The question I would like you all to discuss this week is the difference between ethical decisions, moral decisions and legal decisions made by a public administrator. Then create your own scenario. It should be set in a public agency or body in keeping with our public administration focus. Please fill in enough information so your classmate can make an educated analysis, for instance the state in which it occurred and the agency so they can find the code. Dont offer your thoughts on whether the scenario is a situation which would present an ethical, moral and/or legal dilemma. For your responses please answer that question for another students scenario and explain your reasoning. If there is not enough information, note what you would need to make a decision and the person who posted the scenario can fill in the gaps.
Day: January 27, 2021
This module contains two brief essays regarding the role of an artist photographer, “The Thing Itself,” by Bill Jay, and “The Unforeseen Wilderness,” by Wendell Berry. Read both essays carefully and, in at least one paragraph per response, respond to the following prompts based on those readings:
(See the rubric below for specific grading criteria.)
1) Describe some reasons why subject matter is so important to Bill Jay (there are several).
2) What does Bill Jay mean by “photographic conscience”?
3) How would you relate being what Wendell Berry calls “a tourist photographer” to today’s use of social media?
4) Describe how, according to Wendell Berry, the photographic artist is, in a way, a pilgrim.
Part A: Conceptual questions
Suppose you own a television factory and at your current level of output you have an average total cost of $800 per television, average variable costs of $700 per television, and a marginal cost of $400. If the price your buyers are willing to pay is $500, should you decrease or increase production? Explain your reasoning, and make sure to cite at least one of the required readings in your answer.
You are the owner of a restaurant, and currently, you have only one waiter. While this keeps costs down, many of your customers go home because they are tired of waiting in line or waiting for their order. You hire four more waiters and waitresses, and you are now able to serve a dramatically higher number of customers. Seeing the huge productivity gains from hiring more staff, you then hire 20 more waiters and waitresses. However, you are not able to serve any more customers than you were able to when your staff size was only four. In fact, your restaurant has become overly crowded because there is not enough room in your restaurant for all of your staff. You are confused as to why hiring four more staff members increased your productivity, but hiring 20 more did not. What concept from the background readings best describes what happened in this case? Explain your reasoning.
Part B: Quantitative problems
The following table gives the total weekly output of bicycles at Als Bicycle Town.
Table 1
Labor Total Product (TP) Average Product of labor (AP) Marginal Product of labor (MP)
0 0 na na
1 100 100 100
2 300 —– ___
3 450 ___ ___
4 ___ ___ 110
5 630 ___ ___
6 ___ 110 ___
Complete this table.
Draw the graphs of the marginal product (MP) and the average product (AP).
To learn how to plot the data in Excel, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3U9tDcoNeI
Where do the AP and MP curve cross?
The cost of 1 worker is $2000 per month. Total fixed cost is $4000 per month.
Complete Table 2 using your answers from Table 1 and by computing total variable cost (TVC) and total cost(TC).
Table 2
Labor Total Product (TP) Total variable cost (TVC) Total cost (TC)
0 0 na 4000
1 100 2000 ___
2 300 —– ___
3 450 ___ ___
4 ___ ___ 12000
5 630 ___ ___
6 ___ 12000 ___
Draw the graphs of the TC and TVC curves. What is the relationship between these two curves?
Complete Table 3 by using your answers from the previous Tables and calculating the AVC, ATC, and MC.
Table 3
Total Product (TP) Average variable cost (AVC) Average total cost (ATC) Marginal cost (MC)
0 na na na
100 20 ___ 20
300 —– ___ ___
450 ___ ___ ___
___ ___ 21.43 ___
630 ___ ___ ___
___ ___ ___ 66.67
Draw the graphs of the ATC, AVC, and MC curves. What is the relationship between the ATC and AVC curves? Between the MC and AVC curves?
Review Case 14.1, Nurnberg Augsburg Maschinenwerke (pp. 265-267). Submit your analysis with recommendations to answer the following questions:
Which of the routing alternatives would you recommend to meet the initial 90-day deadline for the 25-bus shipment? Why? Train or waterway? To which port(s)? What would it cost?
