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Many companies that sell computer software are trying to increase the

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zac123
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Many companies that sell computer software are trying to increase the [#permalink] New post   Updated on: 01 Oct 2018, 01:08
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Many companies that sell computer software are trying to increase the productivity of their programmers, measured by the lines of code written in one day by a programmer. One method attempted by some companies is to let programmers work from home. Programmers who work from home do not need to commute to and from work and can therefore spend more of the day writing code. Therefore, companies that allow their programmers to work from home will see a corresponding increase in the productivity of those programmers.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?


A. Before the advent of virtual private network technology, working outside of the office presented security risks unacceptable to most companies.

B. Programmers write more effective code when they are able to work in a comfortable environment.

C. Companies that allow employees to work from home can see reductions in certain expenses, such as electricity and building upkeep.

D. Most older companies oppose allowing employees to work from home, whereas most newer companies support employees working from home.

E. The number of lines of code a programmer writes per hour is relatively constant.
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E

Originally posted by zac123 on 30 Sep 2018, 21:06.
Last edited by Bunuel on 01 Oct 2018, 01:08, edited 1 time in total.
Renamed the topic and edited the question.
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Re: Many companies that sell computer software are trying to increase the [#permalink] New post   30 Sep 2018, 22:16
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@ArunRS : Ans is E and Not C.

Conclusion: Therefore, companies that allow their programmers to work from home will see a corresponding increase in the productivity of those programmers.

Premise: Many companies that sell computer software are trying to increase the productivity of their programmers, measured by the lines of code written in one day by a programmer. Programmers who work from home do not need to commute to and from work and can therefore spend more of the day writing code.

Assumption: Programmers who spend more of the day writing code write more lines of code per day.

The question stem asks what most strengthens the argument, so this is a strengthen question. There is a shift in the language regarding the subject matter of the passage. The passage begins by defining productivity to be measured by lines of code written in one day by a programmer and then suggests that programmers who work from home…can therefore spend more of the day writing code. Because this is a strengthen question, the correct answer will provide a link between the number of lines of code written in one day and the amount of time spent writing code in a day. Now, evaluate the answer choices.

Choice A: No. Security risks are out of scope. Security risks have no effect on the number of lines of code written in one day.

Choice B: No. Effective code is out of scope. The effectiveness of the code has no impact on the number of lines of code written in one day.

Choice C: No. Expenses are out of scope. The expenses incurred by the company do not affect the number of lines of code written in one day.

Choice D: No. Older companies versus newer companies is out of scope. The age of the company does not affect the number of lines of code written in one day by the programmers.

Choice E: Correct. If the number of lines of code...per hour...is relatively constant, then a programmer who spends more hours in a day writing lines of code will write more lines of code in a day.

The correct answer is choice E.
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Re: Many companies that sell computer software are trying to increase the [#permalink] New post   30 Sep 2018, 22:17
ArupRS

I think the option E is the right answer here.

Conclusion: Therefore, companies that allow their programmers to work from home will see a corresponding increase in the productivity of those programmers.

So the conclusion is Programmers productivity will increase when the work from home.
Prethinking : 1. Nothing at the office such as motivation etc increase their productivity.
2. The time gained at commuting is effectively used.

So from all options(POE) E only seems logical.

5.The number of lines of code a programmer writes per hour is relatively constant.
So if they don't commute to office and back they will surely increase the number of lines of code and thus the productivity.

Coming to option C.
3. Companies that allow employees to work from home can see reductions in certain expenses, such as electricity and building upkeep
Our conclusion is on productivity of programmers and not on the expenses to be reduced.

