Manhattan CAT CR Question

Expert replies

siddus: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 87; Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2010 8:36 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 3 times

by siddus » Mon Jul 26, 2010 4:28 am

Analyst: Creative professionals, such as clothing designers, graphic designers, and decorators, often have very poor managerial skills and do not succeed when they try to run their own businesses. In fact, most of these creative types are less skilled in business than is the average white-collar professional who does not work in a creative field. Generally, creative talent and business acumen rarely go hand in hand.

If the analyst's argument is taken as true, which of the following statements can properly be concluded?
A) No successful businesspeople are creative.
B) Some creative types are not less skilled at business than is the average white-collar worker who is not creative.
C) Creativity precludes success in business.
D) Any white-collar worker who is not creative is more successful in business than any creative professional.
E) Business is not a creative endeavor

OA is B

I think this question is bad for two reasons

1) The question asks for the conclusion and the answer provides an inference

2) The argument states that "most of these creative types are less skilled in business than is the average white-collar professional who does not work in a creative field"

However, as per common logic, MOST means ">=50%" or in other words - "Definitely some, possibly ALL"

So from the argument we cannot infer B. It could be possible that "All of these creative types are less skilled in business"

your thoughts on this?

Like this post

Source: Beat The GMAT — Critical Reasoning | Mon Jul 26, 2010 4:28 am

FightWithGMAT: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 364; Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2010 5:13 amFollowed by: 3 members; Thanked: 31 times

by FightWithGMAT » Mon Jul 26, 2010 4:55 am

siddus wrote:Analyst: Creative professionals, such as clothing designers, graphic designers, and decorators, often have very poor managerial skills and do not succeed when they try to run their own businesses. In fact, most of these creative types are less skilled in business than is the average white-collar professional who does not work in a creative field. Generally, creative talent and business acumen rarely go hand in hand.

If the analyst's argument is taken as true, which of the following statements can properly be concluded?
A) No successful businesspeople are creative.
B) Some creative types are not less skilled at business than is the average white-collar worker who is not creative.
C) Creativity precludes success in business.
D) Any white-collar worker who is not creative is more successful in business than any creative professional.
E) Business is not a creative endeavor

OA is B

I think this question is bad for two reasons

1) The question asks for the conclusion and the answer provides an inference

2) The argument states that "most of these creative types are less skilled in business than is the average white-collar professional who does not work in a creative field"

However, as per common logic, MOST means ">=50%" or in other words - "Definitely some, possibly ALL"

So from the argument we cannot infer B. It could be possible that "All of these creative types are less skilled in business"

your thoughts on this?

I think MOST is not ALL

MOST = 51-99
ALL= 100
Some= Not ALL= 0-50

Like this post

YellowSapphire: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 117; Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2010 7:57 pm; Location: India; Thanked: 1 times

by YellowSapphire » Mon Jul 26, 2010 5:24 am

FightWithGMAT wrote: I think MOST is not ALL

MOST = 51-99
ALL= 100
Some= Not ALL= 0-50

SOME = MANY = AT LEAST ONE
SOME â‰ MOST â‰ ALL

SOME: 1 - 99
ALL = 100

Yellow Sapphire

Like this post

siddus: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 87; Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2010 8:36 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 3 times

by siddus » Mon Jul 26, 2010 5:41 am

@YellowSapphire - I think you missed my point here.

You are correct in your assessment that MOST does not mean ALL but it includes the possibility of ALL (as per logic).
Based on this statement we cannot infer that B is definitely true. Because there is a possibility that all creative types are less skilled in business.

As per my view, a more acceptable answer would be -

Possibly some creative types are not less skilled at business than is the average white-collar worker who is not creative.

Like this post

sdotcruz: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 21; Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 8:49 am

by sdotcruz » Thu Aug 12, 2010 10:06 am

Siddius:

First the problem is definitely an inference question. The question stem says "If the analyst's argument is taken as true, which of the following statements can properly be concluded" The analyst provided his conclusion, which is "Generally, creative talent and business acumen rarely go hand in hand." The question stem asks you to identify other conclusions that could be supported/concluded from the statement.

Second you are missing the key word in D that differentiates it from B. "D" includes Any. D suggests that one could take any random white collar worker who is not creative and he will be more successful than a creative person. This is a very extreme statement. The GMAT inference answers are rarely extreme. Also Generally is the key word in the conclusion that leaves room for "Some creative types to be skilled at business". I thought D was correct until i notice ANY in the context of the sentence meant 100% and did not match Generally.

Like this post

debmalya_dutta: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 385; Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2009 10:16 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 29 times; GMAT Score:710

by debmalya_dutta » Thu Aug 12, 2010 1:33 pm

This was quick..
Question Stimulus ...."often have very poor managerial skills " meaning no option can assume extreme stance
A) No successful businesspeople are creative. (extreme - out of scope)
B) Some creative types are not less skilled at business than is the average white-collar worker who is not creative.
Let's come back since not extreme
C) Creativity precludes success in business.
(extreme - out of scope)
D) Any white-collar worker who is not creative is more successful in business than any creative professional.
(extreme - out of scope)
E) Business is not a creative endeavor
(extreme - out of scope)

Coming back to B to re-evaluate
Some creative types are not less skilled at business than is the average white-collar worker who is not creative
The stimulus says that often creative people are not skilled at business. So , there are few/some who are skilled at business. So these "few" can be compared to average white collar professional who does not work in a creative field

siddus wrote:Analyst: Creative professionals, such as clothing designers, graphic designers, and decorators, often have very poor managerial skills and do not succeed when they try to run their own businesses. In fact, most of these creative types are less skilled in business than is the average white-collar professional who does not work in a creative field. Generally, creative talent and business acumen rarely go hand in hand.

If the analyst's argument is taken as true, which of the following statements can properly be concluded?
A) No successful businesspeople are creative.
B) Some creative types are not less skilled at business than is the average white-collar worker who is not creative.
C) Creativity precludes success in business.
D) Any white-collar worker who is not creative is more successful in business than any creative professional.
E) Business is not a creative endeavor

OA is B

I think this question is bad for two reasons

1) The question asks for the conclusion and the answer provides an inference

2) The argument states that "most of these creative types are less skilled in business than is the average white-collar professional who does not work in a creative field"

However, as per common logic, MOST means ">=50%" or in other words - "Definitely some, possibly ALL"

So from the argument we cannot infer B. It could be possible that "All of these creative types are less skilled in business"

your thoughts on this?

@Deb

Like this post

Post new topic Post Reply

• Page 1 of 1

GMAT Course Reviews

560 reviews

1168 reviews

431 reviews

359 reviews

147 reviews

5/5

5 Star (560 Reviews)

"Target Test Prep is the closest to the official version of the GMAT exam, about 99% accuracy in terms of the quality and quantity of information. The course has excellently created singular sets of focused lessons and tests for every possible topic that one could come across in the official GMAT exam."

"The TTP course maximizes the efficiency of the time you spend studying. It will take time and effort but I could almost guarantee that if you complete the course exactly as it is laid out you will get an amazing score. They also have a very responsive team willing to help with any questions you might have."

"TTP has two things that I think no other test prep company offers: A teaching approach that reinforces understanding and an attitude that will give you the mental preparedness needed to succeed on the test. TTP gives you a deep understanding of the concept you need to know while teaching you how to think."

Write a Review