Following several years of declining advertising sales, the Greenville

Question

Following several years of declining advertising sales, the  Greenville Times  reorganized its advertising sales force two years ago. Before reorganization, the sales force was organized geographically, with some sales representatives concentrating on city-center businesses and others concentrating on different outlying regions. The reorganization attempted to increase the sales representatives' knowledge of clients' businesses by having each sales representative deal with only one type of industry or of retailing. After the reorganization, revenue from advertising sales increased.

In assessing whether the improvement in advertising sales can properly be attributed to the reorganization, it would be most helpful to find out which of the following EXCEPT:

(A) Two years ago, what proportion of the  Greenville Time 's total revenue was generated by advertising sales

(B) Has the circulation of the  Greenville Times  increased substantially in the last two years

(C) Has there been a substantial turnover in personnel in the advertising sales force over the last 2 years

(D) Before the reorganization, had sales representatives found it difficult to keep up with relevant developments in all types of businesses to which they are assigned?

(E) Has the economy in Greenville and the surrounding regions been growing rapidly over the last two years?

Source  :  GMATPrep Default Exam Pack

Same passage with different question from OG:  LINK

KarishmaB · Accepted Answer

Responding to a pm:

The argument boils down to this:
Advertising sales were declining. The paper reorganized the advertising sales team two yrs back. Advertising sales increased after reorganization. Now you want to figure out whether the increase actually happened due to the reorganization. So you need to evaluate what else could have caused the increase in sales. Say, if the lead of the sales team had changed 2 yrs back, it is possible that he is responsible for the increase in revenue rather than the reorganization. 4 of the 5 options will raise some such questions and the leftover option (which will be our answer) will have nothing to do with the increase in advertising sales.

A. Two years ago, what proportion of the Greenville Times’ total revenue was generated by
advertising sales?
The proportion of advertising sales as a part of total revenue is immaterial to us. We only need to evaluate why the advertising sales increased. It is possible that the revenue from other sources has increased much more than the revenue from advertising sales and hence advertising sales could be smaller proportion of the overall revenue now but it doesn't matter at all. This option has nothing to do with the increase in advertising sales and hence, is the answer.
Let's take a look at all the other options too.

B. Has the circulation of the Greenville Times increased substantially in the last two years?
If the circulation increased substantially, that could have led to increase in advertising sales instead of the reorganization.

C. Has there been a substantial turnover in personnel in the advertising sales force over the last
two years?
If there has been a substantial personnel turnover, better people could have been hired which could have led to higher advertising sales instead of reorganization.

D. Before the reorganization, had sales representatives found it difficult to keep up with relevant
developments in all types of businesses to which they are assigned?
Did reorganization make keeping track of relevant developments easier? It can help us evaluate whether reorganization was responsible for the increase in sales.

E. Has the economy in Greenville and the surrounding regions been growing rapidly over the last
two years?
If the economy has grown rapidly in the past two yrs, it could have been responsible for the higher advertising sales instead of reorganization.

Answer (A)

GMATNinja · Answer

Let's make sure we understand the given information:

The Greenville Times (GT) had several years of declining advertising sales. During that time, "the sales force was organized geographically, with some sales representatives concentrating on city-center businesses and others concentrating on different outlying regions." 
 Then, GT reorganized its advertising sales force by "having each sales representative deal with only one type of industry or of retailing." The goal of this reorganization was "to increase the sales representatives' knowledge of clients' businesses." 
 After the reorganization, revenue from advertising sales increased.

Was the subsequent increase in revenue from advertising sales a result of the reorganization? In answering that question, it would be helpful to find out each of the following EXCEPT (in other words, eliminate choices representing information that would be helpful):

We are trying to explain an  increase  in revenue from advertising sales, not a change to the  proportion  of GT's total revenue generated by advertising sales. This information would be irrelevant, so keep choice (A).

If the circulation of GT had increased substantially, we would expect that revenue from advertising sales would have also increased, regardless of whether the reorganization had any effect. Knowing this information  would  be helpful in determining whether the increase in revenue from advertising sales was a result of the reorganization, so eliminate (B).

If GT replaced many of their sales representatives, then the increase in revenue from advertising sales could have been a result of the change in personnel and NOT a result of the reorganization (i.e. perhaps the new sales representatives were better at their jobs than the old representatives were). Knowing this information  would  be helpful, so eliminate (C).

The goal of this reorganization was "to increase the sales representatives' knowledge of clients' businesses." In other words, rather than having to deal with a wide variety of businesses in a given geography, perhaps representatives could then thoroughly study one type of industry or retailing. This might allow the representatives to increase their knowledge of their clients' businesses.

However, what if, prior to the reorganization, the sales representatives had NOT found it difficult to keep up with relevant developments in all types of businesses to which they were assigned? In that case, the apparent benefit of the reorganization would have been unnecessary, and the reorganization probably would not have had an effect on revenue from advertising sales. Knowing this information  would  be helpful, so eliminate (D).

