“Over the past two years, Pageturner’s profits have decreased by 5 percent, even though we have added a popular café as well as a music section selling CDs and tapes. At the same time, we have experienced an increase in the theft of merchandise. We should therefore follow the example of Thoreau Books, which increased its profits after putting copies of its most frequently stolen books on a high shelf behind the payment counter. By doing likewise with copiess that our staff reported stolen last year, we too can increase profitability.”Essay:The argument claims that Pageturner can increase it's profits by opting Thoreau Books' strategy. The conclusion of the argument is based on a premise that Thoreau Books was able to increase its profit by opting a srategy to curb theft. The conclusion of the argument is based on the assumption for which there is no clear evidence. Hence, the argument is unconvining and has several flaws.
First, the argumet has made a fraudulent assumption that the strategy that worked for Thoreau Books will surely work for Pageturner. However, it could be possible that these two firms work in completely different sectors or geners and the things that work for one sector doesn't at all work in another sector. Infact, strategy mentioned, if opted by Pageturner, could lead to a negative impact on profitability of Pageturner. In such a case, more research is required to properly conclude the argument.
Second, the argument has assumed without providing any data or evidence that merchandise theft is solely responsible for decrease in the profits of Pageturner. However, there could be such other reasons as poor product quality, high product prices or bad customer support that could be responsible for decrease in the profits. In such an instance, more data is required to eliminate alternate factors and properly conclude the argument.
Finally, the argument has mentioned a strategy in which most frequently stolen stuff is put behind the payment counter and has recommended that Pageturner should adopt this strategy. However, there is a possibilty that more popular and best selling stuff is the one which is also being stolen frequently. If this is the case, then this strategy could backfire as payment counter is the area of the store where customers are not allowed to go. So customers will not find the hot selling material and a result sales will decrease further.
In conclusion, the argument is flawed for above mentioned reasons and is thus unconvincing. Based on the given premises, it can't be concluded that by opting Thoreau Books' strategy, Pageturner will be able to increase its profitability. Without any further knowledge and data, the argument remains unsubstantiated ad open for debate.