Argument 14 范例

tesolchina_RAUID：3675555

Argument 14/118
Arg 14 hire people with less need of sleep

14) The following appeared as part of an article in a business magazine.

A recent study rating 300 male and female Mentian advertising executives according to the average number of hours they sleep per night showed an association between the amount of sleep the executives need and the success of their firms. Of the advertising firms studied, those whose executives reported needing no more than 6 hours of sleep per night had higher profit margins and faster growth. These results suggest that if a business wants to prosper, it should hire only people who need less than 6 hours of sleep per night.

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.

118) The following appeared as part of an article in a business magazine.

A recent study rating 300 male and female advertising executives according to the average number of hours they sleep per night showed an association between the amount of sleep the executives need and the success of their firms. Of the advertising firms studied, those whose executives reported needing no more than six hours of sleep per night had higher profit margins and faster growth. On the basis of this study, we recommend that businesses hire only people who need less than six hours of sleep per night.

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation and the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.




G1: A recent study rating 300 male and female Mentian advertising executives according to the average number of hours they sleep per night showed an association between the amount of sleep the executives need and the success of their firms.
G2: Of the advertising firms studied, those whose executives reported needing no more than 6 hours of sleep per night had higher profit margins and faster growth.

C1: These results suggest that if a business wants to prosper, it should hire only people who need less than 6 hours of sleep per night.


A1 (G1, G2): The self-reported data is reliable and there is a causal link between the two factors.

A2 (G2, C1): Profit margin and growth rate are reliable indicators of a business's prosperity.

A3 (C1): The results can be generalised to employees of other ranking and other industries.


The article argues that companies should hire people who need less sleep because companies with such employees are more likely to succeed based on a survey of 300 advertising executives. A number of assumptions have been made about the generalisability of the survey result, the reliability of the reported need of sleep and other related issues. We need to examine the assumptions carefully in order to assess the argument.


To begin with, the assumption that the survey results can be applied more broadly may not hold true. The subjects of the survey are all from a single industry, namely, advertising. Maybe it is important for people in this field to burn the midnights oil to prosper. But this rule may not apply to other industries, for example, insurance or manufacturing. Yes...but...cases that cannot be generalisedIn addition, the survey only asks the executives who may have to work extra hours to lead the companies. But for employees at lower level sleeping less may not be very helpful for achieving success. cases that cannot be generalised


In addition, it is assumed that the executives actually need little sleep as reported in the survey. In other words, the assumption is that the subjects were telling the truth about their lifestyles during the survey. (reliability of self reported data) It is possible that the survey respondents just want to impress others or show their attitudes towards sleep when answering the questions. Explore alternative scenarios or possibilities Without further data to verify the reliability of the survey results, it is not reasonable to apply the finding in the hiring processes.





Argument范文与提纲目录(tesolchina)
https://bbs.gter.net/thread-2030117-1-1.html