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15 Jan 2015, 06:52
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If anyone has a second and could evaluate these two prompts, I'd greatly appreciate it! I think the first response is stronger than the second.
Prompt 1:
The following appeared as part of a recommendation by one of the directors of the Beta Company:
“The Alpha Company has just reduced its workforce by laying off 15 percent of its employees in all divisions and at all levels, and it is encouraging early retirement for other employees. As you know, the Beta Company manufactures some products similar to Alpha’s, but our profits have fallen over the last few years. To improve Beta’s competitive position, we should try to hire a significant number of Alpha’s former workers, since these experienced workers can provide valuable information about Alpha’s successful methods, will require little training, and will be particularly motivated to compete against Alpha.”
Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.
Response:
One of Beta Company’s board of directors argues that in order to reverse their decrease in profit over the last few years it must take action and capitalize on the recent layoffs and early retirements that occurred at Alpha Company by hiring a significant number of their old workforce. Since both companies manufacture similar products, the director assumes that these new employees will have the proper experience, be able to provide information on Alpha’s successful methods, and require little training, which will increase profits and competitiveness. However, this assumption fails to call into question what Alpha Company was paying their employees, whether or not employees left Alpha Co. on good terms, or differences in operations and manufacturing processes between companies, any of which could cause a failure to result in the increased profit and competitive position that the board is looking for.
First let’s examine the pay structure of the two companies. Perhaps Alpha Company has very high compensation compared to Beta Company. For this reason, if Beta began to investigate hiring the former Alpha employees, Beta would find that it would either have to offer a larger sum of money or be unsuccessful in hiring. Even if Beta managed to bring on new employees, this increase in overhead could erase any profits gained from the experienced Alpha employees. Similarly, if Alpha Company issued an excellent severance package and early retirement benefits, one could assume there would be no bad blood between former employees and their employer. The notion that the new hires from Alpha Co. would be willing to provide inside information to Beta Co. should not be firmly relied upon if the employees who were let go are on good terms with Alpha Co.
Now let’s investigate the possibility of manufacturing differences between the two companies. Alpha Company appears to be the superior organization given that its profit has not fallen over the past few years like that of Beta Company. It is possible that there are great manufacturing and operational differences between the two companies that are resulting in this large profit differential; therefore, Alpha Company employees may not have an easy transition to Beta Company or be able to capitalize on past experiences thereby erasing any potential increase in profit.
In conclusion, the board cannot assume that by hiring employees from Alpha Company that Beta Company’s profit will increase and result in a better competitive position. If the pay structure between the two organizations is vastly different, Beta will be unable to hire the ex-Alpha employees at their typical compensation ranges. Also, Beta cannot count on Alpha employees to be disgruntled and willing to share inside information that may help Beta increase profit if Alpha Company provided a generous severance package. Finally, operational and manufacturing processes could vary immensely between companies resulting in a steep learning curve for new employees despite prior experience. All of these reasons object to the initial conclusion that the new hiring practices by Beta Company will result in increased profit and a more competitive position.
Prompt 2:
The following appeared as an editorial in a magazine concerned with educational issues:
“In our country, the real earnings of men who have only a high-school degree have decreased significantly over the past 15 years, but those of male college graduates have remained about the same. Therefore, the key to improving the earnings of the next generation of workers is to send all students to college. Our country’s most important educational goal, then, should be to establish enough colleges and universities to accommodate all high school graduates.”
Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.
Response:
Statistics show that the real earnings of men in our country who have only a high-school degree have decreased significantly over the past 15 years, but real earnings of male college graduates have remained about the same. The editorial concludes that in order to improve this trend, all future high school graduates should be sent to college and make our country’s most important educational goal to establish enough colleges and universities to accommodate all high school graduates. This conclusion fails to call into question that by increasing the number of universities by such a large amount the quality of education provided will inevitably decrease and reduce the value of a college degree. Also, the article makes no mention of the types of jobs that high school graduates are taking, which may have changed immensely over the past fifteen years and led to the decrease in real earnings. Finally, the editorial makes no effort to point out the cost of attending college as a contributing factor in the decision to matriculate.
First let’s delve into the issue of a sudden increase in the number of colleges and universities. One could assume that this sudden influx of educational institutions would result in lesser quality professors and faculty members. If the country made it its goal to accommodate all high school graduates at the collegiate level, many new institutions would have to be formed and quality would fall by the wayside. This would result in the value of a college degree and quality of graduates to drop, most likely leading to a decrease in real earnings.
Moreover, the article does not make any mention of the types of positions that high school graduates are taking. Over the past fifteen years the job market for this level of education may have changed immensely. High school graduates now may be more likely to work in lower pay, minimum wage jobs than they were in the past and is causing this significant decrease in real earnings. Furthermore, many companies could be moving these better high school level jobs overseas where the labor market could be cheaper.
Financial positioning also plays a crucial role in the decision to attend college or university and the editorial fails to raise this issue. If the debt burden of a student will be so great that it will outweigh the benefits of his potential increase in real earnings, one could argue it is not worth it to attend.
In conclusion, while the article states that in order to reverse the trend of decreasing real earnings for high school graduates is to establish more universities and to send all students to college, this is clearly not the case. To accommodate all high school graduates would require a significant increase in the number of colleges leading to lesser quality educations and less valuable degrees upon graduation. The article also doesn’t talk about the job market for high school graduates. The decrease in quality jobs for this level of education could have easily led to this earnings decrease. Finally, a college candidate’s financial position could lead him to avoid the high cost of student debt that would outweigh his increase in real earnings. All of these reasons could contribute to decreased real earnings for high school graduates, cause our country to rethink its most important educational goal, and rethink whether or not to send all high school graduates to college.
