PrepTest 129, Section 3, Question 25
Manager: I recommend that our company reconsider the(65 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- AThe current company(10 more words not shown)
- BThe familiarity that(22 more words not shown)
- CThe employees of(19 more words not shown)
- DAdopting the new(17 more words not shown)
- EMany of the(18 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
The manager asks the company to reconsider completely replacing its software. That is a reason to pause and examine the decision, not yet a conclusion that the company must never switch.
I can imagine reasons for hesitation. New software may involve a learning curve, and advertising may promise more than the product delivers. But the manager's actual evidence is more specific: other companies made the same switch, their employees can all use the new package, and many nevertheless keep using the old one whenever possible.
That behavior suggests the old software still offers something those employees value. Maybe it handles their work more comfortably; maybe the new package is less convenient than advertised. We don't yet know the reason, but ability to use the new software has not made everyone choose it.
What we’re looking for
We need the statement most supported by this evidence. My broad prediction is that the new package may not be the improvement the company expects.
Working the answers
- A
The old package could be less flexible yet still preferable for some employees' work. Perhaps flexibility matters less to them than how easily they perform a familiar task. The manager does not compare the packages' actual flexibility, so we cannot conclude that they are equal.
- B
Familiarity is one possible reason people retain the old software, but the manager does not identify it as the reason or rank it above flexibility and ease of use. The employees' behavior supports a preference without establishing the universal priority B assigns to a particular consideration.
- C
Missing capabilities could explain continued use of the old package, which makes this tempting. But the new package might have all the same capabilities and simply be less convenient to use. C selects one particular explanation without evidence distinguishing it from those alternatives.
- D
Being able to use software is different from preferring to use it. At the other companies, everyone can use the new package, yet many continue using the old one. That example does not support dividing this company's employees into those capable and incapable of using the replacement.
- ECorrect
The other companies' experience supports expecting many employees here also not to prefer the replacement. Employees who can use the new package but repeatedly return to the old one give us evidence of a preference that could recur when this company makes the same switch.
This is a prediction based on similar cases, not a guarantee that every employee will react alike. E also avoids inventing a particular reason for the preference. We need not know whether the issue is familiarity, convenience, or capabilities to see why the manager expects resistance to abandoning the old software.
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