Available NMIMS Solved Assignments for June 2019

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Organisational Behaviour

1. The manager must praise an employee in public and censure in private. Discuss this statement with the help of Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory. 2. The Trait theory of leadership asserts that leaders are born not made. According to these theories leaders have common personal or behavioural characteristics accounting for leadership effectiveness. Do you agree with the same? Support your answer with proper justification for the same. Conclude by expressing which theory explains leadership the best. 3. Karan is an HR Manager and his team comprises of 6 members excluding him. Everyone in his team has extremely congenial relations to the extent that during brainstorming session they blatantly support each other. Though it is a sign of a close knit team but Karan feels that this kind of extreme harmony is killing the creativity of the team. Karan wants some kind of spur in the team’s creativity. Karan is in a dilemma. a. Suggest any two methods of stimulating functional conflict in Karan’s team. b. In case the conflict becomes dysfunctional, also suggest two methods through which Karan can manage the same (dysfunctional conflict).

Information System for Managers

1. Today companies are using various touch-points to interact with their customers constantly. These customers are responsible for spreading electronic word-of mouth thereby influencing others. You’re the owner of Snackathon, a subscription service that delivers snacks to homes and offices. Snackathon partners with grocers and other businesses and also sells directly to consumers. As an organization that has traditionally been dealing with customer’s offline, you realize the need to move online and dive deeper into analytics that help you understand why your customers left, if they’re thinking about leaving, and how you can work to keep them on board. What are the pros and cons of using analytics to engage with customers effectively? Justify your standpoint. 2. 10 Street Café is a chain you have started from scratch a few years ago. After breaking even, recently your cafés are gaining popularity and you are expanding your business. The growth is rapid and your staff seems unprepared for the increase in volume of customers and managing the interactions smoothly. On hiring a consultant to help you improve your customer experience, he recommends to invest in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. As a consultant, how would you point out the benefits of CRM system to the client and highlight points to ponder before and during the implementation of such a system? 3. Technology at the dining table (apps like Uber Eats, Swiggy, Zomato) is gaining firmer ground in India. Placing orders for food online is popular, especially among millennials, leading food delivery platforms to embrace analytics in a big way to better read fast-changing consumer behavior, minimize errors and enhance customer experiences. The primary reasons for this growing popularity can be attributed to the rise in the number of digital natives, improved internet connectivity, competitive pricing, quick delivery, variety of restaurants on-board, simple user interface and availability across different platforms. a. How do you think these companies use analytics to give customers a great experience, unlock business growth and drive operational efficiency? b. Define Social Media and explain how these companies use Social Media to increase their business? Is it a wise choice to use social media to connect with customers??

Management Theory and Practice

Case: M/s Chai ki pyaali is a new startup serving hot tea to customers. The company has 30 different varieties of tea and it also sells food items that adds more revenue to the overall profit. The company has a unique cup design and the store layout and design is vintage. The company has opened 50 stores across India and has a plan to open 100 more stores in another two years. The expansion plan is in place and the execution needs to be monitored. The Chai ki pyaali head office is in Mumbai. Mr. Shravan is the person who started the tapri (small road side sales booth) business and is now the owner of Chai ki pyaali chain. All the employees are very happy with Shravan and his managing skills. Before taking any decision he consults all his managers. He shares his ideas with them and also loves to hear their ideas too. He is always keen on learning new modern management principles and practices. Mr. Shravan hires you as a Business Manager so that the modern day management practices can be implemented properly. 1. How will you implement 5S in Chai ki Pyaali stores across India which will improve the overall efficiency of the organisation? 2. Explain various social responsibilities that this business will have towards interest groups? 3. Based on the case given: a. Identify any five Henry Fayol principles that can be implemented in the Chai ki Pyaali business. b. Explain any three types of leadership styles and identify the leadership style adopted by Mr. Shravan.

