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The following appeared in a memo from a vice president of Quiot Manufacturing.
During the past year, Quiot Manufacturing had 30 percent more on-the-job accidents than at the nearby Panoply Industries plant, where the work shifts are one hour shorter than ours. Experts say that significant contributing factors in many on-the-job accidents are fatigue and sleep deprivation among workers.Therefore, to reduce the number of on-the-job accidents at Quiot and thereby increase productivity, we should shorten each of our three work shifts by one hour so that employees will get adequate amounts of sleep.
Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated assumptions of the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on these assumptions and what the implications are for the argument if the assumptions prove unwarranted.
In order to reduce the number of the on-the-job accidents at Quiot Manufacturing(Q) and therefor increase productivity,the author recommends that each of its three work shifts should be shortened by an hour to ensure the employees' adequate amounts of sleep.To bolster his argument, he makes a comparison with the nearby Panoply Industries plant, where the work shifts are hour shorter.He also cites the experts' opinion,which shows fatigue and sleep deprivation are significant contributing factors in many on-the-work accidents The argument seems somewhat convincing at the first glance,however,after a careful reflection, reveals it is fraught with vague information and unwarranted assumptions.
In the first place, based on a comparison with the nearby Panoply Industries plant(P),the author assumes without justification that it is the longer work shifts that results in more on-the-work accidents at Q.However,lacking more detailed information about the two plants,it is really difficult to assess the credibility of the comparison,in that a myriad of other possible factors might contribute to the discrepancy.Perhaps,the manufacturing process itself is more dangerous in Qthan that of P,thus the number of the on-the-work accidents would be definitely different.It is also possible that steps have been taken in P to ensure their employees' safety, as a result, the number of accidents would go down accordingly.Without specific information to rule out these possible factors, it is unfair to make the conclusion.
In the second place,citing the experts' opinion,the author aims to indicate that longer work shifts is liable to result in fatigue and sleep deprivation,and therefore lead to high rate of on-the-work accidents in Q.However,the validity of the experts' opinion is worth questioning.What if they have little knowledge about the manufacturing process of Q,and therefor made such a false judge. Even assuming that the experts are authoritative and their opinion is reliable,it is still not persuasive,since no evidence is provided to show that the experts' opinion can certainly reflect the actual conditions of Q.Maybe,its high rate of in-the-work accidents is mainly caused by the employees' negligence in carrying out the task,rather than fatigue or sleep deprivation.If it is the case, the author's conclusion is unconvincing.
In addition,even though it is the longer work shifts, which might result in employees' fatigue and sleep deprivation, that should be responsible for the high rate of accidents, the author cannot assume that curtailing the work shifts would certainly benefit productivity.In the argument, the author pays more attention to the advantages of curtailing the work shifts.but neglects to take its unfavorable consequence into consideration.The shortened working shifts would definitely free up more leisure time for employees in Q,however,we cannot guarantee that they could spend their leisure time having a rest,rather than playing video games together,which may easily make them more fatigue. It is also possible that the company would not keep to its current schedule,and thus might undermine its established reputation.
In summary,the author's conclusion is of little credibility.To solidify the argument, he would have make a scientific survey to demonstrate the main cause of the on-the-job accidents in Q is its long work shifts.In addition,he should take both the advantages and disadvantages into consideration to make a more reliable recommendation.
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发表于 2012-3-8 20:05:31
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