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Brand Management

Q1. Even for the most dedicated of ice cream lovers this multicultural marketing blunder may prove a little hard to swallow. Meerut-based MVF Products launched ice-cream cones by the name of “Hitler”. The brand’s cartons carried a picture of a stern-looking Adolf Hitler dressed in a brown blazer. In response to its marketing, critics tweeted extensively with crude remarks such as “Height of tastelessness; Indian ice-cream named after Hitler. Would the Germans name a sausage after Godse?" The brand marketers however justified their stance by stating that the brand name was inspired by an uncle in the family known for his short-temper; and nick-named Hitler. Needless to say, the brand’s name and identity suffered from severe criticism for being inappropriate and insensitive. Not just the brand name, but even while choosing other elements of the Brand, the marketer must keep in mind certain criteria to avoid such multi-cultural blunders. Discuss the six-point criteria for choosing the Brand elements. (10 Marks)

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Q2. Nestle is planning to come up with a range of coffee-based products such as face wash, face exfoliating scrub, face mask, face cream, body mist, lip balm etc. under its Nestle brand. What is the branding strategy that Nestle should adopt for this new product range? Suggest how the company can create brand associations for its new product range leveraging secondary associations from its existing brand. (10 Marks)

Q3. Chocberry has undergone a major transformation over time. It has evolved from being a confectionery business into an international business with significant interests in confectionery and entertainment for kids worldwide. Growth through acquisition had enabled the group to build up a large portfolio of well-known brands. However, slowly it started becoming clear that not all of its products were contributing equally well to its overall profitability. This case study looks at how Chocberry adopted a business philosophy of selling chocolate products to children either directly or through their parents.

Revitalising brands

Chocberry's famous brands include: Chocberry's Milky Way, Nutty Buddy and SilkyChoc. Good brands are valuable assets, but still need support especially when children are the main consumers and parents the main buyers. There is also a time lag challenge. Children, who stop being consumers of their parents' chocolate purchases when aged 12 or 13, have to be encouraged back to the product as buyers of it when they themselves become parents, perhaps 15 years later. Chocberry decided that its chocolate products aimed at children were most in need of a new approach. But how best to achieve it?

Advertising dilemmas

Since different chocolate-based products appeal to different age groups, Chocberry needs to offer a wide product range. Each product needs promotion, which implies an advertising budget for each product line, which is very expensive. One approach is to promote the firm as a whole, that is, raise awareness of Chocberry's, in the hope that this in itself will boost sales across Chocberry's product range. However, a catch-all approach can be rather hit or miss and may produce a poor return. Another way around this is to promote chocolate consumption in general. This approach would require co-operation between competitive producers and implies some loss of control for Chocberry's. In line with its adding-value approach, the challenge to Chocberry was to promote its child-orientated products in a cost-effective manner.

From within Chocberry came an interesting, attractive proposal based on some solid propositions:

·         For children, consumption is linked to having fun. Any consumption that children regard as fun will also appeal to their parents, who do the spending.

·         Other companies manage to associate consumption with children having fun. For example, Disney offers Disneyland, where, in the course of having a good time, children meet loveable characters whom they link with the purchases that parents make on their behalf, such as cinema tickets, videos, cuddly toys.

·         On somewhat similar lines, the company Chocberry, also has 'a place where chocolate is made'. This place is an asset that can be further developed into a Chocolate World. Chances are, that it shall prove to be a huge attraction to thousands of visitors each year.

Out of this line of thinking came a new Chocberry creation - Chocberry LAND – a chocolate world, chocolate factory of its kind. Chocberry already has separate chocolate lines aimed principally at children: Chocberry Shots, Stars, Perky. What was needed was a new 'umbrella' that gave them some togetherness whilst preserving their separate identities.

The concept of Chocberry LAND had to be suitable for promotion through the various media forms and flexible to survive the addition and subtraction of brands.

Chocberry LAND will capitalise on children's love of likeable characters placed in a world of their own. A character shall be attached to each brand. The character's persona will reflect the brand. For instance, Buttons will be 'a bit dizzy and will giggle a lot', Wildlife will be 'an eccentric old buffer' and Fudge will be 'a bit of a loony'. In Chocberry LAND, each character will contribute in an endearing way to the making of 'their' product. A child consumer and his chocolate-related adventures will offer the route by which the visitors shall enter and enjoy Chocberry LAND. Children will feel comfortable with all this, because they are already familiar with the brands. The experience of seeing their favourite chocolates being made – a tempting world of chocolates – will be a one of its kind.

The challenge before the marketers will be to build the brand equity for Chocberry LAND.

a. Who should be the key target consumer (s) for Chocberry LAND and what should be the positioning to reach out to them? (5 Marks)

b. What are the various communication tools which can help in building the brand equity of Chocberry LAND? (5 Marks)

Business Communication and Etiquette

Q1. Give examples of the following types of Biases in a sentence: Gender bias, Racial bias, Age bias, Disability bias. How can they be avoided? (10 Marks)

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Q2. FashionStation.com is an online apparel store. You are the Online Customer Service Manager. A disgruntled customer has written a rude email complaining that the chiffon blouse she purchased a month ago has torn and shrunk, after just machine-washing it once. Your website clearly mentions that delicate materials like chiffon can only be hand-washed. She is asking for a replacement or a complete refund of Rs. 2000. How would you respond to this complaint? Draft an email. (10 Marks)

Q3a: You’ve just finished the first document draft of a crucial proposal you are to send out next week. Explain the different tactics you may use to proofread it. (5 Marks)

Q3b: You’ve been shortlisted for an interview at your dream company. What are the different common types of Interviews you should mentally prepare yourself for? (5 Marks)

Business Economics

1. What is Demand forecasting? Explain different qualitative methods of demand forecasting. State which of the methods described is most suitable for forecasting the demand for “newspaper” and why? (10 Marks)

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2. Complete the hypothetical table below and explain in brief, the law of variable proportions.

Quantity	Total Product	Average Product	Marginal product
1	-	10	-
2	-	30	-
3	-	48	-
4	-	56	-
5	-	56	-
6	-	52	-

(10 Marks)

3. a. Explain the types of elasticity of demand. Calculate elasticity of demand for the following data.

Price of Apple (Rs.)	Quantity demanded (KGs)
20	100
21	96

(5 Marks)

3. b. Distinguish between the features of perfect competition and monopolistic competition. Give real world examples of each of these types of markets. (5 Marks)

Business Ethics Governance and Risk

Q1. The ubiquitous cctv cameras are everywhere and meant to monitor as well as protect you in your workplace. What according to you are the pros and cons of using video surveillance in work place for monitoring employees (two each)? (10 Marks)

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Q2. In your organization, ‘Smart Solutions’, a midsize IT services company, one of your senior team member has turned whistle blower, blowing whistle on malpractices employed by the business. While discussing the issue of ‘Whistleblower versus organizational loyalty’, informally with your other team members, what according to you are the four important points that need to be addressed in this discussion? List those four points and explain your point of view on each of them. (10 Marks)

Q3. a. You are Business Head of Ben & Jerry ice cream in Sri Lanka. One day you discover that the most senior officer of your company’s venture in Sri Lanka has been ‘borrowing’ equipment from the company and using it in his other business venture. When you confront him, the Sri Lankan partner defends his action. After all, as part owner of both the companies, isn’t he entitled to share in the equipment. How will you deal with such cross cultural gray areas and what tools will guide your decision making process? (5 Marks)

3. b. ‘Professionals such as accountants and lawyers have duties and obligations that other people do not.’ Why is that so? Discuss your point of view and its supporting arguments. (two points of view with explanation is good enough) (5 Marks)

Business Law

1. Explain the mechanism of a Digital Signatures which is recognized under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and state at least two (2) of its applications

2. Explain in details two (2) real-life instances of Anti-Competitive Agreements which have been prohibited by the Competition Commission of India.

