*Thread for Decision Making Section of XAT. *The decision making section involves a different kind of logic- not the rule based logic applied to solve logical reasoning sets but a logic that helps us make actual practical decisions in work …
Thread for Decision Making Section of XAT.
The decision making section involves a different kind of logic- not the rule based logic applied to solve logical reasoning sets but a logic that helps us make actual practical decisions in work or business. [Source- TF]
The questions present a situation or case study where a particular scenario is presented and needs to be analysed using the available information at hand.
The questions should be posted in the form of sets. Suitable discussion shall take place with regards to the set and the solutions.
To set posters: As far as possible, please provide justifications for the solutions.
To set takers: As far as possible, please provide the reasons for your takes.
A deceptively easy one : (XAT 2008)
Seema was a finance manager in an MNC and felt that gender discrimination at the workplace hampered her career growth. Frustrated, she quit the job and started a company. While starting her company, Seema decided that she would have equal proportion of males and females. Over the next six years, Seema emerged as a very successful entrepreneur and expanded her business to eight locations in the country.However, Seema recently started facing an ethical dilemma because she realized that female employees were not willing to travel across cities and work late hours, as the work required them to do. Male employees did not hesitate undertaking such work. Seema started to feel the pressure of reducing the proportion of female employees. On the other hand, she is aware that equal representation was one of the strongest reasons for her to have founded the company. What should she do as a conscientious female entrepreneur?
Saral Co. is operating in seven north-eastern states of the country. The organization has a history of participative decision making, wherein people deliberate openly about pros and cons of every important decision, and a broad consensus is taken before taking the final decision. In Saral Co. every employee gets a salary proportional to the sales achieved. A new General Manager (GM) joined during the beginning of this month and challenged the organization's sole focus on sales to determine salaries.He urged the top management to include two more additional parameters in determining the salaries of the employees, viz. collection of information about competitors and the quality of relationship with the retailers.
QUES. Manohar, the highest earning employee for the last three years, vehemently opposes the GM's proposal. Which of the following could be most likely reason for him to oppose the proposal?
contd...
Saral Co. is operating in seven north-eastern states of the country. The organization has a history of participative decision making, wherein people deliberate openly about pros and cons of every important decision, and a broad consensus is taken before taking the final decision. In Saral Co. every employee gets a salary proportional to the sales achieved. A new General Manager (GM) joined during the beginning of this month and challenged the organization's sole focus on sales to determine salaries.He urged the top management to include two more additional parameters in determining the salaries of the employees, viz. collection of information about competitors and the quality of relationship with the retailers.
QUES 2:
The top management of Saral Co. refused to implement the proposal of new GM from the beginning of next month. Which of the following could be the most justified reason for the management's refusal?
SET 2:(Part 1)
QUES 1.
Vivekanada Memorial Elocution Competition(VMEC) in Viswavijay Public School (VPS) has a history of forty years. Apart from the founder's day and annual day celebrations, it is the most important event of the school.In recent times, due to the increased popularity of reality shows on television channels, and for various other reasons, the elocution competition lost its appeal. Interest of both students and parents has been eroding over a period of time. To ensure sufficient audience, Mr. Ivan,Head of English Department, introduced choral recitation for junior section as a part of elocution competition. Three classes, each consisting of forty students, get short-listed for the final performance of choral singing on the day of VMEC. Most of the parents and family members of the sestudents attend the function to encourage them. This initiative increased the number of people attending the elocution competition.
Some teachers are unhappy with the emphasis given on the elocution competition, since they are expected to be present at the school on the day of competition,which normally happens on a weekend to accommodate the working parents. The teachers were not granted leave on the day of VMEC and they used to be unhappy regarding this aspect.
QUES 1.
Ms Shabina, the principal of VPS, is aware that some of her teachers are unhappy. She wants to be seen as fair and just. Which option is the best one that she should exercise?
SET 2:(Part 2)
Vivekanada Memorial Elocution Competition(VMEC) in Viswavijay Public School (VPS) has a history of forty years. Apart from the founder's day and annual day celebrations, it is the most important event of the school.In recent times, due to the increased popularity of reality shows on television channels, and for various other reasons, the elocution competition lost its appeal. Interest of both students and parents has been eroding over a period of time. To ensure sufficient audience, Mr. Ivan,Head of English Department, introduced choral recitation for junior section as a part of elocution competition. Three classes, each consisting of forty students, get short-listed for the final performance of choral singing on the day of VMEC. Most of the parents and family members of the sestudents attend the function to encourage them. This initiative increased the number of people attending the elocution competition.
