Measuring Organisational Performance: reading answers and analysis
A study of 500 clerks in four identical divisions compared tighter, top-down 'hierarchical' supervision with looser, 'participative' supervision for a year. Both raised productivity (about 25% and 20%), but only through cutting staff. The hierarchical divisions paid for it in loyalty, responsibility and trust, while the participative divisions improved on all of them.
Questions 28-40 · 13 marks · 3 question blocks
Where the answers sit
The multiple choice (28-30) covers the study's purpose and setup. The summary (31-36) covers the two programmes. The figure labels (37-40) match the results section, in order.
Questions 28-30
The study asked whether a manager can boost short-term results by exploiting staff, and at what cost. The divisions were organised identically but differed in past productivity, and they were assigned to programmes at random. Months of planning and training came first.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | A | — |
| 29 | C | — |
| 30 | C | — |
Questions 31-36
The programmes differed in their method of supervision, and productivity was computed weekly. The participative side reduced detailed supervision and trained leaders in group methods. The hierarchical side found the divisions 30% overstaffed and cut staff by 25%. The key accepts synonyms such as cut or decreased.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | supervision | leadership / management |
| 32 | productivity | — |
| 33 | reduced | cut / decreased |
| 34 | leadership | group methods of leadership |
| 35 | overstaffed | — |
| 36 | reduced | cut / decreased |
Questions 37-40
Each figure is described in order in the results: Figure 1 shows salary cost per unit (changes in productivity), Figure 2 feelings of responsibility for getting work done, Figure 3 managers feeling 'closer', and Figure 4 whether supervisors 'pull' for employees (personal support).
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 37 | C | — |
| 38 | D | — |
| 39 | G | — |
| 40 | F | — |
The questions most people get wrong
C. The divisions had identical organisation and technology. They weren't randomly chosen, only randomly assigned to programmes, and each had 500 clerks between them, not 500 each.
Timing the jobs showed the divisions were 'overstaffed by about 30%', which is the one-word answer.
F. Figure 4 is whether supervisors 'pull' for employees, or only for the company, which is personal support from management. G (feeling closer) is Figure 3.
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Cambridge IELTS 3, Test 4, Reading Passage 3. The passage name belongs to Cambridge University Press. No passage text or question wording is reproduced on this page. The answers are published for self-marking, and the analysis is our own.