argument117 [SJTU-ETB6 10G] 第7次作业

dacgileUID: 2367722

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."
WORDS: 466          TIME: 00:30:37          DATE: 2007-8-7 16:52:21

By citing a survey concerning recent work state, the manager recommends that they should increase the stock of home office machines and their responding supplies so that they can become the most profitable component of their stores. Close scrutiny of the recommendation, however, reveals that it is logically flawed in several respects, which render it unconvincing.

To begin with, the manager relies on survey to imply that the needs of home office machines have increased. Yet it is not necessarily the case. The survey itself is open to question. For example, are there enough people participating? If the number is limited and even all come from one company, then the result can only reflect the situation in that company rather than the whole trend in this district. In addition, result is based on the respondents who may only constituted only a small part of the participant, for example, 2 out of 100 respond to the survey, than how can the result of the survey be objective? Moreover, the result only shows that these people are required to take work home, nothing further has been mentioned. Perhaps the work being taken home is only some simple ones which do not need home office machines at all. Or it is possible that these people were only complaining for their tiredness. Without ruling out these, the manager cannot simply conclude that the needs are increasing.

Furthermore, even if the needs of home office machines in fact have increased, the manager's suggestion that they should increase the stock mentioned in the passage is questionable. The department should make it clear that which specific kind of machines is indeed in need. Only increasing all relevant machines in which some of them may be of no demand at all blindly can render an increase in cost. Also, they should investigate whether the increase in stock of office supplies is worthwhile. It is entirely possible that these supplements are profuse in their workplace so that they can take them home without buying.

Last but not least, the mere changes cannot guarantee that their departments will become that most profitable component. We all know that the quality of the machines is vital to its selling. If the machines which are bought by their departments are bad in quality, the result is losing profits in stead of gaining. Perhaps other departments are figuring out what they can do, and it is possible that the way that they have thought is much than effective than the manager's. So the manager cannot justifiable conclude that the changes can be of profit.

In conclusion, the recommendation is not persuasive as it stands. To better strengthen it, the manager should make a more detailed study of the market and then learn about more about the situation of other departments.