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Heavy commitment by an executive

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by sachin_yadav » Wed Sep 07, 2011 6:44 am

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B

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E

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Difficulty—

Heavy commitment by an executive to a course of action, especially if it has worked well in the past, makes it likely to miss signs of incipient trouble or misinterpret them when they do appear.


A. Heavy commitment by an executive to a course of action, especially if it has worked well in the past, makes it likely to miss signs of incipient trouble or misinterpret them when they do appear.

B. An executive who is heavily committed to a course of action, especially one that worked well in the past, makes missing signs of incipient trouble or misinterpreting ones likely when they do appear.

C. An executive who is heavily committed to a course of action is likely to miss or misinterpret signs of incipient trouble when they do appear, especially if it has worked well in the past.

D. Executives' being heavily committed to a course of action, especially if it has worked well in the past, makes them likely to miss signs of incipient trouble or misinterpreting them when they do appear.

E. Being heavily committed to a course of action, especially one that has worked well in the past, is likely to make an executive miss signs of incipient trouble or misinterpret them when they do appear.

Answer is E

Hi Everyone,

At first this question seems tough to me but after understanding and spending more time than the usual time of attempting each SC question I got this correct. But I was not able to understand choice B completely. Well choice B is not the answer of this question, but I am not able to understand why the usage of "ones" is incorrect? Why "ones" cannot refer to signs?

I read in one of the posts that the usage of "ones" in choice B is incorrect, and it should be "them", not "ones".

I understand that "them" is also correct as it is plural that refers to "signs", but why can't it be "ones". This is also plural.

Looking forward to all of your replies.

Thanks & Regards
Sachin.
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by cans » Wed Sep 07, 2011 6:58 am
IMO E
ones is not a correct word. one eats one's dinner (notice apostrophe)
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by avik.ch » Wed Sep 07, 2011 7:04 am
The only difference between B and E is not "them" and "ones". There is a meaning problem between the two,

b ) An executive who is heavily committed to a course of action, especially one that worked well in the past, makes missing signs of incipient trouble or misinterpreting ones likely when they do appear.

-Here Likely is wrongly placed modifier. The sentence refers that - an executives always makes missing sign ( it changes the meaning as per original sentence )



Some expert guidance is required regarding "ones" and "them". But as per this sentence they are not the only criteria of elimination.
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by sachin_yadav » Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:40 am
avik.ch wrote:The only difference between B and E is not "them" and "ones". There is a meaning problem between the two,

Some expert guidance is required regarding "ones" and "them". But as per this sentence they are not the only criteria of elimination.
Thanks avik.ch. You are absolutely correct that there is a meaning issue here, and this choice can be easily eliminated on this base.

But my doubt is strictly on "ones" and "them"

I believe both of them are plural, so both of them should be correct.
cans wrote:IMO E
ones is not a correct word. one eats one's dinner (notice apostrophe)
Thanks Can, but i am not able to understand your explanation.

Here's a link that i am talking about. I am not able to understand why "ones" is wrong here, and why only "them" is correct here ? (I thought both are plurals)

https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/hea ... t3173.html

(Explanation of "ones" is given in the first page)

Please need an expert reply

Thanks & Regards
Sachin
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by avik.ch » Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:46 am
sachin_yadav wrote:
avik.ch wrote:The only difference between B and E is not "them" and "ones". There is a meaning problem between the two,

Some expert guidance is required regarding "ones" and "them". But as per this sentence they are not the only criteria of elimination.
Thanks avik.ch. You are absolutely correct that there is a meaning issue here, and this choice can be easily eliminated on this base.

But my doubt is strictly on "ones" and "them"

I believe both of them are plural, so both of them should be correct.

Sachin
I remember that once Ron stated that "them" should be used. But Why ?
I couldnt find any explanation for that. I went on eliminating answer choice B from meaning perspective.
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by vinni.k » Thu Sep 08, 2011 10:34 am
Bingo...At least someone asked about it.

Will keep track on this.

Vinni
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by GMATGuruNY » Thu Sep 08, 2011 11:22 am
sachin_yadav wrote:Heavy commitment by an executive to a course of action, especially if it has worked well in the past, makes it likely to miss signs of incipient trouble or misinterpret them when they do appear.


A. Heavy commitment by an executive to a course of action, especially if it has worked well in the past, makes it likely to miss signs of incipient trouble or misinterpret them when they do appear.

B. An executive who is heavily committed to a course of action, especially one that worked well in the past, makes missing signs of incipient trouble or misinterpreting ones likely when they do appear.

C. An executive who is heavily committed to a course of action is likely to miss or misinterpret signs of incipient trouble when they do appear, especially if it has worked well in the past.

D. Executives' being heavily committed to a course of action, especially if it has worked well in the past, makes them likely to miss signs of incipient trouble or misinterpreting them when they do appear.

E. Being heavily committed to a course of action, especially one that has worked well in the past, is likely to make an executive miss signs of incipient trouble or misinterpret them when they do appear.

Answer is E

Hi Everyone,

At first this question seems tough to me but after understanding and spending more time than the usual time of attempting each SC question I got this correct. But I was not able to understand choice B completely. Well choice B is not the answer of this question, but I am not able to understand why the usage of "ones" is incorrect? Why "ones" cannot refer to signs?

I read in one of the posts that the usage of "ones" in choice B is incorrect, and it should be "them", not "ones".

I understand that "them" is also correct as it is plural that refers to "signs", but why can't it be "ones". This is also plural.

