Day2 When the Apogee Company had all its operations in one location，it was more profitable than it is toda

The following appeared in a memorandum from the business department of the Apogee Company：

“When the Apogee Company had all its operations in one location，it was more profitable than it is today.Therefore，the Apogee Company should close down itsfield offices and conduct all its operations from a single location.Such centralization would improve profitability by cutting costs and helping the company maintain better supervision of all employees.”

Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument.In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument.For example，you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion.You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument，what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound，and what，if anything，would help you better evaluate its conclusion.

文勇五问：

（1）本题中，事实是什么？结论是什么？“When the Apogee Company had all its operations in one location，it was more profitable than it is today.”是事实，“Therefore，the Apogee Company should close down itsfield offices and conduct all its operations from a single location.”是结论，值得反驳吗？

（2）过去集中经营时，公司的经济效益更好，就一定意味着公司当时的做法是合理又高效的吗？就一定意味着目前公司的经营模式有问题吗？有没有可能公司过去的状况是因为经济局势好，现在的状况是因为整体经济下滑，但对比同行业来说，依然是more profitable呢？过去公司集中经营盈利比现在高，是否就意味着现在实行集中经营，盈利也会变得更好？这里是否犯了时间轴论证的错误？

（3）地点是影响盈利的唯一因素吗？我们关掉外地的办事处，只在一个地方开展所有业务就一定能增加盈利吗？你能说说集中经营和分散经营可能的好处与坏处吗？（特别是集中经营的坏处以及分散经营的好处。比较容易想到的是：过分集中的企业，容易由于组织结构臃肿导致成本过高；在有主要业务活动的地方设立办事点，事实上是一种降低成本的方式。）

（4）增加盈利的方法有哪些？降低成本是否是唯一的方法？如果不是，还有哪些？你能不能罗列一到两个，例如：提高产品价格，提高产品销售量。

（5）集中经营就一定能对员工起到更好的监管作用吗？地点是唯一影响员工管理的因素吗？如果不是，你能罗列一到两个其他要素吗？例如：有效的管理系统，充足的管理人员。

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