Part 3:Reasoning Archives

Section 2:Past Years` Solved Questions from the XAT

1. XAT 2012

Answer Questions 1 to 3 on the basis of the information given in the following case.

Due to increased competition, Ginger Automobiles, the Indian subsidiary of Pepper Automobile Company (PAC) reported lower sales and profits. PAC expects its new modelLimo, developed especially for value conscious customers of India and China, to revive its fortunes. In order to prevent customers from buying competing products, PAC announced the launch of Limo six months before schedule. Due to unrest in its Indian supplier`s plant, deliveries of essential components for its main plant was hampered, and hence it decided to launch Limo in China only as per the original plan. Within a short span of time, Limo captured 30% market share in China, which was 200% higher than expected. Indian customers who looked forward to purchasing Limo were becoming increasingly unhappy due to the non-availability of Limo in India. Ginger`s dealers were worried about loss of business from the customers who might switch to other cars.

  1. Statement I: In the Chinese market,Baft and Hebe, are competing models in Limo`s target market. Due to increase in the sale of Limo by 200%, Baft and Hebe saw their market share decline by 10%.

    Statement II: Baft and Hebe were not desired by the customers due to their new features. Which of the following conclusions can be most justifiably made?




    Ans .

    (d) Neither I nor II


    1. Explanation :

      Since Baft and Hebe have not been mentioned in the information given in the passage, any conclusion about them in the statements 1 and 2 is not possible. So the correct answer is neither 1 nor 2, i.e option (d).





    Ans .

    (b) suggest customers to consider purchasing any of the other PAC`s models available in showrooms, with a substantial discount along with gifts.


    1. Explanation :

      Since the model is delayed it is unfair on the part of the dealer to force the customer to wait. However, the dealer will suffer losses if the customer goes to some other company. So for those customers who are in a hurry to buy a vehicle the best option will be to suggest a similar or another model that the company is offering which would suit the customerÓł taste and also give him/her a good discount so as to respect his brand loyalty and also to provide a sort of compensation. Thus option (b) is the most suitable option in this case.





    Ans .

    (c) collect the amount Mr. Murugan is willing to deposit after clarifying that delivery is subject to the company policy.


    1. Explanation :

      As the company is still not clear about the actual price of the car and the customer is willing to pay, which would also help the dealer in sustaining his cash flows, the best possible deal would be to take whatever advance payment the customer is giving but at the same time make sure that the customer knows about the uncertainty in the delivery of the car which would be totally dependent on the company. Once the customer is comfortable with this scenario, the dealer could collect whatever payment the customer is offering. Option (c) is the correct answer



Answer Questions 4 and 5 on the basis of the following letter.

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 same 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 hope that sufficient action will be taken by the Disciplinary Committeee (on which both of the above are members) so that this problem will be remedied.

Sincerely,

Arvind Singh



    Ans .

    (d) Rao and Ajit are yet to be confirmed as officers


    1. Explanation :

      The essential error is that the person has assumed erroneously that as both have been nominated for the same status they might be holding the same position which is yet not certain, so this presumption is the flaw in this case as till the time the letter was written the order had not been finalised. Thus option (d) is the correct answer.





    Ans .

    (e) Either Rao or Ajit resigns his position from the Cultural Committee, and the other resigns his position on the Disciplinary Committee.


    1. Explanation :

      Logically if 2 people are holding same positions in 2 committees, one will resign from each one so that both are holding one-one position each, thus option (e) is the best option answer



Answer Questions 6 to 9 on the basis of the information given in the following case.

Tina a blast furnace expert, who works as a technology trouble-shooter stays in Jamshedpur. She has got an important assignment in Delhi, which requires six hours to complete. The work is so critical that she has to start working the moment she reaches the clients premises.

She is considering various options for her onward and return journey between Jamshedpur to Delhi.

