103-EMB2 - pdfMachine from Broadgun Software, http ... · (demb 11) assignment - 2, may - 2015. executive m.b.a. degree examination first and second years paper Œ xi : business policy

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ASSIGNMENT - 1, MAY - 2015.

EXECUTIVE M.B.A. DEGREE EXAMINATION

First and Second Years

Paper � XI : BUSINESS POLICY AND STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

Maximum : 25 MARKS

Answer ALL questions

1) a) Strategic control

b) Intensive strategy

c) Internal security

d) Corporate Planning

e) Turn-around management

f) Strategic dissonance

2) In what way strategic planning is different from operational planning.

3) The key to successful implementation of strategy is effective leadership�. comment.

4) When is a company likely to choose related diversification and unrelated diversification.

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Paper � XI : BUSINESS POLICY AND STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

Maximum : 25 MARKS


1) Do you agree with suggestion that soon all industries will need to evaluate global envi-ronments?

2) How can a firm identify core and distinctive competencies

3) Discuss the significance of portfolio analysis in the face of globalisation.

4) Viswanath, an employee of National Telephone Corporation, was an ambitious young man

who wanted to set up his own business. While working in the telephone corporation, he used

to take orders from fellow employees for steel ward-robes. He executed the orders by

working as a commission agent for a ward-robe manufacturing company and could clearly

see the huge profits that the company was making.

Along with an engineer friend, who had considerable experience in marketing, Viswanath set

up a structural fabrication unit. Since, both the partners in this new fabrication unit were not

sure of themselves, they did not want to resign from their present job, In the initial stages, the

production manager of the steel fabrication unit was left to family members and trusted

friends none of whom had any experience in this business.

To increase their business, Viswanath offered his product on hire purchase scheme. The

consumer could pay 10% of the price in the beginning and the remaining amount in 15

monthly instalments. The product was priced to obtain a return of 40 percent per annum.

Viswanathan and his friend could get plenty of orders for the steel ward-robes and structural

steel fabrication. Since, they were busy working in their present factories and collecting

orders they could not spend any time in their steel fabrication unit.

Very soon they found that they were not able to meet the delivery schedules for the orders

which they had taken. They employed more persons to increase production. Within a short

time, to their surprise, most of their products were returned by the consumers due to poor

quality and they were not getting large orders as before. Alarmed at this trend, they started a

quality control drive, which annoyed the workers who argued that the fault was in the quality

of raw materials and not in the workmanship. By then, the number of orders on hand was

virtually zero.

As finished but unsaleable poor quality products mounted in their stores, there was a severe

cash flow problem. The creditors who had supplied steel sheets and anbles to Viswanath were

pressing for money. As there was not enough cash, they could not pay the creditors nor could

they pay the rent and the wages of their employees. Very soon, they had to close their unit

and sell away their product as scrap material to pay for wages and creditors. In the process,

Viswanath and his friend lost Rs.20000 each in one year.

i) Discuss why things went wrong with Viswanath�s business?;

ii) What management functions did he neglect; and

iii) How should he had approached the business of setting up of a steel fabrication unit?

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Paper � XII : INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

Maximum : 25 MARKS


1) a) Principles of absolute advantage

b) FTA

c) Multilateral agreement

d) Seven Tigers of Asia

e) LDCS

f) Object of IMF

2) What are the factors to be considered by MNCs in strategic planning?

3) How do you design an appropriate structure of management in international business?

4) Enumerate HRM problems faced by MNCs.

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Paper � XII : INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

Maximum : 25 MARKS


1) Elucidate the tools used in negotiations.

2) State the factors that influence multinational corporate culture.

3) Bring out the role of WTO in international business.

4) The P & G Company is an American based company producing and marketing FMCG

products across India. Its competitors are HUL, Tata Chemicals, Godrej, etc. Of late due to

cut throat competition all these companies have reduced the prices of their product to the

maximum extent. Their market share has been eroded due to new competition that rose due to

the competition among these established players in the market. Now the company wants to

have tie-up with local manufactures and produce finished products in India, as the cost labor

and raw materials is cheaper, and export them to SAARC countries as the export to these

countries are free from trade barriers.

