I cannot find a referent for "its", I think it is supposed to be company, but the sentence never uses the actual word company. Is there a specific rule I don't know of?

By applying optimization techniques commonly used to plan operations, it is possible to determine how much effort ought to be devoted to each of a company’s products in order to meet its goals in both the short and long terms.
a) it is possible to determine how much effort ought to be devoted to each of a company’s products in order to meet its goals in both the short and long terms
b) a company’s managers can determine how much effort should be dedicated to each of the company’s products in order to meet its short and long term goals
c) it can be determined by company managers how much effort ought to be devoted to each of the company’s products in order to meet its goals, both short and long term
d) it may be possible for company managers to determine how much effort should be dedicated to each of these products in order to meet the company’s short and long term goals
e) managers at a company can determine how much effort ought to be dedicated to each of these products in order to meet the company’s goals in both the short and long term

The correct answer is b, but the reason I am confused is written above.

Thank you in advance.

The possessive "company's" is actually okay in this one. If the pronoun itself is in possessive form (as "its" is), then the noun to which it refers can also be in the possessive form.

If the pronoun is in the subject or object form, however, then the noun can't be in possessive form - it has to be in "regular noun" form.

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Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director of Online Community
ManhattanGMAT

A/ C/ D modifier error.

E - pronoun reference for "these" is incorrect.

.

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Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director of Online Community
ManhattanGMAT

I believe ans should be e...
as in b "should" is used..while in ques "ought to " is used...
so b changes the meaning...
ought to = likely to.
Plz correct me if i m wrong.

I don't think that this is such a grave problem because ought to and should are more or less the same in meaning and are interchangeably used.

Should means "advise"
Ought to means "moral obligation"

eg: You should drive your bike carefully.---this is my advise to you...Take it or leave it.
eg: You ought to take care of your family.---This is more of a moral resposibility you owe your family.

Very subtle difference, albeit can be used interchangeably.

However, the the main problem with E is what does "these products" refer to? "These" does not have an antecedent that it is referring to. If you have mentioned anywhere about the products, and then mention "these products", it is fine else there is a problem.

thanks, Gokul. remember not to get trapped by the meaning myth. every single word you change, in any sentence ever, changes the meaning. please don't fall into the trap of assuming you have to adhere to the meaning of the original. not only is grammar far more important than meaning, but if the original sentence is wrong then you HAVE to change the meaning, even if only slightly..

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Tim Sanders
Manhattan GMAT Instructor