Last visit was: 20 Nov 2025, 07:05 It is currently 20 Nov 2025, 07:05
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
User avatar
atomy
Joined: 24 Apr 2009
Last visit: 05 Dec 2014
Posts: 43
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 2
Posts: 43
Kudos: 28
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
scthakur
Joined: 17 Jun 2008
Last visit: 30 Jul 2009
Posts: 609
Own Kudos:
Posts: 609
Kudos: 449
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
atomy
Joined: 24 Apr 2009
Last visit: 05 Dec 2014
Posts: 43
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 2
Posts: 43
Kudos: 28
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
GMATaddict
Joined: 15 May 2009
Last visit: 20 Jul 2010
Posts: 90
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 3
Posts: 90
Kudos: 72
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
atomy
Here is the RC from sets, please explain why the the answer is not B for the question below.



Behavior science courses should
be gaining prominence in business
school curricula. Recent theoretical
work convincingly shows why behav-
(5) ioral factors such as organizational
culture and employee relations are
among the few remaining sources of
sustainable competitive advantage in
modern organizations. Furthermore,
(10) empirical evidence demonstrates
clear linkages between human
resource (HR) practices based in
the behavioral sciences and various
aspects of a firm’s financial success.
(15) Additionally, some of the world’s most
successful organizations have made
unique HR practices a core element
of their overall business strategies.
Yet the behavior sciences
(20) are struggling for credibility in many
business schools. Surveys show
that business students often regard
behavioral studies as peripheral to
the mainstream business curriculum.
(25) This perception can be explained by
the fact that business students, hoping
to increase their attractiveness to
prospective employers, are highly
sensitive to business norms and
(30) practices, and current business
practices have generally been
moving away from an emphasis on
understanding human behavior and
toward more mechanistic organiza-
(35) tional models. Furthermore, the
status of HR professionals within
organizations tends to be lower
than that of other executives.
Students’ perceptions would
(40) matter less if business schools
were not increasingly dependent on
external funding—form legislatures,
businesses, and private foundations—
for survival. Concerned with their
(45) institutions’ ability to attract funding,
administrators are increasingly tar-
geting low-enrollment courses and
degree programs for elimination.



The author of the passage mentions “empirical evidence” (line 10) primarily in order to
A. question the value of certain commonly used HR practices
B. illustrate a point about the methodology behind recent theoretical work in the behavioral sciences
C. support a claim about the importance that business schools should place on courses in the behavioral sciences
D. draw a distinction between two different factors that affect the financial success of a business
E. explain how the behavioral sciences have shaped HR practices in some business organizations

Well, the empirical evidence sentence comes right after the main assertion of the passage, which promotes the importance of behavioral science in business success. So I would guess (C).
User avatar
ykaiim
Joined: 25 Aug 2007
Last visit: 21 Aug 2012
Posts: 519
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 40
WE 1: 3.5 yrs IT
WE 2: 2.5 yrs Retail chain
Posts: 519
Kudos: 5,902
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Because, there is no mention of B-schools in para1 so I crossed out C.

My question is - When we are asked such question then do we need to relate the answer to the particular paragraph or entire passage? Can you explain more on this?


atomy
scthakur
It should be C. Emperical evidence supports the claim that behavioral science is important.....

It cannot be B because, it does not provide evidence for theoretical work. The sentence beginning with "furthermore" confirms this.
thanks a lot scthakur for ur explanation. i was thinking of that too. Now, if furthermore was not mentioned in the passage, then there would be a tough fight between B and c. RIGHT??
User avatar
TallJTinChina
Joined: 24 May 2010
Last visit: 28 Jun 2011
Posts: 38
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 4
Status:Waiting to hear from University of Texas at Austin
Location: Changchun, China
Concentration: MSA - Generalist
Schools:University of Texas at Austin, Michigan State
GPA: 3.9
Posts: 38
Kudos: 146
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
My Quick sketch of paragraph 1

Behavior science importance(up arrow) in business school
Support:
1 recent theoretical
2 empirical evidence
3 Success org's-Unique HR-Key strategy


I draw arrows up and down in my sketches as a quick visual way to remember which things the passages says are changing.

My ideas on this question:

Idea I
First sentence "...business school curricula."

Curricula is plural of curriculum meaning different programs at one business school or same program at different business schools

Idea II
Empirical is very different from theoretical.
According to https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empirical
(definition 2) "2 : relying on experience or observation alone often without due regard for system and theory"

The adjectives, theoretical and empirical, tell us these two things are separate, along with "Furthermore"

Idea III
Whenever I see a question that asks about a certain set of lines or why an author includes something I immediately think.

How would the whole passage change if this sentence or these words were not included in the passage?

Without the words "empirical evidence" the second support sentence could be eliminated, it really doesn't add anything beyond what is gained from the third sentence.
User avatar
noboru
Joined: 16 Jul 2009
Last visit: 15 Jan 2020
Posts: 539
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 2
Schools:CBS
WE 1: 4 years (Consulting)
Posts: 539
Kudos: 9,466
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
The primary purpose of the passage is to
A. propose a particular change to
business school curricula
B. characterize students’ perceptions
of business school curricula
C. predict the consequences of a
particular change in business
school curricula
D. challenge one explanation for the
failure to adopt a particular
change in business school
curricula
E. identify factors that have affected
the prestige of a particular field in
business school curricula
User avatar
moneymike
Joined: 21 Mar 2011
Last visit: 23 Jul 2012
Posts: 28
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 12
Posts: 28
Kudos: 6
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
noboru
The primary purpose of the passage is to
A. propose a particular change to
business school curricula
B. characterize students’ perceptions
of business school curricula
C. predict the consequences of a
particular change in business
school curricula
D. challenge one explanation for the
failure to adopt a particular
change in business school
curricula
E. identify factors that have affected
the prestige of a particular field in
business school curricula

e? Tough question for me.

in my words: Point -> BS courses should be gaining popularity but they are not. This is due to students disregarding them. Student opinion matters to keep funding.

So the closest to this is E.
User avatar
krishnasty
Joined: 03 Nov 2010
Last visit: 20 Oct 2013
Posts: 94
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 8
Status:Still Struggling
Location: India
GMAT Date: 10-15-2011
GPA: 3.71
WE:Information Technology (Computer Software)
Posts: 94
Kudos: 523
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
noboru
The primary purpose of the passage is to
A. propose a particular change to
business school curricula --> a good option, but the author is not proposing a change. All he is saying that BS are missing out on some important concepts in their curricula.
B. characterize students’ perceptions
of business school curricula --> incorrect
C. predict the consequences of a
particular change in business
school curricula --> author is not predecting anything
D. challenge one explanation for the
failure to adopt a particular
change in business school
curricula -->irrelevant..not challenging anything
E. identify factors that have affected
the prestige of a particular field in
business school curricula -->By elimination, this sounds perfect
User avatar
carcass
User avatar
Board of Directors
Joined: 01 Sep 2010
Last visit: 17 Nov 2025
Posts: 4,754
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 4,856
Posts: 4,754
Kudos: 37,021
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
I did just this passage and I picked A and not E

Someone can say the difficult of this passage ??' please '?'

:) Thanks



Archived Topic
Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Reading Comprehension (RC) Forum
Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block above for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!
Moderators:
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7443 posts
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
231 posts
GRE Forum Moderator
17306 posts
189 posts