Marcus Thompson serves as CEO of a major sustainable technology company. Throughout his career, Thompson has emphasized the importance of...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Marcus Thompson serves as CEO of a major sustainable technology company. Throughout his career, Thompson has emphasized the importance of empowering employees to take initiative in driving innovation. His leadership approach reflects this commitment to distributed decision-making, as is evident when he declares, ______
Which quotation from Thompson's keynote address most effectively illustrates the claim?
"Companies that micromanage their workforce inevitably stifle the creative potential that drives true innovation."
"The traditional corporate hierarchy often prevents our most talented individuals from contributing meaningfully."
"I believe our greatest achievements happen when we trust our team members to lead projects and make critical choices independently."
"Successful organizations must adapt quickly to changing market conditions and emerging technological opportunities."
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Marcus Thompson serves as CEO of a major sustainable technology company." |
|
| "Throughout his career, Thompson has emphasized the importance of empowering employees to take initiative in driving innovation." |
|
| "His leadership approach reflects this commitment to distributed decision-making," |
|
| "as is evident when he declares, ______" |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Marcus Thompson's leadership philosophy centers on empowering employees to take initiative and make decisions independently rather than centralizing control.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes Thompson's role and credentials, states his core leadership philosophy of employee empowerment, clarifies what this means (distributed decision-making), and sets up a quote as evidence of this approach.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The correct quote should show Thompson explicitly advocating for giving employees real decision-making authority
- It should demonstrate his trust in employees' ability to lead projects and make important choices on their own
- The quote should connect directly to the concept of distributed decision-making mentioned in the passage
"Companies that micromanage their workforce inevitably stifle the creative potential that drives true innovation."
✗ Incorrect
- Criticizes micromanagement but doesn't show Thompson's actual approach
- Describes what's wrong with centralized control rather than advocating for distributed decision-making
"The traditional corporate hierarchy often prevents our most talented individuals from contributing meaningfully."
✗ Incorrect
- Points out problems with traditional hierarchy but doesn't demonstrate Thompson's solution
- Focuses on what prevents contribution rather than showing how he empowers it
"I believe our greatest achievements happen when we trust our team members to lead projects and make critical choices independently."
✓ Correct
- Directly demonstrates distributed decision-making by showing Thompson advocating for trusting employees to lead projects and make critical choices independently
- Matches perfectly with the passage's claim about empowering employees to take initiative
"Successful organizations must adapt quickly to changing market conditions and emerging technological opportunities."
✗ Incorrect
- Discusses organizational adaptation to market changes
- Has nothing to do with employee empowerment or distributed decision-making