Advanced Technology School and Computer Horizons provide training for

Question

Advanced Technology School and Computer Horizons provide training for information technology professionals. Both schools spend fifty percent of their budget on professor salaries. In a new strategic initiative Computer Horizons is attempting to gain higher profits than Advanced Technology. Computer Horizons should lower professor salaries to accomplish this goal.

Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the argument above?

A. The remainder of Computer Horizons budget contains a large number of fixed costs.

B. Reducing professor salaries would lead to lower teaching quality which would subsequently cause a decrease in student enrollment and tuition revenues.

C. Last year Advanced Technology replaced Computer Horizons as the number one ranked technology school in the local newspaper's educational survey.

D. Computer Horizons professors earn fifteen percent more than their counterparts at Advanced Technology.

E. Computer Horizons and Advanced Technology are the sole information technology schools in their metropolis.

ElninoEffect · Answer

Advanced Technology School  -Budget spend on training 50% 
  Computer Horizons  -Budget spend on training 50%

Aim:  Computer Horizons is attempting to gain higher profits than Advanced Technology
 Process: Reducing the salaries of the professors.

What is asked:  To find a reason why the process won't work.

A. The remainder of Computer Horizons budget contains a large number of fixed costs.
 This simply tells us computer horizon cannot curtail budget from anywhere else.

B. Reducing professor salaries would lead to lower teaching quality which would subsequently cause a decrease in student enrollment and tuition revenues.
 Ok.! So if this turns out to be true then the process will cause more harm than good or maybe both the process will cancel out each other.

C. Last year Advanced Technology replaced Computer Horizons as the number one ranked technology school in the local newspaper's educational survey.
 So, advanced technology is leading the race that puts computer horizons more into dier measures to do something but it's not helping in any way to answer what is being asked.

D. Computer Horizons professors earn fifteen percent more than their counterparts at Advanced Technology.
 Same as C, not helping us in any way to find what is being asked.

E. Computer Horizons and Advanced Technology are the sole information technology schools in their metropolis.
 Extra Information but still not helping in any way.

Bunuel · Answer

Official Explanation

Answer B

The argument recommends that Computer Horizons lower professor salaries to gain higher profits. One way to weaken a recommendation is to point out unintended consequences.

Choice (B), the correct answer, does so by pointing out that reducing salaries would reduce both costs and revenues.

Choice (A) is a 180 wrong answer trap. Cutting professor salaries is a more attractive option if the remaining part of Computer Horizons' budget contain fixed costs.

Choice (C) is outside the scope of the argument. Although choice (C) indicates Computer Horizons should be concerned about its competitor, this does not affect how Computer Horizons should regain its competitive advantage.

Choice (D) strengthens the argument and is a 180 wrong answer trap. Indeed, if Computer Horizon professors are overpaid, reducing salaries becomes a more attractive option.

Choice (E) also strengthens the argument because professors whose salaries are cut would have limited alternative employment opportunities.

behlmanmeet · Answer

Advanced Technology School and Computer Horizons provide training for information technology professionals. Both schools spend fifty percent of their budget on professor salaries. In a new strategic initiative Computer Horizons is attempting to gain higher profits than Advanced Technology. Computer Horizons should lower professor salaries to accomplish this goal.

Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the argument above?

Solution: 
 After reading the argument, we can in some sense understand that lower salaries can have some negatives attached to them. Though GMAT doesn't test any outside knowledge, it doesn't say don't bring outside logic or common sense. Salaries somewhat mirror your value and skill. So, higher salaries attract higher skills or quality. If you lower salaries you will not be able to attract a higher quality of skills.

A. The remainder of Computer Horizons budget contains a large number of fixed costs.:  This might actually strengthen the argument because if the remainder of Computer Horizons budget contains a large number of fixed costs, then they cannot make changes to it, leaving only teacher salaries that can be changed to gain profit.

B. Reducing professor salaries would lead to lower teaching quality which would subsequently cause a decrease in student enrollment and tuition revenues.:  Exactly what we want.

C. Last year Advanced Technology replaced Computer Horizons as the number one ranked technology school in the local newspaper's educational survey.:  Irrelevant. We want to understand how reducing salaries might not be a good idea.

D. Computer Horizons professors earn fifteen percent more than their counterparts at Advanced Technology.:  Again a strengthener, If Computer Horizons pays its professors fifteen percent more than their counterparts at Advanced Technology, then they might have a good reason to lower it a little to gain more profit.

E. Computer Horizons and Advanced Technology are the sole information technology schools in their metropolis.:  Irrelevant. We cannot derive anything of value that adds to our understanding of the conclusion from this option.

VerbalBot · Answer

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Advanced Technology School and Computer Horizons provide training for

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