Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Nov 2007:30 AM PST
-08:30 AM PST
Learn what truly sets the UC Riverside MBA apart and how it helps in your professional growth
Nov 2001:30 PM EST
-02:30 PM IST
Learn how Kamakshi achieved a GMAT 675 with an impressive 96th %ile in Data Insights. Discover the unique methods and exam strategies that helped her excel in DI along with other sections for a balanced and high score.
Nov 2206:30 AM PST
-08:30 AM PST
Let’s dive deep into advanced CR to ace GMAT Focus! Join this webinar to unlock the secrets to conquering Boldface and Paradox questions with expert insights and strategies. Elevate your skills and boost your GMAT Verbal Score now!
Nov 2211:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Do RC/MSR passages scare you? e-GMAT is conducting a masterclass to help you learn – Learn effective reading strategies Tackle difficult RC & MSR with confidence Excel in timed test environment- Nov 23
11:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Attend this free GMAT Algebra Webinar and learn how to master the most challenging Inequalities and Absolute Value problems with ease. 
Nov 2407:00 PM PST
-08:00 PM PST
Full-length FE mock with insightful analytics, weakness diagnosis, and video explanations!
Nov 2510:00 AM EST
-11:00 AM EST
Prefer video-based learning? The Target Test Prep OnDemand course is a one-of-a-kind video masterclass featuring 400 hours of lecture-style teaching by Scott Woodbury-Stewart, founder of Target Test Prep and one of the most accomplished GMAT instructors.
19 Sep 2023, 10:15
Kudos
Bookmarks
Question 1
E
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:
60% (02:38) correct
40%
(02:58) wrong
based on 533
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:
15%
(low)
Question Stats:
79% (01:13) correct 21%
(01:40) wrong
based on 505
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Question 3
D
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
15%
(low)
Question Stats:
76% (01:09) correct 24%
(01:35) wrong
based on 509
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Manufacturing technicians and engineers favor product teardowns, the time-honored practice of dismantling products-their own firm's and its competitors'-to spark fresh thinking. Yet few manufacturers get the full value that teardowns afford. Many senior executives discourage the practice, and by viewing teardowns as unsupervised exercises for engineers or cost-cutting tactics for the purchasing department, they retard creativity and leave the ideas generated in teardowns unexplored.
Not so for a medical products company that used teardowns to improve its electronic medical device. To foster new ideas, the company's senior executives invited employees from the purchasing, marketing, engineering, and sales departments to compare their product to rival products. Seeing the products together allowed the purchasing department to quickly identify simple design changes that, while invisible to customers, significantly lowered manufacturing costs.
Additionally, seeing the configurations of competitors' electronic circuit boards spurred the team to discuss the manufacturing implications of the company's modular approach to design. The engineers had long assumed that letting customers, when purchasing, select various options was advantageous and had emphasized this in the product's design. Yet the salespeople reported that customers rarely took advantage of the capability. The conversations ultimately led to simplifications in the product's circuitry, significantly lowering costs, and also helped marketers identify a new customer segment where the product might command a higher price.
Not so for a medical products company that used teardowns to improve its electronic medical device. To foster new ideas, the company's senior executives invited employees from the purchasing, marketing, engineering, and sales departments to compare their product to rival products. Seeing the products together allowed the purchasing department to quickly identify simple design changes that, while invisible to customers, significantly lowered manufacturing costs.
Additionally, seeing the configurations of competitors' electronic circuit boards spurred the team to discuss the manufacturing implications of the company's modular approach to design. The engineers had long assumed that letting customers, when purchasing, select various options was advantageous and had emphasized this in the product's design. Yet the salespeople reported that customers rarely took advantage of the capability. The conversations ultimately led to simplifications in the product's circuitry, significantly lowering costs, and also helped marketers identify a new customer segment where the product might command a higher price.
1. Which of the following actions does the passage most strongly suggest helped the medical products company lower the cost of manufacturing its electronic device?
A. Adding novel high-performance features to the product
B. Using the same electronic circuit board designs as its competitors
C. Ensuring that changes to the device were invisible to customers
D. Redirecting its marketing strategies
E. Scaling back the options given to customers
A. Adding novel high-performance features to the product
B. Using the same electronic circuit board designs as its competitors
C. Ensuring that changes to the device were invisible to customers
D. Redirecting its marketing strategies
E. Scaling back the options given to customers
2. The information in the passage provides the most support for which of the following statements about what the salespeople reported having observed in relation to customer behavior (see highlighted text)?
A. The senior executives of the medical products company had previously been aware of what the salespeople reported having observed.
B. The salespeople, in reporting their observations, were focused primarily on generating new customer segments for the marketers.