Corporate Social Responsibility

1. Choose any ONE listed company from NSE top 500 and go through its CSR Report (found in annual report under Board Report) for TWO years, 2016-17 and 2017-18, and answer the following; Select all projects/initiatives reported by the company that fall under Swachh Bharat Campaign and National Skill Development Mission for the 2 financial years. Collate and analyse the investment made by the company, the outcome and impact on the beneficiaries over these two years providing quantitative data to support the positive impacts reported. You can also include data/ information about these projects/initiatives from the company’s website and sustainability report if available. 2. Choose any ONE listed company from NSE top 500 (different company from a different sector than that selected for Q1 above). Go through its Business Responsibility Report 2017-18, Section E that has reporting/disclosures on “Principle 6: Business should respect, protect, and make efforts to restore the environment”. Identify and list the focus areas chosen by the company and the initiatives under these focus areas. Collate and present both the qualitative and quantitative information on all the identified initiatives under principle 6 to showcase their outcomes and their impacts. You will need to visit the company website, Annexure E (Energy Conservation) under Board Report as well as its sustainability report, if available. Conclude the answer by providing your analysis of the disclosed data. 3. With the introduction of the Companies Act 2012, spending 2% of net profit on CSR has become conditionally applicable to listed and non listed companies as per the provision laid out under section 135. The company can deploy the CSR projects themselves or through an implementing agency that fulfills all mandatory requirements laid down. a. As the new Lead, CSR Management Committee, explain what according to you are the five critical challenges/ key factors that will influence and/or enhance working with an implementing agency/ngo that you will have to address for achieving your project objectives. b. Suggest viable and practical solutions to any two of these challenges that you will present to your CSR Team.

Business Communication and Etiquette

1. Slipkart.com has put up billboards across the main, arterial roads of Mumbai. The billboards advertise the Mega Independence Day Sale coming up. They hope their billboards can grab the attention of drivers and pedestrians on these busy roads. List the 8-steps in the Basic Communication Model and apply the model to Slipkart.com’s billboard ad. 2. You are the customer service manager for OmYoga.com, an online store selling Yoga apparel. A customer has written an angry email complaining that the Yoga leggings she purchased a month ago have shrunk and the colour has faded. She mentioned that she machine-washed her leggings and dried them in a drier. Your website clearly mentions that the leggings can only be hand-washed and should not be put in the drier. She is asking for a replacement or a complete refund of Rs. 3000. How would you respond to this complaint? Draft an email. 3. Digital communication technologies are changing the face of business communication. Explain: a. Engaging content for Social Media b. Pros and cons of Instant Messaging

Business Economics

1. “In the monopolistic competition, a few firms sell differentiated products” Explain this statement by highlighting important features of this kind of a market. Substantiate your answer by a live example. Also explain how the equilibrium in this kind of a market is different from a long run equilibrium under perfect competition. 2. Complete the hypothetical table below and explain in brief, the behaviour of each type of cost. (10 Marks) Quantity Total Fixed Cost Total Variable Cost Total Cost Average Fixed Cost Average Variable Cost Average Total Cost Marginal Cost 0 0 1 25 2 40 3 50 4 60 5 100 80 6 110 7 150 8 300 9 500 10 900 3. a) What are the practical uses of the concept of price elasticity of demand for different stakeholders in the production process? b) Distinguish between the shift and movement in the demand curve. Explain any five factors which would bring about a shift in the demand curve for Maggie noodles.

Marketing Management

1. Assume you plan to purchase a new car for personal use. This will be the first car that you will be purchasing. Discuss various steps of consumer buying process that will be involved in purchasing a car. 2. M/s Furnideas wishes to sell furniture in the Indian Market. The company is known for their innovative ideas in furniture. The company has a global presence in selling furniture. The company sells to High, Middle and Lower Income group in different countries based on the segmentation. Furnideas appoints you as a consultant to guide them on types of segmentation that they should use for their furniture. 3. M/s Furnideas (as given in question 2) wants to promote its brand and products to create awareness and increase the sale of its products a. Explain various promotion mix tools that you will use for M/s Furnideas to create awareness about the brand and products. b. Explain any three online marketing tools that you will use to increase the sale for M/s Furnideas.

