Most large corporations in the United States were once run by individu

Hey All,

I just wanted to weigh in here, as there seems to be a discussion about the best way to improve on RC. I really have to weigh in against whoever said that you shouldn't take notes. Note taking is necessary, for a few reasons. First of all, studies show that you retain information much better just when holding a pen in your hand. The knowledge that you're going to force yourself to take notes WILL make you read better. Also, on longer passages, it can serve as a useful outline. Finally, note taking is a process you can improve at. If all you do is hundreds of questions, your gut may get better, but you have no process that can get streamlined. Take notes!

However, most people take notes incorrectly. I'd say the biggest mistake I see in class is students who try to write down the whole passage. This is time-consuming, and counter-productive. The idea is that you're decocting the passage down to its most important elements, not making a cheat sheet for a test (i.e. writing down all the facts in shorthand). As an example, here's how I would outline the passage at issue here.

Main Idea: To explain ways in which institutional investors can be encouraged to think long term, rather than short term.

Paragraph 1: History leading to present state. Investors more concerned with short term because uninvolved in day to day.

Paragraph 2: Ways to improve: make companies more active day to day, able to hold majority share, and announce sale in advance.

That right there is NOT much writing. You cannot argue that this is "too time consuming" to be worth doing. Remember that this is called Reading Comp for a reason. It's not just READING, but COMPREHENSION. If you take notes like a reader, you're not going to do well, and it's going to feel like a pointless exercise. If you take notes like a COMPREHENDER, you're going to find yourself doing better and better. Learn how to take notes that are entirely paraphrased, brief, and focused entirely on structure (rather than being bogged down in content/facts). I promise this will help.

Good luck!

Tommy Wallach
ManhattanGMAT

p1: to state/ describe the impact on productivity / long-term growth of companies as a result of investor base changes from individual capitalist to institutions and short-term traders
p2: to argue that since the return of capitalists is unlikely a number of measures need to be implemented to change the way existing players invest

Q1
The author is primarily concerned with arguing in favour of implementing specific measures that prevent loss and promote growth of companies.
A is incorrect as the author isn't concerned with comparing
B is correct because in P1 a problem is described and in P2 a solution is proposed
C is incorrect because the author merely mentions an older method and criticises current methods
D is incorrect as no data is presented.
E is incorrect because the author only presents his analysis, no one else

Q2
P1 describes majority shareholders.
Individual capitalists once held, what is inferred as, majority stock such that they dictated company policy to promote long-term gain.
Now, institutions hold the majority of stock, collectively, but individually they are prohibited from owning majority stock and thus influencing company decision making. So it may be inferred that in a classical sense, A Majority shareholder does not exist.

Based on the author's recommendations we know that shareholders NOW are prevented from holding a dominant shareholder position and aren't encouraged to participate in operations.

A is incorrect because we are told that the majori
B this would seem counter to what is bein
C is correct as it is stated in the second sentence of the first para. that "because putting such large amounts of stock on the market would only depress its value..."
D is incorrect because we don't know this. Essentially we are told that majority shareholders chase productivity because THEY CANT sell for a quick profit, but we don't know whether they are more interested in profits.
E no - this is a suggestion made by the author not a requirement

Q3
The requirement in question is that ">=25% equity holders should be forced to give the public one day's notice of the intent to sell the shares". Based on what we know, any significant shareholding sold at once could depreciate the value of the shares or lead others into thinking the motives behind selling are based on expectations of anticipated future losses.

A - no the requirement is to prevent this not encourage it. Incorrect.
B - no, the requirement is related to value, not influence.
C - Yes. This is the only rational thought here that substantiates the motive .
D - No, again the requirement in question is to prevent value fluctuations
E - no. Worst answer of the lot.


Q4
What we know of the old-style capitalist is largely contained in P1:
- they couldn't sell for short-term profit
- they dominated the board and dictated company policy
- they focused on longer-term gains via productivity improvements

A is incorrect. The author is actually encouraging a move towards the management techniques. We also don't know whether these capitalists exist anymore, so "they now" is wrong.
B is the only thing that's supported.. Its inferred that they NEVER engaged in short-term trading, but for someone to "typify" "old-capitalist" style that someone could plausibly "rarely" or (seldom) short-term trade.
C we don't know this. We only know that they influenced company policy.
D it is inferred that the capitalists don't exist in "since the return..", so it would be hard to substantiate whether they play ANY role.
E is completely false - for the facts given.

