WHAT TO DO?
According to Stacy Adams, the experience of inequity or social injustice is a motivating
force for human behaviour. This exercise provides you and your group with a brief
scenario of an inequity at work. Your task is to consider feasible actions for redress of
this inequity.
John and Mary are full professors in the same medical school department of a large
private university. As a private institution, neither the school nor the university makes the
salaries and benefits of its faculty a matter of public record. Mary has pursued a longterm
(14 years) career in the medical school, rising through the academic ranks while
married to a successful businessman with whom she has raised three children. Her
research and teaching contributions have been broad-ranging and award-winning. John
joined the medical school within the last three years and was recruited for his leadingedge
contribution to a novel line of research on a new procedure. Mary thought he was
probably attracted with a comprehensive compensation package, yet she had no details
until an administrative assistant gave her some information about salary and benefits a
month ago. Mary learned that John’s base contract salary is 16 percent higher than hers
($250,000 versus $215,000), that he was awarded an incentive pay component for the
commercialization of his new procedure, and that he was given an annual discretionary
travel budget of $35,000 and a membership in an exclusive private club. Mary is in a
quandary about what to do. Given pressures from the board of trustees to hold down costs
associated with public and private pressure to keep tuition increases low, Mary wonders
how to begin to close this $70,000 inequity gap.
Step 1. Working in groups of six, discuss the equity issues in this medical school
department situation using the text material on social exchange and equity theory. Do the
outcome differences here appear to be gender based, age based, performance based, or
marital status based? Do you need more information? If so, what additional information
do you need?
Step 2. Consider each of the seven strategies for the resolution of inequity as portrayed in
this situation. Which ones are feasible to pursue based on what you know? Which ones
are not feasible? Why? What are the likely consequences of each strategy or course of
action? What would you advise Mary to do?
Step 3. Once your group has identified feasible resolution strategies, choose the best
strategy. Next, develop a specific plan of action for Mary to follow in attempting to
resolve the inequity so that she can achieve the experience and reality of fair treatment at
work.
Step 4 (Optional). Your group may be asked to share its preferred strategy for this
situation and your rationale for the strategy.
