It’s already time for our electives, which means we are approaching our final term, aka ‘Super Term.’ This sixth term in the Weekend Executive MBA (WEMBA) program gives you a chance to choose courses based on your interest. The Super Term begins with a two week on-campus residency followed by distance learning session of about two months.

As we approach this important stage of our program, I would like to share my thought process and rationale behind the electives I chose. Before I begin, I would like to let you know that I am in consulting and would like to stay in the same industry even after I complete the program. Hence, the choices for my Executive MBA electives are part of an effort to supplement my knowledge in related domains, i.e. strategy, analytics, efficiency, etc. To strengthen my consulting profile I am planning to do a later concentration in strategy during the optional Term 7, and hence two of the electives which I have selected are prerequisites towards this. So here they are:

Entrepreneurial Strategy

This was an easy choice since it is very similar to consulting methodology: identification of opportunities, resource and growth, and exploiting technology. In addition this course is a great foundation in case I want to provide my consultation services independently or want to embark on an entrepreneurial opportunity.

Market Intelligence

This course is as pertinent to consulting as it is to marketing, like the name suggests. The basic premise of this course is identifying data required for a certain problem, acquiring and assessing quality of the respective data, and eventually analyzing it to make marketing decisions. This approach supplements other areas as well, for example data is required to come up with cost benefit estimates as a part of looking for investments for an entrepreneurial opportunity or a solution being proposed.

Strategy and Tactics of Pricing

This course has the elements of analytics, albeit more focused towards pricing and hence another arrow in my quiver which can be utilized for marketing and financial management. In addition, I heard some good reviews about the course and instructor from one of the earlier WEMBA batches.

Supply Chain Management

Supply chain is in every business and in most cases the key contributor to competitive advantage in terms of pricing, customer service, etc., and hence a key knowledge area required for setting up a new business or assessing an existing business

These are my thoughts on the electives I chose and why. Any student’s reason will vary depending on whom you talk to and their respective career objective. If you are a current or future WEMBA student, you will get ample time to think through these elective choices. You might have to work around the schedule and enrollment caps for the electives offered, hence, it is a good idea to keep a backup combination of alternatives which closely meet your objectives.

We are just days away from Super Term, and I am gearing up for the marathon of classes, assignments, networking, on-campus recruitment opportunities—and of course some fun.