List of top Decision Making Questions on Analytical Decision Making asked in XAT

Directions for Q125-129: The following set of questions is based on a decision-making situation described below. Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

Ram Kumar, an overworked executive in Delhi, has to decide on the travel plan for attending his friend's marriage in Ajmer, Rajasthan. He has barely managed to get leave from his boss, so he must make sure he reaches Ajmer at least on the day of the marriage. Since it had been a while since his last break, he also planned to visit a few tourist spots along the way to de-stress after a year of demanding work.

As per his plan, Ram would start from Delhi and first visit the Bharatpur bird sanctuary, staying at the forest guest house for some time. He would then travel to Jodhpur for a day or two of sightseeing, and from Jodhpur move to Jaipur to spend a few days visiting the city. After that he would travel on to Ajmer, where his friend's wedding would take place.

Leg 1, Delhi to Bharatpur (bus, taxi or train, all three taking 12 hours): the probability of reaching on time is 0.65 by bus, 0.75 by taxi and 0.9 by train.
Leg 2, Bharatpur to Jodhpur (train, bus or private taxi): the probability of reaching on time is 0.9 by train (12 hours), 0.8 by bus (16 hours) and 0.85 by taxi (14 hours).
Leg 3, Jodhpur to Jaipur (flight, train, bus or taxi): the probability of reaching on time is 0.85 by flight (2 hours), 0.9 by train (10 hours), 0.65 by bus (15 hours) and 0.7 by taxi (15 hours).
Leg 4, Jaipur to Ajmer (train, bus or taxi): the probability of reaching on time is 0.75 by train (4 hours), 0.55 by bus (5 hours) and 0.55 by taxi (5 hours).

Since both Jaipur and Jodhpur have airports, Ram could also fly directly from Delhi to either city, or use a flight partway along with a combination of land transport.

Q127. Ram's younger brother Shyam gets to know of Ram's travel plans and wants to come along. Unlike Ram, Shyam enjoys the scenery en route and wants Ram to maximise the total travel time. To do this, the itinerary Ram should decide on is:

I. Delhi to Bharatpur by train; Bharatpur to Jodhpur by bus; Jodhpur to Jaipur by bus; Jaipur to Ajmer by bus
II. Delhi to Bharatpur by bus; Bharatpur to Jodhpur by bus; Jodhpur to Jaipur by taxi; Jaipur to Ajmer by taxi
III. Delhi to Bharatpur by bus; Bharatpur to Jodhpur by bus; Jodhpur to Jaipur by bus; Jaipur to Ajmer by bus
IV. Delhi to Bharatpur by taxi; Bharatpur to Jodhpur by bus; Jodhpur to Jaipur by taxi; Jaipur to Ajmer by bus
V. Delhi to Bharatpur by taxi; Bharatpur to Jodhpur by taxi; Jodhpur to Jaipur by taxi; Jaipur to Ajmer by taxi

Directions for Q125-129: The following set of questions is based on a decision-making situation described below. Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

Ram Kumar, an overworked executive in Delhi, has to decide on the travel plan for attending his friend's marriage in Ajmer, Rajasthan. He has barely managed to get leave from his boss, so he must make sure he reaches Ajmer at least on the day of the marriage. Since it had been a while since his last break, he also planned to visit a few tourist spots along the way to de-stress after a year of demanding work.

As per his plan, Ram would start from Delhi and first visit the Bharatpur bird sanctuary, staying at the forest guest house for some time. He would then travel to Jodhpur for a day or two of sightseeing, and from Jodhpur move to Jaipur to spend a few days visiting the city. After that he would travel on to Ajmer, where his friend's wedding would take place.

Leg 1, Delhi to Bharatpur (bus, taxi or train, all three taking 12 hours): the probability of reaching on time is 0.65 by bus, 0.75 by taxi and 0.9 by train.
Leg 2, Bharatpur to Jodhpur (train, bus or private taxi): the probability of reaching on time is 0.9 by train (12 hours), 0.8 by bus (16 hours) and 0.85 by taxi (14 hours).
Leg 3, Jodhpur to Jaipur (flight, train, bus or taxi): the probability of reaching on time is 0.85 by flight (2 hours), 0.9 by train (10 hours), 0.65 by bus (15 hours) and 0.7 by taxi (15 hours).
Leg 4, Jaipur to Ajmer (train, bus or taxi): the probability of reaching on time is 0.75 by train (4 hours), 0.55 by bus (5 hours) and 0.55 by taxi (5 hours).

Since both Jaipur and Jodhpur have airports, Ram could also fly directly from Delhi to either city, or use a flight partway along with a combination of land transport.

Ram's statistically minded friend Rocky feels that Ram should not use just one criterion to decide on a plan. "Decision making has to bring in all the criteria together. That is what makes a decision sound," Rocky said.

"How do I do that?" Ram asked. "Simple," said Rocky. "Give a weight to each criterion, multiply the value of each criterion by its weight, and add up the products for each option."

