List of top Decision Making Questions asked in XAT

Sundaram Stores operated in a gated community, situated about 30 Kilometers away from the main town. The store owner Mr. Sundareswaran Pichaimuthu, or Sundaram as he was called by everyone, secured a space in the gated society through a competitive bidding process. The residents’ association, led by Mr. Thangamoorthy Selvaganapathy, selected Sundaram over three other bidders, based on his willingness to pay the highest rent. Desperate to augment his post-retirement income, Sundaram agreed to pay a very high rent, banking on the prospect of generating exceptional revenue from the gated community. 
Sundaram was awarded the contract to establish the store, with provisions for a review every three years. Feeling elated during the meeting with the residents’ association to finalize the contract, he enthusiastically committed to offering a 15% discount on all groceries and stationary, cementing goodwill and reinforcing the partnership established through the contract. The association was delightedly taken aback by his generous assurance. Sundaram hoped to make up the difference through volume.
Although his sales were strong during the initial months, he soon realized that the SUV-owning residents of the gated community primarily made their purchases at large, branded retail chains in the main town. These stores offered deeper discounts, which he could not afford to compete with. However, gradually, Sundaram store became their go-to store for daily essentials and occasional urgent big purchases such as replacing a broken mixer-grinder.

Humane Dynamix is a leadership training organization based in Mumbai. Established in 2015, the organization is gradually becoming a leader in behavioral training. In the organization, trainers are assigned to training projects based on their expertise. Corporates seek behavioral training services on a regular basis, from Humane Dynamix, for upskilling their executives. Humane Dynamix is headed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), to whom the Training Assignment Officer (TAO) reports. The TAO position rotates among the senior trainers for a fixed tenure; the CEO assigns this position to a senior trainer.
Companies, desirous of hiring Humane Dynamix, share their training needs with the organization. The TAO assigns a trainer to the client. Typically, the satisfied client requests for a particular trainer that the client is satisfied, giving repeat business to Humane Dynamix from the same client company. However, the TAO takes the nal call. Years of training experience plays a big role in client satisfaction, and hence, senior trainers conduct most training programs while the newly recruited trainers apprentice with them. However, the senior trainers have the autonomy to decide on who they want to accept as an apprentice..
Further, during a training program, the senior trainer takes most of the sessions, if not all, while the apprentice helps the senior trainers to organize their sessions, and occasionally take a few sessions. As the apprentices gain experience, they start getting their own independent projects, but that typically takes quite some time..
Dheeraj, a senior trainer, takes over as the TAO. As soon as he assumes the office, the CEO shares a concern with him: “We have a lot of young trainers who we have recently recruited. Since they are not known to the outside world, they do not get enough opportunities. Many of them are impatient to prove their mettle. Unless they are assigned more programs, we risk losing them rapidly.”

KindCare hospital, located in the small industrial town of Chinar, is one of the largest hospitals within 50 kilometers radius. It is well-regarded among the locals for emergency services.
However, for critical surgeries, they prefer to travel to the nearest city Shamili, which is 100 kilometers away. When KindCare was established 50 years ago, the town was still in its early stages of development. 
Consequently, the hospital needed to incorporate several facilities within its premises, including a 24-hour cafeteria, to accommodate needs of the patients and their relatives who would come from nearby places. Another facility that KindCare built and takes pride in is its state-of-the-art testing lab. It is the most sought after testing lab in Chinar even today when many independent labs have come up around KindCare. Moreover, many other facilities have also come up in the surrounding area of the hospital such as pharmacies, food joints, hotels etc. Further, a standalone pharmacy chain has gained a strong foothold in Chinar as they expand their reach into Tier-3 cities.
When it comes to KindCare, a signi cant proportion of its patients are outpatients with a substantial number seeking emergency services. As the sole 600-bed hospital in the region, KindCare plays a crucial role in medical services, and receives generous funding from two major corporations operating locally, further enabling KindCare to cater to the growing medical needs of the community.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, KindCare made signi cant investment in enhancing internet connectivity, enabling many doctors, and the majority of administrative staff, to seamlessly work remotely. This investment also allowed KindCare to bring in doctors from other cities through remote care.
Further, COVID-19 was a wakeup call for KindCare to enhance their infrastructure. Though KindCare made signi cant improvements, they kept the major renovations on hold due to the constant ow of patients. KindCare believes that if the held renovations are not taken up on an urgent basis now, the operations at the hospital will get obstructed

