The chairman of a company has urged all employees to refrain from making long personal phone calls during working hours in order to boost productivity. On this basis, which of the following assumptions are implicit? I. A majority of employees may respond positively to the chairman s appeal. II. Most employees may continue to make long personal calls during working hours.

Introduction / Context:
This statement and assumption question is about workplace discipline and productivity. The chairman requests employees not to make long personal calls during working hours. We need to identify what the chairman must be assuming about how employees will react. Assumptions relate to the expected change in behaviour and the purpose of making a public appeal.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Statement: The chairman urges all employees to refrain from long personal phone calls during working hours to boost productivity.
• Assumption I: A majority of employees may respond positively to the chairman s appeal.
• Assumption II: Most employees may continue to make long personal calls during working hours.
• The chairman uses an appeal rather than a strict rule or penalty in this instance.

Concept / Approach:
When a leader issues an appeal, it usually rests on the belief that people respect the authority of the leader and will at least try to comply. So, the chairman likely assumes that many employees will modify their behaviour when requested. If the chairman believed that most employees would ignore the appeal, there would be no point in making it in this form, and he might have chosen direct penalties instead. Hence, Assumption I naturally supports the decision to appeal, while Assumption II contradicts it by suggesting the appeal will largely fail.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Consider Assumption I. The chairman expects a positive response; otherwise such a request would have little value.Step 2: If employees respect the chairman and care about productivity, at least a majority may reduce or stop long personal calls.Step 3: Therefore Assumption I is implicit in the choice to address employees through an appeal.Step 4: Consider Assumption II. It suggests that most employees will keep making long personal calls despite the appeal.Step 5: If the chairman truly believed this, an appeal would be ineffective, and he might directly enforce rules instead, so Assumption II is not implicit.

Verification / Alternative check:
Deny Assumption I and suppose employees will not listen to the chairman at all; then the appeal would be a waste of effort.Deny Assumption II and suppose most employees will reduce calls; this fits the intention behind the request and the focus on boosting productivity.Thus it is clear that only the first assumption is required.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option B is wrong because it treats defiance and continued misuse of time as the assumption, which goes against the chairman s action.Option C is wrong because the two assumptions cannot be interchanged; one supports the statement, the other undermines it.Option D is wrong because both assumptions cannot be implicit together; they contradict one another.

Common Pitfalls:
Learners sometimes confuse what may happen after the appeal with what the chairman assumes when making the appeal.Another pitfall is to think that leaders assume failure when they use mild methods like appeals, which is generally not the case in logical reasoning questions.

Final Answer:
Therefore only the first assumption is implicit in the chairman s appeal, so the correct answer is If only assumption I is Implicit.