It is generally accepted that the more frequently a person performs a,

Question

It is generally accepted that the more frequently a person performs a task, the more expertly and efficiently the person accomplishes the task. The accountants at Bookkeepers Inc. have been in their current jobs, on average, for a significantly longer period of time than have the accountants at Auditors Inc. Therefore, Bookkeepers Inc. must have a more efficient accounting department than does Auditors Inc.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the claim made about the efficiency of the accounting departments relative to one another?

A. Many of the accountants at Auditors Inc. had previously worked at Bookkeepers Inc

B. Auditors Inc. has recently had to replace a large percentage of the accountants at its firm because of a recent scandal.

C. A majority of the accountants at Auditors Inc. have advanced accounting degrees, whereas relative few of their counterparts at Bookkeepers Inc. do.

D. Auditors Inc. generates significantly more profit per dollar of revenue than does Bookkeepers Inc.

E. The accounting department of Auditors Inc. is by far the most efficient department in the company.

sony1000 · Answer

I wished all the hard GMAT questions were like this one, because Grvdhingra made the extra effort to signal the correct answer for us. Thank you Grvdhingra you deserve everybody’s kudos for this one.

Grvdhingra · Answer

I've rectified the mistake n thanks for being so polite

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adityakhosla14 · Answer

Think of an unstated assumption with regards to the info given in the passage. The passage states that accountants at Bookeepers Inc. have been at their current jobs for a significantly long period of time in comparison to Auditors Inc.

But, what if the Accountants at Auditors Inc. are far more qualified than the accountants at Bookeepers Inc? That solves the entire solution for us and makes the argument weak. Answer (c) is correct.

swadhakamal · Answer

Hi, why it is not D? Because at the end of the days we will see how much profit has been made by Auditors and Bookkeepers?

If Auditors are efficient then only there are generating more profit. So the answer should be D. Right?

DimasSpb · Answer

It is generally accepted that the more frequently a person performs a task, the more expertly and efficiently the person accomplishes the task. The accountants at Bookkeepers Inc. have been in their current jobs, on average, for a significantly longer period of time than have the accountants at Auditors Inc. Therefore, Bookkeepers Inc. must have a more efficient accounting department than does Auditors Inc.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the claim made about the efficiency of the accounting departments relative to one another?

A. Many of the accountants at Auditors Inc. had previously worked at Bookkeepers Inc -  Cant weaken because of "The accountants at Bookkeepers Inc. have been in their current jobs,  on average , for a significantly longer period of time than have the accountants at Auditors Inc."

B. Auditors Inc. has recently had to replace a large percentage of the accountants at its firm because of a recent scandal. -  Out of scope

C. A majority of the accountants at Auditors Inc. have advanced accounting degrees, whereas relative few of their counterparts at Bookkeepers Inc. do. -  Correct. Because it attack main premise and destroy conclusion about experts "more frequently a person performs a task, the more expertly and efficiently the person accomplishes the task"

D. Auditors Inc. generates significantly more profit per dollar of revenue than does Bookkeepers Inc. -  Out of scope because brand can also generate profit
 
E. The accounting department of Auditors Inc. is by far the most efficient department in the company. -  out of scope

Sneha333 · Answer

Answer should be A.

How is having a degree adds to the argument.

Choice C attacks the Premise but to weaken the argument we have to attack the assumptions.

Choice A does that.

ritika9809 · Answer

With C we are assuming a different thing whereas in the premise there's nothing mentioned about the qualification and I think it's wrong to go against the premise because in "Weaken" type question we don't go against the premise and we have to prove the conclusion wrong option A perfectly does that.
It says the employees in the Auditor Co. were earlier employed in Bookkeeper Co. which means that the employees in both the companies are equally efficient. 
Hence weakens the conclusion.

If there's any mistake in my understanding. Feedbacks are most welcome.

ravi546 · Answer

The option A attacks the conclusion vaguely(we dont know for how long those accountants have worked at the other company previously)

Option C attacks the premise(But, we need to go with the assumption that better degrees ==> better efficiency.)

Experts, kindly help!

SnigdhaM · Answer

option A is incorrect because it doesn't states whether good accountants came to Auditors Inc. or bad accountants. This gives a confused output. And option C gives us other reason as to why Auditors Inc. will be better. Clearly, weakens the argument.

Maybe I am wrong, feedbacks are most welcome

Snigdha

Maybe I am wrong, feedbacks are most welcome

Snigdha

dynmoz · Answer

How does having advanced degree imply being more efficient at work?

kebab1990 · Answer

I don't get this question. For me no answer is correct. Qualification has nothing to do with efficiency. I can imagine a person who has advanced degree in accounting but is less efficient than his colleagues without such a technical background (and I really know a couple of guys like that)!

After reading the question, I was looking for answer that attack assumption that tenure as an accountant is positively correlated with frequency of performing task and therefore efficiency.

Guys at Bookkeepers could really work for longer period of time that those at Auditors but what if they issue e.g. one invoice per week and accountants at Auditors issue 20 invoices per week. The latter are more efficient due to higher frequency of performing task even with shorter tenure.

For me the best answer is D because higher profit margin might mean higher business scale and consequently greater number of invoices. But still, this answer is far away from the perfect choice.

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kebab1990 · Answer

Completly disagree. The unstated assumption is that: longer period of time in job = performing task more frequently = being expert and more efficient.

But it could be the case that someone is for shorter period of time in job that someone else but performs task more frequently (e.g. issue 20 invoices per week compared to 1 invoice per week)

Nothing unstated about FORMAL qualification

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vsharia · Answer

I am not in favor of Option C. May be the basic qualification required for performing the task is with everyone, and having an advance degree has nothing to do with the efficiency.
So Option A, is the best option under given data

tamal99 · Answer

IMHO if C is the answer then we need to assume that the advanced degree is equivalent to work experience, which is not stated in the question stem. I can't agree with the OA.

Regards, 
Tamal

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NarendraM · Answer

Agree with most of the people. How can you assume that advanced degree adds to efficiency? My take was that one assumption of the argument is that the "current job" does not mean they have not worked before. Thats exactly what A specifies that the employees from A have worked in B before, so they might also have an equivalent experience as of A. Experts help needed.

NarendraM · Answer

Kindly explain why C is better over A. Thanks.

Pankaj0901 · Answer

Completely confused between A and C. I think A should be the correct answer. Does A have some kind of trap that we are missing out? Request you to please explain each option.

chaitnya10 · Answer

Can't agree with C. 
People at A are more qualified but people at B have been working for more time. We need to assume that working does not give the same efficiency as studying advanced degrees.

AnirudhaS · Answer

C should  not  be the answer. Can anyone share the OE please?

It is generally accepted that the more frequently a person performs a,

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