PrepTest 109, Section 4, Question 19
Speaker: Contemporary business firms need to recognize that(97 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- AGovernment institutions are(11 more words not shown)
- BPublic relations programs(14 more words not shown)
- CThe power of(17 more words not shown)
- DSince no institution(7 more words not shown)
- ESome businesses that(10 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
What if acting responsibly creates another problem for the business? Suppose it would have to spend so much to meet a responsibility that it couldn't stay afloat through the next year. That is my first concern about treating responsible behavior as something every business must do to retain power as long as possible.
We should be careful about what we're challenging. The passage gives us historical support for the claim that society eventually reduces the power of institutions it considers irresponsible. Calling that an “Iron Law” doesn't prove it, but the historical claim is part of the evidence we're given. Our job is to examine what follows from it.
What we’re looking for
The conclusion concerns lasting as long as possible, not literally lasting forever. And it presents responsible behavior as a requirement, not a guarantee of survival. With those limits in mind, the weakening question asks us for a reason that a business might not have to act responsibly to achieve its goal. My initial thought concerns competing pressures. An answer may reveal another way around the claimed requirement.
Working the answers
- A
Extending the law to government institutions doesn't challenge its application to businesses. The conclusion tells businesses what they must do to retain power. Learning that governments are also subject to the law leaves that reasoning intact.
- BCorrect
The law concerns what society considers responsible. The conclusion concerns actually acting responsibly. B shows why those can come apart: a public relations campaign could create the appearance of responsibility even when the institution behaves irresponsibly.
That offers a different route from the one I initially considered. A business might avoid the social reaction described in the law by managing its reputation, without actually meeting the supposed requirement of responsible conduct. B doesn't guarantee that every campaign works forever. It weakens the argument by showing that the public's judgment needn't track the company's real behavior.
- C
Different businesses could lose power at different rates while responsible behavior remained necessary for each to last as long as it could. Comparing one institution's lifespan with another's doesn't tell us whether either could dispense with that requirement.
- D
Eventually failing isn't the same as failing sooner than necessary. A business could aim to retain power for as long as possible even if it cannot retain it forever. D doesn't address whether responsible conduct is required to extend that limited time.
- E
A requirement needn't be enough on its own. A business could behave responsibly and still fail because of another problem. The speaker hasn't promised that responsibility prevents every possible loss of power, so these failures don't refute the claim actually made.
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