The Japanese system of kanban (just-in-time inventory control), credit

Question

New Project RC Butler 2019  -  Practice 2 RC Passages Everyday   
Passage # 69, Date : 07-MAR-2019
 This post is a part of New Project RC Butler 2019 .  Click here for Details

The Japanese system of  kanban  (just-in-time
inventory control), credited for much of the
Japanese automobile industry's success in the
1980s, may be falling out of favor. The large-scale
 (5)  demands of international trade reward more
planned schedules of production and have led to 
a reintroduction of an old friend: the specialized
worker.

The conflict between most marketing and production
 (10)  departments is well documented. Marketing
departments need to respond quickly to changing
customer wants and needs; production departments
need to plan their production on a two- week schedule
with each department informing 
 (15)  other departments of its backlogs, inventories
and outputs. To make the  kanban  system work
however, the manufacturers had to train production
employees to shift on a moment's notice to any
job in the factory, as needed, thus diminishing
 (20)  the role of the specialized worker.

But  kanban  may have caused its own demise. By
being so efficient and responsive, Japanese auto-
mobile manufacturers find themselves confronted
with a large and predictable global demand.
 (25)  Requests for automobiles are increasing at such
a steady rate that managers can now determine 
production schedules up to ten months in advance
and, as a result, workers no longer need to jump
from position to position. Since long-term 
 (30)  scheduling has become possible, 
productivity has risen 27 percent.   1 
 C 
 1. It can be inferred from the passage that the conflict between marketing departments and production departments

A. resulted from both departments’ failure to communicate concerning backlogs, inventories, and outputs.
B. led to the training of marketing employees in the  kanban  system, enabling them to shift rapidly to any job in the factory.
C. stemmed from the production department’s need to schedule and the marketing department’s need to respond quickly.
D. rested on the shortened two-week timeframe of the  kanban  system.
E. was the primary reason for the lack of success of the Japanese automobile industry in the 1980s.

2 
 D 
 2. The author cites the productivity increase of 27 percent in order to

A. prove the argument that  kanban  workers are more efficient than specialized workers.
B. provide an example of how rapid response to global demands can improve productivity.
C. argue against the reintroduction of the specialized worker.
D. support the thesis that predictable demand may encourage an otherwise less efficient practice.
E. challenge the theory that  kanban  workers are less efficient in a global market.

3 
 B 
 3. It can be inferred from the passage that specialized workers

A. require more training than employees under the  kanban  system.
B. play a more limited role in the  kanban  system.
C. are useful only when long-term planning becomes possible.
D. respond to changes in demand quickly and efficiently.
E. handle backlog and inventory problems more efficiently than do  kanban -trained workers.

4 
 E 
 4. The passage is primarily concerned with

A. pointing out the variety of management styles at work in the automobile industry.
B. establishing  kanban  as a viable option in the automobile industry.
C. illustrating the effects of  kanban  on employee training.
D. showing that  kanban  can work only in the Japanese automobile industry.
E. describing how a business practice can render itself obsolete.

5 
 D 
 5. According to the passage, the reintroduction of the specialized worker is seen as a

A. benefit of coordination between production managers and production workers
B. problem created by the over-efficiencies of the  Kanban  system
C. result of modernized training techniques developed in Japan
D. return to an earlier system of worker organization
E. failure of the  Kanban  system to respond to increasing global demand

6 
 D 
 6. It can be inferred from the passage that workers who are trained for multiple jobs within an automobile factory

A. are unnecessary when long-term scheduling becomes possible
B. are useful in their ability to inform other departments of inventory, backlog or output problems
C. find their jobs threatened by the reintroduction of the specialized worker
D. enable manufacturers to respond rapidly to changes in consumer demand
E. play a more significant role since global demand has become large and predictable

7 
 A 
 7. Which of the following, if true, would most undermine the author's argument?

A. Technological developments made during the same period that long-term planning became possible made automobile plants worldwide an average of thirty-percent more efficient.
B. The  Kanban  system of inventory control was originally designed in American supermarkets and was only later adapted for the automobile industry.
C. Strikes, a common United States automobile industry phenomenon, are nearly unheard of in the Japanese automobile industry.
D. While gaining a larger market share in the United States during the 1980s, Japanese automobile manufacturers faced declining global demand for their product.
E. Workers who move from position to position express a higher degree of job satisfaction than do workers who are trained in one specialized task.

