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BUSINESS COMMUNICAITON

SUBJECT :

Total Marks : 80

CASE-1 (20 Marks)

Nestle has launched quality street ,lion and after 8 choclates imported from Europe. Qualtty Street is an

assortment of chocolates priced at Rs. 7 5 for 218 gm. After Eight is a popular adult chocolate priced at Rs.25

for 20 gm and Lion is a caramel wafer bar priced at Rs. 20 for a 45 gm bar. (Kit Kat )is priced at Rs. 6 for a 17

gm bar and has a chocolaty taste while Lion has a crunchy taste). The brands have different tastes and will

appeal to different target segments (though the target segment is one which may have already been exposed to

these brands during visits abroad). These brands have been introduced in metros in upmarket stores which sell

brands bears the label "lmported by Nestle India Ltd." indicating that they may be better than smuggled ones

(which may be stale).

Question :

1 Suggest suitable media /media vehicles for promoting these brands. Give reasons in support of your answer

2 What business communication media you will utilize if you have to launch a soap in rural India?

CASE -2 (20 Marks)

The herbal shampoo market is valued at around Rs. 100 crores. Ny/e, Ayur, Dqbur and Biotique are some of the

established brands in the market.

Helene Curtis (JK Group) has introduced a premium herbal shampoo (with variants Shikskai, henna and qmla

and brqhmi and josur) priced between Rs. 80 and Rs. 90 (500 ml) for different types of hair. The proposition is

the benefits offered by lhe variant based on the combination of herbs, benefits offered by the variants range

from extra protection and nourishment to colour, body and bounce. The shampoos have been launched under

the brand name Premium Herbsl Shsmpoos and they target urban housewives with a monthly household

income of Rs.25,000. The brand is distributed through 7 0,000 retail outlets and 120 Raymond shops. The

company has planned only point of purchase (POP) posters initially and may consider the electronic media

later. The shampoo has an annual advertising expenditure of Rs. 10 crores.

Question :

1 Comment on the marketing mix of JK's Premium Herbsl Shampoos ?

2 How can you make their communication more effective ?.

Page 2 of 2

CASE 3 (40 Marks)

Attempt all cases of the following: (10 marks each)

(i) Iran Rafsanjan Co., Rafsanjan City, Iran has taken a marine insurance policy No. VB/84/3629/29 dated

20th December, 2005 from Albroz Insurance Co., Kerman City, Iran for the import of 500 tractor gears

from Apex Products (India) Ltd., Delhi. The exporter shipped the cargo on board vessel — SEEMA on

26th December, 2005 for Bandar Abbas Port of Iran.

As per the letter of credit condition, the exporter was required to fax the shipment details to Albroz

Insurance Company within 24 hours of the shipment. However, the exporter could not fax such details due

to change in telephone (fax) number of the insurance company.

Draft an express telegram to intimate shipment details.

ii) Yours is a multinational company having joint venture with a Chinese company. Plant is to be located at

Surat. The company immediately needs an Executive - Foreign Affairs (male/female) with ability of

“writing and speaking Chinese language.

Draft a recruitment advertisement for publication under classified column of a national daily. Salary-is no

bar for the right candidate. E-mail address -info@krishnafashions.com

iii) The local head office of State Bank of India is located at 11, Parliament Street, New Delhi-110001. The

bank wants to construct 76 flats at Noida for its employees and invite applications for pre-qualification of

contractors. Full details are available on its website - www.sbi.co.in or www.statebankofindia.com/

procurement_news.

Draft a notice for pre-qualification of contractors.

iv) The Joint Admission Board (JAB) of Indian Institutes of Technology in its meeting held on 17th

September, 2005 at Kolkata has taken some decisions with regard to Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)

2006, i.e., to appear in JEE, one must secure at least 60% marks (55% for SC/ST and PD) in 10+2

examination; a candidate can have only two attempts with effect from JEE-2006; and a candidate who

joins any of the IITs through JEE-2006 will not be permitted to appear in JEE in future.* It was also

decided that candidates, who have passed their qualifying examination in 2005 or earlier, will be allowed

to appear in JEE-2006 as the last chance, witji no consideration of marks or attempts at JEE subject to age

requirements. On behalf of the JAB, draft a suitable press release to be issued by organising chairman

highlighting these decisions.

 

 

 

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

 

CASE 1

Q1) Imagine that you are in-charge of a major chemical plant, manufacturing points. At present, the

general awareness about the mandatory requirements for chemical industry is very low. Even if the

compliance record is maintained, it is not disclosed to all employees. (25 marks)

In a recent seminar of the company, many experts from industry associations like Confederation of

Indian Industries (CII), conducted the seminar. The dangers of non-compliance of ISO 14001 EMS

certification and Trade Sanctions, which are likely to increase, were discussed. Even the senior

managers were involved and a lot of serious discussions took place.

After a span of one month, the In-charge (i.e. you!) received a call from the top management, who

want you to find out more about the ISO Certification. The management, wants to help you, with the

help of other employees to list the critical aspects that have potential environmental impact.

You may be feeling that you have only some vague ideas about air pollution in paint industry

and water pollution, due to paint manufacture. You may also recall the newspaper clipping on

internationalization of paint manufacturing practices, which states the following points:

i) What are the activities that are critical to the company’s environmental management

certification?

ii) List the activities which have potential environmental impacts in a pint industry.

iii) List the legal requirements.

iv) Is there a trade related issue involved in this case

v) Explain, how your company can prepare itself towards certification.

CASE 2 :

Q2) XYZ company is an equal opportunity employer. XYZ Co has always upheld the

spirits of freedom, human welfare, fair practices and fair treatment to all employees. It has the image

of a socially responsible company in India. XYZ Co., has never involved itself in any study deals,

even if it could bring good profits. (15 Marks)

Also, XYZ Co. is a major IT solution provider. XYZ has immense potential for providing

consultancy services in the African nations and South East Asian countries. A request was received

from an African country, stating that they have an assignment for two years. The following

conditions are to be fulfilled.

a) Employees should not bring families with them during the assignment.

b) Women managers should not accompany the team.

c) The country and the collaborating company are not responsible if any accident or any other

untoward incidents take place.

Please answer the following questions :

i) Should XYZ Co take up the assignment?

ii) How can XYZ Co maintain business viability and growth without compromising on basic rights

and values enshrined? In the mission statement of the company?

iii) What alterations may be sought in the agreement and why?

CASE 3

Q3) On the night of December 23, 1983 a dangerous chemical reation occurred in the Union

Carbide factory in Bhopal, when a large amount of water got into the MIC i.e. Methyl Isocyanate

storage tank. When the leak was detected by workers at 11.30 pm, their eyes began to tear and burn.

The rest is history. About 40 tons of MIC poured out of the tank for nearly 2 hours and escaped into

air, spreading within 8 km down wind, About 4000 people were killed in sleep or as they fled in

terror, hundreds of thousands were injured or effected the victims who were almost entirely the

poorest members of the population. The poisonous gas, caused death and left the survivors with

lingering disability and diseases.

The Bhopal disaster was a result of the combination of legal, technological, organizational and

human errors. The long term effects were made worse by the absence of systems to care for and

compensate the victims. Also, the safety standards and maintenance procedure at the Union Carbide

plant had been deteriorating and ignored for months.

Questions :

i) From Bhopal Tragedy, what an industrial manager learns? What safety procedures are to be

followed. Study the case deeply and state what were the defects of MIL unit. In view of this case,

prepare a disaster management plan, which could cover be useful to a chemical company. (10 Marks)

Q 4)

i) List the methods of waste management in the order of preference. (5 Marks)

ii) What are the advantages of solid waste incernaton? (5 Marks)

iii) Define hazardous waste (5 Marks)

iv) List the legal provisions in the Environment Protection Act pertaining to hazardous waste

(5 Marks)

Q 5)

i) Discuss the role of CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) in the pollution control activities in

India. (2 Marks)

ii) Mention the salient points of the 3 Acts : (2 Marks)

 The Air (prevention and control of pollution) Act 1981

 The Water (prevention and control of pollution) Act 1974

 The Environment (Protection) Act 1986

iii) Explain the very elements of EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) – different types of

Impact Assessments – the benefits of EIA – The EIA process, key points to remember while

conducting an effective EIA. (2 Marks)

iv) Compare and contrast “polluter pays principle” with “beneficiary pays principle”. (2 Marks)

v) What are the tenets of Risk management – explain the steps involved through a chart. (2Marks

 

BUSINESS ETHICS

CASE -1 (20 Marks)

Joan, an employee of Great American Market, was warned about her excessive absenteeism several

times, both verbally and in writing. The written warning included notice that "further violations will

result in disciplinary actions," including suspension or discharge.

A short time after the written warning was issued, Joan called work to say she was not going to be in

because her babysitter had called in sick and she had to stay home and care for her young child. Joan's

supervisor, Sylvia, told her that she had already exceeded the allowed number of absences and warned

that if she did not report to work, she could be suspended. When Joan did not report for her shift,

Sylvia suspended her for fifteen days.

In a subsequent hearing, Joan argued that it was not her fault that the babysitter had canceled, and

protested that she had no other choice but to stay home. Sylvia pointed out that Joan had not made a

good faith effort to find an alternate babysitter, nor had she tried to swap shifts with a co-worker.

Furthermore, Sylvia said that the lack of a babysitter was not a justifiable excuse for being absent.

Questions:

1. Was the suspension fair?

2. Did Joan act responsibly?

3. Should she be fired?

CASE-2 (20 Marks)

You own a cement company, and deal with most the local contractors for cement, sand, etc. You have

a reputation of high quality products, and for good customer service with your customers. Your

foreman has just run the standard quality control tests you have performed regularly on your products.

When the test results are ready, you discover that the new batch of product is 9% less durable than

your usual material. It is still well above all industry standards and meets all building codes and

requirements for the purposes for which it is intended, but it is, nevertheless, not up to your usual

standards. Throwing it away would cost your company many thousands of dollars.

You decide to sell the cement anyway.

Questions:

1) Should you tell your customers?

2) Should you discount the price?

3) Should you tell your employees, so they will be knowledgeable with the customers?

4) Would you use this cement on foundations for your own house?

Page 2 of 3

CASE-3 (20 Marks)

Fred, a 17-year employee with Sam's Sauna, was fired for poor job performance and poor attendance,

after accruing five disciplinary penalties within a 12-month period under the company's progressive

disciplinary policy. A week later, Fred told his former supervisor that he had a substance abuse

problem.

Although there was no employee assistance program in place and the company had not been aware of

Fred's condition, their personnel director assisted Fred in obtaining treatment by allowing him to

continue receiving insurance benefits and approved his unemployment insurance claim.

Fred subsequently requested reinstatement, maintaining that he had been rehabilitated since his

discharge and was fully capable of being a productive employee. He pointed to a letter written by his

treatment counselor, which said that his prognosis for leading a "clean, sober lifestyle" was a big

incentive for him. Fred pleaded for another chance, arguing that his past problems resulted from drug

addiction and that Sam's Saunas should have recognized and provided treatment for the problem.

Sam's Saunas countered that Fred should have notified his supervisor of his drug problem, and that

everything possible had been done to help him receive treatment. Moreover, the company stressed that

the employee had been fired for poor performance and absenteeism. Use of the progressive discipline

policy had been necessary because the employee had committed a string of offenses over the course of

a year, including careless workmanship, distracting others, wasting time, and disregarding safety rules.

Questions:

1) Should Fred be reinstated?

2) Was the company fair to Fred in helping him receive treatment?

3) Did the personnel director behave ethically toward Fred?

4) Did he act ethically for his company?

5) Would it be fair to other employees to reinstate Fred?

CASE-4 (20 Marks)

In January of last year, the S.S. Vulgass, an oil tanker of the Big Dirty Oil Company ran around in the

area just north of Vancouver, spilling millions of gallons of crude into the waters and onto the beaches

of British Columbia and southern Alaska. The damage to the beaches and wildlife and consequently to

the tourist industry, the ecology and the quality of life of the local residents is incalculable, but in any

case will require many millions of dollars for even the most minimal clean-up.

The ship struck a small atoll, well-marked on the navigational maps, but it was a dark night and the

boat was well off course. On further investigation, it was discovered that the Captain of the Vulgass,

Mr. Slosh, had been drinking heavily. Leaving the navigation of the ship to his first mate, Mr. Mudd,

he retired to his cabin, to "sleep it off." Mr. Mudd had never taken charge of the ship before, and it is

now clear that he misread the maps, misjudged the waters, maintained a speed that was inappropriate

and the accident occurred. Subsequent inquiries showed that Captain Slosh had been arrested on two

drunk driving convictions within months of the accident. The Vulgass itself, a double-hulled tanker,

was long due for renovation and, it was suggested, would not have cracked up if the hull had been

trebly reinforced, as some current tankers were.

