Practice XAT 2020 BDM Previous Year Questions with Detailed Solutions

Direction: Read the situation below and answer the associated questions:

Vindhya, Shabnam and Amala are interning at a software organization as part of the requirement of their B-school curriculum. The organization has allotted each of them a project based on their area of specialization. In the first meeting with the HR head, they are informed of a PPO possibility (pre-placement offer, i.e., an offer to join the company after their MBA), based on their performance. All of them are eager to convert their internship into a job offer. Each of them is assigned a mentor who evaluates the intern's performance along with the HR head.

In the second week of her eight-week internship, Amala realizes that the project requires inputs from subjects she studied in her third trimester. However, during the third trimester, Amala was significantly distracted by an inter-college sports meet, affecting her grasp of the subjects.

Which of the following is the MOST appropriate way forward for Amala?

Direction: Read the situation below and answer the associated questions:

Vindhya, Shabnam and Amala are interning at a software organization as part of the requirement of their B-school curriculum. The organization has allotted each of them a project based on their area of specialization. In the first meeting with the HR head, they are informed of a PPO possibility (pre-placement offer, i.e., an offer to join the company after their MBA), based on their performance. All of them are eager to convert their internship into a job offer. Each of them is assigned a mentor who evaluates the intern's performance along with the HR head.

Vindhya’s project is about understanding employee perception regarding the organization’s HR policies. Against her own instinct, she is suggested by her mentor to interview only the good performers identified by his office because poor performers, he believes, usually crib against the policies.

Which of the following courses of action will BEST enable Vindhya to provide the organization with a complete picture?

Direction: Read the situation below and answer the associated questions:

Vindhya, Shabnam and Amala are interning at a software organization as part of the requirement of their B-school curriculum. The organization has allotted each of them a project based on their area of specialization. In the first meeting with the HR head, they are informed of a PPO possibility (pre-placement offer, i.e., an offer to join the company after their MBA), based on their performance. All of them are eager to convert their internship into a job offer. Each of them is assigned a mentor who evaluates the intern's performance along with the HR head.

1. Frequent meetings help strengthen relationships with key customers.

2. Travelling has no effect on the personal lives of the sales executives as most of them are single.

3. Travel enhances the financial health of the sales executives since their fixed salaries are low.

4. Frequent travel has no significant impact on market budget, given the current high margins from sales.

5. The sales executives have the autonomy to decide the frequency of their travel.

Shabnam thinks that the frequency of travel is higher than required.

Which of the following combinations of the above reasons can enable Shabnam BEST substantiate her thinking?

Direction: Read the situation below and answer the associated questions:

A Multinational Company (MNC) sources pristine natural spring water from Bori, a village in Satpura mountains. The unprocessed natural spring water is directly bottled by the MNC. The company brands it as “Natural Spring Water” and sells at 50% premium vis-a-vis other brands that sell processed water. The local panchayat, under the Panchayati Raj Act, 1992 controls the spring water usage. Hence, the company signed a 30-year contract with the panchayat for exclusive access to the spring water for business purposes. This contract contributes 50% to the panchayat’s revenues besides providing 250 jobs in the panchayat. The spring also meets domestic and agricultural needs of the people of Bori and the surrounding villages.

Chanchala owns a small parcel of farming land in Bori. She grows cannabis in some part of her land and earns a significant amount of money from it. Soon after the bottling plant was commissioned, Chanchala, instigated by a landlord with a vested interest, starts accusing the MNC of robbing her of water and impacting her livelihood. She threatens to take the MNC to court.

Which of the following options will BEST solve the MNC’s problem?

Direction: Read the situation below and answer the associated questions:

A Multinational Company (MNC) sources pristine natural spring water from Bori, a village in Satpura mountains. The unprocessed natural spring water is directly bottled by the MNC. The company brands it as “Natural Spring Water” and sells at 50% premium vis-a-vis other brands that sell processed water. The local panchayat, under the Panchayati Raj Act, 1992 controls the spring water usage. Hence, the company signed a 30-year contract with the panchayat for exclusive access to the spring water for business purposes. This contract contributes 50% to the panchayat’s revenues besides providing 250 jobs in the panchayat. The spring also meets domestic and agricultural needs of the people of Bori and the surrounding villages.

