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"Most Business analysts for the drug store industry have stated that even when a nation's economy is weak, drug stores profit are unlikely to decline appreciably. While consumers might put off some kind of purchases when the economy is slow. Prescription and over-the-counter drug purchases are dictated by consumers health needs, which are independent of the economy. Therefore, medicine Inc. is likely to continue to have increasing profit and should plan to open an additional drug store next year.
My Response:
The argument claims that a weak economy of a nation does not leads to a decline in drugstores' profits considerably, because the drug purchases depends primarily on the consumer's health requirements, which in turn is not related to the economy in anyway. Therefore, the Medicine Inc. is likely to continue to have increasing profit. Stated in this way the argument fails to mention several key issues, on the basis of which it could be evaluated. The conclusion relies on assumptions, for which there is no clear evidence. Therefore, the argument is rather weak, unconvincing, and has several flaws.
First, the argument readily assumes that the drug purchases are solely depending on the health requirements of the consumers and not on any other factors. This is a stretch and not substantiated in any way. There are numerous factors that directly or indirectly influence the purchase of drugs. For example, a consumer may hold on purchase of a medicine if his health is not so serious. Moreover, for illness such as cold, headache, a consumer might put off purchasing drugs, which otherwise he could have purchased, if he were having money. The argument would have been much clearer if it explicitly gave examples and evidence of how the purchase of a medicine is related to the health of a consumer, and not on any other factors.
Second, the argument claims that the profits of Medicine Inc. will continue to rise. It thus suggests that a weak economy does not affect the profit margin of the company. This is again a very weak and unsupported claim as the argument does not demonstrate any correlation between weak economy and sales of Medicine Inc and its profit margin. In fact, the argument does not even draw a parallel with the economy of a Country and profit margins in the Drugstores. If such a correlation had been shown for Drug stores, then the author would have sounded a bit more convincing. In addition, if the argument provided evidence that the profits of Medicine Inc. are increasing despite the weak economy, the argument could have been strengthen even further. The examples from the other businesses could have helped in a better way to understand the trends of profit margins and its relation with economy.
Finally, the argument concludes that Medicine Inc. should open an addition drug store coming year. From this statement again, it is not at all clear how much profit medicine Inc. is making and whether the new store will make profit. Additionally, the argument does not provide evidence regarding the state of the economy next year. Moreover, the argument does not provide any suitable example from the similar industries that if they plan to open new stores next year or not. Without supporting evidence and examples from other related businesses, one is left with the impression that the claim is more of a wishful thinking rather than substantive evidence. As a result, this conclusion has no legs to stand upon.
In summary, the argument is flawed and therefore unconvincing. It could be considerably strengthen if the author clearly mentioned all relevant facts. In order to assess the merits of a certain situation, it is essential to have full knowledge of all contributing factors.
My Response:
The argument claims that a weak economy of a nation does not leads to a decline in drugstores' profits considerably, because the drug purchases depends primarily on the consumer's health requirements, which in turn is not related to the economy in anyway. Therefore, the Medicine Inc. is likely to continue to have increasing profit. Stated in this way the argument fails to mention several key issues, on the basis of which it could be evaluated. The conclusion relies on assumptions, for which there is no clear evidence. Therefore, the argument is rather weak, unconvincing, and has several flaws.
First, the argument readily assumes that the drug purchases are solely depending on the health requirements of the consumers and not on any other factors. This is a stretch and not substantiated in any way. There are numerous factors that directly or indirectly influence the purchase of drugs. For example, a consumer may hold on purchase of a medicine if his health is not so serious. Moreover, for illness such as cold, headache, a consumer might put off purchasing drugs, which otherwise he could have purchased, if he were having money. The argument would have been much clearer if it explicitly gave examples and evidence of how the purchase of a medicine is related to the health of a consumer, and not on any other factors.
Second, the argument claims that the profits of Medicine Inc. will continue to rise. It thus suggests that a weak economy does not affect the profit margin of the company. This is again a very weak and unsupported claim as the argument does not demonstrate any correlation between weak economy and sales of Medicine Inc and its profit margin. In fact, the argument does not even draw a parallel with the economy of a Country and profit margins in the Drugstores. If such a correlation had been shown for Drug stores, then the author would have sounded a bit more convincing. In addition, if the argument provided evidence that the profits of Medicine Inc. are increasing despite the weak economy, the argument could have been strengthen even further. The examples from the other businesses could have helped in a better way to understand the trends of profit margins and its relation with economy.
Finally, the argument concludes that Medicine Inc. should open an addition drug store coming year. From this statement again, it is not at all clear how much profit medicine Inc. is making and whether the new store will make profit. Additionally, the argument does not provide evidence regarding the state of the economy next year. Moreover, the argument does not provide any suitable example from the similar industries that if they plan to open new stores next year or not. Without supporting evidence and examples from other related businesses, one is left with the impression that the claim is more of a wishful thinking rather than substantive evidence. As a result, this conclusion has no legs to stand upon.
In summary, the argument is flawed and therefore unconvincing. It could be considerably strengthen if the author clearly mentioned all relevant facts. In order to assess the merits of a certain situation, it is essential to have full knowledge of all contributing factors.