C. The salespeople's observations called into question one of the engineers' assumptions about the design of the company's device.
D. The salespeople were themselves surprised by what they had observed.
E. In reporting as they did, the salespeople did not intend to advocate changes in the design of the company's device.
A. The senior executives of the medical products company had previously been aware of what the salespeople reported having observed.
B. The salespeople, in reporting their observations, were focused primarily on generating new customer segments for the marketers.
C. The salespeople's observations called into question one of the engineers' assumptions about the design of the company's device.
D. The salespeople were themselves surprised by what they had observed.
E. In reporting as they did, the salespeople did not intend to advocate changes in the design of the company's device.
3. Based on the passage, it is most likely that the senior executives of the medical products company mentioned in the second paragraph
A. believed prior to implementing teardowns that the electronic circuitry of their device needed to be simplified
B. were unaware of the engineers' modular approach to the design of their device
C. had little experience with the successful implementation of teardowns
D. did not believe teardowns were bound to be unsupervised exercises for engineers or cost-cutting tactics by the purchasing department
E. were motivated to implement teardowns primarily by customer feedback
A. believed prior to implementing teardowns that the electronic circuitry of their device needed to be simplified
B. were unaware of the engineers' modular approach to the design of their device
C. had little experience with the successful implementation of teardowns
D. did not believe teardowns were bound to be unsupervised exercises for engineers or cost-cutting tactics by the purchasing department
E. were motivated to implement teardowns primarily by customer feedback
21 Sep 2023, 06:46
Kudos
Bookmarks
Explanation for Question 1
1. Which of the following actions does the passage most strongly suggest helped the medical products company lower the cost of manufacturing its electronic device?
Scanning the passage for "lower the cost," we find the following in the third paragraph:
So, we'll start in the third paragraph when looking for information for answering this question.
A. Adding novel high-performance features to the product
The passage says nothing about "adding novel high-performance features."
Eliminate.
B. Using the same electronic circuit board designs as its competitors
This choice is a little tricky to eliminate because the passage does say the following related to competitors' circuit boards.
So, the team's seeing competitors' circuit boards did result in changes to the company's circuitry.
Notice, however, that this choice goes beyond what the passage says in that this choice says that the company used "the SAME electronic circuit board designs as its competitors." The passage does not say or imply that the company used same circuitry. In other words, "simplifications in the product's circuitry" is different from using the "same" design.
So, this choice is not supported.
Eliminate.
C. Ensuring that changes to the device were invisible to customers
This trap choice is tricky because the passage says the following about "invisible to customers":
So, making the changes invisible to customers could seem to be associated with "lowered manufacturing costs."
Notice, however, that what actually lowered the manufacturing costs was "simple design changes." The fact that the changes were invisible to customers was just a feature of the changes that likely allowed the company to maintain sales of the product. Ensuring that the changes were invisible didn't result in lower manufacturing costs.
Eliminate.
D. Redirecting its marketing strategies
Regarding "marketing," the passage says the following:
So, "redirecting its marketing strategies" resulted in a "higher price" rather than in lower costs.
Eliminate.
E. Scaling back the options given to customers
Scanning the third paragraph for "options," we find the following:
We see that conversations about the fact that customers rarely took advantage of "options" led to "simplifications" that resulted in "lowering costs."
We can understand from that information that the "simplifications" that ""helped the medical products company lower the cost of manufacturing" involved "scaling back the options given to customers."
The correct answer is (E).
Explanation for Question 2
2. The information in the passage provides the most support for which of the following statements about what the salespeople reported having observed in relation to customer behavior (see highlighted text)?
To answer this question, we can reread the highlighted text "the salespeople reported that customers rarely took advantage of the capability" and also the nearby sentences to get a sense of what's going on with that highlighted text.
A. The senior executives of the medical products company had previously been aware of what the salespeople reported having observed.
The passage gives us no reason to believe that senior executives of the company had previously been aware of what the salespeople reported.
In fact, what the passage says tends to suggest that only the salespeople were aware of what they observed since it says, "The engineers had long assumed that letting customers, when purchasing, select various options was advantageous."
Eliminate.
B. The salespeople, in reporting their observations, were focused primarily on generating new customer segments for the marketers.
While the passage does say, "The conversations ... helped marketers identify a new customer segment where the product might command a higher price," the passage does not say that the salespeople were "focused primarily" on that outcome."
Eliminate.
C. The salespeople's observations called into question one of the engineers' assumptions about the design of the company's device.
Scanning the sentences around the highlighted text, we see the following:
We see that what the salespeople reported indeed "called into question" the engineers' assumption that "letting customers, when purchasing, select various options was advantageous."
Keep.
