Company X discovered that employees that have lunch before 13:00 are

Question

Company X discovered that employees that have lunch before 13:00 are more productive than employees who have lunch after 13:00, or skip lunch altogether. The company management concluded that in order to increase employee productivity, it needs to encourage employees to have their lunch no later than 13:00.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the company's conclusion?

(A) Having lunch at the same time every day is known to increase productivity.

(B) The majority of employees who have lunch before 13:00 are 25-30 year old women.

(C) Jane, who is the most productive employee of Company X, never has lunch before 13:30.

(D) Company Y, a competitor of Company X, which boasts the highest employee productivity rate in the industry, closes its employee dining room at 13:00.

(E) Employees who have lunch after 13:00 are usually not hungry before 13:30.

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jack5397 · Answer

IMO -  D

A - Having lunch at the same time every day is known to increase productivity.   - Eliminate

B- No impact on the conclusion - Eliminate

C- Weakener - Eliminate

D-  Correct  because gives the example of another company which is best in the industry.

E- No impact on the conclusion - Eliminate

PranavVyas · Answer

IMO-D

Comparing similar situation with another company, strengthen the conclusions.

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Company X discovered that employees that have lunch before 13:00 are more productive than employees who have lunch after 13:00, or skip lunch altogether. The company management concluded that in order to increase employee productivity, it needs to encourage employees to have their lunch no later than 13:00.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the company's conclusion?

(A) Having lunch at the same time every day is known to increase productivity.

Incorrect.

To solve this Conclusion Strengthening question, first break down the argument. The first sentence is a premise providing factual data. The last sentence uses the conclusion word concluded and is the argument's conclusion:

Premise A: employees that have lunch before 13:00 are more productive than those that have it later, or those that skip lunch completely
=
Conclusion: all employees should eat lunch before 13:00 to increase productivity

Strengthening Data: ?

You are required to find data that strengthens the conclusion that productivity can be increased if employees were to eat before 13:00.

This answer choice neither strengthens nor weakens the management's conclusion. A fixed lunch time (same time every day) does not necessarily have to be earlier than 13:00. In other words, according to this answer choice, having lunch every day at 14:00 should also result in higher productivity. This idea is not on par with the management's conclusion and cannot, therefore, help to strengthen it.

(B) The majority of employees who have lunch before 13:00 are 25-30 year old women.

Incorrect.

This answer choice neither strengthens nor weakens the management's conclusion - this statement does not tell us whether this group of employees (25-30 year old women) is more, or less, productive than an employee who eats lunch after 13:00, it cannot help us support the company's conclusion.

(C) Jane, who is the most productive employee of Company X, never has lunch before 13:30.

Incorrect.

This answer choice weakens the company's conclusion. It does so by providing an example of an employee who although eats after 13:00, is the most productive in the company. This example casts doubt on the company's theory.

(D) Company Y, a competitor of Company X, which boasts the highest employee productivity rate in the industry, closes its employee dining room at 13:00.

This answer choice strengthens the company's conclusion by providing a good example of a similar situation which produced positive results.

(E) Employees who have lunch after 13:00 are usually not hungry before 13:30.

Incorrect.

This answer choice weakens the company's conclusion. It does so by providing a factor that complicates the situation and prevents the company from being able to use its plan. If some employees are not hungry before 13:30, then they will not eat properly, or at all, at 13:00, a fact which may affect their productivity.

Company X discovered that employees that have lunch before 13:00 are

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GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

Company X discovered that employees that have lunch before 13:00 are

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