Logical reasoning PrepTest 122 · Section 2 · Question 3

Incorrect. This is what most employees would do, so it's incorrect.

Incorrect. Routine correspondence that could be delayed will almost certainly not "yield big rewards" for the employer if successful, so this also doesn't describe the actions of an efficient employee.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Must Be True

Stimulus Summary:
Most employees - Complete unimportant tasks they've been assigned

Efficient employees - Ignore assignments to do things that yield large benefits for the company, even if failure risks big losses

Answer Anticipation:
First, a note on the question type. The stimulus presents us with a description of efficiency, and we need to find an answer that matches that description. So we're given information that we're treating as true, and we're finding an answer that aligns with it. That's a Must Be True question (and we can view this similarly to a principle question, with a definition/description serving the same role as a principle).

Now, to the content. While you might be tempted to ignore what "[m]ost employees" do since they're contrasted with "[e]fficient" employees, and the efficient employees are the ones that the question asks us about, don't! Wrong answers will likely describe what these employees will do, and eliminating those answers will be easier if we know the description of them. These employees—the ones that will form the basis for wrong answers—just do what they're told.

These efficient employees go rogue to work on risky but potentially lucrative projects. Not our definition of efficient, but it's what we have to work with! Let's find an answer where an employee skips an unimportant task to work on something that might make a big impact for the employer.

Answer Explanation:
An urgent call from a "major" customer could yield big rewards. The employee here is taking that risk instead of showing up for a routine meeting, which definitely meets the criterion for an efficient employee as outlined in the stimulus.

Key Takeaway:
When a Must Be True question asks you about a specific subset described in the stimulus, don't ignore other subsets. Several incorrect answers will likely deal with the other groups. This is also applicable to theories—when there are several theories, knowing details of each of them will help you eliminate answers that describe a theory not asked about in the stem!

Incorrect. This doesn't sound risky or potentially lucrative, so it falls in the "most employees" camp.v

Incorrect. Following deadlines and not spending time pursuing risky but potentially lucrative projects? That's what most employees would do, not an efficient one!