Ever since I came to college I have enjoyed group projects in classes, because not only is the workload shared between a few different people in a group, but also because if one person struggles with a certain topic, your teammates are there to guide this struggling person. I had never really had a problem with a group project up until my sophomore year. I do remember that it was an economics course, and the project was a bit extensive, but I can't remember what class it was specifically. In any case, our class was broken down into teams of three, because it was a pretty small lecture, and numbers broke down easiest in threes. Our teacher assigned the teams, which is not usually the case. In most of my other courses who use group projects as a tool for learning, our teachers usually give us, the students, the freedom to select our own teams. He announced our team numbers, and then at the end of the class he said we had five minutes to meet with our team and discuss our presentations. I walked around the class looking for my team, and after a bit of looking I found them. One of the students was a foreign exchange student from Japan, and the other one was a student who I had never seen in class before (I assume this was the first lecture he had come to because the syllabus specifically stated that groups would be formed on the current date). We got to talking, and it was extremely difficult to understand the student from Japan, while the other kid had no idea what our topic was. Not only was it hard to communicate with my teammates in our first five minutes, but it was hard throughout the entire project. I attempted to e-mail my two teammates, waited a day or two, no response. Our next lecture I pulled them aside and said we should meet at the UGL at this time, on this day. They both agreed, and we took down each others phone numbers. Turns out, the foreign exchange student shows up, and the other kid does not. The foreign exchange student and I struggle to graze over the easiest of our subjects, and after an hour or so of tough communication, I assigned him a certain part, and I took the other. Within an hour I had made slides for my portion, and so I looked over at my teammate, and he was on Facebook writing something in Japanese to some girl. The group project quickly became a project that was left in my hands, and so I finished the whole thing on my own. I sent the powerpoint to my teammates and hoped that they would look over it before the presentation the following day. This time, the foreign exchange student doesn't show, and the other kid does. Personally, this was one of the most frustrating group project experiences that I could think of, and it led to a very poor grade.
A story to oppose that strenuous first story would be a group project that ran smoothly, which in turn led to an A grade. Like I mentioned earlier, a lot of my teachers who use group projects for grading purposes usually allow the students to pick their own groups. A couple friends and I decided to take an elective course together, and a couple of weeks into the semester we were asked to form teams for group projects. My friends and I teamed up and worked perfectly together. We only had to meet one time, the communication in our group was excellent. We each took a portion of the project, finished each part in about an hour or so, and then we added each of our parts together and created our overall presentation. We went a little above and beyond with a funny video that was relative to our topic, as well as a little skit that we performed in front of the class. The presentation went very well, and we got out A that we were really looking for.
The thing about working in groups is that some people like it, and others like to work alone. For me, when working with people I know and trust, I really enjoy group work. If I am working with people I don't know, I still think group projects can be fun and effective as long as my teammates put forth effort, and maintain communication throughout. These examples both correlate to the business world, because a lot of tasks in corporate America require teams and groups to take care of them. Creating bonds with co-workers is a huge part of the longevity of your career at a certain place. If people in the office like you, and you work hard, there is a very low chance that you will lose your job, and most times, you will be rewarded for your good work (In examples the A grade vs. the bad grade) through a raise, or a promotion.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Employment During Downturn
While the recession, or downturn negatively affected millions of people nation wide, many people maintained, or flourished in these bad times. I have three examples that play out different scenarios during the recession, and I feel as if they all led to good things in the present. It was extremely hard to find a job that met the requirements that many employees were looking for during this period. The economy and job market was so unstable and unpredictable that a safe and stable job was what everyone was looking for. With that being the case, there was so much demand for jobs that positions became quite difficult to find.
One of my good friends dads was laid off during the recession, and it changed the entire dynamic of their family. The house that I used to enjoy to go to became a somewhat depressing place to be. There were arguments quite frequently, and everyone was just moody when I was there. I talked to my parents about what was going on there, and they told me that he got laid off, and that their family was having a really tough time dealing with the situation at hand. It is understandable, because he had a great job for years and years, but the company just had to make cuts and let him go. Everything in life has some relation to money, so all of their decisions became a little bit harder, especially because this family had two kids in college at the time. It becomes hard because this family was so comfortable for the entire time that I have known them, and all of a sudden student loans become a realistic decision, which is something that I know my friends dad did not want to force on his kids. It's tough to see someone close affected by something like this, because it wasn't his fault, and he had no say in the matter. After a couple of years of struggle, he finally found a stable job, and the family that I once knew and loved, started to bounce back from their downturn.
