Self-study
Certain companies require their managers to rank workers in the groups they supervise from best to worst, giving each worker a unique ranking based on job performance. ███ ███ ██ ███████ ██ ███ ███████ ██ ████ █████ ███ ████████ ███ ███ ██████ ██ ███████ ███ █████████ ██ ██████ ███ ████ ██████ ██ ██████ ██ ████████ ████ ███████ █████ ███████ ███ ████████ ██████ ███████ ████ ██████ ██ ██████ ██ █████████████ ████ ████████ ████████████ ████████ █████ ████ ███ ███████ ████████ ██ ███████ ███ █████ ███ █████████ █████████ ███████ ██ █████
Summarize Argument
A ranking system that evaluates workers based on their performance relative to a group of workers is unfair. It penalizes workers in strong groups by judging them against the company’s top performers instead of all its employees. Additionally, the system relies on managers’ subjective judgments, leading to biased ratings based on managers’ favorites rather than the workers’ actual performance.
Identify Conclusion
A system that ranks workers based on their performance relative to their work group “is unfair to workers.”
1.
Which one of the following ████ ██████████ █████████ ███ ██████████ █████ ██ ███ █████████
a
Some companies require █████ ████████ ██ ████ ██████ ████████ ██ ███ ███████ ████ ██████████
This sentence provides context by setting the stage for the argument in the stimulus. It introduces the idea of ranking workers, a practice some companies use, which the stimulus ultimately argues against.
b
Under the ranking ███████ ███ ███ ██ ███████ ██ ███ ███████ ██ ████ █████ ███ ████████ ███ ███ ██████ ██ ███████ ███ █████████ ██ ██████
This sentence provides context by explaining how the ranking system works. This explanation offers the background needed to understand the author’s argument that the ranking system is unfair to workers.
c
The ranking system ██ ███ █ ████ ███ ██ █████████ █████████ ██ ███████ ███ ████████
This answer choice accurately summarizes the argument’s main conclusion. The stimulus states that the ranking system is “not a fair way to determine” workers’ rewards and penalties, which directly restates the conclusion that the system is “unfair to workers.”
d
Workers in exceptionally ██████ ████ ██████ ███ ████████ █████████ █████ ███ ███████ ███████
This states the argument’s first premise. The stimulus argues that the ranking system is unfair because it judges some workers more harshly than others. For instance, workers in a strong group are held to a higher standard than those compared to a group of weaker performers.
e
Managers often give ███ ███████ ████████ ██ ███████ ███ █████ ███ █████████ ███████ ██████████
This answer addresses the argument’s second premise. The stimulus argues that the ranking system is unfair because it is subjective, allowing managers to favor employees who share their interests instead of evaluating based on relevant criteria like work ethic or contribution.