PrepTest 127, Section 3, Question 8
Economist: During a recession, a company can cut(58 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(7 more words not shown)
- AEmployee morale is(18 more words not shown)
- BIn general, companies(12 more words not shown)
- CSome companies will(16 more words not shown)
- DWhen companies cut(11 more words not shown)
- ESome companies that(17 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
The company needs to spend less on personnel. It can keep everyone's wages unchanged and lay some people off, or keep everyone employed and reduce wages across the board. Neither sounds pleasant for employees.
Let's accept the economist's comparison: layoffs hurt the morale of the remaining workforce less because the people who lose their jobs have left. Does that tell us what the company will choose? Only if morale is an important driver of the decision.
Maybe keeping enough people to do the work matters more. If layoffs leave the remaining employees with too much work, the company might function better after a general pay cut even though morale suffers more. The economist has compared the options on one dimension without telling us how heavily companies weigh that dimension.
What we’re looking for
The strengthening question should address that connection. I would look for evidence that companies usually choose between these options based on their effects on morale. That would make the smaller morale cost a better reason to predict layoffs.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
Employee morale is usually the primary concern in this very decision: layoffs versus wage cuts. Now the advantage identified in the premise is an advantage companies generally prioritize. A doesn't say morale is the only consideration, but it need not guarantee every decision. It strengthens the prediction that companies are likely to choose layoffs.
- B
The question is how companies reduce personnel costs during recessions, not when they raise wages. A rule about wage increases does not tell us which of the two cost-cutting options companies will choose.
- C
A company might remain unprofitable under either option and still prefer one of them. This statement doesn't compare layoffs with wage reductions or tell us whether morale guides that choice. Failure to restore profits doesn't resolve how the decision is made.
- D
Resignations could make a wage cut less attractive if the company loses people it needs. But the company might welcome departures that reduce its payroll further. D doesn't tell us how the company would evaluate those resignations, and it doesn't connect the decision to morale. We would have to add an assumption about the consequence being undesirable to make this help in the intended direction.
- E
Difficulty finding qualified employees later gives companies a potential reason to avoid layoffs. A company might preserve its workforce through a wage cut to avoid that later shortage. This doesn't support the prediction that the smaller effect on morale makes layoffs the likely choice; if anything, it identifies a consideration favoring the other option.
More Strengthen questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Strengthen questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.