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25 Apr 2020, 10:04
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Question 1
C
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
5%
(low)
Question Stats:
83% (02:33) correct
17%
(02:23) wrong
based on 427
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Question 2
C
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
65%
(hard)
Question Stats:
46% (01:23) correct 54%
(01:46) wrong
based on 423
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Question 3
B
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
65%
(hard)
Question Stats:
52% (01:34) correct 48%
(01:31) wrong
based on 401
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Question 4
A
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
65%
(hard)
Question Stats:
40% (00:58) correct 60%
(01:10) wrong
based on 398
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Question 5
C
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
45%
(medium)
Question Stats:
58% (01:03) correct 42%
(01:05) wrong
based on 369
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Project RC Butler 2020 - Participate and win GMAT Club Tests.
Passage # 50, Date: 25-Apr-2020
This post is a part of Project RC Butler 2020. Click here for Details
Passage # 50, Date: 25-Apr-2020
This post is a part of Project RC Butler 2020. Click here for Details
(From a text published in 1998)
Companies continue to miss the mark in their quest for Sales Force Automation (SFA), overlooking the most critical success factor–the user. In technology deployment, the implementation team assumes the intended users only have a baseline level of computer discipline but frequently mistake the lack of technology use as low literacy on computers. This leads them to adopt unsuitable training techniques. In reality, today’s sales department are mostly made up of users who have been exposed to computers but who have never had to use them consistently and struggle to grasp how much strategic value SFA will have. An SFA project’s success hinges on creating a situation where both sales representatives and managers can reap the benefits of the SFA tools but all too often they haven’t relied on technology as a strategic tool to meet objectives.
Their compensation and job performance are very quantifiable, based on how well they do against a set of revenue targets so inevitably they tend to define SFA in terms of its usefulness handling the transactions they normally work on. The SFA market has done a good job of selling the benefits of SFA tools to drive sales performance but, having convinced companies to purchase systems, there is intense pressure to achieve a strong return on investment. To ensure a successful SFA implementation, companies need to set realistic expectations and consider issues that are unique when deploying the system.
Companies continue to miss the mark in their quest for Sales Force Automation (SFA), overlooking the most critical success factor–the user. In technology deployment, the implementation team assumes the intended users only have a baseline level of computer discipline but frequently mistake the lack of technology use as low literacy on computers. This leads them to adopt unsuitable training techniques. In reality, today’s sales department are mostly made up of users who have been exposed to computers but who have never had to use them consistently and struggle to grasp how much strategic value SFA will have. An SFA project’s success hinges on creating a situation where both sales representatives and managers can reap the benefits of the SFA tools but all too often they haven’t relied on technology as a strategic tool to meet objectives.
Their compensation and job performance are very quantifiable, based on how well they do against a set of revenue targets so inevitably they tend to define SFA in terms of its usefulness handling the transactions they normally work on. The SFA market has done a good job of selling the benefits of SFA tools to drive sales performance but, having convinced companies to purchase systems, there is intense pressure to achieve a strong return on investment. To ensure a successful SFA implementation, companies need to set realistic expectations and consider issues that are unique when deploying the system.
1. The main purpose of the author in discussing the various aspects of SFA is to
(A) explain how difficult it is to get any return on investment from SFA
(B) discuss the various advantages and disadvantages of SFA
(C) point out how companies are missing out on getting maximum benefit from SFA
(D) criticize the SFA market for not having trained the users well enough in SFA
(E) present the idea that SFA is only useful practically in keeping transactional entries
(A) explain how difficult it is to get any return on investment from SFA
(B) discuss the various advantages and disadvantages of SFA
(C) point out how companies are missing out on getting maximum benefit from SFA
(D) criticize the SFA market for not having trained the users well enough in SFA
(E) present the idea that SFA is only useful practically in keeping transactional entries
2. According to the passage, traditional training approaches are inappropriate for SFA projects because
(A) the number of SFA users is too low and the users are too inexperienced
(B) user management teams lack experience to properly define transactional goals
(C) these attempt to correct a perceived technology ignorance among SFA users
(D) these fail to improve computer literacy, a missing component among users
(E) these are not capable of helping companies accurately define transactional goals as needed
(A) the number of SFA users is too low and the users are too inexperienced
(B) user management teams lack experience to properly define transactional goals
(C) these attempt to correct a perceived technology ignorance among SFA users
(D) these fail to improve computer literacy, a missing component among users
(E) these are not capable of helping companies accurately define transactional goals as needed
3. The author implies which of the following regarding SFA in recommending that SFA be used optimally?
(A) SFA is a perfect tool to keep track of transactional goals of the sales teams.
