1) It assumes that if you are good in analysis or quantitative you are a better manager.
2) CAT does a good job of eliminating large set of people but a poor job of selecting the right candidates.
3) The obsession with numbers doesn't necessarily translate into a successful businessman. Many marwaris and other business men are better managers than our CAT students.
4)you can take coaching for 6 months on the CAT and crack it with a good score. Inherently it is an exam that you can train for.
5) Most IIM grads are not smart but over-smart which effectively means that they have skewed personalities.
RE:CAT is over rated and over hyped.
by Abhijit on Sep 13, 2006 10:45 PM Permalink
Dear Sumit Mehra,
One of the hallmarks of a GREAT manager is the ability to see through all the possibilities - all the possible outcomes of an action, all the possible courses of action,.... the more possibilties one can see through the better, and then plan for or handle all these possible events. Its like the branches of a tree, the more you are aware of what lies in the brances, the more you are prepared for the eventualities. You may visit http://www.mensa.org/
RE:CAT is over rated and over hyped.
by Abhijit on Sep 14, 2006 01:27 AM Permalink
Dear Sumit Mehra,
I fully agree with you. Arbitrary assumptions can land people in soup. For example, a girl walks in a discotheque unaccompanied, now if one assumes that she is unattended just because she's unaccompanied, then he might land in a BIG soup!
RE:CAT is over rated and over hyped.
by Sumit Mehra on Sep 12, 2006 07:45 PM Permalink
Great Analysis Abhijit. Being a finance co-ordinator, i disagree with one of the comments mentioning the usefulness of making logical assupmtions. Well, one of the hallmarks of a great manager is cut to point analysis rather than some logical assumptions as the effect of these assumptions can be telling on the final results when we talk about numbers; be it for an organization or an aspirant. Abhijit! is it possible to know more about MENSA?
I went through this free sample CAT test. As a MENSA member I found that the paper-setter suffers from some of the same flaws as ordinary human beings do. One of the flaws that ordinary humans display while analyzing logical situations is that when faced with some missing information they tend to make assumptions and "manufacture" information that is actually not there to fill up the missing links in the puzzle. This paper-setter has also displayed the same flaw. For instance, Q.No. 7 in LRDI section. The question talks about 4 players but names only 3 - A,C,D. Nowhere does in say that the 4th player is named B, but the answer assumes that the 4th player's name is B. This is typical fallacy which we MENSA people have seen in ordinary people. Just because ABCD are 4 consecutive letters in the alphabet and the 3 named players are A,C,D doesn't necessarily mean that the 4th player has to be named B! even though the question doesn't mention it. Another flaw is in Q.No. 6 of LRDI. The question specifically mentions that Q has only one "child", it does not say whether it is a son/daughter nor can this be inferred from any of the statements but the answer assumes that it's a daughter!
RE:Re: FREE sample CAT
by Chetan on Sep 10, 2006 06:21 AM Permalink
Regarding the comment on Q.6 of LRDI from Abhijit. The fact that the question mentions Y is 'niece' of P (who could have had a niece or nephew only thru her relationship with Q who is her brother) is enough to suggest that Q's only child is a daughter and not son since only one's brother's daughter can be a niece and not his son. Obviously, they should take the Mensa title away from you!
RE:Re: FREE sample CAT
by Abhijit on Sep 13, 2006 10:52 PM Permalink
And yes, one more thing, dear Chetan, NIECE is not a unique relationship, it is not necessary that one's niece has to be the daughter of one's own brother/sister, one's niece can be the daughter of one's cousin brother/sister as well.
RE:Re: FREE sample CAT
by Deepak on Sep 11, 2006 06:45 PM Permalink
Hi.. With due respect to the 'MENSA' forum.....
As a 'MENSA' menber, don't you see that it's practically useful to take such assumptions.trying to apply logic or quantifying everything on this planet is not the way to go..maybe that should be something 'MENSA' should propogate also.
RE:Re: FREE sample CAT
by Abhijit on Sep 13, 2006 10:37 PM Permalink
Dear Chetan,
You are mistaken if you think that though being a MENSA member I had not seen the logic that you provide. But let me point out to you something called - "Culture Neutrality". MENSA always takes care to pose questions that are "Culture Neutral". This is done to remove all types of bias. Now let me point out what I mean, in the modern world when same sex marriages are legal, it would be proper to remove any bias on that count and remove any ambiguity. In a world where there can be same sex marriages, it would be illogical and biased to assume that the partners in a marriage are necessarily of opposite sex, unless it is explicitly mentioned. So in an unbiased view, in Q.No. 6 LRDI, M is daughter-in-law of A does not necessarily mean that M is the wife of A's son Q, M could very well be the "same-sex wife" of A's daughter P! In this case Y cannot be the mother of Z. In modern world where definitions of relationships have undergone drastic changes, people must take care of such subtle possibilities. That is why I am a MENSAN!
