Practice Test for XAT - 2

DIRECTION for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it. 

There is an essential and irreducible 'duality' in the normative conceptualisation of an individual person. We can see the person in terms of his or her 'agency', recognizing and respecting his or her ability to form goals, commitments, values, etc., and we can also see the person in terms of his or her 'well-being'. This dichotomy is lost in a model of exclusively self-interested motivation, in which a person's agency must be entirely geared to his or her own well-being. But once that straitjacket of self-interested motivation is removed, it becomes possible to recognize the indisputable fact that the person's agency can well be geared to considerations not covered - or at least not fully covered - by his or her own well-being. Agency may be seen as important (not just instrumentally for the pursuit of well-being, but also intrinsically), but that still leaves open the question as to how that agency is to be evaluated and appraised. Even though the use of one's agency is a matter for oneself to judge, the need for careful assessment of aims, objective, allegiances, etc., and the conception of the good, may be important and exacting.
To recognize the distinction between the 'agency aspect' and the 'well-being aspect' of a person does not require us to take the view that the person's success as an agent must be independent, or completely separable from, his or her success in terms of well-being. A person may well feel happier and better off as a result of achieving what he or she wanted to achieve - perhaps for his or her family, or community, or class, or party, or some other cause. Also it is quite possible that a person's well-being will go down as a result of frustration if there is some failure to achieve what he or she wanted to achieve as an agent, even though those achievements are not directly concerned with his or her well-being. There is really no sound basis for demanding that the agency aspect and the well-being aspect of a person should be independent of each other, and it is, I suppose, even possible that every change in one will affect the other as well. However, the point at issue is not the plausibility of their independence, but the sustainability and relevance of the distinction. The fact that two variables may be so related that one cannot change without the other, does not imply that they are the same variable, or that they will have the same values, or that the value of one can be obtained from the other on basis of some simple transformation.
The importance of an agency achievement does not rest entirely on the enhancement of well-being that it may indirectly cause. The agency achievement and well-being achievement, both of which have some distinct importance, may be casually linked with each other, but this fact does not compromise the specific importance of either. In so far as utility-based welfare calculations concentrate only on the well-being of the person, ignoring the agency aspect, or actually fails to distinguish between the agency aspect and well-being aspect altogether, something of real importance is lost.

Q. Read the sentences given below and choose the option that is best in accordance with the ideas in the passage.
I.There is a need to distinguish between the agency aspect and the well-being aspect of a person.
II.A person can be conceptualised in terms of either agency or well-being.
III. Agency is important, not just instrumentally, for the pursuit of well-being.

DIRECTION for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it. 

There is an essential and irreducible 'duality' in the normative conceptualisation of an individual person. We can see the person in terms of his or her 'agency', recognizing and respecting his or her ability to form goals, commitments, values, etc., and we can also see the person in terms of his or her 'well-being'. This dichotomy is lost in a model of exclusively self-interested motivation, in which a person's agency must be entirely geared to his or her own well-being. But once that straitjacket of self-interested motivation is removed, it becomes possible to recognize the indisputable fact that the person's agency can well be geared to considerations not covered - or at least not fully covered - by his or her own well-being. Agency may be seen as important (not just instrumentally for the pursuit of well-being, but also intrinsically), but that still leaves open the question as to how that agency is to be evaluated and appraised. Even though the use of one's agency is a matter for oneself to judge, the need for careful assessment of aims, objective, allegiances, etc., and the conception of the good, may be important and exacting.
To recognize the distinction between the 'agency aspect' and the 'well-being aspect' of a person does not require us to take the view that the person's success as an agent must be independent, or completely separable from, his or her success in terms of well-being. A person may well feel happier and better off as a result of achieving what he or she wanted to achieve - perhaps for his or her family, or community, or class, or party, or some other cause. Also it is quite possible that a person's well-being will go down as a result of frustration if there is some failure to achieve what he or she wanted to achieve as an agent, even though those achievements are not directly concerned with his or her well-being. There is really no sound basis for demanding that the agency aspect and the well-being aspect of a person should be independent of each other, and it is, I suppose, even possible that every change in one will affect the other as well. However, the point at issue is not the plausibility of their independence, but the sustainability and relevance of the distinction. The fact that two variables may be so related that one cannot change without the other, does not imply that they are the same variable, or that they will have the same values, or that the value of one can be obtained from the other on basis of some simple transformation.
The importance of an agency achievement does not rest entirely on the enhancement of well-being that it may indirectly cause. The agency achievement and well-being achievement, both of which have some distinct importance, may be casually linked with each other, but this fact does not compromise the specific importance of either. In so far as utility-based welfare calculations concentrate only on the well-being of the person, ignoring the agency aspect, or actually fails to distinguish between the agency aspect and well-being aspect altogether, something of real importance is lost.

Q. The idea of agency, as used in the passage, is implied in all the options given below, except:

DIRECTION for the question: Answer the question based on the information given in the passage.

Ethologists, people who study animal behaviour, have traditionally divided an organism's actions into two categories: learned behaviour (based on experience) and instinctive behaviour (based on genotype). Some current scholars reject this distinction, claiming that all behaviour is a predictable interaction of experience and genotype.

Q. Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the arguments made in the sentence above?

DIRECTION for the question: Answer the question based on the information given in the passage.

Most of the Asian countries have trade-deficit with China. Bangladesh's trade deficit with China this year has increased by 35%. Despite large increases in exports to China, Indonesia's trade deficit with China continues to increase. So does that of South Korea, home of Samsung Electronics, one of the world's largest manufacturers of electronic gadgets.

Q. Which of the following, if true, would be most inconsistent with the above passage?

DIRECTION for the question: Choose the most logical order of sentences from among the given choices to construct a coherent paragraph.

A. In fact, it is considered as a dumping ground for unwanted people in quite a few organizations.
B. In many - parts of the country, traditional castes such as Kothari, Kotwal, Bhandari and Bhandarkar have for generations been dealing in procuring, stocking, distributing goods and merchandise.
C. This is due to the fact that Indian traders have been trading with many parts of the world.
D. However, though the concept of warehousing has been prevalent for over 2000 years, the warehouse has not yet obtained due recognition in modern times.
E. The concept of warehousing or stores function is not new in India.

DIRECTION for the question: Complete the sentence by filling in the appropriate blank/blanks from the options provided.

Nature is _____________ and  unchangeable, and it is ___________ as to whether its hidden reasons and _____________ are _____________ to man or not.

DIRECTION for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it.

