essay - GMAT: Issue 38

Since science and technology are becoming more and more essential to modern society, schools should devote more time to teaching science and technology and less to teaching the arts and humanities.

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

Answer:
I totally disagree with the opinion that teaching science and technology in schools is more important than teaching arts and humanities today. The speaker premises that contemporary societies require science and technology more and more, but arts and humanities, I believe, are also vital in today's society.

I agree with the statement that teaching science and technology is important, but it is not what can be compared with the importance of teaching arts and morals. Nowadays, it is said that the world is connected by our science in terms of the emergence of the Internet and the progress of globalism. At the same time, however, we can also say that arts and the sense of humanity can connect every place in our world with each other. In my belief, as the level of civilization advances, interests of people expand toward various areas such as arts, music, and sports. In this sense, although science and technology are necessary to teach in schools, it is not necessarily the case that teaching arts and ethics can be underestimated.

People can develop their cultural senses through being familiar with arts. Visiting art museums and enjoying sophisticated paintings, for instance, is a good way to cultivate spirit. In the sense, teaching arts and making students to equip themselves with an ability of enjoying arts is essential in today's world.

Humanity is an indispensable piece in living in today's tightly connected world. After 9.11, it can be observed that the world became a place difficult to live safely, but if I could find out something that could be clue to solving the intricate world, I would say that it is education of humanity. People have to learn the way of living with people who have different religion or belief. People have to learn the sense of compassion in order to remake the world a safe place to live. Teaching humanity is one of the most important factors to make it possible.

To sum up, I believe that teaching arts and humanities are still important, or getting more and more important, in today's world, while science and technology are also necessary. Arts and humanities help people spend better lives and connect themselves with each other.

essay - GMAT: Issue 37

Businesses and other organizations have overemphasized the importance of working as a team. Clearly, in any human group, it is the strong individual, the person with the most commitment and energy, who gets things done.

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

Answer:
I totally disagree with the opinion that working as a team is much inferior to the power of individuals. Working as a team is the most essential for almost all enterprises, even though the importance of individual ability remains unchanged. I'd like to describe the importance of the team below, mentioning differences in various industries and the size of corporations.

Admittedly, the importance of the role of individuals varies with the industries. That is, enterprises providing a certain professional service such as law services and medical cares might not need the strength of forming team as much as the other types of business. A super intelligent attorney can bring big profits to the company, because courts are places where a few attorneys work at any given time. Almost all enterprises, however, need a power of teamwork, because almost all work that the company needs to perform requires a certain amount of employees; in other words, an individual can affect a limited influence. How does a factory of automobiles operate? How does a product such as a candy bar appear in front of customers? Tens and hundreds, or thousands, people need to work as a team to perform a very single task in the business function. In the environment, what an individual can do is limited, and above all, emphasis on individualism should not disturb the sense of cooperation that is essential to form a great team.

A size of the corporation might also be one factor of determining the degree of influence of teams. At a small business, certainly, a competent person can make a big change on the company, because the individual can do a certain work affecting the outcome of the business, and the influence of the individual reaches out a certain degree in the company. On the other hand, at big corporations such as Fortune 500 companies, the range that an individual can affect is limited. Thus, for the employees, it becomes important to work as a team rather than tend to exert his individual influence. From my personal experience, I have worked for both sizes of corporation. At a middle-sized company, I could enjoy my personal significance, while at a big-sized company that I currently belong to, I know the limitation of my personal influence and try to maximize the power of the team that I belong to.

In conclusion, my belief shows that working as a team is much more important than exerting personal influence at any organizations. Although the degree depends on the type and size of the business to some extent, how we work effectively and efficiently as a team will make a big difference for all companies.

essay - GMAT: Issue 36

Businesses and other organizations have overemphasized the importance of working as a team. Clearly, in any human group, it is the strong individual, the person with the most commitment and energy, who gets things done.

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

Answer:
I totally disagree with the opinion that working as a team is much inferior to the power of individuals. Working as a team is the most essential for almost all enterprises, even though the importance of individual ability remains unchanged. I'd like to describe the importance of the team below, mentioning differences in various industries and the size of corporations.

