XAT 2014 Question Paper

Instructions

Read the following case-let and answer the questions that follow

Rajinder Singh was 32 years old from the small town of Bhathinda, Punjab. Most of the families living there had middle class incomes, with about 10% of the population living below the poverty level. The population consisted of 10 percent small traders, 30 percent farmers, besides others. Rajinder liked growing up in Bhathinda, where people knew and cared about each other.

Even as a youngster it was clear that Rajinder was smart and ambitious. Neighbors would often say, “Someday you’re going to make us proud!” He always had a job growing up at Singh’s General Store - Uncle Balwant’s store. Balwant was a well-intentioned person. Rajinder loved being at the store and not just because Balwant paid him well. He liked helping customers, most of who were known by the nicknames. Setting up displays and changing the merchandise for different seasons and holidays was always exciting. Uncle Balwant had one child and off late, his interest in business had declined. But he had taught Rajinder ‘the ins and outs of retailing’. He had taught Rajinder everything, including ordering merchandise, putting on a sale, customer relations, and keeping the books.

The best part about working at the store was Balwant himself. Balwant loved the store as much as Rajinder did. Balwant had set up the store with a mission to make sure his neighbors got everything they needed at a fair price. He carried a wide variety of goods, based on the needs of the community. If you needed a snow shovel or piece of jewelry for your wife, it was no problem - Singh’s had it all. Rajinder was impressed by Balwant’s way of handling and caring for customers. If somebody was going through “hard times”, Balwant somehow knew it. When they came into the store, Balwant would make them feel comfortable, and say something like, “you know Jaswant, let’s put everything on credit today”. This kind of generosity made it easy to understand why Balwant was loved and respected throughout the community.

Rajinder grew up and went to school and college in Bhathinda. Later on, he made it to an MBA program in Delhi. Rajinder did well in the MBA course and was goal oriented. After first year of his MBA, the career advisor and Balwant advised Rajinder for an internship at Bigmart. That summer, Rajinder was amazed by the breadth and comprehensiveness of the internship experience. Rajinder got inspired by the life story of the founder of Bigmart, and the value the founder held. Bigmart was one of the best companies in the world.

The people that Rajinder worked for at Bigmart during the internship noticed Rajinder’s work ethic, knowledge, and enthusiasm for the business. Before the summer ended, Rajinder had been offered a job as a Management Trainee by Bigmart, to start upon graduation. Balwant was happy to see Rajinder succeed. Even for Rajinder, this was a dream job - holding the opportunity to move up the ranks in a big company. Rajinder did indeed move up the ranks quickly, from management trainee, to assistant store manager, to supervising manager of three stores, to the present position - Real Estate Manager, North India. This job involved locating new sites within targeted locations and community relations.

One day Rajinder was eagerly looking forward to the next assignment. When he received email for the same, his world came crashing down. He was asked to identify next site in Bhathinda. It was not that Rajinder didn’t believe in Bigmart’s explanation. What was printed in the popular press,especially the business press, only reinforced Rajinder’s belief in Bigmart. An executive viewed as one of the wisest business persons in the world was quoted as saying, “Bigmart had been a major force in improving the quality of life for the average consumer around the world offering great prices on good, giving them one stop solution for almost everything.” Many big farmers also benefitted through low prices, as middlemen were removed. At the same time, Rajinder knew that opening a new Bigmart could disrupt small business in Bhathinda. Some local stores in small towns went out of business within a year of the Bigmart’s opening.

In Bhathinda, one of the local stores Singh’s,now run by Balwant’s son, although Balwant still came in every day to “straighten out the merchandise.” As Rajinder thought about this assignment, depression set in, and the nightmares followed. Rajinder was frozen in time and space. Rajinder’s nightmares involved Balwant screaming something- although Rajinder could not make out what Balwant was saying. This especially troubled Rajinder, since Balwant never raised his voice.

Rajinder didn’t know what to do - who might be helpful? Rajinder’s spouse, who was a housewife? Maybe talking it through could lead to some positive course of action. Rajinder’s boss?Would Bigmart understand? Could Rajinder really disclose the conflict without fear? Uncle Balwant? Should Rajinder really disclose the situation and ask for advise? He wanted a solution that would make all satkeholders happy.

Question 51

After delibertation with many people and a lot of research, Rajinder came across a study published
in leading journal, which stated that most local farmers benefited because Bigmart bought agricultural produce directly from the farmers.
Which of the following actions would you prefer Rajinder to take, after he got this fresh information?

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Question 52

Which is the right ascending order, in terms of proportion of population, benefitting from Bigmart, in and around Bhathinda?

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Instructions

For the following questions answer them individually

Question 53

$$x, 17, 3x - y^{2} - 2$$, and $$3x + y^{2} - 30$$, are four consecutive terms of an increasing arithmetic sequence. The sum of the four number is divisible by:

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Question 54

In quadrilateral PQRS, PQ = 5 units, QR = 17 units, RS = 5 units, and PS = 9 units. The length of the diagonal QS can be:

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Question 55

The sum of the possible values of X in the equation |X + 7| + |X - 8| = 16 is:

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Question 56

There are two windows on the wall of a building that need repairs. A ladder 30 m long is placed
against a wall such that it just reaches the first window which is 26 m high. The foot of the
ladder is at point A. After the first window is fixed, the foot of the ladder is pushed backwards
to point B so that the ladder can reach the second window. The angle made by the ladder with the
ground is reduced by half, as a result of pushing the ladder. The distance between points A and B is

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Question 57

Amitabh picks a random integer between 1 and 999, doubles it and gives the result to Sashi. Each
time Sashi gets a number from Amitabh, he adds 50 to the number, and gives the result back to Amitabh, who doubles the number again. The first person, whose result is more than 1000, loses the game. Let ‘x’ be the smallest initial number that results in a win for Amitabh. The sum of the digits of ‘x’ is:

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Question 58

Consider four natural numbers: x, y, x + y, and x - y. Two statements are provided below:
I. All four numbers are prime numbers.
II. The arithmetic mean of the numbers is greater than 4.
Which of the following statements would be sufficient to determine the sum of the four numbers?

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Question 59

Triangle ABC is a right angled triangle. D and E are mid points of AB and BC respectively. Read
the following statements.
I. AE = 19
II. CD = 22
III. Angle B is a right angle.
Which of the following statements would be sufficient to determine the length of AC?

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Question 60

There are two circles $$C_{1}$$ and $$C_{2}$$ of radii 3 and 8 units respectively. The common internal tangent, T, touches the circles at points $$P_{1}$$ and $$P_{2}$$ respectively. The line joining the centers of the circles intersects T at X. The distance of X from the center of the smaller circle is 5 units. What is the length of the line segment $$P_{1} P_{2}$$ ?

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