Maybe it started with Indiana Jones. When Raiders of the Lost Ark premiered in 1981, audiences were treated to the vivid spectacle of bumbling Nazi officials obsessed with esoteric lore, eager to harness ancient occult powers for their own nefarious purposes. Fast-forward a few decades, and today’s popular culture is still awash in the imagery of Nazi occultism. Somehow, we have all become, like Indy himself, experts on the occult. And a whole lot of us are convinced that its arcane secrets hold the key to understanding Nazism.
The problem with this alluring image is not just that it is false. The myth of Nazi occultism is more than an amusing curiosity, a testament to the power of cinematic suggestion. It actively detracts from a historical understanding of the very themes it highlights. It yields a distorted view of Nazism and a distorted view of occultism.
Why is the association between Nazism and the occult so fascinating and so enduring? Claims about Hitler’s supposed connections to occultism circulated before he even came to power. The image comes in several forms: Nazism as the tool of dark forces, or Nazis as covert masters of the occult. Since ordinary explanations seem so inadequate for the abominations of the Nazi era, the esoteric alternative is enticing. It also fits the rhetoric of Nazism itself: suggestive and seductive rather than plainspoken and straightforward, filled with grandiose dreams and nebulous promises of an ineffable something that transcends everyday reality. 
That is where the danger lies. To blame Nazism on otherworldly forces is to exonerate the prosaic causes that brought Hitler to power in the first place. Consider three chief elements in the longstanding popular image of Nazi occultism: the Thule Society, the Ahnenerbe or ‘Ancestral Heritage’ office of the SS, and the Wewelsburg castle. Each of them did in fact have some connection to the occult, but the links were more mundane – and, paradoxically, more revealing – than the myths would have us believe.
The short-lived Thule Society is frequently portrayed as a paradigmatic example of the ‘secret societies’ that supposedly gave birth to the Nazi party. While the organisation was indeed secretive, and its modest membership did include several figures who went on to become leading Nazis, it was not an occult order. Hitler had nothing to do with the group. The notion of the Thule Society as incubator of the Nazi party is a product of the group’s founder -Sebottendorff’s megalomaniacal imagination.
What of Heinrich Himmler’s Ahnenerbe? This was an SS department devoted to researching the alleged Aryan origins of the German people. Thanks to Himmler’s personal fascination with the occult, some of the projects pursued under the aegis of the Ahnenerbe had esoteric affiliations. But most didn’t. Until the war started, the organisation largely focused on conventional archeological exploration, folklore and prehistoric studies. After 1939, attention shifted to military matters, including medical experiments on human subjects.
Similar problems bedevil the lurid image of the Wewelsburg castle as a site of SS occult rituals. This peculiarly resilient belief presents a case study in the evolution of historical myths. In the wake of the German defeat, former SS officers found an opportune way to deflect responsibility by accentuating Himmler’s ostensibly demonic ambitions. It took decades for historical research on the castle, and the uses the SS made of it, to catch up with these exculpatory tabloid tales. By then, the legend had long since displaced the reality, obscuring its actual functions within the Nazi system: routine bureaucratic tasks, supplemented by labour from a nearby concentration camp.
Not long after the final collapse of the Nazi regime, Theodor Adorno characterised occultism as ‘the metaphysics of fools’. This harsh judgment has been roundly criticised by scholars who study esoteric worldviews. Occult traditions are intellectually rich and diverse; there is much more to them than the bizarre and fantastic connotations. But Adorno had a point. A fixation on diabolical forces can distract attention from the social forces that shape reality. So it is with efforts to make sense out of the stark senselessness of Nazism. Attributing the horrors of Nazi Germany to obscure occult sources is all too often a convenient way of absolving ourselves from the hard work of understanding the past.

Q. Which of the following statements is/are true w.r.t the perceived association of Nazism with Occultism?
I) The influence of supernatural on the origin and working tenets of Nazism are superficial at best
II) Even after the war, Wewelsburg conjured up the horrors of pre-war imagery surrounding it  in the minds of the people
III) Occult played a  major role in the ascension of Nazism in the collective psyche of people

DIRECTION for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it.

Maybe it started with Indiana Jones. When Raiders of the Lost Ark premiered in 1981, audiences were treated to the vivid spectacle of bumbling Nazi officials obsessed with esoteric lore, eager to harness ancient occult powers for their own nefarious purposes. Fast-forward a few decades, and today’s popular culture is still awash in the imagery of Nazi occultism. Somehow, we have all become, like Indy himself, experts on the occult. And a whole lot of us are convinced that its arcane secrets hold the key to understanding Nazism.
The problem with this alluring image is not just that it is false. The myth of Nazi occultism is more than an amusing curiosity, a testament to the power of cinematic suggestion. It actively detracts from a historical understanding of the very themes it highlights. It yields a distorted view of Nazism and a distorted view of occultism.
Why is the association between Nazism and the occult so fascinating and so enduring? Claims about Hitler’s supposed connections to occultism circulated before he even came to power. The image comes in several forms: Nazism as the tool of dark forces, or Nazis as covert masters of the occult. Since ordinary explanations seem so inadequate for the abominations of the Nazi era, the esoteric alternative is enticing. It also fits the rhetoric of Nazism itself: suggestive and seductive rather than plainspoken and straightforward, filled with grandiose dreams and nebulous promises of an ineffable something that transcends everyday reality. 
That is where the danger lies. To blame Nazism on otherworldly forces is to exonerate the prosaic causes that brought Hitler to power in the first place. Consider three chief elements in the longstanding popular image of Nazi occultism: the Thule Society, the Ahnenerbe or ‘Ancestral Heritage’ office of the SS, and the Wewelsburg castle. Each of them did in fact have some connection to the occult, but the links were more mundane – and, paradoxically, more revealing – than the myths would have us believe.
The short-lived Thule Society is frequently portrayed as a paradigmatic example of the ‘secret societies’ that supposedly gave birth to the Nazi party. While the organisation was indeed secretive, and its modest membership did include several figures who went on to become leading Nazis, it was not an occult order. Hitler had nothing to do with the group. The notion of the Thule Society as incubator of the Nazi party is a product of the group’s founder -Sebottendorff’s megalomaniacal imagination.
What of Heinrich Himmler’s Ahnenerbe? This was an SS department devoted to researching the alleged Aryan origins of the German people. Thanks to Himmler’s personal fascination with the occult, some of the projects pursued under the aegis of the Ahnenerbe had esoteric affiliations. But most didn’t. Until the war started, the organisation largely focused on conventional archeological exploration, folklore and prehistoric studies. After 1939, attention shifted to military matters, including medical experiments on human subjects.
Similar problems bedevil the lurid image of the Wewelsburg castle as a site of SS occult rituals. This peculiarly resilient belief presents a case study in the evolution of historical myths. In the wake of the German defeat, former SS officers found an opportune way to deflect responsibility by accentuating Himmler’s ostensibly demonic ambitions. It took decades for historical research on the castle, and the uses the SS made of it, to catch up with these exculpatory tabloid tales. By then, the legend had long since displaced the reality, obscuring its actual functions within the Nazi system: routine bureaucratic tasks, supplemented by labour from a nearby concentration camp.
Not long after the final collapse of the Nazi regime, Theodor Adorno characterised occultism as ‘the metaphysics of fools’. This harsh judgment has been roundly criticised by scholars who study esoteric worldviews. Occult traditions are intellectually rich and diverse; there is much more to them than the bizarre and fantastic connotations. But Adorno had a point. A fixation on diabolical forces can distract attention from the social forces that shape reality. So it is with efforts to make sense out of the stark senselessness of Nazism. Attributing the horrors of Nazi Germany to obscure occult sources is all too often a convenient way of absolving ourselves from the hard work of understanding the past.

Q. Which of the following can be inferred on the basis of the passage?
I) The belief that occult was entrenched in Nazism affected the imagination of people to such an extent that it found entertainment value
II) Misappropriation of a commonly held belief, eventually leads to misinterpretation and misrepresentation of past 
III) Informed and rational decisions are seldom the product of beliefs

DIRECTION for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it.

