Sentence Correction

The normative model of strategic decision-making suggests that executives examine a firm's external environment and internal conditions, and in using the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, can decide on a strategy.
A. conditions, and in using the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, can decide
B. conditions, and they use the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses in deciding
C. conditions and, in using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, deciding
D. conditions and, using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, decide
E. conditions and, in their use of the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, they
decide

My first doubt is the word "in using" is UNIDIOMATIC or ITS used in a wrong way in the answer choices...ans secondly the use of
AND COMMA and COMMA AND construction in the answer choices...
The OA given is D can anyone explain why the other four answer choices are wrong?????

IMO D .

examine || decide .

The normative model of strategic decision-making suggests that executives examine a firm's external environment and internal conditions, and in using the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, can decide on a strategy.

A. conditions, and in using the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, can decide ---------------> what do they derive from these analysis by in using the set of objective criteria????, secondly can decide is not parallel with examine...........
B. conditions, and they use the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses in deciding
C. conditions and, in using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, deciding
D. conditions and, using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, decide
E. conditions and, in their use of the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, they
decide ---------> wordy and awkward

atulmangal wrote:The normative model of strategic decision-making suggests that executives examine a firm's external environment and internal conditions, and in using the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, can decide on a strategy.
A. conditions, and in using the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, can decide
B. conditions, and they use the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses in deciding
C. conditions and, in using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, deciding
D. conditions and, using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, decide
E. conditions and, in their use of the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, they
decide

My first doubt is the word "in using" is UNIDIOMATIC or ITS used in a wrong way in the answer choices...ans secondly the use of
AND COMMA and COMMA AND construction in the answer choices...
The OA given is D can anyone explain why the other four answer choices are wrong?????

I received a PM asking me to comment.

Here's the basic structure of the sentence:

The model...suggests that executives examine...and...decide...

Only answer choice D gives the correct structure. Eliminate A, B, C and E.

The correct answer is D.

To address another concern raised in the original post: in + gerund is a correct idiom.

Why Op B is wrong???

finalbattle wrote:Why Op B is wrong???

conditions, and they use the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses in deciding

deciding is not parellel to examine.

Hope it helps!

GmatKiss wrote:

finalbattle wrote:Why Op B is wrong???

conditions, and they use the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses in deciding

deciding is not parellel to examine.

Hope it helps!

But we don't need parallelism here, as "They..." is an independent clause....so in Op B we have two separate independent clauses...

GMATGuruNY wrote:

atulmangal wrote:The normative model of strategic decision-making suggests that executives examine a firm's external environment and internal conditions, and in using the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, can decide on a strategy.
A. conditions, and in using the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, can decide
B. conditions, and they use the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses in deciding
C. conditions and, in using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, deciding
D. conditions and, using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, decide
E. conditions and, in their use of the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, they
decide

My first doubt is the word "in using" is UNIDIOMATIC or ITS used in a wrong way in the answer choices...ans secondly the use of
AND COMMA and COMMA AND construction in the answer choices...
The OA given is D can anyone explain why the other four answer choices are wrong?????

I received a PM asking me to comment.

Here's the basic structure of the sentence:

The model...suggests that executives examine...and...decide...

Only answer choice D gives the correct structure. Eliminate A, B, C and E.

The correct answer is D.

But GmatGuruNY in D below, using is a present participle and it needs a subject to modify . There is no subject who is using the set of criteria to decide.This is a dangling modifier issue.

D. conditions and, using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, decide

The word decide must be precede by a subject they .

D. conditions and, using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, they decide

B doesnt have any such issues

mundasingh123 wrote:

GMATGuruNY wrote:

atulmangal wrote:The normative model of strategic decision-making suggests that executives examine a firm's external environment and internal conditions, and in using the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, can decide on a strategy.
A. conditions, and in using the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, can decide
B. conditions, and they use the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses in deciding
C. conditions and, in using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, deciding
D. conditions and, using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, decide
E. conditions and, in their use of the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, they
decide

My first doubt is the word "in using" is UNIDIOMATIC or ITS used in a wrong way in the answer choices...ans secondly the use of
AND COMMA and COMMA AND construction in the answer choices...
The OA given is D can anyone explain why the other four answer choices are wrong?????

I received a PM asking me to comment.

Here's the basic structure of the sentence:

The model...suggests that executives examine...and...decide...

