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Few businesses will voluntarily implement

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Few businesses will voluntarily implement

by kvcpk » Fri Aug 13, 2010 4:18 am
Few businesses will voluntarily implement environmental protection measures that benefit the public if those measures reduce profitability. Even though such measures may cost less to implement than the total value of their benefits to society, the company making the decision bears all of the cost and receives little, if any, of the benefit. For example, XYZ Corporation has for the last 10 years refused to install smokestack filters to reduce the air pollution emitted by its factory, claiming that the cost would be prohibitive. Therefore, if such measures are to be implemented to protect the environment, they must be initiated by government regulation or intervention.

The bolded portions of the argument above perform which of the following functions?

A. The first phrase states the conclusion, and the second provides evidence, the truth of which supports the validity of the conclusion.

B. The first phrase states a premise supporting the conclusion, and the second provides evidence, the falsity of which would disprove the first phrase.

C. The first phrase describes a general principle, and the second provides evidence countering that principle.

D. The first phrase states a claim supporting the conclusion, but for which no evidence is given, and the second describes an example supporting the conclusion.

E. The first phrase states a generalization supporting the conclusion, and the second cites an example supporting that generalization.

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by abhigang » Fri Aug 13, 2010 4:24 am
IMO C...
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by reply2spg » Fri Aug 13, 2010 4:28 am
IMO D is correct. However, this question is discussed number of times. Pls search
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by abhigang » Fri Aug 13, 2010 4:40 am
reply2spg wrote:IMO D is correct. However, this question is discussed number of times. Pls search
Actually I reread the argument and missed out the word "Few" totally at the beginning. Now I can see that second example supports the first.
But I believe, that first portion is not a claim instead it is a generalization.
Hence I am chosing option E.
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by ashish2104 » Fri Aug 13, 2010 4:41 am
reply2spg Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 5:28 am

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IMO D is correct. However, this question is discussed number of times. Pls search
The OA is E and not D.

The 2nd boldface is an example of the 1st. I don't see that relation working out pretty well in D.
B and E seemed good, but B was out because it uses 'the falsity of which would disprove the first phrase'.
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by kvcpk » Fri Aug 13, 2010 4:47 am
I couldnt find fault with B and chose B. Why is B wrong?

My bold-face questions hit ratio is ZERO
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by abhigang » Fri Aug 13, 2010 4:57 am
kvcpk wrote:I couldnt find fault with B and chose B. Why is B wrong?

My bold-face questions hit ratio is ZERO
Let us see B.

First of all, I have a doubt whether the first statement can be called a premise. Because as far as I know premises are the basis of a conclusion. But IMO the conclusion is as a result of the example. Even though I am not fully convinced with my own explanation, I rejected B because of the second part which states the falsity of this example will disprove.

Let us try to negate the second statement.
XYZ Corporation has for the last 10 years voluntarily installed smokestack filters to reduce the air pollution emitted by its factory, even if they claiming that the cost would be prohibitive.

Looking at this statement it is still supporting that the first portion because XYZ is now one of the FEW companies.

Let me know if I am wrong.
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by debmalya_dutta » Fri Aug 13, 2010 5:26 am
Go with E what is the OA?
Boldface 1: Few businesses will voluntarily implement environmental protection measures that benefit the public if those measures reduce profitability.
Boldface 2 : For example, XYZ Corporation has for the last 10 years refused to install smokestack filters to reduce the air pollution emitted by its factory, claiming that the cost would be prohibitive.
Conclusion : Therefore, if such measures are to be implemented to protect the environment, they must be initiated by government regulation or intervention.
A. The first phrase states the conclusion, and the second provides evidence, the truth of which supports the validity of the conclusion. - Boldface 1 is not the conclusion
B. The first phrase states a premise supporting the conclusion, and the second provides evidence, the falsity of which would disprove the first phrase. The falsity of Boldface 2 does not disprove the first phrase. Firstly, XYZ is just one example. And "disprove" is an extreme word. We shouldn't disprove the generalisation based on 1 example.
C. The first phrase describes a general principle, and the second provides evidence countering that principle. Boldface 1 doesn't counter the principle
D. The first phrase states a claim supporting the conclusion, but for which no evidence is given, and the second describes an example supporting the conclusion. Boldface 2 does not really support the conclusion. Let us look the Boldface 1 i.e. Few businesses will voluntarily implement environmental protection measures. It supports Boldface 1 rather than the conclusion
E. The first phrase states a generalization supporting the conclusion, and the second cites an example supporting that generalization. Yep. The first is a generalisation and the example supports the generalisations[spoiler][/spoiler]
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by kvcpk » Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:08 am
debmalya_dutta wrote: We shouldn't disprove the generalisation based on 1 example.
OA is E. But I cant agree with you on the above statement.

