Every time we have to make a choice we are faced with an opportunity cost. Using an example in your professional life, identify a situation where you were presented with a choice, the opportunity cost of the choice you made, and the process you used to make your choice. As part of your discussion, explain whether or not responsible stewardship played a role in your choice. Remember to use the appropriate economic concepts and terminology that are applicable to your answer. Solution A friend of mine is a person of Indian Origin. A very bright student otherwise, she also had a keen interest in exploring her own cultural heritage. She belonged to the land of Bengal, known largely for its music and literature. Nobel Laureate, Guru Rabindranath Tagore hailed from this land of Bengal in India. He introduced the World to a very enriching music genre called, ‘Rabindra Sangeet’. The music genre is basically based on Hindustani Classical music of the country. Rabindranath’s vivid works of literature helped shape this ‘Rabindra Sangeet’ into different forms, starting from in the form of poetry to dance drama and singing. My friend was taken away by its highly beautiful lyrics that touch the heart of every person. The singing style had high modulations and requires a person to have a sound knowledge of the Hindustani classical music in order to pursue the same. My friend always had a basic knowledge of Rabindra Sangeet but had keen interest to explore it more. So, this friend passed out from Yale University with the degree in Commerce. Post that, she was working with an MNC, earning decently well. However, after 3 years of her job, she sought for the CAT exam in order to make to the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), one of the finest Management institute all across the world. And as the destiny had it, she cracked the same and went to pursue her Post Graduation in Management from IIM, Kolkata. Kolkata is the capital of the state of Bengal in India and this was her final destination. Many of her friends, including me, thought that it was rather a wishful thinking to forego a great job which none of us, in her friend’s group, could ever make it, and to settle down for a higher education outside the US. However, little did we know how serious she was about pursuing her higher education along with ‘Rabindra Sangeet’, opportunities of which, was extremely limited in the US. She spent two years very sincerely in obtaining the degree of her management from the prestigious IIM. Thereafter, she got campus recruited to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), an autonomous body, regulating all the stock exchanges of India. Her profile in the job called with itself a lot of responsibilities. However, she had bigger plans on her mind before she would make it back to the US. My friend, enrolled herself to the evening batches of Rabindra Bharati University to seek admission to the evening batches of ‘Rabindra Sangeet’ course. She continued working with S.

1. Every time we have to make a choice we are faced with an opportunity cost. Using an example
in your professional life, identify a situation where you were presented with a choice, the
opportunity cost of the choice you made, and the process you used to make your choice. As part
of your discussion, explain whether or not responsible stewardship played a role in your choice.
Remember to use the appropriate economic concepts and terminology that are applicable to your
answer.
Solution
A friend of mine is a person of Indian Origin. A very bright student otherwise, she also had a
keen interest in exploring her own cultural heritage. She belonged to the land of Bengal, known
largely for its music and literature. Nobel Laureate, Guru Rabindranath Tagore hailed from this
land of Bengal in India. He introduced the World to a very enriching music genre called,
‘Rabindra Sangeet’. The music genre is basically based on Hindustani Classical music of the
country. Rabindranath’s vivid works of literature helped shape this ‘Rabindra Sangeet’ into
different forms, starting from in the form of poetry to dance drama and singing. My friend was
taken away by its highly beautiful lyrics that touch the heart of every person. The singing style
had high modulations and requires a person to have a sound knowledge of the Hindustani
classical music in order to pursue the same. My friend always had a basic knowledge of
Rabindra Sangeet but had keen interest to explore it more.
So, this friend passed out from Yale University with the degree in Commerce. Post that, she was
working with an MNC, earning decently well. However, after 3 years of her job, she sought for
the CAT exam in order to make to the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), one of the finest
Management institute all across the world. And as the destiny had it, she cracked the same and
went to pursue her Post Graduation in Management from IIM, Kolkata. Kolkata is the capital of
the state of Bengal in India and this was her final destination. Many of her friends, including me,
thought that it was rather a wishful thinking to forego a great job which none of us, in her
friend’s group, could ever make it, and to settle down for a higher education outside the US.
However, little did we know how serious she was about pursuing her higher education along
with ‘Rabindra Sangeet’, opportunities of which, was extremely limited in the US. She spent two
years very sincerely in obtaining the degree of her management from the prestigious IIM.
Thereafter, she got campus recruited to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), an
autonomous body, regulating all the stock exchanges of India. Her profile in the job called with
itself a lot of responsibilities. However, she had bigger plans on her mind before she would make

2. it back to the US. My friend, enrolled herself to the evening batches of Rabindra Bharati
University to seek admission to the evening batches of ‘Rabindra Sangeet’ course. She continued
working with SEBI alongside pursuing her latent passion of learning classical music. After three
long years of dedication, she got a certified degree of Rabindra Sangeet music in the branch of
Performing Arts. Hence essentially, she obtained two degrees after going back to her motherland.
However, her dream was to set up an Institute in the US, her hometown, where she was born and
raised. With these two qualified degrees, she left for the US again. This time, she got a job in the
country, annual package of which almost four times more than her previous job in the US.
Alongside, she also set up a Music Academy dedicated to Rabindra Sangeet, after undergoing a
lot of formalities and getting approvals from required sources. She further hired teachers to
impart a definite training to the students of this academy.
I now get surprised to see her growing in leaps and bounds. This lady took a lot of risks in her
life. She left her promising career in pursuit of her higher goals. She further strived hard to make
to such a splendid management institute, admissions to which, is certainly not a cake walk. She
had hardly been to her motherland, India. It took a while for her to hence settle there but on the
back of her mind, she was sure, what she had to finally achieve. She proved her worth to the
world, both professionally and on personal front. She converted her hobby to now, a profession.
She refined her earlier profession to a more content one. She believed in giving back to the
nation where she was raised and hence she chose to come back to the US. Now currently, she is
doing distinctly well, in both, her profession as well as with her music academy.
Economically, if I see, there is a lot to learn from the above experience. With the risks she dealt
with in life, a lot of opportunity cost was involved. After her three years of her first job, she left
it to learn more. This is where she sacrificed her salary, her job and her professional identity, in
order to grow in her career ladder in a swifter way in the days ahead. A loss of her annual
package for two years as against her Management course, could well define the Opportunity cost
that she was seeking for. This loss of package was her Opportunity cost to shift into different
transcend altogether. Moreover, she gave up her any leisurely hours, while working with SEBI,
for her learning at Rabindra Bharati University, which again calls for her Opportunity cost. She
could have worked overtime to earn more at SEBI itself but she chose to demarcate her work life
from her passion in a more specific way.
Responsible stewardship certainly played an important part in her career while rendering the
Opportunity cost. When she left her first job, she left it in a state that was much better and
improved for her reliever to take up from. She worked in many important projects and had kept

3. the process notes handy for her reliever to take the charge of. Moreover, she assured her Boss
that she shall always be available on phone or via other communication sources, to help her
successor pick up the profile well. She took ample time to impart training to her reliever to know
her profile well before she hands it over.
She planned and managed her resources so well that she had enough money earned in her first
job that helped her survive in her initial days in India while she was studying at IIM. She went
for an educational loan to finance her higher education and with her next job in her hand, she
was rather quick in paying off her dues in time, before she moved out of India, back to the US.
Ethically, she knew it would have been unfair not return back to the nation that gave her an
identity and presented her with loads of memories. She hence returned to the US and with all the
knowledge that she gained; she helped serving the Commercial world of the nation in her best
possible manner along with establishing her music academy to teach the Americans Rabindra
Sangeet.