tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41417308889600188372024-02-08T05:30:56.408-08:00Alvin Roth Econ 490 Fall 2015Hello all. To prevent any confusion, I would like to make it perfectly clear that I am not Alvin Roth. This is simply an alias used to protect my identity as I post on this blog as part of a class. Alvin Roth Econ 490 Fall 2015http://www.blogger.com/profile/06788068798597748870noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141730888960018837.post-65952072420479059992015-12-03T20:03:00.003-08:002015-12-03T20:03:43.523-08:00Class Review
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Other than what I would call common sense knowledge regarding
organizations, I really had never learned or knew anything about different
economic theories regarding the inner workings of an organization, or how people’s
behavior can be viewed through the economic lens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, having saved all of the excel homework
for future reference, I have a nice stockpile of information that I can no
doubt use sometime in the future, especially as I take on management roles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The structure of the class was not exactly ideal for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I typically prefer to listen and take notes
while your class emphasized participation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, I realize that this was designed to get us to communicate so I
would not go as far as to say you should change the format. The blogging, which
I will talk about further on in this post, was a surprise to me because of how
much I progressed throughout the semester. </span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Before this course, I really had no idea what to expect in
terms of the difficulty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew it was
going to be economics related, and quite frankly this scared me because math is
not my forte and economics can get quite complicated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really appreciated the approach you took
in order to make sure we wouldn’t get caught up in trying to understand
formulas and instead helped us to see the underlying economic issue at a
conceptual level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I felt that the excel homework was a valuable and excellent
way to introduce the complex mathematical theory that much of this class is
based on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It made it much easier to a,
take things one step at a time and not get overwhelmed by the complexity, and
b, it allowed us to see things visually which is a great learning tool for
myself personally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am fairly sure
others would say the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">As I have mentioned before, blogging is really not my cup of
tea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the start of this semester, it
was definitely somewhat of a struggle to sit down and crank out the required
word length.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, as the semester
progressed and I got more comfortable with the process, I found that I could
sit down, put my ideas on paper, step away for a bit, and then come back and
put those ideas into a structured piece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I also found that the more I did this, the more I enjoyed the writing
and was not really focused on a word requirement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather, the words came easier and usually by
the time I had fully expressed myself and responded to every part of the
prompt, I was well over the word requirement. </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Changes I would make to the course would first and foremost
make the class partially online.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given
that most of your students are seniors, the motivation to attend class is not
always there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having part of the class online
is, in my opinion, a way to ensure the material is still communicated with
literally no excuse for students not to know it since it is online and always
available to look at.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have a different
course where part of the class is online and not only is attendance at the live
session great, but discussion is better because students have questions about
the material they were presented with in the online session. There are obviously
pros and cons of each, however, I feel that online classes will only become
more and more common with the advancement in technology, and it would make your
class more appealing to students in the future. Other changes would be a
possible video associated with the excel homework like you did in some of them
which explain the harder formulas and how to work them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I say this because I struggled at times to
figure out how to manipulate them and get the correct answer. </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Overall, I enjoyed the course and would recommend it in the
future. </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Alvin Roth Econ 490 Fall 2015http://www.blogger.com/profile/06788068798597748870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141730888960018837.post-55933327672739594342015-11-22T17:44:00.001-08:002015-11-22T17:44:13.274-08:00Reputations
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">One place where reputation comes into play in a huge way is
when you are in the workplace and people don’t necessarily know you well enough
to judge you based on anything but what they have heard from others, your
reputation as a person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As with anything
I pursue and am passionate about, I want to do everything perfect the first
time. I realize this is not realistic, but that is just my nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even when making a mistake is expected, I
strive to be the one person who does not make that mistake. I don’t believe in
taking the easy way out and not worrying about making that mistake just because
it’s okay to do so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I obviously
still make mistakes, my attitude towards them helps me to really learn from the
mistake and how to do it right the next time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Due to this mentality, as an intern, I developed a reputation as a very
fast learner, and was very quickly being approached my people with tasks for me
to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While these tasks were beneath
the level of staff, they felt most confident in my ability to do it correctly
with minimal corrections needed by them, thus saving them precious time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I was given more and more work, I found
that more and more people had work for me simply because someone else I had
completed a project for had referred me as someone they felt could complete the
task at hand. One of my favorite moments came when I received my official job
offer, and one of the first things the human resources manager said was how many
people had been impressed with my work during busy season and really wanted to
see me come back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This to me was a
validation of all the times I had struggled through something and been tempted
to throw in the towel but persevered because I felt my reputation was on the
line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">One thing I realized however, was that a strong reputation
can be a double edged sword.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While (in