Aarya had always been a mediocre student. Luckily, after finishing her undergraduate degree from a tier-two engineering college, she secured a decent but modestly paying job at a reputable IT company.
However, after a year on the job, Aarya found her role mundane. When her best friend at the company, Shruti, left to pursue an MBA from a top-tier business school, citing significant career growth and potential salary increase upon graduation, Aarya felt intrigued and inspired to follow the same path. Shruti appreciated Aarya’s aspirations, telling her that doing an MBA from a top-tier business school could not only land Aarya a lucrative job but also it could fast-track her career progression. However, Aarya was concerned whether she would be able to balance between her MBA entrance exam preparation and her current job. Aarya considered resigning to focus entirely on MBA entrance exam preparation, but Shruti cautioned her that top-tier business schools might view a career break unfavourably, as they prefer continuous professional engagement.

Mr. Zubin Mistry is the owner and the chief editor of the newspaper The Pluralist, renowned for its high reporting standards and outstanding writing quality. The Pluralist’s authentic reporting distinguishes it from other newspapers that sensationalize news. They are responsible employers, known to be highly supportive towards their employees. Its news editing team is led by Ms. Ramya Kattabomman, a respected veteran in the newspaper reporting industry, wellknown for her stringent adherence to the ethical standards of newspaper reporting. 
Mr. Aditya Swaroop Verma, an award-winning senior journalist, has brought in an exposé into the activities of a mining company, operating in an ecologically vulnerable area. In his hardhitting reporting style, he has presented interviews with tens of people, delineating how the mining company has used illegal means to start mining in that area. These mining activities may lead to the destruction of the local ecological balance. However, Aditya Swaroop is unable to obtain an interview with the management of the mining company.
Aditya Swaroop’s investigative report article offers signi cant revelations about the alleged illegal activities of the mining company which were hardly covered in the media otherwise. Nevertheless, his sources have requested for complete anonymity

TrueColor, an event management company in eastern India, had been in a business of inviting Tollywood singers to a city called Tivanna, and made money out of selling tickets of their concerts. The stars were paid a xed fee regardless of the number of tickets sold. The company had a specialized team that negotiated the singers’ fee with their managers. However, for selling the tickets of such events, they were reliant on an external media agency called Zedius. Zedius had a long-standing relationship with TrueColor, and had been instrumental in achieving a target of 50,000 tickets for each of the agship events.. 
Mr. Sukanta Rao joined TrueColor as an inhouse sales and marketing manager, a position exclusively created for him. The CEO, Mr. Adil Banerjee, had assigned a task of increasing the sales of tickets to 100,000. In Sukanta’s earlier stint, he had seen that similar cities sell more than 75,000 tickets for such events. He felt that, over time, reaching 100,000 was plausible for TrueColor

Ned Flanders and Homer Simpson Partners Limited is a law rm, known for its unwavering commitment to client satisfaction. They treat the clients as family members who have grown along with the rm. Further, they are highly regarded in the industry, consulted by the country’s top organizations. Among the founders, Homer Simpson is amboyant, while Ned Flanders is serious. Together, they bring a dynamic balance to the team.
The organization believes in a strong socialization ritual that bonds the new lawyers (newcomers) with the existing members. Also, the socialization ritual ensures that newcomers fully understand the nature of their work and integrate seamlessly into the company’s culture. During their rst week, newcomers are overloaded with a barrage of artificial tasks, unexpected client calls, and a challenging meeting with the founders. This results in newcomers getting overwhelmed, and doubting their decision to join the rm, only for the founders to meet them and reveal that this is one big prank and a way to welcome them to the organization. This socialization ritual has served them well for the past two decades. However, not all the newcomers appreciate the utility of this ritual.
One of the lawyers, Ms. Lisa Simpleton, who joined in 2023 and went through the same socialization ritual, found it unwelcoming. She believes that other newcomers might also share the same opinion. Lisa thinks that the current generation, especially post-COVID, needs more friendly welcome, and the rm must put an end to this ritual.