Verbal OG question

[AnuragRatna]

The computer company's present troubles are a result
of technological stagnation, marketing missteps, and
managerial blunders so that several attempts to revise
corporate strategies have failed to correct it.
(A) so that several attempts to revise corporate
strategies have failed to correct it
(8) so that several attempts at revising corporate
strategies have failed to correct
(C) in that several attempts at revising corporate
strategies have failed to correct them
(D) that several attempts to revise corporate
strategies have failed to correct
(E) that several attempts at revising corporate
strategies have failed to correct them

[mcdesty]

I will attempt to answer this one by example.

Anurag's present problems are as a result of studying too hard, strategy missteps, and silly mistakes that Anurag has failed to correct.

The modifier, that ..., in the sentence above plays a similar role to the modifier in your question.

Also, you can attempt to fix a problem, or you can take aim at something. You can't attempt at something.

[tathastuGMAT]

Hi AnuragRatna,
This sentence, among other things, entails the intrinsic knowledge of common English constructions.

"so that" is used to introduce the concept of consequence. For instance,

I am studying hard for the GMAT, so that I can get a good score.
The president is tapering IT industries' tax-breaks so that his approval rating will rise.
Europe will rebuff any nuclear power-plant project so that the risk of potential trouble is greatly diminished.

A, B, C "so that" construction in this sentence is logically out of place.

A) pronoun "it" is un-necessary and ambiguous. You don't say "This is the car that I sold it.
B) fragment: the sentence is incomplete.
C) "in that" is completely wrong. Moreover "them" is un-necessary and ambiguous.
D) this is the correct answer. Every issue has been addressed. ("so that" construction has been discarded, "attempts to" substituted with "attempts at", and "it/them" removed.
E) "them" once again is not necessary and wrong.

hope it helps,
-tathastuGMAT

[AnuragRatna]

Thanks a lot @tathastuGMAT and @mcdesty.
You guys not only provide the solution in a very neat and clean manner but also give the 2 approach to solve this question.