Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: The fact that superior service can generate a competitive advantage for a company does not mean that every attempt at improving service will create such an advantage. Investments in service, like those in production and distribution, must be balanced against other types of investments on the basis of direct, tangible benefits such as cost reduction and increased revenues. If a company is already effectively on a par with its competitors because it provides service that avoids a damaging reputation and keeps customers from leaving at an unacceptable rate, then investment in higher service levels may be wasted, since service is a deciding factor for customers only in extreme situations. This truth was not apparent to managers of one regional bank, which failed to improve its competitive position despite its investment in reducing the time a customer had to wait for a teller. The bank managers did not recognize the level of customer inertia in the consumer banking industry that arises from the inconvenience of switching banks. Nor did they analyze their service improvement to determine whether it would attract new customers by producing a new standard of service that would excite customers or by proving difficult for competitors to copy. The only merit of the improvement was that it could easily be described to customers. Q 17. The primary purpose of the passage is to: Ops: A. contrast possible outcomes of a type of business investment B. suggest more careful evaluation of a type of business investment C. illustrate various ways in which a type of business investment could fail to enhance revenues D. trace the general problems of a company to a certain type of business investment Q 18. The author uses the word "only", in the last line of the passage, most likely in order to: Ops: A. highlight the oddity of the service improvement B. distinguish the primary attribute of the service improvement from secondary attributes C. emphasize the relatively low value of the investment in service improvement D. single out a certain merit of the service improvement from other merits
Question
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
The fact that superior service can generate a competitive advantage for a company does not mean that every attempt at improving service will create such an advantage. Investments in service, like those in production and distribution, must be balanced against other types of investments on the basis of direct, tangible benefits such as cost reduction and increased revenues. If a company is already effectively on a par with its competitors because it provides service that avoids a damaging reputation and keeps customers from leaving at an unacceptable rate, then investment in higher service levels may be wasted, since service is a deciding factor for customers only in extreme situations.
This truth was not apparent to managers of one regional bank, which failed to improve its competitive position despite its investment in reducing the time a customer had to wait for a teller. The bank managers did not recognize the level of customer inertia in the consumer banking industry that arises from the inconvenience of switching banks. Nor did they analyze their service improvement to determine whether it would attract new customers by producing a new standard of service that would excite customers or by proving difficult for competitors to copy. The only merit of the improvement was that it could easily be described to customers.
Q 17. The primary purpose of the passage is to: Ops: A. contrast possible outcomes of a type of business investment B. suggest more careful evaluation of a type of business investment C. illustrate various ways in which a type of business investment could fail to enhance revenues D. trace the general problems of a company to a certain type of business investment
Q 18. The author uses the word "only", in the last line of the passage, most likely in order to: Ops: A. highlight the oddity of the service improvement B. distinguish the primary attribute of the service improvement from secondary attributes C. emphasize the relatively low value of the investment in service improvement D. single out a certain merit of the service improvement from other merits
Solution
Q 17. The primary purpose of the passage is to: The correct answer is B. suggest more careful evaluation of a type of business investment. The passage discusses how not all investments in service will generate a competitive advantage, and uses the example of the regional bank to illustrate the importance of careful evaluation before making such investments.
Q 18. The author uses the word "only", in the last line of the passage, most likely in order to: The correct answer is C. emphasize the relatively low value of the investment in service improvement. The author uses the word "only" to highlight that the sole merit of the service improvement was its ability to be easily described to customers, implying that it did not have much other value.
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