Company president: Most of our best sales representatives came to the

EPLANATION PLEASE. Option B is repeat of questions. how it can be the weakening argument.

I don't understand this explanation. The conclusion is that when the company hires sales reps, it should favor applicants....... How does B weaken. I opt for E

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Complete Question Explanation

Weaken—#%. The correct answer choice is (B)

Based on the fact that the majority of the company’s best sales representatives came in with an engineering degree but no sales experience, the president quoted in this example suggests that the company should look for similar attributes when doing further hiring:

Premise: Most of the company’s best sales representatives came to the company with engineering degrees but little sales experience.

Conclusion: When the company hires more sales representatives, applicants with engineering degrees and limited sales experience should be favored over those with significant sales experience but no engineering degree.

An issue with the argument presented is that the company president presents a premise about the proportion of the most successful sales representatives at the company, and draws a broad conclusion about sales representatives in general (the group of sales representatives at the company is not necessarily representative of sales reps in general).

The stimulus is followed by a Weaken question, so the correct answer choice will provide some reason to question the validity of the author’s conclusion.

Answer choice (A): This choice provides that “some” sales reps got their degrees while working at the company. “Some” could mean as few as one, and this choice doesn’t even deal with people who came to the company with a degree, or necessarily with any of the most successful sales representatives. This choice has no effect on the author’s argument, and should be ruled out of contention in response to this Weaken question.

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. If, as this choice provides, the majority of the sales reps at the company fall under the category of “engineering degree but no previous experience,” then that in itself might explain why most of the company’s successful sales representatives fall under that same category (rather than the author’s assertion, that membership in this category makes one more likely to become a successful sales rep).

Answer choice (C): The portion of customers who have an engineering degree is not relevant to the author’s argument, and it does not weaken the conclusion, which deals only with the attributes that the president suggests the company should favor in its hiring of more sales representatives.

Answer choice (D): The president’s recommendations only deal with the applicants for sales representative positions, and who among the group of prospects should get preference. A majority of applicants’ lacking engineering degrees would not have any impact on the president’s recommendation, so this choice cannot be the right answer to this Weaken question.

Answer choice (E): This choice provides that some, or at least one, of the less successful sales representatives at the company also lacked previous sales experience. This does not weaken the company president’s argument, which is based on the presence of attributes shared by most of the
company’s successful sales representatives.

I don't understand this explanation. The conclusion is that when the company hires sales reps, it should favor applicants....... How does B weaken. I opt for E

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