Hi, Please rate my Analysis of Argument. 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 you find this argument. In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion. My response The argument claims that the falling revenue of the company coincides with delays in manufacturing and these delays are because of poor planning in purchasing metals. The manager does not have the necessary scientific knowledge of the metals, which is root cause of the problem and therefore replace the manager by a scientist from the research division. Stated in this way the argument fails to mention various key factors on which it has been evaluated. It fails to mention other key factors that has contributed to the fall in revenue. The conclusion of the argument relies on various assumptions for which there are no clear evidence. Hence the argument is unconvincing and deeply flawed. First, the argument states that falling revenue of the company is coinciding with the delays in manufacturing, thereby reasoning that the because of the delay revenue is falling. This statement is a stretch and not substantial in any way. It is possible that because the revenue is falling, there could be directions from higher management to slow down the production, which the author of the report is unaware of. So the cause and effect relation gets totally altered. Also the fall in revenue could be because of various other reasons. It is possible that the competitors have come out with better product or are selling their product cheaper than this company’s product or the market is going through a recession phase which has led to drop in the sales. We can find numerous examples with the above mentioned reason that has led to drop in revenue. The argument would have been clear and convincing if the detailed reasons with supporting evidence would have been provided. Second, the argument assumes that the delay is caused by the poor planning in purchase of the metals. This again is a very weak and unsupported claim as the argument does not demonstrate any correlation between the delay in production and poor planning. The delay in production could be because of other reasons also. For example, it is possible that there is a bottleneck in the production line that is causing the delay. Or it is also possible that the production line is not efficient enough to support the output demand. In fact the argument should provide support why it thinks that delay is caused by the poor planning in purchase of the metals. Finally, the argument states that the manager has a very good business knowledge, psychology and sociology. If a person has that good business knowledge he would be well aware that poor planning is causing the delay, if at all. He would surely delegate that work to an expert, the scientist in this case. Moreover the manager has much more duties along with the purchase of the metals. A scientist is good in his field, but he cannot do other tasks that a manager does, and the chances of a scientist failing in managing the purchase department is even higher. Finally the argument concludes without doing a proper analysis of the exact reasons for the drop in revenue. Without doing an in-depth analysis by just replacing the manager might just not improve the revenue generated. Without supporting evidence of what really caused the fall in revenue, one is left with the impression that it is more of a wishful thinking rather than real cause that has caused the issue on hand. In summary the argument is flawed and therefore unconvincing. It could be considerably strengthened by providing the supporting evidence. In order to access the merits of situation it is essential to have the full knowledge of the contributing factors.

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The falling revenues that the company is experiencing coincide with

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Sajjad1994

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21 Oct 2022, 22:15

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AWA Score: 4.5 - 5 out of 6

Coherence and connectivity: 5/5
This rating corresponds to the flow of ideas and expressions from one paragraph to another. The effective use of connectives and coherence of assertive language in arguing for/against the argument is analyzed. This is deemed as one of the most important parameters.

Paragraph structure and formation: 3.5/5
The structure and division of the attempt into appropriate paragraphs are evaluated. To score well on this parameter, it is important to organize the attempt into paragraphs. Preferable to follow the convention of leaving a line blank at the end of each paragraph, to make the software aware of the structure of the essay.

Vocabulary and word expression: 3.5/5
This parameter rates the submitted essay on the range of relevant vocabulary possessed by the candidate basis the word and expression usage. There are no extra- points for bombastic word usage. Simple is the best form of suave!

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TusharTandon

Hi Sajjad1994, would appreacite if you could evaluate my essay.

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.

Essay:
The report presented to the directors in a meeting of the manufacturing company concludes that, the cause of falling revenues is delay in manufactoring which in turn is caused by poor planning in purchasing the raw materials. Basis this analogy, the author recommends that the manager of the purchase department should be moved to the sales department and a scientist from the reasearch department should be given the responsibility of managing procurement of raw material, considering the fact that the sceintist would have in dept knowledge of properties of metals as compared to that of purchase manager. Stated in this way, the argument manipulates facts and conveys a distorted view of the situation. The conclusion of the argument relies on assumptions, for which evidence has not been provided. The argument is rather unconvincing, given the obvious flaws.

Firstly, the argument establishes an illogical causality between falling revenues and delay in manufacturing. This is a week and flawed reasoning. There are several factors which could be responsible for dimishing revenues, such as economic recession, a temporary slump in the market, increased competition, spurious quality of products etc. The argument does not provides any information about the analysis of these factors, without which the reasoning of the argument stands questioned.

Secondly, the argument readily assumes poor planning in purchasing raw materials as the only possible factor, causing delay in manufacturing. This argument again has a lot of logical gaps. It does not takes into account other possible causes of manufacturing delays. It is possible that the manufacturing process is a complex and a onerous task and hence occational delays are inevitable. It is also possible that the technology of machinery used in manufacturing process is obsolete which causes frequent machinery breakdowns, causing manufacturing delays. Hence, without considering these factors, it is not logical to consider the flaw in purchase department as the only cause of manufacturing delays.

