A large corporation is currently in the middle of turnover, as many of

Question

A large corporation is currently in the middle of turnover, as many of the older employees are retiring around the same time. With a weak economic situation, the corporation has to consider its hiring options carefully. Most of the retiring employees have been with the company for many years and have acquired knowledge and skills that would require the corporation to hire additional employees to take over their positions. The CEO of the corporation has decided not to replace all of the retiring employees, however. Instead, the corporation will be hiring fewer employees. The corporation does not expect to see a reduction in the work output, but it does plan to see a reduction in salaries.

Which of the following best explains the decision by the corporation to hire fewer employees?

(A) The corporation is relocating many of the jobs to an overseas branch, thus reducing the jobs required at its primary U.S. location.

(B) Many of the retiring employees will continue to work part-time to fill in the gaps with the reduced number of jobs.

(C) The corporation is working with a headhunting firm in order to bring on versatile workers who will accept diverse employment requirements for a lower salary.

(D) The corporation has reviewed the open positions in the company, and the CEO feels as though many of those positions are outdated and can be eliminated.

(E) The corporation is reducing its pay for employees and is altering the retirement plan available to retiring employees in order to save money.

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Overview:

In this question, the student is given information about a large corporation that is in the process of turnover, with many older employees retiring simultaneously. At the same time, the economy is experiencing weakness, so the corporation has to make careful decisions about hiring new employees to replace the retiring employees. The corporation knows that there probably cannot be a simple one-to-one ratio of new employees taking over the jobs of retiring employees, because most of the retiring employees had knowledge and experience that a single employee would not have. In reality, the corporation would probably have to hire more than one new employee to take over the jobs of each of the retiring employees. But the passage goes on to say that this is apparently not the corporation’s plan. In fact, the corporation expects to hire fewer new employees, with no change in work output but a reduction in salaries.

The question asks the student to select the answer choice that most clearly takes these various factors into account and explains the corporation’s decision. To answer this question, the student needs to compile all of these elements into a single focus, asking what the details suggest: (1) older employees with many skills are retiring, (2) the corporation would need several employees to replace each retiree, (3) the corporation is planning to hire fewer employees, (4) the corporation expects to see the same amount of work output, and (5) the corporation plans to see reduced salaries. In short, the student should recognize that this all points in one direction. The corporation is planning on hiring very specialized workers who will do several jobs for lower salaries. The correct answer choice will reflect this.

The Correct Answer:

C Answer choice (C) provides information that the corporation is working with a headhunter to locate highly versatile workers who are willing to take on extra work but without the expected salary compensation. Answer choice (C), therefore, is correct.

The Incorrect Answers:

A The author of the passage notes that the corporation is not expecting to see a reduction in work output, so the fact that the corporation is moving to an overseas location is largely irrelevant as the corporation fully expects to see the same amount of work as before, regardless of location. What is more, answer choice (A) does not indicate that the move overseas would reduce the salary requirements, so it does not explain why the company would expect to pay less in salaries. Answer choice (A) may be eliminated.

B The passage indicates clearly that the outgoing employees will be retiring and that the company will need to replace them fully. As a result, answer choice (B) counters the statements made in the passage, so it cannot be correct.

D Answer choice (D) contradicts the statements made in the passage about the fact that the corporation “does not expect to see a reduction in the work output.” Eliminating jobs without a clear indication that other jobs will pick up the slack would obviously eliminate immediate work output, so answer choice (D) cannot be correct.

E Answer choice (E) explains the expected reduction in salaries, but it does not explain the plan to retain the same work output with fewer paid employees. Answer choice (E) thus ignores an important part of the passage, so it cannot be correct.

PG695 · Answer

Definitely deserves a difficulty level of 805+ So many choices that could be true in real life.

I was down to choice B) and C) but ultimately picked C) at the end.

My elimination reasoning for B) is that the story already gave three points to consider:

1) Old employees are leaving the company
2) They will hire new employees but not for every position
3) New hires will get paid lower in salary

(B) Many of the retiring employees will continue to work part-time to fill in the gaps with the reduced number of jobs. 
--> It might cover point 2) "Not hire every position" It might as well explain why the company could paid new hires for lower salary (maybe because they do not need to hire skilful employees to match retired employees' competencies).

But here are two things: 
- Look at how far I need to go to complete the story. I need to make up a lot of convoluted story to make some senses out of it.
- It still goes against the passage given in point 1) "Old employees are leaving the company" This is slightly going to a wrong direction, quite opposite of the premise to be specific.

That's why choice C) makes more sense to untangle this paradox.

(C) The corporation is working with a headhunting firm in order to bring on versatile workers who will accept diverse employment requirements for a lower salary.

This choice checks all the boxes: No more old employees, new hires with versatile skills, new hires with lower salary.

A large corporation is currently in the middle of turnover, as many of

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