Questions:

a) Prepare list of agreements to be entered into with various parties to do this business; and

b) What negotiations have to be undertaken for production and logistics?

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Paper � XIII : MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Maximum : 25 MARKS


1) a) Time sharing

b) SQL

c) LAN

d) Character multiplexing

e) Data mining

f) Machine language

2) Explain the conceptual foundations of MIS.

3) What are the considerations in the development of systems?

4) State the stages in system development life cycle.

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Paper � XIII : MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Maximum : 25 MARKS


1) Discuss the trend in information technology.

2) What are the components of DBMS?

3) State the significance of information resource management.

4) We reach Nock in San Francisco�s lower Haight after dark. Once inside, our pupils

madly dilate as we try to catch the dynamics of this small, dark Cenozoic cave trimmed in

airplane fuselage and grunge-clad patronage. Most don�t take any notice; except a

Medusalike young man sporting the stubby remnants of the recently shorn dreadlocks who

rises from a floor cushion and extends his hand for a shake. He is Sirdystic, a hacker with

whom I�d had only E-mail contact until now.

��Cool place,�� I offer.

��Yup.�� He gives a wry smile. ��Cyber-Flintstones.��

Soon, seven of us are slugging down room-tempera-ture Guinnesses, which I�m buying.

They all belong to the Cult of the Dead Cow.a 13-year-old, in-your-face hacking group

whose members are young, rebellious, brilliant, and fed up with a mountain of perceived

persecutions. They�re misunderstood ��white hat�� good guys. Clueless federal agents are

dogging them for no good reason. Privacy. Free speech. You get the picture.

But what they really hate is Microsoft Corporation, which, in the past year, has become

the greatest of hacking targets. ��We bring all these huge, gaping holes to their attention, and

they don�t listen,�� bellows Deth Veggie, a mammoth 24-year-old with rock-star looks.

Microsoft, they say, is more interested in marketing new systems than in securing them.

Microsoft is breeding �dumbed-up�� systems administrators who are so reliant on friendly,

point-and-click interfaces that they fail to set basic security settings. Microsoft they say,

hasn�t learned from past mistakes made-and patched-in the Unix operating system.

��When we find a hole, we share that exploit with the rest of the world-and it takes

Microsoft a long, long time to respond,�� says 22-year-old Tweetfish.

Hackers have posted the source code and techniques of myriad attacks against

Microsoft products on World Wide Web sites and bullets in boards. They�ve got the tools to

crack passwords on NT and Windows 95 operating systems. and the techniques to grab those

passwords from LAN Manager. Hackers know how to drop an ActiveX security level from

high to none, essentially helping themselves to anything on the machine and the network it�s

connected to.

And the list goes on. Why Microsoft? \Why NT? First Microsoft is the biggest dog on the porch. Run, no

less, by the richest guy on the planet. That�s irresistible to many hackers. Also, compared

with Unix which has been hacked and patched ad nausearn, NT makes for an exciting new

plyaground.

In addition, Windows NT is quickly infiltering the enterprise. Microsoft is shipping

more than 100,000 units of NT Version 4.0 every month. According to The Sentry Group, 85

percent of businesses and government agencies in the United States will use Windows NT as

a desktop platform by next year.

In NT 5.0, Microsoft will introduce a three-tiered security architecture. MIT-developed

RCF Kerberos authentication will replace the LAN Manager setup that hackers find so

inviting. In addition, crypto-key infrastructure will be included to support digital certificates

that authenticate users who access the system remotely. Moreover, in NT 5.0, data encryption

will be supported, and administrators will have a central point from which to issue certificates

and access controls.

Microsoft also maintains an electronic-mail address ([email protected]) to which

anybody can send information about vulnerabilities. In addition, the company employs about

300 engineers who work only on security. And they listen to both hackers and customers,

according to.Ed Muth, NT product manager. ��We have demanding customers like banks and

defense agencies who are not shy about telling us their security desires,�� he says.

��That�s a bunch of marketing crock.�� Veggie says. �We try to contact Microsoft, and

we always get the brush.��

In any event, the bottom line is that the security problems most hackers ferret out aren�t

having a serious effect on Microsoft�s ability to do business. Corporate America doesn�t seem

too spooked about Microsoft security, given the speed at which they are deploying Windows

NT. And that just keeps the hackers hacking away.

