WORKSHOP

Directions for questions 1-11: Read the following passages carefully and answer the questions that follow. Passage 1 In the eighteenth century, Japan's feudal overlords, from the shogun to the humblest samurai, found themselves under financial stress. In part, this stress can be attributed to the overlords' failure to adjust to a rapidly expanding economy, but the stress was also due to factors beyond the overlords' control. Concentration of the samurai in castle-towns had acted as a stimulus to trade. Commercial efficiency, in turn, had put temptations in the way of buyers. Since most samurai had been reduced to idleness by years of peace, encouraged to engage in scholarship and martial exercises or to perform administrative tasks that took little time, it is not surprising that their tastes and habits grew expensive. Overlords' income, despite the increase in rice production among their tenant farmers, failed to keep pace with their expenses. Although shortfalls in overlords' income resulted almost as much from laxity among their tax collectors (the nearly inevitable outcome of hereditary office holding) as from their higher standards of living, a misfortune like a fire or flood, bringing an increase in expenses or a drop in revenue, could put a domain in debt to the city rice-brokers who handled its finances. Once in debt, neither the individual samurai nor the shogun himself found it easy to recover. It was difficult for individual samurai over-lords to increase their income because the amount of rice that farmers could be made to pay in taxes was not unlimited, and since the income of Japan's central government consisted in part of taxes collected by the shogun from his huge domain, the government too was constrained. Therefore, the Tokugawa shoguns began to look to other sources for revenue. Cash profits from government-owned mines were already on the decline because the most easily worked deposits of silver and gold had been exhausted, although debasement of the coinage had compensated for the loss. Opening up new farmland was a possibility, but most of what was suitable had already been exploited and further reclamation was technically unfeasible. Direct taxation of the samurai themselves would be politically dangerous. This left the shoguns only commerce as a potential source of government income. Most of the country's wealth, or so it seemed, was finding its way into the hands of city merchants. It appeared reasonable that they should contribute part of that revenue to ease the shogun's burden of financing the state. A means of obtaining such revenue was soon found by levying forced loans, known as goyokin; although these were not taxes in the strict sense, since they were irregular in timing and arbitrary in amount, they were high in yield. Unfortunately, they pushed up prices. Thus, regrettably, the Tokugawa shoguns' search for solvency for the government made it increasingly difficult for individual Japanese who lived on fixed stipends to make ends meet. The passage is most probably an excerpt from (A) an economic history of Japan (B) the memoirs of a samurai warrior (C) a modern novel about eighteenth-century Japan (D) an essay contrasting Japanese feudalism with its Western counterpart (E) an introduction to a collection of Japanese folktales Which of the following financial situations is most analogous to the financial situation in which Japan's Tokugawa shoguns found themselves in the eighteenth century? (A) A small business borrows heavily to invest in new equipment, but is able to pay off its debt early when it is awarded a lucrative government contract. (B) Fire destroys a small business, but insurance covers the cost of rebuilding. (C) A small business is turned down for a loan at a local bank because the owners have no credit history? (D) A small business has to struggle to meet operating expenses when its profits decrease. (E) A small business is able to cut back sharply on spending through greater commercial efficiency and thereby compensate for a loss of revenue. Which of the following best describes the attitude of the author toward the samurai? (A) Warmly approving (B) Mildly sympathetic (C) Bitterly disappointed (D) Harshly disdainful (E) Profoundly shocked According to the passage, the major reason for the financial problems experienced by Japan's feudal overlords in the eighteenth century was that (A) spending had outdistanced income (B) trade had fallen off (C) profits from mining had declined (D) the coinage had been sharply debased (E) the samurai had concentrated in castle-towns The passage implies that individual samurai did not find it easy to recover from debt for which of the following reasons? (A) Agricultural production had increased. (B) Taxes were irregular in timing and arbitrary in amount. (C) The Japanese government had failed to adjust to the needs of a changing economy. (D) The domains of samurai overlords were becoming smaller and poorer as government revenues increased. (E) There was a limit to the amount in taxes that farmers could be made to pay. The passage suggests that, in eighteenth-century Japan, the office of tax collector (A) was a source of personal profit to the officeholder