my case) people may have confidence in your abilities to get the job done,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>this also means they expect you to do work
you may not actually be prepared for and could present a really tough challenge
you may or may not be equipped to handle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thankfully, as I have talked about previously, I had a great support
system in place and this never became a problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I can think of times where my reputation has been challenged,
however this takes place more here on campus than it ever did at work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would say I have a reputation here among my
circle of friends of being very committed to fitness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of them expect me to go to the gym on Friday
night before I do anything else, and if I have to choose between the gym or
going out with them, I will likely choose the gym.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are many times where I would love to
ditch the gym and go out to happy hour and out at night, but most of the time
my dedication wins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are times
however, when I have “cashed in”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Usually this is after a long week of exams and my willpower to work hard
is pretty much exhausted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One thing I
have found however, is that occasional deviations from your reputation don’t
necessarily mean people change their idea of what you represent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This seems to be very different for people in
the public eye however.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, a
celebrity or politician may be the most philanthropic, giving, caring person
but the moment they slip or deviate from that reputation, they are jumped on by
the media.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I personally feel this is very unfair, but that is a whole different discussion for another time. </span></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Alvin Roth Econ 490 Fall 2015http://www.blogger.com/profile/06788068798597748870noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141730888960018837.post-84797843831225996542015-11-08T19:54:00.000-08:002015-11-08T19:54:18.718-08:00More Conflict Management
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">One triangle like situation I am very familiar with and have
had quite a few experiences with is one quite literally involving principals,
or as they are more commonly known, partners at the firm I interned with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was fortunate enough to be able to intern
during busy season, January 15<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> or so, through April 15<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I say fortunate, because I was able to
experience what life would actually be like during the most stressful time of
year, as opposed to many interns who get to experience the relatively cushy
summer environment at an accounting firm and then are in for quite the surprise
when winter rolls around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is
another story however.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mentioned busy
season purely due to the fact that from intern to principal/partner, everyone’s
workload is very high.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since interns and
staff are relied upon to put in the groundwork, including updating work papers
and collecting/requesting/organizing information provided by the client, there
are often many different people who are higher on the ladder, demanding that
their work be done first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This actually
presents quite the challenge at first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Imagine you are an intern, you have been at work for one or two weeks,
and a partner of the firm you are interning for stops by your desk and tells
you he has a project he needs completed by the end of the day, or perhaps the
week if you’re lucky. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First of all,
simply the fact that this person is literally at the opposite end of the
hierarchy from you is enough to make it a nerve wracking situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is further compounded by the fact that
at any given time, you also have projects from several senior managers, even
more managers, as well as some seniors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of
course there are several of these projects which have been deemed high priority
with a “firm” deadline of no later than x amount of days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>This all presents a rather difficult choice for a
poor lowly intern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do I take the project
just given to me by a partner and ignore existing projects that have the same
deadline, or do I tell said partner I cannot complete their project by the
required deadline and they should find another intern?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doing the first will probably piss off
several other people who are also very senior (and have the ability to make my
life miserable), while doing the latter will also be very uncomfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Thankfully, I chose wisely when choosing where to intern, and
the firm I worked for had a fantastic support system in place with these issues
specifically in mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After quietly
freaking out for a day or two as the work started rolling in, I decided to ask
my senior “buddy” what to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He kindly
explained that this was perfectly normal and not to worry, the work could be
re-assigned with no issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As an intern,
I also had a designated advisor who was a senior manager, one step below
partner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My advisor got me out of some
difficult situations with less than reasonable partners quite a few times by
talking to them on my behalf, and sometimes helping me work through their
projects by pointing me in the right direction or explaining a complex
issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">In response to the question of whether there is a way to
resolve the tension, I believe in my particular case, what I explained above is
the right way to resolve the tension.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
addition to helping me when I was new, by the end of three months I had become
fairly adept at resolving the scheduling conflicts on my own, with a few
exceptions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am fairly sure this was
intended, and was a way of helping the interns grow professionally. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The short version of my long answer would be yes,
with a sufficient conflict resolution program/support system, many tensions can
be resolved without any fallout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">In contrast, I can definitely see how an agent could satisfy
one principal and fail by neglecting the other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As I have said, without the higher level support I had access to, I
would have been in some very difficult situations which I doubt would have been
resolved smoothly. I most likely would have ended up trying to prioritize
