Writing Feedback / "independence from their parents" - Should people live with parents ? [4]

Topic:

Some young adults want independence from their parents as soon as possible. Other young adults prefer to live with their families for a longer time. Which of these

situations do you think is better? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------

The question raised is indeed a thought provoking and an interesting one and when I ponder over the same, I reach the conclusion that it is always preferable for the young adults to live with families for as long as possible. In the following paragraphs, I will attempt to justify my stand and illustrate the same with examples.

First, when the young adults live with their parents, they can more easily attend to the needs of their parents such as taking them to a doctor, or helping them with several other daily chores. It is quite obvious that as our parents grow old, they require more assistance from us, and also some moral support. By staying with them, we can always make them feel happy and assured that they are not alone in their moments of need. Additionally, by giving them company, we can help them ward off the feelings of loneliness and depression.

Second, it is common knowledge that many young adults do not have enough maturity to handle their personal and professional problems and they often need thorough and reliable guidance to sort out their issues. In such instances, their parents and other family members can come to their rescue by providing them with the necessary advice and guidance based on their experiences and learning. It is quite possible that such emotional support will be available even from the best friends of the young people.

Third, there can be many situations in which staying with parents can be very beneficial for the young adults in more than one way. For example, if a couple having kids is working, they can easily remain free of worries regarding who will take care of their kids while they are in office. Simultaneously, the elderly people can also enjoy the company of their grandchildren.

Admittedly, it can be said that sometimes there are clashes between the young and the old, and in modern era, because of different priorities and schedule, adjustment can be difficult between the people of different generations. However, it ought to be remembered that personality clashes can be resolved through mature approach to relations and the differences in schedule and priorities can be also harmonized by people working together as a family.

Thus, in summary, the advantages of living together with the parents outweigh the positive aspects of living alone and independently from the family. To nurture happy and healthy families, it is essential that people learn to adjust and form close bonds with each other so that their company is mutually beneficial. As a result, we will surely witness a happy and healthy society in the long run.

Writing Feedback / "Memorandum to Managers" - GMAT essay - Analysis of an Argument [3]

The following appeared in a memorandum from the head of a human resources department at a major automobile
manufacturing company to the company's managers:

Studies have found that employees of not-for-profit organizations and charities are often more highly motivated than
employees of for-profit corporations to perform well at work when their performance is not being monitored or
evaluated. Interviews with employees of not-for-profit organizations suggest that the reason for their greater
motivation is the belief that their work helps to improve society. Because they believe in the importance of their work,
they have personal reasons to perform well, even when no financial reward is present. Thus, if our corporation began
donating a significant portion of its profits to humanitarian causes, our employees' motivation and productivity would
increase substantially and our overall profits would increase as well.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------
The statement avers that employees of not-for-profit organizations and charities are often more highly motivated than employees of for-profit companies to deliver more at their jobs in absence of performance-appraisal, because the employees of not-for-profit organizations are solely/chiefly driven by philanthropic motives. The speaker also suggests that the company start donating a substantial portion of its profits to humanitarian causes, so that the distinguishing factor between the employees of the company and the employees of not-for-profit organizations is removed, which in turn will increase the productivity of employees at the company. The argument is full of deficiencies and is open to a lot of questions since it presents meager evidence and dubious assumptions. Neither are the premises convincing nor is the conclusion compelling. The argument is very evidently the upshot of an impetuous generalization.

Firstly, the comparison between employees of not-for-profit organizations and those of for-profit corporations is not a very convincing one, because each of these type of companies recruit and utilize their employees in a distinct manner. It would be naive to assume, especially owing to lack of concrete data, that what motivates employees in one type of organization might be relevant for the other also. This becomes more important in the light of the fact that there is no reason to believe that donation by automobile company might motivate its employees; on the contrary, the employees might get demoralized if they perceive that their wages or other incentives will diminish owing to channeling of Money into some other avenue.

