OG - RC Passage2 - Q1

[fiza gupta]

In an attempt to improve the overall performance of clerical workers, many companies have introduced computerized performance monitoring and control systems (CPMCS) that record and report a worker's computer-driven activities. However, at least one study has shown that such monitoring may not be
having the desired effect. In the study, researchers asked monitored clerical workers and their supervisors how assessments of productivity affected supervisors' ratings of workers' performance. In contrast to unmonitored workers doing the same work, who without exception identified the most important element in their jobs
as customer service, the monitored workers and their supervisors all responded that productivity was the critical factor in assigning ratings. This finding suggested that there should have been a strong correlation between a monitored worker's productivity and the overall rating the worker received. However, measures of the relationship between overall rating and individual elements of performance clearly supported the conclusion that supervisors gave considerable weight to criteria such as attendance, accuracy, and indications of customer satisfaction.
It is possible that productivity may be a "hygiene factor"; that is, if it is too low, it will hurt the overall rating. But the evidence suggests that beyond the point at which productivity becomes "good enough," higher productivity per se is unlikely to improve a rating.

Q) It can be inferred that the author of the passage discusses "unmonitored workers"(line 11) primarily in order to

A. compare the ratings of these workers with the ratings of monitored workers
B. provide an example of a case in which monitoring might be effective
C. provide evidence of an inappropriate use of CPMCS
D. emphasize the effect that CPMCS may have on workers' perceptions of their jobs
E. illustrate the effect that CPMCS may have on workers' ratings

OA:D

[DavidG@VeritasPrep]

In an attempt to improve the overall performance of clerical workers, many companies have introduced computerized performance monitoring and control systems (CPMCS) that record and report a worker's computer-driven activities. However, at least one study has shown that such monitoring may not be
having the desired effect. In the study, researchers asked monitored clerical workers and their supervisors how assessments of productivity affected supervisors' ratings of workers' performance. In contrast to unmonitored workers doing the same work, who without exception identified the most important element in their jobs
as customer service, the monitored workers and their supervisors all responded that productivity was the critical factor in assigning ratings. This finding suggested that there should have been a strong correlation between a monitored worker's productivity and the overall rating the worker received. However, measures of the relationship between overall rating and individual elements of performance clearly supported the conclusion that supervisors gave considerable weight to criteria such as attendance, accuracy, and indications of customer satisfaction.
It is possible that productivity may be a "hygiene factor"; that is, if it is too low, it will hurt the overall rating. But the evidence suggests that beyond the point at which productivity becomes "good enough," higher productivity per se is unlikely to improve a rating.

Q) It can be inferred that the author of the passage discusses "unmonitored workers"(line 11) primarily in order to

A. compare the ratings of these workers with the ratings of monitored workers
B. provide an example of a case in which monitoring might be effective
C. provide evidence of an inappropriate use of CPMCS
D. emphasize the effect that CPMCS may have on workers' perceptions of their jobs
E. illustrate the effect that CPMCS may have on workers' ratings

OA:D

The relevant sentence: In contrast to unmonitored workers doing the same work, who without exception identified the most important element in their jobs as customer service, the monitored workers and their supervisors all responded that productivity was the critical factor in assigning ratings.

The unmonitored workers thought customer service was most important. The monitored workers thought efficiency was most important. This suggests that monitoring shapes how workers perceive the most important elements of the their jobs. Answer is D