Maybe it started with Indiana Jones. When Raiders of the Lost Ark premiered in 1981, audiences were treated to the vivid spectacle of bumbling Nazi officials obsessed with esoteric lore, eager to harness ancient occult powers for their own nefarious purposes. Fast-forward a few decades, and today’s popular culture is still awash in the imagery of Nazi occultism. Somehow, we have all become, like Indy himself, experts on the occult. And a whole lot of us are convinced that its arcane secrets hold the key to understanding Nazism.
The problem with this alluring image is not just that it is false. The myth of Nazi occultism is more than an amusing curiosity, a testament to the power of cinematic suggestion. It actively detracts from a historical understanding of the very themes it highlights. It yields a distorted view of Nazism and a distorted view of occultism.
Why is the association between Nazism and the occult so fascinating and so enduring? Claims about Hitler’s supposed connections to occultism circulated before he even came to power. The image comes in several forms: Nazism as the tool of dark forces, or Nazis as covert masters of the occult. Since ordinary explanations seem so inadequate for the abominations of the Nazi era, the esoteric alternative is enticing. It also fits the rhetoric of Nazism itself: suggestive and seductive rather than plainspoken and straightforward, filled with grandiose dreams and nebulous promises of an ineffable something that transcends everyday reality. 
That is where the danger lies. To blame Nazism on otherworldly forces is to exonerate the prosaic causes that brought Hitler to power in the first place. Consider three chief elements in the longstanding popular image of Nazi occultism: the Thule Society, the Ahnenerbe or ‘Ancestral Heritage’ office of the SS, and the Wewelsburg castle. Each of them did in fact have some connection to the occult, but the links were more mundane – and, paradoxically, more revealing – than the myths would have us believe.
The short-lived Thule Society is frequently portrayed as a paradigmatic example of the ‘secret societies’ that supposedly gave birth to the Nazi party. While the organisation was indeed secretive, and its modest membership did include several figures who went on to become leading Nazis, it was not an occult order. Hitler had nothing to do with the group. The notion of the Thule Society as incubator of the Nazi party is a product of the group’s founder -Sebottendorff’s megalomaniacal imagination.
What of Heinrich Himmler’s Ahnenerbe? This was an SS department devoted to researching the alleged Aryan origins of the German people. Thanks to Himmler’s personal fascination with the occult, some of the projects pursued under the aegis of the Ahnenerbe had esoteric affiliations. But most didn’t. Until the war started, the organisation largely focused on conventional archeological exploration, folklore and prehistoric studies. After 1939, attention shifted to military matters, including medical experiments on human subjects.
Similar problems bedevil the lurid image of the Wewelsburg castle as a site of SS occult rituals. This peculiarly resilient belief presents a case study in the evolution of historical myths. In the wake of the German defeat, former SS officers found an opportune way to deflect responsibility by accentuating Himmler’s ostensibly demonic ambitions. It took decades for historical research on the castle, and the uses the SS made of it, to catch up with these exculpatory tabloid tales. By then, the legend had long since displaced the reality, obscuring its actual functions within the Nazi system: routine bureaucratic tasks, supplemented by labour from a nearby concentration camp.
Not long after the final collapse of the Nazi regime, Theodor Adorno characterised occultism as ‘the metaphysics of fools’. This harsh judgment has been roundly criticised by scholars who study esoteric worldviews. Occult traditions are intellectually rich and diverse; there is much more to them than the bizarre and fantastic connotations. But Adorno had a point. A fixation on diabolical forces can distract attention from the social forces that shape reality. So it is with efforts to make sense out of the stark senselessness of Nazism. Attributing the horrors of Nazi Germany to obscure occult sources is all too often a convenient way of absolving ourselves from the hard work of understanding the past.

Q. Try to gauge the meaning of the word megalomaniac from the context, and select the most appropriate synonym for the same.

DIRECTION for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it.

Maybe it started with Indiana Jones. When Raiders of the Lost Ark premiered in 1981, audiences were treated to the vivid spectacle of bumbling Nazi officials obsessed with esoteric lore, eager to harness ancient occult powers for their own nefarious purposes. Fast-forward a few decades, and today’s popular culture is still awash in the imagery of Nazi occultism. Somehow, we have all become, like Indy himself, experts on the occult. And a whole lot of us are convinced that its arcane secrets hold the key to understanding Nazism.
The problem with this alluring image is not just that it is false. The myth of Nazi occultism is more than an amusing curiosity, a testament to the power of cinematic suggestion. It actively detracts from a historical understanding of the very themes it highlights. It yields a distorted view of Nazism and a distorted view of occultism.
Why is the association between Nazism and the occult so fascinating and so enduring? Claims about Hitler’s supposed connections to occultism circulated before he even came to power. The image comes in several forms: Nazism as the tool of dark forces, or Nazis as covert masters of the occult. Since ordinary explanations seem so inadequate for the abominations of the Nazi era, the esoteric alternative is enticing. It also fits the rhetoric of Nazism itself: suggestive and seductive rather than plainspoken and straightforward, filled with grandiose dreams and nebulous promises of an ineffable something that transcends everyday reality. 
That is where the danger lies. To blame Nazism on otherworldly forces is to exonerate the prosaic causes that brought Hitler to power in the first place. Consider three chief elements in the longstanding popular image of Nazi occultism: the Thule Society, the Ahnenerbe or ‘Ancestral Heritage’ office of the SS, and the Wewelsburg castle. Each of them did in fact have some connection to the occult, but the links were more mundane – and, paradoxically, more revealing – than the myths would have us believe.
The short-lived Thule Society is frequently portrayed as a paradigmatic example of the ‘secret societies’ that supposedly gave birth to the Nazi party. While the organisation was indeed secretive, and its modest membership did include several figures who went on to become leading Nazis, it was not an occult order. Hitler had nothing to do with the group. The notion of the Thule Society as incubator of the Nazi party is a product of the group’s founder -Sebottendorff’s megalomaniacal imagination.
What of Heinrich Himmler’s Ahnenerbe? This was an SS department devoted to researching the alleged Aryan origins of the German people. Thanks to Himmler’s personal fascination with the occult, some of the projects pursued under the aegis of the Ahnenerbe had esoteric affiliations. But most didn’t. Until the war started, the organisation largely focused on conventional archeological exploration, folklore and prehistoric studies. After 1939, attention shifted to military matters, including medical experiments on human subjects.
Similar problems bedevil the lurid image of the Wewelsburg castle as a site of SS occult rituals. This peculiarly resilient belief presents a case study in the evolution of historical myths. In the wake of the German defeat, former SS officers found an opportune way to deflect responsibility by accentuating Himmler’s ostensibly demonic ambitions. It took decades for historical research on the castle, and the uses the SS made of it, to catch up with these exculpatory tabloid tales. By then, the legend had long since displaced the reality, obscuring its actual functions within the Nazi system: routine bureaucratic tasks, supplemented by labour from a nearby concentration camp.
Not long after the final collapse of the Nazi regime, Theodor Adorno characterised occultism as ‘the metaphysics of fools’. This harsh judgment has been roundly criticised by scholars who study esoteric worldviews. Occult traditions are intellectually rich and diverse; there is much more to them than the bizarre and fantastic connotations. But Adorno had a point. A fixation on diabolical forces can distract attention from the social forces that shape reality. So it is with efforts to make sense out of the stark senselessness of Nazism. Attributing the horrors of Nazi Germany to obscure occult sources is all too often a convenient way of absolving ourselves from the hard work of understanding the past.

Q. Keeping in mind the author’s reaction to attributing horrors of Nazism to occult, which of the following can be reasonably concluded-
I. The allure of conjuring up an alternative explanation of influence of occult on Nazism is hard to resist by the people
II. The author is critical of people’s tendency to expect an extra-ordinary factor playing a role in the rise of Nazism
III. Indiana Jones is a fictional character, who thwarted the nefarious plans of Nazis in the cinematic rendition of the real Nazi war-crimes

DIRECTION for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it.

In Hume’s eyes productive labour was the greatest asset of a country, and foreign trade was valuable because it enabled a nation to use more and more varied labour than would otherwise be possible. But commerce was of mutual advantage to the nations involved, not a benefit to one and injury to other. “The increase of riches and commerce in any one nation,” added Hume, “instead of hurting, commonly, promotes the riches and commerce of all its neighbours.” “The emulation in rival nations serves…to keep industry alive in all of them.”

Q. The importance of foreign trade, in eyes of Hume, was due to that:

DIRECTION for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it.

In Hume’s eyes productive labour was the greatest asset of a country, and foreign trade was valuable because it enabled a nation to use more and more varied labour than would otherwise be possible. But commerce was of mutual advantage to the nations involved, not a benefit to one and injury to other. “The increase of riches and commerce in any one nation,” added Hume, “instead of hurting, commonly, promotes the riches and commerce of all its neighbours.” “The emulation in rival nations serves…to keep industry alive in all of them.”

Q. As per Hume, free trade between nations was made advantageous by the outcome of:

DIRECTION for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it.

Demography of organizations, also called population ecology is an interesting field. It proposes that organisational mortality processes depend upon the age and size of the organizations, as well as on characteristics of populations and environments. Moreover, there is evidence of an imprinting process – meaning that environmental conditions at certain early phases in an organisation’s development have long-term consequence. In particular, organizations subject to intense competition have elevated mortality hazards at all ages. A central theme is structural inertia, the tendency for organizations to respond slowly relative to the speed of environmental change. A central argument holds that the inertia derives from the very characteristics that make organizations favoured actors in modern society in terms of reliability and (formal) accountability. It follows that changes in an organisation’s core features are disruptive and increase mortality hazards, at least in the short-run. Research on this subject tends to support this view. The concept of niche provides a framework for relating environmental variations and competition to population dynamics and segmentation. Much empirical work examines the niches of organisational populations in terms of dimensions of social, political, and economic environments. Most research in this field builds on theories of resource partition and of density dependence. Resource-partitioning theory concerns the relationship between increasing market concentration and increasing proliferation of specialists in mature industries. The key implication of this theory concerns the effects of concentration on the viability of specialist organizations (those that seek to exploit a narrow range of resources). The theory of density-dependent organisational evolution synthesizes ecological and institutional processes. It holds that growth in the number of organizations in a population (density) drives processes of social legitimatization and competition that, in turn, shape the vital rates.