Page 2 of 3

R. U. Rich, the Chief Executive Officer of Big Dirty Oil declared the accident a "tragedy" and offered

two million dollars to aid in the clean up. The Premier of British Columbia was outraged.

Environmental groups began a consumer campaign against Big Dirty Oil, urging customers to cut up

and send in their Big Dirty Oil credit cards in protest. In a meeting to the shareholders just last month,

CEO Rich proudly announced the largest quarterly profit in the history of the Big Dirty Oil Company.

He dismissed the protests as "the outpourings of Greenies and other fanatics" and assured the

shareholders that his obligation was, and would always be, to assure the highest profits possible in the

turmoil of today's market.

Questions:

1) The question is, who is responsible?

2) Against whom should criminal charges be leveled?

3) What should be done, if anything, to punish the corporation itself?

4) What about the CEO?

 

 

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

 

N.B.: 1) Attempt any Four Questions

2) All questions carries equal marks.

(A). (1).Mr. Nimish holds the following portfolio. (10 marks)

Share Beta Investment

Alpha 0.9 Rs.12, 00,000

Beta 1.5 Rs. 3, 50,000

Carrot 1.0 Rs. 1, 00,000

What is the expected rate of return on his portfolio, if the risk rate is 7 per cent and the

expected return on the market portfolio is 16 per cent?

(A). (2). A share is selling for Rs.60 on which a dividend of Rs.4 per share is expected at the end

of the year. The expected market price after dividend declaration is to be Rs.70. Compute the

following: - (10 marks)

(i) The return on investment ® in shares.

(ii) Dividend yield

(iii) Capital Gain Yield

(B) DIC Ltd. provides the following data: (20 marks)

Comparative trial balance

March 31 year 2 March 31 year 1 Increase(Decrease)

Debit Balance 20 10 10

Cash Rs.190 Rs. 90 Rs.100

Working capital (other than cash) 100 200 (100)

Investment (Long term) 500 400 100

Building and equipment 40 50 (10)

Total 850 750 100

Credit

Accumulated Depreciation 200 160 40

Bonds 150 100 50

Reserves 350 350 ---

Equity Shares 150 140 10

3

Total 850 750 100

Income Statement

For the period ending March 31, year 2

(Amount in Rs lakh)

Sales Rs.1000

Cost of Goods Sold 500

Selling Expense Rs.50

Administrative Expenses 50 100

Operating Income 400

Other charges

Gain on sale of building and equipment Rs 5

Loss on sale of investments (10)

Interest (6)

Taxes (189) (200)

Net Income after taxes 200

Notes: (a) The depreciation charged for the year was Rs.60 Lakh

(b) The Book value of the building and equipment disposed was Rs 10 Lakh

(c)

Prepare a Cash Flow Statement (Based on AS-3)

(C). (1). A. Ltd. produces a product which has a monthly demand of 4,000 units. The product

requires a component X which is purchased at Rs.20. For every finished product one unit of

component is required. The ordering cost is Rs.120 per order and the holding cost is 10 per

cent per annum. (10 marks)

You are required to calculate:

(i) Economic order quantity

(ii) If the minimum lot size to be supplied is 4, 000 units, what is the extra cost, the

company has to incur?

(iii) What is the minimum carrying cost, the company has to incur?

4

(C). (2). 4. Master Tools Ltd. Is currently operating its business at 75% level, producing 38275 units of

a tools component and proposes to increase capacity utilization in the coming year by 33 1/3 % over the

existing level of production. (10 marks)

The following data has been supplied:

(1)Unit cost structure of the product at current level:

Rs.

Raw Material 5

Wages 2

Overheads 3

Fixed Overhead 2

Profit 3

_____

15

(i) Raw Material will remain in stores for 1 month before issued for production. Material will

remain in process for further 1 month. Suppliers grant 4 months credit to the company.

(ii) Finished goods remain in godown for 2 months

(iii) Debtors are allowed credit for 2 months.

(iv) Lag in wages and overheads payments in 1 month, and these expenses accrue evenly

throughout the production cycle.

(v) No increase either in cost of inputs or selling price is envisaged

You are required to prepare a Projected Profitability statement and the Working Capital

Requirement at new level, assuming that a minimum cash balance of Rs.20000 has to be maintained.

(D). A stock is currently trading for Rs.29. The risk less interest is 7 % p.a continuously

compounded. Estimate the value of European call option with a strike price of Rs.30 and a time

of expiration of 4 months. The standard deviation of the stock’s annual return is 0.45. Apply BS

model. (20 marks)

5

(E). Following is the EPS record of AB Ltd over the past 10 years. (20 marks)

Year EPS Year EPS

10 Rs.30 5 Rs.16

9 20 4 15

8 19 3 14

7 18 2 18

6 17 1 (12)

(i) Determine the annual dividend paid each year in the following cases:

(a) If the firm’s dividend policy is based on a constant dividend payout ratio of 40 per cent

for all years

(b) If the firm pays at Rs 10 per share, and increases it to Rs 12 per share when earnings

exceed Rs.14 per share for the previous 2 consecutive years.

(c) If the firm pays dividend at Rs 7 per share each except when EPS exceeds Rs 14 per

share, when an extra dividend equal to 80 per centof earnings beyond Rs.14 would be

paid.

(ii) Which type of dividend policy will you recommended to the company and why?

(F). (1). A US MNC has its subsidiary in India. The subsidiary has issued 15 pr cent preference

shares of the face value of Rs.100, to be redeemed at year-end 9. Flotation costs are expected to

be 5 per cent; these costs can be amortized for tax purpose during 8 years at a uniform rate.

The corporate tax rate is 35 per cent. Determine the costs of preference shares from the

perspective of the subsidiary. (10 marks)

(F). (2) The US inflation rate is expected to be Rs.3 per cent annually and that of India is

expected to be 4.5 per cent annually. The current spot rate of US $ in India is Rs.47.4060/US $.

(10 marks)

Find the expected rate of US $ in India after one year and after 5 years from now using

purchase power theory of exchange rate.

 

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

 

CASE STUDY : 1

A policy is a plan of action. It is a statement of intention committing the management to a general course of

action. When the management drafts a policy statement to cover some features of its personnel programmes,

the statement may often contain an expression of philosophy and principle as well. Although it is perfectly

legitimate for an organization to include its philosophy, principles and policy in one policy expression.

Q1) Why organizations adopt personnel policies explain the benefits?

Q2) What are the sources and content of personnel policies?

Q3) Explain few personnel policies?

Q4) Explain principles of personnel policies?

CASE STUDY : 2

Recruitment is understood as the process of searching for and obtaining applicants for jobs, from among

whom the rights people can be selected. Theoretically, recruitment process is said to end with the receipt of

applications, in practice the activity extends to the screening of applications so as to eliminate those who are

not qualified for the job.

Recruitment refers to the process of receipt of applications from job seekers. In reality, the term is used to

describe the entire process of employee hiring. These are recruitment boards for railways, banks and other

organization.

Q1) Explain in detail the general purpose of recruitment?

Q2) Explain factors governing Recruitment?

Q3) Explain the Recruitment process with diagram?

Q4) Explain Recruitment planning?

CASE STUDY : 3

Navin AGM materials, is fuming and fretting. He bumped into Kiran, GM Materials, threw the resignation

letter on his table, shouted and walked out of the room swiftly.

Navin has reason for his sudden outburst. He has been driven to the wall. Perhaps details of the story will

tell the reasons for Navin’s bile and why he put in his papers, barely four months after he took up his

assignment.

3 | P a g e

The year was 2005 when Navin quit the prestigious Sail plant at Mumbai. As a manager material Navin

enjoyed the power. He could even place an order for materials worth Rs 25 lakh. He needed nobody’s prior

approval.

Navin joined a pulp making plant located at Pune as AGM Materials. The plant is owned by a prestigious

business house in India. Obviously perks, designation and reputation of the conglomerate lured Navin away

from the public sector.

When he joined the pulp making company, little did Navin realize that he needed prior approval to place an

order for materials worth Rs 12 lakhs. He had presumed that he had the authority to place an order by

himself worth half the amount of what he used to do at the mega steel maker. He placed the order material

arrived, were recived, accepted and used up in the plant.

Trouble started when the bill for Rs 12 lakh came from vendor. The accounts department withheld payment

for the reason that the bill was not endorsed by Kiran. Kiran rused to sign the bill as his approval was not

taken by Navin before placing the order.

Navin felt fumigated and cheated. A brief encounter with Kiran only aggrarated the problem. Navin was

curtly told that he should have known company rules before venturing. Navin decided to quit the company.

Q1) Does the company have an orientation programme?

Q2) If yes how effective is it?

Q3) How is formal Orientation programme conducted?

Q4) If you were Navin what would have you done?

CASE STUDY : 4

Bitter it may taste, shrill it may sound, and sleepless nights it may cause, but it is true. In a major shake up

Airbus. The European aircraft manufacturers has thrown a big shock to its employees. Before coming to the

details of the shock, a peep into the company’s resume.

Name Airbus

Created 1970

President CEO : Vijay M.

Employees 57000

Turnover 26 Bn (Euro)

Total Aircraft sold (Feb

2007)

7187

Delivered 4598

Headquarters Paris (France)

Facilities 16

Rival Boeing

4 | P a g e

Airbus announced on February 27, 2007 that it would shed 10,000 jobs across four European contries and

sell six of its unit. N the same day the helpless workers did what was expected of them – downed tools and

staged protests. The protesting workers at Airbus’s factory at Meaulte, northern France, were seen picketing

outside the factory gate after holding up production a day earlier. To be fair to Airbus, its management

entered talks with unions before the job loss and sale was formally announced. But the talks did not mollify

the agitated workers.

Job sheating and hiring of units are a part of Power and restructuring plan unleashed by Airbus to save itself

from increasing loss of its ground to the arch rival, Boeing Co.

Airbus Power & Strategy was first mooted in October 2006 but sparkled a split between France & Germany

over the distribution of job losses and the placement of future ones. Later the two countries agreed to share

both job losses and new technology.

The power and plan, if finalized, would mean a 3 per cent reduction to Airbus’s 55000 employee strength.

Q1) Why should Power and focus on shedding jobs to save on cost?

Q2) Are there no alternative strategies?

Q3) Will the proposed shedding of jobs and scale of six units help airbus survive the intense competition

from Boeing?

Q4) Comment on the whole issue?

 

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

 

CASE 1 (20 Marks)

Kodak started selling photographic equipment on Japan 1889 and by the 1930s it had a dominant position in

the Japanese market. But after World War II, U.S occupation forces persuaded most U.S companies including

Kodak to leave Japan to give the war torn local industry a chance to recover. Kodak was effectively priced out

of the market by tariff barriers; over the next 35 years Fuji gained 70% share of the market while Kodak saw

its share slip to miserable 5%. During this period Kodak limited much of its activities in Japan.

This situation persisted until early 1980s when Fuji launched an aggressive export drive, attacking Kodak in

the north American and European markets. Deciding that a good offence is the best defense, in 1984 and the

next six year, Kodak outspent Fuji in Japan by a ratio of more than 3 to 1. It erected mammoth $ 1 million near

signs as land marks in many of the Japan’s big cities and also sponsored Sumo wrestling, Judo, and tennis

tournaments and even the Japanese team at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Thus Kodak has put Fuji on defensive,

forcing it to divert resources from overseas to defend itself at home. By 1990’s, some of Fuji’s best executives

had been pulled back to Tokyo.

All this success, however , was apparently not enough for Kodak. In may 1995, Kodak filed a petition with the

US trade office, that accured the Japanese government and Fuji of “Unfair trading practices”. According to the

petition, the Japanese government helped to create a ‘ profile sanctuary’ for Fuji in Japan by systematically

denying Kodak access to Japanese distribution channels for consumer film and paper. Kodak claims Fuji has

effectively shut Kodak products out of four distributors that have a 70% share of the photo distribution market.

Fuji has an equity position in two of the distributors, gives large year –end relates and cash payments to all

four distributors as a reward for their loyalty to Fuji, and owns stakes in the banks that finance them. Kodak

also claims that Fuji uses similar tactics to control 430 wholesale photo furnishing labs in Japan to which it is

the exclusive supplier. Moreover Kodak’s petition claims that the Japanese government has actively

encourages these practices.

But Fuji a similar counter arguments relating to Kodak in U.S. and states bluntly that Kodak’s charges are a

clear case of the pot calling the kettle back.

(a) What was the critical catalyst that led Kodak to start taking the Japanese market seriously?

(b) From the evidence given in the case do you think Kodak’s charges of unfair trading practices against Fuji

are valid? Support your answer.

CASE 2 (20 Marks)

Two Senior executives of world’s largest firms with extensive holdings outside the home country speak.

Company A : “We are a multinational firm. We distribute our products in about 100 countries. We

manufacture in over 17 countries and do research and development in three countries. We look at all new

investment projects both domestic and overseas using exactly the same criteria”.