Essentials of HRM

1. Mazbooti Pvt Ltd is a civil engineering firm doing projects in buildings, roads, bridges, Flyovers etc. Recently they have bagged a lot of projects for which they require Graduate Trainee Engineers as well as Diploma Trainee Engineers in huge numbers. What could be the method of recruitment in such scenario? Discuss any two methods of recruitment for such high numbers also conclude by choosing the best method. 2. As per various researches it is reported that simulations are one of the most effective way of training. Discuss this statement with the help of strong supporting justifications and examples. Also conclude by suggesting any other form of training which can be considered to be as strong as simulations. 3. Kaira is working as an Assistant Manager –Marketing from past five years in an FMCG company. She is a very hard working and dedicated employee. Her performance has also been good consistently. She is one of the deserving employee who never got her fair share of success. From past five years she has not got a single promotion because of which she is contemplating to resign. She communicated the same to Mohit who is her reporting authority. Mohit apprises this to the top management and even gives cues that because of lack of career planning their organisation is in a verge of losing an important talent. Sanjay, the Operations Head on the other hand is totally against the idea of Career planning. a. Mohit is asked to prepare a list of merits of Career planning. Help him prepare the same. b. Sanjay opposes Mohit with his list of demerits on the career planning. Mention all the pros and cons of career planning and highlight who is right, Mohit or Sanjay?

Business Law

1. List out the exemptions under which information can be denied under the Right to Information Act, 2005. 2. Explain two (2) instances in which the consumer courts in India have given directions/orders awarding reliefs in respect to defect of goods/deficiency of service. Each instance should in detail explain (i) facts of the case and (ii) what relief and damages the consumer courts has granted. 3. Karan and Arjun had entered into a contract where Karan was to supply 50,000 phones to Arjun within 2 months from the date of signing of contract. Karan was to procure the phones from China and deliver the same to Arjun. The rate of the phone was Rs. 5000/- a piece (inclusive of all taxes and duties). At the time of the execution of the contract, the duty was at 5% (five percent). Immediately after the execution of the Agreement, India had increased the duties to 1000% (one thousand percent). Therefore, Karan was finding it difficult to sell the phones at the price agreed earlier. In the circumstances, kindly advice: a. How can Karan discharge such a contract? b. How can Arjun enforce such a contract?

Business Statistics

1. The Stock Price details of TATA TELESERVICES (MAHARASHTRA) LTD. are given below Date Close No. of No. of Total Turnover Shares Trades 01-03-2019 3.09 69,242 100 2,14,257 05-03-2019 3.35 1,97,344 251 6,51,621 06-03-2019 3.41 1,58,205 160 5,47,942 07-03-2019 3.55 4,00,183 433 13,99,537 08-03-2019 3.49 2,73,890 503 9,42,944 11-03-2019 3.5 1,46,178 145 5,12,714 12-03-2019 3.52 80,672 109 2,83,868 13-03-2019 3.46 1,49,428 116 5,14,536 14-03-2019 3.4 72,539 183 2,44,876 For the above sample, determine the following measures: a. The mean closing price b. The standard deviation of total number of shares c. The median value of number of trades d. The 75th percentile value of total turnover Analyze the above data using descriptive statistics and comment on the relationship between the various variables 2. Let’s assume that you have gathered the following information on the prices for different management books and the number of pages that each book contains. A 500 700 B 700 750 C 750 900 D 590 650 E 540 750 F 650 700 G 480 450 a. Develop a least-squares estimated regression line. b. Compute the coefficient of determination and explain its meaning. 3. The OECD cut forecasts again for the global economy in 2019 and 2020, following on from previous downgrades in November, as it warned that trade disputes and uncertainty over Brexit would hit world commerce and businesses. The Organization for Economic Co- Operation & Development forecast in its interim outlook report that the world economy would grow 3.3 percent in 2019 and 3.4 percent in 2020. Those forecasts represented cuts of 0.2 percentage points for 2019 and 0.1 percentage points for 2020, compared to the OECD’s last set of forecasts in November. “High policy uncertainty, ongoing trade tensions, and a further erosion of business and consumer confidence are all contributing to the slowdown,” said the OECD in its report. “Substantial policy uncertainty remains in Europe, including over Brexit. A disorderly exit would raise the costs for European economies substantially,” added the OECD. Europe remains impacted by uncertainty over Britain’s plans to exit the European Union, the U.S. - China trade spat and other weak spots, such as signs of a recession in Italy. For Germany, Europe’s largest economy, the OECD more than halved its 2019 GDP growth forecast to 0.7 percent from 1.6 percent previously. It predicted a light recovery to 1.1 percent growth in 2020. Germany’s export-reliant economy is particularly affected by weaker global demand and rising trade barriers. (Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-oecd-economy/global-economic-growthforecasts-cut-again-by-oecd-idUSKCN1QN13N) a. In your opinion what forecasting tools are used in the above case for forecasting the global economy? Justify. b. Are the forecasts accurate? Comment. What all errors are possible in the forecasts and how to deal with such errors?

