The amount of time it takes for most of a worker's occupational knowle

Question

The amount of time it takes for most of a worker's occupational knowledge and skills to become obsolete has been declining because of the introduction of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT). Given the rate at which AMT is currently being introduced in manufacturing, the average worker's old skills become obsolete and new skills are required within as little as five years.

Which of the following plans, if feasible, would allow a company to prepare most effectively for the rapid obsolescence of skills described above?

(A) The company will develop a program to offer selected employees the opportunity to receive training six years after they were originally hired.

(B) The company will increase its investment in AMT every year for a period of at least five years.

(C) The company will periodically survey its employees to determine how the introduction of AMT has affected them.

(D) Before the introduction of AMT, the company will institute an educational program to inform its employees of the probable consequences of the introduction of AMT.

(E) The company will ensure that it can offer its employees any training necessary for meeting their job requirements.

OG2015 CR #7

abhijit_sen · Accepted Answer

IMO E.

Premise 1: The amount of time it takes for most of a worker's occupational knowledge and skills to become obsolete has been declining because of the introduction of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT). 
Premise 2: Given the rate at which AMT is currently being introduced in manufacturing, the average worker's old skills become obsolete and new skills are required within as little as five years.

(A) The company will develop a program to offer selected employees the opportunity to receive training six years after they were originally hired.
Premise 2 says AMT makes skill obsolete in 5 years, then training after 6 year will not help.

(B) The company will increase its investment in AMT every year for a period of at least five years.
Question is interested in training of employee and not in investments in AMT.

(C) The company will periodically survey its employees to determine how the introduction of AMT has affected them.
Company will survey employees but how will company make employees capable of handling AMT is not told.

(D) Before the introduction of AMT, the company will institute an educational program to
inform its employees of the probable consequences of the introduction of AMT.
This may tell employees what is AMT, how it may affect them, but how will this information prepare the employees.

(E) The company will ensure that it can offer its employees any training necessary for meeting their job requirements.
Exactly the what question is asking. Company will offer training to employees so that their skills do not become obsolete because of AMT.

DmitryFarber · Answer

Bigred's analysis is correct.

This is not a weaken question, Aamir. Did someone say it was?

The question is asking us how the company can prepare for a problem described in the argument. What is the problem? The introduction of AMT is making workers' skills obsolete. So what does the company need? It either needs a way to constantly replace its workforce, or it needs a way to keep workers' skills current. None of the options address the first possibility (replacing the work force), but A and E address the second (keeping skills current).

A has several problems. First, as Bigred said, the training might not come in time. Second, the training will only be offered to "selected" employees. Third, we have no idea what this training is. Will it be sufficient to bring the workers' skills up to date?

Contrast this with E, which says that the company will offer "any training necessary" to keep employees' skills up to date. This may be vague (When will this occur? What will the training consist of?), but that doesn't matter in the least! Remember that we are taking these statements as true. If the company is truly going to do whatever is necessary, it doesn't matter what it is. We know the problem will be taken care of!

USADream · Answer

A. Providing training only to selected employees and only after their skills have already become
obsolete is not likely to be an effective response.
B. This plan only accelerates the problem and does not address the employees' skills.
C. Periodic surveys may provide information to employers butwill notbe enough to prevent
employees' skills from becoming obsolete.
D. Having knowledge of the consequences does not prevent those consequences; employees' skills
will still become obsolete.
 E. Correct.  This would ensure that all employees have the most current occupational knowledge
and skills needed for their jobs

Bigred2008 · Answer

Please provide the OA. This is a OG 13 question, at least that's where I saw it.

I get E for this.

The stem says - " That workers skills become obsolete quicker because technology is eroding their advantage and workers' knowledge is out of date in 5 years."
So what can the company do that would help the workers not become obsolete.

A. No, because by the time they receive the training they will already have been obsolete for a year, and there's no point in keeping them. Strike.
B. This doesn't affect the workers any. The company would pour more money into fixed capital, but this doesn't affect the workers in fact it might speed things up. Strike.
C. Surveying workers doesn't help them. It just gives the company an insight into how they are feeling. 
D. Same, it doesn't help the workers to know how they feeling. It doesn't help them with the skills, but it does provide a clue that the next answer choice get right. Hmm, education within the 5 year window can help. Strike.
E. Bingo. If the company offers training for the workers even with the introduction of AMT they will always be kept up to date on their skills and won't go obsolete.

