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22 Jan 2026, 14:07
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B
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Difficulty:
45%
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Question Stats:
67% (02:04) correct
33%
(02:15)
wrong
based on 146
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Organizations are often defined as groups of people who come together to pursue a common goal. But more often than not, goals diverge as much as they converge, making the rationality of the overall organization no more than an elusive ideal. Beneath the collective irrationality, however, organizations often operate in a way that is eminently rational from the standpoint of the individuals, groups, and coalitions directly involved.
If all of the statements above are true, which one of the following must be true?
A. If all employees of an organization pursue their individual goals, one can never have an organization that behaves rationally.
B. Although conceptually an organization may appear irrational, the behaviors of individuals, groups, and coalitions in the organization may be rational.
C. As individuals, groups, or coalitions in an organization pursue their interests, the conceptual issues of rational behavior get blurred.
D. Since people are essentially irrational, the idea of building a rational organization is elusive.
E. As the organizational goals pass from the collective to the individual, the focus gets blurred.
If all of the statements above are true, which one of the following must be true?
A. If all employees of an organization pursue their individual goals, one can never have an organization that behaves rationally.
B. Although conceptually an organization may appear irrational, the behaviors of individuals, groups, and coalitions in the organization may be rational.
C. As individuals, groups, or coalitions in an organization pursue their interests, the conceptual issues of rational behavior get blurred.
D. Since people are essentially irrational, the idea of building a rational organization is elusive.
E. As the organizational goals pass from the collective to the individual, the focus gets blurred.
miag
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Schools: Anderson '26 (A) Haas '26 (A) Kellogg '26 (A)
GMAT Focus 1: 675 Q87 V83 DI80
Posts: 404
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159
22 Jan 2026, 21:05
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Hi, can you help add the source please? thank you!
Amity007
23 Jan 2026, 10:09
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Explanation
Organizations are defined as groups with a common goal. Often, goals diverge, so the organization as a whole is not truly rational. But, beneath that, the people, groups, and coalitions inside the organization often act in a way that is rational from their own standpoint.
A. Goes too far, it says if all employees pursue individual goals, one can never have an organization that behaves rationally. But passage says “more often than not” common goal diverges, not that it is impossible. So “never” is too strong.
B. Matches: Although conceptually the organization may appear irrational (from overall goal standpoint), the behaviors of individuals/groups/coalitions may be rational (from their own standpoint). This is exactly what paragraph says.
C. Says “conceptual issues of rational behavior get blurred”, this is not necessarily stated. The passage does not say they get blurred; it says overall org. is not rational, but individuals may be rational, so conceptual issues remain clear.
D. Says “since people are essentially irrational” no, passage says individuals’ actions are rational from their standpoint, not that people are irrational.
E. Talks about “goals pass from the collective to the individual, focus gets blurred”, not stated.
Answer: B
Organizations are defined as groups with a common goal. Often, goals diverge, so the organization as a whole is not truly rational. But, beneath that, the people, groups, and coalitions inside the organization often act in a way that is rational from their own standpoint.
A. Goes too far, it says if all employees pursue individual goals, one can never have an organization that behaves rationally. But passage says “more often than not” common goal diverges, not that it is impossible. So “never” is too strong.
B. Matches: Although conceptually the organization may appear irrational (from overall goal standpoint), the behaviors of individuals/groups/coalitions may be rational (from their own standpoint). This is exactly what paragraph says.
C. Says “conceptual issues of rational behavior get blurred”, this is not necessarily stated. The passage does not say they get blurred; it says overall org. is not rational, but individuals may be rational, so conceptual issues remain clear.
D. Says “since people are essentially irrational” no, passage says individuals’ actions are rational from their standpoint, not that people are irrational.
E. Talks about “goals pass from the collective to the individual, focus gets blurred”, not stated.
Answer: B
