Section C – Decision Making

 

Answer question nos. 72 – 74 on the basis of the information given in the following case.

 

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

 

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

       During the last three months Dev has considered different candidates for the post. The backgrounds of the candidates is given in the table below.

 

Name

Age

Educational Qualification

Experience

Expected Salary (`)

Remarks

Sunder

32

Post graduate

Seven years of driving experience

18,000 per month

Ex-employers are highly satisfied. Their only concern is about his tendency to switch jobs after every six months. Enjoys the newness in every job but tends to lose interest after six months. Not willing to commit for any more than six months

Mani

23

Studied up to Standard IX

One year

8,000 per month

Claims to have more than one year of experience, but can’t provide any certificate to substantiate it. He has received a hike of ` 2,000 last month on account of his good performance as a driver.

Chintan

44

Graduate

20 years

20,000 per month

Working as a driver for the last one year after losing his previous job of a stenographer. He has been forced to take up the job of a driver.

Bal Singh

40

Literate

More than 20 years

15,000 per month

Cousin of Ram Singh. Substituted Ram as Dev’s driver whenever Ram was on leave. Currently working as a driver with Dev’s in-laws. Strongly recommended by Ram. His knowledge and contacts in the firm is as good as Ram’s.

Chethan

38

Standard XII

10 years

12,000 per month

Working as a temporary driver with Dev’s major competitor for the last three years. The competitor has offered Chethan’s service to Dev on a temporary basis. Chethan has also expressed his willingness to work on a long term basis, provided he is given an annual increment of ` 500, which is reasonable as per the market condition.

 

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

 

72.  From his perspective, and taking into account the family’s concerns, Mr. Dev would like to have

 

       A.    Chethan             

       B.    Chintan

       C.   Bal Singh           

       D.   Mani     

       E.    Sunder

 

Explanation:

       As Mr.Dev is looking for a stable and trustworthy driver as a replacement for Ram, and as the family members do not want a young driver, Mr.Ram would like to have Bal Singh who is middle aged with lots of experience and has proved to be an effective replacement for Ram Singh earlier, whenever Ram Singh was on leave.                                                                                                                  Choice (C)

 

73.  In order to resolve the conflicting preferences, one of Dev’s friends suggested Dev, his family members and the HR manager to identify their most and the least preferred candidates without considering the concerns of other stakeholders.

 

I.     Dev’s most and least preferred candidates: Bal Singh and Chethan respectively.

II.    Family members’ most and least preferred candidates: Bal Singh and Chintan respectively

III.   HR manager’s most and least preferred candidates: Chethan and Bal Singh respectively.

 

       Which of the above three statements is/are in conformity with the information provided in the passage?

 

       A.    Option I              

       B.    Option II

       C.   Options I and II 

       D.   Options II and III

       E.    Options I, II and III

 

Explanation:

       The least preferred candidate of the family members would be Mani as he is young and has very little experience. For the HR manager, as Chetan’s services have been offered on a temporary basis he would rule him out as the most preferred candidate. So only statement I is in conformity with the information provided in the passage.                                                                                               Choice (A)

 

74.  Who among the following five candidates is most likely to be rejected by GM (HR)?

 

       A.    Chethan             

       B.    Chintan

       C.   Bal Singh           

       D.   Mani

       E.    Sunder

 

Explanation:

       As the HR manager needs to ensure that the selection of a new driver does not lead to discontent among senior employees of the firm, he is most likely to reject Bal Singh.                                                                                                                                                                Choice (C)