The following appeared in a corporate planning memo at ABC Cereal Company, the makers of Better Bran cereal.

“Sales of Better Bran have declined in recent years, for reasons that management has now identified. First, Better Bran is a cereal with high sugar content, and recent research studies have found that most consumers say they are concerned about the amount of sugar added to their breakfast cereal. Second, the price of Better Bran has increased by 5 percent in each of the last three years. Therefore, to increase our company’s profits we need to reduce the amount of sugar in Better Bran and lower Better Bran’s price.”

In the above article the arguer has recommended that in order to increase the profits of the ABC Cereal company the sugar content in Better Bran cereal should be reduced and also the price of the cereal should be lowered. The arguer has based his recommendations based on two arguments. The first argument that the arguer has mentioned is that the sugar content in the Better Bran Cereal is very high and according to the recent survey the consumers are very much concerned about the amount of sugar content in their cereal. The second argument which the arguer has mentioned to support his stand is that the prices of the cereal should be reduced as they have gone high by 5 percent in each of the last three years. Both the arguments given by the arguer are not sufficient to lower the prices of Better Bran cereal.

The arguer in his first recommendation states that the content of sugar is high in the cereal and consumers are concerned about the amount of sugar consumed by them. The arguer has not mentioned how many consumers were concerned about the content of sugar in their diet. It is very important to determine the section of society that undertook the survey because young children and adults not on diet would probably not object to the sugar content as compared to dieting individuals. There is a possibility that the survey was taken by mostly diet conscious consumers. The arguer fails to mention whether consumers would be ready to accept Better Bran if its sugar content would be lowered. The sugar makes the cereal tasty and if the sugar content is lowered then it is quite possible that then people might not find it tasty. This would then lower the demand of the cereal.

The arguer in his second argument recommends that the prices of Better Bran cereal should be cut down. The arguer has not mentioned the reason for the rise in prices and the reasons could be numerous. There could be inflation, the price of the raw material must have increased, and the company must be providing some added minerals or simply a better quality product. The arguer fails to bring about the exact reasons to lower down the cost. The arguer has also not mentioned the popularity of the cereal with the public. If the cereal is admired then the public could be ready to pay a higher price for the product. Also the arguer has not mentioned the various competitive brands and their prices and if their prices are higher the company can stake to higher their prices and compete in the market.

In both the above arguments, the arguer has failed to prove his stand of lowering the prices of Better Bran cereal and if the company does so it might have to lower the standard of the cereal which ultimately would result in reducing clientele. Also if the company lowers the prices the company may suffer losses.