(AAB1,AAB2,AAB3,AAB4)ARGUMENT B1-B4 我自己的一些想法

B1.The following appeared in a memorandum from the head of a human resources department at a major automobile manufacturing company to the company's managers:

“Studies have found that employees of not-for-profit organizations and charities are often more highly motivated than employees of for-profit corporations to perform well at work when their performance is not being monitored or evaluated. Interviews with employees of not-for-profit organizations suggest that the reason for their greater motivation is the belief that their work helps to improve society. Because they believe in the importance of their work, they have personal reasons to perform well, even when no financial reward is present. Thus, if our corporation began donating a significant portion of its profits to humanitarian causes, our employees’ motivation and productivity would increase substantially and our overall profits would increase as well.”

Firstly, it is highly doubtful that employees of not-for-profit organizations and charities are often more highly motivated than employees of for-profit corporations. However,
   differences between the two departments clearly outweigh the similarities, thus making the comparison highly less than valid. For example, most of the workers in the not-for profit organizations are volunteers, who can self-motivated with dedication and integrity to society; while the employees in the for-profit corporation can also be highly promoted by the personal reasons, such as job satisfaction. Besides the monitoring and evaluation in the job performance can improve the employee’s efficiency and proficiency, thus making the employee self-fulfilled.

Secondly, the author unfairly assumes that the proposed donation would suffice to achieve the increasing profits. This is not necessarily the case without a thorough cost-benefit analysis. It is possible that the after the part of profits, once distributed as the bonus to the employees, will be donated to the humanitarian causes, the employees might be unsatisfied and then less productive. Consequently, the profits of the corporation reduced because increased cost from the donation and reduced productivity.

这些多是小弟自己瞎想的...乱七八糟的...希望大家一起讨论哦...

B2. The following appeared in an editorial from a magazine produced by an organization dedicated to environmental protection:

“In order to effectively reduce the amount of environmental damage that industrial manufacturing plants cause, those who manage the plants must be aware of the specific amount and types of damage caused by each of their various manufacturing processes. However, few corporations have enough financial incentive to monitor this information. In order to guarantee that corporations reduce the damage caused by their plants, the federal government should require every corporation to produce detailed annual reports on the environmental impact of their manufacturing process, and the government should impose stiff financial penalties for failure to produce these reports.”

The assumption here based on that the reports on the environmental impact of plants’ manufacturing process conducted by the government will force the corporations to reduce the environmental damage. However, we are not given enough information about the reports to be sure that this assumption is reliable. For example, if the reports only include the mere description about the damage without any steps taken to reduce these damages, then no basis exists for the effectiveness of this strategy. In addition, the article does not indicate whether the governmental officers will check the authenticity and practicability of reports. If not , then again no basis exists for the assumption.

The author assumes that awareness of the plant is all that is required for improvement of ruined environment. While the process adopted by the plants to reduce the adverse environmental impact in manufacturing process is an important element in determining the improvement; however, the government fails to consider other possible ways because the widespread damages done by the plants can not only be solved by the plants themselves. Perhaps the scientists might do some researches to improve the technologies about exhaust and sewage treatment; or perhaps the government should arouse people’s awareness of environmental protection to refuse the products manufactured at the cost of environment. The author’s failure to investigate or even consider other possible explanations renders the conclusion based upon them highly suspect.

B3. The following appeared in a memorandum from the information technology department of a major advertising firm:

“The more efficient a firm’s employees are, the more profitable that firm will be. Improvements in a firm’s information technology hardware and software are a proven way to increase the efficiency of employees who do the majority of their work on computers. Therefore, if our firm invests in the most powerful and advanced information technology available, employee productivity will be maximized. This strategy ensures that every dollar spent on enhanced information technology will help to increase our firm’s profit margins.”

Firstly, the assumption mentioned in the article, rests on an oversimplified analysis of the issue. The author claims that efficient employees are the cause of profitable firms. However, the evidence offered is insufficient to support this claim. A mere positive correlation between efficiency of employees and profitability of firms does not necessarily prove a causal relationship; in addition, all other prospective causes of profits have been considered and ruled out. For example, perhaps the competitive products and broad markets are the cause of the profits; or perhaps the high profits motivate the employees to be more efficient.

Secondly, the author’s claim that in order to maximize the productivity, the firm mentioned above should approve the proposal rests on the assumption that the investments in the information technology are the only means of achieving this end. Yet the author fails to substantiate this assumption. Common sense tells me that there are a host of other ways , such as reeducation among the employees, increased salary and bonus, and rearrangement of the positions. Perhaps one of those ways would be just as, or even more, effective than the proposed plan－in which case, the proposal would not seem compelling at all. Moreover, the author unfairly assumes that the proposal would suffice to achieve the goal. This is not necessarily the case without a thorough cost-benefit analysis. If the firm targets at the service market, the advanced information technology can not apply in the daily operation of the firm. Consequently, the cost of the advancement would cause loss of the profit.
                

B4. The following appeared in a memorandum from the CEO of a consumer electronics manufacturing firm to the head of the company's human resources department, who is responsible for hiring new employees:

    “Eight years ago, our firm’s profits were increasing with each new employee we added. We discovered that each employee had the skills and motivation to generate more revenue for the firm than his or her salary cost us. However, for the past two years, our profit margin has been falling, even though we have continued to add employees. Thus, our newer employees are not generating enough revenue to justify their salaries. We must not be hiring new employees with the same level of skills and motivation as those we used to attract. Clearly, then, failures in the human resources department account for our falling profits.”

Firstly, the solution to the problem, mentioned in the article, rests on an oversimplified analysis of the issue. The author commits “after this, therefore, because of this” reasoning. The line of the reasoning is that because recruitment of new employees occurred before the success or failure of the firm, the former event is responsible for the latter. But this is fallacious reasoning unless all other prospective causes of the changes in the firm have been considered and ruled out.
                For example, perhaps the main products of the firm took up most of the markets several years ago but lost the competitive edge in the past two years; or perhaps recently the costs of materials were much higher then before, squeezing the profits a lot. Therefore any reason aimed at addressing the problems of firm must be based on more thorough investigation to gather sufficient data , in order to narrow down and locate the actual cause of the problem.

Secondly, the author commits the fallacy of “all things are equal”. The fact that happened two years ago is not a sound evidence to draw a conclusion that the firm should not hire new employees. The author assumes without justification that the background conditions have remained the same at different times or at different locations. Given that the firm always needs large number of employees to enlarge the sale market, so without the employees who equip the qualities of high level of skills and motivation, the firm would commit larger lost; or that the firm recently recovered the market, leading to the increased need of the staff to make up the lost in the profits previously. Thus it is impossible to conclude without the evidence that whether the current conditions are the same as the conditions used to be two years ago.

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