Q. Consider the following: “Tata Steel, one of biggest steel makers in the world, was born in Jamshedpur.” If above passage is true, then it can be concluded that location of Tata Steel has been one of the reasons for its success.

A. The conclusion is false.
B. This is a farfetched conclusion.
C. This is a valid conclusion.

DIRECTION for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it.

Demography of organizations, also called population ecology is an interesting field. It proposes that organisational mortality processes depend upon the age and size of the organizations, as well as on characteristics of populations and environments. Moreover, there is evidence of an imprinting process – meaning that environmental conditions at certain early phases in an organisation’s development have long-term consequence. In particular, organizations subject to intense competition have elevated mortality hazards at all ages. A central theme is structural inertia, the tendency for organizations to respond slowly relative to the speed of environmental change. A central argument holds that the inertia derives from the very characteristics that make organizations favoured actors in modern society in terms of reliability and (formal) accountability. It follows that changes in an organisation’s core features are disruptive and increase mortality hazards, at least in the short-run. Research on this subject tends to support this view. The concept of niche provides a framework for relating environmental variations and competition to population dynamics and segmentation. Much empirical work examines the niches of organisational populations in terms of dimensions of social, political, and economic environments. Most research in this field builds on theories of resource partition and of density dependence. Resource-partitioning theory concerns the relationship between increasing market concentration and increasing proliferation of specialists in mature industries. The key implication of this theory concerns the effects of concentration on the viability of specialist organizations (those that seek to exploit a narrow range of resources). The theory of density-dependent organisational evolution synthesizes ecological and institutional processes. It holds that growth in the number of organizations in a population (density) drives processes of social legitimatization and competition that, in turn, shape the vital rates.

Q. “Tata Steel, one of biggest steel makers in the world, was born in Jamshedpur. The very success of Tata Steel could lead to its failure in the future and hence the challenge for Tata Steel is to recognize its strengths that made it successful in initial conditions and stick to them.”
A. This is a valid conclusion.
B. The conclusion is contrary to the ideas described in the passage.
C. The conclusion is an internally contradictory.

DIRECTION for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it.

Demography of organizations, also called population ecology is an interesting field. It proposes that organisational mortality processes depend upon the age and size of the organizations, as well as on characteristics of populations and environments. Moreover, there is evidence of an imprinting process – meaning that environmental conditions at certain early phases in an organisation’s development have long-term consequence. In particular, organizations subject to intense competition have elevated mortality hazards at all ages. A central theme is structural inertia, the tendency for organizations to respond slowly relative to the speed of environmental change. A central argument holds that the inertia derives from the very characteristics that make organizations favoured actors in modern society in terms of reliability and (formal) accountability. It follows that changes in an organisation’s core features are disruptive and increase mortality hazards, at least in the short-run. Research on this subject tends to support this view. The concept of niche provides a framework for relating environmental variations and competition to population dynamics and segmentation. Much empirical work examines the niches of organisational populations in terms of dimensions of social, political, and economic environments. Most research in this field builds on theories of resource partition and of density dependence. Resource-partitioning theory concerns the relationship between increasing market concentration and increasing proliferation of specialists in mature industries. The key implication of this theory concerns the effects of concentration on the viability of specialist organizations (those that seek to exploit a narrow range of resources). The theory of density-dependent organisational evolution synthesizes ecological and institutional processes. It holds that growth in the number of organizations in a population (density) drives processes of social legitimatization and competition that, in turn, shape the vital rates.

Q. Most top-notch business consultants recommend changing the entire configuration of an organisation’s strategy, structure and systems. If the ideas contained in the passage are agreed to, then such a recommendation:

DIRECTION for the question: Read the passage and answer the question based on it.

Demography of organizations, also called population ecology is an interesting field. It proposes that organisational mortality processes depend upon the age and size of the organizations, as well as on characteristics of populations and environments. Moreover, there is evidence of an imprinting process – meaning that environmental conditions at certain early phases in an organisation’s development have long-term consequence. In particular, organizations subject to intense competition have elevated mortality hazards at all ages. A central theme is structural inertia, the tendency for organizations to respond slowly relative to the speed of environmental change. A central argument holds that the inertia derives from the very characteristics that make organizations favoured actors in modern society in terms of reliability and (formal) accountability. It follows that changes in an organisation’s core features are disruptive and increase mortality hazards, at least in the short-run. Research on this subject tends to support this view. The concept of niche provides a framework for relating environmental variations and competition to population dynamics and segmentation. Much empirical work examines the niches of organisational populations in terms of dimensions of social, political, and economic environments. Most research in this field builds on theories of resource partition and of density dependence. Resource-partitioning theory concerns the relationship between increasing market concentration and increasing proliferation of specialists in mature industries. The key implication of this theory concerns the effects of concentration on the viability of specialist organizations (those that seek to exploit a narrow range of resources). The theory of density-dependent organisational evolution synthesizes ecological and institutional processes. It holds that growth in the number of organizations in a population (density) drives processes of social legitimatization and competition that, in turn, shape the vital rates.

Q. Recently it was reported that Indian textile sector was not doing well. If the ideas contained in the passage are agreed to, then which of the following could be the possible reason(s)?
A. All Indian firms are as old as international firms.
B. Indian textile firms are dispersed all over the country, with most of them also having international presence.
C. Textile firms in India were subjected to trade union activity in the period from 1960s to 1980s.

DIRECTION for the question: Answer the question based on the information given in the passage.

Ram, an economist, and Ramesh, an astrologer, had a debate. Ram said “Astrology does not work. It just cannot predict.” “It can predict better than your subject” rebutted Ramesh.

Q. The evidence that best resolves the above debate will be:

DIRECTION for the question: Answer the question based on the information given in the passage.

In this era of global capital flows, so much money is now flowing throughout the world that no single country can fight the problem of inflation effectively by tightening its monetary policy.

Q. If the above is true, which of the following could be most logically concluded?

DIRECTION for the question: Read the following sentence/sentences and identify the figure of speech.

Q. Which of the following contains a non-sequitur?

DIRECTION for the question: In this question, the first two words are related in a particular manner. You have to choose a word from the options so that a new pair of words is formed where the relation is the same as in the case of the given pair of words. The question stem has the first word of the second pair. You may have to consider the secondary meaning of certain words while choosing an answer.

Q. Recommence is to suspend as: nonchalant is to:

DIRECTION for the question: Answer the question based on the information given in the passage.

Q. As man casts off worn-out garments and puts on others that are new, similarly the embodied soul, casting off worn-out bodies, enters into others, which are new. Of the following, which one best typifies the argument?

DIRECTION for the question: Choose the word from the options which is Opposite in meaning to the given word.

Hypothesize

DIRECTION for the question: Complete the sentence by filling in the appropriate blank/blanks from the options provided.

The fossils of humans and other animals, found all over the world, are as a result of_________ preservation.

DIRECTION for the question: Read the following information and choose the best alternative:

RIITJEE is a leading IIT-JEE test-preparation company in Chandigarh, Punjab. The company teaches more than 5000 students annually and has been a leading brand in the industry for the last 10 years. In the last 3 years, the Government of India has introduced a series of new norms and regulations to regulate the IIT-JEE industry and has increased the percentage weight of Class 12 board exams in the final marking scheme. Because of these changes, the IIT-JEE industry saw a contraction of about 15% in market size in the last three years, with parents preferring to send their wards to board teachers for tuitions. In lieu of these changes, RIITJEE introduced free in-house board coaching for students. This was introduced in order to attract students the institute again, as it had also seen a drop in numbers in the last 3 years. In order to shore up its board education capabilities, it hired a couple of teachers who had expertise in board examination, and with their help, trained their existing staff to take classes for board papers as well. As a result of these measures, the numbers at RIITJEE have increased by 5% this year but are still below the peak achieved three years back.
The teachers at RIITJEE are an annoyed lot these days. For the last two years, they have been denied any increase in salary on the grounds that the institute has not been able to grow in terms of numbers. This year, the teachers have had the additional responsibility of teaching students for board exams as well. Considering that the RIITJEE management is not providing any increment to the teachers, they have threatened the management with a strike, and have warned them that if their salaries are not increased, they would go on a strike.

