GMAT新黄金80题及范文(三)

　　33. 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.

　　人们只愿意接受这样的领导：他能完成他要求其他人完成的任务。

　　1. 人们不会尊重一个不能完成他要求别人完成的任务自己却不能完成的领导。这是人之常情，人们通常都只会欣赏和尊敬比自己优秀的人，而不喜欢被一个不能完成任务却命令自己去做的人心存敬意。例如克林顿总统当commander-in-chief 的时候，由于众所周知他曾经逃避兵役，很自然的下级军官和士兵都不是很尊重他。

　　2. 人们不信任一个自己完不成任务却要求别人去完成的人。仍然举克林顿总统的例子。由于他逃兵役被视为没有能力，下级都对他的决策心存怀疑，这也就潜在的导致了执行上的不尽心不尽力。

　　3. 诚然是否能完成自己交给别人的任务并不是衡量一个leader重要指标。可能领导能力、,组织能力、运筹能力更为重要，但是我们不能忽视人们心理上的看法，尽管它可能并不合理但它确实是存在的。

　　normal human feelings admire adore respect superior to evade escape military service subordinate soldier be doubtful of be suspicious of execution implement admittedly true potentially evaluate index leadership psychological psychology psychologic psychologist exist subsist ...in ... serves as a fitting and public example

　　1. 诚然，如果在其领导的领域内几乎一窍不通，一个领导很难得到下属的信任和支持，会被看作layperson. 比如，人们无法想象一个不具备任何电脑知识的人，该如何领导一个庞大的IT企业，比如MICROSOFT在激烈的市场中竞争。

　　2. 但是，这是否意味着作为领导，必须要有能力完成每一项他要求下属做的事呢?这个问题，与领导和员工的真正作用有很大关系!首先，领导的职责是制定长期的发展方针，并且保证这个方针的贯彻执行，adhere to their strategic plans不被偏离。组织员工共同合作完成任务。on the other hand, 员工的作用是各司其职，更加具体的specific task.

　　3. 从以上两种职责不难看出，领导与员工起到significantly different functions，让领导完成每一个subordinate要做的工作，unfair的。比如，不能blame a CEO for lacking the skills of typing。要对下属做的事有很好的了解，但不一定都要做。否则，领导就失去了意义，成为了一个全能的工人。omnipotent worker with all kinds of skills.

　　View1: It is human nature to admire then follow someone who is more competent than themselves.

　　View2: But a feature of a good leader is to organize people with different specialities together and let them perform as a whole. It is too ideal to expect the leaders to have all the specialities of his subordinates.

　　People are more likely to accept the leadership of those who have shown they can perform the same tasks they require of others. My reasons for this view involve the notions of respect and trust.

　　It is difficult for people to fully respect a leader who cannot, or will not, do what he or she asks of others. President Clintons difficulty in his role as Commander-in-Chief serves as a fitting and very public example. When Clinton assumed this leadership position, it was well known that he had evaded military service during the Vietnam conflict. Military leaders and lower-level personnel alike made it clear that they did not respect his leadership as a result. Contrast the Clinton case with that of a business leader such as John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, who by way of his training and experience as a computer engineer earned the respect of his employees.

　　It is likewise difficult to trust leaders who do not have experience in the areas under their leadership. The Clinton example illustrates this point as well. Because President Clinton lacked military experience, people in the armed forces found it difficult to trust that his policies would reflect any understanding of their interests or needs. And when put to the test, he undermined their trust to an even greater extent with his naive and largely bungled attempt to solve the problem of gays in the military. In stark contrast, President Dwight Eisenhower inspired nearly devotional trust as well as respect because of his role as a military hero in World War II.

　　In conclusion, it will always be difficult for people to accept leaders who lack demonstrated ability in the areas under their leadership. Initially, such leaders will be regarded as outsiders, and treated accordingly. Moreover, some may never achieve the insider status that inspires respect and trust from those they hope to lead.

　　34. 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.

　　所有的市民都应该被要求完成一定量的公共服务。这样的服务将不但从整体上给国家带来好处，也能给个人的参与者带来好处。

　　1. 比起专业的公共服务组织，所有的公民都完成一定的公共服务显得比较低效率。因为我们是在一个高度专业化分工十分明晰的社会，放弃专业的公共服务组织而采取强制性的公民义务形式的服务会使得效率十分低下，而且也会让大多数 人不满，毕竟每个人都有自己的职业和爱好。

　　2. 管理成本的高昂也是该计划难以贯彻的一个原因。这项决定潜在上要求了要有人监督每个公民是否履行了自己的义务，也要有人给每个公民分配任务.

