Epidemics and Public Goods

In a recent article about Ebola in the Wall Street Journal, Peter Piot, the Director of the London School of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene, referred to epidemics like Ebola as what economists refer to as a public good.  For most readers of the Wall Street Journal, I’d imagine that the economic definition of public good might be familiar.  It might not be for most of those interested in public health but without economics and business training. 

Public goods have two key characteristics: being non-excludable and non-rival.  Non-excludable means that it is impossible to keep someone from experiencing it.  Non-rival means that one person’s experiencing it doesn’t limit another person’s experience.  National defense has characteristics of a public good—everyone in a country experiences it and my enjoyment of the United States’ national defense does not limit anyone else’s experience.

So, an epidemic does have these characteristics—everyone gets to experience the risk and no one is excluded from the exposure to the risk.

While the epidemic has characteristics of a public good, some solutions do not have elements of public goods but instead have externalities.  For example, for a vaccine, if I get the dose no one else can have it.  But, when I get the dose, my protection also provides some amount of protection for those around me.

The funding of public goods comes at the public expense and there must be a way to determine how much of the public good the public desires.  Externalities imply that individuals will either overconsume (in the case of negative externalities) or underconsume (in the case of positive externalities like a vaccine) the good without some type of incentive or enforcement.   

Within national borders or provincial borders within a country, it is possible to have laws that encourage or require specific behaviors, to provide monetary incentives,  or to coordinate activity through a Department of Ministry of Health.  Economists would ask about the costs and benefits of such rules or coordinating efforts.  When the epidemic is within borders the power to regulate, incentivize, and enforce is clear. 

When the epidemic is actually an international pandemic the situation is more challenging.  There is no authority that has the same type of legislative role or public health coordinating role internationally as a government within a province or nation.  As a result, efforts at coordination are, of necessity, more voluntary. 

Given the risks of the emergence of new infectious diseases and the resurgence of old ones, this is a time to consider how best to develop international cooperation for to deal with future international epidemics.  Someone may find a way to provide incentives across countries that are enforceable and that lead to better coordination and appropriate amounts of action.  If not, this is an opportunity for those who want to conduct business (and run countries) with humanity in mind to think carefully about how to encourage stakeholders to act not just with local or national humanity in mind, but with all of humanity in mind. 

TUBA

The other day, I, along with two student leaders from an organization called Net Impact, met with Amy Klosterman.  Amy is involved with an organization she calls TUBA, the acronym for The Uganda-Baltimore Alliance.  Why does she call it TUBA?  Because it revolves around a brass band in Uganda and her US base is Baltimore.  And, in true “Smaltimore” (i.e., Baltimore is really a small town) style, just a couple days after I’d spoken with Amy and the students, I chose a seat at random in a faculty luncheon and ended up next to someone who teaches business communication in our program and who is Amy’s neighbor.  We took some time to continue to discuss the business issues around TUBA.  And that wasn’t the first “Smaltimore” story related to TUBA.  I first found out about the organization when my son, who is now a freshman at the conservatory at Johns Hopkins, played as part of a benefit concert for the organization. 

What is the purpose of TUBA?  First, to promote improved performance by the band members.  They are outside Kampala.  Amy has made numerous trips to work with the group by herself and has taken students from Peabody (the conservatory at the Johns Hopkins University) on one occasion, one student from Peabody on a second occasion, and a high school student from Baltimore City College on one occasion to work with the musicians in Uganda. 

Second, to become self-sustaining.  There are two young men who were part of her earliest group in Uganda who are now leading the organization in East Africa.  They need income to support themselves so that they can lead the other musicians and the organization.

Third, to provide opportunities for a flow of US musicians (whether from Peabody or elsewhere) to Uganda to work with, help train, and make music with the musicians in Uganda.

We spent some time talking about the interest that business students could take in this project.  Amy’s background is a musical one, and the business skills are something she has had to develop and looks to continue to improve or to find others to help her.