Manas1212 · Answer

1. It can be inferred from the passage that the conflict between marketing departments and production departments
Answer: Marketing Department adapts to the changes in the market,while Production Department deals with planned(as it informs other departments of things it needs 2 weeks before 2 weeks) activities.

A. resulted from both departments’ failure to communicate concerning backlogs, inventories, and outputs.  Hell,No 
B. led to the training of marketing employees in the kanban system, enabling them to shift rapidly to any job in the factory.  Carefully Constructed to get you hooked.Production Employees get trained to adapt to the changes suggested by Marketing Department) 
C. stemmed from the production department’s need to schedule and the marketing department’s need to respond quickly.  Yeah 
D. rested on the shortened two-week time-frame of the kanban system.  Nope. 
E. was the primary reason for the lack of success of the Japanese automobile industry in the 1980s.  Nope

2. The author cites the productivity increase of 27 percent in order to
The 3rd passage tells us how the Process of Kanban has caused it's own demise.
Since kanban has made Japanese automobile so efficient and responsive that , the industry can plan it's demand up to next 10 months,and It does not require the kanban practice anymore.
A. prove the argument that kanban workers are more efficient than specialized workers.
B. provide an example of how rapid response to global demands can improve productivity.
C. argue against the reintroduction of the specialized worker.
 D. support the thesis that predictable demand may encourage an otherwise less efficient practice. 
E. challenge the theory that kanban workers are less efficient in a global market.

3. It can be inferred from the passage that specialized workers

A. require more training than employees under the kanban system.  No where in passage, it is stated as such. 
 B. play a more limited role in the kanban system. 
C. are useful only when long-term planning becomes possible.  This is extreme. Specialized Workers can be useful in other than long-term planning works. 
D. respond to changes in demand quickly and efficiently.  Opposite of what we learnt 
E. handle backlog and inventory problems more efficiently than do kanban-trained workers.  Out of scope

4. The passage is primarily concerned with

A. pointing out the  variety  of management styles at work in the automobile industry.
B. establishing kanban as a  viable  option in the automobile industry.
C. illustrating the  effects of kanban on employee training. 
D. showing that kanban can work  only  in the Japanese automobile industry.
E. describing how a business practice can render itself obsolete.

We are just told about a single practice in automobile Industry,how it works and how it has caused it's own demise. So D

Kaustubh30 ,  AmarRajput

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Kaustubh30   AmarRajput

Official Explanation

THE FOUR-STEP APPROACH

Don’t think of this as “reading comprehension”; think of it as an open-book test. The answers to each question are somewhere in the passage—your job is to find them as quickly as you can.

Step 1: Read and Understand the Question

This is very important: Read the question first. Don’t just skim the question; really make sure you grasp what it’s asking you. Most of the time you’ll just need to locate a specific piece of information in the passage and use it to answer the question. Ignore the answer choices for now—they’ll distract you. When you read through the passage for the first time, you can save time by concentrating only on finding the main idea. You should also get a general idea of what’s where in the passage. Don’t worry about learning every detail because you can refer to the passage as you answer the questions.

Step 2: Find the Answer in the Passage

Refer to the passage again, this time keeping the question in mind. Look for the term or idea around which the question centers. To help you locate the term quickly, use your knowledge of what’s where in the passage that you gained from your first reading. When you’ve found the correct part of the passage read it carefully. Don’t just read the sentence that contains the term—read the ones immediately before and after it for maximum comprehension.

Step 3: State the Answer in Your Own Words

Now reread the question (not the answer choices) and answer it in your own words, based on what you just read. Write down your answer on your note board so you can refer to it.

Step 4: Apply Process of Elimination (POE)

Finally you can look at the answer choices. Read each one carefully; if it is similar to what you jotted down, keep it. If not, eliminate it. (You can also use POE to eliminate answer choices, for more obvious reasons—more on this later. If none of the answer choices matches, the idea that the question centers on might also be discussed in another place in the passage. Return to the passage and look for such a place. You also might have misread something; remember that it is okay to refer to the passage

1. It can be inferred from the passage that the conflict between marketing departments and production departments

Explanation

Step 1: Read and Understand the Question. 
Marketing departments and production departments is your key phrase; the question asks you what caused the conflict between them. Write something to this effect on your note board.

Step 2: Skim the Passage. 
You will find your key words in the second sentence of the second paragraph. Read the sentences before and after this sentence (so the first and third).

Step 3: Answer the Question in Your Own Words. 
Reread the question and answer it in your own words. For example, you may have written, the departments had different needs. One of the answer choices should match that pretty closely.

