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30 Sep 2016, 00:34
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:b]Prompt:[/b]
The following appeared in a memorandum from the director of marketing for a pharmaceutical company:
“According to a survey of 5,000 urban residents, the prevalence of stress headaches increases with educational
level, so that stress headaches occur most often among people with graduate-school degrees. It is well
established that, nationally, higher educational levels usually correspond with higher levels of income. Therefore,
in marketing our new pain remedy, Omnilixir, we should send free samples primarily to graduate students and to
people with graduate degrees, and we should concentrate on advertising in professional journals rather than in
general interest magazines.”
Discuss how well reasoned … etc.
My response:
The argument in the memorandum from the director of marketing of the pharmaceutical company is flawed as it based on vague facts that do not provide any logical correlation between cause and effect.
The argument is based on a survey which can be biased and can have a higher proportion of highly educated people. Further, the survey is based on urban residents.Usually, urban residents are highly educated and thus the survey can have an inherent bias. Further, the participant pool can be sourced from a city that has a lot of educational institutions which induces a bias in the sample for the survey. If the participant pool is picked from a diverse group of people from different geographies, income levels, education levels while ensuring no bias towards any particular type of people, then the argument can be strengthened.
The inference that stress headaches occur mostly in people with graduate degrees can be very much influenced by the bias in the survey sample. Even if the survey is unbiased, it is important to understand whether education is the only driver behind stress headaches. If through an established study, which is not based on a survey, the proportion of people with graduate degrees who have stress headaches is included in the memorandum and if this number is low, the argument can be strengthened.Even if this number is high, the number of people with headaches and who have graduate degrees must be confidently established. If this number is low, then graduates will constitute a lower percentage of people suffering from headaches.
Assuming graduates suffering from headaches constitute a large portion of the population that suffers from headaches, the strategy of sharing free samples of the new remedy with graduates might not help the company increase sales as there is no indication of the likelihood of people to buy the medicine even if the free samples are useful. Also, the idea of advertising in professional journals instead of general interest magazines as the preference of graduates towards any type of written content is not specified.
Overall, the argument suffers from many logical fallacies and fails to make a strong business case for the company
The following appeared in a memorandum from the director of marketing for a pharmaceutical company:
“According to a survey of 5,000 urban residents, the prevalence of stress headaches increases with educational
level, so that stress headaches occur most often among people with graduate-school degrees. It is well
established that, nationally, higher educational levels usually correspond with higher levels of income. Therefore,
in marketing our new pain remedy, Omnilixir, we should send free samples primarily to graduate students and to
people with graduate degrees, and we should concentrate on advertising in professional journals rather than in
general interest magazines.”
Discuss how well reasoned … etc.
My response:
The argument in the memorandum from the director of marketing of the pharmaceutical company is flawed as it based on vague facts that do not provide any logical correlation between cause and effect.
The argument is based on a survey which can be biased and can have a higher proportion of highly educated people. Further, the survey is based on urban residents.Usually, urban residents are highly educated and thus the survey can have an inherent bias. Further, the participant pool can be sourced from a city that has a lot of educational institutions which induces a bias in the sample for the survey. If the participant pool is picked from a diverse group of people from different geographies, income levels, education levels while ensuring no bias towards any particular type of people, then the argument can be strengthened.
The inference that stress headaches occur mostly in people with graduate degrees can be very much influenced by the bias in the survey sample. Even if the survey is unbiased, it is important to understand whether education is the only driver behind stress headaches. If through an established study, which is not based on a survey, the proportion of people with graduate degrees who have stress headaches is included in the memorandum and if this number is low, the argument can be strengthened.Even if this number is high, the number of people with headaches and who have graduate degrees must be confidently established. If this number is low, then graduates will constitute a lower percentage of people suffering from headaches.
Assuming graduates suffering from headaches constitute a large portion of the population that suffers from headaches, the strategy of sharing free samples of the new remedy with graduates might not help the company increase sales as there is no indication of the likelihood of people to buy the medicine even if the free samples are useful. Also, the idea of advertising in professional journals instead of general interest magazines as the preference of graduates towards any type of written content is not specified.
Overall, the argument suffers from many logical fallacies and fails to make a strong business case for the company
01 Oct 2016, 21:50
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Bookmarks
there are some grammar errors -
The argument in the memorandum from the director of marketing of the pharmaceutical company is flawed as it based on vague facts that do not provide any logical correlation between cause and effect. (Which cause and effect? you need to make that clear).
The argument is based on a survey which ('which' requires a comma) can be biased -> Try to rewrite this sentence. for example you can say that the argument provides no evidence to conclude that the survey is unbiased.
you have made some good points.
But you need to develop your ideas further.
For example - the argument does not talk about people from suburban/rural areas? What if their stress levels are much higher?
If through an established study, which is not based on a survey, the proportion of people with graduate degrees who have stress headaches is included in the memorandum and if this number is low, the argument can be strengthened. --> which argument are you talking about here?
If through an established study, which is not based on a survey, --> such large scale studies probably require surveys.
Also, the idea of advertising in professional journals instead of general interest magazines as the preference of graduates towards any type of written content is not specified. -> you can probably ask what percentage of graduates read general magazines vs what percentage of graduates read professional magazines?
Do graduates look at advertisements when they read professional magazines?
What if the company advertises in both general interest and professional magazines?
If the stress levels increase with education, why not target doctoral students and people with PhDs?
What if people with undergraduate degrees (with presumably lower stress levels) are far more likely to buy such products? Then it make more sense to market the product to such people.
What if people with graduate degrees prefer exercise and meditation to pain remedies? No sense in marketing to such people then.
The argument in the memorandum from the director of marketing of the pharmaceutical company is flawed as it based on vague facts that do not provide any logical correlation between cause and effect. (Which cause and effect? you need to make that clear).
The argument is based on a survey which ('which' requires a comma) can be biased -> Try to rewrite this sentence. for example you can say that the argument provides no evidence to conclude that the survey is unbiased.
you have made some good points.
But you need to develop your ideas further.
For example - the argument does not talk about people from suburban/rural areas? What if their stress levels are much higher?
If through an established study, which is not based on a survey, the proportion of people with graduate degrees who have stress headaches is included in the memorandum and if this number is low, the argument can be strengthened. --> which argument are you talking about here?
If through an established study, which is not based on a survey, --> such large scale studies probably require surveys.
Also, the idea of advertising in professional journals instead of general interest magazines as the preference of graduates towards any type of written content is not specified. -> you can probably ask what percentage of graduates read general magazines vs what percentage of graduates read professional magazines?
Do graduates look at advertisements when they read professional magazines?
What if the company advertises in both general interest and professional magazines?
If the stress levels increase with education, why not target doctoral students and people with PhDs?
What if people with undergraduate degrees (with presumably lower stress levels) are far more likely to buy such products? Then it make more sense to market the product to such people.
What if people with graduate degrees prefer exercise and meditation to pain remedies? No sense in marketing to such people then.
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