We discussed seven challenges that the organization will face.  These are fundamentally business challenges.  If Amy and the team she develops can work through these challenges, she will be able to promote business with humanity in mind in some really exciting ways.  If not, there is a risk to the enterprise that she has developed.  So, it is worth considering what the challenges are and whether they are unique.

First, the goal is to make the Ugandan part of the organization self-supporting.  A key question is “what is actually meant by self-supporting?”  Does that mean no need for donations of any sort?  Does it mean that the two leaders can support themselves but them might still need instruments donated?  What about paying the musicians?  And what fraction of the musicians’ income would this be expected to account for?  The answer to what it will take to make the organization on the Ugandan side self-supporting will vary quite a bit depending on the answer to the first question. 

Second, and still along the lines of needing to define things, what are the set of measures of success?  In particular, are there non-financial measures of success?  Are the non-financial measures going to be on both the US and the Ugandan sides fo the equation?  Or only on the Ugandan side?  Will the measures of success be tangible or intangible?  How will the measures reflect the notion of doing business with humanity in mind?  And how can the criteria be optimized under different financial sustainability levels? 

Third, and following on the discussion of non-financial goals in two places, it is important to consider the resources that need to be managed in two places.  On the US side, at present, the main source of revenue will be donations.  On the Ugandan side the organization has diversified into a new area to try to provide the revenue.  There are both ongoing needs for revenue (salaries) and one-time needs for investment (e.g., building a dwelling to house visitors).  The management of different sources of revenue with different flows of costs in different settings is a non-trivial challenge.  Particularly for an organization that is not a 501(c)(3) organization in the United States yet. 

The diversification question has been answered in part.  They are building a facility to house 400 fryer chickens.  Raising the chickens will have a rhythm because it takes six weeks for them to grow and then the sanitization process before the next group of chickens can come in is 2 weeks.  During that time, the two men whose livelihood will be supported by the chickens can catch up on musical and other pursuits.  The key question with the diversification is whether this was the right one, what are the risks to this potential stream of revenue, and what will happen if it fails.  All standard questions.

To grow the revenue will require more musical activity—and more chickens.  A key question is the appropriate rate of growth.  What can musicians be convinced to do in terms of more activity?  How quickly can expertise in chicken raising by learned?  How much land is available and how much more would be required to grow?  What are the risks of failing to grow?

Sixth, with the potential for growth in musical activities, this raises an interesting question.  Does this mean more practice time and better individual skills for existing musicians?  Does this mean more practice time as a band and better playing as a band?  Does this mean more live events?  And will the band ever be ready for recording?

Finally, when is it time to tell the story?  Of course, Amy and her partners would like to have success and be able to tell a story about success.  As I have learned in many aspects of my life there is actually quite a bit to discuss even before the outcome of success or not is known.  Many people will be interested in the process.  What has worked and what has not?  What are lessons learned?  What would Amy and her partners do again?  What would they make absolutely sure NOT to do again?  What are some tough lessons that have been learned?  And what have been the small and big “victories” along the way to the hoped for final measure of success?  The process can be as important as the outcome when sharing information with other social entrepreneurs who are trying to do well by doing good. 

My blog is just one way of sharing that will be read (on average) by 50-100 people.  However, if you are ready this, I would encourage you to share it.  Then, it will be read by, and hopefully inspire, others.  Inspire them to contribute, should the opportunity ever arise.  But more importantly, inspire them to dream big about making a difference for stakeholders in whatever organization they are a part of.

Hopefully, the business school will also provide Amy with an opportunity to address an audience of students, faculty, and staff with her story.  And perhaps some of them will have other ideas or other connects to help Amy and TUBA to share their amazing story, albeit still a work in progress, so that through the connections that are made, the organization can maximize its chances of success. 

Planning My Day Around My Meyer-Briggs Type

The last time I officially took the Myers-Briggs test, I was INFP.  I had a career coach through my place of employment one time who was so interested in the Myers-Briggs hat she had a little "sculpture" with her type in four wooden blocks.  She was an E--not surprising given the stereotype of an extrovert as being "outgoing".  