3. Abhay and Seema have entered into a commercial agreement to license content. However, Abhay did not deliver the content to the satisfaction of Seema. Hence, there are disputes arisen between Abhay and Seema. Abhay and Seema do not want to go through a protracted litigation process in Indian courts. Can you advise them on:

a. What should be done to conduct an arbitration between Abhay and Seema to resolve their disputes

b. The difference between Arbitration, Conciliation and Mediation? What is the advantages and disadvantages of each of these

Business Statistics

Q1. What is sampling distribution? An automobile manufacturer claims that a particular model gets 28 KM per liter of petrol, but the Environmental Protection Agency, using a sample of 50 automobiles of this model, finds the sample mean to be 26.8 km/ltr. From previous studies, the population standard deviation is known to be 5 km/ltr. Could we reasonably expect (within 2 standard errors) that we could select such a sample if indeed the population mean is 28 km/ltr? Justify. (10 Marks)

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Q2: Raj studios a Tollywood casting company, is selecting a group of extras for a movie. The ages of the first 30 men to be interviewed are.

50	56	55
54	55	61
49	52	57
60	51	59
56	57	56
62	52	54
55	49	52
61	60	51
57	56	59
52	54	49

The director of the movie wants men whose ages are grouped around 50 years. The director suggests that a standard deviation of 3 years would be acceptable. Does this group of extras qualify to the director’s requirement? (10 Marks)

Q3: Historically, diesel has mostly been cheaper than petrol in South Africa, though this has not always been the case, and not a trend seen around the world. One of the key differences in the pricing of diesel versus petrol, is that diesel prices reflect wholesale prices, not the price you would pay at the pumps. For example, the wholesale inland diesel price for August was at R10.96 at the beginning of the month, while Caltex’s retail version – Caltex 50 diesel with Techron – sells at R11.33 per litre. Over the past decade, both the petrol and diesel prices have seen some significant fluctuations, but petrol (95 grade) has seen the biggest overall increase, having jumped 75.4% since 2006.

Commercial Banking System and Role of RBI

1. Non fund based credit facilities forms an important functions of the banks. Discuss some of the non-fund credit functions of the commercial banks (10 Marks)

2. Central bank is the apex monetary institutions in the money market. Discuss some of the important functions of the central banks. (10 Marks)

3. Mr. Panchal owns a plastics extruding company. Plastic Moulding Inc. He recently been successful in landing two offshore orders for plastic parts required in the automobile and food processing industries. With the help of Letter of credit Mr. Panchal wants to enter into few newer trade agreements with a Brazilian manufacturer.

a. Discuss the mechanism of letter of credit (5 Marks)

b. Discuss the advantages for sellers and buyers with respect to Letter of Credit. (5 Marks)

Compensation and Benefits

1. ABC Ltd. is a newly set up electronics manufacturing company in India. They are in the process of setting up a compensation plan for their employees. You are an HR Manager in the company and your immediate task is to set up a compensation plan for sales executives. What components will you keep in the compensation for sales executives? Justify each. (10 Marks)

2. ITB is a newly set up FMCG Company in Mumbai and they are in the process of deciding the reward strategy to be implemented for its employees. You are hired as a consultant for the same. How will you structure a reward strategy for ITB? (10 Marks)

3. PHILIX is a leading Textiles company in India. They have a plant at Bhivandi near Mumbai. The company is planning to revise its pay structure considering the changes in the external environment and you are the HR Manager in PHILIX. Considering this answer the following questions:

a. How will you conduct job analysis in PHILIX? (5 Marks)

b. How will you conduct job evaluation in PHILIX? (5 Marks)

Consumer Behaviour

ü  All answers to be explained in not more than 1000 words for question 1 and 2 and for question 3 in not more than 500 words for each subsection. Use relevant examples, illustrations as far as possible.

ü  Answer should in your own words. Don’t copy answer from any source.

ü  Follow the following parameter for answering the assignment questions.

For Theoretical Answer
Assessment Parameter	Weightage
Introduction	20%
Concepts and Application related to the question	60%
Conclusion	20%

For Numerical Answer
Assessment Parameter	Weightage
Understanding and usage of the formula	20%
Procedure / Steps	50%
Correct Answer & Interpretation	30%

Q1. Parachute is known for its range of coconut-based hair products, manufactured by Marico. While their flagship product is their Parachute coconut hair oil, over the years they have extended the brand to make Parachute Advansed Oil for specialized hair care needs and Parachute Advansed Body Lotion for skin care needs. What is Stimulus Generalization? How has Parachute generalized the stimulus of “goodness of coconut” into its brand extensions? (10 Marks)

Q2. Consider you are in the market for a luxury watch. Enumerate the steps in this purchase using the Consumer Decision Making Model: Input, Process, and Output. (10 Marks)

Q3a) Explain the different adopter categories in the Innovation adoption process, taking the example of any innovative product of your choice. (5 Marks)

Q3b) What are membership groups and symbolic groups? Discuss 1 membership group and 1 symbolic group from your life. (5 Marks)

Corporate Finance

ü  All answers to be explained in not more than 1000 words for question 1 and 2 and for question 3 in not more than 500 words for each subsection. Use relevant examples, illustrations as far as possible.

ü  Answer should in your own words. Don’t copy answer from any source.

ü  Follow the following parameter for answering the assignment questions.

For Theoretical Answer
Assessment Parameter	Weightage
Introduction	20%
Concepts and Application related to the question	60%
Conclusion	20%

For Numerical Answer
Assessment Parameter	Weightage
Understanding and usage of the formula	20%
Procedure / Steps	50%
Correct Answer & Interpretation	30%

Q1. The risk free Rate of return is 6 %, Return on market is 11% and the Beta of Michelllo Private limited is 1.1. Estimate the cost of Equity and also mention the steps to calculate the opportunity cost of capital as per the CAPM Model. (10 Marks)

Q2. Mehta & Mehta constructing company wants to make an investment worth 500 crores in certain real estate projects. As a financial advisor to the company discuss the capital budgeting process with them, covering suitable points. (10 Marks)

Q3. Anna dude Enterprises has Rs 5lacs in assets that are financed with 100% equity. Fixed cost are Rs1.2lacs. The EBIT of Anna dude Enterprises for the year is Rs80000. The applicable tax rate is 40%. In case its EBIT increases by 10%and reduces by 10% Define, calculate & interpret the

a. Net income (5 Marks)

b. Return on equity (5 Marks)

Corporate Social Responsibility

Q1. Pick & choose a Sustainability report of an Indian company in the Services domain only & choose any one Water Management initiative & any one Rural Management initiative being undertaken by the organisation. Analyze and explain the initiative’s qualitative and quantitative data in the form of a case, such that it showcases all the benefits, financial and non-financial that accrue to the company. 10 Marks

 Q2. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai (CSIA) has offered a job role to you in the capacity of a CSR Head. The Airport has created this position recently & has no previous experience in CSR. Describe in brief atleast 10 innovative initiatives that you will implement & drive in this new organization of yours. 10 Marks

 Q3. One of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal is ‘Zero Hunger’. The primary objective behind this goal is to ensure availability & sustainable management of food for all.

a. What according to you are five compelling reasons behind the existence of Hunger issues in India.(5 Marks)

b. Suggest five strategies/action plan that can be adopted by businesses to make Zero Hunger an achievable target in India in the coming years. (5 Marks)

