The function of strategic planning is to position a company for long-

It can be inferred from the passage that, in general, strategic planning during the 1980s had all of the following shortcomings EXCEPT

(A) a reliance on outside consultants who did not necessarily understand the nuts and bolts of the business
(B) a dependence on theoretical models that did not always perfectly describe the workings of the company
(C) an inherent weakness in the company’s own ability to implement the strategic plan--> this seems to be the best possible answers.This answer can also be challenged because the companies brought in experts from outside to do the analysis.
(D) an excess of information and data that made it difficult to get to key concepts
(E) the lack of a forum for middle managers to express their ideas

In this we have confusion between C & D.

"Passage tells at line 24 that there is a bulk of information theories available that have little to do with realities of a company."

From this we can leave option D.

So C would be the best answer.

Question number 4 why not A?

They believe that strategic planning is the key to weathering the rapid changes of the marketplace?

BINGO!!!!!

Here are my thoughts on the passage. The passage is relatively easy and could be classified at mid range to easy difficulty levels. (600-650 or there abouts).

1) The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) refute the idea that change is bad for a corporation’s long-term health (the passage is not refuting any idea)
(B) describe how long-term planning, despite some potential pitfalls, can help a corporation to grow (this is gist of the passage, 2nd last and last paragraph emphasized this point more).
(C) compare and contrast two styles of corporate planning (There is no compare and contrast between styles of planning. Infact author cites 1980's strategic planning to emphasize the bad practices followed then.)
(D) evaluate the strategic planning goals of corporate America today (The author does not ONLY talk about corporations today;she/he also cites 1980's corporations and their practices)
(E) defend a methodology that has come under sharp attack (This is not relevant as already mentioned above)

2) It can be inferred from the passage that, in general, strategic planning during the 1980s had all of the following shortcomings EXCEPT

(A) a reliance on outside consultants who did not necessarily understand the nuts and bolts of the business
(B) a dependence on theoretical models that did not always perfectly describe the workings of the company
(C) an inherent weakness in the company’s own ability to implement the strategic plan (This is clearly cited in the passage in Line #14,15,16. The passage clearly states the companies followed the plan diligently)
(D) an excess of information and data that made it difficult to get to key concepts
(E) the lack of a forum for middle managers to express their ideas

3) The author most likely mentions the results of the survey of 1,000 companies in order to

(A) put forth an opposing view on strategic plans so that she can then refute it
(B) illustrate that when strategic planning is “hands-on,” it produces uninspiring results
(C) give a concrete example of why strategic planning did not work during the 1980s
(D) support her contention that strategic planning, when done correctly, can be very successful (This is clearly implied from Line#34,35,36 that companies which implemented strategic planning had better growth figures than companies otherwise.)
(E) give supporting data to prove that many companies have implemented strategic plans

4) The passage suggests which of the following about the “financial analysts” mentioned in lines 41–44 ?

(A) They believe that strategic planning is the key to weathering the rapid changes of the marketplace.
(B) They are working to understand and anticipate market developments that are two years ahead.
(C) Their study of market dynamics has led them to question the reliability of short-term planning strategies.
(D) They might not agree with the author that one way to survive rapidly changing conditions comes from long-range planning. (Line#42 implies that 'financial analysts' might not necessarily agree with Author's point of view of long term planning)
(E) They consider the mobility of capital to be a necessary condition for the growth of new technology.

Hope it helps.

Thanks,
V

very nice passage.
reading time: 0508
overall time: 0919
all correct.
answers were preety straightforward.



Perhaps most importantly, a strategic plan helps companies anticipate – and survive – change. New technology and the mobility of capital mean that markets can shift faster than ever before. Some financial analysts wonder why they should do the planning two years ahead when marketdynamics may be transformed by next quarter. The fact is that it is the very pace of change that makes planning so crucial. Now, more than ever, companies have to stay alert to the marketplace. In an environment of continual and rapid change, long range planning expands options and organizational flexibility.

The passage suggests which of the following about the “financial analysts” mentioned in lines 41–44 ?
(A) They believe that strategic planning is the key to weathering the rapid changes of the marketplace.
it was not the thought of the financial analyst rather it was the reasoning given by the author in order to prove that long before planning is required.