Admittedly, the importance of the role of individuals vary with the industries. That is, enterprises providing a certain professional service such as law services and medical cares might not need the strength of forming team as much as the other types of business. A super intelligent attorney can bring big profits to the company, because courts are places where a few attorneys work at any given time. Almost all enterprises, however, need a power of teamwork, because almost all work that the company needs to perform require a certain amount of employees; in other words, an individual can affect a limited influence. How does a factory of automobiles operate? How does a product such as a candy bar appear in front of customers? Tens and hundreds, or thousands, people need to work as a team to perform a very single task in the business function. In the environment, what an individual can do is limited, and above all, emphasis on individualism should not disturb the sense of coorporation that is essential to form a great team.

A size of the corporation might also be one factor of determining the degree of influence of teams. At a small business, certainly, a competent person can make a big change on the company, because the individual can do a certain work affecting the outcome of the business, and the influence of the individual reaches out a certain degree in the company. On the other hand, at big corporations such as Fortune 500 companies, the range that an individual can affect is limitted. Thus, for the employees, it becomes important to work as a team rather than tend to exert his individual influence. From my personal experience, I have worked for both sizes of corporation. At a middle-sized company, I could enjoy my personal significance, while at a big-sized company that I currently belong to, I know the limitation of my personal influence and try to maximize the power of the team that I belong to.

In conclusion, my belief shows that working as a team is much more important than exerting personal influence at any organizations. Although the degree depends on the type and size of the business to some extent, how we work effectively and efficiently as a team will make a big difference for all companies.

essay - GMAT: Argument 35

The following appeared as part of a plan proposed by an executive of the Easy Credit Company to the president:

The Easy Credit Company would gain an advantage over competing credit card services if we were to donate a portion of the proceeds from the use of our cards to a well-known environmental organization in exchange for the use of its symbol or logo on our card. Since a recent poll shows that a large percentage of the public is concerned about environmental issues, this policy would attract new customers, increase use among existing customers, and enable us to charge interest rates that are higher than the lowest ones available.

Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.

Answer:
The author, one of executives of the Easy Credit Company, proposes that the company donate a certain portion of its profits to a well-known environmental organization in order to boost its sales. His logic is that if the company were to put the organization's logo mark on the company's credit card, it would be able to increase the sales through attracting new customers and making current customers use their credit cards more. The assumption on which he bases his argument is that a phenomenon that people highly worry about environmental issues was observed in a survey, and thereby they would be attracted by his new marketing strategy. His reasoning, however, has a serious flaw, and consequently his proposal would not be accepted by the president.

The flaw is that he fails to reasonably connect the increase of credit card usage with people's awareness toward environment. As the poll that he cites says, people certainly become more conscious to environmental matters. More and more people use their own shopping bags instead of plastic bags that they can get at stores for free. More and more people are about choosing fuel-efficient vehicles rather than heavy and sizable SUVs that hugely consume oil and emit green gas. However, all merchandises or services can not necessarily harness this trend. Admittedly, famous organization's logo mark on a credit card might attract a few people, but it can be considered that most of consumers don't pay any attention on how their credit card company donates some portion of its profits to an environment organization. Therefore, his reasoning is too weak to make it convincing.

To strengthen the argument, the author needs to show clear evidence that supports his conclusion. It might be a customer awareness survey or a case study of the other company that adapted the similar strategy. In doing so, his argument becomes convincing, and he will be a position of persuading the president.

In conclusion, although his proposal might attract a little bunch of consumers who strongly have environmental concern, since it fails to show any apparent link between a logo mark of environmental organization on the credit card to a sales increase, his argument is weak.

essay - GMAT: Issue 35

All citizens should be required to perform a specified amount of public service. Such service would benefit not only the country as a whole but also the individual participants.

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

Answer:
I generally agree with the statement saying that all citizens should engage in a certain amount of public service. I also support the idea that engaging in public service benefits both the public and the individual. But, at the same time, I'd like to mention a necessary mechanizm that expedites volunteering spirits.