A growth in the economy in Greenville  might  explain the increase in revenue from advertising sales. In order to rule out this possibility, it would be helpful to find out the answer to this question, so eliminate (E).

(A) is the best answer.

bigoyal · Answer

I'll go with A

A. Two years ago, what proportion of the Greenville Time's toal revenue was generated by advertising sales?  - Argument already saying that advertising sales has increased. We need not bother about the proportion of sales 2 yrs back. 
B. Has the circulation of the Greenville Times increased substantially in the last two years?  -Can answer if the increase in sale is due to circulation increase or reorganization. 
C. Has there been a substantial turnover in personnel in the advertising force over the last two years?  - Provides answer to the question, if the efficiency of personnel has improved after reorganization 
D. Before the reorganization, had sales representatives found it difficult to keep up with relevant developments in all the types of businesses to which they were assigned?  - almost same as C 
E. Has the economy in Greenville and the surrounding regions been growing rapidly over the last two years? -  -Can answer if the increase in sale is due to growing economy or reorganization.

crackHSW · Answer

For evaluation questions the answer to question in correct choice should either strengthen or weaken the argument, here its an except question so 4 choices to check for.

A) Keep on hold

B) If the circulation has increased then the increased sales could be attributed to circulation and not necessarily reorg.  Weakens

C) If there is substantial turnover in person in Ad sales that means more people in sales have joined and as a result sales has shot up , reorg is not the necessary reason.  Weakens

D) If sales rep found it difficult to grasp business concept that means reorg has actually benefited the sales , cause now representatives will work on their core areas.  Strengthens

E) If economy has grown rapidly then one could attribute the increased sales to economic factors and not reorg.  Weakens

mejia401 · Answer

Reasoning:   re-organization -> advertising sales increased. Thus, The sales reorganization would NOT be likely the cause of the increased advertising revenue, if....(any answer choice that hurts the conclusion whether or not negated

A. Two years ago, what proportion of the Greenville Times’ total revenue was generated by advertising sales?  Correct. If the proportion of advertising sales to total revenue were low, the only the absolute value of sales would count. Even if the proportion of advertising sales to total revenue were high, like 99%, still only the absolute value of advertising sales would count. Thus, this would not be helpful. I've noticed that GMAT frequently interchanges absolute value and percents.

B. Has the circulation of the Greenville Times increased substantially in the last two years?   The sales reorganization would NOT be likely the cause of the increased advertising revenue, if the circulation has increased substantially.

C. Has there been a substantial turnover in personnel in the advertising sales force over the last two years?  The sales reorganization would NOT be likely the cause of the increased advertising revenue, if there has been increased turnover in the sales force. The reorganization is already committed to the fact that a sales force designated to an industry would have more expertise. Thus, they would eventually bring in greater advertising sales.

D. Before the reorganization, had sales representatives found it difficult to keep up with relevant developments in all types of businesses to which they are assigned?  Wrong - The sales reorganization would NOT be likely the cause of the increased advertising revenue, if the sales force did NOT have a difficult time to keep up with relevant developments.

E. Has the economy in Greenville and the surrounding regions been growing rapidly over the last two years?  The sales reorganization would NOT be likely the cause of the increased advertising revenue, if the economy in Greenville has been growing rapidly.

It's important to use negation techniques so as to understand the answer choice with the least amount of impact.
IMO A.

arvind910619 · Answer

The answer is A 
This is a very good question so let's analyse each option but first note that it is except question.
A correct .
We do not need this information 
The proportion might have remained the same or changed we do not know .
If the revenue was 100 dollars and sales from advertising was 50 dollars but today sales from advertising is still at 50 dollars and the total revenue is 75 so we see that the proportion changes but we can not conclusively infer anything from this .
B If the circulation increased then the revenue from advertising can be deducted .
C this is also relevent .
As it shows that reorganization was vital for the increase in revenue.
D yes this would show that the increase was due to reorganization.
E this would also help reorganization as people with more money would buy more after seeing advertising .

Sent from my ONE E1003 using  GMAT Club Forum mobile app

AD2GMAT · Answer

Why to assume that The Greenville Times (GT) is being circulated near The Greenville city - former is a name of a magazine, later is a city....
I opted E because of this assumption...
 GMATNinja  could you please help me to resolve this puzzle...

GMATNinjaTwo · Answer

The GMAT will not try to trick you on something like this (i.e. "Well the NEWSPAPER was called the Greenville Times, but it was actually circulated in New York City, so ha!"). That is not their style

Because no other city or region is mentioned in the passage, you can safely assume that the Greenville times is circulated in Greenville.

gvrk_77 · Answer

I think A is wrong.