The second scenario that I want to touch on is the idea of maintaining some stable job during this recession. My father did just that, but was stressed out and annoyed with all of the adjustments that he had to deal with. He had a group of workers who worked underneath him in various situations, and he was advised by his boss to let some of them go. So my dad had to let go guys that he had become very close with over time, and he had to keep the ones that produced the best work. Needless to say, firing one of your friends and coworkers is a tough thing to do, and the stress of this situation led to my father having a heart attack. My dad survived the attack and had a procedure to unclog over stressed arteries. While my father pushed through the bad time and maintained his pay, while supporting our family, he pushed back his emotions. Just recently, he quit his job with his previous employer, and took a job with a different employer, because he was sick of the stresses that came with his old job. Not only is his new job better, but it is also closer to where we live, so the bad situation that he once had to deal with became blessing in disguise.
The third scenario deals with the idea of owning your own business during a recession. My best friend's dad owns his own investment firm in Chicago, and he didn't take hit at all over this period. I believe this has to do with the close ties that his company forms with all of their clients and partners. The company literally feels like a family, and the recession did little to take anything away from that feeling. I do not know too much about their financial maneuvers and such, I do know that my friend's dad has been doing quite well, and it seems as if the recession was a non factor for him.
One of my good friends dads was laid off during the recession, and it changed the entire dynamic of their family. The house that I used to enjoy to go to became a somewhat depressing place to be. There were arguments quite frequently, and everyone was just moody when I was there. I talked to my parents about what was going on there, and they told me that he got laid off, and that their family was having a really tough time dealing with the situation at hand. It is understandable, because he had a great job for years and years, but the company just had to make cuts and let him go. Everything in life has some relation to money, so all of their decisions became a little bit harder, especially because this family had two kids in college at the time. It becomes hard because this family was so comfortable for the entire time that I have known them, and all of a sudden student loans become a realistic decision, which is something that I know my friends dad did not want to force on his kids. It's tough to see someone close affected by something like this, because it wasn't his fault, and he had no say in the matter. After a couple of years of struggle, he finally found a stable job, and the family that I once knew and loved, started to bounce back from their downturn.
The second scenario that I want to touch on is the idea of maintaining some stable job during this recession. My father did just that, but was stressed out and annoyed with all of the adjustments that he had to deal with. He had a group of workers who worked underneath him in various situations, and he was advised by his boss to let some of them go. So my dad had to let go guys that he had become very close with over time, and he had to keep the ones that produced the best work. Needless to say, firing one of your friends and coworkers is a tough thing to do, and the stress of this situation led to my father having a heart attack. My dad survived the attack and had a procedure to unclog over stressed arteries. While my father pushed through the bad time and maintained his pay, while supporting our family, he pushed back his emotions. Just recently, he quit his job with his previous employer, and took a job with a different employer, because he was sick of the stresses that came with his old job. Not only is his new job better, but it is also closer to where we live, so the bad situation that he once had to deal with became blessing in disguise.
The third scenario deals with the idea of owning your own business during a recession. My best friend's dad owns his own investment firm in Chicago, and he didn't take hit at all over this period. I believe this has to do with the close ties that his company forms with all of their clients and partners. The company literally feels like a family, and the recession did little to take anything away from that feeling. I do not know too much about their financial maneuvers and such, I do know that my friend's dad has been doing quite well, and it seems as if the recession was a non factor for him.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Incentives
There incentives all over the place when it comes to making personal life decisions, but one of my personal experiences that I have with incentives relates to one of my former jobs when I was younger. From age thirteen until age eighteen, all of my personal money came from refereeing soccer games. A first year referee in the area that I live in gets paid around twelve dollars for a "house" recreational league match. There is incentive to continue your refereeing career past year one to gain the option of refereeing travel matches (these matches paid eighteen dollars, and were only ten minutes longer than the house matches). The next incentive was the three year pay increase. After being a referee for three years you become a senior referee, which allows you to become a head referee, rather than just a sideline referee. This bump up in position also came with a bump in pay, so a house match paid twenty dollars, and a travel match paid twenty five. Basically, incentives of money or salary made it much easier to continue working as a referee rather than finding another job. The other incentive that this situation relates to is the idea that the incentive to climb the "job ladder" within a company can really affect performance.