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(B) was regarded with derision by many Japanese (C) remained within families (D) existed only in castle-towns (E) took up most of the officeholder's time Passage 2 The majority of successful senior managers do not closely follow the classical rational model of first clarifying goals, assessing the problem, formulating options, estimating likelihoods of success, making a decision, and only then taking action to implement the decision. Rather, in their day-by-day tactical maneuvers, these senior executives rely on what is vaguely termed "intuition" to manage a network of interrelated problems that require them to deal with ambiguity, inconsistency, novelty, and surprise; and to integrate action into the process to thinking. Generations of writers on management have recognized that some practicing managers rely heavily on intuition. In general, however, such writers display a poor grasp of what intuition is. Some see it as the opposite of rationality: others view it as an excuse for capriciousness. Isenberg's recent research on the cognitive processes of senior managers reveals that managers' intuition is neither of these. Rather, senior managers use intuition in at least five distinct ways. First, they intuitively sense when a problem exists. Second, managers rely on intuition to perform well-learned behavior patterns rapidly. This intuition is not arbitrary or irrational, but is based on years of painstaking practice and hands-on experience that build skills. A third function of intuition is to synthesize isolated bits of data and practice into an integrated picture, often in an "Aha!" experience. Fourth, some managers use intuition as a check on the results of more rational analysis. Most senior executives are familiar with the formal decision analysis models and tools, and those who use such systematic methods for reaching decisions are occasionally leery of solutions suggested by these methods which run counter to their sense of the correct course of action. Finally, managers can use intuition to bypass in-depth analysis and move rapidly to engender a plausible solution. Used in this way, intuition is an almost instantaneous cognitive process in which a manager recognizes familiar patterns. One of the implications of the intuitive style of executive management is that "thinking" is inseparable from acting. Since managers often "know" what is right before they can analyze and explain it, they frequently act first and explain later. Analysis is inextricably tied to action in thinking/acting cycles, in which managers develop thoughts about their companies and organizations not by analyzing a problematic situation and then acting, but by acting and analyzing in close concert. Given the great uncertainty of many of the management issues that they face, senior managers often instigate a course of action simply to learn more about an issue. They then use the results of the action to develop a more complete understanding of the issue. One implication of thinking/acting cycles is that action is often part of defining the problem, not just of implementing the solution. 7. According to the passage, senior managers use intuition in all of the following ways EXCEPT to (A) speed up of the creation of a solution to a problem (B) identify a problem (C) bring together disparate facts (D) stipulate clear goals (E) evaluate possible solutions to a problem The passage suggests which of the following about the "writers on management" mentioned in line 12? (A) They have criticized managers for not following the classical rational model of decision analysis. (B) They have not based their analyses on a sufficiently large sample of actual managers. (C) They have relied in drawing their conclusions on what managers say rather than on what managers do. (D) They have misunderstood how managers use intuition in making business decisions. (E) They have not acknowledged the role of intuition in managerial practice. Which of the following best exemplifies "an 'Aha!' experience" (line 28) as it is presented in the passage? (A) A manager risks taking an action whose outcome is unpredictable to discover whether the action changes the problem at hand. (B) A manager performs well-learned and familiar behavior patterns in creative and uncharacteristic ways to solve a problem. (C) A manager suddenly connects seemingly unrelated facts and experiences to create a pattern relevant to the problem at hand. (D) A manager rapidly identifies the methodology used to compile data yielded by systematic analysis. (E) A manager swiftly decides which of several sets of tactics to implement in order to deal with the contingencies suggested by a problem.

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10. According to the passage, the classical model of decision analysis includes all of the following EXCEPT (A) evaluation of a problem (B) creation of possible solutions to a problem (C) establishment of clear goals to be reached by the decision (D) action undertaken in order to discover more information about a problem (E) comparison of the probable effects of different solutions to a problem 11. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following would most probably be one major difference in behavior between Manager X, who uses intuition to reach decisions, and Manager Y, who uses only formal decision analysis? (A) Manager X analyzes first and then acts; Manager Y does not. (B) Manager X checks possible solutions to a problem by systematic analysis; Manager Y does not (C) Manager X takes action in order to arrive at the solution to a problem; Manager Y does not. (D) Manager Y draws on years of hands-on experience in creating a solution to a problem; Manager X does not. (E) Manger Y depends on day-to-day tactical maneuvering; manager X does not. Directions for questions 12-14: Answer the following questions that follows each and every passage.

