Team Production & Gift Exchange

My initial reaction to the articles was about class participation and attendance. As I am sure most individuals have had both mandatory and non-mandatory attendance classes, I wanted to examine the incentive behind both options. The structure of the class plays an important role in the reasoning behind making class attendance mandatory or not. For example, an English class of 30 students has greater incentive to encourage attendance than a 500 person Econ 303 lecture would. Being a discussion-based class, the most important aspect is having students there to bring different opinions and perspectives on the literature being debated on. In terms of gift exchange, the teacher accomplishes their lesson plan much easier with students actually in class and the students enhance their learning experience by bouncing ideas/concepts off one another. In a class with no attendance requirement, the incentive to learn and obtain a decent grade rests entirely on the student rather than the process of give and take between the student and teacher.

            However, this process does not necessarily press the “shared spoils button” that Jonathan Haidt discusses in his piece. In fact, there can be very little reason for the class to act cooperatively unless the teacher threatens to drop the entire group’s grade. Certainly, the class is much more enjoyable if students put in effort and actually apply themselves to the material, but in my past experience, students prefer to focus on their own G.P.A. than the educational experience. I feel as though the tougher the class material gets, the higher frequency students are willing to share information and course materials with one another. For example, many of my friends that are in difficult engineering courses often talk about the collaboration between students. If a student struggles with a homework assignment and asks for help from a friend, they most likely will reciprocate later on in the class. With this strategy, the grade the student receives partially depends on what their friend did as well as their own work. This falls in line with the already present marble example in Haidt’s piece; the student with the answers to the homework will not be willing to share as often if the recipient has nothing to offer.

            A final example that comes to mind is taking a group road trip, especially around spring break. Many of my friends drove from Champaign to ft. Lauderdale for spring break last year and they discussed how each member in the car drove their fair share. Their strategy was that each person (4 in total) would drive a full tank of gas and then pass the duty off to someone else. By splitting up the driving in this manner, the frustration of driving for an extended period of time is shared by all four members while getting closer to the destination at the same pace. Similarly, the cost of filling up one tank for one individual will be equal or similar to that of every other person.

            Communication plays a vital role in ensuring that a group performs well. In particular, informing a teammate of unfair treatment is difficult but necessary in creating greater group cohesion. Understanding that a teammate is upset forces the other group members to change their current strategy to better suit the rest of the group. For example, while it is difficult to call out a group member for subpar or nonexistent work, the entire group collaboration is improved if done correctly. By making the group member realize mutual grade reduction, they (more than likely) will change the manner with which they act.

            

Post College Risk Evaluation

In all likelihood, my career path will lead me to pursue a graduate degree. I hope to earn a law degree following my graduation from the U of I. I am still a junior, but the process of testing and applying to law school is quickly approaching. Evaluating the cost of earning a law degree is tricky and has several aspects to it. Firstly, the mental dedication and determination required to earn the degree is no small task. Consulting with family friends and other acquaintances in the field, I have found that many do not recommend partaking on such a arduous journey. Despite doubts from some individuals, I have also received advice that earning a law degree can be very rewarding. In addition, they stated that I would have to be passionate, focused, and willing to sacrifice pleasure for work on a daily basis. Similarly, they stated that making money should not be my main goal in earning a law degree. They also explained that salaries can be lucrative and that I would be more likely to have a stable job for a least 15 years if I graduated in the top 15% of my class.  For me, this is the most important aspect of my decision: am I passionate enough about this educational opportunity to make all the costs that come with worthwhile.

I believe that my decision to choose Economics as a major was a very practical one. Originally, I had hoped to transfer into the College of Business from Division of General Studies. As the deadline approached, I realized twofold the difference in earning potential between Business and Econ is very slim and I would not enjoy the work in the College of Business. Thus, I decided to apply to the Economics program. The College of Business has many great career opportunities and there is high earning potential, but I feel that Economics offers opportunities equivalent to or greater than those offered by the Business school. Similarly, I know a couple of Economics graduates from the U of I that are earning more than their peers in finance or accounting. I also felt that picking a major in Liberal Arts and Sciences would be more relevant to my career path. In the case I did not choose law school, I wanted to strengthen my resume so I picked up a Business minor.

My older sister graduated from the U of I in 2013 and subsequently entered the workforce. As she explained to me, graduating from college does not mean your entire career path is laid out before you. More plainly, she was happy to be earning salary in the professional world but hated the actual work she was doing. She stayed at her first job for two years until she found another job more aligned with her personal tastes. Unfortunately, her new jobs salary is less than her original one. Even at this new job, she understands that she will not be with the company for the rest of her career. While I feel there is value in exploring different jobs and companies, it also poses great risk towards earning more income. Constantly switching jobs forfeits the raises in income she may have received if she stayed put. I believe her advice is very valuable especially at this point in my life. It only reinforces that working towards something you are passionate for and want to excel at is much more rewarding than doing a job because it has a high salary.

Although I am unsure of where my career path will lead, I certainly hope that the decisions I have made in the past will help me reduce income risk.

