Decision Making – Saradeep was the proprietor of Saradeep & Sons Pvt
XAT 2021 Exam Paper – Decision Making – Saradeep was the proprietor of Saradeep & Sons Pvt
Read the following scenario and answer the three questions that follow.
Saradeep was the proprietor of Saradeep & Sons Pvt. Ltd., an auto parts manufacturing
company. He had three children–Taapsi, Kesar and Sandeep. His wife passed away when
Sandeep, the youngest kid of the family, was only eight years old. Taapsi, being the eldest
sibling, was more of a mother to Kesar and Sandeep.
Taapsi and Kesar joined Saradeep’s business right after college because Saradeep trusted
them immensely. He once told Kesar, “I want key positions to be held by the people I trust.”
Saradeep wanted Sandeep also to join his business like Kesar and Taapsi. Saradeep felt that
Sandeep had a strong business sense, probably the best among his three children. Hence,
Saradeep wanted Sandeep to take his higher education in business studies. However,
Sandeep had other aspirations; he wanted to become a lawyer. Of late, he was offered
admission to the prestigious National Law School, Bengaluru. As soon as he received the
admission offer, he rushed to share this news with his family members.
Q.1 Sandeep shared the news of the admission offer first with Kesar, who exhibited mixed
feelings. He was happy for Sandeep’s admission to the National Law School;
nevertheless, he was concerned about their father’s reaction. Moreover, Saradeep had
an anxiety attack a few months back and was working from their family mansion in
Shimla. Kesar advised Sandeep to delay sharing his selection news with their father.
Which of the following, if true, will BEST enable Sandeep share the news with
Saradeep without delay?
A. Saradeep did not talk to Sandeep for weeks, because he did not get the news of
Sandeep’s bike accident immediately from him.
B. Saradeep regarded Law as a respectable profession.
C. Since childhood, Sandeep, before going to bed, usually shared all happenings of
the day with Saradeep.
D. Kesar had always been paranoid about his family ever since the untimely demise of
his mother.
E. Even after the anxiety attack, Saradeep walked four kilometres daily
Q.2 Saradeep requested Kesar to decide on the head of a new manufacturing plant. The
plant and its culture had to be moulded in the same way as their other plants. Kesar
wanted to identify a candidate, acceptable to Saradeep.
Which of the following candidates is the BEST choice for the position?
A. Taapsi, who headed another plant which was two hours away from the new plant,
could be requested to take the additional charge.
B. Sandeep who had about ten months left to join the National Law School.
C. Suhasini, an MBA graduate and Kesar’s wife, who had been a homemaker for
fifteen years.
D. Surendra, the deputy head of their largest plant, who had been with them for thirty
years, and would retire in seven years.
E. Dhanush, the most technically qualified employee, who joined the organisation three
years back, straight from college.
Q.3 Kesar was also concerned about Taapsi’s reaction to Sandeep joining the National Law
School. She wanted to be a fashion designer; however, Saradeep dissuaded her from
doing anything other than production engineering. She was very upset with her
father’s decision back then; nevertheless, over time, she became a staunch supporter
of her father’s values and beliefs. Currently, she headed one of the plants, which also
happened to be the best run company plant. Kesar felt that she would not take
Sandeep’s decision well; she might try to prevent Sandeep from pursuing higher
studies in Law.
Which of the following, if true, will BEST assuage Kesar’s fear regarding Taapsi?
A. Taapsi, in a marked departure from family tradition, was fully supported by her
family when she decided to marry her batchmate, soon after college.
B. Taapsi mentored an online start-up, dedicated to women’s fashion, in her free time.
C. Taapsi, in a fashion school convocation speech, said that she still harboured a
dream of quitting the family business for becoming a fashion designer.
D. Taapsi gifted Sandeep a sports bike on his 19th birthday even when Saradeep was
completely against it.
E. When Sandeep was eight, he supported Taapsi’s desire to pursue fashion
designing.