Questions: i) Why are hackers like the Cult of the Dead Cow hacking into Windows NT? ii) What is Microsoft doing about hacking and the security of Windows NT? iii) Is hacking by the cult of the dead cow and other ��white hat�� hackers ethical? Why or why not?

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mailto:([email protected])

(DEMBC 1)




GROUP C � Human Resource Management

Paper � I : HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

Maximum : 25 MARKS


1) a) HRD in defence.

b) HRD vs HRP.

c) HRP at mano level.

d) Supply of HR.

e) Monitoring of HRD.

f) Sub-systems of HRD.

2) Describe the HRD experiences of Indian Corporates in recent times.

3) What are the motivational aspects of HRD?

4) Give an account of HRD in voluntary organisation.

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(DEMBC 1)





Paper � I : HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

Maximum : 25 MARKS


1) Enumerate the HRD in service sector.

2) Bring out HRD approach to industrial relations.

3) Describe the techniques employed in HR process.

4) Bhadrachalam Paper Mills Ltd., was started in 1971 with high level technology

and with its initial capital of Rs.500 crores. It required candidates with minimum of 10 years

experience in the same ine to handle the new technology as it found that the candidates with

less than 10 years experience normally do not possess the required skills. It found that A.P.

Paper Mills Ltd, Rajahmundry and Sirupur Paper Mills as most suitable sources of

recruitment it used all the recruitment techniques and offered higher salaries and benefits

generously consequently, it got suitable employees with 15 years and more experience. The

cost of employees was as high as 65 per cent of the total cost of production. But the company

did not take it seriously as the rate of return from the employees was 300 per cent more than

their cost. The Chief Personnel Manager was called to explain his actions in appointing

persons with 15 or more years of experience in the service of company. Since majority of

these employees are going to retire by 1990 the company is again threatened by dearth of

experienced personnel.

Questions :

i) Was the Managing Director right when he rewarded the Chief Personnel Manager for enlisting the services of experienced persons in the service of Bhadrachalam Paper Mills?

ii) Would it have been better to hire raw hands, provide necessary training and allow them to develop their potential in the service of the company than merely to look around for experienced personnel and booking them through attractive means?; and

iii) How would you ensure continued success of a company in the face of such a crisis?

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(DEMBC 2)





Paper � II : ORGANISATIONAL DYNAMICS AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Maximum : 25 MARKS


1) a) Group Cohesion.

b) Role flexibility.

c) Organizational ethics.

d) Impact of culture on change.

e) Manager as change agent.

f) OD in NGOS.

2) Explain the key process of organisational change.

3) Elucidate the salient features of diagnostie methods.

4) What are different models of organisational change?

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(DEMBC 2)





Paper � II : ORGANISATIONAL DYNAMICS AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Maximum : 25 MARKS


1) State different phases of group development.

2) How do people develop role models?

3) Elucidate the strategies to core up with stress and burnout.

4) Emily who has the reputation of being an excellent worker, is a machine operator in a

furniture manufacturing plant that has been growing at a rate of between 15 per cent and 20

per cent each year for the past decade. New additions have been built onto the plant, new

plants opened in the region, workers hired, new product lines developed, lots of expansion,

but no significant changes have occurred in overall approach to operations, plant layout, ways

of managing workers, or the design processes. Plant operations as well as organizational

culture are rooted in traditional Western management practices and logic, based largely on

the notion of mass production and economies of scale. Over the past four years, the company

has been growing in number and variety of products produced and in market penetration;

however, profitability has been flattening and showing signs of decline. Therefore, in

developing their strategic plans, management is beginning to focus on production operations

(internal focus) rather than mainly focusing on new market strategies, new products, and new

market segments (external focus). They hope to get manufacturing costs down and improve

consistency of quality and ability to meet delivery times while decreasing inventory and

increasing flexibility.

One of several new programs initiated by management in this effort to improve

flexibility and lower costs was to cross-train workers. However, when a representative from

Human Resources explained this program to Emily�s supervisor, Jim, he reluctantly agreed to

cross-train most of his workers, but not Emily.

