GMATGuruNY wrote:

schumi_gmat wrote:One study found that although government policy and the industrial sector in which a company operates can influence its productivity and financial strength, management decisions have at least as great an impact on a company�s performance.

management decisions have at least as great an impact

decisions by management have a great impact

manager decisions impact greatly

decisions by a company�s management impact greatly

what a company�s management decides has a greater impact


I understand that there needs to be parallelism in nouns. But how is "atleast as great" correct comaprison?

Ellipsis is the omission of words whose presence is understood.

The comparison in A employs ellipsis:

...management decisions have at least as great an impact [as government policy and the industrial sector have].

The words in brackets are omitted, but their presence is understood.

X is at least as great as Y means that X is as great as Y, if not greater than Y.

B, C, D and E do not preserve the intended comparison.

B: have a great impact does not imply a comparison.
C and D: impact greatly does not imply a comparison.
E: a greater impact means "definitely more impact".

Eliminate B, C, D and E.

The correct answer is A.