　　3. 诚然就象作者所说的那样确实会从整体上给国家带来一定的好处，同时给每个参与的人提供和更多人交流等机会，但是在权衡利弊之后尤其是在和专业化组织对比之后还是得不偿失的be not worth the candle mandatory compulsory ...be weighed against ...

　　individual compliance enforcement nullify stifle incompetence competent tantamount to 等价 insofar as...

　　1. 对于国家和社会的好处：首先，强制性mandatory social work可以增加人力资源――因为social work的wage比较低，所以在非强制的情况下，只有少数人愿意参加，这样导致了人员的不足;广泛的参与extensive participation可以引起大家的重视――激发人们更加爱护公共设施,从而降低整个expense on the maintaining. 因为公共设施becomes a aggregation of the hard work of all the citizens. 人们不付出努力,就不会珍惜

　　2. 对参与者的好处: The principal thing in this world is to keep ones soul aloft. Flaubert公共服务可以使人们更加意识到自己的社会责任感duty, 也同时有益于平时的工作; 可以增加人与人的交流, 在完全没有压力的环境下, 心灵得到放松.

　　3. 当然, 完全强制有可能引起stimulate抵触emotion of repellence, 也要注意方法,同时不要影响正常的工作.

　　View1: public service, a main approach to show social responsibilities, benefits both the county and the participants.

　　View2: When becomes a burden and stress to the participants, public service harm not only individual performers but also entire society. Cost of enforcement, reduction of efficiency , increase of abhorrence.

　　The potential benefits of mandatory public service must be weighed against administrative problems and concerns about individual liberty. On balance , the costs to a nation and to the participants would probably exceed the benefits.

　　Admittedly, a colorable argument can be made for mandatory public service. It would help alleviate free-rider problems, where those who do not contribute benefit from the efforts of those who do. It would mitigate pressing social problems―with education, public health and safety, and the environment. It might instill in participants a sense of civic duty, community, and individual responsibility. Finally, it has worked on a smaller scale, particularly in urban areas, where renewal projects succeed in making communities safer, healthier, and more prosperous.

　　Far more compelling, however, are the arguments against mandatory public service. First, who would make assignments and decide what projects are worthwhile, and how would compliance be assured? Resolving enforcement issues would require government control, in turn requiring increased taxes and/or cuts in other social programs, thereby nullifying the benefits of mandatory public service. Second, a mandatory system would open the floodgates to incompetence and inexperience. Finally, the whole notion seems tantamount to Communism insofar as each citizen must contribute, according to his or her ability, to a strong state. Modern history informs us that such systems do not work. One could argue that mandatory public service is simply a tax in the form of labor rather than dollars. However, compulsory labor smacks of involuntary servitude, whereas financial taxes do not.

　　In conclusion, logistical and philosophical barriers to mandating public service outweigh its potential benefits for the nation as well as for participants.

　　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.

　　企业和其他组织过分强调了团队工作的重要性。很明显，在任何人类团体里，都是最强的个人，那个具有最多义务和能量的人，把事情完成的。

　　The authors assert brings in the controversail and complex question that is being discussed a lot now : teamwork or individual energy and commitment, which one is more important to a company or other types of organizaitons? The author claims that teamwork has been overemphasized. To the contrary, I believe that is the author who makes an overemphasis by saying It is the strong individual, the person with the most commitment and engergy, who gets things done.

　　1. 每个个人都是组织的一个组成成员。每个人都各司其职。尤其是在科学技术如此进步的今天很少有人能象作者所说的那样独立完成一项任务。事实上每个人都是完成了工作的一个部分一个方面，而合在一起才有了团队的成功。

　　2. 一个公司一个组织并不是所有成员的简单加总.如果是这样的话,那么也就没有必要形成一个团队了每个人独立完成就好了.事实上一个团队可以把个体有机的组织在一起,使整体的运做更有效率更有成效,这才识组织存在的原因.

　　3. 诚然集体的每个任务都是许多个别员工的努力组成的.但是这其中的每个人都不是完全独立的.没有设计人员,生产人员无法生产,而没有生产人员,销售人员亦无法销售.

　　regimentation团队精神 each does his or her own duty technology organic organically

　　View1: efficiency comes from work divisions. In todays business world, it is unpractical for one person to accomplish an entire program. Actually, only every competent person finishes one part of the mission, entirely whole program get done.

