GMAT Essays (AWA)

Hi All,

Below is the argument and my AWA on the same. Can anyone pls evaluate the same.

The following appeared in a report presented for discussion at a meeting of the directors of a company that manufactures parts for heavy machinery:
"The falling revenues that the company is experiencing coincide with delays in manufacturing. These delays, in turn, are due in large part to poor planning in purchasing metals. Consider further that the manager of the department that handles purchasing of raw materials has an excellent background in general business, psychology, and sociology, but knows little about the properties of metals. The company should, therefore, move the purchasing manager to the sales department and bring in a scientist from the research division to be manager of the purchasing department."
Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.

AWA

Date 3rd June, 2018
Page No. 809 - Passage 4

The directors of a company manufacturing parts for heavy machinery are discussing a report in a meeting. The report is based on the falling revenues of the company. Poor planning in purchasing raw material namely, metals have lead to delay in manufacturing. In order to combat this issue, the report concludes that the purchase manager, who has little knowledge about the properties of the metals should be moved to sales department and the scientist from the research department should be the manager of purchasing department. The countermeasure so suggested by the report is seriously flawed based on the below mentioned reasons.

Firstly, for planning the purchase of raw material there is no requirement for purchase manager to have the knowledge of raw material. Having knowledge of metals and planning the purchase of metals are to different sides of coins. Further, making the scientist (who have the knowledge of metal) the purchase manager will not solve the problem if he fails to plan the raw material requirement. Also, if the purchasing manager is moved to sales department, there can be a possibility that the next report on falling revenues can identify sales as a problem as the manager lacks knowledge of the product as while selling the product knowledge of the product plays a vital role.

In order to ensure timely availability of raw material, the management should take into consideration other alternatives such as adapting EOQ (Economic Order quantity) system- wherein the system would directly place the order of raw material to the vendors upon falling of the raw material below the minimum requirement. Also company can think to adapt other cost accounting measures such as just in time analysis, etc. However, the company should do a cost benefit analysis before implementing these measures.