讨论题目 GWD5-Q22 to Q25:

optic82

GWD5-Q22 to Q25:
Mostpre-1990 literature on businesses’ use of information technology (IT)—definedas any form of computer-based information system—focused on spectacular IT successesand reflected a general optimism concerning IT’s potential as a resource forcreating competitive advantage.  Buttoward the end of the 1980’s, some economists spoke of a “productivityparadox”:  despite huge IT investments,most notably in the service sectors, productivity stagnated.  In the retail industry, for example, in whichIT had been widely adopted during the 1980’s, productivity (average output per hour)rose at an average annual rate of 1.1 percent between 1973 and 1989, comparedwith 2.4 percent in the preceding 25-year period.  roponents of IT argued that it takes bothtime and a critical mass of investment for IT to yield benefits, and somesuggested that growth figures for the 1990’s proved these benefits were finallybeing realized.  They also argued thatmeasures of productivity ignore what would have happened without investments inIT—productivity gains might have been even lower.  There were even claims that IT had improvedthe performance of the service sector significantly, although macroeconomicmeasures of productivity did not reflect the improvement.
But some observersquestioned why, if IT had conferred economic value, it did not produce directcompetitive advantages for individual firms. Resource-based theory offers an answer, asserting that, in general,firms gain competitive advantages by accumulating resources that are economicallyvaluable, relatively scarce, and not easily replicated.  According to a recent study of retail firms,which confirmed that IT has become pervasive and relatively easy to acquire, ITby itself appeared to have conferred little advantage.  In fact, though little evidence of any directeffect was found, the frequent negative correlations between IT and performancesuggested that IT had probably weakened some firms’ competitive positions.  However, firms’ human resources, in and ofthemselves, did explain improved performance, and some firms gained IT-relatedadvantages by merging IT with complementary resources, particularly humanresources. The findings support the notion, founded in resource-based theory,that competitive advantages do not arise from easily replicated resources, nomatter how impressive or economically valuable they may be, but from complex,intangible resources.

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GWD5-Q22:
The passage isprimarily concerned with
A.   describing a resource and indicating variousmethods used to study it
B.   presenting a theory and offering an opposingpoint of view
C.   providing an explanation for unexpectedfindings
D.   demonstrating why a particular theory isunfounded
E.    resolving a disagreement regardingthe uses of a technology

Jackjokes

第一段：主要引出 “productivity paradox”，以及支持IT人的三个观点
第二段：主要 讲Resource-based theory 解释这个paradox

既然是paradox，说明了其unexpected，第二段又主要是解释这个unexpected finding，显然D是对的
其他选项
A。 describe a resouce 无关
B。 an opposingpoint of view 文中并没有出现
C。 why a particular theory is unfounded 文章并不是侧重讲理论 为什么不成立
E。 technology 。文中并没有涉及对一种technology使用存在分歧

希望能帮助到你，good  luck~

李学子

我觉得E改成resolving oppositions regarding the uses of a technology 就对了，因为文章没有提到使用的不同意见，而是反对意见。个人认为C选项也不是很好，应该把an explanation 改成explanations 更好一些。