The stock market has shorted HP stock in response to HP CEO Leo Apothe

Question

Exercise Question 1

The stock market has shorted HP stock in response to HP CEO Leo Apotheker’s decision to divest the tablet business to invest to achieve good positions in great industries. Such myopic behavior indicates that  the stock market is focused at short term results even when they come at the expense of long term benefits . While HP could have made some money in the tablet market in the short term,  it has no strategic advantage in the tablet space  and refocusing and investing the management focus on industries where HP does have a strategic advantage will provide enduring profits in the long term.

In the argument given, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?
A. The first is a position that the argument as a whole seeks to defend whereas the second is a position that is contested in the argument. 
B. The first states the conclusion of the argument as a whole; the second states an intermediate conclusion that is drawn in order to support the main conclusion. 
C. The first is the position that the argument as a whole opposes; the second provides evidence against the position being opposed.
D. The first states an intermediate conclusion that is drawn in order to support the conclusion of the argument as a whole; the 2nd states the conclusion of the argument as a whole 
E. The first and second both state intermediate conclusions that are drawn in order to support jointly the conclusions of the argument as a whole

Also review  this  bold face article to learn the core skills for bold face.

MOKSH · Accepted Answer

IMO :B

The stock market has shorted HP stock in response to HP CEO Leo Apotheker’s decision to divest the tablet business to invest to achieve good positions in great industries. Such myopic behavior  indicates that  the  stock market is focused at short term results even when they come at the expense of long term benefits.    (POSITION OF THE AUTHOR)  .While HP could have made some money in the tablet market in the short term,  it has no strategic advantage in the tablet space   (SUPPORT THE AUTHOR'S POSITION )  and refocusing and investing the management focus on industries where HP does have a strategic advantage will provide enduring profits in the long term.

In the argument given, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?
A. The  first is a position  that the argument as a whole seeks to defend whereas the second is a  position that is contested in the argument.  (INCORRECT)
B. The first states the  conclusion  of the argument as a whole; the second states an  intermediate conclusion  that is drawn in order to support the main conclusion. (CORRECT)
C. The first is the position that the argument as a whole  opposes ; the second provides  evidence against the position being opposed.  (INCORRECT)
D. The first states an i ntermediate conclusion  that is drawn in order to support the conclusion of the argument as a whole; the 2nd states the  conclusion  of the argument as a whole (INCORRECT)
E. The first and second both state  intermediate conclusions  that are drawn in order to support jointly the conclusions of the argument as a whole (INCORRECT)

PrashantPonde · Answer

A. The first is a position that the argument as a whole seeks to defend whereas the second is a position that is contested in the argument. 
 -- Second position is not contested in the argument, its the intermediate conclusion that supports the main conclusion of the argument. 
B. The first states the conclusion of the argument as a whole; the second states an intermediate conclusion that is drawn in order to support the main conclusion. 
 -- Correct. First bold face is the main conclusion of the argument and second bold face acts as intermediate conclusion that supports the main conclusion of the argument. 
C. The first is the position that the argument as a whole opposes; the second provides evidence against the position being opposed.
 -- Argument doesnt oppose the first bold face, rather its the main conclusion of the argument. 
D. The first states an intermediate conclusion that is drawn in order to support the conclusion of the argument as a whole; the 2nd states the conclusion of the argument as a whole 
 -- The roles are reversed. First is main conclusion and second is the intermediate conclusion. 
E. The first and second both state intermediate conclusions that are drawn in order to support jointly the conclusions of the argument as a whole
 -- First is main conclusion and second is the intermediate conclusion.

Choice(B) for me.