Strategic Management

Case: M/s Ximi wants to enter in the washing machine and refrigerator market in India. The company has earned a lot of reputation in the global market. The company is known for low priced segment and delivers the best quality. The service is the best in the world. The response time to customer problems is less than 24 hours. 1. The CEO appoints you as a consultant to analyze the external environment for the Ximi Brand. Analyze. 2. Discuss the various types of business models and suggest the one that should be implemented by M/s Ximi for their product launch in India. Explain the same with reason. 3. a. Explain various functional strategies that M/s Ximi can adopt to improve and maximize the resource productivity. 3. b. Explain any five CSR activities that the company should undertake in India to benefit its stakeholders.

Financial Accounting & Analysis

1. An investor wants to tests the financial position of Asian Paints Ltd. Thus, he wants to assess the short term liquidity as well as long term solvency. Discuss the four relevant ratio’s which he will definitely look into. 2. Discuss the components of Other Income under the statement of Profit and Loss accounts of any Indian Corporate. How other income is different from revenue from normal operations under the vertical format. 3. The following information is provided by a dealer in computer chips. The dealer follows FIFO method for valuing stock, calculate from the following figures – Date particulars April 1, 2019 Opening stock 750 chips @Rs1550 per chip Purchases April 10, 2019 1000 chips @Rs1750 per chip April 20, 2019 1650 chips @ Rs1875 per chip Sales April 15, 2019 900 chips @Rs3000 per chip April 16, 2019 1950 chips @ Rs 3250 per chip a) Cost of goods available for sale (5 Marks) b) Gross profit

Commercial Banking System & Role of RBI

Q1. NPA have turned to be a major Stumbling Block affecting the profitability of the Indian Banks. Discuss about NPA and the solutions that banks could take in order to overcome this situation. (10 Marks) Q2. Parineeti has got her college assignment on the relevance of Basel Norms (I, II, III) in the banking sector. She is also required to highlight the importance on three pillars of BASEL II. Help her with the assignment (10 Marks) Q3. a) You have recently joined a bank. Your manager ask you to prepare a short presentation on Asset Liability Mismatch. Describe in detail about ALM and its objectives. (5 Marks) Q3. b) As an actuarial in an insurance company, discuss how ALM plays an important role in the banking sector. (5 Marks)

Corporate Finance

Q1. Hyperlocal startups had a maximum pie of the private equity and venture capital (PE/VC) funding last year. Discuss how arranging venture capital from the venture capitalist differs from Equity financing. (10 Marks) Q2. The finance department of Parshwanath Corporation gathered following information: The carrying cost per unit of inventory is Rs10 The cost per order is Rs20 he number of units required is 50000 per year The variable cost per unit ordered is Rs5 The purchase price per unit is Rs50 (10 Marks) Q3. Define the concept of EOQ, its relevance, determine the EOQ and the time gap between two orders. The expected cash flows of a project are as follows Year Cash Flows 0 -150000 1 20000 2 30000 3 40000 4 50000 5 30000 The cost of capital is 12% Discuss and Calculate a. NPV for the project (5 Marks) b. Future value of benefits when compounded @12 % (5 Marks)

Cost and Management Accounting

Q1. The roles and responsibilities of accounts manager are different from cost manager as both the types of accounting differs from each other. Prepare a presentation highlighting the points of difference between financial accounting and cost accounting. (10 Marks) Q2. Discuss any five costs other than the accounting costs, with suitable example, which are usually taken into consideration by managers for financial decision making. (10 Marks) Q3. The following information is available about a product for the month of June 2019. Material Purchased 24000 kgs@ 105600 Material consumed 22800 kgs Actual wages paid for 5940 hours Rs 29700 Units produced 2160 Standard rates and prices are as follows Direct material cost Rs4 per unit Direct labour cost Rs4 per hour Standard input 10kg for one unit Based on the data and information, calculate relevant- a. Material variances (5 Marks) b. Labour variances (5 Marks)

