PrepTest 145, Section 4, Question 14
Obviously, entrepreneurial ability is needed to start a(55 more words not shown)
The proposition that certain entrepreneurs(16 more words not shown)
- AIt is the(6 more words not shown)
- BIt is presented(11 more words not shown)
- CIt is meant(16 more words not shown)
- DIt is a(11 more words not shown)
- EIt is an(19 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Starting a company and keeping it successful call for different skills. Someone might be good at launching a business but poor at seeing where its market is heading. That can create problems when the business tries to grow.
The argument uses that distinction to reach a broader conclusion: lacking either entrepreneurial ability or managerial skill can hinder a company's success. I wouldn't get stuck on whether “development” includes keeping an existing company going; the point is that both kinds of ability matter at different stages.
What we’re looking for
We're asked about the statement that certain entrepreneurs fail in managing company growth. It belongs on the managerial-skill side of the reasoning and supports the argument rather than stating its overall conclusion. Now we need to be precise about how that particular claim contributes, rather than treating every supporting sentence as interchangeable.
Working the answers
- A
The main conclusion is the final claim that either deficiency can inhibit successful companies. The failure to manage growth is part of the support for that broader point, not the whole point itself.
- B
The argument isn't primarily trying to explain why these particular entrepreneurs failed to manage growth. It uses their failure to support a broader claim about the importance of managerial skills. Being an example doesn't make something an example of the phenomenon the argument aims to explain.
- C
This isn't a passing comment. The growth failure shows what can go wrong when someone lacks a managerial skill such as analyzing market trends. It has a job in the reasoning.
- D
This is tempting if we focus on the broader sentence saying entrepreneurs can start a company and then fail for lack of managerial skills. That broader claim directly supports the final conclusion. But the question identifies the more specific failure to manage growth. Check the exact claim we're labeling, not just the general topic of the surrounding sentences.
- ECorrect
The growth failure is the example introduced by “for instance.” It supports the premise that entrepreneurs can fail later because they lack managerial skills. That premise then directly supports the conclusion that a lack of managerial skills can inhibit a successful company, alongside a lack of entrepreneurial ability.
So there are three levels: the specific growth problem, the general claim about later managerial failure, and the final conclusion about both kinds of ability. E captures the example's place in that sequence.
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