PrepTest 134, Section 2, Question 19
Educator: It has been argued that our professional(81 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(11 more words not shown)
- ANo procedure for(15 more words not shown)
- BOutcomes of organizational(27 more words not shown)
- CImportant issues facing(20 more words not shown)
- DAn officer of(23 more words not shown)
- EAn organization's procedures(19 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
For a group of thirty teachers at one school, a direct vote sounds manageable. For a national organization with thousands of members, getting everyone informed and voting on every issue could be much more difficult. I'd initially want to know the size of the organization and the time each system takes.
But the educator gives a different reason for favoring elected officers. We are told that an individual's vote is more likely to affect policy through choosing an officer than through voting directly on a single issue. Accept that comparison for this argument, even if it isn't what you would have expected.
Why does greater individual influence make that the right procedure?
What we’re looking for
The educator assumes that the power of each member's vote should guide the choice. A rule telling us to maximize that influence would connect the premise with the conclusion. That's the principle I'd want: choose the procedure that gives each member the greatest ability to affect the decisions. Our earlier concern about efficiency is separate from the educator's actual reasoning.
Working the answers
- A
Equal weight among members isn't the same as greater influence for each member under one system rather than another. Both systems could give every member an equally weighted vote while differing in how likely that vote is to affect policy. A doesn't tell us to prefer the system with the greater individual influence identified in the premise.
- B
The educator doesn't compare how beneficial the resulting policies would be for the organization as a whole. The evidence concerns each member's ability to influence policy. A rule prioritizing organizational benefit would need evidence about that benefit, which this argument hasn't provided.
- C
Having informed, full-time decision makers could be a reason to favor representatives. But we aren't told that these officers can devote their full time to the issues. They might hold their regular jobs and serve as officers on the side.
Even if we supplied that extra fact, C would give us a different rationale. The educator's offered reason is the influence of each member's vote. E connects that reason directly to the preferred decision procedure.
- D
This tells an officer which decisions to make once the officer is in the role. It doesn't tell us whether members should choose officers or vote directly on each issue. Requiring majority approval for an officer's decisions doesn't connect the individual's influence to the choice between those systems.
- ECorrect
This makes maximizing each member's influence the goal of the organization's decision procedure. The premise says electing officers gives an individual's vote a greater chance of determining policy. E explains why that advantage supports keeping decisions with elected officers instead of switching to direct votes. It supplies the standard of evaluation that the educator's conclusion needs.
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