A quick search revealed that ticket from Jamshedpur to Delhi is available in two trains. Trains 12801 and 12443 depart from Jamshedpur station at 06:45 hrs and 15:55 hrs and reach Delhi next day at 04:50 hrs and 10:35 hrs respectively. Trains 12444 and 12802 start from Delhi at 17:20 hrs and 22:20 hrs and reach Jamshedpur next day at 10:35 hrs and 20:05 hrs respectively

Another option is to reach Ranchi by a three hour road trip and take a flight to Delhi from Ranchi. The distance between Ranchi and Delhi is covered in 105 minutes both-ways by any of the scheduled flights. Air India operates two flights, AI 9810 and AI 810, which depart Ranchi at 8:00 hrs and 15:25 hrs respectively. Flight number IT-3348 operated by Kingfisher Airlines departs Ranchi at 19:20 hrs. Return flights operated by Air India, AI 9809 and AI 809, depart Delhi at 5:50 hrs and 11:00 hrs respectively. Flight number IT-3347 operated by Kingfisher Airlines departs Delhi at 17:10 hrs.

From Tina`s home the Jamshedpur railway station is five minutes drive, and her destination at Delhi is 90 minutes and 30 minutes drive from the airport and the railway station respectively. One has to reach the airport at least one hour before the scheduled departure to complete the boarding procedure. At every railway station she loses five minutes in navigating through the crowd.



    Ans .

    (b) Depart by AI 9810 and return by train number 12802


    1. Explanation :

      XAT 2012
      XAT 2012

      We need to check each of the options and see which one gives her the least time out of Jamshedpur.

      The first option (AI 9810 and return by IT 3347): Involves leaving Jamshedpur at 4 AM on the first day, reaching the workplace at 11:15 AM on the same day, working till 5:15 PM the same day and reaching the airport at 6:45 PM. IT 3347 would already have left for the day.

      Hence, if she returns by IT 3347 she would have to reach back home at 9:55 PM on the next night.

      Thus, she leaves at 4 AM on day 1 and reaches back at 9:55 PM on Day 2. Total time = 41 hrs 55 minutes

      Option (b): AI 9810 and return by train no:12802-Involves leaving Jamshedpur at 4 AM on the first day, reaching the workplace at 11:15 AM on the same day, working till 5:15 PM and reaching the railway station at 5:45 PM, on the same day. Her return journey train would start at 10:20 PM and make her reach home at 8:15 PM on the next day.

      Thus, she leaves at 4 AM on day 1 and reaches back at 8:15 PM on Day 2. Total time = 40 hrs 15 minutes.

      Option (c): IT 3348 and return by AI 9809-Involves leaving Jamshedpur at 3:20 PM on the first day, reaching the workplace at 10:35 PM on the same day, working till 4:15 AM the next day and reaching the airport at 5:45 AM. She cannot make it to the cutoff time for catching AI 9809 on that day. Thus, if she returns by AI 9809 she would have to reach back home at 10:35 AM on the next day (i.e. day 3)

      Thus, she leaves at 3:20 PM on day 1 and reaches back at 10:35 AM on Day 3. Total time is clearly over the time taken by option (b).

      Option (d): Train numbers 12443 and 12444. This option can be easily removed as the total travel time on the train itself would be 18 hours 40 minutes + 17 hours 15 minutes = 35 hours 55 minutes. If you add the work time of 6 hours, it would become 41 hours 55 minutes, which is clearly more than option (b).

      Option (e): AI 9810 and train 12444-Involves leaving Jamshedpur at 4 AM on the first day, reaching the workplace at 11:15 AM on the same day, working till 5:15 PM the same day and reaching the railway station at 5:45 PM on the same day. However, train 12444 would have already left for the day and she would have to wait for the next days train if she wants to come back by that train. Hence, she reaches home at 10:45 AM on Day 3. Clearly over 48 hours; does not beat option (b). Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.





    Ans .

    (d) Depart by AI 810 and return by AI 9809


    1. Explanation :

      Looking at the options:

      Option (e): It can be seen that taking the journey by IT 3348 and back by IT 3347 option involves leaving Jamshedpur at 4:20 PM on day 1, reaching Delhi at 10:35 PM and doing her work from 9 AM to 3 PM the next day. In this case, she would not be able to take the flight on the journey back. Thus, she has to catch IT 3347 on day 3. So, she leaves on day 1 at 4:20 PM and gets back on day 3 at 9:55 PM. Total time taken: 53 hours 35 minutes

      .

