Friday, February 29, 2008

Introducing the "Paperweight" and the question of ethics

So now that I have entered into this realm of madness that I have long avoided from the fear of obsession of never signing off, I guess I should introduce myself: I'm the practical one that would rather sit around drinking beer and BSing after softball rather than actually forcing myself to actually conduct a class. We will hold off with my obsession for college football for now, allowing "Harrogate" to begin his digression into "March Madness."

With that said, I have received some bit annoying news today with regards to my job search. An unnamed school in CA has been forced to "suspend" my on campus visit that was planned for next week because of the state's in ability to maintain a working budget. Basically "suspended" is a nice way to say the job is no go. These things happen but the quirk of this whole thing is that administrative assistant at unsaid university told me I know have a nonrefundable airline ticket just sitting around that will be good for the next year (there would be a charge to change the ticket date and location). Now the question is, can I actually use this ticket after the official word finally comes down that the job has been killed??? Part of me feels that using the ticket for any other trip accept to visit unsaid university would be ethically wrong, but on the other hand, the money is spent so why not use it to compensate for the mental stress of building up for a climatic moment that never arrived. Just looking for some feedback on this.

4 comments:

solon said...

Welcome Paperweight.... though I am shocked this day has come. The end may be nigh after all....

As for the ethical dilemma, which is not much of a dilemma. It seems that the University purchased the ticket for you and, therefore, cannot do anything with it since it is in your name. Hence, this is a gift, from your previous charm and you shall be rewarded. Enjoy the left coast when you can....

paperweight said...

Hm, that is a very valid point Salon as we all know the charm just flows out of this "Southerner" like the sap from a fresh cut branch, thus I should enjoy such token rewards.

Yes I as well have pondered the implications of my entry into this digital realm of nonsense but time will tell if I possess the omnipotent powers to bring this all to a close.....

Oxymoron said...

I, too, thought this (i.e., what to do with your airline ticket) was an ethical dilemma. But after reading Solon's comment, I suspect that it's not the dilemma that it initially seemed to be.

Yes, this university wanted to interview you, and in an effort to persuade you to agree to said interview, they purchased an airline ticket for you. A gift, if you will.

Now, of course, the acceptance of that gift does (or, at least, did) imply that you perform a specific action in exchange for ownership of the airline ticket. So it's almost like a contract was negotiated: we give you a ticket, and you fly out to interview. But then they reneged. If you had, then it would not be ethical use the ticket, even if already purchased and non-refundable. But since they did, you can.

I'm thinking about this in terms of an engagement ring. I offer a ring to pre-Mrs. Oxymoron. She excepts the gift, but it is implied that her acceptance of the ring requires a specific action. If she takes the ring and then refuses to marry me (perhaps a wise choice, in retrospect), she is not fulfilling her end of the implied contract, and I get the ring back. If I break the contract and call off the engagement, then she can keep the ring.

Oxymoron said...

That is to say, Weight, the ring belongs to you to. Wear it, pawn it, or stick in a drawer. The choice is yours.