18. The Financial Benefits of Being Beautiful

In this article Derek Thompson, a senior editor at The Atlantic, writes on the benefits of being beautiful in the business world. The article begins with the statement that company CEOs who are more attractive have higher salaries because their beauty is capable of bringing certain advantages to the company they represent. Thompson backs this statement up by research done at the University of Wisconsin, which has shown that better looking CEOs bring a direct benefit to their companies whenever their faces appear on national television. They attribute this benefit to the confidence people have in a company lead by an individual appealing to the eye, one which is inevitably capable of playing off of their desires. Although Thompson recognizes that this is a shallow means by which a corporation determines its representative, he explains that the benefits beauty gives these companies outweigh the disadvantages it may cost them in the long-run. These leaders are capable of attracting more attention from possible business partners, making them a leading competitor in the world's economic battleground. Other research stated in the article further supports the so called "success" beauty promotes based on the misconception that better looking people are better leaders and are smarter than the average looking person. Thompson moves on to analyze human instincts which make such suppositions about people based on first impressions, where different physical traits define whether or not people trust them or acknowledge them. Nevertheless he states, "First impressions are short-cuts, but sometimes our instincts are off...'There [is] no evidence that perceived trustworthiness predicts actual manager skill'." Thompson ends by stating that no matter how irrational these decisions may be they reflect on society and are used by companies to play off of the interests of the public.

In this article Thompson not only presents strongly supported evidence but he also makes his own conclusions by reading between the lines established by the research he quotes. By further analyzing the concepts he introduces he reveals an understanding of how this economic phenomena is linked to the attitudes of society. His article is further strengthened by his clarity of thought and straightforward writing. His sentences are fluid and his varied sentence structure allows the reader to easily follow the structure of the article. Furthermore, his article is persuasive and provides enough examples and evidence to support his arguments, using both research and his own opinions to formulate his argument. Thompson's thesis in this article, although not explicit, is to argue that beauty has a growing role in society because of the appeal it has to consumers and thus provides both benefits to a company and an attractive individual. Nevertheless, Thompson does point out counter arguments which contradict this worldview where beauty is queen. He provides evidence suggesting that the most beautiful people are not always as prepared for the job as their less attractive, yet equally capable, counter-part. His tone in this article is serious yet there are places where there is an indication of irony. Overall, Thompson's article is well written and is capable of persuading his audience by providing credible examples and by providing a well-thoughout argument which is heavily supported by research.        

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/the-financial-benefits-of-being-beautiful/282975/