After successfully completing the CAT 2016 sprint series and the SNAP 2016 sprint series, we are back with the XAT 2017 sprint preparation series – Decision making 9 to boost your prep. This series will consist of 10 sets of questions from past year XAT papers, leading to XAT 2017 and covered almost all the question types that you needed to know come the 8th of January.
XAT 2017 sprint preparation series – Decision making 9
Directions for questions 1 to 4: Answer questions on the basis of information given in the following case.
Life saving Pharmaceuticals (LSP) is India-based Pharmaceuticals Company. Their business mostly revolves around a couple of generic drugs and a few patented drugs. LSP operates in 30 odd countries and more than 50% of their sales volume is from outside India.
1. If more than 50% of their sales volume is from generic drugs, which of the following options is definitely correct? (Note : All percentages figures are with respect to total sales volume)
(1) If sales volume of patented drugs in India is 43%, the sales volume of generic drugs in India will be less than 43%.
(2) If the sales volume of generic drugs in foreign countries is at least 24%, the sales volume of patented drugs in India will be above 24%.
(3) If the sales volume of patented drugs in India is 54%, the sales volume of generic drugs in foreign countries will be above 54%.
(4) If the sales volume of patented drugs in India is 29%, the sales volume of generic drugs in foreign countries will be above 29%
(5) If the sales volume of generic drugs in India is at least 60%, the sales volume of patented drugs in foreign countries will be above 60%.
2. Mr. Sinha, a senior executive of LSP, observes that their business in India is not vibrant. LSP faces stiff competition from Indian and global players, except in rural areas. Interestingly, most of their sales in the rural area are from cough syrup, used as sedatives by teenagers. Mr. Sinha is planning the following actions to improve business in the long run.
I. Invest in development of new drugs.
II. Increase sales of cough syrup in the rural markets.
III. Try and cut costs.
IV. Recruit more medical representatives in the rural areas.
Which of the following sequences is best arranged in the descending order of appropriateness?
(1) I, III, II
(2) II, I, III
(3) II, III, I
(4) IV, II, III
(5) IV, III, I
3. Mr. Rastogi, HR head of LSP, is contemplating of transferring MR. Jose, from India to their Luxembourg office. Mr. Jose’s wife is also with the HR department of LSP. The couple is expecting their first child within next four months and hence they want to be together. Mr. Rastogi is wondering whether Mr.Jose would accept the transfer. If he doesn’t, Mr. Rastogi would have to send a less competent person for this job as early as possible. The office in Luxembourg is very important for the company’s future. It is at its nascent stage and does not yet have an HR department. Hence, it is not possible to transfer Mrs. Jose to Luxembourg.
Which of the following options would be most appropriate, from the organization’s perspective, to resolve the issue?
(1) Giving a salary hike to Mr. Jose with a promise to transfer Mrs.Jose to Luxembourg in the near future.
(2) Giving Mrs. Jose option to work from home while in Luxembourg so that she can be with Mr.Jose.
(3) Giving Mr. Jose option to work from India for the time being so that he can be with Mrs. Jose in India.
(4) Giving a salary hike to Mr. Jose to compensate for Mrs. Jose’s salary so that she can join Mr. Jose at Luxembourg, even with loss of pay.
(5) Asking Mr. Jose to accept the offer right now but give him up to six months to join Luxembourg office.
4. Mr. Khan used to work as the Vice President of LSP India. However, he had resigned from LSP India for a better job in New York. In the meantime, his wife was promoted to head the HR of LSP India. Mrs. Khan had struggled hard to reach this position and was quite popular and respected within the organization. Mrs. Khan was contemplating whether she should give up her career and join him in New York. Mrs. Khan is considering the following actions:
I. Take a break for the time being and focus on personal life. Given her reputation, she can always get back to the same job, if required.
II. Go to New York, on leave without pay for two months to help Mr. Khan settle down. After that she can come back and resume her responsibility in LSP India.
III. Request Mr. Khan to look for an equivalent job in India.
IV. Resign form LSP India, join Mr. Khan in New York, and look for a similar job there.
V. Request LSP India for a similar position in LSP USA and follow Mr. Khan to New York.
Which of the following sequence of actions can be immediately taken by Mrs. Khan to maintain her work-life balance?
(1) I & II
(2) I & III
(3) I & IV
(4) II & V
(5) III & V
Directions for questions 5 to 7: Answer questions on the basis of information given in the following case.
Mohan’s was a popular fast-food joint at Connaught Place, Delhi. Initially Mohan handled his business alone. His sons, Ram and Kishan, joined the business after graduation from college. Ram was entrepreneurial in nature. Subsequently, another branch of Mohan’s was opened in Panipat. Mohan had chosen Ram to head the Panipat branch. Though Ram increased sales in short time, he had stopped using premium quality organic vegetables, the speciality of Mohan’s. Mohan and Kishan were not happy with his way of doing business. Now, the foremost challenge for Mohan was to sort out this issue with Ram. Mohan knew that replacing Ram with Kishan was difficult as Kishan did not want to leave Delhi. However, giving a freehand to Ram might have long term negative consequences. Mohan was confused about the future of course of actions.