D. The salespeople were themselves surprised by what they had observed.
The passage says only that the salespeople "reported" what they had observed. It does not say that they were "surprised" by it.
Eliminate.
E. In reporting as they did, the salespeople did not intend to advocate changes in the design of the company's device.
The passage doesn't make clear what the salespeople intended. However, it does say that the salespeople reported what they had observed in the context of the situation "seeing the configurations of competitors' electronic circuit boards spurred the team to discuss the manufacturing implications of the company's modular approach to design."
So, the conversation in which the salespeople reported what they had observed was related to design. Thus, if anything, the salespeople were at least thinking about design when they reported what they had observed.
Eliminate.
The correct answer is (C).
Explanation for Question 3
3. Based on the passage, it is most likely that the senior executives of the medical products company mentioned in the second paragraph
A. believed prior to implementing teardowns that the electronic circuitry of their device needed to be simplified
Scanning the second paragraph for "senior executives," we find the following:
So, the passage implies that the idea that the circuitry needed to be simplified was one of the "new ideas" that were fostered by the teardowns, not something the senior executives believed "prior to" the teardowns.
Eliminate.
B. were unaware of the engineers' modular approach to the design of their device
The passage does not indicate whether senior executives were or were not aware of the modular approach to the design.
It does say that the teardowns "spurred the team to discuss the manufacturing implications of the company's modular approach to design," but having a new discussion about the modular approach and not being aware of it are two different things.
Eliminate.
C. had little experience with the successful implementation of teardowns
The passage says that the senior executives initiated the teardowns "to foster new ideas." The fact that the ideas and the teardowns were new doesn't mean that the senior executives were new to teardowns.
Eliminate.
D. did not believe teardowns were bound to be unsupervised exercises for engineers or cost-cutting tactics by the purchasing department
Scanning the passage for "unsupervised exercises" and "cost-cutting tactics," we find the following:
So, the passage says that "many senior executives view teardowns as "unsupervised exercises" or "cost-cutting tactics," but the situation was "no so" as this company. In other words, the executives at this company did not view teardowns as, in other words, "did not believe teardowns were bound to be," unsupervised exercises or cost-cutting tactics.
Keep.
E. were motivated to implement teardowns primarily by customer feedback
The passage does mention what salespeople said about customers, but not as a motivation for the teardowns. The only reason given for the teardowns is "to foster new ideas."
Eliminate.
The correct answer is (D).
1. Which of the following actions does the passage most strongly suggest helped the medical products company lower the cost of manufacturing its electronic device?
Scanning the passage for "lower the cost," we find the following in the third paragraph:
- The conversations ultimately led to simplifications in the product's circuitry, significantly lowering costs
So, we'll start in the third paragraph when looking for information for answering this question.
A. Adding novel high-performance features to the product
The passage says nothing about "adding novel high-performance features."
Eliminate.
B. Using the same electronic circuit board designs as its competitors
This choice is a little tricky to eliminate because the passage does say the following related to competitors' circuit boards.
- seeing the configurations of competitors' electronic circuit boards spurred the team to discuss the manufacturing implications of the company's modular approach to design. ... The conversations ultimately led to simplifications in the product's circuitry
So, the team's seeing competitors' circuit boards did result in changes to the company's circuitry.
Notice, however, that this choice goes beyond what the passage says in that this choice says that the company used "the SAME electronic circuit board designs as its competitors." The passage does not say or imply that the company used same circuitry. In other words, "simplifications in the product's circuitry" is different from using the "same" design.
So, this choice is not supported.
Eliminate.
C. Ensuring that changes to the device were invisible to customers
This trap choice is tricky because the passage says the following about "invisible to customers":
- Seeing the products together allowed the purchasing department to quickly identify simple design changes that, while invisible to customers, significantly lowered manufacturing costs.
So, making the changes invisible to customers could seem to be associated with "lowered manufacturing costs."
Notice, however, that what actually lowered the manufacturing costs was "simple design changes." The fact that the changes were invisible to customers was just a feature of the changes that likely allowed the company to maintain sales of the product. Ensuring that the changes were invisible didn't result in lower manufacturing costs.
Eliminate.
D. Redirecting its marketing strategies
Regarding "marketing," the passage says the following:
- The conversations ... helped marketers identify a new customer segment where the product might command a higher price
So, "redirecting its marketing strategies" resulted in a "higher price" rather than in lower costs.
Eliminate.
E. Scaling back the options given to customers
Scanning the third paragraph for "options," we find the following:
- The engineers had long assumed that letting customers, when purchasing, select various options was advantageous and had emphasized this in the product's design. Yet the salespeople reported that customers rarely took advantage of the capability. The conversations ultimately led to simplifications in the product's circuitry, significantly lowering costs
We see that conversations about the fact that customers rarely took advantage of "options" led to "simplifications" that resulted in "lowering costs."
