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217.
In the early 1950s, a plague clouded the American landscape. A mysterious virus stalked the nation’s youth like a silent, invisible killer. For generations, it had been devouring young lives. But in the previous
three decades the number of its victims had increased dramatically. Those it did not kill, it left hopelessly paralyzed and deformed. Mewspaper artists sometimes depicted the disease as a dragon. Its common name was infantile paralysis, or poliomyelitis, or simply polio.
Polio struck every summer, turning strong bodies into crumpled ones, leaving in its wake withered limbs in steel braces and straps. It was simply expected when the children returned to school each fall that a friend or classmate would have been lost to polio over the summer. Everyone knew a victim - if not in their own family, it was the boy down the street or one on the next street. By the early 1950s, some 50,000 cases per year were being reported, and 1952 alone saw 59,000 new cases.
But in April of 1955 a miracle occurred. It came in the form of an announcement that a vaccine had been discovered that could actually prevent polio. With completion of a series of research field tests, the news media hailed it as the most dramatic breakthrought in the history of medical research.
The hero of the day; the man slew the polio dragon, was a shk young doctor named Jonas Salk. Stories of
his heroic effort to perfect his vaccine filled the newspapers. In the months prior to final development of the vaccine, Salk had pushed himself to the limits of human endurance. Realizing he was close to a breakthrough, he worked seven days a week, often up to 20 or 30 hours at a time without sleep. He often skipped meals. the public lionized him for his efforts. But that was not the case among those in those scientific community. Behind the scenes, unknown to the public, Salk was being vilified by his peers. At one point some leading scientists even tried to stop distribution of his life-saving vaccine.
Salk’s fellow scientists in biological research considered him an outsider, intruding into their domain. In fact, in order to acquire funds for his research, Salk had to go outside normal channels. When he did so, scientists accused him of being a publicity hound. The research establishment was especially jealous of Salk’s relationship with Basil O’Connor, the man who supplied much of his funding. As president of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, O’Connor held the purse strings to millions in research dollars. And he believed in Salk.
Basil O’Connor knew firsthand the devastating effects of the disease. His daughter had been stricken with polio. And when O’Connor was young man, Franklin Roosevelt had been his best friend and law partner, long before becoming president of the United Staes.O’Connor had seen polio turn an athletic young Roosevelt into a man unable to stand without leg braces and walking sticks.In Jonas Salk, O’Connor found someone who shared his outright hatred for the disease.
Viewed in retrospect, one might understand the opposition of biological research scientists to Salk’s method. He made many transgressions against traditional research. For one thing, the very efficacy of his vaccine toppled one of the most universally accepted (though erroneous) tenets of orthodox virology - the motion that an active virus could not be checked by its own dead viral bodies. That was precisely the path Salk chose to develop his vaccine.
For decades, traditional biologists had been waging what they considered a deliberate, correct, gentleman’s fight against polio with efforts focused on treatment rather than prevention. By contrast, Salk fought the dragon like a man possessed, seeking a final cure. He had grown up on the fringes of poverty and developed an attitude more humanist than scientific, a man unwilling to abide senseless rules in the face of a crisis. He flailed against the disease like a punch-drunk street fighter-and he landed a knockout blow. Finally, his success proved the greatest transgression of all against his fellow scientists. By the 1950s, researching polio was a very big business, and overnight, Salk made further efforts redundant. It was unheard of that an outsider, working independently;could accomplish what the nation’s top scientists with their great laboratories and countless millions of dollars could not. They expressed their bitterness in rather petty ways, even refusing to accept Salk into the National Academy of Science. The reason? Salk, they contended, was not really a scientist - only a technician.
The public never knew the depths of his colleagues’ resentment. It was almost a decade after his discovery before Salk himself would even discuss it. “The worst tragedy that could have befallen me was my success,” he told an interviewer. “I knew right away that I was through, that I would be cast out.”
