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Sub 505 Level|   Business|   Short Passage|                        
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The passage is structured like this:

(1) earlier situation (generally), new situation (generally)
(2) & (3) support (in the form of a particular example) for the new situation

So, for the second question, we could take a look at the second part of the first paragraph.
Quote:
Today, however, the largest payoffs may go to companies that lead in developing integrated approaches for successful mass production and distribution.
(a) The passage indicates that approaches for mass production and distribution are important. Making cheaper versions does not necessarily fit the mass production/distribution bit that the passage focuses on. For example, take a look at
Quote:
Despite Beta’s substantial technological head start and the fact that VHS was neither technically better nor cheaper than Beta
(price might be a great differentiator in reality, but not "according to the passage")
(b) This is the old approach (the opposite of what we're looking for).
(c) Just meeting standards already set does not fit the mass production/distribution bit.
(d) This is the old approach (the opposite of what we're looking for).
(e) Correct.

For the fifth question, we need to find an option that presents a situation similar to the one given in the question (manufacturers of VHS VCRs and manufacturers of videotapes).
(a) This is between manufacturers of the initial product. We need another party to make something that goes into (in this case) an automobile.
(b) Not a good fit for the situation. A tape is something that is combined with the VCR regularly to get the package to work. Glass sounds like a much more long term component (when it comes to automobiles).
(c) Correct. Pretty good fit. A specific type of fuel for a new engine. Regularly added to cars, and is consumed by cars, just as VCRs tend to chew up tape :).
(d) This is the initial design itself and does not involve two products that fit each other.
(e) An advertising campaign again does not involve two products that fit each other.
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Traditionally, the first firm to commercialize a new technology has benefited from the unique opportunity to shape product definitions, forcing followers to adapt to a standard or invest in an unproven alternative. Today, however, the largest payoffs may go to companies that lead in developing integrated approaches for successful mass production and distribution.

Producers of the Beta format for videocassette recorders (VCRs), for example, were first to develop the VCR commercially in 1975, but producers of the rival VHS (Video Home System) format proved to be more successful at forming strategic alliances with other producers and distributors to manufacture and market their VCR format. Seeking to maintain exclusive control over VCR distribution, Beta producers were reluctant to form such alliances and eventually lost ground to VHS in the competition for the global VCR market.

Despite Beta's substantial technological head start and the fact that VHS was neither technically better nor cheaper than Beta, developers of VHS quickly turned a slight early lead in sales into a dominant position. Strategic alignments with producers of prerecorded tapes reinforced the VHS advantage. The perception among consumers that prerecorded tapes were more available in VHS format further expanded VHS's share of the market. By the end of the 1980s, Beta was no longer in production.
The author implies that one way that VHS producers won control over the VCR market was by
A) carefully restricting access to VCR technology
B) giving up a slight early lead in VCR sales in order to improve long-term prospects
C) retaining a strict monopoly on the production of prerecorded videotapes
D) sharing control of the marketing of VHS format VCRs
E) sacrificing technological superiority over Beta format VCRs in order to remain competitive in price


According to the passage, today's successful firms, unlike successful firms in the past, may earn the greatest profits by
(A) investing in research to produce cheaper versions of existing technology
(B) being the first to market a competing technology
(C) adapting rapidly to a technological standard previously set by a competing firm
(D) establishing technological leadership in order to shape product definitions in advance of competing firms
(E) emphasizing the development of methods for the mass production and distribution of a new technology


The passage is primarily concerned with which of the following?
A) Evaluating two competing technologies
B) Tracing the impact of a new technology by narrating a sequence of events
C) Reinterpreting an event from contemporary business history
D) Illustrating a business strategy by means of a case history
E) Proposing an innovative approach to business planning


The alignment of producers of VHS format VCRs with producers of prerecorded videotapes is most similar to which of the following?
A) The alignment of an automobile manufacturer with another automobile manufacturer to adopt a standard design for automobile engines
B) The alignment of an automobile manufacturer with an automotive glass company whereby the manufacturer agrees to purchase automobile windshields only from that one glass company
C) The alignment of an automobile manufacturer with a petroleum company to ensure the widespread availability of the fuel required by a new type of engine developed by the manufacturer
D) The alignment of an automobile manufacturer with its dealers to adopt a plan to improve automobile design
E) The alignment of an automobile dealer with an automobile rental chain to adopt a strategy for an advertising campaign to promote a new type of automobile




Hello,
I'd like to know your thoughts (mainly why you would not go for certain answer choices) in arriving at the final answer for this RC set of questions.
Thank you for your help.
Best wishes.
**************


Hi mikemcgarry,

Can you please help with Q4. The alignment of producers of VHS format VCRs with producers of prerecorded videotapes is most similar to which of the following?

