Research Paper on "Browne and S. Keeley"

/>6. That agreeing to the proposal would mean a loss of bargaining power for the union in future negotiations with the state if they allow this to happen.

7. That privatization is bad because of:

a. Loss of state control over the information system and data;

b. Profit as the sole of objective of the private sector, which will create instability as decision to pursue or terminate the contract will be based solely on whether the project is still profitable or not, regardless of who gets affected (displacement of workers, stoppage of service, etc.);

c. The additional hidden costs for the state in overseeing a third-party contractor;

d. Outsourcing is the cause of the recession; and,

e. Communications and culture clash problems resulting from outsourcing.

The subsequent section will further analyze the reasons and other assertions in the document to determine whether these will provide a strong basis for the conclusion.

3. Which word or phrases are ambiguous?

a. "This proposed privatization is an assault on our union."

The statement exposes an adversarial stance but does not necessarily expound on how the proposal can be an attack on the union. This statement can be interpreted in two ways: Is it an attack against the union itself or its members? The first interpretation can read as the dissolution of the union as an organized entity as a result of privatization. The second interpretation means that privatization may result in the dismissal of union members from service as a result of their association in the union.

b. "It is anti-American."

The term "anti-American" is not defined and carries loaded emotional language that does not provide strong objective justification to support the conclusion. Anti-Americanism as a manifestation of being anti-American is a much more complex phenomenon. According to Hollander (2002), "anti-Americanism is not easy to study given its diffuseness, varieties, endless sources, and the difficulty in locating it on the spectrum of political attitudes and positions." Likewise, anti-Americanism scholar Brendan O'Connor asserts that "anti-Americanism is not a comprehensive or coherent belief system or ideology, but rather a series of criticisms and prejudices regarding America that have haphazardly been labeled anti-Americanism." How can the action be anti-American? The statement likewise begs a definition what is pro-American or anti-American? Does provision of service by a foreign entity or the private demonstrate anti-Americanism? Thus, simplifying the term does not provide a solid verifiable explanation to justify the conclusion.

c. "Foreign agents will bid for this privatization contract…"

Who are these "foreign agents"? Does this mean foreigners from outside the United States (U.S.)? Or actors who are within the U.S. But are considered foreign because they do not belong to the public sector? Does this mean citizenship or nationality or ethnicity? One can consider, for instance, an ethnic Chinese who lives and grew up in the U.S., and is a citizen of the U.S. Ethnically, s/he is a foreigner but is legally an American by virtue of his/her citizenship?

d. "…we do a disservice to our members… "

How can the proposed privatization be a disservice to union members? What does "disservice" mean? The term can be construed in different ways. It assumes that all union members reject the proposal, thus, agreeing to it would mean that members' stand are sidestepped, thus resulting to a disservice to them. Another way of looking at the statement is that agreeing to the contract would put union members at a disadvantage, which could be loss of their jobs, slashed benefits, retrenchment, among many other situations that may be considered as a disservice to union members.

e. "I speak for truth and common sense…"

What is "truth"? What is "common sense"? Who defines what is truth and common sense? For whom does the author speak the truth?

f. "We have to be strong and show no weakness."

Being strong or weak can be contextual. How is union strength or weakness defined in the context of privatization? As the text Asking the Right Questions remarks, "multiple meanings can create serious problems in determining the worth of an argument" (Browne & Keeley, 2010, p. 52).

4. What are the value conflicts and assumptions?

Two major assumptions are put forward as a basis of the recommendation to reject the proposal to privatize the information management system of the DoT. First, it is presupposed that employees' job security, particularly of union members, is more important than the savings the state will be making and providing efficient service from the private sector. Another assumption is that the state is a better provider of service than the private sector.

The assumptions expose value conflicts between protection of American interests, in this case represented by union members' stakes, as against the opportunity for the private sector to participate in providing "state-of-the-art information systems hardware, software, and professional expertise." In addition, there is also value conflict on job security and service efficiency. What if the reader or listener believes that service efficiency and state savings are more important than retaining a service that bites into the government's coffers, which can be used for other social services such as education, health, etc. There is also conflict in placing value on retaining existing skills of workers vs. The possibility of upgrading the skills of the workforce as a result of a private-sector take over of the management. The idea of a more skilled workforce than manpower that is reluctant to learn new skills may be more agreeable to the reader of the piece. Assertions such as "[I]f you opposed this measure, they would vote for you," likewise show a contradiction between exercising objectivity in making the decision vs. relying on emotion and ambition to influence decision.

5. What are the descriptive assumptions?

To identify the descriptive assumptions in the text, let us take the statement:

"This proposed privatization is an assault on our union. It is anti-American. Foreign agents will bid for this privatization contract and accept wages lower than our members receive. This will set the stage for state government to decrease employee wages in the future."

The statement reveals that privatization that has been implemented in other services provided by the public sector has demonstrated that it is inimical to the welfare of union members in particular and workers in general, specifically on the prospect of the depression of wages. If this assumption is true and supports the reason that privatization is bad and, thus, supports the conclusion to reject the proposal to privatize the DoT's information management system. Another descriptive assumption would be with the service being provided by the state is pro-American, and that foreigners will not do any good to any undertaking as a result of privatization.

6. Are there fallacies in the reasoning?

The memorandum contains reasoning fallacies that weakens the substance of the arguments. The fallacy of ad hominem is committed when a claim "[t]he governor is a bully" is made. The attack is made on the proponent of an opposed proposition instead of confronting the policy. Secondly, in stating that a group of union members endorse the opposition to the privatization efforts of the states is pursuing a fallacious reasoning, ad populum. The claim that, "This will set the stage for state government to decrease employee wages in the future…. If we allow this to happen in the Department of Transportation, it will happen in all departments everywhere. The stage will be set," can be classified as slippery slope fallacy. In many instances, appeals are made to the… READ MORE