标题: argument 第6篇（54min）open new cafe @ Monarch Books [打印本页] 作者: elinagao 时间: 2012-10-24 10:15 标题: argument 第6篇（54min）open new cafe @ Monarch Books Prompt: Thefollowing is a recommendation from the Board of Directors of Monarch Books. "Werecommend that Monarch Books open a café in its store. Monarch, having been inbusiness at the same location for more than twenty years, has a large customerbase because it is known for its wide selection of books on all subjects.Clearly, opening the café would attract more customers. Space could be made forthe café by discontinuing the children's book section, which will probablybecome less popular given that the most recent national census indicated asignificant decline in the percentage of the population under age ten. Openinga café will allow Monarch to attract more customers and better compete withRegal Books, which recently opened its own café." Write aresponse in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in orderto decide whether the recommendation is likely to have the predicted result. Besure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate therecommendation.
My response: The in-store coffee shops or cafeterias havegained their popularity through the past few years. These in-built eateriesbring the customers the convenience of combining the joy of reading and diningjust like what readers would do at home; they also seem to add a more cozy andrelaxing tone to the bookstores. However, to a specific bookstore with itsunique culture and atmosphere and at a specific location, the seeminglysatisfying results might run counterproductive. Therefore, a couple questions should be weighedbefore nailing the recommendation for the Monarch Books to build a cafe betweenits bookshelves.
First of all, are the long history of thebookstore and its wide selection of books legitimate reasons for the author todeduce that "opening the cafe would attract more customers?" The20-year history of this bookstore definitely adds credits to the great servicethe business has provided over the years (which supported them to go such along way); it does not, however, contribute directly in demonstrating thenecessity of opening the cafe. Similarly, wide range of book categories mostlikely would lead to the implication that the store would attract a variety ofcustomers with different reading interests, from diverse social classes or atdistinct age levels, but not necessarily take part in being a premise toincrease the customer flow by opening a cafe. On the other hand, it keeps thereaders wonder why the author did not even get to discuss the potentialnegative effect of a cafe in a reading environment such as the noise, odor andcustomer traffic that would create disturbance to the quiet readers andshoppers.
Speaking of customers of different ages,children and their parents are un-ommitable parts of the customer body. Uponcoming across the argument, the readers are going to wonder how building a cafewould the bookstore compensate for the number of these important customers theyhave voluntarily excluded. Although the author claims that "most recentnational census indicated a significant decline in the percentage of thepopulation under age ten," which he has intended to use as a supportingevidence to convince the board of directors that the replacement of the newcafe to the children's book section is going to end up bringing the store morecustomers than before. However, failing to fill the acknowledgement gap of theexact decline of the children's population and an accurate predict of thecustomer accretion contributed by the cafe has significantly weakened thecredibility of the recommendation. As a remedy, statistical report can beprovided and mathematical calculation may be conducted to manifest that thenumber of new customers will greatly exceed the one of turned away customersfrom the children's section.
The readers are also going to wonder if anysales report or summary from Regal Books is available because without actuallybeing acknowledged if opening the cafe helped Regal Books to expand itscustomer base or actually has counteracted to the approach, it would be tooearly to arrive at the recommendation that the same approach should be adoptedby Monarch. On the other hand, even if Regal Books does taste the success ofthe in-store cafe, would the same stratagem be as suitable at Monarch? Afterall, they are two different chains, maybe of completely different store setup,company culture or location selections. We simply cannot gather these factsfrom the paragraph. Assume that before the cafe was built, most of Regal'scustomers had already developed a tendency to stay more than an hour at thestore to read before they shop while in Monarch, the customer only drops by topick up books. There would be more chances, in this case, for the Regalcustomers to get hungry or thirsty during the hour they spend at the storewhile the ones who rush in and out may not even notice the cafe existed inMonarch during their short visit.
To sum up, the author's intend to adoptbusiness strategies from other similar enterprises as well as to introducepopular ideas and potentially profitable viewpoints is admirable. However, tomake a convincing and feasible recommendation, he should have conductedresearch of the shopping behaviors of the customers, the real-time conditionsof the store and its competitors in greater depth and details. He could alsohave taken advantage of any charts, figures and statistical tools to make hisreasoning appear more conspicuous and warranted. 作者: 普渡哥 时间: 2012-10-24 10:46
good job!作者: elinagao 时间: 2012-10-24 10:51
6 分了？（让我先瞎激动下）虽然超时了整整半小时～