XAT 2021 Question Paper | XAT BDM

XAT Bussiness Decision Making | XAT 2021 Question Paper

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Read the following scenario and answer the three questions that follow.
Ashraf has been working at a cybersecurity company called NuTech Pvt. Ltd. for seven years. Having missed a promotion in the previous appraisal cycle, Ashraf is anxious about it in the upcoming cycle. Ashraf is aware that the HR head is meeting the top management to discuss promotions sometime soon. (At NuTech, the HR head recommends names for promotions to the top management based on inputs from the functional teams.)
On a Friday afternoon, Ashraf receives an email from Sridevi, the HR head. It reads, “Hi, I need an urgent favour from you; please respond if you are free.” It was the first time that Sridevi ever contacted him. Surprised, Ashraf immediately replies back saying, “Sure! How can I help you, Sridevi? Regards, Ashraf.” In a couple of minutes, he receives a reply: “Ashraf, I am in the middle of an important meeting, but have to urgently send gift vouchers worth ₹50,000 to one of our important clients. If you could, please purchase and send the gift vouchers to the email address given below, at the earliest.” Ashraf , without any delay, sends gift vouchers worth ₹50,000 to the given email address.

XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

Ashraf feels happy after this brief email interaction with Sridevi.
Which of the following statements, if true, will BEST make Ashraf strongly hopeful about his imminent promotion?
1. Ashraf’s immediate junior, Shamsher, who worked closely with Sridevi, was promoted last year.
2. It is for the first time ever that Sridevi directly approached Ashraf to contact a client.
3. Sridevi chose Ashraf over others for help, while in the midst of a meeting with the top management.
4. Ashraf has heard from his industry friends that HR heads accept favours for recommending employees’ promotions.
5. Sridevi is known for her elite social circle and extravagant life style.
Choice C
Sridevi chose Ashraf over others for help, while in the midst of a meeting with the top management.
XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

Ashraf does not hear anything from Sridevi in the next few days. Anxious, he meets up with Sridevi and enquires if the gift vouchers were appreciated by the client. This surprises Sridevi who closely scrutinises Ashraf’s emails and discovers that they originated from sridevi@nutich.com, instead of sridevi@nutech.com, her official email ID.
Taken aback, Ashraf requests Sridevi’s help in getting compensated by the company for his ₹50,000 loss. Sridevi asks Ashraf to justify his compensation demand. Ashraf gives the following reasons:
1. I erred; however, my financial rectitude is on record.
2. I acted in the greater interest of the company.
3. The spam mail reached my inbox due to the failure of the company’s email filter. 4. A NuTech employee, who was robbed of ₹20,000 of company’s cash, was not punished.
5. In the past, some of my acquaintances had been similarly duped.
Which of the above mentioned reasons, in a combination, will BEST help Sridevi take up the issue with the top management?
1. 1, 2, 4
2. 1, 2, 3
3. 2, 3, 4
4. 3, 4, 5
5. 2, 3, 5
Choice B
1, 2, 3
XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

Sridevi begins to doubt Ashraf’s competencies, given the way he handled the phishing emails. Thus, she convenes a meeting with the senior leadership to discuss Ashraf’s role in the company.
In the meeting, she shares the following observations:
1. Ashraf is poor at verbal communication, which is critical at subsequent levels.
2. Ashraf should have been perceptive, even though the company’s email filter failed him.
3. Ashraf joined the email filter team one month prior to his receiving the phishing emails.
4. Ashraf rushed to act on Sridevi’s request despite his busy schedule.
5. Ashraf appears to be highly anxious to get promoted.
Which of the above observations, in a combination, if true, shall BEST go against Ashraf’s chances of getting promoted?
1. 2, 3, 5
2. 1, 3, 5
3. 1, 2, 3
4. 1, 2, 5
5. 2, 3, 4
Choice C
1, 2, 3