      Option (a): Depart by train no. 12443 and return by train no. 12444-Leave home at 3:45 PM, reach work destination at 11:10 AM next day, she would not have 6 hours to complete the work on the same day before 5 PM. Hence, she waits for the next day and catches train no. 12444 for her return journey at 5:20 PM on Day 3. She reaches back home at 10:45 AM on day 4. Total time: Clearly more than option (e)s time. Hence, option (a) can be rejected.

      Option (b): Depart by train no. 12801 and return by train no. 12802

      Leave home at 6:35 AM, reach work destination at 5:25 AM next day, she would start work at 9 AM, finish work at 3 PM. She catches train no. 12802 for the return journey at 10:20 PM on day 2 and reaches home at 8:15 PM on day 3. Total time: Over 60 hours.

      Option (c): Depart by flight AI 9810 and return by flight AI 9809-Leave home at 4 AM on day 1; Reach the office at 11:15 AM the same day. She would have to do her work on the next day as she does not have 6 hours before 5 PM the same day. Hence, she will take AI 9809 on day 3 and reach home at 10:35 AM. Total time = 54 hours 35 minutes.

      Option (d): Depart by flight AI 810 and return by flight AI 9809

      Leave home at 11:25 AM and reach the same day. Do the work between 9 AM to 3 PM on day 2. Hence, she will take AI 9809 on day 3 and reach home at 10:35 AM. Total time = 47 hours 10 minutes.

      Thus, option (d) is the correct answer





    Ans .

    (e) Go by AI 9810 and return by AI 9809


    1. Explanation :

      If she cannot leave Jamshedpur before 16:00 hours on that day, it means that she really cannot get to New Delhi before 11:15 AM the next day (by taking the AI 9810). She can then complete her work on that day, from 11:15 AM to 5:15 PM. Then the earliest she can reach back would be if she takes AI 9809 flight at 5:50 AM and reache home at 10:35 AM. Thus, option (e) is the correct answer





    Ans .

    (d) Go by AI 810 and return by AI 9809


    1. Explanation :

      The in-between waiting period between reaching her office and returning would be given by (total time spent in Delhi - travel time to and fro in Delhi - 6 hours of work time)

      On comparing the 5 options, it can be seen that Option (d) is the best answer (Refer to the table below).

      XAT 2012



Answer Questions 10 to 15 on the basis of the information given in the following case.

Teknik Group of Industries had businesses in different sectors ranging from manufacturing, construction, fish farming and hotels. These different businesses operated as semi-independent units managed by the unit level managers. Teknik`s management had an internal consultancy group called as Business Advisory Group (known internally as BAG). The 15 experts in the BAG were hired personally by Mr. Teknikwala, the owner of Teknik, who wanted this core group of experts to help his organisation grow fast without facing the typical growth hurdles. Most of them were specialists in fields like law, information technology, human resource management and operations management. Almost all of them had experience spanning decades in the industry. Whenever any of the units faced any significant problems, the unit level managers would put up a request for help to the BAG. The problems ranged from installation of internal MIS systems, to financial advice related to leasing of equipment, to handling of employee grievances.

Over a period of 20 years, Teknik`s revenues grew from ` 100 crore to ` 10,000 crore with the guidance of the BAG and due to Mr. Teknikwala`s vision. Given its reputation in the industry, many people wanted to start their careers in the BAG. Often young MBAs fresh out of business schools would apply. However their applications used to be rejected by Mr. Teknikwala, who had a preference for people with extensive industry experience.