everything, which is obviously impossible and would not have ended well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Alvin Roth Econ 490 Fall 2015http://www.blogger.com/profile/06788068798597748870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141730888960018837.post-28909739539488453782015-10-31T18:22:00.002-07:002015-10-31T18:22:30.300-07:00Conflict Management
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I was recently involved in a conflict at my job
here at school involving an employee who also lived at the housing complex we
both worked at.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For purposes of this blog, I will call them
John. </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">From the very beginning of his questionable
hiring (meaning many of the employees who already worked there, including
myself, did not feel he should have been hired and we believed our manager had
ulterior motives for doing so, these I will refrain from elaborating on), John
was clearly not qualified and caused problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He managed to do so in a multitude of ways, including simply making
things up regarding prices and availability of apartments, giving away
merchandise without authorization from our manager, and making people within
the office uncomfortable because of his comments about other employees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only are the first two items I mentioned
damaging to the business, it made the rest of the employees who were doing
their jobs properly look bad because we had to attempt to clean up the messes
created by John making promises we couldn’t keep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would attempt to explain this from more
than one perspective, however, I genuinely believe everyone in the office
shared the same mindset.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Once it became clear that this person was the one
misleading potential residents, and in general not doing their job, it became
something of a joke around the office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Every time we had an issue, the first reaction by anybody was to ask if
John was responsible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also mentioned
his comments towards other employees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These got more and more inappropriate the longer he worked with us, to
the point where some employees were genuinely uncomfortable to be around
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This also became something we
discussed at the office very openly when John was not around, including with
our managers who were aware of his actions. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The real breaking point of the situation came
when John got into a dispute with his roommate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At first, he was given the benefit of the doubt, thinking that he was actually getting
harassed as he claimed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our managers
allowed him to move to a different unit in the building, problem solved right?
Wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only a week or so into living
with his new roommates and John was involved in another dispute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time he claimed someone has stolen his
property (toilet paper) from his room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So again our managers let him move within the building.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John is now on his third apartment and third
set of roommates within a few months. Sure enough, before long, he has an issue
with his newest roommates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At this
point, everyone in the office including our managers realize it is not the
roommates that are the issue, it is clearly John.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Finally, much to the relief of every employee in
the office, our property manager decided to relieve him of his duties and
informed him he would no longer be employed by us.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Normally, when someone gets fired, they are
obviously not happy, but generally take it like adults and move on. Not
John.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Upon being fired, John not only
moved out of the building to spite my manager, he began to make claims of sexual harassment
publicly on social media about his former roommates, claims we know for certain
to be false.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">It has now been about a month since John was
fired, and thankfully much of the conflict has died down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nobody took his claims of sexual harassment
seriously and he eventually gave up on that front.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, he did manage to get a job at a
competing company on campus, and is now abusing his knowledge of our operations
and the building to spam our residents with mailers and advertisements,
physically trespassing on the property and placing fliers under their
doors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a whole new situation and
it remains to be seen how this will play out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.5in;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I definitely believe this entire situation could
have been avoided if management had recognized that John was not good for the
office environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He never would have
lived in our building had he not been an employee and management had multiple opportunities to recognized and deal with the issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As soon as his inappropriate comments made
other employees uncomfortable, he should have been dismissed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, he was allowed to stay and the
situation compounded into something far worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I think this is a great example of how important managerial decisions
regarding people really are, and a great lesson for my future. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Alvin Roth Econ 490 Fall 2015http://www.blogger.com/profile/06788068798597748870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141730888960018837.post-63195518022350688512015-10-25T18:20:00.001-07:002015-10-25T18:20:56.358-07:00Sharing Doesn't Necessarily Mean Caring
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<br /></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Being a student here at Illinois, especially in business, I
have participated in countless groups with the task of completing a case study.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These cases usually involve a huge amount of
information and it is your job to pick out what is relevant and respond to the
questions posed by the professor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many
times, working together on these cases is allowed, and even encouraged with the
only requirement being that you turn in your own finished case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some might question why that is and say that
makes it too easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To understand why the
professors encourage this you have to remember the reason behind working these
cases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is not necessarily a right
answer, it is the quality of the solution and the thinking to get to that
solution that matters most. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also
allows the class to be more efficient at picking out what information matters
and stimulates better discussion during the class. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">So what does this have to do with the article?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this situation especially, since everyone