Clearly it was mentioned that several years ago SALES were less, but not the revenue. and now it was mentioned that REVENUE is increased. So clearly we need to evaluate the revenue of two years back with revenue of now, which is option A.

where did i get wrong?

imyuva · Answer

I am confused between A and E. 
I don't know what "Greenville" refers. It is the city or newspaper. If it refers to city, we can say that this information is not useful in evaluating. 
If E statement were restructured as below, I would easily eliminate E.
E. Has the economy in Greenville Times been growing rapidly over the last two years?

GMATNinja · Answer

Greenville is the name of both the newspaper and the town.... just like the New York Times is a newspaper serving the New York region.

If advertising SALES were declining, then revenue  from advertising sales  was declining. "Sales" does not refer to the number of transactions. Rather, it refers to how much money they took in by selling ads. If you aren't convinced, the question stem itself confirms that ad sales have improved: "In assessing whether  the improvement in advertising sales ." You don't need to worry about scenarios that contradict the question stem itself.

So we can confidently assume that ad sales have been better since the reorganization, and we need to evaluate whether the reorganization caused that improvement. Knowing choice (A) wouldn't help us. Let's say I told you that two years ago, 75% of GT's revenue came from ad sales... does that help you evaluate whether the reorganization caused the improvement? Nope, so eliminate (A).

gmatexam439 · Answer

Hello GMATNinja , I hope you and junior ninja are doing good.

I have a doubt regarding option "E". I agree A isn't helping us evaluate the argument, but how can economy help me decide whether a firms sales increased? For example: India's economy is improving, yet Chevrolet had to close it's operations in India. "Economy" is a very broad term and can't be used to depict such figures as sales for a particular firm. We might be able to generalise for an industry, but for firm? --NO WAY !! Please throw some light on my doubt. Regards

GMATNinja · Answer

Hi gmatexam439 , the little ninja is doing well, thanks! She already has ninja-like eating skills.

I understand your concern with option (E)... even if the economy is doing well, that might not explain an increase in revenue from ad sales for GT. But remember what they are asking: If, for example, you are between choice (A) and choice (E), you have to decide which of two would be the least helpful. As you noted, choice (A) does not help at all. Does choice (E) help? Well, if we find out that the economy has NOT been growing rapidly, then we can rule out an alternative explanation for the data. That would be evidence that "the improvement in advertising sales can properly be attributed to the reorganization." But if the economy HAS been growing rapidly, then we have a possible alternative explanation. Does this PROVE that the improvement in advertising sales cannot properly be attributed to the reorganization? Absolutely not. But it certainly gives us a reason to doubt that theory. In other words, the answer to choice (E) certainly affects how we feel about that theory, so knowing that information would be helpful. I hope that makes some sense! Let us know if you still have doubts.

gmatexam439 · Answer

Hello GMATNinja sire, Good to know that. I hope she isn't favouring "bhindi masala" from the word go

Besides, yes I got your point. But it would be difficult to choose between the 2 in the real deal with the kind of pressure one has. But, I do want to see such questions in my exam because it would be indication that I am performing well

GMAT really plays game with a person's psychology !! Thank you for the prompt reply sire. Have a good day!

GMATNinja · Answer

It's been strange. She seems to favor milk, no matter how hard I try to feed her bhindi masala.

mrinalsharma1990 · Answer

Hi,

Could you please help me understand how circulation increases the advertising sales revenue? I am assuming that GT is a newspaper. Even if the number of people who read the newspaper increases from 1000 to 2000 the sales from advertising remains same right?

Could you please help me understand what I am missing here?

GMATNinja · Answer

Think of it this way: if you're a business owner, would you pay more to advertise in a small-town newspaper that is only read by 500 people, or in a popular, big-city newspaper that reaches 3,000,000 people every day? The whole point of advertising is to reach an audience of potential customers, and it makes perfect sense to pay more in order to reach a larger audience.

I hope that helps!

mrinalsharma1990 · Answer

Yes that makes complete sense. However doesn't that imply that the increase in circulation(which may be attributed to any reason such as quality of articles in the newspaper) has led to an increase in advertising by more clients willing to advertise in GT if that is the case then how has the reorganization contributed to increase in advertising sales.

Okay, I still typed out the entire sentence above, however half way through I paused and went and read your explanation again for why B is not the answer and I realized that knowing this information would be helpful in determining whether reorganization contributed to the increase in sales because if circulation increased then the reorganization probably did not contribute to the increase in sales. Am I right?

GMATNinja · Answer

You've gotten to the heart of what this question is asking us to do!

Knowing that there's an alternative cause for the increase in advertising sales  helps us evaluate the conclusion  (that reorganization caused the increase in advertising sales). However, we don't need to go any further than this.

Remember that our job here isn't to prove, strengthen, weaken, or refute the conclusion. We don't need to believe that the reorganization  probably did not contribute  to the increase in sales. In order to eliminate Choice (B), we only need to recognize that Choice (B) helps us assess the conclusion.

Following several years of declining advertising sales, the Greenville

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