GMAT Reading Comprehension

Home > GMAT Test > GMAT Reading Comprehension Questions

Next steps

Source: OG13th

Level: 3

Among the myths taken as fact by the environmental managers of most corporations is the belief that environmental regulations affect all competitors in a given industry uniformly. In reality, regulatory costs - and therefore compliance - fall unevenly, economically disadvantaging some companies and benefiting others. For example, a plant situated near a number of larger noncompliant competitors is less likely to attract the attention of local regulators than is an isolated plant, and less attention means lower costs. Additionally, large plants can spread compliance costs such as waste treatment across a larger revenue base; on the other hand, some smaller plants may not even be subject to certain provisions such as permit or reporting requirements by virtue of their size. Finally, older production technologies often continue to generate toxic wastes that were not regulated when the technology was first adopted. New regulations have imposed extensive compliance costs on companies still using older industrial coal-fired burners that generate high sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide outputs, for example, whereas new facilities generally avoid processes that would create such waste products. By realizing that they have discretion and that not all industries are affected equally by environmental regulation, environmental managers can help their companies to achieve a competitive edge by anticipating regulatory pressure and exploring all possibilities for addressing how changing regulations will affect their companies specifically.

Question List: 1 2 3 4 5 6

It can be inferred from the passage that a large plant might have to spend more than a similar but smaller plant on environmental compliance because the larger plant is

  • A more likely to attract attention from local regulators
  • B less likely to be exempt from permit and reporting requirements
  • C less likely to have regulatory costs passed on to it by companies that supply its raw materials
  • D more likely to employ older production technologies
  • E more likely to generate wastes that are more environmentally damaging than those generated by smaller plants

Show Answer

Previous       Next