For some reason I always fail to follow the logic of the GMAT Hacks questions as well as I do the other questions (including GMAC’s questions). However, this question was one of the few GMAT Hacks questions that “clicked “for me. Rare indeed.....
As I think someone mentioned previously, we have to take as definitive facts the premises provided. So we know that there is a chance of “jostling” damage if the computer is shipped back and forth from the centralized locations for service.
The author believes the following: in order to prevent the likelihood of this “jostling” damage occurring in transit, we can have Technicians in each city. By doing this, the author believes there will be less of the jostling damage that occurred before.
This is the true Goal of the Plan. I believe the sentences regarding cost are put in to distract the reader and make the passage more difficult to read. Stay focused on this Goal.
When looking for any Gaps in the argument, focus on how the author believe this Plan will reach its goal. Ask yourself is there something that might derail this Plan from working?
We know there is a likelihood of jostling damage occurring when the computers are sent to the centralized location b/c we are given this as a Factual Premise.
But will this Plan of using local technicians make it any better and reduce the chance of this jostling damage? Or is there some other fact that would enter the picture and keep the Plan from working such that we are still likely to have this type of in transit damage?
I tend to think along these lines to see the gaps and assumptions.
We can say the general problem that would derail the Plan from reaching its Goal is if somehow the jostling damage STILL occurs even though we are using these local MPs. Or if somehow these local MPs end up making the problem worse!
To support the argument, our jobs is to look for the Answer that provides a Fact that gives us a reason to believe that using these local MPs might actually result in less of this type of in transit damage. The correct Strengthen Answer will give us a fact that makes it seem more likely that the Plan will work.
By showing that the customers wrap the computers very carefully when they send it to these local techs, it makes it more likely that the Plan will reach the Goal of reducing the jostling damage in transit.
The thing is, we are not told what the people do when they ship the computers to the centralized locations in the first scenario. The answer choice only tells us what they do when they send the computers to the local techs (and this is enough). Maybe they wrap them carefully when they send the computers to the centralized locations. Maybe they do not.
Just because the fact in the AC tells us that most ppl wrap the computer well when they bring them to these local MPs, this does NOT necessarily mean they wrap them well when they send them to the centralized location.
It could be the case that most ppl use UPS and trust them to take care of the packaging (and UPS does a crappy job, leading to jostling damage in transit). Or what u said could be true: because they wrap them well when bringing them to the MPs, they might similarly wrap them well when they send them to the centralized location. Thus why would we need the MPs?
We just don’t know given the passage or the AC. However, in the end, it does not really matter if either case is true. We need to strengthen the likelihood that using the MPs as outlined in this Plan will lead to less jostling damage (which we are told is likely to happen in transit when the computers are sent to the centralized locations....a Fact we must accept as True).
By focusing on whether the Plan will meet this defined goal, the fact that the ppl pack the computer very well when they send them to the local techs gives us a little more reason to believe that this Plan will work. Using local MPs may just result in less of this type of damage if ppl carefully pack their computers when sending them to the local MPs.
I feel “jostled” after writing that word so many times.....
I hope something helped. The GMAT Hacks questions at the 700 level, in my opinion, tend to be pretty hard.
sumankwan wrote:
powellmittra wrote:
The answer is clearly option B. The only reason that MP tech is decentralizing it's maintenance office is to reduce the damage caused during transit. Only option B supports the reasoning.
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doesn't B weaken the argument? B says customers already pack their PCs when they take it to local center to avoid damage during transit - there is already minimal damage during transit that placing local technician doesnt help in reducing the damage during transit it is already minimized in the 1st place as customers have already packed the PC to repair very carefully?