The first reason why I emphasize the importance of engaging in public service is that I believe that through the experience a person can acquire a broad sense of comtemporary society.

The next reason is that people benefit themselves through engaging in such activity as the statement asserts.

What I'd like to mention is that a society needs a certain mechanism of boosting the spirits of volunteering.

To sum up, I agree with the statement as a whole.

essay - GMAT: Argument 34

The following appeared in an editorial from a magazine produced by an organization dedicated to environmental protection:

In order to effectively reduce the amount of environmental damage that industrial manufacturing plants cause, those who manage the plants must be aware of the specific amount and types of damage caused by each of their various manufacturing processes. However, few corporations have enough financial incentive to monitor this information. In order to guarantee that corporations reduce the damage caused by their plants, the federal government should require every corporation to produce detailed annual reports on the environmental impact of their manufacturing process, and the government should impose stiff financial penalties for failure to produce these reports.

Discuss how well reasoned . . .etc.

Answer:
The author asserts that the federal government should require corporations to submit annual reports regarding environmental dameges that the manufacturing process in their plants could cause. Besides, if a corporation fails to do that, the government should impose financial penalty on the corportion. The assumption that he bases his argument on is that environmental damage is caused by corporate management's unawareness of their plants' manufacturing processes harming the damage. His argument, however, has serious flaws and thereby is weak.

First, the solution that he deduced from his argument is too indirect to accomplish the ultimate target, which is to preserve environment. I mean, just requiring corporations to submit annual reports on their manufacturing processes is not enough to protect environment. For instace, despite corporate management's awareness of the manufacturing process, without conclete corrective actions such as improving the plant's desposing process, submitting reports makes no sense.

Second, although his plan says that corporations need to submit the report annually, I believe that it is not enough from a time point of view. I mean, in today's fact-changing world, the timing can't catch up most of changes that occur on corporations' manufacturing processes. For instance, during the period, a lot of plants could be built and they could emitted huge hazardous byproducts.

In conclusion, he fails to make his plan convincing for reasons that I mentioned above. To strengthen the idea, he must clarify a clear link between his plan and the outcome (the outcome must be targeted on environmental preservation), and consider more appropriate timeframe that the government requires any action of corporations.

blog - About My Future

I performed my "final" TOEFL and GMAT. I also got the results. TOEFL is 102. GMAT 610 (AWA: 5.0).

This is bad, so I cannot go to top MBA schools with this scores. I was disappointed. But, I decided to take one more exam in December. Besides, I decided to knock on a door of MBA consultant agency. And I decided to start further applying process. I need to set off writing essays.

I need do.

blog - Judgement Day Come! (Obama 2008)

(Translated Speech Movie. Just One More Day.)

I know it will come. But this day makes me nervous until it decides.

One thing is clear. America has been excited about this election. Many, many people cast their ballots at this histroic election. Enthusiasms come.

Yes, we can.

essay - GMAT: Issue 34

People are likely to accept as a leader only someone who has demonstrated an ability to perform the same tasks that he or she expects others to perform.

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

Answer:
I, in general, agree with the statement saying that people are likely to accept as their leader a person who can perform the same job that he or she wants others to perform, although some complementally explanations are required.

My belief in leadership is aligned with the statement. Only a person who can convince others that he has an ability of performing the job well can obtain their supports. In other words, a person who doesn't have any knowledge or understanding in the specific area that he belongs to can't exert leadership, since his colleagues and subordinates don't show their respects to him. In my country, Japan, this is tremendously true. Only great artisans can have apprentices. Only business persons who have great innovative minds can be accepted as great leaders.

The statement, however, needs some corrections. First, a person who can't perform a certain job anymore can also exert leadership. No wonder that almost all coaches in professional sports such as baseball or football don't have the same ability to play the sport as the players. Yet it is possible that they can exert their leadership. Why? It's because they have deep knowledge and experience in the area and as a result they can apply them to the present situation. Moreover, look at industries where technological changes frequently happen, say, Information Technology industry. Most of senior level managers don't know any specific products such as Windows Vista, which is the latest dominant operation system working on personal computers, but they can be respected by their colleagues or subordinates because of their ability of quickly catching a concept of state-of-the-art technologies and their fundamental understandings toward basic principles.