is responsible for their own finished product, there is no requirement to share
what you have discovered and what you believe the answer might be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lack of sharing can lead to several
things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Some students will have the better solutions while the others will be lacking.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In addition, when it comes time to discuss the case in class, the
discussion is lacking because while there may be some good answers students
have thought of, the ideas haven’t been developed further through team
discussion and debate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Typically, and I
have experienced this personally, the answers people come up with individually
are rarely as deep or well thought out as something that the team comes up with
through discussion. On the flip side of this, the expectation to share with the
entire group can lead to free riders, also something I have experienced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Members of the class who you have worked with
in the past expect that you will do the groundwork for them and they will be
able to take what you have come up with, tweak it a bit, and turn it in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While this does not necessarily get them
outstanding grades, it does place more stress on the members who do contribute,
since they are forced to develop the ideas with less help doing so. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">In my experience, the findings of the article are consistent
with what occurs in these “individual but group collaboration allowed”
assignments. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consider the first situation,
where the marbles roll out when both parties pull.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my case, when people are doing the same
amount of work but there happens to be a member of the group who has more
information, whether it be from simply knowing someone who has great ideas or
having information from past classes such as notes, the person with more
information/ideas is perfectly willing to share that with the group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, as in the second case where the
number of marbles were predetermined, when the person with the better
information feels they are doing all of the work and the other members are simply
waiting for the information to be handed to them, all motivation to share that
information vanishes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, in the third
case, where the marbles come out in different amounts regardless of work done,
the results are similar to what would occur with no collaboration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure, everyone does their fair share of work
(pulls the rope), but the results of their efforts differ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since the students have been working
independently, there is no motivation to share the efforts of their own work
with anyone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Alvin Roth Econ 490 Fall 2015http://www.blogger.com/profile/06788068798597748870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141730888960018837.post-48065746744282851482015-10-17T13:24:00.000-07:002015-10-17T13:24:33.784-07:00Money & College<div class="MsoNormal">
I would consider myself to be a very practical and
thoughtful person when it comes to making money based decisions. Even in high school, when most of my peers
were more concerned with the football game on Friday night than their bank
accounts, I was working after school to save up money to buy a car. Not only was I consciously saving money from early on, I was also thinking about my future. I knew I wanted to go into business and I was fortunate enough to do well enough on
my ACT and had a good enough GPA to have my pick of quite a few very good schools. I chose U of I because
at the time (and 5 years later it still is) it was one of the top schools for
accounting in the nation. I had some
experience with very basic accounting in high school, and I understood it. However, other than that, I really had no
idea what working in public accounting would be like. All I knew about it was there were plenty of
jobs available, it was a growing market, and the salary was pretty nice
too. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I finally started here at U of I, I made it a point to
join several organizations on campus, including a business fraternity. I knew this would give me the best chance of
making those connections that are so crucial in the business world. Of course I made some of my best friends
along the way and my college experience has been phenomenal because of them,
but speaking honestly, my original motivating factor was securing a job. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fast forward to the end of my junior year and I have secured
a winter internship in tax (busy season) with an accounting firm in
Chicago. In order to take the
winter/spring semester off and still graduate in time, I had to take summer
classes in Champaign. Besides being
incredibly boring during the summer, and all my friends being at home, classes
in the summer are much more expensive.
From that viewpoint, I intentionally took on more debt in order to
increase my chances of landing the job at the firm I was interning with, a
gamble if you will. Thankfully that gamble paid off. I was fortunate enough to have accepted a job
offer by the end of my senior year, however, the job requires me to attain my
CPA license. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Everyone who sits for the CPA exam needs 150 credit
hours. To obtain those credit hours, I
needed another year of school, which is why I am now a graduate student. Graduate courses are far more expensive than
undergrad, but this time it is not a gamble, more of a calculated
decision. Having a job offer provides
great peace of mind as well, however, it leads to less caution when it comes to
monetary decisions. For example, after
interning and receiving my job offer, I took out a loan on a car. Again, this was a very calculated decision,
however, knowing I would be earning a salary and be able to afford the payments
made the decision much easier to make. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A friend of mine on a similar career path also had a great
job offer towards the end of his senior year.
However, he decided it wasn’t quite good enough and turned them down in
favor of going after his dream job.
While I am all for people pursuing their passions, sometimes common
sense needs to rule. After turning down
his existing offer, things did not go so well.
He interviewed with quite a few firms, and was turned down by all of
them. He was forced to go back to the
company his original offer was with and ask for them to reinstate the offer,
which they did. At this point, you would
think he would be done. Instead, he
continued to interview with several new companies, all while letting the provider
of the original offer think he was accepting their offer. One of the new firms did end up offering him
a position which he readily accepted. He
then had to tell the company he had turned down and the beginning that he was
rejecting them, again. As you can imagine, they were not happy at
all about this. My friend now has a job
he is happy with but has burned some very important bridges along the way. Only time will tell how this will impact him
in the future. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My key takeaway from this whole experience and going through
it with him is there is a fine line between being “complacent” with your
decisions in life and being cocky or greedy.