But he was not through. With the polio dragon defeated, he launched a campaign to raise funds to construct the Salk Intitute for Biological Studies at Torrey Pines, California. He worked there, surrounded by bright, young scientists until his death at age eighty. Salk later became obsessed with finding a cure for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS. Also until the day he died, he was trying to catch lightning in a test tube one last time. Perhaps a man is allotted only one miracle in his lifetime.
Today, research scientists work in the laboratories Jonas Salk built, searching for mew weapons in the fight against dragons that defy destruction: cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer’s, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s. Among those scientists at Torrey Pines, waging gentlemanly wars against the microscopic enemies of man, perhaps a new maverick will emerge - a stubborn street fighter who will defeat the odds and capture the lightning that eluded Jonas Salk.[1] Which of the following statement is true?
(A) For a long time the efforts made by traditional biologists in the battle against polio had been a combination of finding cure for the polio patients as well as preventing the never occurrences.
(B) Within three years from the menace of polio reaching a new peak, the antidote for the deadly disease was discovered by a relatively lesser known person.
(C) Basil O’Connor had been a good friend of Theodore Roosevelt and his law partner.
(D) The scientists at Salk Institute for Biological Studies are currently doing research to invent medicines to ensue permanent cures for diseases like AIDS, cerebral palsy,. multiple stenosis etc.[2] Which of the following statement is false?
(A) A major proportion of the funds required for the research by Dr. Salk came from National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, whose president Basil O’Connor ensured the requisite amount for him.
(B) The extent of the resentment of the colleagues’ of Dr. Salk over his achievement was known to the people almost thirty years after the invention of the vaccine against the disease.
(C) The top scientists of the country did not favour the entry of Dr. Salk into National Academy of Science on the ground of his lack of professional qualification with respect to medical and biological science.
(D) The driving reason behind the success of Dr Salk was the fact that he did not accept the framework developed by traditional virology research as foolproof, which was a key factor behind his success.[3] Match the following:
List I
i. Salk
ii. Polio
iii. Field tests
iv. HIV Research
List II
a. Dragon
b. Breakthrough
c. Torrey Pines
d. Vilified
(A) ii-c, iii-b, iv-a (B) 1-c, iii-c, iv-a (C) i-d, ii-a, iii-b. (D) ii-a, iii-c, iv-b.asked in IIFT
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218.
Around the turn of the century; and interesting trend was slowly becoming prominent in retailing across the globe. Department stores were slowly becoming prominent in retailing across the globe. Department stores were slowly becoming less and less popular with customers. Large department stores offered a wide range of product categories - from apparel, luggage, toys, crockery, to home furnishing - as well as owned and managed the stock of products they sold inside the store and from their warehouses.Industry analysts started questioning whether this could still be the ideal retail model, and whether the changing retail environment marked the end of large department stores as we knew them.
On one side there were the stores that focussed on a particular category - electronics, toys, women’s wear or home appliances. Over the years, these had evolved into giant superstores and had become very
popular with customers who went shopping for a particular product. On the other hand, there were discounters, hypermarkets and wholesale clubs that served the new age shoppers found their ambience to be formal and boring.
To keep pace with these trends, some department stores were steadily reinventing themselves. The most prominent among them was UK based selfridges chain. In 2003, Selfridges launched a new store in Birmingham, England that completely reinvented the idea of the department store. Brands competed with each other within the store but there was no heirarchy of goods: watches competed with each other perfume, and luggage with fashion. In addition the store organised various show stunts and performances through the day and called it, ‘shopping entertainment.’ Similar stores had come up in various parts of Southeast Asia, Japan and Europe. For customers, these new-age department stores seemed like mall, just the they didn’t have the walls that separate the different stores within a mall.
While this trend was becoming more and more apparent abroad, within India too, certain consumer patterns were emerging. Our experience showed that a customer visiting a mall typically walks into four or five stores. That includes a large store and a few smaller brand showrooms. After that fatigue sets in and he or she is unwilling to walk into any more stores at the mall.So we asked ourselves, what would happen if we removed the walls between the different stores in a mall? In that case, a customer would be exposed to multiple brands at the same time, without the necessity of walking in and out of different stores. And along with shopping we could also provide her with other entertainment options.
