Theory to Improve Outcomes

Part 1

You are a manager in a highly-competitive industry. You have noticed complaints from various teams that communication within the organization is inefficient, unclear, and generally a waste of time. You have also noticed that communications from HR and IT tend to be dense and really long. Most people throw these emails in the trash without looking at them.

The COO of the company feels this is a problem hindering the company’s competitive edge. She assigned you to address it by writing a speech about the 5 most important ways that employees can improve their communication. You purchase the book Economical Writing (https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53b457fde4b0c36b0038de84/t/59495a444c8b0371ef0e1440/1497979467751/McCloskey_Economical_Writing.pdf) and read through it thoroughly. In 400 words or less, communicate what you think are the 5 most important ‘rules’ from the book. Address why these are important and how they should improve communication in your organization.

Since this is a speech, you may want to use 1st-person. You still need to avoid unsubstantiated opinions. Instead, argue why these 5 ways can improve the company’s performance.

Part 2: Theory to Improve Outcomes

Re-read the page on actual shocks to labor supply (you can find it attached as Labor Supply) You will write two paragraphs that describe predictions of the labor supply model and are informed by research.

1. One paragraph of 100 words or less to your HR manager:
   • Think about what the model (Figure 13) predicts about better access to daycare and what effects that shock will have on the outcome of female work hours and labor force participation (Hint: it increases the number of hours a parent has to either work or do other activities).
   • UsingGoogle Scholar,  find THREE academic articles and briefly describe research findings on the link between daycare and labor force participation (or work hours). Do NOT talk about figures from my website. Cite the references in your paragraph with the Author/Date system. Hint: type “child care female labor participation”, “child care female work hours”, “child care female wage”, or “child care female earnings” into the search engines. You can also try “day care” in place of “child care”. You can get a lot of non-technical information by just reading the abstract and conclusion of these papers.
2. A second paragraph of 100 words or less to your boss who is a state senator:
   • Think about what the model (Figure 15) predicts about how a higher EITC will affect labor force participation of low-wage workers.
   • UsingGoogle Scholar, find THREE academic articles and briefly describe research findings on the link between the EITC and labor force participation (or work hours). Again, use Author/Date. Hint: type “eitc work hours” or something similar.
3. Add all SIX papers to a Reference list inAPA style (hint: use Google Scholar’s Cite Capability). The Reference list goes at the end of the lab.

A Few Pointers for Writing Up Lab 2

Considering who your audience needs to be, an uninformed lay person that demands professional work, here are a few common mistakes I have found that should not be repeated:

1. Talking about figures that you do not present in your paper is a big “no-no”. You are asked to explain what is going on in a model, for which I give an example using a graph. You can explain what the model is, what it predicts, and why it is important without a figure. But, if you simply say: “Figure 13 explains…”, the first thing a reader will think when they read your writing is: “Where is Figure 13?” The second thing they might think is: “Where are Figures 1-12?” Assume the reader is not in our class… they have not seen Figure 13 before.
2. Use Author-Date citations when you present any information. This helps me know what is opinion and what is backed by research, and how recent your sources are. Don’t make the reader try to figure this out on their own: remember the reader needs information quick and efficiently. Author-Date is more efficient than stating the author’s name and the title of the article in the text — you add a lot more words without increasing the information (more words + little marginal information = not efficient).
   1. Example 1: Smith (2016) found evidence that female labor force participation growth slowed down due to …
   2. Example 2: A study of EU women suggested that female labor force particpation… (Smith, 2016).
3. I am asking you to summarize information very briefly and efficiently. I am also asking you to do it in your own voice. You can add more value by writing a sentence that combines information from 2 or more sources, rather than copying an idea directly from one source. That is why I ask forNO DIRECT QUOTES.

Part 3: Looking at Evidence on Changed Outcomes

<imgsrc=”https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53b457fde4b0c36b0038de84/t/54171120e4b00eba52a2e56a/1410797857606/” alt=”Figure L2.1 for Part 2: Effects of EITC on Smoking.” />

Figure L2.1 for Part 2: Effects of EITC on Smoking.

• One paragraph of 50 words or less to your NGO manager: Read the Abstract, Introduction, and conclusion of this article on fertility and education in Rwandaand describe how fertility changes in this study and why. Add this paper to your Reference List.
• Figure out how the previous DID example works (Figure 16). Now calculate the effects of the EITC on smoking using numbers from the FIgure L2.1 to the right. (This example is prompted by the research paper of Kenkel et al., 2014).
• In a short paragraph (50 words or less), describe the research question in the DID graph, the outcome being measured, how the EITC affects the outcome (and the percentage-point effect), and how the findings provide evidence of cigarettes being a normal or inferior good.

Include the graph in your Write-up and fill in the correct numbers. Click on the full image, right-click, save to your computer, then copy it to your paper.

Part 4: PivotTables to Describe Wage Differences

Open the Lab 2 Excel File and save to a location you can find. You will create one Figure presenting three charts:

1. In your Word Document, create a blank table that is 1×8. Put the Figure 1 Title in the top box and the “Source: ACS 2012, from Labor Lab.” in the bottom box. Here is a template to useif you prefer… just delete my figures, change the text, and copy the whole table to your Main Lab 2 Word File.
2. Create a PivotTable with hourly wage (in $) as the value and Female/Male as the row. Create a PivotChart that compares the average hourly wage for Female vs. Male workers. Copy/Paste this as the first figure in your Word Document.
3. Redesign the PivotTable putting Over30/Under30 as the row. Create a PivotChart that compares the average hourly wage for Over 30 vs. Under 30 workers. Copy/Paste this as the 2nd figure in your Word Document.
4. Redesign a PivotTable putting CollegeGrad/Non-Graduate as the row. Create a PivotChart that compares the average hourly wage for Non-Graduate vs. College Graduate workers. Copy/Paste this as the 3rd figure in your Word Document.
5. Make sure the Figure title and the chart subtitles all describe what you are presenting. Write a small paragraph that describes all three charts.