XAT 2026 Question Paper - DM

In one of the meetings, Uday was making a presentation on positioning their most popular product to make it more appealing to Gen Z. Unhappy with the discussion, Anindita candidly shared her concern regarding the assumptions Uday made about Gen Z. Uday immediately retorted: “Anindita, this is a discussion for adults. Kids, like you, should listen for a few months before sharing their opinion.” Further, he remarked, “you Gen Z have opinions about everything regardless of the subject.” Thereafter, he brushed aside any views Anindita attempted to share during the discussion. After the meeting, Anindita felt offended. However, when she discussed it with other management trainees, they did not find anything wrong with what Uday said. Even then, she decided to do something about such a treatment, since it would be seen as an approved behaviour.

Which of the following options will BEST help Anindita in taking an appropriate stand against Uday’s behaviour?

Anindita was passionate about bringing a change in her organization. Thus, she went thoroughly prepared for every meeting. However, she soon realized that her ideas were not taken up for discussions during meetings. She often felt looked down upon by Uday who dismissed her suggestions without even hearing them out. When she discussed her experience with other management trainees from other departments, she came to know that this was a common practice across MultiKrack. They wanted to do something about it; however, they were clueless about the course of action, since their seniors did not seem to be interested in listening to them.

Which of the following actions by the management trainees will be MOST effective in improving the treatment of Gen Z at MultiKrack?

A few months passed. Anindita was a valuable member of her team and the top management was impressed with her. However, the other management trainees left the organization. In their exit interviews, they shared the condescending behavior of senior management as the reason for their departure. Some even left MultiKrack to join organizations that paid lesser than what MultiKrack paid. The top management understood that the seniors belonged to a different generation; they found it difficult to appreciate the intergenerational differences. The top management felt it was high time to do something about the senior management’s behavior towards the juniors.

Which of the following actions, considered by the top management, will BEST enable change in the senior management's behavior?

Abhishek is not happy with Mukesh’s decision. Abhishek is aware that he needs to be in the good books of Mukesh for his performance rating. However, he is passionate about cryptocurrency; hence, he considers approaching Neha directly to discuss a possible move. Neha can take such decisions independently, but Neha and Mukesh usually see eye to eye on most issues.B49

Which of the following reasons, IF TRUE, will BEST encourage Abhishek to reach out to Neha regarding his desired change to a different vertical?

Dissatisfied with Mukesh’s response, Abhishek reaches out to Neha for a vertical change. Though she listens to Abhishek, she shares her displeasure with the request. In fact, she brushes his request off, telling him to resign from Payeasy if it does not charm him anymore. Abhishek gets worried as he has a huge educational loan to pay, and such a departure will put him in a fix.

Later that day, in one of the team meetings, Abhishek feels ignored as he is cut twice while he tries to share his project progress. Thereafter, he starts believing that Mukesh is not happy with him. This fear appears to get substantiated when Mukesh assigns an important project to another team member, which Abhishek wants to work on. His fear keeps growing regarding Neha and Mukesh not being happy with him. However, when he receives his annual rating, he finds out that Mukesh has rated him as the “best performer” of the year, based on his previous year’s performance.

Abhishek wants his relationship with Mukesh to be back on track, as it was, before he reached out to Neha.

Which of the following options will BEST enable Abhishek rebuild his relationship with Mukesh?

After two years at Payeasy, Abhishek applies to a competing firm and is called for an interview. The hiring manager, Amit, is impressed with Abhishek and tells him that he will take the final decision to select Abhishek in a day or two. After the interview, Amit wants to know more about Abhishek since Abhishek will be leading a team of 15 people and his people management skills are very important for the team’s success. He calls Mukesh, Abhishek's superior. Mukesh is Amit's classmate who Amit trusts immensely. Mukesh informs Amit that though Abhishek is a good talent, he questions his superiors too often. Mukesh further shares that such a behavior makes it difficult for the superiors to manage the team.

Amit needs a good talent, but is confused if he should recruit Abhishek, given Mukesh’s assessment of Abhishek.

Which of the following data will BEST enable Amit to take a decision on Abhishek’s recruitment?

Joginder wants to recommend Animisha for selection despite her not fulfilling the experience criterion.

