argu169

civilppUID: 2999177

TOPIC: ARGUMENT169 - The following appeared in a letter from a department chairperson to the president of Pierce University.

"Some studies conducted by Bronston College, which is also located in a small town, reveal that both male and female professors are happier living in small towns when their spouses are also employed in the same geographic area. Therefore, in the interest of attracting the most gifted teachers and researchers to our faculty and improving the morale of our entire staff, we at Pierce University should offer employment to the spouse of each new faculty member we hire. Although we cannot expect all offers to be accepted or to be viewed as an ideal job offer, the money invested in this effort will clearly be well spent because, if their spouses have a chance of employment, new professors will be more likely to accept our offers."
WORDS: 440
TIME: 00:30:00

DATE: 2011/2/13 16:49:41

The department chairperson recommends providing professors' spouses chances of employment so that professors will come to Pierce University and the result of it will be worthwhile. To support his recommendation, the chairperson cites of a study conducted by Bronston College located in a small town showing that the professors are more likely to live in a place where their spouses are also employed. He also claims that the money spent on employment of the spouses can be worthwhile, because the professors will be willing to be employed in Pierce University. The department chairpersons' argument may seem reasonable; yet after careful scrutiny, I find it suffers from several flaws.
To start with, without more information about the studies conducted by Bronston College, its reliability is open to doubt. We are not informed of the quantities of the repondents, the questions asked in the study, and even more significantly, whether the samples in the study are representative for all other professors' attitudes of choosing a university. It is entirely possibile that the professors conducted in Bronston College are more aware of their spouses' life quality and they care more about their spouses than any other professors do. It is also possible that the professors in the study are asked questions of no alternative answers. Without more information about the study, we can not be convinced by the chairperson who claims that to provide employment to their spouses can surely bring professors' comings to Pierce University.
Secondly, even if the result of the study is reliable, the chairperson fails to consider the feasibility of the policy. Perhaps the spouses of the professors also have a high education so that they may despise the employment provided by Pierce University and won't come to there at all. Perhaps the costs of such policy may not be surpassed by other benefits gained in the future by Pierce University. Without ruling out these scenarios, the chairperson's recommendation is open to doubt.
Thirdly, the chairperson fails to consider other alternatives available that may be more effective than providing employment to every faculty member. Perhaps improvement of the academic grades of the students can appeal professors as well. Or perhaps it is considerable to provide a better environment with fresh air and clean water suitable for living. The chairperson should think more of a solution that can attract professors teaching in the Pierce University.
To sum up, the department chairperson should provide more evidence about the reliability of the study conducted by Bronston College and the requirement of the spouses. To better asses the argument, I would need more analysis of other solutions available to ensure attraction to professors.