Throughout a comprehensive two-year study examining organizational transformation practices, management analysts Elena Martinez and her research team ...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Throughout a comprehensive two-year study examining organizational transformation practices, management analysts Elena Martinez and her research team discovered a counterintuitive trend among corporations employing 'facilitated transition' strategies. These organizations chose to retain underperforming personnel at their current compensation levels rather than proceeding with immediate dismissals, simultaneously offering comprehensive skills development programs and professional guidance services. The transitioning workers discontinued their involvement in routine business activities while receiving individualized support from coaching staff and human resources personnel. Nevertheless, the research team documented that high-performing employees within these organizations experienced deteriorating productivity indicators and elevated departure rates, predominantly attributable to the ________
Which choice most logically completes the text?
necessity of sustaining operational productivity while accommodating non-contributing team members generates excessive work demands for remaining high-performing staff.
high-performing employees encounter elevated probability of inclusion in the facilitated transition initiative given their professional associations with struggling colleagues.
superior performance standards demonstrated by accomplished employees render them desirable recruits for rival organizations conducting talent acquisition during sector transformations.
standard productivity benchmarks for personnel in organizations lacking facilitated transition initiatives generally surpass the two-year examination period utilized in this research.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Throughout a comprehensive two-year study examining organizational transformation practices, management analysts Elena Martinez and her research team discovered a counterintuitive trend among corporations employing 'facilitated transition' strategies.' |
|
| 'These organizations chose to retain underperforming personnel at their current compensation levels rather than proceeding with immediate dismissals,' |
|
| 'simultaneously offering comprehensive skills development programs and professional guidance services.' |
|
| 'The transitioning workers discontinued their involvement in routine business activities while receiving individualized support from coaching staff and human resources personnel.' |
|
| 'Nevertheless, the research team documented that high-performing employees within these organizations experienced deteriorating productivity indicators and elevated departure rates,' |
|
| 'predominantly attributable to the _______' |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Visual Structure Map:
[RESEARCH CONTEXT] → [FACILITATED TRANSITION STRATEGY] → [COUNTERINTUITIVE RESULT] → [MISSING EXPLANATION]
Main Point: Research found that companies using 'facilitated transition' strategies (keeping underperforming workers while providing support) experienced unexpected negative effects on their high-performing employees.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes a research context, describes a specific organizational strategy that seems employee-friendly, but then reveals a surprising negative consequence for the best workers that needs explanation.
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
- Looking at our analysis, we have a situation where underperforming workers are kept on payroll but removed from regular duties while getting support. Meanwhile, the good workers are suffering. What's the logical connection?
- The key insight: if bad workers aren't doing their regular jobs anymore, someone has to pick up that work. The high-performing employees are likely shouldering extra responsibilities and workload that the transitioning workers used to handle.
- So the right answer should explain that the high performers are being overburdened with additional work, leading to stress, burnout, and eventual departure.
necessity of sustaining operational productivity while accommodating non-contributing team members generates excessive work demands for remaining high-performing staff.
✓ Correct
- Explains that keeping non-contributing workers creates excessive work demands for the remaining high-performing staff
- Perfectly matches our prethinking - when underperformers stop doing regular work, someone else must handle their responsibilities
- Creates clear cause-and-effect: extra workload → deteriorating productivity → employees leaving
high-performing employees encounter elevated probability of inclusion in the facilitated transition initiative given their professional associations with struggling colleagues.
✗ Incorrect
- Suggests high performers might be included in the transition program because of their associations with struggling colleagues
- This doesn't explain the productivity decline or departure rates we observed
- The passage clearly distinguishes between underperforming workers (who get the program) and high-performing workers (who suffer the consequences)
superior performance standards demonstrated by accomplished employees render them desirable recruits for rival organizations conducting talent acquisition during sector transformations.
✗ Incorrect
- Focuses on external recruitment by rival organizations targeting high performers during transformations
- While this might explain departures, it doesn't explain the deteriorating productivity indicators mentioned in the passage
- What trap this represents: Students might think this sounds plausible for explaining why good employees leave, but it ignores the productivity decline that happens first
standard productivity benchmarks for personnel in organizations lacking facilitated transition initiatives generally surpass the two-year examination period utilized in this research.
✗ Incorrect
- Makes a comparison to productivity benchmarks in organizations without facilitated transition programs
- This is completely irrelevant to explaining why high performers in these specific organizations experienced problems
- Introduces information not supported by or relevant to the passage