TANCET 2023 Solved Papers

Question Numbers: 1-10SECTION - IDIRECTIONS: The questions that follow relate to the preceding passage. Evaluate, in terms of the passage, each of the items given. Then select your answer from one of the following classifications.(a) A MAJOR OBJECTIVE in making the decision: one of the goals sought by the decision maker.(b) A MAJOR FACTOR in making the decision: an aspect of the problem, specifically mentioned in the passage, that fundamentally affects and/or determines the decisions.(c) A MINOR FACTOR in making the decision: a less important element bearing on or affecting a Major Factor, rather than a Major Objective directly.(d) A MAJOR ASSUMPTION in making the decision: a projection or supposition arrived at by the decision maker before considering the factors and alternatives.PASSAGE IThe XYZ Company, located in Kerala, had engaged exclusively in the making of traditional Pickles (Mango, Lemon, etc.) for the past seventy years. Sales were approximately 20 Crores annually. The sales volume had showed a decline of about 18 percent over the past decade. The company had a small office force and employed approximately 80 people in the production process. In 1995, distribution had been extended to Pan India as well as to other countries. Mr. Rakesh, the president, attributed this significant decrease in the market area due to severe competition.Mr. Vimal, the sales manager, after studying the market closely, arrived at a different set of reasons why sales had been dropping. According to Mr. Vimal, Firstly, the sales to commercial consumers had reduced due to various reasons. Many modern commercial consumers bought the necessary raw materials and make their own pickles (Mango, lemon, etc.) at home. The second reason which Mr. Vimal considered significant was the growing popularity of ready mix Pickles in different varieties. The natural tendency of practically all human beings is to get as much as they can for a minimum of effort. Since ready-mix pickles did save housewives a good deal of labour, this type of product had been well received.Mr. Vimal believed that the company could not cope with first factor, and therefore his suggestion for increasing sales was to branch out and manufacture ready mix pickle products which would compare favourably with nationally known brands. Management was particularly receptive to Vimal's idea because production of ready mix pickles would require only minor changes in personnel and the cost of additional machinery would be relatively small. Two additional machines were necessary each costing approximately 5 lakhs.Mr. Rakesh was determined to succeed in the marketing of the new product. He believed that a thorough market analysis was a prerequisite to making a final decision as to whether Vimal's idea was commercially sound. Mr. Rakesh wanted to know whether a small company like XYZ could battle for a share of the ready-mix pickle market against much bigger competitors. His concern centered on two key variables. First, he questioned the ability of his marketing people to develop a product which would be sufficiently differentiated from competitors' product. XYZ would have to market a product which had some distinct advantage over competing products. This advantage could be in the form of an improvement over existing brands, for example, a mix that was easier to prepare. Second, a strong advertising campaign was necessary to enter market with an unknown product. Potential consumers would have to be made aware of the new brand and its advantages. Mr. Rakesh wanted to know how much such an advertising campaign would cost and whether the company had the financial resources to finance it. Vimal was given the task of preparing a marketing research report which would provide answer, to Rakesh's questions. Graduate students were hired to poll housewives as they entered supermarkets. Each student questioned a number of housewives about their purchases of ready mix pickles, how frequently they used the products, what they liked and or disliked about the mixes. After about fifty interviews, Vimal believed that he had collected enough information to reach certain conclusions. Vimal tabulated the research data and finds the following: Most housewives said that they purchased ready-mix pickles and preferred to prepare their own pickle, rather than buy them from shops.Housewives felt that ready-mix pickles were preferable to commercially prepared pickle items because of their freshness and economy. In particular, respondents liked the convenience of being able to make in a contingency situation. Other reasons mentioned for preferring ready-mix pickles were: "Tastes fresh", modern thing to do," my neighbours use it" and "I can choose some of the ingredients. "Few respondents using ready-mix pickles mentioned some dislikes. Some of the negative reactions mentioned were: "Lack of pickle variety", "my husband doesn't like them", and "all the mixes are the same." Most of the housewives polled recalled seeing some advertising for ready-mix pickles during the past weeks. Half of the respondent recalled specific advertising themes of the major producers. Overall reaction to the advertising was favourable.Examining the survey results, Vimal concluded that XYZ should market a ready mix pickle of its own. He reasoned that since consumer reaction was so favouable, there was room in the market for another brand. Vimal recommended, however, that since the research did not reveal how XYZ might differentiate its products from those already on the market, the best marketing strategy would be to charge a lower price than that of competing products. With a lower price, he asserted, XYZ's ready mix pickle would sell well to the economy-minded housewife.Advertising was a problem. It was clear that, given the relatively small marketing budget available to Vimal's XYZ could not emulate the sort of advertising campaign used by existing ready-mix pickle makers. Vimal believed that if XYZ would concentrate solely on the economy-minded market segment, advertising themes could be developed and a campaign launched within the company's budget constraints. Vimal's report and conclusions were forwarded to Rakesh. After a short deliberation, Rakesh approved the ready-mix pickle project.Without further investigation, the manufacture of XYZ's ready-mix pickle was started. After several months, ready-mix pickle sales is still amounted to less than 10 percent of gross sales, and 85 percent of ready-mix pickle sales were within Kerala. The entire position of the company was in jeopardy. Both Mr. Rakesh and Mr. Vimal were worried about the business, but neither seemed to know what to do.