　　View2: An organization is not simply put competent people together but combine them to form a organic integrity, thus induce higher efficiency an productivity.

　　The relationship between teamwork and individual strength, energy, and commitment is complex; whether they operate in a complementary or antagonistic manner depends on: the goals toward which the traits are directed, the degree of emphasis on teamwork, and the job of the individual within an organization.

　　A persons ability to work effectively in a team is not in consistent per se with personal strength, energy, and commitment. If exercised in a self-serving manner―for example, through pilfering or back stabbing―these traits can operate against the organization. Conversely, if directed toward the firms goals, these traits can motivate other team members, thereby advancing common goals. World War II generals Patton and Rommel understood this point and knew how to bring out the best individual qualities in their troops, while at the same time instilling a strong sense of team and common purpose.

　　Nevertheless, over-emphasizing teamwork can be counterproductive for an organization. A successful team requires both natural leaders and natural followers; otherwise, a team will accomplish little. Undue emphasis on teamwork may quell initiative among natural leaders, thereby thwarting team goals. Also, teamwork can be overemphasized with a commissioned sales force of highly competitive and autonomic individuals. Overemphasis on teamwork here might stifle healthy competition, thereby defeating a firms objectives. In other organizational areas, however, teamwork is critical. For example, a product-development team must progress in lock-step fashion toward common goals, such as meeting a rollout deadline.

　　In sum, individual strength, commitment, and energy can complement a strong team approach; as long as individual autonomy is not undermined, all can operate in a synergistic manner to achieve an organizations goals.

　　37. 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.

　　由于对现代社会来说，科学和技术正在变得越来越基本，学校应该投入更多的时间教授科学技术而减少艺术和人文的教育。

　　1. 艺术可以使人更好地投入到科学技术的研究中.起到一定的促进作用.For example, recent studies of cognitive development show that studying music at an early age can strengthen a childs later grasp of mathematics. And understanding philosophical concepts has helped scients recognize their own presuppositions, and frame their central questions more accurately.

　　2. 从前人前辈的成就和伟大人格中我们可以得到促进和激励更好的投入到工作和学习生活中.

　　3. 单独只有科学技术我们只能找到解决问题的办法。即我只是知道how to do而不知道should we do

　　.... . This is not to say, however, that ... . To the contrary mathematicians cognitive strengthen grasp philosophical philosophy presupposition presumption premise assumption intellectual inspire dominate predominate autonomous autonomy liberal arts 文科 contemporary

　　1. 科技十分重要，没有科学技能的人，很难快速容入工作。难以想象一个缺乏基本电脑知识的人，如何在一个corporation in which most of the daily affairs are dealt with the aid of computer里很好地完成工作!所以，学校有责任培养学生的IT技能。

　　2. 但是，不代表学校应该忽视艺术人文的教育。众所周知，艺术人文起到启迪思想provide people with gracious spirit. 引导人们意识到人性中的固有美德：。。。举例：科学技术是人们生存发展的工具，但同时，如果没有美德，则可能变成危险的武器。比如nuclear weapons; heroin is made by people with standard chemistry knowledge to help us select worthwhile ends and ethical means.

　　In conclusion, schools should not devote less time to the arts and humanities. These areas of study augment and enhance learning in mathematics and science, as well as helping to preserve the richness of our entire human legacy while inspiring us to further it. Moreover, disciplines within the humanities provide methods and contexts for evaluating the morality of our technology and for determining its proper direction.

　　39. It is difficult for people to achieve professional success without sacrificing important aspects of a fulfilling personal life.

　　人们要在不牺牲实现个人生活的重要方面的情况下达到专业成功是很难的。

　　1. 两者并不矛盾而是相互促进相辅相成

　　2. 科学技术的进步使人更高效率的工作也能让人更好的协调两者的关系

　　3. 诚然一定的牺牲是必然要做出的但是绝对不是生活中的重要方面

　　4.

　　1. cost of living, growing population, increasingly scarce resource all contribute to a radical competitive society. 是客观条件force people to work longer hours, 自然, 无法避免地剥夺了人们的personal life. 这一点在很多发展中国家尤其明显:缺乏社会福利lack of social welfare, 人口膨胀population explosion, 人们面临更大的失业压力.

