According to the passage, the research mentioned in line 6 suggests which of the following about lower-ranked top executives and postacquisition success?
(A) Given that these executives are unlikely to contribute to postacquisition success, little effort should be spent trying to retain them.
-this choice simply goes beyond what was said in the passage
-is it necessarily true that they are ‘unlikely to contribute to postacquisition success’? That’s a strong claim to be making…
-there’s also no mention of how much effort should be spent on retaining them…
(B) The shorter their length of service, the less likely it is that these executives will play a significant role in postacquisition success.
-this line of reasoning applies to the top-level executives
-still, even if it did consider the top-ranked executives, the choice is inaccurate…according to the UEP view…these individuals are more adaptable and could actually play a significant role in success (but of course we learn in the second paragraph that this strategy is not optimal (for unknown reasons) at least according to Bergh)
(C) These executives are less important to postacquisition success than are more highly ranked top executives.
Correct
(D) If they have long tenures, these executives may prove to be as important to postacquisition success as are more highly ranked top executives.
-maybe, maybe not…but that’s not what the passage says
(E) Postacquisition success is unlikely if these executives are retained.
-again another strong claim that is unwarranted
The resource-based view, as described in the passage, is based on which of the following ideas?
(A) The managerial skills of top executives become strongest after the first five years of their tenure. X
(B) Company-specific knowledge is an important factor in the success of an acquisition process.
-Correct. This is exactly what the view is about: “idiosyncratic and nontransferable knowledge of the acquired company”.
(C) The amount of nontransferable knowledge possessed by long-tenured top executives tends to be underestimated.
-X underestimated is incorrect
(D) Effective implementation of an acquisition depends primarily on the ability of executives to adapt to change.
-this is the UEP view…I think it would be a mistake to suggest that longer-tenured executives aren’t adaptable, but that seems to be what this passage is implying
(E) Short-tenured executives are likely to impede the implementation of a successful acquisition strategy.
-again the RBV is about longer-tenured execs.
The passage suggests that Bergh and a proponent of the upper echelons perspective would be most likely to disagree over which of the following?
(A) Whether there is a positive correlation between short organizational tenure and managerial adaptability X
(B) Whether there is a positive correlation between long organizational tenure and the acquisition of idiosyncratic and nontransferable knowledge X
(C) Whether adaptability is a useful trait for an executive who is managing an acquisition process X
(D) Whether retaining less-tenured top executives of an acquired company is an optimal strategy for achieving postacquisition success
-Correct…I think this is the safe choice
-however, please note that the second paragraph is a disaster in writing…it never actually goes on to mention any reasons why the RBV is better than the UEP (at least nothing that we didn’t already know from the first paragraph)…in other words, the second paragraph is superficial at best
(E) Whether retaining highest-level top executives of acquired companies is more important than retaining lower-ranked top executives
-no…I think it’s clear that top-level executives are something they agree about …where they start splitting hairs on is length of tenure.
According to the passage, prior to Bergh’s study, research on the role of top executives of acquired companies in business acquisition success was limited in which of the following ways?
(A) It did not address how the organizational tenure of top executives affects postacquisition success.
-Correct
(B) It did not address why some companies have longer-tenured CEOs than others.
-no…false…the WHY was never in focus in the passage
(C) It did not consider strategies for retaining long-tenured top executives of acquired companies.
-strategies is wrong
(D) It failed to differentiate between the contribution of highest-level top executives to postacquisition success and that of lower-ranked top executives.
-contribution is wrong…not the focus
(E) It underestimated the potential contribution that lower-level top executives can make to postacquisition success.
-no mention of this
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