Cost and Management Accounting

Q1. The CEO of Aadhar Private limited is worried about the labour turnover in the company. He noticed that the labour turnover is going up over the last few years. Being an advisor to the company you are asked to share insights on the factors contributing towards high labour turnover and the categories of cost in relation to labour turnover for any organization. (Please share example wherever seems essential) (10 Marks)

Q2. Mr Verma decided to set up cost accounting and financial accounting for his furniture manufacturing unit located in Navi Mumbai, a year back. However, he is least interest to set up management accounting department for his manufacturing business which has an annual turnover of 50 crores. Discuss the aspects which you want to highlight in this case so as to convince Mr. Verma to set up the said department as well. (10 Marks)

Q3. The following particulars relates to the production department – A, of a factory for the month of June 2018

Cost data of a particular work order carried out in the above department during June2018, are given below:

Using the following-

i. Direct labour cost rate

ii. Machine hour rate

iii. Direct Labour hour rate

Calculate

a. Overhead charging rate (5 Marks)

b. Factory cost of work order (5 Marks)

Customer Relationship Management

Q1. In your opinion, what are the most crucial performance criteria for the performance of a website while trying to enter into a long-term relationship with customers? (10 Marks)

Q2. Even though CRM is not always successful, from your own experiences and observation, enlist 5 successful applications of CRM & reasons for their success. (10 Marks)

Q3. To construct a customer profile with optimum indicators and/or criteria resulting in a rich profile is a challenging task. Your senior at your organization has entrusted you with the job to lead your team to conduct this activity.

a. Prioritize 10 criteria for your organization / industry to develop the customer profile as per the relationship policy. (5 Marks)

b. From which sources are these data most likely to be collected. (5 Marks)

Employee Development and Talent Management

Q1. Meenakshi is working in Bright HR solutions. The company is into a lot of HR related work and works with really big size companies. Meenakshi is into Talent Management department and needs to design talent assessment system for a large pharmaceutical company. Please help Meenakshi to design the system by listing out talent assessment tools in detail. (10 Marks)

Q2. Ayushi is a part of Employee Development Program at Sonic Services. With over 1200 employees at three different development centers, the program needs to be robust. The department of Employee Development is about 15 people large and Ayushi’s group is responsible for arranging resources for the program. Please list out the steps followed in arrangements of employee development. (10 Marks)

Q3. Vivek is a fresh management graduate. He has joined Telson Group of companies in the Talent management department. He is working on the project of Succession planning for one of their plants with his Chief HR Officer. In light of this case, please answer following questions.

a. Vivek needs to explain the importance of succession planning to his senior managers. Enumerate on the objectives of succession planning for him to start his presentation. (5 Marks)

b. List out the stages involved in succession planning, so that Vivek can start his ground work for the process to start. (5 Marks)

Enterprise Resource Planning

1. Cloud ERP solutions have already become popular. Cloud technology allows for fast and remote data access without any specialized Information Technology (IT) staff and complex technical configuration. With cloud-based solutions, organizations get an ability to focus on core competencies, save their costs, and get strong user support. By adopting cloud-based technology for Fintech, businesses ensure the high level of productivity and innovation in their internal processes. With cloud-based systems giving access from any spot, a company can now be run from home. All the stakeholders of your business will appreciate this comfort. Operating business from mobiles, not from desktops, is another benefit cloud gives to people. With the help of an example of a company in the financial service sector, mention the challenges faced in the cloud implementation journey and the benefits reaped. (10 Marks)

2. With the rampant increase in the number of start-ups, organizations are drawing towards using open-source ERP packages. Give an example of an organization that uses open source ERP to manage its processes. What are the benefits of open versus on premise ERP solutions? (10 Marks)

3. Over the past decade, large companies have invested billions of dollars and a lot of time trying to simplify the business processes and technologies they use to keep their organizations running. When everything goes smoothly with these so-called ERP projects, the ratio of savings to dollars invested typically increases over time. When plotted on a graph, the return on investment looks something like Nike's trademark "swoosh," plunging as the firm spends more than it saves early on, but then moving upward as the company becomes a leaner, more efficient entity. Unfortunately, the return on investment for many organizations looks more like a "W," as the streamlining effort starts and stalls and starts again, resulting in disastrous detours and cost overruns. Savings, if they come at all, occur many millions of dollars and many months later than planned.

Why does enterprise resource planning, or ERP, work so well for some companies and not for others?

After studying dozens of these projects over six years, we concluded that executives need to think more broadly if they want enterprise resource planning to pay off. Too many executives see ERP solely as a technology project, believing that if they buy a new software system, inefficiencies will magically disappear. It's no surprise that it doesn't work that way. Instead, they need to treat ERP as a transformation effort involving three areas of their business: processes, technology and spending.

(Source: TECHNOLOGY; Diets That Don't Work: Where Enterprise Resource Planning Goes Wrong; Where Enterprise Resource Planning Goes Wrong Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]22 Aug 2010)

a. Give an example of a failed ERP project and the lessons learnt thereof. (5 Marks)

b. What are the factors organizations need to consider to for a successful ERP implementation? (5 Marks)

Essentials of HRM

Q1. Discuss the process of induction (not a traditional one) being followed in any organisation. (It should not be the traditional way of induction, please cite only those which are different from traditional methods)

Q2. Kiara Enterprises is a very small organisation dealing with export rejected clothing. They are growing slowly but steadily. Kiara, the owner now wants to expand it a bit more and hence opts for Human Resource planning. It is advised to them to go for qualitative methods for demand forecasting as they have limited funds. Discuss all three qualitative methods of demand forecasting. Conclude by suggesting the best method suited for Kiara’s organisation.

Q3. Swati and Prashant are both working as sales managers. Swati was chosen for Assessment Centre whereas Prashant for Development Centre, of which they were not clearly aware. Few months later Swati got promoted which agitated Prashant as 12. he thought his performance was also good. Prashant went to the HR head to discuss the same. In context of the case answer these questions:

a. Explain to Prashant why Swati got promoted.

b. Explain to Prashant what a Development Centre is.

Financial Accounting & Analysis

ü  All answers to be explained in not more than 1000 words for question 1 and 2 and for question 3 in not more than 500 words for each subsection. Use relevant examples, illustrations as far as possible.

ü  Answer should in your own words. Don’t copy answer from any source.

ü  Follow the following parameter for answering the assignment questions.

For Theoretical Answer
Assessment Parameter	Weightage
Introduction	20%
Concepts and Application related to the question	60%
Conclusion	20%

For Numerical Answer
Assessment Parameter	Weightage
Understanding and usage of the formula	20%
Procedure / Steps	50%
Correct Answer & Interpretation	30%

Q1. A dealer of Mobile TV has the following items in inventory as on March 31,2018

PLEASE FIND THE TABLE BELOW

Item	Quantity	Cost Price per unit	Market price per unit
Nokia	50	100000	98000
Samsung	70	88000	90000
Sony	100	120000	115000
Motorola	80	75000	76000

Discuss the accounting standard which talks about inventory valuation. Also, find out and define the overall value of inventories as per the applicable accounting standard. (10 Marks)

Q2. Define and discuss the concepts of prepaid expenses and outstanding expenses and their impact on the income statement and Balance Sheet of an Entity? In case of firm A which largely has the balance of prepaid expenses and another firm B which largely has the balance of outstanding expenses, what does this reflects? Discuss (10 Marks)

Q3

a. A logistics company sold a car of Rs 2.5 lacs. The company had purchased the car three years back for Rs 10 lacs and had depreciated the same using straight line method of depreciation, assuming its useful life to be five years and a residual value of Rs77760. Calculate the WDV after charging depreciation for third year, accumulated depreciation for three years and profit on sale, if any. (5 Marks)

b. Consider the following transaction pertaining Ammar’s business-

1. Started business with cash Rs 3 lacs

2. Purchased goods for cash Rs 1.2 lacs

3. Purchased goods on credit Rs 60000

4. Purchased furniture for cash Rs 20000

5. Deposited RS 50000 in the bank

Perform transaction analysis for each transaction undertaken and present accounting equation for these transactions. (5 Marks)