Rocky explained with an example: "For each option there are two criteria, the probability of not making it to the wedding and the travel time. The probability of not reaching on time is 1 minus the probability of reaching on time. Say you hate the thought of missing the wedding after all this effort, so give that criterion a weight of 80%. You also want to keep the travel time low, so give that a weight of 20%. For each option, add up (value of each criterion times its weight) and compare the totals across options. Pick the option with the lowest total."

"That simple?" Ram asked. "Well, it is, for a start," Rocky admitted.

Q128. As the foggy winter conditions continue, flights out of Delhi remain uncertain and unreliable. Using Rocky's elementary decision-making framework, which of the following itineraries should Ram adopt?

Directions for Q125-129: The following set of questions is based on a decision-making situation described below. Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

Ram Kumar, an overworked executive in Delhi, has to decide on the travel plan for attending his friend's marriage in Ajmer, Rajasthan. He has barely managed to get leave from his boss, so he must make sure he reaches Ajmer at least on the day of the marriage. Since it had been a while since his last break, he also planned to visit a few tourist spots along the way to de-stress after a year of demanding work.

As per his plan, Ram would start from Delhi and first visit the Bharatpur bird sanctuary, staying at the forest guest house for some time. He would then travel to Jodhpur for a day or two of sightseeing, and from Jodhpur move to Jaipur to spend a few days visiting the city. After that he would travel on to Ajmer, where his friend's wedding would take place.

Leg 1, Delhi to Bharatpur (bus, taxi or train, all three taking 12 hours): the probability of reaching on time is 0.65 by bus, 0.75 by taxi and 0.9 by train.
Leg 2, Bharatpur to Jodhpur (train, bus or private taxi): the probability of reaching on time is 0.9 by train (12 hours), 0.8 by bus (16 hours) and 0.85 by taxi (14 hours).
Leg 3, Jodhpur to Jaipur (flight, train, bus or taxi): the probability of reaching on time is 0.85 by flight (2 hours), 0.9 by train (10 hours), 0.65 by bus (15 hours) and 0.7 by taxi (15 hours).
Leg 4, Jaipur to Ajmer (train, bus or taxi): the probability of reaching on time is 0.75 by train (4 hours), 0.55 by bus (5 hours) and 0.55 by taxi (5 hours).

Since both Jaipur and Jodhpur have airports, Ram could also fly directly from Delhi to either city, or use a flight partway along with a combination of land transport.

Ram's statistically minded friend Rocky feels that Ram should not use just one criterion to decide on a plan. "Decision making has to bring in all the criteria together. That is what makes a decision sound," Rocky said.

"How do I do that?" Ram asked. "Simple," said Rocky. "Give a weight to each criterion, multiply the value of each criterion by its weight, and add up the products for each option."

Rocky explained with an example: "For each option there are two criteria, the probability of not making it to the wedding and the travel time. The probability of not reaching on time is 1 minus the probability of reaching on time. Say you hate the thought of missing the wedding after all this effort, so give that criterion a weight of 80%. You also want to keep the travel time low, so give that a weight of 20%. For each option, add up (value of each criterion times its weight) and compare the totals across options. Pick the option with the lowest total."

"That simple?" Ram asked. "Well, it is, for a start," Rocky admitted.

For reference, the five itineraries under discussion (labelled A to E on the x-axis of each bar chart) are:
A: Delhi to Bharatpur by train; Bharatpur to Jodhpur by taxi; Jodhpur to Jaipur by bus; Jaipur to Ajmer by train
B: Delhi to Bharatpur by taxi; Bharatpur to Jodhpur by train; Jodhpur to Jaipur by flight; Jaipur to Ajmer by train
C: Delhi to Bharatpur by train; Bharatpur to Jodhpur by train; Jodhpur to Jaipur by train; Jaipur to Ajmer by train
D: Delhi to Bharatpur by train; Bharatpur to Jodhpur by taxi; Jodhpur to Jaipur by train; Jaipur to Ajmer by train
E: Delhi to Bharatpur by train; Bharatpur to Jodhpur by bus; Jodhpur to Jaipur by flight; Jaipur to Ajmer by train

Q129. Of the diagrams given as options, which one best represents the contribution of each of the two criteria to the overall score, for each of the five itineraries A to E listed above, where the bottom portion of each bar shows the contribution of the probability of NOT reaching the destination on time, and the top portion shows the contribution of travel time?

Directions: Each group of questions in this section is based on a set of conditions. Choose the response that most accurately and completely answers each question.

(Questions 108 to 112): Krishnapuram's town council has exactly three members: Arjun, Karn, and Bhim. During one week, the council members vote on exactly three bills: a recreation bill, a school bill, and a tax bill. Each council member votes either for or against each bill. The following is known:

• Each member of the council votes for at least one of the bills and against at least one of the bills.
• Exactly two members of the council vote for the recreation bill.
• Exactly one member of the council votes for the school bill.
• Exactly one member of the council votes for the tax bill.
• Arjun votes for the recreation bill and against the school bill.
• Karn votes against the recreation bill.
• Bhim votes against the tax bill.

112. If one of the members of the council votes against exactly the same bills as does another member of the council, then which one of the following statements must be true?

