Essay Sample: An Elective Subject

People often say that when individuals are faced with few decisions to make and they are generally pleased with results, it means that they are able to make economic decisions. So, if making economic decisions involve money, and money defines future careers, the same economic principles can be applied when choosing an elective subject in academic courses that one can earn good money in the future. For example, in my final year, I would choose International Finance Management II as my elective course, because I have an interest to study international financial markets and financial management of multinational firms. I believe that there are many advantages that are associated with this subject, such as, it is relevance to finance and better than other elective subjects. Other subjects that I dropped are Financial Analysis, Financial Modeling, Risk Management and Derivative, Applied Investment Management, and Real Estate Finance and Management. When I was making my decision, I relied on two economic decision making principles, which were "People Face Trade-offs" and "The Cost of Something is what people give up to get it."

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I applied the principle "people face tradeoffs" to evaluate the list of elective choices before I decided to pursue International Financial Management II. This principle applies the sense that when people go to the market to buy something, they must evaluate different decisions, which include varieties of substitutes of a commodity that are displayed in the market before they execute the final purchasing decision (Goodwin et al. 207). Consumers must decide that the dollar they are going to spend in buying the product will give maximums satisfaction without creating a need or desire to buy another product (Goodwin et al. 207). Therefore, as I was evaluating an elective subject, I was confronted with the dilemma of what I would like to be in the future and courses that would help me to accomplish my dreams. I realized that I would like to work in an international organization or a multinational company. Although other elective subjects would prepare me for a position in an international firm, I decided that this course was the best choice because it specifically focused on international financial management. If I chose other subjects, for example, Real Estate Finance and Management, It was likely that I might need to study a post-graduate course that would serve as an intermediary subject in order to qualify for an international finance position.

The trade-off principle suggests that consumers must make the best choice from a list of options so that they keep in check their spending power and prioritize on their spending activities. I thought this way too, especially when started to factor in the money that I would spend on doing bridging courses so that I would become a certified International Finance Manager. If I chose other subjects, which were not related to international business, such as a financial analysis subject, I would miss the chance of knowing how international businesses operate, particularly how they prepare their financial records and reporting. So, I was able to choose this course by adopting the behavior of consumers which are characterized by consumers first making sure that their needs are first met before they fulfill non-necessary desires.

The second economic decision making principle that I used when choosing an elective course was the opportunity cost. Economists define the opportunity cost as the cost of what is forgone, such that economists must give up one choice at the cost of selecting the second best alternative among many options (Baumol and Blinder 41). I used this principle when I came across the elective subject, Applied Investment Management, to decide if this is the subject I wanted after comparing it with the International Finance Management II subject. I researched and found that the Applied Investment Management subject would equip me with the knowledge of investment, such as advising international investors on the best investing options. However, I thought this course would not give me the green light for working with international business communities. So, I decided to choose International Finance Management II, as the best alternative and at the cost of dropping Applied Investment Management. This idea is well demonstrated from consumers' point of view when consumers are comparing prices of items to find the true cost (Ferri 162). Wise consumers will always consider the intangible cost of a given purchase or action. In my selection of an elective subject, I made wise decisions by considering the true cost of choosing the International Finance Management II course. I was looking for a course that would provide me with the analytical framework for understanding international financial conditions and the decision-making process of corporate leaders in capital market arenas.

For most of the economic decisions that people make, their assertions seem to make sense but I believe the most important choices are the ones that define a person's identity and his or her future aspirations, which involves money. Based on the two economic decision making principles, a person needs to be well equipped with knowledge of economics in order to make the best choices among the many alternatives. I have learned that the cost of not selecting one subject is equivalent to the cost of choosing the second best alternative. Another lesson I learned is that the idea of tradeoffs also apply in decision making after I chose the subject that would give me the maximum satisfaction.

Works Cited

Baumol, William and Alan Blinder. Economics: Principles and Policy. Cengage Learning, 2008.

Ferri, Piero. Macroeconomics of growth cycles and financial instability. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011.

Goodwin, Neva, Jonathan M. Harris, Julie A. Nelson, Brian Roach and Mariano Torras. Macroeconomics in context, M.E. Sharpe, 2015.