5. Mohan sought the help of five consultants, who give the following opinions:
I. Organic vegetables might be a big success at Connaught place but awareness about organic vegetables is low among Panipat customers.
II. The Connaught place model can be implemented in Panipat provided the business is prepared to face the consequences.
III. Many high end restaurants in Panipat use organic vegetables. So, using organic vegetables will not be a differentiating factor.
IV. Selling prices of their dishes in Panipat are significantly lower. Using organic vegetables will bring down profits.
V. Premium quality organic vegetables are not easily available in Panipat.
Which of the following set of options would support Ram’s argument of not using organic vegetables?
(1) I, III, IV
(2) II, IV, V
(3) I, III, IV, V
(4) II, III, IV, V
(5) All of the above
6. Mohan sought feedback from a few of his businessmen friends, who were familiar with both the branches. Here is what they said:
– Businessman 1 : Customers of Connaught place and Panipat are very different.
– Businessman 2 : Customers in Panipat are extremely happy with Ram’s behaviour.
– Businessman 3 : Panipat branch does not use the same quality of ingredients but maintains good hygiene and taste.
– Businessman 4 : Who knows, tomorrow the customers of Panipat might also appreciate what Connaught place customers appreciate today!
If Mohan thinks all these are valid concerns, which of the following actions would be best for the business?
(1) Training Kishan to replace Ram in a few months.
(2) Not worrying about ingredients as long as business grows.
(3) Bringing Ram to Connaught place branch.
(4) Naming the Panipat branch as ‘Ram’s’, and changing it back to Mohan’, when needed.
(5) Asking Kishan to run the Panipat branch.
7. After discussing with a few customers, Mohan realised that compromising on the quality of ingredients at Panipat branch may not be good idea but at the same time he also realized that Panipat branch had grown fast. He was contemplating following five actions. Which of the following actions would be the best for the future of his business?
(1) Creating awareness campaign for organic vegetables in Panipat.
(2) Mohan himself should took after the Panipat branch.
(3) Close down the Panipat branch.
(4) Send Kishan to Panipat branch and bring Ram to Connaught place permanently.
(5) Hire a new person to run the Panipat branch.
Directions for questions 8 and 9: Answer questions on the basis of information given in the following case.
MBA entrance examination comprises two types of problems: formula-based problems and application-based problem. From the analysis of past data, Interesting School of Management (ISM) observes that students good at solving application-based problems are entrepreneurial in nature. Coaching institutes for MBA entrance exams train them to spot formula-based problems and answer them correctly, so as to obtain the required overall cut-off percentile. Thus students, in general, shy away from application-based problem and even those with entrepreneurial mind-set target formula-based problems. Half of a mark is deducted for every wrong answer.
8. ISM wants more students with entrepreneurial mind-set in the next batch. To achieve this, ISM is considering following proposals:
I. Preparing a question paper of two parts, Parts A and Part B of duration of one hour each. Part A and Part B would consist of formula-based problems and application based problems, respectively. After taking away Part A, Part B would be distributed. The qualifying cut-off percentile would be calculated on the combined scores of two parts.
II. Preparing a question paper comprising Part A and Part B. While Part A would comprise formula-based problems, Part B would comprise application-based problems, each having a separate qualifying cut-off percentile.
III. Assigning one mark for formula-based problems and two marks for application based problems as an incentive for attempting application-based problems.
IV. Allotting one mark for formula-based problems and three marks for application-based problem, without mentioning this is the question paper.
Which of the following proposal (or combination of proposals) is likely to identify students with best entrepreneurial mind-set?
(1) II
(2) I & II
(3) I & III
(4) II & III
(5) II & IV
9. ISM conducts a common entrance examination every year. This year, the question paper would comprise 60 questions with an equal mix of formula-based problems and application-based problems. All questions would carry equal marks. Balaji is appearing for the examination. Before, appearing for the examination he gets the following information from coaching institutes:
I. Application-oriented problems take more time to solve in an examination hall.
II. Chances of silly mistakes would be low in application-based problems.
III. ISM would assist the students with bank loans to start a new venture.
IV. Options are generally confusing for formula-based problems.
V. ‘Practice makes a man perfect’ can apply only to formula-based problems.
VI. Students get very good campus jobs.
Based on above information, which of the following options would help him to be better prepared for the examination?
(1) I &II
(2) I, II & V
(3) II, III & VI
(4) IV, V & VI
(5) I, II, IV & V
Solutions:
1. D
2. A
3. B
4. E
5. C
6. D
7. B
8. D
9. E
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