We can understand from that information that the "simplifications" that ""helped the medical products company lower the cost of manufacturing" involved "scaling back the options given to customers."
The correct answer is (E).
Explanation for Question 2
2. The information in the passage provides the most support for which of the following statements about what the salespeople reported having observed in relation to customer behavior (see highlighted text)?
To answer this question, we can reread the highlighted text "the salespeople reported that customers rarely took advantage of the capability" and also the nearby sentences to get a sense of what's going on with that highlighted text.
A. The senior executives of the medical products company had previously been aware of what the salespeople reported having observed.
The passage gives us no reason to believe that senior executives of the company had previously been aware of what the salespeople reported.
In fact, what the passage says tends to suggest that only the salespeople were aware of what they observed since it says, "The engineers had long assumed that letting customers, when purchasing, select various options was advantageous."
Eliminate.
B. The salespeople, in reporting their observations, were focused primarily on generating new customer segments for the marketers.
While the passage does say, "The conversations ... helped marketers identify a new customer segment where the product might command a higher price," the passage does not say that the salespeople were "focused primarily" on that outcome."
Eliminate.
C. The salespeople's observations called into question one of the engineers' assumptions about the design of the company's device.
Scanning the sentences around the highlighted text, we see the following:
- The engineers had long assumed that letting customers, when purchasing, select various options was advantageous and had emphasized this in the product's design. Yet the salespeople reported that customers rarely took advantage of the capability.
We see that what the salespeople reported indeed "called into question" the engineers' assumption that "letting customers, when purchasing, select various options was advantageous."
Keep.
D. The salespeople were themselves surprised by what they had observed.
The passage says only that the salespeople "reported" what they had observed. It does not say that they were "surprised" by it.
Eliminate.
E. In reporting as they did, the salespeople did not intend to advocate changes in the design of the company's device.
The passage doesn't make clear what the salespeople intended. However, it does say that the salespeople reported what they had observed in the context of the situation "seeing the configurations of competitors' electronic circuit boards spurred the team to discuss the manufacturing implications of the company's modular approach to design."
So, the conversation in which the salespeople reported what they had observed was related to design. Thus, if anything, the salespeople were at least thinking about design when they reported what they had observed.
Eliminate.
The correct answer is (C).
Explanation for Question 3
3. Based on the passage, it is most likely that the senior executives of the medical products company mentioned in the second paragraph
A. believed prior to implementing teardowns that the electronic circuitry of their device needed to be simplified
Scanning the second paragraph for "senior executives," we find the following:
- To foster new ideas, the company's [color=#0000ff]senior executives invited employees from the purchasing, marketing, engineering, and sales departments to compare their product to rival products. Seeing the products together allowed the purchasing department to quickly identify simple design changes that, while invisible to customers, significantly lowered manufacturing costs.[/color]
So, the passage implies that the idea that the circuitry needed to be simplified was one of the "new ideas" that were fostered by the teardowns, not something the senior executives believed "prior to" the teardowns.
Eliminate.
B. were unaware of the engineers' modular approach to the design of their device
The passage does not indicate whether senior executives were or were not aware of the modular approach to the design.
It does say that the teardowns "spurred the team to discuss the manufacturing implications of the company's modular approach to design," but having a new discussion about the modular approach and not being aware of it are two different things.
Eliminate.
C. had little experience with the successful implementation of teardowns
The passage says that the senior executives initiated the teardowns "to foster new ideas." The fact that the ideas and the teardowns were new doesn't mean that the senior executives were new to teardowns.
Eliminate.
D. did not believe teardowns were bound to be unsupervised exercises for engineers or cost-cutting tactics by the purchasing department
Scanning the passage for "unsupervised exercises" and "cost-cutting tactics," we find the following:
- Many senior executives discourage the practice, and by viewing teardowns as unsupervised exercises for engineers or cost-cutting tactics for the purchasing department, they retard creativity and leave the ideas generated in teardowns unexplored.
Not so for a medical products company
So, the passage says that "many senior executives view teardowns as "unsupervised exercises" or "cost-cutting tactics," but the situation was "no so" as this company. In other words, the executives at this company did not view teardowns as, in other words, "did not believe teardowns were bound to be," unsupervised exercises or cost-cutting tactics.
Keep.
E. were motivated to implement teardowns primarily by customer feedback
The passage does mention what salespeople said about customers, but not as a motivation for the teardowns. The only reason given for the teardowns is "to foster new ideas."
Eliminate.
The correct answer is (D).
General Discussion