(B) SFA can be used for much more than just handling transactions.
(C) SFA can yield a lot of quantifiable benefits to the managers of the sales force.
(D) SFA can be used to keep track of the revenue targets set to the sales force.
(E) SFA must be used only by experienced users who can maximize its benefits.
(A) SFA is a perfect tool to keep track of transactional goals of the sales teams.
(B) SFA can be used for much more than just handling transactions.
(C) SFA can yield a lot of quantifiable benefits to the managers of the sales force.
(D) SFA can be used to keep track of the revenue targets set to the sales force.
(E) SFA must be used only by experienced users who can maximize its benefits.
4. According to the passage, what does the effective implementation of SFA projects depend on?
(A) training users for more than baseline functions of SFA
(B) making sure managers and sales staff meet SFA goals
(C) ensuring staff accepts SFA into their routines
(D) raising the literacy level of SFA trainers
(E) quantifying job performance against revenue goals
(A) training users for more than baseline functions of SFA
(B) making sure managers and sales staff meet SFA goals
(C) ensuring staff accepts SFA into their routines
(D) raising the literacy level of SFA trainers
(E) quantifying job performance against revenue goals
5. The author would most likely agree with which of the following actions of a company as being crucial to a positive outcome for SFA projects?
(A) Properly training the training staff
(B) Defining SFA applications in terms of the nature of transactions and goals
(C) Factoring in organizational characteristics to accordingly set attainable goals
(D) Intensifying the pressure on managers to achieve a return on SFA investments
(E) Linking use of sales performance with SFA to ensure return on investment
(A) Properly training the training staff
(B) Defining SFA applications in terms of the nature of transactions and goals
(C) Factoring in organizational characteristics to accordingly set attainable goals
(D) Intensifying the pressure on managers to achieve a return on SFA investments
(E) Linking use of sales performance with SFA to ensure return on investment
25 Apr 2020, 21:19
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Bookmarks
1. The main purpose of the author in discussing the various aspects of SFA is to
(A) explain how difficult it is to get any return on investment from SFA [The passage never suggests that it is difficult to get ROI from SFA]
(B) discuss the various advantages and disadvantages of SFA [Advantages and Disadvantages not explicitly mentioned]
(C) point out how companies are missing out on getting maximum benefit from SFA
(D) criticize the SFA market for not having trained the users well enough in SFA [User training mentioned in bits in the passage and does not encapsulate the whole idea]
(E) present the idea that SFA is only useful practically in keeping transactional entries [The author is actually against this idea]
Answer should be B, IMO. Elimination points marked against each option.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. According to the passage, traditional training approaches are inappropriate for SFA projects because
(A) the number of SFA users is too low and the users are too inexperienced [Number of SFA Users not discussed]
(B) user management teams lack experience to properly define transactional goals.[I think the passage suggests users are lacking experience and not the user management team.]
(C) these attempt to correct a perceived technology ignorance among SFA users [Traditional approaches are not correcting but increasing the technology ignorance]
(D) these fail to improve computer literacy, a missing component among users [Traditional approaches are not improving, hence increasing the technology ignorance]
(E) these are not capable of helping companies accurately define transactional goals as needed
Answer should be E, IMO. Elimination points marked against each option.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. The author implies which of the following regarding SFA in recommending that SFA be used optimally?
(A) SFA is a perfect tool to keep track of transactional goals of the sales teams. [It may be a better tool. But perfect seems to extreme]
(B) SFA can be used for much more than just handling transactions.
(C) SFA can yield a lot of quantifiable benefits to the managers of the sales force.[This answer is trying to change the meaning mentioned in Line 1 of Para 2]
(D) SFA can be used to keep track of the revenue targets set to the sales force. [Not explicitly mentioned]
(E) SFA must be used only by experienced users who can maximize its benefits.
