Exam 1: Accounting As a Tool for Management

Determine whether the following passage contains an argument; if it does, identify the main issue. A judge's finding that the FBI discriminated against its Hispanic agents is the second time in less than a year that the bureau has been embarrassed by its treatment of minority employees. Last November, black FBI agent Donald Rochon filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court accusing the bureau of racial harassment when he was an agent in Omaha. The suit is pending. Increasing the hiring of minorities and treating them equally for promotions must become a matter of greater concern to the FBI. Currently, there are only 423 Hispanic agents and 412 black agents out of a total of about 9 ,400. The statistics speak for themselves.

Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument. "[Lionel L.] Lewis discovered that, in recommendations of merit written by administrators and faculty themselves, although they put much emphasis (two-thirds) upon student related activities-teaching, advising, course planning, and popularity-no one argues from any supporting evidence other than, 'Everyone knows.'" -David A.Downes, "The Merit Muddle in the University"

Identify each speaker that gives an argument for her position in the following passage. Mother: If you are looking for a wise investment, try real estate. The price of housing has always risen faster than the rate of inflation. Daughter: Maybe, but I'm skeptical. What's risen faster than the rate of inflation is the cost of land, not the cost of the structures put on it. Since the population isn't growing and the demand for land is declining, real estate may not be such a great investment any more.

Determine whether the following passage contains an argument and, if it does, identify that argument's final conclusion. "You should stop doing that; it's hurting him."

Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument. The president has the morals of an alley cat, his critics say. Shows you what they know. He'll still be reelected.

Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument. "The personal computer revolution is marked by accidental discoveries. The entire market for these things was a big surprise to all the pioneers who put simple ads in hobbyist magazines and were stunned by an onslaught of eager customers." -John C.Dvorak

Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.

Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument. I don't care how well Thompson played last week. If he misses practice one more time, he's not going to play in the tournament, and that's that.

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: Harriman is a fraud. He didn't even graduate from medical school. B: Harriman is still the best surgeon at this clinic.

Identify each speaker that gives an argument for his or her position in the following passage. Terry: You don't need to spend a lot of money on a home stereo system. Just buy a good car stereo. They're just as good as home stereos, and they're cheaper. All you need is an AC to DC power converter, and you're in business. Larry: Fine, except who says a car stereo is cheaper? Car speakers cost more than home speakers. Also, it isn't exactly cheap to replace your car system if it gets stolen, as often happens.

General rules people unconsciously follow in estimating probabilities are known as

Determine whether the following passage contains an argument and, if it does, identify that argument's final conclusion. "The reason nobody buys sports cars anymore is because everyone wants a sports utility vehicle with four-wheel drive. But people will start buying sports cars again sooner or later; just watch and see."

Determine whether the following passage contains an argument and, if it does, identify that argument's final conclusion. "Here's how you make chocolate milk. Warm up a cup of milk in the microwave for two minutes, then add two tablespoons of the chocolate. Stir it up, then stick it back in the microwave for another 30 seconds. Then enjoy it."

Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument. "The argument advanced at a recent government hearing-that because we will not be dependent on plutonium for more than a few hundred years it 'will not be an important problem indefinitely'-entirely misses the point. Though we may rely on plutonium for only a relatively brief period, the plutonium produced during that period may be with us indefinitely, and it may jeopardize the lives of many times the number of generations that profit from its use." -Ronald M. Green, "International Justice and Environmental Responsibility"

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. "Like me, [Alexander Hamilton] usually reads history or philosophy. In private, however (if I may be allowed to traduce his memory and expose him to all the world), Hamilton was a devoted reader of women's novels, as I discovered one day at the New York Society Library when I came upon a note in his hand asking the librarian to reserve for him Edward Mortimer (by a Lady) and The Amours of Count Palviano and Eleanora. I was shocked." -Gore Vidal, Burr

Determine whether the following passage contains an argument and, if it does, identify that argument's final conclusion. "Can you believe it? Tight-fitting polyester clothes are making a comeback. They've even brought back bell-bottoms. Next thing you know, the professors around here will be dragging out their leisure suits."

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. "In the last two hundred years, the theoretical landscape of biology has changed drastically, however. Species and other taxa are not the result of divine creation, but the products of evolution. Taxa are not static, timeless classes of organisms, but evolving and temporary entities. The theoretical assumptions of Linnaean system have been replaced by those of Darwinism and the Modern Synthesis." -Mark Ereshefsky, "Species and the Linnaean Hierarchy," in Species, ed. by R. A.Wilson

The bandwagon effect is potentially a powerful source of cognitive distortion.

The first order of business when it comes to thinking critically about an issue is to

The tendency to attach more weight to evidence that supports our viewpoint is known as