XAT Decision Making Question 1
Though they decided to maintain the good quality of the product, after an increase in the production level of wooden products, the quality department has been receiving numerous complaints about the quality of the product. Mr Rohan, who was busy solving some important problems concerning shipping department felt uncomfortable with all these complaints regarding quality of the product.
If you were in Rohan’s position, what decision would you take?
A Decrease the production level of wooden products.
B Change all the suppliers, since they are supplying low quality wood.
C Since quality of the product is more important, put shipping problems aside and think about how what’s wrong with the product quality.
D Check with suppliers about the quality of wood and ask Gautham to come up with a plan to solve the problems regarding quality.
E Fire Gautham, since he could not handle the work properly.
Answer: D
Explanation:
Options a, b, c are not proper solutions to solve the problem given in the question. And option E is harsh decision to make. Option D is the better decision to
make, so that they could work on the quality of the product with the help of Gautham’s plan without any further consequences.
XAT Decision Making Question 2
Mr. Shivakumar is Social science teacher and a self taught engineer who works in Sri. Vidya Government school in Mankulur district of Karnataka. Even though he has no prior experience in building, he proposed the construction of two huge dams that would help to overcome the irrigation problems of the district. The people of the district was enthusiastic about the plan and took Shivakumar’s plan to the district collector.
What is the best course of action by that should be taken by the collector?
A Praise Mr. Shivakumar for the service he has done for the society
B Experiment the plan in a small scale to check its feasibility
C Accept the proposal given by Mr.Shivakumar as his plan seems to be plausible
D Make necessary arrangements to ensure that the plan is successfully implemented
E Reject the proposal of Mr. Shivakumar as he is inexperienced in the field
Answer: B
Explanation:
Even though Mr. Shivakumar is not very experienced in Engineering, the collector should have an open mind about the plan. He should first let experts study
the plan carefully and then decide whether the plan is feasible or not. From the options only option B suggests something in this nature. Thus, B is the best
decision of the author given the circumstances
Instructions
Read the information given below and answer the questions which follow.
Malibaba is a Japanese e-commerce company. In the annual meeting of the board of directors, it is decided that company will expand its business overseas. They want to invest in at least 1 Asian country. The company forms a committee to analyze the market situation in various Asian countries. The committee studies the market conditions in developing Asian countries and boiled down its search to 3 different countries. The pros and cons for each of the
countries are listed in a report which the committee submits to the board of directors. India is one of the prospective countries where Malibaba plans to Create invest. However, the country has restrictions on FDI in retail market. Moreover, there are already existing players like klipkart and napdeal in the Indian market.
Another prospective country is Sri Lanka where there is no existing competitor but the market reach is low. In comparison to India’s 1.2 billion, the population of Sri Lanka is merely 20 million. The third prospective country is Pakistan. This country has a reasonably good market and there’s no competition . However, the country is not well developed and thus the purchasing power of the people is low. Moreover, because of being called a terrorist hub, there are also security concerns in Pakistan.
XAT Decision Making Question
Sri Lankan government is providing incentives for the foreign companies investing in the country. Malibaba wants to invest in only one country. Most of the board members are in favour of investing in India while some of them want to invest in Sri Lanka. Which of the following reasons will convince the other members to invest in India?
A The market in India is far bigger than the market in Sri Lanka
B The cost of setting up the business per potential customer in India would be way lower than that in Sri Lanka despite the government’s incentives
C The benefits that Sri Lanka is offering are only for the short term. After some time the taxes in Sri Lanka would be same as those in India
D Only a and b
E All of these
Answer: B
Explanation:
Because of the larger market potential the cost of setting up the business per potential customer in India would be much lower than that in Sri Lanka. Hence,
despite governments incentives in Sri Lanka, the company will still prefer to invest in India.
XAT Decision Making Question
The company has finally decided to invest in India. However, the FDI restriction laws prevent the company from entering the Indian market in its current
form. Which of the following would be the best option for the company in such a scenario?
Create
A Give up on the plan to invest in India and invest in Pakistan and Sri Lanka instead.
B Register a company with a new name and start operations.