The MNC has spotted traces of chemicals in their fortnightly water quality analysis. The MNC realizes that this is due to the contaminated agricultural runoff, flowing into the spring from the nearby fields where farmers use pesticides and fertilizers.

This requires an immediate solution. Which of the following options will BEST resolve the situation for the MNC?

Direction: Read the situation below and answer the associated questions:

A Multinational Company (MNC) sources pristine natural spring water from Bori, a village in Satpura mountains. The unprocessed natural spring water is directly bottled by the MNC. The company brands it as “Natural Spring Water” and sells at 50% premium vis-a-vis other brands that sell processed water. The local panchayat, under the Panchayati Raj Act, 1992 controls the spring water usage. Hence, the company signed a 30-year contract with the panchayat for exclusive access to the spring water for business purposes. This contract contributes 50% to the panchayat’s revenues besides providing 250 jobs in the panchayat. The spring also meets domestic and agricultural needs of the people of Bori and the surrounding villages.

The MNC is concerned about chemical contamination of the natural spring water due to the agricultural runoff with pesticides and fertilizers. The MNC is looking for a sustainable solution to this contamination.

Which of the following courses of action will BEST solve the issue?

Direction: Read the situation below and answer the associated questions:

The Small Shop, selling computer peripherals, is the only one of its kind in the remote village of Turturunk. Because online purchases take two weeks or more to arrive, The Small Shop is a quick stop for buying items such as pen drives and USB cables. Besides selling computer peripherals, The Small Shop also undertakes repairs of out-of-warranty products.

The Small Shop which earlier recorded an annual increase of approximately 12% in revenues has been stagnating at 4% for the last three years, during which e-commerce sidelined brick and mortar outlets. The shop is struggling to increase profitability. In general, The Small Shop has been offering a discount on MRP to compete with e-commerce prices.

Which of the following is the BEST reason for The Small Shop NOT to reduce the current discount offered to the customers?

Direction: Read the situation below and answer the associated questions:

The Small Shop, selling computer peripherals, is the only one of its kind in the remote village of Turturunk. Because online purchases take two weeks or more to arrive, The Small Shop is a quick stop for buying items such as pen drives and USB cables. Besides selling computer peripherals, The Small Shop also undertakes repairs of out-of-warranty products.

The Small Shop wants to increase the variety of products sold, including expensive ones. However, it is averse to accumulating unsold products, specifically of the expensive kind.

Which of the following is the BEST option if The Small Shop wants to increase the variety of the products it sells?

Direction: Read the situation below and answer the associated questions:

The Small Shop, selling computer peripherals, is the only one of its kind in the remote village of Turturunk. Because online purchases take two weeks or more to arrive, The Small Shop is a quick stop for buying items such as pen drives and USB cables. Besides selling computer peripherals, The Small Shop also undertakes repairs of out-of-warranty products.

An emerging brand offers a franchise to The Small Shop for repairing its products, on a condition that other brands are not to be repaired. Repairs currently account for 15% of its revenues.

Which of the following, if true, will BEST help The Small Shop to decide on the franchise?

Direction: Read the situation below and answer the associated questions:

When Deepti opened the package, she was aghast. She received cotton pillow covers instead of satin pillow covers, she had ordered. Deepti ordered them for her father from a popular e-commerce website that hosted products of many sellers. Confused, Deepti contacted the seller’s office using the details given on the package. The seller’s representative profusely regretted and promised to send the satin pillow covers at no extra cost. He added that Deepti need not return the cotton covers she received. Deepti happily accepted the deal. A few days later, Deepti received another package from the seller. Unfortunately, this package also contained cotton pillow covers. Completely disillusioned with the seller’s professionalism, Deepti decided to put to use these cotton pillow covers also.

A few days later, Deepti received an email from the e-commerce website, requesting her to share feedback about the seller. Deeply frustrated with the overall online purchasing experience, she deliberately ignored it. Later that evening, over supper, her father opined that the balcony curtains needed to be changed. He suggested that they be bought from a local shop. “If something went wrong, we could at least yell at the seller,” he added. Deepti stared at her laptop and began writing her feedback.

What would Deepti DEFINITELY achieve by giving feedback?