Reputation: Actions speak louder than Words

I think that in every organization one is in, they have some sort of reputation. Whether that be in the Society of Women in Business, your sorority or fraternity, or an internship/job, the manner in which you carry and portray yourself affects the opinion that others have of you.  In a larger organization, it may be that you are fly under the radar, but being the “uninvolved one” can be a reputation in itself.

Personally, I believe that my reputation is portrayed similarly in the organizations that I participate in on campus.  As for both the Society of Women in Business and my sorority, I’d say that others see me as an organized, involved individual who puts forth her best effort and enjoys what she does.  I think that I have obtained this reputation in both organizations because of past involvement.  I have been involved with the Society of Women in Business and my sorority for several years now, and I have contributed through committees and leadership positions.  These actions and the ability to deliver results have shaped my reputation.  In order to keep this reputation in tact, I take on more responsibility within both organizations as it’s presented to me. I think that this comes naturally though, and I don’t put much thought into becoming more involved.

Similarly, I think that it is also very easy to build a reputation at work. I think that in the past, I also built some sort of reputation at my summer internship.  I believe that this was largely dependent upon the way in which I carried myself and the first impressions that my coworkers had of me, because I was only with the firm for a short amount of time.  However, I also think that the work that I produced had a large impact on my reputation.

Senioritis is a perfect example of a time in which I will most likely stray away from my reputation.  As I wrap up first semester with a job already lined up for when I graduate, it is very difficult to stay focused and maintain the reputation that I have established for myself.  My motivation is probably at an all time low, however, I still want to be successful in my last year of school and prove that my reputation does truly reflect who I am.

Reputation acts as a promise to an experience good.  Time allows others to see how you act in situations, how you deliver results and how you carry yourself in general.  One can assume that you will act one way from your reputation, but oftentimes, they won’t know your ability to deliver (the experience good in this hypothetical) until they have worked with you on a project, assignment, or in another situation in which they can see your experience, whether that be a certain trait, like artistic ability, work ethic, etc., first hand.

An Isosceles Triangle Principal-Agent Model

In a perfect world, the principal-agent model is bilateral, but in the real world, things aren’t quite as simple.  A situation in which I acted as an agent to multiple principals is when I held the position of Vice President of Recruitment for my sorority.  In the sorority world, the VP of Recruitment acts as a bridge between both their sorority and the Panhellenic Council, a governing body to all of the sororities on campus.  The VP of Recruitment is in charge of communicating with both entities in order to ensure that fall formal recruitment is successful. 

Sorority recruitment is a very technical process in which everything from food to outfits to decorations and logistics must be planned to a tee.  Each sorority chapter has their own ideas, however, they are responsible for abiding by the bylaws that the Panhellenic Council sets.  One of such “rules” is that a house may not spend more than $2000 during the fall semester on decorations for recruitment.  Each chapter must also provide documentation that they have not surpassed this amount.  In this situation, I would describe the Panhellenic Council as the "regulator" and the individual sorority chapter as the "client." 

The position of VP of Recruitment puts an individual in a difficult situation.  She wants the best for her chapter and wants to maximize its recruitment results, but she also wants to be a devoted member of the Panhellenic community.  Throughout the semester preceding fall recruitment, the VPs of Recruitment from each house meet up formally every month in an attempt to make the recruitment environment between chapters less competitive, and in turn, friendlier.  This unbalanced dynamic makes for an awkward situation.  Oftentimes, a VP’s loyalties lie with her chapter, and she is unwilling to share ideas or contribute to recruitment conversations with other VPs of Recruitment.  This presents a problem for the agent.  The principals in this situation have different goals.  The individual sorority chapters want to maximize their own recruitment results, while the Panhellenic Council wants to create a friendlier, unified Greek community.

I don’t see an immediate and easy solution to this issue, since there will always be some level of competition in the recruitment world.  Competition between chapters makes it difficult for VPs of Recruitment to value their commitment to the Panhellenic Council over their chapter.  By not contributing to conversations with others at these recruitment meetings, the agent satisfies one principal, but not the other.  It seems that in this case, rather than the model being an equilateral triangle, with each principal having equal input, the situation is an isosceles triangle, in which the sorority chapter has more input than the Panhellenic Council.

There is also another layer to this executive board position.  Since my sorority is a national organization, I also had to answer to my sorority’s national council.  I met with and phone conferenced many members of our national team in order to ensure that they were happy with our efforts and that I was upholding my sorority’s national values.  This principal entity's goals closely align with those of my chapter, and therefore, they are easier to please than the principal that is the Panhellenic Council.

In any situation in which two or more parties are involved in conjunction with asymmetric information, it will be difficult for the agent to successfully perform his or her duties.  This can be in an organization, such as the example I mentioned, or through a work situation, as was mentioned in the prompt.  This principal-agent dilemma can also be applied to the internship that I mentioned in an earlier post.  Throughout my internship, I answered to multiple supervisors, who each had a different view of what they wanted the final output of the volatility report to look like.  In this situation, there was a more equal balance between the principals, since their goals, producing a successful report, were the same, and therefore, it was easier to please all parties involved.