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Priyadarshana
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Economist: Every business strives to increase its productivi 21 Aug 2018, 01:24
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Adi93
Economist: Every business strives to increase its productivity, for this increases profits for the owners and the likelihood that the business will survive. But not all efforts to increase productivity are beneficial to the business as a whole. Often, attempts to increase productivity decrease the number of employees, which clearly harms the dismissed employees as well as the sense of security of the retained employees.

Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main conclusion of the economist’s argument?

(A) If an action taken to secure the survival of a business fails to enhance the welfare of the business’s employees, that action cannot be good for the business as a whole.-- a bit specific
(B) Some measures taken by a business to increase productivity fail to be beneficial to the business as a whole. -- looks good and encapsulates the Crux of the argument
(C) Only if the employees of a business are also its owners will the interests of the employees and owners coincide, enabling measures that will be beneficial to the business as a whole.-- out of scope
(D) There is no business that does not make efforts to increase its productivity.-- out of scope
(E) Decreasing the number of employees in a business undermines the sense of security of retained employees.-- irrelevant

B is the Answer
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Can we eliminate A because the argument talks about increasing productivity and the option talks about survival of business? I wanted to confirm if my thought process is correct.
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Economist: Every business strives to increase its productivi 24 Aug 2018, 22:19
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Priyadarshana
Adi93
Economist: Every business strives to increase its productivity, for this increases profits for the owners and the likelihood that the business will survive. But not all efforts to increase productivity are beneficial to the business as a whole. Often, attempts to increase productivity decrease the number of employees, which clearly harms the dismissed employees as well as the sense of security of the retained employees.

Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main conclusion of the economist’s argument?

(A) If an action taken to secure the survival of a business fails to enhance the welfare of the business’s employees, that action cannot be good for the business as a whole.-- a bit specific

Can we eliminate A because the argument talks about increasing productivity and the option talks about survival of business? I wanted to confirm if my thought process is correct.
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You're on the right track, but the key is to stay focused on the exact language in the question itself. We can eliminate (A) because the economist's main conclusion is not focused on whether employee welfare is being enhanced. The economist's main conclusion is about the impact of measures taken to enhance productivity. Reduction of employee welfare is just one (of many) forms of impact mentioned by the economist. And the further you go into choice (A), the less this choice reflects the author's overall consideration of beneficial and harmful impact.

I hope this helps!
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Economist: Every business strives to increase its productivi 26 Aug 2018, 22:54
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Priyadarshana
Adi93
Economist: Every business strives to increase its productivity, for this increases profits for the owners and the likelihood that the business will survive. But not all efforts to increase productivity are beneficial to the business as a whole. Often, attempts to increase productivity decrease the number of employees, which clearly harms the dismissed employees as well as the sense of security of the retained employees.

Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main conclusion of the economist’s argument?

(A) If an action taken to secure the survival of a business fails to enhance the welfare of the business’s employees, that action cannot be good for the business as a whole.-- a bit specific

Can we eliminate A because the argument talks about increasing productivity and the option talks about survival of business? I wanted to confirm if my thought process is correct.
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You're on the right track, but the key is to stay focused on the exact language in the question itself. We can eliminate (A) because the economist's main conclusion is not focused on whether employee welfare is being enhanced. The economist's main conclusion is about the impact of measures taken to enhance productivity. Reduction of employee welfare is just one (of many) forms of impact mentioned by the economist. And the further you go into choice (A), the less this choice reflects the author's overall consideration of beneficial and harmful impact.


Thank You GMATNinja for explaining how to approach this question. It's clear now.
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Economist: Every business strives to increase its productivi 22 Feb 2020, 21:56
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Can someone explain why option A is wrong?
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Option A is wrong because the central theme of the passage is "productivity" and not "survival measures". This option specifically addresses result of measures taken to improve survival rates which could be things other than productivity also. Hence, anything that talks about result of productivity efforts will be the "Main Conclusion".
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Economist: Every business strives to increase its productivi 17 Jan 2026, 13:48
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