Leonaann wrote:
1. Old strategy - by geography
2. New strategy(after reorganisation) - by industry
And we have to prove that as a result of the reorganisation, the sales of revenue increased.
And that's why I had chosen option C as my answer as it talked about industry. If C was valid, it would mean that the focus on industry helped as it accounted for the large proportion of newspaper sales? isn't this right? Could someone please help to explain why A is correct?
Quick note: the OA for this question is (B), so I'll explain why (B) is correct.
Take another look at the exact wording of the question: "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?"
This is different than saying we "have to prove that as a result of the reorganisation, the sales of revenue increased." We are not trying to prove anything, but rather
assess whether the the improvement in sales can be attributed to the reorganization. To do this, we are looking for a question that, if answered, would shed more light on the cause of the increase in advertising revenue.
With this in mind, take another look at (C):
Quote:
(C) Among all types of industry and retailing that use the Greenvile Times as an advertising vehicle, which type accounts for the largest proportion of the newspaper's advertising sales?
Would answering this question help us to assess whether the reorganization accounts for the increase in advertising revenue? Does it make a difference whether the "largest proportion of the newspaper's advertising sales" comes from restaurants, or clothing shops, or car dealerships, or any other type of industry?
Simply put: no, the answer to this question does not shed light on why the advertising revenues have increased. Any one of those options could account for the largest proportion of sales, and it would not affect our assessment of how the reorganization impacted the advertising revenue. (C) is out.
Now, look again at (B):
Quote:
(B) Has the circulation of the Greenvile Times increased substantially in the last two years?
Again, we need to ask: does answering this question help us to assess whether the reorganization accounts for the increase in advertising revenue?
If the circulation of the newspaper has increased substantially in the past two years, then maybe more retailers have elected to advertise their businesses in the paper. Or, maybe the newspaper can charge more for advertisements that are now reaching a greater audience. This provides an alternative explanation to the increase in advertising revenue -- maybe the increase had nothing at all to do with the reorganization of the sales representatives. This would weaken the argument that the improvement in advertising sales can properly be attributed to the reorganization.
If, on the other hand, the circulation has
not increased substantially in the past two years, then this alternative explanation would not be introduced. The argument that the improvement in advertising sales can properly be attributed to the reorganization would be stronger if circulation has not increased substantially.
Finding out the answer to the question posed in (B) would help us assess whether the reorganization accounts for the increase in advertising revenue, so (B) is the correct answer.
I hope that helps!
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