Read the following scenario and answer the three questions that follow.
Saradeep was the proprietor of Saradeep & Sons Pvt. Ltd., an auto parts manufacturing company. He had three children--Taapsi, Kesar and Sandeep. His wife passed away when Sandeep, the youngest kid of the family, was only eight years old. Taapsi, being the eldest sibling, was more of a mother to Kesar and Sandeep.
Taapsi and Kesar joined Saradeep’s business right after college because Saradeep trusted them immensely. He once told Kesar, “I want key positions to be held by the people I trust."
Saradeep wanted Sandeep also to join his business like Kesar and Taapsi. Saradeep felt that Sandeep had a strong business sense, probably the best among his three children. Hence, Saradeep wanted Sandeep to take his higher education in business studies. However, Sandeep had other aspirations; he wanted to become a lawyer. Of late, he was offered admission to the prestigious National Law School, Bengaluru. As soon as he received the admission offer, he rushed to share this news with his family members.

XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

Sandeep shared the news of the admission offer first with Kesar, who exhibited mixed feelings. He was happy for Sandeep’s admission to the National Law School; nevertheless, he was concerned about their father’s reaction. Moreover, Saradeep had an anxiety attack a few months back and was working from their family mansion in Shimla. Kesar advised Sandeep to delay sharing his selection news with their father.
Which of the following, if true, will BEST enable Sandeep share the news with Saradeep without delay?
1. Saradeep did not talk to Sandeep for weeks, because he did not get the news of Sandeep’s bike accident immediately from him.
2. Saradeep regarded Law as a respectable profession.
3. Since childhood, Sandeep, before going to bed, usually shared all happenings of the day with Saradeep.
4. Kesar had always been paranoid about his family ever since the untimely demise of his mother.
5. Even after the anxiety attack, Saradeep walked four kilometres daily.
Choice A
Saradeep did not talk to Sandeep for weeks, because he did not get the news of Sandeep’s bike accident immediately from him.
XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

Saradeep requested Kesar to decide on the head of a new manufacturing plant. The plant and its culture had to be moulded in the same way as their other plants. Kesar wanted to identify a candidate, acceptable to Saradeep.
Which of the following candidates is the BEST choice for the position?
1. Taapsi, who headed another plant which was two hours away from the new plant, could be requested to take the additional charge.
2. Sandeep who had about ten months left to join the National Law School.
3. Suhasini, an MBA graduate and Kesar’s wife, who had been a homemaker for fifteen years.
4. Surendra, the deputy head of their largest plant, who had been with them for thirty years, and would retire in seven years.
5. Dhanush, the most technically qualified employee, who joined the organisation three years back, straight from college.
Choice D
Surendra, the deputy head of their largest plant, who had been with them for thirty years, and would retire in seven years.
XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

Kesar was also concerned about Taapsi’s reaction to Sandeep joining the National Law School. She wanted to be a fashion designer; however, Saradeep dissuaded her from doing anything other than production engineering. She was very upset with her father’s decision back then; nevertheless, over time, she became a staunch supporter of her father’s values and beliefs. Currently, she headed one of the plants, which also happened to be the best run company plant. Kesar felt that she would not take Sandeep’s decision well; she might try to prevent Sandeep from pursuing higher studies in Law.
Which of the following, if true, will BEST assuage Kesar’s fear regarding Taapsi?
1. Taapsi, in a marked departure from family tradition, was fully supported by her family when she decided to marry her batchmate, soon after college.
2. Taapsi mentored an online start-up, dedicated to women’s fashion, in her free time.
3. Taapsi, in a fashion school convocation speech, said that she still harboured a dream of quitting the family business for becoming a fashion designer.
4. Taapsi gifted Sandeep a sports bike on his 19th birthday even when Saradeep was completely against it.
5. When Sandeep was eight, he supported Taapsi’s desire to pursue fashion designing.
Choice D
Taapsi gifted Sandeep a sports bike on his 19th birthday even when Saradeep was completely against it.