(D) They might not agree with the author that one way to survive rapidly changing conditions comes from long-range planning.
this was the coprrect answer ==>see highlited part.

Bumping for review and further discussion*.

*New project from GMAT Club!!! Check HERE

9:15min 4/4.

I just watched a video from my dream b school and afterward I got so energized and focused that I got all correct.

Overall passage was easy and not so convoluted to read in one breath.

Could you please explain question 2:

It can be inferred from the passage that, in general, strategic planning during the 1980s had all of the following shortcomings EXCEPT
(A) a reliance on outside consultants who did not necessarily understand the nuts and bolts of the business
(B) a dependence on theoretical models that did not always perfectly describe the workings of the company
(C) an inherent weakness in the company’s own ability to implement the strategic plan
(D) an excess of information and data that made it difficult to get to key concepts
(E) the lack of a forum for middle managers to express their ideas

i had confusion between c and D . and i selected D

Thanks

Answered all correctly. Took 7 minutes.

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) refute the idea that change is bad for a corporation’s long-term health - Incorrect - Passage does not refute the idea that change is bad
(B) describe how long-term planning, despite some potential pitfalls, can help a corporation to grow - Correct
(C) compare and contrast two styles of corporate planning - Incorrect - Passage explains about Strategic Planning. Compare and contrast is not seen here
(D) evaluate the strategic planning goals of corporate America today - Incorrect - Corporate America?
(E) defend a methodology that has come under sharp attack - Incorrect - Passage doesn't try to defend any methodology.

Answer: B

3. The author most likely mentions the results of the survey of 1,000 companies in order to - We have to refer to the following lines in the passage "A recent survey queried
more than a thousand small-to-medium sized businesses to compare companies with a strategic plan to companies without one. The survey found that companies with strategic plans had annual revenue growth of 6.2 percent as opposed to 3.8 percent for the other companies." - Clearly the author mentions these lines to show that companies perform better with Strategic Planning.

Answer: D

4. The passage suggests which of the following about the “financial analysts” mentioned in lines 44–47 ? - We have to refer the following lines in the passage "Some financial analysts wonder why companies should bother planning two years ahead when market dynamics might be transformed by next quarter." - indicates that Financial Analysts are against long term plans - Option D highlights this explanation

Answer: D

My Answer are
1. B
2. C
3. D
4. D

Seems to be a simple RC

First paragraph - Discusses about Strategic Planning.
Second paragraph - Presents reasons for the failure of strategic planning in 1980's.
Third paragraph - Advantages of strategic planning.
Fourth paragraph - Reasons for why strategic planning is needed

The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) refute the idea that change is bad for a corporation’s long-term health - Incorrect. Opposite.
(B) describe how long-term planning, despite some potential pitfalls, can help a corporation to grow - Correct.
(C) compare and contrast two styles of corporate planning - Incorrect. Only one concept is discussed in the passage.
(D) evaluate the strategic planning goals of corporate America today - Incorrect. We are not evaluating the goals (of strategic planning).
(E) defend a methodology that has come under sharp attack - Incorrect. Too harsh. Strategic planning is not criticized.

Answer: B.

It can be inferred from the passage that strategic planning during the 1980s had all of the following shortcomings EXCEPT

(A) a reliance on outside consultants who did not necessarily understand the nuts and bolts of the business - Incorrect. True.
(B) a dependence on theoretical models that did not always perfectly describe the workings of the company - Incorrect. True.
(C) an inherent weakness in the company’s own ability to implement the strategic plan - Correct. Not stated in the passage.
(D) an excess of information and data that made it difficult to get to key concepts - Incorrect. True.
(E) the lack of a forum for middle managers to express their ideas - Incorrect. True.

Answer: C

The author most likely mentions the results of the survey of 1,000 companies in order to

(A) put forth an opposing view on strategic plans which is later refuted - Incorrect. Opposite.
(B) illustrate that when strategic planning is “hands-on,” it produces uninspiring results - Incorrect. Opposite.
(C) give a concrete example of why strategic planning did not work during the 1980s - Incorrect. Out of context.
(D) support the contention that strategic planning can be very successful when done correctly - Correct.
(E) give supporting data to prove that many companies have implemented strategic plans - Incorrect. Narrow scope.

