IIM Lucknow MBA-ABM selection

India · Indian Institute of Management Lucknow · pg · secondary source

27practice questions written to this syllabus
1subjects

Format

CAT 2025 for the 2026-28 batch.

Sections

Over the years

Checked against a secondary source (coaching or news site), not the conducting body; re-confirm before relying on it. Weights are from careers360, not the institute.

Official source: https://www.iiml.ac.in

Subjects this exam draws on

Business Communication27 questions

Five practice questions, worked

Original questions written to this exam's published syllabus and pattern. Not past papers.

1. A farmer whose crop failed after using a company's seed comes to the dealer visibly upset. The dealer's first aim should be to understand the farmer's feelings and point of view without judging. This is

  1. discriminative listening
  2. empathic listening
  3. critical listening
  4. appreciative listening
Answer and working

B. empathic listening

Empathic (therapeutic) listening seeks to understand the speaker's feelings and perspective without judgement, which is the first need with an upset customer; facts can be checked afterwards. Critical listening judges evidence and logic, discriminative listening separates sounds and tones, and appreciative listening is for enjoyment.

Business Communication · Listening

2. A farm-advisory post received 340 likes, comments and shares. It reached 8,500 unique accounts, and the page has 20,000 followers. Which statement is correct?

  1. Engagement rate is 4% whichever denominator is used, because likes and shares are counted the same way
  2. Engagement rate cannot be computed for a single post and only applies to the page's performance over a year
  3. Engagement rate is 4% by reach but 1.7% by followers, so the report must state which denominator it uses
  4. Engagement rate is 1.7% by reach but 4% by followers, because followers are always fewer than people reached
Answer and working

C. Engagement rate is 4% by reach but 1.7% by followers, so the report must state which denominator it uses

By reach: 340 / 8,500 = 4%. By followers: 340 / 20,000 = 1.7%. Platforms and analysts use different denominators, so the base must be stated. The swapped version reverses the two calculations, the denominator plainly changes the result, and engagement rate can be calculated per post.

Business Communication · Social media, blogs and podcasts

3. Which slide-design practice is supported by standard presentation guidance?

  1. A headline that states the slide's main point, with few words and one clear chart
  2. Many different fonts and colours on each slide so that the audience stays visually alert
  3. All the tables from the report pasted onto slides so that no detail is left out of the talk
  4. Full paragraphs of text on every slide so the audience can read along with the speaker
Answer and working

A. A headline that states the slide's main point, with few words and one clear chart

Slides support the speaker: one idea, a message headline, few words, readable contrast. Paragraphs make the speaker redundant, mixed fonts distract, and detailed tables belong in the handout or report.

Business Communication · Presentations

4. A contract-farming negotiation is stuck on price. The processor values reliable delivery in the lean season; farmers value early payment. Which move reflects integrative bargaining?

  1. Postponing the talks until next season, when market prices may have moved in one side's favour
  2. Trading guaranteed lean-season supply for payment within a few days, so both sides gain on the issues they value most
  3. Splitting the difference between the two price demands so that each side gives up an equal amount
  4. Holding firm on price until the other side gives in, since concessions signal weakness in bargaining
Answer and working

B. Trading guaranteed lean-season supply for payment within a few days, so both sides gain on the issues they value most

Integrative bargaining creates value by trading across issues the parties value differently. Splitting the difference is a distributive compromise on a single issue; holding firm is competitive distributive bargaining; postponing is avoidance.

Business Communication · Meetings

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