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 Concept:
Instead of subtracting headcounts and then dividing, we can find the ratio of the two headcounts directly, since $\%\text{ increase} = (\text{ratio} - 1) \times 100$.

Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
Ratio of 2006 headcount to 2005 headcount $= \dfrac{0.20 \times 20000}{0.18 \times 18000}$.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation.
Numerator $= 0.20 \times 20000 = 4000$.
Denominator $= 0.18 \times 18000 = 3240$.
Ratio $= \dfrac{4000}{3240} \approx 1.2346$.
Since the ratio is 1.2346, the headcount grew to about 123.46% of its old value, which is a 23.46% rise.

Step 4: Final Answer:
This matches the direct subtraction method and rounds to 23.45%.
\[\boxed{23.45\%}\]