Secondly, while mentioning that employees of not-for-profit organizations suggest that the reason for their greater motivation is the belief that their work helps to improve society, the speaker has not provided any concrete data regarding the source of revenue for those companies with which they sustain the company and the operations of company. As a result, it's hard to believe that the employees in the not-for-profit organizations will have any rational reason to expect Monetary gains because of their endeavors.

Thirdly, even if it is true that the employees of not-for-profit organizations and charities believe in the importance of their work, there is no reason to believe that the employees at the for-profit corporations do not take their work seriously. On the other hand, it's naive to assume that donation of corporate profits would bolster the morale of employees and make them think more seriously about their duties.

To buttress this argument, the speaker would do well to provide proper data related to causes of dissatisfaction among the employees of for-profit corporations. In addition to this, the speaker should also mention how exactly corporate donations may serve to enhance the morale and productivity of the company's employees.

In summary, the argument is the result of a huge speculation in which the speaker has unduly assumed a lot of unsubstantiated evidence. Had the author taken the above mentioned factors into view, the argument would have been rendered incontrovertible. But whatever has been presented here indeed fails to provide a holistic picture to the superfluous claims being made.

Writing Feedback / "Monetary System in Electronic Accounts" - GMAT essay - Analysis of an Issue [2]

For hundreds of years, the monetary system of most countries has been based on the exchange of metal coins and
printed pieces of paper. However, because of recent developments in technology, the international community should
consider replacing the entire system of coins and paper with a system of electronic accounts of credits and debits.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------

The observation mentioned in the statement seems to be quite thought provoking and interesting, and while analyzing the same keeping in view several of the aspects associated with it, I reach the conclusion that the international community should definitely consider replacing the entire system of coins and paper with a system of electronic accounts of credits and debits.

To begin with, it's a common observation that minting of currency notes and coins are a strain to natural resources as it requires mining of special metals, processing of alloys, felling of forests etc., to name a few. Also, every country mints its own currency, and that again needs to be changed to that of another country during the economic transactions. Also, the coins and currency notes need to be recycled once damaged. This wastage of natural resources can be easily avoided by a system of electronic accounts of credits and debits that involves no exchange of physical currencies, thereby preventing the dwindling away of scarce natural resources.

Then again, the economic system is constantly evolving globally and the barriers between trade and commerce are dissolving rapidly with each passing day. Therefore, the natural upshot is that the economies of various countries are entwined with each other. As a result, the metal coins and currency notes of one country need to be valued accurately vis-a-vis those of its trading partner, and finally the net transaction in physical form involves payment in the currency of another country. This cumbersome and error-prone situation can be resolved by having a central clearing house where the participating countries can reduce or add the appropriate figures and the transaction becomes more lucid and accurate.

Furthermore, the mandatory government regulations applicable to Finance sectors like Banking make it imperative to settle and close the transactions in a swift and legally compliant manner. Thus, the system of electronic accounts of credits and debits is perhaps the only one that can enable the involved parties to achieve the desired end-state.

Admittedly, the system of electronic accounts of credits and debits can also come with its share of problems as hacking by unscrupulous individuals, downtime in transactions owing to system failure or complexity in maintenance and upkeep. Additionally, the cost of replacing the existing Monetary system may turn out to be prohibitive. However, we ought to remember that any system comes with a string of attached issues, and the focus ought to be on how to make the system more robust, so that the end-goals are served without any serious compromise on economic and legal fronts. Also, the cost-savings gained from the reduction of the consumption of natural resources would be able to compensate for the cost associated with the set-up of new systems.

Thus, in summary, the replacement of the existing system of physical transactions in the monetary system of several countries in the world surely seems to be a fossilized one, and the same should be definitely substituted with the more dynamic and accurate system of electronic credit and debit accounts. With the rapid strides in the arena of technology and finance, and the changing perspectives and priorities of all the involved people, the replacement will definitely serve to facilitate and expedite the transactions accurately in day to day finance related activities.

