- The Greenville Times (GT) had several years of declining advertising sales. During that time, "the sales force was organized geographically, with some sales representatives concentrating on city-center businesses and others concentrating on different outlying regions."
- Then, GT reorganized its advertising sales force by "having each sales representative deal with only one type of industry or of retailing." The goal of this reorganization was "to increase the sales representatives' knowledge of clients' businesses."
- After the reorganization, revenue from advertising sales increased.
Was the subsequent increase in revenue from advertising sales a result of the reorganization? In answering that question, it would be helpful to find out each of the following EXCEPT (in other words, eliminate choices representing information that would be helpful):
Quote:
(A) Two years ago, what proportion of the Greenville Time's total revenue was generated by advertising sales
We are trying to explain an
increase in revenue from advertising sales, not a change to the
proportion of GT's total revenue generated by advertising sales. This information would be irrelevant, so keep choice (A).
Quote:
(B) Has the circulation of the Greenville Times increased substantially in the last two years
If the circulation of GT had increased substantially, we would expect that revenue from advertising sales would have also increased, regardless of whether the reorganization had any effect. Knowing this information
would be helpful in determining whether the increase in revenue from advertising sales was a result of the reorganization, so eliminate (B).
Quote:
(C) Has there been a substantial turnover in personnel in the advertising sales force over the last 2 years
If GT replaced many of their sales representatives, then the increase in revenue from advertising sales could have been a result of the change in personnel and NOT a result of the reorganization (i.e. perhaps the new sales representatives were better at their jobs than the old representatives were). Knowing this information
would be helpful, so eliminate (C).
Quote:
D. Before the reorganization, had sales representatives found it difficult to keep up with relevant developments in all types of businesses to which they are assigned?
The goal of this reorganization was "to increase the sales representatives' knowledge of clients' businesses." In other words, rather than having to deal with a wide variety of businesses in a given geography, perhaps representatives could then thoroughly study one type of industry or retailing. This might allow the representatives to increase their knowledge of their clients' businesses.
However, what if, prior to the reorganization, the sales representatives had NOT found it difficult to keep up with relevant developments in all types of businesses to which they were assigned? In that case, the apparent benefit of the reorganization would have been unnecessary, and the reorganization probably would not have had an effect on revenue from advertising sales. Knowing this information
would be helpful, so eliminate (D).
Quote:
E. Has the economy in Greenville and the surrounding regions been growing rapidly over the last two years?
A growth in the economy in Greenville
might explain the increase in revenue from advertising sales. In order to rule out this possibility, it would be helpful to find out the answer to this question, so eliminate (E).
(A) is the best answer.
17 Sep 2022, 00:32
50% (02:37) correct
