Robert Giffen Econ 490 fall 2017

In one of my previous posts I discussed my involvement in an RSO on campus. Our organization is structured with the executive board on top, general board members under the executive board, and then our general members. As many of the members of our board do not have too much “real- world” experience dealing with conflict in the work force, people don’t always know the best way to handle it. The beginning of this conflict started when “S” joined our RSO. She joined my junior year and I had advocated for her to the rest of the executive board members because I knew she was bright, a hard worker, and full of new ideas. My enthusiasm paid off and she was selected to join the general board consisting of 20 members. The year that S had joined was a very competitive year. We had only a few spots open for new board members and many qualified applicants. This made S even more enthusiastic when she joined and right off the bat she became one of our more vocal board members. All of the b...

The gift exchange model can be seen everywhere. In particular, I see it quite often living with my three roommates. The model can connect to the three main themes seen in these articles; altruism, fairness, and sharing. In The Power of Altruism , the author states that when we reward people for acts of kindness, they become less inclined to do them. Because it becomes an economic transaction, they do not feel as morally motivated to help.   My roommates and I are very close friends. We respect the duties of being a good roommate and we also take care of each other. On occasion when we know one of our roommates are busy and we are making dinner for ourselves we will offer to cook for them. When we go to the grocery store we often will pick up items for each other. We share our own supplies, medicine, clothes, and many items with each other with nothing definite expected return. We know some roommates who don’t share a single thing and are very independent even though they are a...