The following appeared in a memorandum from the business department of the Apogee Company:
"When the Apogee Company had all its operations in one location, it was more profitable than it is today. Therefore, the Apogee Company should close down its field offices and conduct all its operations from a single location. Such centralization would improve profitability by cutting costs and helping the company maintain better supervision of all employees.
The business memorandum argues that consolidating Apogee's office locations into one central location would improve overall firm profitability. Several logical flaws lie within the reasoning of the argument thereby making the conclusion difficult to conceive. The author fails to provide key pieces of information that are necessary in order to substantiate the argument.
Firstly, when discussing Apogee's current weaker financial performance, the author fails to identify what exactly caused the decline in profits. For instance, Apogee could have historically been more profitable than it is today for reasons such as a recent loss of market share or increased tax expenses.
Secondly, the premises do not indicate the type of industry that Apogee operates in making it difficult to conclude if centralizing office locations would actually cut costs and improve profitability. For example, as a result of the consolidation, Apogee could face an increase in overall expenses if sales representatives need to travel further to visit customers or if product needs to be transported for a longer distance from the central location. The increase in expenses could negatively impact the company's profits.
Overall, the argument as stated makes it difficult for the reader to conclude whether or not the centralization will result in lower costs and improved profitability. To strengthen the argument, the author could provide detail with regard to Apogee's historical financial performance and what measures actually caused the sink in profits. Additional information such as the Company's business and the industry it services is necessary in order to draw the proper conclusion.
"When the Apogee Company had all its operations in one location, it was more profitable than it is today. Therefore, the Apogee Company should close down its field offices and conduct all its operations from a single location. Such centralization would improve profitability by cutting costs and helping the company maintain better supervision of all employees.
The business memorandum argues that consolidating Apogee's office locations into one central location would improve overall firm profitability. Several logical flaws lie within the reasoning of the argument thereby making the conclusion difficult to conceive. The author fails to provide key pieces of information that are necessary in order to substantiate the argument.
Firstly, when discussing Apogee's current weaker financial performance, the author fails to identify what exactly caused the decline in profits. For instance, Apogee could have historically been more profitable than it is today for reasons such as a recent loss of market share or increased tax expenses.
Secondly, the premises do not indicate the type of industry that Apogee operates in making it difficult to conclude if centralizing office locations would actually cut costs and improve profitability. For example, as a result of the consolidation, Apogee could face an increase in overall expenses if sales representatives need to travel further to visit customers or if product needs to be transported for a longer distance from the central location. The increase in expenses could negatively impact the company's profits.
Overall, the argument as stated makes it difficult for the reader to conclude whether or not the centralization will result in lower costs and improved profitability. To strengthen the argument, the author could provide detail with regard to Apogee's historical financial performance and what measures actually caused the sink in profits. Additional information such as the Company's business and the industry it services is necessary in order to draw the proper conclusion.
