Critical Reasoning — Assumptions Context: The company has announced incentives for employees who are punctual and sincere. Which assumptions are implicit?

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: All are implicit

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
Organizations introduce incentive schemes to influence behavior and improve outcomes. We must identify the background beliefs that justify rewarding punctuality and sincerity.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • I: Employees who are not punctual now may be motivated by the announcement.
  • II: Company productivity may increase as a result.
  • III: The profit impact is expected to exceed, or at least justify, the cost of incentives.


Concept / Approach:
Effective incentive design presumes behavior is responsive to rewards and that improved behaviors contribute to organizational results which in turn justify program costs.


Step-by-Step Solution:
I is implicit: incentives aim to change or reinforce behavior. If no one would alter punctuality, the scheme would lack purpose.II is implicit: the business objective is better outcomes, commonly measured through productivity; otherwise the scheme would be symbolic rather than managerial.III is implicit: sustained programs typically rely on a belief that benefits will outweigh costs, whether through higher output, quality, or morale leading to profitability.


Verification / Alternative check:
Negating any of I, II, or III removes the practical rationale for the scheme, leaving it as an unjustified expense.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:

  • I and II only: ignores financial viability.
  • Only II and III: misses the behavior change mechanism.
  • None: contradicts the managerial logic of incentives.


Common Pitfalls:
Avoid assuming that incentives are purely ceremonial; managerial programs usually rest on expected behavioral and financial returns.


Final Answer:
All are implicit

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