IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM QUESTION AND ANSWER

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM QUESTION AND ANSWER

Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B106
Examination Paper
Managerial Economics
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.Demand is determined by
(1)
a) Price of the product
b) Relative prices of other goods
c) Tastes and habits
d) All of the above
II. When a firm’s average revenue is equal to its average cost, it gets (1)
a) Super profit
b) Normal profit
c) Sub normal profit
d) None of the above
III. Managerial economics generally refers to the integration of economic theory with business
(1)
a) Ethics
b) Management
c) Practice
d) All of the above
IV. Which of the following was not immediate cause of 1991 economic crisis (1)
a) Rapid growth of population
b) Severe inflation
c) Expanding Fiscal deficit
d) Rising current account deficit
V.Money functions refers to : (1)
a) Store of value
b) Medium of Exchange
c) Standard of deferred payments
d) All of the above VI. Given the price, if the cost of production increases because of higher price of raw materials, the supply (1) a) Decreases b) Increases c) Remains same d) Any of the above
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
IIBM Institute of Business Management
VII. Total Utility is maximum when (1)
a. Marginal Utility is maximum
b. Marginal Utility is Zero
c. Both of the above
d. None Of The Above
VIII. Cardinal approach is related to (1)
a. Equimarginal Curve
b. Law of diminishing returns
c. Indifference Curve
d. All of the above
IX. Marginal Utility curve of a consumer is also his (1)
a) Supply Curve
b) Demand Curve
c) Both of above
d) None of above
X. Government of India has replaced FERA by (1)
a) The competition Act
b) FRBMA
c) MRTP Act
d) FEMA
Part Two:
1. What is Managerial Economics? What is its relevance to Engineers/Managers? (5)
2. “Managerial Economics is economics that is applied in decision making” Explain? (5)
3. Differentiate b/w, Micro economics vs. macroeconomics? (5)
4. Factors Affecting Price Elasticity of Demand? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
Caselet1
Dabur is among the top five FMCG companies in India and is positioned successfully on the specialist herbal platform. Dabur has proven its expertise in the fields of health care, personal care, home care and foods. The company was founded by Dr. S. K. Burman in 1884 as small pharmacy in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. And is now led by his great grandson Vivek C. Burman, who is the Chairman of Dabur India Limited and the senior most representative of the Burman family in the company. The company headquarter is in Ghaziabad, India, near the Indian capital New Delhi, where it is registered. The company has over 12 manufacturing units in India and abroad. The international facilities are located in Nepal, Dubai, Bangladesh, Egypt and Nigeria. S.K. Burman, the founder of Dabur, was trained as a physician. His mission was to provide effective and affordable cure for ordinary people in far-flung villages. Soon, he started preparing natural remedies based on Ayurveda for diseases such as Cholera, Plague and Malaria. Due to his cheap and effective remedies, he became to be known as ‘Daktar’ (Indian izedversion of ‘doctor’). And that is how his venture Dabur got its name—derived from Daktar Burman. The company faces stiff competition from many multinational and domestic companies. In the Branded and Packaged Food and Beverages segment major companies that are active include Hindustan Lever, Nestle, Cadbury and Dabur. In case of Ayurvedic medicines and products, the major competitors are Baidyanath, Vicco, Jhandu, Himani and other pharmaceutical companies.
Vision statement of Dabur says that the company is “dedicated to the health and wellbeing of every household”. The objective is to “significantly accelerate profitable growth by providing comfort to others”. For achieving this objective Dabur aims to:
 Focus on growing core brands across categories, reaching out to new geographies, within and outside India, and improve operational efficiencies by leveraging technology.
 Be the preferred company to meet the health and personal grooming needs of target consumers with safe, efficacious, natural solutions by synthesizing deep knowledge of Ayurveda and herbs with modern science.
 Be a professionally managed employer of choice, attracting, developing and retaining quality personnel.
 Be responsible citizen with a commitment to environmental protection.
 Provide superior returns, relative to our peer group, to our shareholders.
Chairman of the company
Vivek C. Burman joined Dabur in 1954 after completing his graduation in Business Administration from the USA. In 1986 he was appointed as the Managing Director of Dabur and in 1998 he took over as Chairman of the Company.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
Under Vivek Burman’s leadership, Dabur has grown and evolved as a multi-crore business house with a diverse product portfolio and a marketing network that traverses the whole of India and more than 50 countries across the world. As a strong and positive leader, Vivek C. Burman had motivated employees of Dabur to “do better than their best”—a credo that gives Dabur its status as India’s most trusted nature-based products company.
Leading brands
More than 300 diverse products in the FMCG, Healthcare and Ayurveda segments are in the product line of Dabur. List of products of the company include very successful brands like Vatika, Anmol, Hajmola, Dabur Amla Chyawanprash, Dabur Honey and Lal Dant Manjan with turnover of Rs.100 crores each.
Strategic positioning of Dabur Honey as food product, lead to market leadership with over 40% market share in branded honey market; Dabur Chyawanprash is the largest selling Ayurvedic medicine with over 65% market share. Dabur is a leader in herbal digestives with 90% market share. Hajmola tablets are in command with 75% market share of digestive tablets category. Dabur Lal Tail tops baby massage oil market with 35% of total share.
CHD (Consumer Health Division), dealing with classical Ayurvedic medicines, has more than 250 products sold through prescription as well as over the counter. Proprietary Ayurvedic medicines developed by Dabur include Nature Care Isabgol, Madhuvaani and Trifgol.
However, some of the subsidiary units of Dabur have proved to be low margin business; like Dabur Finance Limited. The international units are also operating on low profit margin. The company also produces several “me – too” products. At the same time the company is very popular in the rural segment.
Questions
1. What is the objective of Dabur? Is it profit maximisation of growth maximisation? (10)
2. Do you think the growth of Dabur from a small pharmacy to a large multinational company is an indicator of the advantages of joint stock company against the proprietorship form? Elaborate. (10)
Caselet2
The Regina Company„ one of the largest inakets of vacuum cleaners recent’) had scv cfc ptollkins with the quality of its products. The market responsc to this 1ak of quality caused financial problems for Ow company. in late 1995. Regina began having return rates as high as 30 to 50 percent on some of its Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus models. These models were sold primarily through discount stores. Further, Regina’s Spectrum vacuum cleaner, an upgraded version sold in specialty stores, was introduced in 1995 with many quality problems. ef The specific problems identified for the Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus models were associated with faulty belts and weak suction. In the Spectrum model, the agitator was melting; and making a loud noise, the foot pedals were breaking, and the steel-encased motor (which had been advertised as the
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
power source for the vacuum cleaner) had been replaced with a less desirable. less reliable motor.
As a result of these problems, Target stores discontinued Regina’s Housekeeper Plus model after reporting that “at least half of those sold were returned.” At Starmart, which accounts for about a quarter of the Housekeeper sales, I. out of every 5 machines sold was returned. To help service customer complaints, Regina set up an 800 telephone number for customers to contact the firm. directly. The sales returns caused Regina’s shareholders to question the 1995 fiscal earnings report. Furthermore, both inventories and accounts receivable doubled during the 1995 fiscal year. At the end of that period, Regina’s chairman and 40 percent stockholders
Resigned. The chairman’s resignation was closely followed by a company announcement stating that the financial results reported for the 1995 fiscal year were materially incorrect and had been withdrawn. This announcement brought a suit from shareholders who had bought Reoina stock on the basis of the 1995 camings report. It also prompted an audit of the 1995 results and a request to another accounting organization to work on Regina’s business and accounting controls. A few months later, Regina ‘agreed to be acquired by a unit of Magnum, a vacuum cleaner and Water-purification Company. Under Magnum, Regina shut down production while engineers worked to solve the problems inherent in the Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus vacuums, particularly the suction difficulties. In September 1998, Magnum and Regina decided to separate the two companies again. Since then, Regina has been regaining market share with its Housekeeper models. The ‘vacuums are popular because they carry on-board tools.
Questions:
1. What type of controls would you have established to preclude the major returns experienced by Regina? (10)
2. How would you have controlled the finished-goods -inventory to avoid its growing to twice the size that it was in the previous year. (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What is the importance of demand analysis in business decision? (15)
2. Explain individual demand function and market demand function. (15)
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 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B

Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
IIBM Institute of Business Management
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
SubjectCode-B102Examination Paper
Enterprise Resource Planning
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
1. Which of the following describes an ERP system? (1)
a. ERP systems provide a foundation for collaboration between departments
b. ERP systems enable people in different business areas to communicate
c. ERP systems have been widely adopted in large organizations to store critical knowledge used to make the decisions that drive the organization’s performance.
2. The responsibilities of the office manager in a firm that produces electronics spares is: (1)
a. Everything in the office runs efficiently
b. Furniture and other equipment in the office is adequate
c. Processing all the incoming official mail and responding to some
d. All of the above
d. All of the above
3. Physiological Barriers of listening are:
(1)
a. Hearing impairment
b. Physical conditions
c. Prejudices
d. All of the above
4. What is the main function of Business Communication: (1)
a. Sincerity
b. Positive language
c. Persuasion
d. Ethical standard
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
5. Which presentation tend to make you speak more quickly the unusual: (1)
a. Electronic
b. Oral
c. Both „a‟ and”b”
d. None of the above
6. Labov’s Storytelling Model based on: (1)
a. Communication through speech
b. Language learning
c. Group Discussions
d. None of the above
7. Diagonal Communication is basically the: (1)
a. Communication across boundaries
b. Communication between the CEO and the managers
c. Communication through body language
d. Communication within a department
8. Direct Eye contact of more than 10 seconds can create: (1)
a. Discomfort &Anxiety
b. Emotional relationship between listeners and speakers
c. Excitement
d. None of the above
9. How to make Oral Communication Effective? (1)
a. By Clarity
b. By Brevity
c. By Right words
d. All of the above
10. Encoding means: (1)
a. Transmission
b. Perception
c. Ideation
d. None of the above
Part Two:
1. Define ERP? (5)
2. What are ERP packages? (5)
3. What are the reasons for the explosive growth of the ERP market? (5)
4. What is Business Integration and how do the ERP systems achieve it? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
Caselet1
With eight plants globally running from a single ERP instance on a server in Zeeland, Michigan, the IT team faced the challenges of scaling their systems to support the global growth fueling their company’s expansion. Running IQMS’ manufacturing ERP system delivered via Hosted Managed Services (HMS) provides Ventura Manufacturing the most economical system architecture for greater scalability and efficiency as well as to attain disaster recovery goals.
Ventura is an award-winning semi-automated assembly and production company that serves the automotive, office furniture, education seating, and molding and assembly of optical silicone industries globally. Headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan, the company has multiple plants in Zeeland in addition to plants in Budaörs, Hungary, Saltillo, Mexico and Shanghai, China.
As demand for Ventura’s services grew and the company began attracting customers worldwide, it was apparent the dependency on a single ERP system on-premise in Zeeland, Michigan was becoming an impediment to faster growth. “Relying on a single system to manage our global plants was proving to be a huge scale challenge,” said Joel Boyles, IT Team Lead at Ventura Manufacturing.
Ventura’s customer base is globally-based and to serve them as responsively and effectively as possible, Ventura made the decision to open new production plants in Hungary and Shanghai, China.
With eight plants globally running from a single ERP instance on a server in Zeeland, Michigan, the IT team faced the challenges of scaling their systems to support the global growth fueling their company’s expansion. The IT Teams at Ventura prides itself on offering live support to any plant, anywhere in the world that needs help, anytime. “When we just had the plants in Mexico and Hungary, our existing staff could scale to support the calls coming from plants for help with their IT systems and take care of ERP-related tasks,” Joel said. When the Shanghai, China facility went online, Ventura was reaching the limits of scale and speed with their IT teams and the system running on-premise in Zeeland.
As demands increased on the system, so did concerns over Availability and Disaster Recovery Objectives the IT Team had defined. Two metrics that are of specific interest to Ventura’s IT team are the Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO). IT defined the RTO goal as 8 hours and the RPO as 15 minutes, achievable on a 24/7 basis. To accomplish these goals, Ventura would need to create an entirely new system platform that could scale more efficiently with their growing business. The new platform would also need to increase the speed of system updates, which had been a problematic area in the past for the single system to complete.
Joel Boyles, IT Team Lead, says the challenges of scalability and disaster recovery are what drove the urgency for Ventura to decide that Hosted Managed Services (HMS) from IQMS was the best possible solution. “Plant system updates including MRP were taking at least 2 hours
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
per plant, which translated into our IT teams having 24/7 shifts in our Zeeland-based IT offices,” Joel said. “Clearly we had to redefine our system architecture for greater scalability and speed.”
Ventura chose IQMS’ Enterprise IQ delivered via Hosted Managed Services (HMS) because it was the most economical and fastest option for solving the system performance challenges and attaining the disaster recovery goals the company has. Under the IQMS HMS purchase option, software licenses are owned in perpetuity by Ventura and hardware and platform software is provided by the IQMS data center. IQMS is managing the Ventura systems today in a secure data center environment. Ventura’s IT team can gain access to key system metrics and key performance indicators anytime via any browser-enabled laptop, tablet or smart phone.
Questions
1. How Ventura Defined A Global Roadmap To Greater Speed And Reliability? ( 20)
Caselet 2
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is business management software—usually a suite of integrated applications—that a company can use to store and manage data from every stage of business, including:
•Product planning, cost and development
•Manufacturing
•Marketing and sales
•Inventory management
•Shipping and payment
Functions of ERP
• ERP provides an integrated real-time view of core business processes, using common databases maintained by a database management system. ERP systems track business resources—
 cash, raw materials, production capacity—and the status of business commitments: orders, purchase orders, and payroll.
• The applications that make up the system share data across the various departments (manufacturing, purchasing, sales, accounting, etc.) that entered the data.
• ERP facilitates information flow between all business functions,
ERP Implementation
Success
Company Background
 Cadbury is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelēz International.
 It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Wrigley’s.
 Founder: John Cadbury
 Founded in: 1824, B Currently, Cadbury India operates in four categories viz. Chocolate Confectionery, Milk Food Drinks, Candy and Gum category. In the Chocolate
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
Confectionery business, Cadbury has maintained its undisputed leadership over the years.
ERP Implementation
Cadbury turns out, in recent years, Kraft implemented SAP ERP 6.0 (System Analysis and Program Development) in what SAP called one of its largest global ERP implementations. Kraft credited ERP with reducing operational costs. 11,000 employees were sending data to the company’s SAP solution and it was linked to 1,750 applications by 2008. That same year, Kraft aslo added SAP’s master data management solution, Net Weaver, with an eye toward integrating legacy systems.
• Cadbury was left with a glut of chocolate products at the start of the year, after the installation of a new SAP-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system led to an excess of chocolate bars building up at the end of 2005.
• The new U.K. computer system is part of a five-year IT transformation project, called “Probe”, aimed at integrating the Cadbury Schweppes’ supply chain, purchasing, manufacturing, distribution, sales and marketing systems on a global, SAP-based
ERP platform
• Cadbury Schweppes is aiming for an ultimate savings from the Probe project, but its implementation has been far from smooth. The project was beset by problems and delays when it was first introduced in Australia in 2002.
Benefits of ERP
• Cadbury was on a fast paced growth and could not continue with the existing systems and the pace was too slow due to added inefficiencies. ERP added efficiency and guided the led all the issues fast paced growth.
• The implementation of ERP brought in a new way of warehouse management system and brought in structure to branch offices and the depots.
• While implementing the ERP systems, the company has built it upon the past strengths of the company thereby not losing out on its competitive
• The initial implementation took time and then the successive implementations took lesser time and cost and there is a huge advantage in saving cost while in the implementation phase itself.
• The reaction from competition does not matter in this because this is not a change that was advertised to the market. This is an internal process restructuring and was a welcome change within the company which badly needed the change.
• The company also has built in a robust regular feedback system to monitor the changes and check if they go according to the initial plan. The entire implementation is cross functional and hence it is important that there is a high increase in the efficiency. The ERP vendor was also selected from among the best in class vendors which helped the process occur in a streamlined fashion and avoided any possible chances of hiccups during the initial
implementation phase.
The system has also been deployed up to the vendors. They have a portal called vendor connect
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B
where they can see their inventory movement and make plans accordingly. Hence the restructuring happens not only internally but also across to the supplier which will add on to the benefits that are accrued.
It was considered at low cost and high result implementation which by itself highlights the success and the benefits.
Questions
1. Why did the Big Bang approach fail for The Hershey Company ? (20)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What is the difference between ERP and CRM software? (15)
2. What are some of the risks associated with ERP software? (15)
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IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER AUGUST 2023 EXAM ANSWER

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER AUGUST 2023 EXAM ANSWER

Examination Paper of Strategic Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
SubjectCode-B108 Examination Paper
Strategic Management
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I. Horizontal integration is concerned with
(1)
a) Production
b) Quality
c) Product planning
d) All of the above
II. It refers to formal and informal rules, regulations and procedures that complement the company structure (1)
a) Strategy
b) Systems
c) Environment
d) All of the above
III. Strategic management is mainly the responsibility of (1)
a. Lower management
b. Middle management
c. Top management
d. All of the above
IV. Formal systems are adopted to bring ________ & amalgamation of decentralized units into product groups.
(1)
a. Manpower
b. Co-ordination
c. Production
d. All of the above
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IV.Like roots of a tree, ________of organization is hidden from direct view. (1)
a. Performance
b. Strategy
c. Core competence
d. All of the above
V. The actual performance deviates positively over the budgeted performance. This is an indication of ……….. Performance. (1) a. Superior b. Inferior c. Constant d. Any of the above
VI. Criteria for making an evaluation is (are)
(1)
a. Consistency with goals
b. Consistency with environment
c. Money
d. All of the above
VII. Changes in company ………. also necessitates changes in the systems in various degrees (1)
a. structure
b. system
c. strategy
d. turnover
VIII. Micro environment is the ………. environment of a company. (1)
a. Working
b. Human
c. External
d. Internal
X Techniques used in environmental appraisal are (1)
a.Single-variable
extrapolation/multivariable
interaction analysis
b.Structured/ unstructured
expert/inexpert opinion
c.Dynamic modes and mapping
d.All of the above
Part Two:
1. Distinguish between a strategy and tactics. (5)
2. Give an outline of relation between ‘Strategy and Customer’ in brief? (5)
3. Explain in brief the concept of strategic thinking? (5)
4. What are the basic elements of planning? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Caselet 1
Apple’s profitable but risky strategy
When Apple’s Chief Executive – Steven Jobs – launched the Apple iPod in 2001 and the iPhone in 2007, he made a significant shift in the company’s strategy from the relatively safe market of innovative, premium-priced computers into the highly competitive markets of consumer electronics. This case explores this profitable but risky strategy.
Early beginnings
To understand any company’s strategy, it is helpful to begin by looking back at its roots. Founded in 1976, Apple built its early reputation on innovative personal computers that were particularly easy for customers to use and as a result was priced higher than those of competitors. The inspiration for this strategy came from a visit by the founders of the company – Steven Jobs and Steven Wozniack – to the Palo Alto research laboratories of the Xerox Company in 1979. They observed that Xerox had developed an early version of a computer interface screen with the drop-down menus that are widely used today on all personal computers. Most computers in the late 1970s still used complicated technical interfaces for even simple tasks like typing – still called ‘word-processing’ at the time.
Jobs and Wozniack took the concept back to Apple and developed their own computer – the Apple Macintosh (Mac) – that used this consumer-friendly interface. The Macintosh was launched in 1984. However, Apple did not sell to, or share the software with, rival companies. Over the next few years, this non-co-operation strategy turned out to be a major weakness for Apple.
Battle with Microsoft
Although the Mac had some initial success, its software was threatened by the introduction of Windows 1.0 from the rival company Microsoft, whose chief executive was the well-known Bill Gates. Microsoft’s strategy was to make this software widely available to other computer manufacturers for a license fee – quite unlike Apple. A legal dispute arose between Apple and Microsoft because Windows had many on-screen similarities to the Apple product. Eventually, Microsoft signed an agreement with Apple saying that it would not use Mac technology in Windows 1.0. Microsoft retained the right to develop its own interface software similar to the original Xerox concept.
Coupled with Microsoft’s willingness to distribute Windows freely to computer manufacturers, the legal agreement allowed Microsoft to develop alternative technology that had the same on-screen result. The result is history. By 1990, Microsoft had developed and distributed a version of Windows that would run on virtually all IBM-compatible personal computers – see Case 1.2. Apple’s strategy of keeping its software exclusive was a major strategic mistake. The company was determined to avoid the same error when it
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
came to the launch of the iPod and, in a more subtle way, with the later introduction of the iPhone.
Apple’s innovative products
Unlike Microsoft with its focus on a software-only strategy, Apple remained a full-line computer manufacturer from that time, supplying both the hardware and the software. Apple continued to develop various innovative computers and related products. Early successes included the Mac2 and PowerBooks along with the world’s first desktop publishing program – PageMaker. This latter remains today the leading program of its kind. It is widely used around the world in publishing and fashion houses. It remains exclusive to Apple and means that the company has a specialist market where it has real competitive advantage and can charge higher prices.
Not all Apple’s new products were successful – the Newton personal digital assistant did not sell well. Apple’s high price policy for its products and difficulties in manufacturing also meant that innovative products like the iBook had trouble competing in the personal computer market place.
Apple’s move into consumer electronics
Around the year 2000, Apple identified a new strategic management opportunity to exploit the growing worldwide market in personal electronic devices – CD players, MP3 music players, digital cameras, etc. It would launch its own Apple versions of these products to add high-value, user-friendly software. Resulting products included iMovie for digital cameras and I DVD for DVD-players. But the product that really took off was the iPod – the personal music player that stored hundreds of CDs. And unlike the launch of its first personal computer, Apple sought industry co-operation rather than keeping the product to itself.
Launched in late 2001, the iPod was followed by the iTunes Music Store in 2003 in the USA and 2004 in Europe – the Music Store being a most important and innovatory development. iTune was essentially an agreement with the world’s five leading record companies to allow legal downloading of music tracks using the internet for 99 cents each. This was a major coup for Apple – it had persuaded the record companies to adopt a different approach to the problem of music piracy. At the time, this revolutionary agreement was unique to Apple and was due to the negotiating skills of Steve Jobs, the Apple Chief Executive, and his network of contacts in the industry. Apple’s new strategy was beginning to pay off. The iPod was the biggest single sales contributor in the Apple portfolio of products.
In 2007, Apple followed up the launch of the iPod with the iPhone, a mobile telephone that had the same user-friendly design characteristics as its music machine. To make the iPhone widely available and, at the same time, to keep control, Apple entered into an exclusive contract with only one national mobile telephone carrier in each major country – for example, AT&T in the USA and O2 in the UK. Its mobile phone was premium priced – for
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
example, US$599 in North America. However, in order to hit its volume targets, Apple later reduced its phone prices, though they still remained at the high end of the market. This was consistent with Apple’s long-term, high-price, high-quality strategy. But the company was moving into the massive and still-expanding global mobile telephone market where competition had been fierce for many years.
And the leader in mobile telephones – Finland’s Nokia – was about to hit back at Apple, though with mixed results. But other companies, notably the Korean company Samsung and the Taiwanese company, HTC, were to have more success later.
So, why was the Apple strategy risky?
By 2007, Apple’s music player – the iPod – was the premium-priced, stylish market leader with around 60 per cent of world sales and the largest single contributor to Apple’s turnover. Its iTune download software had been re-developed to allow it to work with all Windows-compatible computers (about 90 percent of all PCs) and it had around 75 percent of the world music download market, the market being worth around US$1000 million per annum. Although this was only some 6 percent of the total recorded music market, it was growing fast. The rest of the market consisted of sales of CDs and DVDs direct from the leading recording companies.
In 2007, Apple’s mobile telephone – the iPhone – had only just been launched. The sales objective was to sell 10 million phones in the first year: this needed to be compared with the annual mobile sales of the global market leader, Nokia, of around 350 million handsets. However, Apple had achieved what some commentators regarded as a significant technical breakthrough: the touch screen. This made the iPhone different in that its screen was no longer limited by the fixed buttons and small screens that applied to competitive handsets. As readers will be aware, the iPhone went on to beat these earlier sales estimates and was followed by a new design, the iPhone 4 in 2010.
The world market leader responded by launching its own phones with touch screens. In addition, Nokia also launched a complete download music service. Referring to the new download service, Rob Wells, senior Vice President for digital music at Universal commented: ‘This is a giant leap toward where we believe the industry will end up in three or four years’ time, where the consumer will have access to the celestial jukebox through any number of devices.’ Equally, an industry commentator explained: ‘[For Nokia] it could be short-term pain for long-term gain. It will steal some of the thunder from the iPhone and tie users into the Nokia service.’ Readers will read this comment with some amazement given the subsequent history of Nokia’s smart phones that is described in Case 9.2.
‘Nokia is going to be an internet company. It is definitely a mobile company and it is making good progress to becoming an internet company as well,’ explained Olli PekkaKollasvuo, Chief Executive of Nokia. There also were hints from commentators that Nokia was likely to make a loss on its new download music service. But the company was determined to ensure that Apple was given real competition in this new and unpredictable market.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Here lay the strategic risk for Apple. Apart from the classy, iconic styles of the iPod and the iPhone, there is nothing that rivals cannot match over time. By 2007, all the major consumer electronics companies – like Sony, Philips and Panasonic – and the mobile phone manufacturers – like Nokia, Samsung and Motorola – were catching up fast with new launches that were just as stylish, cheaper and with more capacity. In addition, Apple’s competitors were reaching agreements with the record companies to provide legal downloads of music from websites.
Apple’s competitive reaction
As a short term measure, Apple hit back by negotiating supply contracts for flash memory for its iPod that were cheaper than its rivals. Moreover, it launched a new model, the iPhone 4 that made further technology advances. Apple was still the market leader and was able to demonstrate major increases in sales and profits from the development of the iPod and iTunes. To follow up this development, Apple launched the Apple Tablet in 2010 – again an element of risk because no one really knew how well such a product would be received or what its function really was. The second generation Apple tablet was then launched in 2011 after the success of the initial model. But there was no denying that the first Apple tablet carried some initial risks for the company.
All during this period, Apple’s strategic difficulty was that other powerful companies had also recognized the importance of innovation and flexibility in the response to the new markets that Apple itself had developed. For example, Nokia itself was arguing that the markets for mobile telephones and recorded music would converge over the next five years. Nokia’s Chief Executive explained that much greater strategic flexibility was needed as a result: ‘Five or ten years ago, you would set your strategy and then start following it. That does not work anymore. Now you have to be alert every day, week and month to renew your strategy.’
If the Nokia view was correct, then the problem for Apple was that it could find its market-leading position in recorded music being overtaken by a more flexible rival – perhaps leading to a repeat of the Apple failure 20 years earlier to win against Microsoft. But at the time of updating this case, that looked unlikely. Apple had at last found the best, if risky, strategy.
Questions
1. using the concepts in this chapter undertake a competitive analysis of both Apple and Nokia – who is stronger? (10)
2. What are the problems with predicting how the market and the competition will change over the next few years? What are the implications for strategy development? (10)
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Caselet 2
Mr. Ashwin is the marketing manager of the cosmetics. division of the Medwin Drug Company. The company was well known as a leader in new proprietary drug and toiletry products and had a good record of profitability. The cosmetics division had been especially successful in women’s toiletries and .1/4.-o..,unctitk.:s and in the introduction of new products, It always based its new-product development on market research respect to what Would appeal to women and, after almost invariably test marketing a new product in a few almost invarariably test marketing a new product in selected cities, launched it with a heavy advertising and sales promotion program. It had hoped in this way not only to get a large initial share of the markets but also to become so well entrenched that competitors. who soon copy a successful product would not dislodge it from its market share.
After being cautioned by the president of Medwin Drug about the necessity for watching costs more carefully, the division manager became increasingly concerned with two opposing factors in his marketing strategy: ( 1) test marketing of new products (offering them for sale first in a few test cities with area advertising and sales programs) tended increasingly to give competitors advance information on new products, and certain competitors had been able to copy a product almost as soon as Medwin could offer it nationally and profited thereby from Medwin’s advertising; and (2) national advertising and sales promotion expenses were rising so fast that a single major product failure would have an important impact on division profits, on which his annual bonus was primarily determined. On the one hand, he recognized the wisdom of test marketing, but he disliked the costs and dangers involved. On the other hand, he hardly wished to take an unknown risk of embarking on a national program until a test showed that the product did in fact have a good market demand. Yet, he wondered whether all products should be test marketed.
Mr. Ashwin was asked to put this problem to his marketing department subordinates and ask them what should be done. To give the strategy some meaning, he used as a case at point the company’s new hair conditioner which had been developed on the basis of promising, although preliminary, market research. He asked his sales manager whether he thought the product would succeed and what he thought his “best estimate” of sales would be. He also asked his advertising manager to give some cost estimates on launching the product.
Mr. Kiran, division sales manager, thought a while, then said he was convinced that the product was a winner and that his best estimate would be sales of Rs. 5 crores per year for at least five years. Mr. Desai, the advertising manager, said that the company could launch the product for a cost of Rs. 1 crore the first year and some Rs. 25 lakhs per year thereafter. He also pointed out that the test-marketing program would cost Rs. 15 lakhs, of which half would be saved if these test cities were merely a part of a national program, and that the testing program would delay the national program for six months. But he warned Mr. Ashwin that test marketing would save the gamble of so much money on the national promotion program. At this point, Mr. Sachdev, the new marketing research manager, suggested that the group might come to a better decision if they used a proper decision-making technique.
Question:
1. Which decision-making technique can be used in this situation? Why? (20)
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What are the main characteristics of strategic decisions? (15)
2. What specific entrepreneurial aspects include the strategy formation process? (15)
S-2-010619
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B

Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B107 Examination Paper
Production and Operations Management
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.The purpose of the transportation approach for locational analysis is to minimize (1)
a) Total costs
b) Total shipping costs
c) Total variable costs
d) Total fixed costs
II. Which of the following would not generally be a motive for a firm to hold inventories? To (1)
e) Take advantage of quantity discounts
f) Minimize holding costs
g) Reduce stock out risks
h) Decouple production from distribution
III. Which of the following are assignable cause? (1)
a. Large variations in hardness of material
b. Tool wear
c. Errors in setting
d. All of the above
IV. Like roots of a tree, ________of organization is hidden from direct view.
(1)
a. Goodwill
b. Core competence
c. Higher management
d. Capital investment
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
V.Inadequate production capacity ultimately leads to (1)
a. Poor quality
b. Poor Customer Service
c. Poor inventory control
d. All of the above
VI. Limitations of Traditional cost accounting are (1) a. Assumes factory as an isolated entity b. It measures only the cost of producing c. Both (A) and (B) d. None of the above
VII. Business is rated on which dimensions
(1)
a. Market attractiveness
b. Business strength
c. Both (A) and (B)
d. None of the above
VIII. How does ‘structure’ reduce external uncertainty arising out of human behavior (1)
a. Research and planning
b. Forecasting
c. Both (A) and (B)
d. None of the above
IX. Objective of Work Study is to improve _______ (1)
a. Cycle time
b. Productivity
c. Production
d. All of the above
X. Which of the following are activities of corrective maintenance? (1)
a. Overhauling
b. Emergency repairs
c. Modifications and improvements
d. All of the above
Part Two:
1. What are the dimensions of quality? (5)
2. What is Quality? (5)
3. What is Materials Planning? (5)
4. Need for Inventory Management – Why do Companies hold inventories? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
Caselet 1
The pizza business did well and by 1965, Thomas was able to open two more stores in the town -Pizza King and Pizza from the Prop. Within a year, Varti opened a pizza store in a neighborhood town with the same name, DomiNick’s Pizza. Thomas decided to change the name of his first store, DomiNick’s Pizza, and one of his employees suggested the name Domino’s Pizza(Domino’s). The advantage of this name Thomas felt was that it would be listed after DomiNick in the directory. Domino’s philosophy rested on two principles – limited menu and delivering hot and fresh pizzas within half-an-hour. In 1967, it opened the first franchise store in Ypsilanti, and in 1968, a franchise store in Burlington, Vermont. However, the company ran into problems when its headquarters (the first store) and commissary were destroyed by fire. In the early 1970s, the company faced problems again when it was sued by Amstar, the parent company of Domino Sugar for trademark infringement. Thomas started looking for a new name and came up with Red Domino’s and Pizza’s Dispatch. However, there wasn’t any need for it because Domino’s won the lawsuit in 1980.In 1982, Domino’s Pizza established Domino’s Pizza International (DPI) that was made responsible for opening Domino’s stores internationally. The first store was opened in Winnipeg, Canada. Within a year, DPI spread to more than 50 countries and in 1983, it inaugurated its1000th store. Around the same time, new pizza chains like Pizza Hut and Little Caesar established themselves in the USA. Domino’s Pizza faced intense competition because it had not changed its menu of traditional hand-tossed pizza. The other pizza chains offered low-priced breadsticks, salads and other fast food apart from pizzas. Domino’s faced tough competition from Pizza Hut in the home delivery segment also. Little Caesar was eating into Domino’s market share with its innovative marketing strategies. By 1989, Domino’s sales had reduced significantly and cash flows were affected due to the acquisition of assets. In 1993, Thomas took measures to expand Domino’s product line, in an attempt to revive the company and tackle competition. The company introduced pan pizza and bread sticks in the USA. In late 1993, Domino’s introduced the Ultimate Deep Dish Pizza and Crunchy Thin Crust Pizza. In 1994, it rolled out another non-pizza dish – Buffalo wings. Though Domino’s did not experiment with its menu for many years, the company adopted innovative ways in managing a pizza store. Thomas gave about 90% of the franchisee agreements in the USA to people who had worked as drivers with Domino’s. The company gave ownership to qualified people, after they had successfully managed a pizza store for a year and had completed a training course. Domino’s also gave franchises to candidates recommended by existing franchisees. Outside the USA, most of Domino’s stores were franchise-owned. Domino’s was also credited for many innovations in the pizza industry and setting standards for other pizza companies. It has developed dough trays, corrugated pizza boxes, insulated bags for delivering pizzas, and conveyor ovens.
In 1993, Domino’s withdrew the guarantee of delivering pizzas within 30-minutes of order andstarted emphasizing on Total Satisfaction Guarantee (TSG) which read: “If for any reason, you are dissatisfied with your Domino’s Pizza dining experience, we will re-make your pizza or refund your money.” Domino’s entered India in 1996 through a franchise agreement with VamBhartia Corp in Delhi. With the overwhelming success of the first outlet, the company opened another outlet in Delhi. By 2000, Domino’s had outlets in all major cities in India. When
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
Domino’s entered India, the concept of home delivery was still in its nascent stages. It existed only in some major cities and was restricted to delivery by the friendly neighborhood fast food outlets. Eating out at ‘branded’ restaurants was more common. To penetrate the Indian market, Domino’s introduced an integrated home delivery system from a network of company outlets within 30 minutes of the order. Goutham Advani (Advani), Chief of Marketing, Domino’s Pizza India, said, “What really worked its way into the Indian mind set was the promised 30-minute delivery.” Domino’s also offered compensation: Rs.30/- off the price tag if there was a delay in delivery. For the first 4 years in India, Domino’s concentrated on its ‘Delivery’ strategy.
Domino’s Logistics Model
Analysts felt that Domino’s took a cue from McDonald’s supply chain model. However, they opined that the level of complexity in McDonald’s system in India was not as high as that of Domino’s. Commented Bhatia ,”McDonald’s operations are not as spread out as ours. They are in four cities while we are in 16.Centralizing wouldn’t work on such a geographical scale”. The logistics model adopted by Domino’s offered some obvious benefits including lower transportation costs, cheaper procurement and economies of scale. Domino’s had already cut out the duplication in procurement and processing of raw materials across each of the three commissaries. The old model of self-contained commissaries had another disadvantage: adding new outlets did not translate into greater economies of scale. Bhatia planned to extend the model to other parts of the country as well. The commissary was to be located near the largest market in that region. Bhatia said, “Our roll-out began only after we mapped out our procurement strategy.” Based on the agricultural map of India, Domino’s looked McDonald’s had one of the best logistics models in India. To maintain consistency and quality of its products, McDonald’s shipped all the raw materials lettuce, patties et al to a cold storage close to the main market. Based on a daily demand schedule that was prepared a day in advance, the required amount of raw material was transported to individual outlets to get the best product at the lowest cost.
Thus, tomatoes would come from Bhubaneswar, spices from the south, baby corn from Nepal (where it’s 40% cheaper than in India) and vegetables from Sri Lanka. Similarly, Domino’s India planned to extend its operations to Nepal, Sri Lanka and Dhaka. The company planned to establish a commissary in Sri Lanka. Domino’s also identified specialty crops in each region. The commissary in that region was entrusted with the task of processing that specialty crop. For instance, the commissary for the eastern region in Kolkata was responsible for buying tomatoes, processing them and then sending them to all the other commissaries. Similarly, the northern commissary had to deliver pizza bases. This way, Domino’s minimized duplication as well as the dangers of perish ability. Once the new model was formalized, Bhatia planned to use Domino’s 25 refrigerated trucks to transport products for other companies on the same route. For instance, if an operator in Kochi(Kerala) needed to transport specialty cheese, he could use the Domino’s fleet to transport his products. Said Bhatia, “Not too many people have refrigerated trucks in the country. And we can offer them quality service because we will be giving them standards we use for ourselves.” Company sources said that enquiries from clients for such transport facilities had started coming in. Bhatia said he was in the process of selecting a person to head the logistics operation, which would be spun off as a separate profit centre. Bhatia seemed confident that the profit centre had the potential to bring in Rs 10 by 2006. However, he said the profit center would not be allowed to impede the growth of the pizza
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
business, Domino’s core operation. Only those deliveries that did not delay or deroute the truck would be considered
Questions
1. Describe about the Article for Logistics and Operations Management Domino’s Pizza’s Process Technology (20)
Caselet 2
ABC Ltd. is the country’s largest manufacturer of spun yarn with well-established market. ABC Ltd. has good reputation for quality and service. Their marketing department identified that the potential for global market is expanding rapidly and hence the company undertook exercise for expansion of the capacity for export market. The company formed team of Marketing and Materials department to study the global logistics possibilities. After extensive study, the team came up with a report on global logistics and submitted that global logistics is essentially same as domestic due to following similarities: • The conceptual logistics framework of linking supply sources, plants, warehouses and customers is the same. • Both systems involve managing the movement and storage of products. • Information is critical to effective provision of customer service, management of inventory, vendor product and cost control. • The functional processes of inventory management, warehousing, order processing, carrier selection, procurement, and vendor payment are required for both. • Economic and safety regulations exist for transportation. The company had very economical and reliable transportation system in existence. For exports as well they decided to evaluate capabilities of their existing transporter and entrusted them with the job of transport till port. For customs formalities they engaged a good CHA after proper cost evaluation and entered into contract for freight with shipping company agent. The response for company’s export was very good and the company could get as many as 15 customers within first two months and reached to a level of USD 250,000 per month by the end of first half of the year. Based on this response the export volumes were expected to grow to a level of USD 400,000 per month by the end of the year. When the review was made at the end of the year, company found that export volumes had in fact come down to the level of USD 120,000 which was much lower than it had reached in the first half of the year. The managing committee had an emergency meeting to discuss this and the export manager was entrusted with the task of identifying the reasons for this decline. Mr. Ganesh decided to visit the customers for getting the first hand information. When he discussed the matter with the customers, the feedback on the quality and price were good but the customers were very upset on the logistic services due to delayed shipments, frequent changes in shipping schedules, improper documentation, improper identifications, package sizes, losses due to transit damages etc. After coming back, the export manager checked the dispatch schedules and found that production and ex-works schedules were all proper. Then he studied the logistics systems and found that the logistics cost was very high and all the logistics people were demotivated due to the overwork and were complaining of total lack of co-ordination and the system had become totally disorganized.
Questions
1. Explain the problems experienced by ABC Ltd. What is the main cause of these problems? (20)
END OF SECTION B
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. The Advantages & Disadvantages of Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)? (15)
2. Distinguish between just-in-time and just-in-case as stock management systems?(15)
S-2-010619
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
Examination Paper of Management Information Systems
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
SubjectCode-B110
Examination Paper
Management Information Systems
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.A person machine-system and a highly integrated grouping of information-processing functions designed to provide management with a comprehensive picture of specific operation is called (1)
a) DSSB
b) MISC
c) IISD
II. Which one of the following is not an important characteristic of useful and effective information? (1)
a) Accuracy
b) Timelines
c) Completeness
d) Economy
d) All of the above
III. The most important reason for failure of MIS is (1)
a) Use of improper tools for design
b) Noninvolvement of end-user
c) Improper specification
d) None of the above
IV. Top level Managers use (1)
a) Strategic information
b) Tactical information
c) Operational information
d) None of these
V.System is an important factor of MIS. There are various types of systems. Which one of the following is not a system? (1)
a) Physical system
b) Integrated system
c) Open system
d) Open system
VI. Which one of the following is not an approach for development of MIS? (1) a) Hierarchical approach b) Integrative approach c) Modular approach d) Elective approach
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Management Information Systems
IIBM Institute of Business Management
VII. Management is linked to information by (1)
a. Decisions
b. Data
c. Both [A] And [B]
d. None Of The Above
VIII. Which pattern reflects a pure executive form of management?
(1)
a. Functional
b. Line
c. Line and Staff
d. Committee
IX. The term financial engineering is related to (1)
a) Cost of production
b) Financial restructuring
c) Product planning
d) Capital issue
X. The goal of financial management is to (1)
a) Maximize the wealth of preference share holders
b) Maximize the wealth of debenture holders
c) Maximize the wealth of equity share holders
d) All of the above
Part Two:
1. What is purpose of information system from a business perspective? (5)
2. What are Enterprise System? How do they benefit businesses? (5)
3. Differentiate DSS from MIS. (5)
4. What do you mean by Data visualizations? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Management Information System
Caselet -1
A waiter takes an order at a table, and then enters it online via one of the six terminals located in the restaurant dining room. The order is routed to a printer in the appropriate preparation area: the cold item printer if it is a salad, the hot-item printer if it is a hot sandwich or the bar printer if it is a drink. A customer’s meal check-listing (bill) the items ordered and the respective prices are automatically generated. This ordering system eliminates the old three-carbon-copy guest check system as well as any problems caused by a waiter’s handwriting. When the kitchen runs out of a food item, the cooks send out an ‘out of stock’ message, which will be displayed on the dining room terminals when waiters try to order that item. This gives the waiters faster feedback, enabling them to give better service to the customers. Other system features aid management in the planning and control of their restaurant business. The system provides up-to-the-minute information on the food items ordered and breaks out percentages showing sales of each item versus total sales. This helps management plan menus according to customers’ tastes. The system also compares the weekly sales totals versus food costs, allowing planning for tighter cost controls. In addition, whenever an order is voided, the reasons for the void are keyed in. This may help later in management decisions, especially if the voids consistently related to food or service. Acceptance of the system by the users is exceptionally high since the waiters and waitresses were involved in the selection and design process. All potential users were asked to give their impressions and ideas about the various systems available before one was chosen.
Questions
1. What would make the system a more complete MIS rather than just doing transaction processing? (10)
2. Explain the probable effects that making the system more formal would have on the customers and the management? (10)
Caselet 2
The Company is considered to be a leader in the design and production of industrial and commercial air-conditioning equipment. While most of the products were standard items, a considerable number involving large sales volume were specially designed for installation in big office buildings and factories. Besides being an innovator in product design and having an exceptionally good customer service department, the company is well known for its high-quality products and its ability to satisfy the customer requirements promptly.
Because of its rapid growth, the company had to be careful with its cash requirements, especially for accounts receivable and for inventories. For many years, the company had kept inventories under close control at a level equal to 1.7 times the monthly sales, or a turnover of nearly 6 times per year. But, all of a sudden, inventories soared to triple monthly sales, and the company found itself with Rs.30 crores of inventories above a normal level. Calculating a cost of carrying inventory at 30 percent of the value of
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Management Information System
inventories (including the cost of money, storage and handling, and obsolescence), it was estimated that this excess inventory was costing the company Rs.9 crores per year in profits before taxes. In addition, it forced the to call on its bank for more loans than had company been expected.
Mr. Dcepak Mehra, president of Connair, was understandably worried and incensed when this matter came to his attention. He was told that the primary reasons for this rise in inventory were excessive buying of raw materials in advance because of anticipated shortages and the failure of a new computer software, with the result the people in the production and purchasing departments were not having complete information as to what was happening to inventory for several months.
Mr. Mehra, taking the stand that no company should let something like this surplus inventory occur without advance notice and that no manager can be expected to control a business on the basis of history, instructed his vice-president for finance to come up with a program to get better control of inventories in the future.
Questions for Discussion:
1. What do you find wrong with Connair’s controls? (10)
2. Are there any other techniques or approaches to control that you would suggest? (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. List and describe the information systems serving each of the major functional areas of business? (15)
2. What are the characteristics of MIS? How MIS do differs from TPS? (15)
S-2-010619
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B

Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B109
Examination Paper Business Communication
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.The most important goal of business communication is_________. (1)
a) favorable relationship between sender and receiver
b) organizational goodwill
c) receiver response
d) receiver understanding
II. Down ward communication flows from_________ to_________. (1)
e) Upper to lower
f) Lower to upper
g) Horizontal
h) Diagonal
III. Horizontal communication takes place
between_________. (1)
a. superior to subordinate
b. subordinate to superior
c. employees with same status
d. none of these
IV. The study of communication through touch is_________. (1)
a. chronemics
b. haptics
c. proxemics
d. semantic
V._____________ channel of communication is known as grapevine (1)
a. Formal
b. Informal
c. Horizontal
d. Vertical
VI. The following is (are) the most effective ways of communication. (1) a. Verbal b. Non verbal c. Written d. All of the above
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
END OF SECTION A
• This section consists of Caselets.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each Caselet carries 20marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
VII. The handshake that conveys confidence is (1)
a. Limp
b. Firm
c. Loose
d. Double
VIII. ________ of the letter consists of main message. (1)
a. Heading
b. Body
c. Greeting
d. Closing
IX. Body of a letter is divided into ________
parts. (1)
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
X. X. A persuasive message will fail if_____ (1)
a. it does not focus on what is in it for the reader
b. it only lists facts
c. it moves too slowly
d. all of the above
Part Two:
1. Brief Grapevine communication? (5)
2. List the 7 C’s of Communication? (5)
3. Describe the various barriers of communication? (5)
4. Write the negotiation process. (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
Caselet 1
Barry and Communication Barriers Effective Communication as a Motivator One common complaint employees voice about supervisors is inconsistent messages – meaning one supervisor tells them one thing and another tells them something different. Imagine you are the supervisor/manager for each of the employees described below. As you read their case, give
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
consideration to how you might help communicate with the employee to remedy the conflict. Answer the critical thinking questions at the end of the case then compare your answers to the Notes to Supplement Answers section. Barry is a 27-year old who is a foodservice manager at a casual dining restaurant. Barry is responsible for supervising and managing all employees in the back of the house. Employees working in the back of the house range in age from 16 years old to 55 years old. In addition, the employees come from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. For many, English is not their primary language. Barry is Serv Safe® certified and tries his best to keep up with food safety issues in the kitchen but he admits it’s not easy. Employees receive “on the job training” about food safety basics (for example, appropriate hygiene and hand washing, time/temperature, and cleaning and sanitizing). But with high turnover of employees, training is often rushed and some new employees are put right into the job without training if it is a busy day. Eventually, most employees get some kind of food safety training. The owners of the restaurant are supportive of Barry in his food safety efforts because they know if a food safety outbreak were ever linked to their restaurant; it would likely put them out of business. Still, the owners note there are additional costs for training and making sure food is handled safely. One day Barry comes to work and is rather upset even before he steps into the restaurant. Things haven’t been going well at home and he was lucky to rummage through some of the dirty laundry and find a relatively clean outfit to wear for work. He admits he needs a haircut and a good hand scrubbing, especially after working on his car last evening. When he walks into the kitchen he notices several trays of uncooked meat sitting out in the kitchen area. It appears these have been sitting at room temperature for quite some time. Barry is frustrated and doesn’t know what to do. He feels like he is beating his head against a brick wall when it comes to getting employees to practice food safety. Barry has taken many efforts to get employees to be safe in how they handle food. He has huge signs posted all over the kitchen with these words: KEEP HOT FOOD HOT AND COLD FOOD COLD and WASH YOUR HANDS ALWAYS AND OFTEN. All employees are given a thermometer when they start so that they can temp food. Hand sinks, soap, and paper towels are available for employees so that they are encouraged to wash their hands frequently.
Questions
1. What are the communication challenges and barriers Barry faces? (10)
2. What solutions might Barry consider in addressing each of these challenges and barriers? (10)
Caselet 2
Mr. Dutta, newly appointed president of century Airlines, knew the company’s survival depended on customer service, which in turn depended on motivated employees. So he created the Century Spirit program to build team spirit by encouraging employee participation, individual initiative, and open communication. Among the program’s early successes was newspaper started by a group of flight attendants. The plane truth published information about benefits and work conditions as well as feature stories and humorous articles. It quickly became popular not only with flight attendant but with pilot, machinists, and baggage handlers.
As time went on, though, the plane truth began to run articles critical of the company. When management cut back worker’s hours, the, newspaper questioned what sacrifices the executive were making. When the technical services department releases figures showing long turnaround times, the paper questioned the machinist’s work ethic. Worried that customer might see the newspaper; Mr. Dutta wanted to cancel it. The president of the flight attendants union also wanted to see it was stirring up trouble with the machinists.
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each question carries 15marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
Ms. Rachel, Century’s human resource director, was asked to stop the publication. But she hesitated. She knew the employee morale was on the brink, but she did not know whether the newspaper was venting worker’s frustrations and reinforcing team spirit or stirring up old animosities and bringing the whole company down. Was it creating more tension than unity or vice-versa?
Questions
1. What Communication issues are involved at Century Airlines? (10)
2. What Communication Channels are being Utilized (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. Explain the various non verbal communications with an example in business
Scenario? (15)
2. Delineate the types of parts of business report writing? (15)
S-2-010619

MARKETING MANAGEMENT IIBM EXAM ANSWER SHEET

MARKETING MANAGEMENT IIBM EXAM ANSWER SHEET

Examination Paper of Marketing Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 1
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper MM.100
International Marketing Management
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 Marks)
Part One:
Multiple choices:
1. International marketing includes activities that direct the flow of goods from:
a. One country to one country
b. One country to another country
c. One country to multiple country
d. All of the above
2. ETC stands for______________
a. Expert trading companies
b. Essential trading companies
c. Export trading companies
d. None of the above
3. Till 1950-56 there was no clear exim policy and no __________ restrictions of any kind.
a. Import
b. Export
c. Both a) & b)
d. None of the above
4. Tariffs have been one of the classical methods of regulating ___________ trade.
a. International
b. National
c. Domestic
d. None of the above
5. The world trade organization (WTO) was established on 1st January____________
a. 1996
b. 1995
c. 1997
d. None of the above
6. Export documentation is a very important area in ___________ management.
a. International
b. Import
 This section consists of Multiple Choice & Short Answer Type Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part One carries 1 mark each & Part Two carries 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Marketing Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 2
c. Export
d. None of the above
7. Methods of export pricing are_____________
a. Cost plus pricing
b. Competitive pricing
c. Marginal pricing
d. All of the above
8. OCED has been a destination of a major portion of ___________exports.
a. Japan
b. USA
c. India
d. UK
9. Psychographic segmentation involves grouping people in terms of:
a. Attitudes
b. Life styles
c. Values
d. All of the above
10. Foreign direct investment would be permitted up to __________ in the development of the
zones.
a. 100%
b. 90%
c. 38%
d. 48%
Part Two:
1. Differentiate between domestic & international marketing.
2. Write a short note on World trade organization (WTO).
3. Briefly describe the exim policy of India (one part of India‟s export import policy).
4. Write a short note on tariff and non tariff barriers of international trade.
END OF SECTION A
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
 This section consists of Case lets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each case let carries 20 marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150to 200).
Examination Paper of Marketing Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 3
Caselet 1
Export Marketing:
The trade in black pepper is unhappy that exports may not show a sign of revival in prices in the
immediate future. World prices have been showing a downward trend for eighteen months and this has
resulted in much lower earnings for exporters. The UK, West Germany and the Netherlands have cut
their import requirement though the American demand has shown some growth. Brazil has been
resorting to aggressive selling at lower prices and the expectations are that its exports will reach an alltime
peak of 32,000 tones in the 1981-82 season. The 1981-82 Indian season is only about six weeks
away. The Brazilian offensive has forced India to withdraw so to any from the US and West European
markets and increase its reliance on communist buyers. As many as 1980-81.the Soviet Union alone
accounting for 12,647 tones. But exporters are concerned at the diversion on such a scale of this trade.
Questions:
1. Had you been the pepper exporter, what would be your short term and medium-term export
marketing strategy in the above environment?
2. Could you examine the weak points in this case study?
Caselet 2
SMART KIDS – SELLING EDUCATIONAL GAMES AND
RESOURCES TO THE WORLD
Smart Kids Ltd. An Auckland company that makes educational games and resources to read and
understand math‟s has won a Trade New Zealand Export Award for its success in international markets
in 2003.Established eight years ago in the family home basement, Smart Kids is led by husband and
wife team, joint chief executives David and Sun Milne and their sons Duncan and Frase. She Milne, an
ex-teacher, says from just 30 products when it started, the company produces more than 200 produces
catering for student‟s activities, grammar concepts and numeracy. She says the international appeal of
Smart Kids products was highlighted recently, when company‟s SMART PHONICS was listed amongst
the top five products out of almost 100 in the education trade show in the United Kingdom. The key
requirement for every new Smart Kids products is that it stimulates student‟s minds in the classroom,
teaches them a specific concept easily, enjoyably and permanently and enables problem solving. David
Milne says Smart Kids started selling its educational games and resources to New Zealand schools in
1995, drawings an immediate and strong response. It quickly became apartment that the New Zealand
market was not large enough to sustain considerable investment in product development, and secondly,
that their products have done so well that they deserved wider exposure.”Our export research came
down to two options. Find educational distributors in other countries or set-up our own operations. The
first option was less risky and easy to manage but it meant that Smart Kids products were lost in a wide
range of materials. So we went for the second option and over the next few years established offices in
Australia, in UK and Canada”. This has successfully branded Smart Kids as a leading supplier of
educational resources in these countries. Mr. Milne says the Smart Kids product catalogue is now sent
Examination Paper of Marketing Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 4
regularly to teachers in more than 50,000 schools across the UK, Ireland, Canada and Australia. “We
also sell to schools in the US. In that market we elected to work through a distributor, we didn‟t have
the financial resources to set-up an operation that could cover almost 70,000 schools and compete with
every established educational publisher”. He says annual exports now exceed $2.2 million and account
for more than 90% of turnover. In order to grow the business, surplus profits are reinvested back into
product development, infrastructure – the company recently moved its Auckland operation into new
20,000 square feet premises in Ellerslie. Mr. Milne says the Smart Kids brand is now well established
internationally with the company enjoying many competitive advantages, including its New Zealand
origin. New Zealand education is highly regarded overseas and we find that international teachers to get
hold of educational products made in this country.
Questions:
1. What are the major considerations for a firm in order to while deciding its markets entry
strategy?
2. To what extent direct control and ownership are critical for Smart kids export distribution
strategy?
END OF SECTION B
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
 This section consists of Applied theory.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15 marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
1. What do mean by International marketing? Discuss the scope of International marketing.
2. Describe the export documentation framework in India in detail.
END OF SECTION C
Examination Paper of Marketing Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 5
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper MM.100
Research Methodology
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 Marks)
 This section consists of Multiple Choice & Short Answer Type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part One carries 1 marks each & Part Two carries 5 marks each.
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. Research is an art of ____________ investigation.
a. Technological
b. Scientific
c. Political
d. None of the above
2. Exploratory research is flexible and very ___________ research.
a. Variable
b. Visuals
c. Versatile
d. None of the above
3. Frame error, chance error and response error are collectively called____________
a. Total error
b. Non sampling error
c. Sampling error
d. Universal error
4. Hypothesis testing is sometimes called ____________ analysis.
a. Exploratory data
b. Confirmatory data
c. Experimental data
d. Both a) & b)
5. Execution of the project is a very important step in the ____________ process.
a. Questions
b. Identification
c. Research
d. None of the above
Examination Paper of Marketing Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 6
6. Thurstone scale is also known as ____________ scale.
a. Equal appearing interval
b. Equal alternatives interval
c. Equal alternatives item
d. None of the above
7. A ratio in which the units of numerator & denominator are not the same is termed as a:
a. Class
b. Rate
c. Data
d. None of the above
8. ANOVA stands for______________
a. Analysis of automobiles
b. Analysis of variable
c. Analysis of variance
d. None of the above
9. One tailed & two tailed test are the part of ____________ test.
a. Null
b. Hypothesis
c. Alternative
d. None of the above
10. Chi – square is an important ____________ test.
a. Parametric
b. Probability
c. Non – parametric
d. None the above
Part Two:
1. What is „Sequential sampling‟?
2. Write a short note on „nominal scale‟.
3. Write a note on „Z – Test‟. (One of the parametric test for hypothesis).
4. What are the cautions to be taken on χ2 (chi square) test?
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper of Marketing Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 7
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
 This section consists of Case lets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each case let carries 20 marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
Caselet 1
Swastika Computer System was established in 1981 at Delhi to provide computer training. In 1980s
computer education was relatively new in India. Personal computers 286 existed and MS DOS was the
operating system. Languages like Basic, Pascal, COBOL, FORTRAN were used in programming.
Swastika Computer Systems was established with their support departments namely computer
assembly, faculty training and computer servicing department. In the first financial year, it recorded a
turnover of Rs 11.5 lakhs. Within a few years of its existence, Swastik Computer System opened its
branches in eight major cities of India and had a gross annual turnover of Rs 86 lakhs. The organization
was highly centralized. The head office at Delhi handled all accounts, recruitment, and placement of
students and servicing of computers. The Bhopal branch of Swastik Computer Systems was set up in
May 1987. The branch was headed by a dynamic branch manager Hemant Gupta. He was a BSc in
computers and had previously worked in the data processing department of a manufacturing concern.
To establish the Bhopal branch, Hemant Gupta realized the need for making Swastik Computer
Systems, Bhopal known to the younger generation. With this in mind he introduced some innovative
promotional schemes like offering scholarships to students doing well in the intelligence tests
administered by the branch, giving personal computers to students to deposit term fees at their
convenience. Hemant Gupta also ensured that teaching standards were high and computers at the
branch were well maintained, so a student once enrolled felt that he had made the right decision by
joining Swastik Computer Systems. He also made himself available from 8.00 am to 7.00 p.m at the
branch. Students were free to go to him with their problems, which he took pains to solve. Soon
Swastik Computer Systems was one of the leading computer training centres in Bhopal. As the Bhopal
branch prospered, the head office at Delhi started taking an active interest in the running of this branch.
The Regional Manager who visited Bhopal once a month started making frequent visits. During one of
his visits, his attention was drawn to rumors that branch funds were being misappropriated. When the
Regional Manager informed the Delhi office about the rumor, a team was sent to the Bhopal Branch to
look into the matter. On investigation, the term was convinced that the rumors had some truth in them.
It was found that a larger number of students attended the classes than were enrolled. It was felt that this
fraud was not possible without the consent of Hemant Gupta, and without any further inquiry a decision
was taken to remove him forthwith. Amit Verma who was a senior faculty at Swastik Computer
Systems, Delhi was asked to take over the Bhopal branch as Manager. He was an MCA and had been
associated with the organization since its inception. Amit Verma‟s appointment at Bhopal was
welcomed at the Bhopal branch by both, staff and faculty as he had the reputation of being an easy
going person. After he joined the Bhopal, it was observed that Amit Verma, although academically
sound, was not an effective administrator. His approach towards staff and faculty was lenient. He was
not particular about punctuality and was not available during office hours. This had an adverse effect on
Examination Paper of Marketing Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 8
faculty in general and classes in particular. Not only did classes suffer but even administrative work
was affected. Monthly reports to the head office were not sent on time, as a result requisitions for
computer servicing, reading material and funds were unduly delayed. Due to lack of maintenance,
computer breakdowns became common, students did not receive their reading material on time and
payment of building rent, and telephone bills etc were unnecessarily delayed. The symptoms of
deterioration at the Bhopal branch were obvious. The branch which had an annual turnover of Rs 30.7
lakhs fell to Rs. 4 lakhs. As enrollments decreased the head office at Delhi started feeling the pinch. It
started delaying transfer of funds to the Bhopal branch. As a result faculty salaries were unduly delayed.
The faculty started leaving for greener pastures.
Worried by the number of faculty turnover, the head office started a practice of recruiting only
those faculties willing to sign a bond of 3 years. The organization started a practice of taking a deposit
of Rupees 5000 from the joining faculty, which would be refunded after 3 years. In case the faculty left
before this duration, the deposit stood forfeited. This policy further reduced the quality of faculty
joining Swastik Computer Systems, Bhopal.
Questions:
1. What according to you went wrong at the Bhopal branch?
2. What can be done to revive the Bhopal branch?
Caselet 2
Mind tree which was founded in 1999 in India by a group of IT professionals who wanted to chart a
somewhat distinctive path. Today, it has a top line of $269 million and is rated as one of the most
promising mid-sized IT services companies. Creditable as that is, Mind Tree does not want to be just
that. There is an element of serendipity about what it has been doing over the last year. In 2008, it
designated one of its founders Subroto Bagchi „Gardener‟, a gimmicky signal, intended to declare that
he was moving out of the day-to-day running of the company to nurture talent which would run the
company in the future. He has now a report card ready on a year as gardener. During this one year, he
has also spent around 45 days travelling round the world talking to clients and prospective ones which
has yield remarkable insights into what firms are doing in these traumatic times. Lastly, Mind Tree as
a whole has spent the last year going through the exercise of redefining its mission statement and
vision for the next five years. Quite fortuitously these processes have come together with a unifying
thread, presenting a coherent big picture. Mind Tree wants to seed the future while still young, and
executive chairman Ashok Soota has declared that by 2020, it will be led by a non-founder. So a year
ago the gardener Bagchi set out to “touch” 100 top people in the organization, with a goal of doing 50
in a year so as to eventually identify the top 20 by 2015. From among them will emerge not just the
leader but a team of ten who would eventually, as group heads, deliver $200 million of turnover each.
That will give a turnover of $2 billion. To put it in perspective, one one VC-funded company, which
has not closed or been bought over, has been able to get to $2 billion and that is Google. But to get
there it has to periodically redefine its mission (why we exist) and its vision – measurable goals for the
next five years. Its redefined mission is built around “successful customers, happy people, and
innovative solution”. Its new vision targets a turnover of $1 billion by 2014. It wants to be among the
globally 20 most profitable IT services companies and also among the 20 globally most admired ones.
Examination Paper of Marketing Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 9
Admired in terms of customer satisfaction (pay for the course), people practices (creditable),
knowledge management (exciting) and corporate governance (the Enron-Satyam effect). The really
interesting bit about Mind Tree in the last one year is what Bagchi has been up to. He has been
embedding himself in the 50 lives, working in a personal private continuum, making it a rich learning
process “which has helped connect so many dots.” Of the hundred who will be engaged, may be 50
will leave, of them 25 may better themselves only marginally, and from the remaining 25 ten will
emerge who will carry the company forward.
Questions:
1. What do you analyse as the main reason behind the success of Mind tree?
2. Do you think that redefining the mission statement shows the lacunae on the part of the founder
members of an organization? Why?
END OF SECTION B
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
 This section consists of Applied Theory.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15 marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
1. What are the various methods of collecting statistical data? Explain in brief their merits and
demerits.
2. What do mean by Research design. What are basic types of research design?
END OF SECTION C
S-2-300813

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEETS PROVIDED

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEETS PROVIDED

Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B109
Examination Paper Business Communication
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.The most important goal of business communication is_________. (1)
a) favorable relationship between sender and receiver
b) organizational goodwill
c) receiver response
d) receiver understanding
II. Down ward communication flows from_________ to_________. (1)
e) Upper to lower
f) Lower to upper
g) Horizontal
h) Diagonal
III. Horizontal communication takes place
between_________. (1)
a. superior to subordinate
b. subordinate to superior
c. employees with same status
d. none of these
IV. The study of communication through touch is_________. (1)
a. chronemics
b. haptics
c. proxemics
d. semantic
V._____________ channel of communication is known as grapevine (1)
a. Formal
b. Informal
c. Horizontal
d. Vertical
VI. The following is (are) the most effective ways of communication. (1) a. Verbal b. Non verbal c. Written d. All of the above
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
END OF SECTION A
• This section consists of Caselets.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each Caselet carries 20marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
VII. The handshake that conveys confidence is (1)
a. Limp
b. Firm
c. Loose
d. Double
VIII. ________ of the letter consists of main message. (1)
a. Heading
b. Body
c. Greeting
d. Closing
IX. Body of a letter is divided into ________
parts. (1)
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
X. X. A persuasive message will fail if_____ (1)
a. it does not focus on what is in it for the reader
b. it only lists facts
c. it moves too slowly
d. all of the above
Part Two:
1. Brief Grapevine communication? (5)
2. List the 7 C’s of Communication? (5)
3. Describe the various barriers of communication? (5)
4. Write the negotiation process. (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
Caselet 1
Barry and Communication Barriers Effective Communication as a Motivator One common complaint employees voice about supervisors is inconsistent messages – meaning one supervisor tells them one thing and another tells them something different. Imagine you are the supervisor/manager for each of the employees described below. As you read their case, give
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
consideration to how you might help communicate with the employee to remedy the conflict. Answer the critical thinking questions at the end of the case then compare your answers to the Notes to Supplement Answers section. Barry is a 27-year old who is a foodservice manager at a casual dining restaurant. Barry is responsible for supervising and managing all employees in the back of the house. Employees working in the back of the house range in age from 16 years old to 55 years old. In addition, the employees come from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. For many, English is not their primary language. Barry is Serv Safe® certified and tries his best to keep up with food safety issues in the kitchen but he admits it’s not easy. Employees receive “on the job training” about food safety basics (for example, appropriate hygiene and hand washing, time/temperature, and cleaning and sanitizing). But with high turnover of employees, training is often rushed and some new employees are put right into the job without training if it is a busy day. Eventually, most employees get some kind of food safety training. The owners of the restaurant are supportive of Barry in his food safety efforts because they know if a food safety outbreak were ever linked to their restaurant; it would likely put them out of business. Still, the owners note there are additional costs for training and making sure food is handled safely. One day Barry comes to work and is rather upset even before he steps into the restaurant. Things haven’t been going well at home and he was lucky to rummage through some of the dirty laundry and find a relatively clean outfit to wear for work. He admits he needs a haircut and a good hand scrubbing, especially after working on his car last evening. When he walks into the kitchen he notices several trays of uncooked meat sitting out in the kitchen area. It appears these have been sitting at room temperature for quite some time. Barry is frustrated and doesn’t know what to do. He feels like he is beating his head against a brick wall when it comes to getting employees to practice food safety. Barry has taken many efforts to get employees to be safe in how they handle food. He has huge signs posted all over the kitchen with these words: KEEP HOT FOOD HOT AND COLD FOOD COLD and WASH YOUR HANDS ALWAYS AND OFTEN. All employees are given a thermometer when they start so that they can temp food. Hand sinks, soap, and paper towels are available for employees so that they are encouraged to wash their hands frequently.
Questions
1. What are the communication challenges and barriers Barry faces? (10)
2. What solutions might Barry consider in addressing each of these challenges and barriers? (10)
Caselet 2
Mr. Dutta, newly appointed president of century Airlines, knew the company’s survival depended on customer service, which in turn depended on motivated employees. So he created the Century Spirit program to build team spirit by encouraging employee participation, individual initiative, and open communication. Among the program’s early successes was newspaper started by a group of flight attendants. The plane truth published information about benefits and work conditions as well as feature stories and humorous articles. It quickly became popular not only with flight attendant but with pilot, machinists, and baggage handlers.
As time went on, though, the plane truth began to run articles critical of the company. When management cut back worker’s hours, the, newspaper questioned what sacrifices the executive were making. When the technical services department releases figures showing long turnaround times, the paper questioned the machinist’s work ethic. Worried that customer might see the newspaper; Mr. Dutta wanted to cancel it. The president of the flight attendants union also wanted to see it was stirring up trouble with the machinists.
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each question carries 15marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
Ms. Rachel, Century’s human resource director, was asked to stop the publication. But she hesitated. She knew the employee morale was on the brink, but she did not know whether the newspaper was venting worker’s frustrations and reinforcing team spirit or stirring up old animosities and bringing the whole company down. Was it creating more tension than unity or vice-versa?
Questions
1. What Communication issues are involved at Century Airlines? (10)
2. What Communication Channels are being Utilized (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. Explain the various non verbal communications with an example in business
Scenario? (15)
2. Delineate the types of parts of business report writing? (15)
S-2-010619

