Critical Reasoning

A knowledgeable concierge is an indispensable part of a well-functioning hotel, because such a concierge ensures that no guests' needs are neglected and provides recommendations to guests who are not sure how to navigate the local landscape.

The argument above depends upon assuming which of the following?


(A) A hotel will function well if it has a knowledgeable concierge.

(B) A knowledgeable concierge is more important to a well-functioning hotel than is an efficient front desk staff.

(C) No well-functioning hotel can use automated resources to provide recommendations and avoid neglecting guests' needs.

(D) The responsibilities of a concierge are not limited to attending to guests' needs and providing recommendations about the local landscape.

(E) A concierge who is not knowledgeable provides inferior recommendations as compared to a concierge who is knowledgeable.

IMO E

karthikpandian19 wrote:A knowledgeable concierge is an indispensable part of a well-functioning hotel, because such a concierge ensures that no guests' needs are neglected and provides recommendations to guests who are not sure how to navigate the local landscape.

The argument above depends upon assuming which of the following?


(A) A hotel will function well if it has a knowledgeable concierge.

(B) A knowledgeable concierge is more important to a well-functioning hotel than is an efficient front desk staff.

(C) No well-functioning hotel can use automated resources to provide recommendations and avoid neglecting guests' needs.

(D) The responsibilities of a concierge are not limited to attending to guests' needs and providing recommendations about the local landscape.

(E) A concierge who is not knowledgeable provides inferior recommendations as compared to a concierge who is knowledgeable.

Argument assumes that concierge is the only way hotel can help its guests, but what if there is some other mechanism such as automative machines or viedo clipings servicing guests needs.

A - repeats the conclusion
B - argument does not compare concierge and desk staff
C - matches our assumption
D - what are the different responsibilities of concierge is irrelevant
E - whether concierge is knowlegeable or not is irrelevant

IMO C

Spartacus, Can u provide your reasoning?

spartacus1412 wrote:IMO E

OA is C


Based on the fact that a knowledgeable concierge performs two functions (first, ensures that no guests' needs are neglected; second, provides recommendations to guests who are not sure how to navigate the local landscape), the argument concludes that a knowledgeable concierge is an indispensable part of a well-functioning hotel. Therefore, the argument assumes that only a knowledgeable concierge can perform these two functions.

Choice C is correct. We can verify that choice C is correct by using the negation test. If the opposite were true, and a well-functioning hotel could use something other than a knowledgeable concierge (such as automated resources) to perform the two functions mentioned in the argument, then a knowledgeable concierge would be replaceable, not indispensable. Therefore, the argument assumes that no well-functioning hotel can use automated resources to provide recommendations and avoid neglecting guests' needs. A trap here is that no well-functioning hotel sounds too extreme, but it is actually appropriate because the argument contains similarly extreme language (indispensable). Remember, extreme answers aren't always wrong; they're only wrong if they don't match the claims of the argument.

Choice A is a flawed deduction, not a necessary assumption. The argument does not assume that a hotel necessarily will function well if it has a knowledgeable concierge, merely that a hotel cannot function well without one.

Choice B is not a necessary assumption, because nothing in the argument suggests that a knowledgeable concierge and an efficient front desk staff can't be equally important to a well-functioning hotel. Just because one part of a hotel's staff is indispensable does not mean that it is more important than all of the others.

Choice D could be true, but it is not a necessary assumption. Using the negation test, we can verify that choice D is incorrect. If the opposite were true, and the responsibilities of a concierge were limited to attending to guests' needs and providing recommendations about the local landscape, the argument would still be valid. In other words, the argument only requires that a concierge perform these two functions; whether a concierge also performs other functions is irrelevant.

Choice E is very tempting and almost certainly true, but it is not an assumption that is necessary to the argument. The argument does not necessarily assume that a knowledgeable concierge performs either of the two functions mentioned in the original argument (providing recommendations and ensuring that guests' needs are not neglected) any better than a concierge who is not knowledgeable does. In other words, even if the opposite were true and a knowledgeable concierge provided worse recommendations than did a concierge who was not knowledgeable, the argument would still be valid as long as a knowledgeable concierge could still perform both functions.

Choice C is correct.

patanjali.purpose wrote:

karthikpandian19 wrote:A knowledgeable concierge is an indispensable part of a well-functioning hotel, because such a concierge ensures that no guests' needs are neglected and provides recommendations to guests who are not sure how to navigate the local landscape.

The argument above depends upon assuming which of the following?


(A) A hotel will function well if it has a knowledgeable concierge.

(B) A knowledgeable concierge is more important to a well-functioning hotel than is an efficient front desk staff.

(C) No well-functioning hotel can use automated resources to provide recommendations and avoid neglecting guests' needs.

(D) The responsibilities of a concierge are not limited to attending to guests' needs and providing recommendations about the local landscape.

(E) A concierge who is not knowledgeable provides inferior recommendations as compared to a concierge who is knowledgeable.

Argument assumes that concierge is the only way hotel can help its guests, but what if there is some other mechanism such as automative machines or viedo clipings servicing guests needs.

A - repeats the conclusion
B - argument does not compare concierge and desk staff
C - matches our assumption
D - what are the different responsibilities of concierge is irrelevant
E - whether concierge is knowlegeable or not is irrelevant

IMO C