Logical Reasoning

PT157 · S3 · Q5 Taylorism, the early-twentieth-century industrial

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Taylorism, the early-twentieth-century industrial efficiency movement pioneered by Frederick Taylor, has had a profound effect on industrialized societies.

Opposing Idea

Increased productivity resulting from greater efficiency [by using Taylor's methods] has led to increases in most workers’ standards of living.

Evidence

Taylor’s methods have tended to make these workers’ jobs routine and repetitive.

Conclusion

Taylor’s methods have robbing their work of some of the intrinsic worth it possessed when it emphasized creativity and talent.

Evaluate

It's important to notice the leap from "routine and repetitive" in the evidence to the claim in the conclusion about The argument is making an assumption here.

Does making work more routine and repetitive necessarily rob it of intrinsic worth? Intrinsic worth for whom? The workers? "Routine and repetitive" work can be simple and easy. Lots of people don't mind getting paid to do simple, easy work. And we were told that workers' standard of living has increased, so there's no evidence in this argument that workers are being paid poorly for this "routine and repetitive" work.

Does the work have less intrinsic worth for the employers? The argument states that greater efficiency has resulted in increased productivity. We don't know if employers have anything to complain about here.

Work is not guaranteed to be less worthwhile, for either the workers or their employers, just because the work has become routine and repetitive.

Goal

A correct answer will be a generalization supporting the idea that, in spite of the benefits of Taylorism—greater productivity and efficiency, and a higher standard of living for workers—the work being done has also become less worthwhile.

5.

The situation described above most closely conforms to which one of the following generalizations?

  1. Sometimes measures that appear to

    Bad Conclusion Match

    The word "it" at the end of this answer refers back to "efficiency." This answer claims that some measures that appear to promote efficiency are actually harmful to efficiency itself. But the stimulus does not claim that Taylorism harms efficiency — quite the opposite. The stimulus explicitly states that Taylorism resulted in "greater efficiency" and "increased productivity." The negative consequence of Taylorism described in the stimulus is reduced intrinsic worth of work, not reduced efficiency. This answer misidentifies what was harmed.

    2% picked this

  2. Correct

    Some developments in industry can

    Why this is right

    This answer perfectly captures the dual nature of Taylorism as described in the stimulus. Taylorism was a "development in industry" that benefited workers "financially" by increasing their standard of living, while simultaneously making their work "less rewarding in other respects" by stripping it of creativity and intrinsic worth. The phrase "in other respects" correctly identifies that the negative impact was non-financial — it was about the quality and meaningfulness of the work itself. This generalization fits the specific situation described in the stimulus like a glove.

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

    87% picked this

  3. Increased efficiency in industrial settings

    Bad Evidence Match

    This answer claims that increased efficiency is "sometimes accompanied by decreases in the amount of effort workers devote to their jobs." But the stimulus does not describe workers devoting less effort — it describes their jobs becoming routine and repetitive. These are different things. A job can be routine and repetitive while still requiring significant effort. The stimulus says Taylorism changed the character of the work, not the effort workers put into it. Additionally, this answer frames the decreased effort as something workers choose, which is not how the stimulus describes the situation — Taylorism changed the nature of the jobs, not the workers' level of engagement.

    3% picked this

  4. An increase in workers’ standards

    Bad Evidence Match

    This answer claims that an increase in workers' standard of living "will likely involve" a decrease in how much they value their jobs. But the stimulus describes a more specific causal structure: both the increased standard of living and the decreased intrinsic worth of work were caused by a third factor — Taylorism. This answer frames the relationship as direct causation between the two outcomes, omitting the common cause. Additionally, "how much they value their jobs overall" is broader than what the stimulus describes — the stimulus identifies a specific reduction in intrinsic worth related to creativity and talent, not a general decrease in job valuation.

    6% picked this

  5. Workers who have greater than

    Unsupported Comparison

    The stimulus does not compare creative workers to non-creative workers in terms of their efficiency. It states that Taylorism reduced the role of creativity and talent in workers' jobs. That is a change in the nature of work over time, not a comparison between different types of workers at the same time. Nothing in the stimulus supports the claim that more creative workers are less efficient than average workers. The stimulus is about a tradeoff between financial benefit and intrinsic work quality, not about relative efficiency levels of different worker types.

    1% picked this

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