Which one of the following is most analogous to what the author calls the "cynical bean counters" (line 47)?
iris.diaz823on September 11, 2020
Why not D?
I chose D over B becuase the author mentions that the cynical bean counters produce synthetic smells to increase their profits. Similar to the tax benefits D talked about. B on the other hand says "cost-saving" restrictions on production, this would not contribute to the effort of increasing profit, though it COULD save some money in production
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Thanks for the question! So this is a specific reference question, so we should go to the line it points us to and read above and below it to get the full context. Who are the cynical bean counters? Well, they’re the managers of corporations. They basically make perfumes use cheaper ingredients, which increases profits but make the quality worse.
So now we need to find something most analogous to this situation. Let’s take a look at (D), which tells us that a business executive convinces her company to invest in art just for tax benefits. So this definitely has the same motivation behind it, profits. But it’s missing the part where the product itself is actually harmed by the drive for profits. The perfume was made worse, but it doesn’t seem likely that the art was made worse. (B), on the other, presents a situation where both profit is the driving motivator and the quality will probably go down.
Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.
