Question

Basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by members of an organization, that operate unconsciously, and that define in a basic 'taken-for-granted' fashion an organization's view of itself and its environment. These assumptions and beliefs are learned responses to a group's problems. They come to be taken for granted because they solve those problems repeatedly and reliably.

What would be the word that can substitute for assumptions in the extract above, WITHOUT changing the extract's meaning?

• A. hunch
• B. conclusion
• C. induction
• D. doctrine

Hint:

The passage says these beliefs are unconscious and simply taken for granted, not reasoned out. Look for a word that means an intuitive feeling, not a conclusion or formal doctrine.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

The extract describes "assumptions" as beliefs that operate unconsciously and are simply taken for granted, not beliefs that are consciously reasoned out or formally taught. We need a word that keeps this sense of an unexamined, intuitive belief.

1. hunch: A hunch is an intuitive feeling or belief that is not based on conscious analysis or hard proof, something a person simply "feels" to be true. This matches the extract closely, since the assumptions described are also held without conscious reasoning, operating unconsciously and taken for granted.
2. conclusion: A conclusion is the end point of a deliberate chain of reasoning or evidence. The extract specifically says these beliefs operate "unconsciously," which is the opposite of a carefully reasoned conclusion, so this does not fit.
3. induction: Induction is a formal method of reasoning where a general rule is built up from specific observations. This is a conscious, structured process, again the opposite of something operating unconsciously and being simply taken for granted.
4. doctrine: A doctrine is a formally stated set of beliefs or principles, usually taught deliberately (a religious doctrine, a political doctrine). The extract's assumptions are informal and unconscious, not formally taught, so doctrine does not fit either.

Only "hunch" keeps the sense of an informal, intuitive, unconsciously held belief that the extract is describing.

Let's summarize:

• The extract stresses that these assumptions are unconscious and taken for granted, not reasoned out or formally taught.
• Conclusion and induction both describe conscious reasoning, and doctrine describes a formally taught belief, none of which match "unconscious."

So the correct answer is option 1, hunch.