June 2013 No6

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MBAINTELLIGENCE JUNE 2013 No6

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3 Letter fromthe top: Editorial

GMAT tips:what math brainare you?

GMAT Tips:Master the artof SentenceCorrection

An App foryour apps:Review of ClearAdmit's MBAPlanner App

Student opinion:Dark outlook onIndia's economy

4 Admissions tips:essay writing

27 Key to your career:Maximise yoursoft skills

31 Admissions tips:How to chooseyour idealb school

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14 GMAT Tips:Double MatrixMethod

33 Brand yourselfbeyond yourMBA

37 Why are onlineluxury businessesfailing in China'sboomingeconomy?

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Road to MBA:Sentence Correction Summary

In the first of a 6 part series, Vivian Kerr from Grockitwill be giving aspiring MBAs a comprehensivelook at all the different sections of the GMAT

including test prep strategy.

GMAT

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A great score on the GMAT is essential to gainadmittance to any top-tier business program.The Verbal section of the exam contains 41multiple-choice questions to be completed in75 minutes. There are three types of GMATVerbal questions: Sentence Correction,Critical Reasoning, and ReadingComprehension. Sentence Correction is

known as the “backbone” of the Verbal exam.With less than 2 minutes per question, it’sessential to be able to move through thesequestions quickly and confidently, leavingextra time to read and analyze the CriticalReasoning and Reading Comprehensionquestion-types. Many 700+ GMAT scorers cananswer Sentence Correction questions in just

45 seconds! So, what does theabove-average GMAT test-takerand MBA aspirant need to knowto tackleGMAT Sentence Correction?

Basic ScoringBefore we dive into what the SentenceCorrection actually tests, let’s remember thatthe GMAT is an adaptive test, meaning thedifficulty-level changes based on yourresponse as you take the exam. In generally,an adaptive exam means that if a question isanswered correctly, the next question will beharder and the score will adjust upwards. If aquestion is answered incorrectly, the nextquestion will be easier and the score willadjust downwards. The computer isconstantly recalculating the scaled score asthe student progresses through the Verbalsection to determine the precise ability of thetest-taker. This is why questions at thebeginning of a section are said to “count”more than questions at the end of a section.

FormatSentence Correction questions will alwaysconsist of a single sentence that is eitherpartially or fully underlined. Answer choice(A) is always a repeat of the original sentence,while options (B), (C), (D), and (E) providealternative constructions. This Kaplan videoprovides a great introduction to the basicstructure of the Sentence Correction portionof the exam, and describes the types ofknowledge that are tested. You can alsocheck out the format of a Sample problem onLearnist!

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What’s Tested?Grammar! Correct English grammar usage isthe most important skill you’ll need to answerSentence Correction questions correctly. Ananswer choice with a grammar error willnever be correct. The more familiar you arewith the “most-tested” grammar errors, thefaster you’ll be able to identify them andremove the answer choices that containthem.

Here’s a brief rundown of the 5 majorconcepts you’ll need to understand:

1. IdiomsHow they are tested: Idioms are expressionsnative to the English language. There are twopart Idioms such as “neither…nor” and”between…and” as well as prepositionalidioms like “interested IN” and “afraid OF.”

How to Study: Keep a study sheet for Idiomsand add to it every time you encounter a newone. Make flashcards with the first part of theIdiom on the front and the second part on theback.

2. Subject-Verb How it’s tested: SCs love to give longsentences where the main subject and theverb are separated by many words or clauses.You must identify the subject of eachsentence and make sure the verb matches itin number. Generally, a plural noun takes asingular verb and a singular subject takes aplural verb.

How to Study: Practice identifying the subjectand verb of every sentence correction. Don’tbe confused by other plural nouns in thesentence. Find the noun that is doing theaction of the verb. Memorize the unusualsubject-verbs: collective nouns, each,compound subjects, etc.

3. PronounsHow they are tested: The most common errorassociated with pronouns is pronoun-antecedent agreement. The antecedent is theword the pronoun is replacing. A pronounmust have a clear antecedent in the sentence;the lack of an antecedent is itself an error.The antecedent may often be present, butwill disagree with the pronoun in number.

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How to Study: Learn the difference betweensubject pronouns and object pronouns, andhow they are used in sentences. Make sure tomatch any pronoun in a Sentence Correctionback to its logical antecedent.

4. ParallelismHow it’s tested: Parallelism is tested on theGMAT in a series of phrases or items in a list.In parallel construction, the phrases or itemsmust be in the same form. This can be testedwith a number of parts of speech: nouns,verbs, prepositions, etc.

How to Study: Read as many examples ofparallelism as you can. Understand thedifference between the infinitive andparticiple verb forms. Look for commasbetween phrases as a clue that the sentencemay be testing parallelism. Ask yourself: arethese phrases part of a list?

