argument117 五一互助小组

为了忘记UID: 2317994

TOPIC: 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: 446          TIME: 00:45:00          DATE: 2007-7-6 18:16:56

The argument seems to be right in the first glance. However, though in-depth thinking, we can find that it is illogical. The author can not convince us for lacking of surveys to show there is an actually increasing of the need of home office machines. And it is illogical to say the profit of the sale of home office machines will rise with those changes, even the office-supply departments will become the most profitable component of Valu-Mart stores.

In the first place, it is premature to say that the sale of home office machines will increase. Though the author provides us with a survey that a large number of respondents were suffering from a increasing of home-working, it can not be the evidence to convince us that there is also a increasing of those home office machines. It is possible that people have had enough home office machines because the survey just said people were required to take more work home than in the past, which means they also take work home in the past. And those machines they used in the past can supply complete helps on their home-working. In short, it is unfair to conclude that people will buy more home office machines with a increasing of home-working.

In the second place, it is illogical to predicate that the profits will increasing though the measures to take advantage of work-at-home trend. Only increasing the stock of home office machines can not result in a increasing of sale. Without thinking the market's need, there are still some other causes affecting the trend, as the kind, type, quality or price of those machines. For example, to the same kind of home-used printers, if the price in the Valu-Mart stores is higher than in other stores, a great number of people will buy it in other stores instead of Valu-Mart stores. Consequently, the Valu-Mart stores will not make profits increasing.

In the third place, even we take the assume that the profits will rise as the author said, however, there is no evidence to show that the office-supply departments will become the most profitable component of the stores. We can not judge from the argument that the other departments of Valu-Mart store will not take measures to promote their sales and increase their profits. So it is cursory to predicate that the office-supply department will become the most profitable component of the Valu-Mart stores.

In final analysis, the author has a long way to go to reason us that the office-supply departments will become the most profitable component of our stores. He or she should do more and deeper survey to show that the increasing of home-working will lead to a increasing of home office machines. In addition, the factor as kind, type, quality and price of those commodities should be taken into account.