When discussing incentives in regards to school, the type of class that I think of would be a large lecture course that does not monitor attendance. Many students (inlcuding myself) can be lazy from time to time, so a class that does not monitor attendance could lead to absences from class. Right there, the incentive to sleep, rather than listen to a lecture might cause you to miss class on a repeated basis. What I have found out is that these types of classes are really not beneficial to students who skip class because the whole process of the class is thrown out. What I mean by that is students are supposed to attend lecture, listen, process, and attempt to comprehend what the professor speaks about. If as a student you decide to miss class, you miss out on this process, and will likely attempt to cram before tests and get by like that. This might lead to a worse grade than you could have possibly received had you attended lecture more often. So in essence, a student who has no reason to attend class, may not. If this student decides not to attend class on a regular basis, he/she might struggle. Incentives are important in keeping people in check, or doing what they are supposed to do. In this case some sort of monitoring of attendance would lead to an incentive for students to attend lecture, which in turn would lead to better grades (incentives guarantee performance).
When it comes to school and risk aversion, I think getting things done early reduces risk for me as a student. I can procrastinate from time to time, but I have made a concious effort to get homework and studying done early, rather than waiting until the last minute to do so. My performance usually suffers when I wait until the last minute to get things done, so I have incentive to avoid risk and uncertainty by taking care of business early. Another example that I can think of where I attempt to avoid uncertainty and risk in regards to school is when I keep up to date with class materials on a regular basis rather than having to catch up later in the semester. Cramming before tests leads to bad grades for me, and I find that by keeping up to date in my classes makes my performance better, as well as my grades.
When discussing incentives in regards to school, the type of class that I think of would be a large lecture course that does not monitor attendance. Many students (inlcuding myself) can be lazy from time to time, so a class that does not monitor attendance could lead to absences from class. Right there, the incentive to sleep, rather than listen to a lecture might cause you to miss class on a repeated basis. What I have found out is that these types of classes are really not beneficial to students who skip class because the whole process of the class is thrown out. What I mean by that is students are supposed to attend lecture, listen, process, and attempt to comprehend what the professor speaks about. If as a student you decide to miss class, you miss out on this process, and will likely attempt to cram before tests and get by like that. This might lead to a worse grade than you could have possibly received had you attended lecture more often. So in essence, a student who has no reason to attend class, may not. If this student decides not to attend class on a regular basis, he/she might struggle. Incentives are important in keeping people in check, or doing what they are supposed to do. In this case some sort of monitoring of attendance would lead to an incentive for students to attend lecture, which in turn would lead to better grades (incentives guarantee performance).
When it comes to school and risk aversion, I think getting things done early reduces risk for me as a student. I can procrastinate from time to time, but I have made a concious effort to get homework and studying done early, rather than waiting until the last minute to do so. My performance usually suffers when I wait until the last minute to get things done, so I have incentive to avoid risk and uncertainty by taking care of business early. Another example that I can think of where I attempt to avoid uncertainty and risk in regards to school is when I keep up to date with class materials on a regular basis rather than having to catch up later in the semester. Cramming before tests leads to bad grades for me, and I find that by keeping up to date in my classes makes my performance better, as well as my grades.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Opportunism vs. "Good Citizen"
The main economic tie to this prompt seems to be the idea of opportunism vs. some sort of moral decision. Humans behave opportunistically when there is something of high value to be gained. Other factors that are considered when acting opportunistically are risks, future possibilities, changes, etc. Opportunism is all over the place, but a lot of examples occur in the workplace. The article about Target and their idea to funnel pregnant women into Target stores during pregnancy is one way of taking advantage of managerial opportunism. Companies are provided with a wide variety of information about the customers, and it is up to the corporate workers to figure out a formula to get more customers in their stores. While it is a pretty smart strategy to target pregnant women, in hopes of gaining lifetime relations with the family, I think it is a little bit shady to be analyzing personal information like that. Privacy is a huge part of America, we have the right to our own private life, and no one should be able to access all of the information discussed in the Target article. This is where the "good citizen" side of the story comes into play.