Q5
A is incorrect. No assertion or statement is made.
B it is stated that these individuals "could not sell out for a quick profit and instead...concentrated on improving the long-term productivity of their companies". Thus it MUST be TRUE that LT Productivity improvements led to increased profits.
C There could be 1 majority capitalist, 100x smaller investors, so this is hardly assumed.
D this isn't assumed, the author merely states that doing so would depreciate the value significantly he didn't say there was NEVER short-term trading
E this isn't assumed. We are merely told that individuals held majority stock. What if a corporation held 1% of the stock?

Q6
They role difference is that Individual institutions do not actively participate in company decision making and their investment strategies are more short-term and speculative.
A is not suggested. They could invest in only 1 company.
B is correct
C is not supported. No mention of brokers.
D is completely false. We are told the opposite in fact.
E how can this substantiate the difference between capitalists and institutions? It relates to motives of institutions.

Q7
Primary function of the second para is explained in the map above.
A - this is false. See map above
B - does not align. See map above
C - no. See map above
D - no. Not to evaluate but to suggest them.
E - Yes. To recommend actions.

Q8
A. Although in p1 it states that "these institutions are prohibited by antitrust laws from owning a majority of a company's stock....". We only know that, "with a few exceptions, the majority of stock is held by institutions", so we cannot assume that antitrust laws apply to individuals as they do institutions.
B. No. This is a recommendation made, not fact.
C. No. We cannot deduce this based on the info given. We are only told of the role capitalists undertook in such decision making.
D. Although a "large amount" is confusing - what is "amount"? we are only told of proportions throughout - this answer is correct as generally we are told of preventions that inhibit short term profit and we are also told of the effects that stem from majority shareholder dumping.
E. This is really muddled statement as it confuses a lot of things said.
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88. B
89. C
90. C
91. B
92. B
93. B
94. E

89. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following is true of majority shareholders in a corporation?
(A) They make the corporation's operational management decisions. They can dictate policy but operational decisions were not made by them ( day to day decisions)
(B) They are not allowed to own more than fifty percent of the corporation's stock. this has not been discussed in the passage
(C) They cannot make quick profits by selling their stock in the corporation.Passage discusses this for capitalists : Because putting such large amounts of
(5) stock on the market would only depress its value, they
could not sell out for a quick profit and instead had to
concentrate on improving the long-term productivity of
their companies.
& explicitly states this for minority shareholder nt for the institutional "A
minority shareholder is necessarily a short term trader."

(D) They are more interested in profits than in productivity. these last two r just to fill options
(E) They cannot sell any of their stock in the corporation without giving the public advance notic.

92. It can be inferred that the author makes which of the following assumptions about the businesses once controlled
by individual capitalists?
(A) These businesses were less profitable than are businesses today.
(B) Improving long-term productivity led to increased profits.
lines in the passage says" United States productivity is unlikely to
improve unless shareholders and the managers of the
companies in which they invest are encouraged to
(20) enhance long-term productivity (and hence long-term
profitability), rather than simply to maximize short term
profits."
This shld clear your doubt
(C) Each business had only a few stockholders.
(D) There was no short-term trading in the stock of these businesses.
(E) Institutions owned no stock in these companies.

Talking abt 90, passage says in lines 30 -33 that
"any institutionthat holds twenty percent or more of a company's
stock should be forced to give the public one day's
notice of the intent to sell those shares. " If they have to provide a notice prior to sale of stocks the, news of sale is already in the market and stock price will go down by the news of sale, more so by disclosing the -ve reason of the sale of stock,Thus, if and only if you have a +ve reason eg. Fund raising fr expansion then only you will go for sale; so this is to discourage short term profit making

Thus only c is right

Thanks Vageesh 4 ur help. I understood clearly where I made mistakes.

