XAT 2021 Question Paper

Instructions

Read the following scenario and answer the three questions that follow.

Ashraf has been working at a cybersecurity company called NuTech Pvt. Ltd. for seven years. Having missed a promotion in the previous appraisal cycle, Ashraf is anxious about it in the upcoming cycle. Ashraf is aware that the HR head is meeting the top management to discuss promotions sometime soon. (At NuTech, the HR head recommends names for promotions to the top management based on inputs from the functional teams.)

On a Friday afternoon, Ashraf receives an email from Sridevi, the HR head. It reads, “Hi, I need an urgent favour from you; please respond if you are free.” It was the first time that Sridevi ever contacted him. Surprised, Ashraf immediately replies back saying, “Sure! How can I help you, Sridevi? Regards, Ashraf.” In a couple of minutes, he receives a reply: “Ashraf, I am in the middle of an important meeting, but have to urgently send gift vouchers worth ₹50,000 to one of our important clients. If you could, please purchase and send the gift vouchers to the email address given below, at the earliest.” Ashraf , without any delay, sends gift vouchers worth ₹50,000 to the given email address.

Question 81

Ashraf does not hear anything from Sridevi in the next few days. Anxious, he meets up with Sridevi and enquires if the gift vouchers were appreciated by the client. This surprises Sridevi who closely scrutinises Ashraf’s emails and discovers that they originated from sridevi@nutich.com, instead of sridevi@nutech.com, her official email ID.

Taken aback, Ashraf requests Sridevi’s help in getting compensated by the company for his ₹50,000 loss. Sridevi asks Ashraf to justify his compensation demand. Ashraf gives the following reasons:

1. I erred; however, my financial rectitude is on record.
2. I acted in the greater interest of the company.
3. The spam mail reached my inbox due to the failure of the company’s email filter.
4. A NuTech employee, who was robbed of ₹20,000 of company’s cash, was not punished.
5. In the past, some of my acquaintances had been similarly duped.

Which of the abovementioned reasons, in a combination, will BEST help Sridevi take up the issue with the top management?

Video Solution
Question 82

Sridevi begins to doubt Ashraf’s competencies, given the way he handled the phishing emails. Thus, she convenes a meeting with the senior leadership to discuss Ashraf’s role in the company.

In the meeting, she shares the following observations:

1. Ashraf is poor at verbal communication, which is critical at subsequent levels.
2. Ashraf should have been perceptive, even though the company’s email filter failed him.
3. Ashraf joined the email filter team one month prior to his receiving the phishing emails.
4. Ashraf rushed to act on Sridevi’s request despite his busy schedule.
5. Ashraf appears to be highly anxious to get promoted.

Which of the above observations, in a combination, if true, shall BEST go against Ashraf’s chances of getting promoted?

Video Solution
Instructions

Read the following scenario and answer the three questions that follow.

The occasion was a hyper publicised switch-on ceremony of solar power facilities on an island, with many villages, in the Bay of Bengal. PK was the brand ambassador of a Multinational Company (MNC) that was banking heavily on this CSR initiative to strengthen its presence in India. For the millions of fans, enamoured by the aging super star’s Robinhood like onscreen exploits, the pre-event speech of PK was their first glimpse into his off-screen persona. After an emotional speech that extolled the virtues of electricity as a driver of wellbeing & need for inclusive growth, PK with a flourish of his hand hit the button to remotely switch on the solar power facilities. Tens of media cameras stationed in all the island villages, started beaming live feed across the world. Quickly, the event turned from one of joy to something of shock and horror, as all the thatched households on the island caught fire. A few villagers were seriously injured in the fire. Watching the coverage, PK slapped the MNC representative standing next to him, on live camera, and collapsed on a couch with his head in his hands.

Question 83

Soon after, the MNC filed a case against PK for criminal assault and tarnishing its brand image.

Which of the following is the MOST appropriate reason for the MNC to file a case against PK?

