Some real-estate offices pay their agents on a system under which the agent's commission increases when the number of homes sold per month reaches a certain quota. In the Smithfield office, which started using this quota/commission system in 1992, agents have sold an average of 22 percent more homes per month since 1992 than have the agents in the Dunholme office, which uses a more traditional commission system.

If, based on the facts above, it is argued that the quota/commission system is the reason for the Smithfield office's increased sales, which of the following, if true, would most weaken that argument?


A) The Jonesboro office, which instituted the quota/commission system in 1992, has seen increases in sales since 1992 similar to those seen in the Smithfield office.


B) Under the quota/commission system, administrative costs (closing costs and costs of paperwork) of a home sale make up an increased percentage of the total costs of the sale.


C) Because the quota/commission system changes the way agents interact with customers, convincing agents to accept the quota system is extremely time-consuming.


D) Since 1992, the town of Smithfield, where the Smithfield office is located, has seen a large increase in the number of new homes built.


E) In the Smithfield office, commissions paid to agents average 10 percent more than commissions paid to agents in the Dunholme office.


OA D

Source: Princeton Review