Examination Paper of Strategic Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
SubjectCode-B108 Examination Paper
Strategic Management
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I. Horizontal integration is concerned with
(1)
a) Production
b) Quality
c) Product planning
d) All of the above
II. It refers to formal and informal rules, regulations and procedures that complement the company structure (1)
a) Strategy
b) Systems
c) Environment
d) All of the above
III. Strategic management is mainly the responsibility of (1)
a. Lower management
b. Middle management
c. Top management
d. All of the above
IV. Formal systems are adopted to bring ________ & amalgamation of decentralized units into product groups.
(1)
a. Manpower
b. Co-ordination
c. Production
d. All of the above
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IV.Like roots of a tree, ________of organization is hidden from direct view. (1)
a. Performance
b. Strategy
c. Core competence
d. All of the above
V. The actual performance deviates positively over the budgeted performance. This is an indication of ……….. Performance. (1) a. Superior b. Inferior c. Constant d. Any of the above
VI. Criteria for making an evaluation is (are)
(1)
a. Consistency with goals
b. Consistency with environment
c. Money
d. All of the above
VII. Changes in company ………. also necessitates changes in the systems in various degrees (1)
a. structure
b. system
c. strategy
d. turnover
VIII. Micro environment is the ………. environment of a company. (1)
a. Working
b. Human
c. External
d. Internal
X Techniques used in environmental appraisal are (1)
a.Single-variable
extrapolation/multivariable
interaction analysis
b.Structured/ unstructured
expert/inexpert opinion
c.Dynamic modes and mapping
d.All of the above
Part Two:
1. Distinguish between a strategy and tactics. (5)
2. Give an outline of relation between ‘Strategy and Customer’ in brief? (5)
3. Explain in brief the concept of strategic thinking? (5)
4. What are the basic elements of planning? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Caselet 1
Apple’s profitable but risky strategy
When Apple’s Chief Executive – Steven Jobs – launched the Apple iPod in 2001 and the iPhone in 2007, he made a significant shift in the company’s strategy from the relatively safe market of innovative, premium-priced computers into the highly competitive markets of consumer electronics. This case explores this profitable but risky strategy.
Early beginnings
To understand any company’s strategy, it is helpful to begin by looking back at its roots. Founded in 1976, Apple built its early reputation on innovative personal computers that were particularly easy for customers to use and as a result was priced higher than those of competitors. The inspiration for this strategy came from a visit by the founders of the company – Steven Jobs and Steven Wozniack – to the Palo Alto research laboratories of the Xerox Company in 1979. They observed that Xerox had developed an early version of a computer interface screen with the drop-down menus that are widely used today on all personal computers. Most computers in the late 1970s still used complicated technical interfaces for even simple tasks like typing – still called ‘word-processing’ at the time.
Jobs and Wozniack took the concept back to Apple and developed their own computer – the Apple Macintosh (Mac) – that used this consumer-friendly interface. The Macintosh was launched in 1984. However, Apple did not sell to, or share the software with, rival companies. Over the next few years, this non-co-operation strategy turned out to be a major weakness for Apple.
Battle with Microsoft
Although the Mac had some initial success, its software was threatened by the introduction of Windows 1.0 from the rival company Microsoft, whose chief executive was the well-known Bill Gates. Microsoft’s strategy was to make this software widely available to other computer manufacturers for a license fee – quite unlike Apple. A legal dispute arose between Apple and Microsoft because Windows had many on-screen similarities to the Apple product. Eventually, Microsoft signed an agreement with Apple saying that it would not use Mac technology in Windows 1.0. Microsoft retained the right to develop its own interface software similar to the original Xerox concept.
Coupled with Microsoft’s willingness to distribute Windows freely to computer manufacturers, the legal agreement allowed Microsoft to develop alternative technology that had the same on-screen result. The result is history. By 1990, Microsoft had developed and distributed a version of Windows that would run on virtually all IBM-compatible personal computers – see Case 1.2. Apple’s strategy of keeping its software exclusive was a major strategic mistake. The company was determined to avoid the same error when it
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
came to the launch of the iPod and, in a more subtle way, with the later introduction of the iPhone.
Apple’s innovative products
Unlike Microsoft with its focus on a software-only strategy, Apple remained a full-line computer manufacturer from that time, supplying both the hardware and the software. Apple continued to develop various innovative computers and related products. Early successes included the Mac2 and PowerBooks along with the world’s first desktop publishing program – PageMaker. This latter remains today the leading program of its kind. It is widely used around the world in publishing and fashion houses. It remains exclusive to Apple and means that the company has a specialist market where it has real competitive advantage and can charge higher prices.
Not all Apple’s new products were successful – the Newton personal digital assistant did not sell well. Apple’s high price policy for its products and difficulties in manufacturing also meant that innovative products like the iBook had trouble competing in the personal computer market place.
Apple’s move into consumer electronics
Around the year 2000, Apple identified a new strategic management opportunity to exploit the growing worldwide market in personal electronic devices – CD players, MP3 music players, digital cameras, etc. It would launch its own Apple versions of these products to add high-value, user-friendly software. Resulting products included iMovie for digital cameras and I DVD for DVD-players. But the product that really took off was the iPod – the personal music player that stored hundreds of CDs. And unlike the launch of its first personal computer, Apple sought industry co-operation rather than keeping the product to itself.
Launched in late 2001, the iPod was followed by the iTunes Music Store in 2003 in the USA and 2004 in Europe – the Music Store being a most important and innovatory development. iTune was essentially an agreement with the world’s five leading record companies to allow legal downloading of music tracks using the internet for 99 cents each. This was a major coup for Apple – it had persuaded the record companies to adopt a different approach to the problem of music piracy. At the time, this revolutionary agreement was unique to Apple and was due to the negotiating skills of Steve Jobs, the Apple Chief Executive, and his network of contacts in the industry. Apple’s new strategy was beginning to pay off. The iPod was the biggest single sales contributor in the Apple portfolio of products.
In 2007, Apple followed up the launch of the iPod with the iPhone, a mobile telephone that had the same user-friendly design characteristics as its music machine. To make the iPhone widely available and, at the same time, to keep control, Apple entered into an exclusive contract with only one national mobile telephone carrier in each major country – for example, AT&T in the USA and O2 in the UK. Its mobile phone was premium priced – for
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
example, US$599 in North America. However, in order to hit its volume targets, Apple later reduced its phone prices, though they still remained at the high end of the market. This was consistent with Apple’s long-term, high-price, high-quality strategy. But the company was moving into the massive and still-expanding global mobile telephone market where competition had been fierce for many years.
And the leader in mobile telephones – Finland’s Nokia – was about to hit back at Apple, though with mixed results. But other companies, notably the Korean company Samsung and the Taiwanese company, HTC, were to have more success later.
So, why was the Apple strategy risky?
By 2007, Apple’s music player – the iPod – was the premium-priced, stylish market leader with around 60 per cent of world sales and the largest single contributor to Apple’s turnover. Its iTune download software had been re-developed to allow it to work with all Windows-compatible computers (about 90 percent of all PCs) and it had around 75 percent of the world music download market, the market being worth around US$1000 million per annum. Although this was only some 6 percent of the total recorded music market, it was growing fast. The rest of the market consisted of sales of CDs and DVDs direct from the leading recording companies.
In 2007, Apple’s mobile telephone – the iPhone – had only just been launched. The sales objective was to sell 10 million phones in the first year: this needed to be compared with the annual mobile sales of the global market leader, Nokia, of around 350 million handsets. However, Apple had achieved what some commentators regarded as a significant technical breakthrough: the touch screen. This made the iPhone different in that its screen was no longer limited by the fixed buttons and small screens that applied to competitive handsets. As readers will be aware, the iPhone went on to beat these earlier sales estimates and was followed by a new design, the iPhone 4 in 2010.
The world market leader responded by launching its own phones with touch screens. In addition, Nokia also launched a complete download music service. Referring to the new download service, Rob Wells, senior Vice President for digital music at Universal commented: ‘This is a giant leap toward where we believe the industry will end up in three or four years’ time, where the consumer will have access to the celestial jukebox through any number of devices.’ Equally, an industry commentator explained: ‘[For Nokia] it could be short-term pain for long-term gain. It will steal some of the thunder from the iPhone and tie users into the Nokia service.’ Readers will read this comment with some amazement given the subsequent history of Nokia’s smart phones that is described in Case 9.2.
‘Nokia is going to be an internet company. It is definitely a mobile company and it is making good progress to becoming an internet company as well,’ explained Olli PekkaKollasvuo, Chief Executive of Nokia. There also were hints from commentators that Nokia was likely to make a loss on its new download music service. But the company was determined to ensure that Apple was given real competition in this new and unpredictable market.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Here lay the strategic risk for Apple. Apart from the classy, iconic styles of the iPod and the iPhone, there is nothing that rivals cannot match over time. By 2007, all the major consumer electronics companies – like Sony, Philips and Panasonic – and the mobile phone manufacturers – like Nokia, Samsung and Motorola – were catching up fast with new launches that were just as stylish, cheaper and with more capacity. In addition, Apple’s competitors were reaching agreements with the record companies to provide legal downloads of music from websites.
Apple’s competitive reaction
As a short term measure, Apple hit back by negotiating supply contracts for flash memory for its iPod that were cheaper than its rivals. Moreover, it launched a new model, the iPhone 4 that made further technology advances. Apple was still the market leader and was able to demonstrate major increases in sales and profits from the development of the iPod and iTunes. To follow up this development, Apple launched the Apple Tablet in 2010 – again an element of risk because no one really knew how well such a product would be received or what its function really was. The second generation Apple tablet was then launched in 2011 after the success of the initial model. But there was no denying that the first Apple tablet carried some initial risks for the company.
All during this period, Apple’s strategic difficulty was that other powerful companies had also recognized the importance of innovation and flexibility in the response to the new markets that Apple itself had developed. For example, Nokia itself was arguing that the markets for mobile telephones and recorded music would converge over the next five years. Nokia’s Chief Executive explained that much greater strategic flexibility was needed as a result: ‘Five or ten years ago, you would set your strategy and then start following it. That does not work anymore. Now you have to be alert every day, week and month to renew your strategy.’
If the Nokia view was correct, then the problem for Apple was that it could find its market-leading position in recorded music being overtaken by a more flexible rival – perhaps leading to a repeat of the Apple failure 20 years earlier to win against Microsoft. But at the time of updating this case, that looked unlikely. Apple had at last found the best, if risky, strategy.
Questions
1. using the concepts in this chapter undertake a competitive analysis of both Apple and Nokia – who is stronger? (10)
2. What are the problems with predicting how the market and the competition will change over the next few years? What are the implications for strategy development? (10)
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Caselet 2
Mr. Ashwin is the marketing manager of the cosmetics. division of the Medwin Drug Company. The company was well known as a leader in new proprietary drug and toiletry products and had a good record of profitability. The cosmetics division had been especially successful in women’s toiletries and .1/4.-o..,unctitk.:s and in the introduction of new products, It always based its new-product development on market research respect to what Would appeal to women and, after almost invariably test marketing a new product in a few almost invarariably test marketing a new product in selected cities, launched it with a heavy advertising and sales promotion program. It had hoped in this way not only to get a large initial share of the markets but also to become so well entrenched that competitors. who soon copy a successful product would not dislodge it from its market share.
After being cautioned by the president of Medwin Drug about the necessity for watching costs more carefully, the division manager became increasingly concerned with two opposing factors in his marketing strategy: ( 1) test marketing of new products (offering them for sale first in a few test cities with area advertising and sales programs) tended increasingly to give competitors advance information on new products, and certain competitors had been able to copy a product almost as soon as Medwin could offer it nationally and profited thereby from Medwin’s advertising; and (2) national advertising and sales promotion expenses were rising so fast that a single major product failure would have an important impact on division profits, on which his annual bonus was primarily determined. On the one hand, he recognized the wisdom of test marketing, but he disliked the costs and dangers involved. On the other hand, he hardly wished to take an unknown risk of embarking on a national program until a test showed that the product did in fact have a good market demand. Yet, he wondered whether all products should be test marketed.
Mr. Ashwin was asked to put this problem to his marketing department subordinates and ask them what should be done. To give the strategy some meaning, he used as a case at point the company’s new hair conditioner which had been developed on the basis of promising, although preliminary, market research. He asked his sales manager whether he thought the product would succeed and what he thought his “best estimate” of sales would be. He also asked his advertising manager to give some cost estimates on launching the product.
Mr. Kiran, division sales manager, thought a while, then said he was convinced that the product was a winner and that his best estimate would be sales of Rs. 5 crores per year for at least five years. Mr. Desai, the advertising manager, said that the company could launch the product for a cost of Rs. 1 crore the first year and some Rs. 25 lakhs per year thereafter. He also pointed out that the test-marketing program would cost Rs. 15 lakhs, of which half would be saved if these test cities were merely a part of a national program, and that the testing program would delay the national program for six months. But he warned Mr. Ashwin that test marketing would save the gamble of so much money on the national promotion program. At this point, Mr. Sachdev, the new marketing research manager, suggested that the group might come to a better decision if they used a proper decision-making technique.
Question:
1. Which decision-making technique can be used in this situation? Why? (20)
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What are the main characteristics of strategic decisions? (15)
2. What specific entrepreneurial aspects include the strategy formation process? (15)
S-2-010619
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B

Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B107 Examination Paper
Production and Operations Management
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.The purpose of the transportation approach for locational analysis is to minimize (1)
a) Total costs
b) Total shipping costs
c) Total variable costs
d) Total fixed costs
II. Which of the following would not generally be a motive for a firm to hold inventories? To (1)
e) Take advantage of quantity discounts
f) Minimize holding costs
g) Reduce stock out risks
h) Decouple production from distribution
III. Which of the following are assignable cause? (1)
a. Large variations in hardness of material
b. Tool wear
c. Errors in setting
d. All of the above
IV. Like roots of a tree, ________of organization is hidden from direct view.
(1)
a. Goodwill
b. Core competence
c. Higher management
d. Capital investment
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
V.Inadequate production capacity ultimately leads to (1)
a. Poor quality
b. Poor Customer Service
c. Poor inventory control
d. All of the above
VI. Limitations of Traditional cost accounting are (1) a. Assumes factory as an isolated entity b. It measures only the cost of producing c. Both (A) and (B) d. None of the above
VII. Business is rated on which dimensions
(1)
a. Market attractiveness
b. Business strength
c. Both (A) and (B)
d. None of the above
VIII. How does ‘structure’ reduce external uncertainty arising out of human behavior (1)
a. Research and planning
b. Forecasting
c. Both (A) and (B)
d. None of the above
IX. Objective of Work Study is to improve _______ (1)
a. Cycle time
b. Productivity
c. Production
d. All of the above
X. Which of the following are activities of corrective maintenance? (1)
a. Overhauling
b. Emergency repairs
c. Modifications and improvements
d. All of the above
Part Two:
1. What are the dimensions of quality? (5)
2. What is Quality? (5)
3. What is Materials Planning? (5)
4. Need for Inventory Management – Why do Companies hold inventories? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
Caselet 1
The pizza business did well and by 1965, Thomas was able to open two more stores in the town -Pizza King and Pizza from the Prop. Within a year, Varti opened a pizza store in a neighborhood town with the same name, DomiNick’s Pizza. Thomas decided to change the name of his first store, DomiNick’s Pizza, and one of his employees suggested the name Domino’s Pizza(Domino’s). The advantage of this name Thomas felt was that it would be listed after DomiNick in the directory. Domino’s philosophy rested on two principles – limited menu and delivering hot and fresh pizzas within half-an-hour. In 1967, it opened the first franchise store in Ypsilanti, and in 1968, a franchise store in Burlington, Vermont. However, the company ran into problems when its headquarters (the first store) and commissary were destroyed by fire. In the early 1970s, the company faced problems again when it was sued by Amstar, the parent company of Domino Sugar for trademark infringement. Thomas started looking for a new name and came up with Red Domino’s and Pizza’s Dispatch. However, there wasn’t any need for it because Domino’s won the lawsuit in 1980.In 1982, Domino’s Pizza established Domino’s Pizza International (DPI) that was made responsible for opening Domino’s stores internationally. The first store was opened in Winnipeg, Canada. Within a year, DPI spread to more than 50 countries and in 1983, it inaugurated its1000th store. Around the same time, new pizza chains like Pizza Hut and Little Caesar established themselves in the USA. Domino’s Pizza faced intense competition because it had not changed its menu of traditional hand-tossed pizza. The other pizza chains offered low-priced breadsticks, salads and other fast food apart from pizzas. Domino’s faced tough competition from Pizza Hut in the home delivery segment also. Little Caesar was eating into Domino’s market share with its innovative marketing strategies. By 1989, Domino’s sales had reduced significantly and cash flows were affected due to the acquisition of assets. In 1993, Thomas took measures to expand Domino’s product line, in an attempt to revive the company and tackle competition. The company introduced pan pizza and bread sticks in the USA. In late 1993, Domino’s introduced the Ultimate Deep Dish Pizza and Crunchy Thin Crust Pizza. In 1994, it rolled out another non-pizza dish – Buffalo wings. Though Domino’s did not experiment with its menu for many years, the company adopted innovative ways in managing a pizza store. Thomas gave about 90% of the franchisee agreements in the USA to people who had worked as drivers with Domino’s. The company gave ownership to qualified people, after they had successfully managed a pizza store for a year and had completed a training course. Domino’s also gave franchises to candidates recommended by existing franchisees. Outside the USA, most of Domino’s stores were franchise-owned. Domino’s was also credited for many innovations in the pizza industry and setting standards for other pizza companies. It has developed dough trays, corrugated pizza boxes, insulated bags for delivering pizzas, and conveyor ovens.
In 1993, Domino’s withdrew the guarantee of delivering pizzas within 30-minutes of order andstarted emphasizing on Total Satisfaction Guarantee (TSG) which read: “If for any reason, you are dissatisfied with your Domino’s Pizza dining experience, we will re-make your pizza or refund your money.” Domino’s entered India in 1996 through a franchise agreement with VamBhartia Corp in Delhi. With the overwhelming success of the first outlet, the company opened another outlet in Delhi. By 2000, Domino’s had outlets in all major cities in India. When
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
Domino’s entered India, the concept of home delivery was still in its nascent stages. It existed only in some major cities and was restricted to delivery by the friendly neighborhood fast food outlets. Eating out at ‘branded’ restaurants was more common. To penetrate the Indian market, Domino’s introduced an integrated home delivery system from a network of company outlets within 30 minutes of the order. Goutham Advani (Advani), Chief of Marketing, Domino’s Pizza India, said, “What really worked its way into the Indian mind set was the promised 30-minute delivery.” Domino’s also offered compensation: Rs.30/- off the price tag if there was a delay in delivery. For the first 4 years in India, Domino’s concentrated on its ‘Delivery’ strategy.
Domino’s Logistics Model
Analysts felt that Domino’s took a cue from McDonald’s supply chain model. However, they opined that the level of complexity in McDonald’s system in India was not as high as that of Domino’s. Commented Bhatia ,”McDonald’s operations are not as spread out as ours. They are in four cities while we are in 16.Centralizing wouldn’t work on such a geographical scale”. The logistics model adopted by Domino’s offered some obvious benefits including lower transportation costs, cheaper procurement and economies of scale. Domino’s had already cut out the duplication in procurement and processing of raw materials across each of the three commissaries. The old model of self-contained commissaries had another disadvantage: adding new outlets did not translate into greater economies of scale. Bhatia planned to extend the model to other parts of the country as well. The commissary was to be located near the largest market in that region. Bhatia said, “Our roll-out began only after we mapped out our procurement strategy.” Based on the agricultural map of India, Domino’s looked McDonald’s had one of the best logistics models in India. To maintain consistency and quality of its products, McDonald’s shipped all the raw materials lettuce, patties et al to a cold storage close to the main market. Based on a daily demand schedule that was prepared a day in advance, the required amount of raw material was transported to individual outlets to get the best product at the lowest cost.
Thus, tomatoes would come from Bhubaneswar, spices from the south, baby corn from Nepal (where it’s 40% cheaper than in India) and vegetables from Sri Lanka. Similarly, Domino’s India planned to extend its operations to Nepal, Sri Lanka and Dhaka. The company planned to establish a commissary in Sri Lanka. Domino’s also identified specialty crops in each region. The commissary in that region was entrusted with the task of processing that specialty crop. For instance, the commissary for the eastern region in Kolkata was responsible for buying tomatoes, processing them and then sending them to all the other commissaries. Similarly, the northern commissary had to deliver pizza bases. This way, Domino’s minimized duplication as well as the dangers of perish ability. Once the new model was formalized, Bhatia planned to use Domino’s 25 refrigerated trucks to transport products for other companies on the same route. For instance, if an operator in Kochi(Kerala) needed to transport specialty cheese, he could use the Domino’s fleet to transport his products. Said Bhatia, “Not too many people have refrigerated trucks in the country. And we can offer them quality service because we will be giving them standards we use for ourselves.” Company sources said that enquiries from clients for such transport facilities had started coming in. Bhatia said he was in the process of selecting a person to head the logistics operation, which would be spun off as a separate profit centre. Bhatia seemed confident that the profit centre had the potential to bring in Rs 10 by 2006. However, he said the profit center would not be allowed to impede the growth of the pizza
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
business, Domino’s core operation. Only those deliveries that did not delay or deroute the truck would be considered
Questions
1. Describe about the Article for Logistics and Operations Management Domino’s Pizza’s Process Technology (20)
Caselet 2
ABC Ltd. is the country’s largest manufacturer of spun yarn with well-established market. ABC Ltd. has good reputation for quality and service. Their marketing department identified that the potential for global market is expanding rapidly and hence the company undertook exercise for expansion of the capacity for export market. The company formed team of Marketing and Materials department to study the global logistics possibilities. After extensive study, the team came up with a report on global logistics and submitted that global logistics is essentially same as domestic due to following similarities: • The conceptual logistics framework of linking supply sources, plants, warehouses and customers is the same. • Both systems involve managing the movement and storage of products. • Information is critical to effective provision of customer service, management of inventory, vendor product and cost control. • The functional processes of inventory management, warehousing, order processing, carrier selection, procurement, and vendor payment are required for both. • Economic and safety regulations exist for transportation. The company had very economical and reliable transportation system in existence. For exports as well they decided to evaluate capabilities of their existing transporter and entrusted them with the job of transport till port. For customs formalities they engaged a good CHA after proper cost evaluation and entered into contract for freight with shipping company agent. The response for company’s export was very good and the company could get as many as 15 customers within first two months and reached to a level of USD 250,000 per month by the end of first half of the year. Based on this response the export volumes were expected to grow to a level of USD 400,000 per month by the end of the year. When the review was made at the end of the year, company found that export volumes had in fact come down to the level of USD 120,000 which was much lower than it had reached in the first half of the year. The managing committee had an emergency meeting to discuss this and the export manager was entrusted with the task of identifying the reasons for this decline. Mr. Ganesh decided to visit the customers for getting the first hand information. When he discussed the matter with the customers, the feedback on the quality and price were good but the customers were very upset on the logistic services due to delayed shipments, frequent changes in shipping schedules, improper documentation, improper identifications, package sizes, losses due to transit damages etc. After coming back, the export manager checked the dispatch schedules and found that production and ex-works schedules were all proper. Then he studied the logistics systems and found that the logistics cost was very high and all the logistics people were demotivated due to the overwork and were complaining of total lack of co-ordination and the system had become totally disorganized.
Questions
1. Explain the problems experienced by ABC Ltd. What is the main cause of these problems? (20)
END OF SECTION B
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. The Advantages & Disadvantages of Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)? (15)
2. Distinguish between just-in-time and just-in-case as stock management systems?(15)
S-2-010619
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
Examination Paper of Management Information Systems
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
SubjectCode-B110
Examination Paper
Management Information Systems
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.A person machine-system and a highly integrated grouping of information-processing functions designed to provide management with a comprehensive picture of specific operation is called (1)
a) DSSB
b) MISC
c) IISD
II. Which one of the following is not an important characteristic of useful and effective information? (1)
a) Accuracy
b) Timelines
c) Completeness
d) Economy
d) All of the above
III. The most important reason for failure of MIS is (1)
a) Use of improper tools for design
b) Noninvolvement of end-user
c) Improper specification
d) None of the above
IV. Top level Managers use (1)
a) Strategic information
b) Tactical information
c) Operational information
d) None of these
V.System is an important factor of MIS. There are various types of systems. Which one of the following is not a system? (1)
a) Physical system
b) Integrated system
c) Open system
d) Open system
VI. Which one of the following is not an approach for development of MIS? (1) a) Hierarchical approach b) Integrative approach c) Modular approach d) Elective approach
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Management Information Systems
IIBM Institute of Business Management
VII. Management is linked to information by (1)
a. Decisions
b. Data
c. Both [A] And [B]
d. None Of The Above
VIII. Which pattern reflects a pure executive form of management?
(1)
a. Functional
b. Line
c. Line and Staff
d. Committee
IX. The term financial engineering is related to (1)
a) Cost of production
b) Financial restructuring
c) Product planning
d) Capital issue
X. The goal of financial management is to (1)
a) Maximize the wealth of preference share holders
b) Maximize the wealth of debenture holders
c) Maximize the wealth of equity share holders
d) All of the above
Part Two:
1. What is purpose of information system from a business perspective? (5)
2. What are Enterprise System? How do they benefit businesses? (5)
3. Differentiate DSS from MIS. (5)
4. What do you mean by Data visualizations? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Management Information System
Caselet -1
A waiter takes an order at a table, and then enters it online via one of the six terminals located in the restaurant dining room. The order is routed to a printer in the appropriate preparation area: the cold item printer if it is a salad, the hot-item printer if it is a hot sandwich or the bar printer if it is a drink. A customer’s meal check-listing (bill) the items ordered and the respective prices are automatically generated. This ordering system eliminates the old three-carbon-copy guest check system as well as any problems caused by a waiter’s handwriting. When the kitchen runs out of a food item, the cooks send out an ‘out of stock’ message, which will be displayed on the dining room terminals when waiters try to order that item. This gives the waiters faster feedback, enabling them to give better service to the customers. Other system features aid management in the planning and control of their restaurant business. The system provides up-to-the-minute information on the food items ordered and breaks out percentages showing sales of each item versus total sales. This helps management plan menus according to customers’ tastes. The system also compares the weekly sales totals versus food costs, allowing planning for tighter cost controls. In addition, whenever an order is voided, the reasons for the void are keyed in. This may help later in management decisions, especially if the voids consistently related to food or service. Acceptance of the system by the users is exceptionally high since the waiters and waitresses were involved in the selection and design process. All potential users were asked to give their impressions and ideas about the various systems available before one was chosen.
Questions
1. What would make the system a more complete MIS rather than just doing transaction processing? (10)
2. Explain the probable effects that making the system more formal would have on the customers and the management? (10)
Caselet 2
The Company is considered to be a leader in the design and production of industrial and commercial air-conditioning equipment. While most of the products were standard items, a considerable number involving large sales volume were specially designed for installation in big office buildings and factories. Besides being an innovator in product design and having an exceptionally good customer service department, the company is well known for its high-quality products and its ability to satisfy the customer requirements promptly.
Because of its rapid growth, the company had to be careful with its cash requirements, especially for accounts receivable and for inventories. For many years, the company had kept inventories under close control at a level equal to 1.7 times the monthly sales, or a turnover of nearly 6 times per year. But, all of a sudden, inventories soared to triple monthly sales, and the company found itself with Rs.30 crores of inventories above a normal level. Calculating a cost of carrying inventory at 30 percent of the value of
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Management Information System
inventories (including the cost of money, storage and handling, and obsolescence), it was estimated that this excess inventory was costing the company Rs.9 crores per year in profits before taxes. In addition, it forced the to call on its bank for more loans than had company been expected.
Mr. Dcepak Mehra, president of Connair, was understandably worried and incensed when this matter came to his attention. He was told that the primary reasons for this rise in inventory were excessive buying of raw materials in advance because of anticipated shortages and the failure of a new computer software, with the result the people in the production and purchasing departments were not having complete information as to what was happening to inventory for several months.
Mr. Mehra, taking the stand that no company should let something like this surplus inventory occur without advance notice and that no manager can be expected to control a business on the basis of history, instructed his vice-president for finance to come up with a program to get better control of inventories in the future.
Questions for Discussion:
1. What do you find wrong with Connair’s controls? (10)
2. Are there any other techniques or approaches to control that you would suggest? (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. List and describe the information systems serving each of the major functional areas of business? (15)
2. What are the characteristics of MIS? How MIS do differs from TPS? (15)
S-2-010619
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IIBM MBA EXAM ANSWER SHEET

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IIBM MBA EXAM ANSWER SHEET

Examination Paper of Strategic Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
SubjectCode-B108 Examination Paper
Strategic Management
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I. Horizontal integration is concerned with
(1)
a) Production
b) Quality
c) Product planning
d) All of the above
II. It refers to formal and informal rules, regulations and procedures that complement the company structure (1)
a) Strategy
b) Systems
c) Environment
d) All of the above
III. Strategic management is mainly the responsibility of (1)
a. Lower management
b. Middle management
c. Top management
d. All of the above
IV. Formal systems are adopted to bring ________ & amalgamation of decentralized units into product groups.
(1)
a. Manpower
b. Co-ordination
c. Production
d. All of the above
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IV.Like roots of a tree, ________of organization is hidden from direct view. (1)
a. Performance
b. Strategy
c. Core competence
d. All of the above
V. The actual performance deviates positively over the budgeted performance. This is an indication of ……….. Performance. (1) a. Superior b. Inferior c. Constant d. Any of the above
VI. Criteria for making an evaluation is (are)
(1)
a. Consistency with goals
b. Consistency with environment
c. Money
d. All of the above
VII. Changes in company ………. also necessitates changes in the systems in various degrees (1)
a. structure
b. system
c. strategy
d. turnover
VIII. Micro environment is the ………. environment of a company. (1)
a. Working
b. Human
c. External
d. Internal
X Techniques used in environmental appraisal are (1)
a.Single-variable
extrapolation/multivariable
interaction analysis
b.Structured/ unstructured
expert/inexpert opinion
c.Dynamic modes and mapping
d.All of the above
Part Two:
1. Distinguish between a strategy and tactics. (5)
2. Give an outline of relation between ‘Strategy and Customer’ in brief? (5)
3. Explain in brief the concept of strategic thinking? (5)
4. What are the basic elements of planning? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Caselet 1
Apple’s profitable but risky strategy
When Apple’s Chief Executive – Steven Jobs – launched the Apple iPod in 2001 and the iPhone in 2007, he made a significant shift in the company’s strategy from the relatively safe market of innovative, premium-priced computers into the highly competitive markets of consumer electronics. This case explores this profitable but risky strategy.
Early beginnings
To understand any company’s strategy, it is helpful to begin by looking back at its roots. Founded in 1976, Apple built its early reputation on innovative personal computers that were particularly easy for customers to use and as a result was priced higher than those of competitors. The inspiration for this strategy came from a visit by the founders of the company – Steven Jobs and Steven Wozniack – to the Palo Alto research laboratories of the Xerox Company in 1979. They observed that Xerox had developed an early version of a computer interface screen with the drop-down menus that are widely used today on all personal computers. Most computers in the late 1970s still used complicated technical interfaces for even simple tasks like typing – still called ‘word-processing’ at the time.
Jobs and Wozniack took the concept back to Apple and developed their own computer – the Apple Macintosh (Mac) – that used this consumer-friendly interface. The Macintosh was launched in 1984. However, Apple did not sell to, or share the software with, rival companies. Over the next few years, this non-co-operation strategy turned out to be a major weakness for Apple.
Battle with Microsoft
Although the Mac had some initial success, its software was threatened by the introduction of Windows 1.0 from the rival company Microsoft, whose chief executive was the well-known Bill Gates. Microsoft’s strategy was to make this software widely available to other computer manufacturers for a license fee – quite unlike Apple. A legal dispute arose between Apple and Microsoft because Windows had many on-screen similarities to the Apple product. Eventually, Microsoft signed an agreement with Apple saying that it would not use Mac technology in Windows 1.0. Microsoft retained the right to develop its own interface software similar to the original Xerox concept.
Coupled with Microsoft’s willingness to distribute Windows freely to computer manufacturers, the legal agreement allowed Microsoft to develop alternative technology that had the same on-screen result. The result is history. By 1990, Microsoft had developed and distributed a version of Windows that would run on virtually all IBM-compatible personal computers – see Case 1.2. Apple’s strategy of keeping its software exclusive was a major strategic mistake. The company was determined to avoid the same error when it
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
came to the launch of the iPod and, in a more subtle way, with the later introduction of the iPhone.
Apple’s innovative products
Unlike Microsoft with its focus on a software-only strategy, Apple remained a full-line computer manufacturer from that time, supplying both the hardware and the software. Apple continued to develop various innovative computers and related products. Early successes included the Mac2 and PowerBooks along with the world’s first desktop publishing program – PageMaker. This latter remains today the leading program of its kind. It is widely used around the world in publishing and fashion houses. It remains exclusive to Apple and means that the company has a specialist market where it has real competitive advantage and can charge higher prices.
Not all Apple’s new products were successful – the Newton personal digital assistant did not sell well. Apple’s high price policy for its products and difficulties in manufacturing also meant that innovative products like the iBook had trouble competing in the personal computer market place.
Apple’s move into consumer electronics
Around the year 2000, Apple identified a new strategic management opportunity to exploit the growing worldwide market in personal electronic devices – CD players, MP3 music players, digital cameras, etc. It would launch its own Apple versions of these products to add high-value, user-friendly software. Resulting products included iMovie for digital cameras and I DVD for DVD-players. But the product that really took off was the iPod – the personal music player that stored hundreds of CDs. And unlike the launch of its first personal computer, Apple sought industry co-operation rather than keeping the product to itself.
Launched in late 2001, the iPod was followed by the iTunes Music Store in 2003 in the USA and 2004 in Europe – the Music Store being a most important and innovatory development. iTune was essentially an agreement with the world’s five leading record companies to allow legal downloading of music tracks using the internet for 99 cents each. This was a major coup for Apple – it had persuaded the record companies to adopt a different approach to the problem of music piracy. At the time, this revolutionary agreement was unique to Apple and was due to the negotiating skills of Steve Jobs, the Apple Chief Executive, and his network of contacts in the industry. Apple’s new strategy was beginning to pay off. The iPod was the biggest single sales contributor in the Apple portfolio of products.
In 2007, Apple followed up the launch of the iPod with the iPhone, a mobile telephone that had the same user-friendly design characteristics as its music machine. To make the iPhone widely available and, at the same time, to keep control, Apple entered into an exclusive contract with only one national mobile telephone carrier in each major country – for example, AT&T in the USA and O2 in the UK. Its mobile phone was premium priced – for
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
example, US$599 in North America. However, in order to hit its volume targets, Apple later reduced its phone prices, though they still remained at the high end of the market. This was consistent with Apple’s long-term, high-price, high-quality strategy. But the company was moving into the massive and still-expanding global mobile telephone market where competition had been fierce for many years.
And the leader in mobile telephones – Finland’s Nokia – was about to hit back at Apple, though with mixed results. But other companies, notably the Korean company Samsung and the Taiwanese company, HTC, were to have more success later.
So, why was the Apple strategy risky?
By 2007, Apple’s music player – the iPod – was the premium-priced, stylish market leader with around 60 per cent of world sales and the largest single contributor to Apple’s turnover. Its iTune download software had been re-developed to allow it to work with all Windows-compatible computers (about 90 percent of all PCs) and it had around 75 percent of the world music download market, the market being worth around US$1000 million per annum. Although this was only some 6 percent of the total recorded music market, it was growing fast. The rest of the market consisted of sales of CDs and DVDs direct from the leading recording companies.
In 2007, Apple’s mobile telephone – the iPhone – had only just been launched. The sales objective was to sell 10 million phones in the first year: this needed to be compared with the annual mobile sales of the global market leader, Nokia, of around 350 million handsets. However, Apple had achieved what some commentators regarded as a significant technical breakthrough: the touch screen. This made the iPhone different in that its screen was no longer limited by the fixed buttons and small screens that applied to competitive handsets. As readers will be aware, the iPhone went on to beat these earlier sales estimates and was followed by a new design, the iPhone 4 in 2010.
The world market leader responded by launching its own phones with touch screens. In addition, Nokia also launched a complete download music service. Referring to the new download service, Rob Wells, senior Vice President for digital music at Universal commented: ‘This is a giant leap toward where we believe the industry will end up in three or four years’ time, where the consumer will have access to the celestial jukebox through any number of devices.’ Equally, an industry commentator explained: ‘[For Nokia] it could be short-term pain for long-term gain. It will steal some of the thunder from the iPhone and tie users into the Nokia service.’ Readers will read this comment with some amazement given the subsequent history of Nokia’s smart phones that is described in Case 9.2.
‘Nokia is going to be an internet company. It is definitely a mobile company and it is making good progress to becoming an internet company as well,’ explained Olli PekkaKollasvuo, Chief Executive of Nokia. There also were hints from commentators that Nokia was likely to make a loss on its new download music service. But the company was determined to ensure that Apple was given real competition in this new and unpredictable market.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Here lay the strategic risk for Apple. Apart from the classy, iconic styles of the iPod and the iPhone, there is nothing that rivals cannot match over time. By 2007, all the major consumer electronics companies – like Sony, Philips and Panasonic – and the mobile phone manufacturers – like Nokia, Samsung and Motorola – were catching up fast with new launches that were just as stylish, cheaper and with more capacity. In addition, Apple’s competitors were reaching agreements with the record companies to provide legal downloads of music from websites.
Apple’s competitive reaction
As a short term measure, Apple hit back by negotiating supply contracts for flash memory for its iPod that were cheaper than its rivals. Moreover, it launched a new model, the iPhone 4 that made further technology advances. Apple was still the market leader and was able to demonstrate major increases in sales and profits from the development of the iPod and iTunes. To follow up this development, Apple launched the Apple Tablet in 2010 – again an element of risk because no one really knew how well such a product would be received or what its function really was. The second generation Apple tablet was then launched in 2011 after the success of the initial model. But there was no denying that the first Apple tablet carried some initial risks for the company.
All during this period, Apple’s strategic difficulty was that other powerful companies had also recognized the importance of innovation and flexibility in the response to the new markets that Apple itself had developed. For example, Nokia itself was arguing that the markets for mobile telephones and recorded music would converge over the next five years. Nokia’s Chief Executive explained that much greater strategic flexibility was needed as a result: ‘Five or ten years ago, you would set your strategy and then start following it. That does not work anymore. Now you have to be alert every day, week and month to renew your strategy.’
If the Nokia view was correct, then the problem for Apple was that it could find its market-leading position in recorded music being overtaken by a more flexible rival – perhaps leading to a repeat of the Apple failure 20 years earlier to win against Microsoft. But at the time of updating this case, that looked unlikely. Apple had at last found the best, if risky, strategy.
Questions
1. using the concepts in this chapter undertake a competitive analysis of both Apple and Nokia – who is stronger? (10)
2. What are the problems with predicting how the market and the competition will change over the next few years? What are the implications for strategy development? (10)
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Caselet 2
Mr. Ashwin is the marketing manager of the cosmetics. division of the Medwin Drug Company. The company was well known as a leader in new proprietary drug and toiletry products and had a good record of profitability. The cosmetics division had been especially successful in women’s toiletries and .1/4.-o..,unctitk.:s and in the introduction of new products, It always based its new-product development on market research respect to what Would appeal to women and, after almost invariably test marketing a new product in a few almost invarariably test marketing a new product in selected cities, launched it with a heavy advertising and sales promotion program. It had hoped in this way not only to get a large initial share of the markets but also to become so well entrenched that competitors. who soon copy a successful product would not dislodge it from its market share.
After being cautioned by the president of Medwin Drug about the necessity for watching costs more carefully, the division manager became increasingly concerned with two opposing factors in his marketing strategy: ( 1) test marketing of new products (offering them for sale first in a few test cities with area advertising and sales programs) tended increasingly to give competitors advance information on new products, and certain competitors had been able to copy a product almost as soon as Medwin could offer it nationally and profited thereby from Medwin’s advertising; and (2) national advertising and sales promotion expenses were rising so fast that a single major product failure would have an important impact on division profits, on which his annual bonus was primarily determined. On the one hand, he recognized the wisdom of test marketing, but he disliked the costs and dangers involved. On the other hand, he hardly wished to take an unknown risk of embarking on a national program until a test showed that the product did in fact have a good market demand. Yet, he wondered whether all products should be test marketed.
Mr. Ashwin was asked to put this problem to his marketing department subordinates and ask them what should be done. To give the strategy some meaning, he used as a case at point the company’s new hair conditioner which had been developed on the basis of promising, although preliminary, market research. He asked his sales manager whether he thought the product would succeed and what he thought his “best estimate” of sales would be. He also asked his advertising manager to give some cost estimates on launching the product.
Mr. Kiran, division sales manager, thought a while, then said he was convinced that the product was a winner and that his best estimate would be sales of Rs. 5 crores per year for at least five years. Mr. Desai, the advertising manager, said that the company could launch the product for a cost of Rs. 1 crore the first year and some Rs. 25 lakhs per year thereafter. He also pointed out that the test-marketing program would cost Rs. 15 lakhs, of which half would be saved if these test cities were merely a part of a national program, and that the testing program would delay the national program for six months. But he warned Mr. Ashwin that test marketing would save the gamble of so much money on the national promotion program. At this point, Mr. Sachdev, the new marketing research manager, suggested that the group might come to a better decision if they used a proper decision-making technique.
Question:
1. Which decision-making technique can be used in this situation? Why? (20)
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What are the main characteristics of strategic decisions? (15)
2. What specific entrepreneurial aspects include the strategy formation process? (15)
S-2-010619
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B

MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS IIBM MBA ONGOING EXAM ANSWER SHEET

MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS IIBM MBA ONGOING EXAM ANSWER SHEET
MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS IIBM MBA ONGOING EXAM ANSWER SHEET
MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS IIBM MBA ONGOING EXAM ANSWER SHEET

Managerial Economics
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.Demand is determined by
(1)
a) Price of the product
b) Relative prices of other goods
c) Tastes and habits
d) All of the above
II. When a firm’s average revenue is equal
to its average cost, it gets (1)
a) Super profit
b) Normal profit
c) Sub normal profit
d) None of the above
III. Managerial economics generally refers to
the integration of economic theory with business
(1)
a) Ethics
b) Management
c) Practice
d) All of the above
IV. Which of the following was not
immediate cause of 1991 economic
crisis (1)
a) Rapid growth of population
b) Severe inflation
c) Expanding Fiscal deficit
d) Rising current account deficit
V.Money functions refers to : (1)

a) Store of value
b) Medium of Exchange
c) Standard of deferred payments
d) All of the above
VI. Given the price, if the cost of production
increases because of higher price of
raw materials, the supply
(1)
a) Decreases
b) Increases
c) Remains same
d) Any of the above
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
IIBM Institute of Business Management
VII. Total Utility is maximum when
(1)
a. Marginal Utility is maximum
b. Marginal Utility is Zero
c. Both of the above
d. None Of The Above
VIII. Cardinal approach is related
to (1)

a. Equimarginal Curve
b. Law of diminishing returns
c. Indifference Curve
d. All of the above
IX. Marginal Utility curve of a consumer is also
his (1)

a) Supply Curve
b) Demand Curve
c) Both of above
d) None of above
X. Government of India has replaced
FERA by (1)

a) The competition Act
b) FRBMA
c) MRTP Act
d) FEMA
Part Two:
1. What is Managerial Economics? What is its relevance to Engineers/Managers?
(5)
2. “Managerial Economics is economics that is applied in decision making”
Explain? (5)
3. Differentiate b/w, Micro economics vs. macroeconomics? (5)
4. Factors Affecting Price Elasticity of Demand? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management

Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
Caselet1
Dabur is among the top five FMCG companies in India and is positioned successfully on the
specialist herbal platform. Dabur has proven its expertise in the fields of health care, personal care,
home care and foods. The company was founded by Dr. S. K. Burman in 1884 as small pharmacy in
Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. And is now led by his great grandson Vivek C. Burman, who is the
Chairman of Dabur India Limited and the senior most representative of the Burman family in the
company. The company headquarter is in Ghaziabad, India, near the Indian capital New Delhi,
where it is registered. The company has over 12 manufacturing units in India and abroad. The
international facilities are located in Nepal, Dubai, Bangladesh, Egypt and Nigeria. S.K. Burman, the
founder of Dabur, was trained as a physician. His mission was to provide effective and affordable
cure for ordinary people in far-flung villages. Soon, he started preparing natural remedies based on
Ayurveda for diseases such as Cholera, Plague and Malaria. Due to his cheap and effective remedies,
he became to be known as ‘Daktar’ (Indian izedversion of ‘doctor’). And that is how his venture
Dabur got its name—derived from Daktar Burman. The company faces stiff competition from many
multinational and domestic companies. In the Branded and Packaged Food and Beverages segment
major companies that are active include Hindustan Lever, Nestle, Cadbury and Dabur. In case of
Ayurvedic medicines and products, the major competitors are Baidyanath, Vicco, Jhandu, Himani
and other pharmaceutical companies.
Vision statement of Dabur says that the company is “dedicated to the health and wellbeing of every
household”. The objective is to “significantly accelerate profitable growth by providing comfort to
others”. For achieving this objective Dabur aims to:
 Focus on growing core brands across categories, reaching out to new geographies, within
and outside India, and improve operational efficiencies by leveraging technology.
 Be the preferred company to meet the health and personal grooming needs of target
consumers with safe, efficacious, natural solutions by synthesizing deep knowledge of
Ayurveda and herbs with modern science.
 Be a professionally managed employer of choice, attracting, developing and retaining
quality personnel.
 Be responsible citizen with a commitment to environmental protection.
 Provide superior returns, relative to our peer group, to our shareholders.
Chairman of the company
Vivek C. Burman joined Dabur in 1954 after completing his graduation in Business Administration
from the USA. In 1986 he was appointed as the Managing Director of Dabur and in 1998 he took
over as Chairman of the Company.
IIBM Institute of Business Management

Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
Under Vivek Burman’s leadership, Dabur has grown and evolved as a multi-crore business house
with a diverse product portfolio and a marketing network that traverses the whole of India and
more than 50 countries across the world. As a strong and positive leader, Vivek C. Burman had
motivated employees of Dabur to “do better than their best”—a credo that gives Dabur its status as
India’s most trusted nature-based products company.
Leading brands
More than 300 diverse products in the FMCG, Healthcare and Ayurveda segments are in the product
line of Dabur. List of products of the company include very successful brands like Vatika, Anmol,
Hajmola, Dabur Amla Chyawanprash, Dabur Honey and Lal Dant Manjan with turnover of Rs.100
crores each.
Strategic positioning of Dabur Honey as food product, lead to market leadership with over 40%
market share in branded honey market; Dabur Chyawanprash is the largest selling Ayurvedic
medicine with over 65% market share. Dabur is a leader in herbal digestives with 90% market
share. Hajmola tablets are in command with 75% market share of digestive tablets category. Dabur
Lal Tail tops baby massage oil market with 35% of total share.
CHD (Consumer Health Division), dealing with classical Ayurvedic medicines, has more than 250
products sold through prescription as well as over the counter. Proprietary Ayurvedic medicines
developed by Dabur include Nature Care Isabgol, Madhuvaani and Trifgol.
However, some of the subsidiary units of Dabur have proved to be low margin business; like Dabur
Finance Limited. The international units are also operating on low profit margin. The company also
produces several “me – too” products. At the same time the company is very popular in the rural
segment.
Questions
1. What is the objective of Dabur? Is it profit maximisation of growth maximisation? (10)
2. Do you think the growth of Dabur from a small pharmacy to a large multinational company is an
indicator of the advantages of joint stock company against the proprietorship form? Elaborate.
(10)
Caselet2

The Regina Company„ one of the largest inakets of vacuum cleaners recent’) had scv cfc ptollkins
with the quality of its products. The market responsc to this 1ak of quality caused financial
problems for Ow company. in late 1995. Regina began having return rates as high as 30 to 50
percent on some of its Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus models. These models were sold
primarily through discount stores. Further, Regina’s Spectrum vacuum cleaner, an upgraded
version sold in specialty stores, was introduced in 1995 with many quality problems. ef The specific
problems identified for the Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus models were associated with faulty
belts and weak suction. In the Spectrum model, the agitator was melting; and making a loud noise,
the foot pedals were breaking, and the steel-encased motor (which had been advertised as the
IIBM Institute of Business Management

Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
power source for the vacuum cleaner) had been replaced with a less desirable. less reliable motor.
As a result of these problems, Target stores discontinued Regina’s Housekeeper Plus model after
reporting that “at least half of those sold were returned.” At Starmart, which accounts for about a
quarter of the Housekeeper sales, I. out of every 5 machines sold was returned. To help service
customer complaints, Regina set up an 800 telephone number for customers to contact the firm.
directly. The sales returns caused Regina’s shareholders to question the 1995 fiscal earnings report.
Furthermore, both inventories and accounts receivable doubled during the 1995 fiscal year. At the
end of that period, Regina’s chairman and 40 percent stockholders
Resigned. The chairman’s resignation was closely followed by a company announcement stating
that the financial results reported for the 1995 fiscal year were materially incorrect and had been
withdrawn. This announcement brought a suit from shareholders who had bought Reoina stock on
the basis of the 1995 camings report. It also prompted an audit of the 1995 results and a request to
another accounting organization to work on Regina’s business and accounting controls. A few
months later, Regina ‘agreed to be acquired by a unit of Magnum, a vacuum cleaner and Waterpurification Company. Under Magnum, Regina shut down production while engineers worked to
solve the problems inherent in the Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus vacuums, particularly the
suction difficulties. In September 1998, Magnum and Regina decided to separate the two companies
again. Since then, Regina has been regaining market share with its Housekeeper models. The
‘vacuums are popular because they carry on-board tools.
Questions:
1. What type of controls would you have established to preclude the major returns
experienced by Regina? (10)
2. How would you have controlled the finished-goods -inventory to avoid its growing to twice
the size that it was in the previous year. (10)

Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What is the importance of demand analysis in business decision? (15)
2. Explain individual demand function and market demand function

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IIBM MBA ONGOING EXAM ANSWER SHEET

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IIBM MBA ONGOING EXAM ANSWER SHEET
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IIBM MBA ONGOING EXAM ANSWER SHEET
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IIBM MBA ONGOING EXAM ANSWER SHEET
Human Resource Management
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.The following is (are) concerned with
developing a pool of candidates in line with the
human resources plan (1)

a) Development
b) Training
c) Recruitment
d) All of the above
II. The following is (are) the key
components of a business process Reengineering program? (1)
a) Product development
b) Service delivery
c) Customer satisfaction
d) All of the above
III. The actual achievements compared with
the objectives of the job is (1)
a) Job performance
b) Job evaluation
c) Job description
d) None of the above
IV. Performance development plan is set
for the employee by his immediate
boss. (1)
a) Employer
b) Department Head
c) Immediate boss
d) Any of the above
V.The following type of recruitment process is
said to be a costly affair. (1)

a) Internal recruitment
b) External recruitment
c) Cost remains same for both
types
VI. The following is (are) the objective(s)
of inspection. (1)
a) Quality product
b) Defect free products
c) Customer satisfaction
d) All of the above
Examination Paper of Human Resource Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
VII. Which of the following is an assumption
of rationality to rationale decision
making? (1)
a. Preferences are clear
b. Final choice will maximize
payoff
c. The problem is clear and
unambiguous
d. All of the above
VIII. ___________ is accepting solutions that
are “good enough”. (1)

a. Bounded rationality
b. Satisficing
c. Escalation of commitment
d. None of the above
IX. The three important components in aligning
business strategy with HR practice: (1)

a) Business Strategy, Human
Resource Practices,
Organizational Capabilities
b) Marketing Strategy, Human
Resource Practices,
Organizational Capabilities
c) Business Strategy, Human
Resource Practices,
Organizational structure
X. The basic managerial skill(s) is(are) (1)
a) To supervise
b) To stimulate
c) To motivate
d) All of the above

d) Marketing Strategy, Human Resource
Practices, Organizational structure
Part Two:
1. What is the nature of Human Resource Management? (5)

2. What is Human Resource Development (HRD) (5)

3. Discuss the future trends and challenges of HRM? (5)
4. What is manpower planning? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
Examination Paper of Human Resource Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management

Caselet 1
Sanjay Nagpal is a new recruit from a reputed management institute. He is recruited as a
sales trainee in a sales office of a large computer hardware firm located in Chennai.
Raghvan is the zonal sales manager responsible for overseeing the work of sales officer, field
executives and trainee salesmen numbering over 50 of three areas namely Chennai,
Bangalore, and Trivandrum.
The sales growth of the products in his area was highly satisfactory owing to the
developmental initiatives taken by respective State Governments in spreading computer
education.
Raghvan had collected several sales reports, catalogues and pamphlets detailing the types of
office equipment sold by the company for Sanjay’s reference.
After short chat with Sanjay, Raghvan assisted him to his assigned desk and provided
him with the material collected. Thereafter Raghvan excused himself and did not return.
Meanwhile, Sanjay scanned through the material given to him till 5:00pmbefore leaving
office.
Questions
1. What do you think about Raghavan’s training program? (10)
2. What method of training would have been best under the circumstances? Would you
consider OJT, simulation or experiential methods? (10)
Caselet 2
Preeti was promoted three months ago from reservations supervisor to front-desk manager for
Regency Hotel, an independent, 330-room hostelry. She enjoys her new management
responsibilities and is pleased that the occupancy rate averaged 94 percent last month, way
above the industry average. But at times she feels stressed by the confusion of managing all
front-end operations of the hotel, from reservations and cashiering to the bell desk and
concierge. She feels most at home handling the reservation function, a task she always enjoyed
as a trainee because she likes to help people. About once a week the staff in the reservation
function overbooks rooms, usually because of incomplete scans of conference sales files.
Customers with reservations w,0110 arrive late are upset when they have to be referred 1,
nearby hotels. Whenever overbooking occurs, Ms. eti takes over direct control of the
reservations operation herself, often personally handling reservations for two or three days
until order seems to return.
But sometimes while Ms. Preeti is off focusing on the reservations task, other problems arise.
On five days last month, clerks at the reception desk checked in every “walk-in” who appeared
without reservations. They assumed there would be ample no-shows among those holding
reservations. On one occasion, Regency ended up oversold by 24 rooms. Mr. Alex, the hotel
general manager, is concerned about Ms. Preeti’s development into her new management
position. He knows Ms. Preeti is proud of the high occupancy levels (which mean greater
profits) and doesn’t want to destroy that pride. However, he sees her as more interested in
Examination Paper of Human Resource Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management

 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B
individual staff tasks (such as making reservations) than in the complexities of managing,
training, and motivating her staff. He has talked with Ms. Preeti about balancing her activities
as a manager. Alex emphasized that she needs to make sure her staff knows the systems and
guidelines and be firm with employees who continue to check in guests when the hotel
obviously will be overbooked. He plans to meet with her in a three-month performance review
to see if he can shift her motivational expectations about the job.
Question:
1. Do Ms. Preeti’s problems seem to be the result of her lack of motivational immaturity or
of her lack of motivational attention to her people? (20)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What are the future challenges before managers? (15)
2. What is the process of HRP? (15)

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT IIBM MBA ONGOING EXAM ANSWER SHEET

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT IIBM MBA ONGOING EXAM ANSWER SHEET
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT IIBM MBA ONGOING EXAM ANSWER SHEET
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT IIBM MBA ONGOING EXAM ANSWER SHEET

Examination Paper of Financial Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management

IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B-103
Examination Paper
Financial Management
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.Investment is the… (1)

a) Net additions made to the nation’s
capital stocks
b) Person’s commitment to buy a flat
or house
c) Employment of funds on assets to
earn returns
d) Employment of funds on goods and
services that are used in production
process
II. Financial Management is mainly
concerned with… (1)
a) All aspects of acquiring and utilizing
financial resources for firms activities
b) Arrangement of funds
c) Efficient Management of every business
d) Profit maximization
III. The Primary goal of the financial
management is….. (1)
a. To maximize the return
b. To minimize the risk
c. To maximize the wealth of
owners
d. To maximize profit
IV. In his traditional role the finance
Manager is responsible for (1)

a. Proper utilization of funds
b. Arrangement of financial
resources
c. Acquiring capital assets of the
organization
d. Efficient management of capital
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Financial Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
V.Market Value of the shares are decided by
(1)
a. The respective companies
b. The investment market
c. The government
d. Shareholders
VI. The only feasible purpose of financial
management is (1)
a. Wealth maximization
b. Sales maximization
c. Profit maximization
d. Assets maximization
VII. Financial management process deals
with (1)
a. Investments
b. Financing decisions
c. Both a and b
d. None of the above
VIII. Agency cost consists of
(1)
a. Binding
b. Monitoring
c. Opportunity and structure
cost
d. All of the above
IX. Finance Function comprises
(1)
a. Safe custody of funds only
b. Expenditure of funds only
c. Procurement of finance only
d. Procurement & effective use
of funds
X.Financial management mainly focuses
on (1)

a. Efficient management of
every business
b. Brand dimension
c. Arrangement of funds
d. All elements of acquiring
and using means of financial
resources for financial
activities

Part Two:
1. What Is The Financial Management Reform? (5)

2. Why Was The FMR Introduced? (5)
3. What Changes Will The FMR Introduce? (5)
4. What Is Financial Management Information System (FMIS)? (5)
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper of Financial Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management

Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
Caselet 1
Your employer, a mid-sized human resources management company, is considering
expansion into related fields, including the acquisition of Temp Force Company, an
employment agency that supplies word processor operators and computer programmers to
businesses with temporary heavy workloads. Your employer is also considering the
purchase of a bigger staff & McDonald (B&M), a privately held company owned by two
friends, each with 5 million shares of stock. B&M currently has free cash flow of $24 million,
which is expected to grow at a constant rate of 5%. B&M’s financial statements report
marketable securities of $100 million, debt of $200 million, and preferred stock of $50
million. B&M’s weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is 11%. Answer the following
questions
Questions
1. Describe briefly the legal rights and privileges of common stockholders. (20)
Caselet 2
Casino is a large electrical construction company having a turnover of Rs.100 crores per
annum. Since a few years the company has not been doing well in terms of profits. In order to
find out the reason, a group of independent auditors were deployed to examine the operations
of the company. The item they felt that needed closer attention was the budget control of new
construction work. The audit showed that most electrical designs for new construction were
carried out at the headquarters of the company by a project manager. In preparing a budget for
a new project, he checked the expenses for similar jobs in the past, then simply multiplied them
by various factors. The auditors found that during the past two years, most budgets were
greatly overestimated. Incidentally, it was about two years ago that the project manager was
given the primary responsibility for budgeting. In this role, he would submit his budget to the
Expenditure Control Committee, consisting of higher-level managers who had only a limited
interest in budgeting. It was to this committee that the project manager submitted requests for
additional money whenever needed. Most of the requests were approved.
The chief auditor felt that the project team tended to “expand” the time needed to complete
the task whenever the members thought the budget made it possible. In other words, they
“adjusted” their productivity to match the money allocated to the project.
The auditors noted that other contractors could do similar jobs for 20% less money.
They concluded that a new control procedure was needed.
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
Examination Paper of Financial Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management

Questions
1. What do you think of the budgeting process? (10)
2. What kind of control procedure should the auditors recommend? (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. Differentiate Between the Financial Management and Financial Accounting? (15)
2. Explain Briefly The Limitations of Financial Ratios? (15)

S-2-010619
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B

FINANCIAL SERVICES IIBM MBA ONGOING EXAM ANSWER SHEET

FINANCIAL SERVICES IIBM MBA ONGOING EXAM ANSWER SHEET
FINANCIAL SERVICES IIBM MBA ONGOING EXAM ANSWER SHEET
FINANCIAL SERVICES IIBM MBA ONGOING EXAM ANSWER SHEET

Financial Services
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 Marks)
 This section consists of Multiple Choice & Short Note type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part One carries 1 mark each & Part Two carries 5 marks each.
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. NBFS stands for ___________
2. ALCO is a decision making unit responsible for balance sheet planning from risk return
perspective. (T/F)
3. A contract of „Indemnity‟ is one whereby:
a. A person tries to use the other‟s property
b. A person promises to save the other‟s property from loss caused.
c. A person tries to trick the property of other for some other person.
d. None
4. The transaction between the lessor and the lessee being a demand sale is called__________
a. First sale
b. Second sale
c. Third sale
d. Fourth sale
5. Which of the following is comes under mutual funds?
Open-end funds
Closed-end funds
Both (a) & (b)
None
6. Concept of leasing involves:
a. Lessor
b. Lessee
c. None
d. All
7. CRISIL stands for____________
8. ____________are issued by the government for period ranging from 14 days to 364 days
through regular auctions.
a. Treasury Bills
b. Commercial Papers
Examination Paper of Banking & Financial Services Management
6
IIBM Institute of Business Management
c. Call Money Market
d. None
9. The practice of discounting accommodation bills is known as _____________
10. HUDCO stands for _____________
Part Two:
1. Explain about SEBI guidelines to merchant bankers.
2. List the different types of Factoring.
3. Write a short note on venture capital in India.
4. Write a short note on Depositories.
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each caselet carries 20 marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
Caselet 1
Sunlight Industries Ltd manages its accounts receivables internally by its sales and credit
department. The cost of sales ledger administration stands at Rs 9 crore annually. It supplies
chemicals to heavy industries. These chemicals are used as raw material for further use of are
directly sold to industrial units for consumption. There is good demand for both the types of uses.
For the direct consumers, the company has a credit policy of 2/10, net 30. Past experience of the
company has been that on average 40 per cent of the customers avail of the discount while the
balance of the receivables are collected on average 75 days after the invoice date. Sunlight Industries
also has small dealer networks that sell the chemicals. Bad debts of the company are currently 1.5
per cent of total sales.
Sunlight Industries finances its investment in debtors through a mix of bank credit and own longterm funds in the ratio of 60:40. The current cost of bank credit and long-term funds are 12 per cent
and 15 per cent respectively.
There has been a consistent rise in the sales of the company due to its proactive measures in cost
reduction and maintaining good relations with dealers and customers. The projected sales for the
next year are Rs 800 crore, up 15 per cent from last year. Gross profiles have been maintained at a
healthy 22 per cent over the years and are expected to continue in future.
With escalating cost associated with the in-house management of debtors coupled with the need
to unburden the management with the task so as to focus on sales promotion, the CEO of Sunlight
Industries is examining the possibility of outsourcing its factoring service for managing its
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper of Banking & Financial Services Management
7
IIBM Institute of Business Management
receivables. He assigns the responsibility of Anita Guha, the CFO of Sunlight. Two proposals, the
details of which are given below, are available for Anita‟s consideration.
Proposal from Canbank Factors Ltd: The main elements of the proposal are: (i) Guaranteed
payment within 30 days (i) Advance, 88 per cent and 84 per cent for the resource and non-recourse
arrangements respectively (iii) discount charge in advance, 21 per cent for with resource and 22 per
cent without resource (iv) Commission, 4.5 per cent without resources 2.5 per cent and with
resource.
Proposal from Indbank Factors: (i) Guaranteed payment within 30 days (ii) Advance, 84 per cent
with resource and 80 per cent without resource (iii) Discount charge upfront, without resource 21 per
cent and with resource, 20 per cent and (iv) Commission upfront, without resource 3.6 per cent and
with resource 1.8 per cent.
The opinion of the Chief Marketing Manager is that in the context of the factoring arrangement,
his staff would be able to exclusively focus on sales promotion which would result in additional
sales of Rs 75 crore.
Required The CFO of Sunlight Industries seeks your advice as a financial consultants on the
alternative proposals. What advice would you give? Why? Calculations can be upto one digit only.
Caselet 2
Following are the financial statements for A Ltd and T Ltd for the current financial year. Both firms
operate in the same industry.
BALANCE SHEETS
Particulars Firm A Firm B
Total current assets Rs 14,00,000 Rs 10,00,000
Total fixed assets (net) 10,00,000 5,00,000
_____________ __________
Total assets 24,00,000 15,00,000
_____________ ___________
Equity capital (of Rs 10 each) 10,00,000 8,00,000
Retained earnings 2,00,000 _
14% Long-term debt 5,00,000 3,00,000
Total current liabilities 7,00,000 4,00,000
_____________ ___________
24,00,000 15,00,000
INCOME STATEMENTS
Net sales Rs 34,50,000 Rs 17,00,000
Cost of goods sold 27,60,000 13,60,000
__________ ___________
Gross profit 6,90,000 3,40,000
Operating expenses 2,96,923 1,45,692
Interest 70,000 42,000
__________ ___________
Earnings before taxes (EBT) 3,23,077 1,52,308
Taxes (0.35) 1,13,077 53,308
Earnings after taxes (EAT) 2,10,000 99,000
Examination Paper of Banking & Financial Services Management
8
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Additional information: __________________________________
Number of equity shares 1,00,000 80,000
Dividend payment (D/P) ratio 0.40 0.60
Market price per share (MPS) Rs 40 Rs 15
__________________________________
Assume that the two firms are in the process of negotiating a merger through an exchange of equity
shares. You have been asked to assist in establishing equitable exchange terms, and are required to:
(i) Decompose the share prices of both the companies into EPS and P/E components, and also segregate
their EPS figures into return on equity (ROE) and book value of intrinsic value per share (BVPS)
components.
(ii) Estimate future EPS growth rates for each firm.
(iii)Based on expected operating synergies, A Ltd estimates that the intrinsic value of T‟s equity share
would be Rs 20 per share on its acquisition. You are required to develop a range of justifiable equity
share exchange ratios that can be offered by A Ltd‟s shareholders. Based on your analysis in parts (i)
and (ii), would you expect the negotiated terms to be closer to the upper, or the lower exchange ratio
limits? Why?
(iv) Calculate the post-merger EPS based on an exchange ratio of 0.4 : 1 being offered by A Ltd. Indicate
the immediate EPS accretion or dilution, if any, that will occur for each group of shareholders.
(v) Based on a 0.4 :1 exchange ratio, and assuming that A‟s pre-merger P/E ratio will continue after the
merger, estimate the post-merger market price. Show the resulting accretion or dilution in pre-merger
market prices.
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
 This section consists of Long Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15 marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
1. What do you mean by money market? Discuss money market instruments in detail.
2. What is leasing? Explain about the advantages and disadvantages of lease finance.

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES FO BANKING IIBM MBA EXAM ANSWER SHEET

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES FO BANKING IIBM MBA EXAM ANSWER SHEET
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES FO BANKING IIBM MBA EXAM ANSWER SHEET
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES FO BANKING IIBM MBA EXAM ANSWER SHEET
Principles & Practices of Banking
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 Marks)
 This section consists of Multiple Choice & Short Note type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part One carries 1 mark each & Part Two carries 4 marks each.
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. Frequency of First Tranche Returns is:
a. Weekly
b. Monthly
c. Monthly/quarterly
d. Monthly/quarterly/half-yearly
2. An order for winding up a banking company can be issued by___________
a. The High Court
b. The RBI
c. The Central Government
d. The Supreme court
3. Who shall be natural guardian in case of married minor girl?
a. Father
b. Brother in law
c. Father-in-law
d. Husband
4. X a partner in the firm XYZ Co. wants to open a Bank account in the firm‟s name. It will require
signatures of:
a. All partners
b. Any one of the partner
c. Managing partner only
d. Sleeping partner not required
5. Public limited companies should have minimum shareholders, before Opening Bank account.
a. 11
b. 7
c. 5
d. 15
6. If the beneficiary is government then the Expiry of guarantee is governed by the „law of
limitation‟ ranging from 3 years to
a. 15 years
b. 30 years
Examination Paper of Banking & Financial Services Management
2
IIBM Institute of Business Management
c. 20 years
d. 10 years
7. Charge created on LIC Policy is
a. Lien
b. Hypothecation
c. Pledge
d. Assignment
8. The device that combines the parallel input data into single serial output data is known as
a. Switcher
b. Multiplexer
c. Encoder
d. Front end processor
9. In market skimming pricing strategy:
a. Initially price is lower and then it is increased
b. Initial price is high and is maintained high
c. Initial price is low and is maintained low
d. Initially price is higher and then it is reduced
10. The marketing personnel need information _________intervals.
a. At yearly
b. At quarterly
c. At monthly
d. On a continuous basis and regular
Part Two:

1. Discuss the role of RBI in Indian Banking sector.
2. Write short notes on:
a. Repo Rate
b. Reverse Repo Rate.
3. Write short notes on:
a. Bank Lien
b. Right of set off
4. What is cash credit means?
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each caselet carries 20 marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper of Banking & Financial Services Management
3
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Caselet 1
There is a lacuna in the present T-Bill auction system of RBI. The dealers (investors) are subject to
what is called the „Winners Curse‟. The value of a T-Bill to a dealer is the price it can fetch in the
secondary market. This is an unobserved random value, which is likely to be common to all dealers.
It is quite unlike the works of art which the Sotheby‟s would place at an auction. The price of Mona
Lisa, say, to an avid collector of Da Vinci‟s paintings, would be more than what a Picasso collector
would value it. In sharp contrast, market participants are likely to agree on the price of a T-Bill in the
secondary market. Now winning an auction in a discriminatory price method may not be profitable.
For, it would mean that the winner has overestimated the T-Bill value.
Questions:
1. How does the winner in such an auction become the loser due to the „winner curse‟?
2. Explain the role of primary dealers in the money market.
Caselet 2
In a bid to familiarize banks, exporters and other financial bodies with „Forfeiting‟, the State Bank of
India (SBI) will soon be setting up a three-man cell at its international division in Mumbai for
advisory purposes. According to Mr. D. Ian Guild, Senior Advisor, Forfeiting & Syndications
Group, Standard Bank, the cell was being set up after a series of meetings with the bank, and is
essentially aimed at spreading the message of Forfeiting as an effective trade financing mechanism
to increase exports. Suggesting that forfeiting was the ideal springboard for effecting a quantum
jump in exports in the medium-term, Mr. Guild said he was confident of aggregating forfeiting
business of $100 millions in 1998 and $250 millions in 1999 in the country. Since its introduction in
1992, Exim Bank had facilitated 69 forfeiting transactions valued at around $75 millions, with credit
periods ranging between 90 days and seven years, and covering the export of goods ranging from
textiles to plant and machinery. The RBI has now permitted all commercial banks to act as
facilitators for forfeiting transactions. Mr. Guild pointed out that forfeiting has not really taken off in
India because exporters and commercial banks lacked the knowledge of the mechanics of the
scheme. In India, the real challenge would be to motivate small and medium exporters to use the
forfeiting route for exports to countries which may not be able to buy on cash terms. Mr. S.
Bhattacharya, deputy general manager, Exim Bank, Calcutta, said: “Payment defaults by overseas
buyers were an integral part of cross-border business and export credit insurance has not been a
comprehensive answer to this problem”. Forfeiting offered an alternative solution, especially to
exporters wishing to penetrate difficult markets for the first time, he pointed out. Some of the top
international forfeiters in the world have stopped accepting forfeiting documents involving Pakistan
and Russia, according to Mr. Amitabh Mehta, Trader and Originator, Forfeiting and Syndications
group, Standard Bank London Ltd. (SBLL). According to Mr. Mehta, forfeiting transactions
involving Pakistan could not be carried out due to poor performance of the banks there. In addition,
the financial status of Pakistan following the nuclear blasts has made it impossible to carry out the
transactions. Similarly, transactions with Russia are being totally rejected by forfeiting due to the
current economic turmoil. Joining the list with Pakistan and Russia are Iraq, Sudan and Nigeria, he
added. Commenting on the Indian situation, Mr. Mehta said, “With its sound banking system, the
country is well placed in the international scene. In fact, there is tremendous potential for forfeiting
in the years to come,” he said. According to him, even after the nuclear tests conducted by India, the
top forfeiters were not worried and continued to accept forfeiting papers to be transacted with India.
Examination Paper of Banking & Financial Services Management
4
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Questions:
1. Discuss the mechanism of forfeiting and the role played by banks in forfeiting transactions.
2. How does forfeiting differ from factoring?
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
 This section consists Long Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15 marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
1. What are the various approaches to capital adequacy? Explain Basel II norms and minimum
capital requirements in Basel II norms.
2. What do you mean by non Performing Assets (NPA)? How have NPAs affected financial health
of Indian commercial banks?

INTERNATIONAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT IIBM EXAM ANSWER SHEET

INTERNATIONAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT IIBM EXAM ANSWER SHEET
INTERNATIONAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT IIBM EXAM ANSWER SHEET
INTERNATIONAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT IIBM EXAM ANSWER SHEET

International Marketing Management
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 Marks)
 This section consists of Multiple Choice & Short Note Type Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part One carries 1 mark each & Part Two carries 5 marks each.
Part One:
Multiple choices:
1. International marketing includes activities that direct the flow of goods from:
a. One country to one country
b. One country to another country
c. One country to multiple country
d. All of the above
2. ETC stands for______________
a. Expert trading companies
b. Essential trading companies
c. Export trading companies
d. None of the above
3. Till 1950-56 there was no clear exim policy and no __________ restrictions of any kind.
a. Import
b. Export
c. Both a) & b)
d. None of the above
4. Tariffs have been one of the classical methods of regulating ___________ trade.
a. International
b. National
c. Domestic
d. None of the above
5. The world trade organization (WTO) was established on 1st January____________
a. 1996
b. 1995
c. 1997
d. None of the above
6. Export documentation is a very important area in ___________ management.
a. International
b. Import
c. Export
Examination Paper of Marketing Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 2
d. None of the above
7. Methods of export pricing are_____________
a. Cost plus pricing
b. Competitive pricing
c. Marginal pricing
d. All of the above
8. OECD has been a destination of a major portion of ___________exports.
a. Japan
b. USA
c. India
d. UK
9. Psychographic segmentation involves grouping people in terms of:
a. Attitudes
b. Life styles
c. Values
d. All of the above
10. Foreign direct investment would be permitted up to __________ in the development of the
zones.
a. 100%
b. 90%
c. 38%
d. 48%
Part Two:
1. Differentiate between domestic & international marketing.
2. Write a short note on World trade organization (WTO).
3. Briefly describe the exim policy of India (one part of India‟s export import policy).
4. Write a short note on tariff and non tariff barriers of international trade.
END OF SECTION A
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
 This section consists of Case lets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each case let carries 20 marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150to 200).
Caselet 1
Examination Paper of Marketing Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 3
Export Marketing:
The trade in black pepper is unhappy that exports may not show a sign of revival in prices in the
immediate future. World prices have been showing a downward trend for eighteen months and this has
resulted in much lower earnings for exporters. The UK, West Germany and the Netherlands have cut
their import requirement though the American demand has shown some growth. Brazil has been
resorting to aggressive selling at lower prices and the expectations are that its exports will reach an alltime peak of 32,000 tones in the 1981-82 season. The 1981-82 Indian season is only about six weeks
away. The Brazilian offensive has forced India to withdraw so to any from the US and West European
markets and increase its reliance on communist buyers. As many as 1980-81.the Soviet Union alone
accounting for 12,647 tones. But exporters are concerned at the diversion on such a scale of this trade.
Questions:
1. Had you been the pepper exporter, what would be your short term and medium-term export
marketing strategy in the above environment?
2. Could you examine the weak points in this case study?
Caselet 2
SMART KIDS – SELLING EDUCATIONAL GAMES AND
RESOURCES TO THE WORLD
Smart Kids Ltd. An Auckland company that makes educational games and resources to read and
understand math‟s has won a Trade New Zealand Export Award for its success in international markets
in 2003.Established eight years ago in the family home basement, Smart Kids is led by husband and
wife team, joint chief executives David and Sun Milne and their sons Duncan and Frase. She Milne, an
ex-teacher, says from just 30 products when it started, the company produces more than 200 produces
catering for student‟s activities, grammar concepts and numeracy. She says the international appeal of
Smart Kids products was highlighted recently, when company‟s SMART PHONICS was listed amongst
the top five products out of almost 100 in the education trade show in the United Kingdom. The key
requirement for every new Smart Kids products is that it stimulates student‟s minds in the classroom,
teaches them a specific concept easily, enjoyably and permanently and enables problem solving. David
Milne says Smart Kids started selling its educational games and resources to New Zealand schools in
1995, drawings an immediate and strong response. It quickly became apartment that the New Zealand
market was not large enough to sustain considerable investment in product development, and secondly,
that their products have done so well that they deserved wider exposure.”Our export research came
down to two options. Find educational distributors in other countries or set-up our own operations. The
first option was less risky and easy to manage but it meant that Smart Kids products were lost in a wide
range of materials. So we went for the second option and over the next few years established offices in
Australia, in UK and Canada”. This has successfully branded Smart Kids as a leading supplier of
educational resources in these countries. Mr. Milne says the Smart Kids product catalogue is now sent
regularly to teachers in more than 50,000 schools across the UK, Ireland, Canada and Australia. “We
also sell to schools in the US. In that market we elected to work through a distributor, we didn‟t have
Examination Paper of Marketing Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 4
the financial resources to set-up an operation that could cover almost 70,000 schools and compete with
every established educational publisher”. He says annual exports now exceed $2.2 million and account
for more than 90% of turnover. In order to grow the business, surplus profits are reinvested back into
product development, infrastructure – the company recently moved its Auckland operation into new
20,000 square feet premises in Ellerslie. Mr. Milne says the Smart Kids brand is now well established
internationally with the company enjoying many competitive advantages, including its New Zealand
origin. New Zealand education is highly regarded overseas and we find that international teachers to get
hold of educational products made in this country.
Questions:
1. What are the major considerations for a firm in order to while deciding its markets entry
strategy?
2. To what extent direct control and ownership are critical for Smart kids export distribution
strategy?
END OF SECTION B
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
 This section consists of Applied theory.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15 marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
1. What do mean by International marketing? Discuss the scope of International marketing.
2. Describe the export documentation framework in India in detail

COMPUTER FUNDAMENTAL IIBM MBA ONGOING EXAM ANSWER

COMPUTER FUNDAMENTAL IIBM MBA ONGOING EXAM ANSWER
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Computer Fundamental
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.A Light Sensitive device that converts drawing,
printed text or other image into digital from is
(1)
a) Keyboard
b) Plotter
c) Scanner
d) OMR
II. The basic operations performed by a
computer are (1)
e) Arithmetic operation
f) Logical operation
g) Storage and relative operation
h) All the above l
III. The two major types of computer chips
are (1)
a. External memory chip
b. Primary memory chip
c. Microprocessor chip
d. Both b and c
IV. Microprocessors as switching devices
are for which generation computers
(1)
a. First Generation
b. Second Generation
c. Third Generation
d. Fourth Generation
Examination Paper of Computer Fundamental
IIBM Institute of Business Management
END OF SECTION A
V.What is the main difference between a
mainframe and a super computer?
a. A Super computer is much larger
than the mainframe computers.
b. Super computers are smaller than
the mainframe computers.
c. Supercomputers are focused to
execute few programs as fast as
possible while mainframe
computers use its power to
execute as many programs
concurrently.
d. Supercomputers are focused to
execute as many programs as
possible while mainframe
VI. ASCII and EBCDIC are the popular
character coding systems. What
does EBCDIC stand for?
a) Extended Binary Coded Decimal
Interchange Code
b) Extended Bit Code Decimal
Interchange Code
c) Extended Bit Case Decimal
Interchange Code
d) Extended Binary Case Decimal
Interchange Code

VII. The brain of any computer system
is
a) ALU
b) Memory
c) CPU
d) Control unit
VIII. Storage capacity of magnetic disk
depends on
a) tracks per inch of surface
b) bits per inch of tracks
c) disk pack in disk surface
d) All of above
IX. The two kinds of main memory are:
a) Primary and secondary
b) Random and sequential
c) ROM and RAM
d) All of above
X. A storage area used to store data to
a compensate for the difference in
speed at which the different units
can handle data is
a) Memory
b) Buffer
c) Accumulator
d) Address
Part Two:
1. What is Windows? (5)
2. What is Windows? (5)
3. What is Computer Virus? (5)
4. What is the meaning of ‘CC’ in case of E-mail? (5)
Examination Paper of Computer Fundamental
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of Caselets.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each Caselet carries 20 marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
Caselet 1
Mr. and Mrs. Sharma went to Woodlands Apparel to buy a shirt. Mr. Sharma did not read the
price tag on the piece selected by him. At the counter, while making the payment he asked for
the price. Rs. 950 was the answer.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Sharma, who was still shopping came back and joined her husband. She was
glad that he had selected a nice black shirt for himself. She pointed out that there was a 25%
discount on that item. The counter person nodded in agreement.
Mr. Sharma was thrilled to hear that “It means the price of this shirt is just Rs. 712. That‟s
fantastic”, said Mr. Sharma. He decided to buy one more shirt in blue color.In no time, he
returned with the second shirt and asked them to be packed. When he received the cash
memo for payment, he was astonished to find that he had to pay Rs.. 1,900 and Rs.1,424.
Mr. Sharma could hardly reconcile himself to the fact that the counter person had quoted the
discounted price which was Rs. 950. The original price printed on the price tag was Rs.1,266.
Questions
1. What should Mr. Sharma have done to avoid them is understanding? (10)
2. Discuss the main features involved in this case. (10)
Caselet 2
I don’t want to speak to you. Connect me to your boss in the USA,” hissed the Alfred is a do-it
yourself entrepreneur who built up his fortune in trading. He traded in anything and everything
and kept close control of every activity. That was now he had grown rich enough to indulge in
his own dream-to build a college in his home town. A college that would be at par to the ones in
the better cities, the one in which he could not study himself.
Work started a year hack and the buildings were coming along well He himself did not use
computers much and became hooked to the Internet and e-mail only recently. He was determined
to provide a PC with Internet connectivity to every students and faculty member. He was
currently engrossed in plans for the 100 seater computer lab.
What was confusing him was the choice of Internet connectivity. He had about a dozen
quotations in front of him, Recommendations ranged from 64 Kbps ISDN all the way to 1 Gbps
leased line to Guwahati which was almost 200 kms away. Prices ranged from slightly under a
lakh all the way upto 25 lakh and beyond. He did not understand most of the equipment quoted
firewall, proxy server, cache appliance, nor was he sure what the hidden cost were. Although it
went against his very nature, he would have to identify a trustworthy consultant who would
help him make sense of the whole thing.
Examination Paper of Computer Fundamental
IIBM Institute of Business Management
END OF SECTION B
• This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each question carries 15marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250
words).
END OF SECTION C
Questions
1. In the context of the given case, what managerial issues need to be addressed by Alfred. Why
is It Important for managers to be tech savvy? (10)
2. What is the importance of a ‘Systems consultant’ to an organization? What skills should
he/she possess? (10)

Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What are Web sites & URL(s)? (15)

2. Explain how data is organized on a magnetic tape? (15

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Business Communication
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.The most important goal of business
communication is_________. (1)
a) favorable relationship between
sender and receiver
b) organizational goodwill
c) receiver response
d) receiver understanding
II. Down ward communication flows
from_________ to_________. (1)
e) Upper to lower
f) Lower to upper
g) Horizontal
h) Diagonal
III. Horizontal communication takes place
between_________. (1)
a. superior to subordinate
b. subordinate to superior
c. employees with same status
d. none of these
IV. The study of communication through
touch is_________. (1)
a. chronemics
b. haptics
c. proxemics
d. semantic
V._____________ channel of communication is
known as grapevine (1)
a. Formal
b. Informal
c. Horizontal
d. Vertical
VI. The following is (are) the most effective
ways of communication. (1)
a. Verbal
b. Non verbal
c. Written
d. All of the above
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
END OF SECTION A
• This section consists of Caselets.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each Caselet carries 20marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
VII. The handshake that conveys confidence
is (1)
a. Limp
b. Firm
c. Loose
d. Double
VIII. ________ of the letter consists of main
message. (1)
a. Heading
b. Body
c. Greeting
d. Closing
IX. Body of a letter is divided into ________
parts. (1)
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
X. X. A persuasive message will fail if_____ (1)
a. it does not focus on what is in it for
the reader
b. it only lists facts
c. it moves too slowly
d. all of the above

Part Two:
1.Brief Grapevine communication? (5)
2.List the 7 C’s of Communication? (5)
3.Describe the various barriers of communication? (5)
4.Write the negotiation process. (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
Caselet 1
Barry and Communication Barriers Effective Communication as a Motivator One common
complaint employees voice about supervisors is inconsistent messages – meaning one
supervisor tells them one thing and another tells them something different. Imagine you are the
supervisor/manager for each of the employees described below. As you read their case, give
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
consideration to how you might help communicate with the employee to remedy the conflict.
Answer the critical thinking questions at the end of the case then compare your answers to the
Notes to Supplement Answers section. Barry is a 27-year old who is a foodservice manager at a
casual dining restaurant. Barry is responsible for supervising and managing all employees in
the back of the house. Employees working in the back of the house range in age from 16 years
old to 55 years old. In addition, the employees come from diverse cultural and ethnic
backgrounds. For many, English is not their primary language. Barry is Serv Safe® certified and
tries his best to keep up with food safety issues in the kitchen but he admits it’s not easy.
Employees receive “on the job training” about food safety basics (for example, appropriate
hygiene and hand washing, time/temperature, and cleaning and sanitizing). But with high
turnover of employees, training is often rushed and some new employees are put right into the
job without training if it is a busy day. Eventually, most employees get some kind of food safety
training. The owners of the restaurant are supportive of Barry in his food safety efforts because
they know if a food safety outbreak were ever linked to their restaurant; it would likely put
them out of business. Still, the owners note there are additional costs for training and making
sure food is handled safely. One day Barry comes to work and is rather upset even before he
steps into the restaurant. Things haven’t been going well at home and he was lucky to rummage
through some of the dirty laundry and find a relatively clean outfit to wear for work. He admits
he needs a haircut and a good hand scrubbing, especially after working on his car last evening.
When he walks into the kitchen he notices several trays of uncooked meat sitting out in the
kitchen area. It appears these have been sitting at room temperature for quite some time. Barry
is frustrated and doesn’t know what to do. He feels like he is beating his head against a brick
wall when it comes to getting employees to practice food safety. Barry has taken many efforts to
get employees to be safe in how they handle food. He has huge signs posted all over the kitchen
with these words: KEEP HOT FOOD HOT AND COLD FOOD COLD and WASH YOUR HANDS
ALWAYS AND OFTEN. All employees are given a thermometer when they start so that they can
temp food. Hand sinks, soap, and paper towels are available for employees so that they are
encouraged to wash their hands frequently.
Questions
1. What are the communication challenges and barriers Barry faces? (10)
2. What solutions might Barry consider in addressing each of these challenges and barriers? (10)
Caselet 2
Mr. Dutta, newly appointed president of century Airlines, knew the company’s survival depended
on customer service, which in turn depended on motivated employees. So he created the Century
Spirit program to build team spirit by encouraging employee participation, individual initiative, and
open communication. Among the program’s early successes was newspaper started by a group of
flight attendants. The plane truth published information about benefits and work conditions as well
as feature stories and humorous articles. It quickly became popular not only with flight attendant
but with pilot, machinists, and baggage handlers.
As time went on, though, the plane truth began to run articles critical of the company. When
management cut back worker’s hours, the, newspaper questioned what sacrifices the executive
were making. When the technical services department releases figures showing long turnaround
times, the paper questioned the machinist’s work ethic. Worried that customer might see the
newspaper; Mr. Dutta wanted to cancel it. The president of the flight attendants union also wanted
to see it was stirring up trouble with the machinists.
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each question carries 15marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
Ms. Rachel, Century’s human resource director, was asked to stop the publication. But she hesitated.
She knew the employee morale was on the brink, but she did not know whether the newspaper was
venting worker’s frustrations and reinforcing team spirit or stirring up old animosities and bringing
the whole company down. Was it creating more tension than unity or vice-versa?
Questions
1. What Communication issues are involved at Century Airlines? (10)
2. What Communication Channels are being Utilized (10)

Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. Explain the various non verbal communications with an example in business
Scenario? (15)
2. Delineate the types of parts of business report writing? (15

IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper MM.100
Operations Research
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 Marks)
 This section consists of Multiple Choice & Short Note type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part One carries 1 mark each & Part Two carries 5 marks each
Part One:
Multiple Choices
1. In case of (<=) inequality, to convert the inequality to an equation, we used to add a slack variable to the left hand side of the constraint, this slake variable should be________ a. Negative b. Positive c. May be positive or negative d. Zero 2. In a set of m Χ n equations (m

IIBM MBA RESEARCH METHODOLOGY EXAM ANSWER PROVIDED

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Research Methodology

Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 Marks)
 This section consists of Multiple Choice & Short Note Type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part One carries 1 marks each & Part Two carries 5 marks each.
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. Research is an art of ____________ investigation.
a. Technological
b. Scientific
c. Political
d. None of the above
2. Exploratory research is flexible and very ___________ research.
a. Variable
b. Visuals
c. Versatile
d. None of the above
3. Frame error, chance error and response error are collectively called____________
a. Total error
b. Non sampling error
c. Sampling error
d. Universal error
4. Hypothesis testing is sometimes called ____________ analysis.
a. Exploratory data
b. Confirmatory data
c. Experimental data
d. Both a) & b)
5. Execution of the project is a very important step in the ____________ process.
a. Questions
b. Identification
c. Research
d. None of the above
6. Thurstone scale is also known as ____________ scale.
a. Equal appearing interval
Examination Paper of Marketing Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 6
b. Equal alternatives interval
c. Equal alternatives item
d. None of the above
7. A ratio in which the units of numerator & denominator are not the same is termed as a:
a. Class
b. Rate
c. Data
d. None of the above
8. ANOVA stands for______________
a. Analysis of automobiles
b. Analysis of variable
c. Analysis of variance
d. None of the above
9. One tailed & two tailed test are the part of ____________ test.
a. Null
b. Hypothesis
c. Alternative
d. None of the above
10. Chi – square is an important ____________ test.
a. Parametric
b. Probability
c. Non – parametric
d. None the above
Part Two:
1. What is „Sequential sampling‟?
2. Write a short note on „nominal scale‟.
3. Write a note on „Z – Test‟. (One of the parametric test for hypothesis).
4. What are the cautions to be taken on χ2
(chi square) test?
END OF SECTION A
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
 This section consists of Case lets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each case let carries 20 marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
Caselet 1
Examination Paper of Marketing Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 7
Swastika Computer System was established in 1981 at Delhi to provide computer training. In 1980s
computer education was relatively new in India. Personal computers 286 existed and MS DOS was the
operating system. Languages like Basic, Pascal, COBOL, FORTRAN were used in programming.
Swastika Computer Systems was established with their support departments namely computer
assembly, faculty training and computer servicing department. In the first financial year, it recorded a
turnover of Rs 11.5 lakhs. Within a few years of its existence, Swastik Computer System opened its
branches in eight major cities of India and had a gross annual turnover of Rs 86 lakhs. The organization
was highly centralized. The head office at Delhi handled all accounts, recruitment, and placement of
students and servicing of computers. The Bhopal branch of Swastik Computer Systems was set up in
May 1987. The branch was headed by a dynamic branch manager Hemant Gupta. He was a BSc in
computers and had previously worked in the data processing department of a manufacturing concern.
To establish the Bhopal branch, Hemant Gupta realized the need for making Swastik Computer
Systems, Bhopal known to the younger generation. With this in mind he introduced some innovative
promotional schemes like offering scholarships to students doing well in the intelligence tests
administered by the branch, giving personal computers to students to deposit term fees at their
convenience. Hemant Gupta also ensured that teaching standards were high and computers at the
branch were well maintained, so a student once enrolled felt that he had made the right decision by
joining Swastik Computer Systems. He also made himself available from 8.00 am to 7.00 p.m at the
branch. Students were free to go to him with their problems, which he took pains to solve. Soon
Swastik Computer Systems was one of the leading computer training centres in Bhopal. As the Bhopal
branch prospered, the head office at Delhi started taking an active interest in the running of this branch.
The Regional Manager who visited Bhopal once a month started making frequent visits. During one of
his visits, his attention was drawn to rumors that branch funds were being misappropriated. When the
Regional Manager informed the Delhi office about the rumor, a team was sent to the Bhopal Branch to
look into the matter. On investigation, the term was convinced that the rumors had some truth in them.
It was found that a larger number of students attended the classes than were enrolled. It was felt that this
fraud was not possible without the consent of Hemant Gupta, and without any further inquiry a decision
was taken to remove him forthwith. Amit Verma who was a senior faculty at Swastik Computer
Systems, Delhi was asked to take over the Bhopal branch as Manager. He was an MCA and had been
associated with the organization since its inception. Amit Verma‟s appointment at Bhopal was
welcomed at the Bhopal branch by both, staff and faculty as he had the reputation of being an easy
going person. After he joined the Bhopal, it was observed that Amit Verma, although academically
sound, was not an effective administrator. His approach towards staff and faculty was lenient. He was
not particular about punctuality and was not available during office hours. This had an adverse effect on
faculty in general and classes in particular. Not only did classes suffer but even administrative work
was affected. Monthly reports to the head office were not sent on time, as a result requisitions for
computer servicing, reading material and funds were unduly delayed. Due to lack of maintenance,
computer breakdowns became common, students did not receive their reading material on time and
payment of building rent, and telephone bills etc were unnecessarily delayed. The symptoms of
deterioration at the Bhopal branch were obvious. The branch which had an annual turnover of Rs 30.7
lakhs fell to Rs. 4 lakhs. As enrollments decreased the head office at Delhi started feeling the pinch. It
started delaying transfer of funds to the Bhopal branch. As a result faculty salaries were unduly delayed.
The faculty started leaving for greener pastures.
Examination Paper of Marketing Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 8
Worried by the number of faculty turnover, the head office started a practice of recruiting only
those faculties willing to sign a bond of 3 years. The organization started a practice of taking a deposit
of Rupees 5000 from the joining faculty, which would be refunded after 3 years. In case the faculty left
before this duration, the deposit stood forfeited. This policy further reduced the quality of faculty
joining Swastik Computer Systems, Bhopal.
Questions:
1. What according to you went wrong at the Bhopal branch?
2. What can be done to revive the Bhopal branch?
Caselet 2
Mind tree which was founded in 1999 in India by a group of IT professionals who wanted to chart a
somewhat distinctive path. Today, it has a top line of $269 million and is rated as one of the most
promising mid-sized IT services companies. Creditable as that is, Mind Tree does not want to be just
that. There is an element of serendipity about what it has been doing over the last year. In 2008, it
designated one of its founders Subroto Bagchi „Gardener‟, a gimmicky signal, intended to declare that
he was moving out of the day-to-day running of the company to nurture talent which would run the
company in the future. He has now a report card ready on a year as gardener. During this one year, he
has also spent around 45 days travelling round the world talking to clients and prospective ones which
has yield remarkable insights into what firms are doing in these traumatic times. Lastly, Mind Tree as
a whole has spent the last year going through the exercise of redefining its mission statement and
vision for the next five years. Quite fortuitously these processes have come together with a unifying
thread, presenting a coherent big picture. Mind Tree wants to seed the future while still young, and
executive chairman Ashok Soota has declared that by 2020, it will be led by a non-founder. So a year
ago the gardener Bagchi set out to “touch” 100 top people in the organization, with a goal of doing 50
in a year so as to eventually identify the top 20 by 2015. From among them will emerge not just the
leader but a team of ten who would eventually, as group heads, deliver $200 million of turnover each.
That will give a turnover of $2 billion. To put it in perspective, one one VC-funded company, which
has not closed or been bought over, has been able to get to $2 billion and that is Google. But to get
there it has to periodically redefine its mission (why we exist) and its vision – measurable goals for the
next five years. Its redefined mission is built around “successful customers, happy people, and
innovative solution”. Its new vision targets a turnover of $1 billion by 2014. It wants to be among the
globally 20 most profitable IT services companies and also among the 20 globally most admired ones.
Admired in terms of customer satisfaction (pay for the course), people practices (creditable),
knowledge management (exciting) and corporate governance (the Enron-Satyam effect). The really
interesting bit about Mind Tree in the last one year is what Bagchi has been up to. He has been
embedding himself in the 50 lives, working in a personal private continuum, making it a rich learning
process “which has helped connect so many dots.” Of the hundred who will be engaged, may be 50
will leave, of them 25 may better themselves only marginally, and from the remaining 25 ten will
emerge who will carry the company forward.
Questions:
Examination Paper of Marketing Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 9
1. What do you analyses as the main reason behind the success of Mind tree?
2. Do you think that redefining the mission statement shows the lacunae on the part of the founder
members of an organization? Why?
END OF SECTION B
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
 This section consists of Applied Theory.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15 marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
1. What are the various methods of collecting statistical data? Explain in brief their merits and
demerits.
2. What do mean by Research design. What are basic types of research design?

IIBM MBA COMPUTER FUNDAMENTAL EXAM ANSWER SHEET

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IIBM MBA COMPUTER FUNDAMENTAL EXAM ANSWER SHEET

Computer Fundamental
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.A Light Sensitive device that converts drawing,
printed text or other image into digital from is
(1)
a) Keyboard
b) Plotter
c) Scanner
d) OMR
II. The basic operations performed by a
computer are (1)
e) Arithmetic operation
f) Logical operation
g) Storage and relative operation
h) All the above l
III. The two major types of computer chips
are (1)
a. External memory chip
b. Primary memory chip
c. Microprocessor chip
d. Both b and c
IV. Microprocessors as switching devices
are for which generation computers
(1)
a. First Generation
b. Second Generation
c. Third Generation
d. Fourth Generation
Examination Paper of Computer Fundamental
IIBM Institute of Business Management
END OF SECTION A
V.What is the main difference between a
mainframe and a super computer?
a. A Super computer is much larger
than the mainframe computers.
b. Super computers are smaller than
the mainframe computers.
c. Supercomputers are focused to
execute few programs as fast as
possible while mainframe
computers use its power to
execute as many programs
concurrently.
d. Supercomputers are focused to
execute as many programs as
possible while mainframe
VI. ASCII and EBCDIC are the popular
character coding systems. What
does EBCDIC stand for?
a) Extended Binary Coded Decimal
Interchange Code
b) Extended Bit Code Decimal
Interchange Code
c) Extended Bit Case Decimal
Interchange Code
d) Extended Binary Case Decimal
Interchange Code

VII. The brain of any computer system
is
a) ALU
b) Memory
c) CPU
d) Control unit
VIII. Storage capacity of magnetic disk
depends on
a) tracks per inch of surface
b) bits per inch of tracks
c) disk pack in disk surface
d) All of above
IX. The two kinds of main memory are:
a) Primary and secondary
b) Random and sequential
c) ROM and RAM
d) All of above
X. A storage area used to store data to
a compensate for the difference in
speed at which the different units
can handle data is
a) Memory
b) Buffer
c) Accumulator
d) Address
Part Two:
1. What is Windows? (5)
2. What is Windows? (5)
3. What is Computer Virus? (5)
4. What is the meaning of ‘CC’ in case of E-mail? (5)
Examination Paper of Computer Fundamental
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of Caselets.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each Caselet carries 20 marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
Caselet 1
Mr. and Mrs. Sharma went to Woodlands Apparel to buy a shirt. Mr. Sharma did not read the
price tag on the piece selected by him. At the counter, while making the payment he asked for
the price. Rs. 950 was the answer.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Sharma, who was still shopping came back and joined her husband. She was
glad that he had selected a nice black shirt for himself. She pointed out that there was a 25%
discount on that item. The counter person nodded in agreement.
Mr. Sharma was thrilled to hear that “It means the price of this shirt is just Rs. 712. That‟s
fantastic”, said Mr. Sharma. He decided to buy one more shirt in blue color.In no time, he
returned with the second shirt and asked them to be packed. When he received the cash
memo for payment, he was astonished to find that he had to pay Rs.. 1,900 and Rs.1,424.
Mr. Sharma could hardly reconcile himself to the fact that the counter person had quoted the
discounted price which was Rs. 950. The original price printed on the price tag was Rs.1,266.
Questions
1. What should Mr. Sharma have done to avoid them is understanding? (10)
2. Discuss the main features involved in this case. (10)
Caselet 2
I don’t want to speak to you. Connect me to your boss in the USA,” hissed the Alfred is a do-it
yourself entrepreneur who built up his fortune in trading. He traded in anything and everything
and kept close control of every activity. That was now he had grown rich enough to indulge in
his own dream-to build a college in his home town. A college that would be at par to the ones in
the better cities, the one in which he could not study himself.
Work started a year hack and the buildings were coming along well He himself did not use
computers much and became hooked to the Internet and e-mail only recently. He was determined
to provide a PC with Internet connectivity to every students and faculty member. He was
currently engrossed in plans for the 100 seater computer lab.
What was confusing him was the choice of Internet connectivity. He had about a dozen
quotations in front of him, Recommendations ranged from 64 Kbps ISDN all the way to 1 Gbps
leased line to Guwahati which was almost 200 kms away. Prices ranged from slightly under a
lakh all the way upto 25 lakh and beyond. He did not understand most of the equipment quoted
firewall, proxy server, cache appliance, nor was he sure what the hidden cost were. Although it
went against his very nature, he would have to identify a trustworthy consultant who would
help him make sense of the whole thing.
Examination Paper of Computer Fundamental
IIBM Institute of Business Management
END OF SECTION B
• This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each question carries 15marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250
words).
END OF SECTION C
Questions
1. In the context of the given case, what managerial issues need to be addressed by Alfred. Why
is It Important for managers to be tech savvy? (10)
2. What is the importance of a ‘Systems consultant’ to an organization? What skills should
he/she possess? (10)

Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What are Web sites & URL(s)? (15)

2. Explain how data is organized on a magnetic tape?

IIBM MBA STATISTICAL QUALITY CONTROL EXAM ANSWER PROVIDED

IIBM MBA STATISTICAL QUALITY CONTROL EXAM ANSWER PROVIDED
IIBM MBA STATISTICAL QUALITY CONTROL EXAM ANSWER PROVIDED
IIBM MBA STATISTICAL QUALITY CONTROL EXAM ANSWER PROVIDED
Statistical Quality Control
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 Marks)
 This section consists of Multiple choice & Short Note type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part One carries 1 mark each & Part Two carries 4 marks each.
Part One:
Multiple choices:
1. If in a hall there are 18 persons then how many handshakes are possible.
a. 18*18
b. 18*17/2
c. 18*17
d. None
2. If the number of trials be „n‟ and the probability of occurrence be „p‟ then the standard
deviation with respect to np, is given by?
a. (np)1/2
b. (np(1-p))1/2
c. (np)1/4
d. (np(1-p))1/4
3. For a biased coin the probability of occurrence of head is 0.4 ,if the coin is tossed twice then
the probability of occurrence of at least one head will be:
a. 0.76
b. 0.48
c. 0.64
d. 0.16
4. Factorial of 5 equals__________
a. 60
b. 120
c. 24
d. 5
5. Combinatory of (4,2) equals_______
a. 12
b. 8
c. 6
d. None
6. “Economic Control of Quality of Manufactured Product‟, a book by Walter A Shewhart in
a. 1931
Examination Paper of Supply Chain Management
6
IIBM Institute of Business Management
b. 1941
c. 1930
d. 1956
7. Quality is judged by___________
a. Retailer
b. Government
c. Customer
d. Hole seller
8. A run chart is a special chart of______
a. Pie chart
b. Line chart
c. R chart
d. C chart
9. Universes may differ_____
a. In average
b. In above average
c. At higher level
d. All of the above
10. ASQC and ANSI began in
a. 1956
b. 1976
c. 1978
d. 1960
Part Two:
1. Differentiate between „defect‟ and „defective‟.
2. Explain the need of „short method‟.
3. What does „Tchebycheff‟s inequality theorem‟ say?
4. Explain the usability of „stochastic limit‟.
5. Write a note on „Cause and Effect‟ diagram.
END OF SECTION A
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each caselet carries 20 marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
Examination Paper of Supply Chain Management
7
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Caselet 1
ADAPTABILITY IN ACTION: A CASE OF RSL
Rajasthan Synthetics Ltd. (RSL) was established in the year 1994 at Bhilwara, Rajasthan to
manufacture synthetic yarn with a licensed capacity of 29,000 spindles. Manish Kumar, a Harvard
Business School graduate, established RSL with 8% equity participation from Itochu Corporation
Japan to manufacture synthetic yarn for shirting, a promising business at that time. The demise of the
NTC textile mills was fresh in the minds of the promoters and therefore, state of the art technology
imported from U.K., Germany, Japan and France was used in the manufacturing facility. By the time
the company started manufacturing yarn the competition in shirting yarn had become fierce and the
returns had diminished. The company incurred losses in the first four years of its operations and the
management was looking for opportunities to turn things around. The manufacturing plant started
functioning with an installed capacity of 26,000 spindles, a small unit considering yarnmanufacturing industry, in the year 1996 to manufacture synthetic yarn for shirting only. Initially, the
major fabric manufactures of India such as Raymonds, Donear, Grasim, Amartex, Siyaram, Pantaloon
and Arviva were the main customers of the company and the total produce of the company was sold
within the domestic market. These fabric manufactures used to import the premium quality yarn
before RSL started supplying the yarn to them. The company in the first year of its operations
realized that shirting yarn was one of the fiercely competitive products and the company with its high
interest liability was unlikely to earn the desired profits. Also, the company had a narrow product mix
limited to only two more blow room lines were installed in the first quarter of 1997. The addition of
two blow room lines helped RSL to manufacture four different types of yarns at the same time.
Utilizing this added flexibility, RSL began manufacturing yarn for suitings.Since the suiting yarn was
providing better returns, the company was keen to increase manufacturing of suiting yarn but was
hampered by the two for one doubling (TFO) facility, which was limited to only 40% of the total
produce. To remove this bottleneck, 12 more TFO machines were added to the existing 8 TFO
machines. The addition of these machines increased the doubling capacity to 70% of the production
providing additional product mix flexibility to the company. This enabled the company to
manufacture yarn to cater to the requirements of suiting, industrial fabric and carpet manufacturers. In
the initial years of its operations, RSL realized that the promises made by the Government of
Rajasthan to provide uninterrupted power supply of the required quality (stable voltage and
frequency) and ample quantity of water were unlikely to be met through the public distribution
system. The voltage and frequency of electric power provided through the public distribution system
were erratic and frequent announced and unannounced power cuts stopped production on a regular
basis. In these circumstances, meeting quality requirements of the customers and adhering to delivery
schedules was a herculean task. To ensure smooth and uninterrupted operations RSL installed inhouse power generation facility of 4 megawatts capacity and dug 10 tube-wells.RSL faced stiff
competition in the domestic market from Gujarat Spinning and Weaving Mills, Surat, Rajasthan
Textile Mills, Bhawani Mandi, Charan Spinning Mills, Salem and Indorama Synthetics Ltd.,
Pithampur in all their product categories and the returns were low. In order to combat stiff
competition in the domestic market and improve returns the company started developing export
markets for their products in the year 1998. Initially, RSL started exporting carpet yarn to Belgium
and till 2001; carpet yarn formed the major component of their exports. A trade agreement was signed
with Fibratex Corporation, Switzerland to share profits equally for expanding their overseas
operations. During the same period, RSL continued to scout for new export markets and was
successful in entering top-of-the-line fancy for premium fashion fabric manufactures of international
repute like Mango and Zara. Rajasthan Synthetics Ltd. also exported fancy yarn to a number of fabric
manufacturers located in Italy, France, England, Spain and Portugal. Yarn manufacturers from
Indonesia, Korea and Taiwan gave stiff competition to RSL when it entered the international market.
The companies from South Asian countries had a major cost advantage over RSL because of cheap,
uninterrupted availability of power and high labour productivity. Currencies had been sharply
devalued during the South Asian financial crisis, which rendered the products manufactured by these
Examination Paper of Supply Chain Management
8
IIBM Institute of Business Management
companies still cheaper in international markets. Despite all these disadvantages, RSL was able to
gain a foothold through constant adaption of their products according to the customer requirements in
the highly quality conscious international yarn market and was exporting 95% of its total produce by
the beginning of the year 2002.
Rajasthan Synthetics Ltd. had fine-tuned its distribution channels according to the type of markets
and size of orders from the customers. In line with this policy the export to Middle East, Far East and
Turkey was carried out through agents. Similarly, low volume export of fancy yarn requirements was
also catered through agents. While dealing with importers directly, RSL strictly followed the policy
of exports against confirmed Letter of Credits only. The company directly exported to important
clients in Belgium, England and France. The domestic market was also served through an agency
system. Rajasthan Synthetics Ltd. considered inventories as an unnecessary waste and kept minimum
possible inventories while ensuring required level of service. To ensure that the inventories were held
to a minimum, the manufacturing plan consisted of 60 to 70% against customer orders, 30 to 40%
against anticipated sales and 2% capacity was reserved for new product development. A Strategic
Management Committee (SMC) consisting of MD, CEO, GM (marketing) and GM (technical)
reviewed the production plan of the manufacturing plant on quarterly basis. The SMC also developed
the plans for profitability, product mix and cost minimization. Delivering high-quality products and
meeting delivery commitments for every shipment were essential pre-requisites to be successful in the
global market place. The company had understood this very early and to ensure that the products
manufactured by RSL met the stringent quality requirements of its international customers, the
company had developed a full-fledged testing laboratory equipped with ultra modern testing
machines like User Tester-3 and Classifault. The company had stringent quality testing checks at
every stage of tarn production right from mixing of fiber to packing of finished cones. Its in-house
Research and Development and Statistical Quality Control (SQC) divisions ensured consistent
technical specifications with the help of sophisticated state-of-the-art machines. A team of
professionally qualified and experienced personnel to ensure that the yarn manufactured by the
company was in line with international standards backed the company. The company continuously
upgraded its product mix and at the same time, new products developed by in-house research and
development department were added to the product mix form time to time. RSL‟s management was
quick to analyze the potential of these in-house developments and followed a flexible approach in
determining the level of value addition. The company had developed a new yarn recently and was
selling it under the Rajtang brand name. This new yarn was stretchable in three dimensions, absorbed
moisture quickly, was soft and silky and fitted the body. This yarn was extracted from natural
products and being body-friendly, was in great demand in international markets. Looking at the
higher value addition possibilities RSL decided to forward integrate and started manufacturing fabric,
using Rajtang and provided ready-made garments like swimming suit, tracksuit, undergarments, tops,
slacks and kids dresses. The ready-made dresses from the fabric were being manufactured on the
specifications and designs of RSL. The management decided to market these products under the
brand name “Wear-it” through Wearwell Garments Pvt. Ltd., an associate company of RSL, to ensure
that RSL did not lose its focus. The Managing Director of RSL felt that continuous adaptability to
market requirements through a flexible approach, cost cutting in every sphere of operations and team
approach to management had taken them ahead. However, RSL had become highly dependent on the
volatile export market and if it was not able to retain the international market it would have to reestablish itself in the domestic market, which was not an easy task.
1. What marketing strategy should RSL adopt to remain competitive in the international market?
2. Has the company taken the right decision to forward integrate and enter into the highly volatile
garment market?
Caselet 2
Examination Paper of Supply Chain Management
9
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Popular mythology in the United States likes to refer to pre-World War II Japan as a somewhat
backward industrial power that produced and exported mostly trinkets and small items of dubious
quality bought by Americans impoverished by the Great Depression. Few bring up the fact that, prior
to the Pearl Harbor attack, Japan had conquered what are now Korea, Manchuria, Taiwan, and a large
portion of China, Vietnam, and Thailand; and by the end of 1942 Japan had extended its empire to
include Burma, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, New Guinea, plus many
strings of islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Its navy had moved a large armada of worships 4,000
miles across the Pacific Ocean, in secret and in silence, to attack Pearl Harbor and then returned
safely home. Manufacturers capable of producing only low-grade goods don‟t accomplish such feats.
High-quality standards for military hardware, however, did not extend to civilian and export goods,
which received very low priority during the war years. Thus the perception in the United States for a
long time before and then immediately after the war had nothing to do with some inherent character
flaw in Japanese culture or industrial capability. It had everything to do with Japan‟s national
priorities and the availability of funds and material. Following Japan‟s surrender in 1945, General
MacArthur was given the task of rebuilding the Japanese economy on a peaceful footing. As part of
that effort an assessment of damage was to be conducted and a national census was planned for 1950.
Deming was asked in 1947 to go to Japan and assist in that effort. As a result of his association with
Shewhart and quality training, he was contacted by representatives from the Union of Japanese
Scientists and Engineers (JUSE), and in 1950, Deming delivered his now famous series of lectures on
quality control. His message to top industry leaders, whom he demanded to attend, and to JUSE was
that Japan had to change its image in the United States and throughout the world. He declared that it
could not succeed as an exporter of poor quality and argued that the tools of statistical quality control
could help solve many quality problems. Having seen their country devastated by the war, industry
and government leaders were eager to learn the new methods and to speed economic recovery.
Experience was to prove to Deming and others that, without the understanding, respect, and support
of management, no group of tools alone could sustain a long-term quality improvement effort.
1. How could have the SQC approach, been useful in solving the immediate problems of Japan?
2. If you were among one of the management members, what would have been your first insight?
END OF SECTION B
Section C: Practical Problems (30 marks)
 This section consists of Long Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15 marks.
1. A sample of 30 is to be selected from a lot of 200 articles. How many different samples are
possible?
2. In Dodge‟s CSP-1, it is desired to apply sampling inspection to 1 piece out of every 15 and to
maintain an AOQL of 2%. What should be the value of i?