Read the following scenario and answer the three questions that follow.
Himaja was among the top ten students of her Business Management batch. She got placed in a reputed strategy consulting firm during campus placements. She was delighted to work under Nirmal, her superior, who was known for grooming many stars in the organisation. Nevertheless, he was also regarded as a hard taskmaster. Though she was a fresh recruit, she longed to be in a client-facing role.

XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

During an informal office gathering, Himaja mustered up courage to ask Nirmal for a client-facing role.
Which of the following reasons, if true, will BEST justify Nirmal saying “no” to Himaja?
1. Himaja’s teammates are not happy with her communication skills.
2. Himaja needs to improve her presentation skills.
3. Himaja leaves early and client meetings go late into the night.
4. Clients do not appreciate strategic discussions with fresh recruits.
5. Clients do not take young women seriously during discussions.
Choice D
Clients do not appreciate strategic discussions with fresh recruits.
XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

Due to her constant pleading, Nirmal assigned Himaja a client-facing role in his project. Nirmal instructed her that he would do all the talking during meetings, and she would diligently listen and take notes. However, in the first meeting, Himaja made a comment which contradicted Nirmal. In the next, she interrupted the client while he was making a point. This offended the client, resulting in Nirmal apologising to the client to save the project.
Which of the following is the MOST appropriate action that Nirmal should take against Himaja’s behaviour?
1. Have a chat with Himaja later in the evening, explain the delicate situation she had put him in during the meetings, and request her not to repeat it.
2. Caution Himaja that she would lose client-facing roles if she does not appreciate the rationale behind his instructions.
3. Ask Himaja's project teammates to have a chat with her on how to behave in client meetings.
4. Recommend Himaja for a five-day listening-skills workshop.
5. Await the half-yearly performance review, due in two months, and submit a strong report against Himaja.
Choice B
Caution Himaja that she would lose client-facing roles if she does not appreciate the rationale behind his instructions.
XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

Another month passed, and Himaja was working under Shreya in a different team. Shreya was impressed by Himaja’s enthusiasm and sincerity. She asked Himaja to accompany her to a meeting with a new client. During the meeting, Himaja made a statement that offended the client. Shreya tried to diffuse the situation by asking Himaja to apologise. Though Himaja apologised, she defended her statement.
This infuriated the client further, who categorically told that the statement of Himaja was against his organisation’s core values. He specifically told Shreya that unless concrete steps were taken against Himaja, he would not get into any business with the firm.
Which of the following is the MOST appropriate action that Shreya should take in the interest of all parties?
1. Should castigate Himaja using strong words in front of the client, and later in the evening, share how much Shreya loved Himaja’s comment.
2. Should advise Himaja to look for a role outside the consulting industry since her competencies are not appreciated by clients.
3. Should defend Himaja, knowing fully that most probably Shreya will lose the client.
4. Should assure the client that Himaja will be transferred, but send Himaja for a two- week vacation to rejuvenate instead.
5. Should move Himaja to a non-client facing role in the current project, and explore client facing roles in other projects.
Choice E
Should move Himaja to a non-client facing role in the current project, and explore client facing roles in other projects.

Read the following scenario and answer the three questions that follow.
Rohini is one of the most popular faculty members in the finance department, known for her in-class engagement with students. Every year, she offers an elective Financial Risk and Derivatives Management in the fourth term which gets subscribed by about hundred students. This year, owing to Covid-19, she is forced to teach the course online, that too, in the fifth term. The fifth term is notorious for its non-negotiable teaching slots. To enable her teaching, Rohini uses her favourite laptop, Maplebook Lite, sold by Maple.
Rohini converts her family bedroom into a “working room” because of the strong wifi signals. The room is mostly used by Rohini for taking her classes; however, Rinku, her husband, also uses it for running his meetings. Rohini has two children, aged 5 and 8, who use the living room as their playground. During meetings and classes, the working room is shut to save it from unwanted disturbance and noises from the living room.
It is 3:10 p.m. and Rohini’s penultimate session of the course is going to end in twenty minutes. As usual, Rinku enters the room with a cup of Darjeeling tea. Just before entering, he asks his kids to stop playing for some time. He quietly places the teacup on Rohini’s study table and exits the room, leaving the door ajar. As soon as he leaves, a tennis ball comes thundering inside, crashing into her Maplebook monitor. The monitor breaks and Rohini’s class ends abruptly, much before the scheduled time.

XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

What should be BEST held responsible for the accident?
1. The kids not checking the door before resuming play
2. Covid-19 imprisoning Rohini and her children in a closeted space
3. Rinku Singh leaving the door ajar
4. Rinku Singh not waiting for the class to get over before serving tea
5. Rohini not locking the door from inside during class hours
Choice C
Rinku Singh leaving the door ajar
XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

Rohini has her concluding session scheduled the very next day.
Which of the following is the BEST course of action for Rohini regarding the final session?
1. She should inform the students that the course is deemed concluded with 19 sessions.
2. She should defer the session until she finds a suitable slot.
3. She should take her last session on her mobile phone and request students to tolerate the inferior experience.
4. She should cancel the session and ask students to mail video presentations on the topic she intended to teach.
5. She should request Swarna, her colleague, to take her session the next day.
Choice C
She should take her last session on her mobile phone and request students to tolerate the inferior experience.
XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

With the sixth term round the corner, Rohini goes to the Maple service centre only to find that the replacement for her crashed monitor may take several weeks. However, Dhanraj, the service centre head, offers to replace the damaged monitor with a monitor from a used laptop. He assures Rohini that the used monitor is as good as a new one.
Which of the following options, if true, will give Rohini the BEST reason to accept the offer?
1. Rohini is a long-time customer of the Maple store which runs the service centre.
2. Her husband’s meetings will be few and far between in the next few weeks.
3. Dhanraj is a friend of Rohini’s colleague Swarna.
4. Dhanraj offers a three-month personal assurance on the used monitor.
5. Rohini has to start her sixth term course in a month.
Choice A
Rohini is a long-time customer of the Maple store which runs the service centre.

Read the following scenario and answer the three questions that follow.
Churna is a peaceful village, surrounded by thickly forested high hills that isolate it from the rest of the world. Agriculture is the main occupation of the Churna villagers. Moreover, the forests provide seasonal fruits, tubers, medicinal herbs, and other forest produce in abundance. For all material needs not produced locally, the Churna villagers depend on Tendua, a faraway town.
Once a month, the Churna women would arduously trek with the surplus produce to Tendua. In the Tendua market, they convey the virtues of their produce through a beautiful song and dance routine. Reputed for their hard-bargaining skills, they always manage to extract a premium barter from the traders, more than fulfilling all their other material needs.

XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

Damdu, an ambitious trader of Tendua, wants to have exclusive access to all the surplus produce from Churna.
Which of the following offers to the Churna village will BEST help Damdu achieve her objective?
1. Damdu should offer to provide colourful sarees that the women of Churna fancy.
2. Damdu should offer to set up a shop in Churna, which will barter all the material requirements of the village.
3. Damdu should offer to educate the Churna villagers about cash transactions.
4. Damdu should offer novel products, unseen by the Churna villagers.
5. Damdu should offer to transport the villagers’ monthly material purchases from Tendua to Churna for free.
Choice B
Damdu should offer to set up a shop in Churna, which will barter all the material requirements of the village.
XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

The head woman of Churna grants exclusive access to the surplus produce to Damdu. However, Damdu’s euphoria dies down when she finds fewer takers for Churna’s produce in Tendua. This trend continues for the next few months.
Which of the following could be the MOST possible reason for Damdu finding fewer takers for Churna’s produce at Tendua?
1. Damdu cannot sing and dance simultaneously.
2. Hard bargaining experience offered by Churna’s women is missed by the traders of Tendua.
3. The Churna women offered the authenticity that Damdu could not match.
4. The traders in the Tendua market miss the aesthetics of the beautiful song and dance by Churna women.
5. Churna’s produce is one of the many items in Damdu’s inventory.
Choice C
The Churna women offered the authenticity that Damdu could not match.
XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