The execution from company A continues, “ of course the most of the key ports in our subsidiaries are held by

home country nationals. Whenever replacements for these men are sought, it is the practice, if not the policy,

to look next to you at the lead office and pick some one (usually a home country national) you know and

trust”.

Company B : “ We are multinational firm. Our product division executives have worldwide profit

responsibility. As our organisational chart shows, the united states is just one region on a par with Europe,

Latin America, Africa etc, in each division”.

The executive from Company B goes on to explain, “the worldwide Product division concept is rather difficult

to implement. The senior executives incharge of this divisions have little overseas experience. They have been

promoted from domestic ports and tend to view foreign consumers needs as really basically the same as ours.

Also, product division executives tend to focus on domestic market, because it generates more revenue than

foreign market. The rewards are for global performance, but strategy is to focus on domestic. Most of the

senior executives simply do not understand what happens overseas and really do not trust foreign executives,

even those in key portions?

Questions :

1 Which company is truly Multinational ? Why?

2 List three differences between Company , Multi National company and Trans Multi National Company ?

CASE - 3 (20 Marks)

Strategic R & D by TNCs in Developing Countries

TNCs have had long units in developing host countries for adapting products and processes to the local

conditions, and in a few cases, to products for local markets. Since the min-1980s, however, they have also

started locating strategic R & D centres in some developing countries, for developing generic technologies

and products for regional or global markets. The main incentives for this are : (a) access to highly qualified

scientists as shortages of research personnel emerge in certain fields in industrialised countries, (b) Cost

differentials in research salaries between developing and industrialised countries, and (c) rationalisation of

operations, assigning particular affiliates the responsibility for developing, manufacturing, and marketing

particular products worldwide. Th new trends are more visible in industries dealing with new technologies,

such as microelectronics, biotechnology, and new materials. In these technologies, the location of R & D can

be geographically de-linked more easily from the location of manufacturing. It is also possible to separate R &

D in core activities from that in non-core activities. Consequently, countries like India, Israel, Singapore,

Malaysia or Brazil serve TNCs as good locations for strategic R & D.

For instance, Sony Corporation of Japan has around nine R & D units in Asian developing countries. It has

three units in Singapore conducting R & D on core components such as optical data shortage devices,

integrated chip design for audio products and CD-ROM drives, and multimedia and microchip software. It has

three units in Malaysia working on video design, derivative models and circuit blocks for new TV chases,

radio cassettes, discman and hi-fi receiver designs. It has one unit in Republic of Korea focusing on the design

of compact discs, radio cassettes, tape recorders, and car stereos. It has one in Taiwan designing and

developing video tape-recorders, minidisk players, video CDs, and duplicators. Finally, it has one unit in

Indonesia focusing on the design of audio products.

Such units often work in collaboration with science and technology institutes in the host country. For instance,

Daimler Benz has established such a unit in Bangalore, India, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of

Science to work on projects related to its vehicles and avionics business. Current work includes interface

design of avionics landing systems and smart GPS sensors for use by the group’s business worldwide.

Source: World Investment Report 1999.

Questions:

(a) Explain why MNCs have located R & D centres in developing countries?

(b) Mention the areas where R & D activities can easily be decentralised.

CASE -4 (20 Marks)

VK Ltd a multi-product Company, furnishes you the following data relating to the year 2000.

First Half of the year Second Half of the year

Sales Rs. 45,000 Rs. 50,000

Total Cost Rs. 40,000 Rs. 43,000

Assuming that there is no change in prices and variable costs and that the fixed expenses are incurred equally

in the two half years periods calculate for the year 2000.

1. The Profit Volume ration

2. Fixed Expenses

3. Break-Even Sales

4. Percentage of margin of safety.

5 marks each

 

MANAGEMENT CONTROL SYSTEM

CASE STUDY : 1

Traditional Forecasting

Many organizations seek to mitigate some of the traditional budgeting problems noted above by

implementing some form of forecasting. This allows managers to update budgeted numbers with actual

results for the periods that have already occurred. The forecasts are used to predict what will happen in

the future, often seeking to confirm whether predetermined annual targets will still be met.

While financial managers think of forecasting in terms of periodic forecasts, operating managers are

constantly adjusting plans, including sales estimates, which are converted to operating plans for

production and inventory control levels. Most of these planning efforts are conducted in numerous

discrete systems supporting different functional areas. A great deal of effort is required to integrate and

reconcile these different views of the future.

Financial forecasts are performed on a preset schedule, typically quarterly or monthly.

According to David Axson, author of "Best Practices in Planning and Management Reporting" 4. Axson

explains that these process cycle times are extended due to:

„h The difficulty in getting timely information;

„h The high level of details required taking significant time to forecast each item; and

„h The fact that much of this data is developed in a series of disconnected spreadsheets making

integration a time-consuming process.

Many companies use a purely financial process that is disconnected from its specific business drivers-a

mere financial accumulation of trends. These companies often determine their monthly forecasts by

subtracting the actual results to date from their annual targets and then dividing the remaining gap by the

months remaining. They then view the monthly result to see if it is even possible to attain, All their

forecasting work focuses on achieving the predefined annual targets, even if the underlying assumptions

that went into creating those targets are now Incorrect.

The level of detail used often mirrors the annual plan. Some planners forecast at the same level of detail

that is used for actual reporting, This can result in tremendous efforts in calculating variances and the

related explanation process.

These misconceptions often turn traditional forecasting into merely a different pc version of the

problems with traditional budgeting. Let's examine why.

For many organizations, forecasting is a mechanical process that adjusts future run rates upward or

downward as necessary so that the predetermined annual targets are still met.

They ignore the fact that targets were set based on various assumptions. What happens when the annual

targets are held but their underlying basis proves incorrect? The great quality guru W. Edwards Deming

noted that "if you pay people to hit targets, they often will, even if it destroys your company."

Q1) Explain the process of cycle times given by David Axson. (20 Marks)

CASE STUDY : 2

Methodology :

Jimmy Carter, who introduced ZBB for resources allocation and control in government explains, "In

ZBB, the budget is broken into units called DPs which are prepared by managers at each level. These

packages include an analysis of purpose, cost, measures of performance and benefits, alternative courses

of action and consequences of not performing the activity. Then all packages are to be ranked in order of

priority. After several discussions between department heads and the chief executive, the rankings are

finalized, and packages upto the level of affordability are approved and funded."

In more specific terms the ZBB methodology as well as the sequential stages in its introduction may be

outlined as follows:

¡E Defining the Decision Units (DUs) within the firm: A DU is a tangible activity or group of activities

for which a single manager is responsible for successful performance. The DU concept is akin to that of

the responsibility center. A traditional cost center, a group of people or even a project may be a DU.

¡E Defining objectives of each DU : In clear and specific terms and in conformity with the enterprise,

objectives and goals.

¡E Identifying activities in the form of DPs: The term D P focuses on the analysis of each activity in the

manufacturing process according to the incident of the relevant cost and the importance of that activity

in the overall cost structure of the organization. Thus, in essence DPs not only refer to the costs but also

the benefits of an activity of process.

¡E Ranking of alternative DPs in the order of decreasing benefit to the organization, using cost-benefit

analysis technique. This problem can be reduced by concentrating on marginal priority packages. This

is because ultimately all the packages presented for funding would generally fall into three categories:

(1) those with a high priority and high probability of funding; (2) those with a marginal priority and

which may be funded or not funded depending on the resources available, and (3) those with a low

priority and low probability of funding.

¡E Forwarding the ranked DPs to the next higher organizational units, for review, merger with other

comparable DPs and for re-ranking (as the DPs are consolidated and re-ranked, the perspective and

objectives are broadened). The consolidation and re-ranking should preferably be done by a committee

comprising all managers whose DPs are being considered and a chairman selected from the next higher

organizational level.

¡E Finalization of the budget proposal as well as preparation of budgets for each DU have to be finally

approved by the top management. Before according approval, the top management is guided, on the one

hand, by the principle of allocating resources to the OPs showing higher benefit to cost ratios, and the

question of affordability, on the other.

Q1) Explain the stages in specific terms of ZBB Methodology. (20 Marks)

CASE STUDY : 3

Capital Expenditures :

Another approach to deciding on capital expenditure investments is to assign a priority to each

investment proposed. We tend to limit the priority scale to values, as follows.

1. Absolute Must. Includes security, legal, regulatory, end-of-life equipment; typically externally

mandated, that is, you really have little or no choice. Simply stated, if you are under very tight

capital expenditure and/or expense budget constraints, the cutoff is drawn here.

2. Highly Desired/Business-Critical. Includes short-term "break even" (less than six months),

significant short-term "return to top or bottom line" less than months), and mega projects

already in progress.

3. Wanted. Valuable, with a longer return term (more than 12 months). Typically, these

projects get funded only if there is capital money remaining, if resources are available, and if

revenue projections are fairly secured.

4. Nice to Have. Given available bandwidth in people and money, there is a good return on

these projects, but typically the ROI has more intangibles. Unlikely to be funded in this budget

year; might go up the priority list in subsequent budget years. It is important to have some

projects in this priority, as it helps to better calibrate the higher priorities.

Expenses

The following items constitute what is most typically referred to as "the budget." The major

categories of budget expenses are:

Personnel

¡E Salaries and benefits (including hiring fees and bonuses)

¡E Training and education

¡E Travel

¡E Morale

¡E Staff-related depreciation

¡E Temporary help/consultants

¡E Miscellaneous (space, telecom, and so on)

Hardware

¡E Depreciation

¡E Maintenance

¡E Repairs

¡E Leases

Software

¡E Depreciation

¡E Maintenance

¡E Customer support

¡E Updates

¡E Repairs

¡E Leases

Services

¡E Leased lines

¡E Oursourced network services

¡E Security services

¡E Applications service providers (ASPs)

¡E Miscellaneous (transport, courier, periodicals, and so on)

Q1) Explain the needs of Capital Expenditure investment. (10 Marks).

Q2) Give any two difference between hardware and software. (10 Marks).

CASE STUDY : 4

Divorce the Forecasting Process from the Target Setting and Performance Appraisal

Forecasts must not be seen by senior managers as a tool for questioning or reassessing performance

targets. If managers see that forecasts have an impact on their reward and incentive plan, they will be

reluctant to present an unbiased picture.

Use Forecasts to Support

Leading organizations

Q1) Explain the difference between choosing the Right Forecasting on frequency and horizon.

(20 Marks

 

MARKETING MANAGEMENT

SUBJECT : MARKETING MANAGEMENT

COURSE : Total Marks : 80

N.B. : 1) There are questions in paper.

2) All Questions are compulsory

A) Discuss Various Marketing Research Instruments .Give suitable examples (one example

/instrument)? (10 Marks)

B) Describe following in context of new product development (NPD)? (10 Marks)

1. The new product development decision process

2. Risk factors hindering new product development

C) Illustrate the marketing mix for any two of the following? (15 Marks)

1. Cafe Coffee Day

2. Dr. Batra’s clinic

3. Lux Soap

4. HP( Hewlett Packard)

D) Illustrate with examples, the differences between Product marketing &

Services marketing? (10 Marks)

E) Illustrate with examples, the methods/ways of evaluating advertising effectiveness? (10 Marks)

F) Discuss the factors which contribute in deciding the “price” of the product? Discuss

various pricing methods? (10 Marks)

G) “Laco Industries “has planned to introduce new baby shampoo in the kids market. The company

conducted a research in selected tier II cities in India to know the demand & successfully

launched its product. In this context, discuss the characteristics of the good research? (15 Marks

 

Case-1 : The use of the marketing mix in product launch

Introduction

NIVEA® is an established name in high quality skin and beauty care products. It is part of a range of

brands produced and sold by Beiersdorf. Beiersdorf, founded in 1882, has grown to be a global company

specialising in skin and beauty care.

In the UK, Beiersdorf’s continuing goal is to have its products as close as possible to its consumers,

regardless of where they live. Its aims are to understand its consumers in its many different markets and

delight them with innovative products for their skin and beauty care needs. This strengthens the trust and

appeal of Beiersdorf brands. The business prides itself on being consumer-led and this focus has helped

it to grow NIVEA into one of the largest skin care brands in the world.

Beiersdorf’s continuing programme of market research showed a gap in the market. This led to the

launch of NIVEA VISAGE® Young in 2005 as part of the NIVEA VISAGE range offering a

comprehensive selection of products aimed at young women. It carries the strength of the NIVEA brand

image to the target market of girls aged 13-19. NIVEA VISAGE Young helps girls to develop a proper

skin care routine to help keep their skin looking healthy and beautiful.