Financial Institutions and Markets

Q1. Nishant is a fresh MBA Graduate who got placed in a wealth advisory firm. On his first day of his induction, his manager asks him to prepare assignment any two each from money market and capital market instrument that he would advise his client to invest in. Help Nishant with his assignment. (10 Marks)

2. XYZ Private Limited company wants to raise fresh capital from the primary market. As a financial advisor to the firm advise the various techniques which the company can use in order to raise fresh capital from the primary market? (10 Marks)

Q3. “In 2008 the world economy faced its most dangerous Crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s and brought back to light the role of state intervention in regulating regulatory market”.

a. In regard to the above statement discuss some of the reasons for state intervention in regulation of the financial market? (5 Marks)

b. Highlight the benefits of state intervention wrt Indian Context (5 Marks)

Industrial Relations and Labour Laws

1. Sadashiv Mane is working with Chop up industries and is very unhappy with his foreman. He feels, his foreman, Raghuveer is usually unjust when it comes to allotting shifts to Sadashiv. According to Sadashiv, Raghuveer also delays his payments purposely. However, upon taking up this issue, Raghuveer reasoned that payments are made from the office and he distributes them as he receives them. Sadashiv is trying to raise this issue as an Industrial dispute with the committee at his factory but they are not accepting it as an industrial dispute. In light of this example, please innumerate the principles which decide the nature of an industrial dispute to be called so. (10 Marks)

2. Bhagwan wants to start a unit for clothes manufacturing. He has got a large contract of a label in India. Bhagwan is planning on a large place where he will have around 150 stitching machines. He is planning to employ 25 cutters and masters for measurements and cutting the patterns and around 100 ladies who would be stitching the clothes together. When he met the Inspector for setting up the license for shop and establishment, he came to know that there are separate provisions he must keep in mind while employing women. Please guide Bhagwan towards special provisions he must keep in mind for employment of women under Factories Act, 1948. (10 Marks)

3. Kotwal and sons has been a proprietary company since almost 30 years. They are a known name for ink making. A lot their products are exported. The company employs close to 85 people at various levels in the factory and office. Mr. Ramesh Kotwal the Director and owner of the company had started the company and had never really thought of going by law where salaries were concerned. While most of the staff with the company is working for years, they have only one complain that that is standardized salaries. Anish Kotal has now taken over and wants to create a standard on salaries by some tweaking. However, he wants to know the details of the remuneration according to the law or act. Please answer following questions based on the information.

a. Mr. Gaidhuni, an expert consultant is helping Anish for his project of salary standardization and lists various points as employer’s duty to pay Equal Remuneration. Please list these points for Anish. (5 Marks)

b. List out the consequences of offence committed under this act. (5 Marks)

Information Systems for Managers

1. The Government of India has planned to harness the benefits of the cloud and has undertaken the ambitious initiative "GI Cloud" which has been named as "MeghRaj". The aim of this initiative is to facilitate quick delivery of e-services in the country to the citizens while optimizing ICT spending of the Government. This will ensure optimum utilization of the infrastructure and speed up the development and deployment of eGov applications. Meghraj will provide services to the government departments, citizens and businesses through internet as well as mobile connectivity. What are the expected benefits from this initiative to the citizens? What could be the challenges in this initiative? (10 Marks)

2. The Indian Banking scenario has undergone a radical change in the last two decades. While it was once necessary to visit the branch to carry out various transactions, customers today have an access to multiple platforms to conduct various transactions. Royal Bank of India, a leading bank in India is facing several challenges with their existing approach of systematically engaging with their customers and making the correct product offering. As a result, it is failing to boost its revenues. In order to address this challenge, the bank plans to use analytics to analyze customer requirements and journey better. How in your opinion can Royal Bank of India use analytics to engage better with customers by predicting their behaviour? (10 Marks)

3. A food-tech start-up plans to use Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software to help automate all the tasks within the organization. As the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to this start-up,

a. What factors will you consider when you select the right ERP vendor for your start-up? (5 Marks)

b. Would you select an open source ERP software or an on premise solution for your implementation? Give justification for your answer. (5Marks)

International Business

1. George Bush gave Chinese Premier Li Peng a gift of cowboy boots embroidered with the American and Chinese flags in it. This act was criticized widely by many diplomats on account of a significant miss on the part of administration protocol experts. Discuss the above case highlighting the importance of culture in international business.

2. Discuss how McDonald illustrate the blend of product standardization and Product adaptation strategy in international business. (10 Marks)

3. Corporate social responsibility has been widely accepted and practiced in most of the organizations throughout the world.

a. Discuss any one company’s CSR Initiatives which has inspired you for all these years. Highlight the initiatives with respect to CSR Activities. (5 Marks)

b. Enumerate the Benefits of CSR. (5 Marks)

International Finance

1. Neha has completed her MBA and had joined the Forex Department of a bank. Her manager wanted her to prepare a document on the different factors that can cause fluctuations in the exchange rate. Help Neha to prepare the document. (10 Marks)

2. An importer wants to be sure of the delivery of goods on time in the future which should be as per the date and product description mentioned in the contract. He decided to visit the bank to understand about the product and the process of issuing the same. (10 Marks)

3. Mr. Mehta was working in the foreign exchange market and was into calculation of forward premiums/ discount of currencies and also calculation of expected inflation rates in order to predict the movement of currency value. He wanted to teach the methodology of calculation to his subordinate using an example given below:

a. If one year interest rate in UK and Japan are 1.034% and 0.256% respectively; the spot exchange rate is 172.70 JPY/GBP. What is the forward premium or discount? (5 Marks)

b. If the expected inflation rate in UK is 0.07%, what is the expected inflation rate in Japan? (5 Marks)

International Marketing

1. You are the manager of a European company and now want to set up a manufacturing unit in Asia to lower your cost base as well as to address the growing Asian market. You have a choice of setting up either in India or in China. Evaluate the two location options of setting up the Plant and Business on basis of International Business & Marketing Environment parameters to come to a decision. (10 Marks)

2. You are the CEO of a Mining Equipment company and wish to enter India. You have a strong global brand and generally potential customers in India know about your brand. Evaluate any 3 entry options to enter into India. Which of the market entry options would you finally choose & why? (10 Marks)

3. The Sri Lankan Shampoo market has strong growth and reasonable volume. The market is dominated by Unilever and P&G which have more than 85% market share amongst themselves. The rest 15% percent are scattered between 2-3 local players. Unilever and P&G are at similar price point while all the other local players are about 10-15% cheaper in prices. The top two parameters of buy of the consumers there are Long Hair & Dandruff in that order. While Unilever positions itself more on long hair, P&G is more strong on dandruff platform, Other local players are mixed (confused?) positioning. One of the biggest reason for lower market share of local players is perception of poor quality of packaging and product. Both Unilever and P&G manufacture in India and export to the Sri Lanka market.

