Necessary AssumptionDiff: Easy
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: Giving bosses stock options makes them much richer than the average worker, which hurts morale and, consequently, the company's profits.
Conclusion: Providing senior staff with stock options is an unwise business policy.
Reasoning: Stock options significantly increase the income gap between senior staff and regular employees, and anything that damages employee morale reduces a company's profitability.
Analysis: The argument has a 'missing link' between the income gap and morale. It assumes that a large difference in pay *necessarily* makes employees feel worse. To find the necessary assumption, use the Negation Test: if employees don't care about the pay gap, does the argument fall apart? Yes. Therefore, the argument depends on the idea that a dramatic income disparity is a factor that actually undermines morale. Look for an answer that connects the 'income difference' to the 'undermining of morale.'
Conclusion: Providing senior staff with stock options is an unwise business policy.
Reasoning: Stock options significantly increase the income gap between senior staff and regular employees, and anything that damages employee morale reduces a company's profitability.
Analysis: The argument has a 'missing link' between the income gap and morale. It assumes that a large difference in pay *necessarily* makes employees feel worse. To find the necessary assumption, use the Negation Test: if employees don't care about the pay gap, does the argument fall apart? Yes. Therefore, the argument depends on the idea that a dramatic income disparity is a factor that actually undermines morale. Look for an answer that connects the 'income difference' to the 'undermining of morale.'
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage6.Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
Correct Answer
A
A supplies the needed link: large income differences tend to undermine morale. Negation test: if large income differences do not tend to undermine morale, then paying stock options doesn’t trigger the “lower morale → lower profit” rule, and the claim that the policy is unwise (for that reason) fails. Therefore A is necessary.
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