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XAT 2019 Question Paper | XAT BDM

CAT Bussiness Decision Making | XAT 2019 Question Paper

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Read the situation below and answer the questions that follow:

You are a Human Resource (HR) Manager in the HR Department of Vikash Educational Charitable Trust. You organize and support recruitment and training, provide secretarial support for disciplinary investigations and keep personnel records of staff. You report to Ms. Deelipa, one of the two Senior HR Managers who reports to the HR Director.

XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

For the post of Consultant Professor in the Trust, two internal candidates, Mr. Rana and Mr. Charan were interviewed. Mr. Charan was selected as he was considered to be academically gifted with impressive leadership skills, even though he had less experience than the other. Three days later, Mr. Rana came to your office complaining that the selection was unfair as he had more experience than Mr. Charan.

Which of the following is the best way to handle the issue raised by Rana?
1. Tell Mr. Rana, that you empathize with him, but the process was fair, and details of the assessment could be shared with him.
2. Tell Mr. Rana that if he is interested, he could write to the HR Director and you would act as per the directives received.
3. Offer tea to Mr. Rana and say that you can understand why he is upset. Let him have a bit of a moan and help him get it out of his system.
4. Tell Mr. Rana that the Institute finds the right person for the job, not the one who has been around the longest.
5. Warn Mr. Rana that his complaint will be construed as misdemeanour and held against him in the next promotion cycle.
Choice A
Tell Mr. Rana, that you empathize with him, but the process was fair, and details of the assessment could be shared with him.
XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

Ms. Deelipa has asked you to conduct a Non Teaching Staff Induction Training. You are to call for a tender from various agencies with specifications that include the contents, duration, experience, budget and other relevant information. You then need to shortlist five agencies from the list of 20 and make a presentation within two days. Review the following responses:
1. Rate all 20 agencies on a scale of 1 to 5 on information available and select the top 5.
2. Select the five lowest bids based on the price quoted.
3. Seek selection criteria from Deelipa and the HR Director and shortlist the bidders accordingly.
4. Follow the advise of a person who has completed a similar task.

Select the best of the following responses in the descending order of effectiveness?
1. 4,1,3
2. 1,3,4
3. 3,2,4
4. 1,2,3
5. 3,1,2
Choice E
3,1,2
XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

The Vikash Trust has recently been plagued by a high turnover of teaching assistants with many looking for higher salary and better facilities. You have been asked to design and run a campaign to attract and appoint 10 teaching assistants. One of your measures of success will be the retention of the new recruits. You have 4 weeks for the interview.

Review the following:
1. Shortlist apt candidates who reflect values of the Trust from among respondees to your wide advertisement campaign.
2. Design an ad that attracts candidates with values that matches the Trust's, release it at an appropriate time and re-validate the candidates' credentials at the time of shortlisting.
3. Repeat the process that was followed by the Trust last time.
4. Seek expert advice on drafting an attractive advertisement.

Select the best of the following responses in the descending order of effectiveness?
1. 4,1,2
2. 2,1,3
3. 4,3,1
4. 1,2,3
5. 2,3,4
Choice B
2,1,3
XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

The new induction training program has been a roaring success. All new induction courses for the next 12 months have been tightly scheduled. This morning, you receive a call from Mr. Surya, the Head of the Trust requesting you to train eight newly recruited teaching assistants before they start their job next month. You explain that all the slots are fully booked for the next 3 months, but he insists that the new teaching assistants be trained immediately, to hopefully reduce turnover among them. You speak to Deelipa, who wants you to deal with the issue on your own. Review the following responses that you wish to communicate to Mr. Surya:

1. Inform him that once the schedules are drawn up, it is not possible to effect any change as the reputation of the Trust would be at stake.
2. Suggest that a new agency may be permitted to run induction sessions for these teaching assistants, as a special case.
3. Tell him that if some inductees dropout in the first month, at least some teaching assistants can be accommodated.
4. Tell him that since no space is available in the induction training sessions for three months, you, as the HR manager would conduct induction sessions for them after office hours.

