XAT 2022 - DecisionMaking

Read the following scenario and answer the THREE questions that follow.

Raghubir, a reputed doctor, practices medicine in a tier-three city. He owns an importedSUV which he bought 10 years ago, using his hard- earned savings of nearly 5 years.Initially, he used to take it for long rides, but for the last 6-7 years, he only commutes to hisclinic, a 10-minute drive from his home. The SUV has been his proud possession but it demands high maintenance. Also, thediesel-guzzling SUV does not comply with the new emission norms being introduced in thetier-one and tier-two cities. Of late, a few newspapers reported that the new emission norms may be introduced in tier-three cities as well. This news has worried Raghubir.

Question:

Raghubir is afraid that once the new emission norms are rolled out, he might not beable to use his SUV anymore. Which of the following options will BEST put Raghubir at ease with using his SUV for some more time?

Anya, Raghubir’s daughter, works in a metro city. She is concerned about private transport emissions and is unhappy with her father’s diesel-guzzling SUV. Though she wants her father to be more environmentally responsible, she is aware that anydrastic suggestion might attract strong resistance. Hence, she wants a solution, acceptable to Raghubir, that gently dissuades him from using his SUV on a daily basis.
Which of the following actions by Anya will BEST dissuade Raghubir from using hisSUV on a daily basis?

The new emission norms are about to get implemented in tier-three cities, and Raghubir’s city will follow suit shortly. Hence, Raghubir starts exploring options ofbuying an electric vehicle (EV). He lists the following factors that will guide him onbuying an electric car:
P. EVs within Raghubir’s budget can cover his daily commute, but not the long rides.
Q. A new electric SUV in the market, within his budget, nearly has the same look andfeel of his present SUV.
R. EVs cannot be driven beyond a speed of 70 kmph.
S. New charging stations on the main highway, connecting his city to the closestmetro city, may come up in another year.
T. The only shop, selling EVs in his city, is ready to trade in Raghubir’s SUV at areasonable price.
The above listed factors have been arranged in a DECREASING order of influence inthe options given below.
Which of the following options will BEST help Raghubir buy an electric vehicle immediately?

Read the following scenario and answer the THREE questions that follow.

Future Leaders is one of the most prestigious private schools in a small town, next to anindustrial hub. Most of its students come from affluent families, but there are some whobelong to middle-income and lower middle-income families as well. The school charges anannual fee of ?2 lakhs, inclusive of all charges, payable at the beginning of the academicyear. Roughly 20% of the fees collected goes into paying the salaries of the teachers,another 30% for the upkeep of the school, and roughly 20% for miscellaneous expenses inrunning day-to-day businesses like supply, cleaning etc. The remaining goes into anexigency corpus. This year, like the rest of the country, the town has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic.The classes have been shifted online. The local authorities have mandated that all schoolshave to reduce their fees by 20%. Further, parents should be given extended time to paythe fees if they are in financial distress. Six months into the academic year, only 40% of theparents have paid even the reduced annual fees.

Questions:

Ajay Biswas, the rector of the school, is alarmed by the shortfall in fee payments andwants to find the best solution to manage the situation. He does not want to troubleparents who might be genuinely in financial distress, but feels that there may be apossibility that many parents are taking advantage of the situation.
Which of the following actions by the school will BEST make financially capableparents pay the fees?

The board of trustees of the school is concerned about the current financialsituation and has called Biswas for a meeting. The trustees have thought of thefollowing actions, as listed below, to improve the school finances immediately:
P. Appeal to the local industrialists to donate to the school
Q. Withhold 20% of teachers' salary till the situation improves
R. Ask parents to pay up within a week or show a proof of financial distress
S. Stop online classes for a week to signal the desperate financial crunch
T. Start an extra section in every class and offer admission to whoever is willing topay fees
Biswas is tasked to find the most feasible way of alleviating the financial crunchimmediately.
Which of the following combinations of the above listed actions, in a DECREASING order of preference, will BEST help Biswas in achieving his goal?