Finally, I would like to mention serious situation that can be happened in case an inappropriate person is in a leader's position. Remember many MBA, which stands for Master of Business Administration, graduates who doesn't have specific knowledge or experience failed to operate the business that had been acquired in M&A, Merger and Acquire. Since they could not exert leadership, they failed.

To sum up, my belief toward leadership matches the statement as a whole, although some complements are required.

essay - GMAT: Argument 33

The following is part of a business plan being discussed at a board meeting of the Perks Company:

It is no longer cost-effective for the Perks Company to continue offering its employees a generous package of benefits and incentives year after year. In periods when national unemployment rates are low, Perks may need to offer such a package in order to attract and keep good employees, but since national unemployment rates are now high, Perks does not need to offer the same benefits and incentives. The money thus saved could be better used to replace the existing plant machinery with more technologically sophisticated equipment, or even to build an additional
plant.

Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.

Answer:
The author asserts that the company, Perks Company, should stop providing its employee beneficial program on the ground that the national unemployment rate is high and thereby the company doesn't need to provide the program to attract new employees anymore. He also advocates that the company could use the money thus saved in other investments such as procuring new equipment or building new plants. The argument, however, has serious flaws, so that it fails to be convincing.

First, although the author cites data of national average unemployment rate, this survey can be considered to be a survey targeting all industries, not a specific industry. That is, the survey must have been conducted for businesses ranging from manufactures, and wholesalers, to retailers. And also it can be inferred that all industries ranging from department operators to oil industry were the targets. In evaluating his plan, this type of data can mislead the judgment. In this case, what is needed is data showing unemployment rate for the particular industry that Perks Company belongs to. Therefore, since the argument stands on the wrong assumption that the survey shows the unemployment rate that can be the basis for the judgment, it fails to be convincing.

Second, the argument is weak because of the fact that the risk has not been assessed in the argument. I mean, inferentially, the policy of stopping the beneficial program would cause a certain bad effect on the company. It might happen that the current employees would start thinking of changing the job. It might also happen that even those who are seeking a new job in the environment that unemployment rate is high would embrace unpreferable image toward the company. Therefore, the author should assess what kind of risk could be happened by implementing his proposal. After disclosing the risk and taking the mitigation plan in place, the proposal can obtain persuasive power.

In conclusion, the argument is weak for the reasons that I mentioned above. To strengthen the argument, the author needs to provide industry-specific statistical data and include risk mitigation plan to tackle by-products generated by implementing his plan.

essay - GMAT: Issue 33

You can tell the ideas of a nation by its advertisements.

Explain what you think this quotation means and discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with it. Develop your position with reasons and/or specific examples drawn from history, current events, or your own experience, observations, or reading.

Answer:
I think that the quotation says that advertisements can represent the ideas of a nation. People see advertisement, TV commercials, radio ones, bulletin boards, whatever, at their homes, at offices, or on trains, and only advertisements that can attract people's attention can survive. In this sense, advertisements can show what the people prefer, what the people are interested in. I agree with this notion.

But on the other hand, no doubt that advertisements have a limitation in showing the ideas of a nation or people. For instance, in a country, there are a lot of well-manufactured TV ads promoting pregnant testers. A person cannot judge whether the people living in the country support abortion or oppose it, while he can conceive that pregnancy is a high-focused topic in the country.

To sum up, I agree partly with the quotation, but it is apparently oversimplified.

essay - GMAT: Argument 32

The following appeared as part of the business plan of an investment and financial consulting firm:

Studies suggest that an average coffee drinker fs consumption of coffee increases with age, from age 10 through age 60. Even after age 60, coffee consumption remains high. The average cola drinker fs consumption of cola, however, declines with increasing age. Both of these trends have remained stable for the past 40 years. Given that the number of older adults will significantly increase as the population ages over the next 20 years, it follows that the demand for coffee will increase and the demand for cola will decrease during this period. We should, therefore, consider transferring our investments from Cola Loca to Early Bird Coffee.

Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.

Answer:
The author says that the company should discuss a strategy of shifting the investment from the coffee brand to the cola brand. The based argument is twofold: first, recent trends for both cola and coffee toward population ages supports the conclusion, and then a prediction that older adults will increase for the next 20 years also supports his suggestion. The argument, however, is unconvincing because of two unwarranted assumption that the argument is relying on.

The first unwarranted assumption is that the trend of consumer's preference will continue for the next 20 years. Admittedly, a trend that has lasted for the past 40 years can be considered to last continuously, but it cannot also be denied that the trend may change in the future. Therefore, the author needs to show clear information that the argument can stand on.

The second unwarranted assumption is that the author assumes that young population will decrease for the next 20 years whereas old one will increase. But the article doesn't show the information (it says old population will increase, but dome fs say about young one). It can be possible that whereas the number of older adults will increase, young people will also increase. Since the argument is based on this unwarranted assumption, the argument is weak.

In conclusion, although the reasoning seems rational and logical, in terms of basing on two unwarranted assumption, the argument is unconvincing. To strengthen the argument, and to make his business associates to consider his proposal, the author needs to provide evidence that supports the two assumptions, such as an analyst report that predicts that the current trend will last for next more than two decades and the exact demographic statistical data that shows that young population will declaim.

essay - GMAT: Issue 32

Financial gain should be the most important factor in choosing a career.

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

Answer:
The speaker says that financial gain should be the most important factor in choosing a career. I don't agree with him at all. I'd like to state my opinion below.

First, I believe that the financial incentive should not be the first place for those who are seeking jobs. That should be personal preference, or the sense of contribution. I mean, the sense of that I like this job is indispensable in choosing the career. If a man likes a certain job, I bet that he can continue the job and will be able to gain higher reward and higher salary in his career. On the other hand, if he doesn ft like the job although the job brings him unbelievably high payment, I bet that the situation cannot last long and eventually he will face difficulty that possibly forces him to make a serious decision, leave the job. Therefore, from this perspective, I disagree with the speaker.

Second, I believe that people should not choose the career based on the salary, because how he can gain financial reward from the job is uncertain at a time when he chooses the career. I mean, people have a limitation in forecasting the future, and the fact that he can gain high financial gain today doesn't necessarily mean the fact that he can continue gaining it for a long time. Therefore, as I mention earlier, people should act based on their inner voices: what do you like, and what do you do for the world.

Finally, although financial gain should not come first, I believe that the financial factor is very important. That can be an evaluator or a gauge of whether the job is valuable or not. I mean that, remember the law of supply and demand, if there are few people who can engage in a certain job, the payment of the job will rise up in proportion to the population. In other words, if the job that he is choosing brings him higher salary, the job can be considered a precious one and the man who can do the job can be considered a person who can contribute to the outer world. In the sense, I admit that financial gain can be a very important factor for people in choosing the work.

In conclusion, although I admit that financial gain is an important aspect for people, I believe that financial gain should not be on the first place and that people should think what they want to do first.

essay - GMAT: Argument 31

The following appeared in a newspaper story giving advice about investments:

As overall life expectancy continues to rise, the population of our country is growing increasingly older. For example, more than 20 percent of the residents of one of our more populated regions are now at least 65 years old, and occupancy rates at resort hotels in that region declined significantly during the past six months. Because of these two related trends, a prudent investor would be well advised to sell interest in hotels and invest in hospitals and nursing homes instead.

Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.

Answer:
The author concludes that investing in hospitals and nursing homes is recommendable and those who have invested in hotels should retreat their investment as soon as possible. The reasons that he is counting on are twofold. First, the elderly people are increasing because of prolonged life expectancy. Second, regional resort hotels are devastating its sales figure in this six months drastically. His argument, however, is weak for the following reasons.

First, there's no direct causal relationship shown between the increase of elderly people and the decrease of the sales of the hotel industry. It's unreasonable to connect them, because increased elderly people doesn't necessarily mean the drop of the sales. Rather, it might happen that the increase of elderly people will contribute to the hotel industry, because, say, they have a lot of money and time. Furthermore, whether the whole population is declining or not is not mentioned. This can also be the drawback.

