Director of personnel: Ms. Tours has formally requested a salary adjustment on the grounds that she was denied merit raises to which she was entitled. Since such grounds provide a possible basis for adjustments, an official response is required. Ms. Tours presents compelling evidence that her job performance has been both excellent in itself and markedly superior to that of others in her department who were awarded merit raises. Her complaint that she was treated unfairly thus appears justified. Nevertheless, her request should be denied. To raise Ms. Tours’s salary because of her complaint would jeopardize the integrity of the firm’s merit-based reward system by sending the message that employees can get their salaries raised if they just complain enough.

The personnel director’s reasoning is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it


(A) fails to consider the possibility that Ms. Taurus’s complaint could be handled on an unofficial basis

(B) attempts to undermine the persuasiveness of Ms. Taurus’s evidence by characterizing it as “mere complaining”

(C) sidesteps the issue of whether superior job performance is a suitable basis for awarding salary increases

(D) ignores the possibility that some of the people who did receive merit increases were not entitled to them

(E) overlooks the implications for the integrity of the firm’s merit-based reward system of denying Ms. Tours’s request
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