Teachers of Future Leaders contribute to its stellar reputation. Moreover, they assistthe school in arriving at several critical decisions. Biswas resents their involvementin school matters as he has to listen to their collective voice rather than the otherway around. Biswas feels that the current situation offers him an opportunity to get back at the teachers. He wants to discuss the possibility of reducing teachers’ salaries by 20%with the board of trustees.
Which of the following, if true, will BEST enable Biswas to present his case forreducing teachers’ salaries?

Read the following scenario and answer the THREE questions that follow.

Fundamental Research in Science for Corporate Applications (FuRSCA) is an R&D unit ofa Public Sector Undertaking (PSU). FuRSCA’s employees are research scientists whoassist the Public Sector Undertaking through their R&D. Given the far-reaching implicationsof its research, FuRSCA was established as a separate entity near the factory of the PSU. FuRSCA has three levels of hierarchy viz.: junior, senior and chief scientists and all of themreside on the campus. Hence, every scientist, regardless of hierarchy, resides in a housethat is similar in all aspects. Though the scientists are entitled to a house rent allowance (HRA), given the distance of FuRSCA from the city, housing them on the campus makes sense. The new recruits are provided a transit accommodation in the institute’s studio apartments,until vacant houses are available. For these recruits, a queue has been created on thebasis of their date of joining and not on hierarchy, with the most recent recruit going to the last in the queue. Execution of this policy is the responsibility of the FuRSCA ChiefAdministrative Officer (CAO), who reports to the Director of FuRSCA.

Questions:

Harsh Kohli resides in house no. 324. Since long, Harsh wants to move from a 3series house to a 2 series house because his motherin- law, a chief scientist, livesalone in house no. 225. A few years back, Harsh formally requested the CAO to allowhim to move to a 2 series house whenever available. Recently, when house no. 224becomes vacant, Harsh appeals to the CAO for that house, citing his earlier request.Currently, there are five scientists waiting in the queue and Sauf Tangud is on thetop of the queue.
From the following options, choose the BEST action to be taken by the CAO withoutviolating the existing housing policy.

Rawng Regrud joins FuRSCA recently and is placed third in the housing queue. Hehas been temporarily housed in a studio apartment. Given that the studio apartmentis too small, he requests his sister to take care of their ailing parents while he awaitsa regular house allotment. As months pass, his sister finds it difficult toaccommodate her parents along with her in-laws. She requests Rawng to accommodate them with his family. Since he is third in the queue, he may not get ahouse allotted in the near future. He approaches the CAO with a request to be movedup the queue on humanitarian grounds.
Which of the following responses by the CAO shall be perceived as the MOSTappropriate by all the stakeholders?

Of late, the CAO has received several requests from the residents of 3 series housesto move to other series houses. The CAO is aware that this is largely because of their own noisy factory nearby. Due to limited housing available on the campus, he must do something before the problem worsens. He wants to find a solution thatmakes the lives of 3 series residents more comfortable.
Which of the following actions can BEST help the CAO in achieving his goal?

Read the following scenario and answer the THREE questions that follow.

Korkai is a serene village, nestled in a small island, separated from the mainland by a strait— the world forgot to name. Its inhabitants are mostly fishermen; a few are cattle-grazerstoo. A boat ride across the strait is the only mode of transport to the mainland. Budugu, the boatman, ferries people, cattle, and bicycles across the strait in his boat for aliving. The remoteness and the lack of connection to the mainland has served him well. Hehas a family of five. His two daughters are away studying in a city college and dream ofcorporate jobs in the cities. His ailing mother and wife complete his family. Budugu sent his daughters to study in the city as there is only one school in Korkai, run byan NGO. The NGO prepares the village kids for higher studies. For those who cannot go tocities, the NGO teaches them about the virtues of the local way of life. Budugu is a member of the village Panchayat that runs the village administration. At Korkai,hardly anyone remembers the local MLA or MP. Interestingly, the local MLA visited lastweek, and informed the islanders of major changes planned for the region: urgentconstruction of a bridge connecting the island to the mainland, and real estate development. She announced that the island will become a well-known eco-tourismdestination in the state. She stressed that the local livelihood, dependent on fortunes at thesea, might enjoy the certainty in minimum wages, meted out by the eco-resort owners. Nevertheless, some villagers fear that the bridge will irreversibly change their lives and livelihoods.