Thanks :-)
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Hi csaluja,
My 2 cents for why optiopn B cannot be the answer for Q4.
Nowhere in the passage it is stated that VHS producers GAVE UP a slight early lead in VCR sales in order to improve long-term prospects. The passage states that VHS producers received advantage of consumers' perception that prerecorded tapes were more available in VHS format because of their strategic alignments with producers of prerecorded tapes. This situation turned their slight early lead in sales into a dominant position.

Hope this helps..!!
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can anyone explain me why option C is incorrect for questn 4 ? .This is from the last passage -
"Strategic alignments with producers of prerecorded tapes reinforced the VHS advantage."
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Hi CharuSingh26

"Strategic alignments with producers of prerecorded tapes reinforced the VHS advantage." This doesn't implies retaining a strict monopoly.Instead retaining the Strict Monopoly was the plan of VCR's

From these sentences of second paragraph "but producers of the rival VHS (Video Home System) format proved to be more successful at forming strategic alliances with other producers and distributors to manufacture and market their VCR format. ", we can conclude that the Answer is D and not C.

Hope this helps.

Give Kudos if this helps!


CharuSingh26
can anyone explain me why option C is incorrect for questn 4 ? .This is from the last passage -
"Strategic alignments with producers of prerecorded tapes reinforced the VHS advantage."
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P1 - early adapt new tech is good. not true today. good approach matters.
P2 - example on P1.
P2 - How approach was really good.


1. The passage is primarily concerned with which of the following?

(A) Evaluating two competing technologies - p2
(B) Tracing the impact of a new technology by narrating a sequence of events - less coverage. it should be more general terms.
(C) Reinterpreting an event from contemporary business history - no
(D) Illustrating a business strategy by means of a case history - Yes; its about right tech with good biz.
(E) Proposing an innovative approach to business planning - no
------------------------------------------

2. According to the passage, today’s successful firms, unlike successful firms in the past, may earn the greatest profits by
Ans - implementing good biz strategy.
(E) emphasizing the development of methods for the mass production and distribution of a new technology - yes
------------------------------------------
3. According to the passage, consumers began to develop a preference for VCR’s in the VHS format because they believed which of the following?
Ans - The perception among consumers that prerecorded tapes were more available in VHS format further expanded VHS’s share of the market.
(D) VHS prerecorded videotapes were more available than Beta-format tapes.
------------------------------------------

4. The author implies that one way that VHS producers won control over the VCR market was by
Ans - Strategic alignments with producers of prerecorded tapes reinforced the VHS advantage.
(D) sharing control of the marketing of VHS-format VCR’s
------------------------------------------
5. The alignment of producers of VHS-format VCR’s with producers of prerecorded videotapes is most similar to which of the following?
(C) The alignment of an automobile manufacturer with a petroleum company to ensure the widespread availability of the fuel required by a new type of engine developed by the manufacturer.
-------------------------------------------

6. Which of the following best describes the relation of the first paragraph to the passage as a whole?
Ans - P1 gives the base to whole passage.
(A) It makes a general observation to be exemplified. --- yes ofcource general observation and later it was exemplified.
(B) It outlines a process to be analyzed. --- no process as such
(C) It poses a question to be answered. -- no question for sure.
(D) It advances an argument to be disputed. --- seems no argument here.
(E) It introduces conflicting arguments to be reconciled -- no.
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Hello,
can someone explain Q5 pls?
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Hello,
can someone explain Q5 pls?
have you checked this answer?

https://gmatclub.com/forum/traditionall ... l#p1990295
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AjiteshArun

For Q-4 The author implies that one way that VHS producers won control over the VCR market was by -

How can we translate "Strategic alignments with producers of prerecorded tapes reinforced the VHS advantage" to Marketing and not Strict Monopoly

A strategy can be anything?

Kindly help.
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AjiteshArun

For Q-4 The author implies that one way that VHS producers won control over the VCR market was by -

How can we translate "Strategic alignments with producers of prerecorded tapes reinforced the VHS advantage" to Marketing and not Strict Monopoly

A strategy can be anything?

Kindly help.
Hi rocky620,

You may be looking at C ("retaining a strict monopoly on the production of prerecorded videotapes") and D ("sharing control of the marketing of VHS-format VCRs"). Here's what the passage says about the production of videotapes:

1. ... producers of the rival VHS... format proved to be more successful at forming strategic alliances with other producers and distributors to manufacture and market their VCR...

