LSAT 109 – Section 4 – Question 08

LSAT 109 - Section 4 - Question 08

December 2000

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT109 S4 Q08
+LR
+Exp
Strengthen +Streng
Value Judgment +ValJudg
A
1%
156
B
3%
158
C
3%
158
D
83%
167
E
10%
161
142
151
160
 +Medium 150.49 +SubsectionHarder

Early in the development of a new product line, the critical resource is talent. New marketing ventures require a degree of managerial skill disproportionate to their short-term revenue prospects. Usually, however, talented managers are assigned only to established high-revenue product lines and, as a result, most new marketing ventures fail. Contrary to current practice, the best managers in a company should be assigned to development projects.

Summarize Argument
The author concludes companies should assign their best managers to development projects. Why? Because talented managers are typically assigned to established projects, causing new product lines—which require talent to market—to fail most of the time.

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes assigning talented managers to development projects would create a net benefit to companies. This means assuming talented managers would increase the chances new projects succeed, and that the consequent benefit would outweigh any harm caused by removing skilled managers from established project lines.

A
On average, new ventures under the direction of managers at executive level survive no longer than those managed by lower-ranking managers.
This weakens the argument. It suggests assigning talented managers to new products would not make those products more successful on average.
B
For most established companies, the development of new product lines is a relatively small part of the company’s total expenditure.
If anything, this weakens the argument. It suggests new product lines are a small part of a company’s overall plan, which means assigning talented managers to those projects carries a larger risk.
C
The more talented a manager is, the less likely he or she is to be interested in undertaking the development of a new product line.
If anything, this weakens the argument. It suggests assigning managers to new product lines will result in more of a company’s talented managers working on projects they’re disinterested in.
D
The current revenue and profitability of an established product line can be maintained even if the company’s best managers are assigned elsewhere.
This supports the author’s recommendation by ruling out a possible problem. It suggests removing talented managers from established product lines will not substantially harm those product lines.
E
Early short-term revenue prospects of a new product line are usually a good predictor of how successful a product line will ultimately be.
This is irrelevant. The author doesn’t suggest experienced managers be assigned at a particular point in a new product’s development, nor does he suggest early revenue prospects are determined by managerial performance.

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LSAT PrepTest 109 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Reading Comprehension

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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