Setting The Benchmark

It looks like my prayers were answered. Almost a week ago I got back my Strategic Management pre-course assignment for which I scored distinction, topping the class by a significant margin.

I'm not used to having assignment marks read out by the lecturer in class, but receiving a round of applause for my score did leave me feeling somewhat triumphant. Perhaps a little embarrassed, but mostly triumphant.

In exactly one week's time, I will need to submit my Strategic Management main assignment. While my confidence was given a boost by my previous assignment's grade, the pressure is now on to perform equally well in this main assignment, which is worth a much greater percentage of the overall mark for the module.

Things have been tough recently. I seem to spend nearly all of my free time studying and spend the rest of the time feeling guilty for not studying. Things haven't been helped by a sharp rise in the number of migraines I have been getting - the last one cost me three days.

On the plus side, I did manage to take a whole day to relax last Sunday, which was baby Andrew's (Yolande's cousin's son) baby shower, marking his first full month of existence. Yolande and I took him out for a spin in the pram, but soon had to return after our attempts to soothe his crying were unsuccessful (actually, I didn't try very hard, I must admit). The venue was Yolande's cousin's condominium, which allowed us a day of swimming and good food by the pool. I need to remember that I don't actually ever swim for long - next time I should bring a football or something, otherwise I spend 10 minutes in the pool and the rest of the time drying off. Yolande's either much fitter, or a more energy-efficient swimmer, since she can continue doing laps long after I'm too cream crackered to continue.

I'd like to thank Yolande for being so supportive recently - she has looked after me when I've been ill and cooked for me when I've been too busy to think about food. She has also had to listen to me talking non-stop about Wal-Mart and equity theory these past couple of weeks! When this first term is over, we'll take a well-earned break somewhere, to relax and forget about work/study, if only for a few days.

Busy Busy Busy

I'm just 3 weeks into my course and have already submitted 2 assessments that count towards my final grade.

It has been a busy start to the term. A typical weekday begins not long after 6:00. I reach Kaplan by 8:30. Before class starts at 10:00, I read through the business section of the free newspaper and prepare for class. This typically involves preparing one or two case studies for class discussion, reading through the textbook and, more often than not, dozing off in one of the comfy chairs. Class finishes at 1:00, after which I will grab a quick lunch and return to campus or home to study and research for one of my assignments. Minus a short break for dinner, I will generally study up until I sleep, between 22:00-23:00 (unless I have a deadline the next day, in which case it can be as late as 03:00+). Weekends are not that much more free.

That said, I am finding the course extremely rewarding. Strategic Management and Organisational Behaviour are both fascinating modules in their own way. The former puts you into the shoes of a CEO, setting the strategic direction of the company, while the latter puts you into the position of a manager of people, focusing on what motivates people, how to implement change, etc.

On Monday, I will get back the marks for my first assignment. Apparently, the class performance on average was pretty poor, so I'm praying that I'm the exception!

I will keep you all posted...