6分作文:
Many people feel that products are not made to last, and correspondingly,
many natural and human resources are wasted. On the other hand, it can be
noted that such manufacturing practices keep costs down and hence stimulate
demand. In this discussion, I shall present arguments favoring the former
statement and refuting the latter statement.
Products that are not made to last waste a great deal of natural and human
resources. The exact amount of wasted natural resources depends on the
specific product. For example in the automobile industry, the Yugo is the
classic example of an underpriced vehicle that was not made to last.
Considering that the average Yugo had (not “has” since they are no longer
produced! ) a life expectancy of two years and 25, 000 miles, it was a
terrible waste.
Automobile industry standards today create vehicles that are warranted for
about five years and 50, 000 miles. By producing cheap Yugos that last less
than half as long as most cars are warranted, the Yugo producer is wasting
valuable natural resources. These same resources could be used by Ford or
Toyota to produce an Escort or Tercel that will last twice as long, thereby
reducing the usage of natural resources by a factor of two.
Human resources in this example are also wasteful. On the production side,
manufacturers of a poor quality automobile, like the Yugo, get no personal
or profession satisfaction from the fact that their product is the worst
automobile in the United States. This knowledge adversely affects the
productivity of the Yugo workers.