One thing that I recall from taking the Meyrs-Briggs and learning about some of the nuances is that the whole introvert-extrovert question is not just about whether you are outgoing or a wallflower but where you "go to get your recharge."  In other words, after being in a highly externally focused  social setting do I come home exhausted needing just to be alone or with a very small group or do I feel on top of the world.  Do I look to spend my time in groups or do I need alone time?

As I train for a marathon this November, I am finding that I am a little of both.  And it is interesting for me to think about how my energy use and rechraging fits into my daily work schedule and my workout schedule--and whether I could structure my day any better to really facilitate being on top of my game and being "on" whenever I am at work.

One example, last night, I had a reception from 6:30-8:30 (which ended up going from 6:30-9).  I would have expected it to take all my effort to go meet 20+ new students whom I had only met virtually and carry on conversation for 2 hours.  Particularly after earlier in the day having a large meal with family and having--for an hour prior--spoken with two colleagues about a research project.  (Yes, we had a research call from 5:30-6:30 on a Saturday evening).  

When all was said and done it felt completely natural and I was able to carry on conversation with no trouble.  Every one in a while I would go into listening mode, but it didn't happen very often.  And, as I drove home, despite having walked the dog twice, walked from my building to the Inner Harbor with family, eaten a big meal, gone to the grocery store, and done a few other things, I was on top of the world.

Of course, this morning, when I woke up I began the day with 12 miles run in a little over 1:36 by myself and that was recharging too.  Or the other day when I had an afternoon full of exteranlly focused activity but I ran a very strong workout alone on the track in the morning.  

My main lesson is that I am neither pure introvert nor pure extrovert.  Both types of activities can be taxing.  Both can be recharging.  

What I have to think about as I schedule my day is how to balance the down time in small meetings with the need to be totally on as I meet others.  I don't need most of one and little of the other.  What I need is a healthy balance.  Between activities during the day.  From one day to the next.  Even from one week to the next.  

There may be other parts of my Meyrs-Briggs where I don't need so much balance and I just have to be aware rather than using them to think about how I would structure my meetings during the course of the day.

But as the Dean at my school talks about the rhythm of the day and the rhythm of a decision making process, I can think about the rhythm of activities and how it fits or doesn't fit with my needs as defined, in part, by my personality.

That would be a very powerful way to use personality--particularly if an entire office could work together on joint scheduling to optimize the energy use-recharge cycle that this represents.  

Something to ponder--as I take care of business, take care of my family, and take care of myself. I never would have thought I'd think about the work-life-me balance in the context of the I-E dimension of the Meyrs-Briggs personality type but there really might be something there to ponder. 

Why Do We Talk About Food?

So, there is an interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal--a book review for a book called Word of Mouth.  The review talks about the emphasis that Americans seem to be putting on food.  Talking about it.  Taking pictures of it.  Worrying about the process of creating it.  Presenting it.  Food for many of us is more than just functional and nutritional.  It has become an object of obsession.  Even for me--one of my personal blogs (although I have not written in it for a long time) is called A Dad and Three Boys in the Kitchen.  I have taught all three of my sons to cook.  I have taught all three of them to care about cooking.  And I have taught all three of them to present.  And blogging or not, my social media friends know how often I post pictures of food that I or my sons have prepared.  This is not a rare thing in my life.

So what does this have to do with economics and my professional life?

As I read the review of the book I could reach only one conclusion.  Regardless of why people are so fascinated with food for more than functional or nutritional purposes these days, many people are passionate about food, about making food, about how the food tastes, and about how it is presented.  We use our pictures and our words to tell stories.  Something in our culture fundamentally shifted the demand for high quality and well presented food and programming about such food.  This is what marketing is all about--how to shift the demand for a product to grow the market for it.  