Second, although the author cites the data saying the sales of local resort hotels for this six months significantly plummeted, the argument is not well established. First, six month decline doesn't necessarily mean the whole year sales figure. Generally speaking, the hotel industry has seasonality. Seasonality means, the revenue widely varies with the season. Summer resorts can attract tourists in summer, but in winter the hotels would have difficulty to do so. Besides, the article doesn't mention the source of the comparison, and thereby the argument is not reasonable.

Finally, the author recommends investing in hospitals and nursing homes instead, but there's no reason to support it shown. Therefore, the readers have no way to judge whether the investment is better than the one of hotels or not. This imperfect statement seriously damages the justification of the reasoning.

In conclusion, the argument is weak for the reasons I mentioned above. To strengthen the argument, the author must do the following things at least: showing a clear link between the trend of the population and the revenue of the hotel industry, citing a survey result for the whole year not a half, and stating the premise that his recommendation stands on.

essay - GMAT: Issue 31

Companies benefit when they discourage employees from working extra hours or taking work home. When employees spend their leisure time without eproducing f something for the job, they will be more focused and effective when they return to work.

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion expressed above. Support your point of view with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

Answer:
I agree with the opinion mentioned above as a whole. Nowadays, more and more companies try to reduce employees' overtime work and enhance time for employees to spend meaningful personal lives. Yet I believe that work and life have a strong bond with each other. And also, for one who has a great ambition, thinking private life as a completely separated thing from work undermines his ambition.

"Work life balance" is a hot topic for contemporary enterprises. "Work life balance" is a concept that employees should keep a good balance between work and private life. This is the very concept that the opinion says. Spending prosperous private life contributes to the effectiveness and efficiency at the office. This concept also reduces payroll costs of overtime work, while taking benefits from more productive employees. Furthermore, this concept is necessary to attract resources outside such as new graduates or job seekers. In other words, ignoring "work life balance" makes the company to be in a serious situation in terms of its image. Therefore, in the sense, companies should try to reduce overtime work and enrich employees' private lives.

On the other hand, I believe a tight bond between work and life. I mean, thinking work and private life as the completely different things is nonsense because people think about work such as a trouble that was experienced previous day or a plan to do next day when spending their time at home to some extent, and they think about private lives such as a dream that he has or family that he needs to feed when working at the office to some extent. It can be happened that a person comes up with a great idea that he can use at his laboratory while doing shopping with his wife. My standpoint is that work and life exist mutually affecting, and taking a proper balance is the essential to have successful life.

In addition, I believe that sometimes people need to take work home or work on whole weekends at the office to achieve a higher goal. Especially, young people should make themselves absorb themselves in work completely for a certain period. The experience really makes them grow in their professional lives. In my case, I believe that since I worked taking a lot of hours when young, I now have enough competence to do work in a good manner with a short timeframe.

To sum up, although I generally agree with the opinion, I'd like to stress the importance of the synergy effect between work and life and the experience of working thoroughly.

essay - GMAT: Argument 30

The following was excerpted from the speech of a spokesperson for Synthetic Farm Products, Inc.:

Many farmers who invested in the equipment needed to make the switch from synthetic to organic fertilizers and pesticides feel that it would be too expensive to resume synthetic farming at this point. But studies of farmers who switched to organic farming last year indicate that their current crop yields are lower. Hence their purchase of organic farming equipment, a relatively minor investment compared to the losses that would result from continued lower crop yields, cannot justify persisting on an unwise course. And the choice to farm organically is financially unwise, given that it was motivated by environmental rather than economic concerns.

Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc

Answer:
The spokesperson's assertive is twofold. First, he concludes that farmers who have switched from synthetic to organic fertilizers should switch back to synthetic fertilizes, because studies conducted last year show that organic farming is less productive than synthetic farming, and because the loss exceeds the investment that the farmers have done. Second, the spokesperson also concludes that synthetic farming should be chosen if an economical factor is prioritized. His argument has two serious fallacies.

