Argument117 【Persistence 小组】第十二次作业

小驴子UID: 2222683

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."

In this memo, the business manager of Valu-Mart stores concludes that their office-supply departments will earn most in their stores. The conclusion is supported by a recent survey that most of the respondents reported their requiring taking more work home than they were in the past time. The manager intends to make use of this advantage by increasing stock of office supplies and home office machines. Close scrutiny of each of these facts, however, reveals that none of them lend credible support to the conclusion.

A threshold problem with the argument is that the survey used as the prerequisite of the conclusion is questionable. Several details of the survey are not clear showed. First, the total number of people which took part in the survey and the number of the respondents are not given. 70 percent of the respondents might seem large at the first glance; however, it is entirely possible the number of respondents is so small that it cannot represent the most people's thoughts. Secondly, the background of the respondents is not known. For example, their age and job are two main points that might influence the result of the survey.  If the job of most respondents is writer or news reporter, the chance that they take more work home with them from the workplace is more than others whose job need more physical work. Thirdly, the survey methodology might be problematic. We are not informed that under what circumstance the respondents did the survey. They might just complain their job, if so, whether the responses are truthful is not known.

Even if people have to take more work at home then they were in the past, it doesn't necessarily indicate that they would buy more home office machines and office supplies. It is entirely possible that people are not lack of these office supplies or they don't have to use these tools to finish their job. They might only use the computer and then mail the work on the Internet. If it is the truth, there is no need for them to buy these office machines and office supplies since the computer and the Internet can handle the whole work. They don’t have to pay extra money on the things of which they have no use. Therefore, the office-supply departments of the Valu-Mart store might not earn such a lot of money as the manager supposed.

Finally, the manager intends to increase the stock of office supplies and machines, which might be an effective way to make the office-supply departments become the most profitable component of their stores. Earning the profits depends on several parts. For example, the cost of these office supplies and machines, the sale price and the quality of the office supplies and machines all play vital roles in the market. Even if people take more work home and need more home office machines and supplies, they still might not purchase Valu-Mart stores' products if the products are expensive or have low quality.

In sum, the author's argument is not persuasive. To bolster ir, the manager must provide the details of survey and whether it can represent most people's opinion. I would also need to know the other information mentioned above about the office supplies and machines in Valu-Mart stores. Besides, the selling condition of other departments of their stores should be shown because if other stores have a good market, the office-supply departments might not become the most profitable component of their stores.