Answer should be B, IMO. Elimination points marked against each option.
Was confused between B and E. But went with B finally because E seemed to be too restricitve and was looking at a particular audience only.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. According to the passage, what does the effective implementation of SFA projects depend on?
(A) training users for more than baseline functions of SFA
(B) making sure managers and sales staff meet SFA goals
(C) ensuring staff accepts SFA into their routines
(D) raising the literacy level of SFA trainers
(E) quantifying job performance against revenue goals
Answer should be C, IMO.
This colud be directly inferred from the below lines of the Para -
"This leads them to adopt unsuitable training techniques. In reality, today’s sales department are mostly made up of users who have been exposed to computers but who have never had to use them consistently and struggle to grasp how much strategic value SFA will have."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. The author would most likely agree with which of the following actions of a company as being crucial to a positive outcome for SFA projects?
(A) Properly training the training staff
(B) Defining SFA applications in terms of the nature of transactions and goals
(C) Factoring in organizational characteristics to accordingly set attainable goals
(D) Intensifying the pressure on managers to achieve a return on SFA investments
(E) Linking use of sales performance with SFA to ensure return on investment
Answer should be C, IMO.
D and E can be eliminated as they are mentioned in the para showing no results.
A says that the Training staff has a problem that they are not able to train properly but passage never mentions this. It says that 'What to train' is the problem.
B seems to be too extreme as applications are difficult to define for one purpose. An application is generally multipurpose and helps for various tasks.
(A) explain how difficult it is to get any return on investment from SFA [The passage never suggests that it is difficult to get ROI from SFA]
(B) discuss the various advantages and disadvantages of SFA [Advantages and Disadvantages not explicitly mentioned]
(C) point out how companies are missing out on getting maximum benefit from SFA
(D) criticize the SFA market for not having trained the users well enough in SFA [User training mentioned in bits in the passage and does not encapsulate the whole idea]
(E) present the idea that SFA is only useful practically in keeping transactional entries [The author is actually against this idea]
Answer should be B, IMO. Elimination points marked against each option.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. According to the passage, traditional training approaches are inappropriate for SFA projects because
(A) the number of SFA users is too low and the users are too inexperienced [Number of SFA Users not discussed]
(B) user management teams lack experience to properly define transactional goals.[I think the passage suggests users are lacking experience and not the user management team.]
(C) these attempt to correct a perceived technology ignorance among SFA users [Traditional approaches are not correcting but increasing the technology ignorance]
(D) these fail to improve computer literacy, a missing component among users [Traditional approaches are not improving, hence increasing the technology ignorance]
(E) these are not capable of helping companies accurately define transactional goals as needed
Answer should be E, IMO. Elimination points marked against each option.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. The author implies which of the following regarding SFA in recommending that SFA be used optimally?
(A) SFA is a perfect tool to keep track of transactional goals of the sales teams. [It may be a better tool. But perfect seems to extreme]
(B) SFA can be used for much more than just handling transactions.
(C) SFA can yield a lot of quantifiable benefits to the managers of the sales force.[This answer is trying to change the meaning mentioned in Line 1 of Para 2]
(D) SFA can be used to keep track of the revenue targets set to the sales force. [Not explicitly mentioned]
(E) SFA must be used only by experienced users who can maximize its benefits.
Answer should be B, IMO. Elimination points marked against each option.
Was confused between B and E. But went with B finally because E seemed to be too restricitve and was looking at a particular audience only.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. According to the passage, what does the effective implementation of SFA projects depend on?
(A) training users for more than baseline functions of SFA
(B) making sure managers and sales staff meet SFA goals
(C) ensuring staff accepts SFA into their routines
(D) raising the literacy level of SFA trainers
(E) quantifying job performance against revenue goals
Answer should be C, IMO.
This colud be directly inferred from the below lines of the Para -
"This leads them to adopt unsuitable training techniques. In reality, today’s sales department are mostly made up of users who have been exposed to computers but who have never had to use them consistently and struggle to grasp how much strategic value SFA will have."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. The author would most likely agree with which of the following actions of a company as being crucial to a positive outcome for SFA projects?