My problem is that I cannot recall the whole paragraph when I attempt questions n do lot of mistakes. I get only 50% correct answers everytime no matter what I do. I also did lot of practice on making short note of each para. but that also did not helped me because its time consuming. I already tried many other techniques on RC section bt my avg. performance is 50%. Can u plz suggest any foolproof method so that I get @ least 80% of what I do for now.

Thnx,
Bhartiindia.

Bharti.. i also have made similar mistakes in the past, but never tried to make notes as i really find that distracting, but now i have improved in tough passages too just because of continuous practice. I would suggest you two things
1) Do 2-3 passages in one sitting and pls do this practice at time when ur concentration is at its best.
2) Keep doing the first, dnt give up.
Results will come up
One more thing which is imp is to read passage with interest while focusing on the qualifiers.

If you have enough time then read different topics frm nytimes & economist.
Good luck

Thanks Tommy for your advice, i will try that again, but it all depends on how well one masters this technique.. having said that one always has to go back & see the passage for detailed info. But i give points to you when you talk about longer passages, As you are an Instructor, must be having some logic will try this method today again.

I disagree on number 89. Answer C

The question states "Which of the following IS true of the majority sharholders in a corporation". Answer C refers to the individuals that could not sell large amounts of stock on the market. Those individuals once ran most large corporations (in the past.) I went for B, as the passage states that antitrust legislation bans ownership of a majority. Furthermore, the passage states that any institution that holds twenty percent or more of a company's stock SHOULD be forced to give the public one day's notice of the intent to sell those shares.

I really appreciate any comments on my post

Regards

Adding one more question:
The passage supports which of the following statements?
(A) Antitrust laws prevent any single shareholder from acquiring a majority of the stock in a corporation.
(B) Institutions that intend to sell a large block of stock in a single corporation must give at least twenty-four hours notice of the sale.
(C) In most corporations it is the board of directors rather than the corporate managers who make policy decisions.
(D) The sudden sale of a large amount of stock in any one corporation makes the value of the stock go down.
(E) The way corporations are currently run, it is unlikely that increased productivity would lead to short-term increases in stock values.
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For the passage i got 89 th and 92 incorrect. For each passage i comprehend i get either 2 or 1 answer as incorrect.
I am still not able to get all answers correct for any of my practiced passage. On average i take 12 mins to solve a passage.
I follow taking short rough notes for each para and once i have finished the passage i go through the notes for say 45 to 60 secs
before attempting questions. I aim to finish a para in 9 mins with maximum 1 incorrect options.
Any suggestions would be helpful as i am not improving with the accuracy.

Is the answer to the above question A or B ??
Please specify the reason for the correct answer

I think the answer here is D. To me, the contenders were D and E.

Going through the choices, my thought process was:

A - antitrust laws apply to large institutions only, and the answer of 'any single shareholder' is too broad.
Today, with few exceptions, the stock of large United States corporations is held by large institutions-pension funds, for example-and because these institutions are prohibited by antitrust laws from owning a majority of a company's stock

B - this is a proposal, not a law or regulation, so the passage does not support this choice. This is in the second paragraph.

C - this choice is a tough one. The passage doesn't make explicit the nexus between policy decisions and the board or managers; the only mention is in the first sentence of the passage. But I think the last sentence of the first paragraph implies management are responsible for policy decisions - there's no mention of the board in making decisions. Or put another way, you need to negate the answer by making an inference, and here it's that boards may provide company policy but it's management that makes the decisions.
As a result, United States productivity is unlikely to improve unless shareholders and the managers of the companies in which they invest are encouraged to enhance long-term productivity (and hence long-term profitability), rather than simply to maximize short term profits.

D - I think the relevant line was too clear, making me more than suspicious that I've selected the wrong answer!
Because putting such large amounts of stock on the market would only depress its value, they could not sell out for a quick profit and instead had to concentrate on improving the long-term productivity of their companies.

E - this one looks like a stretch. Using the final line of the first paragraph (again), my take is that companies are currently run to maximise short term profits, but there is no linking of productivity and stock values in the short term. If I was looking for a way to negate the answer, putting on my investor hat, I'd say investors are influenced by quarterly earnings (or similar) so any news that companies are trying to increase productivity should increase the stock price.

