A product that represents a clear technological advance over competing products can generally command a high price. Because technological advances tend to be quickly surpassed and companies want to make large profits while they still can, many companies charge the maximum possible price for such a product. But large profits on the new product will give competitors a strong incentive to quickly match the new product's capabilities. Consequently, the strategy to maximize overall profit from a new product is to charge less than the greatest possible price.
In the argument above, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

(A) The first is a consideration that has been raised to argue that a certain strategy is counterproductive; the second presents that strategy.

(B) The first is a consideration raised to support the strategy that the argument recommends; the second presents that strategy.

(C) The first is a consideration raised to explain the appeal of a certain strategy; the second presents that strategy.

(D) The first is an assumption, rejected by the argument, that has been used to justify a course of action; the second presents that course of action.

(E) The first is a consideration that has been used to justify pursuing a goal that the argument rejects; the second presents a course of action that has been adopted in pursuit of that goal.

OA : C
I got a B. And some1 pls explain why was tht wrong. There is an extremely subtle diff between the correct and the wrong.

P

B is wrong because C is better. That's how CR works. :) If you think B is better, please explain why..

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Tim Sanders
Manhattan GMAT Instructor

Hi there Tim,
thx for your reply. Though i do get it that the 2nd boldface is the strategy. I felt tht the 1st BF is supporting this strategy and hence B was correct.
I still dnt see why C is better than B. Pls help explain.

What is the difference between "1st is a consideration raised to support the strategy"
And "1st is a consideration raised to explain the appeal of a strategy".

Thx a zillion
P

see highlighted word above -- the distinction in this case is not subtle; it's actually a matter of polar opposites.

note that the argument recommends a strategy (the second boldface) that contradicts what the businesses are doing in the first strategy. therefore, that consideration is not “support” for the strategy at all -- it's an inferior practice that the strategy actually contravenes. (notice that the follow-up statement starts with "But", emphasizing this contrast.)

like you, i am not a big fan of the wording of the correct answer, because it's somewhat ambiguous -- but one way to "explain the appeal" of a strategy is to point out that your competitors are employing inferior strategies, and thus that your strategy is better than theirs. that is what's happening in this choice.

Hi Ron,

I ruled out choice C quite confidently. I guess it is correct, but I am missing something. Even after reading the explanations, I fail to understand how the first boldface:


"Because technological advances tend to be quickly surpassed and companies want to make large profits while they still can, many companies charge the maximum possible price for such a product. "

explains the appeal for the below strategy

"Consequently, the strategy to maximize overall profit from a new product is to charge less than the greatest possible price"....

To me it seems like the first boldface explains the appeal for the rejected strategy (charging the maximum) and not the recommended strategy (charging the minimum).

Could you please point out the mistake in my thought process.

i think the original poster highlighted the wrong parts of the problem; see this:

A product that represents a clear technological advance over competing products can generally command a high price. Because technological advances tend to be quickly surpassed and companies want to make large profits while they still can, many companies charge the greatest price the market will bear when they have such a product. But large profits on the new product will give competitors a strong incentive to quickly match the mew product’s capabilities. Consequently, the strategy to maximize overall profit from a new product is to charge less than the greatest possible price. In the argument above, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
A. The first is an assumption that forms the basis for a course of action that the argument criticizes; the second presents the course of action endorsed by the argument.
B. The first is a consideration raised to explain the appeal of a certain strategy; the second is a consideration raised to call into question the wisdom of adopting that strategy.
C. The first is an assumption that has been used to justify a certain strategy; the second is a consideration that is used to cast doubt on that assumption.
D. The first is a consideration raised in support of a strategy the argument endorses; the second presents grounds in support of that consideration.
E. The first is a consideration raised to show that adopting a certain strategy is unlikely to achieve the intended effect; the second is presented to explain the appeal of that strategy.


Hi Ron,

This is a very similar question so I'm posting here.

I chose option A cause to me B2 is the strategy that argument opposes and B1 is judgment(less than evidence), which supports this strategy. Not sure why the answer is given as B; to me B2 is not calling strategy into question, it's the strategy.

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Thanks & Regards,
Syed

sam198518, i think something must be amiss with your transcription of the problem. you've boldfaced exactly the same parts of the problem that are boldfaced in the screenshot above yours, but the answer choices are totally different -- suggesting that you've probably boldfaced the wrong parts (or have take the problem from a source on which someone else has committed such a mistake).

please double-check which statements are actually boldfaced in the real problem. thanks.