HBRI Critical Evaluation of Arguments 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A manager argues: 'Our competitor released a new product last quarter and their profits rose 20%. We should release a new product to increase our profits.' What is the primary weakness in this argument?
- The competitor's product may have been poorly designed
- The argument assumes correlation implies causation without ruling out other factors (Correct answer)
- New products always increase profits
- The manager should not monitor competitors
Correct answer: The argument assumes correlation implies causation without ruling out other factors
The argument assumes the profit increase was caused by the new product, ignoring other variables like market conditions, pricing changes, or cost cuts.
Question 2: Which of the following best strengthens the argument that remote work increases employee productivity?
- A survey showing employees prefer working from home
- A controlled study showing output per hour increased 15% after switching to remote work (Correct answer)
- An article stating that office commutes are stressful
- A CEO who believes remote work is the future
Correct answer: A controlled study showing output per hour increased 15% after switching to remote work
A controlled study with measurable output data directly supports the productivity claim with empirical evidence.
Question 3: A company reports: 'Satisfaction scores rose after we introduced free coffee.' A skeptic says this proves nothing about satisfaction drivers. The skeptic's position is best supported by which observation?
- Coffee is too expensive to sustain as a benefit
- The company also reduced meeting frequency and redesigned workspaces at the same time (Correct answer)
- Employees already had access to vending machines
- Some employees do not drink coffee
Correct answer: The company also reduced meeting frequency and redesigned workspaces at the same time
Concurrent changes (fewer meetings, redesigned workspaces) are confounding variables that make it impossible to attribute satisfaction gains to coffee alone.
Question 4: An executive concludes: 'Every successful company in our industry uses agile methodology, so adopting agile will make us successful.' This reasoning is flawed because:
- Agile methodology is difficult to implement
- Success may have preceded agile adoption, or agile may be a result rather than a cause of success (Correct answer)
- Not all industries use agile
- The executive lacks technical knowledge
Correct answer: Success may have preceded agile adoption, or agile may be a result rather than a cause of success
The argument confuses the direction of causation; successful companies may have adopted agile after becoming successful, or a third factor (e.g., strong talent) caused both.
Question 5: Which argument is logically valid?
- All our clients are profitable; Smith Co. is profitable; therefore Smith Co. is our client
- All regulated industries require compliance reports; healthcare is a regulated industry; therefore healthcare requires compliance reports (Correct answer)
- Some managers are leaders; Jones is a leader; therefore Jones is a manager
- No startups have formal HR; TechCo has formal HR; therefore TechCo is not a startup
Correct answer: All regulated industries require compliance reports; healthcare is a regulated industry; therefore healthcare requires compliance reports
This follows a valid deductive structure: universal premise → classification → valid conclusion, with no logical gaps.
Question 6: A division head argues against budget cuts by saying: 'If you cut our budget, morale will drop, then turnover will spike, then we'll lose institutional knowledge, and ultimately the whole company will fail.' This type of reasoning is known as:
- Ad hominem
- Slippery slope (Correct answer)
- False dichotomy
- Appeal to authority
Correct answer: Slippery slope
A slippery slope argument chains a series of speculative consequences without demonstrating that each step necessarily leads to the next.
Question 7: Two employees debate a policy change. Employee A says it will save costs; Employee B says it will hurt culture. The strongest counter-argument Employee A could make is:
- Culture doesn't matter in business
- Employee B has no financial background
- Data from similar companies shows cost savings were achieved without measurable culture decline (Correct answer)
- Policy changes are always disruptive
Correct answer: Data from similar companies shows cost savings were achieved without measurable culture decline
Empirical evidence from comparable situations directly addresses the concern while supporting the cost-saving claim.
HBRI Critical Evaluation of Arguments 1
A manager argues: 'Our competitor released a new product last quarter and their profits rose 20%.
We should release a new product to increase our profits.' What is the primary weakness in this argument?