A sales executive at Universal Containers wants to be notified whenever high-value opportunities are created for hot accounts. How should an administrator meet this requirement?

The best approach to ensure that the sales executive receives notifications whenever high-value opportunities are created for hot accounts is to create a workflow rule on the opportunity object. Workflow rules in Salesforce are designed to automate standard internal procedures and processes, streamline workflows, and ensure important events trigger alerts or actions.

By setting up a workflow rule directly on the opportunity object, the administrator can define specific criteria for high-value opportunities associated with hot accounts. This allows for immediate notification to the sales executive whenever such an opportunity is logged. Workflow actions can include sending email alerts, updating fields, or creating tasks, which directly aligns with the need for real-time notifications.

In contrast, other options such as escalation rules, auto-response rules, or validation rules do not effectively address the requirement for notifying the sales executive about new high-value opportunities. Escalation rules pertain more to processes around overdue items rather than new opportunity creations. Auto-response rules are primarily used for managing incoming leads or support cases and not appropriate for opportunity notifications. Validation rules focus on enforcing data integrity by preventing the saving of records that do not meet specified criteria, and they do not trigger notifications or alerts.

Thus, a workflow rule is the most suitable choice for implementing this notification requirement effectively.