GMAT考试写作指导：Argument范文三

　　61. A director of Beta Company suggests that Beta can improve its competitive

　　position by hiring a significant number of former Alpha Company employees who have

　　recently retired or been laid off. The directors reasoning is that because Alpha

　　manufactures some products similar to Betas, former Alpha employees would be

　　experienced and need little training, could provide valuable information about Alphas

　　successful methods, and would be particularly motivated to compete against Alpha. The

　　directors argument is problematic in several respects.

　　First of all, the argument presupposes that Alphas methods are successful. This is

　　not necessarily the case. To the contrary, the fact that Alpha has laid off 15 percent of its

　　employees in every division and at every level suggests that Alphas methods may have

　　been unsuccessful and that downsizing was necessary for the company to minimize

　　financial losses.

　　Secondly, the director assumes that the former Alpha employees hired by Beta

　　will be well-trained and valuable. During a typical lay-off, however, the best and most

　　experienced employees are typically the last to be laid off. By following the directors

　　advice, Beta would probably be hiring Alphas least efficient and least experienced

　　employees―that is, those who would be least valuable to Beta.

　　Thirdly, the author assumes that Alpha and Beta are sufficiently similar so that

　　former Alpha employees could provide special value for Beta. However, we are

　　informed only that Beta manufactures some products similar to Alphas. It is possible

　　that former Alpha employees have experience with only a small segment of Betas

　　product line, and thus have little inside information of any value to Beta.

　　Finally, the claim that former Alpha employees would be motivated to compete

　　against Alpha is partially unwarranted. While many of those who were laid off may be

　　so motivated, those who retired early from Alpha probably departed on good terms with

　　Alpha, and would in any event be unmotivated to reenter the work force.

　　In conclusion, the argument fails to provide key facts needed to assess it. To better

　　evaluate the directors suggestion, we would need more information about why Alpha

　　reduced its work force, what type of workers left Alpha and under what circumstances,

　　and how similar Alphas range of products is to Betas.