1. Factories that want to be more productive should pay their workers according to how hard they work, instead of paying them by the hour. For example, workers who get paid $2 for every item they produce will have more incentive to produce as many items as possible than workers who know they will get paid the same amount regardless of how hard they work.
The argument assumes that which one of the following is true?
- Most factories pay their workers by the hour.
- Most factories want to increase their output whenever possible.
- Paying workers for how much they produce is the only way to make factories more productive.
- A worker who works hard will produce more items than one who does not.
- Workers would prefer to be paid based on the number of items they produce.
Here is a sample of what a 2-point explanation on a homework assignment might look like:
(D) is correct. The basic premise of the argument is that if workers are paid based on how hard they work, instead of by the hour, they will produce more items. If it is not true that a worker who works hard will produce more items, then paying workers based on hard work will not have the desired effect of increasing productivity. Therefore, unless (D) is also true, the argument cannot be valid.
(A) is incorrect because the argument does not depend on what most factories are doing now. The argument suggests that if factories do things a certain way, then a particular outcome will result. This is still a valid argument regardless of whether most factories are currently paying employees by the hour.
(B) is incorrect because the argument does not depend on what factories want. Factories can increase productivity by paying workers for effort instead of time, whether they actually want to increase productivity or not.
(C) is incorrect because even if there are other ways to increase productivity, besides paying workers for effort instead of time, that does not mean that this method cannot or will not work. The argument is therefore valid even if there are other ways of increasing productivity.
(E) is incorrect because what workers would prefer is irrelevant. Regardless of whether workers prefer to be paid for their effort or their time, it is still possible to increase productivity by paying workers by the item instead of by the hour.
