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Difficulty: MediumNecessary vs. Sufficient Condition Flaws

Organizational psychologist: A company can build a truly innovative workplace culture only if it actively encourages its employees to take calculated risks without fear of reprisal. TechCorp recently implemented a policy that officially protects employees who take calculated risks from any negative consequences if those risks lead to failure. Therefore, TechCorp is successfully building a truly innovative workplace culture.

Which of the following best describes the logical flaw in the organizational psychologist's reasoning?

  1. It treats a condition that is necessary for achieving a certain organizational outcome as being sufficient to guarantee that outcome.Answer
  2. B
    It relies on a shift in the meaning of the phrase "calculated risks" over the course of the argument.
  3. C
    It presumes, without providing justification, that if a company fails to build an innovative culture, it must not have encouraged its employees to take risks.
  4. D
    It assumes a causal relationship between a specific workplace policy and an overarching company culture where only a correlation has been demonstrated.
  5. E
    It fails to consider that some employees might take uncalculated risks that are ultimately detrimental to the company's success.

Answer

The option stating that it treats a condition that is necessary for achieving a certain organizational outcome as being sufficient to guarantee that outcome.
The argument states that encouraging calculated risks is a necessary condition for an innovative culture (indicated by the phrase 'only if'). It then establishes that TechCorp meets this necessary condition and concludes that TechCorp must therefore have an innovative culture. This fundamentally confuses a requirement for a guarantee, treating a necessary condition as if it were a sufficient condition.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the conditional premise in the argument.
The premise is: Innovative Culture -> Encourages Calculated Risks (A company can build a truly innovative workplace culture ONLY IF it encourages calculated risks).
Understanding the established conditional relationship is required to evaluate the argument's logic.
2
Identify the remaining premise and the conclusion.
Premise 2: TechCorp encourages calculated risks. Conclusion: TechCorp is building an innovative culture.
Comparing the actual conclusion against the logical possibilities of the conditional premise reveals any structural flaws.
3
Evaluate the logical structure for validity.
The argument structure is: A -> B; B is true; Therefore, A is true. This is an invalid logical move known as an illegal reversal.
Recognizing the mismatch between valid conditional inference and the argument's actual inference.
4
Select the option that matches this diagnostic flaw.
The correct option describes mistaking a necessary condition (encouraging risks) for a sufficient condition (guaranteeing an innovative culture).
The question asks for the description of the reasoning flaw.

Key Concept

Necessary vs. Sufficient Condition Flaws
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Necessary vs. Sufficient Condition Flaws

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