The following appeared in a memo from the vice president of marketing at Dura-Sock, Inc."A recent study of our customers suggests that our company is wasting the money it spends on its patented Endure manufacturing process, which ensures that our socks ar

The Vice President of marketing at Dura-Sock, Inc. makes a number of unwarranted assumptions, which if proved otherwise will seriously undermine the cogency of the argument. Moreover, the lack of sufficient evidence to corroborate the claims renders the argument suspect.

To begin with, the argument lacks details of the study it mentions. It assumes that the results of the survey are accurate and credible enough to be applied for analysing the profits. However, in the absence of adequate data to substantiate the extent of geographical and demographic coverage of the study, the reliability of the surveying agency, and the relevance of the results to the profits of the manufacturing process, it is not feasible to conclude that the supposition is justified. It is quite likely that the surveyors only studied customers of a particular age group, or concentrated only in a certain neighbourhood. Such a study will not be representative of the entire lot of Dura Sock customers. It is possible that there were unsurveyed customers who could have opined positively about the socks. Hence, without the proof that the study is representative of all the customers, the assumption stands fallible.

Additionally, the vice president supposes that because the study depicts their customers purchasing Dura-Socks every three months, the latter are unhappy. Contrastingly however, because the argument contains no proof whether the customers are unsatisfied with the durability of the socks, the assumption appears fallacious. Further, it does not elucidate whether Endure manufacturing process gurantees that the durability of the socks will last two years even if used on a daily basis or without any delicate care. It is possible that the socks do not last long if worn or used over a certain limit of delicacy. It might be so that the customers surveyed were rigorous users like atheletes or work officials, who need to change socks often. These people might actually find Dura socks better than any other variety, as a result of which they go back to buy them exclusively. In such a case, Endure manufacturing process must actually be contributing to increasing profits instead of decreasing them.

Lastly, the vice president assumes the fact that customers drawn from their largest market favors the stylish appearance and availability of many colours of the Dura socks implies they despise the other aspects of the product. However, the vice president fails to comprehend that the appearance and colour availability are the two criteria that these customers value the ‘most’ and it is very likely that they appreciate the rest of the socks features as well. Besides, if the customers are attracted by the colours and appearance of these socks, then these two are potential avenues for increasing the sales of Dura socks. And the better appearance and colour variety may not be possible without Endure manufacturing process. At any rate, these qualities only will increase the sales and hence the profits, and not decrease them. The fact that the customers only pointed out the two qualities they most admire, should not be construed as implying that the socks are not received well by people, more so without garnering the feedbacks on the other features. Also, it should not be assumed that the same variety and appaearnce will be possible to produce, without the manufacturing process.

In essence, the argument consists of a number of flawed suppositions. First, there was an acute paucity of corroborating details regarding the reliability and relevance of the study it mentioned. Secondly, the assumption that the customers are unsatisfied with the durability of the product because they buy new socks every three months, is highly fallible. There might be a host of factors that would potentially belie this assumption. Thirdly, the appearance and color variety of Dura socks that some customers favour, might be only possible to produce because of the manufacturing process. Besides, the fact that customers love these two features over the others, cannot be interpreted that they abhore the others. Moreover, these two features which might be a result of the manufacturing process, must be only increasing the profits rather than diminishing it. Hence, had the argument provided enough evidence to nullify these possibilities, it would have been more credible.