Literature Review 3

Mitnick, Barry M. "Re: Origin of the Theory of Agency." Re: Origin of the Theory of Agency. University of Pittsburgh, Jan. 2006. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

The majority of the article is spent by Mitnick embellishing his work and making sure the reader understand that he (and his college, but mostly himself)  founded the concept of the 'principal - problem.' Mitnick does however, get to the point where he eventually explains what it is. Fundamentally, the principal agent problem is when one party, the principal is attempting to get another party, the agent to accomplish a task for the principal as efficiently as possible. 

Barry Mitnick is a Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Public and International Affairs at the Katz School of Business and  was one of the originators of the theory of agency (1973), including its name, and is responsible for one of its key logics: Because the benefits from securing and assuring perfect agents often fail to exceed the perceived costs of obtaining such agents, social and organizational institutions are structured to manage the resulting dilemmas. In a series of papers with Robert C. Ryan, they are exploring various aspects of the social construction of organization systems by participants in the face of uncertainty, including how individuals and organizations judge the characters of social settings as credible, and commit to action in such settings.

The two main terms to understand in the principal agent problem and the difference the principal and the agent. The Principal is the individual or entity who is requesting the work or task to be done. The Agent is the individual or entity who will do the work.

“Agency in terms of problems of compensation contracting; agency was seen, in essence, as an incentives problem.” (Mitnick)

"the problem is one of selecting a compensation system that will produce behavior by the agent consistent with the principal's preferences."

This article adds value to the paper because it directly describes and addresses the conflict that many students experience between higher education and themselves. The students in this example are the principal, and the schools and universities are the agents. While the student wants to get trained/educated as quickly as possible for as an economic price as possible, the university wants to keep the student enrolled as long as possible while charging the highest price possible.

Lit review 2

Ashkanasy, Neal M. "International Happiness: A Multilevel Perspective." Academy Of Management Perspectives 25.1 (2011): 23-29.Business Source Premier. Web. 11 Oct. 2016. 

Summary: This article briefly discusses what factors influence happiness in a person's life. Ashkanasay frequently cites prior studies, and discusses why people feel happy, and how money affects it. The fundamental argument of the article is that, although money is not everything in life, historical research shows that there is a very strong correlation between income and happiness. 
Neal Ashkanasy came into academic life after an 18-year career in professional engineering and management, and has since worked in the schools of psychology, commerce, engineering, management, and business. He has a PhD (1989) in Social and Organizational Psychology from the University of Queensland, and has research interests in leadership, organizational culture, and business ethics. In recent years, however, his research has focused on the role of emotions in organizational life. He is currently Professor of Management in the UQ Business School. 

There are two unique terms that I found in this article. The first one being more a phrase, "Hedonic consequences of social comparison" which is simply the outcome, or feelings, one receives when we compare ourselves with other people. The other is a 'cold cognition' or a decision made out of rationality, and not emotions.


Quotes:

"The evidence does not support the commonly believed notion that “money does not buy happiness.” Indeed, among the various surveys they canvass, it is clear that happiness is a function of (among other things) education and income." (24)

"Thus, happiness can be defined on one hand in terms of cognitive appraisals of needs and wants, referred to by Fisher (2010, p. 388) as “cold cognitions,” or on the other hand in terms of an emotional state of mind." (26)

"prosperity correlates positively with subjective happiness."  (26)

This article adds value to my paper because it dispels the common myth that money cannot buy you happiness. One of they key point in my paper will be that undergraduates are intentionally misled by academic advisers and professors, and are manipulated into believing that their form of education will derive them happiness, when in fact they are wrong. This article's clear statement is that although you cannot purchase happiness with money, there is an extremely strong correlation between income (money) and happiness.