35.The following appeared in a memo from the vice president of a company that builds shopping malls around the country. "The surface of a section of Route 101, paved just two years ago by Good Intentions Roadways, is now badly cracked with a number of dan

The author of the statement above recommends hiring the Appian Roadways (AR) to build the roads for new shopping malls instead of working with Good Intention Roadway (GIR). This conclusion is based on the previous experience of working with AR and GIR and the comparison between their performances seemingly shows the ascendancy of the first company over the other. However, to evaluate the statement there are several vital questions needed to be answered.

First, the author needs to ask whether the performance of these two companies can be fairly weighed against each other on only the two different routes they worked on. It is possible that routes are totally built on the different grounds. The one which is cracked, might be built on an earthquake-prone zone, or a landslide in the route 101 could cause the cracks. With such extrinsic factors, we cannot know GIR as an unqualified company. Furthermore, the traffic and the load on the road 101 is possible to be much more than Route 40. Therefore the author needs to ask what the other reasons for the shorter durability of the road are.

Secondly, the author needs to ask what the other factors guaranteeing the work of AR in constructing a new road are. Consider the state-of-the-art machinery recently purchased by AR. The author needs to ask what specifications are added to this machinery that makes them different. The difference might not be significant to provide a competitive edge for AR. Moreover, might have AR already bought the same machines? If the answer is yes, there is no advantage for the AR, obviously.

Thirdly, the author needs to ask what resume the new manager has. Only the substitution of the quality manager does not help us understand whether the quality of the road making would be increased. Even if the pertaining resume is good enough, still it should be weighed against his/her equivalent in the GIR Company in order to substantiate the advantage of the AR in terms of management.

Finally, even the whole answers direct us to give credence to the decision of the author, the author still needs to ask whether the new road can have the same durability as the Route 40 has or not. Expiration of the asphalt in new road might be sooner. The higher load on the track, the drop of stones from a nearby hillside, and the temperature difference during the day and night and very other factors can reduce the durability of the road. The author needs to ask what are the factors influencing the durability of the new road. After having illustrated the pertaining elements, the author’s estimation about the road durability becomes substantiated.

In short, as discussed, there are several vital questions the evaluation of the statement is depended on. To hire the superior company, the author needs to answer the questions illustrating whether the mentioned superiority of the AR over the GIR holds true.