Yes he turned down what he thought was just an okay job offer (it was
actually a great offer) and ended up getting what he thought he deserved, but
how much damage did he do to his reputation in the industry along the way? <o:p></o:p></div>
Alvin Roth Econ 490 Fall 2015http://www.blogger.com/profile/06788068798597748870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141730888960018837.post-8519324468258070212015-10-04T12:39:00.002-07:002015-10-04T12:39:50.038-07:00"Illinibucks"
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">This is an interesting idea which brings to mind a problem
a former professor posed in class regarding students who drop classes at the
last possible minute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As he described
it, this is harmful to students in several ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One, it takes up a space someone else may
have been able to take, perhaps even desperately needed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two, it actually drives up the cost of
tuition indirectly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When a class is full
at the beginning of the semester, the department must assign a professor to teach
each one of those classes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, as
people drop the class, the professor must still teach their sections even
though the number of students remaining in what was once three or four separate
sections could have been consolidated into one. The result of this is more
professors each teaching less kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Professors
must be paid, buildings must be maintained, and the cost of tuition indirectly
rises. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">It has been quite some time since I was in the class I am
speaking of and my recollection of the exact idea is a bit patchy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In essence, my former professor’s solution to
this was an idea called “drop tickets”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At the beginning of a student’s college career, they are issued a set
number of drop tickets, perhaps 3 or 4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Every time they drop a class, they must surrender one of these drop
tickets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the end of their college
career, they can turn in every unused drop ticket for cash or some other type
of reward, what exactly it was I can’t quite remember.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">This seems like a use for Illinibucks, potentially solving
two issues at once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first issue,
students need to get into classes but aren’t able to because they are
full.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second issue, students take up
space in a class that someone else needs and then drop it at the last
minute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These would both be addressed by
requiring students to use their Illinibucks to register for classes, as well as
drop those classes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If a harsher “penalty”
were to be assigned to dropping a class, perhaps students would not add classes
just to fill up their schedule only to drop them later on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This would result in students taking classes
they actually needed, and hopefully less students being shut out of classes
they need because people who don’t need the class are taking up available
spaces. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Another potential use of Illinibucks which I believe would
appeal to upperclassmen especially, would be the option to move their
registration priority up, enabling them to take sections of classes that meet
at favorable times, as these usually fill up quite rapidly. A slight
modification to this could be the ability to register for classes that may be blocked
due to departmental restrictions. Again, upperclassmen trying to build a
favorable schedule may want to take an elective but aren’t able to register for
it until after a certain time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The “easy”
electives are often filled by that point, this would allow students to bypass that
restriction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously there would be
massive logistical issues with any of these suggestions that would need to be worked
out as well. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Setting the correct price would be critical to the success of
Illinibucks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Set the price too high and
nobody/very few students will use them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This would negate the usefulness of the Illinibucks system to the
students. At the other end of the spectrum, set the price too low and there
will be a free for all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This would also
negate the usefulness of the system because there would be little to no reason for
students to conserve their Illinibucks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If everyone had unlimited money, would anyone actually be rich?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Alvin Roth Econ 490 Fall 2015http://www.blogger.com/profile/06788068798597748870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141730888960018837.post-21934863368555776952015-09-25T20:38:00.001-07:002015-09-25T20:38:05.410-07:00Organization Structure
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As a senior on my high school varsity football team, we
successfully clinched our first playoff berth in several years, beating the
traditional powerhouse schools in our division along the way.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Not only did we make it to the playoffs, we won the first two rounds easily, and
lead the eventual state champs 17-0 at halftime in the third game, however, a breakdown in
leadership led to us losing the game 34-17. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I will go into this debacle later.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For now, let’s take a look at how this team
was organized, and what is was that allowed us to be so successful. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The fundamental team configuration followed a dual authority
model.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I believe this is fairly common
across and sports organization. This is due to the fact that there is simply
too much for one person to handle in terms of physically coaching players, and
managing all three phases of the game (offense, defense, special teams). </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The head coach is the first boss.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He then delegates authority to coordinators
for each phase of the game as I mentioned.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They have the authority over each of those areas while the head coach
has the ultimate say in matters as well as handling the general game plan,
talking to players, team morale, etc.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After this second level of bosses, the structure becomes what I would
say it something of a hybrid between dual authority and a simple
hierarchy.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For example, from the head
coach to the offensive coordinator, the structure follows dual authority.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">From the offensive coordinator, there are
several position coaches such as running back coach, wide receiver coach,
quarterback coach, etc.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">However, each of
these positions have equal authority which is why I believe it fits the simple
hierarchy definition better.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As a
