In the last year, a company has lost a few clients and gained a few. B...
In the last year, a company has lost a few clients and gained a few. But the number of clients lost has been lower than the number of new clients. Also, the average sales for each new client are more than the average sales for each of the other clients. Therefore, it is likely that the company’s average sales per client have been increasing steadily.
Which of the following is required for the above argument to hold?
Argument Analysis
Pre-Thinking
Conclusion Clarification
N/A
Pre-Thinking Approach
To pre-think assumptions, let’s see how we can falsify the conclusion. The way to falsify the conclusion will be to identify reasons to show that it is not likely that the average sales per client have been increasing steadily. To do so, we will look at the logical structure, focusing on linkage 1.
Linkage#1
- Falsifying condition – A reason which shows that higher average sales for each new client (vis-à-vis other clients) do not translate in to an overall steady increase in the total average sales of the company..
- Instance 1: Average sales per other clients (old clients who were not lost in the period) have been decreasing steadily.
- Assumption 1: Average sales per ‘other’ clients have not fallen significantly during the period.
- Instance 2: Average sales per client added during the period was $500 while average sales per lost client was $2000.
- Assumption 2: Average sales per client added during the period was not significantly lower than average sales per lost client.
With this understanding in mind, let's take a look at the option statements.
Answer Choices
A
Currently, the total number of clients is more than the total number of clients that existed before the company lost some of its clients.
Incorrect - Irrelevant
The conclusion is only based on a comparison (between the sales per client and number of clients) at the beginning and at the end of the period and we do not know when the “company lost some of its clients”.
B
The average sales for each new client are at least equal to the average sales for each other client.
Incorrect - No new information
The passage already states that the average sales per new client is more than average sales of other clients.
C
Most of the clients lost were already planning to terminate their relationship with the company.
Incorrect - Irrelevant
The conclusion is based on the analysis of certain statistics - number of clients lost / added and the average sales per client newly gained or existing. The precise reason behind the exits, for instance whether the client exits were pre-planned or not, is not relevant in arriving at the conclusion.
D
There has been no decrease in the quality of the services provided by the company since the company lost some of its clients last year.
Incorrect - Irrelevant
Similar to option C, the option talks about something (quality) which is not a concern of the argument. As stated in the explanation for choice C, the conclusion is based on the analysis of certain mentioned statistics
E
The average sales per client lost were not significantly higher than the average sales for each of the other clients.
Correct
This choice is written along the lines of our pre-thinking per Assumption #2.