AvgIndianGuy · Answer

I am sure that first is the main conclusion bt not quite sure what second statement is doing . Please provide the correct answer with explaination . Thanks in advance e -gmat

TGC · Answer

The stock market has shorted HP stock in response to HP CEO Leo Apotheker’s decision to divest the tablet business to invest to achieve good positions in great industries. Such myopic behavior indicates that the stock market is focused at short term results even when they come at the expense of long term benefits . While HP could have made some money in the tablet market in the short term, it has no strategic advantage in the tablet space and refocusing and investing the management focus on industries where HP does have a strategic advantage will provide enduring profits in the long term. Green is the color - go green :lol:

Green is the conclusion. In the argument given, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles? A. The first is a position that the argument as a whole seeks to defend whereas the second is a position that is contested in the argument. Yes First is a belief/position/hypothesis/thesis .However, second is not a position ,it is a Fact/Data point/Evidence which is undisputed B. The first states the conclusion of the argument as a whole ; the second states an intermediate conclusion that is drawn in order to support the main conclusion. C. The first is the position that the argument as a whole opposes; the second provides evidence against the position being opposed. Argument doesn't oppose FIRST D. The first states an intermediate conclusion that is drawn in order to support the conclusion of the argument as a whole; the 2nd states the conclusion of the argument as a whole Second is a DATA point/premise/evidence E. The first and second both state intermediate conclusions that are drawn in order to support jointly the conclusions of the argument as a whole Through POE , best is this one only However,Plz Advice !!!

egmat · Answer

Hi All, The OA is Option B. Both Moksh and PraPon are right with their explanations. KUDOS!

Thanks, Chiranjeev

egmat · Answer

Hi,

First Bold Face Statement (BF1) is the main conclusion of the argument. How can we say that?

Let's first ask, what does the main conclusion mean?

According to me, it means that the whole argument is going to revolve around this and in majority of the cases, support it. (In some cases, authors do present counter-reasoning to the main conclusion. This counter reasoning is then attacked in the argument so that the conclusion gets supported).

In this case, you can see that first statement provides a background to the second statement i.e. BF1. BF1 uses this fact to say that it indicates myopic behavior since stock market is concerned about short-term profits. The third statement, of which BF2 is a part, then provides reasoning that the behavior of the stock market was actually short term, by saying that HP does not have any long term benefits in tablet business. Therefore, the passage as a whole revolves around and supports BF1.

Did I make sense? Let me know if you have any queries.

Thanks,
Chiranjeev

carcass · Answer

Added oA to the first post. Great question by the way

+ 1

mvictor · Answer

oh wow..the language of the argument makes it difficult to comprehend the question. took almost 4 minutes to crack this bad boy
the first one looks to be a conclusion
the second one - a premise that supports the conclusion.

A - there is no contradiction between the statements.
B - looks good, B is a piece of evidence used to support an intermediate conclusion, which consequently supports the main conclusion.
C - no, it does not oppose anything. moreover, second statement is not in contradiction with first one.
D - the first is the main conclusion.
E - the first is the main conclusion.

PrakharGMAT · Answer

Hi Experts /  chetan2u ,

Can you please tell how to check the intermediate conclusion.
Its really difficult for me to find out intermediate conclusion.

Please assist.

mitrakaushi · Answer

How can BF2 be an intermediate conclusion? Because it reads as if the author has stated a fact, he/she hasn't concluded the HP has no advantage in the tablet market. Its more like an assertion/fact that is used to support the main conclusion BF1.

LinusGS1 · Answer

Hey, would someone please explain to me how the second bold statement is an intermediate solution? What are its premises? I would have argued that this statement itself is only a premise for the main conclusion and does not rely on other premises?
I appreciate your help.

DmitryFarber · Answer

Hmm, whoever wrote this question doesn't seem to understand what an intermediate conclusion is. The second bold is not intermediate and not a conclusion.

An intermediate conclusion must have the properties of a conclusion: it's a statement of opinion that is supported by some other premise provided in the argument. But it also serves as a premise for the final conclusion, either directly or by supporting yet another intermediate conclusion. In short, an intermediate conclusion is an opinion that 1) IS SUPPORTED by at least one premise, and 2) SUPPORTS another conclusion.

The second bold statement fails on criteria #1. Nothing else in the text tells us that HP has no strategic advantage in the tablet space. Therefore, the statement is a premise, not an intermediate conclusion. That leaves us with no valid answer!

The stock market has shorted HP stock in response to HP CEO Leo Apothe

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The stock market has shorted HP stock in response to HP CEO Leo Apothe

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