XAT 2014 — Decision Making Question 13
Read the following case – let and answer the questions that follow.
Intercontinental Business Manufacturing (IBM) was doing a roaring business. Demand of the products was high and supply of raw – material was abundant. IBM was manufacturing three different products Some customers bought two types of products and some bought only one. The three products were “quickie – quick”, “run – of – the – mill”, and “maxi – max”. Customers were not complaining loudly.
Ram, the product manager, was confused! Demand for “quickie – quick “was increasing .Raw material suppliers wanted to supply lower quality at cheaper price. It was profitable for the company to increase production .Quality department was not happy with the product. Ram met Rahim, the CEO, who, as always, wanted higher profits. He said that IBM will set up a committee for improving the quality.
Rahim set up a “brand” committee comprising of a few selected managers, headed by Robert. The committee proposed that IBM should continue to manufacture the three differently branded products. It also proposed to recruit a new brand manager for improving brand image of the products. It agreed with Rahim that the company should increase the price. Rocket Singh, head of sales, was confused because he realized that customers were miffed with “run – of – the – mill” and “maxi – max”.
What should Rocket Singh do?
Answer & solution
- A
Launch one more product to increase sales.
- B
Stop production of quickie – quick.
- C
Launch a campaign on social media to increase awareness about company’s products.
- D
Send an anonymous email to all the employees highlighting customer dissatisfaction.
Conduct a research study to find out the reason for customer’s dissatisfaction.
Rocket Singh realized that customers were upset with “run-of-the-mill” and “maxi-max”. Hence, the decision he takes must take this into consideration.
“Launching one more product” is uncalled for at this stage. Eliminate option 1.
The customers have not been mentioned as being upset with “quickie-quick”. Eliminate option 2.
Launching a campaign on social media to increase awareness does not address the customers' mindset. Eliminate option 3.
Option 4 is unprofessional in nature.
Option 5 will bring the required insight to the scenario.
Hence, the correct answer is option 5.