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Thesis of freakonomics
Thesis of freakonomics
Morality virtue and ethics in business
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Written by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, Freakonomics is built upon three major philosophies: incentives are the fundamentals of life, experts on a subject use their knowledge as an advantage to serve their own wellbeing, and orthodox wisdom is wrong most of the time. This book goes into detail to explain the mindsets of humans, from school teachers to sumo wrestlers, through statistics. Levitt and Dubner claim that when the data is closely examined it can relate to more concepts than originally hypothesized. The style of this informative piece is very precise yet, at the same time, very concise and to the point. The tone carried throughout the book is informative and knowledgeable. The authors use distinct tactics to get points across …show more content…
The exhortation of using incentives to receive and analyze responses reoccurs throughout the book periodically. Levitt and Dubner believe that incentives can be categorized into three different types: moral incentives, social incentives, and economic incentives. Moral incentives are defined as circumstances in which someone acts purely out of conscience or guilt. Social incentives are observed when a person’s actions are solely linked with shame or glory. Economic incentives are when people act with financial interests and benefits in mind. One example portrayed in the book is the day care center in Israel. When parents start getting charged a late fee for picking up their child at the daycare facility, more parents show up late. Before the fine was placed, parents would pick up their kids on time with a moral or social incentive. After the fine was placed parents acted with an economic incentive, which wasn’t as bad as a sense of guilt. Further data shows evidence of relations between incentives and cheating in the Chicago Public School System. In 1996, the school system started to give bonuses based on the standardized test scores of teachers’ students. If a teacher’s students showed improvements on their test scores, the teacher received a monetary bonus. Researchers found after studying score results from 1993–2000 that a spike in cheating occurred in 1996. A three-year study showed that on average cheating occurred in at least 200 Chicago classrooms per year. Therefore, Levitt and Dubner’s theory of incentives is
Children who are deemed poor, do not receive nearly as many educational opportunities as children who are deemed rich. Kozol acknowledges that poor children barely have any social skills, which will help them in Kindergarten. In contrast, children who have been in preschool like programs since their toddler years, are more likely to develop social skills and have early-learning skills, like knowing how to hold a crayon. Children in all social classes, in the United States have to take the same standardized tests and are measured on the same grading scale. Kozol questions, “Which of these children will receive the highest scores?”(Kozol 413) Sadly, poor children will not be the ones with the highest score, and they will be held accountable for their test scores, as Kozol points out “There is something deeply hypocritical about a society that holds an eight year old inner city child “accountable” for robbing her of what they gave their own kids six or seven years earlier” (Kozol 413). It is unfair to expect a child to perform on a test equally with other children who started their education earlier. Kozol mentions that some people, who are well-educated, feel that money is not a problem with education inequality, and that other factors such as, “The values of the parents and the kids themselves must have a role in this as well-you know, housing, health conditions,
...letes: The Debate over the Pay for Play Model: A Counterpoint." Journal of Law & Education 31.3 (2002): 293-303. Print.
Yet another argument against Levitt and Dubner is the outcry surrounding the processes used to devise their controversial conclusions. While many opponents challenge the nature of the studies, people like Charles Jobs said their statistical methods were wrong. He illustrates how Freakonomics suggests “socioeconomic situations which violate a normative standard involving real life situations” (Jobs). He cites the naming study, which challenges the fabric of many people’s core beliefs and is viewed by many as unethical. Jobs attacked the virtue of the study by citing Levitt and Dubner’s conclusion of how “a person with a distinctively black name… does have a worse life outcome than a woman named Molly or a man named Jake” (119). He was just one of the many outspoken critics who claimed the study had no true bearing on possible events.
The case study titled "School Officials from Marshall Metro High School Attempt to Motivate Students & Teachers to Achieve Higher Performance" is about the different ways the school system used to motivate the students to come to school (Kinicki & Williams, 2013, p.405). It is also a good example of how rewards and behavior can affect the outcome of the situation.
Chapter four of Freakonomics starts off by giving background information of the dictator in Romania. Nicolae Ceausescu was the dictator of Romania that made abortion illegal. With this new abortion law Ceausescu wanted to strengthen Romania’s population. Before the abortion law, there were four abortions to every live birth (Levitt and Dubner, 2009). However, women who already had four children and were apart of the communist party were exempt from this law. Within one year of this act the population had doubled. Studies had shown that people who were born after the abortion law would do worse in school, in work, and would sometimes be more likely to become
Cheating can be a common routine in a classroom—from copying work on homework to copying answers on a test. “Cheating by teachers and administrators on standardized tests is rare, and not a reason to stop testing America's children” (Standardized Tests). This statement is proved false by the fact that thirty-seven states have been caught cheating by “encouraging teachers to view upcoming test forms before they are administered” (“FairTest Press Release: Standardized Exam Cheating in 37 States And D.C., New Report Shows Widespread Test Score Corruption”). If teachers can view a test before it is administered, they can teach to the test so that their students’ scores are higher. Teachers who have viewed the test can then “drill students on actual upcoming test items” (“FairTest Press Release: Standardized Exam Cheating in 37 States And D.C., New Report Shows Widespread Test Score Corruption”). This is morally wrong since teachers who do not have the access to an actual test or those who refuse to view it do not know what would be on the test and cover a broad domain of material, not just specifics.