The market can be developed by creating a good product/range and introducing it to the market

(product-orientated approach) or by finding a gap in the market and developing a product to fill it

(market-orientated approach). Having identified a gap in the market, Beiersdorf launched NIVEA

VISAGE Young using an effective balance of the right product, price, promotion and place. This is

known as the marketing mix or ‘four Ps’. It is vital that a company gets the balance of these four

elements correct so that a product will achieve its critical success factors. Beiersdorf needed to develop

a mix that suited the product and the target market as well as meeting its own business objectives.

The company re-launched the NIVEA VISAGE Young range in June 2007 further optimising its

position in the market. Optimised means the product had a new formula, new design, new packaging and

a new name. This case study shows how a carefully balanced marketing mix provides the platform for

launching and re-launching a brand onto the market.

Product :

The first stage in building an effective mix is to understand the market. NIVEA uses market research to

target key market segments which identifies groups of people with the same characteristics such as

age/gender/attitude/lifestyle. The knowledge and understanding from the research helps in the

development of new products. NIVEA carries out its market research with consumers in a number of

different ways. These include:

• using focus groups to listen to consumers directly

• gathering data from consumers through a variety of different research techniques

• product testing with consumers in different markets.

Beiersdorf’s market research identified that younger consumers wanted more specialised face care

aimed at their own age group that offered a ‘beautifying’ benefit, rather than a solution to skin problems.

NIVEA VISAGE Young is a skin care range targeted at girls who do not want medicated products but

want a regime for their normal skin.

Competitor products tend to be problem focussed and offer medicated solutions. This gives NIVEA

competitive advantage. NIVEA VISAGE Young provides a unique bridge between the teenage market

and the adult market.

The company improved the product to make it more effective and more consumer-friendly. Beiersdorf

tested the improved products on a sample group from its target audience before finalising the range for

re-launch. This testing resulted in a number of changes to existing products. Improvements included:

• Changing the formula of some products. For example, it removed alcohol from one product and used

natural sea salts and minerals in others.

• Introducing two completely new products.

• A new modern pack design with a flower pattern and softer colours to appeal to younger women.

• Changing product descriptions and introducing larger pack sizes.

Each of these changes helped to strengthen the product range, to better meet the needs of the market.

Some of these changes reflect NIVEA’s commitment to the environment. Its corporate responsibility

approach aims to:

• reduce packaging and waste - by using larger pack sizes

• use more natural products – by including minerals and sea salts in the formula

• increase opportunities for recycling - by using recyclable plastic in its containers.

Price :

Lots of factors affect the end price of a product, for example, the costs of production or the business

need to maximise profits or sales. A product’s price also needs to provide value for money in the market

and attract consumers to buy.

There are several pricing strategies that a business can use:

• Cost based pricing – this can either simply cover costs or include an element of profit. It focuses on the

product and does not take account of consumers.

• Penetration price – an initial low price to ensure that there is a high volume of purchases and market

share is quickly won. This strategy encourages consumers to develop a habit of buying.

• Price skimming – an initial high price for a unique product encouraging those who want to be ‘first to

buy’ to pay a premium price. This strategy helps a business to gain maximum revenue before a

competitor’s product reaches the market.

On re-launch the price for NIVEA VISAGE Young was slightly higher than previously. This reflected

its new formulations, packaging and extended product range. However, the company also had to take

into account that the target market was both teenage girls and mums buying the product for their

daughters. This meant that the price had to offer value for money or it would be out of reach of its target

market.

As NIVEA VISAGE Young is one of the leading skin care ranges meeting the beautifying needs of this

market segment, it is effectively the price leader. This means that it sets the price level that

competitors will follow or undercut. NIVEA needs to regularly review prices should a competitor enter

the market at the ‘market growth’ point of the product life cycle to ensure that its pricing remains

competitive.

The pricing strategy for NIVEA is not the same as that of the retailers. It sells products to retailers at one

price. However, retailers have the freedom to use other strategies for sales promotion. These take

account of the competitive nature of the high street. They may use:

• loss leader: the retailer sells for less than it cost to attract large volume of sales, for example by

supermarkets

• discounting – alongside other special offers, such as ‘Buy one, get one free’ (BOGOF) or ‘two for

one’.

NIVEA VISAGE Young’s pricing strategy now generates around 7% of NIVEA VISAGE sales.

Place

Place refers to:

• How the product arrives at the point of sale. This means a business must think about what distribution

strategies it will use.

• Where a product is sold. This includes retail outlets like supermarkets or high street shops. It also

includes other ways in which businesses make products directly available to their target market, for

example, through direct mail or the Internet.

NIVEA VISAGE Young aims to use as many relevant distribution channels as possible to ensure the

widest reach of its products to its target market. The main channels for the product are retail outlets

where consumers expect to find skin care ranges. Around 65% of NIVEA VISAGE.

Young sales are through large high street shops such as Boots and Superdrug. Superdrug is particularly

important for the ‘young-end’ market. The other 35% of sales mainly comes from large grocery chains

that stock beauty products, such as ASDA, Tesco and Sainsbury’s. Market research shows that around

20% of this younger target market buys products for themselves in the high street stores when shopping

with friends. Research also shows that the majority of purchasers are actually made by mums, buying for

teenagers. Mums are more likely to buy the product from supermarkets whilst doing their grocery

shopping.

NIVEA distributes through a range of outlets that are cost effective but that also reach the highest

number of consumers. Its distribution strategies also consider the environmental impact of transport. It

uses a central distribution point in the UK. Products arrive from European production plants using

contract vehicles for efficiency for onward delivery to retail stores. Beiersdorf does not sell direct to

smaller retailers as the volume of products sold would not be cost effective to deliver but it uses

wholesalers for these smaller accounts. It does not sell directly through its website as the costs of

producing small orders would be too high. However, the retailers, like Tesco, feature and sell the

NIVEA products in their online stores.

Promotion

Promotion is how the business tells customers that products are available and persuades them to buy.

Promotion is either above-the-line or below-the-line. Above-the-line promotion is directly paid for, for

example TV or newspaper advertising.

Below-the-line is where the business uses other promotional methods to get the product message across:

• Events or trade fairs help to launch a product to a wide audience. Events may be business to consumer

(B2C) whereas trade fairs are business to business (B2B).

• Direct mail can reach a large number of people but is not easy to target specific consumers costeffectively.

• Public relations (PR) includes the different ways a business can communicate with its stakeholders,

through, for example, newspaper press releases. Other PR activities include sponsorship of high profile

events like Formula 1 or the World Cup, as well as donations to or participation in charity events.

Branding – a strong and consistent brand identity differentiates the product and helps consumers to

understand and trust the product. This aims to keep consumers buying the product long-term.

• Sales promotions, for example competitions or sampling, encourage consumers to buy products in the

short-term.

NIVEA chooses promotional strategies that reflect the lifestyle of its audience and the range of media

available. It realises that a ‘one way’ message, using TV or the press, is not as effective as talking

directly to its target group of consumers. Therefore NIVEA does not plan to use any above-the-line

promotion for NIVEA VISAGE Young.

The promotion of NIVEA VISAGE Young is consumer-led. Using various below-the-line routes,

NIVEA identifies ways of talking to teenagers (and their mums) directly.

• A key part of the strategy is the use of product samples. These allow customers to touch, feel, smell

and try the products. Over a million samples of NIVEA VISAGE Young products will be given away

during 2008. These samples will be available through the website, samples in stores or in ‘goody bags’

given out at VISAGE roadshows up and down the country.

• NIVEA VISAGE Young launched an interactive online magazine called FYI (Fun, Young &

Independent) to raise awareness of the brand. The concept behind the magazine is to give teenage girls

the confidence to become young women and to enjoy their new-found independence. Communication

channels are original and engaging to enable teenagers to identify with NIVEA VISAGE Young. The

magazine focuses on ‘first time’ experiences relating to NIVEA VISAGE Young being their first

skincare routine. It is promoted using the Hit40UK chart show and the TMF digital TV channel.

• In connection with FYI, NIVEA VISAGE Young has recognised the power of social network sites for

this young audience and also has pages on MySpace, Facebook and Bebo. The company is using the

power of new media as part of the mix to grow awareness amongst the target audience.

Conclusion

NIVEA VISAGE Young is a skincare range in the UK market designed to enhance the skin and beauty

of the teenage consumer rather than being medicated to treat skin problems. As such, it has created a

clear position in the market. This shows that NIVEA understands its consumers and has produced this

differentiated product range in order to meet their needs.

To bring the range to market, the business has put together a marketing mix. This mix balances the four

elements of product, price, place and promotion. The mix uses traditional methods of place, such as

distribution through the high street, alongside more modern methods of promotion, such as through

social networking sites. It makes sure that the message of NIVEA VISAGE Young reaches the right

people in the right way.

Answer the following questions:

1. Describe what is meant by a business being ‘consumer led’.

2. What are the key parts of the marketing mix? Explain how each works with the others.

3. Explain why the balance of the marketing mix is as important as any single element.

4. Analyse the marketing mix for NIVEA VISAGE Young. What are its strongest points? Explain why

you think this is so.

Case-2 : SWOT analysis in action at Škoda

Introduction

In 1895 in Czechoslovakia, two keen cyclists, Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Klement, designed and

produced their own bicycle. Their business became Škoda in 1925. Škoda went on to manufacture

cycles, cars, farm ploughs and airplanes in Eastern Europe. Škoda overcame hard times over the next 65

years. These included war, economic depression and political change. By 1990 the Czech management

of Škoda was looking for a strong foreign partner. Volkswagen AG (VAG) was chosen because of its

reputation for strength, quality and reliability. It is the largest car manufacturer in Europe providing an

average of more than 5 million cars a year – giving it a 12% share of the world car market. Volkswagen

AG comprises the Volkswagen, Audi, Škoda, SEAT, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Lamborghini,

Bentley and Bugatti brands. Each brand has its own specific character and is independent in the market.

Škoda UK sells Škoda cars through its network of independent franchised dealers.

To improve its performance in the competitive car market, Škoda UK’s management needed to assess its

brand positioning. Brand positioning means establishing a distinctive image for the brand compared to

competing brands. Only then could it grow from being a small player. To aid its decision-making, Škoda

UK obtained market research data from internal and external strategic audits. This enabled it to take

advantage of new opportunities and respond to threats.

The audit provided a summary of the business’s overall strategic position by using a SWOT analysis.

SWOT is an acronym which stands for:

• Strengths – the internal elements of the business that contribute to improvement and growth

• Weaknesses – the attributes that will hinder a business or make it vulnerable to failure

• Opportunities – the external conditions that could enable future growth

• Threats – the external factors which could negatively affect the business.

This case study focuses on how Škoda UK’s management built on all the areas of the strategic audit.

The outcome of the SWOT analysis was a strategy for effective competition in the car industry.

Strengths

To identify its strengths, Škoda UK carried out research. It asked customers directly for their opinions

about its cars. It also used reliable independent surveys that tested customers’ feelings. For example, the

annual JD Power customer satisfaction survey asks owners what they feel about cars they have owned

for at least six months. JD Power surveys almost 20,000 car owners using detailed questionnaires. Škoda

has been in the top five manufacturers in this survey for the past 13 years. In Top Gear’s 2007 customer

satisfaction survey, 56,000 viewers gave their opinions on 152 models and voted Škoda the ‘number 1

car maker’. Škoda’s Octavia model has also won the 2008 Auto Express Driver Power ‘Best Car’.

Škoda attributes these results to the business concentrating on owner experience rather than on sales. It

has considered ‘the human touch’ from design through to sale. Škoda knows that 98% of its drivers

would recommend Škoda to a friend. This is a clearly identifiable and quantifiable strength. Škoda uses

this to guide its future strategic development and marketing of its brand image.

Strategic management guides a business so that it can compete and grow in its market. Škoda adopted a

strategy focused on building cars that their owners would enjoy. This is different from simply

maximising sales of a product. As a result, Škoda’s biggest strength was the satisfaction of its

customers. This means the brand is associated with a quality product and happy customers.

Weaknesses

A SWOT analysis identifies areas of weakness inside the business. Škoda UK’s analysis showed that in

order to grow it needed to address key questions about the brand position. Škoda has only 1.7% market

share. This made it a very small player in the market for cars. The main issue it needed to address was:

how did Škoda fit into this highly competitive, fragmented market?

This weakness was partly due to out-dated perceptions of the brand. These related to Škoda’s eastern

European origins. In the past the cars had an image of poor vehicle quality, design, assembly, and

materials. Crucially, this poor perception also affected Škoda owners. For many people, car ownership is

all about image. If you are a Škoda driver, what do other people think?

From 1999 onwards, under Volkswagen AG ownership, Škoda changed this negative image. Škoda cars

were no longer seen as low-budget or low quality. However, a brand ‘health check’ in 2006 showed that

Škoda still had a weak and neutral image in the mid-market range it occupies, compared to other players

in this area, for example, Ford, Peugeot and Renault. This meant that whilst the brand no longer had a

poor image, it did not have a strong appeal either. This understanding showed Škoda in which direction

it needed to go. It needed to stop being defensive in promotional campaigns. The company had sought to

correct old perceptions and demonstrate what Škoda cars were not. It realised it was now time to say

what the brand does stand for. The marketing message for the change was simple. Škoda owners were

known to be happy and contented with their cars. The car-buying public and the car industry as a whole

needed convincing that Škoda cars were great to own and drive.

