American executives, unlike their Japanese counterparts

to be under pressure is more idiomatic, and also being under the pressure of showing is not correct and is somehow ambiguous, pressure of showing.
in E probably by 'who' you meant show
even if having pressure were correct then the should is some sort of redundant, because the pressure is showing obligation itself.the best structure is presented in B

Bests
Arash

gmatjeet wrote:American executives, unlike their Japanese counterparts, have pressure to show high profits in each quarterly report, with little thought given to long-term goals.

a) have pressure to show
b) are under pressure to show
c) are under the pressure of showing
d) are pressured toward showing
e) have pressure that they should show

oA: B

Please provide detailed reasoning on how to eliminate options

B) are under pressure to show

Here's how I thought through this one...

1. What's the split? "are/pressure" vs. "have pressure"

2. Which split can I eliminate?
> Okay, you have pressure on something, not "to" or "that"
> Eliminate "have pressure" split, i.e., Eliminate A and E!

3. Out of B,C and D, which two can I definitely eliminate?
> "are pressured toward showing" -- ambiguous. Are they pressured or not? This seems to change the meaning of the sentence. Eliminate D!
> "are under the pressure of..." Hmm, are the Am. execs under a Rock?? As arashyazdiha pointed out, the way this is worded, you expect the "subject" of the sentence to come right after "of".
>> For example, Am. execs ... are are under the pressure of "the sarbanes-oxley" law.
> Okay, Eliminate C

4. Answer, by POE, is (B)
> B is a valid idiom too! "under pressure to.."

This approach may not work for all SC problems. However, I find that the "split, re-split strategy" (<insert credit here>) works best for most SC problems (at least for me).

American executives, unlike their Japanese counterparts, have pressure to show high profits in each quarterly report, with little thought given to long-term goals.

a) have pressure to show
b) are under pressure to show
c) are under the pressure of showing
d) are pressured toward showing
e) have pressure that they should who

have pressure, changes meaning. Eliminate A,E
are pressured - ambiguous. Eliminate D
pressure to show / pressure of showing. which one is better?
will choose, pressure TO SHOW
IMO:B

@ XLOGIC: Nice method. But i am unable to understand your explanation in point 3.

3. Out of B,C and D, which two can I definitely eliminate?
> "are pressured toward showing" -- ambiguous. Are they pressured or not? This seems to change the meaning of the sentence. Eliminate D!
> "are under the pressure of..." Hmm, are the Am. execs under a Rock?? As arashyazdiha pointed out, the way this is worded, you expect the "subject" of the sentence to come right after "of".
>> For example, Am. execs ... are are under the pressure of "the sarbanes-oxley" law.
> Okay, Eliminate C


-> why do you say "are pressured toward showing" -- ambiguous.
-> If you eliminate C because "are under the pressure of..." should be followed by subject then should this not be applicable for Option B as well.

Thanks for the help.