The teachers use a currency in order to reward the children in a way of “cash” rewards. Nearly 100% of the students in the school are living in poverty at home, are African-American, and are without a preschool education. Older students have been required to fill out applications with references for classroom jobs, followed by attending an interview. Although many adults feel the children are just being trained as robots, principals have explained it is simply to teach students that they have an opportunity to succeed, regardless of their past. Children at these schools are constantly being “incentivized”, which is quite common in America, making this situation
This chapter's main idea is that the study of economics is the study of incentives. We find a differentiation between economic incentives, social incentives and moral incentives. Incentives are described in a funny way as "means of urging people to do more of a good thing or less of a bad thing", and in this chapter we find some examples public school teachers in Chicago, sumo wrestling in Japan, take care center in Israel and Paul Feldman's bagel business of how incentives drive people and most of the time the conventional wisdom turns to be "wrong" when incentives are in place.
In the novel, “Freakonomics,” by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, many topics and their hidden sides are brought up that not many people think twice about. This book has no one theme. Instead, it is about “stripping a layer or two from the surface of modern life and seeing what is happening underneath.”(Levitt and Dubner, 2005, pg. 11) They are not looking at the surface of common occurrences or issues, but passed what most people see. They explain the hidden side to everything. This ranges from topics about choosing your child’s name to how guns affect the crime rate.
In the beginning, before there was “Freakonomics” by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, I viewed economics as representative of how the stock-market was performing. Now after having this class I have been able to pull together the different aspects of our reading material from my economics class and I have realized economics is a complex system which has a number of perspectives that can be molded or construed into quite frankly any angle. One angle I have been enlightened about is why so many African-Americans live in a lower socioeconomic environment.
B1.) Stride-Darnley assumed with younger children that rewards will promote good work, good behavior, and good choices. Technically, he is partial right. Giving younger children a reward from completing school work, behaving well, and making great choices has a positive influences on them; however, what you may consider a reward may not be so rewarding to them. In one interview, Stride-Darnley listened as a younger child reported to him that he would purposely get into trouble because he did not like being outside with a lot of children. For younger children they look at free time as being a reward but for that particular child it was a punishment because he did not feel comfortable around a large group of kids. The school social worker and other school officials may have blamed the child’s behavior on his mental disorder (ODD), but the child was very aware of his actions and choices he made. By not having options that would have catered to a better choice for the child, he had to act out to get the choice he wanted. In another observation, a reward produced good behavior and work. This child was redirected and was told his actions are the cause of him losing his computer time.
They celebrated with a spaghetti dinner.” (p. 2)This evidence indicates that a reward at the end could teach students to dedicate themselves to something and stick with it as well as work hard. These skills could stick for some students and could carry over into school work and daily life. A simple reward at the end also can provide motivation for the kids. Some might say that providing a reward is corrupting the motives and morals of the participating students, but it is still teaching the kids valuable
Children who are poor do not receive nearly as many educational opportunities as children who are rich. Kozol acknowledges that poor children barely have any social skills, which will harm them in Kindergarten. In contrast, children who have been in preschool-like programs since their toddler years are more likely to develop social skills and have early-learning skills, like knowing how to hold a crayon. Children in all social classes in the United States have to take the same standardized tests and are measured on the same grading scale. Kozol questions, “Which of these children will receive the highest scores?”(Kozol 413) Sadly, poor children will not be the ones with the highest score, and they will be held accountable for their test scores, as Kozol points out “There is something deeply hypocritical about a society that holds an eight-year-old inner-city child “accountable” for her performance on a high-stakes standardized exam but does not hold the high officials of our government accountable for robbing her of what they gave their own kids six or seven years earlier” (Kozol 413). It is unfair to expect a child to perform on a test equally with other children who started their education earlier. Kozol mentions that some people, who are well-educated, feel that money is not a problem with education inequality, and that other factors such as, “The values of the
Some people believe merit pay creates competition and favoritism. They seem to think school systems will pay some teachers more than others and create a “battle” for money. In Merit Pay: Good for Teachers? By Gary Drevitch, one interviewee states, “I know it’s worked in some places, but I shudder at the idea of teachers being in competition with each other.” None of these problems will occur if school districts implement a successful, unbiased system. Another issue society presents when it comes to merit pay comprises of differentiating a “good” teacher from a “bad” teacher. School districts can easily evaluate a teacher’s ability to educate students by the work teachers put into helping students. Student’s reactions to a teacher’s class can also help evaluate teachers. More often than not, students will love a class where the teacher clearly demonstrates lessons, explain procedures, and adds elements of fun. On the other hand, students typically dislike classes where the teacher only comes in for a paycheck. This attitude is displayed by their lackadaisical teaching style. Other people argue that money should not be the reason why people go into teaching. Richard Barbieri, author of Merit Pay? argues that money is not an external motivator, but the substance of a teacher’s motivation. Financial incentives will cause employees to work harder
Alfie Kohn, author of The Case against Standardized Testing, recalls a specific incident of how children are being cheated out of valuable class time. He states that a school in Massachusetts used a remarkable unit, for a middle-school class, where students chose an activity and extensively researched it, and reported or taught, it to the class. This program has had to be removed from the course curriculum in order to devote enough time to teaching prescribed material for their standardized tests.