running back, I reported directly to the running back coach during most of
practice, but at times would be involved in drills run by any of the other
position coaches, there was no difference in their level of authority over
me.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When we look at Katzenbach & Smith’s distinguishing
characteristics, several stand out to me as defining characteristics of the
team I was part of.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">First, high
performing teams shape purpose in response to a demand or opportunity.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This was definitely a huge aspect of the team
when I played.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coaches communicated their
goals and expectations to the players, and in turn the players knew what they
needed to do in order to keep the team functioning as a well-oiled machine,
avoiding conflicts and collectively growing stronger as a team. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The second characteristic also holds
true.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I remember very clearly our stat
board hanging on the wall outside the locker room.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After every game, the coach would post key
stats on the board, really allowing us to absorb what we had accomplished that
game, or sometimes, not accomplished.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This served as a powerful motivator in several ways.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When the stats were great, we felt great as a
team.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Confidence is a powerful factor in
any sport.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On the flipside, when the
stats were not so great, we were embarrassed and sometimes a little angry.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pride is another powerful motivating factor,
not just in sports but in life. The last characteristic, members of high
performing teams hold themselves collectively accountable, was a major driving
force the entire season.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When someone on
the team failed, missed a play call, blew an assignment, or anything else, the
rest of the team felt collectively responsible, and in turn we did our best to
not let that particular thing happen again.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is a huge boost in morale for the player involved, and ultimately
leads to the team, truly playing as a team where everyone is involved and
nobody is left on an island to suffer the consequences of their mistake. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Feeling a mistake was one person’s fault
creates division within the team and division leads to failure. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ironically, as I mentioned at the start of this post, we
were leading the eventual state champs 17-0 at halftime.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">However, our head coach decided to change the
structure of the organization to a one boss structure.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He allowed his ego to get in the way and
began calling the plays himself, deviating from the original game plan which
was working perfectly.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This completely
changed the tone of the game and ultimately led to us losing the game.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Sure, there were mistakes made by players, but only due to the coach putting us in a position where we weren't able to perform at our best. </span></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Alvin Roth Econ 490 Fall 2015http://www.blogger.com/profile/06788068798597748870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141730888960018837.post-85514712861939231372015-09-18T19:37:00.001-07:002015-09-18T19:37:06.678-07:00Opportunism is Lacking
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">There is one type of opportunism, or lack thereof, I am very
familiar with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a student in college,
I do not have to work 40 hour weeks, nor do I have class all day, every
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given these facts coupled with the availability
of a syllabus which outlines due dates in detail, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in theory, I should have ample time during the
week to complete my assignments well before they are due, and save myself the
headache of a last minute rush to finish my work. Yet week after week, year
after year, hundreds of thousands of students find themselves pushing deadlines
and cramming before exams. In fact, I am suffering the consequences of this lack
of opportunism at this very moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even
though I have had multiple hours of free time every day this week, I have not
started this blog post until 8 pm on a Friday night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are many things I would rather be doing
right now, including joining the rest of my apartment as they go into “fun mode”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Procrastination is not limited to college students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People procrastinate in all manner of
ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People put off dieting, even
though it may be critical to their health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some people put off paying bills, even though doing so will result in
financial penalties. It’s not always something unpleasant we put off
doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may be telling a friend you
will buy concert tickets again and again until finally the tickets are no
longer available and you don’t get to go, or you have to buy them at a much higher
cost. It may be seeing an incredible deal on a vacation package, yet we don’t
purchase it when we have the chance and sooner or later it’s gone. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another I can think of is how people avoid
going to the gym, even when they have the time and ability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is ironic to me because going to the gym
is something I would do to avoid writing this blog post, or other
homework.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">So why do people procrastinate?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are a variety of answers to this
question, most pointing to an avoidance of pain or fear on various levels. By procrastinating,
we don’t leave our comfort zone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ironically, eventually we all have to face the music. By avoiding our
fears, they simply grow larger until the deadline arrives and we are forced to
face whatever we have been avoiding doing. This would explain why an action
that some people avoid doing (working out), is something I do to avoid another action
(writing this blog).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Going to the gym is
well within my comfort zone, I love working out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blogging on the other hand, is not. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">While I agree with this answer, I also feel there are other
reasons why we do not take action when we have the opportunity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe some people are simply lazy and
choose the action that provides immediate gratification.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are many times where I have chosen to
sit on the couch and watch TV rather than completing an easy assignment which
presents little to no challenge at all. A perfect example of this is the
surveys many professors conduct at the beginning of the semester, including in this
class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are easy, require no actual