Answer: D

The passage suggests which of the following about the “financial analysts” mentioned in lines 44–47 ?

(A) They believe that strategic planning is the key to weathering the rapid changes of the marketplace. - Incorrect. Opposite.
(B) They are working to understand and anticipate market developments that are two years ahead. - Incorrect. Opposite.
(C) Their study of market dynamics has led them to question the reliability of short term planning strategies. - Incorrect. Opposite.
(D) They might not agree with the author that one way to survive rapidly changing conditions comes from long range planning. - Correct.
(E) They consider the mobility of capital to be a necessary condition for the growth of new technology - Incorrect. Out of scope.

Answer: D

Perfect Map - took me 4 min ; total 10 min for 4 questions.
All correct
But need to improve the speed .
Can someone suggest me some improvements.
As i have changed my strategy.
My previous strategy was attacking critically - which was only 50 percent accurate in 700 lvl questions with just few minutes. much less than what it is taking now with good accuracy .

took 5 min
missed #2
I should have read the answer choice (C) and (D) more carefully because (D) was mentioned in the form of number crunching.
(A) (B) (E) super easy to eliminate.

Got 4/4 correct in 10:50 min including 6 min to read the passage!

Passage Map:

1) Strategic Planning
2) Problem in 90's
3) Survey results
4) Importance of SP

3 mins 17 sec and all correct.

Easy passage with easy questions.



Vyshak has already explained perfectly so I will not go into the option-wise details of all the questions but give my passing comments on all of them.


1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) refute the idea that change is bad for a corporation’s long-term health meh. That's not the point. Passage says that we can counter change by long term planning
(B) describe how long-term planning, despite some potential pitfalls, can help a corporation to grow Bingo - this is precisely the main point.
(C) compare and contrast two styles of corporate planning BS option. Discard
(D) evaluate the strategic planning goals of corporate America today BS option discard.
(E) defend a methodology that has come under sharp attack Sharp attack? BS option. Discard.

Detail question with a little bit trick in the options.
2. It can be inferred from the passage that strategic planning during the 1980s had all of the following shortcomings EXCEPT

(A) a reliance on outside consultants who did not necessarily understand the nuts and bolts of the business
(B) a dependence on theoretical models that did not always perfectly describe the workings of the company
(C) an inherent weakness in the company’s own ability to implement the strategic plan Bingo - there was no inherent weakness just bad implementation.
(D) an excess of information and data that made it difficult to get to key concepts
(E) the lack of a forum for middle managers to express their ideas

Another detail question. Requires understanding the main idea and the flow of the passage
3. The author most likely mentions the results of the survey of 1,000 companies in order to

(A) put forth an opposing view on strategic plans which is later refuted opposite. Discard
(B) illustrate that when strategic planning is “hands-on,” it produces uninspiring results. opposite. Discard
(C) give a concrete example of why strategic planning did not work during the 1980s nah. That's not what the example is about. Discard.
(D) support the contention that strategic planning can be very successful when done correctly Bingo. This gives the statistics behind support for long term planning
(E) give supporting data to prove that many companies have implemented strategic plans TRAP - this too is true. But why does the author mention this? Not just to give bland data but to support his assertion about long term planning.

Easy detail question. Just need to know that financial analysts are on the opposite side of the author.
4. The passage suggests which of the following about the “financial analysts” mentioned in the highighted text?

(A) They believe that strategic planning is the key to weathering the rapid changes of the marketplace. Opposite. Discard.
(B) They are working to understand and anticipate market developments that are two years ahead. Bs option. Discard.
(C) Their study of market dynamics has led them to question the reliability of short-term planning strategies. What? BS option. Discard.
(D) They might not agree with the author that one way to survive rapidly changing conditions comes from long-range planning. Bingo - they mention their reservations about long term planning in the volatile marketplace.
(E) They consider the mobility of capital to be a necessary condition for the growth of new technology. BS option .discard. never mentioned in the passage.

Hope all questions are clear now.

Regards,
Gladi

Took 8:48 min in total including 4 min to read the passage!

Passage Map:

1) SP
2) Use of SP before
3) Proper implementation of SP => Great results
4) Another benefit: anticipate change