One example is enough to disprove any generalization.
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by debmalya_dutta » Fri Aug 13, 2010 9:08 am
kvcpk wrote:
debmalya_dutta wrote: We shouldn't disprove the generalisation based on 1 example.
OA is E. But I cant agree with you on the above statement.

One example is enough to disprove any generalization.
I too am not convinced with my reasoning though. I agree. I think we should get Stacey or Andrea into the discussion.
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by kvcpk » Fri Aug 13, 2010 9:34 am
debmalya_dutta wrote:
kvcpk wrote:
debmalya_dutta wrote: We shouldn't disprove the generalisation based on 1 example.
OA is E. But I cant agree with you on the above statement.

One example is enough to disprove any generalization.
I too am not convinced with my reasoning though. I agree. I think we should get Stacey or Andrea into the discussion.
After looking at your post, I think I figured out why B is wrong.

First Bold face speaks only about "Few businesses". Not all businesses.
All = Few + remaining
So, even if the second bold face is false, it will fall into the remianing category.
Hence it cant disprove the first bold face.

What you say??
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don't be afraid of failure and don't abandon it.
People who work sincerely are the happiest."
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by GMATGuruNY » Fri Aug 13, 2010 10:43 am
Few businesses will voluntarily implement environmental protection measures that benefit the public if those measures reduce profitability. Even though such measures may cost less to implement than the total value of their benefits to society, the company making the decision bears all of the cost and receives little, if any, of the benefit. For example, XYZ Corporation has for the last 10 years refused to install smokestack filters to reduce the air pollution emitted by its factory, claiming that the cost would be prohibitive. Therefore, if such measures are to be implemented to protect the environment, they must be initiated by government regulation or intervention.

The bolded portions of the argument above perform which of the following functions?

Bolded portion questions are a match game. We need to be able to match every word in the answer choice back to the passage. If every word can't be matched back, eliminate the answer choice.

A. The first phrase states the conclusion, and the second provides evidence, the truth of which supports the validity of the conclusion. No. The first phrase is not the conclusion. The last sentence of the passage is the conclusion.

B. The first phrase states a premise supporting the conclusion, and the second provides evidence, the falsity of which would disprove the first phrase. No. Premises = Facts. The first phrase is not a fact but a claim that might not be true. Also, if the second phrase turned out to be false -- if XYZ did install the smokestack -- it wouldn't disprove the first phrase (that few business will voluntarily implement protection measures); it would provide only one counterexample.

C. The first phrase describes a general principle, and the second provides evidence countering that principle. No. The second phrase (XYZ wouldn't install the smokestack) supports the first phrase (few businesses will voluntarily implement environmental protection measures).

D. The first phrase states a claim supporting the conclusion, but for which no evidence is given, and the second describes an example supporting the conclusion. No. The second phrase (XYZ refused to install a smokestack) provides evidence that supports the first phrase (few businesses will voluntarily implement environmental protection measures).

E. The first phrase states a generalization supporting the conclusion, and the second cites an example supporting that generalization. Correct. The first phrase states a generalization (few businesses will voluntarily implement environmental protection measures) that supports the conclusion (government regulation is needed). The second phrase cites an example (XYZ refused to install a smokestack) that supports the generalization made by the first phrase (few businesses will voluntarily implement environmental protection measures).

Notice how in E every word can be matched back to the passage.
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by debmalya_dutta » Fri Aug 13, 2010 11:15 am
Thanks a lot GMATGuru... Was thinking on the same lines though I did not articulate it well for kvcp
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by kvcpk » Fri Aug 13, 2010 3:14 pm
Thanks Mitch. It helps!!
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