XAT 2020 Question Paper - DM

In the second week of her eight-week internship, Amala realizes that the project requires inputs from subjects she studied in her third trimester. However, during the third trimester, Amala was significantly distracted by an inter-college sports meet, affecting her grasp of the subjects.
Which of the following is the MOST appropriate way forward for Amala?

Vindhya’s project is about understanding employee perception regarding the organization’s HR policies. Against her own instinct, she is suggested by her mentor to interview only the good performers identified by his office because poor performers, he believes, usually crib against the policies.

Which of the following courses of action will BEST enable Vindhya to provide the organization with a complete picture?

Shabnam, who is working on sales executives’ work-life balance, has collected the following details about their frequent travels:

1. Frequent meetings help strengthen relationships with key customers.
2. Travelling has no effect on the personal lives of the sales executives as most of them are single.
3. Travel enhances the financial health of the sales executives since their fixed salaries are low.
4. Frequent travel has no significant impact on market budget, given the current high margins from sales.
5. The sales executives have the autonomy to decide the frequency of their travel.

Shabnam thinks that the frequency of travel is higher than required.
Which of the following combinations of the above reasons can enable Shabnam BEST substantiate her thinking?

Chanchala owns a small parcel of farming land in Bori. She grows cannabis in some part of her land and earns a significant amount of money from it. Soon after the bottling plant was commissioned, Chanchala, instigated by a landlord with a vested interest, starts accusing the MNC of robbing her of water and impacting her livelihood. She threatens to take the MNC to court.
Which of the following options will BEST solve the MNC’s problem?

The MNC has spotted traces of chemicals in their fortnightly water quality analysis. The MNC realizes that this is due to the contaminated agricultural runoff, flowing into the spring from the nearby fields where farmers use pesticides and fertilizers.
This requires an immediate solution. Which of the following options will BEST resolve the situation for the MNC?

The MNC is concerned about chemical contamination of the natural spring water due to the agricultural runoff with pesticides and fertilizers. The MNC is looking for a sustainable solution to this contamination.

Which of the following courses of action will BEST solve the issue?

The Small Shop which earlier recorded an annual increase of approximately 12% in revenues has been stagnating at 4% for the last three years, during which e-commerce sidelined brick and mortar outlets. The shop is struggling to increase profitability. In general, The Small Shop has been offering a discount on MRP to compete with e-commerce prices.
Which of the following is the BEST reason for The Small Shop NOT to reduce the current discount offered to the customers?

The Small Shop wants to increase the variety of products sold, including expensive ones. However, it is averse to accumulating unsold products, specifically of the expensive kind.
Which of the following is the BEST option if The Small Shop wants to increase the variety of the products it sells?

An emerging brand offers a franchise to The Small Shop for repairing its products, on a condition that other brands are not to be repaired. Repairs currently account for 15% of its revenues.
Which of the following, if true, will BEST help The Small Shop to decide on the franchise?

A few days later, Deepti received an email from the e-commerce website, requesting her to share feedback about the seller. Deeply frustrated with the overall online purchasing experience, she deliberately ignored it.
Later that evening, over supper, her father opined that the balcony curtains needed to be changed. He suggested that they be bought from a local shop. “If something went wrong, we could at least yell at the seller,” he added.
Deepti stared at her laptop and began writing her feedback.
What would Deepti DEFINITELY achieve by giving feedback?

In the feedback column, Deepti awarded 1-star out of the maximum 5 stars to the seller and described her negative experience.
Later that evening, the sales head called and pleaded with her to retract her feedback and upgrade them to 5-star, as they had already fired the employee concerned. He appealed that they were a young organization and that their sales were getting badly affected.
Given the circumstances, what should be the IDEAL response?

After a few months, the sales head enquired, “In case you are using the cotton pillow covers and like them, kindly rate them on the e-commerce website. It will help us serve our customers better.”
Later that evening, her father remarked, “You know, I really love these pillow covers though I am not sure why you bought so many of them”.
Which of the following reasons gives Deepti the BEST rationale to ignore the sales head’s request?

While considering G&P’s offer, Rakesh pondered over the following facts:
1. A recent government policy made poor performance punishable by salary reduction or dismissal.
2. The first assignment at G&P is a bridge construction project in a village near Dhanbad.
3. With his current savings, Rakesh need not depend on regular income for at least six months.
4. Though an exemplary performer, Rakesh has hardly been recognized at SPCIL.
5. Based on the annual performance review at G&P, Rakesh will either earn double the salary or get fired.