How these corporations obtain all of this information about their customers is beyond me, but just the idea of targeting pregnant women for the benefit of making more money for your company sounds a bit out of line to me. A pregnant woman does not want to come out of labor and be bombarded with flyer after flyer about where she should shop, or who is giving the best specials to her, she wants to be with her new born child, and all of the outside pressure is not necessary. This is where a corporate worker who looks into these statistics and comes up with these plans to reel in customers has to weigh his/her options. Do I go through with pressuring the pregnant women of our country into shopping in our stores? Or do I be the good citizen, and miss out on a big bump in revenue for my company, and possibly a raise from my current position to something a bit more prestigious? Big businesses survive on making the opportunistic decision over and over again. Any advantage one company can get over its competition is something that will not only reward the company, but the individual as well.
An example where cooperation led to sharing in a personal academic experience usually has to do with some sort of a group situation. In classes where group projects or group presentations are required, there is often times cooperation amongst the group. There is usually a leader who offers up opinions and such, and once he/she begins feeding the group with information, the group begins to reciprocate and share information as well. An example that I can think of where there was opportunism involved with sharing in an academic setting was when I had missed a couple of classes, and therefore missed out on some notes, so I decided to ask someone in my group for their notes to copy. The opportunism comes into play because by obtaining these notes, I was bettering my chances of receiving a higher score on my test. The student that I asked knew 100% that the test was curved, and so by giving me the notes, she could have possibly hurt her overall grade had I done very good on the test and set a high curve. However, because we had been cooperating in a group, and sharing information with one another all semester, she decided to be a "good citizen," and she gave me her notes.
With opportunism comes risk and reward, and ultimately the decision that one comes to depends on which of the two weighs more in the end.
How these corporations obtain all of this information about their customers is beyond me, but just the idea of targeting pregnant women for the benefit of making more money for your company sounds a bit out of line to me. A pregnant woman does not want to come out of labor and be bombarded with flyer after flyer about where she should shop, or who is giving the best specials to her, she wants to be with her new born child, and all of the outside pressure is not necessary. This is where a corporate worker who looks into these statistics and comes up with these plans to reel in customers has to weigh his/her options. Do I go through with pressuring the pregnant women of our country into shopping in our stores? Or do I be the good citizen, and miss out on a big bump in revenue for my company, and possibly a raise from my current position to something a bit more prestigious? Big businesses survive on making the opportunistic decision over and over again. Any advantage one company can get over its competition is something that will not only reward the company, but the individual as well.
An example where cooperation led to sharing in a personal academic experience usually has to do with some sort of a group situation. In classes where group projects or group presentations are required, there is often times cooperation amongst the group. There is usually a leader who offers up opinions and such, and once he/she begins feeding the group with information, the group begins to reciprocate and share information as well. An example that I can think of where there was opportunism involved with sharing in an academic setting was when I had missed a couple of classes, and therefore missed out on some notes, so I decided to ask someone in my group for their notes to copy. The opportunism comes into play because by obtaining these notes, I was bettering my chances of receiving a higher score on my test. The student that I asked knew 100% that the test was curved, and so by giving me the notes, she could have possibly hurt her overall grade had I done very good on the test and set a high curve. However, because we had been cooperating in a group, and sharing information with one another all semester, she decided to be a "good citizen," and she gave me her notes.
With opportunism comes risk and reward, and ultimately the decision that one comes to depends on which of the two weighs more in the end.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
I have heard this expression over and over again in my life. I feel as if it is a building block in life, and I definitely feel as if parents use it to sculpt their children. For example, when I was young I used to say I would do something, but whether I got around to actually doing it or not was another story. What I mean is, anyone can say that they are going to do something, but those words only count once you actually perform the action that you said you would. The fact of the matter is, what you do is much more important than what you say.
I can think of tons of examples of this that happen every day, all across the world. The first example that pops in my head when I think of this phrase has to deal with addictions. Alcoholics, or drug users often times lose their jobs, or lose their family due to their problem. In many of these situations the user decides that it is time to make a change, and to fight off the addiction. Now, we have all seen movies, when a druggy or alcoholic says the words, "I'm going to get clean," or, "I'm going to go to rehab," what does that usually mean? It means that the person has thought about the damage that the particular substance has done to their life, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they are willing to give it up. In many cases drug users say that they are going to get clean, but unless they are facing some sort of punishment they will not give up their addiction. An action that would definitely speak louder than words would be if a drug user or alcoholic made it through a rehabilitation program and completely sobered up rather than just saying that he/she would.