Some teachers are unhappy with the emphasis given on the elocution competition, since they are expected to be present at the school on the day of competition,which normally happens on a weekend to accommodate the working parents. The teachers were not granted leave on the day of VMEC and they used to be unhappy regarding this aspect.
QUES 2.
A group of unhappy teachers have come up with a list of action plans for the consideration of their colleagues. The action plans are listed below.
I. Exposing Mr. Ivan's intentions behind the inclusion of choral recitation.
II. Conduct an open house discussion to gauge the unhappiness and to identify possible solutions.
III. Introduce music and dance competitions in same format as elocution competition
IV. Demand compensation for their work on the day of VMEC.
Mr. Zacharia, one of the senior teachers and a well wisher of VPS, is asked to go through the action plans and make recommendations that benefits VPS the most. He would recommend:
SET 3(Part 1):
To the Chairman:
Dear Mr. Sailesh,
At the December 3, 2011 meeting, it was decided that no two officers would hold positions on the same committee. It has recently come to my attention that both Chaitanya Rao and Ajit Singh will be serving in some capacity on the Cultural Committee, and both have been nominated for officer status. As you know, this is in direct disregard for the rules as voted by the Members Council last December 3, 2011. I would hope that sufficient action be taken by the Disciplinary Committee (on which committee both of the above are members)so that this problem will be remedied.
Sincerely,
Arvind Singh.
QUES 1. Which of the following is an essential flaw that the writer of the letter overlooked?
SET 3(Part 2):
To the Chairman:
Dear Mr. Sailesh,
At the December 3, 2011 meeting, it was decided that no two officers would hold positions on the same committee. It has recently come to my attention that both Chaitanya Rao and Ajit Singh will be serving in some capacity on the Cultural Committee, and both have been nominated for officer status. As you know, this is in direct disregard for the rules as voted by the Members Council last December 3, 2011. I would hope that sufficient action be taken by the Disciplinary Committee (on which committee both of the above are members)so that this problem will be remedied.
Sincerely,
Arvind Singh.
QUES 2: If both the nominations are confirmed, which of thefollowing, exhaustively and reasonably, describesactions that may occur in the near future?
SET 4(Part 2):
QUES 2:
In the current context, which among the following represent the most suitable reaction from CMMS leadership?
SET 4(Part 3):
QUES 3:
Out of the options given below, which one would be the best policy decision by government at the national level?
SET 4(Part 4):
QUES 4:
The criminals in the surrounding area often took their cue from the situation in the mill, creating law and order problems outside the mill which would make it difficult for workers to come to the mill safely. Given the circumstances, identify the stakeholder that should be the immediate priority of CTM management.
which book will b best for
decision making and general knowledge for xat 2014..??????
which book will b best for
decision making and general knowledge for xat 2014..??????
So Puys, here's a post on @akashno.1 's suggestion.
Please try not to post any of your queries here. Limit your posts to posting DM questions or having a healthy discussion 
which would be appreciated.
Remember,you answer a question,you put your point for the take 😁
Let's crack THE XAT
Regards,
Vishwas.
SET 5(Part 1): [An easy one]
The CEO of ABC Telecom Ltd. (ABC) is in a quandary since he received the telephone call in the morning from his counterpart at LMN Telecom Ltd. (LMN). Both companies were engaged in a bitter experience a couple of years ago when they had attempted to merge with the intention of creating a behemoth telecom company,possibly the largest in the world. The merger had fallen through due to opportunistic behaviour on the part of Mr.Das, then CEO of LMN. During the time the merger talks were taking place, Mr. Das had also approached a few other suitors for LMN in an attempt to force ABC to pay a higher price. Further, there were reports of attempts by management of LMN to scuttle the deal. Back then, ABC had also faced stiff opposition to the deal from one of its large shareholders.Since then, a lot has changed for both companies.The bleak economic conditions due to recession had led to a drastic fall in the market value of both companies,with ABC comparatively losing much more in terms of market value. Raising money has become more difficult for both companies, especially for LMN. On the brighter side for ABC, the opposing shareholder had recently sold off his stake to another investor who earlier had supported the original merger deal with LMN a couple of years ago.
