#19 - Speaker: Contemporary business firms need to recognize

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Weaken-SN. The correct answer choice is (B)

This relationship can be diagrammed as:

WRP = business wish(es) to retain power as long as possible
AR = act responsibly

WRP AR


Answer choice (A): Because this answer addresses government institutions, this cannot hurt the conclusion, which is about businesses. If anything, this may slightly support the argument. In the middle of the stimulus, the Speaker mentions that “The law’s application to human institutions certainly stands confirmed by history.” This answer affirms that statement by adding governments to the named list of human institutions.

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer. If a public relations program can cause society to think an institution is socially responsible even when it is not, then an institution that wishes to retain power could act irresponsibly and then get a public relations firm to cover up the activities. In this way, the institution could wish to retain power but not act responsibly. Since this scenario allows the sufficient condition to occur without the necessary, this weakens the argument.

Answer choice (C): Many students hold this answer choice as a Contender. The answer is incorrect because the stimulus contemplates varying rates of power retention, especially between socially responsible and non-socially responsible institutions. If you read this answer thinking that the stimulus indicated socially responsible institutions do not lose power if socially responsible, then you made a quasi-Mistaken Reversal of the stimulus. There is never a presumption in the argument that power can be held indefinitely. If there were, this answer would be much more attractive.

Answer choice (D): The conclusion is clear in saying, “a business that wishes to retain power as long as it can...” The italicized phrase allows for the idea that businesses will eventually lose power and ultimately fail. Thus, this answer does not hurt the argument.

Answer choice (E): This is another attractive answer, and one that lured in many test takers. The answer states that even though some businesses acted responsibly (AR), they did not retain power (RP). If the difference between retaining power and wishing to retain power (WRP) is ignored, then this answer can be seen as attacking not the actual conclusion of the argument, but the Mistaken Reversal of the conclusion. As you learned from the discussion of answer choice (C) of the Carpet Market question, attacking the Mistaken Reversal of the conclusion does not hurt the actual conclusion. However, this answer is attractive because not only does it address elements of the conclusion, it also appears as the final answer choice. A test taker who did not

[netherlands]

Hi there PS,

I just want to make sure that I'm understanding everything correctly. The conclusion of this sample questions concludes by saying that:

Wish to Retain Power Act Responsibly

Since this is the author's conclusion we attack what he's assuming must be true - the Necessary condition, acting responsibly.

But, if the passage and the author had gone on to say that - "Company A implemented a socially responsible program last year, so it will be able to Retain Power"

In this case we would attack this new conclusion by showing that for some reason, despite the fact that they'd been socially responsible, this company was still unable to retain power.

Is that right?

Thank you!

[Steve Stein]

Hi Netherlands,

With regard to the first part, you got it--if the supposedly necessary element is shown to be not totally necessary, that weakens the conclusion.

As for the second part, if the conclusion was that a company will retain its power, and one of the answer choices proves that the company will not retain its power, that would weaken the conclusion.

I hope that's helpful! Let me know--thanks!

~Steve

[martinbeslu]

What is it about answer choice C that makes it not the correct answer? The conclusion is that a business must act responsibly if it wishes to maintain power as long as it can. The premise is that in the long run, those who do not use power in a manner which society considers responsible will tend to lose it.

Answer choice C says that even if an institution is not socially responsible it's power may erode more or less slowly than the power of institutions that are socially responsible. This statement doesn't prove the conclusion false but it removes the assumption that businesses must act responsibly in order to maintain their power for as long as possible. This supports the claim that making a boat load of money and saying screw what society thinks might be a better way to maintain power than to make a smaller profit and donate money to charities so that society thinks you are more socially responsible and therefore doesn't tend to erode your power gradually.

[Shannon Parker]

What is it about answer choice C that makes it not the correct answer? The conclusion is that a business must act responsibly if it wishes to maintain power as long as it can. The premise is that in the long run, those who do not use power in a manner which society considers responsible will tend to lose it.

Answer choice C says that even if an institution is not socially responsible it's power may erode more or less slowly than the power of institutions that are socially responsible. This statement doesn't prove the conclusion false but it removes the assumption that businesses must act responsibly in order to maintain their power for as long as possible. This supports the claim that making a boat load of money and saying screw what society thinks might be a better way to maintain power than to make a smaller profit and donate money to charities so that society thinks you are more socially responsible and therefore doesn't tend to erode your power gradually.

Answer choice C does not effect the conclusion. The conclusion is that a business that wishes to retain power as long as possible must act in a socially responsible way. Answer choice C states that the power of some institutions erode more slowly than the power of others regardless of whether they act in a socially responsible way. The key here is that the answer choice is comparing the speed of one institution to another, not to itself.

Let's say you have two institutions; A & B. In conformity with answer choice C, A's power will erode more slowly than B's power regardless of whether either acts in a socially responsible way. However, A's goal is not merely to outlast B, it is to hold its power as long as it can. Nothing in answer choice C, indicates that acting in a socially responsible way will not increase the amount of time that A can hold that power. Therefore the conclusion in the stimulus and answer choice C, can perfectly coexist, and C does not weaken the conclusion.

Hope this helps clear it up.
Shannon

[martinbeslu]

Wow! Thanks Shannon. Great explanation!

[needhib]

Hi,

I understand why B is correct but I was wondering if the answer choices were diagrammable. I have been doing weaken problems without trying to diagram but the explanation for the answer choices do mention mistaken reversal. What would a diagram look like, I apologize if that is a stupid question.

[Dave Killoran]

Well, almost anything can be diagrammed, but this is a good example of where I wouldn't diagram anything in the answers. Most of the answer have non-absolute language which makes it harder, for starters. And, the mentions of MRs are more along the lines of the reader actually making an MR in interpreting the stimulus (vs the answer choice being an MR).

Thanks!

[Rafael_A]

Hi,

I have a question with regarding to the argument and answer choice E.

When reading the argument, I spot two unwarranted assumptions that the author made,

1) society thinks versus business must act responsibly.
2) lose power versus retain power.

Apprantly answer choice B addresses the first gap by stating that even though a business acts irresponbly, the societ still thinks otherwise.

However, with regarding to the second assumption, I do have a question.

I believe that lose power and retain power, as in the sense of not losing power, are disparate things.

And answer choice E indeed addressed this assumption.

I am a little bit confused

Can anyone tell me what is wrong with my reasoning?

[Robert Carroll]

Rafael,

Sure! The argument is not saying that appearing or being socially responsible will allow a firm to hold onto power. It's saying that not appearing so responsible will cause a firm to lose power. This is basically the difference between a conditional and its Mistaken Negation.

An analogy:

"If you try to walk across Antarctica alone, you will die."

It wouldn't weaken this statement to say "Some people have died even though they were nowhere near Antarctica."

The author of the stimulus isn't committed to the idea that the only way firms can lose power is to appear socially irresponsible, so answer choice (E) is a "counter"example to a point the author doesn't make. It's thus irrelevant.

Robert Carroll