A few months after granting exclusive access to Damdu, the village council of Churna meets to discuss the progress. After much debate and heated discussions, the village council decides to terminate the contract with Damdu. The village council feels that if the contract continues, then:
1. Over time, Churna’s produce will lose its association with Churna.
2. Churna's people will be ignorant of new developments in the market. 3. Churna’s dance and song will lose their identity.
4. Churna’s people will lose social interaction with the outer world.
5. Churna’s people will lose their hard bargaining skills.
Which of the above concerns, when arranged in descending order of significance, will BEST support the decision to terminate the contract with Damdu?
1. 1, 2, 5, 3, 4
2. 1, 2, 4, 5, 3
3. 2, 3, 4, 5, 1
4. 1, 3, 2, 5, 4
5. 5, 3, 4, 2, 1
Choice A
1, 2, 5, 3, 4

Read the following scenario and answer the three questions that follow.
The occasion was a hyper publicised switch-on ceremony of solar power facilities on an island, with many villages, in the Bay of Bengal. PK was the brand ambassador of a Multinational Company (MNC) that was banking heavily on this CSR initiative to strengthen its presence in India. For the millions of fans, enamoured by the aging super star’s Robinhood like onscreen exploits, the pre-event speech of PK was their first glimpse into his off-screen persona. After an emotional speech that extolled the virtues of electricity as a driver of wellbeing & need for inclusive growth, PK with a flourish of his hand hit the button to remotely switch on the solar power facilities. Tens of media cameras stationed in all the island villages, started beaming live feed across the world. Quickly, the event turned from one of joy to something of shock and horror, as all the thatched households on the island caught fire. A few villagers were seriously injured in the fire. Watching the coverage, PK slapped the MNC representative standing next to him, on live camera, and collapsed on a couch with his head in his hands.

XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

Soon after, the MNC filed a case against PK for criminal assault and tarnishing its brand image.
Which of the following is the MOST appropriate reason for the MNC to file a case against PK?
1. It is a message to the MNC’s stakeholders that it will not tolerate such inappropriate behaviour.
2. The MNC’s mission statement includes “employee first, customer second.”
3. The MNC is forced to respond, given the public slapping of its representative.
4. The MNC intends to arrest its dropping sales, post the incident, through affirmative action.
5. The highly brand conscious MNC is using PK to divert public attention.
Choice A
It is a message to the MNC’s stakeholders that it will not tolerate such inappropriate behaviour.
XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

Post the slapping incident, there was a strong social media backlash against PK. His PR team suggested the following social media releases that he could use not only to defend himself but also to garner positive reactions.
Which of the following social media releases will BEST help PK achieve the purpose?
1. He strongly believes in an eye for an eye.
2. His onscreen Robinhood image influences his off-screen behaviour.
3. The MNC deserved more than just a slap for its irresponsible actions.
4. The plight of the islanders deserved an immediate delivery of justice.
5. He reacted as the sight of the villages ablaze was unbearable.
Choice E
He reacted as the sight of the villages ablaze was unbearable.
XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

A few months passed and the slapping incident still garnered a good number of views on social media. PK’s publicist was aware that PK harboured a desire to join politics. She wanted PK to make the most of the publicity around the incident before it fadeed away from public memory in the next few months.
Which of the following options will BEST help PK take just advantage of the situation?
1. He should announce that he is entering politics with a slogan “One Tight Slap.”
2. He should launch the “Slap the Greedy” campaign, and urge his fans to slap greedy officials.
3. In his upcoming movie, in the opening scene, he should slap and shame a treacherous corporate official who swindles poor villagers.
4. He should meet the MNC representative he slapped and apologise to him in a public meeting.
5. He should visit the island and publicly promise to rebuild the island villages, and publicise it in the social media.
Choice E
He should visit the island and publicly promise to rebuild the island villages, and publicise it in the social media.

