Quote:
1. The primary purpose of the passage is to
In preparation for answering this question, let's grab a summary of the ideas in the passage. The two-paragraph structure should serve as a basic organizational aid here.
¶1:• Describes/defines the management system known as TQM
• TQM works with X system in way M, and with Y system in way N
¶2:• BUT, you can't just stick TQM onto pre-existing implementations of those other systems.
• All three aim to maximize profits
• The other two are short-term (implying TQM isn't)
• Different stakeholders / different people are invested in the systems.
That's the basic content of the passage. We want the answer choice that...
• CONTAINS IDEAS that ARE supported by the passage text,
• says NOTHING that ISN'T supported.There's no obligation for the answer to hit every single point.
One by one:
Quote:
(A) point out contradictions in a new management system
"Contradictions
in a system" would mean inconsistencies WITHIN ONE system. While the passage notes some points of contrast among three different management systems, it does not mention any
internal inconsistencies WITHIN any one of the three.
Another fatal problem with this answer choice is the word "new". Nowhere does the author give any clue as to the relative age or pedigree of any of the three management systems mentioned.
Quote:
(B) compare and contrast the objectives of various management systems
Objectives are mentioned only briefly, at the start of the second paragraph—where the author notes that all three of the mentioned systems have the same ultimate objective (i.e., to maximize profits).
This answer choice thus fails on two counts. First, since it only covers the material in one relatively small part of one paragraph, it's certainly not the main idea/purpose. Second, "compare
and contrast" isn't substantiated, since no contrast is drawn between the ultimate objectives of the three systems.
Quote:
(C) identify the organizational features shared by various management systems
There are just two locations where the passage touches on organizational specs.
One of these locations is at the end of the first paragraph, where the author states that
"the organizational structure associated with TQM is consistent with the social and psychological emphases of the 'human relations' school of management". Even this part doesn't satisfy choice C, however, because the author doesn't
identify that "organizational structure"—in other words, say WHAT IT IS!
That leaves only the "lateral structure of organizations" near the end of the passage, which not only is MUCH too small a fraction of the text to qualify as a main idea, but, moreover, only touches on one of the three management systems.
This choice isn't supported.
Quote:
(D) explain the relationship of a particular management system to certain other management systems
Looking back at the bullet points... ¶1 starts out with a detailed definition of TQM, which makes TQM the "particular management system" out of the three. The rest of ¶1 consists of two specific identifications of points of consistency between TQM and other systems, one specific similarity for each of the other two systems. These consistencies are definitely relationships with those other systems.
¶2 starts out with a treatment of shared objectives (another relationship), and then dives into some points of distinction (still another relationship).
This choice is thus fully supported.
Quote:
(E) explain the advantages of a particular management system over certain other management systems
Nowhere in this passage is there any language to suggest that any one of the three systems is better or worse than any other, or that the author has any sort of personal preference for or against any of them. There are only objective comparisons of different specs.
It's D.