0910G【Try Best】第二小组 argument92 by tianshi02

tianshi02UID: 2362794

TOPIC: ARGUMENT92 - The following is a recommendation from the human resources department at Techforce Computer Company.

"Many working parents report that problems related to their childcare arrangements are a major reason for absenteeism from their jobs. Bridgewell Corporation, a tele-communications company, implemented an on-site childcare program and after one year, the company reported that unscheduled absences had declined by 25 percent. Since Techforce has had an increase in unscheduled employee absences over the past year, we should therefore implement our own on-site childcare program. The program will undoubtedly reduce our unscheduled employee absences, resulting in significantly increased productivity."
WORDS: 404         TIME: 00:50:00          DATE: 2009-6-28 12:21:58

In this argument, the arguer recommends that Techforce Computer Company(TCC) implement its own on-site childcare program and confidently asserts that it would facilitate productivity. His conclusion relies on potential seriousness of the problem of absenteeism caused by childcare arrangements of their workers and the obtensibly  successful experience of this sort of program  in another company, neither of which is convincingly substantiated.

First, the arguer's line of reasoning seems to be that the rise of absences in the past year shows the the seriousness of the problem, which is mainly caused by the childcare arrangements of working parents. However, the fact that unscheduled employee absences over the past year in TCC rises would not necessarily mean a growing trend of this problem. Besides, we are not informed how dramatic the rise is. It's hasty to conclude a persistent and growing trend with only short-term and insufficient evidence. Moreover, the reports from many working parents could not suffice for a good piece of evidence indicating the primary reason for absenteeism. The word "many" is ambiguous and we can't possibly assess the usefulness of this piece of information without an accurate statistical datum.

Second, the potential success of childcare program in Bridgewell Corporation doesn't lend strong support to the arguer's conclusion. Even though the effect of its program is seen after one year, its long-term impact, in no way, can be graranteed. A more fatal problem of the role of this evidence is that the arguer fails to study the differences between the two companies. We should decide everything on a case-by-case basis. We want to know the differences between the two companies on the proportion of working parents, the original absenteeism rate, the working hours, ... , upon all of which the effectiveness of the program depends.

Lastly, the arguer fails to consider the possible negative effects of implementing the childcare program and then weigh the pros and cons. Will the reduced unscheduled absencenses outweigh the cost of on-site childcare program? Will the program distract the attentions of employees? ...

In sum, the arguer's evidence in showing the seriousness of the problem is unpersuasive and insufficient. In addition to this evidence, the arguer also needs to give a detailed comparison with another company to make the analogy sound. A thorough analysis on the weaknesses of the childcare program will even strengthen the argument if they are shown to be less significant than the benefits of the program.