PLEASE CHECK BELOW

a. Suggest what would be your pricing strategy for the new brand of shampoo that you would introduce in Sri Lanka market based on the information. (5 Marks)

b. Suggest the possible brand positioning for your Shampoo. (5 Marks)

Logistics Management

1. The shift towards greening the supply chain through an environmentally friendly logistics network design is not only to abide by governmental regulations but also to meet customers’ expectations and social responsibilities. Explain how you will plan for implementation of green manufacturing and the areas of application of green manufacturing you may consider. (10 Marks)

2. You are in the process of designing the Physical Distribution system for your organization. Discuss the two major objectives and the six influencing factors that you will focus on to meet customer service goals. Give examples. (10 Marks)

3. You are the manager of a museum store that sells historical replicas. The following are the data of actual sales for last 6 years

Year 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Actual sale 400 600 500 300 700 500

a. What should be the forecast for 2020 using 3-period moving average method? (5 Marks)

b. When requisite data are not available what options are available to make a short term forecast? Explain very briefly any one of those methods explaining the limitations if any. (5 Marks)

Management Theory and Practice

ü  All answers to be explained in not more than 1000 words for question 1 and 2 and for question 3 in not more than 500 words for each subsection. Use relevant examples, illustrations as far as possible.

ü  Answer should in your own words. Don’t copy answer from any source.

ü  Follow the following parameter for answering the assignment questions.

For Theoretical Answer
Assessment Parameter	Weightage
Introduction	20%
Concepts and Application related to the question	60%
Conclusion	20%

For Numerical Answer
Assessment Parameter	Weightage
Understanding and usage of the formula	20%
Procedure / Steps	50%
Correct Answer & Interpretation	30%

Q1. Mr. Rathi, a Tax consultant has advised you to invest in property to save money in taxes. You have been paying a lot of money through taxes, so you take his advice and now plan to buy a new house for investment purpose. Explain various steps that you will go through in making a decision for purchasing a new house. 10 Marks

Q2. There are three models of decision making, explain the model that will apt for purchasing a house. Explain the same with reason. Also, suggest the reason for not accepting the remaining models for purchase of the house. 10 Marks

Q3. a. As per Maslow's need of hierarchy model where do you stand in the model if you are:

Situation A: Purchasing the house for your personal stay and usage.

Situation B: Purchasing the house for investment purpose.

Explain the above given points with detail reasons. 5 Marks

3. b. As per Alderfer's ERG Model where do you stand in the model if you are:

Situation A: Purchasing the house for your personal stay and usage.

Situation B: Purchasing the house for investment purpose.

Explain the above given points with detail reasons. 5 Marks

Marketing Management

M/s Tikhalal sells pickle and spices across the country and wants to enter into the international market. The company is known for their quality ingredients. The company sells the product at higher price but customers don’t hesitate to pay the price as the quality is premium. Their brands Mr. Tikha, Mr. Hara, Mr. Laal, which are various pickles and spices are a hit brand in the Indian Market. The company has decided to enter in US Market as it has a major market for Indian pickles and spices.

Q1. Explain various Micro and Macro environment factors that the company should analyze before entering into the international market. Explain the points with reason.

Q2. The company is planning to take Mr. Tikhalal online in India. Explain various ways to promote the brands of pickles and spice on Social Media Platforms.

Q3. M/s Tikhalal is also planning to sell paapads with the brand name Mr. Crisp. The company is planning to sell papads at a price higher than its competitors. The company also plans to launch various variety of papads with different shapes and sizes. a. How should company segment the consumer market for Paapads? b. To introduce the product in the market what are the various sales promotion techniques that should be used for the brand Mr. Crisp?

Marketing Research

ü  All answers to be explained in not more than 1000 words for question 1 and 2 and for question 3 in not more than 500 words for each subsection. Use relevant examples, illustrations as far as possible.

ü  Answer should in your own words. Don’t copy answer from any source.

ü  Follow the following parameter for answering the assignment questions.

For Theoretical Answer
Assessment Parameter	Weightage
Introduction	20%
Concepts and Application related to the question	60%
Conclusion	20%

For Numerical Answer
Assessment Parameter	Weightage
Understanding and usage of the formula	20%
Procedure / Steps	50%
Correct Answer & Interpretation	30%

Q1. 40 years back, Sita Travels was a renowned brand in Delhi, in the travel and tourism industry. The company boasted of a loyal clientele, competitive travel packages, efficient and motivated employees and a vision to become the No. 1 player pan India. In those days, the industry comprised few players hence there wasn’t too much competition to be faced. However, in recent times, with the online platform and players emerging such as Makemytrip, Trivago, Yatra etc. offering packages at throwaway prices and reaching out at minimal costs to the mobile savvy, internet savvy consumer, it is indeed giving the traditional companies a run for their money. Loss of clientele, revenue and market shares have made Sita Travels sit up and wonder as to what needs to be done to address this issue. Towards this management problem, state the research objective(s) and propose a research design for this study; describing the secondary and primary sources of data, research design, research method, target respondent, contact method etc. (10 Marks)

Q2. The beauty care industry comprising make-up, personal care, skin and hair care product categories, grapples with a lot of controversy around the safety of products, rampant use of colour and chemicals, products being carcinogenic and unsafe for us. While some marketers have seen this as a market opportunity to sneak in with so-called natural, herbal, ayurvedic products, for the larger majority, this still remains a challenge. The Beauty Care Industry Association is planning to conduct a research to examine the consumer psyche: her consumption and purchase habits, her attitude, satisfaction levels, perception about different products, opinion about carcinogenic elements and unsafety etc. It has been decided to conduct a quantitative, questionnaire- based survey among women from all socio-economic sections. The industry wants to identify the key factors associated with the decision-making of products among women; based on advanced analytical tools. Design a questionnaire keeping in mind all the research objectives of this survey and the appropriate scales that should be used for advanced analysis. (10 Marks)

Q3. A national chain of casual and formal men’s wear is interested to understand the preferences of men when it comes to the purchase of clothing. The objectives of the research are:

To understand the preferences of clothing by occasion

To understand differences in preferences by income group and geographical area

To understand satisfaction of customers with their brand vis-a-vis other competitor brands

In particular, the management wants to understand the as to how the buying behaviour or preferences of men for clothing are influenced by variables such as (1) occasion of use (2) geography of the customer (3) income group of the customer and (4) competition A list of customers has been procured from internal company records. Their personal records also include information on their personal income and geography.

a. Assuming that the management has entrusted you with this research, if a sample has to be drawn from this sampling frame, which sample selection method would you choose and why? Suggest any two methods and justify your answer. (5 Marks)

b. If you have to prepare an Analysis Plan for this research, which simple and advanced analytical tools will you recommend for analyzing the data? Suggest atleast three tools and support with a justification. (5 Marks)

Marketing Strategy

1. Founded in 1971 in Seattle, Washington, USA, Starbucks is a well-known international brand with presence in more than 20,000 locations. Tata Starbucks is a 50:50 joint venture between Starbucks and Tata Global Beverages (TGBL) in India. Tata Starbucks opened its first store in India in Oct-2012, and as of Feb-2019 had c. 135 stores in India. “We look at activating more stores roll out in the next few years” – L Krishnakumar, Group CFO, TGBL (source: Business Today, 10-Feb-2019). Recently, the brand has started accepting orders via food delivery firms (e.g. Swiggy). Chaayos – founded by Nitin Saluja – an IIT Bombay alumnus – opened its first store in India in NCR region in Nov-2012. Nitin refers to Chaayos as ‘one of the finest Chai cafe chain in India’ on his LinkedIn profile (accessed May-2019). You work as a Marketing Strategy consultant, and have been hired by Nitin to develop the Marketing Strategy for Chaayos, which would help Chaayos increase the sales 10 times by 2025 (relative to sales in financial year ending Mar-2018). Provide your recommendations regarding the Marketing Strategy and Marketing Mix along with explanations. (10 Marks)

2. Customer buying behaviour plays an important role in Marketing Strategy, and is affected by four key factors/influences/characteristics. Identify and explain the major influences on buying behaviour, for application in brand communication/ promotion, for the following products/brands: (1) Raj Comics, (2) Pizza Hut India, (3) Amazon India, and (4) LinkedIn India. (10 Marks)

