XAT 2018 — Decision Making Question 9
Answer the following question based on the information given below.
Rose is the Queen of Kingdom A and Emily is the Queen of Kingdom B; both share a common border. They also share a border with Kingdom C, a much larger kingdom, ruled by King Jonathan who has expansive ambitions. Though individually their armies were no match to his might, together their armies were more powerful than King Jonathan’s army.
Jonathan’s kingdom also bordered Kingdom K on the opposite side, making Kingdom C a buffer state between Kingdoms A, B and K. Kingdom K is ruled by King Summer Sault, who united a group of warring and belligerent tribes under his aegis. Kingdom K and Kingdom C had continuous skirmishes with each other. Jonathan realized that he has limited arms and ammunition to fight on all the three fronts simultaneously. Therefore, he planned to double the arms and ammunition which will take a few years. When this news reached Emily and Rose they held a secret meeting to discuss the situation.
King Summer Sault was growing tired of the warring tribes, who slowed down the overall economic development of Kingdom K. Which of the following is the best option for King Summer Sault to focus on economic development?
Answer & solution
- A
Align with Jonathan to eliminate one or two of the tribes and instil fear in others.
- B
Align with the two Queens to eliminate a few tribes and unify the rest.
Design annual economic plans, with each plan named after a different tribe.
- D
Create a rift among the tribes and instigate a civil war.
- E
Request Jonathan to send teachers, doctors and artists to improve economic development of Kingdom K.
The warring tribes are slowing down the overall economic development of Kingdom K. King Summer Sault needs to take a few steps to focus on economic development. This would be possible only if he is able to reduce or eliminate the tension among the warring tribes. By developing annual economic plans, with each plan focusing on a particular tribe, he can try to improve the lot of the warring tribes. Though [3] suggests that the plans be “named” after each tribe, it is the closest to the appropriate course of action of having a dedicated plan for each tribe. As the problem is domestic, its solution would also have to be found locally. Internationalizing the issue will not help in resolving it. Thus aligning with Jonanthan or the Queens to eliminate the tribes or instigating a civil war would be an extremely myopic and unjust action. Hence, [1], [2] and [4] have to be eliminated. [5] will not help in economic development as teachers, doctors, and artists can only improve education, health and other social parameters.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.