The following appeared in a memo to the board of directors of Bargain Brand Cereals."One year ago we introduced our first product, Bargain Brand breakfast cereal. Our very low prices quickly drew many customers away from the top-selling cereal companies.

The argument with recommendation that the company should begin marketing other low-priced food products as quickly as possible is rather weak. It is based on the premises that the low prices quickly drew many customers away from the top-selling cereal companies when the company sold their first product, and that the company has not needed to raise our prices to continue making a profit while the companies producing the top brands have since tried to compete with them. However, there still are many questions worth asking, as explained in the following paragraphs.

First, will the winning condition be as stable as it is now? That is, will the company continue to win the contest of prices? If their price is surprisingly low, the chances may be high. On the other hand, if other once top-selling cereal companies just figure out how to cut the budget and keep lowing their prices, finally belowing the price somehow, the only advantage claimed by the directors will fail. The result will not just be stopping thinking of expanding, but the breakdone of the whole business.

Furthermore, even the stability of the situation is warranted, is the income so far large enough to make them concentrate on researches on the other product and struggle for prosper? As indicating by the confidence of the directors, it might be large enough, even maybe some of the studying being ongoing. On the contrary, in the view of lack of statement about it, there are opportunities that the directors are hiding something for their ambition and eager for profit. That is to say, the income is sparse, not even enough to provide the finance for futher studying, let alone another factory for other products. As a consequence, the company is unable to make the dream come true, which make the conclusion invalid.

More over, even all the above question is answered and certified, there is still a question about the situation of other fields of food. Are the situations of other kinds of food the same that they may make a profit via their low-price policy? The same strategy may be effective, resulting in another victory. On the other hand, what if the same trick just failed? Maybe there are other company which plays the same game better than the Bargain Brand Cereals in the field, which can defeat it as quickly as possible. The answers are not provided in the statement, leaving the circumstances in other business field uncertain. It worsen the reliability of the argument.

In the end, the argument is rather weak. However, if the above questions be answered and verified, it will be greatly strengthened. For the sake of the dearth of answers, there is no way to simply accept it as truth. Don't take the recommendation without further reports or proofs. Watch your steps!