Abstract

The Kidney Case is multi-person exercise that involves the allocation of a single kidney. Students read profiles of eight candidates for the kidney and make a first allocation decision. Each candidate was designed to be high on some allocation principles but low or unknown on others (e.g., best, match, time in cue, age, personal responsibility for disease, future benefits to society, etc.). Then, students are put into groups and assigned to advocate for one of the candidates. Each group will prepare and give a 3-minute presentation on why their candidate should receive the kidney. Finally, students make a second allocation decision. Topics for class discussion include value-based principles of resource allocation, persuasion and influence, procedural versus distributive justice, the advocacy effect, and the utility of and ethical considerations for the use of markets. This exercise can be used in Leadership, Negotiation, Power/Politics, and Ethics courses.

Citation

Austen-Smith, D., T. Feddersen, Adam Galinsky, and K. Liljenquist. The Kidney Case Teaching Notes. Evanston: Kellogg School of Management, Dispute Resolution Research Center, 2010.

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