Last semester, one of my friends was given the chance to act opportunistically but ended up acting in a more human manner. My friend, we will call her Jessica for anonymity purposes, was given a job offer to work at a camp in Colorado. She was given a decent salary and would be able to work with horses, one of her passions since she was little. Jessica would have been away for three months for the job and would have been able to experience life in Colorado during her free time by exploring the vast mountains and tourist attractions. This was Jessica's dream job; however she ended up settling for an unpaid internship in her home town.
While some may see Jessica's decision as a cowardly one because she allowed herself to be influence by the people around her, Jessica felt it was the right decision. A few reasons for Jessica's rejecting of opportunism are possible:
1) She cares about her family and friends and therefore values their opinions
2) She does not want to risk her relationship with her boyfriend
3) She could always travel to Colorado later in life.
While Jessica had to chance to act opportunistically by taking the camp job, she decided to stay home for personal reasons. The other factors in her decision were her family and friends back home. She knew that they would miss her and did not want to be away from them for too long. Jessica's family did not want her to leave, and asked her to stay home. She also did not want to risk her relationship with her boyfriend to take the job. Jessica and her boyfriend had been having problems and she felt that distance would only make it worse.
Opportunism, defined as the taking of opportunities as and when they arise, regardless of planning or principle, was missed in this case. Jessica could have ignored her family's wishes and taken the job, but instead considered their feelings in her decision. She could have given up her relationship for the job, but instead felt this personal connection was more important than the money.
Lastly, since Jessica is young she may have felt that there would be further opportunities to work in/ visit Colorado later in life when she is more settled. Jessica was going through a lot with her relationships and did not want to travel at the moment. When she is more settled in a job and in her personal life, Jessica may have the funds to travel and see Colorado when there would not be costs to the people she loves.
So I'm a bit curious about your characterization of acting opportunistically. You contrasted opportunism with acting "in a more human manner." What exactly do you mean by this? If I act opportunistically, am I acting in a less human manner?
ReplyDeleteI will follow what Oliver Williamson said. Would going to Colorado be an act of betrayal to either the boyfriend or Jessica's family. If so, it would be helpful to explain why. If not, I don't see this really as opportunism, as then there wouldn't be any ethical issue in the matter. In this case there were two alternatives for Jessica and she chose one of them. Making a choice is quite different from acting opportunistically.
ReplyDeleteOliver, to answer your question I meant acting in a "human manner" as considering ones feelings in making a decision. If Jessica chose to go to Colorado she would be going against her family and boyfriend's wishes. By considering their feelings, she was acting in a human way instead of an opportunistic way.
ReplyDeleteProfessor Arvan, to answer your question I would consider Jessica going to Colorado as a betrayal. To give more context, Jessica and her boyfriend agreed to work on their relationship. By going to Colorado she would be betraying the relationship by leaving him behind and not focusing on bettering their situation.
I wonder if in a way, it could be viewed as opportunistic for Jessica's boyfriend to request that she not take advantage of such a good opportunity. I can certainly understand how her staying would've been easier and possibly better for both members of the relationship if they were having issues and wanted to work on their issues. However, it is difficult for me to accept it as a 'betrayal' for someone to accept a job like that one that would be so personally beneficial, especially when it would only be for a few months. My point is that it seems almost opportunistic for the boyfriend to make Jessica feel as if she would be betraying him by taking the job, simply because maintaining the relationship would be easier for him if she stayed in town.
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