5. ModifiersHow they are tested: Modifiers are words andphrases that describe nouns. Adjectives,adverbs and modifying clauses will beincorrectly placed, or in the wrong form.Adverbs can only modify verbs, whileadjectives modify nouns. Be on the lookoutfor suspicious adverb-noun and adjective-verb pairings. Also be aware that manysentences will begin with a modifying phraseand a comma. The subject after the commamust be the person or thing doing the actionof the modifying phrase.

How to Study: You will need to reviewadjective and adverb usage from a goodEnglish grammar book, and learn thecommon forms of each (for example, mostadverbs end in –ly). This is worth doing evenif you are a native English speaker, as we

frequently interchange adverbs andadjectives in everyday speech. What “sounds”correct may not in fact be so!

What Else Should I Look for?Most GMAT students who can’t break 700 onthe GMAT ignore the “sense” of a sentence.Grammar is very important, but the overallmeaning of a sentence should also beexamined, especially if a grammar error is notreadily apparent. A correct GMAT sentencewill have no grammar errors, and its meaningwill be clear and logical. Ask yourself: can welogically describe X in this way? Is it possiblefor X to do this verb’s action to Y?

Once you’ve eliminated blatant grammaticalerrors and considered the differences inmeaning among the answer choices, stop toconsider the style. This is where activevoice/passive voice, wordiness, redundancy,and overall clarity become important. This Learnboard does a great job of reviewingactive and passive voice. Remember: theGMAT almost always prefers an activeconstruction over a passive one!

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Putting it all together – Practice Question #1In 1527 King Henry VIII sought to have hismarriage to Queen Catherine annulled so asto marry Anne Boleyn.

A so as to marry B and so could be married to C to be married to D so that he could marry E in order that he would marry

This is a great practice question (and is fromthe Official GMAT Guide). Even though theredoesn’t appear to be a too obviousgrammatical error in the underlined portion,we may have some doubts as to the validityof the idiom “so as to.” Furthermore, there is alack of a pronoun here to clarify exactly whois to marry Anne. Let’s examine B, C, D, and Eand look for more grammatical issues to helpus eliminate. B separates the subject from“could be married” and so we have asubject/verb disconnect.

With A and B removed for grammaticalreasons, let’s examine the meaning of theremaining choices. The main idea here is thatHenry SOUGHT something in the first half,and then the second half explains WHY. Theuse of the word “would” in E muddles thismeaning. But Henry’s willpower is not thefocus here. E is out.

Finally, we have narrowed it down to C and D.C is in passive voice. Henry doesn’t want to“be married” he is DOING the marrying.Stylistically, it’s also helpful to note that E iswordier than D (and the GMAT doesn’tgenerally prefer wordier answer choices). Thecorrect answer here is D.

Non-native speaker and feeling a littlenervous about all this talk of grammar rules?There’s plenty of free resources online gearedtoward helping non-native speakers scorehighly on the GMAT Verbal section. Start bytrying out a free practice question on Grockit!

Vivian KerrVivian Kerr has been teaching and tutoring in the Los Angelesarea since 2005. She graduated from the University of SouthernCalifornia, and has worked for several test-prep companiesincluding Kaplan for whom she taught ACT, SAT, ISEE, GRE,GMAT, and did admissions counseling. She has contributedblogs to Beat the GMAT, College Xpress, and currently blogs,tutors, and writes content for the online test prep companyGrockit, which focuses on making standardized test preparationaffordable and accessible for students around the world.

ISSUE 2 ISSUE 3Offering an analysis of the South American airlineAerolineas Argentinas, this piece examines how thetools of relationship management could supportthis organisation’s goals. It providesrecommendations for the airline by asking whetherit can increase its profitability by improving itsrelationships and marketing strategies.

This piece offers a critical review of the BurtonSnowboards brand – a company that can becredited with creating its own industry in which itcontinues to control 40%-70% of its market –depending on category. But has its phenomenalbranding success created a potential problem? Cana cool anti-establishment brand grow? And where?

The Basel III Accord, the largest and mostchallenging piece of regulation facing the financialservices industry, is demystified in this article,suggesting that it’s time to look at investmentportfolios.

This month we featured reviews of Guy FraserSampson’s book “No Fear Finance” and ProfessorVince Mitchell’s “Marketing: Real People, RealDecisions.”

This article takes a look at the organisationalstrategy and performance of Diageo, a businesswhose goal it is to be “at the center of everycelebration.” We see the measures that have beentaken by the company’s 2 CEO’s to ensure its successduring a time of recession.

