Question
Read the passage depicting a systemic problem below.
Assuming everything in the statement to be true, decide which of the suggested courses of action logically follow(s) for implementation. Passage: A multinational ride-hailing conglomerate has recently faced intense scrutiny after investigative reports revealed that its contract drivers are subjected to extreme working hours without standardized medical insurance, and face immediate account deactivation via automated algorithms if they fall short of aggressive daily ride quotas. The company defended its operations by asserting that its digital platform empowers drivers with total scheduling flexibility and micro-entrepreneurial independence, enabling top-tier earners to outpace traditional taxi wages. Critics, however, argue that this algorithmically enforced "flexibility" actively masks systematic labor exploitation, creates hazardous road conditions due to driver exhaustion, and denies workers fundamental healthcare benefits. Regulatory bodies across multiple continents have launched formal investigations into the platform's operational model. Suggested Courses of Action: 1. The ride-hailing company should integrate mandatory system-enforced offline rest intervals and establish a baseline guaranteed healthcare coverage pool for all active platform drivers. 2. International labor regulators should collaborate to draft a unified global framework establishing baseline legal rights and safety standards specifically tailored for multinational gig-economy platforms. 3. The company should preserve its current algorithmic quota and deactivation systems, given that a portion of the workforce maximizes their earnings under it, and divert corporate capital into sweeping public relations and ad campaigns to reshape public perception.Solution
Analysis: The premise outlines an operational conflict centered on the exploitation, exhausting work hours, and lack of social safety nets for drivers managed by a multinational platform. A valid course of action must directly address these structural vulnerabilities. Course of Action 1 follows logically. The passage explicitly flags "extreme working hours" and a lack of "medical insurance" as primary sources of labor exploitation and unsafe conditions. Implementing system-enforced rest periods and establishing baseline healthcare coverage directly mitigates these exact company-level operational hazards. Thus, 1 is an apt response. Course of Action 2 follows logically. The text emphasizes that this is a widespread issue involving a "multinational" conglomerate and that "regulatory bodies across multiple continents" are actively investigating. Because the platform operates globally across multiple legal jurisdictions, a unified, cross-border regulatory framework is an appropriate systemic solution to ensure consistent, baseline protections for workers regardless of regional boundaries. Thus, 2 is an apt response. Course of Action 3 does NOT follow. The core problem involves real, systemic dangers like driver exhaustion and lack of healthcare. Maintaining a flawed system that causes these issues and merely using public relations/marketing campaigns to cover them up is an superficial corporate response. PR campaigns only attempt to alter public perception; they do absolutely nothing to resolve the structural labor exploitation and safety violations identified in the text. Thus, 3 is incorrect. Since Courses of Action 1 and 2 provide direct, practical, and highly logical structural remedies at both the corporate and international regulatory levels, A is the correct answer choice.
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