As I note above, E was one of my contenders. My rationale at rejecting the answer was that the passage refers only to long-term productivity, so we have nothing about short-term productivity to draw any inferences. It also helps that the relevant part of the passage for choice D was pretty clear (I think it is!). Still, my answer, and therefore my reasoning, could be wrong.

I would love to know the answer for this one if someone is willing to help out.

Responding to a pm:


The passage tells us that "Because putting such large amounts of stock on the market would only depress its value, they could not sell out for a quick profit and instead had to concentrate on improving the long-term productivity of their companies".
So the capitalists could not make profits by selling the stock on the market and hence had to focus on productivity. This implies that higher productivity led to increased profits and that is how the capitalists made profit. Hence (B) is true.



There are multiple references to (D):
Because putting such large amounts of stock on the market would only depress its value,
Unless the announced sale could be explained to the public on grounds other than anticipated future losses, the value of the stock would plummet

Hence the passage supports (D)
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Hi VeritasKarishma



The correct answer choice uses the present tense while in passage, 'would' is used (kind of prediction).

Can you please give your inputs whether if such deviation is allowed?

Thanks a lot.

P1 - situation old and new times, + productivity
P2 - laws around to improve today's situation.

1. In the passage, the author is primarily concerned with doing which of the following?

(B) Describing a problem and proposing a solution

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2. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following is true of majority shareholders in a corporation?

In addition, any institution that holds twenty percent or more of a company's stock should be forced to give the public one day's notice of the intent to sell those shares.

(C) They cannot make quick profits by selling their stock in the corporation.

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3. According to the passage, the purpose of the requirement suggested in lines 30-33 [In addition, any institution that holds twenty percent or more of a company's stock should be forced to give the public one day's notice of the intent to sell those shares.] would be which of the following?

Unless the announced sale could be explained to the public on grounds other than anticipated future losses, the value of the stock would plummet and, like the old-time capitalists, major investors could cut their losses only by helping to restore their companies' productivity.

(C) To discourage short-term profit-taking by institutional stockholders

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4. The author suggests that which of the following is a true statement about people who typify the “old-style capitalist" referred to in line 23?
P2 is all on these lines.
(B) They seldom engaged in short-term trading of the stock they owned.

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5. It can be inferred that the author makes which of the following assumptions about the businesses once controlled by individual capitalists?

Because putting such large amounts of stock on the market would only depress its value, they could not sell out for a quick profit and instead had to concentrate on improving the long-term productivity of their companies

(B) Improving long-term productivity led to increased profits.

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6. The author suggests that the role of large institutions as stockholders differs from that of the “old-style capitalist” in part because large institutions

P2 is around this.
(B) are prohibited by law from owning a majority of a corporation’s stock
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7. The primary function of the second paragraph of the passage is to

(E) recommend actions

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8. The passage supports which of the following statements?

(D) The sudden sale of a large amount of stock in any one corporation makes the value of the stock go down.
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Could someone please explain Question 2/8 and also 8/8? I chose D initially for the last question and changed my answer to A. For me, the biggest turnoff from choice D was the word "single". I was trying to nitpick between A and D and assumed individual shareholder referred to one of the large institutions mentioned. Either way, I wish the wording on the answer choices for those 2 options showed a greater contrast as I knew what I was looking for by was stumped between nearly 2 identical choices. For question 2, I could not find the pertinent information from the passage to support an answer.

Hey regarding choice B. I'm not sure it is correct to assume here that a passage needs to support an assertion only if it is a law/regulation? This is too centric to this particular passage talking about laws while the question is a generic one. Moreover, the passage does support this with a clear statement. (The author is suggesting it in the passage, thus the passage is supporting it?) Thoughts here?GMATNinja

Can someone please explain why in Q5 option D is wrong?
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The passage suggests that only large capitalists or institutions could not make profits by putting too.many shares on the sale ( in para 1) but nothing is stated about people owning less no. Of stocks ( they can still.play the short term profitability game )

I hope.this helps

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Hi,

Can someone explain q4?

Thanks in advance.