The following is a recommendation from the personnel director to the president of Acme Publishing Company."Many other companies have recently stated that having their employees take the Easy Read Speed-Reading Course has greatly improved productivity. One

The author of the statement advises that Acme Publishing Company should demand every employee to take Easy Read courses to become able to read fast. The author concludes that by being able to read fast, the productivity would increase. This conclusion is based on the comparison among the Acme Company and “many” other companies whose employees has taken these classes and are seemingly more successful than ever. To evaluate such an advice, the author should answer several vital questions.

First, the author needs to ask whether the nature of the compared companies is similar. The employees of the other companies may not need to grasp the concept of what they read. It may be enough for them to just read and even skip some sentences. However, in a publishing company, mostly it is needed to consider what the concepts are, especially for the team evaluating drafts for publishing. Otherwise, with publishing nonsense materials, the publisher’s credit would be compromised. Hence, before comparison, the similarity is of the most importance to be asked by the author.

Secondly, the author mentioned only two insufficient examples that attending classes benefitted them. How much other people benefitted from these courses? What benefits in what time scale has been brought to their company? Answering these questions can depict the advantages of passing these courses, and can buttress the conclusion. However, the current examples are neither enough, nor are there thorough. First, the one who can read a 500 pages in only two hours, how much of the concepts of the book has been remained in his/her mind? If the all information the reader remembers is, for instance, collectively one page, it would not be efficient at all. In the second example, we need to know whether there was other factors leading to the fast-reader’s promotion or exclusively it was his skill that made him such a position.

Thirdly, who would pay for three weeks staying at Spruce City to attend the seminars? And how much would it cost? The author only said that the registration cost is $500. The cost of going to Seminars and coming back to home town also should be considered. Either it is the company or the employees who pay the costs, it might not be economically justifiable to do so. Furthermore, the three weeks absence of each employee should be compensated by the company itself and the pressure of work intensifies on the employees. The author should delineate all the costs attached to the registration and attending seminars.

In short, as discussed, the argument of personnel director to the president of Acme Publishing Company is rampant with unclear points. Such ambivalent conditions in the argument are defying any firm interpretation. However, the answers to the discussed questions will lead us to have a better view of the conditions and they help us to make a firm evaluation.