Q. The approach of RIITJEE management can be labeled as:

DIRECTION for the question: Read the following information and choose the best alternative:

RIITJEE is a leading IIT-JEE test-preparation company in Chandigarh, Punjab. The company teaches more than 5000 students annually and has been a leading brand in the industry for the last 10 years. In the last 3 years, the Government of India has introduced a series of new norms and regulations to regulate the IIT-JEE industry and has increased the percentage weight of Class 12 board exams in the final marking scheme. Because of these changes, the IIT-JEE industry saw a contraction of about 15% in market size in the last three years, with parents preferring to send their wards to board teachers for tuitions. In lieu of these changes, RIITJEE introduced free in-house board coaching for students. This was introduced in order to attract students the institute again, as it had also seen a drop in numbers in the last 3 years. In order to shore up its board education capabilities, it hired a couple of teachers who had expertise in board examination, and with their help, trained their existing staff to take classes for board papers as well. As a result of these measures, the numbers at RIITJEE have increased by 5% this year but are still below the peak achieved three years back.
The teachers at RIITJEE are an annoyed lot these days. For the last two years, they have been denied any increase in salary on the grounds that the institute has not been able to grow in terms of numbers. This year, the teachers have had the additional responsibility of teaching students for board exams as well. Considering that the RIITJEE management is not providing any increment to the teachers, they have threatened the management with a strike, and have warned them that if their salaries are not increased, they would go on a strike.

Q. The demand of the RIITJEE teachers and the style adopted by them (in that order) can be labeled as:

DIRECTION for the question: Read the following information and choose the best alternative:

RIITJEE is a leading IIT-JEE test-preparation company in Chandigarh, Punjab. The company teaches more than 5000 students annually and has been a leading brand in the industry for the last 10 years. In the last 3 years, the Government of India has introduced a series of new norms and regulations to regulate the IIT-JEE industry and has increased the percentage weight of Class 12 board exams in the final marking scheme. Because of these changes, the IIT-JEE industry saw a contraction of about 15% in market size in the last three years, with parents preferring to send their wards to board teachers for tuitions. In lieu of these changes, RIITJEE introduced free in-house board coaching for students. This was introduced in order to attract students the institute again, as it had also seen a drop in numbers in the last 3 years. In order to shore up its board education capabilities, it hired a couple of teachers who had expertise in board examination, and with their help, trained their existing staff to take classes for board papers as well. As a result of these measures, the numbers at RIITJEE have increased by 5% this year but are still below the peak achieved three years back.
The teachers at RIITJEE are an annoyed lot these days. For the last two years, they have been denied any increase in salary on the grounds that the institute has not been able to grow in terms of numbers. This year, the teachers have had the additional responsibility of teaching students for board exams as well. Considering that the RIITJEE management is not providing any increment to the teachers, they have threatened the management with a strike, and have warned them that if their salaries are not increased, they would go on a strike.

Q. The best solution that can be adopted by the RIITJEE management in the given case is:

DIRECTION for the question: Read the following information and choose the best alternative:

RIITJEE is a leading IIT-JEE test-preparation company in Chandigarh, Punjab. The company teaches more than 5000 students annually and has been a leading brand in the industry for the last 10 years. In the last 3 years, the Government of India has introduced a series of new norms and regulations to regulate the IIT-JEE industry and has increased the percentage weight of Class 12 board exams in the final marking scheme. Because of these changes, the IIT-JEE industry saw a contraction of about 15% in market size in the last three years, with parents preferring to send their wards to board teachers for tuitions. In lieu of these changes, RIITJEE introduced free in-house board coaching for students. This was introduced in order to attract students the institute again, as it had also seen a drop in numbers in the last 3 years. In order to shore up its board education capabilities, it hired a couple of teachers who had expertise in board examination, and with their help, trained their existing staff to take classes for board papers as well. As a result of these measures, the numbers at RIITJEE have increased by 5% this year but are still below the peak achieved three years back.
The teachers at RIITJEE are an annoyed lot these days. For the last two years, they have been denied any increase in salary on the grounds that the institute has not been able to grow in terms of numbers. This year, the teachers have had the additional responsibility of teaching students for board exams as well. Considering that the RIITJEE management is not providing any increment to the teachers, they have threatened the management with a strike, and have warned them that if their salaries are not increased, they would go on a strike.

Q. In the given situation above, the two most important areas where a company needs to focus on in order to resolve the situation include giving priority to:
I. Student Satisfaction
II. Employee satisfaction           
III. Market scenario
IV. Company costs

DIRECTION for the question: Read the following information and choose the best alternative:

The one industry that seen the worst possible impact of rising oil costs is the airline industry. In the last given years, the cost of aviation fuel has gone by more than 40% and considering that aviation fuel makes up for 40% of the total operating costs of an airline, the impact of this increase has been immense. During the same period, the airline companies have increased ticket prices by 10% but this has met with a bad response from flyers. The occupancy drop for airlines has been around 15% and those using airlines previously prefer to use other cheaper modes of transportation.
Wet Airways is one company stuck in the middle of this issue. Wet airways has always provided exceptional service to its clients. In terms of comforts, anyone who has flown with Wet can vouch for the fact that their cabin crew is the best, and the bouquet of services they provide is immense. In the general market scenario, whereas general carriers have an occupancy rate of about 70%, Wet always had its flights fully occupied. But such service comes at some costs. Wet Airways, with its extremely customer friendly model, has constantly bled money and can no longer sustain the same levels of service, keeping in mind the enhanced cost of aviation fuel. Keeping the current market scenario in mind, Wet has decided to slowly and steadily reduce the number of services it offers to its passengers, and thereby reduce its operational costs. By using these measures, Wet plans to reduce its costs by 20%.

Q. The reasons for the current state of Wet Airways are:
I. Erroneous pricing strategy
II. Noncompliant employee behavior
III. Mounting fuel costs
IV. Poor employee management

DIRECTION for the question: Read the following information and choose the best alternative:

The one industry that seen the worst possible impact of rising oil costs is the airline industry. In the last given years, the cost of aviation fuel has gone by more than 40% and considering that aviation fuel makes up for 40% of the total operating costs of an airline, the impact of this increase has been immense. During the same period, the airline companies have increased ticket prices by 10% but this has met with a bad response from flyers. The occupancy drop for airlines has been around 15% and those using airlines previously prefer to use other cheaper modes of transportation.
Wet Airways is one company stuck in the middle of this issue. Wet airways has always provided exceptional service to its clients. In terms of comforts, anyone who has flown with Wet can vouch for the fact that their cabin crew is the best, and the bouquet of services they provide is immense. In the general market scenario, whereas general carriers have an occupancy rate of about 70%, Wet always had its flights fully occupied. But such service comes at some costs. Wet Airways, with its extremely customer friendly model, has constantly bled money and can no longer sustain the same levels of service, keeping in mind the enhanced cost of aviation fuel. Keeping the current market scenario in mind, Wet has decided to slowly and steadily reduce the number of services it offers to its passengers, and thereby reduce its operational costs. By using these measures, Wet plans to reduce its costs by 20%.

Q. Suppose the fuel costs drop by 40% from their current rates. Do you think in that scenario Wet Airways can be profitable?