Writing Feedback / "Olympic Foods" - GMAT essay - Analysis of an Argument [2]

The following appeared as part of an annual report sent to stockholders by Olympic Foods, a processor of frozen foods:
"Over time, the costs of processing go down because as organizations learn how to do things better, they become more efficient. In color film processing, for example, the cost of a 3-by-5-inch print fell from 50 cents for five-day service in 1970 to 20 cents for one-day service in 1984. The same principle applies to the processing of food. And since Olympic Foods will soon celebrate its 25th birthday, we can expect that our long experience will enable us to minimize costs and thus maximize profits."

---------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------

The argument avers that Olympic Foods will be soon celebrating its 2th birthday, and the people at Olympic foods can be hopeful that their years of experience will enable them to cut down costs and consequently increase profits. To support this assertion, the speaker quotes the example of color film processing industry as an analogy, in which the cost of film processing fell by a wide margin over a period of 14 years. The argument is full of deficiencies and is open to a lot of questions since it presents meager evidence and dubious assumptions. Neither are the premises convincing nor is the conclusion compelling. The argument is very evidently the upshot of an impetuous generalization.

Firstly, the comparison between a Color Film processing industry and a Food Processing industry is not a very convincing one, because each of these industries are distinct in more than one way. It would be naive to assume, especially owing to lack of concrete data, that what proved to be successful in one industry might be relevant for the other also, or to be more specific, to a particular company. This becomes more important in the light of the fact that there is no reason to believe that even in Color Film Processing industry also, costs came down because of improvements in modus operandi, and not owing to factors as tax-rebate, availability of cheap labor, or reduction in cost of raw materials.

Secondly, while mentioning that Olympic Foods will become a 25 year old organization shortly, the speaker has not provided any concrete data regarding the increase in efficiency of operations in the company, or improvements in the way things are done there. As a result, it's hard to believe that efficiency and cost-reduction will be a concomitant of age in Olympic Foods.

Thirdly, even if it were true that there have been improvements in ways things are done in Olympic Foods, there is no data available about several other factors that may in fact lead to increase in operational costs, or may cause a substantial loss and decrease profits. For example, the cost of raw food materials might increase, supply of specialized labor might dwindle, taxes might increase, leading to erosion of profits.

To buttress this argument, the speaker would do well to provide comparative data related to how Olympic Foods has fared in increasing its efficiency and managing the operations, and how those factors in turn have influenced the bottom-line of the company. In addition to this, the speaker should also mention the contingency measures that are planned to mitigate factors that might impact the profits.

In summary, the argument is the result of a huge speculation in which the speaker has unduly assumed a lot of unsubstantiated evidence. Had the author taken the above mentioned factors into view, the argument would have been rendered incontrovertible. But whatever has been presented here indeed fails to provide a holistic picture to the superfluous claims being made.

Writing Feedback / "Censorship of TV/Radio" - GMAT essay - Analysis of an Issue [3]

In some countries, television and radio programs are carefully censored for offensive language and behavior. In other countries, there is little or no censorship.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------

The observation mentioned in the statement seems to be quite thought provoking and interesting, and while analyzing the same keeping in view several of the aspects associated with it, I reach the conclusion that government or an appropriate censor body should be able to censor television or radio programs.

To begin with, it is common knowledge that media influences the behavior of almost everyone in its target audience to some degree. As a corollary, it has been observed quite frequently that if children, or juvenile minds are exposed to programs having gross content, their behavior and outlook is unwittingly and undesirably influenced by such programs. For instance, they may pick up foul language or may learn how to behave inappropriately, or make nuisance of anyone in the society.

Then again, if we consider the wider cross section of society that is influenced by media, it becomes obvious that many people lack the maturity to handle the content that is depicted in the television/radio programs. A case in point may be cited when people who do not know any better than what is shown in those programs might start thinking that the offensive language or the behavior is the standard way of conducting oneself, rather than the well defined rules of decorum in a civilized society. This is in turn may beget a big problem of fostering unruly citizens, completely devoid of civic sense and basic manners.