2. Seeking to maintain exclusive control over VCR distribution, Beta producers were reluctant to form such alliances...

From (1), we know the producers of VHS formed strategic alliances with others (manufacturing and marketing). From (2), we know that the producers of Beta were reluctant to do so. So when the question asks us what the VHS producers did, we can't mark option C, because they weren't the ones looking to retain a strict monopoly. That was Beta. VHS shared control of both the manufacturing and marketing of their VCRs.
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Thanks, I overlooked the details in the 2nd para.
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GMATNinja How do we answer question 5? I've read mikemcgarry's explanation but was not convinced because nowhere in the passage is it mentioned how the different formats work together. Are we supposed to know this knowledge? Perhaps the writer of the passage assumed everyone knows how VCR and VHS work.
When it comes down to it, I am stuck between A and C
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Question 5


danymasri98
GMATNinja How do we answer question 5? I've read mikemcgarry's explanation but was not convinced because nowhere in the passage is it mentioned how the different formats work together. Are we supposed to know this knowledge? Perhaps the writer of the passage assumed everyone knows how VCR and VHS work.

When it comes down to it, I am stuck between A and C
A bit of knowledge doesn't hurt in this particular case (shout-out to those of use old enough to remember VHS :lol: ). That may be why this question was phased out of the practice materials so long ago -- this passage seems unlikely to appear in the current version of the test.

To answer question 5, you do need to understand the relationship between "videocassette recorders" and "prerecorded tapes." That would have been common knowledge in the 1990s, but certainly not today. There's a chance that you could figure it all out using context clues, but honestly I wouldn't worry too much about this particular question. The passages that you'll encounter on your official exam won't ever rely on outside info like this.

I hope that helps!
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I was unnecessarily beating myself up for not getting Q5 :lol:
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Can someone help in breaking down 1st para into Main point - Conclusion/Premise - Argument - Yes/No way

I selected E :(
Which of the following best describes the relation of the first paragraph to the passage as a whole?

(A) It makes a general observation to be exemplified.
(B) It outlines a process to be analyzed.
(C) It poses a question to be answered.
(D) It advances an argument to be disputed.
(E) It introduces conflicting arguments to be reconciled
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skmaan
Can someone help in breaking down 1st para into Main point - Conclusion/Premise - Argument - Yes/No way

I selected E :(
Which of the following best describes the relation of the first paragraph to the passage as a whole?

(A) It makes a general observation to be exemplified.
(B) It outlines a process to be analyzed.
(C) It poses a question to be answered.
(D) It advances an argument to be disputed.
(E) It introduces conflicting arguments to be reconciled
­Hi, the first para only mentions about a strategy that businesses used to do previously and what they do today which seems to be a general observation. In the later part of the passage this is exemplied by the examples VHS and Beta. Hence opt A makes complete sense.

Eliminated-
B because no process is mentioned or analysed. Only a simple observation is mentioned.
C because no question is asked at all.
D because no arguments are disputed. It is only about what used to happen and what happens now.
E because there are no conflicting arguments. The author is mentioning only his observation with an example. He is not mentioning any conflucting arguments in the entire passage.­
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Can someone help in breaking down 1st para into Main point - Conclusion/Premise - Argument - Yes/No way

I selected E :(

Which of the following best describes the relation of the first paragraph to the passage as a whole?

(A) It makes a general observation to be exemplified.

(B) It outlines a process to be analyzed.

(C) It poses a question to be answered.

(D) It advances an argument to be disputed.

(E) It introduces conflicting arguments to be reconciled
­The first paragraph isn't a self-contained argument with its own conclusion and supporting points. Instead, it's just an observation about a possibile difference between the way things traditionally have been and the way things are today:

  • Traditionally, simply being first mattered a lot (that is, first to commercialize a new technology).
  • Now, simply being first to commercialize the technology might not be so beneficial. Instead, what matters is being first to develop "integrated approaches for successful mass production and distribution."

Notice that there's no real argument in the first paragraph because there's no support for either sentence. Rather, it's just a statement about what was traditionally the case and another statement about what the author thinks the case is now. Are those two statements conflicting? Well, not really, because the author is applying those two cases to two different time periods.

Sure, one stresses the importance of being first to commercialize the new tech and the other stresses the importance of being first to develop integrated approaches for production and distribution. But that difference is never reconciled -- it remains an important difference throughout the passage, and the author never tries to bridge those two scenarios.

The first paragraph doesn't contain multiple arguments, and the passage doesn't attempt to reconcile anything. So (E) can be eliminated.

(A) is a much better choice because paragraphs 2 and 3 describe an example of a case in which simply being first to commercialize a new technology wasn't enough. Instead, the rewards went to the firm that first formed strategic alliances with other producers and distributors -- in other words, the firm that first developed integrated approaches for successful mass production and distribution.

So paragraph 1 describes an observation about how things may have changed, and the rest of the passage describes an example that fits with that observation. That makes (A) the best choice.

I hope that helps!­
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