XAT 2022 — Decision Making Question 19
Read the following scenario and answer the THREE questions that follow.
Sundaresan was a professor of Corporate Responsibility at a premium management institution. As a requirement of his course, students had to synthesize sustainability challenges, faced by thermal power companies and submit an assignment on them. Though it was an individual assignment, some students
sought permission from Sundaresan to work on the assignment as a team. Sundaresan knew that collaboration fosters peer learning, and therefore, allowed them to work in teams. However, he mandated that a team should not exceed three members. While 15 students elected to work individually, another 15 formed teams of three each, and another 10 formed teams of two members each.
As assignment deadline came closer, Sundaresan was approached by Abbas Warram, who chose to work in a team of three members. He informed Sundaresan that Venkamma, his team member, distressed by the death of her grandmother, could not work on her bit of the assignment. Abbas requested for a deadline extension so that she could finish her part of the assignment. By then, many students who were working alone had already submitted their assignments.
Which of the following actions by Sundaresan is the MOST appropriate, given the circumstances?
Answer & solution
- A
Give extra time to Venkamma to work individually and ask the other two to stick to the original deadline as a team
- B
Extend the deadline for the team while imposing a one-grade penalty for the deadline extension
Warn Abbas that such issues should not be flagged to the professor and should be handled within the team
- D
Give the students a deadline extension, but add an extra assignment for the team as a new requirement
- E
Disband the team and ask each student to work individually
Since there is a valid and justifiable reason for the assignment to be incomplete, Sundaresan should give some form of concession to the team but should also add some clause so that it is not unfair to the other students who completed their assignments in time.
Option A would be unfair to the team as it was a team assignment and could not be completed without a team member.
Options B and D were inconsiderate on the professor’s part.
Option E is entirely unfair to each team member and is, thus, invalid.
Being a professor of Corporate Responsibility at a premium management institution, C should be the correct step to go with.
Hence, the answer is option C.