In the following passage, some words have been left out. Read the passage carefully and select the correct answer for the given blank out of the four alternatives. Organisations are institutions in which members compete for status and power. They compete for the resources of the organisation, for example, _____ to expand their own departments, for career advancement and for power to control the activities of others. Choose the most appropriate word to complete the blank: resources of the organisation, for example, _____ to expand their own departments.

Introduction / Context:
This cloze question continues the passage about competition inside organisations. After stating that members compete for status and power, and for the resources of the organisation, the sentence gives an example relating to department expansion. You have to choose a noun that logically restates or specifies what kind of thing they are competing for in order to expand their departments.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Key sentence: They compete for the resources of the organisation, for example, _____ to expand their own departments, for career advancement and for power to control the activities of others.
• Options: finance, infrastructure, resources, source.
• The phrase must fit after for example and link naturally with to expand their own departments.
• The passage already uses the word resources earlier in the same sentence.

Concept / Approach:
Writers often use for example to repeat or specify a general word with more detail. However, they can also reuse the general term to emphasise that the same concept is being illustrated. Here, the general concept is resources of the organisation. One important use of organisational resources is to expand a department. Therefore the phrase resources to expand their own departments is natural and maintains clear parallelism. Although finance and infrastructure are types of resources, the passage seems to prefer consistent vocabulary rather than introducing a narrow category.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the general noun in the first part of the sentence: resources of the organisation.Step 2: Notice that after for example, we need a phrase that fits grammatically with to expand their own departments.Step 3: Test resources with the phrase: for example, resources to expand their own departments.Step 4: This sounds natural and clearly refers back to the general concept of resources.Step 5: Compare with finance to expand their own departments and infrastructure to expand their own departments, which sound narrower and slightly awkward.Step 6: Conclude that resources is the most appropriate and coherent choice.

Verification / Alternative check:
Read the whole sentence with the chosen word inserted: They compete for the resources of the organisation, for example, resources to expand their own departments, for career advancement and for power to control the activities of others. The repetition of resources reinforces that all these struggles are about access to organisational means that enable growth and influence. This maintains good cohesion across the passage. None of the other options provide such a smooth and general link.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Finance: While finance is important for expansion, it is only one type of resource. The passage emphasises the broader category of resources, not just money.
Infrastructure: This usually refers to physical structures and facilities. Saying infrastructure to expand their departments is possible but sounds less natural and more specific than the general phrase resources to expand their departments.
Source: Source to expand their own departments is grammatically and semantically odd. We talk about sources of funding, not source to expand departments directly.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes believe that repetition of a word is stylistically wrong and therefore avoid choosing the same noun again. However, in exam passages, deliberate repetition is often used to maintain clarity and coherence. Another common error is to select the most technical sounding word rather than the one that truly fits the sentence pattern and the writer’s focus. Always check whether the option you choose connects naturally with the words before and after the blank and whether it fits the level of generality the writer maintains in the passage.

Final Answer:
The correct word to complete the sentence is resources, as in resources to expand their own departments.