Marketing of Financial Services

Q1. Develop a Service Marketing Mix (using 8 Ps) for an Asset Management Company (Mutual Fund) of your choice. (10 Marks) Q2. One of your clients wants to apply for a Home Loan in the next 12 to 18 months. Few years back the client had lost his job and delayed his credit card payments. The client is worried that this may impact his credit score maintained by Credit Bureaus. Suggest a roadmap to your client to improve his credit score. (10 Marks) 3. You are a Financial Planner. Your client Raj Shah aged 36 years works with a Pharmaceutical company. His wife Pooja works part time with a NGO. They have one daughter Ritu aged 4 years. The couple requires your help to make some financial decisions. (You can make any assumptions to further build up your case.) a. Raj wants to buy a Pure Risk Life Insurance cover. He is confused whether he should buy a ULIP, Endowment or a Term Plan. Recommend the product best suited for him giving valid reasons. (5 Marks) b. Raj and Pooja want your help to invest for Ritu’s higher education which they estimate would be required after 15 years. (5 Marks)

Retail Banking

Q1: Rural areas as still majorly an untapped market for various sectors. This is especially true for the Banking Sector What are the need /reasons for commercial banks to open branch operations in a rural area? Discuss the various retail banking products these banks can offer in a rural area, considering the lower level of financial literacy. (10 Marks) Q2: The Banking sector has seen tremendous competition off late, with every major bank offering similar and all kinds of services. This makes it critical for them to make themselves visible and reach out to customers. What are the different Marketing modes and the different Distribution channels available for commercial banks to be able to reach customers and service them extensively? Discuss the Marketing mode and Distribution channels for a commercial bank if it has to open branch operations in a rural area. (10 Marks) Q3. The Retail Banking environment has seen a tremendous change in the past few years. This is especially true in the case of Urban markets where the entry of private and foreign banks has given the Retail Banking customers any options to choose from. With reference to this dynamic changes in retail banking in the urban market discuss the aspects as given below a. What are the recent trends seen in the Retail Banking scenario adopted by banks to provide better products as well as enhance their operations? (5 Marks) b. Discuss the various possible ways in which retail banks improve their operational efficiency, provide better customer service and at the same time generate better revenues/profits. (5 Marks)

Taxation Direct and Indirect

Q1. Government imposes direct taxes on the income earned and generated by businesses. Are these taxes burden on the public or these taxes are an instrument of social and economic policy in the hands on government. Express your opinion with suitable examples. (10 Marks) Q2. “One nation one tax.” Goods and service tax is a comprehensive, multistage and value added tax which is collected by both, the Central as well as State Government. GST replaced several taxes levied and collected in the nation over a period of time. Prepare a presentation mentioning briefly explaining, pattern of tax before GST, the types of taxes replaced by GST and salient features of GST. (10 Marks) Q3. Mr. Amolak, aged 52 years furnishes the following information relation to premium on mediclaim policy paid by cheque for the year ending 31.3.2019 For self- Rs10000 For spouse, aged 48 years Rs 9500 For dependent mother aged 72 years- Rs7500 For dependent mother in law, aged 64 years- Rs 5000 Cash paid for preventive health checkup of self and spouse ¡V Rs 8000 Medical expenditure for dependent father aged 83 years- Rs30000 a. Compute the deduction under section 80D of the Act. (5 Marks) b. What if, the above premium was paid in cash, would your answer be different? Also, discuss the provisions mentioned under Section 80 D of the Act (5 Marks)