3. Founded in 1939, Marvel Comics (www.marvel.com) is a well-known brand – in comic books and related media – owned by The Walt Disney Company. Dhruv, a first generation entrepreneur founded ‘Ossum Comics’ in 2019 with a vision to launch and build the first Indian billion-dollar brand in comic books and related media, and feature among top 3 international brands in the same category by 2030. Dhruv wants to launch the company by Oct-2019 and has hired you as a consultant.

a. Explain various stages and their characteristics in an industry life cycle, with specific comments regarding the current stage of comic books and related media industry in India. (5 Marks)

b. There are 5 key themes/ ways to identify competitive advantages for a brand/ differentiate from other brands, as a part of differentiation and positioning strategy; explain these with suggestions/examples in context of ‘Ossum Comics’, and (2) suggest a positioning strategy for ‘Ossum Comics’. (5 Marks)

Operations Management

Q1. Explain how the operations strategies are different when applied to a service company such as “Indigo Airlines” versus an aircraft manufacturing company such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). (10 Marks)

Q2. What are the key factors that firms consider while choosing a location to operate? List five major reasons, why any Pharmaceuticals manufacturing firm should operate (locate its factory) in India. (10 Marks)

Q3. Bhanji has spent nearly two decades working at Metro Brands, which was started by her grandfather as a stand-alone store in Colaba in 1947 and has since grown to over 500 stores across the country. She radiates enthusiasm for retail. “I’ve only ever worked here. I came here straight after my undergraduation. It’s not like a business where you don’t see an end result. You put something in the store, within a week you know how that shoe is working. You see new creations, you see new ranges," she says.

Keeping in touch with the ground realities of retail is essential to corporate strategy. “From being purely a product brand, we have become a retail brand. When you walk into the Colaba Metro store, the collection will be different from the Linking Road store. We curate the product for each store. I want the best collection for a customer who walks into a store," she says.

Two years ago, Bhanji and her team implemented Eli Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints (TOC), a management philosophy that leads to profit improvement through greater efficiency in business processes.

“Theory of Constraints brought efficiency to our front end, helping the way we sell go from art to science. For example, 40 new designs are introduced into our system every week. After four weeks, we address how they have sold. We had thumb rules to check what happens, and decide if a design worked. It is like an art, but applying TOC helped us make it a science."

The project came with management challenges for Bhanji, including getting on board the front line supply chain teams who had to adopt the new technology.

“TOC wasn’t so tough from a technology angle, but it was supremely difficult from our mindset angle. How do you tell someone that the computer may know some things better than you?" she says, as the legacy brand has a number of long-time employees

(Source: https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/business-of-life/how-science-and-art-meet-in-shoe-retail-1558365780350.html)

a. Explain the concept of “Theory of Constraints (TOC)”. (5 Marks)

b. What all possible challenges Bhanji might face with the TOC? (5 Marks)

Organisation Culture

1. Compare and contrasts between India’s and Canada’s culture. (10 Marks)

2. Explain with the help of examples that how successful organisational culture can be built with

·         Consistency

·         Adaptability

·         Involvement

Clear Mission.

(10 Marks)

3. a. Explain with the help an example the role of leader in any modern organisation. (5 Marks)

3. b. Explain with the help of an example that how leadership and culture are strong tenets in any merger and acquisition. (5 Marks)

Organisational Behaviour

Q1. Rajesh and Karan are peers and they are working as sales executive in a pharma company. While Rajesh loves his work and find it very interesting but under same circumstances Karan detests his job, also finds it to be very taxing. Select the best school of thought on stress to explain that with the same working condition and same treatment why Rajesh and Karan are feeling so differently.

Q2. Sana is finding it very difficult to make friends at her workplace. She stays aloof and does not bond with anyone. Her performance is also not great. She proactively met a psychologist to understand herself better. The facts which unraveled were associated with her young age that she was raised by a caretaker who used to beat her from infancy. Also no one supported her for the decisions she took. Sana’s family never understood her and also her childhood friend betrayed. Imagine you are Sana’s psychologist and hence need to explain her the Freudian Stages of personality development and how it had impacted her. Conclude by giving your suggestion to Sana to overcome this issue.

Q3. Sameer is working as Vice President (IT) and Jatin is Advisor to the CEO. Sameer never arrives for any meeting on time and also delays the work given to his team. He likes to make people wait for him as he knows with the input of IT head the meeting would never be successful. Jatin on the other hand is very friendly with the people and also makes ally with other heads and influential people in order to get things done from Sameer. Whenever he discusses any topic with Sameer he makes minutes of it and marks a copy to the CEO. All these activities done makes sure that Sameer completes his work on time Based on the above scenario, answer these

a. What is the source of power for Sameer? Discuss the same.

b. What are the power tactics being used by Jatin? Explain

Organisational Theory Structure and Design

Q1. As the HR head of a Jubiliant Hospitalities, you have to create an Organizational Structure. Jubiliant has a pan India presence with an employee strength of 5000. They own three-star properties and cater majorly to corporate houses. Their key departments are business development, operations and Guest management teams. The company believes in empowering employee and is looking at creating an inclusive and transparent work culture. Explain the elements to be considered while finalizing the structure. (10 Marks)

Q2. Healthcare Pharma wants to conduct an internal analysis to understand the future of the company. Top management wants to conduct an internal environment analysis for effective planning. Suggest some techniques that can be considered for this exercise. (10 Marks)

Q3. Arunam works for Hitech Solutions, a software development company. Organization wants him to improve the diversity score of the company. Arunam feels that the company has been very close-group in the past. Diversity was not a part of the DNA of the company. He fears that old employees may feel threatened or become skeptical of these changes. He believes that the company should systematically introduce this change and plan for it.

a. What could the Factors that have prompted the company to focus on Organisational Diversity. Do you think the company will benefit from this move? (5 Marks)

b. Using the Kotter’s Eight-step Model, enumerate the steps needed for implementing change in Hitech solutions. (5 Marks)

Project Management

1. What are the types of cost estimates would you consider in cost estimation? (10 Marks)

2. Explain with a suitable example the concept of project charter. (10 Marks)

3. You are the project manager of a construction company. The company has a plan of developing a housing project.

a. Explain the steps that you will consider in planning the project (5 Marks)

b. Explain the project planning tools that you will consider while preparing the project report. (5 Marks)

Sales Management

1. What is your understanding of Product Related Policies? Please advise a company manufacturing and selling Cosmetics on new product development. (10 Marks)

2. Mr. Verma, who comes from a technical background, has started a new business of manufacturing Pharmaceuticals products, please help him in preparing his Sales targets and sales budgets. Keep in view the market segments he wants to cater. (10 Marks)

3. Case Study

Mr. Sharma of Spark Detergent was a worried person; another competitor had

launched a special pack of a Detergent with a very competitive price and very aggressive advertisement and Sales promotion schemes. The flagship brand of the company SPARK was taking a beating in the market and sales were going down.

The company Spark is an old company existing for more than 60 years and has a strong brand equity in the market. The products of the company are well known and command a premium and have a niche place in the market. There are also other products like Soaps, Shampoos and other consumer goods the company offers.

The new company does not have the wide range of products Spark has but is strong on raw materials buying and thus offers very low prices to attract customers; this according to Mr. Sharma is their biggest strength.