IIBM MBA OPERATIONS RESEARCH EXAM ANSWER

IIBM MBA OPERATIONS RESEARCH EXAM ANSWER
IIBM MBA OPERATIONS RESEARCH EXAM ANSWER
IIBM MBA OPERATIONS RESEARCH EXAM ANSWER
Operations Research
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 Marks)
 This section consists of Multiple Choice & Short Note type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part One carries 1 mark each & Part Two carries 5 marks each
Part One:
Multiple Choices
1. In case of (<=) inequality, to convert the inequality to an equation, we used to add a slack variable to the left hand side of the constraint, this slake variable should be________ a. Negative b. Positive c. May be positive or negative d. Zero 2. In a set of m Χ n equations (m

IIBM MBA MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS EXAM ANSWER PROVIDED

IIBM MBA MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS EXAM ANSWER PROVIDED
IIBM MBA MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS EXAM ANSWER PROVIDED
IIBM MBA MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS EXAM ANSWER PROVIDED

Managerial Economics
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.Demand is determined by
(1)
a) Price of the product
b) Relative prices of other goods
c) Tastes and habits
d) All of the above
II. When a firm’s average revenue is equal
to its average cost, it gets (1)
a) Super profit
b) Normal profit
c) Sub normal profit
d) None of the above
III. Managerial economics generally refers to
the integration of economic theory with business
(1)
a) Ethics
b) Management
c) Practice
d) All of the above
IV. Which of the following was not
immediate cause of 1991 economic
crisis (1)
a) Rapid growth of population
b) Severe inflation
c) Expanding Fiscal deficit
d) Rising current account deficit
V.Money functions refers to : (1)

a) Store of value
b) Medium of Exchange
c) Standard of deferred payments
d) All of the above
VI. Given the price, if the cost of production
increases because of higher price of
raw materials, the supply
(1)
a) Decreases
b) Increases
c) Remains same
d) Any of the above
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
IIBM Institute of Business Management
VII. Total Utility is maximum when
(1)
a. Marginal Utility is maximum
b. Marginal Utility is Zero
c. Both of the above
d. None Of The Above
VIII. Cardinal approach is related
to (1)

a. Equimarginal Curve
b. Law of diminishing returns
c. Indifference Curve
d. All of the above
IX. Marginal Utility curve of a consumer is also
his (1)

a) Supply Curve
b) Demand Curve
c) Both of above
d) None of above
X. Government of India has replaced
FERA by (1)

a) The competition Act
b) FRBMA
c) MRTP Act
d) FEMA
Part Two:
1. What is Managerial Economics? What is its relevance to Engineers/Managers?
(5)
2. “Managerial Economics is economics that is applied in decision making”
Explain? (5)
3. Differentiate b/w, Micro economics vs. macroeconomics? (5)
4. Factors Affecting Price Elasticity of Demand? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management

Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
Caselet1
Dabur is among the top five FMCG companies in India and is positioned successfully on the
specialist herbal platform. Dabur has proven its expertise in the fields of health care, personal care,
home care and foods. The company was founded by Dr. S. K. Burman in 1884 as small pharmacy in
Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. And is now led by his great grandson Vivek C. Burman, who is the
Chairman of Dabur India Limited and the senior most representative of the Burman family in the
company. The company headquarter is in Ghaziabad, India, near the Indian capital New Delhi,
where it is registered. The company has over 12 manufacturing units in India and abroad. The
international facilities are located in Nepal, Dubai, Bangladesh, Egypt and Nigeria. S.K. Burman, the
founder of Dabur, was trained as a physician. His mission was to provide effective and affordable
cure for ordinary people in far-flung villages. Soon, he started preparing natural remedies based on
Ayurveda for diseases such as Cholera, Plague and Malaria. Due to his cheap and effective remedies,
he became to be known as ‘Daktar’ (Indian izedversion of ‘doctor’). And that is how his venture
Dabur got its name—derived from Daktar Burman. The company faces stiff competition from many
multinational and domestic companies. In the Branded and Packaged Food and Beverages segment
major companies that are active include Hindustan Lever, Nestle, Cadbury and Dabur. In case of
Ayurvedic medicines and products, the major competitors are Baidyanath, Vicco, Jhandu, Himani
and other pharmaceutical companies.
Vision statement of Dabur says that the company is “dedicated to the health and wellbeing of every
household”. The objective is to “significantly accelerate profitable growth by providing comfort to
others”. For achieving this objective Dabur aims to:
 Focus on growing core brands across categories, reaching out to new geographies, within
and outside India, and improve operational efficiencies by leveraging technology.
 Be the preferred company to meet the health and personal grooming needs of target
consumers with safe, efficacious, natural solutions by synthesizing deep knowledge of
Ayurveda and herbs with modern science.
 Be a professionally managed employer of choice, attracting, developing and retaining
quality personnel.
 Be responsible citizen with a commitment to environmental protection.
 Provide superior returns, relative to our peer group, to our shareholders.
Chairman of the company
Vivek C. Burman joined Dabur in 1954 after completing his graduation in Business Administration
from the USA. In 1986 he was appointed as the Managing Director of Dabur and in 1998 he took
over as Chairman of the Company.
IIBM Institute of Business Management

Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
Under Vivek Burman’s leadership, Dabur has grown and evolved as a multi-crore business house
with a diverse product portfolio and a marketing network that traverses the whole of India and
more than 50 countries across the world. As a strong and positive leader, Vivek C. Burman had
motivated employees of Dabur to “do better than their best”—a credo that gives Dabur its status as
India’s most trusted nature-based products company.
Leading brands
More than 300 diverse products in the FMCG, Healthcare and Ayurveda segments are in the product
line of Dabur. List of products of the company include very successful brands like Vatika, Anmol,
Hajmola, Dabur Amla Chyawanprash, Dabur Honey and Lal Dant Manjan with turnover of Rs.100
crores each.
Strategic positioning of Dabur Honey as food product, lead to market leadership with over 40%
market share in branded honey market; Dabur Chyawanprash is the largest selling Ayurvedic
medicine with over 65% market share. Dabur is a leader in herbal digestives with 90% market
share. Hajmola tablets are in command with 75% market share of digestive tablets category. Dabur
Lal Tail tops baby massage oil market with 35% of total share.
CHD (Consumer Health Division), dealing with classical Ayurvedic medicines, has more than 250
products sold through prescription as well as over the counter. Proprietary Ayurvedic medicines
developed by Dabur include Nature Care Isabgol, Madhuvaani and Trifgol.
However, some of the subsidiary units of Dabur have proved to be low margin business; like Dabur
Finance Limited. The international units are also operating on low profit margin. The company also
produces several “me – too” products. At the same time the company is very popular in the rural
segment.
Questions
1. What is the objective of Dabur? Is it profit maximisation of growth maximisation? (10)
2. Do you think the growth of Dabur from a small pharmacy to a large multinational company is an
indicator of the advantages of joint stock company against the proprietorship form? Elaborate.
(10)
Caselet2

The Regina Company„ one of the largest inakets of vacuum cleaners recent’) had scv cfc ptollkins
with the quality of its products. The market responsc to this 1ak of quality caused financial
problems for Ow company. in late 1995. Regina began having return rates as high as 30 to 50
percent on some of its Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus models. These models were sold
primarily through discount stores. Further, Regina’s Spectrum vacuum cleaner, an upgraded
version sold in specialty stores, was introduced in 1995 with many quality problems. ef The specific
problems identified for the Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus models were associated with faulty
belts and weak suction. In the Spectrum model, the agitator was melting; and making a loud noise,
the foot pedals were breaking, and the steel-encased motor (which had been advertised as the
IIBM Institute of Business Management

Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
power source for the vacuum cleaner) had been replaced with a less desirable. less reliable motor.
As a result of these problems, Target stores discontinued Regina’s Housekeeper Plus model after
reporting that “at least half of those sold were returned.” At Starmart, which accounts for about a
quarter of the Housekeeper sales, I. out of every 5 machines sold was returned. To help service
customer complaints, Regina set up an 800 telephone number for customers to contact the firm.
directly. The sales returns caused Regina’s shareholders to question the 1995 fiscal earnings report.
Furthermore, both inventories and accounts receivable doubled during the 1995 fiscal year. At the
end of that period, Regina’s chairman and 40 percent stockholders
Resigned. The chairman’s resignation was closely followed by a company announcement stating
that the financial results reported for the 1995 fiscal year were materially incorrect and had been
withdrawn. This announcement brought a suit from shareholders who had bought Reoina stock on
the basis of the 1995 camings report. It also prompted an audit of the 1995 results and a request to
another accounting organization to work on Regina’s business and accounting controls. A few
months later, Regina ‘agreed to be acquired by a unit of Magnum, a vacuum cleaner and Waterpurification Company. Under Magnum, Regina shut down production while engineers worked to
solve the problems inherent in the Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus vacuums, particularly the
suction difficulties. In September 1998, Magnum and Regina decided to separate the two companies
again. Since then, Regina has been regaining market share with its Housekeeper models. The
‘vacuums are popular because they carry on-board tools.
Questions:
1. What type of controls would you have established to preclude the major returns
experienced by Regina? (10)
2. How would you have controlled the finished-goods -inventory to avoid its growing to twice
the size that it was in the previous year. (10)

Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What is the importance of demand analysis in business decision? (15)
2. Explain individual demand function and market demand function. (15)

IIBMS MBA CASE STUDY SOLUTION – Carlill VS. Carbolic ball company 1893

IIBMS MBA CASE STUDY SOLUTION – Carlill VS. Carbolic ball company 1893
IIBMS MBA CASE STUDY SOLUTION – Carlill VS. Carbolic ball company 1893
IIBMS MBA CASE STUDY SOLUTION – Carlill VS. Carbolic ball company 1893

Case -2 Carlill VS. Carbolic ball company 1893
Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company [1892] is an English contract law decision by the Court of Appeal, which held an
advertisement containing certain terms to get a reward constituted a binding unilateral offer that could be accepted by
anyone who performed its terms. It is notable for its curious subject matter and how the influential judges
(particularly Lindley and Bowen) developed the law in inventive ways. Carlill is frequently discussed as an introductory
contract case, and may often be the first legal case a law student studies in the law of contract.
The case concerned a flu remedy called the ‘carbolic smoke ball’. The manufacturer advertised that buyers who found it
did not work would be awarded £100, a considerable amount of money at the time. The company was found to have been
bound by its advertisement, which was construed as an offer which the buyer, by using the smoke ball, accepted, creating a
contract. The Court of Appeal held the essential elements of a contract were all present, including offer and
acceptance, consideration and an intention to create legal relations.
The Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. made a product called the “smoke ball” and claimed it to be a cure for influenza and a number
IIBMS MBA CASE STUDY SOLUTION – Carlill VS. Carbolic ball company 1893
of other diseases. (The 1889–1890 flu pandemic was estimated to have killed 1 million people.) The smoke ball was a
rubber ball with a tube attached. It was filled with carbolic acid (or phenol). The tube would be inserted into a user’s nose
and squeezed at the bottom to release the vapours. The nose would run, ostensibly flushing out viral infections.
The Company published advertisements in the Pall Mall Gazette and other newspapers on November 13, 1891, claiming
that it would pay £100 (equivalent to £11,000 in 2019) to anyone who got sick with influenza after using its product
according to the instructions provided with it.
£100 reward will be paid by the Carbolic Smoke Ball Company to any person who contracts the increasing epidemic
influenza colds, or any disease caused by taking cold, after having used the ball three times daily for two weeks, according
to the printed directions supplied with each ball.
£1000 is deposited with the Alliance Bank, Regent Street, showing our sincerity in the matter.
During the last epidemic of influenza many thousand carbolic smoke balls were sold as preventives against this disease,
and in no ascertained case was the disease contracted by those using the carbolic smoke ball.
One carbolic smoke ball will last a family several months, making it the cheapest remedy in the world at the price, 10s. post
free. The ball can be refilled at a cost of 5s. Address: “Carbolic Smoke Ball Company”, 27, Princes Street, Hanover Square,
London.
Louisa Elizabeth Carlill saw the advertisement, bought one of the balls and used it three times daily for nearly two months
until she contracted the flu on 17 January 1892. She claimed £100 from the Carbolic Smoke Ball Company. They ignored
two letters from her husband, a solicitor. On a third request for her reward, they replied with an anonymous letter that if it
is used properly the company had complete confidence in the smoke ball’s efficacy, but “to protect themselves against all
fraudulent claims”, they would need her to come to their office to use the ball each day and be checked by the secretary.
Carlill brought a claim to court. The barristers representing her argued that the advertisement and her reliance on it was a
contract between the company and her, so the company ought to pay. The company argued it was not a serious contract.
Question :
1. Identify The fact And Judgement From Above Case Study?
2. Explain which characteristics of law of contract is applicable in this case law
IIBMS MBA CASE STUDY SOLUTION – Carlill VS. Carbolic ball company 1893
IIBMS MBA CASE STUDY SOLUTION – Carlill VS. Carbolic ball company 1893

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEET

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEET

 

Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B109
Examination Paper Business Communication
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.The most important goal of business communication is_________. (1)
a) favorable relationship between sender and receiver
b) organizational goodwill
c) receiver response
d) receiver understanding
II. Down ward communication flows from_________ to_________. (1)
e) Upper to lower
f) Lower to upper
g) Horizontal
h) Diagonal
III. Horizontal communication takes place
between_________. (1)
a. superior to subordinate
b. subordinate to superior
c. employees with same status
d. none of these
IV. The study of communication through touch is_________. (1)
a. chronemics
b. haptics
c. proxemics
d. semantic

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEET
V._____________ channel of communication is known as grapevine (1)
a. Formal
b. Informal
c. Horizontal
d. Vertical
VI. The following is (are) the most effective ways of communication. (1) a. Verbal b. Non verbal c. Written d. All of the above
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
END OF SECTION A
• This section consists of Caselets.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each Caselet carries 20marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
VII. The handshake that conveys confidence is (1)
a. Limp
b. Firm
c. Loose
d. Double
VIII. ________ of the letter consists of main message. (1)
a. Heading
b. Body
c. Greeting
d. Closing
IX. Body of a letter is divided into ________
parts. (1)
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
X. X. A persuasive message will fail if_____ (1)
a. it does not focus on what is in it for the reader
b. it only lists facts
c. it moves too slowly
d. all of the above
Part Two:
1. Brief Grapevine communication? (5)
2. List the 7 C’s of Communication? (5)
3. Describe the various barriers of communication? (5)
4. Write the negotiation process. (5)

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEET
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
Caselet 1
Barry and Communication Barriers Effective Communication as a Motivator One common complaint employees voice about supervisors is inconsistent messages – meaning one supervisor tells them one thing and another tells them something different. Imagine you are the supervisor/manager for each of the employees described below. As you read their case, give
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
consideration to how you might help communicate with the employee to remedy the conflict. Answer the critical thinking questions at the end of the case then compare your answers to the Notes to Supplement Answers section. Barry is a 27-year old who is a foodservice manager at a casual dining restaurant. Barry is responsible for supervising and managing all employees in the back of the house. Employees working in the back of the house range in age from 16 years old to 55 years old. In addition, the employees come from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. For many, English is not their primary language. Barry is Serv Safe® certified and tries his best to keep up with food safety issues in the kitchen but he admits it’s not easy. Employees receive “on the job training” about food safety basics (for example, appropriate hygiene and hand washing, time/temperature, and cleaning and sanitizing). But with high turnover of employees, training is often rushed and some new employees are put right into the job without training if it is a busy day. Eventually, most employees get some kind of food safety training. The owners of the restaurant are supportive of Barry in his food safety efforts because they know if a food safety outbreak were ever linked to their restaurant; it would likely put them out of business. Still, the owners note there are additional costs for training and making sure food is handled safely. One day Barry comes to work and is rather upset even before he steps into the restaurant. Things haven’t been going well at home and he was lucky to rummage through some of the dirty laundry and find a relatively clean outfit to wear for work. He admits he needs a haircut and a good hand scrubbing, especially after working on his car last evening. When he walks into the kitchen he notices several trays of uncooked meat sitting out in the kitchen area. It appears these have been sitting at room temperature for quite some time. Barry is frustrated and doesn’t know what to do. He feels like he is beating his head against a brick wall when it comes to getting employees to practice food safety. Barry has taken many efforts to get employees to be safe in how they handle food. He has huge signs posted all over the kitchen with these words: KEEP HOT FOOD HOT AND COLD FOOD COLD and WASH YOUR HANDS ALWAYS AND OFTEN. All employees are given a thermometer when they start so that they can temp food. Hand sinks, soap, and paper towels are available for employees so that they are encouraged to wash their hands frequently.
Questions
1. What are the communication challenges and barriers Barry faces? (10)
2. What solutions might Barry consider in addressing each of these challenges and barriers? (10)

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEET
Caselet 2
Mr. Dutta, newly appointed president of century Airlines, knew the company’s survival depended on customer service, which in turn depended on motivated employees. So he created the Century Spirit program to build team spirit by encouraging employee participation, individual initiative, and open communication. Among the program’s early successes was newspaper started by a group of flight attendants. The plane truth published information about benefits and work conditions as well as feature stories and humorous articles. It quickly became popular not only with flight attendant but with pilot, machinists, and baggage handlers.
As time went on, though, the plane truth began to run articles critical of the company. When management cut back worker’s hours, the, newspaper questioned what sacrifices the executive were making. When the technical services department releases figures showing long turnaround times, the paper questioned the machinist’s work ethic. Worried that customer might see the newspaper; Mr. Dutta wanted to cancel it. The president of the flight attendants union also wanted to see it was stirring up trouble with the machinists.
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each question carries 15marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
Ms. Rachel, Century’s human resource director, was asked to stop the publication. But she hesitated. She knew the employee morale was on the brink, but she did not know whether the newspaper was venting worker’s frustrations and reinforcing team spirit or stirring up old animosities and bringing the whole company down. Was it creating more tension than unity or vice-versa?
Questions
1. What Communication issues are involved at Century Airlines? (10)
2. What Communication Channels are being Utilized (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. Explain the various non verbal communications with an example in business
Scenario? (15)
2. Delineate the types of parts of business report writing? (15)
S-2-010619

 

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEET

 

Examination Paper of Management Information Systems
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
SubjectCode-B110
Examination Paper
Management Information Systems
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.A person machine-system and a highly integrated grouping of information-processing functions designed to provide management with a comprehensive picture of specific operation is called (1)
a) DSSB
b) MISC
c) IISD
II. Which one of the following is not an important characteristic of useful and effective information? (1)
a) Accuracy
b) Timelines
c) Completeness
d) Economy
d) All of the above
III. The most important reason for failure of MIS is (1)
a) Use of improper tools for design
b) Noninvolvement of end-user
c) Improper specification
d) None of the above
IV. Top level Managers use (1)
a) Strategic information
b) Tactical information
c) Operational information
d) None of these
V.System is an important factor of MIS. There are various types of systems. Which one of the following is not a system? (1)
a) Physical system
b) Integrated system
c) Open system
d) Open system

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEET
VI. Which one of the following is not an approach for development of MIS? (1) a) Hierarchical approach b) Integrative approach c) Modular approach d) Elective approach
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Management Information Systems
IIBM Institute of Business Management
VII. Management is linked to information by (1)
a. Decisions
b. Data
c. Both [A] And [B]
d. None Of The Above
VIII. Which pattern reflects a pure executive form of management?
(1)
a. Functional
b. Line
c. Line and Staff
d. Committee
IX. The term financial engineering is related to (1)
a) Cost of production
b) Financial restructuring
c) Product planning
d) Capital issue
X. The goal of financial management is to (1)
a) Maximize the wealth of preference share holders
b) Maximize the wealth of debenture holders
c) Maximize the wealth of equity share holders
d) All of the above
Part Two:
1. What is purpose of information system from a business perspective? (5)
2. What are Enterprise System? How do they benefit businesses? (5)
3. Differentiate DSS from MIS. (5)
4. What do you mean by Data visualizations? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Management Information System

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEET
Caselet -1
A waiter takes an order at a table, and then enters it online via one of the six terminals located in the restaurant dining room. The order is routed to a printer in the appropriate preparation area: the cold item printer if it is a salad, the hot-item printer if it is a hot sandwich or the bar printer if it is a drink. A customer’s meal check-listing (bill) the items ordered and the respective prices are automatically generated. This ordering system eliminates the old three-carbon-copy guest check system as well as any problems caused by a waiter’s handwriting. When the kitchen runs out of a food item, the cooks send out an ‘out of stock’ message, which will be displayed on the dining room terminals when waiters try to order that item. This gives the waiters faster feedback, enabling them to give better service to the customers. Other system features aid management in the planning and control of their restaurant business. The system provides up-to-the-minute information on the food items ordered and breaks out percentages showing sales of each item versus total sales. This helps management plan menus according to customers’ tastes. The system also compares the weekly sales totals versus food costs, allowing planning for tighter cost controls. In addition, whenever an order is voided, the reasons for the void are keyed in. This may help later in management decisions, especially if the voids consistently related to food or service. Acceptance of the system by the users is exceptionally high since the waiters and waitresses were involved in the selection and design process. All potential users were asked to give their impressions and ideas about the various systems available before one was chosen.
Questions
1. What would make the system a more complete MIS rather than just doing transaction processing? (10)
2. Explain the probable effects that making the system more formal would have on the customers and the management? (10)
Caselet 2
The Company is considered to be a leader in the design and production of industrial and commercial air-conditioning equipment. While most of the products were standard items, a considerable number involving large sales volume were specially designed for installation in big office buildings and factories. Besides being an innovator in product design and having an exceptionally good customer service department, the company is well known for its high-quality products and its ability to satisfy the customer requirements promptly.
Because of its rapid growth, the company had to be careful with its cash requirements, especially for accounts receivable and for inventories. For many years, the company had kept inventories under close control at a level equal to 1.7 times the monthly sales, or a turnover of nearly 6 times per year. But, all of a sudden, inventories soared to triple monthly sales, and the company found itself with Rs.30 crores of inventories above a normal level. Calculating a cost of carrying inventory at 30 percent of the value of

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEET
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Management Information System
inventories (including the cost of money, storage and handling, and obsolescence), it was estimated that this excess inventory was costing the company Rs.9 crores per year in profits before taxes. In addition, it forced the to call on its bank for more loans than had company been expected.
Mr. Dcepak Mehra, president of Connair, was understandably worried and incensed when this matter came to his attention. He was told that the primary reasons for this rise in inventory were excessive buying of raw materials in advance because of anticipated shortages and the failure of a new computer software, with the result the people in the production and purchasing departments were not having complete information as to what was happening to inventory for several months.
Mr. Mehra, taking the stand that no company should let something like this surplus inventory occur without advance notice and that no manager can be expected to control a business on the basis of history, instructed his vice-president for finance to come up with a program to get better control of inventories in the future.
Questions for Discussion:
1. What do you find wrong with Connair’s controls? (10)
2. Are there any other techniques or approaches to control that you would suggest? (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. List and describe the information systems serving each of the major functional areas of business? (15)
2. What are the characteristics of MIS? How MIS do differs from TPS? (15)
S-2-010619
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEET

Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B107 Examination Paper
Production and Operations Management
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.The purpose of the transportation approach for locational analysis is to minimize (1)
a) Total costs
b) Total shipping costs
c) Total variable costs
d) Total fixed costs
II. Which of the following would not generally be a motive for a firm to hold inventories? To (1)
e) Take advantage of quantity discounts
f) Minimize holding costs
g) Reduce stock out risks
h) Decouple production from distribution
III. Which of the following are assignable cause? (1)
a. Large variations in hardness of material
b. Tool wear
c. Errors in setting
d. All of the above
IV. Like roots of a tree, ________of organization is hidden from direct view.
(1)
a. Goodwill
b. Core competence
c. Higher management
d. Capital investment
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
V.Inadequate production capacity ultimately leads to (1)
a. Poor quality
b. Poor Customer Service
c. Poor inventory control
d. All of the above

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEET
VI. Limitations of Traditional cost accounting are (1) a. Assumes factory as an isolated entity b. It measures only the cost of producing c. Both (A) and (B) d. None of the above
VII. Business is rated on which dimensions
(1)
a. Market attractiveness
b. Business strength
c. Both (A) and (B)
d. None of the above
VIII. How does ‘structure’ reduce external uncertainty arising out of human behavior (1)
a. Research and planning
b. Forecasting
c. Both (A) and (B)
d. None of the above
IX. Objective of Work Study is to improve _______ (1)
a. Cycle time
b. Productivity
c. Production
d. All of the above
X. Which of the following are activities of corrective maintenance? (1)
a. Overhauling
b. Emergency repairs
c. Modifications and improvements
d. All of the above

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEET
Part Two:
1. What are the dimensions of quality? (5)
2. What is Quality? (5)
3. What is Materials Planning? (5)
4. Need for Inventory Management – Why do Companies hold inventories? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEET
Caselet 1
The pizza business did well and by 1965, Thomas was able to open two more stores in the town -Pizza King and Pizza from the Prop. Within a year, Varti opened a pizza store in a neighborhood town with the same name, DomiNick’s Pizza. Thomas decided to change the name of his first store, DomiNick’s Pizza, and one of his employees suggested the name Domino’s Pizza(Domino’s). The advantage of this name Thomas felt was that it would be listed after DomiNick in the directory. Domino’s philosophy rested on two principles – limited menu and delivering hot and fresh pizzas within half-an-hour. In 1967, it opened the first franchise store in Ypsilanti, and in 1968, a franchise store in Burlington, Vermont. However, the company ran into problems when its headquarters (the first store) and commissary were destroyed by fire. In the early 1970s, the company faced problems again when it was sued by Amstar, the parent company of Domino Sugar for trademark infringement. Thomas started looking for a new name and came up with Red Domino’s and Pizza’s Dispatch. However, there wasn’t any need for it because Domino’s won the lawsuit in 1980.In 1982, Domino’s Pizza established Domino’s Pizza International (DPI) that was made responsible for opening Domino’s stores internationally. The first store was opened in Winnipeg, Canada. Within a year, DPI spread to more than 50 countries and in 1983, it inaugurated its1000th store. Around the same time, new pizza chains like Pizza Hut and Little Caesar established themselves in the USA. Domino’s Pizza faced intense competition because it had not changed its menu of traditional hand-tossed pizza. The other pizza chains offered low-priced breadsticks, salads and other fast food apart from pizzas. Domino’s faced tough competition from Pizza Hut in the home delivery segment also. Little Caesar was eating into Domino’s market share with its innovative marketing strategies. By 1989, Domino’s sales had reduced significantly and cash flows were affected due to the acquisition of assets. In 1993, Thomas took measures to expand Domino’s product line, in an attempt to revive the company and tackle competition. The company introduced pan pizza and bread sticks in the USA. In late 1993, Domino’s introduced the Ultimate Deep Dish Pizza and Crunchy Thin Crust Pizza. In 1994, it rolled out another non-pizza dish – Buffalo wings. Though Domino’s did not experiment with its menu for many years, the company adopted innovative ways in managing a pizza store. Thomas gave about 90% of the franchisee agreements in the USA to people who had worked as drivers with Domino’s. The company gave ownership to qualified people, after they had successfully managed a pizza store for a year and had completed a training course. Domino’s also gave franchises to candidates recommended by existing franchisees. Outside the USA, most of Domino’s stores were franchise-owned. Domino’s was also credited for many innovations in the pizza industry and setting standards for other pizza companies. It has developed dough trays, corrugated pizza boxes, insulated bags for delivering pizzas, and conveyor ovens.
In 1993, Domino’s withdrew the guarantee of delivering pizzas within 30-minutes of order andstarted emphasizing on Total Satisfaction Guarantee (TSG) which read: “If for any reason, you are dissatisfied with your Domino’s Pizza dining experience, we will re-make your pizza or refund your money.” Domino’s entered India in 1996 through a franchise agreement with VamBhartia Corp in Delhi. With the overwhelming success of the first outlet, the company opened another outlet in Delhi. By 2000, Domino’s had outlets in all major cities in India. When
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
Domino’s entered India, the concept of home delivery was still in its nascent stages. It existed only in some major cities and was restricted to delivery by the friendly neighborhood fast food outlets. Eating out at ‘branded’ restaurants was more common. To penetrate the Indian market, Domino’s introduced an integrated home delivery system from a network of company outlets within 30 minutes of the order. Goutham Advani (Advani), Chief of Marketing, Domino’s Pizza India, said, “What really worked its way into the Indian mind set was the promised 30-minute delivery.” Domino’s also offered compensation: Rs.30/- off the price tag if there was a delay in delivery. For the first 4 years in India, Domino’s concentrated on its ‘Delivery’ strategy.
Domino’s Logistics Model
Analysts felt that Domino’s took a cue from McDonald’s supply chain model. However, they opined that the level of complexity in McDonald’s system in India was not as high as that of Domino’s. Commented Bhatia ,”McDonald’s operations are not as spread out as ours. They are in four cities while we are in 16.Centralizing wouldn’t work on such a geographical scale”. The logistics model adopted by Domino’s offered some obvious benefits including lower transportation costs, cheaper procurement and economies of scale. Domino’s had already cut out the duplication in procurement and processing of raw materials across each of the three commissaries. The old model of self-contained commissaries had another disadvantage: adding new outlets did not translate into greater economies of scale. Bhatia planned to extend the model to other parts of the country as well. The commissary was to be located near the largest market in that region. Bhatia said, “Our roll-out began only after we mapped out our procurement strategy.” Based on the agricultural map of India, Domino’s looked McDonald’s had one of the best logistics models in India. To maintain consistency and quality of its products, McDonald’s shipped all the raw materials lettuce, patties et al to a cold storage close to the main market. Based on a daily demand schedule that was prepared a day in advance, the required amount of raw material was transported to individual outlets to get the best product at the lowest cost.
Thus, tomatoes would come from Bhubaneswar, spices from the south, baby corn from Nepal (where it’s 40% cheaper than in India) and vegetables from Sri Lanka. Similarly, Domino’s India planned to extend its operations to Nepal, Sri Lanka and Dhaka. The company planned to establish a commissary in Sri Lanka. Domino’s also identified specialty crops in each region. The commissary in that region was entrusted with the task of processing that specialty crop. For instance, the commissary for the eastern region in Kolkata was responsible for buying tomatoes, processing them and then sending them to all the other commissaries. Similarly, the northern commissary had to deliver pizza bases. This way, Domino’s minimized duplication as well as the dangers of perish ability. Once the new model was formalized, Bhatia planned to use Domino’s 25 refrigerated trucks to transport products for other companies on the same route. For instance, if an operator in Kochi(Kerala) needed to transport specialty cheese, he could use the Domino’s fleet to transport his products. Said Bhatia, “Not too many people have refrigerated trucks in the country. And we can offer them quality service because we will be giving them standards we use for ourselves.” Company sources said that enquiries from clients for such transport facilities had started coming in. Bhatia said he was in the process of selecting a person to head the logistics operation, which would be spun off as a separate profit centre. Bhatia seemed confident that the profit centre had the potential to bring in Rs 10 by 2006. However, he said the profit center would not be allowed to impede the growth of the pizza
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
business, Domino’s core operation. Only those deliveries that did not delay or deroute the truck would be considered
Questions
1. Describe about the Article for Logistics and Operations Management Domino’s Pizza’s Process Technology (20)