　　2. 而反对这种观点的人说, 先进的科技已经帮助人们沟通更加便利,提高效率, 甚至在家中办公, 已经大大地减少了对个人生活的压榨. 但是close scrutiny will reveal that 事实上,这种进步,更加剧了exacerbate人们工作的强度intensity. 提高的效率, 更要求人们一天干更多事, 在家中办公的可能, 也被充分地利用成了加班overtime.

　　View1: a fulfilling personal life guarantees a healthy mind and energetic body which enhance professional performance.

　　View2: Having a joyful career to devote to also in turn help to ensure a fulfilling personal life.

　　View3: if to achieve professional success must have something to sacrifice, the things may not necessarily the important aspects of personal lives.

　　Are professional success and a fulfilling personal life mutually exclusive? Probably not, although it is more difficult today to achieve both.

　　Undeniably, todays professionals must work long hours to keep their heads above water , let alone to get ahead in life financially. This is especially true in Japan, where cost of living, coupled with corporate culture, compel professional males to all but abandon their families and literally to work themselves to death. While the situation here in the states may not be as critical, the two-income family is now the norm, not by choice but by necessity.

　　However, our societys professionals are taking steps to remedy the problem. First, they are inventing ways―such as job sharing and telecommuting ―to ensure that personal life does not take a backseat to career. Second, they are setting priorities and living those hours outside the workplace to the fullest. In fact, professional success usually requires the same time-management skills that are useful to find time for family, hobbies, and recreation. One need only look at the recent American presidents―Clinton, Bush, Reagan, and Carter―to see that it is possible to lead a balanced life which includes time for family, hobbies, and recreation, while immersed in a busy and successful career. Third, more professionals are changing careers to ones which allow for some degree of personal fulfillment and self-actualization . Besides, many professionals truly love their work and would do it without compensation, as a hobby. For them, professional fulfillment and personal fulfillment are one and the same .

　　In conclusion, given the growing demands of career on todays professionals, a fulfilling personal life remains possible by working smarter, by setting priorities, and by making suitable career choices.

　　40. With the increasing emphasis on a global economy and international cooperation, people need to understand that their role as citizens of the world is more important than their role as citizens of a particular country.

　　随着对全球经济和跨国公司的关注增加，人们需要理解他们作为世界公民的角色比作为一个特定国家的公民的角色更重要。

　　1. 两者并不是完全对立的环保

　　2. 事实上两者可以相互促进一个人在一个国家做慈善工作很可能也会有一天为别的国家的人服务

　　3. 当两者冲突的时候哪个更重要取决与不同的情况。

　　代替取代supersede compatible be compatible with... citizenship domain This one person would be acting consistently as a citizen of community, state, nation and world.admittedly conflicting obligation arise dual Admittedly, conflicting/clashing/discordant obligations sometimes arise as a result of our new dual citizenship.obligatory In sum, although our dual citizenship may at times lead to conflict, one role need not automatically take precedence over the other. more often than not The relationship between the two roles is, more often than not, a complementary one, and can even be synergistic. synergistic coactive complement complementary supplement

　　1. 有时, 很多问题是全球性的,需要世界公民的角度考虑,而非只站在一国角度. 比如,环境问题, 能源问题, 等等. 人们应该为整个地球负责任,而不仅仅是为了一个民族或国家. 因为, 如果是后者, 则很有可能只解决自己的问题, 而把危害转移到别的国家. shift the burden and threats from one nation to another比如: 出口垃圾,比如大量进口发展中国家的木材.虽然自己的国家暂时解决了问题,但长远看, 没有国家孤立地存在, 不能short-sight and narrow mind, 因为interdependent.

　　2. 但这不意味着人们就要discard or weaken their role as citizens of one nation. 其实两者并不是incompatible, 更多时候, 可以作为complementary one―and can even be synergistic.比如the preservation of traditional culture, 人们作为一国公民,保护自己独特文化的同时, 实际上也为全球的diversity of culture作出了positive effort. 比如, 为一个国家的public service付出努力的同时, 很可能激发起公民的社会责任感和compassion and responsibility, 参与到国际public service 中, 比如很多charitarian就开始从对本国的慈善事业subsidize the school in one nation也激发起对attention to the education in the international scope.

　　View1: peoples role as citizens of the world is become more and more important in the modern society.

