Question

A leading cement manufacture has been having problems processing manufacturing and delivery records since it expanded its operations. To solve this problem it plans to install a new platform on its central computing system which will run its tracking program five times faster than the current system does. Which one of the following castes the most serious doubt on the manufacture's plan?

• A. Not all computer platforms can make the company's tracking programs run more quickly
• B. The cost of the new computer platform will require the cement manufacture to raise prices for its products.
• C. The cement company's computer system does not have the capability to run the new platform and cannot be updated.
• D. The company has been increasing the sales of cement by 1.5 percent a month for the past 18 months.
• E. A completely new computer system could make the program run 6 times faster than it does currently.

Hint:

In "weaken the plan" questions, look for answer choices that show the plan is impractical, impossible, or will have a serious unintended negative consequence that outweighs the benefit. The most powerful weakener often attacks the feasibility of the plan itself.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This is a Critical Reasoning question asking you to weaken a plan. To weaken a plan, you should identify a factor that would prevent the plan from being implemented or from achieving its goal.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The Problem: The company has problems processing records.
The Plan: Install a new platform on its central computing system to run a program 5x faster.
The Goal: Solve the record-processing problem.
We are looking for something that would make this plan fail. The plan has a specific action: "install a new platform on its central computing system." A fatal flaw would be something that makes this action impossible.


(A) This is irrelevant. The company has presumably chosen a platform that \textit{can} make the program run faster.
(B) Cost is a potential drawback, but it doesn't mean the plan won't solve the record-processing problem. The company might be willing to pay the price.
(C) This is the correct answer. It presents a fundamental obstacle. If the existing central system cannot run the new platform, then the plan as stated ("install a new platform on its central computing system") is impossible to execute. The plan is fundamentally flawed.
(D) This information about sales growth helps explain \textit{why} the company is having problems, but it doesn't cast doubt on the proposed solution.
(E) The existence of a better alternative does not mean the current plan won't work. The goal is to solve the problem, and a 5x speed increase might be sufficient.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The plan is to install a new platform on the existing system. Option (C) states that the existing system is incompatible and cannot be updated, making the plan impossible to implement. This casts the most serious doubt on the plan.