Argu140 [米国有米]第四次作业

mcdonald-duckUID: 2123471

[米国有米]第四次作业
作者：mcdonald-duck

Argu140 The following appeared in a report of the Committee on Faculty Promotions and Salaries at Elm City University.

"During her seventeen years as a professor of botany, Professor Thomas has proved herself to be well worth her annual salary of $50,000. Her classes are among the largest at the university, demonstrating her popularity among students. Moreover, the money she has brought to the university in research grants has exceeded her salary in each of the last two years. Therefore, in consideration of Professor Thomas' demonstrated teaching and research abilities, we recommend that she receive a $10,000 raise and a promotion to Department Chairperson; without such a raise and promotion, we fear that Professor Thomas will leave Elm City University for another college."
正文：
The arguer suggested offering a pay raise and promotion to Professor Thomas so that she would still stay in the Elm City University to make great contribution just as she had been doing in the past seventeen years whether on the platform or in the academic field. It seems reasonable at the first glance but further thinking about the course of arguing will easily reveal the logical flaws and drawbacks as follows:

Firstly, there is no explicit connection between the sum of students who take part in Professor Thomas’s class and the popularity of her. It is also possible that Professor Thomas’s course is one of the requisite courses in the curriculum. For the same reason, the money Professor Thomas has brought to her research cannot demonstrate her research ability in the academic field. It might also be the project Professor Thomas was processing during the last two years is beneficial to the sponsors’ interest so that she could receive the granted money. But will the luck of Professor Thomas continues in the following years? Nobody could tell but God.

Secondly, even the committee of the Elm City University believes that Professor Thomas has a great teaching and research abilities, should she be offered the Chairperson of the department? Her ability in teaching and research definitely cannot be her insurance for her equally good performance as she is playing the role of a leader of the department. Conversely, she might do a terrible job in that position, because for a leadership, the most important thing is experience, and that may be just the attribute Professor Thomas is lack of.

Thirdly, even though Professor Thomas could do as well as in her academic area, will she still stay in the Elm City University after the pay raise and promotion? It depends. Another university could always offer a better salary and more comfortable working situation for her. What’s more, it could also be the distance from work, the climate, or some other factors that draw Professor Thomas away from the Elm City University.

For the reasons above, the suggestion made to keep Professor Thomas in the university is blind. Whether Professor Thomas is the person that the university actually needs and whether the pay raise and promotion will attract her to stay still need to be further proved before making the final conclusion.

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