Practice Graduate Aptitude Test
''The project was ambitious in its size, complexity, triparty nature, and in its pioneering of the Private Finance Initiative. This difficulty was unavoidable and contributed to the project's failure. However, a more prudent estimation of the unknown difficulties and timescales would have enabled the Department to better assess the merits of the project.
In December 1997 XSoft indicated they needed more time, which should have been inevitable. If the Department knew from the start how long the project would take, it is questionable whether they would have considered inception; especially considering the implications of delay on their business case for the project.''
1. If more care had been put into estimating the difficulties, it is less likely the project would have failed.
True Not true Cannot say
2. XSoft withheld information from the Department as to how long the project would take.
3. The Department's profits were dependent upon how long the project took.
''Ever since the gun's invention it has been changing the world in many different ways. Many of theses changes have been brought about by man's desire to protect themselves, and the challenge of inventing bigger and more accurate weapons.
Each time there has been a major innovation in the development of the gun, there has been profound effect on the world. The gun helped in the exploration of the world, it has also helped in the development of society as we know it.''
4. The gun was invented because the human race needs to protect themselves.
5. Guns are the reason our society is the way it is today.
6. Financial incentives had no part to play in the development of the gun.
''Being social responsible is acting ethically and showing integrity. It directly affects our quality of life through such issues as human rights, working conditions, the environment, and corruption. It has traditionally been the sole responsibility of governments to police unethical behaviour. However, the public have realised the influence of corporations and over the last ten years, brought about global voluntary corporate social responsibility initiatives that dictate the actions of corporations.''
7. The ethical actions of corporations are changing.
8. Corporations can influence the public's quality of life.
9. Ten years ago, it was up to each corporation to decide whether they acted morally or not.
''Well-nourished children are more likely to study harder for exams. Which is why some parents have been concerned with the poor nutritional value of school dinners. But that may be changing as childhood obesity continues to get worse and the government starts to notice. The government has started to promote better food labelling to help people cut down on their salt, fat and sugar intake. The problem is money though; it is difficult for a school to serve good food on such a tight budget.''
10. Children who eat healthily will perform better in exams.
11. Nowadays, more children are obese than in previous years.
12. School meals would improve if schools had more money.
''Roaming charges are charges made by network service providers when a customer uses their phone to phone abroad. It has been reported however that the UK is paying over the odds, especially considering that customers in France, Germany, Sweden and Italy are paying less for the same service. Many customers do not fully understand roaming charges, which sometimes apply simply for receiving calls while abroad. Better consumer information is called upon if prices for pre-pay international roaming charges in the UK are to come more in line with the rest of Europe.''
13. It is more expensive for German customers to use a roaming service than it is for UK customers.
14. Pay-as-you-go roaming rates are generally lower than they are for pre-pay.
15. Sometimes customers are charged for calls which they do not make themselves.
''Globalisation is making it harder for mid-size firms to compete, with larger firms swallowing up markets and customers. Unfortunately for mid-size firms, they are too large to qualify for the government grants smaller set-ups can, but too small to bear a strong influence on consumer prices. The advantage that mid-size firms do have over their counterparts however, is something they have traditionally excelled in: being quick to adapt to change and being more customer focused. This, they believe, will help sustain steady growth.''
16. Mid-sized firms may have to change their prices according to larger-sized firms.
17. The larger the company, the larger the grant awarded becomes.
18. Mid-sized firms are better able to adapt to market changes.
''Increasingly, the young are dictating the styles and brands that are deemed desirable by the rest of the population. Nike, Abercrombie & Fitch and Timberland all had their first success with the young, and whenever this clientele become disinterested, their profits suffer. The idea that adults should act and dress differently to their children is becoming outdated. It is not uncommon for parents and children to be playing the same computer games, listening to the same music, watching the same television shows, and wearing the same brands of clothes''
19. Adults sometimes look to children to see what is fashionable.
20. Young customers do not noticeably contribute to Timberland's profits.
True Not ture Cannot say
21. Adults wear the same shoes as children because they want to look younger.
''The new format for television is digital. Digital television offers many advantages over traditional analogue services: better quality pictures and sound, and also the opportunity for viewers to tailor the programmes they watch. Broadcasters are hoping digital television will bring more advertising revenue, however the reality is unclear.
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is setting the trend and hopes to migrate all of its TV services over to digital services when it turns off its old analogue satellite services, BSkyB.''
22. Rupert Murdoch is the owner of BSkyB.
23. Viewers were able to tailor the programmes they watched before digital TV existed.
24. Television broadcasters are upgrading their equipment because they will make more money from digital TV.
''Brand equity has become a key asset in the world of business. Indeed, some brands are now worth more than companies. Corporations themselves are widely distrusted, whereas peculiarly, brands have the opposite effect on people. Brands are used to humanise corporations by appropriating characteristics such as courage, honesty, friendliness and fun. An example is Dove soap, where a dove represents white, cleanliness and peace. In a sense, rather than the product itself, the image and the idea is the selling point.''
25. Companies' brands are more valuable than the company itself.
26. Many people distrust corporations.
27. People buy Dove soap because they like the idea of peace.
''The first problem with financial accounts is that they are in the past; however detailed they just provide a snap shot of the business at one moment in time. There is also a lack of detail in financial statements, giving little use for the running of a business. Financial statements are provided for legal reasons to meet with accounting regulations and are used largely by city analysts who compute share prices and give advice to shareholders. Accounts often have hidden information and may also be inconsistent, it is difficult to compare different companies' accounts, despite there being standards, as there is much leeway in these standards.''
28. Financial accounts provide information about what is going to happen in the future.
29. Companies only create financial accounts for legal reasons.
30. If account recording standards were changed, it would be easier to compare the performance of different companies.
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