Select the best of the following responses in the descending order of effectiveness.
1. 2,1,3,4
2. 3,2,1,4
3. 3,2,4,1
4. 2,4,3,1
5. 2,3,1,4
Choice D
2,4,3,1

Read the following caselet and answer the questions that follow:

The Public Relations Department of an organization has spent only 4 crores of its allocated 16 crores on publicity. There are 2 months left in the financial year. Due to shortage of officers, the Assistant Director, Operations has been given an additional charge of publicity. Because of his other commitments, he is unable to find time to undertake tasks such as baseline study, ascertaining communication needs, testing proposed messages and media channels, deciding optimum periodicity, measuring impact, etc. He also argues spending the rest of the budget is unnecessary because their regular programs are already widely known. His boss, the Director, however, feels that only by utilizing the entire budget can a similar amount be demanded the next year. He also thinks that there is nothing like enough publicity.

XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

Which of these is the best course of action for the department?
1. Repeat the advertising done so far 3 times over and thus exhaust the entire amount.
2. Rely on the operational experience of the Director and the Assistant Director and start spending the optimal amount right away.
3. Surrender the budget right away so it can be utilized by other departments.
4. Hire a specialized external agency which will study the gaps and needs within a fortnight and follow it's recommendations.
5. Request higher authorities to reallocate the remaining amount to other departments of the organization.
Choice D
Hire a specialized external agency which will study the gaps and needs within a fortnight and follow it's recommendations.
XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

Which of these new developments, if true, would most justify a larger utilization of the advertising budget?
1. Advertising agencies have announced a 25% reduction in rates.
2. An internal committee of the organization has made strong recommendations to improve service delivery.
3. The organization has approved a new major scheme for immediate implementation.
4. The findings of a baseline study on assessing communication needs are now available.
5. A new Assistant Director has been posted to exclusively look after publicity.
Choice C
The organization has approved a new major scheme for immediate implementation.

Read the following caselet and answer questions that follow:

Sanchit group of Hospitals seeks to improve the success rate and patient satisfaction rate by 100% in the next year. However, the management can't afford to send doctors for professional development outside the country nor afford purchasing more equipment. As an in-house measure, the managing board thought of having doctors with high patient satisfaction to mentor those with less. Most of the doctors found it an interference by the management, judgmental and an expression of distrust. There were, however, some isolated few who found it a novel way of learning from each other. The doctors felt the management should instead increase consultancy fees and spend more on recruiting more paramedics who could spend time with patients, rather than blame doctors and decided to call it quits. For the management, this would mean loss of patients.

XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

Consider the following actions:
1. Conduct a survey of all stakeholders and ascertain their needs and suggestions.
2. Build consensus among doctors and paramedics on a possible way forward.
3. Prepare an action plan that details the road map along with financial implications.
4. Design differential service packages based on the affordability of the patients.
5. Run a brainstorming session among the leading doctors of the area.

Which of the following sequence of actions is most appropriate for the hospital administration in achieving their goal?
1. 5,4,2
2. 1,5,3
3. 4,2,1
4. 4,5,2
5. 1,2,3
Choice E
1,2,3
XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

Which of the following decisions is most likely to satisfy all the stakeholders?
1. Increase the income of doctors and paramedics, and the ambiance of the hospital.
2. Give 30% discount on medicines purchased from the hospital store.
3. Increase the income of doctors and the number of paramedics.
4. Raise income of doctors and reduce the waiting time of patients.
5. Allow doctors to choose patients based on income levels, thus profiting both patients and the organization.
Choice A
Increase the income of doctors and paramedics, and the ambiance of the hospital.
XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

Given the current situation, which of the following is the most interactive and effective way to increase the learning among paramedics and doctors?
1. Get doctors and paramedics with high satisfaction rates document their success stories for use of others.
2. Encourage paramedics and doctors to pursue courses over MOOC platform, at their own cost, which shall be partially subsidized after successful completion.
3. Ask doctors and paramedics with high satisfaction rate to give lectures to others before start of work.
4. Implement professional development standards for staff linking it with an accountability framework.
5. Create groups of paramedics and doctors, to meet everyday and discuss their insights and experience of the day.
Choice D
Create groups of paramedics and doctors, to meet everyday and discuss their insights and experience of the day.