Prompt 1:
The following appeared as part of a recommendation by one of the directors of the Beta Company:
“The Alpha Company has just reduced its workforce by laying off 15 percent of its employees in all divisions and at all levels, and it is encouraging early retirement for other employees. As you know, the Beta Company manufactures some products similar to Alpha’s, but our profits have fallen over the last few years. To improve Beta’s competitive position, we should try to hire a significant number of Alpha’s former workers, since these experienced workers can provide valuable information about Alpha’s successful methods, will require little training, and will be particularly motivated to compete against Alpha.”
Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.
Response:
One of Beta Company’s board of directors argues that in order to reverse their decrease in profit over the last few years it must take action and capitalize on the recent layoffs and early retirements that occurred at Alpha Company by hiring a significant number of their old workforce. Since both companies manufacture similar products, the director assumes that these new employees will have the proper experience, be able to provide information on Alpha’s successful methods, and require little training, which will increase profits and competitiveness. However, this assumption fails to call into question what Alpha Company was paying their employees, whether or not employees left Alpha Co. on good terms, or differences in operations and manufacturing processes between companies, any of which could cause a failure to result in the increased profit and competitive position that the board is looking for.
First let’s examine the pay structure of the two companies. Perhaps Alpha Company has very high compensation compared to Beta Company. For this reason, if Beta began to investigate hiring the former Alpha employees, Beta would find that it would either have to offer a larger sum of money or be unsuccessful in hiring. Even if Beta managed to bring on new employees, this increase in overhead could erase any profits gained from the experienced Alpha employees. Similarly, if Alpha Company issued an excellent severance package and early retirement benefits, one could assume there would be no bad blood between former employees and their employer. The notion that the new hires from Alpha Co. would be willing to provide inside information to Beta Co. should not be firmly relied upon if the employees who were let go are on good terms with Alpha Co.
Now let’s investigate the possibility of manufacturing differences between the two companies. Alpha Company appears to be the superior organization given that its profit has not fallen over the past few years like that of Beta Company. It is possible that there are great manufacturing and operational differences between the two companies that are resulting in this large profit differential; therefore, Alpha Company employees may not have an easy transition to Beta Company or be able to capitalize on past experiences thereby erasing any potential increase in profit.
In conclusion, the board cannot assume that by hiring employees from Alpha Company that Beta Company’s profit will increase and result in a better competitive position. If the pay structure between the two organizations is vastly different, Beta will be unable to hire the ex-Alpha employees at their typical compensation ranges. Also, Beta cannot count on Alpha employees to be disgruntled and willing to share inside information that may help Beta increase profit if Alpha Company provided a generous severance package. Finally, operational and manufacturing processes could vary immensely between companies resulting in a steep learning curve for new employees despite prior experience. All of these reasons object to the initial conclusion that the new hiring practices by Beta Company will result in increased profit and a more competitive position.
Prompt 2:
The following appeared as an editorial in a magazine concerned with educational issues:
“In our country, the real earnings of men who have only a high-school degree have decreased significantly over the past 15 years, but those of male college graduates have remained about the same. Therefore, the key to improving the earnings of the next generation of workers is to send all students to college. Our country’s most important educational goal, then, should be to establish enough colleges and universities to accommodate all high school graduates.”
Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.
Response:
Statistics show that the real earnings of men in our country who have only a high-school degree have decreased significantly over the past 15 years, but real earnings of male college graduates have remained about the same. The editorial concludes that in order to improve this trend, all future high school graduates should be sent to college and make our country’s most important educational goal to establish enough colleges and universities to accommodate all high school graduates. This conclusion fails to call into question that by increasing the number of universities by such a large amount the quality of education provided will inevitably decrease and reduce the value of a college degree. Also, the article makes no mention of the types of jobs that high school graduates are taking, which may have changed immensely over the past fifteen years and led to the decrease in real earnings. Finally, the editorial makes no effort to point out the cost of attending college as a contributing factor in the decision to matriculate.
First let’s delve into the issue of a sudden increase in the number of colleges and universities. One could assume that this sudden influx of educational institutions would result in lesser quality professors and faculty members. If the country made it its goal to accommodate all high school graduates at the collegiate level, many new institutions would have to be formed and quality would fall by the wayside. This would result in the value of a college degree and quality of graduates to drop, most likely leading to a decrease in real earnings.
Moreover, the article does not make any mention of the types of positions that high school graduates are taking. Over the past fifteen years the job market for this level of education may have changed immensely. High school graduates now may be more likely to work in lower pay, minimum wage jobs than they were in the past and is causing this significant decrease in real earnings. Furthermore, many companies could be moving these better high school level jobs overseas where the labor market could be cheaper.
Financial positioning also plays a crucial role in the decision to attend college or university and the editorial fails to raise this issue. If the debt burden of a student will be so great that it will outweigh the benefits of his potential increase in real earnings, one could argue it is not worth it to attend.
In conclusion, while the article states that in order to reverse the trend of decreasing real earnings for high school graduates is to establish more universities and to send all students to college, this is clearly not the case. To accommodate all high school graduates would require a significant increase in the number of colleges leading to lesser quality educations and less valuable degrees upon graduation. The article also doesn’t talk about the job market for high school graduates. The decrease in quality jobs for this level of education could have easily led to this earnings decrease. Finally, a college candidate’s financial position could lead him to avoid the high cost of student debt that would outweigh his increase in real earnings. All of these reasons could contribute to decreased real earnings for high school graduates, cause our country to rethink its most important educational goal, and rethink whether or not to send all high school graduates to college.
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