In a company hierarchy, Kathir is senior to Ganesh, and Ganesh is senior to Apparu. Apparu is junior to Raju, while Raju is junior to Ganesh. Who is the most senior person among Kathir, Ganesh, Apparu and Raju?

Introduction / Context:

This ranking question deals with seniority in an organizational hierarchy. Statements describe who is senior or junior compared to whom. The goal is to determine the most senior person among the four given individuals. Such problems test a student's ability to combine multiple relational statements into a consistent order.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Kathir is senior to Ganesh.
• Ganesh is senior to Apparu.
• Apparu is junior to Raju, which means Raju is senior to Apparu.
• Raju is junior to Ganesh, so Ganesh is senior to Raju.
• We consider only these four people: Kathir, Ganesh, Apparu and Raju.

Concept / Approach:

We translate each statement into a simple inequality representing order of seniority. Seniority can be seen as a ranking where higher positions mean greater authority. By combining all inequalities into a single chain, we can clearly see who is at the top of the hierarchy and who is at the bottom.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:

We can imagine assigning ranks: Kathir as rank 1, Ganesh as rank 2, Raju as rank 3 and Apparu as rank 4. All statements are satisfied: Kathir is above Ganesh, Ganesh above Apparu, Raju above Apparu and Ganesh above Raju. There is no contradiction, so the order is consistent.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

Ganesh is senior to Raju and Apparu but junior to Kathir, so he is not the most senior.

Raju is senior only to Apparu and is specifically said to be junior to Ganesh and therefore also junior to Kathir.

Apparu is at the bottom of the chain, junior to both Ganesh and Raju, so he cannot be the most senior.

Common Pitfalls:

A frequent error is to misinterpret “junior to” and reverse the direction of the relation. Remember that “X is junior to Y” means Y holds a higher rank. Carefully translating each phrase into an inequality helps prevent such mistakes.

Final Answer:

The most senior person in the group is Kathir.