The Fairness Exercise
Mark Tompkins and John A. Dukes – University of South Carolina
Gregory Plagens – Eastern Michigan University
Fairness and “equity” are key concepts in the study of politics and public policy. The many features of judgments about equity become a central challenge in teaching. We report on an active learning exercise that provides fertile and interesting insights into these issues which we have used at the outset of many different classes over many years. On the first day of class, we bring one instance of a required purchase for the course – ordinarily a required textbook or a “clicker” for a classroom response system. These are worth somewhere between thirty and one hundred dollars in current value. The instructor announces that he plans to give the item to someone in the class, albeit “fairly,” and expects the class to determine how this can be done “fairly.” We have been using variations of this exercise for more than twenty years (and in a variety of different classes). In this paper, we consider the range of "prompts" offered to the class before they are asked to resolve the dilemma and we offer our reflections on the outcome of the exercise (the outcome has been the same over twenty years each time the senior author administered it but there have been some differences in administration and in outcome with the other two authors). We also offer a rich array of resources for faculty who wish to use the exercise in their classes.
A Framework for Incorporating Behavioral Economics into Public Affairs Education
Stephen Kleinschmit – Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne
Can incorporating the lessons of behavioral economics into public affairs education lead to more desirable societal outcomes? Informed by Dan Ariely’s Predictably Irrational, this paper examines economic rationality and instrumental rationality in the public and nonprofit sectors. By applying developments in psychology research to public service, this work seeks to explore their effectiveness in aligning citizen choice towards agency goals as a means to improve societal outcomes. This paper explores whether such measures could provide a worthwhile addition to the field’s academic and professional development programs.
What Should We Teach Students about Ethical Leadership?
Alex Heckman – Franklin University
Many texts and courses teach ethical leadership from an individual perspective and in abstract or stylistic manner in which the leader serves as sort of an ethical judge making a ruling. This presentation discusses the idea of ethical leadership from an organizational and practical perspective where a leader must think systemically about how to act ethically and create ethical organizations in the real world. In doing so, the leader has to create organizational policies and structures that shape action systematically in order to help create an ethical environment. I illustrate this approach to teaching ethical leadership by applying the McKinsey 7-S model. The presentation is designed to stimulate a dialogue about what it means to be an ethical leader, how leaders can make their organizations ethical, and how we can teach this to students.
Room: Phillips Hall 231
