It seems that employees at middle management positions who wish to get

Question

It seems that employees at middle management positions who wish to get promoted to senior management positions in their companies should start purchasing clothes from leading fashion designers. In a recent survey of 1000 employees working at different senior management positions, as many as 80% stated that they only bought clothes from leading fashion designers.

Which of the following most weakens the argument?

(A) The senior managers mentioned in the survey only started purchasing clothes from leading fashion designers after they became senior managers.
(B) The clothes manufactured by leading fashion designers are usually very expensive and outside the reach of most middle level managers.
(C) Most employees at senior management positions are no smarter than those at middle management positions.
(D) Some employees do not manage to reach senior management positions, even though they wear clothes manufactured by leading fashion designers.
(E) Wearing clothes manufactured by leading fashion designers can in some way improve the prospects of an employee getting promoted to senior management positions.

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Dereno · Answer

The question mentions that to be promoted to senior management positions, the employees who are middle management positions should purchase clothes from leading fashion designers.

A survey is being conducted amongst 1000 senior management positions , and 80% said they ONLY bought clothes from rich fashion designers .

We need to find the weaknerer. Let’s look into the options

( A) The senior managers mentioned in the survey only started purchasing clothes from leading fashion designers after they became senior managers.

The question mentions that aspiring middle management employees should wear specially designed clothes, and to support this view they mention a survey where 80% says they wear specially designed clothes and are in senior management positions.

This exactly, counters the crux of the question. It’s not they wore specially designed clothes when they were middle management employees, post wearing were promoted to senior levels. Thus, this weakens the argument.

(B) The clothes manufactured by leading fashion designers are usually very expensive and outside the reach of most middle level managers.

We are not speaking about the expensive clothes or its affordability. Hence, wrong.

(C) Most employees at senior management positions are no smarter than those at middle management positions.

The question doesn’t speak about IQ/ EQ etc or their critical thinking abilities or any skills. Hence, wrong.

(D) Some employees do not manage to reach senior management positions, even though they wear clothes manufactured by leading fashion designers.

The phrase SOME mentions a selected lot DID NOT Qualify to become senior managers after wearing specialised clothing. While some have managed to become. This statement supports both versions hence not a weakening option.

(E) Wearing clothes manufactured by leading fashion designers can in some way improve the prospects of an employee getting promoted to senior management positions.

This speaks of the likelihood or probability of getting promoted. Which may or may not occur for any event. Hence, wrong .

Option A

solutaearum · Answer

Argument says:
Middle managers who want promotion should buy designer clothes, because 80% of senior managers said they buy them.

To weaken it, we need to show that buying designer clothes doesn’t *cause* promotion — maybe it’s just something they did *after* becoming senior managers.

(A) says senior managers only started buying designer clothes *after* getting promoted.
→ So buying them didn’t help them get promoted — it happened later.
→ This destroys the argument’s cause-effect link.

Answer: (A) — sufficient reason: shows designer clothes are a result of promotion, not the reason for it.

blockmehello · Answer

why d is not the answer because as being the weakening question it should be d right a strengthen the question

egmat · Answer

blockmehello  I can see why option D might seem appealing - it does show that designer clothes don't guarantee promotion. And I understand the confusion about A - at first glance, it might seem to confirm the connection between designer clothes and senior management. Let me clarify what makes A the stronger weakener.

Why A Weakens the Argument:

The argument's conclusion is: middle managers  should  buy designer clothes  to get promoted .

The evidence is:  80\%  of senior managers wear designer clothes.

The argument assumes: wearing designer clothes → promotion

Option A tells us: The senior managers started buying designer clothes  AFTER  they became senior managers.

This reverses the causation: promotion → designer clothes

This completely undermines the argument because it shows designer clothes are a  result  of promotion, not a  cause . Perhaps they can now afford expensive clothes, or they feel they need to dress a certain way in their new role. Either way, buying designer clothes as a middle manager wouldn't help you get promoted.

Why D Doesn't Effectively Weaken:

Option D says: Some employees wear designer clothes but don't get promoted.

This shows designer clothes are  not sufficient  for promotion. But the argument never claimed they were sufficient - it just recommended them as something that "should" be done (implying they help).

Many factors affect promotion: performance, skills, relationships, luck, etc. The fact that designer clothes alone don't guarantee promotion doesn't mean they don't help. This is like saying "Some people who exercise regularly still get sick" - that doesn't weaken the claim that exercise improves health.

What Went Wrong in Your Thinking:

When you see that A confirms senior managers DO wear designer clothes, you might think it strengthens. But the  timing  is crucial - they started AFTER promotion. This reversal of causation is one of the most powerful weakening strategies.

Hope this answers your question! To build more practice, you can attempt  weaken type questions here  (these are official questions).

Bunuel · Answer

Official Explanation

Answer: A

The argument is based on the assumption that the only or at least one of the primary reasons why the employees at senior management positions have reached those positions is the clothes they wear.

(A) This option directly contradicts the above assumption by stating that these employees started wearing these clothes only after they reached senior management positions. Thus, the clothes couldn’t possibly have played any role in them getting promoted to these positions.

(B) While this option may look good, it does nothing to weaken the causal connection mentioned in the argument. If the causal connection were to indeed hold true, the employees at middle management positions may even want to take out loans to purchase these expensive clothes as that is the only way they can get promoted to senior management positions.

(C) This somewhat strengthens the argument by suggesting that different levels of ‘smartness’ is not the reason why these people have got promoted to senior
management positions. Then the reason could very well be the clothes that they wear.

(D) The argument never states that this will be a sufficient condition to get to senior management positions, but that it may be a necessary condition. It is possible that even after wearing clothes by leading fashion designers, you still don’t reach senior management positions for some other reasons.

(E) This could be an inference from the argument but is definitely not the assumption.

It seems that employees at middle management positions who wish to get

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It seems that employees at middle management positions who wish to get

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