Question

The pie-charts below give the percentage distribution of employees in different Departments in XYZ Company Ltd. during the years 2005 and 2006. A - Administration; B - Operations; C - Sales & Marketing; D - Finance & Accounts; E - Corporate HQ.

2005 (total employees 18,000): A 22%, B 23%, C 18%, D 29%, E 8%.

2006 (total employees 20,000): A 24%, B 26%, C 20%, D 20%, E 10%.

What is the percentage increase in the number of employees in Sales & Marketing from 2005 to 2006?

• A. 2%
• B. 2.34%
• C. 23.45%
• D. None of these

Hint:

Convert the 18% (2005) and 20% (2006) shares into actual employee counts using each year's own total, then apply the standard percentage-increase formula on those two counts.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
Sales & Marketing (department C) has both a different percentage share and a different company total in the two years, so we must convert to actual headcounts before comparing.

Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
Headcount \( = \) percentage share \( \times \) total employees for that year, then apply the usual percentage-increase formula on the two headcounts.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation.
2005: Sales & Marketing \( = 18\% \times 18{,}000 = 3{,}240 \) employees.
2006: Sales & Marketing \( = 20\% \times 20{,}000 = 4{,}000 \) employees.
Increase in headcount \( = 4{,}000 - 3{,}240 = 760 \) employees.
\[ \%\text{ increase} = \frac{760}{3240} \times 100 \approx 23.46\% \]

Step 4: Final Answer:
The percentage increase works out to about 23.45%, using 2005's headcount of 3,240 as the base.
\[ \boxed{23.45\%} \]