　　View2: Without the awareness of being citizens of a particular country, people will find no roots to behave on the stage of the world.

　　View3: these two roles, national and international, are not mutually exclusive alternatives. They can be properly combined.

　　With the growth of the global economy and the need for international cooperation, every human being has assumed a role as citizen of the world. Does this mean that our roles as citizens of our respective nations are thereby superseded by our role as world citizens, as the speaker suggests? Not at all. Good citizenship at one level is often compatible with good citizenship at another. In fact, being a good citizen in one social domain can help one be a better citizen in another.

　　Good global citizenship is not incompatible with good citizenship at other levels. Consider, for example, ones efforts as a citizen to preserve the natural environment. One particular person might, for example: lobby legislators to enact laws preserving an endangered redwood forest, campaign for nationally-elected officials who support clean air laws, and contribute to international rainforest preservation organizations. This one person would be acting consistently as a citizen of community, state, nation and world.

　　Admittedly, conflicting obligations sometimes arise as a result of our new dual citizenship. For example, a U.S. military official with an advisory role in a United Nations peace-keeping force might face conflicting courses of action―one that would secure U.S. military interests, and another that would better serve international interests. However, the fact that such a conflict exists does not mean that either action is automatically more obligatory―that is, that ones role as either U.S. citizen or world citizen must invariably supersede the other. Instead, this situation should be resolved by carefully considering and weighing the consequences of each course of action.

　　Moreover, being a good citizen in one social context can often help one be a better citizen in another. For example, volunteering to help underprivileged children in ones community might inspire one to work for an international child-welfare organization. And inculcating civic values―such as charity and civic pride―may give rise to personal traits of character that transfer to all social domains and contexts.

　　In sum, although our dual citizenship may at times lead to conflicts, one role need not automatically take precedence over the other. Moreover, the relationship between the two roles is, more often than not, a complementary one―and can even be synergistic.

　　42. Scientists are continually redefining the standards for what is beneficial or harmful to the environment. Since these standards keep shifting, companies should resist changing their products and processes in response to each new recommendation until those recommendations become government regulations.

　　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.

　　科学家在不断重新制定对环境什么是有利的，什么是有害的的标准。由于这些标准不停变动，面对新建议，公司应该保持他们的产品和流程不变直到新的建议成为国家标准为止。

　　1. 科学家的建议也并不一定都是正确的。很有可能他的结论适用面很窄。或者他所得到的数据有错误等等。

　　2. 对企业来说频繁的变更产品和生产流程会造成很大的经济损失

　　3. 诚然等待国家制定标准很可能存在滞后等问题但是比较起来以上的问题还是应该等待国家制定标准。此外一个折中的方案是国家成立专门的机构快速地对新的方案和建议做出评价并迅速制定标准

　　split the difference lag evaluate

　　View1: The recommendations given by scientists are usually controversial or have inconsistent perspectives on same questions, thus can not provide clear directions on actions that companies should adopt,

　　View 2: changing products and processes too often will inevitably increase cost and lower productivity. Therefore do harm to the companies .

　　View3: while waiting for government regulations may draw back the processes of solving the problems, it is relatively a better strategy for companies to follow. We can count on the authorities to speed up the process of conversion between scientific discoveries and official regulations.

　　The speaker argues that because scientists continually shift viewpoints about how our actions affect the natural environment, companies should not change their products and processes according to scientific recommendations until the government requires them to do so. This argument raises complex issues about the duties of business and about regulatory fairness and effectiveness. Although a wait-and-see policy may help companies avoid costly and unnecessary changes, three countervailing considerations compel me to disagree overall with the argument.

　　First, a regulatory system of environmental protection might not operate equitably. At first glance, a wait-and-see response might seem fair in that all companies would be subject to the same standards and same enforcement measures. However, enforcement requires detection, and while some violators may be caught, others might not. Moreover, a broad regulatory system imposes general standards that may not apply equitably to every company. Suppose, for example, that pollution from a company in a valley does more damage to the environment than similar pollution from a company on the coast. It would seem unfair to require the coastal company to invest as heavily in abatement or, in the extreme , to shut down the operation if the company cannot afford abatement measures.

　　Secondly, the argument assumes that the government regulations will properly reflect scientific recommendations. However, this claim is somewhat dubious. Companies with the most money and political influence, not the scientists, might in some cases dictate regulatory standards. In other words, legislators may be more influenced by political expediency and campaign pork than by societal concerns.