Another example of actions speaking louder than words has to do with love, and how you show it. A guy might tell his girlfriend that he loves her, but in their relationship he does not treat her well at all. Does he actually love her? No, he is just telling her what she wants to hear. An action that speaks louder than the words, "I love you." would be a proposal, which would most likely be accompanied by the words, "I love you." There are many ways to show someone that you care about them without actually telling them. Inadvertent communication comes into play in a scenario where one person recognizes the care and love that another has for them, just by the way they look at him/her. The message of, "I love you," comes through the way one looks at another when they actually mean it. Another expression used commonly explains this situation, "It is written all over your face." Communication is a very complicated subject to fully grasp, but it is also very interesting to discuss and study. Actions will always speak louder than words for the sole reason that anyone can go around saying that they are going to do something, or saying that they believe something, but not anyone can go around and actually act on their words. I could say I was going to go out and find a great job, but whether I go do that or not is what will affect my life in the long run.
I can think of tons of examples of this that happen every day, all across the world. The first example that pops in my head when I think of this phrase has to deal with addictions. Alcoholics, or drug users often times lose their jobs, or lose their family due to their problem. In many of these situations the user decides that it is time to make a change, and to fight off the addiction. Now, we have all seen movies, when a druggy or alcoholic says the words, "I'm going to get clean," or, "I'm going to go to rehab," what does that usually mean? It means that the person has thought about the damage that the particular substance has done to their life, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they are willing to give it up. In many cases drug users say that they are going to get clean, but unless they are facing some sort of punishment they will not give up their addiction. An action that would definitely speak louder than words would be if a drug user or alcoholic made it through a rehabilitation program and completely sobered up rather than just saying that he/she would.
Another example of actions speaking louder than words has to do with love, and how you show it. A guy might tell his girlfriend that he loves her, but in their relationship he does not treat her well at all. Does he actually love her? No, he is just telling her what she wants to hear. An action that speaks louder than the words, "I love you." would be a proposal, which would most likely be accompanied by the words, "I love you." There are many ways to show someone that you care about them without actually telling them. Inadvertent communication comes into play in a scenario where one person recognizes the care and love that another has for them, just by the way they look at him/her. The message of, "I love you," comes through the way one looks at another when they actually mean it. Another expression used commonly explains this situation, "It is written all over your face." Communication is a very complicated subject to fully grasp, but it is also very interesting to discuss and study. Actions will always speak louder than words for the sole reason that anyone can go around saying that they are going to do something, or saying that they believe something, but not anyone can go around and actually act on their words. I could say I was going to go out and find a great job, but whether I go do that or not is what will affect my life in the long run.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Illinibucks
Registering for classes can be a very stressful time for a student because of the large population of students fighting for a limited number of seats per class. In other words, positions in certain classes are difficult to come by due to the 1. Popularity of the course 2. Small number of enrollments allowed 3. Seats reserved for major. Now, if the university decided to create a type of money and call it an, "Illinibuck" and allow the students to use these bucks to bypass the limitations of registration, there might be even more demand for these popular classes. The campus would have to come up with a price to put on these "Illinibucks" because they could be very useful to the students. There are a lot of lazy students out there who want to do the bare minimum to get by. Not only do they want to enroll in the easiest classes, but they do not want to sit around and wait until an opening in a class opens up for them to enroll. The way I see it is there are 2 different types of students, with a group that blends with both groups. There are students on campus who are here to gain a better education, and to have a good time while doing it. There is a second group of students who came to this university to learn, learn, learn. I already explained the use that the first group could get out of the Illinibuck, but the second group I mentioned could also use them. For instance, a student who is really committed to bettering their lives by taking extremely difficult courses, that prepare the student for the real world. A student like this may be majoring in engineering, or double majoring in finance and accounting. Whatever the case may be, this student will most likely have an agenda of what classes they must take each semester in order to graduate. An Illinibuck might come in handy if this student couldn't enroll in a class that he/she needed in order to graduate. An Illinibuck would give this student the opportunity to jump ahead of the others who signed up for this class, and in turn, allow this student to have a seat in the class. I think there would be a high demand for these Illinibucks on campus.
If it were me personally, I would definitely use these Illinibucks to get into certain GenEd courses that fill up entirely too quickly. I have been trying to take FSHN 120 since I got on campus as a freshman, however every time I attempt to register the class is always full. In my case, I got through my four years without Illinibucks so with that knowledge, if I were to take more classes, I would have a low demand for the product. However, an incoming freshman who does not know the system of registering here at the university might demand Illinibucks highly.
