Official Explanation

Argument Construction

Which one of the following states an assumption on which the personnel director's conclusion depends?

The assumption we seek must provide a needed logical connection between the given information and the conclusion drawn. From the information given, it seems reasonable to think that the employees very satisfied with the system also liked the system. Furthermore, we are told that the employees who received high ratings were very satisfied with the system.

It follows that if the company's best-performing employees also received high ratings, then these same people—the best-performing employees—were very satisfied with the system. This would make it reasonable to conclude that the best-performing employees liked the system.

A. The argument does not address the issue of whether the existing performance-rating system is the best available. Rather, it draws a conclusion about the existing performance-rating system based on specific data generated by the system.

B. Correct. Assuming that the company's best-performing employees received high ratings enables the personnel director's conclusion to be logically drawn.

C. This choice describes an association between ratings and satisfaction, rather than an association between performance and ratings, or between performance and satisfaction. The information given in the argument is compatible with the claim that all employees were at least somewhat satisfied with the system.

D. This choice assumes that employees who are rated highly by a system will like that system, but that assumption is more general than anything assumed in the argument. This choice addresses employees' attitudes to a performance-rating system based on the ratings they receive under that system. However, it does not address any association between ratings, performance, and attitudes to the system.

E. Employees' satisfaction with a performance-rating system might well play a role in motivating employees. However, the issue of motivation figures neither explicitly nor implicitly in the reasoning of the personnel director.

The correct answer is B.