GMAT考试写作指导：Issue写作范文十四

　　14. The speaker claims that all organizations should include a clear hierarchy of

　　accountability because any other structure would work against human nature and

　　therefore prove fruitless in the end. This claim gives rise to complex issues about human

　　nature and the social structures best suited to it. In my view, the claim assumes a

　　distortedly narrow view of human nature, ignoring certain aspects of it that are

　　undermined by hierarchical structure in ways that ultimately hurt the organization.

　　First, the organizational structure the speaker recommends undermines the nexus

　　between worker and product that facilitates efficiency and productivity. When

　　employees are responsible for just their small component of work, they can easily lose

　　sight of larger organizational goals and the importance of their role in realizing these

　　goals. In turn, workers will feel alienated, unimportant, and unmotivated to do work

　　they are proud of. These effects cannot help but damage the organization in the end.

　　Second, compartmentalizing tasks in a hierarchical structure stifles creativity. An

　　acquaintance of mine worked for a company that had established a rigid organizational

　　barrier between designers and engineers. The designers often provided the engineers

　　with concepts that were unworkable from an engineering standpoint. Conversely,

　　whenever an engineer offered a design idea that allowed for easier engineering, the

　　designers would simply warn the engineer not to interfere. This is a typical case where

　　organizational barriers operate against creativity, harming the organization in the end.

　　Third, strict hierarchy undermines the collegiality and cooperation among

　　coworkers needed for a sense of common purpose and pride in accomplishment. The

　　message from the designers to the engineers at my friends company produced just the

　　opposite―resentment between the two departments, low morale among the engineers

　　whose creative suggestions were ignored, and ultimate resignation to do inferior work

　　with an attitude that developing ideas is a waste of time.

　　In sum, the speaker seems to assume that humans are essentially irresponsible and

　　unmotivated, and that they therefore need external motivation by way of a layered

　　bureaucratic structure. The speaker misunderstands human nature, which instead

　　requires creative exercise and sense of purpose and pride in accomplishment. By stifling

　　these needs with organizational barriers, the organization is ultimately worse off.