Mike Morrell is a production supervisor in Porco Rosso, an aircraft manufacturing firm. After evaluating Mike's managerial capabilities, some members of the senior management feel that average productivity would improve if more workers were assigned to him. However, some managers are skeptical about Mike's ability to handle more workers.
-Which of the following statements, if true, would weaken the argument favoring increased span of control?
A) Mike has a reputation of handling interpersonal conflicts effectively.
B) Performance reports from the last few years show that teams that were monitored closely had higher productivity.
C) Porco Rosso recently launched its latest engine model, the PR-4.
D) Market trends indicate that the demand for aircraft is expected to increase substantially over the next few years.
E) When additional workers were assigned to Mike on a previous occasion, it led to favorable and productive results.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Mike's ability to handle conflicts effectively and his track record, which shows that increasing his span of control led to good results in the past, if anything, strengthen the argument. Market trends and the fact that Porco Rosso recently released a new engine are irrelevant as they neither strengthen nor weaken the argument. As previous performance reports show that teams that were monitored closely have higher productivity, it weakens the argument considerably. Monitoring Mike's team closely would benefit the productivity, and assigning more workers to him would retard it.

Mike Morrell Is a Production Supervisor in Porco Rosso, an Aircraft