In each question below is given a statement followed by two courses of action…
2025
In each question below is given a statement followed by two courses of action numbered I and II. You have to assume everything in the statement to be true and on the basis of the information given in the statement, decide which of the suggested courses of action logically follow(s) for pursuing.
Statement: Financial stringency prevented the State Government from paying salaries to its employees since April this year.
Courses of Action:
i. The State Government should immediately curtail the staff strength at least by 30%.
ii. The State Government should reduce wasteful expenditure and arrange to pay the salaries of its employees.
- A.
Only I follows
- B.
Only II follows
- C.
Either I or II follows
- D.
Neither I nor II follows
Attempted by 5 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept: In 'courses of action' reasoning, a suggested course follows only if it is a direct, practical, and proportionate administrative response to the exact problem stated -- not if it is an unnecessarily harsh measure likely to create fresh trouble, and not if it merely restates the problem. Two courses form a genuine 'either/or' pair only when they are mutually exclusive solutions to the identical need.
Application:
Course I (cutting staff strength by at least 30%) is an abrupt, large-scale step that risks provoking discontent among employees and does not, by itself, generate funds to clear the salaries already due -- so it is too drastic and indirect to qualify as a course that follows.
Course II (curbing wasteful expenditure and arranging payment of salaries) is a moderate, direct financial step that targets the stated cause of the problem -- financial stringency -- and frees up money to meet the pending obligation, so it follows.
Cross-check: Courses I and II are not two mutually exclusive alternatives aimed at the same specific need (one is a workforce measure, the other a financial-management measure), so the 'either/or' condition is not satisfied; and because one of the two courses does hold up as reasonable, ruling out both is also unsupported.
Answer: Only the course involving reducing wasteful expenditure and arranging to pay employees' salaries follows from the statement.