The first fallacy is that although he mentions that current crop yields of farmers performing organic farming are lower than ones of farmers performing synthetic farming, this citation contains a serious error. That is, he says "yields", but the important thing for the argument is how much they earned, say, "money". For instance, if the unit price of the products from organic farming is higher than one from synthetic farming, say, because of consumer's preference, the farmers adapting organic farming may gain much more money than synthetic farmers. Thus, the spokesperson should have mentioned the revenue instead of the amount, if he can use the figure to support his conclusion.

The second fallacy is that he ignores a trend that will occur in the future. I mean, even if organic farming is currently behind synthetic farming in terms of the economical aspect, in the near future might it be the opposite. Today, many consumers become more aware of the environmental aspect, and thereby in the near future synthetic farming would be absolutely unacceptable in terms of both the environmental aspect and the economical aspect. It's because consumers may willingly pay much higher price to organic products. In the case, switching back to synthetic farming would be not only unprofitable but also unreasonable in terms of the probable need to again switch back to organic farming.

In conclusion, although the spokesperson tries to convince the audience to switch back to synthetic farming, seriously wrong argument makes it impossible.

essay - GMAT: Issue 30

Too many people think only about getting results. The key to success, however, is to focus on the specific task at hand and not to worry about results.

What do you think this piece of advice means, and do you think that it is, on the whole, worth following? Support your views with reasons and/or examples drawn from your own experience, observations, or reading.

Answer:
Althought it contains a certain level of truth, I disagree with the opinion that the key to success is to focus on the specific task on the spot and not to care about the result. The statement is oversimplified and ignores the importance of planning. I'll first show my opinion about the result, and then refute the opinion in serveral points.

The result should not be overstated, but at the same time, it should not be understated.

essay - GMAT: Argument 29

The following appeared in the editorial section of a local newspaper:

Commuter use of the new subway train is exceeding the transit company fs projections. However, commuter use of the shuttle buses that transport people to the subway stations is below the projected volume. If the transit company expects commuters to ride the shuttle buses to the subway rather than drive there, it must either reduce the shuttle bus fares or increase the price of parking at the subway stations.

Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.

Answer:
Although commuter use of the new subway service exceeds the transit company's expectation, the one of the shuttle bus service underperforms the expectation. In order to respond to this problem, the author of this editorial article concludes that the transit company has to reduce the fare of the shuttle bus service or increase the price of parking lots near subway stations. The argument, however, has an unwarranted assumption and fallacious reasoning.

Presumably, the author presupposes that the current situation is caused by cost-related factors. That is to say, due to the high fare of shuttle bus, commuters choose instead to use their cars to reach the subway station. And, due to the low price of the parking lots near the subway station, commuters choose to use their cars. This assumption is not only unwarranted but also dangerous. First, any evidence is not shown to assume that cost-related factors cause the current situation. That is, an insufficient number of shuttle buses, for instance, may cause this situation. Or, the area coverage also may be a possible negative factor causing the number of shuttle bus users down. Also, this type of wrong assumption would cause catastrophic situation.

Assuming that the assumption, which is that the downing power is costs, is right, yet still the author misses several important factors. First, he ignores that side effect may be caused. Remember, the problem is only for commuters. If the price of the parking lots @increase, those who are not commuters would get trouble. Therefore, at least, the author needs to mention this negative side effect.

In conclusion, since the argument has an unwarranted assumption and fallacious reasoning, he fails to convince the readers.

essay - GMAT: Issue 29

Because businesses use high-quality advertising to sell low-quality products, schools should give students extensive training in how to make informed decisions before making purchases.

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion expressed above. Support your point of view with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

Answer:
I generally agree with the opinion that schools should give students extensive training in how to make informed decisions before making purchases to prevent them from being cheated by high-quality advertisement selling low-quality products. Advertisement, or marketing, has a signifcantly important influence on consumers buying various products. Therefore, things as the speaker mentions can happen in today's highly media intensive world, and young people need to be trained in behaving well.