The following appeared as part of an article in a business magazine."A recent study rating 300 male and female Mentian advertising executives according to the average number of hours they sleep per night showed an association between the amount of sleep t

The article in a business magazine makes an argument for hiring only people who need less than 6 hours of sleep per night to improve profits and growth. It supports the argument with the help of recent study conducted on advertising executives. However, there are number of assumptions made in the argument that need to be critically analyzed in order for conclusion to be sound.

Firstly, there is the assumption that the sample size of the study is comprehensive enough. The 300 male and female executives chosen may be a very small sample size. May be there are more executives who take adequate rest by sleeping for more than 6 hours and perform better than those surveyed, but are not included in the survey. These people may be actually responsible for success.Thus, the association established between the amount of sleep needed and success of their firms becomes flawed. This will make assumption unwarranted.

Secondly, there is assumption that the higher profit margins and faster growth in advertising firms studied is because of people able to work for the firm more by reducing their sleep time. However, there is no evidence presented in the argument regarding whether they spend extra time in office. May be they infact relax themselves by attending late night parties and have less sleep. Thus, it would be better for the firm to hire people who have the ability to relax themselves in other activities and thereby help increase firm's productivity.

Thirdly, there is assumption that what happens in a advertising firm holds true for any business. May be other business requirements different from advertising agencies. Some may even need their employees to work during the night and sleep during the day. By associating profits and progress to hiring only people who need less than 6 hours of sleep per night may prove to be counter productive.

In conclusion, for the argument made to be sound, there is need for further evidence to ensure that assumptions made are warranted. Otherwise, argument can become flawed.