XAT 2012
Read the following passage and provide appropriate answers for the questions
This is one of the unanswered questions that I want to explore. I believe that this is certainly one of the
deeper questions about technology. Why do I say so? Without evolution technologies seem to be born
independently and improve independently. Each must come from some unexplained mental process,
some form of creativity or thinking outside the box that brings it into existence and separately develops
it. With evolution, new technologies would be birthed in some precise way from previous ones, albeit with considerable mid-wifing, and develop though some understood process of adaptation. In other words, if
we could understand evolution, we could understand the most precious of processes: innovation. But, let
me define evolution before I proceed further. The word evolution has two general meanings. One is the
gradual development of something, as with the evolution of ballet or the English madrigal. The other
is the process by which all objects of some class are related by ties of common descent from the collection of earlier objects. The latter is what I mean by evolution.
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
I. The author’s main concern is to develop a theory of innovation.
II. The author is interested in putting forth a theory of technological evolution.
III. The author believes before developing a theory of technological evolution, one needs to investigated whether technology evolves at all.
IV. Evolution, as the author puts it, is a sense of common relatedness.
I. In 1867, S. Colum Gilfillan, a sociologist traced the evolution of ships from the dugout canoe to the modern steamship of the day.
II. Many theories propose the existence of a technology in many forms. From these variations, some perform better and are selected for further use and development.
III. Till date the people who have thought hardest about the general questions of technology have only been social scientists. They have viewed technology from the outside as stand-alone objects without studying earlier technologies.
IV. Some technologies, for example, the laser, the jet engine, the radar, the quick sort algorithm and the locomotive just appear, or at least they seem to just appear unlike novel biological species which are versions of earlier objects.
V. Radar descends from radio but you can vary 1930s radio circuits as radically you like but you will never get radar. Radar requires a different principle.
Assuming the above statements are true, which option would most strengthen the author’s premise that the question that he has identified has not been solved as yet?
on the basis of the following letter.
To the Chairman:
Dear Mr. Sailesh,
At the December 3, 2011 meeting, it was decided that no two officers would hold positions on the same committee. It has recently come to my attention that both Chaitanya Rao and Ajit Singh will be serving in
some capacity on the Cultural Committee, and both have been nominated for officer status. As you know,
this is in direct disregard for the rules as voted by the Members Council last December 3, 2011. I would
hope that sufficient action be taken by the Disciplinary Committee (on which committee both of the above are members) so that this problem will be remedied.
Sincerely,
Arvind Singh
If both the nominations are confirmed, which of the following exhaustively and reasonably, describes actions that may occur in the near future?
on the basis of the information given in the following case.
Due to increased competition, Ginger Automobiles, the Indian subsidiary of Pepper Automobile Company (PAC) reported lower sales and profits. PAC expects its new model Limo, developed especially for value conscious customers of India and China, would revive its fortunes. In order to prevent customers from uying competing products, PAC announced the launch of Limo six months before schedule. Due to unrest in its Indian supplier’s plant, deliveries of essential components for its main plant was hampered, and hence it decided to launch Limo in China only as per the original plan. Within a short span of time, Limo captured 30% market share in China, which was 200% higher than expected. Indian customers who had looked forward to purchasing Limo were becoming increasingly unhappy to the non-availability of Limo in India. Ginger’s dealers were worried about loss of business from the customers who might switch to other cars.
Statement I: In the Chinese market, Baft, and Hebe, are competing models in Limo’s target
market. Due to increase in sales of Limo by 200%, Baft and Hebe saw their market share decline by 10%.
Statement II: Baft and Hebe were not desired by the customers due to their new features.
Which of the following conclusions can be most justifiably made?
Unhappy customers will not only leave the company, but also spread negative publicity about the company. The best way, among the options below, to deal with customers is
Mr. Murugan from Chennai experienced the comfort of Limo during his visit to China. He was willing to deposit an approximate price of Limo to buy the first available unit from Mr. Ahmed, a dealer in Chennai, known for fair dealing. Ginger Automobile is yet to announce the actual price, and the process for allocation of the vehicles. In order to maximise his cash flow, Mr. Ahmed should
On the basis of the information given in the following case.
Tina a blast furnace expert, who works as a technology trouble-shooter stays in Jamshedpur. She has got an important assignment in Delhi, which requires six hours to complete. The work is so critical that she has to start working the moment she reaches the client’s premises. She is considering various options for her onward and return journey between Jamshedpur to Delhi.A quick search revealed that ticket from Jamshedpur to Delhi is available in two trains. Trains 12801 and 12443 depart from Jamshedpur station at 06:45 hrs and 15.55 hrs and reach Delhi next day at 04:50 hrs and 10:35 hrs respectively. Trains 12444 and 12802 start from Delhi at 17:20 hrs and 22:20 hrs and reach Jamshedpur next day at 10:35 hrs and 20:05 hrs respectively. Another option is to reach Ranchi by a three hour road trip and take a flight to Delhi from Ranchi. The distance between Ranchi and Delhi is covered in 105 minutes both-ways by any of the scheduled flights. Air India operates two flights, AI 9810 and AI 810, which depart Ranchi at 8:00 hrs and 15:25 hrs respectively. Flight number IT-3348 operated by Kingfisher Airlines departs Ranchi at 19:20 hrs. Return flights operated by Air India, AI 9809 and AI 809, depart Delhi at 5:50 hrs and 11:00 hrs respectively. Flight number IT-3347 operated by Kingfisher Airlines departs Delhi at 17:10 hrs.From Tina’s home Jamshedpur railway station is five minutes drive, and her destination at Delhi is 90 minutes and 30 minutes drive from airport and railway station respectively. One has to reach the airport at least one hour before the scheduled departure to complete the boarding procedure. At every railway station she loses five minutes in navigating through the crowd.
If Tina wants to minimize the total time out of Jamshedpur, the best option for her, from the options given below, is:
Tina gets a message that her work has to be completed between 9:00 hrs. and 17:00 hrs. If
she wants minimize the total time out of Jamshedpur, the best option, from the options given below, for her among the following is to go by
Tina has to appear for an exam on 8 th of January in Jamshedpur and she can start from her
residence in Jamshedpur only after 16:00 hrs of the same day. Choose the option, from the options given below, that will help her to minimize the total time out of Jamshedpur.