To run a successful business it is necessary to be passionate about the product that one is selling or producing.  Perhaps even more than passionate--truly single-minded.  And not only to be single-minded but to be able to tell others why they should be interested.  For me as the Vice Dean for Education, it is not just about my love for learning and my love for teaching.  Those go without saying.  Rather, it is about learning what evidence we have or what does and does not work, figuring out how to make sense of that information for myself, figuring out how to weave a story to tell others about it, and bringing others along by telling them the story.  Getting others as excited as I am.  Telling them why they take a series of courses that provide a breadth of information for the MBA.  Telling them why we provide courses that provide a depth of information for our MS degrees.  Telling faculty why assuance of learning is truly valuable.  Then, I have to be willing to do any or all parts of the planning and implementation to help make it happen. Yes, in a larger organization there will be people who can help with every aspect, but I have to at least understand the process to lead the process.

So, my taking pictures and telling stories about making pizza or breads or desserts or my son's purple cabbage sauerkraut is like a representation of the things that I need to do to get others as excited about using the best evidence for teaching and learning to maximize the output of teaching and learning.  To maximize achieving learning objectives.  To maximize the opportunities that students at the Carey Business School have for their careers once they are done their education.  I have to figure out what visuals and words to use to make a story to make other people truly appreciate the educational process.

At the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School in my time as Vice Dean for Education, we have invited speakers who head running shoe stores, hotel properties, banks, local caterers, corporate social responsibility offices, and other aspects of many companies.  They all have a passion and can communicate to others through stories they tell why they are important.  That is whay makes them so interesting to business students and faculty as we think about and learn what makes businesses work and how we can better run businesses and teach people to run businesses in the future.    

What would happen if everyone who wanted to tell a story about his or her food preparation (or any other favorite hobby) put that same energy into their next entrepreneurial idea?  Perhaps our non-work lives--sharing our passions for food, music, athletics, other hobbies and recreational activities--can serve as a launching point for learning how to be entrepreneurial and passion building in our work lives as well.  

Pragmatic Visionary

In a discussion at my office yesterday, someone referred to me as a pragmatic visionary.  That is an interesting compliment, and I spent some time thinking about what I had said that prompted that comment and whether I would think of myself that way.  It is not the first time I have been called a visionary about the business of education and health, so maybe there is something that other people are seeing.  I certainly have never thought of myself as a visionary.  But perhaps that is just being polite and not giving myself too much credit.

In any case, the previous comment about being a visionary (to set the context was with respect to bringing cost-effectiveness analysis to eye care and to nursing.  Was I single handed responsible for it?  No, absolutely not.  But, did my efforts make a difference in bringing this new way of thinking about resource allocation, new techniques, and new language to structure resource allocation efforts in these two areas--yes.  Does that make me a visionary?  I certainly had an idea of why the new methods would be important, whom to reach, and how to communicate them. The last of those may have been the most important--storytelling.   But I'm not at all sure it makes me a visionary.

Yesterday, the conversation was one in which I simply reflected what I thought I heard a colleague saying, acknowledged that it was important, and built on it.  If there is one business skill that I have (and I really never thought of it as a business skill until I found myself in a business school), it is listening, reflecting, and improvising in the reflection.  It is the improvising that I think appealed to my colleague and led him to the visionary comment.  What did it have to do with?  It had to do with thinking about online education and the role of individual courses versus the role of the program as a whole and the role of thinking about the university-wide reputation and context in which it fit.  Most importantly, acknowledging the importance of thinking not just about the quality of each course but the bigger picture and being able to articulate that bigger picture.  Again, I'm not sure that makes me a visionary.

The pragmatic side--I kept referring back to the timeline my boss has set.  Acknowledging that while the "big picture" thinking is great, I also have to be careful to meet deadlines.

The two concepts (being a visionary whether I am one or not) and pragmatism are often at odds.  However, I think it is possible to pull them both together and make them work in harmony to lead to new and interesting ideas being implemented in a timely way.  That is the business of business in general, is it not?  To bring in new ideas, new methods, and new approaches to getting things that need to be done completed.