Jim explained to the Human Resources person that Emily works on a machine that is

very complex and not easy to effectively operate. She has to �babysit� it much of the time. He

has tried many workers on it, tried to train them, but Emily is the only one who can

consistently get product through the machine within specification and still meet production

schedules. When anyone else tries to operate the machine, which performs a key function in

the manufacturing process, it ends up either being a big bottleneck or producing excessive

waste, which creates a lot of trouble for Jim.

Jim goes on to explain that Emily knows this sophisticated and complicated machine

inside and out after running it for five years. She likes the challenge, she says it makes the

day go by faster, too. She is meticulous in her work, a very skilled employee who really cares

about the quality of her work. Jim told the HR person that he wished all of his workers were

like Emily. In spite of the difficulty of running this machine, Emily can run it so well that

product piles up at the next workstation downstream in the production process - no one can

keep up with her!

Jim was adamant about keeping Emily on this machine and not cross-training her. The

HR person was frustrated. He could see Jim�s point but he had to follow executive orders.

�Get these people cross-trained�.

Around the same period, a university student was doing a field study in the section of

the plant where Emily worked. In her interview, Emily told the student that, in spite of the

fact that the plant had some problems with employee morale and excessive employee

turnover, she really liked working there. She liked the piece rate pay system very much and

hoped that she did not have to participate in the recent �Program of the Month�, which was

having operators learn each other�s jobs. She told the student that it would just create more

waste if they tried to have other emoloyees run her machine. She told him that other

employees had tried to learn how to operate her machine but couldn�t do it as well as she

could.

Emily seemed to take a special liking for the student and began to open up to him. She

told him taht her machine really didn�t need to be so difficult and touchy to operate with a

couple of rather minor design changes in the machine and better maintenance, virtually

anyone could run it. She had tried to explain this to her supervisor a couple of years ago, but

he just told her to �do her work and leave operations to the manufacturing engineers. �She

also said that if workers upstream in the process would spend a little more time and care to

keep the raw material in slightly tighter specifications, it would go through her machine much

more easily and trouble-free, but they were too focused on going fast and making more

piecerate pay. Emily expressed a lack of respect for the managers, who couldn�t see this, and

even joked about how �managers didn�t know anything�.

Questions :

i) Identify the sources of resistance to change in this case;

ii) Discuss whether this resistance is justified or could be overcome; and

iii) Recommend ways to minimize resistance to change in this incident or in future

incidents.

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(DEMBC 3)





Paper � III : LABOUR LEGISLATION AND IR

Maximum : 25 MARKS


1) a) Social security.

b) Interest of industrial dispute.

c) Adjudication.

d) Joint management council.

e) Social legislation.

f) Partial compensation.

2) State the provisions of minimum Wages Act.

3) Explain the machinery available under Industrial Disputes Act.

4) Enumerate the factors that influence bargaining units and levels.

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(DEMBC 3)





Paper � III : LABOUR LEGISLATION AND IR

Maximum : 25 MARKS


1) Examine the results of industrial conflict.

2) What are the principles of modern labour legislation.

3) Enumerate the constitutional provisions relating to labour legislation.

4) Sukh Ram, aged 50 and owneer of a three star hotel in Agra, employed 50 persons to

man various positions in his hotel in 1996. Most employees were educated upto 10th standard

and were able to understand commands in English. The salaries paid by Sukh Ram were

reasonably high compared to other hotels in Agra. He provided various benefits including

free boarding, lodging, medical, festival advances etc. to all employees. He was held in high

esteem by all employees in the hotel industry in Agra. He did not, however, allow his

employees to interact freerywith each other, while at work. Work related issues were most

important to him. He never wanted his workers to jiay something about their families and

private lives. �For that ~ matter heliever asked them to reveal tEe otherside of the coin. He

used to proudly declare that he is the model employer in Agra and others usually followed

him. Workers never denied to present their personal problems to him, as he dismissed such

issues as not related to their work.

Another three star hotel started in 1998 in Agra under the ownership of a young hotel

management diploma holder Rajesh Khanna. This hotel made its mark very soon in Agra,

visitors generally praising its service and homely atmosphere. People commented that Rajesh

took charge of everything and treated his1 employees well. He, however, did not offer wages

and benefits comparable to other employers in the industry.

