The geese that gather at the pond of a large corporation create a haza

Question

The geese that gather at the pond of a large corporation create a hazard for executives who use the corporate helicopter, whose landing site is 40 feet away from the pond. To solve the problem, the corporation plans to import a large number of herding dogs to keep the geese away from the helicopter.

Which of the following, if a realistic possibility, would cast the most serious doubt on the prospects for success of the corporation’s plan?

(A) The dogs will form an uncontrollable pack.

(B) The dogs will require training to learn to herd the geese.

(C) The dogs will frighten away foxes that prey on old and sick geese.

(D) It will be necessary to keep the dogs in quarantine for 30 days after importing them.

(E) Some of the geese will move to the pond of another corporation in order to avoid being herded by the dogs.

ID 16803

I thought "E" but that is not correct? Could someone help me understand why "E" is wrong?

Also please explain the choice that you think is correct?

Thanks
Ravi

GMATNinja · Accepted Answer

The exact wording of the passage and answer choices are key to understanding why (A) correct and (C) is not.

First, note that the plan is to import a large number of " herding  dogs" -- this implies that the plan is not necessarily to  terrify  the geese, but to herd them away from the helicopter and the rather wimpy corporate executives.

With this understanding, take another look at (A):
 
If the dogs form an uncontrollable pack, how will they herd the geese away from the helicopter? Sure, they may still frighten the geese -- but they would be just as likely to frighten the geese  toward  the helicopter as away from it. Or the dogs could just run away altogether, leaving the geese to continue menacing the corporate executives. The plan in the passage relies on the dogs performing a very specific task --  keeping the geese away from the helicopter.  If they form an uncontrollable pack, they are unlikely to naturally perform this specific task.

(A) casts doubt on whether the plan will be successful, so keep it for now.

Now look at (C):
 
Think about the timeline implied by this answer choice:  before  the imported dogs arrive, the geese are a hazard to corporate executives,  even though  foxes are preying on the old and sick members of the flock. This tells us that the old and sick geese are NOT the primary problem -- the younger and/or healthier geese are the ones threatening our precious executives!

So, by frightening away the foxes that prey on the old and sick geese, the dogs are not necessarily making the situation worse. Furthermore, if the dogs are successful at keeping the geese away from the helicopter, this would presumably include ALL of the geese -- the old and sick as well as the young and healthy. So, the fact that foxes will no longer prey on the old and sick geese does not have a significant impact on how successful the plan will be.

(C) does not cast doubt on the plan's potential for success, so eliminate (C).

Note that we are not looking for an answer choice that spells absolute doom for the plan in question -- we just need to determine which answer choice "cast  the  most serious doubt  on the prospects for success of the corporation’s plan."

(A) casts the most doubt on the plan's potential for success, so (A) is the correct answer.

I hope that helps!

ChrisLele · Answer

The problem the corporation is dealing with is animals getting in the way of the helicopter launching pad. At present the culprits are the geese. If we bring in herding dogs to keep the geese away from the helipad that would be a great solution...unless the herding dogs get in the way of the helipad. And how can that happen? Well, if the dogs are uncontrollable and run around everywhere.

(A) speaks directly to this. So it is the answer.

(E) does NOT undermine the plan. Remember: the plan is to keep the helipad clear. If some geese go running off to another pond then they are clearly not blocking the helipad. If (E) were the case, it would strengthen the plan of bringing in herding dogs to keep geese away from the helipad.

Hope that helps

AbeinOhio · Answer

A - I think this is best - if this is true the plan will not work 
 B - Corporation will probably be OK with providing training 
 C - irrelevant as it talks about old and sick geese only 
 D - there is no mention of needing to solve the problem within the next 30 days so irrelevant 
 E - this would solve the problem of this corporation so why would they care if the geese move - this actually strengthens the argument

caljwill · Answer

(A) The dogs will form an uncontrollable pack -  interesting, can we assume the uncontrollable pack will be a hazard? We'll come back to this one

(B) The dogs will require training to learn to herd the geese. -  This doesn't seem like a major hurdle, so this one is out

(C) The dogs will frighten away foxes that prey on old and sick geese. -  hmmm... well if there are no more foxes, than old and sick geese may still be a hazard. We'll come back to this one

(D) It will be necessary to keep the dogs in quarantine for 30 days after importing them.(A) -  Again, this doesn't seem like a major hurdle, as there are no particular time constraints outlined in the prompt, so this one is out

(E) Some of the geese will move to the pond of another corporation in order to avoid being herded by the dogs. -  We aren't really concerned about another corporation's pond, so this is irrelevant and also out

Ultimately this comes down to Choices A & C.

A seems a little questionable to me, as an uncontrollable pack of herding dogs certainly COULD be a hazard, but it isn't necessarily a problem if they stay away from the Helipad.

C, however, at second glance isn't as solid as it seemed originally. While less foxes may mean the old and sick geese are not eliminated as quickly, we have no evidence to suggest the herding dogs would be any less effective at scaring them away than any of the other geese.

Ultimately, the answer must be A (full disclosure, I originally chose C). I still feel A is a bit weak, as we are required to make an assumption that the uncontrollable pack will also create a hazard, but this seems like a reasonable assumption to make, and at the very least, is more reasonable to make than to assume the old and sick geese will someone be immune to the herding dogs.

dcummins · Answer

The plan is to import a large number of dogs to herd and keep the geese away from the helicopter. (herd is implicit in the name herding dog).

We are asked to weaken the probability the plan will work. 
A is correct - if the dogs cant be controlled then they can't be used to herd the geese; thus, the plan will fail.
B points out a barrier to achieving the goal, but doesn't point out a fatal flaw. Incorrect
C may trick the reader into thinking that foxes are a greater prey on the geese. This may be true, but this still doesn't debunk the plan as the geese can be herded away still. 
D this is another barrier to the plan, but it doesn't point out why the plan could fail. 
E actually tells us the plan will work, so this is obviously wrong.

ArtVandaley · Answer

Isnt the arguement focused on solving the problem created by geeze?

Problem statement: The geese that gather at the pond of a large corporation create a hazard for executives 
Expected outcome : To solve the problem
Method : Get dogs

Now between A & C, A says that the dogs could be uncontrollable. Still, they still may be able to frighten the geeze and solve the problem. Not a definite weakener. 
C says that they may terrify those agents geeze are afraid of. So it gives a possibility that geeze will roam around more freely. Could be a weakener. Though a very mild one. But still better than A IMO.

Besides, How come dogs becoming uncontrollable and hence posing the threat a problem within the scope of the arguement?

Can experts share insights?  egmat   mikemcgarry   GMATNinja

ScottK · Answer

A--> The only answer choice that makes sense

B--> So what, they need to provide training
C--> We are not worried about the foxes and we are not only worried about the old sick geese. In fact, the old sick ones are likely not the problem.
D--> Keeping dogs in quarantine for 30 days is not discussed as an issue in the statement. There is no time table discussed. Irrelevant.
E--> If the geese move to another pond that is not a problem of this company. Irrelevant.

A--> Correct. If the dogs form an uncontrollable pack that could even render the helicopter pad unusable for the company as they may be more afraid of the dogs than they are worried about the geese.

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The geese that gather at the pond of a large corporation create a haza

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