Opportunities and Threats

Opportunities

Opportunities occur in the external environment of a business. These include for example, gaps in the

market for new products or services. In analysing the external market, Škoda noted that its competitors’

marketing approaches focused on the product itself.

Audi emphasises the technology through its strapline, ‘Vorsprung Durch Technik’ (‘advantage through

technology’). BMW promotes ‘the ultimate driving machine’. Many brands place emphasis on the

machine and the driving experience. Škoda UK discovered that its customers loved their cars more than

owners of competitor brands, such as Renault or Ford.

Information from the SWOT analysis helped Škoda to differentiate its product range. Having a

complete understanding of the brand’s weaknesses allowed it to develop a strategy to strengthen the

brand and take advantage of the opportunities in the market. It focused on its existing strengths and

provided cars focused on the customer experience. The focus on ‘happy Škoda customers’ is an

opportunity. It enables Škoda to differentiate the Škoda brand to make it stand out from the competition.

This is Škoda’s unique selling proposition (USP) in the motor industry.

Threats

Threats come from outside of a business. These involve, for example, a competitor launching cheaper

products. A careful analysis of the nature, source and likelihood of these threats is a key part of the

SWOT process.

The UK car market includes 50 different car makers selling 200 models. Within these there are over

2,000 model derivatives. Škoda UK needed to ensure that its messages were powerful enough for

customers to hear within such a crowded and competitive environment. If not, potential buyers would

overlook Škoda. This posed the threat of a further loss of market share.

Škoda needed a strong product range to compete in the UK and globally. In the UK the Škoda brand is

represented by seven different cars. Each one is designed to appeal to different market segments. For

example:

• The Škoda Fabia is sold as a basic but quality ‘city car’

• The Škoda Superb offers a more luxurious, ‘up-market’ appeal

• The Škoda Octavia Estate provides a family with a fun drive but also a great big boot.

Pricing reflects the competitive nature of Škoda’s market. Each model range is priced to appeal to

different groups within the mainstream car market. The combination of a clear range with competitive

pricing has overcome the threat of the crowded market.

The following example illustrates how Škoda responded to another of its threats, namely, the need to

respond to EU legal and environmental regulations. Škoda responded by designing products that are

environmentally friendly at every stage of their life cycle. This was done by for example:-

• Recycling as much as possible. Škoda parts are marked for quick and easy identification when the car

is taken apart.

• Using the latest, most environmentally-friendly manufacturing technologies and facilities available.

For instance, areas painted to protect against corrosion use lead-free, water based colours.

• Designing processes to cut fuel consumption and emissions in petrol and diesel engines. These use

lighter parts making vehicles as aerodynamic as possible to use less energy.

• Using technology to design cars with lower noise levels and improved sound quality. Outcomes and

benefits of SWOT analysis.

Škoda UK’s SWOT analysis answered some key questions. It discovered that:

• Škoda car owners were happy about owning a Škoda

• the brand was no longer seen as a poorer version of competitors’ cars.

However,

• the brand was still very much within a niche market

• a change in public perception was vital for Škoda to compete and increase its market share of the

mainstream car market.

The challenge was how to build on this and develop the brand so that it was viewed positively. It

required a whole new marketing strategy.

Škoda UK has responded with a new marketing strategy based on the confident slogan, ‘the

manufacturer of happy drivers.’ The campaign’s promotional activities support the new brand position.

The key messages for the campaign focus on the ‘happy’ customer experience and appeal at an

emotional rather than a practical level. The campaign includes:

• he ‘Fabia Cake’ TV advert. This showed that the car was ‘full of lovely stuff’ with the happy music

(‘Favourite things’) in the background.

• An improved and redesigned website which is easy and fun to use. This is to appeal to a young

audience. It embodies the message ‘experience the happiness of Škoda online’.

Customers are able to book test drives and order brochures online. The result is that potential customers

will feel a Škoda is not only a reliable and sensible car to own, it is also ‘lovely’ to own.

Analysing the external opportunities and threats allows Škoda UK to pinpoint precisely how it should

target its marketing messages. No other market player has ‘driver happiness’ as its USP. By building on

the understanding derived from the SWOT, Škoda UK has given new impetus to its campaign. At the

same time, the campaign has addressed the threat of external competition by setting Škoda apart from its

rivals.

Conclusion

Škoda is a global brand offering a range of products in a highly competitive and fragmented market. The

company must respond positively to internal and external issues to avoid losing sales and market share.

A SWOT analysis brings order and structure to otherwise random information. The SWOT model helps

managers to look internally as well as externally. The information derived from the analysis gives

direction to the strategy. It highlights the key internal weaknesses in a business, it focuses on strengths

and it alerts managers to opportunities and threats. Škoda was able to identify where it had strengths to

compete. The structured review of internal and external factors helped transform Škoda UK’s strategic

direction.

The case study shows how Škoda UK transformed its brand image in the eyes of potential customers and

build its competitive edge over rivals. By developing a marketing strategy playing on clearly identified

strengths of customer happiness, Škoda was able to overcome weaknesses. It turned its previously

defensive position of the brand to a positive customer-focused experience. The various awards Škoda

has won demonstrate how its communications are reaching customers. Improved sales show that Škoda

UK’s new strategy has delivered benefits.

Answer the

1. What was the key weakness that Škoda was able to identify?

2. What strength did Škoda use to turn its brand weakness into an opportunity?

3. How has Škoda strategically addressed external threats?

4. What in your view are the important benefits of using a SWOT analysis

Case-3 : Marketing strategy for growth

Introduction

Businesses must respond to change in order to remain competitive. Developing appropriate strategies

which allow them to move forward is essential. Wilkinson is a prime example of a business that has

responded to changing customer needs throughout its history. It is one of the UK’s long-established

retailers of a wide range of food, home, garden, office, health and beauty products.James Kemsey (JK)

Wilkinson opened his first Wilkinson Store in Charnwood Street, Leicester in 1930. After the Second

World War, the 1950s saw a rise in the use of labour-saving devices and DIY. Wilkinson responded by

making this type of product the focus of its sales. In the 1960s customers wanted more convenience

shopping. Wilkinson started selling groceries and supermarket goods and created the Wilko brand. In the

1980s Wilkinson extended its range of low-cost products to include quality clothing, toys, toiletries and

perfumes. In 1995 it opened a central distribution centre in Workshop, serving stores in the north of

England and in 2004, a new distribution centre opened in Wales. In 2005 Wilkinson launched its

Internet shopping service, offering over 800,000 product lines for sale online. Wilkinson currently has

over 300 stores, which carry an average of 25,000 product lines. 40% of these are Wilko ‘own-brand’

products. The company’s target is to see this element grow and to have over 500 stores by 2012.

Wilkinson’s growth places it in the top 30 retailers in the UK. Recently it has faced increasing

challenges from competitors, such as the supermarket sector. Wilkinson needed to combat this and

identify new areas for growth. Over two years it conducted extensive market research. This has helped it

create a marketing strategy designed to continue growing by targeting a new market segment - the

student population. This case study focuses on how Wilkinson created and implemented this strategy,

using the findings of its market research to drive the strategy forward.

Marketing strategy aims to communicate to customers the added-value of products and services. This

considers the right mix of design, function, image or service to improve customer awareness of the

business’ products and ultimately to encourage them to buy. An important tool for helping develop an

appropriate marketing strategy is Ansoff’s Matrix. This model looks at the options for developing a

marketing strategy and helps to assess the levels of risk involved with each option. Marketing strategies

may focus on the development of products or markets. Doing more of what a business already does

carries least risk; developing a completely new product for a new audience carries the highest risk both

in terms of time and costs.

Based on its research, Wilkinson committed to a market development strategy to sell its products to a

new audience of students. This is a medium risk strategy as it requires the business to find and develop

new customers. It also carries costs of the marketing campaigns to reach this new group. The main focus

of the strategy was to increase awareness of the brand among students and encourage them to shop

regularly at Wilkinson stores.

Market research

Market research is vital for collecting data on which to base the strategy. Market research takes one of

two main forms – primary research and secondary research. Primary research (also called field

research) involves collecting data first hand. This can take many forms, the main ones being interview,

questionnaires, panels and observation. Secondary research (also called desk research) involves

collecting data which already exists. This includes using information from reports, publications, Internet

research and company files.

Both methods have advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of primary research are that it is

recent, relevant and designed specifically for the company’s intended strategy. The main disadvantage is

that it is more expensive than secondary research and can be biased if not planned well. Secondary

research is relatively cheap, can be undertaken quickly and so enables decision-making sooner.

However, secondary research can go out-of-date and may not be entirely relevant to the business’ needs.

Wilkinson undertook primary market research using questionnaires from students across the UK and

secondary research using government and university admissions data. The statistics revealed that there

were three million potential student customers.

They had a combined annual spend of around £9 billion per year. This research confirmed that the

choice of focusing on the student market as a means of growth was valid. Wilkinson undertook further

research to identify how to reach students and persuade them to start shopping at Wilkinson stores. This

information was used to formulate a focus strategy. This was aimed specifically at the needs of the

student ‘market segment’.

Marketing to students

Wilkinson involved 60 universities in research, using questionnaires distributed to students initially in

Years 2 and 3 of a range of universities and then to ‘freshers’ (new students) through the University and

Colleges Admission Service. This ensured the widest range of students was included to eliminate bias. It

also gave a wide range of responses. From this initial group, students were asked a second set of

questions. Participants were rewarded with Amazon vouchers to encourage a good take-up. The research

focused on two areas:

1. student awareness of the Wilkinson brand and

2. reasons why students were currently not using the stores regularly.

The market research enabled Wilkinson to put together its marketing strategy. The aim was to ensure the

student population began shopping at Wilkinson stores early in their student experience. This would

help to maintain their customer loyalty to Wilkinson throughout their student years and also to develop

them as future customers after university. Repeat business is key to sustained growth. Wilkinson

wanted to create satisfied customers with their needs met by the Wilkinson range of products. A

marketing campaign was launched which focused on a range of promotional tactics, specifically

designed to appeal to university students:

• Wilkinson being present at freshers’ fairs – and giving free goody bags with sample

products directly to students

• direct mail flyers to homes and student halls, prior to students arriving

• advertisements with fun theme, for example, showing frying pans as tennis racquets

• web banners

• offering discounts of 15% with first purchase using the online store

• gift vouchers

• free wallplanners.

The challenge was to get students into Wilkinson stores. The opportunity was to capture a new customer

group at an early stage and provide essential items all year round. This would lead to a committed

customer group and secure repeat business.

Outcomes/evaluation

Wilkinson wanted to know what would inspire students to shop at Wilkinson more and what factors

would help to attract non-customers. The research provided significant primary information to analyse

the effects of the campaign. Wilkinson used questionnaires collected from the first year undergraduates

to gather qualitative data. In addition, Wilkinson obtained quantitative data from various other

sources, including:

• redemption rates – how many people used the discount vouchers when buying

• sales analysis – how much extra business did the stores handle

• footfall in stores analysis – how many extra people went into stores.

This information helped Wilkinson to develop its plans for future marketing campaigns. It identified

Motivation factors for the student audience which would help to encourage future purchase. Key

factors included products being cheaper than competitors and easy access to stores. 23% of students

questioned gave ‘distance from university’ as a reason for not regularly visiting the store. The layout of

the store was another major problem affecting repeat visits. These findings have been taken on board by

Wilkinson in its future planning of store locations and layouts.

Researching students’ opinions after the campaign showed that:

• Awareness of Wilkinson brand had significantly risen from 77% to 95% of those interviewed. This

brought it in line with Morrison supermarkets, a key competitor.

Conclusion

Wilkinson’s marketing strategy began with its corporate aim to grow and increase stores across the UK.

It was facing increased competition from supermarkets and needed to identify an area to focus on. To

pursue a growth strategy, Wilkinson used market research to identify new target customers. This enabled

it to prepare marketing strategies to fit the audience.

Primary and secondary research was used to find out customer views regarding its brand. Data indicated

the student market segment was a significant area to focus on to achieve market development. A

marketing campaign using data from a follow-up survey was put in place. The campaign showed

significant increase in students’ levels of awareness about Wilkinson and its products. It encouraged

them either to shop more or to try Wilkinson for the first time. The campaign helped to achieve many of

the business’ aims, creating increased brand awareness and repeat visits. It also helped to inform the

company’s future strategies for growth. Market research gathered will help to formulate future plans for

new stores. These will be in line with Wilkinson commitment to providing communities with affordable

products across the country.

