The Business Quiz Prelims

Cognizance 2015

IIT Roorkee

Introduction

The Rules

O Flat marking scheme of 1 point for every question

O If there are multiple answers to a question, individual

split will be indicated on the slide.

O There are NO NEGATIVES

O Star-marked questions (10) are indicated by a graphic

on the top right (as on this slide). These questions

would be used to decide the winner in case of a tie.

O Needless to remind, but please don’t be evil.

Q1.

O These couple of lines were included in the

opening act of which recent event ?

O “Kuch to phool khilaye humne,

aur kuch phool khilane hai

Mushkil yeh hai bag me ab tak,

kaante kai purane hai”

India’s 2015-16 Finance Budget

Q2.

O Contrary to what most people believe, he is

not an absolute newbie to the showbiz

industry.

O On the next slide is a snapshot from his first

assignment – a commercial for Lux Onn

innerwear. Where have we more commonly

seen this person (right) ?

Mauka-Mauka Star Sports Ads

Q3. Who ? X ? (0.5 + 0.5)

O He seems to have a general dark spot when it comes to technology. Even IBM has never been on his hit list of superior investment vehicles. And this was not the first time he has derided X as a poor investment. Speaking about X, he said :

O “Stay away from it. It’s a mirage, basically. … It’s a method of transmitting money. It’s a very effective way of transmitting money, and you can do it anonymously and all that. A check is a way of transmitting money, too. Are checks worth a whole lot of money just because they can transmit money? Are money orders? You can transmit money by money orders. People do it. I hope X becomes a better way of doing it, but you can replicate it a bunch of different ways, and it will be. The idea that it has some huge intrinsic value is just a joke in my view.”

Warren Buffet, X - Bitcoin

Q4. (0.5+0.5) O Bids were officially solicited of several brands and those under official consideration included Breitling, Rolex,

and Omega, as well as a few others. Hamilton submitted a pocket watch and was disqualified from

consideration, leaving three contenders: Rolex, Longines-Wittnauer, and Omega. These watches were all

subjected to tests under extreme conditions:

O High temperature: 48 hours at 160 °F (71 °C) followed by 30 minutes at 200 °F (93 °C)

O Low temperature: Four hours at 0 °F (−18 °C)

O Temperature cycling in near-vacuum: Fifteen cycles of heating to 160 °F (71 °C) for 45 minutes, followed by

cooling to 0 °F (−18 °C) for 45 minutes at 10−6 atm

O Humidity: 250 hours at temperatures between 68 °F (20 °C) and 160 °F (71 °C) at relative humidity of 95%

O Oxygen environment: 100% oxygen at 0.35 atm and 71 °C for 48 hours

O Shock: Six 11ms 40 g shocks from different directions

O Linear acceleration: from 1 to 7.25 g within 333 seconds

O Low pressure: 90 minutes at 10−6 atm at 160 °F (71 °C) followed by 30 minutes at 200 °F (93 °C)

O High pressure: 1.6 atm for one hour

O Vibration: three cycles of 30 minutes vibration varying from 5 to 2000 Hz with minimum 8.8 g impulse

O Acoustic noise: 30 minutes at 130 dB from 40 to 10,000 Hz

O The evaluation concluded in March 1965 with the selection of the Omega Speedmaster, which survived the

tests while remaining largely within 5 seconds per day rate. What was the contest about and what moniker did

the winner later earn which is used till date for all its models ?

Watch to be used for the (Gemini) Space Program, Moonwatch

Q5.

O It was described, in a recent advertisement, as “one of the best job in the world, but one that few know exists”.

O This profession requires great sacrifice. They are not allowed to smoke, drink alcohol and refrain from food with strongly produced aroma. So they, never eat onions, garlic, pickled and smoked food, use very little salt, restrict the usage of spices and sweets.

O Naturally this is a well paid profession. Their health (more precisely their nasopharynx)is insured for millions .

Tea-Tasters

Q6. (1/2)

O It started when Y turned up the heat – on August 2014. It was business as usual a competitor trying to score a quick win, about getting the numbers up, sharply, just before stepping out to raise funds. On a cool Bengaluru morning, Y slashed rates and kept raising the stakes every subsequent month.

O “We thought it would not last, that it was just a spike,” says X’s founder. “The incentives given by Y had started affecting us. So we waited for September and October to see whether Y would stop.”

O Y was losing as much as Rs.200 on transaction. X was confident that Y would stop. The company couldn’t have been more wrong

2/2

O On 28th October, 2014, Y raised $210 million in another round of funding. X couldn’t believe the news when they had heard it as it was insane for anyone to write a $210 million cheque for this business in India.

O X had no option but to jump in to the bloodbath and burn out its cash to sustain competition.

O X’s condition improved and its founder then flew to US to meet 20 different investors to pump in more cash into the company. Just as things were looking brighter an extremely unfortunate unrelated event back in India brought everything to an end.

O X, Y and what eventually followed ? (0.25 + 0.25 + 0.5)

X – Taxi For Sure, Y – Ola Cabs Ola Cabs Acquired TFS in March, 2015

Q7.

O While the popularity of X might be new, the item itself has been around for years. In 2000, author Kenji Kawakami wrote a book called 101 Unuseless Japanese Inventions featuring what is known as chindōgu in Japan. Chindōgu is another term for an odd everyday object, or, as Kenji Kawakami calls it, a "weird tool." Some other examples of these offbeat inventions are a treadmill bike, duster slippers for cats, and a face guard to protect your hair from getting in your noodles.

O Looq, Minisuit, Polar Pro, Digipower, ProMaster, iPow are some common brands of this product. What ‘in-vogue’ object are we talking about ?

Selfie Stick

Q8. FITB.

Y Combinator

Q9. (0.5+0.25+0.25)

O Quoting directly from PETA India’s site :

O “Apart from winning all the applause for their latest ‘A’ campaign, X has also won the first of PETA’s 2009 Glitterbox Awards, which are given to businesses that take advantage of humane alternatives to the use of real animals in their ads.

O ‘A’ is part of the latest ad campaign, which has replaced the company’s ‘B’ ad campaign. PETA has raised objections in the past to the use of animals X’s ad campaigns.”

O Both ‘A’ and ‘B’ are very popular ad campaigns that set forth trends that became a huge hit among the masses.

X – Vodafone, A – ZooZoo, B - Pug

Q10. FITB O The _________________ theory asserts that certain corporations,

particularly financial institutions, are so large and so interconnected that their failure would be disastrous to the greater economic system, and they therefore must be supported by government when they face potential failure. The colloquial term “______________" was popularized by U.S. Congressman Stewart McKinney in a 1984 Congressional hearing, discussing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's intervention with Continental Illinois. The term had previously been used occasionally in the press.

O Proponents of this theory believe that some institutions are so important that they should become recipients of beneficial financial and economic policies from governments or central banks. Opponents believe that one of the problems that arises is moral hazard whereby a company that benefits from these protective policies will seek to profit by it, deliberately taking positions (see Asset allocation) that are high-risk high-return, as they are able to leverage these risks based on the policy preference they receive.

‘Too Big To Fail’

Q11. Who ? Which company did he eventually start ? (0.5+0.5)

Brian Acton, Whatsapp

Q12. (0.5 + 0.5)

O Give me the company name and the

occasion.

O <Image on next slide>

Taco Bell, April 1 (1996)

Q13. Give me both the blanks. (0.5+0.5)

Netflix, Comcast

Q14. Which logo ?

O DESIGN ELEMENTS OF THE LOGO:

O Created by the British graphic designer John Pasche in 1970.

O Shape : It actually represents a body part of a member of the organization. The most srtiking feature of the logo is an indication to ________, goddess of everlasting energy, and signifies the use of free expression in their work.

O Color : The red color gives it sensuous and a sort of insolent look, depicting the passion and vitality that lies in their work.

O Font : The organization has mostly used no font in its logo as the artwork itself wonderfully conveys the message it has intended to deliver.

The Rolling Stones

Q15. X, Y, Z ? (0.5+0.25+0.25)

O X is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world and is worth an estimate $20.4 billion.

O In a recent interview with Charlie Rose, the businessman reveals that he failed a college entrance exam three times. Once he ruled out college, he applied for 30 different jobs and got rejected. "I went for a job with the police; they said, 'you're no good,'" he tells Rose. "I even went to KFC when it came to my city. Twenty-four people went for the job. Twenty-three were accepted. I was the only guy..."

O When X founded Y in 1998, he was met with more obstacles. The brand didn't turn a profit for the first three years, and X had to get creative. One of the company's main challenges was that it had no way to do payments and no banks would work with him. X decided to start his own payment program called Z. The program transfers payments of different currencies between international buyers and sellers.

O "So many people I talked to at that time about Z, they said, 'this is the stupidest idea you've ever had,'" he said. "I didn't care if it was stupid as long as people could use it.“ Today, 800 million people use Z.

X - Jack Ma, Y - Alibaba, Z - Alipay

Q16. Creator ?

Nate Silver

Q17. Who is trolling Apple during the launch of the Apple Watch ?

2/2

Pebble

Q18. Which company ?

O While on its logo it shows established in 1776, the company was actually founded in June 2001 with a small staff under the Brand Name SoCal Cash and changed its brand name in March 2004. The date 1776 refers to the United States Declaration of Independence in which Thomas Jefferson declared the right of “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

O The company now employs over 60 staff members and has launched over 70 “products”.

O At the beginning of 2008, its slogan changed from "The Difference Is Here" to “______ ____ __ ______".

Q19.

O On the eve of the first Earth Day in 1970, Container Corporation of America (CCA) unveiled a competition to create a design that would forever change the way humans thought about a certain aspect of the products we buy.

O Gary Dean Anderson, then a 23-year-old student at the University of Southern California, created the icon, drawing inspiration from the Bauhaus design school and M.C. Escher’s graphic representations of the Möbius strip.

O As with the Möbius strip, the symbol is indicative of a never-ending path. This cyclical illustration serves as a visual reference of the process certain products are could (and should) travel ideally. Alternately, the separation depicts that there are clear, identifiable stages in this process.

The Universal Recycling Symbol

Q20.

O Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia created the initial concept during the Industrial Design Conference held by Industrial Designers Society of America. At the time, roommates Chesky and Gebbia could not afford the rent for their loft in San Francisco and came up with a unique idea to combat their financial woes.

O To help fund the site, the founders created special edition breakfast cereals, with presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain as the inspiration for “Obama O’s” and “Cap’n McCains”. In two months, 800 boxes of cereal were sold at $40 each, which generated more than $30,000 for the company’s incubation and attracted early investors.

O Among its various investors is Ashton Kutcher, who is also a strategic brand advisor for the company.

AirBnB

Q21. Place ? Artist ?

O Unedited Version :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKL25

4Y_jtc

Detroit, Eminem

Q22. Ad for ? Reference to? (0.5 + 0.5)

O Unedited Version :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb3PxN-

07Bk

Esurance, Breaking Bad

Q23. Ad for ? Directed by? (0.5 + 0.5)

O Unedited Version :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiJhmd

QKtbo

Apple Iphone 3G, David Fincher

Q24. Ad for ?

O Unedited Version :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJB0Czl

zSwY

Monster.com

Q25. Id the speaker and the source (0.5 + 0.5)?

O Audio Question; Unedited Source :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfd6B

9IKTBc

Rajan, Inside Job