(Questions 115 to 117): The year 2004 was a great year for Top-Cloth cotton mill. Manufacturing towels for the export market and 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 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 degrees C with a relative humidity of 99%. The air-conditioned mess would represent management's appreciation of the employees' hard work.

At the end of 2005, management reviewed the mill's performance. Profits were higher, and employee attrition was negligible. The 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, asking 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:

Reaction	Frequency
"I did not know it was air-conditioned."	16
"I never eat there"	8
"If management can spend money like that, they should pay us more"	6
"I wish the entire mill was air-conditioned."	8
"The mess is for management employees."	4
"It is OK."	2
Miscellaneous comments	2

116. Management of Top-Cloth cotton mill considers itself to be socially conscious, and its decisions are often re-examined for their social relevance and their 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 employees' inputs in designing the cafeteria's interiors and installation of air-conditioning
C. considering employees' 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:

Directions: Each group of questions is based on a set of conditions. Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

A retail electronics chain has six new mobile phone models, T, V, W, X, Y and Z. Each model comes with at least one of three options: digital camera, music player and office document viewer. No model has any other option. The following conditions apply:

• V has both a digital camera and an office document viewer.
• W has a digital camera and a music player.
• W and Y have no options in common.
• V and Z have exactly one option in common.
• T has fewer options than Z.

For this question only, replace the rule "X has more options than W" with this new rule: "X and W have exactly two options in common." All the other rules above still apply.

Which one of the following must be false?

Directions: Each group of questions is based on a set of conditions. Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

Krishnapuram's town council has exactly three members: Arjun, Karn and Bhim. During one week the council votes on exactly three bills: a recreation bill, a school bill and a tax bill. Each member votes either for or against each bill. The following is known:

• Each member votes for at least one of the bills and against at least one of the bills.
• Exactly two members vote for the recreation bill.
• Exactly one member votes for the school bill.
• Exactly one member votes for the tax bill.
• Arjun votes for the recreation bill and against the school bill.
• Karn votes against the recreation bill.
• Bhim votes against the tax bill.

Which one of the following statements could be true?

Directions: Each group of questions is based on a set of conditions. Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

Krishnapuram's town council has exactly three members: Arjun, Karn and Bhim. During one week the council votes on exactly three bills: a recreation bill, a school bill and a tax bill. Each member votes either for or against each bill. The following is known:

• Each member votes for at least one of the bills and against at least one of the bills.
• Exactly two members vote for the recreation bill.
• Exactly one member votes for the school bill.
• Exactly one member votes for the tax bill.
• Arjun votes for the recreation bill and against the school bill.
• Karn votes against the recreation bill.
• Bhim votes against the tax bill.

If the set of members of the council who vote against the school bill are the only ones who also vote against the tax bill, then which one of the following statements must be true?

Directions: Each group of questions is based on a set of conditions. Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

Krishnapuram's town council has exactly three members: Arjun, Karn and Bhim. During one week the council votes on exactly three bills: a recreation bill, a school bill and a tax bill. Each member votes either for or against each bill. The following is known:

• Each member votes for at least one of the bills and against at least one of the bills.
• Exactly two members vote for the recreation bill.
• Exactly one member votes for the school bill.
• Exactly one member votes for the tax bill.
• Arjun votes for the recreation bill and against the school bill.
• Karn votes against the recreation bill.
• Bhim votes against the tax bill.

If Karn votes for the tax bill, then which one of the following statements could be true?

Directions: Each group of questions is based on a set of conditions. Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

Krishnapuram's town council has exactly three members: Arjun, Karn and Bhim. During one week the council votes on exactly three bills: a recreation bill, a school bill and a tax bill. Each member votes either for or against each bill. The following is known:

• Each member votes for at least one of the bills and against at least one of the bills.
• Exactly two members vote for the recreation bill.
• Exactly one member votes for the school bill.
• Exactly one member votes for the tax bill.
• Arjun votes for the recreation bill and against the school bill.
• Karn votes against the recreation bill.
• Bhim votes against the tax bill.

If Karn votes for exactly two of the three bills, which one of the following statements must be true?

Directions: Each group of questions is based on a set of conditions. Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

A retail electronics chain has six new mobile phone models, T, V, W, X, Y and Z. Each model comes with at least one of three options: digital camera, music player and office document viewer. No model has any other option. The following conditions apply:

• V has both a digital camera and an office document viewer.
• W has a digital camera and a music player.
• W and Y have no options in common.
• X has more options than W.
• V and Z have exactly one option in common.
• T has fewer options than Z.

Suppose no two mobile phone models have exactly the same set of options as one another. In that case, each of the following could be true EXCEPT:

Directions: Each group of questions is based on a set of conditions. Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

A retail electronics chain has six new mobile phone models, T, V, W, X, Y and Z. Each model comes with at least one of three options: digital camera, music player and office document viewer. No model has any other option. The following conditions apply:

• V has both a digital camera and an office document viewer.
• W has a digital camera and a music player.
• W and Y have no options in common.
• X has more options than W.
• V and Z have exactly one option in common.
• T has fewer options than Z.

If exactly four of the six mobile phones have music player, and exactly four of the six mobile phones have digital camera, then each of the following must be true EXCEPT: