Logical Reasoning

PT140 · S2 · Q13 Consultant: The dramatic improvements

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Consultant: The dramatic improvements in productivity achieved during the Industrial Revolution resulted in large part from standardization of processes and procedures coupled with centralization of planning and decision making.

Given that ...

During the Industrial Revolution, businesses found ways to dramatically improve productivity, by solving assembly line processes and central planning.

How can it be that ...

In recent years, productive companies have found ways to improve their productivity by doing less central planning (i.e. giving individual employees more influence in decision making and in how they do their work).

Evaluate / Goal

We either need a distinction relating to timeframes, so that we can explain why during Industrial Revolution era it helped productivity to be more centrally planned whereas during Current era it helps productivity more to decentralize and empower employees to make their own decisions.

Or we need a distinction relating to "already-productive companies", so that we can explain how for many companies (such as those in the Industrial Revolution), more central planning boosted productivity, whereas for these already-productive companies, decentralizing helps productivity.

13.

Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox in the consultant's statements?

  1. Most companies still try to

    Reinforces Background

    This helps to sustain the background ... "We weren't lying when we said that standardization and centralization are good. Most companies still aim for those things!" But this does nothing to explain the surprising foreground, which is about how companies are going in the opposite direction to boost productivity.

    8% picked this

  2. Increased productivity is not the

    Doesn't Address Paradox

    If the paradox were "why are these companies bothering to de-centralize and empower individual employees?", then this answer would add another log to the fire: well, we already heard it boosted productivity, but it also increases job satisfaction But the paradox we're trying to solve is, "how does it boost productivity? We though the opposite (more central planning) led to dramatic boosts in productivity."

    12% picked this

  3. Most of the increases in

    No Impact

    This doesn't give us any way to explain how giving more control to individual employees led to a boost in productivity. It's about robots.

    8% picked this

  4. The innovations of the Industrial

    No Impact

    This doesn't give us any way to explain how certain companies have giving more control to individual employees, leading to a boost in productivity. This answer is talking about companies whose employees have previously been entirely in control. These companies are only now installing the ideas from the Industrial Revolution, so they are starting to become more centrally controlled. Our job is to explain why certain companies who are starting to become less centrally controlled are being more productive.

    6% picked this

  5. Correct

    Increases in productivity in highly

    Why this is right

    This gives us a way to explain how an already-productive (i.e. "highly productive") company could give individual employees more decision making power and see a productivity boost as a result. Apparently, once you've got a highly productive company (say, for example, that you've already maxed out all the efficiency gains of assembly lines and central planning), then any further increases in productivity will depend on innovative ideas solicited from individual employees about their work. The management then has to broadly apply these ideas. So by getting a good mix of central planning and some employee empowerment, you get individual employees generating innovative ideas and then sharing them with management who can then broadly apply.

    Skill tested: Paradox · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    67% picked this

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