Which of the following factors, if true, argues most strongly against

QUESTION

Which of the following factors, if true, argues most strongly against Greeley & Gatsby’s plan of expanding with the use of contingent workers?

A) The supply of qualified financial advisors on the contingent market is strongest in the metropolitan area in which Greeley & Gatsby already has locations.
B) Other firms have found the short-term use of contingent workers to be a beneficial way of taking quick advantage of economic opportunities.
C) A major source of contract workers during Greeley & Gatsby’s proposed expansion is a professional employer organization owned by one of the firm’s competitors.
D) The demand for contingent workers is strongest when the economy is showing most robust growth.
E) When the firm closed many of its local branches, many of its investors chose to move their accounts to other firms’ local branches.

ANSWER

Answer: E
Explanation: E) The goal of the expansion is to increase the overall investment level of Greeley & Gatsby in a long-term way. So Choice E is correct: if there are reasons to believe that the increases in investment levels will evaporate when contingent workers’ contracts expire, then the firm will be back to where it started. Choice A suggests that the firm will need to work harder to recruit qualified contingents but does not say that they are not available at all in the regions where it wants to expand. Choice C is a possible problem if the workers who are leased out remain fundamentally loyal to the company where they used to work. However, such workers more often have as little loyalty as do contingent workers, so the factor is a wash. Choices B and D are predictable factors that do not deal with the issues of Greeley & Gatsby’s decision.