A consulting firm tracks performance metrics for eight regional office

Question

A consulting firm tracks performance metrics for eight regional offices, four in each of two geographic regions (East and West). The following table contains these metrics for calendar year 2019. This firm hires consultants for its regional offices on a calendar-year basis, so the number of consultants employed at each office listed did not change at any point during 2019.

2019 Regional Office Performance Data

Office  
  Region  
  Consultants  
  Projects   Completed  
  Avg Project   Revenue ($k)  
  Total   Costs ($M)  
  Client   Satisfaction (%)   
 
  A 
 West 
 42 
 115 
 86 
 7.9 
 91 
 
  B 
 East 
 35 
 104 
 93 
 7.4 
 88 
 
  C 
 West 
 51 
 135 
 79 
 9.8 
 94 
 
  D 
 East 
 28 
 96 
 102 
 7.1 
 85 
 
  E 
 East 
 47 
 122 
 89 
 8.6 
 92 
 
  F 
 East 
 39 
 110 
 90 
 8.1 
 90 
 
  G 
 West 
 33 
 89 
 95 
 6.2 
 87 
 
  H 
 West 
 44 
 120 
 84 
 8.5 
 93

For each of the following statements, select Yes if the information accurately reflects the information in the table. Otherwise, select No.

Bunuel · Answer

Similar questions based on the same table:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-consulting ... 55422.html
https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-consulting ... 54883.html
https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-consulting ... 55420.html

Edskore · Answer

Nice non-math Graphs and Tables (G&T) question — this is a pure ordering/ranking comparison, no arithmetic needed. The trick is being systematic and not eyeballing.

Key concept: Ordered Ranking Comparison — checking whether two different rankings of the same objects produce identical orderings.

The relevant data (consultants and satisfaction):
West offices: A(42 consultants, 91%), C(51, 94%), G(33, 87%), H(44, 93%)
East offices: B(35 consultants, 88%), D(28, 85%), E(47, 92%), F(39, 90%)

Statement 1 — West offices: same order by consultants and by satisfaction?
By consultants (low to high): G(33), A(42), H(44), C(51)
By satisfaction (low to high): G(87%), A(91%), H(93%), C(94%)
Rank 1→4 for both: G, A, H, C → Identical order! → Statement 1: YES

Statement 2 — East offices: same order by consultants and by satisfaction?
By consultants (low to high): D(28), B(35), F(39), E(47)
By satisfaction (low to high): D(85%), B(88%), F(90%), E(92%)
Rank 1→4 for both: D, B, F, E → Identical order! → Statement 2: YES

Statement 3 — All 8 offices: same order by consultants and by satisfaction?
By consultants (low to high): D(28), G(33), B(35), F(39), A(42), H(44), E(47), C(51)
By satisfaction (low to high): D(85), G(87), B(88), F(90), A(91), E(92), H(93), C(94)

Consultants ranking: D, G, B, F, A, H, E, C
Satisfaction ranking: D, G, B, F, A, E, H, C

Look at positions 6 and 7: In the consultants ranking, H(44) comes before E(47). In the satisfaction ranking, E(92%) comes before H(93%). They swap! → Statement 3: NO

Final answers: YES / YES / NO

Common trap: After seeing that both the East and West groups independently maintain the same order, students often assume the combined group must also — but mixing the groups together disrupts the pattern. H and E happen to maintain order within the East-only group (H is West, not East!), but across all 8 offices their relative positions flip. Always check the cross-group ranking explicitly rather than assuming.

Takeaway: For ranking-comparison statements, write out both ordered lists side by side and scan position by position — it takes 30 seconds and eliminates guesswork entirely.

RonPurewal · Answer

Official Explanation:

A consulting firm tracks performance metrics for eight regional offices, four in each of two geographic regions (East and West). The following table contains these metrics for calendar year 2019. This firm hires consultants for its regional offices on a calendar-year basis, so the number of consultants employed at each office listed did not change at any point during 2019.