C Tie up with an already existing e-commerce company in the Indian market.
D Request the Indian government to relax the FDI norms.
E Asks one of its board members, who has good political connections, to put pressure on the Indian government to allow FDI.
Answer: C
Explanation:
The easiest way to enter the Indian market would be to tie up with an already existing company. It would provide the infrastructure which is already there and
also help overcome the investment restrictions which have been put in by the government.
Read the following information carefully and answer the questions which follow.
Kamal owns a fruit and juice shop. His shop is one of the most popular shops in the area as he only sells good and fresh fruits. He has grown very old so he decided to hand over the business to his sons Ajay and Vijay. However none of the two sons have any experience of the business.
XAT Decision Making Question 4
Ajay observed that his father used to sell fruits at 10% discount to some of his customers. He asked his father about it and he was told that these are loyal customers who have been shopping from him for more than 5 years.
Ajay, however, wants to discontinue this service. Which of the following reasons given by Ajay is likely to convince his father to discontinue additional discount service?
A These customers often end up buying the fruits for other people and hence are misusing the service.
B The same customers frequently go to other shops and pay the market prices for the fruits.
C None of them recognizes Kamal or appreciates his gesture.
D Both a and c
E Both a and b
Answer: E
Explanation:
The basic premise for giving discounts is that these customers are loyal. If these customers are purchasing regularly from the other shops and also buy things for other people then they are not being loyal to Kamal’s shop. Hence both argument a and b are likely to convince Kamal to stop giving discounts.
Instructions
Since two years, Balu is working in a software company, Axis Software Pvt. Ltd., as a Software Engineer. Due to the recent death of his father, he is the sole earning member of his family. He is awaiting his promotion to a Senior Software Engineer as the improved pay would make the financial position of his family better. Balu reports to his manager Amit, who is off late under pressure as his performance review is due and his team has been unable to meet the targets set for this year.
During his time at Axis Software, Balu in his free time has developed a software which would efficiently streamline the leave processes of all the employees in the company. One day Balu has shared the details of this software, in person, to his manager Amit hoping it would make his way clear for a promotion. Amit, after testing the software has found it to be very good and now is thinking of presenting it as his own, in his performance review so as to make it benefit him. He thinks he can easily convince Balu with this plan by giving him a promotion and also a salary raise of 30%.
XAT Decision Making Question 5
Which of the following actions is the most helpful for Amit?
A Present the software as his own
B Present the software as the work of his team
C Present the software along with Balu so that it makes both appear good
D Give Balu the opportunity to present his software
E Do not present the software to his manager
Answer: C
Explanation:
If Amit presents the software as his own it may lead him into trouble later on when the truth comes out. So Option A can be eliminated.
Options D and E do not benefit Amit in any way. So they can be ruled out.
If Amit presents Balu’s work as the work of the entire team it would make Balu as the entire team will get the credit. So the best option for Amit is to present
the software along with Balu so that it makes both of them look good.
XAT Decision Making Question 6
Amit has now informed Balu that he will present Balu’s software as his own and in return will grant Balu a raise and promotion. What should Balu do now?
A Let Amit present his software as his own
B Talk to Amit’s boss Mandar, about the plans of Amit
C Leave the company
D Tell Amit that he is not willing to accept the proposal
E Talk to his colleagues and take the decision
Answer: D
Explanation:
Option A is unethical and must be ruled out.
Option B is not desirable as in this case Balu would be violating the organizational hierarchy. Leaving the company at this stage is not advisable as it would create a financial burden on Balu. So Option C can also be ruled out.
Informing his colleagues about Amit’s proposal is also not advisable as it may lead to misunderstanding with his boss.
Thus the best thing for Balu to do is to tell Amit directly that he is not willing to share the credit.
XAT Decision Making Question 7
Which of the following is the main reason for Amit’s proposal to Balu?
A Amit’s greedy nature
B Amit not able to meet his targets
C Amit’s financial situation
D Balu’s financial situation
E Balu making the software which was not a part of his work
Answer: B
Explanation:
It is given in the passage that Amit’s performance review is due and his team has not met the expectations set for this year. This is the main reason why Amit
wanted to present Balu’s work as his own. Thus the answer is Option B.