In a rapidly changing world of marketing, are MBAstudents leaving business schools equipped withthe right tools to devise high level marketingstrategies? Resident marketing guru Markus Rachsuggests that the changing face of marketing isproviding new challenges to the MBA graduate. Thisarticle gives tips and advice from the top on how tokeep your marketing strategy fresh and current in anew media landscape, with a solid look at successfulexamples in the real world.

Since the recent fall of music giant HMV, many havespeculated as to how the company could haveprevented it from happening at all. Our group ofMBAs undertook a study into various routes thatHMV could have taken in the past to ensure theirsurvival a future favouring online businesses, andoffer an alternative solution to the current situationHMV find themselves in.

In another article focussed on China, top MBAstudent David Campbell considers the luxury vodkabrand Grey Goose and the design of a growthstrategy for the Chinese spirits market. With a far-reaching analysis, we discover the varied tacticsGrey Goose are employing to ensure that the brandbecomes the vodka of choice for the Chinesepopulation.

At a time of political turmoil, war an social upheavalin Libya, how are businesses impacted? How arebusiness owners leading their companies throughdifficult times? In what is a very timely researchproject, our top MBA student Beth Hepworth andspecialist researcher in Libya from The Libya Reportanswers these questions in an extensive study intosense making in a crisis, asking how are managersand decision makers responding to continuouschange in post-conflict Libya.

As one of the fastest growing economies in theworld, China is fast-becoming one of the largestconsumers of high end goods in the luxury sector.By examining Chinese norms and traditions, topMBA student Celine Xu uncovers the factorsmotivating the luxury trend in China and thenecessary tools for aspiring online retailers to exploitthis boom in luxury shopping.

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MBAINTELLIGENCE JUNE 2013 No6

ISSUE 4In an era where the high street is visibly changing,do online businesses have the upper hand? Orshould they not rest on their laurels? MBA studentKaren van Zijl takes a look at top online fashionbrand ASOS‘ current marketing strategies and givesher recommendations for the company’s future.

In a technological era where having an onlinepresence is now essential, having a perfect LinkedInprofile is becoming increasingly more important forjob hunting, networking and doing business. In thisarticle, LinkedIn expert Dan Sherman gives us his toptips to refine your LinkedIn profile to help youbecome successful and find a great career. Anabsolute must read for all MBAs.

Focussed on helping you succeed at all stages ofyour MBA, career coach Meera Shah provides somevaluable words of wisdom on how to land yourdream job with positive thinking and actions.

With much being written about the true value of anMBA, many successful business people have askedthemselves whether their success has been down totheir time in business school or sheer luck. Thefounder of MBA & Co reflects on his time at IESE andponders on this very question. What will be theverdict?

After a field trip earlier this year, a group of CassBusiness School MBA students explore the lengthsto which resort operators and casinos will go to gaincompetitive advantage on the famous strip. Greatinsight into the research projects of MBA studentsand a clever look at Las Vegas through a businesslens.

ISSUE 5GMAT prep experts Manhattan Elite Prep give you acomprehensive look at understanding datasufficiency and critical reasoning with practice examquestions. Fully explaining the possible answers, thisarticle is part of the new section of MBA Intelligencededicated solely to the GMAT. Each month we’ll begiving you tips and advice from the experts in thefield, helping you to conquer the all important exam.

How does an online grocery business grow itsmarket share whilst competing with high streetsupermarkets? In an extremely well thought outresearch project, our group of MBA studentsinvestigate the ways that UK online grocers, Ocado,are trying to grow their market share in achallenging area. They examine how its warehousemodel gives it strategic advantage over competitorsand then at its marketing strategies. Finally, theygive great recommendations for the company’sbusiness model and marketing approach. A greatinsight into MBA research projects and into thechallenges of UK supermarket retailing.

This piece looks at the story of luxury brand AstonMartin, and unearths its marketing managementstrategies through analysing the way it connectswith customers, its brand building history anddelivery of value. A great example of high calibreMBA coursework, our MBA student providesrecommendations for Aston Martin’s business modeland marketing strategy. Tools that are helpful forany business wanting to create successful long-termgrowth.

Make sure you conquer that almighty GMAT withtips from the top. In this article, Kaplan Test Prepgive you the ultimate advice to make sure you passyour GMAT first time round. With so muchinformation out there for GMAT candidates, it can bea little overwhelming and there are a lot ofmisconceptions. Kaplan looks at thesemisconceptions and busts them to ensure that yousucceed on the day of your test.

How does a relatively small company increase itswebsite traffic by 2800%? This article finds out howPopcorn, Indiana created a unique product thatwould show off their existing products (popcorn!) togenerate more interest in their brand. Exploringcompany branding, buzz and viral marketing, ourMBA student gives his own uniquerecommendations to the company to latch on to thisbuzz and ensure staying power in the salty snacksindustry.

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