Read the following scenario and answer the three questions that follow.
Amish is the marketing head of an e-commerce firm named FillInCart (FICT). Recently, FICT signed a contract with a top celebrity to endorse their firm. A few months later, the celebrity was signed as the ambassador to promote tourism in a small country, Wadiya, ruled by a dictator. The dictator, in his zeal to bring peace to the region, brutally supressed an armed uprising in Wadiya. He is currently facing sanctions, imposed by a few countries. When the news of the celebrity’s association with Wadiya becomes public, calls for boycott of FICT start trending on social media.

XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

Amish is concerned with the trending boycott calls and its probable impact on FICT’s brand image.
Given the social media backlash, which of the following courses of action will help Amish BEST defend FICT’s continued association with the celebrity?
1. Ignore social media backlash, assuming that in a few days a new issue will start trending.
2. Publicise on social media that FICT has nothing to do with the celebrity’s association with other brands.
3. Declare on social media that FICT chose the celebrity for his philanthropic works.
4. Withdraw all advertisements, involving the celebrity, from all the media platforms till the social media moves to another issue.
5. Publicise on social media that the celebrity’s endorsement of Wadiya Tourism will help improve the livelihoods of Wadiya's poor.
Choice E
Publicise on social media that the celebrity’s endorsement of Wadiya Tourism will help improve the livelihoods of Wadiya's poor.
XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

FICT’s closest competitor, ShopAtUs (SAU), wants to grab this opportunity. They have come up with a slogan, “Never at the cost of human rights!” which has started trending in the social media. Amish is unsure if he should respond to the social media campaign of the competitor.
Which of the following options, if true, will BEST assure Amish that SAU’s slogan is not affecting FICT’s business negatively?
1. More people are looking for Cash on Delivery for the high-end products since the SAU slogan launch, which is against company’s policies.
2. FICT’s average monthly sales revenue has decreased by 3% overall when compared with the same month previous year.
3. FICT’s average monthly sales revenue has increased by 1% overall since last month.
4. FICT’s average monthly sales volume has increased by 5% since the SAU slogan launch, driven by the sales to repeat customers.
5. Number of visitors to FICT’s home page has increased by 15% since the SAU slogan launch.
Choice D
FICT’s average monthly sales volume has increased by 5% since the SAU slogan launch, driven by the sales to repeat customers.
XAT 2021 Question Paper - BDM

TRACT, a major travel and hospitality conglomerate, operates globally with a significant presence in Wadiya. Ever since the celebrity has signed the contract with Wadiya Tourism, the number of international tourists in Wadiya has increased manyfold. Companies like TRACT have a great hope towards the future of tourism in Wadiya. Consequently, TRACT is looking forward to increase its investments in Wadiya. However, TRACT is concerned about the social media backlash against the celebrity. TRACT fears that the celebrity may terminate his contract with Wadiya Tourism.
Which of the following data, available in the public domain, will BEST assure TRACT that the celebrity will continue his association with the tourism sector of Wadiya?
1. Last week, the celebrity announced that any backlash against him is a support for terrorism.
2. A week back, the celebrity released videos of the interiors of Wadiya where the poor need help.
3. Recently, the celebrity pledged 5% of his annual income towards global poverty alleviation.
4. Last fortnight, the celebrity declared in the social media that upliftment of the poor is his biggest goal in the coming decade.
5. A week back, the celebrity signed on as the goodwill ambassador of the kingdom of Dubiya, where, recently, the king ferociously crushed insurgency.
Choice E
A week back, the celebrity signed on as the goodwill ambassador of the kingdom of Dubiya, where, recently, the king ferociously crushed insurgency.