Question:
Argument:
A company claims its new productivity software significantly improves employee efficiency because workers using it complete tasks 30% faster.
Question:
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the company’s claim?
Argument:
A company claims its new productivity software significantly improves employee efficiency because workers using it complete tasks 30% faster.
Question:
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the company’s claim?
A company claims its new productivity software significantly improves employee efficiency because workers using it complete tasks 30% faster.
Question:
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the company’s claim?
Show Hint
To weaken an argument, identify its central assumption and look for evidence showing that the stated cause does not lead to the claimed effect.
Updated On: Jul 4, 2026
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Approach Solution - 1
Approach: Separate the evidence from the conclusion, then attack the leap between them. The company jumps from "30% faster task completion" to "significantly improves efficiency."
Step 1 \(-\) the gap: Speed of finishing a task is not the same as overall efficiency. The argument assumes faster $=$ more efficient, with no hidden costs.
Step 2 \(-\) how to weaken: Show the speed gain is cancelled by a new cost, or that the software is not what caused the speed-up.
Step 3 \(-\) the strongest weakener: "Independent audits reveal that employees make significantly more errors with the new software, requiring rework that eliminates any time saved." The 30% is real but worthless \(-\) net productivity does not improve and may fall. This breaks the evidence-to-conclusion link head-on.
Why the wrong options fail: One saying employees like the new interface is irrelevant to efficiency (out of scope). One noting the software is cheaper attacks cost, not the efficiency claim. One saying a few workers finish even faster strengthens, not weakens. One about a rival product is off-topic.
\[\boxed{\text{Correct: error-driven rework cancels the 30% time saving.}}\]
Step 1 \(-\) the gap: Speed of finishing a task is not the same as overall efficiency. The argument assumes faster $=$ more efficient, with no hidden costs.
Step 2 \(-\) how to weaken: Show the speed gain is cancelled by a new cost, or that the software is not what caused the speed-up.
Step 3 \(-\) the strongest weakener: "Independent audits reveal that employees make significantly more errors with the new software, requiring rework that eliminates any time saved." The 30% is real but worthless \(-\) net productivity does not improve and may fall. This breaks the evidence-to-conclusion link head-on.
Why the wrong options fail: One saying employees like the new interface is irrelevant to efficiency (out of scope). One noting the software is cheaper attacks cost, not the efficiency claim. One saying a few workers finish even faster strengthens, not weakens. One about a rival product is off-topic.
\[\boxed{\text{Correct: error-driven rework cancels the 30% time saving.}}\]
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Approach Solution -2
Net-benefit accounting method: Treat "efficiency" as a ledger, not a single number: time saved on one side, any new cost incurred on the other. The company reports only the time-saved side (30% faster task completion) and silently assumes the cost side is empty.
A weakener need only add an entry to the cost side big enough to erase the reported gain. Independent audits finding that the software causes significantly more errors, each requiring rework, adds exactly such an entry: the time saved on the first pass gets spent again fixing mistakes, so net efficiency could be zero or negative even though the "30% faster" fact remains true. This option does not dispute the number, it disputes what the number is worth.
Options about user preference, price, a minority of very fast users, or a competitor's product never touch the cost side of the ledger, so the reported gain stands unchallenged against them.
\[ \boxed{\text{Rework from extra errors cancels the reported speed gain - the strongest weakener.}} \]
A weakener need only add an entry to the cost side big enough to erase the reported gain. Independent audits finding that the software causes significantly more errors, each requiring rework, adds exactly such an entry: the time saved on the first pass gets spent again fixing mistakes, so net efficiency could be zero or negative even though the "30% faster" fact remains true. This option does not dispute the number, it disputes what the number is worth.
Options about user preference, price, a minority of very fast users, or a competitor's product never touch the cost side of the ledger, so the reported gain stands unchallenged against them.
\[ \boxed{\text{Rework from extra errors cancels the reported speed gain - the strongest weakener.}} \]
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