Connecting the Dots

Following my review of previous blogs, one connection that was most apparent was between the Opportunism and Illinibucks blogs. Although my analysis/anecdote for opportunism was not entirely accurate, I feel that my understanding of the subject has grown since then. In particular, the ethical dilemma that comes with acting in an opportunistic manner. Knowing that principle nor planning have little/no effect on one's decision making, it is obvious that opportunism is a driving force behind the practicality of Illinibucks. An example that I used in the Illinibucks piece was in regards to the book-buying process and the painful annoyance it sometimes can be. If Illinibucks were in use, they could be employed to skip the entire line to reach the checkout at the bookstore. Using Illinibucks in that situation is opportunism. The incentive to get out of line faster and carry on with the day outweighs the cost of making the students without Illinibucks angry. Similarly, no planning is involved.

On a different note, my blog about a successful team I was apart of connects well to the alignment problem concept. In class we discussed the format of our classroom in a physical sense. The seating is not optimal due to the necessity to fit approximately 30 people in a small space. The organization that controls the desks that are placed into the classroom and the University itself may be on separate agendas. This outlines one reason why big organizations may not work harmoniously. Thus, we discussed how the university is not fulfilling their goal to provide a transformative learning environment in this isolated example. This concept of mismatched planning and execution can be applied to the struggles my football team initially experienced in high school. All team members want to win as many games as possible. However, the team struggled in achieving that goal as the team was not as organized/disciplined as it could have been. For example, some players would provide lackluster effort in practice, thereby affecting their game performance. Conversely, there were players that provided consistency as they always gave their best attempt. A major reason for the turnaround from a 2-4 record to being one of the last 8 teams in playoffs can be attributed to recognition of this problem by leaders on the team and their response to it. With all team members conscious of their contribution, the team's overall performance improved instantly.

My approach to blogging has absolutely changed since I began the class. At the onset of the semester, I was very casual with the amount of research and effort that I put into my posts. I find that attending class and taking Professor Arvan's constructive comments and applying them towards my next post play an integral role in improving the quality of my writing. After we discuss these economic concepts in class, I feel more confident in constructing a worthwhile argument and contributing to our discussion of these topics. I believe that writing about real-life situations greatly broadens our ability to make connections from one concept to the next.

In the future, I look forward to seeing my comprehension of topics in the class growing. I feel as though my blogs discuss the more general facts about the topic or concept. As we get further into the course, my goal is to be able to understand the complexities of the material and apply the concepts to what is going on in the world outside of the classroom. I feel that reading more on the topics will be extremely beneficial to my learning experience.  I also believe that reading more of other students blogs will aid my understanding as well. That way, I can recognize what they did correctly and what was incorrect and apply it to my analysis of the concept. I am intrigued to see how my experience will grow and change as the class progresses.

Illinibucks

Illinibucks has the potential to be a very valuable asset to the students of Illinois. A flat currency that can cut in front of lines eliminates some of the frustration that comes with being one of 40,000 students at the University of Illinois. Knowing that all students receive the same amount of Illinibucks and there is a limit to how many lines you can cut, students' preferences will become known.

For me, Illinibucks would be most useful for buying/renting books. On many occasions, I have been unable to immediately purchase a book. Illinibucks could potentially be used to place books on reserve, essentially "cutting the line" entirely and ensuring that the student receives their books on time. In this case, the student places priority on their schoolwork as opposed to food etc. Bookstores could incentivize returning rentals on time through Illinibucks. Thereby saving both time and frustration for students.

Illinibucks could also be advantageous registering for classes. For students that have extended Advanced Placement credit or are James Scholars/Honors students, Illinibucks would not enhance their experience. Their registration period is already early enough that they can register and still obtain the classes/time periods they need. However, for an underclassman, much of the frustration and waiting could be removed by the process if they are able to cut the line of registration. Perhaps a student would be able to get a spot in a class a semester early, thus quickening their graduation pace. Similarly, a student would be able to register for a 12 p.m. section time for a class as opposed to 8 a.m. If the set price were set too high, many students would not be able skip the registration line unless they saved a significant portion of their currency. On the contrary, if the price is set too low, too many students would be leapfrogging the line. Consequently, the process of gaining AP credit and becoming James Scholar is slightly less of an incentive.

Illinois Sporting Events are an intriguing hypothetical use for Illinibucks. I get the sense that the majority of students are not as interested in cutting the lines of sporting events. Larger sporting venues like Memorial Stadium and the State Farm Center have a multitude of entrances so the incentive to skip those lines is not exceedingly high. If one entrance is crowded, it is more than likely that another entrance is not as crowded. For sporting events like baseball or hockey, students may be encouraged to use Illinibucks to get a quality seat to watch friends/peers compete. Knowing that they could have good seats to watch the game encourages greater participation from the student population and more than likely higher attendance.

I believe that Illinibucks could be useful at places like the Ike and PAR/FAR dining halls. Perhaps cutting the line to obtain a certain type of food before it runs out may be a reason Illinibucks would be used. Similarly, if a student is in a rush to eat Illinibucks would help the student get their food faster. The cost of this use of Illinibucks would have to be relatively low in order to be used. If the cost were high, the product (in this case: eating more quickly) more than likely would not be worth it.

Overall, I feel that Illinibucks would provide some incentive to campus. Faster registration, attending more sporting events, and enhanced book buying could all be potential effects. Although it would not drastically alter my lifestyle, I feel that Illinibucks could be advantageous for many other students.