Answer the following questions

1. What is the difference between primary and secondary research? Identify one example of primary and

secondary research carried out by Wilkinson.

2. Explain why Wilkinson needed a marketing strategy to help them to grow.

3. Evaluate the benefits of the marketing campaign to Wilkinson.

4. Analyse how effective the marketing campaign was in helping Wilkinson respond to competitive

pressures.

Case-4 : Extending the product life cycle

Introduction

Businesses need to set themselves clear aims and objectives if they are going to succeed. The Kellogg

Company is the world’s leading producer of breakfast cereals and convenience foods, such as cereal

bars, and aims to maintain that position. In 2006, Kellogg had total worldwide sales of almost $11

billion (£5.5 billion). In 2007, it was Britain’s biggest selling grocery brand, with sales of more than

£550 million. Product lines include ready-to-eat cereals (i.e. not hot cereals like porridge) and nutritious

snacks, such as cereal bars. Kellogg’s brands are household names around the world and include Rice

Krispies, Special K and Nutri-Grain, whilst some of its brand characters, like Snap, Crackle and Pop, are

amongst the most wellknown in the world.

Kellogg has achieved this position, not only through great brands and great brand value, but through a

strong commitment to corporate social responsibility. This means that all of Kellogg’s business aims

are set within a particular context or set of ideals. Central to this is Kellogg’s passion for the business,

the brands and the food, demonstrated through the promotion of healthy living.

The company divides its market into six key segments. Kellogg's Corn Flakes has been on breakfast

tables for over 100 years and represents the ‘Tasty Start’ cereals that people eat to start their day. Other

segments include ‘Simply Wholesome’ products that are good for you, such as Kashi Muesli, ‘Shape

Management’ products, such as Special K and ‘Inner Health’ lines, such as All-Bran. Children will be

most familiar with the ‘Kid Preferred’ brands, such as Frosties, whilst ‘Mum Approved’ brands like

Raisin Wheats are recognised by parents as being good for their children.

Each brand has to hold its own in a competitive market. Brand managers monitor the success of brands

in terms of market share, growth and performance against the competition. Key decisions have to be

made about the future of any brand that is not succeeding. This case study is about Nutri-Grain. It shows

how Kellogg recognised there was a problem with the brand and used business tools to reach a solution.

The overall aim was to re-launch the brand and return it to growth in its market.

The product life cycle

Each product has its own life cycle. It will be ‘born’, it will ‘develop’, it will ‘grow old’ and, eventually,

it will ‘die’. Some products, like Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, have retained their market position for a long

time. Others may have their success undermined by falling market share or by competitors. The product

life cycle shows how sales of a product change over time. The five typical stages of the life cycle are

shown on a graph. However, perhaps the most important stage of a product life cycle happens before

this graph starts, namely the

Research and Development (R&D) stage. Here the company designs a product to meet a need in the

market. The costs of market research - to identify a gap in the market and of product development to

ensure that the product meets the needs of that gap - are called ‘sunk’ or start-up costs. Nutri-Grain was

originally designed to meet the needs of busy people who had missed breakfast. It aimed to provide a

healthy cereal breakfast in a portable and convenient format.

1. Launch - Many products do well when they are first brought out and Nutri-Grain was no exception.

From launch (the first stage on the diagram) in 1997 it was immediately successful, gaining almost 50%

share of the growing cereal bar market in just two years.

2. Growth - Nutri-Grain’s sales steadily increased as the product was promoted and became well

known. It maintained growth in sales until 2002 through expanding the original product with new

developments of flavour and format. This is good for the business, as it does not have to spend money

on new machines or equipment for production. The market position of Nutri-Grain also subtly changed

from a ‘missed breakfast’ product to an ‘all-day’ healthy snack.

3. Maturity - Successful products attract other competitor businesses to start selling similar products.

This indicates the third stage of the life cycle - maturity. This is the time of maximum profitability, when

profits can be used to continue to build the brand. However, competitor brands from both Kellogg itself

(e.g. All Bran bars) and other manufacturers (e.g. Alpen bars) offered the same benefits and this slowed

down sales and chipped away at Nutri-Grain’s market position. Kellogg continued to support the

development of the brand but some products (such as Minis and Twists), struggled in a crowded market.

Although Elevenses continued to succeed, this was not enough to offset the overall sales decline. Not all

products follow these stages precisely and time periods for each stage will vary widely. Growth, for

example, may take place over a few months or, as in the case of Nutri-Grain, over several years.

4. Saturation - This is the fourth stage of the life cycle and the point when the market is ‘full’. Most

people have the product and there are other, better or cheaper competitor products. This is called market

saturation and is when sales start to fall. By mid-2004 Nutri-Grain found its sales declining whilst the

market continued to grow at a rate of 15%.

5. Decline - Clearly, at this point, Kellogg had to make a key business decision. Sales were falling, the

product was in decline and losing its position. Should Kellogg let the product ‘die’, i.e. withdraw it from

the market, or should it try to extend its life?

Strategic use of the product life cycle

When a company recognises that a product has gone into decline or is not performing as well as it

should, it has to decide what to do. The decision needs to be made within the context of the overall aims

of the business. Kellogg’s aims included the development of great brands, great brand value and the

promotion of healthy living. Strategically, Kellogg had a strong position in the market for both healthy

foods and convenience foods. Nutri-Grain fitted well with its main aims and objectives and therefore

was a product and a brand worth rescuing.

Kellogg decided to try to extend the life of the product rather than withdraw it from the market. This

meant developing an extension strategy for the product. Ansoff’s matrix is a tool that helps analyse

which strategy is appropriate. It shows both market-orientated and product-orientated possibilities.

Extending the Nutri-Grain cycle – identifying the problem

Kellogg had to decide whether the problem with Nutri-Grain was the market, the product or both. The

market had grown by over 15% and competitors’ market share had increased whilst Nutri-Grain sales in

2003 had declined. The market in terms of customer tastes had also changed – more people missed

breakfast and therefore there was an increased need for such a snack product.

The choice of extension strategy indicated by the matrix was either product development or

diversification. Diversification carries much higher costs and risks. Kellogg decided that it needed to

focus on changing the product to meet the changing market needs.

Research showed that there were several issues to address:

1. The brand message was not strong enough in the face of competition. Consumers were not impressed

enough by the product to choose it over competitors.

2. Some of the other Kellogg products (e.g. Minis) had taken the focus away from the core business.

3. The core products of Nutri-Grain Soft Bake and Elevenses between them represented over 80% of

sales but received a small proportion of advertising and promotion budgets.

4. Those sales that were taking place were being driven by promotional pricing (i.e discounted pricing)

rather than the underlying strength of the brand.

Implementing the extension strategy for Nutri-Grain having recognised the problems, Kellogg then

developed solutions to re-brand and re-launch the product in 2005.

1. Fundamental to the re-launch was the renewal of the brand image. Kellogg looked at the core

features that made the brand different and modelled the new brand image on these. Nutri-Grain is

unique as it is the only product of this kind that is baked. This provided two benefits:

• the healthy grains were soft rather than gritty

• the eating experience is closer to the more indulgent foods that people could be eating (cakes and

biscuits, for example). The unique selling point, hence the focus of the brand, needed to be the ‘soft

bake’.

2. Researchers also found that a key part of the market was a group termed ‘realistic snackers’. These

are people who want to snack on healthy foods, but still crave a great tasting snack. The re-launched

Nutri-Grain product needed to help this key group fulfil both of these desires.

3. Kellogg decided to re-focus investment on the core products of Soft Bake Bars and Elevenses as these

had maintained their growth (accounting for 61% of Soft Bake Bar sales). Three existing Soft Bake Bar

products were improved, three new ranges introduced and poorly performing ranges (such as Minis)

were withdrawn.

4. New packaging was introduced to unify the brand image.

5. An improved pricing structure for stores and supermarkets was developed.

Using this information, the re-launch focused on the four parts of the marketing mix:

• Product – improvements to the recipe and a wider range of flavours, repositioning the brand as

‘healthy and tasty’, not a substitute for a missed breakfast

• Promotion – a new and clearer brand image to cover all the products in the range along with

advertising and point-of-sale materials

• Place – better offers and materials to stores that sold the product

• Price – new price levels were agreed that did not rely on promotional pricing. This improved revenue

for both Kellogg and the stores.

As a result Soft Bake Bar year-on-year sales went from a decline to substantial growth, with Elevenses

sales increasing by almost 50%. The Nutri-Grain brand achieved a retail sales growth rate of almost

three times that of the market and most importantly, growth was maintained after the initial re-launch.

Conclusion

Successful businesses use all the tools at their disposal to stay at theSuccessful businesses use all the

tools at their disposal to stay at the top of their chosen market. Kellogg was able to use a number of

business tools in order to successfully re-launch the Nutri-Grain brand. These tools included the product

life cycle, Ansoff’s matrix and the marketing mix. Such tools are useful when used properly.

Kellogg was able to see that although Nutri-Grain fitted its strategic profile – a healthy, convenient

cereal product – it was underperforming in the market. This information was used, along with the aims

and objectives of the business, to develop a strategy for continuing success. Finally, when Kellogg

checked the growth of the re-launched product against its own objectives, it had met all its aims to:

• re-position the brand through the use of the marketing mix

• return the brand to growth

• improve the frequency of purchase

• introduce new customers to the brand.

Nutri-Grain remains a growing brand and product within the Kellogg product family.

Answer the following questions:

1. Using current products familiar to you, draw and label a product life cycle diagram, showing which

stage each product is at.

2. Suggest appropriate aims and objectives for a small, medium and large business.

4. Consider the decision taken by Kellogg to opt for product development. Suggest a way in which it

could have divers

 

Q.1) Define term “Marketing Management” discuss the elements of Market Environment? (10 Marks)

Q.2) Define the term Product Management? Explain how New Product Decisions are made? (10 Marks)

Q.3) What is Customer relationship Management Explain its feature and nature? (10Marks)

Q. 4) Explain the nature and feature of Marketing research and Information Systems? (10 Marks)

Q.5) What is Market Measurement and Forecasting? (10 Marks)

Q6) What is Segmenting and Targeting the Market? (10 Marks)

Q7) What is Advertising Management? Explain the concept of Sales Promotion and Personal Selling?

(10 Marks)

AN ISO 9001 : 2008 CERTIFIED INTERNATIONAL B-SCHOOL

Q8) Write a short note (any two) (10Marks)

a) Brand Equity

b) Global Marketing

c) Direct Marketing

d) Pricing decisions

 

SUBJECT:-CORPORATE LAW

Total Marks—80

1) All questions carry equal marks.

2) All questions are compulsory

Q1) Write short notes (any two) (10 Marks)

a) Void Contracts and Void able Contracts

b) Standard Terms and Freedom of Contract

c) Banking Law

d) Negotiable Instruments

Q2) Explain the procedure of Incorporation of Companies, issuance of

Prospectus and Rising of Capital? (10 Marks)

Q3) Explain the law of Contract and discuss the term Offer, Acceptance and

Agreement? (10 Marks)

Q4) Discuss the Fundamental Rights of the Business? (10 Marks)

Q5) Discuss the aims and objectives Indian Sale of Goods Act, 1930?

(10 Marks)

Q6) What is the Intellectual Property Rights Law. Discuss its relevance to

liberalization and Globalization? (10 Marks )

Q7) What is the aims and objectives of the Standards of Weights and

Measures Act, 1976? (10 Marks)

Q8) Discuss in brief the Consumer Protection Act 1986? (10 Marks

 

SUBJECT: OPERATION MANAGEMENT

CASE STUDY : 1

Ram Dubey recently purchased a chain of dry cleaners in North Uttar Pradesh. Although the

business is making a modest profit now, Ram suspects that if he invests in a new press, he

could recognize a substantial increase in profits. The new press costs $ 15,400 to purchase

and install and can press 40 shirts an hour or 320 per day. Ram estimates that with the new

press, it will cost $ 0.25 to launder and press each shirt, customers are charged $ 1.10 per shirt.

Q1) How many shirts will Ram have to press to break even?

Q2) So far Ram’s workload has varied from 50 to 200 shirts a day. How long would it take to

break even on the new press at the low demand estimate? At the high demand estimate?

Q3) If Ram cuts his price to $ 0.99 a shirt, he expects to be able to stabilize his customer base

at 250 shirts per day. How long would it take to break even at the reduced price of $ 0.99?

Q4) Should Ram cut his price and buy the new press?

CASE STUDY : 2

The Peachtree Airport in Atlanta serves light aircraft. It has a single runway and one air traffic

controller to land planes. It takes an airplane and minutes to land and clear the runway

(exponentially distributed) planes arrive at the airport at the rate of 5 per hour (Poisson

distributed).

Q1) Determine the average number of planes that will stack up waiting to land?

