Critical Reasoning

Following several years of declining advertising sales, the Greenville Times reorganized its advertising sales force. Before reorganization, the sales force was organized geographically, with some sales representatives concentrating on city-center businesses and others concentrating on different outlying regions. The reorganization attempted to increase the sales representatives' knowledge of clients' businesses by having each sales representative deal with only one type of industry or of retailing. After the reorganization, revenue from advertising sales increased.

In assessing whether the improvement in advertising sales can properly be attributed to the reorganization, it would be most helpful to find out which of the following?

A. What proportion of the total revenue of the Greenville Times is generated by advertising sales?

B. Has the circulation of the Greenville Times increased substantially in the last two years?

C. Among all the types of industry and retailing that use the Greenville Times as an advertising vehicle, which type accounts for the largest proportion of the newspaper's advertising sales?

D. Do any clients of the sales representatives of the Greenville Times have a standing order with the Times for a fixed amount of advertising per month?

E. Among the advertisers in the Greenville Times, are there more types of retail business or more types of industrial business?

mysseo wrote:Following several years of declining advertising sales, the Greenville Times reorganized its advertising sales force. Before reorganization, the sales force was organized geographically, with some sales representatives concentrating on city-center businesses and others concentrating on different outlying regions. The reorganization attempted to increase the sales representatives' knowledge of clients' businesses by having each sales representative deal with only one type of industry or of retailing. After the reorganization, revenue from advertising sales increased.

In assessing whether the improvement in advertising sales can properly be attributed to the reorganization, it would be most helpful to find out which of the following?

A. What proportion of the total revenue of the Greenville Times is generated by advertising sales?

B. Has the circulation of the Greenville Times increased substantially in the last two years?

C. Among all the types of industry and retailing that use the Greenville Times as an advertising vehicle, which type accounts for the largest proportion of the newspaper's advertising sales?

D. Do any clients of the sales representatives of the Greenville Times have a standing order with the Times for a fixed amount of advertising per month?

E. Among the advertisers in the Greenville Times, are there more types of retail business or more types of industrial business?

This CR assumes a CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP.
The premise is about X: a REORGANIZATION of the sale reps.
The conclusion is about Y: an INCREASE IN REVENUE from advertising sales.

The passage assumes that X caused Y: that the reorganization CAUSED the increase in revenue.

The correct answer choice will either STRENGTHEN or WEAKEN this causal relationship.
One way to weaken a causal relationship is to provide an ALTERNATE CAUSE.
The answer choices here are phrased as questions.
Rephrase the questions as statements.
Then ask whether each statement, if true, would strengthen or weaken the conclusion.

Answer choice B, rephrased as a statement: The circulation of the Greenville Times increased substantially in the last two years. This answer choice suggests that it was the increase in circulation, not the reorganization, that caused the increase in revenue. By providing an alternate cause, B weakens the conclusion.

The correct answer is B.

Hi Mitch,

Should not it be 'A'
A. What proportion of the total revenue of the Greenville Times is generated by advertising sales?
Does the advertising sales have significant impact/increase in the total sales. Sales have no doubtly increased, but whether it is becacuse of adv. sales really...
So correct.

B. Has the circulation of the Greenville Times increased substantially in the last two years?
We don't know exactly how much time back reorganization was done. May be 3 yrs, 2 yrs, 1yr or some months. So Incorrect

MakeUrTimeCount wrote:Hi Mitch,

Should not it be 'A'
A. What proportion of the total revenue of the Greenville Times is generated by advertising sales?
Does the advertising sales have significant impact/increase in the total sales. Sales have no doubtly increased, but whether it is becacuse of adv. sales really...
So correct.

B. Has the circulation of the Greenville Times increased substantially in the last two years?
We don't know exactly how much time back reorganization was done. May be 3 yrs, 2 yrs, 1yr or some months. So Incorrect

The conclusion is only about the CAUSE of the increase in ADVERTISING REVENUE. The ratio of advertising revenue to total revenue is irrelevant: it will not help us to determine the CAUSE of the increase in ADVERTISING REVENUE.

GMATGuruNY wrote:

mysseo wrote:Following several years of declining advertising sales, the Greenville Times reorganized its advertising sales force. Before reorganization, the sales force was organized geographically, with some sales representatives concentrating on city-center businesses and others concentrating on different outlying regions. The reorganization attempted to increase the sales representatives' knowledge of clients' businesses by having each sales representative deal with only one type of industry or of retailing. After the reorganization, revenue from advertising sales increased.

In assessing whether the improvement in advertising sales can properly be attributed to the reorganization, it would be most helpful to find out which of the following?

A. What proportion of the total revenue of the Greenville Times is generated by advertising sales?

B. Has the circulation of the Greenville Times increased substantially in the last two years?

C. Among all the types of industry and retailing that use the Greenville Times as an advertising vehicle, which type accounts for the largest proportion of the newspaper's advertising sales?

D. Do any clients of the sales representatives of the Greenville Times have a standing order with the Times for a fixed amount of advertising per month?

E. Among the advertisers in the Greenville Times, are there more types of retail business or more types of industrial business?

This CR assumes a CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP.
The premise is about X: a REORGANIZATION of the sale reps.
The conclusion is about Y: an INCREASE IN REVENUE from advertising sales.

The passage assumes that X caused Y: that the reorganization CAUSED the increase in revenue.

The correct answer choice will either STRENGTHEN or WEAKEN this causal relationship.
One way to weaken a causal relationship is to provide an ALTERNATE CAUSE.
The answer choices here are phrased as questions.
Rephrase the questions as statements.
Then ask whether each statement, if true, would strengthen or weaken the conclusion.