(A) Properly training the training staff
(B) Defining SFA applications in terms of the nature of transactions and goals
(C) Factoring in organizational characteristics to accordingly set attainable goals
(D) Intensifying the pressure on managers to achieve a return on SFA investments
(E) Linking use of sales performance with SFA to ensure return on investment
Answer should be C, IMO.
D and E can be eliminated as they are mentioned in the para showing no results.
A says that the Training staff has a problem that they are not able to train properly but passage never mentions this. It says that 'What to train' is the problem.
B seems to be too extreme as applications are difficult to define for one purpose. An application is generally multipurpose and helps for various tasks.
Gowtham91
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Joined: 17 May 2019
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GMAT 1: 570 Q44 V23
GMAT 2: 610 Q48 V26
26 Apr 2020, 03:24
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Q1.
Paragraph summary
Para1 - Companies are failing to make the most out of SFA. What is that they are doing wrongly that they are not able to reap benefits out of SFA ?
Para2 - What companies need to do to make sure SFA implementation is successful.
Overall - Companies are missing out on making maximum benefit out of SFA and what can they do avoid missing ?
A. No. Although ROI is discussed, this is not the primary purpose of the passage.
B. This is not discussed in the passage.
C. Correct. In-line with the pre-thinking.
D. This is only partial scope in para1
E. Same as B.
Q2.
A. This is out of scope
B. Same as A.
C. Correct This can be inferred from "In reality, today’s sales department are mostly made up of users who have been exposed to computers but who have never had to use them consistently"
D. This (Computer literacy) is exactly what the author says the implementation team is targetting and is not required.
E. Out of Scope.
Q3.
A. This is true for SFA, but its not the sole purpose as per the passage.
B. Correct. This can be inferred from - "so inevitably they tend to define SFA in terms of its usefulness handling the transactions they normally work on."
C. This is true both for managers and sales representatives, not just for managers.
D. This is true, but make optimal use, this is not sufficient.
E. out of scope
Q4.
From para-1 - "In technology deployment, the implementation team assumes the intended users only have a baseline level of computer discipline but frequently mistake the lack of technology use as low literacy on computers. " This implies that the implementation team should focus more on acceptance of SFA by its users.
Only option C is in line with this understanding.
Q5.
From para2, conclusion - "To ensure a successful SFA implementation, companies need to set realistic expectations and consider issues that are unique when deploying the system."
Only Option C is in line with this premise.
Paragraph summary
Para1 - Companies are failing to make the most out of SFA. What is that they are doing wrongly that they are not able to reap benefits out of SFA ?
Para2 - What companies need to do to make sure SFA implementation is successful.
Overall - Companies are missing out on making maximum benefit out of SFA and what can they do avoid missing ?
A. No. Although ROI is discussed, this is not the primary purpose of the passage.
B. This is not discussed in the passage.
C. Correct. In-line with the pre-thinking.
D. This is only partial scope in para1
E. Same as B.
Q2.
A. This is out of scope
B. Same as A.
C. Correct This can be inferred from "In reality, today’s sales department are mostly made up of users who have been exposed to computers but who have never had to use them consistently"
D. This (Computer literacy) is exactly what the author says the implementation team is targetting and is not required.
E. Out of Scope.
Q3.
A. This is true for SFA, but its not the sole purpose as per the passage.
B. Correct. This can be inferred from - "so inevitably they tend to define SFA in terms of its usefulness handling the transactions they normally work on."
C. This is true both for managers and sales representatives, not just for managers.
D. This is true, but make optimal use, this is not sufficient.
E. out of scope
Q4.
From para-1 - "In technology deployment, the implementation team assumes the intended users only have a baseline level of computer discipline but frequently mistake the lack of technology use as low literacy on computers. " This implies that the implementation team should focus more on acceptance of SFA by its users.
Only option C is in line with this understanding.
Q5.
From para2, conclusion - "To ensure a successful SFA implementation, companies need to set realistic expectations and consider issues that are unique when deploying the system."
Only Option C is in line with this premise.