Only answer choice D gives the correct structure. Eliminate A, B, C and E.

The correct answer is D.

But GmatGuruNY in D below, using is a present participle and it needs a subject to modify . There is no subject who is using the set of criteria to decide.This is a dangling modifier issue.

D. conditions and, using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, decide

The word decide must be precede by a subject they .

D. conditions and, using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, they decide

B doesnt have any such issues

A present participle (VERBing) preceded by a comma refers to the subject of the previous clause. In D, the subject that precedes using is executives. It is clear that using refers to executives.

Please note that punctuation makes a difference here:

CONJUNCTION + COMMA + VERBing (as in the OA above) implies that the present participle refers to the subject of the preceding clause.

...the executives examine and, using the criteria, decide...

COMMA + CONJUNCTION + VERBing implies that the present participle refers to the subject of the FOLLOWING clause:

Defense attorneys have argued that their clients' misconduct stemmed from a reaction to something ingested, but in attributing criminal or delinquent behavior to some food allergy, the perpetrators...

In the sentence above -- an incorrect answer to SC79 in the OG12 -- the comma before but implies that attributing refers to the subject of the FOLLOWING clause: the perpetrators.

Hi Mitch,

Can u please suggest what's wrong with Op B??? Is it the meaning clarity issue or there is some other grammatical error which m missing here????

finalbattle wrote:Hi Mitch,

Can u please suggest what's wrong with Op B??? Is it the meaning clarity issue or there is some other grammatical error which m missing here????

In B, they serves to stand in for executives.
Conveyed meaning:
The normative model suggests, and executives use the objective set of criteria.
Here, the clause in blue and the clause in red seem to be SEPARATE EVENTS.
Not the intended meaning.
The intended meaning is that the clause in red is an event that THE NORMATIVE MODEL SUGGESTS, as in the OA:
The normative model suggests THAT executives use the objective set of criteria.
Eliminate B.

GMATGuruNY wrote:

finalbattle wrote:Hi Mitch,

Can u please suggest what's wrong with Op B??? Is it the meaning clarity issue or there is some other grammatical error which m missing here????

B incorrectly mixes the subjunctive with the indicative mood.

Subjunctive:
The subjunctive mood is used to imply an action that is hypothetical. In B, examine is in the subjunctive mood. The normative model SUGGESTS that executives EXAMINE a firm's environment, but there is no guarantee that the executives actually will perform this action.

Indicative:
The indicative mood is used to express an action that is actually happening. In B, use is in the indicative mood: they USE the criteria implies that the executives are -- in actuality -- using the criteria.

Since all of the actions in the sentence are being SUGGESTED, the sentence must stay in the subjunctive mood.

Thanks sir.

So, B is gramatically correct but changes the meaning and the essence?

GmatGuruNY
You said

B incorrectly mixes the subjunctive with the indicative mood.

But i find that both the verbs in B ae in subjunctive mood
Verb1: suggests that executives examine
Verb2: Suggest that they use ...,in deciding
Confused :

mundasingh123 wrote: But i find that both the verbs in B ae in subjunctive mood
Verb1: suggests that executives examine
Verb2: Suggest that they use ...,in deciding
Confused :

Hi,

B: The normative model of strategic decision-making suggests that executives examine a firm's external environment and internal conditions, and they use the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses in deciding on a strategy.

If we split this, we get
Ind. Clause-1: The normative model of strategic decision-making suggests that executives examine a firm's external environment and internal conditions.

Ind. Clause-2: they(executives) use the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses in deciding on a strategy.
The first clause is in subjunctive mood and the second clause is a normal one.

You are splitting B into:
1) The normative model of strategic decision-making suggests that executives examine a firm's external environment and internal conditions.
and
2) The normative model of strategic decision-making suggests that executives use the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses in deciding..
But this is wrong because the second part actually has a subject(they) and hence it forms an independent clause.

If the option had been:
The normative model of strategic decision-making suggests that executives examine a firm's external environment and internal conditions and use the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses in deciding on a strategy.
then your logic is correct and this similar construction is used in D, which is correct.

that depends on the set of words that you choose to start your parallelism from
You chose
suggests that executives ...examine
...............................................use

I chose
suggests that ... executives examine
... ......................they use

The debate about the 2 structures is similar to that between the following 2 structures

I pretend to eat, to drink and to drive
I pretend to eat, drink and drive .