Logical reasoning PrepTest 144 · Section 4 · Question 9

Incorrect. First, it's the employee who would have the increased responsibility, and the stimulus is about recommendations to the manager. Second, showing how power should be used wasn't the point of the stimulus at all.

Incorrect. Prestige? That's out of scope. Job security is related to the threat of termination, but the prestige doesn't have an analogue.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Illustration

Stimulus Summary:
Manager's goal Ð Get the best performance from her people
Don't Ð Threaten to fire them or reward them with cash
Do Ð Delegate responsibility
Why? Ð People need to want to do a good job for its own sake

Answer Anticipation:
This isn't an Illustration question where we're given an argument and need to find a justification for it. Rather, we're given a scenario and need to find a generalization that it embodies. It can be hard to anticipate a correct answer in these!

When anticipations are hard, it's important to have a clear understanding of the stimulus. Here, a goal is presented, and then bad methods of achieving it are outlined before a good method is presented, along with the reasoning for why it works. The answer is almost certainly going to deal with the recommended method—not the ones that don't work—and so we should look for an answer that generalizes from a Manager being effective by delegating work and making her people want to do a good job for its own sake.

Answer Explanation:
If you read this answer, said, "For example," and then read the stimulus, it'd make complete sense. Manager's want to get the best performance out of their team, and that can be done by giving them responsibility over decisions the Manager used to make. So their effectiveness as a manager can be enhanced by relinquishing control over these decisions by delegating them to employees.

Key Takeaway:
Illustration questions without argument can best be thought of as an example supporting the correct answer. Get a good handle on the details in the stimulus, but don't spend too much time on an anticipation as the correct answer can sometimes take a different angle than you might.

Incorrect. The stimulus doesn't indicate that the Manager's are delegating responsibility in making decisions that will be carried out by the delegated-to employee! Even if that were established, this answer is about the employee or the work, not the Manager, who was the focus of the stimulus.

Incorrect. The self-interest of the employees would be addressed by threats of termination or monetary bonus, so this generalization isn't illustrated by a stimulus recommending against using those as motivators.