B2B Marketing

Q1. Discuss your pricing strategies for each of the following B2B situations of MRF for its Tyres Indian Army requires to buy about 50,000 tyres for periodic replacement in its trucks, as and when required in year 2019-20 Ashok Leyland needs 5000 tyres, customized for its export order trucks for sub-zero cold conditions. Golden Transport Company urgently needs 200 truck-tyres for its transport fleet. (10 Marks) Q2. Voltas also makes commercial refrigerators which are used by Hotels, Commercial Kitchens, restaurants etc in addition to the air-conditioners it makes for B2C markets. These are customized according to customer requirements and the prices start from 5 lacs onwards. The marketing manager has to decide whether Voltas should direct distribution or indirect distribution. Please recommend the method Voltas should use giving reasons for the same. Also what communication tools can Voltas use for promoting in B2B segments for these new air-conditioners? (10 Marks) Q3. Read the following Case & solve the questions given: It is customary in almost every Business Organization, from large to small, to serve popular beverages like tea and coffee to its employees and visitors as a daily routine. In many organizations, it is served free, whereas in many others, on cost basis or subsidized-price basis. In a survey conducted by Coffee Board, in recent past, it is found that coffee is more regularly consumed in South Indian states and tea in most other parts is preferred as a routine beverage. In business organizations, coffee consumption, more or less, follows the geographic pattern of consumption. However, with entry of many coffee- specialty suppliers, the coffee is gaining popularity as a beverage, and its demand is growing rapidly. There is a variety of coffee-serving facilities prevalent in companies for their employees, ranging from a typical instant coffee in a kitchen managed by a vendor to departmentalized self-service vending machines. CoffeeBeans is a multinational coffee bars chain and has 220 outlets in major cities of India. In a bid to expand its market, CoffeeBeans is entering in business market in a big way. For its target B2B customers, it has designed a product-package consisting of a high-tech coffee-making robot, named ‘CoffeeCup’, bundled with bulk packs of coffee making ingredients. This machine can serve variety of customized coffee to suit different tastes of employees at very fast rate of 50 cups per minute. Vivek Lal, the Coffee-Cup product manager, with his team zeroed on Hero Motors at Delhi NCR as its first large business customer, where he forecasts an initial sale of 200 CoffeeCup Robots and bulk ingredient-packs to serve 5000 cups per day. Assuming any other relevant information as required, you are required to answer the following questions: a. How will you identify individuals in the Hero’s Buying Centre, for the different roles being played by them? b. Comment on the expectations of each role in the buying centre, and the strategies to be adopted by Vivek’s team to meet each of these expectations to persuade a favorable decision.

Business Ethic Governance and Risk

Q1. Analyse the Satyam Scam (Satyam Computers Services Ltd). Present your views on, "Scams influence and change the corporate governance landscape" and substantiate them using insights from the Satyam case (10 Marks) Q2. In your organization, 'Smart Solutions & Services', a midsize IT services company, all the mandatory requirements for compliance to "Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Protection, Prohibition, Redressal) Act 2013 have been put in place. You are Head of Marketing, with 11 people reporting to you directly and indirectly. What according to you are the five critical practices / initiatives / processes you need to genuinely implement to ensure that you are providing a safe working environment to all your women employees. (DO NOT copy paste the law) (10 Marks) Q3a. "India is one market where sales of so called 'Fairness Cream' does booming business". Identify all the inherent ethical issues. Argue and present the pros and cons of advertising fairness cream in India. (5 Marks) Q3b. You have studied Business Ethics as a structured subject for the first time. One of its objective is, ethical literacy- making the students aware of ethical dilemmas and provide tools and frameworks for future and current managers to deal with some of these ethical dilemmas they face. How has it helped you? Give 3 clear points to showcase that it has helped you become a better manager. (5 Marks)

Operations Management

Q1. What motivations typically cause firms to initiate a facilities location or relocation project? Select an Indian company and discuss its facility location strategies. (10 Marks) Q2. Discuss the benefits and limitations of the product layout and process layout. Select any automotive company and explain its plant layout. (10 Marks) Q3. JSW steel implemented Total Quality Management (TQM) at its Vijaynagar unit as part of its journey towards quality excellence. The company sources said TQM implementation enabled JSW steel, over the past five years, to drive operational efficiency and strengthen its customer service operations. In October 2018, JSW Steel’s Vijayanagar works unit was awarded the highest global quality honour, "The Deming Prize", for its TQM practices. The company now intends to implement TQM across all its steel manufacturing units, the officials said adding that TQM implementation at its Salem works in Tamil Nadu is on track and its implementation at Dolvi works in Maharashtra is expected to be completed by 2020. (Source: https://www.firstpost.com/business/jsw-steel-plans-to-ramp-up-production-capacity-firm-mulls-to-implement-total-quality-management-in-all-units-5599111.html ) a. What is TQM? Explain the benefits of implementing TQM at JSW steel. (5 Marks) b. Discuss the various requirements for implementing TQM at JSW steel. (5 Marks)

