The following appeared in a memorandum from a member of a financial management and consulting firm:
“We have learned from an employee of Windfall, Ltd., that its accounting department, by checking about 10 percent of the last month’s purchasing invoices for errors and inconsistencies, saved the company some $10,000 in overpayments. In order to help our clients increase their net gains, we should advise each of them to institute a policy of checking all purchasing invoices for errors. Such a recommendation could also help us get the Windfall account by demonstrating to Windfall the rigorousness of our methods.”
Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.
Essay-
The argument claims that the recommendation to institute a policy of checking each purchase invoice for errors for all the clients of the management and consulting firm will help them increase their net gains and even help the firm to secure the Windfall account. Stated in this way, the argument fails to mention several key factors on the basis of which it could be evaluated. The conclusion of the argument relies on the assumptions for which there is no clear evidence. Hence the argument is weak and has several flaws.
First, the argument readily assumes that one incidence of finding errors by checking a sample number of invoices reflects the accounting department's consistent month-on-month errors in checking the invoices. This statement is a stretch and not substantiated in any way. For example, it could be a rare occurrence. It could be possible that the majority of the heads or supervisors of the accounts department were away last month. The argument could have been much clearer if it explicitly said or indicated that such errors are a common phenomenon in the accounting department.
Second, the argument claims that such a recommendation will help the firm's clients earn net gains. This is again a weak and unsupported claim as the argument does not demonstrate any correlation between the costs and the gains from checking invoices. While there may be gains due to such a policy, it is very well possible that the process will cost the company man-hours and these costs exceed the gains obtained from checking the invoices. If the argument had provided evidence that the incremental costs of implementing the policy are negligible, then the argument would have been a lot more convincing.
Finally, if the information obtained from the employee of Windfall Ltd. is insider information which Windfall Ltd. would not have revealed otherwise, such knowledge will make the company suspicious of the firm's methods instead of showing it that the firm's methods are rigorous. Also, what if Windfall Ltd. had already done the cost-benefit analysis for implementing such a policy and found that checking all invoices leads to a net negative and, this information was available publicly, Windfall Ltd. could think that the firm is careless and has not studied Windfall Ltd.' in detail.
In conclusion, the argument is flawed for the above-mentioned reasons and is therefore unconvincing. It could be considerably strengthened if the author clearly mentioned all the relevant facts about the incremental costs, source of information, confirmation that the finding is not exceptional, etc. In order to assess the merits of a certain argument, it is essential to have full knowledge of all contributing factors such as those mentioned previously. Without this information, the argument remains unsubstantiated and open to debate.
Hi!
Can experts please review it?
Sajjad1994 Requesting your suggestions.
Have used the chineseburned template. Got 6 in AWA in my last attempt. Been over 9 months though.