The technology company's board of directors establishes strategic guidelines for product development and market expansion. Department managers then __...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
The technology company's board of directors establishes strategic guidelines for product development and market expansion. Department managers then _____ these guidelines by creating detailed project plans and allocating resources to meet the specified objectives.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
revise
execute
question
duplicate
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "The technology company's board of directors establishes strategic guidelines for product development and market expansion." |
|
| "[MISSING WORD]" |
|
| "these guidelines by creating detailed project plans and allocating resources to meet the specified objectives." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Visual Structure Map:
Board of Directors → (establishes) → Strategic Guidelines → (managers do something with them) → Department Managers → (by doing) → Detailed Plans + Resource Allocation
Main Point: Department managers take the broad strategic guidelines from the board and turn them into actionable, detailed implementation plans.
Argument Flow: The passage shows a clear hierarchy where high-level strategy flows down to tactical execution. The board creates the strategy, and managers handle the implementation.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The word we need must show what department managers do with the strategic guidelines
- From our analysis, we see that managers take these guidelines and turn them into detailed project plans and resource allocation
- This suggests the managers are carrying out or implementing the guidelines
- The relationship is one of implementation - taking abstract strategy and making it concrete through specific actions
revise
✗ Incorrect
- "Revise" means to change or modify something
- This doesn't fit because the managers aren't changing the guidelines - they're working with them as given
execute
✓ Correct
- "Execute" means to carry out, implement, or put into action
- This perfectly captures what managers do - they take the board's strategic guidelines and implement them
question
✗ Incorrect
- "Question" means to doubt or challenge something
- This creates the wrong relationship - managers aren't challenging the guidelines
duplicate
✗ Incorrect
- "Duplicate" means to make an exact copy
- This doesn't work because managers aren't just copying - they're translating guidelines into specific plans