Mr. Sharma is sitting in his office trying to find a new marketing strategy to regain the lost market share

a. Please help Mr. Sharma in his endeavor to regain the lost share and increase brand equity. (5 Marks)

b. Should Mr. Sharma drop prices of the brand SPARK? If not what alternative does he has? (5 Marks)

Services Marketing

1. A woman entrepreneur is planning to set up an e-shop for a range of costume jewelry made of silver and semi-precious stones. Saira’s is the jewelry brand which is being targeted at girls and women aged 13-50 years. Since she doesn’t have lavish budgets to promote Saira’s, she is evaluating the following routes:

·         Home shopping networks offered by cable operators and digital TV operators.

·         Word-of-web through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, consumer blogs etc.

·         Online stores such as Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Myntra and also setting up company¡¦s website

·         Home-parties or kitty parties of women; an option based on word-of-mouth and consumer referrals

·         Exclusive outlets in prime locations of the city

What are the various strategic, tactical and locational considerations / factors that she should keep in mind for deciding the most appropriate channel (s)? (10 Marks)

2. V4kids.com is a recently launched online / e-tailing store which sells a wide variety of kids products for the age-group 2-12 years, ranging from stationery and school supplies, clothes, shoes, toys, board games, gaming apps, sports equipment, books, magazines, e-book readers, tablets, notebooks / mini-laptops, ipods, etc.

Currently, V4kids.com faces competition from online stores such as Amazon, Snapdeal, Flipkart, Babyoye, Firstcry etc. besides the traditional retail brands such as ShopperStop, Hamleys, The Toy Store, Child Junction etc. and also the retail counterparts of online stores such as FirstCry store - which offer a wide range of children¡¦s products.

To reach out to the market, V4kids.com is planning to create awareness about its online store, the range of products, membership programs and its weekly hot deals all in one go. For this purpose, V4kids.com is planning a slew of advertising campaigns across different media.

Discuss the 5W’s of the Integrated Service Communication Model for V4kids (10 Marks)

3. One classic advertising and service recovery strategy used by companies involves turning a disadvantage into an advantage. For example, a small car rental company who did not meet customer expectations, ran a campaign “we are trying harder”.

Recently, the Domino’s pizza chain took such an approach to the extreme. Marketers developed an advertising program to address the problem of slowing sales in a declining economy. The first wave of television commercials featured clips of consumers in focus groups, discussing Domino’s, providing statements such as “Worst pizza I ever had; totally devoid of flavor”, “Domino’s pizza crust is to me like cardboard” and “The sauce tastes like ketchup”.

Domino’s had been able to maintain its market share during the economic downturn. At the same time, employees and company managers were concerned about the quality of the products being offered. The advertising program was created to apologize for poor quality pizza with the promise to do better by creating pies with improved ingredients and better recipes, which lead to a complete menu overhaul during a 4-year period beginning in 2008. “We think that going out there and being this honest really breaks through to people in a way that most advertising does not” explained the CEO Patrcik Doyle.

Some marketing experts expressed concern that consumers would not listen carefully to the message. They would hear the part about poor quality but not the part about improving. Doyle believed that the risk was worth taking.

When the roll-out of new and improved pizzas at bargain prices commenced, a new advertising campaign was launched, featuring the comment, “We are only as good as our last pizza. So tell us how yours was” followed.

Domino’s had already introduced the pizza tracker feature to its website, which allows customers placing an online order at the Domino’s website to follow the progress of the order from the shop to the front door. Users receive an email directing them to the order tracking page within seconds of placing an order and without having to refresh the page, are told precisely when their pie is placed in the oven, checked for quality assurance and dispatched to their home. The pizza tracker informs the customer who was responsible for an individual pizza during preparations and delivery.

Following the completion of the transaction, the customer can provide feedback directly to the store where the pizza was made, which opens lines of communication with individual stores and managers rather than the larger corporation. The pizza tracker program insists that individual store owners will listen when customers are dissatisfied. By naming the actual individual responsible for any service failure, the store manager can improve operations on an employee- by- employee basis. Over the course of the next apology campaign and new emphasis on customer feedback, sales increased dramatically during the next two quarters.

The company once again was willing to risk customer backlash, even mildly taunting the pubic with the “Oh yes, we did” tag line. Time will tell if these two maneuvers will generate long-lasting, positive effects for the company

a. Evaluate the Service Recovery System of Domino’s and suggest few other innovative methods to recover the customers (5 Marks)

b. Create a Service Blueprint for Domino’s home delivery operations covering all the various methods of placing an order (5 Marks)

Strategic Cost Management

Q1. X Ltd has to replace its machine and the production manager has to decide between Machine A and Machine B. Machine A is having installation cost of Rs. 160 and annual electric bill Rs. 200. Machine B has installation cost of Rs. 760 and annual electric bill of Rs. 80. If both have life of 8 years which machine will you recommend if interest rate is 9 % for five years. P/V factor @ 9 % for 8 years is 5.5348 (10 Marks)

Q2: A company manufacturing two products furnishes the following data for a year.

The annual Overheads are as under:

You are required to calculate cost per unit of each product A & B based on

i. Traditional method of charging overhead and

ii. Activity based costing method (10 Marks)

Q3: Project X Involves an initial outlay of 32,400.Its working life is 3 years. The cash streams are as follows

Calculate

a. NPV at 14 % & 16% (5 Marks)

b. IRR (5 Marks)

Strategic HRM

1. You are brought in as the new Director of HR for a company in the distribution industry which is the merger between Company A and Company B. Company A began as a family business which acquired a number of small companies over time. As a result of all of these acquisitions, the company was less standardized and more decentralized internally and was somewhat of a combination of cultures to begin with.

The culture of Company A is quite varied. Some areas of the company are focused on metrics and quality, others are focused on job satisfaction and employee attitudes, and still others are not focused on either. Generally, the company strives to produce a range of high-quality products and services, but the way that this occurs is unstructured throughout the company. Company B was a large company which was standardized internally with a strong culture surrounding processes and procedures. Company B has a centralized structure with clear employee policies. Company B is focused on quality control. They stress standardized processes and procedures across all business units. They have a clear mission and goal that emphasizes one thing: productivity. Company B has been successful with strategy monetarily, but its employees are often overworked and overwhelmed. Both companies have fears regarding losing desirable aspects of their current culture. a. Discuss the role of strategic HR functions in Mergers and Acquisitions? b. What strategy would you use to resolve the culture differences between these two organizations to create a new organization with a cohesive culture? (10 Marks)

2. You work for a global professional services firm, which has been seen for decades as an employer of choice. Last month, you were promoted to the position of Vice President, Human Resources. The promotion comes at a time the organization is experiencing a decline in revenues, an increase in competition, high voluntary turnover in the US and abroad, and declining market share. Anecdotal information suggests that the cause of voluntary turnover is due to a poor employee benefits/total rewards strategy, employee engagement and organizational culture. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has requested your analysis and recommendations on improving the total rewards strategy in an effort to improve employee engagement; reduce voluntary turnover and enhancing the employer’s brand. a. What are specific actions you can initially take to identify and validate how total rewards are having an impact on the organization? Explain your rationale. b. Identify and describe the challenges the organization faces in managing the design, delivery and financing of a total rewards program on a local and global perspective. (10 Marks).

3. The slump in the South Korean economy in late 1990s was bound to have an effect on Hyundai also. The automobile segment was among the first to be hit by the downside in the economy. The domestic automobile sector had negative growth of almost 55% in 1998 compared to the previous year. Hyundai was responsible for almost 50% of total automobile production in South Korea and was therefore badly hit. The domestic sales of the company fell by 55% in the year 1998 and its exports crashed by 74% to only 15,056 units. Hyundai recorded a 200-billion-won loss in 1998. According to company officials, Hyundai's six assembly plants with a yearly production capacity of 1.65 million vehicles, were operating at only 40 percent of their capacity. In May, 1998, Hyundai reacted to this grim situation by announcing plans to lay off 27 percent of its 46,000 workforce in South Korea and to cut pay bonuses and benefits in a bid to save 230 billion won. Unfortunately for the management of the company, Hyundai had one of the most powerful and militant unions. The decision of the company to lay off workers sparked off agitations not only in Hyundai but in other companies too. The unions were particularly offended at the government's approval of Hyundai's decision.

