Question

A panel of three high school teachers at Rippowam High School had been convened by the principal to make a most important decision. A local company was willing to award a $10,000 college scholarship to "the most outstanding senior" in the class, with the recipient to be determined by the high school. Walter Plant, Sandra Meltzer, and Jerry Driscoll were given the assignment to select the scholarship recipient. They agreed to meet at 2:30 to discuss their assignment. Driscoll opened the meeting: "I wish we had more to go on than what they gave us. A student can be 'outstanding' in many ways." "Well, I assume grades are the most important factor," said Meltzer. "Why don't we start out with the ranking of all students based upon their grade-point averages. I'd be hard pressed to award $10,000 to any student other than the class valedictorian." "I don't think it’s that easy," continued Plant. "I am far more impressed with a student who gets a B+ in honors physics than someone who gets an A in basketweaving. While a student's grade point average is certainly a good measure of their academic accomplishments, it's tainted by the difficulty of the courses taken." "That's not the only problem with the grade point average," Driscoll warned. "I've got some students in my homeroom who will graduate with the minimum number of hours, and I've got some others who branched out and took more than the minimum. I think we should give some consideration to the total number of hours taken in the curriculum." A deep frown appeared on Plant's face. "I don't see why we should penalize the student who did only what was required by the school. We specify what is needed for graduation, and the students have to comply. While I never encourage a student to stick to the minimum, I don't think we should devalue their performance for having done so." "Maybe we're getting too hung up with grades and hours," said Meltzer. “Suzanne Millord won first prize in the regional science fair competition. Shouldn't something like that count too? I'm more impressed with that than an A in any class." "You know," Plant commented, "we are forgetting about some other things too. How about civic activities, such as participation in student government or interest clubs? We encourage student involvement in these activities to make for a more well-rounded education. I don't feel we should ignore them when it comes time to make an award." "I feel those activities have their own rewards," said Driscoll. "We want to give this scholarship to the best student, not the most socially active one." "While we're at it," mused Plant, "how about athletic participation? We also stress physical education as well as social and intellectual development. Maybe we should also include interscholastic athletics. We've got some outstanding athletes in this school, and who’s to say that 'most outstanding' can't be defined in terms of athletics?" "I hardly think this was designed to be an athletic scholarship," Meltzer grumbled. "If you want to make it more complicated, why not throw in financial need; $10,000 is a lot of money, and some families could use it more than others." Driscoll stared out the window. He knew it would be a long afternoon

Would the criteria for selecting the "most outstanding student" be more biased or less biased by the inclusion of financial need? Why?

If you had been invited to this meeting, what suggestions would you make to help the teachers reach a decision? Use your lecture notes to give suggestions to improve the process based on principles of I/O?

Answer 1

Outstanding:

Outstanding-being exceptionally good.

According to me, including the financial need will change the concept. Since the local company has offered the sum of 10000 dollars to the most outstanding student, the student who outperforms could be good or bad financially. Also there are various scholarships available for the financially weak people to be supported. Awarding the sum to the right candidate will also create an image that being financially weak will add a privilege to avail awards and as a whole this will motivate all the students to participate in the consecutive years to come (if offered). And since the criteria taken into consideration is not just inclined to one part (academics, sports, social etc) the probability of selecting the most eligible candidate is high.

IF YOU WERE PRESENT:

If I am present at the meeting, I will suggest the teachers that we work collectively. And examine all the students and all their activities in the school. All the areas considered will be awarded 50 points each and the teachers have to give their individual ratings to the student based on their assessment.

In order to start with the process the students have to be first selected based on their grades (A’s and B’s in the chosen subjects).

Now these students will be awarded marks based on their performance in sports out of 50 by all three teachers.

Also this rule will be followed in their social activities, extra-curricular activities, attitude and other activities or events organized by school in that particular year.

Now the individual scores of the teachers will be totalled and the student with the highest will be granted award based on the sum of the marks given by all.

I think this method will help in finding the right student. Also selecting a student by this means will give an opportunity for the selected student to use the amount in the right way.

PRINCIPLE OF I/O:

The I/O concept deals with three broad perspectives industrial, organizational and human factor.

In this situation we have to consider the school to select the right candidate without showing any discrimination to them. Thus considering the financial need would turn this the other way round. We have to ensure that the selected candidate meet all the requirements of the criteria. Also school as a whole and the individuals should feel valued and motivated with the result. And the students as a whole should feel that the result chosen is correct and how well to use the resources and opportunities available or offered by the school to achieve such awards.