My independent study project, Disruptive Technology and the Push for Innovation,

examined various changes occurring in the world of business. As a whole, the project
investigated how disruptive technology arises and impacts incumbent business firms. During the
planning stages of the project, my research partner, Emaan Jaberi, and I chose four cases to look
into: the rise of Netflix and the fall of Blockbuster, the movement towards alternative energy, the
impact of Uber on the traditional taxi industry, and the potential for peer to peer lending
platforms to disrupt the traditional bank lending industry. We initially agreed to each take two of
the cases and collaborate for the introduction and conclusion components of the paper.
Originally, we planned for a 10 page introduction, 10 pages each of the four cases, and a 10 page
conclusion. However, after beginning our research, it became clear that the final deliverable
would exceed our initial estimates. While the paper proved to be more intensive that we had
planned, it allowed for more in depth analysis of our topics and be better prepared for our final
presentation with our project supervisor, Raj Rakhra. The final presentation provided us with the
opportunity to discuss our findings and successfully conclude our research.
During this project, I fully realized the importance of remaining up to date on current
trends within the business world. As a current business student and a future business
professional, it is vital to understand current trends and the associated implications. My research
allowed me to not only study these trends, but also apply them to real business cases. For
example, one component of the final paper is Clayton Christensen's, a Harvard Business School
Professor, model of disruption. Christensen attempts to outline how business firms manage to
disrupt competition with his model. Although this model is widely accepted, one of the cases in
the project, Uber, proved to be an outlier. After this realization, we proposed an updated model
that is discussed at length in the final paper. In the future, I plan to remain up to date on current

business events and think critically about the implications rather than considering these various
opinions as fact.
In addition to realizing the importance of remaining up to date on news stories, this
project helped me to further develop my ability to think critically as a member of a team. Emaan
and I both pride ourselves on our dedication to our academic careers. We both hold ourselves to
very high standards. While this has led to much success in our course work, at times it became
difficult to collaborate during the project. Although this proved to be difficult, our disagreements
improved the overall quality of our work. For example, when I first proposed that we include
Clayton Christensen's model for disruption, Emaan and I interpreted the model in opposite ways.
Emaan wanted to fully incorporate the model into the project while I hoped to challenge the
model and propose a revised system. This disagreement revolved around whether or not Uber is
truly a disruptive technology. If Uber is considered to be a disruptive technology then
Christensen's model no longer holds. Initially, Emaan sided with Christensen. However, after
significant discussion, we both agreed that Uber is evidence that this model is out of date. This
disagreement helped to strengthen our argument against the existing model and provided us with
the opportunity to challenge a famous professor. As a future business professional, it will be
important for me to constructively disagree with my coworkers. While this is a challenging and
potentially controversial task, it leads to critical thinking and a better end product.
This independent study ties in with my coursework because it allowed me to continue my
studies of innovation and technology. During my junior year, I was enrolled in the honors
business seminar, a course centered around innovation. I found these topics to be fascinating.
However, prior to completing this independent study, the honors seminar had been my only
exposure to these subjects. Additionally, I had complete freedom in choosing what topics and

cases to look into. As a result of the open ended nature of the independent study, Emaan and I
were able to investigate topics in which we had genuine interest.
A major component to the case portion of this study was to provide strategic
recommendations to the disrupting firms. For example, in the case of peer to peer lending, I
concluded that these businesses should seek out partnerships with major banks such as Goldman
Sachs. This process of research and formulating recommendations ties into both my future
coursework as well as career. In spring quarter I am enrolled in a consulting course in which I
will be assigned a real business and tasked with developing recommendations. I feel that I will
be better prepared for the class as a result of my independent study. After making the
recommendations during this project, I have a better understanding of the strenuous nature of this
ideation process. In addition to this consulting course, I will be joining the Ernst and Young Risk
Advisory team after graduation. As a part of my job, I will need to analyze business models and
provide recommendations to these firms in order to mitigate their exposure to various risks.
Although the stakes of this project were much lower than they will be in the real world, I have
gained valuable experience that will help me to transition into my career.
While this project has helped to prepare me for my future coursework as well as career, it
also provided me with the opportunity to learn about myself. For example, during my
disagreement with Emaan regarding Christensen's model for disruption, I found that I was able to
better express my thoughts through writing than verbally. Although Emaan and I discussed this
model at length, we did not reach our agreement until I sent him a text message explaining my
take on the model. After a quick follow up discussion, we were able to reach our final
conclusion. This experience provided me with valuable feedback. I realized that I need to
improve my verbal expression of my ideas. However, I also understood that when given the

opportunity to write out my thoughts, I am able to excel. Upon making this realization, I can now
begin to work on my verbal communication skills to bring them up to par with my written
communication skills. In many cases, this will require me to better plan out what I am going to
say so that it will be better understood by my audience.
Overall, while this proved to be a very demanding process, my experiences during this
independent study have proved to be and will continue to be incredibly valuable. I have
improved my critical thinking skills, my ability to work as a member of a team, and my
communication skills. Additionally, I was able to work under the guidance of my project
supervisor, Raj Rakhra, and receive helpful feedback and advice. Throughout the quarter, Raj
continually made suggestions to improve the project and held Emaan and me to a very high
standard. Finally, this project proved to be a very rewarding experience. I am very proud of the
final paper and presentation that Emaan and I spent countless hours on over winter quarter. Our
hard work paid off as we not only researched a topic that we are both very interested in, but also
had the chance to improve our writing, presenting, and critical thinking skills.