Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumWeaken

Management Consultant: A recent industry survey of logistics firms showed that those firms adopting centralized algorithmic routing software experienced a 20% reduction in average delivery times over the past year. In contrast, firms relying on traditional human dispatchers saw only a 5% reduction. Therefore, the transition to algorithmic routing software is directly responsible for the superior improvement in delivery efficiency among these firms.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the management consultant's argument?

  1. A
    The 5% reduction in delivery times achieved by firms using human dispatchers represented a larger absolute number of minutes saved than the 20% reduction achieved by firms using the software.
  2. B
    The algorithmic routing software automatically accounts for real-time traffic conditions, a task that human dispatchers struggle to perform efficiently.
  3. The logistics firms that adopted algorithmic routing software were predominantly those that had recently replaced their delivery vehicles with newer, significantly faster models.Answer
  4. D
    Firms relying on traditional human dispatchers actually saw a reduction in average delivery times of roughly 20% over the past year.
  5. E
    Many logistics firms that adopted algorithmic routing software experienced significant declines in employee morale among their delivery drivers.

Answer

The statement indicating that the software-adopting firms predominantly replaced their vehicles with significantly faster models.
The argument concludes that the algorithmic routing software caused the 20% reduction in delivery times, based purely on the correlation that firms adopting the software experienced this reduction. The correct answer weakens this causal claim by introducing an alternative cause: the firms that adopted the software also recently acquired newer, significantly faster vehicles. This suggests that the new vehicles, rather than the software, may be responsible for the improved efficiency.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the argument's conclusion.
The conclusion is that the transition to algorithmic routing software directly caused the superior improvement in delivery efficiency.
Understanding the exact claim being made is necessary to find what would undermine it.
2
Identify the premises supporting the conclusion.
The premise is a correlation: firms using the software saw a 20% reduction in delivery times, while those using human dispatchers saw a 5% reduction.
Isolating the evidence reveals the logical gap between the premises and the conclusion.
3
Identify the logical flaw or gap in the reasoning.
The argument assumes causation based entirely on a correlation, failing to consider other factors that might have caused the 20% reduction in delivery times for the software group.
Finding the vulnerability in the argument allows for the selection of an answer choice that exploits this weakness.
4
Evaluate the answer choices to find the one that exploits the gap.
The option stating that these firms recently acquired newer, faster vehicles provides an alternative cause for the reduced delivery times, thereby weakening the causal claim about the software.
An effective weakener for a causal argument often presents an alternative explanation for the observed effect.

Key Concept

Identifying and exploiting alternative causes in causal arguments.
Estimated Time:1m 30s
Rate this question

Topics

Weaken

More questions from this topic