Step 4: Apply Process of Elimination.  
Now let’s look at each answer choice individually and eliminate those that don’t sound close to what you’ve written down as your answer. Go ahead and write ABCDE on your note board.

A  No. The passage never stated that the two departments failed to communicate.  Eliminate it. 
 B  No. This is a misrepresentation of information in the passage. Production employees, not marketing employees, were trained to “shift on a moment’s notice to any job in the factory.”
 C    Yes  . This is directly stated in the part of the passage that you read.
 D  No. Kanban solved the problem; it didn’t create it.  Eliminate it. 
 E  No, just the opposite. It was a primary factor in the success of the industry in the 1980s.  Eliminate it.

C is the correct answer.

2. The author cites the productivity increase of 27 percent in order to

Explanation

This question asks about what the author does, so you need to be conscious of just how short a GMAT passage is. The author has only about 250 words—he can illustrate, illuminate, and elucidate; display, discuss, or divulge. The author cannot prove, refute, resolve, or define—not in 250 words. So keep that in mind as you work through your Four-Step Approach, and especially as you use POE.

A  No. The word prove makes this answer choice too extreme.  Eliminate it. 
 B  No. Rapid response is no longer needed because scheduling is long term.  Eliminate it. 
 C  No. According to the passage, there is no reason to argue against the reintroduction of the specialized worker.  Eliminate it. 
 D    Yes  . This shows that specialized workers, an otherwise less efficient organizational choice, can function well under long-term scheduling. Keep it.
 E  No. No such theory is ever posited.  Eliminate it.

The correct answer is choice D.

3. It can be inferred from the passage that specialized workers

Explanation

A question like the one above can be tricky. If you had insisted on reading and committing to memory every word in the passage, then every answer choice would have sounded good. But thankfully, you remembered to use the key phrase, specialized workers, and so you’ll concentrate only on the part of the passage containing that phrase.

A  No. Training is never mentioned in the passage.  Eliminate it. 
 B    Yes.   The passage states this. Keep it.
 C  No. The word only makes this answer choice extreme.  Eliminate it. 
 D  No. Marketing departments must respond to changes quickly.  Eliminate it. 
 E  No. Handling backlog problems efficiently is not discussed anywhere in the passage.  Eliminate it.

Answer choice B is the best answer.

4. The passage is primarily concerned with

Explanation

The phrase primarily concerned is very similar to the main idea, author’s purpose, or main theme. Reviewing the answers you jotted down for the previous three questions should be enough to give you a sense of the passage’s main idea.

A  No. This answer choice is too broad. The passage is about kanban, not the automobile industry as a whole.  Eliminate it. 
 B  No. The passage cannot “establish kanban as a viable option,” because kanban has been in use for over a decade. Furthermore, it is unlikely that a 250-word GMAT reading comprehension passage will be the definitive authority on anything.  Eliminate it. 
 C  No. This is too specific. The passage mentions employee training (among other things), but employee training is not the primary topic of the passage. Eliminate it.
 D  No. The word only makes this answer choice too extreme. Remember that GMAC will not credit an answer choice that’s so easy to disprove. Eliminate it.
 E    Yes  . This is the main purpose of the passage, and it is summed up nicely in the first paragraph.

E is the best answer.

Hope this Helps

sahilsharma2107 · Answer

Hey Sajjad, can you throw some light on the difficulty level of the questions? TIA

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Question #1: 600
Question #1: 700
Question #1: 650
Question #1: 600

Overall: 650

Hope it helps

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Added question number 5, 6 and 7. Bumping up for further discussion.

Anshuman0902 · Answer

hey expert ! 
can someone explain why E is wrong in question number 7 ?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Hi Anshuman0902

Remember one thing: the demand of the question.

7. Which of the following, if true, would  most undermine  the author's argument?

If someone picked up E it means he or she might went with the author's point of thinking, by reading the passage we come to know that technological developments and the changing demands in the markets are unfavorable for specialized person.  Lines 16-20  clearly states this. What E says is:

E. Workers who move from position to position express a higher degree of job satisfaction than do workers who are trained in one specialized task.

meaning the workers who move from position to position are a good fit for the job to meet the changing demands of customers in the market and that the specialized workers are at disadvantage. So option E strengthen the author's argument instead of weakening it.

Thank you

VerbalBot · Answer

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The Japanese system of kanban (just-in-time inventory control), credit

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