Within the company itself there was a renewed confidence and an urge to play a larger role in shaping the modern retailing space in India.We had completed more than six years in retailing. With Big Bazaar we had tried and tested our skills at offering a wide range of categories while Pantaloons was firmly positioned in the lifestyle segment. We could now create shopping and entertainment landmarks in the cities in which we had already established a strong presence.
There three insights - the metamorphosis of department stores into developed markets; customer fatigue at the existing shopping malls in India; and the need to create working on, Central. The objective was to create a retail format that was must larger and totally different from what India had seen till then. It would offer everything - from multiple brands for shopping, to restaurants, coffee shops, entertainment options and gaming zones - all under one roof.If we were able to deliver ton these two fronts, we could attract customers from every part of the city and make it the city’s prime shopping destination.
There were a couple of the issues that the Central model addressed quite well. Pantaloons outlets had
limited space. We were positioning it as a fashion destination and thr business model was based on
selling mostly brands that we owned, or what are called private labels. However, with its increasing popularity; we were being approached by multiple foreign and Indian brands to stock these at Pantaloons. Central, being far bigger in size allowed us to open up a lot of space for other brands paid us a certain percentage of their sales in the mall as commission. Based on the performance of these brands, we could decide on which to keep and which to discard.
The first Central mall was launched in Bangalore in May 2004. Measuring 1,20,000 square feet, it was
spread over six floors and housed over three husband brands in categories like apparel, footwear, accessories, home furnishing, music and bools. In addition we had coffee shops, food courts, a Food Bazaar, restaurants, pubs and discotheques. A customer could also book tickets for movies and concerts, book travel tickets and make bill payments.
What has primarily made Central the ‘destination mall’ for Bangalore is its location.It is located in the heart of the city, at M.G. Road, where once Hotel Victoria stood. Moreover, we added a lot of features to further establish it as the focal point of the city.The Central Square located outside the mall building has been made available for art exhibitions, cultural performances, shows and product launches. And in 2005, the vintage car rally was flagged off from the Central flag-point, which has since become the epicenter for many such events.Thus, Central captured in all its glory what we wanted a destination mall to be, and loved up to its tagline of ‘Shop, Eat, and Celebrate.’
Soon after the launch of Bangalore Central, we opened the second Central in Hyderabad in November 2004. Once again it was located at the heart of the city on the Punjagutta Cross Road. Here, the roads connecting the city centre with Secunderabad, Jubllee Hills and the old part of the city; converge. It was more than double the size of Bangalore Central.Apart from over hundreds of brands to shop, it had food courts, restaurants, as well as a five-screen multiplex managed by PVR Cinemas. Much like the one Bangalore, Hyderabad Central didn’t take much time to become the nerve centre of the city.With an annual retail turnover of around Rs 200 crore it is presently among the largest retail destinations in the country.[1] Which of the following statement is true?
(A) The Central mall in Hyderabad in 2004 occupies more than 2,40,000 square meter in are and currently considered as one of the largest retail destinations in the country with a generated annual retail destinations in the country with a generad annual retail turnover of around Rs. 200 crore.
(B) It has been observed during the last decade that the hypermarkets are slowing, failing to retain consumers in competition with the department stores.
(C) The market analysis convinced the company referred in the text that the time is rope to introduce now shopping and entertainment landmarks in cities, where they already enjoy some market presence.
(D) While the consumers were able to look for a certain category of products at length in the specialty stores, wholesale clubs allowed them to purchase a number of products at a cheap and negotiable rate.[2] Which of the following statement is false?
(A) The recent consumer response towards department stores led to the quest for a new business Model which may replace it in the coming days.
(B) Since inauguration the Central Square outside the mall in Hyderabad has been used for various purposes so far including, art exhibitions, cultural shows, product launches etc.