　　Thirdly, waiting until government regulations are in place can have disastrous effects on the environment. A great deal of environmental damage can occur before regulations are implemented. This problem is compounded whenever government reaction to scientific evidence is slow. Moreover, the EPA might be overburdened with its detection and enforcement duties, thereby allowing continued environmental damage by companies who have not yet been caught or who appeal penalties.

　　In conclusion, despite uncertainty within the scientific community about what environmental standards are best, companies should not wait for government regulation before reacting to warnings about environmental problems. The speakers recommended approach would in many cases operate inequitably among companies: moreover, it ignores the political-corruption factor as well as the potential environmental damage resulting from bureaucratic delay.

　　45. The most effective way for a businessperson to maximize profits over a long period of time is to follow the highest standards of ethics.

　　商务人员在长期内实现利润最大化的最有效途径是遵循最高标准的道德。

　　反面的例子可以是说如果从最高的道德规范来看有些污染环境的行业根本就不应该存在。但是从企业的长期发展来看以及从社会的福利最大化来看，只要污染控制在一定范围就好。如化工厂只要把排污控制在国家规定的范围就好。

　　1. 道德不明确，每个人的标准不一样

　　2. 法律立法时符合大多数人的要求明确具体

　　3. 时滞可以用提高立法效率来解决

　　和AI034基本一样。

　　1. 支持者会认为, 高道德会赢得reputation and trust; 第一, 高道德生产高质量的产品以及service,顾客稳定stable share of the market; 第二, 高道德会让员工满意度提高. 从而attract those applicants with high ability and keep the employees loyal to the company---最终导致高的productivity.

　　例子：Bayer, one of the largest pharmaceutic companies in the world, announced that the company would cease production of one of its major products, because of the hazardous ingredients it contained. By doing so, the company suffers great loss on profitability, but gains strong public support and understanding, which can contribute to the long-term success of the company.

　　2. 但在更多的情况下, 高道德也许不equal to maximal profit. 比如,a, 如果把道德放在第一位的话,企业的executive很可能无法执行裁员活动complete the normal administration, such as raising the price, reducing the superabundant staff b, 高道德的话，很可能采用最高标准的环保生产――这样很不是cost-effective. 总之，Following such undue concern about ethics, the company may find it impossible to survive in the radical competitive market, let alone to gain large profit.

　　View1: the definition of highest standards of ethics vary from person to person and time to time. Therefore, it is impractical to find and then stick to the highest standards of ethics.

　　View2: the regulations and laws of authorities are more feasible and suitable standards to follow.

　　View3: while waiting for government regulations may draw back the processes of eliminating the ill actions, we can count on the authorities to speed up the process of refining the laws and regulations.

　　The speaker claims that following high ethical standards is the best way to maximize profits in the long run. However, this claim seems to be more of a normative statement than an empirical observation. The issue is more complex than the speaker suggests. In my observation, the two objectives at times coincide but at other times conflict.

　　In many ways behaving ethically can benefit a business. Ethical conduct will gain a company good reputation that earns repeated business. Treating suppliers, customers and others fairly is likely to result in their reciprocating. Finally, a company that treats its employees fairly and with respect will gain their loyalty which, in turn, usually translates into higher productivity.

　　On the other hand, taking the most ethical course of action may in many cases reduce profits, in the short run and beyond. Consider the details of a merger in which both firms hope to profit from a synergy gained thereby. If the details of the merger hinge on the ethical conviction that as few employees as possible should lose their jobs, the key executives may lose sight of the fact that a leaner, less labor-intensive organization might be necessary for long-term survival. Thus, undue concern with ethics in this case would results in lower profits and perhaps ultimate business failure.

　　This merger scenario points out a larger argument that the speaker misses entirely-that profit maximization is per se the highest ethical objective in private business. Why? By maximizing profits, businesses bestow a variety of important benefits on their community and on society: they employ more people, stimulate the economy, and enhance healthy competition. In short, the profit motive is the key to ensuring that the members of a free market society survive and thrive. While this argument might ignore implications for the natural environment and for socioeconomic justice, it is a compelling argument nonetheless.

　　Thus the choice to follow high ethical standards should not be made by thinking that ethical conduct is profitable. While in some cases a commitment to high ethical standards might benefit a company financially, in many cases it will not. In the final analysis, businesses might best be advised to view their attempts to maximize profits as highly ethical behavior.