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEET
Caselet 2
ABC Ltd. is the country’s largest manufacturer of spun yarn with well-established market. ABC Ltd. has good reputation for quality and service. Their marketing department identified that the potential for global market is expanding rapidly and hence the company undertook exercise for expansion of the capacity for export market. The company formed team of Marketing and Materials department to study the global logistics possibilities. After extensive study, the team came up with a report on global logistics and submitted that global logistics is essentially same as domestic due to following similarities: • The conceptual logistics framework of linking supply sources, plants, warehouses and customers is the same. • Both systems involve managing the movement and storage of products. • Information is critical to effective provision of customer service, management of inventory, vendor product and cost control. • The functional processes of inventory management, warehousing, order processing, carrier selection, procurement, and vendor payment are required for both. • Economic and safety regulations exist for transportation. The company had very economical and reliable transportation system in existence. For exports as well they decided to evaluate capabilities of their existing transporter and entrusted them with the job of transport till port. For customs formalities they engaged a good CHA after proper cost evaluation and entered into contract for freight with shipping company agent. The response for company’s export was very good and the company could get as many as 15 customers within first two months and reached to a level of USD 250,000 per month by the end of first half of the year. Based on this response the export volumes were expected to grow to a level of USD 400,000 per month by the end of the year. When the review was made at the end of the year, company found that export volumes had in fact come down to the level of USD 120,000 which was much lower than it had reached in the first half of the year. The managing committee had an emergency meeting to discuss this and the export manager was entrusted with the task of identifying the reasons for this decline. Mr. Ganesh decided to visit the customers for getting the first hand information. When he discussed the matter with the customers, the feedback on the quality and price were good but the customers were very upset on the logistic services due to delayed shipments, frequent changes in shipping schedules, improper documentation, improper identifications, package sizes, losses due to transit damages etc. After coming back, the export manager checked the dispatch schedules and found that production and ex-works schedules were all proper. Then he studied the logistics systems and found that the logistics cost was very high and all the logistics people were demotivated due to the overwork and were complaining of total lack of co-ordination and the system had become totally disorganized.
Questions
1. Explain the problems experienced by ABC Ltd. What is the main cause of these problems? (20)
END OF SECTION B
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. The Advantages & Disadvantages of Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)? (15)
2. Distinguish between just-in-time and just-in-case as stock management systems?(15)
S-2-010619
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C

 

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEET

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IIBM EXAM ANSWER communication challenges and barriers Barry faces

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IIBM EXAM ANSWER communication challenges and barriers Barry faces

Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B109
Examination Paper Business Communication
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.The most important goal of business communication is_________. (1)
a) favorable relationship between sender and receiver
b) organizational goodwill
c) receiver response
d) receiver understanding
II. Down ward communication flows from_________ to_________. (1)
e) Upper to lower
f) Lower to upper
g) Horizontal
h) Diagonal

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IIBM EXAM ANSWER communication challenges and barriers Barry faces

III. Horizontal communication takes place
between_________. (1)
a. superior to subordinate
b. subordinate to superior
c. employees with same status
d. none of these
IV. The study of communication through touch is_________. (1)
a. chronemics
b. haptics
c. proxemics
d. semantic
V._____________ channel of communication is known as grapevine (1)
a. Formal
b. Informal
c. Horizontal
d. Vertical
VI. The following is (are) the most effective ways of communication. (1) a. Verbal b. Non verbal c. Written d. All of the above

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IIBM EXAM ANSWER communication challenges and barriers Barry faces

Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
END OF SECTION A
• This section consists of Caselets.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each Caselet carries 20marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
VII. The handshake that conveys confidence is (1)
a. Limp
b. Firm
c. Loose
d. Double
VIII. ________ of the letter consists of main message. (1)
a. Heading
b. Body
c. Greeting
d. Closing
IX. Body of a letter is divided into ________
parts. (1)
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
X. X. A persuasive message will fail if_____ (1)
a. it does not focus on what is in it for the reader
b. it only lists facts
c. it moves too slowly
d. all of the above
Part Two:
1. Brief Grapevine communication? (5)
2. List the 7 C’s of Communication? (5)
3. Describe the various barriers of communication? (5)
4. Write the negotiation process. (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
Caselet 1
Barry and Communication Barriers Effective Communication as a Motivator One common complaint employees voice about supervisors is inconsistent messages – meaning one supervisor tells them one thing and another tells them something different. Imagine you are the supervisor/manager for each of the employees described below. As you read their case, give
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
consideration to how you might help communicate with the employee to remedy the conflict. Answer the critical thinking questions at the end of the case then compare your answers to the Notes to Supplement Answers section. Barry is a 27-year old who is a foodservice manager at a casual dining restaurant. Barry is responsible for supervising and managing all employees in the back of the house. Employees working in the back of the house range in age from 16 years old to 55 years old. In addition, the employees come from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. For many, English is not their primary language. Barry is Serv Safe® certified and tries his best to keep up with food safety issues in the kitchen but he admits it’s not easy. Employees receive “on the job training” about food safety basics (for example, appropriate hygiene and hand washing, time/temperature, and cleaning and sanitizing). But with high turnover of employees, training is often rushed and some new employees are put right into the job without training if it is a busy day. Eventually, most employees get some kind of food safety training. The owners of the restaurant are supportive of Barry in his food safety efforts because they know if a food safety outbreak were ever linked to their restaurant; it would likely put them out of business. Still, the owners note there are additional costs for training and making sure food is handled safely. One day Barry comes to work and is rather upset even before he steps into the restaurant. Things haven’t been going well at home and he was lucky to rummage through some of the dirty laundry and find a relatively clean outfit to wear for work. He admits he needs a haircut and a good hand scrubbing, especially after working on his car last evening. When he walks into the kitchen he notices several trays of uncooked meat sitting out in the kitchen area. It appears these have been sitting at room temperature for quite some time. Barry is frustrated and doesn’t know what to do. He feels like he is beating his head against a brick wall when it comes to getting employees to practice food safety. Barry has taken many efforts to get employees to be safe in how they handle food. He has huge signs posted all over the kitchen with these words: KEEP HOT FOOD HOT AND COLD FOOD COLD and WASH YOUR HANDS ALWAYS AND OFTEN. All employees are given a thermometer when they start so that they can temp food. Hand sinks, soap, and paper towels are available for employees so that they are encouraged to wash their hands frequently.
Questions
1. What are the communication challenges and barriers Barry faces? (10)
2. What solutions might Barry consider in addressing each of these challenges and barriers? (10)
Caselet 2
Mr. Dutta, newly appointed president of century Airlines, knew the company’s survival depended on customer service, which in turn depended on motivated employees. So he created the Century Spirit program to build team spirit by encouraging employee participation, individual initiative, and open communication. Among the program’s early successes was newspaper started by a group of flight attendants. The plane truth published information about benefits and work conditions as well as feature stories and humorous articles. It quickly became popular not only with flight attendant but with pilot, machinists, and baggage handlers.
As time went on, though, the plane truth began to run articles critical of the company. When management cut back worker’s hours, the, newspaper questioned what sacrifices the executive were making. When the technical services department releases figures showing long turnaround times, the paper questioned the machinist’s work ethic. Worried that customer might see the newspaper; Mr. Dutta wanted to cancel it. The president of the flight attendants union also wanted to see it was stirring up trouble with the machinists.
Examination Paper of Business Communication

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IIBM EXAM ANSWER communication challenges and barriers Barry faces
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each question carries 15marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
Ms. Rachel, Century’s human resource director, was asked to stop the publication. But she hesitated. She knew the employee morale was on the brink, but she did not know whether the newspaper was venting worker’s frustrations and reinforcing team spirit or stirring up old animosities and bringing the whole company down. Was it creating more tension than unity or vice-versa?
Questions
1. What Communication issues are involved at Century Airlines? (10)
2. What Communication Channels are being Utilized (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. Explain the various non verbal communications with an example in business
Scenario? (15)
2. Delineate the types of parts of business report writing? (15)
S-2-010619

IIBM MBA CASE STUDY QUESTIONS

IIBM MBA CASE STUDY QUESTIONS

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Caselet 1
Barry and Communication Barriers Effective Communication as a Motivator One common complaint employees voice about supervisors is inconsistent messages – meaning one supervisor tells them one thing and another tells them something different. Imagine you are the supervisor/manager for each of the employees described below. As you read their case, give
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
consideration to how you might help communicate with the employee to remedy the conflict. Answer the critical thinking questions at the end of the case then compare your answers to the Notes to Supplement Answers section. Barry is a 27-year old who is a foodservice manager at a casual dining restaurant. Barry is responsible for supervising and managing all employees in the back of the house. Employees working in the back of the house range in age from 16 years old to 55 years old. In addition, the employees come from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. For many, English is not their primary language. Barry is Serv Safe® certified and tries his best to keep up with food safety issues in the kitchen but he admits it’s not easy. Employees receive “on the job training” about food safety basics (for example, appropriate hygiene and hand washing, time/temperature, and cleaning and sanitizing). But with high turnover of employees, training is often rushed and some new employees are put right into the job without training if it is a busy day. Eventually, most employees get some kind of food safety training. The owners of the restaurant are supportive of Barry in his food safety efforts because they know if a food safety outbreak were ever linked to their restaurant; it would likely put them out of business. Still, the owners note there are additional costs for training and making sure food is handled safely. One day Barry comes to work and is rather upset even before he steps into the restaurant. Things haven’t been going well at home and he was lucky to rummage through some of the dirty laundry and find a relatively clean outfit to wear for work. He admits he needs a haircut and a good hand scrubbing, especially after working on his car last evening. When he walks into the kitchen he notices several trays of uncooked meat sitting out in the kitchen area. It appears these have been sitting at room temperature for quite some time. Barry is frustrated and doesn’t know what to do. He feels like he is beating his head against a brick wall when it comes to getting employees to practice food safety. Barry has taken many efforts to get employees to be safe in how they handle food. He has huge signs posted all over the kitchen with these words: KEEP HOT FOOD HOT AND COLD FOOD COLD and WASH YOUR HANDS ALWAYS AND OFTEN. All employees are given a thermometer when they start so that they can temp food. Hand sinks, soap, and paper towels are available for employees so that they are encouraged to wash their hands frequently.
Questions
1. What are the communication challenges and barriers Barry faces? (10)
2. What solutions might Barry consider in addressing each of these challenges and barriers? (10)
Caselet 2
Mr. Dutta, newly appointed president of century Airlines, knew the company’s survival depended on customer service, which in turn depended on motivated employees. So he created the Century Spirit program to build team spirit by encouraging employee participation, individual initiative, and open communication. Among the program’s early successes was newspaper started by a group of flight attendants. The plane truth published information about benefits and work conditions as well as feature stories and humorous articles. It quickly became popular not only with flight attendant but with pilot, machinists, and baggage handlers.
As time went on, though, the plane truth began to run articles critical of the company. When management cut back worker’s hours, the, newspaper questioned what sacrifices the executive were making. When the technical services department releases figures showing long turnaround times, the paper questioned the machinist’s work ethic. Worried that customer might see the newspaper; Mr. Dutta wanted to cancel it. The president of the flight attendants union also wanted to see it was stirring up trouble with the machinists.
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each question carries 15marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
Ms. Rachel, Century’s human resource director, was asked to stop the publication. But she hesitated. She knew the employee morale was on the brink, but she did not know whether the newspaper was venting worker’s frustrations and reinforcing team spirit or stirring up old animosities and bringing the whole company down. Was it creating more tension than unity or vice-versa?
Questions
1. What Communication issues are involved at Century Airlines? (10)
2. What Communication Channels are being Utilized

 

Caselet -1
A waiter takes an order at a table, and then enters it online via one of the six terminals located in the restaurant dining room. The order is routed to a printer in the appropriate preparation area: the cold item printer if it is a salad, the hot-item printer if it is a hot sandwich or the bar printer if it is a drink. A customer’s meal check-listing (bill) the items ordered and the respective prices are automatically generated. This ordering system eliminates the old three-carbon-copy guest check system as well as any problems caused by a waiter’s handwriting. When the kitchen runs out of a food item, the cooks send out an ‘out of stock’ message, which will be displayed on the dining room terminals when waiters try to order that item. This gives the waiters faster feedback, enabling them to give better service to the customers. Other system features aid management in the planning and control of their restaurant business. The system provides up-to-the-minute information on the food items ordered and breaks out percentages showing sales of each item versus total sales. This helps management plan menus according to customers’ tastes. The system also compares the weekly sales totals versus food costs, allowing planning for tighter cost controls. In addition, whenever an order is voided, the reasons for the void are keyed in. This may help later in management decisions, especially if the voids consistently related to food or service. Acceptance of the system by the users is exceptionally high since the waiters and waitresses were involved in the selection and design process. All potential users were asked to give their impressions and ideas about the various systems available before one was chosen.
Questions
1. What would make the system a more complete MIS rather than just doing transaction processing? (10)
2. Explain the probable effects that making the system more formal would have on the customers and the management? (10)
Caselet 2
The Company is considered to be a leader in the design and production of industrial and commercial air-conditioning equipment. While most of the products were standard items, a considerable number involving large sales volume were specially designed for installation in big office buildings and factories. Besides being an innovator in product design and having an exceptionally good customer service department, the company is well known for its high-quality products and its ability to satisfy the customer requirements promptly.
Because of its rapid growth, the company had to be careful with its cash requirements, especially for accounts receivable and for inventories. For many years, the company had kept inventories under close control at a level equal to 1.7 times the monthly sales, or a turnover of nearly 6 times per year. But, all of a sudden, inventories soared to triple monthly sales, and the company found itself with Rs.30 crores of inventories above a normal level. Calculating a cost of carrying inventory at 30 percent of the value of
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Examination Paper of Management Information System
inventories (including the cost of money, storage and handling, and obsolescence), it was estimated that this excess inventory was costing the company Rs.9 crores per year in profits before taxes. In addition, it forced the to call on its bank for more loans than had company been expected.
Mr. Dcepak Mehra, president of Connair, was understandably worried and incensed when this matter came to his attention. He was told that the primary reasons for this rise in inventory were excessive buying of raw materials in advance because of anticipated shortages and the failure of a new computer software, with the result the people in the production and purchasing departments were not having complete information as to what was happening to inventory for several months.
Mr. Mehra, taking the stand that no company should let something like this surplus inventory occur without advance notice and that no manager can be expected to control a business on the basis of history, instructed his vice-president for finance to come up with a program to get better control of inventories in the future.
Questions for Discussion:
1. What do you find wrong with Connair’s controls? (10)
2. Are there any other techniques or approaches to control that you would suggest? (10)

Caselet 1
The pizza business did well and by 1965, Thomas was able to open two more stores in the town -Pizza King and Pizza from the Prop. Within a year, Varti opened a pizza store in a neighborhood town with the same name, DomiNick’s Pizza. Thomas decided to change the name of his first store, DomiNick’s Pizza, and one of his employees suggested the name Domino’s Pizza(Domino’s). The advantage of this name Thomas felt was that it would be listed after DomiNick in the directory. Domino’s philosophy rested on two principles – limited menu and delivering hot and fresh pizzas within half-an-hour. In 1967, it opened the first franchise store in Ypsilanti, and in 1968, a franchise store in Burlington, Vermont. However, the company ran into problems when its headquarters (the first store) and commissary were destroyed by fire. In the early 1970s, the company faced problems again when it was sued by Amstar, the parent company of Domino Sugar for trademark infringement. Thomas started looking for a new name and came up with Red Domino’s and Pizza’s Dispatch. However, there wasn’t any need for it because Domino’s won the lawsuit in 1980.In 1982, Domino’s Pizza established Domino’s Pizza International (DPI) that was made responsible for opening Domino’s stores internationally. The first store was opened in Winnipeg, Canada. Within a year, DPI spread to more than 50 countries and in 1983, it inaugurated its1000th store. Around the same time, new pizza chains like Pizza Hut and Little Caesar established themselves in the USA. Domino’s Pizza faced intense competition because it had not changed its menu of traditional hand-tossed pizza. The other pizza chains offered low-priced breadsticks, salads and other fast food apart from pizzas. Domino’s faced tough competition from Pizza Hut in the home delivery segment also. Little Caesar was eating into Domino’s market share with its innovative marketing strategies. By 1989, Domino’s sales had reduced significantly and cash flows were affected due to the acquisition of assets. In 1993, Thomas took measures to expand Domino’s product line, in an attempt to revive the company and tackle competition. The company introduced pan pizza and bread sticks in the USA. In late 1993, Domino’s introduced the Ultimate Deep Dish Pizza and Crunchy Thin Crust Pizza. In 1994, it rolled out another non-pizza dish – Buffalo wings. Though Domino’s did not experiment with its menu for many years, the company adopted innovative ways in managing a pizza store. Thomas gave about 90% of the franchisee agreements in the USA to people who had worked as drivers with Domino’s. The company gave ownership to qualified people, after they had successfully managed a pizza store for a year and had completed a training course. Domino’s also gave franchises to candidates recommended by existing franchisees. Outside the USA, most of Domino’s stores were franchise-owned. Domino’s was also credited for many innovations in the pizza industry and setting standards for other pizza companies. It has developed dough trays, corrugated pizza boxes, insulated bags for delivering pizzas, and conveyor ovens.
In 1993, Domino’s withdrew the guarantee of delivering pizzas within 30-minutes of order andstarted emphasizing on Total Satisfaction Guarantee (TSG) which read: “If for any reason, you are dissatisfied with your Domino’s Pizza dining experience, we will re-make your pizza or refund your money.” Domino’s entered India in 1996 through a franchise agreement with VamBhartia Corp in Delhi. With the overwhelming success of the first outlet, the company opened another outlet in Delhi. By 2000, Domino’s had outlets in all major cities in India. When
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
Domino’s entered India, the concept of home delivery was still in its nascent stages. It existed only in some major cities and was restricted to delivery by the friendly neighborhood fast food outlets. Eating out at ‘branded’ restaurants was more common. To penetrate the Indian market, Domino’s introduced an integrated home delivery system from a network of company outlets within 30 minutes of the order. Goutham Advani (Advani), Chief of Marketing, Domino’s Pizza India, said, “What really worked its way into the Indian mind set was the promised 30-minute delivery.” Domino’s also offered compensation: Rs.30/- off the price tag if there was a delay in delivery. For the first 4 years in India, Domino’s concentrated on its ‘Delivery’ strategy.
Domino’s Logistics Model
Analysts felt that Domino’s took a cue from McDonald’s supply chain model. However, they opined that the level of complexity in McDonald’s system in India was not as high as that of Domino’s. Commented Bhatia ,”McDonald’s operations are not as spread out as ours. They are in four cities while we are in 16.Centralizing wouldn’t work on such a geographical scale”. The logistics model adopted by Domino’s offered some obvious benefits including lower transportation costs, cheaper procurement and economies of scale. Domino’s had already cut out the duplication in procurement and processing of raw materials across each of the three commissaries. The old model of self-contained commissaries had another disadvantage: adding new outlets did not translate into greater economies of scale. Bhatia planned to extend the model to other parts of the country as well. The commissary was to be located near the largest market in that region. Bhatia said, “Our roll-out began only after we mapped out our procurement strategy.” Based on the agricultural map of India, Domino’s looked McDonald’s had one of the best logistics models in India. To maintain consistency and quality of its products, McDonald’s shipped all the raw materials lettuce, patties et al to a cold storage close to the main market. Based on a daily demand schedule that was prepared a day in advance, the required amount of raw material was transported to individual outlets to get the best product at the lowest cost.
Thus, tomatoes would come from Bhubaneswar, spices from the south, baby corn from Nepal (where it’s 40% cheaper than in India) and vegetables from Sri Lanka. Similarly, Domino’s India planned to extend its operations to Nepal, Sri Lanka and Dhaka. The company planned to establish a commissary in Sri Lanka. Domino’s also identified specialty crops in each region. The commissary in that region was entrusted with the task of processing that specialty crop. For instance, the commissary for the eastern region in Kolkata was responsible for buying tomatoes, processing them and then sending them to all the other commissaries. Similarly, the northern commissary had to deliver pizza bases. This way, Domino’s minimized duplication as well as the dangers of perish ability. Once the new model was formalized, Bhatia planned to use Domino’s 25 refrigerated trucks to transport products for other companies on the same route. For instance, if an operator in Kochi(Kerala) needed to transport specialty cheese, he could use the Domino’s fleet to transport his products. Said Bhatia, “Not too many people have refrigerated trucks in the country. And we can offer them quality service because we will be giving them standards we use for ourselves.” Company sources said that enquiries from clients for such transport facilities had started coming in. Bhatia said he was in the process of selecting a person to head the logistics operation, which would be spun off as a separate profit centre. Bhatia seemed confident that the profit centre had the potential to bring in Rs 10 by 2006. However, he said the profit center would not be allowed to impede the growth of the pizza
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
business, Domino’s core operation. Only those deliveries that did not delay or deroute the truck would be considered
Questions
1. Describe about the Article for Logistics and Operations Management Domino’s Pizza’s Process Technology (20)
Caselet 2
ABC Ltd. is the country’s largest manufacturer of spun yarn with well-established market. ABC Ltd. has good reputation for quality and service. Their marketing department identified that the potential for global market is expanding rapidly and hence the company undertook exercise for expansion of the capacity for export market. The company formed team of Marketing and Materials department to study the global logistics possibilities. After extensive study, the team came up with a report on global logistics and submitted that global logistics is essentially same as domestic due to following similarities: • The conceptual logistics framework of linking supply sources, plants, warehouses and customers is the same. • Both systems involve managing the movement and storage of products. • Information is critical to effective provision of customer service, management of inventory, vendor product and cost control. • The functional processes of inventory management, warehousing, order processing, carrier selection, procurement, and vendor payment are required for both. • Economic and safety regulations exist for transportation. The company had very economical and reliable transportation system in existence. For exports as well they decided to evaluate capabilities of their existing transporter and entrusted them with the job of transport till port. For customs formalities they engaged a good CHA after proper cost evaluation and entered into contract for freight with shipping company agent. The response for company’s export was very good and the company could get as many as 15 customers within first two months and reached to a level of USD 250,000 per month by the end of first half of the year. Based on this response the export volumes were expected to grow to a level of USD 400,000 per month by the end of the year. When the review was made at the end of the year, company found that export volumes had in fact come down to the level of USD 120,000 which was much lower than it had reached in the first half of the year. The managing committee had an emergency meeting to discuss this and the export manager was entrusted with the task of identifying the reasons for this decline. Mr. Ganesh decided to visit the customers for getting the first hand information. When he discussed the matter with the customers, the feedback on the quality and price were good but the customers were very upset on the logistic services due to delayed shipments, frequent changes in shipping schedules, improper documentation, improper identifications, package sizes, losses due to transit damages etc. After coming back, the export manager checked the dispatch schedules and found that production and ex-works schedules were all proper. Then he studied the logistics systems and found that the logistics cost was very high and all the logistics people were demotivated due to the overwork and were complaining of total lack of co-ordination and the system had become totally disorganized.
Questions
1. Explain the problems experienced by ABC Ltd. What is the main cause of these problems?

Caselet1
Dabur is among the top five FMCG companies in India and is positioned successfully on the specialist herbal platform. Dabur has proven its expertise in the fields of health care, personal care, home care and foods. The company was founded by Dr. S. K. Burman in 1884 as small pharmacy in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. And is now led by his great grandson Vivek C. Burman, who is the Chairman of Dabur India Limited and the senior most representative of the Burman family in the company. The company headquarter is in Ghaziabad, India, near the Indian capital New Delhi, where it is registered. The company has over 12 manufacturing units in India and abroad. The international facilities are located in Nepal, Dubai, Bangladesh, Egypt and Nigeria. S.K. Burman, the founder of Dabur, was trained as a physician. His mission was to provide effective and affordable cure for ordinary people in far-flung villages. Soon, he started preparing natural remedies based on Ayurveda for diseases such as Cholera, Plague and Malaria. Due to his cheap and effective remedies, he became to be known as ‘Daktar’ (Indian izedversion of ‘doctor’). And that is how his venture Dabur got its name—derived from Daktar Burman. The company faces stiff competition from many multinational and domestic companies. In the Branded and Packaged Food and Beverages segment major companies that are active include Hindustan Lever, Nestle, Cadbury and Dabur. In case of Ayurvedic medicines and products, the major competitors are Baidyanath, Vicco, Jhandu, Himani and other pharmaceutical companies.
Vision statement of Dabur says that the company is “dedicated to the health and wellbeing of every household”. The objective is to “significantly accelerate profitable growth by providing comfort to others”. For achieving this objective Dabur aims to:
 Focus on growing core brands across categories, reaching out to new geographies, within and outside India, and improve operational efficiencies by leveraging technology.
 Be the preferred company to meet the health and personal grooming needs of target consumers with safe, efficacious, natural solutions by synthesizing deep knowledge of Ayurveda and herbs with modern science.
 Be a professionally managed employer of choice, attracting, developing and retaining quality personnel.
 Be responsible citizen with a commitment to environmental protection.
 Provide superior returns, relative to our peer group, to our shareholders.
Chairman of the company
Vivek C. Burman joined Dabur in 1954 after completing his graduation in Business Administration from the USA. In 1986 he was appointed as the Managing Director of Dabur and in 1998 he took over as Chairman of the Company.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
Under Vivek Burman’s leadership, Dabur has grown and evolved as a multi-crore business house with a diverse product portfolio and a marketing network that traverses the whole of India and more than 50 countries across the world. As a strong and positive leader, Vivek C. Burman had motivated employees of Dabur to “do better than their best”—a credo that gives Dabur its status as India’s most trusted nature-based products company.
Leading brands
More than 300 diverse products in the FMCG, Healthcare and Ayurveda segments are in the product line of Dabur. List of products of the company include very successful brands like Vatika, Anmol, Hajmola, Dabur Amla Chyawanprash, Dabur Honey and Lal Dant Manjan with turnover of Rs.100 crores each.
Strategic positioning of Dabur Honey as food product, lead to market leadership with over 40% market share in branded honey market; Dabur Chyawanprash is the largest selling Ayurvedic medicine with over 65% market share. Dabur is a leader in herbal digestives with 90% market share. Hajmola tablets are in command with 75% market share of digestive tablets category. Dabur Lal Tail tops baby massage oil market with 35% of total share.
CHD (Consumer Health Division), dealing with classical Ayurvedic medicines, has more than 250 products sold through prescription as well as over the counter. Proprietary Ayurvedic medicines developed by Dabur include Nature Care Isabgol, Madhuvaani and Trifgol.
However, some of the subsidiary units of Dabur have proved to be low margin business; like Dabur Finance Limited. The international units are also operating on low profit margin. The company also produces several “me – too” products. At the same time the company is very popular in the rural segment.
Questions
1. What is the objective of Dabur? Is it profit maximisation of growth maximisation? (10)
2. Do you think the growth of Dabur from a small pharmacy to a large multinational company is an indicator of the advantages of joint stock company against the proprietorship form? Elaborate. (10)
Caselet2
The Regina Company„ one of the largest inakets of vacuum cleaners recent’) had scv cfc ptollkins with the quality of its products. The market responsc to this 1ak of quality caused financial problems for Ow company. in late 1995. Regina began having return rates as high as 30 to 50 percent on some of its Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus models. These models were sold primarily through discount stores. Further, Regina’s Spectrum vacuum cleaner, an upgraded version sold in specialty stores, was introduced in 1995 with many quality problems. ef The specific problems identified for the Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus models were associated with faulty belts and weak suction. In the Spectrum model, the agitator was melting; and making a loud noise, the foot pedals were breaking, and the steel-encased motor (which had been advertised as the
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
power source for the vacuum cleaner) had been replaced with a less desirable. less reliable motor.
As a result of these problems, Target stores discontinued Regina’s Housekeeper Plus model after reporting that “at least half of those sold were returned.” At Starmart, which accounts for about a quarter of the Housekeeper sales, I. out of every 5 machines sold was returned. To help service customer complaints, Regina set up an 800 telephone number for customers to contact the firm. directly. The sales returns caused Regina’s shareholders to question the 1995 fiscal earnings report. Furthermore, both inventories and accounts receivable doubled during the 1995 fiscal year. At the end of that period, Regina’s chairman and 40 percent stockholders
Resigned. The chairman’s resignation was closely followed by a company announcement stating that the financial results reported for the 1995 fiscal year were materially incorrect and had been withdrawn. This announcement brought a suit from shareholders who had bought Reoina stock on the basis of the 1995 camings report. It also prompted an audit of the 1995 results and a request to another accounting organization to work on Regina’s business and accounting controls. A few months later, Regina ‘agreed to be acquired by a unit of Magnum, a vacuum cleaner and Water-purification Company. Under Magnum, Regina shut down production while engineers worked to solve the problems inherent in the Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus vacuums, particularly the suction difficulties. In September 1998, Magnum and Regina decided to separate the two companies again. Since then, Regina has been regaining market share with its Housekeeper models. The ‘vacuums are popular because they carry on-board tools.
Questions:
1. What type of controls would you have established to preclude the major returns experienced by Regina? (10)
2. How would you have controlled the finished-goods -inventory to avoid its growing to twice the size that it was in the previous year.

Caselet1
With eight plants globally running from a single ERP instance on a server in Zeeland, Michigan, the IT team faced the challenges of scaling their systems to support the global growth fueling their company’s expansion. Running IQMS’ manufacturing ERP system delivered via Hosted Managed Services (HMS) provides Ventura Manufacturing the most economical system architecture for greater scalability and efficiency as well as to attain disaster recovery goals.
Ventura is an award-winning semi-automated assembly and production company that serves the automotive, office furniture, education seating, and molding and assembly of optical silicone industries globally. Headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan, the company has multiple plants in Zeeland in addition to plants in Budaörs, Hungary, Saltillo, Mexico and Shanghai, China.
As demand for Ventura’s services grew and the company began attracting customers worldwide, it was apparent the dependency on a single ERP system on-premise in Zeeland, Michigan was becoming an impediment to faster growth. “Relying on a single system to manage our global plants was proving to be a huge scale challenge,” said Joel Boyles, IT Team Lead at Ventura Manufacturing.
Ventura’s customer base is globally-based and to serve them as responsively and effectively as possible, Ventura made the decision to open new production plants in Hungary and Shanghai, China.
With eight plants globally running from a single ERP instance on a server in Zeeland, Michigan, the IT team faced the challenges of scaling their systems to support the global growth fueling their company’s expansion. The IT Teams at Ventura prides itself on offering live support to any plant, anywhere in the world that needs help, anytime. “When we just had the plants in Mexico and Hungary, our existing staff could scale to support the calls coming from plants for help with their IT systems and take care of ERP-related tasks,” Joel said. When the Shanghai, China facility went online, Ventura was reaching the limits of scale and speed with their IT teams and the system running on-premise in Zeeland.
As demands increased on the system, so did concerns over Availability and Disaster Recovery Objectives the IT Team had defined. Two metrics that are of specific interest to Ventura’s IT team are the Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO). IT defined the RTO goal as 8 hours and the RPO as 15 minutes, achievable on a 24/7 basis. To accomplish these goals, Ventura would need to create an entirely new system platform that could scale more efficiently with their growing business. The new platform would also need to increase the speed of system updates, which had been a problematic area in the past for the single system to complete.
Joel Boyles, IT Team Lead, says the challenges of scalability and disaster recovery are what drove the urgency for Ventura to decide that Hosted Managed Services (HMS) from IQMS was the best possible solution. “Plant system updates including MRP were taking at least 2 hours
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Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
per plant, which translated into our IT teams having 24/7 shifts in our Zeeland-based IT offices,” Joel said. “Clearly we had to redefine our system architecture for greater scalability and speed.”
Ventura chose IQMS’ Enterprise IQ delivered via Hosted Managed Services (HMS) because it was the most economical and fastest option for solving the system performance challenges and attaining the disaster recovery goals the company has. Under the IQMS HMS purchase option, software licenses are owned in perpetuity by Ventura and hardware and platform software is provided by the IQMS data center. IQMS is managing the Ventura systems today in a secure data center environment. Ventura’s IT team can gain access to key system metrics and key performance indicators anytime via any browser-enabled laptop, tablet or smart phone.
Questions
1. How Ventura Defined A Global Roadmap To Greater Speed And Reliability? ( 20)
Caselet 2
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is business management software—usually a suite of integrated applications—that a company can use to store and manage data from every stage of business, including:
•Product planning, cost and development
•Manufacturing
•Marketing and sales
•Inventory management
•Shipping and payment
Functions of ERP
• ERP provides an integrated real-time view of core business processes, using common databases maintained by a database management system. ERP systems track business resources—
 cash, raw materials, production capacity—and the status of business commitments: orders, purchase orders, and payroll.
• The applications that make up the system share data across the various departments (manufacturing, purchasing, sales, accounting, etc.) that entered the data.
• ERP facilitates information flow between all business functions,
ERP Implementation
Success
Company Background
 Cadbury is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelēz International.
 It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Wrigley’s.
 Founder: John Cadbury
 Founded in: 1824, B Currently, Cadbury India operates in four categories viz. Chocolate Confectionery, Milk Food Drinks, Candy and Gum category. In the Chocolate
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Confectionery business, Cadbury has maintained its undisputed leadership over the years.
ERP Implementation
Cadbury turns out, in recent years, Kraft implemented SAP ERP 6.0 (System Analysis and Program Development) in what SAP called one of its largest global ERP implementations. Kraft credited ERP with reducing operational costs. 11,000 employees were sending data to the company’s SAP solution and it was linked to 1,750 applications by 2008. That same year, Kraft aslo added SAP’s master data management solution, Net Weaver, with an eye toward integrating legacy systems.
• Cadbury was left with a glut of chocolate products at the start of the year, after the installation of a new SAP-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system led to an excess of chocolate bars building up at the end of 2005.
• The new U.K. computer system is part of a five-year IT transformation project, called “Probe”, aimed at integrating the Cadbury Schweppes’ supply chain, purchasing, manufacturing, distribution, sales and marketing systems on a global, SAP-based
ERP platform
• Cadbury Schweppes is aiming for an ultimate savings from the Probe project, but its implementation has been far from smooth. The project was beset by problems and delays when it was first introduced in Australia in 2002.
Benefits of ERP
• Cadbury was on a fast paced growth and could not continue with the existing systems and the pace was too slow due to added inefficiencies. ERP added efficiency and guided the led all the issues fast paced growth.
• The implementation of ERP brought in a new way of warehouse management system and brought in structure to branch offices and the depots.
• While implementing the ERP systems, the company has built it upon the past strengths of the company thereby not losing out on its competitive
• The initial implementation took time and then the successive implementations took lesser time and cost and there is a huge advantage in saving cost while in the implementation phase itself.
• The reaction from competition does not matter in this because this is not a change that was advertised to the market. This is an internal process restructuring and was a welcome change within the company which badly needed the change.
• The company also has built in a robust regular feedback system to monitor the changes and check if they go according to the initial plan. The entire implementation is cross functional and hence it is important that there is a high increase in the efficiency. The ERP vendor was also selected from among the best in class vendors which helped the process occur in a streamlined fashion and avoided any possible chances of hiccups during the initial
implementation phase.
The system has also been deployed up to the vendors. They have a portal called vendor connect
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Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
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END OF SECTION C
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where they can see their inventory movement and make plans accordingly. Hence the restructuring happens not only internally but also across to the supplier which will add on to the benefits that are accrued.
It was considered at low cost and high result implementation which by itself highlights the success and the benefits.
Questions
1. Why did the Big Bang approach fail for The Hershey Company ?

