For the safety-conscious Swedish market, a United States manufacturer of desktop computers developed a special display screen that produces a...

GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions

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For the safety-conscious Swedish market, a United States manufacturer of desktop computers developed a special display screen that produces a much weaker electromagnetic field surrounding the user than do ordinary screens. Despite an advantage in this respect over its competitors, the manufacturer is introducing the screen into the United States market without advertising it as a safety improvement.

Which of the following, if true, provides a rationale for the manufacturer's approach to advertising the screen in the United States?

Many more desktop computers are sold each year in the United States market than are sold in the Swedish market.

The manufacturer does not want its competitors to become aware of the means by which the company has achieved this advance in technology.

Most business and scientific purchasers of desktop computers expect to replace such equipment eventually as better technology becomes available on the market.

An emphasis on the comparative safety of the new screen would call into question the safety of the many screens the manufacturer has already sold in the United States.

Concern has been expressed in the United States over the health effects of the large electromagnetic fields surrounding electric power lines.

Solution

Passage Analysis:

Text from Passage	Analysis
For the safety-conscious Swedish market, a United States manufacturer of desktop computers developed a special display screen that produces a much weaker electromagnetic field surrounding the user than do ordinary screens.	What it says: A US computer maker created a safer screen with weaker electromagnetic fields specifically for Sweden What it does: Sets up the background - tells us about a product designed for safety concerns What it is: Background information/context Visualization: Regular screen = 100 electromagnetic units vs New screen = 20 electromagnetic units (much weaker field around user)
Despite an advantage in this respect over its competitors, the manufacturer is introducing the screen into the United States market without advertising it as a safety improvement.	What it says: Even though this screen is safer than competitors', the company won't market it as safer in the US What it does: Creates the puzzle - connects the safety advantage to a surprising marketing choice What it is: The phenomenon that needs explaining Visualization: Sweden marketing = "SAFER SCREEN!" vs US marketing = "Great screen" (no safety mention)

Argument Flow:

The passage presents a business scenario without making an argument. It gives us background facts about a safety-focused product development, then presents a puzzling marketing decision that we need to explain.

Main Conclusion:

There is no conclusion in this passage - it's setting up a scenario that needs explanation through the answer choices.

Logical Structure:

This isn't a traditional argument with premises and conclusion. Instead, it's a 'explain the phenomenon' setup where we get facts about a product (safer screen made for Sweden) and a puzzling business decision (not advertising safety benefits in the US), and we need to find a reason that makes this decision logical.

Prethinking:

Question type:

Strengthen - We need to find information that would make the manufacturer's decision to NOT advertise the safety feature in the US market seem more reasonable or justified.

Precision of Claims

The key claims are about marketing strategy (what they advertise vs don't advertise) and market differences (Sweden vs US). We're looking at the quality of marketing approach and the nature of different consumer markets.

Strategy

Since this is a strengthen question, we need to think about what new information would make us believe the manufacturer's marketing decision makes sense. The puzzle is: why would a company NOT advertise a clear safety advantage? We should look for reasons why advertising safety benefits might backfire or be counterproductive in the US market specifically.

Answer Choices Explained

Many more desktop computers are sold each year in the United States market than are sold in the Swedish market.

This tells us about market size differences but doesn't explain why larger market size would be a reason to NOT advertise safety benefits. If anything, a larger market might be more reason to advertise advantages, not less. This doesn't provide a rationale for the specific marketing approach.

The manufacturer does not want its competitors to become aware of the means by which the company has achieved this advance in technology.

This is about protecting trade secrets, but the passage already states the company is introducing the screen to the US market. Once a product is released, competitors can reverse-engineer it anyway. Plus, this doesn't explain why they specifically avoid safety-focused advertising rather than just any advertising.

Most business and scientific purchasers of desktop computers expect to replace such equipment eventually as better technology becomes available on the market.

This talks about general replacement cycles for technology, but it doesn't explain why this expectation would make a company avoid advertising current safety advantages. Businesses still care about safety features in products they're buying now.

An emphasis on the comparative safety of the new screen would call into question the safety of the many screens the manufacturer has already sold in the United States.

This directly explains the marketing decision! If they advertise 'our new screens are much safer,' customers will ask 'were the old ones dangerous?' This could create legal liability, reputation damage, and customer relations problems. By not emphasizing safety, they avoid implicitly criticizing their own previous products. This provides a clear business rationale for their approach.

Concern has been expressed in the United States over the health effects of the large electromagnetic fields surrounding electric power lines.

This shows there is health awareness in the US about electromagnetic fields, but this would actually support advertising the safety benefits, not avoiding them. If people are concerned about electromagnetic fields, they'd likely want safer screens.

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