The consultant says that a certain company X has a LOWER PERCENTAGE of employees working remotely than any other company OF COMPARABLE SIZE in the industry. Consultant then goes onto say that companies with MORE remote employees have lower overall productivity. And then states the conclusion of the argument that primary reason for Company X's higher productivity than any other company of COMPARABLE SIZE must be it's LOWER PERCENTAGE of remote employees.
Conclusion - Lower percentage of remote employees is the primary reason for higher productivity of company X.
A lot of people might think that this question is the basic wordplay between percentage and numbers. A major thing to be noticed is the phrase "COMPARABLE SIZE". Since the size is almost equal, the percentages here mean numbers.
Therefore, we have to strengthen that lower percentage/lower numbers of remote employees is the reason for Company X's higher productivity.
Let's look at the options -
A - This option draws a comparison between productivity of remote employees but this is not our concern. Our concern is the percentage or the number of remote employees. ELIMINATE
B - If the percentage of employees working on-site is higher in company X than in any other company, that means that the number of on-site employees is higher, which means the number/percentage of remote employees is lower. KEEP
C - This option talks about profit, which is not our concern. Our concerns is productivity and number of employees. ELIMINATE
D - This just restates what's written in the question. Lower percentage of remote employees also means lower proportion. Hence, ELIMINATE
E - The productivity rates of on-site employees is not our concern. ELIMINATE
FINAL ANSWER - Option B
Bunuel
12 Days of Christmas 2024 - 2025 Competition with $40,000 of PrizesStrategy Consultant: Company X has a lower percentage of employees working remotely than any other company of comparable size in the industry. Generally, companies with more remote employees have lower overall productivity than companies with fewer remote employees. Therefore, the primary reason Company X has higher productivity than any other company of comparable size in the industry must be its low percentage of employees working remotely.
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the strategy consultant’s argument?
A. Company X’s remote employees are more productive than the remote employees of any other company of comparable size in the industry.
B. The percentage of employees working on-site is higher in Company X than in any other company of comparable size in the industry.
C. Nationwide, companies without remote employees typically are less profitable than companies with a high percentage of remote employees.
D. In Company X, a lower proportion of employees work remotely than in any other company of comparable size in the industry.
E. Company X’s on-site employees have productivity rates no higher than the productivity rates of on-site employees at other companies of comparable size in the industry.