All of the employees at the Marshalltown Packing Warehouse receive a 3

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Overview:

Question presents the scenario of a warehouse company that has promised to pay its employees a 3% bonus each Christmas. In fact, this promise is treated as a guarantee and is included in the employee handbook. The company’s new financial officer, however, claims that the company’s budget will not support the Christmas bonus this year unless employees are willing to help out: the financial officer sends a memo to all employees, letting them know that the company will be able to pay the Christmas bonuses if the employees contribute by helping to generate advertising revenues. The question asks the student to decide which of the answer choices is true if the information in the passage is true. This is essentially a question about inference; the student must consider what the passage is saying and what can be inferred from it. Most important to note is the fact that the financial officer is more or less telling the employees that if they work harder to get the advertising revenues, they will get their bonuses. In essence, the financial officer is saying that the employees will receive the bonuses if they do something to bring the bonus money into the company – in other words, to work for their own bonuses.

The Correct Answer:

B Answer choice (B) correctly deduces the implication of the financial officer’s memo: that the employees will essentially be contributing to their own bonuses, making the bonus something less of a bonus. Thus answer choice (B) is correct.

The Incorrect Answers:

A The company’s employee handbook guarantees a 3% Christmas bonus to its employees, and there is nothing in the passage to suggest that there is a codicil attached to this guarantee regarding whether the company’s budget supports the bonus. By promising the bonus to employees, the company makes itself responsible to find a way to pay it, so answer choice (A) cannot be inferred from the passage and is thus incorrect.

C Given the information about the financial officer’s memo, it may be inferred that the company has not had any trouble paying the Christmas bonus in the past. However, this in itself does not necessarily mean that the company will not have trouble paying it this year. What is more, nothing in the passage suggests that the company’s current financial state is a result of corruption on the financial officer’s part. Answer choice (C) does not have sufficient support within the passage and is thus incorrect.

D Although the financial officer might believe that downsizing would also benefit the company, there is no mention of this in the passage, nor can it be deduced from the information that is provided. Answer choice (D) is incorrect due to insufficient support.

E Although the employees might very well be planning to strike, there is nothing in the passage to suggest that this is the inevitable response or that a strike is imminent if the employees do not receive their Christmas bonus. Answer choice (E) cannot be supported by details in the passage, so it is incorrect