Hope it helps.
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Re: Many companies that sell computer software are trying to increase the [#permalink] New post   30 Sep 2018, 22:18
Many companies that sell computer software are trying to increase the productivity of their programmers, measured by the lines of code written in one day by a programmer. One method attempted by some companies is to let programmers work from home. Programmers who work from home do not need to commute to and from work and can therefore spend more of the day writing code. Therefore, companies that allow their programmers to work from home will see a corresponding increase in the productivity of those programmers.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

1.Before the advent of virtual private network technology, working outside of the office presented security risks unacceptable to most companies. --Incorrect, out of scope.
2.Programmers write more effective code when they are able to work in a comfortable environment. --Incorrect, tricky one. Effectiveness of the code is not mentioned in the passage so eliminate this option.
3.Companies that allow employees to work from home can see reductions in certain expenses, such as electricity and building upkeep. --Incorrect, out of scope, expenses are not mentioned as a measure of productivity.
4.Most older companies oppose allowing employees to work from home, whereas most newer companies support employees working from home. --Incorrect, irrelevant comparison.
5.The number of lines of code a programmer writes per hour is relatively constant. --Correct, though it doesn't seem to be the 'ideal' answer, but it is the best of the lot. As per the argument, programmers will save time by staying at home and the productivity is measured by the lines of codes written so, if the rate of coding is constant then programmers can write more code lines in a day by staying at home.
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Re: Many companies that sell computer software are trying to increase the [#permalink] New post   01 Oct 2018, 01:05
We have been given that the software companies measure the productivity of their programmers by the no. of lines written by the programmer IN A DAY. These companies want to increase their productivity that is they want these programmers to write MORE lines in a day. So, for this reason some companies are offering their programmers to work from home. As per the stimulus we are given that WORKING FROM HOME eliminates the spent commuting to and fro the office. The time saved can be utilized to write code sitting at home.
For example, if the timing of the office are 9 am to 5 pm, and the programmer commutes to the office from 8 am to 9 am and from the office from 5 pm to 6 pm. The effective time to write the code is 9 am to 5 pm.
If working from home the effective time to write code will be 9 am to 5 pm plus the time to commute to and from the office : which are 8 am to 9 am and 5 pm to 6 pm. So, the total effective time to write code is 8 am to 6 pm.
With this information let us look at the option which strengthen the argument that is, allowing the programmers to work from home will increase the productivity per day.
A : This talks about something VPN and talks about the security of working from home. While this does not compare the productivity of working from home vs working at the office. Irrelevant. Wrong.
B : Yes this talks about the comparison on productivity pointed out in option A. But we do not know whether home is more comfortable than office or office is more comfortable than home. Psychologically as per commonsense home is more comfortable than office but it could be other way around too. Say there could be frequent power outages at home and there may not be any power outages at office. At the same time one can enlist a lot of points which can deduce that office is more comfortable than home. So, this option is certainly a trap answer choice. So, eliminated.
C : This talks about reduction in the expenses to the company but does not talk about the comparison pointed out in option A. Irrelevant. Wrong
D : This gives comparison between older companies and newer companies in allowing the programmers to work from home. But, nowhere in this choice it talks about the comparison between productivity in working from home vs working at office, similar to C and A. Irrelevant. Wrong.
E : The no. of hours a programmer writes is constant. In the stimulus we have broadened our thought with an example. So if a programmer writes 10 lines per hour, then for the working at office case we have 9 am to 5 pm, 8 effective hours. So total lines is 8*10 = 80 lines.While, in the working from home case we have 8 am to 6 pm where we have 10 effective hours, that is 10*10 = 100 hours. So, for the productivity of working from home vs working at office , we get working from home provides 20 additional lines. So, option E is the correct answer.
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Re: Many companies that sell computer software are trying to increase the [#permalink] New post   09 Dec 2020, 21:33
for "B' we can't simply assume that WFH will be more comfortable than office.

'E' is a clear winner. If we negate it... then it certainly weakens the Conclusion which is based on the fact that travel time will be saved in WFH allowing more time to employees leading to more productivity.
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Re: Many companies that sell computer software are trying to increase the [#permalink] New post   09 Dec 2020, 21:33
for "B' we can't simply assume that WFH will be more comfortable than office.

'E' is a clear winner. If we negate it... then it certainly weakens the Conclusion which is based on the fact that travel time will be saved in WFH allowing more time to employees leading to more productivity.
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Re: Many companies that sell computer software are trying to increase the [#permalink] New post   10 Apr 2024, 03:59
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Re: Many companies that sell computer software are trying to increase the [#permalink]
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