Things changed after the unfortunate demise of Mr. Teknikwala. His daughter Miss. Teknikwali took up the family business. She was an MBA from one of the premier business schools, and was working in a different company when Mr. Tekinwala passed away. She preferred that BAG develop new ideas and therefore inducted fresh graduated MBAs from premier business schools. She personally supervised the recruitment and selection process. Now the entire group constituted of 50 specialists, out of which 35 were the old time members. She also changed the reporting relationships in the BAG group with some of the older members being made to report to the new members. In the IT team, Mr. Shiv, a newly recruited MBA, was made the in-charge. This came as a shock to the older members. However, as most of them were on the verge of retirement, and it would be challenging to search for new jobs while competing with younger professionals, they decided to play along.

After one month, all business units were caught up in the ERP fever. This was an idea pushed by Ms. Teknikwali who felt the need to replace the old legacy systems with the latest ERP system integrating all the units of Teknik. This was heavily influenced by her experience in the previous company where an ERP system was already up and running. Therefore she was not aware of the difference between installing an ERP system and working on an already installed one.

The ERP implementation in Teknik Group required extensive coordination with the senior level managers of all units and it represented an extra work for those who were involved. This coordination was required to understand the different work processes and the users requirements. This coordination activity was being extensively managed by the old timers as they were familiar with internal processes and people in the different units. An external consultant was also hired for customisation and implementation.

After two months, BAG teams had to fortnightly present their progress to Ms. Teknikwalis team. In the last meeting Ms. Teknikwali was dissatisfied. She explained her thinking that since ERP impacted every aspect of the business, the roll out had to be done faster. She wanted Mr. Shiv to get the implementation completed ahead of schedule. In the meeting she asked Mr. Shiv to get the people in IT team to be more productive. Not willing to disagree, Mr. Shiv committed to a roll-out schedule of complete ERP system in 6 months instead of the earlier decided 14 months.

Next day, Mr. Shiv presented the revised project milestone to the BAG members. He told them that in order to meet the deadline, the members were expected to work on week-ends till the completion of the project. Along with that, they were also expected to maintain their earlier standards of delivery time and quality for the normal trouble-shooting and internal advisory work. Mr. Shiv also pointed out that anyone whose performance did not meet the expectations would be subject to formal disciplinary action.

The meeting ended without any member commenting on Mr. Shivs ideas, although he heard a lot of mumbling in the corridor. Over the week, Shiv noticed that the members seemed to avoid him and he had to make extra effort to get ideas from them. After a fortnight Shiv reviewed the attendance register and found that Mr. Lal, an old time member, had not come during the weekends and certain decisions were held up due to lack of inputs from Mr. Lal. Mr. Shiv issued a written reprimand to Mr. Lal. He was speechless on receiving the reprimand but kept silent.

It has been three days since that incident. Some of the senior members had put in a request for transfer to other business units. It was rumoured that four senior legal experts had agreed to an offer from a law firm. Other senior members would sporadically come in late to work, citing health reasons. Almost all senior members now wanted a weekly work-routine to be prepared and given to them in advance so that they could deliver as per the schedule. This insistence on written communication was a problem as urgent problems or ad-hoc requests could not be foreseen and included. Also normal services to other business units were being unattended to, and there were complaints coming from the unit heads.



    Ans .

    (e) Present the idea to BAG members and ask them to look at the feasibility of the entire plan


    1. Explanation :

      In order to reschedule the ERP deadlines according to the order, Mr. Shiv should have discussed with the team of experts, i.e in this case the BAG members, and then come to a well thrashed out solution instead of unilaterally announcing a deadline and giving strict orders for the same. Thus option (e) is the best.





    Ans .

    (e) Unilateral decision making by Mr. Shiv


    1. Explanation :

      Although there were a number of reasons for the problems which are also mentioned in some of the options here [options1, 3], but the immediate cause was Mr. Shivs single-handed decision at the meeting and its strict follow up. Thus, option (e) is correct.





    Ans .

    (d) Develop work-routines aligned to the ERP project requirements. Hire extra resources for dealing with other ad-hoc requirements and for the ERP project requirements.


    1. Explanation :

      Resigning from the job, complaining to the boss or aligning the new members against the old would be childish actions. Here the best possible course of action would be to work out the routine and get additional help for the ad-hoc or extra jobs so that the core team is not burdened too much. Thus option (d) is the best answer.





    Ans .

    (b) The inability of the younger members to work along with the older members of the BAG


    1. Explanation :

      In the passage all the options, namely 1, 3, 4 and 5 have been directly or indirectly mentioned or hinted at, the only option not mentioned in any way is the working problems faced by the new members of the team. Hence option (b) is the answer.





    Ans .

    (a) discuss with the members as to what their views were about the company and solicit ideas on how to make it grow further.


    1. Explanation :

      The best possible course of action would have been to follow her fathers way of working which was a proven success, which included discussing things with the BAG members and following a well thought out course of action. Hence option (a) is correct.





    Ans .

    (d) right amount of problem solvers along with those who are abreast of the latest ERP technology


    1. Explanation :

      It can be inferred from this case that for implementation of an ERP package one requires a right mix of experienced problem solvers together with people who know about ERP and not just know about it, but are also upto date with it. Here option (d) and (e) come close but option (d) talks about inclusion of problem solvers and also mentions people abreast, i.e. upto date with ERP. This makes option (d) the correct answer and also superior to option (e).



Answer Questionss 16 and 17 on the basis of the information given in the following case.

Vivekananda Memorial Elocution Competition (VMEC) in Viswavijay Public School (VPS) has a history of forty years. Apart from the founders 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 these students 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.



    Ans .

    (b) Appropriately compensate those teachers who volunteer to come for the extra day.


    1. Explanation :

      The principal should look into why the teachers are unhappy and adequately compensate them for the extra efforts they are putting in. To be ruthless or to be too dogmatic would go against the bounds of being fair and just. Option (b) is the best action.





    Ans .

    (b) Options II and IV


    1. Explanation :

      Mr. Zacharia as a well-wisher and experienced teacher would definitely look into the grievances of the teachers and offer them adequate compensation for the same. They could also discuss the problems and possible remedial measures. Exposing someone or being autocratic here would only spoil the situation. Hence option (b) is the best course of action.



Answer Questions 18 to 20 on the basis of the information given in the following case.

Dev Anand, CEO of a construction company, recently escaped a potentially fatal accident. Dev had failed to notice a red light while driving his car and attending to his phone calls. His well-wishers advised him to get a suitable replacement for the previous driver Ram Singh, who had resigned three months back.

Ram Singh was not just a driver, but also a trusted lieutenant for Dev Anand for the last five years. Ram used to interact with other drivers and gathered critical information that helped Dev in successfully bidding for different contracts. His inputs also helped Dev to identify some dishonest employees, and to retain crucial employees who were considering attractive offers from his competitors. Some of the senior employees did not like the informal influence of Ram and made it difficult for him to continue in the firm. Dev provided him an alternative job with one of his relatives. During the last three months Dev has considered different candidates for the post. The backgrounds of the candidates are given in the following table.

Dev is primarily looking for a stable and trustworthy driver, who can be a suitable replacement for Ram. His family members do not want Dev to appoint a young driver, as most of them are inexperienced. Dev`s driver is an employee of the firm and hence the appointment has to be routed through the HR manager of the firm. The HR manager prefers to maintain parity among all employees of the firm. He also needs to ensure that the selection of a new driver does not lead to discontent among the senior employees of the firm.



    Ans .

    (c) Bal Singh


    1. Explanation :

      Mr. Dev`s concerns are trustworthy and stable and his familys concerns are older in age/maturity and experienced driver. All these are fully satisfied by Bal Singh. Option (c) is correct.





    Ans .

    (a) Option I


    1. Explanation :

      Dev`s most preferred candidate is Bal Singh and least preferred is Chethan as he is temporary and also sent by a competitor; thus option I is definitely correct. His family is concerned about age and Mani is the youngest, thus least preferred by the family. So option II does not match the facts. As all the options except option (a) include II thus the correct option is (a).





    Ans .

    (c) Bal Singh.


