Decision Making is the key to crack XAT

The XAT 2023 has 4 sections, however, only 3 sections are considered while determining the percentile and cutoff for interview selection process:

1. Decision Making (DM)
2. Verbal & Logical Ability (VA) Used to determine percentile & cutoff
3. Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation (QA,DI)
4. General Knowledge (GK)

‘Decision Making’ section is unique to XAT and is the key to crack it successfully.

Here is all you need to know about the Decision Making section in XAT 2023 exam.

Decision Making is the process of making a choice out of the presented options in any given situation. Here are 6 steps you need to take in order to arrive at any decision when you are presented with a case:

1. Read the case thoroughly.

2. Gather all the facts and figures.
3. Identify the concerned and/or impacted parties (or stakeholders)
4. Form the problem statement.
5. Analyze the options available.
6. Come to a feasible, ethical and optimum decision.

Questions on decision making have been a regular feature in the XAT exam all these years. In the last 10 years the number has increased from 10 to 24. There was a significant rise in the number of questions to 25, in 2012. Since then the section has a minimum of 20+
questions.

Unlike the other sections like QA, DI, and VA that test a candidate’s knowledge, aptitude and speed, the DM section tests seven crucial qualities:

1.  Logical/Analytical reasoning skills
2. Reading comprehension skills
3. Business acumen
4. Decision making ability
5. Ethical virtues
6. Understanding of basic business terminology
7. Analyzing the importance of each stakeholder involved

The type of questions can be classified into 3S - Structure, Subject Matter and Situation Structure Type. The students are presented with a situation in the form of a case - study. The structure of the questions could be:

1. Cases with individual question
2. Cases with multiple ( 2-6) questions

Subject Matter Type
The students have to make decisions based on four main subjects:

1. Decisions based on logic
2. Decisions based on managerial conflicts
3. Decisions based on financial issues
4. Decisions based on ethical virtues - individual, social, and organizational level

Situation Type
The questions or Caselets are based on following types of situations:

1. Real - life business scenarios related to IT, Production & Manufacturing, HR, and Finance.
2. Ethical dilemmas - individual, social, and organizational level.
3. Regarding revenue and resources of an organization.
4. Data analysis & critical reasoning.

DM section is all about practice. Make sure you do the following:

1. Solve previous year XAT DM questions. The DM questions for last 10 years are available online.
2. Write as many mock tests as you can.
3. Read various case-studies available online and analyze them

Follow the below approach while attempting the questions under the DM section:

1. Read the case details thoroughly.
2. List down all the information - facts and figures - related to the case provided.
3. Identify the stakeholders and all the concerned parties involved and/or impacted.
4. Form the problem statement/issue which is often hidden in the question itself.
5. Analyze the options or alternatives presented as part of multiple choices available.
6. Eliminate options which are:

• Ethically incorrect
• Biased
• Emotionally motivated
• Do not do well for an individual or society or the organization.

7.Choose an answer which is:

• Ethically correct
• Feasible
• Profitable on a long-term basis (or short-term based on the problem statement)
• Justifies your role (as presented in the question)
• Logically & rationally correct

What is the score v/s percentile for the DM section?

A raw score between 6 to 8 marks can fetch you a percentile between 80 and 90+.

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