Video Solution
Question 84

Post the slapping incident, there was a strong social media backlash against PK. His PR team suggested the following social media releases that he could use not only to defend himself but also to garner positive reactions.

Which of the following social media releases will BEST help PK achieve the purpose?

Video Solution
Question 85

A few months passed and the slapping incident still garnered a good number of views on social media. PK’s publicist was aware that PK harboured a desire to join politics. She wanted PK to make the most of the publicity around the incident before it fadeed away from public memory in the next few months.

Which of the following options will BEST help PK take just advantage of the situation?

Video Solution
Instructions

Read the following scenario and answer the three questions that follow.

Churna is a peaceful village, surrounded by thickly forested high hills that isolate it from the rest of the world. Agriculture is the main occupation of the Churna villagers. Moreover, the forests provide seasonal fruits, tubers, medicinal herbs, and other forest produce in abundance. For all material needs not produced locally, the Churna villagers depend on Tendua, a faraway town.

Once a month, the Churna women would arduously trek with the surplus produce to Tendua. In the Tendua market, they convey the virtues of their produce through a beautiful song and dance routine. Reputed for their hard-bargaining skills, they always manage to extract a premium barter from the traders, more than fulfilling all their other material needs.

Question 86

Damdu, an ambitious trader of Tendua, wants to have exclusive access to all the surplus produce from Churna.

Which of the following offers to the Churna village will BEST help Damdu achieve her objective?

Video Solution
Question 87

The head woman of Churna grants exclusive access to the surplus produce to Damdu. However, Damdu’s euphoria dies down when she finds fewer takers for Churna’s produce in Tendua. This trend continues for the next few months.

Which of the following could be the MOST possible reason for Damdu finding fewer takers for Churna’s produce at Tendua?

Video Solution
Question 88

A few months after granting exclusive access to Damdu, the village council of Churna meets to discuss the progress. After much debate and heated discussions, the village council decides to terminate the contract with Damdu. The village council feels that if the contract continues, then:

1. Over time, Churna’s produce will lose its association with Churna.
2. Churna's people will be ignorant of new developments in the market.
3. Churna’s dance and song will lose their identity.
4. Churna’s people will lose social interaction with the outer world.
5. Churna’s people will lose their hard bargaining skills.

Which of the above concerns, when arranged in descending order of significance, will BEST support the decision to terminate the contract with Damdu?

Video Solution
Instructions

Read the following scenario and answer the three questions that follow.

Rohini is one of the most popular faculty members in the finance department, known for her in-class engagement with students. Every year, she offers an elective Financial Risk and Derivatives Management in the fourth term which gets subscribed by about hundred students. This year, owing to Covid-19, she is forced to teach the course online, that too, in the fifth term. The fifth term is notorious for its non-negotiable teaching slots. To enable her teaching, Rohini uses her favourite laptop, Maplebook Lite, sold by Maple.

Rohini converts her family bedroom into a “working room” because of the strong wifi signals. The room is mostly used by Rohini for taking her classes; however, Rinku, her husband, also uses it for running his meetings. Rohini has two children, aged 5 and 8, who use the living room as their playground. During meetings and classes, the working room is shut to save it from unwanted disturbance and noises from the living room.

It is 3:10 p.m. and Rohini’s penultimate session of the course is going to end in twenty minutes. As usual, Rinku enters the room with a cup of Darjeeling tea. Just before entering, he asks his kids to stop playing for some time. He quietly places the teacup on Rohini’s study table and exits the room, leaving the door ajar. As soon as he leaves, a tennis ball comes thundering inside, crashing into her Maplebook monitor. The monitor breaks and Rohini’s class ends abruptly, much before the scheduled time.

Question 89

What should be BEST held responsible for the accident?

Video Solution
Question 90

Rohini has her concluding session scheduled the very next day.

Which of the following is the BEST course of action for Rohini regarding the final session?

Video Solution
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