DIRECTION for the question: Read the following information and choose the best alternative:

The one industry that seen the worst possible impact of rising oil costs is the airline industry. In the last given years, the cost of aviation fuel has gone by more than 40% and considering that aviation fuel makes up for 40% of the total operating costs of an airline, the impact of this increase has been immense. During the same period, the airline companies have increased ticket prices by 10% but this has met with a bad response from flyers. The occupancy drop for airlines has been around 15% and those using airlines previously prefer to use other cheaper modes of transportation.
Wet Airways is one company stuck in the middle of this issue. Wet airways has always provided exceptional service to its clients. In terms of comforts, anyone who has flown with Wet can vouch for the fact that their cabin crew is the best, and the bouquet of services they provide is immense. In the general market scenario, whereas general carriers have an occupancy rate of about 70%, Wet always had its flights fully occupied. But such service comes at some costs. Wet Airways, with its extremely customer friendly model, has constantly bled money and can no longer sustain the same levels of service, keeping in mind the enhanced cost of aviation fuel. Keeping the current market scenario in mind, Wet has decided to slowly and steadily reduce the number of services it offers to its passengers, and thereby reduce its operational costs. By using these measures, Wet plans to reduce its costs by 20%.

Q. There is a chance the current measures being thought about by Wet Airways might:

DIRECTION for the question: Read the following information and choose the best alternative:

The one industry that seen the worst possible impact of rising oil costs is the airline industry. In the last given years, the cost of aviation fuel has gone by more than 40% and considering that aviation fuel makes up for 40% of the total operating costs of an airline, the impact of this increase has been immense. During the same period, the airline companies have increased ticket prices by 10% but this has met with a bad response from flyers. The occupancy drop for airlines has been around 15% and those using airlines previously prefer to use other cheaper modes of transportation.
Wet Airways is one company stuck in the middle of this issue. Wet airways has always provided exceptional service to its clients. In terms of comforts, anyone who has flown with Wet can vouch for the fact that their cabin crew is the best, and the bouquet of services they provide is immense. In the general market scenario, whereas general carriers have an occupancy rate of about 70%, Wet always had its flights fully occupied. But such service comes at some costs. Wet Airways, with its extremely customer friendly model, has constantly bled money and can no longer sustain the same levels of service, keeping in mind the enhanced cost of aviation fuel. Keeping the current market scenario in mind, Wet has decided to slowly and steadily reduce the number of services it offers to its passengers, and thereby reduce its operational costs. By using these measures, Wet plans to reduce its costs by 20%.

Q. Which, out of the following measures, can be used by Wet Airways in the current market scenario to make sure that it retains its flyers when it changes the services it offers?

DIRECTION for the question: Read the following information and choose the best alternative:

Traditionally, airlines paid a fixed-rate commission of 7 percent for point-to-point domestic ticket sales. In return for creating conditions that made the travel agency profitable, airlines have always been able to write the rules governing agency competition. A Civil Aeronautics Board rule, however, abolished the fixed-rate commission and ordered carriers to propose new plans for compensating travel agents. Officials of the agency indicated that the intent was to promote retail price competition and encourage new alternative retail outlets.
United Airlines was the first to respond, proposing to pay a flat $8.50 per ticket. Travel agencies reacted by diverting traffic to other airlines offering higher commissions. United suffered a 14 percent sales drop in one month as a result, in part, of the new commission. Finally, United withdrew the plan and offered a sliding-scale plan paying travel agents from $7.50 to $37.50 depending on the distance flown. Other airlines offered different plans. For examples, Eastern, now defunct, proposed a commission ranging from 8 to 11 percent, the former Frontier Airlines plan called for 10 to 11 percent, and American Airlines plan was so complex that most agents indicated that they could not understand it.

Q. United Airlines’ sales in the month before the flat commission plan was implemented were $ 300 million. Assuming the average ticket cost $ 120 and all ticket sales are being made through agents, what was the change in the commission paid to travel agents after the flat plan was implemented approximately ($ m)?

DIRECTION for the question: Read the following information and choose the best alternative:

Traditionally, airlines paid a fixed-rate commission of 7 percent for point-to-point domestic ticket sales. In return for creating conditions that made the travel agency profitable, airlines have always been able to write the rules governing agency competition. A Civil Aeronautics Board rule, however, abolished the fixed-rate commission and ordered carriers to propose new plans for compensating travel agents. Officials of the agency indicated that the intent was to promote retail price competition and encourage new alternative retail outlets.
United Airlines was the first to respond, proposing to pay a flat $8.50 per ticket. Travel agencies reacted by diverting traffic to other airlines offering higher commissions. United suffered a 14 percent sales drop in one month as a result, in part, of the new commission. Finally, United withdrew the plan and offered a sliding-scale plan paying travel agents from $7.50 to $37.50 depending on the distance flown. Other airlines offered different plans. For examples, Eastern, now defunct, proposed a commission ranging from 8 to 11 percent, the former Frontier Airlines plan called for 10 to 11 percent, and American Airlines plan was so complex that most agents indicated that they could not understand it.

Q. If Frontier airlines’ market share shot up from 5 to 7 % during the month in which United implemented its flat commission system, mostly at the expense of United which lost 2% market share, then what was the $ increase in Frontier’s revenue that month over the previous one ? (you may use data from the previous question)

DIRECTION for the question: Read the following information and choose the best alternative:

Traditionally, airlines paid a fixed-rate commission of 7 percent for point-to-point domestic ticket sales. In return for creating conditions that made the travel agency profitable, airlines have always been able to write the rules governing agency competition. A Civil Aeronautics Board rule, however, abolished the fixed-rate commission and ordered carriers to propose new plans for compensating travel agents. Officials of the agency indicated that the intent was to promote retail price competition and encourage new alternative retail outlets.
United Airlines was the first to respond, proposing to pay a flat $8.50 per ticket. Travel agencies reacted by diverting traffic to other airlines offering higher commissions. United suffered a 14 percent sales drop in one month as a result, in part, of the new commission. Finally, United withdrew the plan and offered a sliding-scale plan paying travel agents from $7.50 to $37.50 depending on the distance flown. Other airlines offered different plans. For examples, Eastern, now defunct, proposed a commission ranging from 8 to 11 percent, the former Frontier Airlines plan called for 10 to 11 percent, and American Airlines plan was so complex that most agents indicated that they could not understand it.

Q. Up to what ticket prices would agents make more money on selling United’s tickets than Eastern in the sliding scale plan?

DIRECTION for the question: Read the information given below and answer the question that follows.

Alex Company has its office at the third floor of a multi-storied building in Mumbai. There are 5 rooms to be allotted to 5 managers (designated M1 to M5), each of whom will occupy one room. Each room has its own advantages and disadvantages. Some have the sea view, while others are closer to either the lift or the dining room, while some are more spacious. Each of the five managers was asked to rank the room preferences amongst the rooms 301, 302, 303,304 and 305. Their preferences were recorded as follows:

Some managers did not indicate any preference for some rooms, as they did not want to be there under any condition. The company decided to allot rooms to managers in such a way that so that the managers get rooms as per their best preference or close to that.

Q. How many managers would get their rooms as per their best preference?

DIRECTION for the question: Read the information given below and answer the question that follows.

Alex Company has its office at the third floor of a multi-storied building in Mumbai. There are 5 rooms to be allotted to 5 managers (designated M1 to M5), each of whom will occupy one room. Each room has its own advantages and disadvantages. Some have the sea view, while others are closer to either the lift or the dining room, while some are more spacious. Each of the five managers was asked to rank the room preferences amongst the rooms 301, 302, 303,304 and 305. Their preferences were recorded as follows:

Some managers did not indicate any preference for some rooms, as they did not want to be there under any condition. The company decided to allot rooms to managers in such a way that so that the managers get rooms as per their best preference or close to that.

Q. If manager X gets his/her 1^st choice, then his/her preference ranking is 1 and so on. Management decided to allot rooms so that the sum of the preference rankings of all the managers is minimized, What is the total preference ranking for the rooms allotted to all the managers?

DIRECTION for the question: Read the information given below and answer the question that follows.

Alex Company has its office at the third floor of a multi-storied building in Mumbai. There are 5 rooms to be allotted to 5 managers (designated M1 to M5), each of whom will occupy one room. Each room has its own advantages and disadvantages. Some have the sea view, while others are closer to either the lift or the dining room, while some are more spacious. Each of the five managers was asked to rank the room preferences amongst the rooms 301, 302, 303,304 and 305. Their preferences were recorded as follows:

Some managers did not indicate any preference for some rooms, as they did not want to be there under any condition. The company decided to allot rooms to managers in such a way that so that the managers get rooms as per their best preference or close to that.