International Business

Q1. Hojibo and Go-on-tour are the two biggest Online Travel Aggregators in the Indian landscape. Stiff competition and excessive cash burn made them come together by merging both the companies and forming a new entity called Ho-GOT. You are the Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) of the Group Company. Founders of Hojibo and Go-on-Tour decided to build a new culture in Ho-GOT which would be different from both the earlier companies and thus entrusted you with this task. Being the CHRO you are aware that this would require huge cultural change in the organization. Discuss the various phases involved in the cultural change of an organization. Also elaborate some of the factors that facilitate cultural change in an organization. (10 Marks) Q2. RV Shoes is a dominant player in domestic footwear market. Mr. Singh is the owner of the company and a first generation entrepreneur. He now wants to go global with his brand but is not sure of the ways to enter International Market. Discuss the various ways to enter International Market and explain the pros and cons of each way which would help Mr. Singh to devise his strategy. (10 Marks) Q3. Hodrej is in the business of manufacturing and selling home safes. Business Head of Hodrej wants to promote his products in international market. a. Being the Marketing Manager for Hodrej briefly explain the steps involved in international marketing process. (5 Marks) b. As the Product Head for Hodrej you have been entrusted with the task to devise pricing strategy for your products to maximize sales and profits. Describe some of the commonly used international pricing strategies which could be used to achieve your marketing goal and objectives. (5 Marks)

Organisation Theory Structure and Design

Q1. Value for Money is a modern-day Fintech company with a work force of 300 people. The promoters have been stalwarts of the banking sector with a work experience of more than 30 years. The company has a lot of millennials and promoters are worried about creating a sustainable and productive work culture. Which are the factors that would affect organizational culture at Value for Money? What benefit will Value for money derive from a strong culture? (10 Marks) Q2. Hitech Solutions Ltd. is an upcoming IT solutions company. Their performance for past 3 years has been good, however performance has dipped this year. The CEO wants the strategy team to carry out a VRIO analysis. Which type of technique is VRIO? Conduct a VRIO for Hitech. Make assumptions where ever necessary. in spite of challenging market conditions. If the management decides to use the Historical analysis, which type of tool are they considering? (10 Marks) Q3a. Explain any 4 types of organizational structures with an example. (5 Marks) Q3b. Give an example of any organization that has gone through the phases of organizational life cycle. (5 Marks)

Consumer Behaviour

Q1. A well-known international fitness company, PlanetFit, is planning to set up gyms and yoga studios across India. Describe how PlanetFit can apply demographics and psychographics to plan its segmentation strategy. Which demographic and psychographic segments should PlanetFit target and why? (10 Marks) Q2. What are the steps in the consumer decision-making journey? Describe your decision-making journey for the following products: (10 Marks) a. Sugar b. Men’s aftershave lotion c. Smartphone Q3. a) What are reference groups? List and discuss 2 groups that influence your purchases. (5 Marks) Q3. b) Explain Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Develop an ad campaign for Running shoes, appealing to the self-esteem need level. (5 Marks)

Marketing Research

Q1. The Distance Education Council (DEC) wants to conduct a research among the various distance learners across different colleges, universities and courses across India. Since the population of distance learners is widely dispersed, the research team at DEC feels that it may be effective to conduct an online or telephonic survey. However, these methods have their own drawbacks. Besides, the information to be collected is quite detailed which is prompting the researchers to consider other approaches such as a face-to-face survey. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the various data collection methods available to the researchers at DEC and recommend an approach (10 Marks) Q2. Nestle wanted to understand the key challenges that their brand Maggi is likely to face in its comeback; in the wake of more aggressive competition from competitors such as Sunfeast Yippee noodles and Patanjali Atta noodles. The research agency took this brief from Nestle and gave instructions to its team to find out the customer satisfaction with Maggi and its arch rivals. “Specifying the research objective in the most clear and precise form, is the most crucial step involved in the research process”. Evaluate this statement in the light of this case and discuss how the steps involved in this research process (as proposed by the research agency) will turn out to be different from what Nestle expects as the research outcome. (10 Marks) Q3. Scene 1: Nivedita, an interviewer for a data collection agency, approached a couple at the mall seeming to be hailing from a rural background and asked the woman, if she would like to participate in a marketing research survey. The couple quickly walked away. A group of teenage girls overheard Nivedita and asked her if they could participate. They were from rural areas, and they would like to answer Nivedita's questions. Nivedita was ecstatic! She could fill a good portion of her sample with these helpful girls! Scene 2: Nivedita had a list of names and contact details of 100 women in Faisapur in U.P. She started with the top 5 names. In 4 out of 5 cases, the women either didn’t respond to her request or refused to participate. Only one woman took the survey. How will she reach out to these 100 shortlisted women in one week? It seemed to be a daunting task as of now. Nivedita was confused. The reason was simple: The "normal" rules for conducting a marketing research survey do not apply when the target sample is a Rural population. Nivedita was one of the women researchers who had been appointed by an NGO for conducting a research on the sanitation and personal hygiene methods being used by women in rural areas. The objective was to capture the aftermath of the awareness campaigns been done on account of the Indian Household Latrines (IHHL), School Sanitation and Hygiene Education and Anganwadi toilets. After a whole lot of debate and discussion, it had been decided that the respondents for this survey shall be rural girls / women ranging from a broad age group of 12-60 years. For conducting a survey among this wide audience, two things were done: A list of women was procured from secondary sources of data The women were segregated on the basis of age into the following categories: 12-17, 18-25, 26-35, 36 – 45, 46-60 The sampling method had also been very scientifically decided. However, reaching out to these women unknown to the researcher, unrelated to each other, was not working out, no matter how scientific the approach may be. With this very first experience shared by Nivedita as a part of the pilot, the team was a bit confused on whether their understanding of the rural research methods is correct. Anxiety was creeping in as to what should be the ideal method to choose this sample of rural girls / women? a. To choose this sample of rural girls / women, which sampling methods will you consider most appropriate and why? Suggest any two methods and justify your answer. (5 Marks) b. Suggest some innovative interview methods to reach out to the target audience (5 Marks)

