my advantage as I secured a job in a fortune 500 company, Cognizant Technology Solutions. Working with a multinational organization demands the aptitude to cope with a disparate group of individuals extended over space. As part of the Quality assurance team of 7 scattered at Off-shore and On-site (Torrance, California) provided me with an exposure that has prepared me to work effectively in any group. I have always been voluntary in taking the responsibility to bring out the best from any peculiar team and my previous experiences will bolster me in creating an environment conducive for multicultural and diverse individuals thus taking the first step towards globalization.