Modern manufacturers, who need reliable sources of materials and technologically advanced components to operate profitably, face an increasingly difficult choice between owning the producers of these items (a practice known as backward integration) and buying from independent producers. Manufacturers who integrate may reap short-term rewards, but they often restrict their future capacity for innovative product development.
Backward integration removes the need for some purchasing and marketing functions, centralizes overhead, and permits manufacturers to eliminate duplicated efforts in research and development. Where components are commodities (ferrous metals or petroleum, for example), backward integration almost certainly boosts profits. Nevertheless, because product innovation means adopting the most technologically advanced and cost-effective ways of making components, backward integration may entail a serious risk for a technologically active company—for example, a producer of sophisticated consumer electronics.
Which of the following best describes the way the last paragraph functions in the context of the passage?
The last in a series of arguments supporting the central argument of the passage is presented.
A viewpoint is presented which qualifies one presented earlier in the passage.
Evidence is presented in support of the argument developed in the preceding paragraph.
Questions arising from the earlier discussion are identified as points of departure for further study of the topic.
A specific example is presented to illustrate the main elements of the argument presented in the earlier paragraphs
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