PrepTest 140

Incorrect. This doesn't explain why those who decentralize this are seeing gains in productivity.

Incorrect. But why does this happen? And why is it working despite centralization being key to previous gains in productivity?

Incorrect. This answer establishes an alternative cause of productivity increases in recent years, which doesn't explain how decentralization is working to improve productivity. If the argument just stated that companies are decentralizing and seeing productivity gains, then a separate cause might explain that, but it explicitly states that the companies have "improved productivity by" decentralizing, thus establishing that decentralization as a cause of the increased productivity.

Incorrect. If we didn't know that the modern companies improved productivity "by" decentralizing, this answer might explain how they managed to improve productivity. But the paradox isn't that these companies have improved productivity despite decentralizing; it's that they've improved productivity by decentralizing.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Paradox

Stimulus Summary:
Productivity was increased during the Industrial Revolution by centralizing things, but more recent gains in productivity at already productive companies have been driven by decentralizing things.

Answer Anticipation:
This stimulus notes that two opposed methods of increasing productivity have both worked in different times. Since we're trying to explain how different methods in different times had the same effect, we need to find an answer that highlights a difference between the time periods or the companies around at the time that can explain how the different methods yielded the same results. Additionally, the stimulus discusses all companies when discussing the Industrial Revolution, but "already productive" companies when discussing the more recent years, so that difference might factor in.

Answer Explanation:
This answer establishes a key fact about companies that are already productive—further increases in productivity are driven by a decentralization of decision-making that leads to innovation that is then spread throughout the company. In explaining how the unexpected increases in productivity are brought about because of different characteristics in already productive companies, this answer resolves the paradox.

Key Takeaway:
Paradox questions frequently feature comparisons. In general, paradoxes that relate to differences will highlight relevant differences in the correct answer, and ones related to similarities will highlight relevant similarities in the correct answer.