Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You tell the poet you can't accept the work.
You feel bad, but you know you have to ask the writer to return the money. To let him keep it would mean that you were doing him a special favor, which is unprofessional, not to mention unfair.
You ask for the grant back and the writer argues with you. You tell him he didn't abide by the conditions of the grant, so he isn't entitled to that money.
The writer appeals to the council, and you feel terrible about the incident. But you have a responsibility as the administrator to make sure grants are handled in a consistent and fair manner.
This is the real-life decision made by Randy Follett.
"In a small community such as ours, it's important to be consistent with the policy for everyone."
Arts administrators must have excellent decision-making skills, says Fiona Black. She heads an arts management program. Since arts administrators deal with money a lot, the decisions they make have a direct impact on the bottom line.
A mistake may cost their organizations money. "You may not be in business for very long," she says. A wrong decision may also cost an arts organization prestige.