XAT Decision Making Question 8
What should the company do to avoid situations like this?
A Do not allow employees to work over time
B Track the day to day activities of all employees
C Do not put unrealistic expectations on a team’s performance
D Make the roles of each employee clearly defined
E None of the above
Answer: E
Explanation:
In the given options, none of these measures will prove enough to avert/avoid situations like this. So the answer is Option E.
Instructions
Read the following information carefully and answer the questions that follow.
Ayush Gangwar, a project manager at an FMCG company, was wondering how he should approach the issue of ‘Kide’ commercials. Kide had been doing well
in the market, but not a week went by without a customer writing to complain about the commercial.
It featured a woman saying, “Muddy shirt! Muddy shirt!” in a condescending voice to a man whose shirt was soiled with dirt. The man looked at his wife, who
was very embarrassed at the entire situation. Later the commercial shows her washing the shirt after rubbing Kide into it, and the other woman saying, “So
bright and tidy!”
The complaining letters, almost exclusively from women, expressed objections to the commercial because it was misogynistic and otherwise offensive as
well. Many of these unsatisfied customers said that they would not buy the brand because of the offensive commercial and because it was demeaning to
women. On the one hand, the brand was doing well; it was the brand leader in a growing market, though a much larger competing company was quite capable
of beating Kide.
Ayush was a believer in the profit motive, but not at the cost of condoning unethical behaviour. He had been asked to make a recommendation for the
commercial. After reviewing the sales data and reading the letters of complaint, Ayush was contemplating his next move. He analysed data which showed
that the primary decision makers and purchasers of the product were women. Part of the reason for Kide’s success was believed to be the advertising
message, which not only had a high level of recall but a high level of association with the brand. Ayush wondered if, in spite of its apparent success, it was
ethical to continue with the advertising message if it was misogynistic.
Question 9
How should Ayush approach the situation?
A Take no action until the issue is studied further.
B Stop the existing message and come up with a new marketing campaign.
C Modify the current message slightly.
D Stick with the existing message as it is one of the reasons behind Kide’s success.
E Use the previous marketing message which wasn’t so successful but never had criticism for being misogynistic.
Answer: A
Explanation:
It is mentioned that a larger competing company was quite capable of beating Kide. It is also known that the current message is one of the reasons behind
Kide’s success. Thus, changing or modifying the message entails the risk of losing the market to their rival. Thus, B and E are incorrect. C is also incorrect as
there is no guarantee that the modified message is as successful as the current one.
The correct approach should be to analyse the situation better. It is given that they are receiving at least one complaint per week i.e. at least 52 in the year.
But if the customers who are content with the commercial are much larger than this base, then changing the message is not the best idea as the message
has been proven successful. Thus, between A and E, A is the better choice as it addresses the complaints unlike E.
Question 10
Ayush reported to Neha Singh, the marketing head, and would provide recommendations to her. Neha was a capable, promising executive who did not like
the Kide commercial. She proclaimed that she would never buy the brand because the message was offensive and asked Ayush to change the message.
But Ayush was not strongly in favour of the idea. He was worried about how the new message might affect Kide’s standing in the market.
What is the best course of action for Ayush?
A Work on the new message as it is suggested by his senior.
B Approach the CEO of the company and express his concerns to him.
C Start working on the new message but approach Neha once again expressing his concerns and reservations.
D Send an anonymous mail to all the senior officials expressing his concern.
E Modify the current message slightly so that it is less offensive.
Answer: C
Explanation:
A is incorrect as it might be the case that Neha’s strategy might not be the best. Ayush should not supress his reservations as it might seriously affect the
firm’s standing in the market.
B is also incorrect as it involves completely ignoring his senior’s order.
D is also incorrect as it doesn’t guarantee that the seniors will pay heed to an anonymous’ suggestions.
E is also not the best option as it still doesn’t addresses the situation completely.
C is the correct option as it ensures that his concerns are properly addressed and at the same time he is not offending his senior.
Instructions
