12bhang wrote:
Mall owner: Our mall's occupancy rate is so low that we are barely making a profit. We cannot raise rents because of unacceptably high risk of losing our tenants. On the other hand,a mall that is fully occupied costs as much to run as one with a rental space here and a rental space there free. Clearly, therefore, to increase profits we must sign up new tenants.
Which of the following, if true, weakens the argument:
A) The mall's operating costs could be cut by consolidating currently rented spaces in such a way that an entire wing of the mall could be closed up.
b)The mall is located in a geographic area where the costs for air conditioning in the summers far exceed the cost of heating during the mild winters.
C)The mall's occupancy rate though low, has been relatively stable during the last few years.
D)The mall lost tenants as a result of each of the two drastic rent increases that have occurred here.
E)None of the established tenants is likely to need additional floor space in the near future.
The conclusion of the argument is that to increase profits, the mall should sign up new tenants.
We must find something that says that even after the addition of new tenants, the profits will not go up.
However, after scanning the answer choices, I could not find any which could weaken this conclusion. However, choice A, an alternate means to achieving this goal is the correct answer.
Could you explain why this is so? Clearly this is not a causal argument
While concluding that to increase profits we
must sign up new tenants, it is assumed that signing new tenants is the only way to increase the profits. To weaken the conclusion we need to attack this assumption. The choice that would suggest any alternate way of increasing profit would be correct.
A) By consolidating rented spaces we can cut down the operating cost, thereby can increase the profit - no matter by what proportion will it be. So this choice is suggesting an alternate way to increase profits. This can undermine the conclusion. CORRECT
B) Cost of air conditioning the mall is more than heating it. Irrelevant. INCORRECT
C) Mall's occupancy rate has been consistently low. Hence minor profit. INCORRECT
D) This choice suggest that you can not increase the profit my increasing the rate but does not suggest any alternate way to do so. INCORRECT
E) Existing tenants will not sign new contracts for additional floor space. Out of Scope. INCORRECT