Q. Suppose that Manager M2 decides-not to join the new zonal office and Manager M6 takes his place. Manager M6 has the following preference ranking in decreasing order: 301, 303, 302, 304 - in this case what would be the sum of the preference rankings allotted to all the five managers?
(Note: If manager X gets his/her 1^st choice, then his/her preference ranking is 1 and so on.)

DIRECTION for the question: Read the following information and choose the best alternative:

A company launches eight products - Q, R, S, T, V, W, Y, and Z - in one of the four metros of India. The products were launched one after the other over a period of six months in 2006. The order in which the products were launched is consistent with the following conditions:
V is launched before both Y and Q
Q gets launched after Z
T gets launched before V but after R
S gets launched after V
R gets launched before W

Q. Which one of the following could be true?

DIRECTION for the question: Read the following information and choose the best alternative:

A company launches eight products - Q, R, S, T, V, W, Y, and Z - in one of the four metros of India. The products were launched one after the other over a period of six months in 2006. The order in which the products were launched is consistent with the following conditions:
V is launched before both Y and Q
Q gets launched after Z
T gets launched before V but after R
S gets launched after V
R gets launched before W

Q. Is Z is the seventh product to be launched, then which one of the following could be true?

DIRECTION for the question: Read the following information and choose the best alternative:

A company launches eight products - Q, R, S, T, V, W, Y, and Z - in one of the four metros of India. The products were launched one after the other over a period of six months in 2006. The order in which the products were launched is consistent with the following conditions:
V is launched before both Y and Q
Q gets launched after Z
T gets launched before V but after R
S gets launched after V
R gets launched before W

Q. If Q is the fifth product to be launched, then each of the following could be true EXCEPT:

DIRECTION for the question: Read the following information and choose the best alternative:

A company launches eight products - Q, R, S, T, V, W, Y, and Z - in one of the four metros of India. The products were launched one after the other over a period of six months in 2006. The order in which the products were launched is consistent with the following conditions:
V is launched before both Y and Q
Q gets launched after Z
T gets launched before V but after R
S gets launched after V
R gets launched before W

Q. If R is the second product to be launched, which one of the following MUST be true?

DIRECTION for the question: Read the following information and choose the best alternative:

The year 2004 was a great year for Top-Cloth cotton mill. Manufacturing towels for the export market employing more than 2000 workers, the company had an impressive growth in sales and profits. The Chairman felt that employees were entitled to a share in the profits and it was proposed that the employee mess be air-conditioned. The proposal was discussed in a meeting that was attended by, among other senior officials, the marketing director, the personnel director and the finance director. The proposal was based on the fact that the shop floor of the mill often had temperatures in excess of 40°C with a relative humidity of 99%. The air-conditioned mess would represent management's appreciation of the employee's hard work.
At the end of 2005, management reviewed the mill's performance. Profits were higher, and employee attrition was negligible. Chairman decided that employees deserved additional recognition for their fine work. Since the mess had already been air-conditioned, the chairman wanted to know if the employees appreciated this sort of action. In the course of discussion, the chairman asked the personnel director to send a questionnaire to a sample of fifty employees and obtain their reaction to the air-conditioned mess. The management agreed to decide only after obtaining the feedback from the employees.
The personnel director mailed a simple form to fifty employees asked them for the following information: "Please state your reaction to the air-conditioned mess."
Of the fifty forms mailed, forty-six were returned. The answers received were as follows:

Q. The main conclusion(s) about the personnel director that emerge(s) from this situation is(are):
A. The personnel director did not have the competence to manage an employee feedback survey, and should have been given the task to a professional consultant.
B. The personnel director was responsible for employees' reactions.
C. The personnel director had failed in his duty of maintaining constant touch with employees.
D. The cost of air-conditioning is a waste, since its beneficiaries did not feel any benefit.

DIRECTION for the question: Read the following information and choose the best alternative:

The year 2004 was a great year for Top-Cloth cotton mill. Manufacturing towels for the export market employing more than 2000 workers, the company had an impressive growth in sales and profits. The Chairman felt that employees were entitled to a share in the profits and it was proposed that the employee mess be air-conditioned. The proposal was discussed in a meeting that was attended by, among other senior officials, the marketing director, the personnel director and the finance director. The proposal was based on the fact that the shop floor of the mill often had temperatures in excess of 40°C with a relative humidity of 99%. The air-conditioned mess would represent management's appreciation of the employee's hard work.
At the end of 2005, management reviewed the mill's performance. Profits were higher, and employee attrition was negligible. Chairman decided that employees deserved additional recognition for their fine work. Since the mess had already been air-conditioned, the chairman wanted to know if the employees appreciated this sort of action. In the course of discussion, the chairman asked the personnel director to send a questionnaire to a sample of fifty employees and obtain their reaction to the air-conditioned mess. The management agreed to decide only after obtaining the feedback from the employees.
The personnel director mailed a simple form to fifty employees asked them for the following information: "Please state your reaction to the air-conditioned mess."
Of the fifty forms mailed, forty-six were returned. The answers received were as follows:

Q. Management of Top-Cloth cotton mill considers itself to be socially conscious and its decisions are often re–examined for their social relevance and the impact on society. In view of this consideration, what could have been considered before deciding on profit sharing?
A. communicating management's intentions via employee newsletters
B. taking employee's inputs in designing the cafeteria's interiors and installation of air- conditioning
C. considering employee's views on different ways of sharing excess profits
D. investing in capacity expansion to take care of the booming export market
E. dividing the profits equally among the workers and shareholders
The options in decreasing order of their impact on society:

DIRECTION for the question: Read the following information and choose the best alternative:

The year 2004 was a great year for Top-Cloth cotton mill. Manufacturing towels for the export market employing more than 2000 workers, the company had an impressive growth in sales and profits. The Chairman felt that employees were entitled to a share in the profits and it was proposed that the employee mess be air-conditioned. The proposal was discussed in a meeting that was attended by, among other senior officials, the marketing director, the personnel director and the finance director. The proposal was based on the fact that the shop floor of the mill often had temperatures in excess of 40°C with a relative humidity of 99%. The air-conditioned mess would represent management's appreciation of the employee's hard work.
At the end of 2005, management reviewed the mill's performance. Profits were higher, and employee attrition was negligible. Chairman decided that employees deserved additional recognition for their fine work. Since the mess had already been air-conditioned, the chairman wanted to know if the employees appreciated this sort of action. In the course of discussion, the chairman asked the personnel director to send a questionnaire to a sample of fifty employees and obtain their reaction to the air-conditioned mess. The management agreed to decide only after obtaining the feedback from the employees.
The personnel director mailed a simple form to fifty employees asked them for the following information: "Please state your reaction to the air-conditioned mess."
Of the fifty forms mailed, forty-six were returned. The answers received were as follows:

Q. This decision-making situation best highlights

Three truck drivers, Amar, Akbar and Anthony stop at a road side eating joint. Amar orders 10 rotis, 4 plates of tadka, and a cup of tea. Akbar orders 7 rotis, 3 plates of tadka, and a cup of tea. Amar pays Rs. 80 for the meal and Akbar pays Rs. 60. Meanwhile, Anthony orders 5 rotis, 5 plates of tadka and 5 cups of tea. How much (in Rs.) will Anthony pay?

Nikhil's mother asks him to buy 100 pieces of sweets worth Rs. 100/-. The sweet shop has 3 kinds of sweets, kajubarfi, gulabjamun and sandesh. Kajubarfi costs Rs. 10/- per piece, gulabjamun costs Rs. 3/- per piece and sandesh costs 50 paise per piece. If Nikhil decides to buy at least one sweet of each type, how many gulabjamuns should he buy?

Suresh, who runs a bakery, uses a conical shaped equipment to write decorative labels (e.g., Happy Birthday etc.) using cream. The height of this equipment is 7 cm and the diameter of the base is 5 mm. A full charge of the equipment will write 330 words on an average. How many words can be written using three fifth of a litre of cream?

A spherical metal of radius 10 cm is molten and made into 1000 smaller spheres of equal sizes. In this process the surface area of the metal is increased by:

For how many triplets (A, B and C), the identity Sin²A + Sin² B = Sin² C is possible, where A, B and C are the three interior angles of ∆ABC?