Services Marketing

Q1. Bookworm’s World is a U.K based Book Store chain planning to launch in the Indian market, specifically catering to children’s books, workbooks and educational toys. Initially the Book store chain will begin its operations with 6 major cities which are being seen as potential markets and then slowly it shall expand to other big cities in India as well. With this vision, the management, now wants to explore the various options for service delivery. Since it is a new chain, the delivery options need to be cost effective, atleast to begin with The management is open to all sorts of technology tie-ups to explore the self-service or remote options along with the traditional delivery models. Suggest all the possible delivery options that you consider appropriate. Justify with an argument. (10 Marks) Q2. Summer vacations for the kids are round the corner. This time around, you have decided to surprise the kids with the Big Summer Holiday that you and your better half had been contemplating since long. Choosing between a 7-day European dreams or The best of U.S or Amazing Australia or the umpteen options flashing on various travel sites, is indeed a complicated decision; especially in the backdrop of a budget constraint. Quite obviously, while the flashy packages offer the ‘oh-so’irresistable’ deals, these prices are not just the only costs that the customer has to incur. The real cost of the service to the customer is an amalgamation of many inter-related monetary and non-monetary costs. Discuss the various search, purchase and post-purchase costs that you will have to incur in the purchase of the holiday package. (10 Marks) Q3. Nannytracker.com is the new kid on the block; a new mobile-app based service which helps you keep a tab on your children and their nanny while you’re out of the house. The Nannytracker, a new service for working parents, allows them the facility of home care viewing on their smartphones. The subscriber can view real-time video through a smartphone that is capable of showing video clips of footage of the home’s interior space. The app gives the user a comprehensive view of what their kids are up to while they are away. Besides the clandestine video clips of the home, that get captured periodically through a hidden camera and are posted to the parents, the smartphone app can be installed at both the parents and nanny’s end, and can work as a vital communication tool between them. The app provides easy messaging between parents, nannies, or any other caretaker, all within the account. Hence, any important information such as medication dosages, nappy changing frequency, food and play instructions don’t get missed out. The app also allows the Nanny to click pictures of the baby and post them so that they remain in one location/ account. The Daily News Feed provides an overview of their activities, as well as all the data that was tracked, messages that were exchanged, and photos that were shared. The service is being targeted to working women living in urban metro cities such as Delhi and Mumbai; many of whom have domestic helpers to take care of their children during working hours. Although the service intends to provide parents with peace of mind, it could work equally well for pet owners. The app is compatible both the iOS and android platforms. Priced at Rs. 999 on Playstore and App store, as one-time download charges, each member of the caretaker team needs to download the app by paying the installation charge. The charge includes installation of the camera, all app-related services and unlimited data storage. As if this is not enough, the app also allows you to add another child to the same account. And this one’s completely free of charge. You will receive separate notification for both the kids; however, you have to ensure that they are in the same location. Now this is what you call women’s empowerment!! a. Discuss and evaluate the marketing mix for Nannytracker.com (5 Marks) b. What is the core service being offered by Nannytracker.com? Compare the facilitating and enhancing supplementary services being offered by Nannytracker.com (5 Marks)