Quote:
The following appeared as part of an annual report sent to stockholders by Olympic Foods, a processor of frozen
foods:
“Over time, the costs of processing go down because as organizations learn how to do things better, they become
more efficient. In color film processing, for example, the cost of a 3-by-5-inch print fell from 50 cents for five-day
service in 1970 to 20 cents for one-day service in 1984. The same principle applies to the processing of food. And
since Olympic Foods will soon celebrate its 25th birthday, we can expect that our long experience will enable us to
minimize costs and thus maximize profits.”
Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.
The argument claims that like any color film processing company, Olympic Foods, a food processing company, expects that their long experience will enable them to minimize the cost and thus maximize the profits because they believe the costs of processing go down as the organizations learn how to do things better, they become more efficient. The conclusion of the argument relies on assumptions for which there is no clear evidence. Hence, the argument is unconvincing and has flaws.
First, the argument readily assumes that a principle that applies to color film processing also applies to food processing. This statement is a stretch and not substantiated in any way. For instance, food processing in 1970s might have fewer FDA regulations than currently but color film processing does not have such regulating government bodies. Moreover, such ever-evolving regulatory compliance often leads to an added cost. The argument could have been much clearer if it had taken into consideration the above-mentioned difference in the way the two different type of companies function under regulatory bodies.
Second, the argument claims that Olympic food is likely to see reduction in cost and increment in profits because of an experience of 25 years. It thus suggests that this is the only factor based on which company’s profits can be anticipated. This is again a very weak and unsupported claim in which the author does not take into consideration other factors that may affect the company’s cost and overall profits. In addition, if the argument provided evidence that a similar food processing company increased its profits and reduced costs because of its long experience the argument could have been strengthened even further.
Without supporting evidence and examples from similar businesses where profits have increased, one is left with an impression that the claim is more of a wishful thinking rather than a substantive evidence.
In summary, the argument is flawed for the above-mentioned reasons and is therefore unconvincing. It could be considerably strengthened if the author mentioned all the relevant facts. In order to assess a given situation it is important to have full knowledge of all the contributing factors.