Hope this helps.

havoc7860 · Answer

Hi Dmitry,

Thanks for your great explanation. I am pretty sure i saw that this question is a weaken type on the powerscore site. Anyways, i am going to give the gmat on the 5th of november for which i have preparing from many months now. My question to you is how i should go about improving my cr and sc in the last few days? I have studied the mgmat sc guide like 3 to 4 times and gone through the powerscore book for cr once. I somehow still do not feel confident because my performances on the practice tests have been very inconsistent. In the last few days should i just focus on the questions that i have been getting wrong hope that my strengths do not let me down? or should i go through the notes that i have made during my preparation. I should point out that i am pretty confident that i remember most of the concepts i picked up from the books i have gone through although application of these concepts still evades me during the test.

Any kind of suggestions will be higly appreciated.

Thanks,
Aamir.

DmitryFarber · Answer

Glad to help!

Honestly, there isn't much you should do in the last few days except eat well, get enough sleep, and otherwise make sure you are in the best mental and physical shape possible for the challenge ahead. As far as studying goes, the best thing you can do is get in a little mixed review and focus on your strategies for test day. This is not the time to learn new approaches or try to change your existing approaches to any significant degree.

You certainly don't need to read the strategy guide again. It's much more important to work on applying those ideas yourself. Do small timed sets of problems and then review every single problem untimed before checking the answers. How confident are you that your selected answer is correct? 
Can you prove that your answer is right and the other four are wrong? If not, what's getting in the way? If two or more answers seem plausible, what is the difference between them, and how well do they connect to what the problem is asking you to do? (One of the most common sources of error is that we're providing a great answer to a different question than what we've been asked.) Once you've reviewed thoroughly, then check the answers and re-review as needed before looking at the explanations. (For SC, use our GMAT Navigator rather than the explanations in the OG.)

Good luck!

gmat7585 · Answer

As per the passage , the answer choice should help company to enable its employees in providing advanced training .
It should actually fill the gap between skills of workers becoming obsolete and company efforts in to train workers within five years.

Answer choice A does not fill the gap as it exceeds the time frame "to receive training six years after"
Answer Choice B - does not provide link between company and worker
Answer Choice C- Irrelevant - as this does not help company 
Answer Choice D - Same as C
Answer Choice E - Best choice

Regards

Nevernevergiveup · Answer

This is a question that tests POE solely. We arrive at the OA not because we feel it is right answer but we dislike all other choices. :!:

1. worker's knowledge and skills has been declining to become obsolete because of the some technology (AMT). 2. hence, the average worker's old skills become obsolete and new skills are required within as little as five years. Which of the following plans, if feasible, would allow a company to prepare most effectively for the rapid obsolescence of skills described above? (A) The company will develop a program to offer selected employees the opportunity to receive training six years after they were originally hired............... what about skills which get obsoleted by 5 yrs? not a good plan :magic

(B) The company will increase its investment in AMT every year for a period of at least five years.......... can we ensure the skillupdation just by investment. NO :no

(C) The company will periodically survey its employees to determine how the introduction of AMT has affected them.......... survey will help us study but does not change the situation. (D) Before the introduction of AMT, the company will institute an educational program to inform its employees of the probable consequences of the introduction of AMT............... what about after 5 years? :roll:

(E) The company will ensure that it can offer its employees any training necessary for meeting their job requirements........... so called perfect plan just like our 5 year plans. :wink:

AliciaSierra · Answer

The amount of time it takes for most of a worker's occupational knowledge and skills to become obsolete has been declining because of the introduction of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT). Given the rate at which AMT is currently being introduced in manufacturing, the average worker's old skills become obsolete and new skills are required within as little as five years.

Which of the following plans, if feasible, would allow a company to prepare most effectively for the rapid obsolescence of skills described above?

(A) The company will develop a program to offer selected employees the opportunity to receive training six years after they were originally hired.--   Argument says "new skills are required within as little as five year". This option says training after 6 years after they were originally hired. Too late to prepare employees for new skills.  
(B) The company will increase its investment in AMT every year for a period of at least five years.-- More investment in AMT but no improvement in employee skill is not gonna benefit company much. 
(C) The company will periodically survey its employees to determine how the introduction of AMT has affected them.--  What finding the "effect" then what company is going to do is not mentioned. 
(D) Before the introduction of AMT, the company will institute an educational program to inform its employees of the probable consequences of the introduction of AMT.-- Company is going to inform employee but is it going to increase employee skills ?  We do not know.
(E) The company will ensure that it can offer its employees any training necessary for meeting their job requirements.-- Ah ha! .  This option says Company will ENSURE that its employees get training for meeting their job.

dcummins · Answer

The stem describes a situation in which the intro of AMT will cause the increase in obsolescence of employee skillsets.

We are then asked to select a plan that would allow companies to prepare for their employees' rapid obsolescence of skills.

A is incorrect because training 6 years after the 5 year obsolescence cut-off would mean employees skillsets are already obsolete, so this plan doesn't allow the company to 'prepare', rather it is a reactive approach to remedying an existing issue.
B is incorrect because this would only increase skill obsolescence, it wouldn't help employees .
C is a lure answer as a survey can help identify whether employees' skillsets are adequate, but it doesn't highlight how the company can prepare their employees for this obsolescence 
D is incorrect because it doesn't prevent the inevitable. 
E is correct because it clearly highlights a proactive approach to inevitable skill obsolescence predicted by the intro of AMT

Dinesh654 · Answer

Hello experts,  MartyTargetTestPrep   ReedArnoldMPREP 
 
Although I chose the right answer E,
I am still skeptical about E.

The question stem is - Which of the following plans, if feasible,  would allow a company to prepare  most effectively for the rapid obsolescence of skills described above?

E-  The company will ensure  that it  can  offer
its employees any training necessary for meeting their job requirements.

first of all - company will insure- its not certain, many companies make many promises but they don't usually achieve those.
second- it can offer- doesn't mean will offer. still not certain.

question is asking - "would allow a company to prepare", means one of the choice (best one) should eliminate the problem if applied. but saying something(can or ensuring) doesn't mean it will elimante the problem.

Although this one is closest one.

ArnauG · Answer

The plan that would allow a company to prepare most effectively for the rapid obsolescence of skills described above is option (E): The company will ensure that it can offer its employees any training necessary for meeting their job requirements.

Given the introduction of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) and the declining rate at which occupational knowledge and skills become obsolete, it is crucial for a company to adapt and provide continuous training to its employees. Option (E) ensures that the company is committed to offering its employees the necessary training to meet the evolving job requirements caused by the rapid obsolescence of skills. By continuously updating and upgrading their skills, employees will be better prepared to handle the changes brought about by the introduction of AMT. This approach enables the company to keep its workforce skilled and adaptable in the face of technological advancements.

playthegame · Answer

So this one is an interesting question, I ended up choosing answer D over E. The question is "would allow a company to prepare most effectively for the rapid obsolescence of skills described above?"

So I did not mark E as it did not seem to be the most effective.

E says that the company will provide ANY training - question in my mind was is that the most effective way to PREPARE for the obsolescence in skills.

Or, a much better approach is to educate the employees first about what are the consequences of this new technology before they do any trainings?

GMATNinja  - your thoughts please thank you.

manrasingh · Answer

+1 to this, I have the same doubt can the experts please help? @ MartyTargetTestPrep   @  ReedArnoldMPREP   GMATNinja   KarishmaB

GMATNinja · Answer

Imagine that you're an employee at this company where your skills are likely to become obsolete because of the introduction of some fancy new technology, such as robots.

Which seems like a better way to prepare?

1) The company issues you a pamphlet with a title like, "Why You Will Soon Lose Your Job to a Robot." OR 2) The company promises to offer you ANY training that might help you remain productive after the scary new robots come aboard.

I'm thinking that #2 is a better way to go. Whether you're working with the robots, programming the robots, or performing a new function, you'll get the training you need to be productive. That consistent with (E). And note the important phrase, "any training necessary." Really seems to cover all our bases, right?

I hope that clears things up!

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