PrepTest 109

Incorrect. This answer is too extreme. The argument assumes that these academics lack the ability to create a curriculum that teaches one thing, not that they lack all practical, valuable business experience.

Incorrect. The stimulus notes that business schools "too often" focus on hypothetical cases not that the deal only with them.

Incorrect. The argument's conclusion recommends having academics teach curricula generated by business executives, so this answer is contradicted in the stimulus.

Incorrect. The stimulus never discusses academic training outside of business schools, so this answer is out of scope.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Strengthen with Necessary Premise

Stimulus Summary:
Background — The current economy requires managers to learn from real experience.
Problem — Business schools can't teach this on their own; they're too focused on theory, and they're slow to respond to changes in needs.
Solution — Let business execs set the curriculum and let academics teach it.

Answer Anticipation:
This argument falls into a common pattern—problem/solution. Here, the problem is that business schools seem incapable on their own of teaching something necessary for managers to have in the current economy/new industrial revolution. That "something" is "action learning" from real experience.

To solve this problem the author recommends that the curriculum be created by business executives which can then be taught by academics. For this to be a solution to the problem however it needs to be assumed that business executives are capable of creating a curriculum that can teach this thing that academics can't. So let's find an answer discussing that!

Answer Explanation:
This answer is necessary for the recommendation in the conclusion to make sense. If business executives don't have valuable insights into business lacking from academics then there's no reason to ask them to design curricula to be taught in business schools. Since the argument falls apart if this isn't true it's the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
Be very careful with the conclusion! Here it'd be easy to pick an answer like (C) if you paraphrased too much. However the conclusion specifically notes that academics still have a role teaching curricula in business schools.