(C) When the company mentioned in the passage decided to capitalize on the emerging changes in consumer mindset on the retail sales, they already had an experience of nearly six years of operating in this market segment.
(D) The changing structural framework of the new type of malls became very popular in various European and Southeast Asian countries, owing to their boundary-less arrangement of products, coupled with shopping entertainment options.[3] Which of the following statement is false?
(A) Department Stores (B) Hypermarkets
(C) Wholesale Clubs (D) Super-speciality stores[4] Which of the following terms has not been mentioned in the above passage?
(A) The firm discussed here allowed various foreign and India garment companies to display their products in heir show room on the condition that they will pay them either some rent, or a pre-decided percentage of their sales as commission.
(B) Before going for the Central venture, the firm already had the experience of offering a wide range of product categories throuth Big Bazaar and in specialized segments through Pantaloons.
(C) The Central mall in Bangalore provided importance to both goods and services for business development: it displayed around two hundred brands in categories like garments, footwear, music, book etc. on one hand, and ensured eating and entertainment options, ticket-booking for movies and concerts, travel services and bill payments within its premises on the other.
(D) The reasons behind the losing out of the specialty stores had been multifarious, covering the traditional and unexciting environment, steep price competition from other rivals, inflexibility in operation etc.[5] Which of the following statement is false?
(A) In tune with the changing time, the new store created in Birmingham allowed brand competition within the store without explicit hierarchy of products, and organized various events to ensure lively amusement for the shoppers.
(B) Since visiting different stores even within a mega shopping complex gets monotonous once the initial excitement is over, the exposure to multiple brands simultaneously with removal of the walls has been a consumer-friendly move.
(C) The idea behind setting up a mega retail network was to make it city’s unque shopping location by ensuring exposure to multiple brands on one hand, and by making it an excellent hang-out option through setting up of entertainment and nourishment options on the other.
(D) The market analysis by the company described in the passage revealed that a representative buyer to a shopping center goes to at the most four or five stores, selecting large or small showrooms randomly.asked in IIFT
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219.
The trouble started on May 4, 2004,only days after Google’s celebrated coming- out party. Geico, the giant automobile insurer, filed a lawsuit against the search engine for trademark infringement. The insurer claimed the Google’s advertising system unlawfully profited form trademarks that Geico owned. Since all of Google’s revenue and growth was from advertising, the disclosure of the lawsuit appeared ominous. “We are, and may be in the future, subject to intellectual property right claims, which are costly to defend, could require us to pay damages, and could limit our ability to use certain technologies,” Google disclosed in public filing outlining potential risks. Abroad, where Google had promising growth prospects, similar court challenges
also arose. “A court in France held us liable for llowing advertisers to select certain trademarked terms as keywords,” the company declared. “We have appealed this decision. We were also subject to two lawsuits in Germany on similar matters.”
To make matters worse, it turned out that prior to its IPO filing, Google had eased its trademark policy in the U.S., allowing companies to place ads even if they were pegged to terms trademarked and owned by others. That was a significant shift, and one, Google warned could increase the risk of lawsuits against the company. It was also a practice that Yahoo, its search engine rival, did not permit. Google claimed it made the policy change to serve users, but some financial analysts said it appeared designed to pump profits before the IPO.
And there was more. Competition form Yahoo and Microsoft posed a greater challenger to Google following the disclosure about its mammoth profitability. With so much money at stake, the intensity of the competition would heat up. Such competition might be good for computer users searching the Internet, but Google said it posed additional risk for potential shareholders. “If Microsoft or Yahoo are successful in providing similar or better Web search results compared to ours or leverage their platforms to make their Web search services easier to access than ours, we could experience a significant decline in user traffic,” the company disclosed. In addition, Google warned that irs momentum seemed seemed unsustainable due to competition and “the inevitable decline in growth rates as our revenues increase to a higher level.”
