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Difficulty: HardArgument by Analogy

Architectural conservators have learned that applying rigid, modern synthetic resins to consolidate crumbling ancient stone masonry often accelerates the structure's destruction. The rigid resin prevents the natural stone from 'breathing,' causing trapped moisture to expand during temperature changes and shatter the stone. Similarly, when a multinational corporation acquires a struggling local business, imposing rigid, standardized corporate procedures on the local branch will likely accelerate its financial collapse.

Therefore, multinational corporations should refrain from imposing standardized procedures on the local businesses they acquire.

Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?

  1. Unlike ancient stone, which possesses fixed physical properties, a local business consists of adaptable employees who can utilize new standardized procedures to resolve existing inefficiencies.Answer
  2. B
    Many modern synthetic resins have been scientifically formulated to allow moisture to escape freely from treated masonry.
  3. C
    Standardized corporate procedures often eliminate the informal, flexible practices that allowed the local business to retain its core customer base.
  4. D
    Multinational corporations typically possess vastly greater financial reserves to absorb operational losses than do the organizations funding architectural restoration.
  5. E
    Some of the rigid procedures used by architectural conservators are heavily standardized across the entire historical preservation industry.

Answer

The correct answer is the option stating that unlike ancient stone, a local business consists of adaptable employees who can utilize new standardized procedures to resolve inefficiencies.
The correct answer successfully weakens the argument by highlighting a critical, structural point of disanalogy. The original argument rests entirely on the assumption that a business will respond to rigid rules in the same catastrophic way that inanimate stone responds to rigid resin. By pointing out that human employees are fundamentally different from stone because they can adapt and actually use those rigid procedures to fix inefficiencies, this option severs the logical link between the base analog and the target conclusion.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the argument's structure and method of reasoning.
The argument uses an analogy, comparing ancient stone masonry treated with synthetic resin to a local business subjected to standardized corporate procedures.
Understanding the core analogy is necessary to properly evaluate the argument's vulnerabilities.
2
Determine the main conclusion.
The conclusion is that multinational corporations should avoid imposing standardized procedures on acquired local businesses.
To weaken the argument, one must undermine the logical support for this specific conclusion.
3
Evaluate the options based on the task.
The task is to weaken the argument. The most effective way to weaken an argument by analogy is to point out a relevant point of disanalogy—a significant difference between the two things being compared that makes the projected outcome unlikely to occur in the target case.
Validating the logical connection between the premises and the conclusion reveals that the argument assumes human businesses react to rigidity exactly as inanimate objects do. Breaking this assumption destroys the argument.

Key Concept

Evaluating Arguments by Analogy
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Topics

Argument by Analogy

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