A CR question (Boldface) from Manhattan 5th ed, thanks!

[keithyang926]

Moderator Note: Correct answer is in the errata, here: http://www.manhattangmat.com/errata-cr-5ed.cfm

Products with innovative and appealing designs relative to competing products can often command substantially higher prices in the marketplace. Because design innovations are quickly copied by other manufacturers, many consumer technology companies charge as much as possible for their new designs to extract as much value as possible from them. But large profits generated by the innovative designs give competitors stronger incentives to copy the designs. Therefore, the best strategy to maximize overall profit from an innovative new design is to charge less than the greatest possible price.

In the argument above, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

(B) The first is a consideration that helps explain the appeal of a certain stragegy; the second presents an alternative strategy endorsed by the argument.

(C) The first is a phenomenon that justifies a specific strategy; the second is that strategy.


I only typed option B and C, coz' this is where my doubts are.
I chose B, but the correct answer is C. Here is how I think about B.

The words 'many consumer technology companies charge as much as possible for their new designs to extract as much value as possible from them.' following 'Because' clause, actually presented a strategy adopted by many companies. And then the author pointed out a flaw in this strategy in the 'But' sentence. Finally, he gave a the best strategy he believed, which has considered all the factors described above. The word 'Best' means a comparison involved. So, I say, the first part of boldface supports the strategy many companies use, and the second part is the author's conclusion, the alternative strategy(relative to the one many companies adopted) he thinks the best.

option B gives a more detailed and accurate description, compared to C, I think. So, where I have gone wrong?

Thanks!

[keithyang926]

Anyone care to have a look and comment? I can't think of a better place to post questions from Manhattan than this section, this forum.

Thanks.

[keithyang926]

I heard from other sources, that the correct answer is B, really confused.

[Aquamarine]

While solving this question, I too came up with 'B' .

[rohan.dd.bhatia]

hi Jamie
So is the answer B or C.. I ask because the errata page reports B as the correct answer.

My thinking led me to the following "breakdown" please let me know if this is correct ..
Because design innovations are quickly copied by other manufacturers ->(Supports next arg .. COULD BE X OR P)

many consumer technology companies charge as much as possible for their new designs to extract as much value as possible from them -> [This seems like a fact]

But large profits generated by the innovative designs give competitors stronger incentives to copy the designs -> [Against the previous strategy, supports the main conclusion -- P]

the best strategy to maximize overall profit from an innovative new design is to charge less than the greatest possible price.
-> [Conclusion, against the previous strategy -- to make large profits ]

so we have a XC structure

So choose B
The first is a consideration that helps explain the appeal of a certain strategy(X) the second presents an alternative strategy endorsed by the argument(c)
Eliminated C because
The first is a phenomenon that justifies a specific strategy -- the first supports the strategy to make large profits -- directly it does not support the main conclusion.

Thanks

[jnelson0612]

rohan, I totally agree. I haven't looked at this one in a while and as I read it today I thought that B is definitely a better fit. B is also the correct answer according to the errata.

I think that you've done a nice job of explaining why; if anyone else is confused please let me know!

[django]

I chose B as well. As soon as I saw the 'correct' answer being B, I knew this had to be a mistake. The first bold face obviously was meant to support a strategy different from the strategy in the conclusion, and not the 'that second same strategy'.

[jnelson0612]

I'm glad that we all agree that the correct answer is B. :-)

[chughbrajesh]

Products with innovative and appealing designs relative to competing products often command substantially higher prices in the marketplace.BECAUSE DESIGN INNOVATIONS ARE QUICKLY COPIED BY OTHER MANUFACTURERS, many consumer technology companies charge as much as possible for their new designs to extract as much value as possible from them.But large profits generated by innovative designs give stronger incentives to copy the designs. Therefore, THE BEST STRATEGY TO MAXIMIZE OVERALL PROFIT FROM AN INNOVATIVE NEW DESIGN IS TO CHARGE LESS THAN THE GREATEST POSSIBLE PRICE.


Consider the sentences in uppercase to be the boldfaced parts.

Q: In the argument above , the 2 portions in boldface (uppercase) play which of the following roles ?
(A) The First is an assumption that supports a described course of action; The second provides a consideration to support a preferred course of action.
(B) The first is a consideration that helps explain the appeal of a certain strategy;the second presents an alternative strategy endorsed by the argument.
(C) The first is a phenomenon that justifies a specific strategy ; the second is that strategy.
(D) The first is a consideration that demonstrates why a particular approach is flawed; the second describes a way to amend that approach.
(E) The first is a factor used to rationalize a particular strategy; The second is a factor against that strategy.


I was 50-50 with B or D. Can someone please explain what's wrong with D?
As I understand it the first statement is not saying anything about flaw. The author is just debating over what is the best approach.

[jlucero]

Products with innovative and appealing designs relative to competing products often command substantially higher prices in the marketplace.BECAUSE DESIGN INNOVATIONS ARE QUICKLY COPIED BY OTHER MANUFACTURERS, many consumer technology companies charge as much as possible for their new designs to extract as much value as possible from them.But large profits generated by innovative designs give stronger incentives to copy the designs. Therefore, THE BEST STRATEGY TO MAXIMIZE OVERALL PROFIT FROM AN INNOVATIVE NEW DESIGN IS TO CHARGE LESS THAN THE GREATEST POSSIBLE PRICE.


Consider the sentences in uppercase to be the boldfaced parts.

Q: In the argument above , the 2 portions in boldface (uppercase) play which of the following roles ?
(A) The First is an assumption that supports a described course of action; The second provides a consideration to support a preferred course of action.
(B) The first is a consideration that helps explain the appeal of a certain strategy;the second presents an alternative strategy endorsed by the argument.
(C) The first is a phenomenon that justifies a specific strategy ; the second is that strategy.
(D) The first is a consideration that demonstrates why a particular approach is flawed; the second describes a way to amend that approach.
(E) The first is a factor used to rationalize a particular strategy; The second is a factor against that strategy.


I was 50-50 with B or D. Can someone please explain what's wrong with D?
As I understand it the first statement is not saying anything about flaw. The author is just debating over what is the best approach.

If we substitute "charging as much as possible" for "approach", D reads:

The first is a consideration that demonstrates why "charging as much as possible" is flawed; the second describes a way to amend "charging as much as possible".


First off, the second sentence isn't amending the approach, it's really overhauling it. But the bigger problem is the first sentence. The bolded portion isn't telling us why charging a lot is flawed. It's a reason why charging a lot makes sense! This is tricky with the twisted language, but some of the hardest CR problems include taking several different opinions and making sense of each side.