Answer choice B, rephrased as a statement: The circulation of the Greenville Times increased substantially in the last two years. This answer choice suggests that it was the increase in circulation, not the reorganization, that caused the increase in revenue. By providing an alternate cause, B weakens the conclusion.

The correct answer is B.

Hi Mitch, I see the tricky flaw in choice B is the duration last 2 years. However, the argument does not state in which time, they reorganize. If the Greenville Times reorganize at current time, then the circulation will not affect anything to the increase sales in the current time. I think this is why choice B is wrong.

Besides, I still cannot find which choice is correct?

What the hell with this question :<

tuanquang269 wrote:

GMATGuruNY wrote:

mysseo wrote:Following several years of declining advertising sales, the Greenville Times reorganized its advertising sales force. Before reorganization, the sales force was organized geographically, with some sales representatives concentrating on city-center businesses and others concentrating on different outlying regions. The reorganization attempted to increase the sales representatives' knowledge of clients' businesses by having each sales representative deal with only one type of industry or of retailing. After the reorganization, revenue from advertising sales increased.

In assessing whether the improvement in advertising sales can properly be attributed to the reorganization, it would be most helpful to find out which of the following?

A. What proportion of the total revenue of the Greenville Times is generated by advertising sales?

B. Has the circulation of the Greenville Times increased substantially in the last two years?

C. Among all the types of industry and retailing that use the Greenville Times as an advertising vehicle, which type accounts for the largest proportion of the newspaper's advertising sales?

D. Do any clients of the sales representatives of the Greenville Times have a standing order with the Times for a fixed amount of advertising per month?

E. Among the advertisers in the Greenville Times, are there more types of retail business or more types of industrial business?

This CR assumes a CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP.
The premise is about X: a REORGANIZATION of the sale reps.
The conclusion is about Y: an INCREASE IN REVENUE from advertising sales.

The passage assumes that X caused Y: that the reorganization CAUSED the increase in revenue.

The correct answer choice will either STRENGTHEN or WEAKEN this causal relationship.
One way to weaken a causal relationship is to provide an ALTERNATE CAUSE.
The answer choices here are phrased as questions.
Rephrase the questions as statements.
Then ask whether each statement, if true, would strengthen or weaken the conclusion.

Answer choice B, rephrased as a statement: The circulation of the Greenville Times increased substantially in the last two years. This answer choice suggests that it was the increase in circulation, not the reorganization, that caused the increase in revenue. By providing an alternate cause, B weakens the conclusion.

The correct answer is B.

Hi Mitch, I see the tricky flaw in choice B is the duration last 2 years. However, the argument does not state in which time, they reorganize. If the Greenville Times reorganize at current time, then the circulation will not affect anything to the increase sales in the current time. I think this is why choice B is wrong.

Besides, I still cannot find which choice is correct?

What the hell with this question :<

If the passage were about a time period in the distant past, its wording would make the situation clear (ten years ago, etc.). Absent such wording, common sense tells us that the passage is describing events in the RECENT PAST. Thus, changes over the past 2 years are relevant.

GMATGuruNY wrote: If the passage were about a time period in the distant past, its wording would make the situation clear (ten years ago, etc.). Absent such wording, common sense tells us that the passage is describing events in the RECENT PAST. Thus, changes over the past 2 years are relevant.

I also found many problem with uninformation about the time like this. Can we use "common sense" as you said if we cannot find any correct choice?

I admit that only choice B makes sense to me.

tuanquang269 wrote:

GMATGuruNY wrote: If the passage were about a time period in the distant past, its wording would make the situation clear (ten years ago, etc.). Absent such wording, common sense tells us that the passage is describing events in the RECENT PAST. Thus, changes over the past 2 years are relevant.

I also found many problem with uninformation about the time like this. Can we use "common sense" as you said if we cannot find any correct choice?

I admit that only choice B makes sense to me.

If a passage employs verbs in the past tense, and there is no language to indicate otherwise, the default time period is the recent past.

I still don't fully understand the question. My understanding was that Greenville Times' revenue consists of not only advertising sales but also other sales. Through reorganization of advertising sales force, the revenue from advertising sales increased. The question is which is helpful to assess whether the revenue increased through reorganization of advertising sales force, isn't it? That's why I thought the correct answer is A as we will know what portion of the total revenue is from advertising sales. As Mitch mentioned, if I look for the answer to weaken the conclusion, it will be B as it is alternate cause for the increase of the revenue. But I am confused about Greenville Time's total revenue source. If the revenue is only from the advertising sales, it makes sense.. but.. I am not fully sure about this question.

Argument:
1.Following several years of declining advertising sales, the Greenville Times reorganized its advertising sales force.
2.After the reorganization, revenue from advertising sales increased.

Question: how do we know it due to reorganization.

A - incorrect. Its already given that After the reorganization, revenue from advertising sales increased, what proportional to total revenues is irrelevant. Also say proportion is increased or decreased how do you conclude that its due to increased advertising sales?

B - If the circulation is increased - probably this could be the reason why advertising revenue has increased not really due to more sales.
If the circulation is not changed or decreased it means more advertising sales are the reason for advertising revenues.

-- But the flaw in the question is "2 years" in choice B. If circulation increased for the past two years, advertising revenues would have increased for the past two years;

But the question stem stays -- After the reorganization, revenue from advertising sales increased.
After the reorganization, revenue from advertising sales increased. It really means advertising revenues have increased only after the reorganization( i.e. recent past) and not from 2 years.

Thank you GMATVerbal. I got it. I noticed that it's already given in the stimulus that the revenue from advertising sales increased. Sometimes, I don't pay attention to details on the stimulus. I need to pay attention to every sentence. Thank you.