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C
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Re: The average age of chief executive officers in a large [#permalink]
 19 Mar 2012, 06:52
C strengthens the conclusion. The sample should be the same and should consist of companies which have been in business for at least 20 years; otherwise, how could any conclusion be drawn ?
I would pick A.
Please indicate the source.
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Re: The average age of chief executive officers in a large [#permalink]
19 Mar 2012, 15:30
@imadkho, The question is asking us which of the following would cast the most doubt on the conclusion. The conclusion of course rests on the sample size, so when you ask how the argument can draw a valid conclusion, that's the whole point: the argument cannot make a valid conclusion. Specifically, when it makes its conclusion regarding companies today, it fails to take into account those companies that weren't around 20 years ago. Therefore, the conclusion cannot be valid. (C) speaks to this. (A) only talks about starting dates. We do not care when CEOs started, but old they are now. So even if a CEO started 20 years ago, he/she could still only be 45 years-old vs. one who started yesterday at a startup but is 60 years old (assuming start ups still employ someone who is 60  )
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Re: The average age of chief executive officers in a large [#permalink]
19 Mar 2012, 22:15
I answer B, but it was clearly C. I appreciated your explanation firasath.
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Re: The average age of chief executive officers in a large [#permalink]
19 Mar 2012, 22:58
gud question,However, fell for A
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Re: The average age of chief executive officers in a large [#permalink]
19 Mar 2012, 23:42
IMO C.......... but fell in trap of answer B .......
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Re: The average age of chief executive officers in a large [#permalink]
29 Mar 2012, 06:59
suyashjhawar wrote: The average age of chief executive officers in a large sample of companies is 57.The average age of CEO's in those same companies 20 years ago was approximately eight years younger. On the basis of those data, it can be concluded that CEO's in general tend to be older now.
Which of the following casts the most doubt on the conclusion drawn above?
(A) The dates when the CEO's assumed their current positions have not been specified.
(B) No information is given concerning the avg no of years that CEO's remain in office.
(C) The information is based only on companies that have been operating for at least 20 years.
(D) Only approximate information is given concerning the avg age of the CEO's 20 years ago.
(E) Information concerning the exact number of companies in the sample has not been given.
Needed your views.Came down to two but then not confident. i go with C.. because the comparison done is "The average age of CEO's in those same companies 20 years ago was approximately eight years younger. " which clearly tells that SAMPLE does not include new companies less than <20yrs...hence they are generalizing the CEO age... Only C questions this assumption.
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Re: The average age of chief executive officers in a large [#permalink]
21 Mar 2013, 17:56
suyashjhawar wrote: The average age of chief executive officers in a large sample of companies is 57.The average age of CEO's in those same companies 20 years ago was approximately eight years younger. On the basis of those data, it can be concluded that CEO's in general tend to be older now.
Which of the following casts the most doubt on the conclusion drawn above?
(A) The dates when the CEO's assumed their current positions have not been specified.
(B) No information is given concerning the avg no of years that CEO's remain in office.
(C) The information is based only on companies that have been operating for at least 20 years.
(D) Only approximate information is given concerning the avg age of the CEO's 20 years ago.
(E) Information concerning the exact number of companies in the sample has not been given.
Needed your views.Came down to two but then not confident. Very good question in term of statistic logic. C is correct. What's wrong if the sample does not represent characteristics of the whole group. Premise 1: the average age of CEOs of the companies 20 years ago was 49 (57 - 8). Premise 2: the average age of CEOs of the same companies is 57 now. Conclusion: Average age of CEOS in general is older Wrong sampling technique because the companies that were chosen do not represent characteristics of the whole group. For instance, new established companies (less than 20 years old) often have young CEOs.
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Re: The average age of chief executive officers in a large [#permalink]
22 Mar 2013, 11:36
Answer E is strong enough IMO. The conclusion is that based on the sample of companies, CEOs are older now. However, we dont kniw the exact size of the sample. What if the sample consists of only two companies but the conclusion generalizes about all companies ?
Very poor question
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bschool83 wrote: Great question.
Paraphrasing the question:
e: avg age of ceo of a sample of companies = 57
avg. age of ceo of the same sample of companies 20 years ago ~ 49
c: therefore, ceo's tend to be older now
assumption: only companies that are 20 or more years old are in the group
since the assumption is only a subset of a larger set of companies, it cannot be used to generalize a statement. Hence I picked C.
(C) The information is based only on companies that have been operating for at least 20 years. I have a serious confusion. Everyone here believes that the restriction given in option C poses a doubt and hence is the right answer. But when the question clearly mentions that ' The average age of CEO’s in those same companies 20 years ago was approximately eight years younger. ', how can consider this a case of subset of a larger set of companies?  I assume that the statement means that same number of companies were accounted for in both the cases! Pl correct me if my understanding is wrong.
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