work, and take very little time, yet many students, including myself, don’t
complete these until they are in class the first day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the
case of buying tickets to an event, we put it off even though we know the event
itself would be incredibly fun and have no concerns about the event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t believe the “fear” rationale is
appropriate in these situations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">On a side note, several hours of my free time this week have
come while sitting at work on a computer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I could have easily shifted my work responsibilities to someone else,
and worked on this blog post instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
chose to do my work and put off writing this post.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was this lack of opportunism or was the
driving factor my desire to act ethically? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even I am not quite sure. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Alvin Roth Econ 490 Fall 2015http://www.blogger.com/profile/06788068798597748870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141730888960018837.post-48531018161288638762015-09-11T19:23:00.000-07:002015-09-11T19:23:11.205-07:00Organizational Change & Transaction Costs
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">As a sophomore, I was fortunate to be accepted into a very
prestigious organization here on campus.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">When I say prestigious, you might be tempted to laugh a little, after
all, how prestigious can an RSO really be?</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Rest assured, as a student within my major at the university, there
really was no higher goal in my young college career.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In fact, I was not accepted into the
organization the first time, but the second time around I had matured and
worked on my communication skills, and I was lucky enough to be offered a
bid.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The fact that I was offered a bid
during a fall semester but not a spring semester is rather ironic now that I
have experienced it from the other side.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Typically a fall rush has around 400-500 candidates, which are then
whittled down to a pledge class of about 20, while a spring rush may usually
only have about half that.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Once
admitted, my experience lived up to everything I could have wanted out of a
school organization.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I found my circle
of friends on campus, began to build my network, and in general had a great
time.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I know this story is not unique,
most students go through some sort of searching out process and finally find
their place on campus.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I only describe
what being a part of this organization meant to me as an attempt to highlight
how much the change which occurred within this organization really impacted
myself as well as my close friends.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">By now you are probably wondering, what happened?</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Well, as in most organizations, there are
certain “traditions” which develop over time, and to the members of the
organization, are an integral part of what makes them so close.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Unfortunately, from the standpoint of a
governing central office, these traditions often violate bylaws the
organization is supposed to follow. It so happened that a disgruntled member
took it upon themselves to detail several of these violations to the central
office of this organization.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Long story
short, this resulted in an extended investigation and suspension of many
activities myself and the other members valued, essentially changing the
culture of the organization as well as the structure.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Many new guidelines were put in place, with
the chain of command as well as organizational bylaws being changed, all due to
harmless transgressions. As a byproduct of all this, many members, including
myself, felt that the organization had changed to such a degree it was no
longer worthwhile to continue to pledge time and effort to the
organization.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">While the organization
still exists, it is essentially completely changed from what it once was, and
does not hold the same meaning to many of its current and former members. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A transaction cost is defined as the cost incurred in making
an economic exchange, or in other words, the cost of participating in a market.
Of the three types; search and information, bargaining, and policing and
enforcement, bargaining costs hold the most relevance to me due to recently having
gone through the negotiation process after receiving a job offer.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After receiving the offer, I went through several
rounds of negotiations to work out the salary and benefits that seemed most desirable,
and fair, to me. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Besides the discomfort
in negotiating, it took a considerable amount of time that could have been used
elsewhere. This is also similar to a scenario in game theory called the game of
chicken.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The game of chicken states that
while both parties prefer not to yield to each other, the worst possible
outcome is when neither party yields. I believe a job offer negotiation is very
similar in many aspects.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I have my own
self interests in mind in terms of compensation, as does the firm’s
representative.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">However, the firm has already
invested considerable time and resources into my growth while I was an intern,
and does not want that to be wasted.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">On
the other hand, I have invested my own time as an intern, and have nurtured the
relationships at that firm in hopes of being offered a job.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Clearly, if we cannot come to an agreement,
both parties lose.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">These are all factors
in determining when is the correct time to accept the offer on the table, a
very important decision in any young professional’s life. </span></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span>Alvin Roth Econ 490 Fall 2015http://www.blogger.com/profile/06788068798597748870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141730888960018837.post-20669234759227359232015-09-03T23:38:00.000-07:002015-09-03T23:40:56.779-07:00Who is Alvin Roth?<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Before picking up this class at the last minute, and
before being assigned this alias, I really had no idea who Alvin Roth was, what
he did, or what he was famous for.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In
fact, I know very little about any famous economists, although being a business
student, I probably should make it a point to learn more.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But enough about me, back to Alvin Roth.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Interestingly enough, Alvin Roth was not an
immediate success.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In fact, Roth was initially a
high school dropout and it was only after a failed Ph.D. qualifying exam that
he met the mentor and advisor who would help him get through his struggles at
