Manufacturing technicians and engineers favor product teardowns, the

2. Which of the following actions does the passage most strongly suggest helped the medical products company lower the cost of manufacturing its electronic device?

Explanation

The passage most strongly suggests that scaling back the options given to customers helped the medical products company lower the cost of manufacturing its electronic device. Therefore, the correct answer is (E).

According to the passage, the engineers at the medical products company had assumed that offering customers various options in the product's design was advantageous. However, the salespeople reported that customers rarely took advantage of this capability. This information came to light during the discussions sparked by the product teardowns, where the configurations of competitors' electronic circuit boards were observed.

As a result of these conversations, the team identified the need to simplify the product's circuitry. By scaling back the options given to customers and streamlining the design, the company was able to significantly lower manufacturing costs. This indicates that reducing the complexity and customization options of the device played a crucial role in cost reduction.

The passage highlights how the product teardowns facilitated cross-departmental discussions and allowed different perspectives to converge. This ultimately led to the realization that the previous emphasis on offering multiple options to customers was unnecessary and costly. By simplifying the product's circuitry and scaling back the options, the company was able to optimize manufacturing costs without compromising the overall functionality or performance of the device.

Therefore, the passage strongly suggests that E. scaling back the options given to customers was the action that helped the medical products company lower the cost of manufacturing its electronic device.

Answer: E

3. Based on the passage, it is most likely that the senior executives of the medical products company mentioned in the second paragraph

Difficulty Level: 650

Explanation

A. There is no evidence in the passage to suggest that the senior executives believed this prior to implementing teardowns. The passage mentions that the engineers assumed a modular approach was advantageous, and the simplification of the product's circuitry resulted from discussions during the teardowns.

B. There is no indication in the passage that the senior executives were unaware of the engineers' modular approach. The passage mentions that discussions during teardowns led to engineers reevaluating their assumptions and making changes to the product's design.

C. The passage doesn't provide information about the senior executives' prior experience with teardowns. It focuses on the fact that many senior executives in manufacturing tend to discourage teardowns, but it doesn't explicitly mention the experience of the senior executives in the medical products company.

D. This is the correct answer. The passage mentions that many senior executives discourage teardowns by viewing them as unsupervised exercises for engineers or cost-cutting tactics for the purchasing department. However, the senior executives of the medical products company did not share this view; instead, they invited employees from various departments to participate in teardowns.

E. There is no information in the passage to suggest that the motivation for implementing teardowns was primarily driven by customer feedback. The passage emphasizes the inclusive approach of involving employees from various departments to compare products and generate ideas for improvement.

Answer: D