Tina, Mina, Gina, Lina, and Bina are 5 sisters, aged in that order, with Tina being the eldest. Each of them had to carry a bucket of water from a well to their house. Their buckets' capacities were proportional to their ages. While returning, equal amount of water got splashed out of their buckets. Who lost maximum amount of water as a percentage of the bucket capacity?

DIRECTION for the question: Analyse the graph/s given below and answer the question that follows.

Following is a data about a financial company which lends out money on interest for 3 years. On failure to return the money after the stipulated period the borrower has to pay a fine of 1% per annum on the borrowed amount.


The money borrowed in 1997 was returned a year later than the due date.

Q. If the interest rate would have been 12% throughout, what would the total earnings for 1998 and 1999 be?

DIRECTION for the question: Analyse the graph/s given below and answer the question that follows.

Following is a data about a financial company which lends out money on interest for 3 years. On failure to return the money after the stipulated period the borrower has to pay a fine of 1% per annum on the borrowed amount.


The money borrowed in 1997 was returned a year later than the due date.

Q. What was earning in 2000?

DIRECTION for the question: Analyse the graph/s given below and answer the question that follows.

Following is a data about a financial company which lends out money on interest for 3 years. On failure to return the money after the stipulated period the borrower has to pay a fine of 1% per annum on the borrowed amount.


The money borrowed in 1997 was returned a year later than the due date.

Q. If the amount lent out in 1997 would have been 20 instead of 40. What would be the difference in the interest earned in 1998. All other terms remaining the same?

Percent profit earned when an article is sold for Rs. 558/- is double the percent profit earned when the same article is sold for Rs. 504/-. If the marked price of the article is 30% above the cost price, what is the marked price of the article?

DIRECTION for the question: Answer the following question on the state of affairs of Indian economy using the data given in the following table:

Q. In which year, India witnessed highest annual growth rate in GDP based on PPP valuation?

DIRECTION for the question: Answer the following question on the state of affairs of Indian economy using the data given in the following table:

Q. From the year 2003 to 2006, highest annual rate of inflation is roughly equal to

DIRECTION for the question: Answer the following question on the state of affairs of Indian economy using the data given in the following table:

Q. From year 2003 to 2006, growth rate of population in India was highest in

Rahim plans to drive from city A to station C, at the speed of 70 km per hour, to catch a train arriving there from B. He must reach C at least 15 minutes before the arrival of the train. The train leaves B, located 500 km south of A, at 8:00 am and travels at a speed of 50 km per hour. It is known that C is located between west and northwest of B, with BC at 60° to AB. Also, C is located between south and southwest of A with AC at 30° to AB. The latest time by which Rahim must leave A and still catch the train is closest to

DIRECTION for the question: The question below is followed by two statements marked I and II. Mark as your answer.

What is the highest and lowest number in a series if the series has 10 members?

I. The average of the top 9 numbers is 50
II. The average of the bottom 9 numbers is 30

Rajesh walks to and fro to a shopping mall. He spends 30 minutes shopping. If he walks at speed of 10 km an hour, he returns to home at 19.00 hours. If he walks at 15 km an hour, he returns to home at 18.30 hours. How fast must he walk in order to return home at 18.15 hours?

DIRECTION for the question: Analyse the graph/s given below and answer the question that follows.

Q. What was the approximate average of obese men, obese women and obese children in the year 2007?

DIRECTION for the question: Analyse the graph/s given below and answer the question that follows.

Q. The number of obese men in the year 2009 were what percent of the men not suffering from obesity in the same year?

DIRECTION for the question: Analyse the graph/s given below and answer the question that follows.

Q. What was the respective ratio of the obese women in the year 2006 to the obese men in the year 2008?

DIRECTION for the question: Analyse the graph/s given below and answer the question that follows.

Q. What is the difference between the number of obese women and obese children together in the year 2006 and the number of obese men in the same year?

How many differently shaped triangles exist in which no two sides are of the same length, each side is of integral unit length and the perimeter of the triangle is less than 14 units?

ABCD is a square with sides of length 10 units. OCD is an isosceles triangle with base CD. OC cuts AB at point Q and OD cuts AB at point P. The area of trapezoid PQCD is 80 square units. The altitude from O of the triangle OPQ is:

Company BELIANCE hosted a party for 8 members of Company AXIAL. In the party no member of AXIAL had interacted with more than three members of BELIANCE. Out of all the members of BELIANCE, three members – each interacted with four members of AXIAL and the remaining members – each interacted with two members of AXIAL. The greatest possible number of members of company BELIANCE in the party is:

DIRECTION for the question: Solve the following question and mark the best possible option.

Find the remainder when 1 × 2 + 2 × 3 + 3 × 4 + . . . . . . + 98 × 99 + 99 × 100 is divided by 101.

Steel Express stops at six stations between Howrah and Jamshedpur. Five passengers board at Howrah. Each passenger can get down at any station till Jamshedpur. The probability that all five persons will get down at different stations is:

DIRECTION for the question: Solve the following question and mark the best possible option.

A police inspector spots a thief standing 7 km away from him on a straight road aligned in East West direction. The inspector is standing on the eastern side while the thief is on the western side of the road. On spotting the inspector the thief takes his bicycle and tries to cut across the adjoining field by riding away with a uniform speed of 9√2 km/hour in a director making an angle of 45º with the road towards North-East. The inspector starts with his scooter at the same instance to move with a uniform velocity 15 km/hour and catches the thief.

Q. Time taken by the inspector to catch the thief is:

DIRECTION for the question: Solve the following question and mark the best possible option.

A police inspector spots a thief standing 7 km away from him on a straight road aligned in East West direction. The inspector is standing on the eastern side while the thief is on the western side of the road. On spotting the inspector the thief takes his bicycle and tries to cut across the adjoining field by riding away with a uniform speed of 9√2 km/hour in a director making an angle of 45º with the road towards North-East. The inspector starts with his scooter at the same instance to move with a uniform velocity 15 km/hour and catches the thief.

Q. The distance the inspector has to travel is:

One side of a rectangular field is 9cm and one of its diagonals is 41 cm. Find the perimeter of the field.

A tax based on the value of the property/product is called

When a country decides to conduct trade on favorable terms with another country for mutual benefits, this is called:

Which of the followings are millennium development goals?

Which air pollution control device has recently launched by the Union Government for traffic junctions?

Approximately half of all anaemia cases worldwide are found to be caused due to_________

'Lee Kuan Yew' who recently died at the age of 91, was the founder and first Premier of

The Sun' is a daily tabloid newspaper published in _______

'Dublin' is the national capital of the _______

According to the recent data compiled by the World Steel Association (WSA), India is ranked as

How many smart cities have been announced in India?

Which of the following organizations has agreed to give a financial aid of US $ 4.3 billion to India to help it in eliminating poverty?

Which of the following is one of the major functions of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)?

The 'Patagonian Desert' is situated in __________

The National Automated Clearing House (NACH) is operated by _______

Name the legendary Indian actor and playwright who passed away recently at the age of 81 in Bengaluru. 

The 'Bibi ka Maqbara' built by Azam Shah, son of Aurangzeb, in 1678, in memory of his mother, Diras Banu Begum, is situated in the Indian city of _________.

Which of the following has surpassed Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to become the most valued firm by market capitalization (m-cap) at Rs 8,11,048.27-crore?

Aggressive pricing is associated with which  of the following stage of product life cycle?

Stainless steel is an alloy of —

Which of the following items was recently freed from attracting Goods & Service Tax (GST)?

DIRECTION for the question:  Mark the best option:

Read the following statements carefully–

I. Excise duty is a tax on manufacture or production of goods and services.
II. Not all kinds of excise duty is collected by the Central Government in India.
III. Excise duty is an indirect tax.

Q. Which of the statements given above are correct?

Which of the following was NOT an objective of the Antyodaya Anna Yojana introduced in 2000 in India?

Which of following is wrongly matched?

Who the author of the book titled “The Modi Doctrine: New Paradigms in India's Foreign Policy”

In which year the evil practice of "Sati" was prohibited?