Read the following caselet and answer the questions that follow:

Thakur Raja, a young cabinet minister, glanced through the notes of his secretary regarding the recent controversies on ‘Racket’, the most popular game of the country. While International Racket Association (IRA) has agreed to implement Drug Testing Code (DTC), the Racket Club which controls the entire Racket related activities had some reservations regarding the initiative. A majority of the citizens eagerly awaited their country's participation and performance at the international competitions during the Champions Trophy. Due to the popularity of the game, 70% of the total revenue associated with the game originates from the country. Hence, the Racket Club has earned high bargaining power with the IRA and can influence decisions not aligned with its interests. Three of the most popular and senior players of the Club, including the captain, are against the imposition of DTC citing security reasons. A decision against the interests of these players might result in law and order problems throughout the country. Other players support the decision of their senior colleagues and if the Racket Club refuses, players may support the rebel Counter Racket Club, a new national level initiative. The Counter Racket Club can challenge the monopoly of the Racket Club, if it succeeds in attracting some popular players. Raja was a great soccer player and has major reservations against racket. According to him, racket has negative influence on the country’s youth and distracts them from productive work. He also considers drug testing as an essential feature of any sports and games across the world. As the new cabinet minister for Youth and Sports, he needs to take some important decisions on this contentious issue.

XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

If Thakur Raja wants to create a lasting impact, the most reasonable option for him is to:
1. Force the Racket Club to accept all regulations relating to drug testing.
2. Enforce drug testing while providing adequate security to all players.
3. Get popular Racket players to endorse Soccer.
4. Ban Racket as a sport, citing its negative influence on youth.
5. Align with Counter Racket Club and reinforce their initiatives.
Choice B
Enforce drug testing while providing adequate security to all players.
XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

Identify the best argument for Raja to decide in favor of the IRA.
1. Raja is interested in making Racket less popular in the country.
2. Three of the top international teams are keen on implementing DTC.
3. The next World cup is scheduled to be held in a country which has made DTC mandatory.
4. Raja and the President of the Racket Club are political opponents and could use the present issue to settle their mutual scores.
5. Raja can justify his decision citing his position as a cabinet minister.
Choice C
The next World cup is scheduled to be held in a country which has made DTC mandatory
XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

According to DTC, each athlete/sportsperson needs to submit their schedule for the next three months specifying an hour each day when they can be randomly tested for drugs. DTC also ensures the confidentiality of the submitted schedule by:
i. Limiting access of player-supplied information only to two senior officers.
ii. Allowing these officers to access the schedule of only those sports persons who are randomly selected for testing.
iii. Introducing similar security features for DTC database as is the case with financial institutions.

The top three popular players realize security is the only reason for them to get a favorable decision from Raja. Hence during discussions, they should focus on all options except:
1. Recent report includes their country to be among the top five nations vulnerable to data security breach.
2. DTC is unwilling to share details with security agencies of officers involved in background check.
3. Any leak of their private schedules may result in huge public gathering and it will make the job of security agencies very difficult.
4. Popular Racket players are on the hit list of terrorist organizations.
5. It is difficult to provide adequate security coverage in large stadiums where Racket is played.
Choice E
It is difficult to provide adequate security coverage in large stadiums where Racket is played.

Read the following caselet and answer the questions that follow:

Mrs. Bhalla is the principal of ‘Happy Public School’. While it is a private school, the trust is socially sensitive and as part of their “Spread Happiness Policy” provides quality education to many needy students from low income neighborhood for free. She received a strange complaint from some of the affluent parents regarding their discomfort with allowing poor children to study along with their kids. They were concerned more about their manners, habits and language than about schooling. They wanted the trust to either start a separate shift for such children or remove them from the school since they are supporting them. On the other hand, the parents of the poor children complained of bullying and teasing and shared their concern regarding the mental trauma their children undergo. While Mrs. Bhalla, by no means wants to yield to the demands of the affluent parents, she also cannot ignore them since some of them have been making substantial donations to the school.

XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

Which of the following is most likely to get the affluent parents to accept the school’s policy?
1. Accept the suggestion of affluent parents to start a separate shift for the poor students.
2. Invite professionals to conduct workshop for the poorer children so that they learn basic manners, habits and language.
3. Meet the two parent groups separately, understand their key concerns and seek solutions from both.
4. Invite the founder of the school to clarify to all parents the school’s policy.
5. Share the fact, that the government instituted school ranking, places 25% weight to policies similar to the school’s.
Choice E
Share the fact, that the government instituted school ranking, places 25% weight to policies similar to the school’s
XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

While Mrs. Bhalla understands the problems of overcrowded classrooms and classroom management, she foresees in them an opportunity to develop more sensitive and self-motivated learners. Mrs. Bhalla is considering the following actions:
1. Take the student and teacher councils on board and seek their ideas to redress the challenge the school faces.
2. Brainstorm with teachers and students on a strategy to engage all learners in teams for meaningful learning and healthy relationships.
3. Encourage students for self-learning and teachers into more supervisory roles to ensure discipline.
4. Engage students in a process of periodic reflection so that they can get in touch with their thoughts, feelings and actions towards self and others.
5. Create achievement based student groups to encourage competition and ease classroom management.

Which of the following combination of actions would be most effective in developing sensitive and selfmotivated learners?
1. 1,2,3
2. 1,3,5
3. 2,1,5
4. 5,4,3
5. 1,2,4
Choice E
1,2,4
XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

Which of the following options will empower students the most?
1. Ensure no kid from poor income group is detained.
2. Maximise students learning achievement.
3. Help students relate learning to their real life experiences.
4. Ensure rich kids to get to know those on whom their money is spent.
5. Encourage students to ask questions that teacher find difficult to answer.
Choice C
Help students relate learning to their real life experiences

Read the following caselet and answer questions that follow:

Divya grew up in a business family in Hyderabad. As a Systems engineer she travelled extensively on business deals and later settled in her in-law’s place in Warangal. Once during her visit to Thailand she got to taste some roll over ice cream. Interestingly, a few weeks later, she came across an advertisement from a reputed Bangalore based Rollover Handcrafted Ice Cream Company calling for expression of interest from potential franchises. Warangal did not have any quality ice cream parlour. The company wanted the potential franchisees to invest Rs. 20 lacs and 700 square feet space. Profits were to be shared in 3:7 ratio between the company and the franchisee.

Divya was excited, but was wondering if Rs. 20 lacs was too much to invest. Further, she did not have the entire amount and was thinking of taking a loan. She enquired with the Rollover franchisees and found that a franchisee in Hyderabad had sales revenue varying between 5 and 6 lacs rupees per month with a profit margin between 25-30%. Divya decided to go ahead.

Warangal had three main areas -Kazipet, Jangaon and Warangal. All areas were linked by good roads. Kazipet was a business area where most high end retail formats were located. It was also the education hub of the city. Jangaon, on the other hand, was a growing lower middle class business area and Warangal was mostly residential.

Divya favoured Kazipet. However, she soon encountered problems. Not only was it difficult to obtain space in Kazipet but property rentals touched 30-40 rupees per square feet per month as against Jangaon and Warangal where it was 15-20 rupees per square feet per month. Divya’s friend, who lived in Jangaon, told her that a few branded outlets were opening in Jangaon and it appeared to be the fastest growing market in Warangal with the highest percentage of teenagers. But, Divya was not in favour of Jangaon. She hoped to target college going crowd of Kazipet. High real estate prices in Kazipet and lower profitability estimate in Jangaon market confused Divya.

XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

Which of the following options, if true, would most likely interest Divya to start a franchise?
1. Doctors of the area do not consider Ice cream to be a major cause of obesity.
2. A bank is ready to give her a quick loan.
3. She can charge high prices for her ice creams without losing customers.
4. Her friend who runs a restaurant recently in Kazipet is doing good business.
5. In recent times, a couple of franchisees shut down within months of starting.
Choice C
She can charge high prices for her ice creams without losing customers.
XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

Which of the following is least likely to demotivate Divya?
1. Investing a huge amount may not bring expected returns.
2. The bank would insist on loan repayment on a monthly basis.
3. The property rentals would soon go up in Kazipet.
4. Unlike Hyderabad, people in Kazipet don’t seem to like Rollover ice cream.
5. Rollover franchise in Hyderabad is making huge profits.
Choice E
Rollover franchise in Hyderabad is making huge profits.
XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

What could be the most likely reason for Divya opting for Kazipet?
1. Spiralling real-estate prices in Kazipet.
2. No branded outlets is likely to come up in Jangaon in the near future.
3. High percentage of teenagers in Kazipet attracted to Rollover ice cream.
4. High density of population in both Warangal and Jangaon.
5. She felt, college going crowd is excited about the latest in ice creams.
Choice E
She felt, college going crowd is excited about the latest in ice creams.
XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

Which is the most important decision criterion for Divya to consider in such a business situation?
1. Attracting customers through big discounts in the initial phase of business.
2. Consistent increase in the number of customers in the future.
3. Range and variety of ice-cream.
4. Availability of space in premium locality.
5. Availability of loan at low interest rate.
Choice B
Consistent increase in the number of customers in the future.

Read the following caselet and answer the questions that follow:

Due to increased competition, Electro Automobiles, the Indian subsidiary of Robert Automobile Company (RAC) reported lower sales and profits. RAC expects its new model Limo, developed especially for value conscious customers of India and China, would revive its fortunes. In order to prevent customers from buying competing products, RAC announced the launch of Limo six months ahead of schedule. Unrest in its Indian supplier resulted in delayed delivery of essential components to its main plant. Hence, Limo was launched on schedule only in China. Within a short span, Limo captured 30% of the Chinese market , which was 200% higher than expectation. Indian customers were becoming increasingly restless because they couldn't get a Limo in India. Electro’s dealers were worried, customers might switch to other cars.

XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

The Indian subsidiary is concerned that the delay in launching the product will give undue advantage to some competitor. The organization was considering the following strategies to keep customers engaged with the company:

1. Ask the dealers to encourage their prospective customers to seek similar products from the competition, rather than wait for Limo’s launch.
2. Suggest the dealers to accept booking for Limo, announcing the launch within six months of booking, while in reality plan to keep postponing launch indefinitely.
3. Run full page advertisements in the papers, every month, to keep the interest in the model from ebbing, with no mention of the launch date.
4. Import parts from outside India, and launch the product, at a 30% premium, planning a relaunch a few years later of the indianized version.
5. Go against its worldwide policy of non-interference in supplier plants, and announce a hefty bonus to the employees of the supplier with a hope to temporarily bring the plant to life.
6. Promise the supplier plant (that has some unrest) a higher margin share of about 5% compared to what was shared earlier, with an eye to stem the unrest.

Which of the following combination of responses above, will most likely keep the prospective customers engaged with the company and not jump to some competitor’s product?
1. 1,2,3
2. 2,3,4
3. 3,2,5
4. 1,5,6
5. 3,4,5
Choice E
3,4,5
XAT 2019 Question Paper - BDM

Mr. Murugan from Chennai experienced the comfort of Limo during his visit to China. He was willing to deposit an approximate price of Limo to buy the first available unit from Mr. Ahmed, a dealer in Chennai. Electro Automobile is yet to announce the actual price, and the process for allocation of the vehicles. Which of the following is the best option for Ahmed?
1. Collect 50% of the entire amount Mr. Murugan is willing to deposit as advance and the remaining at the time of launch.
2. Collect the entire amount Mr. Murugan is willing to deposit after clarifying that delivery and price is subject to the company policy.
3. Collect the amount and transfer it to the account of Electro Automobiles, instead of keeping it in his personal account.
4. Collect the amount from Mr. Murugan. Later when the delivery is delayed, blame it on RAC’s problems.
5. Not collect the amount, but suggest to Mr. Murugan to write to Electro Automobiles.
Choice B
Collect the entire amount Mr. Murugan is willing to deposit after clarifying that delivery and price is subject to the company policy.