It's The (Final) Countdown

Well it's finally here, it's finals weeks in Cologne. Well for me anyways. I realize that my last few posts have been kind of a snooze. I promise all remaining posts will be a lot sexier. It's a basic reflection of my life these past few weeks. More work then play. I have some good adventures left before I return though so stay tuned.

Since I don’t have much to offer in terms of adventure and awkward cultural encounters, I'll break down for you what I have to learn for my Exams.

First up is my Economic Expansion in the 19th Century final, which happens in about t-minus 4 hours. Half of the course focused on Economic expansion in the Germany during the century, and the other half focused on economic expansion in the countries of Britain, Belgium, France, Austro-Hungarian, and Russia. The format of the exam will be two essay questions, one hour, 100% of your grade for the term. A little stressful when you say it like that, but all of us feel like we have a good grip on the course content.

Basically, economic expansion can be analyzed throughout the continent by looking at the macro level developments in agriculture, labor, capital, technology, trade, and institutions. All of which developed in certain ways which complimented each other, and allowed the continent to take off (some countries more then others).

Second up on the schedule is tomorrow's Governance and Policy-Making in the Multilevel-System of the EU final. Again, one essay question, one hour, 100% of your grade. Sounds scary, but again I feel pretty good about it. The course focused on the evolution of the European state taking into account various treaties, and the development of the state from territorial, to nation, to constitutional, to industrial, to welfare, and finally European. It will also focus on how the Lisbon Treaty stands to affect the structure of the European Union if it ever gets ratified. Within that we analyzed the make-up of institutional architecture, which accounts for the European Council, European Commission, European Parliament, Council of the EU, European Court of Justice, and the European Central Bank.

Finally, on Wednesday I have my two retail courses, which have been the courses I've enjoyed the most. They will be my most challenging finals based on the breadth and depth of the material covered. My Retail Marketing final is up first at 8:30 in the morning. In a nutshell, here are the high level topics to be covered:

- The Nature of Retail Marketing
- Consumer Behavior
- Channels and Formats
- Merchandising & Category Mgmt
- Pricing
- Promotion/Communication
- Store Brands and Private Label
- Services

Later on in the afternoon, I have my Strategic Mgmt in Retail final, my last final. Again, here is a high level overview of what will be covered:

- The Role of Retailing
- Assessing the Retail Space
- Theoretical Frameworks
- Retail Strategy and Panning
- Segmenting / Targeting / Positioning (STP)
- Retail Branding
- Location Planning
- Finance / Controlling

As you can see, I've had my hands full. I feel pretty good though, and am highly looking forward to Wed afternoon. Plans are already in the works for a few beers and BBQ in what will hopefully be sunny Wednesday!