Surprisingly, 9 employees working with Sukh Ram including the Manager and

Accountant joined Khanna�s hotel recently.

Questions :

i) Do you think that Sukh Ram�s employees were really satisfied with their jobs? It yes,

why? If not, why did they keep quiet till 1998?

ii) Why did 9 employees leave Sukh Ram despite higher wages and benefits compared to

all other hotel employees in Agra?; and

iii) Are there any other factors responsible for the changing trends in employees�

preferences toward work, work environment, employer etc.?

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(DEMBC 4)





Paper � IV : ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Maximum : 25 MARKS


1) a) Elements of OB

b) Group behaviour

c) Job enlargement

d) Situational leader

e) Organisational climate

f) Force field analysis

2) Examine different approaches to OB.

3) What are the determinants of personality?

4) Critically examine Two Factor theory of motivation.

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(DEMBC 4)





Paper � IV : ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Maximum : 25 MARKS


1) High light the contribution of contingency theory of leadership.

2) To day cross cultural operations have become common.comment.

3) State the theories of learning.how do you condition human mind.

4) In 2000. Sanjay Kataria a chartered accountant, was elected as the chairman of Promising

Life Insurance Company, which was at the time, the third largest life insurance company in

the country. During the next 5 years, how ever while its business increased, it did not grow as

fast as its major competitors and promising company dropped from third to sixth place.

This naturally perturbed Sanjay Kataria as it did to the board of directors of the company.

Finally, after deliberations, the board of directors concluded that the lack of leadership in the

sales of both ordinary life policies and group life insurance was the major case of company�s

comparative slow progress. It was also generally concluded that the two directors incharge of

sales in these two major areas of business were competent executives and leaders, but the

regional and district managers working under them were not very competent leaders.

Sanjay Kataria called these two directors and asked them to ensure strong leadership at the

regional and district level or else quit their jobs. As these directors left the meeting with the

chairman, one director told other, �Now just how do we make people leaders? How can we

be sure whether or not a person is a leader? You know this is tough job��.

Questions : i) If you were one of the directors, how would you answer the questions that the other

director has raised? and

ii) What should you do to develop strong leaders?

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(DEMBC 5)





Paper � V : EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION MANAGEMENT

Maximum : 25 MARKS


1) a) Fair wage

b) Wage Boards

c) Piece rate

d) Fringe benefits

e) Compensation package

f) Wage differential

2) Does executives deserve more compensation?

3) Examine the wage policy of India.

4) Evaluate the working of pay commission in India.

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(DEMBC 5)





Paper � V : EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION MANAGEMENT

Maximum : 25 MARKS


1) What are the principles followed while fixing wage?

2) Describe the linking of wages with productivity.

3) Bring out the role of HR dept. in compensation management.

4) Eastman Kodak is a non unionised firm with approximately 60,000 employees. With more

leisure activities than in the rest of Rochester New York, it has the largest company-

sponsored recreation program in the United States. About 35,000 employees pay $1 per year

for membership in Kodak Camera Clubs, which makes available free use of 40 dark rooms,

discount purchase of film, and free loan of photographic equipment. In one building, 3,00,000

square feet of space is allocated to recreation, including movie theatres, bowling alleys, and

meeting places. First run films are shown at lunch time. Employees can shop at a company

general store and do their banking at Eastman savings and loan. There are free eye

examinations, 11 softball fields, amateur vaudeville shows, square dancing, ice fishing, and

table tennis tournaments. Kodak has paid annual bonus to all employees through the form of

a ��wage-dividend�� profit-sharing plan. Many Kodak production areas are decorated with

hand-lettered signs that show pride in work groups. For most of the post 100 years, Kodak

had dominated the U.S market with 90 percent of the sales for conventional colour film.

Questions : i) Do you think that Kodak has a large benefit programme because it is rich or because it

pays an economic return to the company? ;and

ii) What specific values can arise from a recreational programme?

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103-EMB2 - pdfMachine from Broadgun Software, http ... · (demb 11) assignment - 2, may - 2015. executive m.b.a. degree examination first and second years paper Œ xi : business policy