Zeta Manufacturing, a producer of low-cost chairs and tables, plans to

Question

Zeta Manufacturing, a producer of low-cost chairs and tables, plans to start production on a more expensive line of furniture. The company’s research shows that consumers are currently reluctant to purchase products made by Zeta Manufacturing because of concerns about the products’ quality. The company is certain that selling a more expensive line will alleviate these concerns.

Which of the following is an assumption that lies behind Zeta Manufacturing’s decision to produce a more expensive line of furniture?

A. Consumers believe that items that are equal in quality are equal in cost.

B. Consumers make a connection between the cost of a product and its quality.

C. Consumers are less attracted to low cost than they are to high quality.

D. Companies increase their profitability when they sell more expensive products.

E. People expect to purchase furniture infrequently because furniture is durable

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sansun · Answer

B) - The company believes that making its furniture more expensive will make customers worry less about quality. That only makes sense if customers associate a higher price with better quality. If customers do not connect cost and quality, then raising prices would not change their perception of the products.

Ag03 · Answer

A can also be true, though B seems more likely

sansun · Answer

Also evaluated (A) but it says that products of equal quality have equal cost. The company's argument does not depend on customers believing that. It only depends on customers seeing a higher price and assuming better quality, which is what B states. A talks about the relationship between products with the same quality, while B directly addresses the assumption needed for the company's plan to work.

Ag03

A can also be true, though B seems more likely

vasu1104 · Answer

Zeta Manufacturing, a producer of low-cost chairs and tables, plans to start production on a more expensive line of furniture. The company’s research shows that consumers are currently reluctant to purchase products made by Zeta Manufacturing because of concerns about the products’ quality. The company is certain that selling a more expensive line will alleviate these concerns.

Zeta currently produces low cost chair and tables.
But consumers are reluctant to buy because of products quality

Plan- planning to produce more expensive products.

Basically zeta is thinking that because products are low cost, consumers are thinking they are of low quality. Hence are reluctant to buy it.

A its not about being equal in price means equal in quality. 
B yea, this is the hidden link. Keep
C wrong comparison here.
D profitability is not issue here. Out
E out of scope here.

Which of the following is an assumption that lies behind Zeta Manufacturing’s decision to produce a more expensive line of furniture?

A. Consumers believe that items that are equal in quality are equal in cost.

B. Consumers make a connection between the cost of a product and its quality.

C. Consumers are less attracted to low cost than they are to high quality.

D. Companies increase their profitability when they sell more expensive products.

E. People expect to purchase furniture infrequently because furniture is durable

Bunuel · Answer

KAPLAN OFFICIAL SOLUTION:

Correct Choice: (B)

The conclusion is set off by the words “The company is certain that . . “. The rest of the paragraph is the evidence. The assumption that links evidence to conclusion is that the greater cost of the new furniture will make consumers think that it is of greater quality. At no point does the paragraph state that the new product line will actually be of greater quality. (B) sums up this assumption.

Choice (A) is too extreme. Although the argument assumes that consumers think that more-expensive furniture has more quality, there’s no reason to think that consumers believe that there is an exact one-to-one correspondence as rigid as (A) claims.

Choice (C) says consumers favor one characteristic (high quality) over another (low cost), but we are given no reason to believe this. The company is having problems because consumers don’t feel that its low-cost line has a lot of quality, from which it can be inferred that consumers want lost-cost chairs and tables to have at least some quality—but there’s nothing in the paragraph about one being more important than the other.

Choice (D) may or may not be true, but it’s not an assumption in this argument. The company is going to charge more in order to give an impression of quality, not simply to have a greater profit per item.

Choice (E) may be tempting, because it appears to connect with concerns about quality, but there’s nothing in the text to support that idea that consumers care about quality because they want their furniture to last for a long time.

arushi118 · Answer

(B) this is correct - Zeta Manufacturing makes this assumption when saying that expensive items will make consumers believe more in the quality of the product.

(A) Too strong. Consumers don't need to believe equal quality means equal cost; they only need to associate higher cost with higher quality.
(C) Irrelevant. The argument is about perceived quality, not whether consumers prioritize quality over low cost.
(D) Irrelevant. The decision is aimed at changing consumer perceptions, not directly increasing profitability.
(E) Irrelevant to the relationship between price and quality.

Zeta Manufacturing, a producer of low-cost chairs and tables, plans to

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Zeta Manufacturing, a producer of low-cost chairs and tables, plans to

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