If Illinibucks were priced too high, many students would avoid purchasing them, and registration and events of similar nature would go on as they do today. On the other hand, if Illinibucks were priced too low, students would purchase them left and right. The students would definitely take advantage of the low price to better their schedule each and every semester. This might in turn cause chaos with advisors, because of the high number of students using Illinibucks to jump to the front of registration lines. Confusion could definitely ensue.
If it were me personally, I would definitely use these Illinibucks to get into certain GenEd courses that fill up entirely too quickly. I have been trying to take FSHN 120 since I got on campus as a freshman, however every time I attempt to register the class is always full. In my case, I got through my four years without Illinibucks so with that knowledge, if I were to take more classes, I would have a low demand for the product. However, an incoming freshman who does not know the system of registering here at the university might demand Illinibucks highly.
If Illinibucks were priced too high, many students would avoid purchasing them, and registration and events of similar nature would go on as they do today. On the other hand, if Illinibucks were priced too low, students would purchase them left and right. The students would definitely take advantage of the low price to better their schedule each and every semester. This might in turn cause chaos with advisors, because of the high number of students using Illinibucks to jump to the front of registration lines. Confusion could definitely ensue.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Opportunism
Taking advantage of a situation to better yourself is how I would define opportunism. However like our topic for the week says, opportunism can in turn be unethical. For instance, students all over the country have the opportunity to attend school, and while at school we students must take tests. Test taking can be very strenuous for a lot of people, whether it be the studying and preparation stages of the process, or the actual test itself, a lot of students become rather nervous. A lot of the times, we students are in class rooms where there is very little room, and students are packed into the few seats available. My example of "opportunism vs. ethical decisions" is in regard to test taking and cheating. Students know that if they took a quick glance at the paper next to them, that it could benefit them by getting an answer on the test from someone else. However, the idea of cheating and it's consequences have been instilled in students minds for years and years, and that is what makes people weary to glance right or left. Not to mention the fact that cheating on a test is really just cheating yourself. How can you feel right about receiving an A on a test that you cheated on? That wasn't your work, so you shouldn't be rewarded. Moral of the story, students are given the opportunity to cheat and possibly benefit their grades, but most students understand that cheating is unethical, and therefore do not do it. This is how the schooling system lives on.
An example of an opportunistic situation is at a company function where there is limited food for company employees. There were times this summer where I was sitting at my desk in the office just thinking about lunch and how starving I was. When I went out to lunch with my coworkers and paid for my own lunch, I ate as much as I wanted, or until I was full and satisfied. However, when we had a company picnic, or a company lunch-in I knew that there was not unlimited food, and I knew that a lot of employees would still need to get food. So, even if I was hungrier than ever before, I would take an average sized plate so as to leave enough food for everyone. Moral of the story is that I was offered the opportunity to eat whatever I wanted, and however much I wanted when my boss said, "Eat as much as you'd like." Instead of filling my plate, I decided to be a "good citizen," and cut back on my portions a little bit.
In conclusion, there are a lot of reasons why people avoid being opportunistic in certain situations. It is not always beneficial to better yourself, because a lot of the times someone else is getting hurt by your choice. Also, a lot of opportunities come with a moral/ethical decision, and in some situations (like cheating) it is better to avoid the temptation of giving in to the opportunity.
An example of an opportunistic situation is at a company function where there is limited food for company employees. There were times this summer where I was sitting at my desk in the office just thinking about lunch and how starving I was. When I went out to lunch with my coworkers and paid for my own lunch, I ate as much as I wanted, or until I was full and satisfied. However, when we had a company picnic, or a company lunch-in I knew that there was not unlimited food, and I knew that a lot of employees would still need to get food. So, even if I was hungrier than ever before, I would take an average sized plate so as to leave enough food for everyone. Moral of the story is that I was offered the opportunity to eat whatever I wanted, and however much I wanted when my boss said, "Eat as much as you'd like." Instead of filling my plate, I decided to be a "good citizen," and cut back on my portions a little bit.
In conclusion, there are a lot of reasons why people avoid being opportunistic in certain situations. It is not always beneficial to better yourself, because a lot of the times someone else is getting hurt by your choice. Also, a lot of opportunities come with a moral/ethical decision, and in some situations (like cheating) it is better to avoid the temptation of giving in to the opportunity.
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