In a demonstration in Ulsan, where Hyundai has its biggest automobile plant, 32,000 employees participated in rallies. All across South Korea almost 1,20,000 employees from about 125 companies participated in demonstrations against Hyundai and the government's decision. The government had to deploy nearly 20,000 riot police to control the demonstrators

Labour Problems in the Early 2000s

On September 1, 2000, Hyundai officially cut ties with the Hyundai Group and had relocated its head office to Yangjae-dong, Seoul, Korea - a move that was seen as symbolic of its rebirth as an independent automotive business group. In December 2001, Hyundai forecasted its highest profits ever - $900 million for the year. In the same year it posted 23.4 % in unit sales and a 74.5% improvement in net income. Most importantly, Hyundai vehicles were being accepted as a technologically advanced, stylish and reliable in overseas markets like the US and Europe. In the United States, the world’s largest auto market, Hyundai recorded a 42% sales increase in 2001. This was an era of growth, reorganization and new market exploration. But the success story was marred by another strike threat in Hyundai.

Workers at the Ulsan plant went on a two-day strike in December 2001, demanding higher wages and higher bonuses. They also demanded a 30% share in the profits that year as a performance bonus. The management clarified, that though the company had done well that year, it could not afford performance bonuses to the tune of 30% of profit. The reasons given were: firstly, the increased influx of imported cars into South Korea was bound to hurt Hyundai's market share and margins in South Korea. Secondly, General Motors' purchase of Daewoo was a threat that could not be ignored or taken lightly, and the company had to gear itself up to be able to compete with General Motors, and lastly, the most important reason stated was that due to the appreciation of the Korean won, Hyundai cars were becoming less competitive in international markets and profitability consequently would be hurt.

a. Industries need to adopt proactive policies with regard to Industrial Relations which help to prevent any rise of conflict rather than waiting for such situations to occur and then planning a strategy. To what extent this approach was visible in the Hyundai’s Industrial relations policies. (5 Marks)

b. “Since the very beginning, employee participation, and employee involvement (together known as participative management) define the essence of Industrial Relations”. Kindly justify this statement in terms of this case study. (5 Marks)

Strategic Management

M/s Swadeshi is planning to start up a new business for Indian traditional clothes. The product will be sold online and there will be few retail outlets in major metro 13. cities. The founder Mr. Ashish is of the opinion to do a detail and through market scanning before entering into the market. Mr. Ashish appoints you as a consultant for M/s Swadeshi that deals in manufacturing and selling clothes online and offline stores. The company plans to give competition to brands like Manyavar and Mohey. The company plans to provide quality product at lower price. The company plans to save lot of cost because of online selling. The website URL is www.swadeshi.com. The Company differentiates itself by selling only Indian Traditional clothes for all age groups.

 1. As a consultant you have been asked to prepare a STEEP analysis report and present the findings to the top management.

2. Analyze the business www.swadeshi.com from Porter’s approach to industry analysis perspective.

3. Answer the below questions:

a. Prepare a SWOT Analysis for www.swadeshi.com.

b. Explain any two types of forecasting techniques that company should use for analyzing future demand. Explain the same with reason.

Supply Chain Management Assignment

Q1. The globalization of drug supply and the advent of game-changing technologies are reshaping the pharmaceutical industry, for better and for worse. The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most essential, fast-paced and regulated industries that exists.

Therefore, the absence of an efficient and fit-for-purpose supply chain will have wide-reaching implications for profitability, drug quality, innovation and ultimately, health outcomes. Pharma has relied on outdated and overly-complex supply chain networks for too long. To support people to live healthier and longer lives around the world, a radical overhaul of the supply chain is needed to streamline processes, drive efficiency and uphold quality. With the help of an example of pharmaceutical company elaborate on how it manages its supply chain effectively with the help of Information Technology (IT)? (10 Marks)

Q2. Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) is a concept that aims to enhance supply chain integration by supporting and assisting joint practices. CPFR seeks cooperative management of inventory through joint visibility and replenishment of products throughout the supply chain. Information shared between suppliers and retailers aids in planning and satisfying customer demands through a supportive system of shared information. This allows for continuous updating of inventory and upcoming requirements, making the end-to-end supply chain process more efficient. Efficiency is created through the decrease expenditures for merchandising, inventory, logistics, and transportation across all trading partners. With the help of an example discuss the phases in a CPFR implementation and its successful implementation. (10 Marks)

3. Having a current, flexible sourcing strategy can not only reduce costs and increase efficiency, but also serve as a competitive advantage to help organizations increase the top line. Supply chain costs, primarily procurement and transportation, can range from 50 to 70 percent of sales, depending on industry. So it is critical to spend considerable time on developing your organization’s strategy. Periodically reviewing your sourcing strategy ensures you will achieve desired results and continue to align with business objectives. Successful sourcing requires a thorough understanding of a company’s business strategy, the resources required to deliver that strategy, and the market forces and unique risks within the company associated with implementing specific approaches.

A large e-retailing organization has appointed you as a consultant to help them design their distribution network for electronic appliances. Customers tend to place a single order for the products with different brands in the order.

a. Which network design is most suitable in this case. Justify your answer. (5 Marks) b. What are the benefits and drawbacks of the network design you have selected? (5 Marks)

Taxation-Direct and Indirect

Q1. Mr Bob is a resident of London. He visits India to understand the business environment. He is keen to start up a business in India. However, he is not aware of the tax structure prevalent in India. As a tax consultant, discuss with him the tax structure in India post the introduction of Goods and Service Tax Act. (10 Marks)

Q2. Income from house property is the only income that is charged on the notional basis. It means that the incidence of tax depends not only on the income earned from the property, but also on the inherent potential of the property to earn income. Tax has to be paid even in cases where no income is being earned. Discuss the Cases where income from house property is not chargeable to tax under the head ‘Income from House Property and thus chargeable under any other head. (10 Marks)

Q3. Following information is available for Mr. Saurabh Pandey for Assessment Year 2019-20 with respect to the premium paid of life insurance during Financial Year 2018-19.

PLEASE FIND THE TABLE BELOW

b. Discuss, briefly the eligibility norms and provisions for claiming deduction under the said section. (5 Marks)

a. Calculate the total eligible deduction, as per Section 80C, with reasons for each payment inclusion and exclusion, for Mr. Saurabh Pandey (5 Marks)

Total Quality Management

Q1. Cost of Quality is an important business practice. By knowing Quality Costs, it can help business’s find and correct problems and the costs to attain quality. Explain how you will implement cost of quality in your organization. In your opinion should the organization spend more on cost of good quality or cost of poor quality? Explain with reasons/examples. (10 Marks)

Q2. You are appointed the Management Representative of your organization to implement ISO 9001. Explain the steps you will take to successfully get the ISO certification for your organization. (10 Marks)

Q3. You are attempting to develop a quality monitoring system for some parts purchased from PerfectParts Manufacturing Co. These parts are either good or defective. During each delivery a sample of 500 units is sampled and the number of defective units in the sample is noted. The average defect rate is 3.5%.

a. Develop the upper and lower control limits (z=3). (5 Marks)

b. What is process capability index and what will be your objective in finding the process capability? (5 Marks)

Answer: Visit https://distpub.com/nmims-solved-assignments-subject-wise/  for Solution