XAT 2016 — Decision Making Question 7
Answer the following question based on the information given below.
Indian Institute of Research is a Government-established body to promote research. In addition to helping in policy making, it also provides free online access to all the articles to the public. It has a mission of publishing high quality research articles. Till 2010, the publication of articles was very slow because there was no incentive for researchers to publish. Researchers stuck to the mandatory one article a year. Most of the researchers engaged in offering consultancy and earned extra income. Since its inception, the institute was considered the best place for cutting edge research. The new director of the institute was not happy with the work done by researchers in silo and came out with a new research policy in 2013 to increase research output and improve collaboration among researchers. It was decided that extra benefits would be offered to researchers with new publications. As a result, the number of research articles increased fourfold in 2014. At the 2015 annual audit, an objection was raised against increased expenses towards remuneration for researchers. Further, the Government opined that the publication was itself a reward and hence researchers need be paid nothing extra. The director tried to defend his policy but the response from the government was not encouraging.
l. Note: Auditors role is to verify accounts.
The following facts were observed by an analytics team hired by the government to study the extant situation.
- There was a four-fold increase in the number of researchers leaving the organization in 2014.
- A researcher died while on duty.
- The quality of articles published declined substantially.
- The average number of people accessing an article decreased by 2%.
Which of the following options would justify the government’s intention to DISCONTINUE the scheme?
Answer & solution
- A
1 and 2
- B
2 and 3
3 only
- D
4 only
- E
3 and 4
Discontinuing the scheme because a large number of researchers were leaving the organization is not a valid point as it does not account for the researchers still working in the organisation. Hence, one cannot assume the sole reason of
A researcher's death while on duty is open to many interpretations and is not remotely related to the government's decision to discontinue the scheme. So, eliminate option 2.
2% is too low a statistic to factor in in the decision making process. So, eliminate option 4.
Option 3 is the only logical justification as the remuneration would not have put to proper use if the quality of the articles declined. Hence, the scheme is not improving the condition of the organisation substantially and needs to be discontinued.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.