同主题ARGUMENT65 =August Rush=小组第2次作业 by crepuscularlyw

crepuscularlywUID: 2645654

Argument65
The following appeared in a memo from the president of a chain of cheese stores located throughout the United States.

"For many years all the stores in our chain have stocked a wide variety of both domestic and imported cheeses. Last year, however, the five best-selling cheeses at our newest store were all domestic cheddar cheeses from Wisconsin. Furthermore, a recent survey by Cheeses of the World magazine indicates an increasing preference for domestic cheeses among its subscribers. Since our company can reduce expenses by limiting inventory, the best way to improve profits in all of our stores is to discontinue stocking many of our varieties of imported cheese and concentrate primarily on domestic cheeses."

提纲
1.
以偏概全：最新的店里的奶酪销售情况不能代表所有的店。
2.
就算是顾客的偏好改变，那改变的具体原因是什么？并未给出。该公司几年内一直都是销售国内外的奶酪的，所以我们完全有理由相信这种改变可能只是暂时的，比如WISCONSIN的奶酪在促销，或者是该地区的人们喜欢WISCONSIN的奶酪等等。
3.
survey的问题：杂志的权威性如何？采用了怎样的调查方法？可信度如何？


In this memo, the president of a chain of cheese stores located throughout the United States claims that the best way to improve profits in all of our stores is to discontinue stocking many of our varieties of imported cheese and concentrate primarily on domestic cheeses. To better bolster his claim, he cites the evidence that the five best-selling cheeses at our newest store were all domestic cheddar cheeses from Wisconsin. Apart from this, he also cites a recent survey by Cheeses of the World magazine indicates an increasing preference for domestic cheeses among its subscribers. Close scrutiny of each of these facts, however, reveals that all of them lend little support to the president’s claims.

A threshold problem involves a hasty generalization. A preference for cheese from Wisconsin in our newest store does not necessarily mean that the situation suits all the stores. Unless the president could provide certain evidence or statistics to evince that all the stores are almost the same, such as the size, employees, location, and the environment inside and outside the stores, he should not draw the conclusion so subjectively.

Even assuming that it is the change of consumers’ tastes that result in the preponderance of Wisconsin’s cheese sells, the president still cannot tell us what is actually the reason for the change last year. We all know this company has been selling a wide variety of both domestic and imported cheeses for many years, thus we may doubt that this change is only temporary. For instance, cheeses from Wisconsin are on sale now, or the fact that people in this district show favor to Wisconsin’s cheese. If the president cannot provide evidence to eliminate all these possibilities, the claim itself is logically flawed and unconvincing as it stands.

For additional support, the president cites a recent survey by Cheeses of the World magazine. However, he still doesn’t provide some certain facts concerning the authority of the magazine; can this magazine represent all the cheese consumers? What procedure this magazine used in the survey? Is it randomly conducted? Is the sample big enough? Besides, we should also take into consideration the authenticity of this survey. If the president cannot convince us of the survey, the claim is unpersuasive.

In sum, the argument rests on unsubstantiated assumptions and therefore unconvincing. To better bolster his claims, the president must provide evidence that the change of consumers’ preference, not some other factors, was responsible for the outstanding of Wisconsin’s cheeses. The president should also provide information about the procedure and the authenticity of the survey conducted by Cheeses of the World magazine.


                                                

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