Furthermore, in today's world, we encounter shrinking boundaries between societies and nations, whereby people mingle increasingly with one another and gain cross-cultural exposure through means of students exchange, festivals, sports etc., to name a few . In such cases, it's essential to ensure that the negative influences of one person's personality does not permeate across a wider section of people, and television and radio programs play a pivotal role because the visualization and dissemination of any event among common people is primarily done by these two media.

It may be argued though that anything on which censorship is imposed can arouse more curiosity in the minds of people, or that there are several other means as internet through which inappropriate content may be reaching people, rendering the censorship ineffective. Also, many countries place absolute faith in the discretion and maturity of their citizens, as far as selection of what type of content they should be exposed to is concerned.

However, it ought to be remembered that while censorship of television and radio is not fool-proof, the lack of censorship is also not a viable alternative. In fact, every effort should be made to control the content of other forms of media also to ensure that a reasonable degree of censorship exists, rather than giving a Carte Blanche to media. Also, the control or censorship in even the most liberal countries is "graded", i.e., the content in media is classified as per criteria such as age, because it's a no brainer that very rarely individuals are mature in their youth, and this automatically calls for guidance and discretion.

Thus, in summary, to ensure that the moral fabric of the society remains intact, it is essential that there should be a proper censorship of television and radio programs to filter out the unsavory content, which serve no useful purpose and may only pervert and harm the impressionable minds.

Writing Feedback / Privacy of celebrities - the inevitable price of a public figure? [5]

Topic is - We laugh at the naiveté of celebrities who complain about the public's fascination with the intimate details of their lives. Movie and television stars, pop singers, politicians-public figures all-should necessarily understand the inevitable price of becoming a public figure is the loss of privacy.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------

The question of the privacy of celebrities is an interesting one. On one hand their entire lives and careers are based on being in the limelight and on adulation from their enthusiastic devotees, on the other hand, like every other individual, they also pine for protecting the intimate details from prying eyes of the people. In my opinion, the speaker is correct while saying that the celebrities should indeed come to terms with the price of fame, which is to say that anyone who becomes famous inevitably loses the privacy of his life.

To begin with, the various celebrities are in professions as acting, media, politics in which they constantly seek approval of common people for various things as their acting or speaking prowess, or their ideas , to name a few; or to ensnare the people by endorsing consumer goods. For example, a popular model night be dressed in scantily clad clothes to endorse a skin protection cream, or a pair of popular actors might have featured in explicit scenes in a movie. In these cases, their privacy is automatically thrown open to the mercy of the public and even when they appear in public life as a normal human beings, their not-so-sober images are automatically and perhaps indelibly etched out in people's mind.

Then again, public figures as politicians are constantly in eyes of public owing to the nature of their jobs and because their success and survival depends on the public approbation. In such instances, any attempt to hide the aspects of their behavior and lives can give rise to further calumny and suspicion, and may often lead to downfall.

Furthermore, it has also been observed on several occasions that many celebrities at the fag end of their careers or past their prime resort to improper acts themselves to relive their heydays. It is not uncommon these days to witness pop-singers or actresses dressing inappropriately in public, or for a politician to pass slanderous remarks against his adversary. These unwise acts of incitement can also result in focusing of media and people in an obtrusive manner, to the extent that very soon the attention can become unwarranted and persistently annoying to the same people who had wanted some of it in the first place.

It may be however argued that people who live in constant media and public attention are entitled to their own private moments just like the other human beings. However, it ought to be noted as well that while any human being indeed deserves some inner breathing space, the very nature of a public life, the pervasiveness of media and the reasons owing to which so much attention and praise is heaped on a celebrity causes the curiosity in common people, justified or unjustified, to multiply further. In modern day world, it is simply not prudent to assume that fame can be selective, or media coverage of any popular celebrity can be filtered and diminished.

Thus, in summary, while it is true to that celebrities indeed deserve and need some solitude and privacy for various reasons, they should realize that constant media and public attention is an inevitable and intrinsic part of fame and fortune. This becomes even more pronounced and crucial in instances when they themselves seek glory and success in the eyes of people, because curiosity for a popular person is always aroused and sustained more by the constant feeding of facts and rumors by media and occasionally, by their own subtle and indiscrete acts.

