We don’t get to pick our boss. But hey, we’re aspiring economists and businesspeople.
 |
| Source: Chessdailynews Yesterday was my first time
experiencing the struggle of filling my study plan card (we call this Kartu Rencana Studi or the “KRS” system
in Indonesia). Basically, there’s a three-day period every semester when everyone
gets to fill their KRS through the internet. This enables us to pick our own
courses, lecturers and manage our own schedule within the limited time. Not to
mention, it adopts the quota system which emerges a fierce battle among people to
enter the overcrowded server and make sure they secure a spot in the classes
they fancy. As a first-timer, I can say that it was quite nerve-wracking, challenging yet interesting.
I learned a glimpse of art to get strategies and alternatives prepared: Play the
cards well and be swift. In fact, people were aware of reviews, recommendations
and tips in the hope of getting on track throughout the semester. Most people,
myself included, took them into serious consideration and it effected most of
my decisions when I filled the KRS. I realize
that this doesn’t resemble a real life situation, probably no firm out there
provides a system that gives the subordinates access to pick their superiors,
etc. Yes, you get to choose in which company you want to work but not the
consequences that follow. You can probably imagine an unlikely situation that
allows the employees to pick in which project/task they want to be involved.
However, no one guarantees that you’re going to get a pleasant superior. In
some cases, you’ll have to deal with a superior who grants unfair promotions, unfair
job divisions or even a superior who’s just being unclear and ambiguous
throughout the task. Tracing
back to the present situation, let’s say that the lecturer is the boss. One
might think that “It’s different, we get paid in firms but in this case, we’re
the ones who pay the tuition fee.” Unfortunately, I believe that my parents pay
the tuition fee, not me. I’m just a student who’s eager to earn decent grades
and settle in a dream job in the future. This brings
out the economist and businessperson in me. The system may not perfectly resemble
the ultimate professional world. However, speaking from the rational side of
humans, we don’t really take that into account. I mean, there’s plenty of time
to learn that later. Meanwhile, we still need those grades and knowledge right?
(Before continuing, they’re just a
few points that I believed I’ve learned, so don’t hesitate to correct me if I’m
wrong hahaha)
From
a business perspective, this system reminds me about values and motivation. In
business, value creation is one of the primary keys: You want to increase your
worth. The interesting part is that people have different values and in this
case, we get to develop those values within ourselves. What do you value the
most? Knowledge? Grades? Interactive learning? Insightful lectures? Gabut?
(lol, it means doing literally nothing) But again the choices are on the table
and the KRS system allows you to choose classes and lecturers that are in line
with your values.
Another
point is one of the basic traits of a businessperson: An opportunity seeker
with determination and persistence. You are probably that persistent and
determined in keeping your values that if they run out of quota for the classes
you are about to choose, there’s still another opportunity to obtain them. In
the KRS system, there are always possibilities for a barter market where people
are willing to trade a class we want with a class they want (since there’s a
limited quota for each class).
On
another note, the economist in me unleashes another story to tell as well. Think
about a few of Mankiw’s 10 principles of economics that can be applicable to
this system. For instance, the first principle itself: “People face tradeoffs.”
Some of the courses overlap with other courses we are required to take and
overlapping might also occur among lecturers we want. This means that we should
choose one of them and let the other go. Some are favorable tradeoffs and some are
the ones we wish we hadn’t had to make.
Second
is the opportunity cost of taking that class. The activities that could've been done with time sacrificed for attending those lectures and the lectures you gave up during the
KRS period is a part of the opportunity cost. And last, I’m focusing on the
straightforward principle that says “trade can make everyone better off.”
Mentioned earlier, this correlates with the trading that might occur during the
KRS period.
In
conclusion, there’s more to this KRS experience and feel free to think or
disagree. Nevertheless, there’s an economist and a businessperson in us and as
a result, we have those traits. Now, I’m left with a handful of expectations that
the choices I made will turn out okay. Likewise, I’m wishing yours is fine as
well. All the best of luck and keep fighting!
|