12. It would cost Rosetown one million dollars to repair all of its roads. In the year after completion of those repairs, however, Rosetown would thereby avoid incurring three million dollars worth of damages, since currently Rosetown pays that amount annually in compensation for damage done to cars each year by its unrepaired roads. Which of the following, if true, gives the strongest support to the argument above? (A) Communities bordering on Rosetown also pay compensation for damage done to cars by their unrepaired roads. (B) After any Rosetown road has been repaired, several years will elapse before that road begins to damage cars. (C) Rosetown would need to raise additional taxes if it were to spend one million dollars in one year on road repairs. (D) The degree of damage caused to Rosetowns roads by harsh weather can vary widely from year to year. (E) Trucks cause much of the wear on Rosetowns roads, but owners of cars file almost all of the claims for compensation for damage caused by unrepaired roads. 13. Two experimental garden plots were each planted with the same number of tomato plants. Magnesium salts were added to the first plot but not to the second. The first plot produced 20 pounds of tomatoes and the second plot produced 10 pounds. Since nothing else but water was added to either plot, the higher yields in the first plot must have been due to the magnesium salts. Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above? (A) A small amount of the magnesium salts from the first plot leached into the second plot. (B) Tomato plants in a third experimental plot, to which a high-nitrogen fertilizer was added, but no magnesium salts, produced 15 pounds of tomatoes. (C) Four different types of tomatoes were grown in equal proportions in each of the plots. (D) Some weeds that compete with tomatoes cannot tolerate high amounts of magnesium salts in the soil. (E) The two experimental plots differed from each other with respect to soil texture and exposure to sunlight. 14. Demographers doing research for an international economics newsletter claim that the average per capita income in the country of Kuptala is substantially lower than that in the country of Bahlton. They also claim, however, that whereas poverty is relatively rare in Kuptala, over half the population of Bahlton lives in extreme poverty. At least one of the demographers claims must, therefo re, be wrong. The argument above is most vulnerable to which of the following criticisms? (A) It rejects an empirical claim about the average per capita incomes in the two countries without making any attempt to discredit that claim by offering additional economic evidence. (B) It treats the vague term poverty as though it had a precise and universally accepted meaning. (C) It overlooks the possibility that the number of people in the two countries who live in poverty could be the same even though the percentages of the two populations that live in poverty differ markedly. (D) It fails to show that wealth and poverty have the same social significance in Kuptala as in Bahlton. (E) It does not consider the possibility that incomes in Kuptala, unlike those in Bahlton, might all be very close to the countrys average per capita income. Directions for questions 15-18: Each of the questions below consists of a group of sentences followed by four suggested sequential arrangements. Select the best sequence. 15. A. In the case of King Merolchazzars courtship of the Princess of the Outer Isles, there occurs a regrettable hitch. B. She acknowledges the gifts, but no word of a meeting date follows. C. The monarch, hearing good reports of a neighbouring princess, dispatches messengers with gifts to her court, beseeching an interview. D. The princess names a date, and a formal meeting takes place; after that everything buzzes along pretty smoothly. E. Royal love affairs in olden days were conducted on the correspondence method. 1)ACBDE 2) ABCDE 3)ECDAB 4)ECBAD 16. A. The wall does not simply divide Israel from a putative Palestinian state on the basis of the 1967 borders. B. A chilling omission from the road map is the gigantic separation wall now being built in the West Bank by Israel. C. It is surrounded by trenches, electric wire and moats; there are watchtowers at regular intervals. D. It actually takes in new tracts of Palestinian land, sometimes five or six kilometers at a stretch. E. Almost a decade after the end of South African apartheid, his ghastly racist wall is gone up with scarcely a peep from Israels American allies who are going to pay for most of it. 1) EBCAD 2) BADCE 3) AEDCB 4)ECADB 17. A. Branded disposable diapers are available at many supermarkets and drug stores. B. If one supermarket sets a higher price for a diaper, customers may buy that brand elsewhere. C. By contrast, the demand for private-label products may be less price sensitive since it is a available only at a supermarket chain. D. So, the demand for branded diapers at any particular store may be quite price sensitive. E. For instance, only SavOn Drugs stores sell SavOn Drugs diapers. F. Then, stores should set a higher incremental margin percentage for private-label diapers. 1) ABCDEF 2)ABCEDF 3)ADBCEF 4)AEDBCF 18. A. Having a strategy is a matter of discipline. B. It involves the configuration of a tailored value chain that enables a company to offer unique value. C. It requires a strong focus on profitability and a willingness to make tough tradeoffs in choosing what not to do. D. Strategy goes far beyond the pursuit of best practices. E. A company must stay the course even during times of upheaval, while constantly improving and extending its distinctive positioning.

