Argument 209

wl851112UID: 2516029

TOPIC: ARGUMENT209 - The following recommendation was made by the Human Resources Manager to the board of directors of the Fancy Toy Company.

"In the last three quarters of this year, under the leadership of our president, Pat Salvo, our profits have fallen considerably. Thus, we should ask for her resignation in return for a generous severance package. In Pat's place, we should appoint Rosa Winnings. Rosa is currently president of Starlight Jewelry, a company whose profits have increased dramatically over the past several years. Although we will have to pay Rosa twice the salary that Pat has been receiving, it will be well worth it because we can soon expect our profits to increase considerably."
WORDS: 601
TIME: 00:30:00
DATE: 2010-2-6 17:23:32


In this argument, the author arrives at the conclusion that the company should let the current president Pat give her position to Rosa who is considered a wise and productive leader for the company to change the situation that Fancy Company's profits has fallen considerably in the last three quarters of this year. To substantiate this conclusion, the author points out the following evidence: first, the fact that profits of the Fancy Company has fallen during the last three quarters of this years under the direction of Pat ; second: Rosa is considered as a great leader of a Jewelry company whose profits have increased dramatically over the last several years. After all, the author does offer some relevant evidence to support this conclusion, and the assumptions underlying the argument are not without merits. The argument appears to be reasonable and somehow defensible at first glance. However, careful examination reveals that it suffers from several logical flaws which make the argument unconvincing to me as it stands.

In the first place, there is no clear evidence showing that the situation that Fancy Company's profits have fallen considerably in the last three quarters is caused totally by the president Pat. It is entirely possible that either the employees in the company didn't fulfill their responsibilities or the production procedures encountered some technological problems. Maybe the market demand of the products of this company has fallen to its average; all of these possibilities may cause the profits falling to the expected level. If this is the case, changing a leader may not alter the profits falling situation. Without ruling out these possibilities, the author can not assume that it is Pat that caused the results of the profits decreased, which seems rather untenable.

Another problem of the argument is whether Rosa will be the proper candidate of the Fancy Company's new president. If Pat is the main responsible person for the profits falling results, the author fails to provide sufficient evidence to support that Rosa is fit for the position. First, her success in the Jewelry Company can not be the solid evidence to assume that she can handle the Fancy Company successfully again, due to the difference of the two companies, this kind of false analogy is rootless and of little supportive. Second, Rosa’s salary may be two-fold as Pat’s, which can be a great expense of the Fancy Company to afford while the company is in the profits falling down situation. This can be a risk action to hiring someone by paying so much.

Moreover, the increased profits in Rosa's company may be caused by several reasons which include employees' hard working, great working environment, and equipment. These circumstances are not only due to the president herself but also the company's development from the beginning till now. So the author attributes all the achievement to Rosa, which is unfair and assertive. On the basis of the analysis to the materials provided, we can not agree with the author's recommendation that hiring Rosa can change the profits reducing circumstance in Fancy Company.

To sum up, the argument lacks credibility to bolster the author's recommendation, because the evidence cited in the analysis does not lend strong support to what the arguer maintains. To strengthen the argument, the author would have to provide the following materials such as: basic working conditions of the two companies, Rosa's resume and working capability from the Jewelry Company. Maybe a survey in Fancy Company from the employees can give us a better acquaintance of President Pat to evaluate whether her ability is fit for the position or not.