Questions:

Budugu fears that the proposed bridge will leave him jobless, and is determined todo something about it. He wants to gather effective support in order to get theconstruction of the proposed bridge delayed.
Which of the following will be the MOST feasible option for Budugu to gathereffective support?

The local MLA is worried about the resistance to the project. This project, like herother successful projects in nearby villages, was supposed to garner a significant amount of funding. Moreover, it would make her the face of development in the state; perhaps, even would land her a ministerial berth. However, Budugu’s activism hascast the project in a bad light among the popular minds. The MLA wants to protecther pro-development image.
Which of the following is the BEST course of action for the MLA?

As the project gets delayed, Budugu becomes a well-known social activist with a lotof followers. When Pragati, his elder daughter, finishes her education and startslooking for employment, a few known corporates refuse her a job because of herfather’s “antidevelopment” stand.
Which of the following options BEST communicates to the corporates that Pragatihas an identity of her own?

Read the following scenario and answer the THREE questions that follow.

Dileep Dosan sells dosas in front of an upscale hospital at a city in Punjab. He only sellstwo varieties of dosas: plain for Rs.25 and masala for Rs.40. His dosa stall is popular amongst the hospital staff members, who mostly hail from SouthIndia and form his core clientele. They frequent his stall during office hours as they find hisdosas to be reasonably priced. Though the hospital staff members can visit the upscale food court on the top floor of the hospital, they prefer his stall for breakfast and lunch, andeven for occasional evening snacks. His daily sale volume varies between 300 and 400dosas, in which the demand for masala dosas is around 50-60%.

Questions:

One day, Dileep, while walking through the hospital food court, sees a vacant spot.He wonders if he can shift his stall to that spot. Which of the following information will dissuade him the MOST from shifting his stallto the food court?

Dileep shifts his stall to the hospital food court. He prices his plain dosa at ?40 andmasala dosa at ?60. However, two months on, he is serving only about 150 dosas perday. The clientele is mostly the same hospital staff members, who had been hiscustomers before he moved to the food court.
Which of the following actions will BEST help Dileep in increasing his sales?

On the first anniversary of his stall at the food court, Dileep reviews his customerbase. Almost all of his customers are the hospital staff members. Though he wishesto serve the general visitors at the hospital, they avoid his stall. On enquiring, hediscovers that visitors generally avoid his stall because it is majorly frequented bythe hospital staff members, giving it a feel of a staff canteen. Dileep realizes his best efforts have not given him any extra sales and the visitorscan potentially increase his revenue by a considerable amount.
Which of the following options can BEST help Dileep in discouraging hospital staff members from visiting his stall while increasing his over all revenue?

Read the following scenario and answer the THREE questions that follow.

A2Z is a state-funded leading engineering college in the country, renowned for its teachingand placements. Now, A2Z aspires to be a global leader in research as well. A2Z has,therefore, decided to push for better quality research from its newly recruited faculty members. In the past, a few faculty members were confirmed because of their exceptionalteaching feedback even though their research output was below par. Currently, the Dean, inconsultation with the academic council, has included the quality of research as a mandatory requirement along with teaching excellence for the confirmation of the newly recruitedfaculty members. (The academic council comprises of the senior faculty members fromdifferent departments.) Initially, newly recruited faculty members are put on a probation for three years. Either theyare confirmed or their probation is extended or their services are terminated, based onteaching and research contributions. Once confirmed, their job is secure along with other additional perquisites. Aparna joined the social sciences department of A2Z two years back. She is amongst themany faculty members, recruited after the new norms for confirmation were introduced. Shecompleted her doctorate from a reputed university in the USA, with a significant research contribution. However, after joining A2Z, Aparna got deeply involved in social outreach asCOVID-19 was spreading. Though her social outreach has given her immense satisfaction,she has nothing to show against research contributions; further, it has impacted her teaching effectiveness. Her confirmation is due in a year.

