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01 Aug 2014, 05:37
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"A local wine store made an interesting discovery last month: it sold more French than Italian wine on days when it played recordings of French accordion music, but it sold more Italian than French wine on days when Italian songs were played. Therefore, I recommend that we put food specialties from one particular country on sale for a week at a time and play only music from that country while the sale is going on. By this means we will increase our profits in the same way that the wine store did, and we will be able to predict more precisely what items we should stock at any given time.”
My response:
In the given argument, the assistant manager of the store concludes that the store must put food specialties from one particular country on sale for a week at a time and play music from that country while the sale is going on. The assistant manager has put forward this recommendation seeking inspiration from a discovery made by a local wine store last month. This wine store sold more French than Italian wine on days when it played recordings of French accordion music, but it sold more Italian than French wine on days when Italian songs were played. The assistant manager of the store feels that using this methodology, the they will be able to increase their profits and predict more precisely what items they should stock at any given time. The argument, however, lacks key evidences and is hence weak.
The argument is based on several unsubstantiated evidences and premises. Firstly, the author assumes that the strategy that was applicable to wine would also be applicable to food items, in general. However this may not be the case. For example, people fond of wine, may have a great taste and understanding of music. But customers of the food store, which might also include kids, unlike wine stores, might not be interested in music of any sorts and hence might not be lured to buy the food items of that particular country.
Secondly, the author does mention about the sales of French and Italian wines, but he does not mention the effect of playing French or Italian music on the sales of wine from other countries. For example, although on the days on which French music was played, the sale of French wine was higher than that of Italian wine, but it could be possible that the sale of German wine was unconditionally higher on all the days, irrespective of the type of music being played at the store.
Thirdly, the author assumes that higher sales of a particular type of food would help the store earn higher profits. But the profit might not be higher if the sales of other food items decreases, since mathematically, profits equal revenue minus costs. Decrease of sale of other types of food items, despite an increase in sale of food from one particular country, might actually result in a lower revenue for the store.
Hence, the author could have made his argument more clear and thorough by providing requisite evidences. He could have mentioned about the authenticity of the discovery of the wine store and could have also tried to delve further into it, to determine if any factor, other than music was contributing to the higher sales of wine from a particular country, on a particular day. He could have also provided evidence to prove that what was applicable to wine would also be applicable to food items. Moreover, he could have showed how the recommended strategy would help the store earn to higher profits and to predict what items should be stocked at any given time.
My response:
In the given argument, the assistant manager of the store concludes that the store must put food specialties from one particular country on sale for a week at a time and play music from that country while the sale is going on. The assistant manager has put forward this recommendation seeking inspiration from a discovery made by a local wine store last month. This wine store sold more French than Italian wine on days when it played recordings of French accordion music, but it sold more Italian than French wine on days when Italian songs were played. The assistant manager of the store feels that using this methodology, the they will be able to increase their profits and predict more precisely what items they should stock at any given time. The argument, however, lacks key evidences and is hence weak.
The argument is based on several unsubstantiated evidences and premises. Firstly, the author assumes that the strategy that was applicable to wine would also be applicable to food items, in general. However this may not be the case. For example, people fond of wine, may have a great taste and understanding of music. But customers of the food store, which might also include kids, unlike wine stores, might not be interested in music of any sorts and hence might not be lured to buy the food items of that particular country.
Secondly, the author does mention about the sales of French and Italian wines, but he does not mention the effect of playing French or Italian music on the sales of wine from other countries. For example, although on the days on which French music was played, the sale of French wine was higher than that of Italian wine, but it could be possible that the sale of German wine was unconditionally higher on all the days, irrespective of the type of music being played at the store.
Thirdly, the author assumes that higher sales of a particular type of food would help the store earn higher profits. But the profit might not be higher if the sales of other food items decreases, since mathematically, profits equal revenue minus costs. Decrease of sale of other types of food items, despite an increase in sale of food from one particular country, might actually result in a lower revenue for the store.
Hence, the author could have made his argument more clear and thorough by providing requisite evidences. He could have mentioned about the authenticity of the discovery of the wine store and could have also tried to delve further into it, to determine if any factor, other than music was contributing to the higher sales of wine from a particular country, on a particular day. He could have also provided evidence to prove that what was applicable to wine would also be applicable to food items. Moreover, he could have showed how the recommended strategy would help the store earn to higher profits and to predict what items should be stocked at any given time.
