Now is an excellent time to invest in the catering business. A survey

TWIN QUESTION: https://gmatclub.com/forum/now-is-an-ex ... 12996.html
_________________

The answer choice that undermines our decision to invest in the catering business would be correct.

(A) The average wedding reception involves between 50 and 100 guests.
Does not matter how many guests are in the wedding ---- our premise says that only 55% can be served to remain 45% still need to be catered to. So demand exists and we are not able to supply------> we can still harvest profits

(B) Approximately a quarter of all weddings take place without a reception.

Same reason as for A. 75% weddings will have reception and we can still serve 20% of weddings (55% are already catered to) and harvest profits

(C) Approximately a quarter of all weddings and their associated receptions are paid for by the couples themselves.
Method of payment is irrelevant.

(D) Only half of all catered wedding receptions include sit-down meals.
Irrelevant how eating happens is none of our concern as long as we can harvet our profits.


(E) Only half of those who say they want a catered wedding reception actually have one.
Correct. So, this means that only 35% of people surveyed actually have a wedding that requires catering. Already 55% receptions are catered to so, demand < supply ----> not a good investment option.


IMHO , E it is
_________________

We've to undermine the conclusion that the catering business is currently an excellent area of investment.

Option A: Wrong. We are only told that the caterers currently can serve nearly half of the weddings likely to occur each year. Number of guests in a wedding reception is not discussed in the argument, so how many guests are served in each wedding reception is not our concern. Thus, this statement has no impact on the discussion.

Option B: Wrong. Let say 100 weddings happen every year, so approximately 75 of them have a reception. Since, according to the information provided in the argument, caterers can serve only 55 of such weddings, so this option increases our belief in the argument that there's scope to enter the catering business.

Option C: Wrong. Who pays for the wedding reception is out of scope of our discussion.

Option D: Wrong. Types of meal do not impact our discussion.

Option E: Right. As per this option, only 35% of the magazine's readership will actually have a catered wedding reception. Since we already know that nearly 55% of all wedding in a year can be served by the caterers, supply is more than the demand in this sector, thus weakening the conclusion that catering business currently offers great investment opportunities.

Premise: A survey conducted by Weddings magazine found that 70 percent of the magazine’s readers want a catered wedding reception.
Premise: An analysis of the catering industry, however, shows that the current number of caterers can serve only 55 percent of the weddings likely to occur each year.
Conclusion: Now is an excellent time to invest in the catering business.

Which of the following, if true, would undermine the validity of the investment advice in the paragraph above?

The author has made the assumption that there are no offsetting factors that will cause the plan fail. In survey questions we can ask whether the sample is a good one?

(A) The average wedding reception involves between 50 and 100 guests.
This answer choice has no affect the strength of the argument. It doesn't matter how many guests attend the reception.

(B) Approximately a quarter of all weddings take place without a reception.
This answer choice is a pseudo weakener. It is connected to the argument, but we have to be careful not to be fooled by these traps.So even if a quarter of all weddings take place without a reception, the fact remains that 70% of the readers want a reception.

(C) Approximately a quarter of all weddings and their associated receptions are paid for by the couples themselves.
This answer choice is incorrect for the same reason as (A)

(D) Only half of all catered wedding receptions include sit-down meals.
This answer choice is incorrect for the same reason as (A)

(E) Only half of those who say they want a catered wedding reception actually have one.
This answer choice clearly weakens the argument. This answer choice shows that the sample used to arrive at conclusion wasn't a good one. If 100 people responded and 70 said that they want a reception, in reality only 35 of them want a reception.

Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
_________________