Undergraduate / It is better to be cooperative that it is to be competitive. [5]

The question of being cooperative or competitive is an interesting and thought- provoking one. On one hand, there is the choice of being a part of the crowd or team to foster team-spirit and camaraderie, and on the other hand there is the prospect of being an outstanding and preeminent human being. When I ponder over the choice of whether to be competitive or to be cooperative, I conclude that it is indeed more politic and fruitful to be cooperative than to be competitive.

To begin with, cooperation is term that encompasses a lot of virtues as trust, concerted effort to attain a goal, empathy, to name a few that make a human being a noble person, and these qualities also have a salutary effect on the psyche of other people who are involved in any endeavor with the person. For example, in any project that requires mutual collaboration and pooling of ideas as the development of a software, or constructing a complex finance product, the success of the project depends on the cooperation of the people involved in it, and the more helpful people are towards each other, the more successful the project is and higher the morale of the team is lifted, even to the extent that the team-members can serve as paragons of efficiency and caliber to others in the organization.

Then again, there are a lot of situations and professions that require people to overlook their self-interest for the greater good of team, or the society and country as a whole. A case in point may be quoted from the teamwork spirit of the game of football, where the urge to make each other succeed can lead to the glory and victory of the entire team. Not surprisingly, the coaches always look for teammates with a feeling of cooperation and inculcate the same repeatedly in the training sessions.

Furthermore, in modern day world, the urge to remain competitive has had a detrimental effect on the attitude of people who are exerting themselves too much, or even employing all the fair and foul means for attaining the success, often quoting and maligning the saying "The ends justify the means". It is not uncommon to witness parents exhorting their wards to put in more study hours to remain ahead in the race, professionals in any company trying to outstrip each others in their superior's eyes, or for that matter even corporations vying with each other to garner a huge market share by completely outwitting their competitors. In contrast to this situation, if people were to step behind a bit and reflect seriously on virtues of cooperating versus competing, the miseries in the lives of several individuals would be alleviated, and we would definitely have lesser cases of people with nervous-breakdowns, hypertension, anxiety related stress, corporate lawsuits and even fewer cases of government intervention to uphold corporate governance and probity in public life.

It may however be argued, and not entirely without reason, that there are places and situations where one has to harness his inner capabilities to utmost, or there could be instances where being cooperative is not a choice and is simply a manifestation of gullibility and lack of vigor and stamina. For example, in a class, there cannot be any case of cooperation where each student's scorecard is for his own and consequently the student has to make the maximum effort in academics. However, we ought to remember that even though a few instances require individuals to be indomitable, even aggressive, for their own-selves and leave with little choice than becoming competitive, such situations are a part of bigger picture where again becoming cooperative becomes important and can bring out the best and the latent qualities of the individual. When a student studies as a part of study group and helps fellow pupils, his understanding and range of knowledge is invariably enhanced and he also learns softer skills as people-handling, interaction with others which prove to be invaluable in the long run.

In summary, while it is comprehensible and occasionally justifiable that a few challenging situations in life demand the individual to be competitive to prove his own mettle, being cooperative does not in any way inhibit the competitive spirit of an individual and can serve as a complementary attribute. Especially in the cases where the individual has to contribute on his own while ensuring that the triumphant outcome of an endeavor depends on effort and outlook of others as well, mutual cooperation can result in realization of all the expected goals, and may even result in individuals becoming stronger and more capable.

Writing Feedback / The thriving Cold Cone Creamery Franchise in California [2]

Topic is - "Open your own Cold cone creamery franchise and start down the road to financial independence. Are you tired of working long hours at low pay? Join the ranks

Of successful business owners who have opened cold cone creameries. Due to its sunny weather ,California is the number one ice cream state in the nation ,with more icecream parlors per captia than any other state .Work for yourself, set your own hours ,and keep profits ,as the owner of your own successful business."