    1. Explanation :

      As the GM is concerned about the senior members who did not like Ram he is most likely to reject Bal Singh as he is Ram`s relative, is similar to him in his approach and has also been recommended by him. Option (c) is correct



Answer Questions 21 and 22 on the basis of the information given in the following case.

Saral Co. is operating in seven north-eastern states of the country. The organisation 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 at the beginning of this month and challenged the organisation`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



    Ans .

    (e) He may need to work harder to earn the highest salary.


    1. Explanation :

      Although options 1, 2, 3 and 4 may or may not be true, the 5th option is most likely implied in this case as it is a clear implication of the new policy being suggested by the new GM. The work would definitely increase as 2 new parameters are added. Thus option (e) is definitely correct





    Ans .

    (e) The GM is new to the organisation and he would require some time to implement the new plan.


    1. Explanation :

      As Saral Co. has a policy of discussing everything with its employees before its implementation, an immediate ratification of a new order would not be possible unless enough time was given for deliberation and discussion by the members. Hence option (e) is correct.



Answer Questions 23 to 25 based on the case given below.

Ethical - a person is called unethical, when he deviates from principles. The principles and their use is often guided by two definitions:

Moral: Society`s code for individuals survival.

Ethics: An individual`s code for society`s survival.

Naresh was a small time civil contractor in a small city. His major clients were the residents who wanted ad-hoc work like painting, building extensions to be done. His just prices had made him a preferred contractor for most of the clients. He always followed the principle that the client had to be kept happy-only by doing so it would be a win-win situation for both. However due to the unpredictability of such orders from residents, Naresh used to be idle for substantial part of the year. As a consequence, he could not expand his business.

His two children were growing up and his existing business could not support their expenses. The medical expense of his elderly parents was another drain on his resources. The constant rise of prices in medical care and medicines was another issue. For Naresh, family`s concern was predominant. Naresh was, therefore, under pressure to expand his business. He was the sole earning member of his family, and he had to ensure their well being. He thought that by expanding his business, not only would he be able to care for his family in a better way, as well as offer employment to more number of masons and labourers. That would benefit their families as well. Naresh drew the boundary of his society to include himself, his family members, his employees and their family members.

For expansion, the only option in the city was to enlist as a contractor for government work. Before deciding, he sought advice from another contractor, Srikumar, who had been working on government projects for a long period of time. Srikumar followed the principle of always helping others, because he believed that he would be helped back in return some day. Srikumar had just one advice "The work is given to those who will win the bidding process and at the same time will give the maximum bribe. Prices quoted for work have to include bribes, else the bills will not get cleared and the supervisors will find multiple faults with the execution of work. This ensures survival and prosperity for contractors".

When asked about other contractors, Srikumar said "The government contractors are like a microsociety in themselves, almost like a brotherhood. Within that, they are highly competitive; however towards any external threat they are united to ensure no harm happens to any of their members".



    Ans .

    (b) Naresh cannot be called totally ethical.


    1. Explanation :

      The definition of ethics is defined as "An individuals code for societys survival." Naresh`s definition of his society is his family, himself, his employees and their family members. Remember that 'ethical' and 'moral'are different. Someone can be immoral but at the same time be ethical towards his society.

      In such a case, in his mind he is being ethical. But actually your society cannot be defined by you according to your conveniences. Thus, he cannot be called totally ethical. At the same time he cannot be called totally unethical as he is working in the best interest of his smaller society. Hence the best option is Option (b)





    Ans .

    (d) Naresh is ethical to a large extent, but no conclusion can be made about Srikumar.


    1. Explanation :

      In this case too, Naresh is working on the best interests of his narrowly defined society. However, he has defined society not to include the larger society. Thus, Naresh can be called largely ethical, but for Srikumar we cannot conclude anything as we do not know the definition of his society. Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.





    Ans .

    (a) Srikumar is immoral, but ethical, while Naresh is not unethical.


    1. Explanation :

      Clearly Srikumar is being immoral, as he not only kept silent but also forced Naresh not to speak. At the same time Naresh is being ethical as he is taking care of his society`s interests. Option (a) is correct.




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