AN ISO 9001 : 2008 CERTIFIED INTERNATIONAL B-SCHOOL

Q2) Find the average time a plane must wait in line before it can lead?

Q3) Calculate the average time it takes a plane to clear the runway once it has notified the

airport that it is in the vicinity and wants to land?

Q4) The FAA has a rule that an air traffic controller can, on the average, land planes a

maximum of 45 minutes out of every hour. There must be 15 minutes of idle time available to

relieve the tension. Will this airport have to hire an extra air traffic controller?

CASE STUDY : 3

During the past few years the legislature has severely reduced funding for State University. In

reaction, the administration at State has significantly raised tution each year for the past 5 years.

A bargain five years ago, State is now considered an expensive State-supported University.

Some parents and students now question the value of a state education and applications for

admission have declined. Since a portion of State educational funding is based on a formula

tied to enrollments, State has maintained its enrollment levels by going deeper into its applicant

pool and accepting less qualified students.

On top of these problems, an increase in the college age population is expected in this decade

key members of the State legislature have told the University administration that State will be

expected to absorb additional students during this decade. However, because of the economic

outlook and the budget situation, State should not expect any funding increases for additional

facilities, classrooms, dormitory rooms, or faculty. The University already has a classroom

deficit in excess of 25% and class sizes are above the average of their Peer Institutions.

The President of the University Mr Shekhar, established several task forces consisting of faculty

and administrations to address these problems. These groups made a number of

recommendations, including the implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) practices

and more in depth focused planning.

Q1) Discuss the general terms how forecasting might be used for planning to address these

specific problems?

Q2) Explain the role of forecasting in initiating a TQM approach?

Q3) What are the types of forecasting methods that might be used?

Q4) Describe the Delphi method for forecasting?

CASE STUDY : 4

The Aurora Electronics company has been receiving a lot of customer complaints and returns of

a front loading VCR that it manufacturers. When a videotape is pushed into the loading

mechanism, it can stick inside with the door open, the recorder cannot run, and it is difficult to

get the tape out. Consumers will try to pull the tape out with their fingers or pry the tape out with

an object such as knife, pencil or screw driver or hurting themselves.

Q1) What are the different costs of poor quality and costs of quality assurance that might be

associated with this quality problem?

Q2) Explain the term quality?

Q3) Discuss the dimensions of quality for manufacturing products?

Q4) Discuss the dimensions of quality for services?

 

SUB: OPERATION MANAGEMENT

N.B.: 1) Attempt any Eight Questions

2) All questions carries equal marks.

1. How would operations strategy for a service industry be different if any from that

for a manufacturing industry? (It’s an example & explains)

2. Consider the following two mutually exclusive projects. The net cash flows are

given below:

YEAR NET CASH FLOWS FROM

PROJECT A

NET CASH FLOWS

FROM PROJECT B

0 - Rs. 1,00,000 - Rs. 1,00,000/-

1 + Rs. 30,000 + Rs. 15,000/-

2 + Rs. 35,000 + Rs. 17,500/-

3 + Rs. 40,000 + Rs. 20,000/-

4 + Rs. 45,000 + Rs. 22,500/-

5 + Rs. 25,000/-

6 + Rs. 27,500/-

7 + Rs. 30,000/-

8 + Rs. 32,500/-

If the desired rate of return is 10% which project should be chosen?

3. What are the levels of aggregation in forecasting for a manufacturing

organization? How should this hierarchy of forecasts be linked and used?

AN ISO 9001 : 2008 CERTIFIED INTERNATIONAL B-SCHOOL

4. How would forecasting be useful for operations in a BPO (Business processes

outsourcing) unit? What factors may be important for this industry? Discuss.

5. A good work study should be followed by good supervision for getting good

results. Explain with an example.

6. What is job evaluation? Can it be alternatively used as job ranking? How does

one ensure that job evaluation evaluates the job and not the man? Explain with

examples?

7. What is the impact of technology on jobs? What are the similarities between job

enlargement & job rotation? Discuss the importance of training in the content of

job redesign? Explain with examples?

8. What is internet connectivity? How is it important in to days business would with

respect to materials requirement planning & purchasing? Explain with

examples?

9. Would a project management organization be different from an organization for

regular manufacturing in what ways? Examples.

10. How project evaluation different from project appraisal? Explain with examples

 

PRICIPLE AND PRACTISE MANAGEMENT

 

CASE STUDY : 1

International Case : Carrefour — Which Way to Go?

Wal-Mart's biggest global competitor is the big French retailer Carretour, a firm that has hypermarkets, big

stores offering a variety of goods. It has made large investments around the globe in Latin America and China.

But not all is well as competitors taking market share its home market, for instance. There has been even

speculation of a takeover by Wal-Mart or Tesco, an English chain. Mr. Barnard has been ousted after heading

the company for 12 years; he was replaced by Jose Luis Durant who is of German-Spanish descent. Although

the global expansion is cited by some as success, it may be even a big mistake. It withdrew from Japan and

sold 29 hypermarkets in Mexico. Carrefour also had problems competing with Tesco in Slovakia and the

Czech Republic. In Germany, the company faced tough competition from Aldi and Lidle, two successful

discounters. On the other hand, it bought stores in Poland, Italy, Turkey, and opened new stores in China,

South Korea, and Columbia. Carrefour has become more careful in selecting markets. But. the company is

eager to enter the Indian market, but found out in late 2006 that Wal-Mart will do so as well.

In France, where Carrefour is well established, the company made the big mistake in its pricing policy. It

probably started with the 1999 merger with Promodes, the French discount chain. Carrefour confused the

French clientele by losing its low-cost image; whether the image can be changed remains to be seen. Mr.

Durant, the new CEO since 2005, embarked on the new strategy by offering 15 percent new products in its

hypermarkets and 10 percent in its supermarkets. Moreover, he wants to employ more staff, extend the

operating hours in certain hypermarkets, cutting prices, trying small stores, and pushing down decision

making. Mr. Durant aims to stay only in countries where Carrefour is among the top retailers.

Questions:

1. How should Mr. Durant assess the opportunities in various countries around the world?

2. Should Carrefour adopt Wal-Mart's strategy of "low prices everyday"? What would be the advantage or

disadvantage of such a strategy?

3. How could Carrefour differentiate itself from Wal-Mart?

4. Identify cultures in selected countries that need to be considered in order to be successful?

CASE STUDY : 2

International Case : Reengineering the Business Process at Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble (P&G), a multinational corporation known for products such as diapers, shampoo, soap, and

toothpaste, was committed to improving value to the customer. Its products were sold through various

channels, such as grocery retailers, wholesalers, mass merchandisers, and club stores. The flow of goods in the

retail grocery channel was from the factory's warehouse to the distributors' warehouses before going to the

grocery stores where customers selected the merchandise from the shelves.

The improvement-driven company was not satisfied with its performance and developed a variety of programs

to improve its service and the efficiency of its operation. One such program was electronic data interchange,

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which provided daily information from the retail stores to P&G. The installation of the system resulted in

better service, reduced inventory levels, and labor-cost savings. Another approach, the continuous

replenishment program, provided additional benefits for P&G as well as for its retailer customers. Eventually,

the entire ordering system was redesigned, with the result of dramatic performance improvements. The

reengineering efforts also required restructuring of the organization. P&G had been known for its brand

management for more than 50 years. But in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the brand management approach

pioneered by the company in the 1930s required rethinking and restructuring. In a drive to improve efficiency

and coordination, several brands were combined with authority and responsibility given to category managers.

Such a manager would determine overall pricing and product policies. Moreover, the category managers had

the authority to withdraw weak brands, thus avoiding conflict between similar brands. They were also held

responsible for the profit of the product category they were managing. The switch to category management

required not only new skills but also a new attitude.

Questions:

1) The reengineering efforts of P&G focused on the business process system. Do you think other processes,

such as the human system, or other managerial policies need to be considered in a process redesign?

2) What do you think was the reaction of the brand managers, who may have worked under the old system for

many years, when the category management structure was installed?

3) As a consultant, would you have recommended a top-down or a bottom-up approach, or both, to process

redesign and organizational change?

4) What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach.

CASE STUDY : 3

International Case : The Restructuring of Daimler-Benz

In a 1996 address to stockholders and friends of Daimler-Benz, CEO Jurgen Schrempp reviewed the position

of the diversified company. He started by saying "1995 was a dramatic year in the history of Daimler-Benz." It

was also a year that the board of management made a major break with the past.

Daimler-Benz, with more than 300,000 employees worldwide, consisted of four major groups: The first, by far

the biggest and most successful group, was Mercedes-Benz with about 200,000 employees. It is best known

for its passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The second was the AEG Daimler-Benz industries in the

business of rail systems, microelectronics, heavy diesel engines, energy systems technology, and automation.

The third was the Aerospace Group in the business of aircraft (the company has a more than one-third interest

in the Airbus consortium), space systems, defense and civil systems, and propulsion systems. Finally, there

was the Inter Services Group consisting of systemshaus, financial services, insurance brokerage, trading,

marketing services, mobile communications services, and real

estate management.

Daimler-Benz went through various development phases. From 1985 to 1990, it diversified into aerospace and

electrical engineering. The aim was to become an integrated high-tech group. This diversification was further

consolidated in the next phase that extended from 1990 to 1995. Under the leadership of Schrempp, the core

business was redefined and the strategy refocused.

A 1995-96 portfolio review showed the need for refocusing on what the company could do best. Top

4 | P a g e

management reevaluated its strategies and its core businesses based on economic criteria and the strategic fit

of the various activities. It became clear that the company's strengths were in car manufacturing, the truck

business, and the railroad sector. Mercedes Benz, for example, had a strong competitive position with its cars

and trucks in Europe, North America, and Latin America. Vans were also relatively strong in Europe, and

buses had a good competitive position in Latin America. Based on this analysis, the strategies for potential

growth were through globalization and the development of new product segments.

In 1996, top management reassessed the company's position and its 1995 unsatisfactory results from its

operations. It was discovered that the company was exposed to currency fluctuations that affected profitability.

The company's image was also blurred because of the ventures into many different kinds of industries. The

management board decided to cut its losses and chart a new direction for the company, with greater emphasis

on profitability. The organization structure was tightened and certain businesses were divested. In fact, policy

decision from an earlier period were reversed. The unprofitable AEG Group and the Dutch aircraft

manufacturer Fokker did not receive financial support. Since both the Dutch government and Daimler-Benz

withdrew support, Fokker filed for bankruptcy. Although these and other drastic decisions helped reduce the

1995 financial losses, the company's goal was not to emphasize maximizing short-term profitability but to

work toward medium- and long-term profitability.

A number of other managerial decisions were made to achieve the ambitious goals of reducing costs and

improving profitability. Employees close to the operations were empowered to make decisions necessary to

carry out their tasks. The organization structure was simplified and decentralized so that organizational units

could respond faster to environmental changes. Moreover, the new organization structure was designed to

promote an entrepreneurial spirit. Control was exercised through a goal-driven, performance-based reward

system. At the same time, the new structure was designed to promote cooperation. In 1997, the board of

management restructured and integrated the Mercedes-Benz Group into Daimler-Benz. Consequently,

Mercedes-Benz's chief, Helmut Werner, who had been given credit for a successful model policy, resigned

from the company.

Questions:

1) What is your assessment of Daimler-Benz's operations in many different fields?

2) Should the various groups operate autonomously? What kinds of activities should be centralized?

3) Daimler-Benz is best known for its Mercedes-Benz cars. Why do you think Daimler bought AEG in the first

place and why did it venture into the Aerospace and Inter Services businesses?

4) Given the apparent mistakes in acquiring non-automotive businesses, what should Jurgen Schrempp do

now?

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CASE STUDY : 4

International Case : Global Car Industry

How the Lexus Was Born-and Continued Its Success in the United States, but will Lexus Succeed in Japan?

One of the best examples of global competition is in the car industry. As the Japanese gained market share in

America, U.S. car makers required the Japanese to self-impose quotas on cars exported to the United States.

This encouraged Japanese firms not only to establish their plants in the United States but also to build bigger

and more luxurious cars to compete against the higher-priced U.S. cars- and the expensive European cars such

as the Mercedes and the BMW.

One such Japanese car is the Lexus, by Toyota. This car is aimed at customers who would like to buy a

Mercedes or BMW but cannot afford either. With a sticker price of $35,000, the Lexus is substantially less

expensive than comparable European imports. In 1983, Toyota set out to develop the best car in the worldmeasured

against the Mercedes and the BMW. The aim was to produce a quiet, comfortable, and safe car that

could travel at 150 miles per hour and still avoid the gas guzzler tax imposed on cars getting less than 22.5

miles per gallon. This seemed to be an idea of conflicting goals: cars being fast seemed irreconcilable with

cars being at the same time fuel-efficient. To meet these conflicting goals, each subsystem of the car had to be

carefully scrutinized, improved whenever possible, and integrated with the total design. The first version of the

32-valve V-8 engine did not meet the fuel economy requirement. The engineers applied a problem-solving

technique called "thoroughgoing countermeasures at the source." This means an attempt to improve every

component until the design objectives are achieved. Not only the engine but also the transmission and other

parts underwent close scrutiny to make the car meet U.S. fuel requirements.

