XAT 2011
Read the following case and choose the best alternative.
Chetan Textile Mills (CTM) has initiated various employee welfare schemes for its employees since the day the mill began its operations. Due to its various welfare initiatives and socially responsible business practices, the organisation has developed an impeccable reputation. Majority of the regular workers in Chetan Mills had membership of Chetan Mills Mazdoor Sangh (CMMS), a non political trade union. CMMS had the welfare of its member as its guiding principle. Both CTM and CMMS addressed various worker related issues on a proactive basis. As a result no industrial dispute had been reported from the organiza tion in the recent past.
These days majority of the employers deploy large number of contract labourers in their production processes. In an open economy survival of an organization depends on its competitiveness. In order to become competitive, an organization must be able to reduce cost and have flexibility in employment of resources. Engaging workers through contractors (contract labourer) reduces the overall labour cost by almost 50%. Indian labour legislations make reduction of regular workers almost impossible, but organisations can overcome this limitation by employing contract labourers. Contract labourers neither get the same benefit as regular employees nor do they have any job security. According to various recent surveys, government owned public sector units and other departments are the biggest employers of contract labourers in the country. Contractors, as middle - men, often exploit the contract labourers, and these government organizations have failed to stop the exploitation.
Over time CTM started engaging a large number of contract labourers. At present, more than 35% of CM’s workers (total 5,000 in number) are contract labourers. CMMS leadership was wary about the slow erosion of its support base as regular workers slowly got replaced by contract workers and feared the day when regular workers would become a minority in the mill. So far, CMMS has refused to take contract labourers as members.
Recently, based on rumours, CTM management started to investigate the alleged exploitation of contract labourers by certain contractors. Some contractors felt that such investigations may expose them and reduce their profit margin. They instigated contract labourers to demand for better wages. Some of the contract labourers engaged in material handling and cleaning work started provoking CTM management by adopting violent tactics.
Today’s news - paper reports that police and CTM security guards fired two or three rounds in air to quell the mob. The trouble started while a security guard allegedly slapped one of the contract labourers following a heated argument. Angry labourers set fire to several vehicles parked inside the premises, and to the police jeeps.
In the current context, which among the following represent the most suitable reaction from CMMS leadership?
Out of the options given below, which one would be the best policy decision by government at the national level?
The criminals in the surrounding area often took their cue from the situation in the mill, creating law and order problems outside the mill which would later make it difficult for workers to come to mill safely. Given the circumstances, identify the stakeholder that should be the immediate priority of CTM management.
Answer question based on the following information.
Alex Company has its office at the third floor of a multi - storied building in Mumbai. There are 5 rooms to be allotted to 5 managers (designated M1 to M5), each of whom will occupy one room. Each room has its own advantages and disadvantages. Some have the sea view, while others are closer to either the lift or the dining room, while some are more spacious. Each of the five managers was asked to rank the room preferences amongst the rooms 301, 302, 303, 304 and 305. Their preferences were recorded as follows:
Table:
Some managers did not indicate any preference for some rooms, as they did want to be there under any condition. The company decided to allot rooms to managers in such a way that the managers get rooms as per their best preference or close to that.
If manager X gets his/her 1st choice, then his/her preference ranking is 1 and so on. Management decided to allot rooms so that the sum of the preference ranking of all the managers is minimized. What is the total preference ranking for the rooms allotted to all the managers?
Suppose that Manager M2 decides not to join the new zonal office and Manager M6 takes his place. Manager M6 has the following preference ranking in decreasing order: 301, 302, 303, 304 - in this case what would be the sum of the preference ranking allotted to all five managers?
Answer question based on the following information
Every Saturday, the members of Raja Harish Chandra Club meet in the evening. All the member of the club are honest and never lie. Last Saturday, the following conversation was heard at one of the table with five members sitting around it.
Satya Sadhan: In this club not all members are friends with each other.
Satyabrata: None of the pair of friends in this club has any common friend.
Satyajit: Every pair of member who are not friends has exactly two common friends in this club.
Satya Pramod: There are fewer than 22 people in this club.
Answer the question based on the following information:
In the country of Gagan, air travellers can buy their tickets either directly from the airlines or from three websites that are licensed to offer ticketing services online. In Gagan, most of the commercial transactions are done electronically, and all citizens have an account with its national bank, CeeCee. As a result, the three websites have become popular, and each transaction through these websites carries a surcharge of Gs. 250 (Gs. refers to Guppes, the currency of Gagan). Given below are four post new - year (January 2, 2011, to February 28, 2011) offers from three competing websites:
Cozy _ travel Offer: Make a confirmed booking for any service (flight ticket, hotel or rail tickets) through Cozy_travel.com from December 5, 2010 to February 8, 2011 and become eligible for two free air tickets (offer is limited to the base fare). Free tickets have to be booked through online request from January 1, 2011 to February 28, 2011. The request for free tickets should be submitted at least twenty-one days in advance. Free tickets are non-amendable (except the passenger's name) and cannot be cancelled. Free ticket cannot be exchanged for cash or kind with anybody. Cozy_travel will try its best to secure the free ticket as per the request. However, ticket confirmation is subject to airline schedule and set availability in airlines selected and finalized by Cozy_travel from specific available airlines.
Cool_yatra Offer: Book any air ticket of any airline on Cool_yatra.com on or after December 21, 2010 and get your next ticket free. Under this offer, only the base fare of the free ticket will be refunded by Cool_Yatra.com. The customer will have to bear the rest of the charges (other fees and surcharges). The value of the base fare will be refunded to the passenger on/after March 1 or fifteen days after completion of travel on the free ticket (whichever is later). The free ticket can be booked only on Gaga Air flights. The free ticket must be booked within fifteen days of booking the original ticket, and the travel date of the free ticket must be fifteen days after the booking date of the free ticket. There must be a seven-day gap between the travel date of the main/original ticket and the free ticket. The travel date of the free ticket should be on or before February 28, 2011. The free ticket cannot be transferred. On cancellation of the original ticket(s), you no longer remain eligible for the free ticket(s).
Easy_travel Cash Back Offer: Easy travel offers 25% cash back on all air ticket bookings between December 5, 2010 and February 28, 2011 using CeeCee net banking service or its debit/credit card. The cashback amount will be credited back to the customer's account within twenty-one days of making the transaction. Maximum cashback during the period is Gs. 400 per person per ticket, and the total amount that can be claimed by the customer is Gs. 2,400.
Ek Ke Sath Ek Offer from Easy_travel: Book an AirSpice ticket with Easy_travel using any credit/debit card, and get another ticket absolutely free. The free tickets will be issued on AirSpice on its entire network. The offer is valid for sale from January 11, 2011 to January 31, 2011. The free ticket must be booked at least fifteen days prior to the date of travel and needs to be completed within the offer period. The promotion code for the free ticket will get activated only seven days after booking the main ticket. Easy_travel will charge a handling fee of Gs. 1000/- per person for any amendments made on the main ticket. Cancellations of tickets purchased under this offer are not permitted. The free ticket obtained under this offer can not be exchanged for cash and cannot be re-routed.
Which offer has got the maximum chance for becoming the most popular among the air travellers of Gagan during post new - year period? Among the following options, choose the best offer - explanation combination.
Suppose the offer from Cool_yatra became the most popular, and the other two agencies have sought help from business consultants to make their offers more attractive. Identify the best recommendation among the following.
