College costs too much
All too soon, my grandchildren will be ready for college, but the cost for tuition far exceeds their parent’s ability to pay. A conservative estimate for a state-supported school today would be $600,000 to $1,000,000 for the troupe! I think that is ridiculous! These young parents are already struggling to pay everyday expenses — plus their own college loans!
Why does college cost so much? I don’t know. When I attended during the ‘60s, I had no such problem. I worked part time and later, full time, and I was able to pay my own way. Moreover, I could afford a new car to shuttle between home, work, and school. I even married and had one child before I graduated — all without particular financial hardship.
Universities constantly raise tuition costs “to cover increasing expenses,” apparently without trying to figure out why they increased, or without trying to operate within a budget like most parents must do. Do these institutions operate with unbridled inefficiency and waste, and pay excessive salaries? Maybe: I know a tenured professor who is required to teach only one class per semester and has a graduate student do that for him while he operates a business on the side. What does that indicate? The word is “exploitation.”
Moreover, I suspect that most government departments suffer from the same exploitation mentality that state-supported colleges do. Most local, county, and state governments have budget shortages every year and constantly increase property, sales, and income taxes to try to meet the escalating costs. The Federal Government has a far worse burden dealing with medical care and Social Security issues. But increasing taxes is always a stopgap or a short-term “solution.” Herein is a fundamental problem with the way governments operate: They always spend more than they can collect. However, I believe the problem is much bigger and goes much deeper: It is the “business model.”
We need a radically new model: the old one does not work anymore. We urgently need a model that is sustainable and affordable for all. We need a paradigm shift, and the best place to start looking for it is in Roger Martin’s book, “The Design of Business.” Using Martin’s unique concepts, we have to redefine and state the present “mystery” (why college costs so much) by using analytical thinking and inductive, deductive, and abductive reasoning. We need to formulate a new heuristic so we can implement a new algorithm or formula that works. Furthermore, we must continually update this model to pace changing times and events.
Unfortunately, the exploitation model always drives a company to failure. General Motors, Chrysler, and AIG are the most current examples. The new model must be based on an entirely different set of rules and principles. Martin defines the better process as “exploration,” that is, invent a business versus administering a business. Another characteristic of exploration is reaching a goal by moving from the present knowledge stage to the next, in contrast to the exploitation method of systematically honing and refining within the current knowledge stage. Exploration yields long-term results whereas exploitation is short-term. Moreover, Martin states that exploration may have high risk and uncertain rewards, but the rewards can be much higher, compared to the minimal risk and predictable, smaller rewards of exploitation. Finally,
Martin explains that there should be a balance between exploration and exploitation for the concept to be practical and workable.
So how do we kick off this new paradigm? I don’t know. Should we jail more greedy executives and bring software development and manufacturing back to the U.S. so more people have jobs? Should we stop dreaming up frauds like global warming where we can waste billions of dollars? Well, at a minimum, I think we should define justice; elect politicians and executives, who are more trustworthy; read more books; help our kids with their homework; turn off the TV and computer games; hang up our golf clubs; and make a more significant contribution to society. What do you suggest?
Why does college cost so much? I don’t know. When I attended during the ‘60s, I had no such problem. I worked part time and later, full time, and I was able to pay my own way. Moreover, I could afford a new car to shuttle between home, work, and school. I even married and had one child before I graduated — all without particular financial hardship.
Universities constantly raise tuition costs “to cover increasing expenses,” apparently without trying to figure out why they increased, or without trying to operate within a budget like most parents must do. Do these institutions operate with unbridled inefficiency and waste, and pay excessive salaries? Maybe: I know a tenured professor who is required to teach only one class per semester and has a graduate student do that for him while he operates a business on the side. What does that indicate? The word is “exploitation.”
Moreover, I suspect that most government departments suffer from the same exploitation mentality that state-supported colleges do. Most local, county, and state governments have budget shortages every year and constantly increase property, sales, and income taxes to try to meet the escalating costs. The Federal Government has a far worse burden dealing with medical care and Social Security issues. But increasing taxes is always a stopgap or a short-term “solution.” Herein is a fundamental problem with the way governments operate: They always spend more than they can collect. However, I believe the problem is much bigger and goes much deeper: It is the “business model.”
We need a radically new model: the old one does not work anymore. We urgently need a model that is sustainable and affordable for all. We need a paradigm shift, and the best place to start looking for it is in Roger Martin’s book, “The Design of Business.” Using Martin’s unique concepts, we have to redefine and state the present “mystery” (why college costs so much) by using analytical thinking and inductive, deductive, and abductive reasoning. We need to formulate a new heuristic so we can implement a new algorithm or formula that works. Furthermore, we must continually update this model to pace changing times and events.
Unfortunately, the exploitation model always drives a company to failure. General Motors, Chrysler, and AIG are the most current examples. The new model must be based on an entirely different set of rules and principles. Martin defines the better process as “exploration,” that is, invent a business versus administering a business. Another characteristic of exploration is reaching a goal by moving from the present knowledge stage to the next, in contrast to the exploitation method of systematically honing and refining within the current knowledge stage. Exploration yields long-term results whereas exploitation is short-term. Moreover, Martin states that exploration may have high risk and uncertain rewards, but the rewards can be much higher, compared to the minimal risk and predictable, smaller rewards of exploitation. Finally,
Martin explains that there should be a balance between exploration and exploitation for the concept to be practical and workable.
So how do we kick off this new paradigm? I don’t know. Should we jail more greedy executives and bring software development and manufacturing back to the U.S. so more people have jobs? Should we stop dreaming up frauds like global warming where we can waste billions of dollars? Well, at a minimum, I think we should define justice; elect politicians and executives, who are more trustworthy; read more books; help our kids with their homework; turn off the TV and computer games; hang up our golf clubs; and make a more significant contribution to society. What do you suggest?
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