In this argument the arguer concludes that the Apogee Company(AC) should close down dirld offices and conduct all its operations from a single location.And at the same time, the arguer cites the profitability of AC as an example in support of this recommendation. In addition, the arguer reasons that certralization would cut costs and help the company maintain better supervision. At first glance, the author’s argument appears to be somewhat convincing/appealing/attractive, but thorough examination reveals that the argument is problematic for several critical flaws as discussed below.
First of all, the author assumes that centralizaiton would improve profitablity by cutting costs and streamlining supervision of employees. This assumption is neither supported with any data of projections. Moreover, the assumption fails to take into account cost increases and inefficiency that could result from centralization. For instance, company representatives would have to travel to do business in areas formerly served by a field office, creating travelling costs and loss of critical time. In short, this assumption must be supported with a thorogh cost-benefit analysis of centralizaiton versus other possible cost-cutting and profit-enhancing strategies.
In addition, the only reason offered by the author is the claim that AC was more profitable when it had operated from a single, centralized location. But is centralization the only difference relevant to greater past profitablity? It is entirely possible that managemnt has become lax regarding any number of factors that can affect the bottomline such as inferior products, careless product pricing, inefficient production, poor employee expense account monitoring, ineffective advertising, sloppy buying policies and other wasteful spending. Unless the author can rule out other factors relevant to diminishing profits, theis argument commits the faccacy of “After this, therefore, because of this”
As it stands, the argument is not well reasoned. To strengthen the conclusion that AC should close field offices and centralize, the arguer should provide a thotough cost-benefit analysis of available alernatives and rule out factors other than decentralization that might be affecting current profits negatively. |