And in the spirit of Link Everything Online, here's the thread referred to in #0: related discussion: proper usage of the word 'conduce'

(I'm sure you were going to edit your post, mabr, but I've just saved you the trouble. :-))

con·duce (kn-ds, -dys)
intr.v. con·duced, con·duc·ing, con·duc·es
To contribute or lead to a specific result: "The quiet conduces to thinking about the darkening future" (George F. Will).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

dienlich sein + dat.

W's example is helpful. W's translation would apparently use dienlich sein, not dienen. Are they synonymous? To my mind, dienen=serve means, has as a consequence, dienlich sein=beitragen zu=conduces suggests encouraging a result rather than producing a result. There are overlaps, clearly. Are there any sentences where dienen would be better translated by conduce than by serve--or even as well translated?