Finally, the argument makes an illogical recommendation that the purchase maanger should be transferred to the sales team and a scientist from the research team should be given the task of managing procurement. This line of argument is erroneous. Managing procurement requires an individual to posses various skills such as effective communication and negotiation skills, sound management skillls along with an ability to understand the thought process and psychology of suppliers and other intermediaries involved in the procurement process, whereas a basic knowledge of the raw material suffices. However, a scientist might have a sound knowledge of the properties of metals but that is not sufficient to perform the task of procurement. Since, the current manager posseses all these skills as listed above, hence it would not be a wise decision to shift him in other department. Additionally, without contemplating on other possible causes of issues in the procurement, transferring an employee to other department also hampers the moral of other employees as well. Collectively, these factors won’t benefit the company as a whole.

Thus, the argument has several glaring logical gaps. It started with a sound premise but lacked necessary data and logical reasoning to strenghten the premise. If the argument had drawn upon the above mentioned possibilites and filled the holes in the reasoning, then it would have been far sounder as a whole.

tamdjo

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16 Oct 2023, 10:42

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Hello EXPERT team,

Please can you rate my here below essay? Thank you very much in advance.

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Citing the simultaneous occurrence of manufacturing delays and revenues drop, the argument claims that those responsible for planning in purchasing since they have no raw material knowledge should be move to the department of their expertise – sales department- and leave the role to scientist from the research department. Stated in this way, the argument omits several important elements that must be addressed to substantiate the argument. The author relies on an unfounded casual relationship for which neither fact-based elements nor compelling examples have been provided. Therefore, the argument is rather weaker, unconvincing, and has several flaws.

First, behind the author reasoning there is an unstated assumption that since two events occurs at the same time there are casually related. One cannot deny the fact that simultaneous occurrence of two events may signal a causal relationship, but in this case, it is not warranted. Several outside elements different from delays can be the prime factors of revenues decline. For instance, if during the same period the company reduced its marketing budget, this can be the key driver of revenues drop. Moreover, if could be that during the same time period the company has sufficient inventory to sale serve its clients. In that case the revenue drop root cause could be the inefficiency of the sales teams. Another major element to be pointed out as the driver of revenues decrease can also be the entry of a new competitors in the market of quality issue with current supply. Clearly, the author unstated assumption of causal relationship has no leg to stand on.

Second, the argument has completed ruled out the eventuality that the casual relationship can be reversed. In fact, there are several occurrences in which revenue drop lead to poor planning in material purchasing and therefore delays. To illustrate, let’s consider the case where revenue drop has been so severe that it has deterred the company ability to pay its suppliers in one shot. Clearly, one can expect a delinquency in the supply planning, a situation that will undoubtedly lead to manufacturing delays. For the argument to be compelling, the author should rule out this possibility
Last, contend that manager of purchasing department should be replaced by a scientist from research department. The basis being the fact that purchasing manager has no knowledge in raw material. Once again, this reasoning missed out on important elements. The mere fact that purchasing manager has no knowledge of raw material does not imply that he or she is incapable to plan. Knowledge of material and planning are two separate elements. One can be skilled on one of those and unskilled on the other. Moreover, purchasing manager with business background can have a more pragmatic approach than the theorical approach that is often adopted by research scientist.

In summary, because the argument leaves out several key issues, it is neither sound nor persuasive, and therefore unconvincing. It would have been more thorough or convincing if the author closed the gap discussed above. In order to assess the merits of a certain situation, it is essential to have a full knowledge of all contributing factors.

Sajjad1994

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AWA Score: 5 out of 6

Coherence and Connectivity: 4.5 out of 6
Your essay exhibits good coherence and connectivity overall, with clear organization and progression of ideas. However, there are some minor issues with transitions between points, especially between the first and second paragraphs. This makes the essay slightly less coherent.

Word Structure: 5 out of 6
Your use of language and sentence structure is effective, and your points are expressed clearly. There are a few minor grammatical errors and awkward phrases, such as "delays can be the prime factors of revenues decline" should be "delays can be the primary factors for revenue decline."

Paragraph Structure and Formation: 5 out of 6
Your essay is well-structured, with clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the argument and presents a coherent line of reasoning. However, as mentioned earlier, transitions between paragraphs could be improved for better flow.

Language and Grammar: 4.5 out of 6
The essay contains some grammatical errors, such as "unfounded casual relationship," which should be "unfounded causal relationship." Additionally, there are some issues with subject-verb agreement, as in "There are casually related," which should be "They are causally related." These errors, while not overly distracting, slightly affect the essay's overall quality.

Vocabulary and Word Expression: 5.5 out of 6
Your vocabulary and word expression are generally strong, and you use a variety of words effectively to convey your points. However, there are some minor word choice issues and awkward phrasing, such as "unstated assumption of causal relationship," which could be revised for better clarity.

Overall, your essay demonstrates a good understanding of the argument's flaws and provides a well-structured critique. With some improvements in grammar, word choice, and transitions, it could become even more effective. Your evaluation of the argument's reasoning and evidence is thorough and thoughtful.

tamdjo