Answers to the Strategist quiz (#500)

Strategy Quiz (#500) answers

1. Recently George Stanley’s original Art Deco sculpture of the late 1920s was brought back to life. A lost wax process to make a 24-karat gold-finished bronze statuette has replaced a hand-cast method used to produce the trophy. Name the trophy and the firm that is now manufacturing them.

The Oscar statuette will now be manufactured by New York-based Polich Tallix Fine Art Foundry. Earlier, it was manufactured by R S Owens that was based in Chicago

2. The founder of this company/brand recently said, “I aspire to promote ayurveda in the beauty and wellness segment to every nook and corner of the globe.” The interview of this person is now a part of Harvard Business School’s curriculum as a case study. Name this person.

Shahnaz Hussain, known as India's herbal beauty queen

3.  Which company was Michael Dell referring to when he refused to buy it and later told a crowd of several thousands of tech executives at the ITxpo97 (1997) that this company should shut down completely and give its shareholders their money back? Nobody — not Compaq, AT&T, or IBM — wanted to buy this company.

Apple

4. What is the significance of these items for Wal-Mart: bananas, batteries, paper towels, a scooter, wrapping paper and a video baby monitor?

Walmart is the only retail sponsor of the Oscars, and it has worked with Hollywood directors to produce one-minute films based on six items on a Walmart receipt: bananas, batteries, paper towels, a scooter, wrapping paper and a video baby monitor. According to Walmart a receipt tells a story as diverse as the customers who shop with them

5. The co-promoter and current chairman and MD of which company has penned his memoir titled “Bringing the Rainbow”?

R K Somany of the Hindware group or HSIL group

6. Name the Indian businessman and nationalist who was the first to enunciate the “drain theory” in the 1860s. He argued that the basic cause of India's poverty was drain of wealth — excess exports over imports.

Dadabhai Naoroji Tata

7. This person was a gadgeteer whose biggest break came in the early 1900s when he invented a system to make digging through index cards easier. One of his contributions is vital for all central banks. He also founded a company now called Remington Rand. Name him and his invention.

The American economist Irving Fisher, who presciently discovered the portfolio theory and countercyclical monetary policy, and invented the Rolodex, which made him a millionaire

8. What is common to the world’s first practical wrist watch made in 1904 and the presidential aircraft used by the Brazilian government?

Both are named after Brazilian Aviation pioneer Santos Dumont

9. Identify the brand that has nicknames like the “clamtoe”, “shelltoe”, “shell tops” and “sea shells”?

The Adidas Superstar shoes

10. Identify an innovative first-of-its-kind vehicle brand from the logo. 

Multix from the Eicher Motors and US-based Polaris. Powered by a diesel engine, it has a unique a power take-off facility that can generate electricity. It can be used to power professional equipment such as drilling machines, water pumps and even for lighting a home

There were 11 correct entries to quiz No 500. The winner is Chinmay Pradhan from Bhubaneswar