Questions:

The Dean, during the annual appraisal of Aparna, realizes that her researchcontribution needs considerable investment of time and efforts. He is concerned thather performance could set a wrong precedent for the new faculty recruits. The deanwants to communicate to the new faculty recruits that research contribution is critical.
Which of the following actions will BEST help the Dean in achieving the objective,while being fair to Aparna?

One year on, Aparna continues with her social work. Gradually, she gets closer to the end of her probation and she has not much to show against her teaching and research contributions. However, her social work has been widely appreciated by the local media. The Chief Minister of the state wants Aparna to take a larger role in social out reach and assist the government. The Dean is afraid that not confirming Aparna might prompt her to leave theinstitution, sending a wrong signal to the outside world. However, he also wants tosend a message to the newly joined faculty members that teaching and researchcontributions are essential for confirmation.
Which of the following actions by the Dean is the MOST sustainable given the circumstances?

expresses her fear that she might be let go by A2Z because she has not met itsteaching and research requirements. Consequently, the academic council urges theDean to review the faculty confirmation policy. The Dean, however, believes that any change in the policy will be a setback to theinstitute’s aspirations of becoming a global leader in research.
Which of the following actions by the Dean will be the MOST appropriate, given thecircumstances?

Read the following scenario and answer the THREE questions that follow.

Sundaresan was a professor of Corporate Responsibility at a premium management institution. As a requirement of his course, students had to synthesize sustainability challenges, faced by thermal power companies and submit an assignment on them. Though it was an individual assignment, some students sought permission from Sundaresan to work on the assignment as a team. Sundaresan knew that collaboration fosters peer learning, and therefore, allowed them to work in teams. However, he mandated that a team should not exceed three members. While 15 students elected to workindividually, other 15 formed teams of three each, and another 10 formed teams of
twomembers each.

Questions:

As assignment deadline came closer, Sundaresan was approached by AbbasWarram, who chose to work in a team of three members. He informed Sundaresanthat Venkamma, his team member, distressed by the death of her grandmother,could not work on her bit of the assignment. Abbas requested for a deadlineextension so that she could finish her part of the assignment. By then, manystudents who were working alone had already submitted their assignments.
Which of the following actions by Sundaresan is the MOST appropriate, given thecircumstances?

When Sundaresan was about to grade the assignments, he received a request from the class representative regarding the students who worked individually. There quest was to give those students additional marks because they handled the entire work load. This would improve their course grade significantly.
Which of the following is the MOST appropriate action by Sundaresan to mark the assignments?

Sundaresan was going through the submitted assignments. Team 9, with threemembers, had impressive exhibits and charts. Later, he discovered that Team 13,with three members, also had the same exhibits and charts. He realized that one ofthe teams had copied from the other. Hence, he informed both the teams that hewould award an F-grade (fail grade) to both the teams for copying. Later that evening, Aashi from Team 9 called and admitted to sharing exhibits andcharts with Aanvi of Team13. Further, she mentioned that Aanvi could not putenough efforts since she lost significant amount of time due to COVID-19. Therefore,Aanvi requested for help. However, Aanvi assured Aashi that she would notreproduce the shared content. Aashi requested Sundaresan to punish her and Aanviand spare others as they were not involved.
Which of the following actions by Sundaresan is the MOST appropriate?