Increasingly, American businesses requiring customer service phone lin

It seems to be B . If consumers ,who are opposed to outsourcing, are willing to pay more for goods and services from companies that don't engage in such practices, then profit will be more for such companies

Hello,

Please what makes A wrong and please help with the explanation of answer choice B. Thank you

Hello, Adobea97. If our goal is to weaken the argument, then we need to know exactly what that argument says. The passage conveniently places the argument at the end, and that line follows a common premise-conclusion form.

Argument: [Companies using overseas call centers] will undoubtedly show higher profits than companies that do not

Premise: since the companies using these overseas call centers are saving so much money [by outsourcing]

To weaken the argument, we expect to see some information that would suggest that companies that do not outsource may show higher profits than those that do. How about we take a look at the two answer choices in question?


Notice that answer choice (A) emphasizes overseas call centers providing services at the lowest rates. We are not particularly concerned with the nature of those services, or in this internal competition. All that matters is that if these call centers are willing to provide their services at low rates, then the premise above that is used to support the argument seems to ring true. In short, companies that used overseas call centers could enjoy higher profit margins if they could save money by outsourcing.

Answer choice (B) may not be the strongest weakener I have seen. After all, we gain no insight into just how many consumers the group may encompass: it could be two, or it could be a lot, and the difference could, well, make a difference. However, if it is true that a group of consumers exists that would be willing to pay more for goods and services because a company did not outsource, then the profit margin for such companies could, in theory, be just as healthy as that of a company that did outsource. Consider the following simplistic scenario with made-up numbers:

Company A outsources: Revenue—$100M (from providing service for many clients at a reduced rate); Labor costs—$25M

Company B does NOT outsource: Revenue—$150M (from serving fewer clients at a higher rate); Labor costs—$75M

You should be able to appreciate that each company in such a black-and-white business arrangement could enjoy the same profit of $75M, even if they took different paths to get there. In fact, there is nothing prohibiting Company B from enjoying larger profits. I was just tossing out some numbers to make a point. Bottom line: If a company can not practice outsourcing but have a strong enough consumer base that is willing to pay higher rates for a similar product, then it is possible for such a company to show profits that may be at least as high as those of a company that outsources. Thus, (B) can weaken the argument, and that is all we are looking to do.

Perhaps the two answer choices make more sense now. Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew