Q.1-5. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.
Some professional service firms like health care and accounting for overpowering their competitors have decided to offer unconditional guarantees and unlimited services to their customers for their utmost satisfaction Such guarantees specify what clients can expect and what the firm will do if it fails to fulfill these expectations. In Particular such guarantees for the first-time clients, can be an effective marketing tool, specially if the client is very cautious and the firm’s fees are pretty high.
But at times, an unconditional guarantee can hinder marketing efforts. With its implication that failure is possible, the guarantee may, paradoxically, cause clients to doubt the service firm’s ability to deliver the promised level of service. It may conflict with a firm’s desire to appear sophisticated, or may even suggest that services, it may mislead clients by suggesting that law- suits or medical procedures will have guaranteed out- comes. Indeed, professional service firms with outstanding reputations and performance to match have little to gain from offering unconditional guarantees. And any firm that implements an unconditional guarantee without undertaking a commensurate commitment to quality of service is merely employing a potentially costly marketing gimmick.
Q.1. The primary function of the passage as a whole is to
(A) account for the popularity of a practice
(B) evaluate the utility of a practice
(C) demonstrate how to institute a practice
(D) weigh the ethics of using a strategy
Q.2. The passage most clearly implies which of the following about the professional service firms?
(A) They are unlikely to have offered unconditional guarantees of satisfaction in the past.
(B) They are usually profitable enough to be able to compensate clients according to the terms of an unconditional guarantee.
(C) They usually practice in fields in which the outcomes are predictable.
(D) Their clients are usually already satisfied with the quality of service that is delivered.
Q.3. All of the following are mentioned in the passage as circumstances in which professional service firms can benefit from offering an unconditional guarantee EXCEPT:
(A) The firm is having difficulty retaining its clients of long standing.
(B) The firm is having difficulty getting business through client recommendations.
(C) The firm charges substantial fees for its services.
(D) The adverse effects of poor performance by the firm are significant for the client.
Q.4. Which of the following is cited in the passage as a goal of some professional service firms in offering unconditional guarantees of satisfaction?
(A) A limit on the firm’s liability
(B) Successful competition against other firms
(C) Ability to justify fee increases
(D) Attainment of an outstanding reputation in a field
Q.5. As per the passage, what does the word “hinder” means?
(A) boost (B) encourages
(C) impede (D) promotes
Q.6-10.In the following questions, out of the four alternatives, choose the one which best expresses the meaning of the given word and mark it in the Answer-Sheet.
Q.6. glare
(A) scowl (B) hide (C) display (D) summon
Q.7. erratic
(A) enticing (B) frequent (C) difficult (D) irregular
Q.8. civil
(A) unkind (B) trite
(C) public (D) questionable
Q.9. peer
(A) apple (B) connote (C) fellow (D) recluse
Q.10. fiasco
(A) festival (B) disaster
(C) happenstance (D) ceremony
Answers –
Q.1. (B)
Q.2. (D)
Q.3. (A)
Q.4. (B)
Q.5. (C)
Q.6. (A)
Q.7. (D)
Q.8. (C)
Q.9. (C)
Q.10. (B)
