A product s design can be more valuable than the product

Question

A product’s design can be more valuable than the product itself. With the advent of the personal computer in the 1970s, the computer-manufacturing sector, an industry then dominated by those giants able to afford incredibly specialized knowledge and to produce equally expensive products, suddenly found its brightest lights shining in the garages of clever engineers.

Based on the information given above, which of the following was an advantage possessed by large computer manufacturers prior to the emergence of small computer-makers?

A. Their ability to produce expensive products 
B. The substantial resources at their disposal 
C. Their ability to adapt quickly to changes in the computer industry 
D. The high quality computers they were able to produce 
E. Their development of the earliest personal computer prototypes

TGC · Answer

However , the answer is (B).

IMO I do consider both the options (A). as well as (B). as contenders ,but don't know which is the best one !!!

Darmody · Answer

how the fact to produce expensive products can be considered as an advantage ? The answer is B not A in my opinion.

Archit143 · Answer

Humble request, Pls do not post the explanations or the answers tot he question in the same posts.
Pls explain your take in different post.

Dinesh2Apr · Answer

IMO :- B

Option A :- talks about the ability, in the argument nothing is mentioned to showcase that the company is capable of producing expensive products.
Option B :- Correct, if the company was able to afford specialized talent and produce expensive computers, it must have large capital at its bay.
Option C, D and E are not completely irrelevant.

plumber250 · Answer

Hi Target,

A is an interesting one, worth having a look.

Here the tricky bit about working out whether it is correct or not is more of a 'sentence correction' kind of issue. What makes it difficult is working out what A is actually saying.

A. Their ability to produce expensive products

A mis-reading of the question might make you think that it means

The large firms have an advantage because they have the expertise to produce products that are inherently expensive

If this was the case, then yes, it would be correct.

However, that is not what it is saying, it's saying something a little simpler

Large firms can make things that are expensive

As this is the correct reading, it means that it is not correct. It is not a good thing to make things that are expensive per-say.

I hope that helps.

Cheers,

James

TGC · Answer

Well Archit , (A) is not an OA it is just a Take

TGC · Answer

Hi James,

On a lighter note 
As per stimulus "tto afford incredibly specialized knowledge "

It is not mentioned that to afford incredibly specialized knowledge worked as their advantage either .

Rgds,
Saurabh

navigator123 · Answer

That's fine. Still a request to put a spoiler alert as when we work on that question, it might influence our answer.

Archit143 · Answer

Hi Saurabh, It really hinders its better to add spoiler as suggested by navigator..... Its not the OA , that's the main point... Psychologically one gets driven that if it is mentioned in the post , it will be most probably a wrong answer. Pls read the rules for posting on the forums..... :-D

Archit

greatps24 · Answer

"Equally" is the key word to reject A. Here equally is used to compare the high cost of resource needed to produce the (equally) expensive products

incredibly specialized knowledge ----> substantial resources at their disposal . Therefore , B.

VerbalBot · Answer

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A product s design can be more valuable than the product

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A product s design can be more valuable than the product

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