F. When a companys activities fit together as a self-reinforcing system, any competitor wishing to imitate a strategy must replicate the whole system. 1) ACEDBF 2)ACBDEF 3)DCBEFA 4)ABCEDF Directions for questions 19-21: In each question, the given word is used in different ways. Choose the option in which the usage of the word is INCORRECT or INAPPROPRIATE. 19. Launch 1) The student decided to launch his own consultancy firm based on his success so far. 2) In the Bahamas islands, a launch is used by the locals to travel from one shore to another. 3) After a successful rocket launch, the team celebrated with champagne and dinner. 4) None of these. 20. Lose 1) He was cast lose at an early age to make his own way in the world. 2) In a major setback to AIGs investment plans in China, their partner pulled out at the last minute causing them to lose millions in transaction fees. 3) In a surprise finish, Fred Lamar crashed out of the Australian Shooting Championships by losing to countryman Saraf. 4) More workers are slated to lose their jobs as GD Motors posted a quarterly loss of 600 million dollars, their worst performance in 50 years. 21. Pump 1) She is the only person I know who can carry off a blue dress and orange pumps with lan. 2) She pumped her way past the crowds looking for her lost son. 3) The FBI believes in one thing-pump a witness for information or remove him from the list. 4) He enthusiastically pumped his pedals to try and catch up with other cyclists. 5) The relaxation of the RBI rules on FDI helped pump new life into the economy. Directions for questions 22-24: Each of the following questions has a sentence/paragraph with one italicized word that does not make sense. Choose the most appropriate replacement for that word from the options given below the paragraph. 22. In April 1999, the European Union introduced a directive to strengthen the conservation role of zoos, making it a solunteiry requirement that they participate in conservation and education, and requiring all member states to set up system for their licensing and inspection. 1) statutory 2) contractual 3) valid 4) customary 23. The position of most modern zoos in Australasia, Europe, and North America, particularly those with scientific societies, is that they display wild animals primarily for the conservation of endangered spices, as well as for research purpose and education, and secondarily for the derision of visitors, an argument disputed by critics. 1) Extravaganza 2) Performance 3) Entertainment 4) Aqua show 5) Distraction 24. Works are in the public domain if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all, if the intellectual property rights have phantasmagorical and/or if the intellectual property rights are forfeited or unclaimed. 1) Absconded 2) Departed 3) Dematerialized 4) Expired 5) Passed away Directions for questions 25-27: Each of the questions below contains a number of sentences. Each sentence has pairs of word(s)/phrases that are highlighted. From the highlighted word(s)/phrase(s), select the most appropriate word(s)/phrase(s) to from correct sentences. Then, from the options given, choose the best one. 25. a) Although she warned me not to expect too much from her senile [A]/ demented [B] grandfather, he seemed to remember a lot regarding his role in the affair. b) The glass motifs and style of painting in the old church looked aged [A]/ antiquated [B] and seemed to take one back to the 1400s when it must have been the centre of the small town. c) He held the old womans hand in a flimsy [A]/ gentle [B] manner to show her that he still cared. d) The Minister informed [A]/ warned [B] the President of the dangers of the proposed Smoking Bill. 1)ABAA 2)AABB 3)ABBB 4)BABA 5)BBAB 26. a) The little swan took its first incompetent [A]/ clumsy [B] steps before spreading out its wings and trying to fly. b) The new class teacher has proven herself to be very adapt [A]/ adept [B] at handling the Kindergarten. c) The Queen has always been complimented as one of the most statuesque [A]/ statured [B] and dignified women on earth. d) As she walked into the room, all eyes turned towards the gracious [A]/ graceful [B] dancer. e) The Managing Director is a very refined [A]/ royal [B] and gracious host. 1)ABAAA 2)ABBAB 3)BBABA 4)BBBBA 5)ABABB 27. a) The artful [A]/ artistic [B] fox dodged the hunters and escaped into the forest. b) The younger kept following representative [A]/ illusive [B] hopes of finding a new job. c) After considering all the options, she opted [A]/ wanted [B] to take up the teaching course based on her grades and experience till date. d) It was feared that the agitation would compel [A]/ engage [B] the council to cancel the examinations. e) The promise of going trekking for the first time pulled [A]/ tempted [B] him to complete his assignment ahead of time. 1)AAAAB 2)ABBAB 3)ABBBBB 4)BABBA 5)ABAAB