XAT Decision Making section is not just one kind of question - it has different formats that test your thinking in different ways. Knowing the different formats helps you prepare better and manage your time well on the exam. Some questions take hardly a minute; others take a longer time and require greater depth of thought because they are multiple questions on a caselet and have a story. The good thing about this is that once you know what to expect from each type, you can deal with them quickly with confidence. Let me break down all the types so you know exactly what's coming in XAT 2026.
XAT Different Types of DM Sets
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Check here the XAT different types of DM questions based on their length:
1. Single-Question Prompts
Hence, these questions are the quickest to answer. You go through a short paragraph and answer one question only. One can just think of them as critical reasoning questions where one reads a small situation and chooses the best option. They are generally about 4-5 lines long and take the least amount of time to solve. The crux is to read carefully, for every word counts, however short it may be.
Example Scenario | What it tests |
|---|---|
A manager notices an employee using office internet for personal shopping during work hours. What should the manager do first? | Quick judgment on minor workplace violations |
Your colleague asks you to cover for them while they leave early for a personal appointment without informing the boss. Do you agree? | Loyalty vs honesty in workplace |
A customer is yelling at your junior team member for a mistake that was actually made by another department. How do you handle it? | Immediate conflict resolution and team protection |
You discover a small calculation error in last month's report that benefited the company. Should you report it? | Ethical integrity for small issues |
2. Two to Three Question Prompts
This is the most frequently found in the XAT. You are given a story of medium length (about 8-12 lines), followed by 2-3 questions regarding the same situation. All the questions test a different angle of your decision-making, may ask for immediate action, another for long-term solutions, and perhaps a third may test ethical reasoning. A good grasp of the situation is required, as all questions are tied back to the same story.
Example Scenario | What questions might ask |
|---|---|
A team leader finds out two team members aren't talking after a fight. One is a high performer, the other is new. The project deadline is next week and they need to work together. |
Q1: What's your immediate action? Q2: How do you ensure project completion?
|
Your company policy says no work from home, but your best employee requests it due to a family emergency for 2 months. Competitors are trying to hire this person. |
Q1: Do you break policy?
|
A supplier offers you a 30% discount on a personal deal if you choose them for a company contract. Their quality is good but another supplier is slightly better. |
Q1: Do you accept the personal discount?
|
Your junior made a mistake that cost the client money. The client is angry and wants someone fired. This is the junior's first mistake in 2 years. |
Q1: What do you tell the client?
|
3. Four to Five Question Prompts
This is the longest and toughest one, as you will get at least a few paragraphs describing a complex situation involving several people, diverse viewpoints, and conflicting interests. Following this, there will be 4-5 questions, which require you to explore every aspect of the given problem. These take a lot of time and allow for the majority of marks, so they are worth your while. Ultimately, there will not be an easy answer-one has to consider the problem from many angles.
Example Scenario | What it covers |
|---|---|
A manufacturing company is facing losses. The CEO wants to cut costs by laying off 100 workers. The HR head suggests reducing everyone's salary by 15% instead. Workers are threatening to strike. Environmental groups are protesting the company's pollution. A competitor wants to acquire the company. | Tests business strategy, employee welfare, ethics, stakeholder management, and crisis handling across 4-5 questions |
A hospital administrator faces a dilemma: an expensive new machine can save 10-15 lives per year but costs would increase patient fees by 20%. The government is cutting healthcare subsidies. Staff wants salary hikes. Poor patients cannot afford current fees. A private investor offers money but wants control. | Tests healthcare ethics, financial management, social responsibility, stakeholder interests, and long-term planning |
A school principal discovers a teacher giving extra coaching classes to students for money, which is against policy. The teacher is excellent and school results have improved. Parents support the teacher. Management wants the teacher fired as an example. The teacher has family medical expenses. | Tests policy enforcement, empathy, educational ethics, stakeholder management, and finding balanced solutions |
Familiarize yourself with these differences in types of DMs so that you can strategize and space their time management accordingly. Practice all types equally because XAT mixes them up to test your overall decision-making skills. The more different situations practiced, the more patterns found within the exam that will lead towards the right choice with confidence. To plan your attempts smartly, also check out how many questions to attempt in XAT 2026 to score 100 percentile and maximize your overall performance.
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