Looking forward to all of your replies.

Thanks & Regards
Sachin.
In A, it could refer to commitment or to course of action. Eliminate A.

In C, it lacks a clear antecedent. The nearest preceding singular noun is trouble, but the desired antecedent is course of action, which is placed too far from it. Eliminate C.

In D, them cannot be used to refer to executives', which is not a noun but an adjective. Eliminate D.

In B, an executive...makes missing signs of incipient trouble...likely does not convey the intended meaning. It is not the EXECUTIVE himself but the COMMITMENT TO A COURSE OF ACTION that is causing the problems discussed in this SC. Eliminate B.

The correct answer is E.
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by sachin_yadav » Thu Sep 08, 2011 12:12 pm
GMATGuruNY wrote: In B, an executive...makes missing signs of incipient trouble...likely does not convey the intended meaning. It is not the EXECUTIVE himself but the COMMITMENT TO A COURSE OF ACTION that is causing the problems discussed in this SC. Eliminate B.
Thanks Mitch.

Certainly, the answer is E, and B changes the meaning of the sentence, but what about "ones" in B. Is "ones" incorrect ?

What if there were "ones" in the answer choice E, then the choice E would have been correct ?

Being heavily committed to a course of action, especially one that has worked well in the past, is likely to make an executive miss signs of incipient trouble or misinterpret ones when they do appear.

Now, I have replaced "them" with "ones". Is this correct ? ("Them" is referring to "signs", so "ones" refers to "signs")

I am confused with "ones". I believe "ones" is plural and can be used if "them" is not mentioned in the sentence. I might be wrong, but if i am wrong, then why i am wrong ?

Why "them", and why not "ones" ?

Looking forward to your reply.

Regards
Sachin
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by GMATGuruNY » Thu Sep 08, 2011 12:39 pm
sachin_yadav wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote: In B, an executive...makes missing signs of incipient trouble...likely does not convey the intended meaning. It is not the EXECUTIVE himself but the COMMITMENT TO A COURSE OF ACTION that is causing the problems discussed in this SC. Eliminate B.
Thanks Mitch.

Certainly, the answer is E, and B changes the meaning of the sentence, but what about "ones" in B. Is "ones" incorrect ?

What if there were "ones" in the answer choice E, then the choice E would have been correct ?

Being heavily committed to a course of action, especially one that has worked well in the past, is likely to make an executive miss signs of incipient trouble or misinterpret ones when they do appear.

Now, I have replaced "them" with "ones". Is this correct ? ("Them" is referring to "signs", so "ones" refers to "signs")

I am confused with "ones". I believe "ones" is plural and can be used if "them" is not mentioned in the sentence. I might be wrong, but if i am wrong, then why i am wrong ?

Why "them", and why not "ones" ?

Looking forward to your reply.

Regards
Sachin
Ones is used to refer to select members of a group:

Please put the clean dishes in the cabinet and the dirty ones in the sink.

In the SC above, ones would imply that the executive is misinterpreting only a few specific signs of incipient trouble; which ONES is he misinterpreting? Since we don't know, ones is inappropriate.

I would be skeptical of an answer choice that uses ones, which seems a bit informal for the GMAT.
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by sachin_yadav » Fri Sep 09, 2011 9:11 am
GMATGuruNY wrote:
Ones is used to refer to select members of a group:

Please put the clean dishes in the cabinet and the dirty ones in the sink.

In the SC above, ones would imply that the executive is misinterpreting only a few specific signs of incipient trouble; which ONES is he misinterpreting? Since we don't know, ones is inappropriate.

I would be skeptical of an answer choice that uses ones, which seems a bit informal for the GMAT.
Thanks Mitch and appreciate for your reply. Doubt is now clear.

Regards
Sachin
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by Nidhi4mba » Fri Sep 23, 2011 3:30 am
Mitch,

I have a doubt with answer E. "Being heavily committed ........" is a modifier & should be modifying the executives or an executive. But this is not the case with E. Can you please elaborate??
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by GMATGuruNY » Fri Sep 23, 2011 3:40 am
Nidhi4mba wrote:Mitch,

I have a doubt with answer E. "Being heavily committed ........" is a modifier & should be modifying the executives or an executive. But this is not the case with E. Can you please elaborate??
In E, being is not a modifier but a GERUND -- a verb functioning as a noun -- and is the subject of the verb is:

BEING heavily committed...IS likely to make an executive miss signs...
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by Jayanth2689 » Wed Jul 11, 2012 3:48 am
GMATGuruNY wrote:
Nidhi4mba wrote:Mitch,

I have a doubt with answer E. "Being heavily committed ........" is a modifier & should be modifying the executives or an executive. But this is not the case with E. Can you please elaborate??
In E, being is not a modifier but a GERUND -- a verb functioning as a noun -- and is the subject of the verb is:

BEING heavily committed...IS likely to make an executive miss signs...
Hi Mitch, reopening an old thread! Being functions as a Gerund here as u said.. So is Being heavily committed a subject phrase??
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by georgepaul0071987 » Fri Aug 24, 2012 10:54 pm
I'm still not clear on how to eliminate (C) based on the pronoun issue . Can somebody help ?
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by Jayanth2689 » Sat Aug 25, 2012 12:16 am
georgepaul0071987 wrote:I'm still not clear on how to eliminate (C) based on the pronoun issue . Can somebody help ?
"especially if it has worked well in the past" must modify "course of action". Here it seems to refer to the signs of trouble. Misplaced modifier.
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