[AERO小组第十次作业]ARGUMNET117

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题目：ARGUMENT117 - The following is a memo from the business manager of Valu-Mart stores.
"Over 70 percent of the respondents to a recent survey reported that they are required to take more work home with them from the workplace than they were in the past. Since Valu-Mart has not seen impressive sales in its office-supply departments in the past, we should take advantage of this work-at-home trend by increasing at all Valu-Mart stores the stock of home office machines such as printers, small copy machines, paper shredders, and fax machines. We will also increase stock of office supplies such as paper, pens, and staplers. With these changes, our office-supply departments will become the most profitable component of our stores."
字数：376          用时：00:34:32          日期：2008-1-17 17:47:44
  In this argument, the author cites their office-supply department will earn significant profit based on which he assumes that a result of survey and then taking analysis. To substantiate this assumption, the author also provide evidence that work-at-home trend are increasing now. However, I find this argument contain several critical fallacies.
  In the first aspect, the author provides no evidence that the background of survey is available. In order to establish and link correlation between adequately respondents and final comment from one survey, the sample must be sufficient in size and must ensure representative of the overall group of people who are distributed in anywhere and different districts. Lacking such evidence, it is entirely possible that although over 70 percent of respondents participate in this survey, aggregate of people who attend this survey just about only 200 or 300. Either case, if true, would serve to undermine the author's claim that more and more tendency of work home have increased.
  Secondly, even assuming that this result of the survey is right, the author overlooks the possibility that office supplies are not bought by those group of people. It is possible that vast majority of group of people actually not require those kinds of appliances. Some factors might include price, effect-utility, etc. In short, without considering and ruling out other possible reasons that the relationship between trend and office-supply, the author's contention is wholly unpersuasive.
  Last but not least, the author unfairly assumes that provide adequately required office-supply is contribute to make profit in their department. It is require any other factors that are necessarily preserving the sales condition. Such as high quality of office appliances, convenient utility, acceptable price, etc. Lacking evidence that mentioned above possibilities, the fact that this department will become the most profitable component in their stores is unconvincing.
  To sum up, the conclusion lacks credibility because the evidence cited in the analysis does not lend strong support to what the author maintains. To strengthen the argument, the author would have to provide more evidence concerning why more and more people choose this style of work? Is this trend will be perpetuation? To better evaluate the argument, we would need more information regarding the specific condition about the survey, and background of the survey.