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------

In the above statement, the speaker exhorts the people reading the statement to buy the Cold Cone Creamery Franchise in California. The speaker avers that Cold Cone Creamer Business will thrive in California because it occupies the number one ranking in nation for number of ice cream parlors per capita, which is in turn because of California's sunny weather. Also, the statement further prompts people to avail themselves of the benefits of a self-owned enterprise as flexible working hours, reporting to one-self only and ownership of profits. However, on a close scrutiny, the sales-pitch statement seems to be based on meager evidence and untenable assumptions. Neither the premises are sound nor is the argument compelling, the exhortation seems be based on a result of impetuous generalization.

To begin with, while it has been mentioned that "Join the rank of successful business owners", no evidence or statistics has been provided regarding the number of people who embarked on this venture and became owners of a flourishing enterprise thereafter. It is very possible that hardly a few, or maybe none succeeded in the business of selling Cold Cone Creamery.

Then again, it would be preposterous to assume that ice-cream business will thrive in California owing to its sunny weather and highest per capita number of ice-cream parlors presently. This is because for all we know, the ice cream business might be at a saturation point in California, and people might be looking to enjoy other delicacies as cold drinks or fruit juices, rather than ice-cream.

Furthermore, the statement also urges people to work for themselves, in their own timings, and to retain the profits. This statement of encouragement is weakened owing to lack of concrete data as how much will be the percentage of profits shared by the vendors to the parent company, and what can be the potential opening and closing hours of an ice-cream stall in California. Also, it is naive to assume that by opening a stall, a person would be working for himself, as it may well happen that the owner of the franchise might have to work according to customer preferences for timings etc., e.g. work at inconvenient timings as late evenings.

To buttress this statement, the speaker would do well to provide concrete data related to the prospect of sales of ice-cream in California, and also how the people who bought the franchise of the Cold Cone Creamery are performing there. It would be also helpful to know the exact terms and conditions as upfront fees, profit-sharing etc. on basis of which a prospective buyer of the franchise may evaluate the business proposition.

In summary, owing to lack of proper and sufficient statistical evidence and due to prevalence of unwarranted assumptions, the statement does not seem convincing at all, and seems untenable at its best. Had the speaker taken into account the above mentioned factors, the sales-pitch would have been rendered incontrovertible, but whatever has been presented here is not convincing and seems to be superficial and insufficient at its best.

Writing Feedback / It takes a village to raise a child; children education for the community [3]

Topic is - "It takes a village to raise a child. The education of our children is the task of community as a whole, not merely the province of the teachers and local school administrators".

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------

When I ponder over the interesting and thought provoking question of whether the onus of imparting education to children lies on the entire community or only on teachers and local school administrators, I reach the conclusion that the task of educating children is indeed incumbent on all the members of community.

To begin with, a child has a very impressionable mind and it is not just confined to books and texts, and hence the entire gamut of education of children extends beyond that. They need to be taught much more than three the R's; for example, social values, ethics, aesthetics, independent thoughts etc., and the teachings at school do not necessarily cover each of these entirely. Quite a few of these have to be inculcated by family, peer groups and other responsible members of society as well.

Furthermore, education is an eternal process and the children spend only a few hours inside the school premises, and the hours beyond that also matter significantly for the learning and upbringing of a child. Quite often it has been witnessed that the extra-curricular or beyond the book activities a child indulges in after the school hours play a significant role in shaping of an individual and the ultimate choice of a career path for himself. For example, the biggest innovators and scientists in history as Thomas Edison used to experiment and pursue the path of knowledge on their own after school-hours, and their activities to satisfy their own curiosity resulted in benefits to whole mankind.

Then again, it is also quite possible that children may get influenced by demagoguery or by the pedantic influences of mentors or fellow-students in school, in which case it becomes more and more necessary to disabuse the children of those false impressions by administering the correct ideas and beliefs so that their upbringing and subsequent outlook is not marred by nurturing of fallacies and prejudices.

