Common Description:
Read the following scenario and answer the THREE questions that follow.
Comprehension: Sundaresan was a professor of Corporate Responsibility at a premium management institution. As a requirement of his course, students had to synthesize sustainability challenges, faced by thermal power companies and submit an assignment on them. Though it was an individual assignment, some students sought permission from Sundaresan to work on the assignment as a team. Sundaresan knew that collaboration fosters peer learning, and therefore, allowed them to work in teams. However, he mandated that a team should not exceed three members. While 15 students elected to work individually, another 15 formed teams of three each, and another 10 formed teams of two members each.
As assignment deadline came closer, Sundaresan was approached by Abbas Warram, who chose to work in a team of three members. He informed Sundaresan that Venkamma, his team member, distressed by the death of her grandmother, could not work on her bit of the assignment. Abbas requested for a deadline extension so that she could nish her part of the assignment. By then, many students who were working alone had already submitted their assignments.
Which of the following actions by Sundaresan is the MOST appropriate, given the circumstances?
B
Step-by-Step Solution
Key idea: This is an ethical dilemma balancing empathy for a genuine emergency with fairness to the rest of the class.
Step 1: Recognize the core conflict. A student has a legitimate family emergency (death of a grandmother), warranting compassion and a deadline extension.
Step 2: Evaluate fairness. Many individual students have already submitted their assignments on time. Granting an unconditional extension to the team would give them an unfair advantage.
Step 3: Analyze the options. Disbanding the team or forcing individual work punishes the two members who did their part. Adding an extra assignment is an arbitrary and unrelated punishment. Warning the student lacks empathy for a genuine tragedy.
Step 4: Select the most balanced approach. Extending the deadline with a one-grade penalty accommodates the emergency while maintaining academic fairness and integrity for the entire cohort.
Answer: B