Beat The GMAT a GMAT & MBA community

"The value of any nation should be measured more by its scientific and artistic achievements than by its business successes." Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

My essay:

-------------------

The subject of how the value of nation is measured has been has been open to much debate. Some argue that scientific and artistic achievements should be considered the most important when judging a country's value. For example, a country could be assessed in terms of the number of significant scientific inventions, or the number of famous artists it has produced over its history. However, the dominant view is that the value of a nation is more accurately assessed through measuring its business successes.

Firstly, there are inherent difficulties in measuring value in science and art. For example, the value of a painting by Picasso is open to interpretation, as each individual will use his or her own judgment to determine the painting's worth. In contrast, measuring business success enables a more objective assessment to be made, For example, the economic value of a country can be measured in terms of the Gross National Product or the Gross Domestic Product, both objective economic indicators measuring a nation's value in terms of total output of a country. Measuring value in terms of business success therefore is a more objective method compared to measuring the value of art or science.

In addition, it may be argued that science and artistic achievements can potentially be translated into business successes. For example, if the value of a significant technology invention like the computer microchip can be measured in monetary terms, scientific achievements like these can be measured in terms of their business success. Therefore, the impact of scientific achievements would potentially be captured by business measures such as total sales values or the value of exports and imports, which provides a more tangible measure of value compared to measuring the impact of scientific or artistic achievements alone.

Thirdly, measuring value by business success potentially captures a wider area where value exists, hence not only would it capture artistic and scientific achievements, but also achievements in the quality of life, health and education of a nation. For example, business success could result from a larger workforce from improved child mortality rates and increases average life expectancy rates. Also, improvements in the education system could produce workers with higher education and more skills which may lead to increases in productivity. Measuring value in terms of business successes enables the capture of other areas of societies apart from scientific and artistic achievements, hence producing a wider picture.

In summary, measuring the value of a nation in terms of its business successes is preferable to measuring value in terms of science and artistic achievements. Although translating scientific and artistic achievements into monetary terms requires further thought as business successes are more tangible to measure, more objective and encompasses other parts of society not captured by science and art, it is the preferred choice when measuring the value of a nation.

Look forward to your feedback and tips.

_________________
Beat it, just beat it.