GMAT考试写作指导：Argument范文九

　　69. The companys marketing department recommends discontinuing a deluxe air

　　filter and concentrating advertising efforts on an economy filter, which requires

　　replacement more often than the deluxe model. This recommendation is based on

　　reports showing that sales of economy filters, and company profits, have dropped

　　significantly since the company began manufacturing and marketing the deluxe filter six

　　months ago. The marketing departments argument is specious in three important

　　respects.

　　First, the marketing department assumes that if the company discontinues the new

　　deluxe air filter, customers will resume buying its economy filter. This assumption may

　　not be correct. Customers who prefer the deluxe model may do so because it requires

　　replacement less often. Thus, instead of buying the companys economy filters again,

　　these customers may just as likely turn to a competitor for a product similar to the

　　deluxe model. In this event, the result would be lower profits.

　　Secondly, the marketing department fails to recognize alternative strategies that

　　might enhance profits more than discontinuing the deluxe filter would. It is possible that

　　lowering the price of the economy model, raising the price of the deluxe model, or both,

　　may actually maximize profits. A lower-priced economy filter might lure customers

　　from competing products and retain current customers. At the same time, buyers of the

　　deluxe model may place a premium value on its convenience and may be willing to pay

　　an even higher price for the filter.

　　Thirdly, the marketing department unfairly assumes that the availability of its

　　deluxe filter is the cause of decreasing profits. It is equally possible that other factors,

　　such as increased competition or supply prices, or decreased demand for these kinds of

　　filters generally, are responsible for the decrease in profits. If so, discontinuing the

　　deluxe filter may not serve to maximize, or even enhance, the companys profits.

　　In conclusion, the departments argument for discontinuing the deluxe filter is

　　weak because the department has not considered the possible adverse consequences of

　　doing so, or the alternatives to doing so. Moreover, the department has failed to

　　establish a clear causal connection between the availability of the deluxe filter and

　　decreasing profits. To strengthen its argument, the department must consider and rule

　　out pricing adjustments as a better strategy to maximize profits, and must provide better

　　evidence that the deluxe filter is the cause of the decrease in profits.