Which of the following best completes the passage below?
In essence, the passage argues that established companies tend to lean on the conservative side. These companies don’t really innovate and underestimate the effects of innovations – a defensive as opposed to offensive/aggressive strategy. The last sentence indicates we need an example that shows this conservative mindset.
Established companies concentrate on defending what they already have. Consequently, they tend not to be innovative themselves and tend to underestimate the effects of the innovations of others. The clearest example of this defensive strategy is the fact that __________.
(A) ballpoint pens and soft-tip markers have eliminated the traditional market for fountain pens, clearing the way for the marketing of fountain pens as luxury or prestige items X
-the elimination of a traditional, presumably established, market for fountain pens and “clearing the way for the marketing of fountain pens as luxury items” is certainly not conservative. This is a move towards innovation/expanding upon old ways of doing things.
(B) a highly successful automobile was introduced by the same company that had earlier introduced a model that had been a dismal failure X
-Experimentation is a sign of a desire to innovate… out
(C) a once-successful manufacturer of slide rules reacted to the introduction of electronic calculators by trying to make better slide rules
Correct. The ‘once-successful’ meaning previously established (but not anymore) manufacturer is an example of a company that got caught with their pants down when other companies innovated and are now succeeding.
(D) one of the first models of modern accounting machines, designed for use in the banking industry, was purchased by a public library as well as by banks X
-no…the public library is clearly not being conservative…not afraid to venture out
(E) the inventor of a commonly used anesthetic did not intend the product to be used by dentists, who currently account for almost the entire market for that drug
-Does not capture the essence of a defensive strategy…out
_________________
"Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one." - Bruce Lee