To save on rent, the Third National Bank plans to move its main office

Question

To save on rent, the Third National Bank plans to move its main office from City Y to City X, where rents are lower, and have employees commute daily from City Y, where they live. The bank asked for volunteers from among its City Y bankers to attempt the commute for three months and found that, for these months, these bankers’ sales were higher than the sales of the bankers in City Y who did not commute to City X.

Which of the following, if true, would dictate most powerfully against making the relocation permanent, based on the findings of the trial period?

A) The volunteers in the study were from among the bank’s most loyal and hardest-working junior ranks.
B) Even if there were no increases in relocated workers’ sales revenues, the move would be cost-effective based on the rent savings alone.
C) Competitor banks that had tried such a plan and succeeded were usually much smaller in terms of staff than the Third National Bank.
D) The relocated volunteers were provided with inexpensive technology that let them integrate their laptops with the bank’s computer system.
E) Sales revenues of the magnitude achieved by the volunteers could be accomplished by other means that require less disruption.

mike2100 · Answer

PoE gives me D , not sure though , maybe the inexpensive tech means potential security issues ? data loss ,etc ?

Apoorva271191 · Answer

A. Using the POE. if the volunteers are the most hardworking and loyal people then one cannot base their result on overall growth if the bank is moved from City Y to city X

mike2100 · Answer

yes but still the rent cost is lower in X ,as B tells us :
 Even if there were no increases in relocated workers’ sales revenues, the move would be cost-effective based on the rent savings alone.

ArupRS · Answer

Can someone please explain why not E

Regards.
Arup

sups3906 · Answer

For this question, we have to find out some aspect of the trial period that will not be true or effective in the long run. Clearly A points out such an aspect.

I don't like E as it is a fact that is already known or expected to be known even before the trial. It doesn't show any inconsistency between the trial solution and permanent solution.

Kukee · Answer

Hi,
Let's solve this qn by first understanding the argument in the stem
The passage asserts that a particular bank is thinking to shift from city X to city Y as city Y charges less rent and commutation for the volunteers of bank would be easy since most of them live there. They did it for 3 months and got positive result.
So,what do we need to weaken? 
Do remember that in weakening questions,before jumping to options,have a clarity what to weaken. So,here we go: we need to weaken the fact that although positive results were shown but it was not because of City Y benefits rather it was bound to happen.
Option A does the same. Isn't it? It says they were already loyal volunteers. So,if we are experimenting on those who will always be prejudiced,how will we get correct or unbiased result. Thus,A is correct.

A lot of you marked D and E. Let's understand.
D is partly correct because it does not address easy commutation factor.
E is wrong because in turn it's strengthening by accepting the positive result and giving suggestions for alternative

I hope it helps. Do send KUDOS. Thank you,guys.

Posted from my mobile device

Nrj0601 · Answer

OFFICIAL KAPLAN EXPLANATION
  
Step 1: Identify the Question Type

This is a Weaken question, as it asks for a choice that goes against making relocation permanent.

Step 2: Untangle the Stimulus

The bank took some bankers and had them try out the commute for three months. During that time, these bankers' sales were higher than those of their colleagues who did not commute. The bank, if it uses this trial period to support the decision to move the office permanently, is assuming that the commute was what caused the higher sales.

Step 3: Predict the Answer

The correct choice will attack the bank's assumption. It will suggest something else as the cause of the higher sales achieved by the volunteers who commuted.

Step 4: Evaluate the Choices

(A) suggests some other reason for the higher sales, besides the commute. The volunteers were loyal and “hardest-working,” and therefore might be expected to achieve higher sales no matter where they are. Thus, the bank shouldn't expect the same results from the other bankers, and it wouldn’t be a good idea to make the move permanent just based on this small trial. (A) is therefore correct.

(B) actually supports the idea of a permanent move, but really is irrelevant to the argument in the stimulus because it doesn't deal with the trial period in question. The argument is that the move is supported by the findings of the trial period. (B) doesn’t address that.

(C) is irrelevant, as the argument is about the connection between the findings of the trial period and the decision to make the move permanent. The experiences of competitor banks have nothing to do with this connection.

(D) just explains how the employees in the trial were able to continue doing their banking work. This doesn't make the permanent location of the main office seem like a bad idea at all.

(E) brings up the possibility of other methods to raise sales. This is irrelevant to the question of whether the results of the trial period demonstrate that the commute itself was responsible for the high sales observed.

TAKEAWAY: With Weaken questions, keep the focus on the connection between the stated evidence and the conclusion - the assumption. Don't forget that the task is to attack that connection. That will make it easier to avoid wrong choices.

VerbalBot · Answer

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To save on rent, the Third National Bank plans to move its main office

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