The there was the question of Googles’s exclusive reliance on advertising, and one particular type of
advertising, for all of its revenue. That was potentially quite one particular type of advertising, for all of its revenue. That was potentially quite problematic. If Yahoo or Microsoft gained ground on search, users could flock to their Web sites, and advertisers could follow, “The reduction in spending by; or loss of, advertisers could seriously harm our business,” the company disclosed in its SEC filing.
In the beginning, the firm, earned all of its money from ads triggered by searches on Google.com. But now, most of its growth and half of its sales were coming primarily from the growing network of Web sites that displayed ads Google provided. This self-reinforcing network had a major stake in Google’s successful future. It gave the search engine, operating in the manner of a television network providing ads and programming to network affiliates, a sustainable competitive advantage. But there was a dark side there too, because of the substantial revenue firm a handful of Google partners, notably America Online and the search engine Ask Jeeves. If at any point they left Google and cut a deal with Microsoft or Yahoo, the lost revenue would be immense and difficult to replace. “If one or more of these key relationships is terminated or not renewed, and is not replaced with a comparable relationship, our business would be adversely affected,” the company stated.
Google’s small, nonintrusive text ads wee a big hit. But like major television an cable networks, which were hurt by innovations that enabled users to tune out commercials, the company faced the risk that users could simply turn ads off if mew technologies emerged.
Going public also posed a potentially grave risk to Google’s culture. Life at the Googleplex was informal.
Larry and Sergey knew many people by their first names and still signed off on many hires. With rapid
growth and an initial public offering, more traditional management and systems would have to be implemented. No more off-theshelf software to track revenue on the cheap. Now it was time for audits by major accounting firms. As Google’s head count and sales increased, keeping it running without destroying its culture was CEO Eric Schmidt’s biggest worry.
Google, the none that became a verb, had built a franchise and a strong brand name with global recognition based entirely on word of mouth. Nothing like it had been done before on this scale. The Internet certainly helped. But Google’s profitability would erode if the company were forced to begin spending the customary sums of money on advertising and marketing to maintain the strength of its brand awareness. Marketing guru Peter Sealey said privately that the advice he gave Google to study consumer perception of the Google brand was rejected by the company and that they were unwilling to spend money on marketing.[1] Which of the following statement is true?
(A) Google’s growing popularity has been a threat to other players operating in that market segment like Yahoo and Ask Jeeves, as Google eroded their market share.
(B) According to Google its decision to considerably relax its industrial design policy in the US was geared to satisfy its clients.
(C) One of the major challenges for Peter Sealey has been to expand the Google Empire while keeping its existing internal work culture intact.
(D) Google’s business potential is likely to be threatened seriously if the accessibility and quality of the Web search offered by its competitors like Microsoft or Yahoo becomes superior than the same offered by it.[2] Which of the following Statement is false?
(A) Google has been potentially vulnerable to external competition owing to its exclusive reliance on advertising for resource generation.
(B) By writing the “the none that became a verd”, the author indicates the growing popularity of the search engine.
(C) “non-intrusive” in the current passage refers to the advertisement format that does not directly hamper or distract the flow of operation of the person working in the computer.
(D) The legal dispute between Google and the automobile giant Geico during May 2004 centered on the advertising system and the trademark policy adopted by the latter.[3] What conclusion can you form about ‘Altavista’ from the passage?
(A) It has been a partner of Google.
(B) It has been a Competitor of Google.
(C) It can not be concluded from the passage.
(D) It was a partner of Google initially, but later emerged as a major competitor.[4] Which of the following sentence is false?
(A) Google has not been keen to undertake any major analysis on the popular impression about the Google brand.
(B) Google’s resolution to provide the search engine and programming to collaborators like America Online ensured significant revnue for bout sides involved.
(C) Google’s perceived concern over Intellectual Property issues in the passage has been quoted from a confidential company report.
(D) With increase in the volume of Google’s total annual revenue, it was anticipated by the management that the annual growth rate of their business may decline.asked in IIFT
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220.
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222.