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

The argument above is well-presented and appears to be relatively sound at first glance: since the studies suggests that customers value more on styles of socks than duration, focusing not on duration of socks seems logical to increase the profits. However, as more detailed facts are concerned and more light is shed on the issue, the lack of answers lead me to question the validity of the argument.

First of all, the author needs to answer the question whether the result of the recent study can be taken at face value. Since the recent study indicates that customers of Dura-socks purchase new socks every three months, the author assumes that customers are not interested in the durability of the socks. However, it is possible that customers buy new socks every three months not because they do not concern the durability but because they need to purchase them due to other reasons such as a gift of friends or new seasons. In such a case, the author’s assertion on the discontinued use of Endure manufacturing process can be weakened.

Another question the author needs to answer is that the customer survey throughout the northeast United States cities can reliable. The author rashly believes that their customers will buy the new features of socks rather than long-lasting socks. However, the author should take into account that although people put high value on the appearance and colors of socks, in actuality, the will buy more cost-efficient socks. If this would be the case, customers will continue to buy Dura—Socks’ original features of socks since it will last longer than other socks. Therefore, the author needs to provide people’s actual purchasing preference.

Lastly, the soundness of the conclusion that discontinuing use of the Endure manufacturing process yields the increased profits of the company should be answered by the author. However, in all likelihood, most of the customers who prefer the long durability of socks decided to stop purchasing the Dura-Sock’s products. If this would occur, the overall profits may diminish as the lost of profits from losing customers overrides the profits gained by the new customers. Therefore, the author should corroborate the credibility of the conclusion.

To sum up, the argument is no cogent on many grounds. To strengthen the argument, the author should corroborate more validity of the two studies and soundness of the conclusion.