2019 Regional Office Performance Data

Office	Region	Consultants	Projects Completed	Avg Project Revenue ($k)	Total Costs ($M)	Client Satisfaction (%)
A	West	42	115	86	7.9	91
B	East	35	104	93	7.4	88
C	West	51	135	79	9.8	94
D	East	28	96	102	7.1	85
E	East	47	122	89	8.6	92
F	East	39	110	90	8.1	90
G	West	33	89	95	6.2	87
H	West	44	120	84	8.5	93

For each of the following statements, select Yes if the information accurately reflects the information in the table. Otherwise, select No.

Part I:

The ranking of the four West offices by increasing number of consultants is G (33), A (42), H (44), C (51). The ranking of these same offices by increasing client satisfaction percentage is G (87), A (91), H (93), C (94). These orders are exactly the same, so the answer to the first part is Yes.

Part II:

The ranking of the four East offices by increasing number of consultants is D (28), B (35), F (39), E (47). The ranking of these same offices by increasing client satisfaction percentage is D (85), B (88), F (90), E (92). Again these orders are exactly the same, so the answer to the second part is also Yes.

Part III:

The ranking of all eight offices by increasing number of consultants is D (28), G (33), B (35), F (39), A (42), H (44), E (47), C (51). The ranking of these same offices by increasing client satisfaction percentage is D (85), G (87), B (88), F (90), A (91), E (92), H (93), C (94). These orders are NOT exactly the same—the positions of E and H are reversed between them—so the answer to the final part is No.

Show Spoiler

Attachment:

GMAT-Club-Forum-2lwgb0i8.png [ 48.17 KiB | Viewed 1611 times ]

egmat · Answer

This question asks us to compare rankings by two different columns — Consultants and Client Satisfaction (%) — first within each region, then across all  eight  offices.

S1 (West offices — YES): 
Sort the  four  West offices (A, C, G, H) by Consultants, lowest to highest:
G( 33 ) → A( 42 ) → H( 44 ) → C( 51 )

Now sort by Client Satisfaction (%), lowest to highest:
G( 87 ) → A( 91 ) → H( 93 ) → C( 94 )

Both rankings give the exact same order: G, A, H, C. So S1 is   YES  .

S2 (East offices — YES): 
Sort the  four  East offices (B, D, E, F) by Consultants, lowest to highest:
D( 28 ) → B( 35 ) → F( 39 ) → E( 47 )

Now sort by Client Satisfaction (%), lowest to highest:
D( 85 ) → B( 88 ) → F( 90 ) → E( 92 )

Again, both rankings give the same order: D, B, F, E. So S2 is   YES  .

S3 (All eight offices — NO): 
Sort all  eight  offices by Consultants, lowest to highest:
D( 28 ), G( 33 ), B( 35 ), F( 39 ), A( 42 ), H( 44 ), E( 47 ), C( 51 )

Now sort by Client Satisfaction (%), lowest to highest:
D( 85 ), G( 87 ), B( 88 ), F( 90 ), A( 91 ), E( 92 ), H( 93 ), C( 94 )

Notice positions  6  and  7 : in the Consultants ranking, H( 44 ) comes before E( 47 ). But in the Satisfaction ranking, E( 92 ) comes before H( 93 ). Offices E and H swap positions, breaking the overall match.  So S3 is  NO .

Key Takeaway:  Rankings can match perfectly within each subgroup but still fail to match when you combine the groups, because offices from different regions can interleave differently depending on the metric.

Answer: Yes, Yes, No

Stormik1 · Answer

Is it worth going through this question in real exam given the volume of text in this question ??

KarishmaB · Answer

Learners often complain about text heavy DI questions in the actual exam so such questions often appear on the actual test. This question is fairly straight forward. Just buckle down and read - it won't take too much time. If you skip it, penalty is likely to be higher.

Yes	No
		The four West offices ranked in exactly the same order by number of consultants for 2019, from lowest to highest, as by client satisfaction percentage for 2019, from lowest to highest.
		The four East offices ranked in exactly the same order by number of consultants for 2019, from lowest to highest, as by client satisfaction percentage for 2019, from lowest to highest.
		The company’s eight offices ranked in exactly the same order by number of consultants for 2019, from lowest to highest, as by client satisfaction percentage for 2019, from lowest to highest.

A consulting firm tracks performance metrics for eight regional office

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Graphs and Tables (G&T) Questions

A consulting firm tracks performance metrics for eight regional office

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards