While manufacturing tasks at Foldaco are performed by human workers

Question

While manufacturing tasks at Foldaco are performed by human workers, at Boksco they are all done by programmed robots. Because of this, fewer workers are needed at Boksco while the output levels of the company match those of Foldaco. Clearly, Boksco's operational expenses are lower than those of Foldaco.

The answer to which of the following would be most useful in evaluating the argument?

The answer to which of the following would be most useful in evaluating the argument?

A. Do the robots used by Boksco require maintenance for them to achieve optimum output levels?

B. Do the workers at Foldaco undergo specialized training before they are allowed to perform their tasks?

C. Are retail prices for products manufactured by Boksco much higher than those manufactured by Foldaco?

D. How long ago did Boksco complete the process of integrating the robots into its manufacturing system?

E. Is the sum of the wages of the workers at Boksco higher or lower than that of the workers at Foldaco?

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Sathvik02 · Answer

As per the argument:
Boksco is using fewer employees compared to Foldaco but with the same output level and hence the argument concludes operational expense must be less for Boksco. What do we need here to evaluate the argument? Notice even if the number of people employed by Boksco is less, what if the average salary provided by Bosksco is way higher than Foldaco? Or Robots are very expensive for maintenance compared to humans?
Let's see the option choice with the above points in mind.

A. Do the robots used by Boksco require maintenance for them to achieve optimum output levels?-  Not helpful. Everyone( including humans) needs maintenance. We need to know if robots account for more expense than humans.

B. Do the workers at Foldaco undergo specialised training before they are allowed to perform their tasks?-  Irrelevant

C. Are retail prices for products manufactured by Boksco much higher than those manufactured by Foldaco?-  How does retail prices are gonna effect the operational expense, so not helfull.

D. How long ago did Boksco complete the process of integrating the robots into its manufacturing system? -  Let's dump this choice immidiately.

E. Is the sum of the wages of the workers at Boksco higher or lower than that of the workers at Foldaco?-   Yea, now we are talking. If the sum of wages of the workers at Boksco is higher than Foldaco then the argument breaks down. This is our answer.

VivekSri · Answer

OA is E

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Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

While manufacturing tasks at Foldaco are performed by human workers, at Boksco they are all done by programmed robots. Because of this, fewer workers are needed at Boksco while the output levels of the company match those of Foldaco. Clearly, Boksco's operational expenses are lower than those of Foldaco.

The answer to which of the following would be most useful in evaluating the argument?

The answer to which of the following would be most useful in evaluating the argument?

A. Do the robots used by Boksco require maintenance for them to achieve optimum output levels?

Incorrect.

To solve this Investigation question, first break down the argument. The first two sentences are factual, premises. The last sentence uses the conclusion word Clearly which tells us it's the argument's conclusion.

Premise: tasks at Foldaco are done by people while at Boksco they're done by robots 
 +
Premise: Boksco has fewer human workers than Foldaco
 +
Premise: Boksco and Foldaco have the same production output
 =
Conclusion: Foldaco's operational expenses are higher than those of Boksco (i.e, a comparison of day-to-day expenses not including building and setting up the factories)

Vital factor: ?

You are required to find the factor which is most crucial to the author's conclusion. The correct answer is a question which could support or weaken the conclusion depending on its answer.

While robot maintenance would be an additional operational expense for Boksco, answering this question would not really help us assess whether the conclusion is correct. This is because we still wouldn't know anything about how much Boksco spends on maintenance in comparison with Foldaco.

There is another answer choice which would provide more useful information for this investigation. Look for it!

B. Do the workers at Foldaco undergo specialized training before they are allowed to perform their tasks?

While training could affect operational expenses and efficiency at Foldaco, answering this question would not really help us assess whether the conclusion is correct. This is because we still wouldn't know anything about how much Foldaco spends on or gains from training in comparison with Boksco.

There is another answer choice which would provide more useful information for this investigation. Look for it!

There is another answer choice which would provide more useful information for this investigation. Look for it!

C. Are retail prices for products manufactured by Boksco much higher than those manufactured by Foldaco?

Incorrect.

Since the argument deals with expenses alone, retail prices, which affect sales and revenues, have nothing to do with it. Therefore, a comparison between the prices of products made by each brand is irrelevant.

D. How long ago did Boksco complete the process of integrating the robots into its manufacturing system?

Incorrect.

In the conclusion, the author makes a statement about Boksco's operational expenses in comparison to those of Foldaco. This means the comparison is about the costs of running and operating the factory; this answer choice, however, relates to building and setting up the factory and is therefore irrelevant.

E. Is the sum of the wages of the workers at Boksco higher or lower than that of the workers at Foldaco?

This question would help further define the comparison of expenses. It cannot be assumed that both companies pay the same wages to their workers, so knowing who has more employees is not enough.

While this answer choice does not entirely prove or disprove the conclusion, it is the most valuable of the five in the process of evaluating it because it compares operational expenses. If the sum of the wages at Boksco is higher than that of the wages at Foldaco, then Boksco might have higher operational expenses. If this sum is lower than Foldaco's then indeed it is likely that Boksco has lower operational expenses.

arushi118 · Answer

How do we choose between A and E. A talks about robots -- expenditure on them can be higher than it is on humans.
And option E talks about humans.

AbhishekP220108 · Answer

Hi  arushi118  let me help

While manufacturing tasks at Foldaco are performed by human workers, at Boksco they are all done by programmed robots. Because of this, fewer workers are needed at Boksco while the output levels of the company match those of Foldaco. Clearly, Boksco's operational expenses are lower than those of Foldaco.

The answer to which of the following would be most useful in evaluating the argument?

The answer to which of the following would be most useful in evaluating the argument?

Conclusion Boksco operational expense > Foldaco operational expense

Reason-Foldaco uses human labor let say 50 labor for manufacturing tasks Boksco uses 5 or 6 human labor and programmed robots and production output of both company are same

And we need to evaluate the conclusion

A. Do the robots used by Boksco require maintenance for them to achieve optimum output levels?

Option A is asking whether boksco's robot needs maintenance or not but its not taking the money into consideration

E. Is the sum of the wages of the workers at Boksco higher or lower than that of the workers at Foldaco?

If the total wages paid to Boksco 5 labour is higher than 50 labor of foldaco then yes op. Exp is high and if it is lower then it may be the case that op. Exp is same or lower.

Hope this helps

sg8595 · Answer

I don't quite agree with E. Let's assume that the sum of worker's wages are low at Boksco then what about the robot's maintenance cost(if any). What if maintenance cost of robots and sum of worker's wages go above the sum of wages at Foldaco, the operational cost would be higher at Boksco. I will stick with A only as per the core argument.

guddo · Answer

While manufacturing tasks at Foldaco are performed by human workers, at Boksco they are all done by programmed robots. Because of this, fewer workers are needed at Boksco while the output levels of the company match those of Foldaco. Clearly, Boksco's operational expenses are lower than those of Foldaco. 
 
The answer to which of the following would be most useful in evaluating the argument?

The argument concludes that Boksco’s operating expenses are lower just because it uses robots and therefore needs fewer workers. The gap is clear:  fewer workers do not automatically mean lower total operating costs . To evaluate the argument, we need the most useful information about whether Boksco’s labor cost advantage really translates into lower operating expenses overall.

(A) Do the robots used by Boksco require maintenance for them to achieve optimum output levels?

This is relevant, but not the most useful. Even if the answer is yes, we still would not know whether the maintenance cost is small or large, or whether it outweighs the savings from using fewer workers.

(B) Do the workers at Foldaco undergo specialized training before they are allowed to perform their tasks?

This is less useful. Training may affect costs, but the conclusion depends much more directly on the comparison between the two companies’ actual ongoing operating expenses.

(C) Are retail prices for products manufactured by Boksco much higher than those manufactured by Foldaco?

This is irrelevant. Retail price concerns revenue, not operating expenses.

(D) How long ago did Boksco complete the process of integrating the robots into its manufacturing system?

This is not very useful. The conclusion is about current operating expenses, not about when the robots were introduced.

(E) Is the sum of the wages of the workers at Boksco higher or lower than that of the workers at Foldaco?

This is the best answer.  The argument relies on the idea that needing fewer workers lowers operating expenses , so total wage cost is the most directly useful thing to compare. If Boksco’s total wages are not lower, the conclusion is weakened; if they are lower, the conclusion is strengthened.

Answer: (E)

While manufacturing tasks at Foldaco are performed by human workers

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While manufacturing tasks at Foldaco are performed by human workers

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