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Role of HRD in Determining Fit between an Employee and His/Her Role
The previous article on personality briefly discussed how organizations and the HRD function determine the fit between the employee and his or her role. This article looks at this topic in depth with specific reference to the role of the HRD function and the managers in this alignment. For starters, whenever an employee is hired, […]
Making Money Online – An Introductory Overview
Making Money Online If you have ever browsed the internet for extended periods, then you would have probably come across websites and ads for websites advertising ways and means to make money online. Indeed, it is hard to miss the ubiquitous and ever present “banner ads” which scream for your attention and promise to double […]
Assigning Key Responsibility Areas (KRAs) to Employees
It is essential for management to know how to extract the maximum out of employees. Making employees deliver their level best is the biggest challenge faced by organizations in current scenario. Individuals in most of the cases attend office just for the sake of it and are concerned only with their monthly salaries. Let me […]
Knowing Your Employees – An Overview
Any individual who strives hard to accomplish goals and objectives of a particular organization is called as employee. Employees are hired to perform specific duties as per their specialization, interest areas and previous experiences. Employees earn their salaries in exchange for their hard work, labour, knowledge and expertise. It is rightly said that the success […]
Often, students in business schools wonder about the kind of electives and optional courses that they must take. For instance, it is a no-brainer when electives for majoring a particular specialization are concerned. If one wants to specialize in Marketing or Finance, then one must take the electives that are offered in these fields so that their profile is built around certain specializations.
Further, many students chose electives that would make them hedge between specializations or for example, if one wants to major in Finance and at the same time have a minor in Strategy, then one must take more electives related to Finance and lesser electives related to Strategy.
However, the choice becomes tough when one is confronted with filling up of the other slots left after one chooses the major and the minor accordingly. This is where the strategic selection of electives comes into play and it would be advisable for students to apply the basic principle of core competence when choosing the other electives and the optional courses.
Continuing the discussion, it becomes apparent that students must choose the electives that are as near to the core competence aspect as possible.
For instance, if one wants to major in general management so as to be eligible for consulting jobs, it is preferable to choose electives that correspond to the core need of the student for building a consulting profile.
On the other hand, if one is eyeing the investment-banking field as a career, then one’s profile must be built according to finance electives that are both foundational level and advanced level.
In both cases of consulting and investment banking profiles, it is advisable to leave one or more electives free for term papers and courses that are more specialized and advanced.
Given the fact that the entire managerial careers are now heavily dependent on IT or Information Technology. It would be in the fitness of things to choose electives that are related to a combination of the core specialization and IT or even choose pure IT courses as optional electives.
The point here is that one must decide on one’s specialization and the kind of profile that must be built and then choose the electives accordingly.
In recent years, the number of electives that are being offered in qualitative courses has gone up, as industry wants graduates to be as rounded as possible and as diverse as possible when their profiles are evaluated. Therefore, choosing electives related to say, urbanization and management, environmental management, and CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility would be a good idea when one considers the emphasis on these aspects by the corporate sector.
Further, there is nothing wrong in choosing electives that are usually graded better because of various reasons. Though your peers might snicker at you for padding your resumes with easy scoring and higher grading electives, the point remains that you do not lose out in the process and indeed, gain from the process.
Of course, do not choose electives with only this objective in mind as the recruiters are usually smart enough to distinguish these aspects, as they are mostly former alumni of the institutes.
Moreover, choosing qualitative electives is also a good reason for making your profile contemporary and futuristic as little known courses with potential can make your valuable for niche employers.
Finally, the three important takeaways from this article are that after you decide on the specialization, choose the electives accordingly that would help you build your profile and then remember to stick as close as possible to the core competence that you wish to develop.
In conclusion, choosing electives and optional courses is probably one of the most important decisions that you would take in your business school education and therefore, choose wisely and do not repent later.
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Current Employment Trends and Their Implications for Business, Society, and Individuals
February 12, 2025
