The following appeared as part of an article in a computer magazine:
“A year ago Apex Manufacturing bought its managers computers for their homes and paid for telephone connections so that they could access Apex computers and data files from home after normal business hours. Since last year, productivity at Apex has increased by 15 percent. Other companies can learn from the success at Apex: given home computers and access to company resources, employees will work additional hours at home and thereby increase company profits.”
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.
The argument for productivity gains made by Apex Manufacturing is flawed because it is based on two assumptions: first, that Apex Manufacturing employees are willing to use home computers, and second, that Apex Manufacturing employees will work additional hours at home. Neither assumption is backed up by facts
First, it is hard to believe that Apex Manufacturing employees would willingly use home computers to access Apex Manufacturing computers. Modern technology makes employees more productive by giving them access to company computers and data in real time, and home computers do not provide the same benefit. Employees might resent additional time spent at home, which defeats the purpose of working from home
Second, although Apex Manufacturing does have a liberal vacation policy, employees could simply take those extra days as vacation days. If Apex Manufacturing employees were truly working more hours at home, they would be more productive at work. Their productivity gains would be achieved at the expense of their vacation days, which defeats the purpose of taking vacation
The argument that Apex Manufacturing employees are working more hours at home is flawed. The argument fails on two levels. First, it relies on faulty assumptions. Second, it fails to show that Apex Manufacturing employees are actually working more hours at home
The first assumption, that Apex Manufacturing employees would use home computers to increase productivity, is flawed. Apex Manufacturing employees have access to company computers and data in real time, making home computers unnecessary. If Apex Manufacturing employees worked more hours at home, they would simply increase the time it takes for them to arrive at work. If the employees arrived at work early, they would waste their time by waiting for their co-workers to arrive. The employees’ productivity would not be increased as a result of working more hours at home
Furthermore, home computers do not provide the same benefit as company computers. Home computers are not connected to computer networks, so employees cannot access their files at work. They would have to go out of their way to retrieve files. Employees who are at home anyway might be able to retrieve files, but those who are at the office would have to leave their work in order to retrieve files. In effect, they would spend the same amount of time on the computer, but working in the office would be more productive
The second assumption, that Apex Manufacturing employees will work additional hours at home, is also flawed. If the employees arrive at work early, they would waste their time waiting for their co-workers to arrive. If the employees arrived at work late, they would miss meetings and possibly deadlines. The employees’ productivity would not be increased as a result of working more hours at home
The argument is flawed because it relies on faulty assumptions. Apex Manufacturing employees have access to company computers and data in real time, and home computers do not provide the same benefit. Apex Manufacturing employees would waste their time by working more hours at home and to arrive at work early or arrive late. Apex Manufacturing employees are not more productive at home. They take vacation days, which defeats the purpose of working from home. Therefore, Apex Manufacturing’s increased productivity is illusory.