Argument117 求砖头，猛烈些的砖头……

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In this argument, the author make a conclusion that the office-supply departments would become the most profitable component of the stores by increasing stock of office supplies such as paper, pens, and staplers. To support the conclusion, the author provides reasons below. Based on a recent survey, it's a trend that people are required to take more work home with them than they were in the past, in addition, the company could benefit from increasing stock of office supplies. But there are a some fallacies in this argument.
  In the first place, the author make the conclusion based on the survey, which show that over 70 percent of the respondents reported that they are required to take more work home. The author assumps that the respondents are representative of the majority. Yet this is probably not the case. The survey could not show the answers of the nonrespondents. Perhaps, the majority are required to take less work home. If so, it is sheer folly to accept the trend that the author assumps.
  Even if it is granted that the general trend is more working at home. And the argument cites that by increasing the stock of office-supplies could the departments become the most profitable component of the stores. The author could not establish the causal connection between increasing stock and becoming the most profitable component. More factors should be concerned. For example, the work which people take home may be some simple job, which  not necessarily to use printers, small copy machines. It is entirely possible that they could take the some small machines home under the permission of the company. So, the author should provide more evidence to support that there are a great demands of stationery, office-tools in the market.
  Moreover, the argument oversimplize the problem that Valu-Mart has a stagnant sales in the office-supply departments. Taking into account more factors such as location, customer service, the argument fails to provide any information of that, which make the argument completely unwarranted. Then, the conclusion might not be true.
  In sum, the author fails to provide enough evidences to support his conclusion which is the office-supply department would become the most profitable by increasing stock of home office machines. To make the argument more persuasive, the author should base on a more convincing survey, and provide more information about the office-supply department.

[ Last edited by staralways on 2005-8-16 at 14:38 ]