Ques 1:
Which of the following would be the most appropriate line(s) of thought for the CEO of ABC to adopt in response to the offer by LMN?
i. Once bitten twice shy. There is simply no way I can think of resuming talks with LMN after their unethical behaviour the previous time around. I would rather spend my time on merger discussions with other companies.
ii. The deal may make less business sense this time around. However, if it goes through, I will become the CEO of the world's largest telecom company. So let us try our luck once more.
iii. I will resume talks only if they provide guarantees as to the reimbursement of our expenses incurred, in the event of the deal not materializing.
iv. Let me not be biased against dealing with LMN.If we can secure the deal at a reasonably low price, benefiting our shareholders, let us go ahead with it.
v. I am not sure if we can raise the money now. In any event, they are the ones facing greater financial problems. So let's not hurry now. We might have an opportunity to buy them out at a cheaper price later.
SET 5(Part 2): [An easy one]
The CEO of ABC Telecom Ltd. (ABC) is in a quandary since he received the telephone call in the morning from his counterpart at LMN Telecom Ltd. (LMN). Both companies were engaged in a bitter experience a couple of years ago when they had attempted to merge with the intention of creating a behemoth telecom company,possibly the largest in the world. The merger had fallen through due to opportunistic behaviour on the part of Mr.Das, then CEO of LMN. During the time the merger talks were taking place, Mr. Das had also approached a few other suitors for LMN in an attempt to force ABC to pay a higher price. Further, there were reports of attempts by management of LMN to scuttle the deal. Back then, ABC had also faced stiff opposition to the deal from one of its large shareholders.Since then, a lot has changed for both companies.The bleak economic conditions due to recession had led to a drastic fall in the market value of both companies,with ABC comparatively losing much more in terms of market value. Raising money has become more difficult for both companies, especially for LMN. On the brighter side for ABC, the opposing shareholder had recently sold off his stake to another investor who earlier had supported the original merger deal with LMN a couple of years ago.
Ques 2:
The merger of ABC and LMN has been confirmed after detailed negotiation with LMN holding the majority share of the resultant entity. LMN has financed the merger by taking debt at higher-than market interest rates from its bankers, in the hope that it would be able to streamline operations and reduce costs in the resultant entity which will allow it to repay the loan. If you were an investor looking to invest in telecom companies, which of the following could be the strongest reasons for staying away from investing in resultant entity?
Does anyone knows what kind of Fermi questions come in XAT ?
Any study material consisting of Fermi questions and its approaches ?
PS: It has nothing to do with Fermi little theorem.
SET 6:(Part 1)
Bhola, an avid nature lover, wanted to be an entrepreneur. He dreamt of establishing a chain of huts in Chatpur region to cater to tourists, who came attracted by the beauty and splendour of the Himalayas. However, he was appalled by current degradation of the Himalayan environment. He remembered the early times when everything was so green, clean and peaceful. Now, greenery was replaced by buildings. Peace was shattered by honking of vehicles and flocking of tourists,and cleanliness was replaced by heaps of plastics. Bhola had a strong sense of right and wrong. On speaking to few locals about the issue, he realized that the locals were aware of these issues. However, they pointed out the benefits of development: Pucca houses for locals, higher disposable income and with that, ability to send their children to better schools and colleges, better road connectivity, and access to latest technology in agriculture. Most locals wanted the development to continue.Saddened by the lack of support from the locals, Bhola took up the issue with the government. He met the chief minister of the state to find out if government could regulate the developmental activities to prevent environmental degradation. However, the chief minister told Bhola that such and action would slow down the economic progress. That also meant loss of substantial tax revenues for the government. Bhola needed to resolve the dilemma. Bhola always wanted to be an entrepreneur, who could contribute to the society and earn money as well. However, his business would also be responsible for destroying the environment. If he did not set up his business, he would not be able to earn money and contribute to the society.After mulling over the issues, he went to his mentor“Guruji”. Guruji realized that it was really a difficult puzzle: if one saves the environment, there seems to be no development and if the people and the government sought development, the environment and hence future of this planet and human beings was at stake. After careful thought, he felt that dilemma could be resolved. He fixed up a meeting with Bhola to answer Bhola's queries.
Ques1:
Should Bhola still think of doing business?
SET 6:(Part 2)
Ques2:
Bhola wanted to advise the government about the new tourism policy. Bhola had developed a few alternatives as given below. Choose the best alternative.