Q5: APSC Prelims 2025 GS-II: Previous Year Question with Answer

Read the following passage carefully and answer Question Nos. 5 and 6 : The open-plan office of 'Vertex Design' was usually a hum of collaborative energy, but today, the silence was heavy. Damodar, a senior architect, stood by the window, staring at the printed blueprints of the new community centre. Across the room sat Seema, a junior designer whose hands hovered tentatively over her keyboard. Earlier that morning, Damodar had discovered a critical measurement error in the structural supports—an error that originated from Seema's workstation. Instead of pulling her aside, Damodar had pointed it out during the all-hands briefing, his voice booming with a mix of frustration and disbelief. "We aren't here to play around with 'estimates', Seema. This could have cost us the contract." Seema hadn't defended herself. She hadn't mentioned that she had worked forty-eight hours straight to meet Damodar's last-minute deadlines nor that she had flagged the specific measurement for his review three days prior in an e-mail he never opened. Now, the team was divided. Some whispered about Seema's 'sloppy work', while others were visibly uncomfortable with Damodar's public outburst. By the afternoon, the project was at a standstill, not because of the error—which was easily fixable—but because the bridge of trust between the leader and his team had collapsed. In terms of interpersonal communication, Damodar's behaviour is best described as