Which of the following combinations of the above facts will BEST help Rakesh decide on joining G&P?

While mulling over the offer, Rakesh consulted Manikandan, his trusted senior at SPCIL. Manikandan, who had friends in G&P, disclosed that it preferred government employees for its projects in Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. “Once the project is completed, G&P may not need your skills,” observed Manikandan.

Which of the following, if true, will BEST enable Rakesh to decide on the offer?

Rakesh, in his current job, came across incidences of bribing by private sector officials. He wondered if he might have to bribe government officials while at G&P.
He reflected on his interview with G&P:
1. The interviewers were puzzled how Rakesh could manage his EMIs with his current income.
2. One interviewer was constantly probing how Rakesh managed to meet his project deadlines with little cooperation from his subordinates.
3. “What would you do if your project has a fortnight’s deadline and it takes a month to obtain a permit?,” asked another interviewer.
4. A question that intrigued Rakesh was, “Should a pack of dacoits share their loot with one of their gang, who had killed a bystander against their motto ‘Thou shalt not kill’?”

Which of the following sequences of the above statements is in the MOST appropriate DESCENDING order of bribing undertones?

Jagdeep has decided to open a branch in Ramnagar. Which of the following facts about Ramnagar will BEST support his decision?

Jagdeep wishes to open a 100% eggless branch in Ramnagar. To explore feasibility, he collected the following facts:
1. Eggless products account for 30% of Le Baguette’s sales.
2. At least 20% of all bakery sales in Ramnagar is from eggless products.
3. The eggless varieties of Le Baguette contain minute traces of egg.
4. Le Baguette currently makes 3% of its revenue from Ramnagar customers and all of it comes from eggless products.
5. Le Croissant’s Ramnagar branch struggles with a market share of 10%.

From the combinations below, in the DESCENDING order of effectiveness, choose the one that BEST supports Jagdeep’s decision.

From a newspaper, Jagdeep has learnt that Americans use their own ovens to bake ready-to-bake products, sold by some bakeries. This idea is apparently catching up in Indian metros as well.
Jagdeep wants to try this out in his bakery. He has gathered the following facts:
1. US bakeries that also sell ready-to-bake products earned higher revenues compared to those that do not.
2. Around 7% of Jagdeep’s regular customers own baking ovens in their homes.
3. The sale of baking ovens in India is forecast to increase by 12% every year, for the next three years.
4. 50% of Jagdeep’s regular customers are fulltime working couples.
5. In Indian metros, ready-to-bake products give higher profit margins compared to finished products.

Select the BEST of the following sequences of the above facts, in DESCENDING order of effectiveness, to support Jagdeep.

The increasing prosperity of the plains people tempted those in the mountains to divert forest land for agriculture. Vanamali was afraid that expansion of agriculture would result in deforestation of the mountains.

Which of the following is the BEST course of action for Vanamali to conserve the mountain forest?

Vanamali, afraid of further deforestation, issued a diktat against felling of trees in the mountains. In due course, thanks to the booming agriculture, the king along with plains people began to prosper. However, mountain people became relatively poor, thanks to Vanamali’s diktat.

Which of the following options should mountain people choose to BEST protect their long-term interests?

The village elders of the mountains had informed Vanamali about the presence of a precious metal in abundance under a large part of the forest. They pleaded with him to repeal his diktat and permit felling of trees for mining.
Vanamali knew that the precious metal would make his kingdom prosper. However, he was worried that mining would reduce the flow of nutrients, water and forest produce to the plains.
Vanamali’s advisor Vanapandit presented the following action plans for his consideration:
1. Repeal the forest diktat and charge hefty royalty for mining in the mountains
2. Permit mining in the mountains and enforce rainwater harvesting in the plains
3. Permit mining in the mountains and begin afforestation in the plains
4. Continue with the forest diktat in the mountains
5. Permit limited mining in rotation but maintain the forest diktat in the rest of the mountains

Which of the following sequences of action plans, in the DESCENDING order of their ability to contribute to Vanarajya’s sustainable prosperity, will be the MOST appropriate for Vanamali?