Section B : Decision Making

The Decision Making section continues to be a test of one's ability in critical analysis, application of logic and common sense and keenness of observation in problem solving. This section has been the key differentiator of XAT and measures up to the standards we have come to expect from the exam. The section had roughly 6-7 easy questions. However it would have been a challenge to identify those.

The following questions had particularly close answer choices and had to be thought through very carefully:

Set: Mohan's fast food joint
Q: Opinions from consultants - One would be confused between options (A) and (D). However, if we observe statement V, we understand that organic vegetables are not easily available. Had the vegetables not been available at all then it would be a different matter. However, as a premium restaurant, one can expect the business to go the extra mile to procure the raw material and therefore it would not be an important decision making criteria.

Set: Disciplinary committee of NPP
Q: Immediate political career of Mr. Loyal: Choice (A) might seem to offer immediate benefit by allowing Mr. Loyal to contest and possibly win the election. However, it would be unethical on his part to quit his party to quit the party because he has not been given a seat. And no matter what the return, he should not compromise on his ethics. Therefore chocie (C) would be the correct thing to do.

Set: MBA Entrance Exam
Q: Various proposals to best identify entrepreneurial mind-set: Proposal I would not be suitable as the cut-off percentile is calculated on the combined scores of two parts and not on individual parts. It is possible that an individual may score very high marks in the first section and clear the cut-off without getting a good score in the second part. By similar reasoning proposal III can also be discarded.

Set: Innovative Institute of Business (IIB)
Q: Sequence of actions to reduce carbon footprint: One would be confused between options (D) and (E). A seminar would take lesser time to conduct, create greater awareness and can help in generating more ideas towards the said objective and therefore should take precedence over replacement of electricity sources.

The cutoff for the section could be around 7 marks. Ideal time allocation for the section would be around 50 min