PrepTest 114, Section 2, Question 26
Sociologist: Suggestions for improved efficiency that derive from(57 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- AEmployees are more(16 more words not shown)
- BEmployees are more(16 more words not shown)
- CEmployees are more(27 more words not shown)
- DEmployees are more(23 more words not shown)
- EEmployees are more(18 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Can the conversation actually make employees feel they helped develop the idea?
The sociologist says employees tend to resent efficiency suggestions they didn't generate. The proposed response is a nonthreatening discussion that emphasizes their contributions. I can see the intended effect: the suggestion may feel less like an instruction imposed by management and more like something they helped create.
But that won't happen just because an employer calls the conversation collaborative. Employees might still see the idea as entirely the boss's. My first question is whether the discussion can genuinely produce that sense of participation. The passage doesn't establish how easy that would be.
What we’re looking for
We're asked for a principle supporting the reasoning. I'd initially look for something showing why this approach can overcome that obstacle and get the employer's ideas put into practice. The desired result is that employees implement the ideas more readily, not merely that a pleasant conversation occurs.
Working the answers
- A
The proposal isn't to direct the suggestion at someone else and hope the employee overhears it. It engages the employee directly while emphasizing the employee's contribution. A supports avoiding an obvious personal target, which isn't the feature the sociologist relies on.
- BCorrect
This supplies the benefit of employees believing they helped generate an idea: they are more likely to carry it out. That links the proposed emphasis on their contributions with the desired implementation.
It doesn't settle my earlier question about how easily the conversation creates that belief. Instead, it supports the next step—why the belief would help once created. A principle can strengthen the argument through that link without answering every concern we had while reading.
- C
This is close because it connects participation in a dialogue with implementation. But its comparison is between ideas that arise from a discussion the employee joined and ideas from a discussion the employee didn't join. The proposed plan specifically emphasizes the employee's contributions to developing ideas the employer wants to try.
B speaks directly to that feature: believing you helped generate the idea gives you more reason to act on it. C's broader comparison between two kinds of discussion doesn't capture that connection as closely. We don't need to say dialogue could never help; we need the principle that best supports this particular explanation of why it helps.
- D
Generating good ideas is different from implementing the ideas the employer wants to try. Employees could come up with excellent suggestions yet fail to carry out this proposal. D focuses on the quality of ideas produced, leaving the predicted change in implementation unsupported.
- E
This largely repeats the resentment concern behind the recommendation. But knowing employees resent an employer's ideas doesn't establish that the proposed dialogue will make them more likely to implement those ideas. B supplies the helpful connection from perceived participation to action.
More Strengthen questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Strengthen questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.