Toyota's approach to achieving quality is different from that of German car manufacturers. The latter use

relatively labor-intensive production processes. In contrast, Toyota's advanced manufacturing technology aims

at high quality through automation requiring only a fraction of the work force used by German car makers.

Indeed, this strategy, if successful, may be the secret weapon to gain market share in the luxury car market.

Questions:

1) Prepare a profile of the potential buyer of the Lexus.

2) What should Mercedes and BMW do to counteract the Japanese threat in the United States and Europe?

3) Why has the Lexus model been very successful in the U.S. but has not been marketed in Japan?

(Suggestion: Review the frequency of repair records of luxury cars

 

QUANTITATIVE METHOD

 

CASE STUDY: 1

The bulbs manufactured by a company gave a mean life of 3000 hours with standard

deviation of 400 hours. If a bulb is selected at random, what is the probability it will

have a mean life less than 2000 hours?

Question:

1) Calculate the probability.

2) In what situation does one need probability theory?

3) Define the concept of sample space, sample points and events in context of

probability theory.

4) What is the difference between objective and subjective probability?

CASE STUDY : 2

The price P per unit at which a company can sell all that it produces is given by the

function P(x) = 300 — 4x. The cost function is c(x) = 500 + 28x where x is the number

of units produced. Find x so that the profit is maximum.

Question:

1) Find the value of x.

2) In using regression analysis for making predictions what are the assumptions

involved.

3) What is a simple linear regression model?

4) What is a scatter diagram method?

CASE STUDY : 3

Mr Sehwag invests Rs 2000 every year with a company, which pays interest at 10% p.a.

He allows his deposit to accumulate at C.I. Find the amount to the credit of the person

at the end of 5th year.

Question :

1) What is the Time Value of Money concept.

2) What do you mean by present value of money?

3) What is the Future Value of money.

4) What the amount to be credited at the end of 5th year.

CASE STUDY : 4

The cost of fuel in running of an engine is proportional to the square of the speed and is

Rs 48 per hour for speed of 16 kilometers per hour. Other expenses amount to Rs 300

per hour. What is the most economical speed?

Question:

1) What is most economical speed?

2) What is a chi-square test?

3) What is sampling and what are its uses.

4) Is there any alternative formula to find the value of Chi-square

 

SUB: SHIPPING MANAGEMENT

Marks : 80

1) what are quality Management Systems? (Marks 10)

2) Explain Impact of Competition on rates? (Marks 10)

3) Describe the complete structure of shipping Operations? (Marks 10)

4) Explain the following in brief? (Marks 10)

a) Bulk Cargo market.

b) Iron Ore trade.

c) Coal trade.

d) Grain Trade.

e) Shipping Demand Forecast.

f) Operating Cost.

g) Ship Market.

h) Freight Market.

5) Explain Financial Management with the help of the following points. (Marks 20)

a) Debt Equity Mix and Dividend.

b) Treasury Function.

c) Funds from international sources.

d) Trading activities.

e) Shipping Business.

f) Buying and selling of ships.

AN ISO 9001 : 2008 CERTIFIED INTERNATIONAL B-SCHOOL

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g) Foreign Exchange transactions

h) Diversification.

6) Case --------II (Marks 20)

„h The Indian cultural belief in "Karma" if it is for the upliftment of oneself

„h Indian society's acceptance of creation of riches by a person by his/her ownefforts.Wealth is seen

as God's gift.

„h An almost mythical belief of bringing oneself above the masses both in excellence and in wealth.

The impact of this belief is so deep that we have accepted the "lotus" as our national flower which

blooms even in dirty ponds without its natural beauty and fragrance being affected.

„h A large sea coast and a large coastal population which earns its living from sea resources.

„h A growing offshore oil industry which provides support to the shipping industry, especially in times

of depression in the shipping industry.

„h The existence of English as a widely spoken language which happens to be the lingua franca of the

shipping industry.

„h Recent growth in net worth of non-resident Indians and Indian ventures abroad who can be both

investors and users of shipping services.

Until now, my comments and questions have been straightforward but the problem ahead is to find the

best possible solution which, if adopted or practiced, may provide a stimulus for the growth of the shipping

industry.

The shipping industry, in view of its globalizes operations, is so complex in nature, high on capital

requirement and low on returns (IRR), especially in comparison to some other industries, such as a

manufacturing, in a overpopulated country like India

It will be difficult to attract existing industrialists from other sectors to the shipping industry unless

sea transportation forms a captive part of their business or the government provides sufficient subsidies

and protections as incentive.

Therefore, my friends, the burden for growth of Indian shipping lies on our shoulders, being the

shipping managers in the forefront of the industry. Failure on our part will not be pardoned by the future

generations involved in shipping.

3

Questions:-

a) Why will it not be pardoned by future generations?

b) How can executives and managers of that Indian shipping industry take advantage of these

opportunities?

c) So now the question is: what level playing fields are relevant today?

d) Issues on which a ship-owner should commit himself to the nation?

 

Subject : SHIPPING MANAGEMENT

MARKS: 80

Q1) Describe the Sustainable transport Mode? (Marks 3)

Q2) Explain the Following? (Marks 3)

a) Second line of Defance?

b) Changing Technology

c) Shipping Weakness and threats

d) Ship disposal

e) Cargoes

Q3) What are shipping Strengths and opportunities? (Marks 3)

Q4) Who are the actors in shipping? (Marks 3)

Q5) Case ¡V 1 (Marks 15)

Today shipping has become more globalize than the air line industry perceptions have changed nations and

companies are willing to use ships that fly any flag provides they offer competitive freights to move

cargo/people safely and effectively from point A To B national strategic interest has also receded since the

advent of flag of convenience ships. For ship owners and operators of flag of convenience, their interest now

loess in operating efficiency and maximizing profits recent examples of this phenomenon are Falklands, Iran

/ Iraq wars and the invasion of kauit in all these cases the limitations of these ships under their own flag did

AN ISO 9001 : 2008 CERTIFIED INTERNATIONAL B-SCHOOL

2

not pose a problem. The ships available far exceeded the logistical requirement for the conflicts, and

chartering their vessels was relatively easy.

Questions

a)What does the above scenario show?

b)What does this prove?

c)What does it prove to our country ¡V INDIA

Q6) Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the Indian shipping? (Marks 3)

Q7) Describe the advantages and disadvantages and standards of EDI? (Marks3)

Q8) Explain the cost and value service principle? (Marks 3)

Q10) What is the principle of ¡§WHAT THE TRAFFIC CAN BEAR¡¨ (Marks 3)

Q9) what are quality Management Systems? (Marks 3)

Q11) Explain Impact of Competition on rates? (Marks 3)

Q12) Describe the complete structure of shipping Operations? (Marks 3)

Q13) Explain the following in brief? (Marks 8)

a) Bulk Cargo market.

b) Iron Ore trade.

c) Coal trade.

d) Grain Trade.

e) Shipping Demand Forecast.

f) Operating Cost.

g) Ship Market.

h) Freight Market.

Q14) Explain Financial Management with the help of the following points. (Marks 8)

a) Debt Equity Mix and Dividend.

b) Treasury Function.

c) Funds from international sources.

d) Trading activities.

e) Shipping Business.

f) Buying and selling of ships.

3

g) Foreign Exchange transactions

h) Diversification.

Q15) Present an organization Chart? (Marks 3)

Q16) Case --------II (Marks 16)

„h The Indian cultural belief in "Karma" if it is for the upliftment of oneself

„h Indian society's acceptance of creation of riches by a person by his/her ownefforts.Wealth is seen as

God's gift.

„h An almost mythical belief of bringing oneself above the masses both in excellence and in wealth.

The impact of this belief is so deep that we have accepted the "lotus" as our national flower which

blooms even in dirty ponds without its natural beauty and fragrance being affected.

„h A large sea coast and a large coastal population which earns its living from sea resources.

„h A growing offshore oil industry which provides support to the shipping industry, especially in times

of depression in the shipping industry.

„h The existence of English as a widely spoken language which happens to be the lingua franca of the

shipping industry.

„h Recent growth in net worth of non-resident Indians and Indian ventures abroad who can be both

investors and users of shipping services.

Until now, my comments and questions have been straightforward but the problem ahead is to find the

best possible solution which, if adopted or practiced, may provide a stimulus for the growth of the shipping

industry.

The shipping industry, in view of its globalizes operations, is so complex in nature, high on capital

requirement and low on returns (IRR), especially in comparison to some other industries, such as a

manufacturing, in a overpopulated country like India

It will be difficult to attract existing industrialists from other sectors to the shipping industry unless

sea transportation forms a captive part of their business or the government provides sufficient subsidies and

protections as incentive.

Therefore, my friends, the burden for growth of Indian shipping lies on our shoulders, being the

shipping managers in the forefront of the industry. Failure on our part will not be pardoned by the future

generations involved in shipping.

4

Questions:-

a) Why will it not be pardoned by future generations?

b) How can executives and managers of that Indian shipping industry take advantage of these

opportunities?

c) So now the question is: what level playing fields are relevant today?

d) Issues on which a ship-owner should commit himself to the nation?

 

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

 

CASE STUDY : 1

The Ahmedabad based Astral Poly Technik Ltd. is manufacturing and provider of chlorinated poly vinyal

chloride (CPVC) piping and plumbing systems. Mr Sandeep Engineer, its managing director reported a

strategic decision of manufacturing and marketing the ‘Blaze master’ fire sprinkler system under an

agreement with the $ 4 billion global speciality chemical company, Lubrizol, whose wholly-owned

subsididary Noveon Inc makes ‘Blazemaster’ for this purpose, Astral signed a licence agreement with

Noveon to manufacturing and market its fire sprinkler system under the brand name of ‘Blazemaster’ which

is a trade mark of Noveon. The company, in order to strengthen its business plans, had taken a strategic

decision to enter into a techno-financial joint venture with speciality process LLC of USA, which provided if

the required technical expertise for manufacturing CPVC pipes and fitting for home and industrial

applications. Astral was also going for an initial public offering to further its growth plans.

Q1) Explain the term strategic decision making?

Q2) Explain the process of decision making?

Q3) What is the basic thrust of strategic decision making?

Q4) Explain in detail the issues in strategic decision making?

CASE STUDY : 2

The essence of vision is a forward-looking view of what an organization wishes to become, mission is what

an organization is and why it exists.

Several years ago, Peter F Drucker raised important philosophical questions related to business what is our

business? What will it be? What it should be? These three questions though simply worded are in reality,

the most fundamental questions that any organization can put it itself. The answers are based on an analysis

of the underlying need of the society that any organization strives to fulfill. The satisfaction of that need is

them, the business of the organization.

Q1) Define vision? And explain the benefits of a vision?

Q2) What do you mean by mission?

Q3) How are Mission statements formulated and communicated?

Q4) Explain in detail the characteristics of a Mission statement?

CASE STUDY : 3

The major market players in Indian Food processing industry include local companies such as Agro Tech

Foods, Dabur, Gits, Parle and Foreign companies such as Nestle, Cadbury and Unilever.

The business environment in which the food processing industry exists could be explained in terms of

opportunities and threats.

Opportunities just like High demand potential, low output from organized sector. Exports of agricultural and

processed food have been rising, low cost Indian labour, younger population, changing lifestyle, nuclear

families, increasing personal income, number of working women, etc.

Threats just like conservative Government policies, inadequate infrastructure for distribution and

preservation, limited assess to appropriate technology for processing and packaging, high taxation on

packaged items etc.

Just observed how the food processing industry in India is affected by different levels of the environment at

the global and national level.

Q1) Explain the concept of Environment?

Q2) Explain in detail the characteristics of Environment?

Q3) Explain Internal Environment?

Q4) Explain External Environment?

CASE STUDY : 4

According to a doctoral study on the corporate takeovers in India the major reason for increased Mergers &

Acquisitions (M & A) activity were, legal reforms, economic reforms, economic slowdown, and depressed

stock markets, etc.

Statistics related to M & A in India are quite impressive. The market research firm found that Indian

companies spent over US $ 23 billion in 2006, a jump of over 400 percent over that in 2005, in acquiring

foreign companies, more than half of which were in Europe Inbound (Foreign companies talking over Indian

companies) and Outbound (Indian companies talking over Foreign companies) mergers and acquisitions

have increased dramatically.

Q1) Explain the term mergers and acquisitions?

Q2) What are the types of mergers and acquisitions?

Q3) Explain in detail the reasons for mergers and acquisitions?

Q4) What are the important issues in mergers and acquisitions?