Exam 1: Accounting As a Tool for Management

Identify for which claims, if any, support has been given in the following passage; and state in your own words the reasons that have been offered for these claims. "I don't know whether to be amused or annoyed. The U.S. government spends millions of dollars rounding up herb farmers. Ridiculous! Deaths from alcohol abuse are overwhelming. Surely this is a bigger problem. I doubt even a single death from smoking pot and driving has been reported. And the idea that smoking pot leads to heroin is nonsense. Anyone who is going to become an addict will do so regardless of what they have around." -Letter to the editor, Glenn County Today

Identify the main point or issue in the following passage, and decide whether the rest of the passage offers reasons for the main point (such as, whether the passage contains an argument), whether it illustrates (provides examples for) the main point, whether it explains the point, is irrelevant to the point, and so on. "Gun control laws don't work. What is worse, they act perversely. While legitimate users of firearms encounter intense regulation, scrutiny, and bureaucratic control, illicit markets easily adapt to whatever difficulties a free society throws in their way. Also, efforts to curtail the supply of firearms inflict collateral damage on freedom and privacy interests that have long been considered central to American public life." -Daniel Polsby, "The Promise of Gun Control," in The Atlantic Monthly

Identify each speaker that gives an argument for his or her position in the following passage. Worried Athletic Supporter: I'm particularly concerned with the proposed cuts in the university athletic program. If something has to be cut, let's start with something like dance or basket weaving. Unworried Athletic Supporter: Oh, don't worry. The university isn't going to kill its cash cow. A strong athletic program is good publicity and brings in lots of contributions. The trustees aren't going to let anything happen to a first-rate program like ours.

Identify the main issue in the following passage. If two or more issues are present, indicate how they are related-that is, does the settlement of one depend upon the settlement of the other? Research has shown that the females of mammal species are more resistant to environmental hazards than are their male counterparts. That makes sense, because young mammals take so long to develop, both physically and mentally, and the females have to be able to function continuously if the species is going to survive.

Identify for which claims, if any, support has been given in the following passage; and state in your own words the reasons that have been offered for these claims. "What is the best move to begin a game [of chess]? At one time the masters began automatically with 1 P-K4; then they switched to 1 P- Q4. Paul Morphy, considered by many critics the greatest chess genius that ever lived, never played 1 P- Q4. In contrast, Ernest Gruenfeld, one of the greatest living authorities on opening play, ventured on 1 P-K4 only once in his entire tournament career (against Capablanca at Karlsbad 1929). When asked why he avoided 1 P-K4, he answered, 'I never make a mistake in the opening.'" -Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld, The Fireside Book of Chess

Identify for which claims, if any, support has been given in the following passage; and state in your own words the reasons that have been offered for these claims. "The arrogance of some State Department and U.S. Information Agency employees who took luxury cruises at government expense is shameful." "Instead of flying by economy class to and from their overseas assignments, some traveled on the Queen Elizabeth or other cruise ships." Costs of the ocean voyages averaged $6,084, nearly four times the average airline cost of $1 ,665. "One family of four billed the government $21,956 for a 26-day voyage along the eastern coast of South America. A couple were paid $13,761 for a 24-day trip from Bangkok to Honolulu." One official sent in a bill for $12,270 for a Mississippi River cruise on the Delta Queen. "That's not all. The time spent on the cruises was considered by the department to be duty-not vacation." "General Accounting Office" investigators said they were told by foreign service officers that ocean travel was considered "a fringe benefit." "If that is the case, the fringes are due for a good trimming." -Omaha World-Herald

Which of the following is of cognitive biases?

Identifying the issue is very simple in all real-life situations.

Identify the main point or issue in the following passage, and decide whether the rest of the passage offers reasons for the main point (such as, whether the passage contains an argument), whether it illustrates (provides examples for) the main point, whether it explains the point, is irrelevant to the point, and so on. "It is usual for the law to prescribe a lesser penalty for the attempt than for the completed crime. The reason is plain enough. Doing harm is a more serious matter than simply doing what might have ended up as that but didn't. It seems, therefore, that one who does harm does something that is more wrong than one who does something harmful but with no one harmed." -H. Gross, A Theory of Justice

The inclination that people may have to assume that their attitudes and those held by people around them are shared by society at large is known as

"The Republicans' proposal to cut taxes on capital gains (profits from selling real estate, stocks, and bonds) is not a sop for the wealthy. It is a way to stimulate investment and ultimately to create jobs. That's why it is in everyone's interest to support the proposal." Which of the following best states the primary issue discussed in the passage?

Determine whether the following passage contains an argument; if it does, identify the main issue. "A witty experiment by Philip Goldberg proves what everyone knows, having internalized the disesteem in which they are held, women despise both themselves and each other. This simple test consisted of asking women undergraduates to respond to the scholarship in an essay signed alternately by one John McKay and one Joan McKay. In making their assessments, the students generally agreed that John was a remarkable thinker, Joan an unimpressive mind. Yet the articles were identical; the reaction was dependent on the sex of the supposed author." -Kate Millett, Sexual Politics

The quality of a discussion often depends on how closely the parties attend to the same issue. For the passage below, determine whether the speakers are clearly disputing the same issue, or whether somebody is missing the point. A: The banking industry is going the same direction as the savings and loan industry. If the government deregulates banks the way it did the S&Ls, taxpayers will have another financial disaster on their hands. B: The whole regulatory system is archaic, and it oppresses innovation and initiative. If the banks aren't deregulated, they're going to be creating a financial disaster anyway.

Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument. "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are of a different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the question." -John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism

Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument. It is obvious why some men have trouble understanding why women become upset over pornography. Pornography depicts women as servants or slaves, and men cannot conceive of themselves in this role.

Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument. "The recent failure of a Drake University student to halt his former girlfriend's plan for an abortion focuses light on a seldom considered situation: While a woman's right to an abortion should not be weakened, the idea of 'fathers' rights' raised in this case should be discussed." -The Daily Iowan

Identify each speaker that gives an argument for his or her position in the following passage. She: When you think about it, there's every reason why women soldiers shouldn't serve in combat. He: Well, I don't think anyone should have to serve in combat. I wouldn't make anyone serve who doesn't want to.

"Should welfare recipients repay the state before they collect their winnings from the lottery? On the one hand, if you borrow money from somebody and win the lottery with it, you should repay the loan out of your winnings. But on the other hand, welfare is not a loan. It is a payment to people to help them improve their lives in the best way they can." Which of the following best states the primary issue discussed in the passage?

Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument. "The main danger of war, even of a war fought with conventional weapons, lies in its unpredictability." -Anatoly Gromyko, "Security for All in the Nuclear Age," in Breakthrough

The quality of a discussion often depends on how closely the parties attend to the same issue. For the passage below, determine whether the speakers are clearly disputing the same issue, or whether somebody is missing the point. A: About 90 percent of all those colorful kids' books about dinosaurs contain misinformation and misleading interpretations. B: But without those books, cartoons would be children's only source of information about dinosaurs-and they're even more inaccurate.