#9 - Manager: When Sullivan was passed over for promotion,

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Weaken—CE. The correct answer choice is (D)

The conclusion in the stimulus is as follows: It is incorrect to conclude that Sullivan’s advanced age was
the deciding factor when passed over for promotion. This conclusion is based on the premise that recent
promotions have been given to employees older than Sullivan.
We know that Sullivan was older than his competition; however, we know little else about the other
recent promotions within the company. Without more complete information, this argument is fairly
weak. We are asked what the manager failed to consider, so we should focus on the fact that potentially
relevant information, concerning the recent promotions of other older employees, might be lacking.

Answer choice (A): The author chooses to takes issue with what kept Sullivan from being promoted,
rather than discussing the points in Sullivan’s favor. The author doesn’t fail to consider Sullivan’s
qualifications, but rather claims that Sullivan was passed over for some reason other than his advanced
age, so this answer is incorrect.

Answer choice (B): The idea that other factors might have contributed is consistent with the author’s
conclusion that age was not the deciding factor. Thus the manager’s argument is not vulnerable to this
criticism, and this answer is incorrect.

Answer choice (C): The possibility that people associate age with wisdom likely strengthens the
argument, making it less likely that ageism was a cause in passing over Sullivan.

Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice. If the older employees who were promoted
had no younger competition, then their promotion really proves nothing about the company’s attitude
concerning older employees, or about the factors likely to have lead to Sullivan’s non-promotion.

Answer choice (E): The argument does not fail to consider the possibility of confidentiality; the
argument is based on the results of those deliberations, rather than on the deliberations themselves.

[nivernova]

I dont get how can (D) be correct

[Jeff Wren]

Hi nivernova,

Here's what we know based on the argument.

Sullivan was passed over for promotion. He was much older than his competitors. Some people believe that his older age was the deciding factor for why he did not get promoted.

There are also several people older than Sullivan who were recently promoted.

The manager is arguing that the fact that there are several people older than Sullivan who were recently promoted proves that Sullivan wasn't denied promotion due to him being much older than his competitors.

The main problem/flaw in this argument is that we don't know anything about the competition of those older people who did get promoted. For example, if those other older people who got promoted did compete against much younger candidates for the promotion, then that would provide some support for the argument, or at least for the idea that being much older than one's competition doesn't rule a person out for promotion at this company.

On the other hand, if those older people who were promoted were actually the youngest of the candidates up for that promotion or they had no competition at all, then that would not provide any help in saying that Sullivan wasn't denied promotion due to being much older than his competitors. In other words, the company could still have a bias/policy of favoring younger candidates when possible.

Answer D gets at this flaw by addressing the competition of those older people who were promoted and the fact that they may not have had younger competitors like Sullivan did. In which case, it is possible that they would have also lost the promotion to someone younger like Sullivan did.