Which of the following reasons, IF TRUE, will BEST convince Joginder to recommend Animisha?

Joginder shares his preference for Animisha with Premnarayan, the talent acquisition head. However, while rolling out the offer, Premnarayan realizes that Animisha does not meet the eligibility criteria. Though the recommendation has come from Joginder, who is a senior, he wants to reject Animisha for the role.

Which of the following reasons will BEST help him in rejecting Animisha’s candidature?

Joginder recommends Animisha’s candidature only to be turned down by Premnarayan. However, he wants Premnarayan to reconsider his decision.

Hence, Joginder has compiled a list of reasons to persuade Premnarayan to reconsider Animisha’s selection:

A. Animisha is academically strong and a gold medalist during her graduation.
B. Animisha's experience is falling short only by a few months for the role she has applied for.
C. The number of applicants applied for the role she has applied for is very small.
D. Animisha’s college is known for producing the best business leaders for past many years.
E. Before he retired, Animisha’s maternal uncle was associated with Fine Elements Inc. for over 10 years.
F. Average industry experience for the role she has applied for is much lower than what Fine Elements Inc. has advertised.

Which of the following combination of reasons will BEST convince Premnarayan to reconsider his decision regarding Animisha’s selection for the role?

Patel had a new proposal for Screwvala: he wanted Screwvala to work on a detective novel. Patel promised him good money but proposed that Screwvala would only write the final chapter of the novel, after his co-authors had completed the first nine chapters. Screwvala was surprised at the offer, since he never tried writing anything creative, and definitely not fiction. He wanted to be sure whether he could actually measure up with the co-authors who were established creative writers.

Which of the following, IF TRUE, will be the MOST compelling reason for Screwvala to accept the offer?

Patel had a new proposal for Screwvala: he wanted Screwvala to work on a detective novel. Patel proposed that Screwvala would only write the final chapter of the detective novel, after his co-authors. Screwvala accepted the offer.

Though the project started on time, a few of the authors could not manage to submit their chapters within the given timeline. Hence, it created a delay for the authors to follow.

Having to wait endlessly for the other authors to finish their chapters, with no end in sight, Screwvala started getting impatient. In the meantime, he was offered another proposal from a rival publisher to write a travelogue on a country of his choice, which would involve all-expense-paid trips. Because of his love for travel, Screwvala felt inclined to accept the offer. However, this would mean getting out of the contract of the detective novel, which could cause a serious friction with Patel.

Which of the following, IF TRUE, will be the MOST compelling reason for Screwvala to continue with the detective-novel project?

Patel had a new proposal for Screwvala: he wanted Screwvala to work on a detective novel. Patel proposed that Screwvala would only write the final chapter of the detective novel, after his co-authors. Screwvala accepted the offer by signing a contract.

While waiting for his turn to come to write his chapter for the detective novel, Screwvala started writing a travel blog. Because of his radiant style, the blog became popular. Hence, he started mulling over converting the blog articles into a book.

When Screwvala shared this idea, Patel sprung a surprise by pointing out to a clause in their contract. The clause forbade Screwvala from publishing anything else until the detective novel got published. Screwvala signed the contract without reading it as he trusted Patel as a good friend. Further, Patel offered Screwvala an extra sum of money if he would delay the publication of his travel blog articles as a book.

Screwvala felt betrayed. Which of the following will be the MOST compelling reason for Screwvala to continue with publishing his blog as a book, ignoring the contract with Patel?

Impulsively, Vidya secretly recorded her next committee interview. The interview turned out to be particularly harsh. Now, she was even more determined to post the transcript of the interview on Why MBA to teach a lesson to her seniors. However, she contemplated the consequences she might face after posting the transcript.

Which of the following considerations will BEST stop her from sharing the transcript on Why MBA?

Vidya secretly recorded her next committee interview. The very next day, Vidya was selected for the same committee for which she had recorded the interview. Relieved, she decided not to post anything on Why MBA.

However, a few days later, a post went viral on Why MBA about BKSM, accusing the student committees of unfair practices, claiming that seniors selected juniors based on personal preferences rather than objective criteria. The post created a stir in BKSM, making Vidya anxious.