Stanford.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Soon afterwards, Roth ended up
taking an appointment in economics at THE University of Illinois where he
developed much of his research on game theory. After his time at Illinois, Roth
then went to Pittsburgh and finally to Harvard. At the peak of his career at
Harvard, Roth decided to leave and take a job at Stanford University,
surprising quite a few people along the way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After reading up on Alvin Roth as a
person, as well as some of his work, I would have to say not only is he a
fascinating person, but he has done some very interesting things with economics.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">As I mentioned, I know very little about
famous economists much less the complex theories they are famous for studying
and/or applying.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So I did a bit of side
research on game theory.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There are
myriad high level definitions of game theory, but the one I found to make the
most sense defined it as “</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">the study of how people, companies or nations (referred
to as </span><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">agents</span></strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> or </span><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">players</span></strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">) determine strategies
in different situations in the face of competing strategies acted out by other
agents or players.”</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This all lead me to
wonder, how did Roth apply his expertise in game theory and subsequently win a
Nobel prize?</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Roth used game theory to develop some
very relevant systems that play a role in very critical areas of our
lives.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Roth further developed a
mathematical algorithm which was then used to redesign several existing systems
to work more efficiently. The first major area in which Roth applied game
theory was within the medical field.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Roth developed a system to match doctors with hospitals, and a system to
match organ donors with patients.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Roth
also applied game theory to the school system, developing a system to better
match school pupils with schools. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The best known of all these is the National Resident
Matching Program.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Also known as “The
Match”, this system adopted Roth’s algorithm in order to more successfully
match US student doctors to hospitals.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;">
Roth</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> also applied his algorithm to the live organ donor
system.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In a nutshell, this “enabled
patients to trade nonmatching donor kidneys for those that match, connecting
people who need kidneys with the right donors” (Woolhouse & Denison, Boston
Globe). </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">According to the program manager
at UNOS National Kidney Paired Donation Program in Richmond, “Al reinvented the
way living organs are donated” (Woolhouse & Denison, Boston Globe).</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My personal favorite, and something I can
relate to because of going through the process of applying to schools myself,
is Roth’s application of game theory to the problem of Boston’s school
selection process.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“In Boston, the
school assignment system was operating badly. Parents competing for popular
schools were often penalized if they did not get their first choice; if their
second and third choices were also popular, those slots would be filled by
students choosing them first” (Woolhouse & Denison, Boston Globe).</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Roth created a system where parents and
students would be incentivized to select their true preferred schools, and
therefore not attempt to “game” the system. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Above all, in spite of his success and knowledge, all
accounts point to Roth being an even better person.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A genuine, down to earth, and inspiring
person, loved by everyone who knows him.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This, to me, makes me pretty content, and inspired, to be using his name
as my alias for a semester. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Is Alvin Roth’s work relevant to this course?</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I believe it is.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Going back to the definition of game theory,
I believe it would apply to the classic problem of participation in class.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I have two options, participate or don’t
participate.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">If I do participate, I may
be wrong and feel embarrassed, while everyone else benefits.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">However, if I don’t participate, someone else
will take the risk of being wrong while I benefit.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In order to correct this, most classes
include a participation grade which then forces students to participate or risk
being penalized for not doing so. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This
situation appears to me to be agents (students) acting out strategies
(participate or not participate) in the face of competing strategies by other
agents (students & professor).</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">While
my interpretation may not be completely accurate, game theory at its core
involves agents, or organizations, which is what we have set out to learn more
about in this course. Given this, I feel it is very relevant to our class. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sources Used:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Alvin
E. Roth - Biographical." </span><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Alvin E. Roth - Biographical</span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. N.p., n.d.
Web. 04 Sept. 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Ro, Sam.
"NYC And Boston High School Students Can Thank Nobel Prize Winner Alvin
Roth For Their Fates." </span><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Business Insider</span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. Business Insider, Inc, 15
Oct. 2012. Web. 04 Sept. 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Scheve,
Tom. "How Game Theory Works." </span><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">HowStuffWorks</span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">.
HowStuffWorks.com, n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2015.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Woolhouse, Megan, and D.C.
Denison. "Harvard Professor Alvin Roth Awarded Nobel Prize in Economics -
The Boston Globe." </span><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">BostonGlobe.com</span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2015.</span></span></div>
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Alvin Roth Econ 490 Fall 2015http://www.blogger.com/profile/06788068798597748870noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4141730888960018837.post-1033157582542542582015-09-03T22:00:00.002-07:002015-09-03T22:00:53.716-07:00Test PostThis is a test post. Alvin Roth Econ 490 Fall 2015http://www.blogger.com/profile/06788068798597748870noreply@blogger.com0