It can be argued though that the teachers and the administrators play a cardinal role in the education of children as they are the people who lay the very foundations on which a child further builds up on his knowledge, and that by their proactive mentoring, monitoring and evaluation only it is ensured that the children imbibe the subjects they're meant to learn and thus attain the long term goals. This is more so in modern world where nucleus families and working married couples are prevalent.

However, it ought to be remembered that while the children definitely have their teachers as their main recourse to education, it cannot be assumed that teachers are the only means through which they learn and imbibe. Children often have their role models as sportsmen, actors, technical wizards etc., who they try to emulate and learn a lot in the process. Even from the perspective of academics too, the homework and the evaluation of test results, and the subsequent remedial measures require the assistance of parents and other mentors as elder siblings etc., to name a few.

Thus, in summary, while it is true to a great extent that teachers and school administrators are important for the education of the children, the other members of society also have very significant roles to play in the process of imparting education to the children. Especially for inculcating values beyond textbook knowledge as responsible behavior, kinship, camaraderie, sportsmanship etc., their role indeed complements the same of the teachers and other educational authorities.

Undergraduate / Dwindling Recruitment at Megalopolis Law School [5]

In Megalopolis, the number of law school graduates who went to work for large, corporate firms declined by 15 percent over the last three years, whereas an increasing number of graduates took jobs at small, general practice firms. Even though large firms usually offer much higher salaries, law school graduates are choosing to work for the smaller firms most likely because they experience greater job satisfaction at smaller firms. In a survey of first-year students at a leading law school, most agreed with the statement that earning a high salary was less important to them than job satisfaction. This finding suggests that the large, corporate firms of Megalopolis will need to offer graduates more benefits and incentives and reduce the number of hours they must work.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------

The argument concludes that the law school graduates in Megalopolis are increasingly opting to work for smaller law firms as they gain better job satisfaction in those firms, and to bring back the students to their fold, the big corporate firms should offer more benefits and incentives to their employees and decrease their workload. The speaker cites the decrease in the number of law graduates joining big corporate firms and the increase in number of graduates joining small law firms as evidence. The outcome of an opinion in a leading law school has also been quoted as proof to support this argument. Additionally, it has been assumed by the speaker that while the benefits at large companies are sub par and the employees in those places are overworked, the law graduates are finding better job satisfaction in the smaller law firms.The augument is full of deficiencies and is open to a lot of questions since it presents meager evidence and dubious assumptions. Neither are the premises convincing nor is the conclusion compelling. The argument is very evidently the upshot of an impetous generalization.

Firstly, it has been mentioned that the number of law school graduates who went to work for large corporations has decreased by 15 percent in last three years, while the number of law graduates joining small firms has increased. This statement does not eluciate on whether the large law firms have reduced their recruitment in the last three years, while simultaneously a myriad small law firms have burgeoned, which may account for this purported imbalance in the employment of law graduates. Also, it may very well be possible that the large corporations have raised the hiring standard for law graduates in the last three years, and perhaps are not finding the graduates of the Megalopolis law school measuring up to their expectations.

Secondly, the speaker mentions the survey at a leading law school reflecting the opinion of students favoring job satisfaction over a big pay check. This piece of evidence is not convincing at all because one survey is not representative of a wider and general opinion of majority of the law graduates; students at other schools may well opt for a higher salary compared to anything else that a company offers.

Furthermore, while mentioning that "large, corporate firms of Megalopolis will need to offer graduates more benefits and incentives and reduce the number of hours they must work", the speaker provides no evidence to substantiate that benefits at small law firms outstrip the same at the bigger companies, or that working hours in small firms are much more relaxed in comparison. Also, there is nothing in the argument that suggests that working at bigger companies results in little or not job satisfaction for some concrete reasons, or that the same is guaranteed/assured in smaller law firms.

To buttress this argument, the speaker would do well to
provide comparative data related to Working hours,Salary, Perquisites and other benefits of both small law firms and large companies. Also, the precise reasons owing to which the large companies are not recruiting from Megalopolis needs to be investigated and highlighted as well; in particular, it would be helpful to know if they are in hiring mode, and if so, whether they find graduates from some other college to be more proficient and employable. In addition to this, it would be worthwhile knowing from the final year law graduate students across a large cross-section as to what their priorities and career goals are, and how do they visualize an employment opportunity in a law firm as the means to attaning those.