Vidya’s anxiety stemmed from the fact that Anjali, her confidant, knew about Vidya’s intent to publish her interview transcript on Why MBA. Hence, Vidya feared that Anjali might assume that she was behind the viral post. Worse still, if Anjali shared Vidya’s earlier intent with anyone at BKSM, her reputation and relationships could be damaged.

What BEST can Vidya do in the current situation so that she is NOT negatively impacted by the viral post?

A few committee secretaries complained to the dean of BKSM about some anonymous posts on Why MBA that they felt were unfairly targeting them. Upon visiting the forums on Why MBA, the dean felt that while most of the posts were innocuous, some indeed crossed the line. Further, she felt that such posts tarnished the image of BKSM. Conversely, she observed that such posts led those targeted to reflect, mend their ways, and become more accountable. She wondered what she could do to save the reputation of BKSM being assailed in public forums through anonymous posts; however, she did not want to do anything disproportionately harsh.

What BEST can the dean do to take a sustainable decision to dissuade students from posting their grievances in public forums, presenting the college in a bad light?

The first step that Abirami wants to take is to join a group, having members with extensive work experience. Meanwhile, students with prior work experience have come together and formed groups. She reaches out to one such group. However, the group members are not interested since she is a fresher. They are unsure whether she can bring any value to case competitions that involve understanding, recommending and presenting solutions to organizational problems.

Which of the following reasons, IF TRUE, will BEST convince the group members that Abirami will be a valuable member of the group for case competitions?

Abirami cannot join groups having members with work experience; they reject her for being a fresher. Meanwhile, three of her batchmates, all freshers, are interested in forming a group with her. Abirami likes being with them as two of them are from her undergraduate college; however, Abirami fears that they may all come up with similar ideas during case discussions.

Which of the following reasons, IF TRUE, will BEST persuade Abirami to join them?

Abirami eventually joins a group, largely comprised of students with work experience. Whenever competition calls are announced, the group meets to discuss the competition. As competitions go by, Abirami observes that her views are hardly heard in meetings, though the other group members make it a point to invite her to every meeting. Since Abirami doesn’t get acknowledged for her ideas in group discussions, she starts reflecting on what she has gained so far by being a part of the group.

Which of the following pieces of information will BEST convince Abirami that being in the group is beneficial to her?

Soon after Kanmani takes over, she discovers that every instructor is paid differently even though they teach for the same number of hours. Moreover, these instructors have been recruited locally, having similar educational background. As she is introducing modern HR practices, she wants to equalize the salaries of all the instructors.

Which of the following is definitely NOT an option for Kanmani?

One of the instructors meets Kanmani and urgently requests for a week-long leave because he needs to take care of his ailing father in a nearby village. Kanmani grants him leave. However, on the very next day, she is chastised by Selvam. He tells Kanmani, “while all instructors are legally eligible for leave, we cannot grant leave to instructors, given the tight schedule and continuous classes.” Selvam instructs Kanmani to ensure that, when classes are on, leaves are not granted.

Kanmani wants to allow instructors to avail leaves whenever they need them; however, she understands that there should be contingency arrangements in place so that the deliverables are not compromised.

Kanmani is contemplating the following contingency arrangements for the classes that may not be conducted due to faculty leave.

Which of the following will be the BEST contingency arrangement at the lowest possible cost without compromising on the deliverables?

Kanmani meets Selvam and requests his permission to recruit three extra instructors, who would be on the regular payroll. They will only chip in whenever the regular instructors go on leave. Selvam, having been running the tutorial for quite some time, believes that this would not be the right way to solve the problem of managing classes when instructors go on leave. He shares the following data with Kanmani to help her understand that this problem cannot be solved by recruiting more people:

a) The number of days that instructors go on leave of absence is usually two days a month on average.
b) Each instructor has a unique style of teaching that cannot be replicated by part-timers.
c) Classes are held for 5 days a week, allowing enough rest for the instructors.
d) Selvam tried with part-time instructors as back-ups previously but they were often unavailable when needed.
e) The extra instructors must be paid a monthly salary, even when they might not be teaching the entire month.

Which of the following combinations of data will BEST convince Kanmani not to recruit extra instructors on the regular payroll?