The following appeared in a memo from the director of a large group of hospitals In a controlled laboratory study of liquid hand soaps a concentrated solution of extra strength UltraClean hand soap produced a 40 percent greater reduction in harmful bacter

The director, in his memo, argues to supply UltraClean hand soap to all hospitals in the group as the solution is very effective in reducing infections. The director mentions a laboratory study to prove the efficacy of hand soap. And also gives the example of a hospital in Worktown, where the use of UltraClean soap reduced the patient infections by 20%. At cursory glance, the argument seems valid, however, the argument lacks below mentioned evidence along with some others and hence the argument may not hold forever.

Author should provide evidence to prove that the laboratory studies are correct. To make his argument more defensible, author should give information about comprehensiveness of the study that has been conducted , number of samples used for study, etc. It could be possible that the study considered only few samples say 10, the study cannot be conclusive and data about more samples is required. Infection can be caused by viruses, protozoa and even fungus. So, the hand soap which works on bacteria may not work on other infection causing agents. Hence, author must provide evidence about the usefulness of the UltraClean hand soap in reducing infections caused by the microbes other than bacteria.

Evidence is needed to prove that, the major reason for decreased percentage of patient infections is due to the use of hand soap specifically the UltraClean. To backup his statement, the author should provide data about patient infections prior to the use of UltraClean soap. What if the overall patient infections were down falling even before the use of UltraClean hand soap? This possibility seriously undermines the author’s argument. Moreover, there could be some other reasons for less patient infections like – use of hand soaps other than UltraClean, trained doctors and nurses, proper hygiene practices during surgery and aftercare, increased awareness in patients and visitors about the infections and how to prevent them. The author should overcome these possibilities and provide evidence to prove that, UltraClean hand soap is the only reason why infections are plunging.

Evidence is needed to confirm the author’s assumption that, after supplying the UltraClean hand soap to other hospitals in the group, all doctors, patients and visitors will make use of the hand soap. This assumption is unwarranted as author fails to provide any sort of data that can conclude that the hand soap will be used to a maximum extent by all people. It could be possible that, the patients and visitors are unaware about the new hand soap and its usefulness, they are not likely to use it. Also, it could be possible that the odor of the hand soap could be nauseating and it makes the skin hard after using the soap. In this case it is less likely that the people make use of the hand soap even though they are present. If, the author could provide some assurance that all people in hospital use the new hand soap, it makes the argument stand strongly.

To conclude, the author fails to present a cogent argument in front of the audience. If, the author had provided some evidence to corroborate the stated facts, the argument would have been more tenable. With insufficient evidence it is difficult to evaluate the validity of argument. Thus, the hospital group should be more pragmatic while implementing the suggestion proposed by the author.