In summary, the argument is the result of a huge number of hypotheses in which the speaker has unduly assumed a a lot of unsusbtantiated evidence/assertions. Had the author taken the above discussed factors into view, it would have rendered the argument incontrovertible. But whatever has been presented here indeed fails to provide a holistic picture to the superfluous claims being made.

Undergraduate / It is more important to use your own judgment than to follow the advice of experts [NEW]

It is more important to use your own judgment than to follow the advice of experts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------

When I cogitate over the the question of whether an individual should rely on his ability to judge rather than seek and follow the suggestions of other adept people, I reach the conclusion that it is indeed more important and useful to be self-reliant in making decisions and judgements.

First and foremost, we all need to grow as individuals and become versatile with a sense of owning responsibility, and in life we all encounter situations repeatedly where our decision-making ablities are tested. Hence it is plain and obvious that the more capable a person is in decision-making, the more effectively he can deal with challenging situations in life and make progress on personal as well as professional front. For example, a person who can manage his personal finances well without seeking any advice from a professional finance advisor can have better grip on controlling and channelling his expenses as per his priorities while living a prosperous life.

Secondly, it ought to be remembered that advice does not come without cost for anything, especially when it sought from professionals, and then there is the question of availability of the same as well. For example, when a Chief Technology Officer in a company decides on usage of technology for a particular project, or the purchase of a particular software as anti-virus after giving the due-diligence from his side, he saves his company a lot of Money and time as he spares the time and energy of his equally competent and knowledgeable colleagues who can channel their efforts in solving other demanding problems.

Then again, when we make decisions ourselves after doing the preliminary analysis and with proper information, troubleshooting becomes easier. A case in point may be quoted as the scenario in which a Chief operating Officer hires the services of a consulting firm for cost cutting and implements the same relying totally on the wisdom of the experts in that firm. In case the results are not achieved in the expected manner because of inept recommendations of the consulting firm, it is generally difficult for the COO to pinpoint the exact cause of problems on his own, and re-hiring the firm or seeking services of another firm may exacerbate the situation further. On the other hand, if the decisions were made by people of same company, it is easier to keep a tab on progress of plan and ensure thorough implementation.

Furthermore, an important factor to take into account in seeking counsel is the motive of experts who is extending the suggestion, which should be above reproach, and needs to be aligned with their clients, which unfortunately may not be the case always. One example of this is the not so infrequent occurrence of incidences where unscrupulous finance firms fleece their gullible clients by extending shoddy advice, while filling in their own coffers.

It may be argued though that a single individual may lack expertise in many things, in mundane as well as specialized ones. So we are left with no choice but to seek the expertise of adept individuals in specialized fields as law, medicine etc. Also, it may be asserted that sometimes experiments can prove to be dangerous, where the person involved is not familiar with the process and the outcome, e.g., self-medication can lead to fatal consequences and fiddling around with the Do-It-yourself equipment at home can result in severe injuries.

However, the situations in which such measures are required are perhaps those of exigencies and not very frequent. Additionally, summoning the services of an expert is an act of making a decision itself, an act of judgement that must take into factor the nature and intensity of the problem as well as the skill levels and the track record of performance of the expert. Additionally, there is a lot of information avaiable on media, internet etc. which an individual can glean and subsequently use to reduce the dependency on other's skills and wisdom. In the very least, assidous before-hand research and analysis can reduce the overhead associated with the external consulting and can even lead to better decisions and control.

In summary, while it is true that occasionally the services of an expert is required, the advantages of reliance on self for making decisions definitely make it a far more pragmatic and politic option. Also, even in cases where external guidance is critical or indispensable, the conscious efforts of an individual should be aimed towards gaining proficiency in his sphere of activities and thus utilize such instances as learning experience and minimize the dependencies.