Instructions

Analyse the following caselet and answer the questions that follow:

Indian Institute of Research is a Government-established body to promote research. In addition to helping in policy making, it also provides free online access to all the articles to the public. It has a mission of publishing high quality research articles. Till 2010, the publication of articles was very slow because there was no incentive for researchers to publish. Researchers stuck to the mandatory one article a year. Most of the researchers engaged in offering consultancy and earned extra income. Since its inception, the institute was considered the best place for cutting edge research. The new director of the institute was not happy with the work done by researchers in silo and came out with a new research policy in 2013 to increase research output and improve collaboration among researchers. It was decided that extra benefits would be offered to researchers with new publications. As a result, the number of research articles increased fourfold in 2014. At the 2015 annual audit, an objection was raised against increased expenses towards remuneration for researchers. Further, the Government opined that the publication was itself a reward and hence researchers need be paid nothing extra. The director tried to defend his policy but the response from the government was not encouraging.
l. Note: Auditors role is to verify accounts.

Question 1

The following facts were observed by an analytics team hired by the government to study the extant situation.
1. There was a four-fold increase in the number of researchers leaving the organization in 2014.
2. A researcher died while on duty.
3. The quality of articles published declined substantially.
4. The average number of people accessing an article decreased by 2%.
Which of the following options would justify the government’s intention to DISCONTINUE the scheme?

Solution

Statement 1 and statement 2 have no relevance to the scheme. Statement 4 cannot be an effect of the mentioned scheme. Statement 3 can be a valid reason for discontinuing the scheme. Government can claim that people, being highly motivated by incentives, are concentrating more on quantity than quality.
Hence, option C is the correct answer.

Question 2

The director still wanted to persuade the government to review its stand. He had framed the following arguments:
1. Most famous researchers in the world are also the highest paid.
2. American institute of research gives extra benefits to its scientists.
3. This year’s highest paid researcher had won the Noble Prize last year.
Considering the Government to be reasonable which of the following options is UNLIKELY to convince the Government?

Solution

Most famous researchers are also highly paid does not mean that they are famous because they are highly paid. Statement 1 cannot convince the Government.
Statement 2 does not imply that extra benefits result in high quality research papers. Statement 2 is also ineffective.
Statement 3 is irrelevant because the time of winning Nobel prize and the year of being the highest paid are different. Statement 3 is also unlikely to convince the Government.
Hence, option E is the correct answer.

Question 3

The director wanted to promote good decision making at Indian Institute of Research. A few trusted colleagues offered the following suggestions:
1. Auditors need not be allowed to object to extra benefits schemes.
2. Auditors need not pin-point sudden increase in expenditure.
3. Auditors need not be consulted before taking any policy level decision.

Which of the following combination of options should the director agree THE MOST with?

Solution

Auditor's role is to verify accounts only. So, statement 1 and statement 3 are out of the scope of auditors' role. Therefore, the director would agree with statement 1 and statement 3.
Hence, option D is the correct answer.

Instructions

Analyse the following caselet and answer the questions that follow:

The City of Yashmund is served by licensed taxis operating on officially sanctioned metered rates and driven by licensed drivers who do not own the taxis but pay a monthly rent to the taxi-owners. Shailesh Nair, the mayor of Yashmund, perceived that most of these taxis do not offer sufficient comfort and safety to passengers.

Question 4

The Mayor wants the owners and drivers to care about comfort.
Which of the following decisions, IF TAKEN, is MOST LIKELY to increase the comfort levels of passengers?

Solution

Random inspection will not be effective. Also, there is no provision of punishment mentioned. Option A is incorrect.
Options B and C are focused on new taxis and do not resolve current problem.
It has not been mentioned that safety is not offered due to less income generated. Option E is irrelevant.
Option D best serves the purpose. As every taxi needs renewal, affecting it and the taking feedback from passengers would not allow the taxi drivers and owners to overlook safety and comfort.
Hence, option D is the correct answer.

The Mayor wants the owners and drivers to care about comfort.Which of the following decisions, IF TAKEN, is MOST LIKELY to increase the comfort levels of passengers?

The Mayor wants the owners and drivers to care about comfort.
Which of the following decisions, IF TAKEN, is MOST LIKELY to increase the comfort levels of passengers?