 

Caselet 1
Your employer, a mid-sized human resources management company, is considering expansion into related fields, including the acquisition of Temp Force Company, an employment agency that supplies word processor operators and computer programmers to businesses with temporary heavy workloads. Your employer is also considering the purchase of a bigger staff & McDonald (B&M), a privately held company owned by two friends, each with 5 million shares of stock. B&M currently has free cash flow of $24 million, which is expected to grow at a constant rate of 5%. B&M’s financial statements report marketable securities of $100 million, debt of $200 million, and preferred stock of $50 million. B&M’s weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is 11%. Answer the following questions
Questions
1. Describe briefly the legal rights and privileges of common stockholders. (20)
Caselet 2
Casino is a large electrical construction company having a turnover of Rs.100 crores per annum. Since a few years the company has not been doing well in terms of profits. In order to find out the reason, a group of independent auditors were deployed to examine the operations of the company. The item they felt that needed closer attention was the budget control of new construction work. The audit showed that most electrical designs for new construction were carried out at the headquarters of the company by a project manager. In preparing a budget for a new project, he checked the expenses for similar jobs in the past, then simply multiplied them by various factors. The auditors found that during the past two years, most budgets were greatly overestimated. Incidentally, it was about two years ago that the project manager was given the primary responsibility for budgeting. In this role, he would submit his budget to the Expenditure Control Committee, consisting of higher-level managers who had only a limited interest in budgeting. It was to this committee that the project manager submitted requests for additional money whenever needed. Most of the requests were approved.
The chief auditor felt that the project team tended to “expand” the time needed to complete the task whenever the members thought the budget made it possible. In other words, they “adjusted” their productivity to match the money allocated to the project.
The auditors noted that other contractors could do similar jobs for 20% less money. They concluded that a new control procedure was needed.
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
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Questions
1. What do you think of the budgeting process? (10)
2. What kind of control procedure should the auditors recommend?

Caselet 1
Sanjay Nagpal is a new recruit from a reputed management institute. He is recruited as a sales trainee in a sales office of a large computer hardware firm located in Chennai.
Raghvan is the zonal sales manager responsible for overseeing the work of sales officer, field executives and trainee salesmen numbering over 50 of three areas namely Chennai, Bangalore, and Trivandrum.
The sales growth of the products in his area was highly satisfactory owing to the developmental initiatives taken by respective State Governments in spreading computer education.
Raghvan had collected several sales reports, catalogues and pamphlets detailing the types of office equipment sold by the company for Sanjay’s reference.
After short chat with Sanjay, Raghvan assisted him to his assigned desk and provided
him with the material collected. Thereafter Raghvan excused himself and did not return.
Meanwhile, Sanjay scanned through the material given to him till 5:00pmbefore leaving
office.
Questions
1. What do you think about Raghavan’s training program? (10)
2. What method of training would have been best under the circumstances? Would you consider OJT, simulation or experiential methods? (10)
Caselet 2
Preeti was promoted three months ago from reservations supervisor to front-desk manager for Regency Hotel, an independent, 330-room hostelry. She enjoys her new management responsibilities and is pleased that the occupancy rate averaged 94 percent last month, way above the industry average. But at times she feels stressed by the confusion of managing all front-end operations of the hotel, from reservations and cashiering to the bell desk and concierge. She feels most at home handling the reservation function, a task she always enjoyed as a trainee because she likes to help people. About once a week the staff in the reservation function overbooks rooms, usually because of incomplete scans of conference sales files. Customers with reservations w,0110 arrive late are upset when they have to be referred 1, nearby hotels. Whenever overbooking occurs, Ms. eti takes over direct control of the reservations operation herself, often personally handling reservations for two or three days until order seems to return.
But sometimes while Ms. Preeti is off focusing on the reservations task, other problems arise. On five days last month, clerks at the reception desk checked in every “walk-in” who appeared without reservations. They assumed there would be ample no-shows among those holding reservations. On one occasion, Regency ended up oversold by 24 rooms. Mr. Alex, the hotel general manager, is concerned about Ms. Preeti’s development into her new management position. He knows Ms. Preeti is proud of the high occupancy levels (which mean greater profits) and doesn’t want to destroy that pride. However, he sees her as more interested in
Examination Paper of Human Resource Management
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END OF SECTION C
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individual staff tasks (such as making reservations) than in the complexities of managing, training, and motivating her staff. He has talked with Ms. Preeti about balancing her activities as a manager. Alex emphasized that she needs to make sure her staff knows the systems and guidelines and be firm with employees who continue to check in guests when the hotel obviously will be overbooked. He plans to meet with her in a three-month performance review to see if he can shift her motivational expectations about the job.
Question:
1. Do Ms. Preeti’s problems seem to be the result of her lack of motivational immaturity or of her lack of motivational attention to her people?

Caselet1
Because of its imaginative marketing, excellent new products, and fine service to customers, the Westside Business Computers and Equipment Company grew to be a leader in its field, with sales over Rs. 100 crores annually, high profit margins, and continually rising stock prices. It became one of the favorites of investors, who enjoyed its fast growth rate and high profits. But the president of the company, Mr. Desai, soon realized that the organization structure, which had served the company so well, no longer fitted the company’s needs.
For years the company had been organized along functional lines, with vice-presidents in charge of production, purchasing, finance, marketing, personnel, engineering, and research and development. In its growth, the company had expanded its product lines beyond business computers to include photocopying machines, projectors, and motion-picture cameras. As time passed on, concern had arisen that its organization structure did not provide for profit responsibility below the office of the president, did not appear to fit the far-flung nature of the business now being conducted in many foreign countries, and seemed to emphasize the “walls” impeding effective coordination between the functional departments of marketing, production, and engineering. There seemed to be too many decisions that could not be made at any level lower than the president’s office.
As a result, Mr.Desai decentralized the company into fifteen independent domestic and foreign divisions, each with complete profit responsibility. However, after this reorganization was in effect, he began to feel that the divisions were not adequately controlled. There developed considerable duplication in purchasing and personnel functions, each division manager ran his or her operations without regard to company policies and strategies, and it became apparent to the president that the company was disintegrating into a number of independent parts.
Having seen several large companies get into trouble when a division suffered large losses, Mr.Desai concluded that he had gone too far with decentralization. As a result, he withdrew some of the authority delegations to the division managers and required them to get top corporate management approval on such important matters as (1) any capital expenditures over Rs.5,00,000 (2) the introduction of any new products, (3) marketing and pricing strategies and policies, (4) plant expansion, and (5) changes in personnel policies.
The division general managers were understandably unhappy when they saw some of their independence taken away from them. They openly complained that the company was not very sure about the organizational structure that it wants to follow. The president, worried about his position, calls you in as a consultant to advise him on what to do.
Questions
1. Do you agree on what Mr. Desai did to regulate control was correct? (10)
2. What would you have done under these circumstances? (10)
Caselet2
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Mr. Sachin, the Sales manager of the Blue Ridge Furniture Company, had just completed a two-week trip auditing customer accounts and prospective accounts in the southern states. His primary intention was to do follow-up work on prospective accounts contacted by sales staff members during the past six months. Prospective clients were usually furniture dealers or large department stores with furniture departments.
To his amazement, Mr. Sachin discovered that almost all the so-called prospective accounts were fictitious. The people had obviously turned in falsely documented field reports and expense statements. Company salespeople had actually called upon 3 of 22 reported furniture stores or department stores. Thus. Mr. Sachin summarized that salespeople had falsely claimed approximately 85 percent of the goodwill contacts. Further study showed that all salespeople had followed this general practice and that not one had a clean record.
M r. Sachin decided that immediate action was mandatory although the salespeople were experienced senior individuals. Angry as he was, he would have preferred, firing them. But he was responsible for sales and realized that replacing the staff would seriously cripple the sales program for the coming year.
Questions
1. As Mr. Sachin, what would you do now to resolve the problem of the false reports? (10)
2. What could Mr. Sachin have done to prevent this problem?

Caselet1
Ms. Priyanka is a store manager of one of the fourteen Hàppy Home Furniture outlets that are located at all the major cities in the country. Her staff consists of twelve salespersons and support personnel. Each salesperson. is paid commission based on sales. All the salespersons are expected to do other tasks, such as assisting the merchandise manager, arranging the displays, and handling customer complaints. These tasks, and a few others, are to be shared equally among the sales persons.
The store’s sales target is established at the headquarters of the furniture chain. This target is divided by the number of salespersons and each is expected to meet his or her personal target Mr. Ranjan, is the top salesperson at the outlet. When he misses his sales goal, which seldom happens, the store’s target is usually not met. Ranjan, however, often does not help in doing the common tasks, much to the frustration of the other eleven salespeople, who feel that if they do not handle the common tasks, they will be fired.
Recently, Ms. Priyanka noticed that one of her salespeople, Mr. Manish„ made careless errors, neglected clients, and did not do his share of the common tasks. When confronted by the store manager, he complained about Mr. Ranjan., who, in his opinion, got away with doing almost nothing. After this discussion, Ms. Priyanka began to observe the salespersons more closely and noticed that most of them neglected their work and were not cooperative.
The store manager felt that something had to be done. A talk with Mr. Ranjan had little effect. Yet, the store needed Ranjan because of his excellent sales record. On the other hand, the morale of the other salespersons had begun to deteriorate.
Questions:
1. What Should Ms. Priyanka do? (10)
2. What are the standards of performance? Should they be changed? If so, in what ways? (10
Caselet2
MR. Ketan Parekh had worked his way up through the technical arm of ANC Company to become chief Engineer and the General Manager of the Avionics Division. He was an important inventor and innovator, in basic frequency-modulated continuous wave (FM-CW) Doppler radar technology. This Fm-cw technology gave Avionics a world leadership position in Doppler radar equipment design and production, All Avionics equipment design were state of the art at the time of their design, a result of the importance research and development engineering for the department’s future.
As the division grew and Avionics’s success with Doppler systems brought large increases in sales, Mr. Ketan’s preoccupations became considerably more managerially than technical. He began to reassess some of his own thinking about organizations. The organization appeared too weak, both structurally and managerially, to cope with the increasing complexity of his
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
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division’s activities. Mr. Ketan was finding it impossible to cope with the number of major decisions that had to be made. Six major programs and several minor ones were in different stages of design and/or production. All had different customers, sometimes in different countries. Every program’s product although they were all Doppler radar systems, was significantly different from every other one, particularly in its technology. Nevertheless the programs had to share manufacturing facilities, major items of capital equipment, and specialized functions. Mr. Ketan felt he had to find some way to force the whole decision process down to some level below his own.
Question:
1. What is the principal problem with ANC’s existing organizational Structure? (10)
2. How can the matrix form of organization assist Mr. Ketan?

Caselet1
Rajiv Gupta, President of the Universal Food Products Company, was tired of being the only one in his company actually responsible for profits. While he had good vice-presidents in charge of advertising, sales, finance, purchasing, production, and product research, he realized that he could not hold any of them responsible for company profits, as much as he would like to. He often found it difficult even to hold them responsible for the contribution from their respective areas to company profits. The sales vice-president, for instance, had rather reasonably complained that he could not be fully responsible for sales when the advertising was ineffective, or in a situation when the products customers wanted were not readily available from manufacturing department, or when he did not have the new products he needed to meet market competition. Likewise, the manufacturing vice president had some justification when he made the point that he could not hold down costs and still be able to produce short runs so as to fill orders on short notice; moreover, financial controls would not allow the company to carry a large inventory of everything. Mr. Rajiv had considered breaking his company down into six or seven segments by setting up product divisions with a manger over each with profit responsibility. But he found that this would not be feasible or economical since many of the company’s branded food products were produced using the same equipment and used the same raw materials, and a salesperson calling on a store or supermarket could far more economically handle a number of related products ….than one or a few. Consequently, Mr. Rajiv came to the conclusion that the best thing for him to do was to set up six product managers reporting to a product marketing manager. Each product
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manager would be given responsibility for one or a few products and would oversee for each product, all aspects of product research, manufacturing, advertising, and sales, thereby the person becoming responsible for the performance and profits of the products under his/her portfolio. Mr. Rajiv realized that he could not give these product managers actual line of authority over the various operating departments of the company since that will cause each vice president and his or her department to report to six product managers and the product marketing manager, as well as the president. He was concerned with this problem. But, he knew that some of the most successful larger companies in the world had used the product manager system. Mr. Rajiv resolved to put in the product manager system as outlined and hoped for the best. But he wondered how he could avoid the problem of confusion in reporting relationship
Questions
1. Do you agree with Mr. Rajiv’s program? If it were you, would you have done it differently? Explain. (10)
2. Exactly what is your suggestion that may help to avoid any confusion in this organizational structure? (10)
Caselet2
As Ms. Mansi began to devote all of her time to managing The Arbor, she was dismayed byfinding the anomalies what she believed to be a fairly haphazard management system. While the developer of the retail complex was clearly an astute entrepreneur, she began to feel that he had not paid enough attention to detail in the course of day-to-day operating procedures.
She and Mr. Das had learnt a lot about management from their experience with SLS. Mr. Das for example, had found that the most effective way of running the business involved buying only from reputable suppliers, keeping all plants well fertilized and pruned while they were in inventory, and checking with customers after landscape jobs had been completed to ensure that they were satisfied.
When she bought The Arbor, Ms. Mansi talked with a friend who managed a store at the regional shopping mall in town. Her friend explained how the mall development company had elaborate rules and procedures for its tenants. These rules and procedures dictated store hours, appearance standards, lease terms, promotional and advertising policies, and just about everything imaginable.
The Arbor, however, was a different story. There were no written policies for tenants. As a result, there was considerable variation in how they were managed. Some stores opened on Sunday or in the evening, for example, while others did not; some tenants had long-term leases while others had no current lease at all.
To address these and other issues, Ms. Mansi called a meeting of all the tenants and expressed her concerns. To her surprise, she found that they already were aware of each of her issues, as well as some others that she had not yet had time to consider. They argued, however, that the current system was really the best for The Arbor. As a small operation, each tenant knew all the others, and they worked together to keep things in good order. They thought it was fine that they kept different hours — few customers came to The Arbor just to walk around and shop. Customers usually came to visit specific stores and were aware of the store’s hours. The tenants even
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END OF SECTION B
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
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expressed their opinion about the lease situation as a fine condition. Some wanted the security afforded by a lease, while others preferred the flexibility of no lease.
Questions
1. What are the different control examples illustrated in this situation? (10)
2. What kind of control systems might be the most useful for retailers?

 

 

IIBM BUSINESS COMMUNICATION CASE STUDY ANSWER

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Caselet 1
Barry and Communication Barriers Effective Communication as a Motivator One common complaint employees voice about supervisors is inconsistent messages – meaning one supervisor tells them one thing and another tells them something different. Imagine you are the supervisor/manager for each of the employees described below. As you read their case, give
Examination Paper of Business Communication
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consideration to how you might help communicate with the employee to remedy the conflict. Answer the critical thinking questions at the end of the case then compare your answers to the Notes to Supplement Answers section. Barry is a 27-year old who is a foodservice manager at a casual dining restaurant. Barry is responsible for supervising and managing all employees in the back of the house. Employees working in the back of the house range in age from 16 years old to 55 years old. In addition, the employees come from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. For many, English is not their primary language. Barry is Serv Safe® certified and tries his best to keep up with food safety issues in the kitchen but he admits it’s not easy. Employees receive “on the job training” about food safety basics (for example, appropriate hygiene and hand washing, time/temperature, and cleaning and sanitizing). But with high turnover of employees, training is often rushed and some new employees are put right into the job without training if it is a busy day. Eventually, most employees get some kind of food safety training. The owners of the restaurant are supportive of Barry in his food safety efforts because they know if a food safety outbreak were ever linked to their restaurant; it would likely put them out of business. Still, the owners note there are additional costs for training and making sure food is handled safely. One day Barry comes to work and is rather upset even before he steps into the restaurant. Things haven’t been going well at home and he was lucky to rummage through some of the dirty laundry and find a relatively clean outfit to wear for work. He admits he needs a haircut and a good hand scrubbing, especially after working on his car last evening. When he walks into the kitchen he notices several trays of uncooked meat sitting out in the kitchen area. It appears these have been sitting at room temperature for quite some time. Barry is frustrated and doesn’t know what to do. He feels like he is beating his head against a brick wall when it comes to getting employees to practice food safety. Barry has taken many efforts to get employees to be safe in how they handle food. He has huge signs posted all over the kitchen with these words: KEEP HOT FOOD HOT AND COLD FOOD COLD and WASH YOUR HANDS ALWAYS AND OFTEN. All employees are given a thermometer when they start so that they can temp food. Hand sinks, soap, and paper towels are available for employees so that they are encouraged to wash their hands frequently.
Questions
1. What are the communication challenges and barriers Barry faces? (10)
2. What solutions might Barry consider in addressing each of these challenges and barriers? (10)
Caselet 2
Mr. Dutta, newly appointed president of century Airlines, knew the company’s survival depended on customer service, which in turn depended on motivated employees. So he created the Century Spirit program to build team spirit by encouraging employee participation, individual initiative, and open communication. Among the program’s early successes was newspaper started by a group of flight attendants. The plane truth published information about benefits and work conditions as well as feature stories and humorous articles. It quickly became popular not only with flight attendant but with pilot, machinists, and baggage handlers.
As time went on, though, the plane truth began to run articles critical of the company. When management cut back worker’s hours, the, newspaper questioned what sacrifices the executive were making. When the technical services department releases figures showing long turnaround times, the paper questioned the machinist’s work ethic. Worried that customer might see the newspaper; Mr. Dutta wanted to cancel it. The president of the flight attendants union also wanted to see it was stirring up trouble with the machinists.
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each question carries 15marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
Ms. Rachel, Century’s human resource director, was asked to stop the publication. But she hesitated. She knew the employee morale was on the brink, but she did not know whether the newspaper was venting worker’s frustrations and reinforcing team spirit or stirring up old animosities and bringing the whole company down. Was it creating more tension than unity or vice-versa?
Questions
1. What Communication issues are involved at Century Airlines? (10)
2. What Communication Channels are being Utilized

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Caselet1
Dabur is among the top five FMCG companies in India and is positioned successfully on the specialist herbal platform. Dabur has proven its expertise in the fields of health care, personal care, home care and foods. The company was founded by Dr. S. K. Burman in 1884 as small pharmacy in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. And is now led by his great grandson Vivek C. Burman, who is the Chairman of Dabur India Limited and the senior most representative of the Burman family in the company. The company headquarter is in Ghaziabad, India, near the Indian capital New Delhi, where it is registered. The company has over 12 manufacturing units in India and abroad. The international facilities are located in Nepal, Dubai, Bangladesh, Egypt and Nigeria. S.K. Burman, the founder of Dabur, was trained as a physician. His mission was to provide effective and affordable cure for ordinary people in far-flung villages. Soon, he started preparing natural remedies based on Ayurveda for diseases such as Cholera, Plague and Malaria. Due to his cheap and effective remedies, he became to be known as ‘Daktar’ (Indian izedversion of ‘doctor’). And that is how his venture Dabur got its name—derived from Daktar Burman. The company faces stiff competition from many multinational and domestic companies. In the Branded and Packaged Food and Beverages segment major companies that are active include Hindustan Lever, Nestle, Cadbury and Dabur. In case of Ayurvedic medicines and products, the major competitors are Baidyanath, Vicco, Jhandu, Himani and other pharmaceutical companies.
Vision statement of Dabur says that the company is “dedicated to the health and wellbeing of every household”. The objective is to “significantly accelerate profitable growth by providing comfort to others”. For achieving this objective Dabur aims to:
 Focus on growing core brands across categories, reaching out to new geographies, within and outside India, and improve operational efficiencies by leveraging technology.
 Be the preferred company to meet the health and personal grooming needs of target consumers with safe, efficacious, natural solutions by synthesizing deep knowledge of Ayurveda and herbs with modern science.
 Be a professionally managed employer of choice, attracting, developing and retaining quality personnel.
 Be responsible citizen with a commitment to environmental protection.
 Provide superior returns, relative to our peer group, to our shareholders.
Chairman of the company
Vivek C. Burman joined Dabur in 1954 after completing his graduation in Business Administration from the USA. In 1986 he was appointed as the Managing Director of Dabur and in 1998 he took over as Chairman of the Company.
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Under Vivek Burman’s leadership, Dabur has grown and evolved as a multi-crore business house with a diverse product portfolio and a marketing network that traverses the whole of India and more than 50 countries across the world. As a strong and positive leader, Vivek C. Burman had motivated employees of Dabur to “do better than their best”—a credo that gives Dabur its status as India’s most trusted nature-based products company.
Leading brands
More than 300 diverse products in the FMCG, Healthcare and Ayurveda segments are in the product line of Dabur. List of products of the company include very successful brands like Vatika, Anmol, Hajmola, Dabur Amla Chyawanprash, Dabur Honey and Lal Dant Manjan with turnover of Rs.100 crores each.
Strategic positioning of Dabur Honey as food product, lead to market leadership with over 40% market share in branded honey market; Dabur Chyawanprash is the largest selling Ayurvedic medicine with over 65% market share. Dabur is a leader in herbal digestives with 90% market share. Hajmola tablets are in command with 75% market share of digestive tablets category. Dabur Lal Tail tops baby massage oil market with 35% of total share.
CHD (Consumer Health Division), dealing with classical Ayurvedic medicines, has more than 250 products sold through prescription as well as over the counter. Proprietary Ayurvedic medicines developed by Dabur include Nature Care Isabgol, Madhuvaani and Trifgol.
However, some of the subsidiary units of Dabur have proved to be low margin business; like Dabur Finance Limited. The international units are also operating on low profit margin. The company also produces several “me – too” products. At the same time the company is very popular in the rural segment.
Questions
1. What is the objective of Dabur? Is it profit maximisation of growth maximisation? (10)
2. Do you think the growth of Dabur from a small pharmacy to a large multinational company is an indicator of the advantages of joint stock company against the proprietorship form? Elaborate. (10)
Caselet2
The Regina Company„ one of the largest inakets of vacuum cleaners recent’) had scv cfc ptollkins with the quality of its products. The market responsc to this 1ak of quality caused financial problems for Ow company. in late 1995. Regina began having return rates as high as 30 to 50 percent on some of its Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus models. These models were sold primarily through discount stores. Further, Regina’s Spectrum vacuum cleaner, an upgraded version sold in specialty stores, was introduced in 1995 with many quality problems. ef The specific problems identified for the Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus models were associated with faulty belts and weak suction. In the Spectrum model, the agitator was melting; and making a loud noise, the foot pedals were breaking, and the steel-encased motor (which had been advertised as the
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power source for the vacuum cleaner) had been replaced with a less desirable. less reliable motor.
As a result of these problems, Target stores discontinued Regina’s Housekeeper Plus model after reporting that “at least half of those sold were returned.” At Starmart, which accounts for about a quarter of the Housekeeper sales, I. out of every 5 machines sold was returned. To help service customer complaints, Regina set up an 800 telephone number for customers to contact the firm. directly. The sales returns caused Regina’s shareholders to question the 1995 fiscal earnings report. Furthermore, both inventories and accounts receivable doubled during the 1995 fiscal year. At the end of that period, Regina’s chairman and 40 percent stockholders
Resigned. The chairman’s resignation was closely followed by a company announcement stating that the financial results reported for the 1995 fiscal year were materially incorrect and had been withdrawn. This announcement brought a suit from shareholders who had bought Reoina stock on the basis of the 1995 camings report. It also prompted an audit of the 1995 results and a request to another accounting organization to work on Regina’s business and accounting controls. A few months later, Regina ‘agreed to be acquired by a unit of Magnum, a vacuum cleaner and Water-purification Company. Under Magnum, Regina shut down production while engineers worked to solve the problems inherent in the Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus vacuums, particularly the suction difficulties. In September 1998, Magnum and Regina decided to separate the two companies again. Since then, Regina has been regaining market share with its Housekeeper models. The ‘vacuums are popular because they carry on-board tools.
Questions:
1. What type of controls would you have established to preclude the major returns experienced by Regina? (10)
2. How would you have controlled the finished-goods -inventory to avoid its growing to twice the size that it was in the previous year.

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IIBM COMPUTER FUNDAMENTAL CASE STUDY QUESTION

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Caselet 1
Mr. and Mrs. Sharma went to Woodlands Apparel to buy a shirt. Mr. Sharma did not read the price tag on the piece selected by him. At the counter, while making the payment he asked for the price. Rs. 950 was the answer.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Sharma, who was still shopping came back and joined her husband. She was glad that he had selected a nice black shirt for himself. She pointed out that there was a 25% discount on that item. The counter person nodded in agreement.
Mr. Sharma was thrilled to hear that “It means the price of this shirt is just Rs. 712. That‟s fantastic”, said Mr. Sharma. He decided to buy one more shirt in blue color.In no time, he returned with the second shirt and asked them to be packed. When he received the cash memo for payment, he was astonished to find that he had to pay Rs.. 1,900 and Rs.1,424.
Mr. Sharma could hardly reconcile himself to the fact that the counter person had quoted the discounted price which was Rs. 950. The original price printed on the price tag was Rs.1,266.
Questions
1. What should Mr. Sharma have done to avoid them is understanding? (10)
2. Discuss the main features involved in this case. (10)
Caselet 2
I don’t want to speak to you. Connect me to your boss in the USA,” hissed the Alfred is a do-it yourself entrepreneur who built up his fortune in trading. He traded in anything and everything and kept close control of every activity. That was now he had grown rich enough to indulge in his own dream-to build a college in his home town. A college that would be at par to the ones in the better cities, the one in which he could not study himself.
Work started a year hack and the buildings were coming along well He himself did not use computers much and became hooked to the Internet and e-mail only recently. He was determined to provide a PC with Internet connectivity to every students and faculty member. He was currently engrossed in plans for the 100 seater computer lab.
What was confusing him was the choice of Internet connectivity. He had about a dozen quotations in front of him, Recommendations ranged from 64 Kbps ISDN all the way to 1 Gbps leased line to Guwahati which was almost 200 kms away. Prices ranged from slightly under a lakh all the way upto 25 lakh and beyond. He did not understand most of the equipment quoted firewall, proxy server, cache appliance, nor was he sure what the hidden cost were. Although it went against his very nature, he would have to identify a trustworthy consultant who would help him make sense of the whole thing.
Examination Paper of Computer Fundamental
IIBM Institute of Business Management
END OF SECTION B
• This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each question carries 15marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
Questions
1. In the context of the given case, what managerial issues need to be addressed by Alfred. Why is It Important for managers to be tech savvy? (10)
2. What is the importance of a ‘Systems consultant’ to an organization? What skills should he/she possess?

IIBM MBA EXAM REGULARLY ASKING QUESTIONS

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Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B109
Examination Paper Business Communication
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.The most important goal of business communication is_________. (1)
a) favorable relationship between sender and receiver
b) organizational goodwill
c) receiver response
d) receiver understanding
II. Down ward communication flows from_________ to_________. (1)
e) Upper to lower
f) Lower to upper
g) Horizontal
h) Diagonal
III. Horizontal communication takes place
between_________. (1)
a. superior to subordinate
b. subordinate to superior
c. employees with same status
d. none of these
IV. The study of communication through touch is_________. (1)
a. chronemics
b. haptics
c. proxemics
d. semantic
V._____________ channel of communication is known as grapevine (1)
a. Formal
b. Informal
c. Horizontal
d. Vertical
VI. The following is (are) the most effective ways of communication. (1) a. Verbal b. Non verbal c. Written d. All of the above
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
END OF SECTION A
• This section consists of Caselets.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each Caselet carries 20marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
VII. The handshake that conveys confidence is (1)
a. Limp
b. Firm
c. Loose
d. Double
VIII. ________ of the letter consists of main message. (1)
a. Heading
b. Body
c. Greeting
d. Closing
IX. Body of a letter is divided into ________
parts. (1)
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
X. X. A persuasive message will fail if_____ (1)
a. it does not focus on what is in it for the reader
b. it only lists facts
c. it moves too slowly
d. all of the above
Part Two:
1. Brief Grapevine communication? (5)
2. List the 7 C’s of Communication? (5)
3. Describe the various barriers of communication? (5)
4. Write the negotiation process. (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
Caselet 1
Barry and Communication Barriers Effective Communication as a Motivator One common complaint employees voice about supervisors is inconsistent messages – meaning one supervisor tells them one thing and another tells them something different. Imagine you are the supervisor/manager for each of the employees described below. As you read their case, give
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
consideration to how you might help communicate with the employee to remedy the conflict. Answer the critical thinking questions at the end of the case then compare your answers to the Notes to Supplement Answers section. Barry is a 27-year old who is a foodservice manager at a casual dining restaurant. Barry is responsible for supervising and managing all employees in the back of the house. Employees working in the back of the house range in age from 16 years old to 55 years old. In addition, the employees come from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. For many, English is not their primary language. Barry is Serv Safe® certified and tries his best to keep up with food safety issues in the kitchen but he admits it’s not easy. Employees receive “on the job training” about food safety basics (for example, appropriate hygiene and hand washing, time/temperature, and cleaning and sanitizing). But with high turnover of employees, training is often rushed and some new employees are put right into the job without training if it is a busy day. Eventually, most employees get some kind of food safety training. The owners of the restaurant are supportive of Barry in his food safety efforts because they know if a food safety outbreak were ever linked to their restaurant; it would likely put them out of business. Still, the owners note there are additional costs for training and making sure food is handled safely. One day Barry comes to work and is rather upset even before he steps into the restaurant. Things haven’t been going well at home and he was lucky to rummage through some of the dirty laundry and find a relatively clean outfit to wear for work. He admits he needs a haircut and a good hand scrubbing, especially after working on his car last evening. When he walks into the kitchen he notices several trays of uncooked meat sitting out in the kitchen area. It appears these have been sitting at room temperature for quite some time. Barry is frustrated and doesn’t know what to do. He feels like he is beating his head against a brick wall when it comes to getting employees to practice food safety. Barry has taken many efforts to get employees to be safe in how they handle food. He has huge signs posted all over the kitchen with these words: KEEP HOT FOOD HOT AND COLD FOOD COLD and WASH YOUR HANDS ALWAYS AND OFTEN. All employees are given a thermometer when they start so that they can temp food. Hand sinks, soap, and paper towels are available for employees so that they are encouraged to wash their hands frequently.
Questions
1. What are the communication challenges and barriers Barry faces? (10)
2. What solutions might Barry consider in addressing each of these challenges and barriers? (10)
Caselet 2
Mr. Dutta, newly appointed president of century Airlines, knew the company’s survival depended on customer service, which in turn depended on motivated employees. So he created the Century Spirit program to build team spirit by encouraging employee participation, individual initiative, and open communication. Among the program’s early successes was newspaper started by a group of flight attendants. The plane truth published information about benefits and work conditions as well as feature stories and humorous articles. It quickly became popular not only with flight attendant but with pilot, machinists, and baggage handlers.
As time went on, though, the plane truth began to run articles critical of the company. When management cut back worker’s hours, the, newspaper questioned what sacrifices the executive were making. When the technical services department releases figures showing long turnaround times, the paper questioned the machinist’s work ethic. Worried that customer might see the newspaper; Mr. Dutta wanted to cancel it. The president of the flight attendants union also wanted to see it was stirring up trouble with the machinists.
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each question carries 15marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
Ms. Rachel, Century’s human resource director, was asked to stop the publication. But she hesitated. She knew the employee morale was on the brink, but she did not know whether the newspaper was venting worker’s frustrations and reinforcing team spirit or stirring up old animosities and bringing the whole company down. Was it creating more tension than unity or vice-versa?
Questions
1. What Communication issues are involved at Century Airlines? (10)
2. What Communication Channels are being Utilized (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. Explain the various non verbal communications with an example in business
Scenario? (15)
2. Delineate the types of parts of business report writing? (15)
S-2-010619

Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B106
Examination Paper
Managerial Economics
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.Demand is determined by
(1)
a) Price of the product
b) Relative prices of other goods
c) Tastes and habits
d) All of the above
II. When a firm’s average revenue is equal to its average cost, it gets (1)
a) Super profit
b) Normal profit
c) Sub normal profit
d) None of the above
III. Managerial economics generally refers to the integration of economic theory with business
(1)
a) Ethics
b) Management
c) Practice
d) All of the above
IV. Which of the following was not immediate cause of 1991 economic crisis (1)
a) Rapid growth of population
b) Severe inflation
c) Expanding Fiscal deficit
d) Rising current account deficit
V.Money functions refers to : (1)
a) Store of value
b) Medium of Exchange
c) Standard of deferred payments
d) All of the above VI. Given the price, if the cost of production increases because of higher price of raw materials, the supply (1) a) Decreases b) Increases c) Remains same d) Any of the above
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
IIBM Institute of Business Management
VII. Total Utility is maximum when (1)
a. Marginal Utility is maximum
b. Marginal Utility is Zero
c. Both of the above
d. None Of The Above
VIII. Cardinal approach is related to (1)
a. Equimarginal Curve
b. Law of diminishing returns
c. Indifference Curve
d. All of the above
IX. Marginal Utility curve of a consumer is also his (1)
a) Supply Curve
b) Demand Curve
c) Both of above
d) None of above
X. Government of India has replaced FERA by (1)
a) The competition Act
b) FRBMA
c) MRTP Act
d) FEMA
Part Two:
1. What is Managerial Economics? What is its relevance to Engineers/Managers? (5)
2. “Managerial Economics is economics that is applied in decision making” Explain? (5)
3. Differentiate b/w, Micro economics vs. macroeconomics? (5)
4. Factors Affecting Price Elasticity of Demand? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
Caselet1
Dabur is among the top five FMCG companies in India and is positioned successfully on the specialist herbal platform. Dabur has proven its expertise in the fields of health care, personal care, home care and foods. The company was founded by Dr. S. K. Burman in 1884 as small pharmacy in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. And is now led by his great grandson Vivek C. Burman, who is the Chairman of Dabur India Limited and the senior most representative of the Burman family in the company. The company headquarter is in Ghaziabad, India, near the Indian capital New Delhi, where it is registered. The company has over 12 manufacturing units in India and abroad. The international facilities are located in Nepal, Dubai, Bangladesh, Egypt and Nigeria. S.K. Burman, the founder of Dabur, was trained as a physician. His mission was to provide effective and affordable cure for ordinary people in far-flung villages. Soon, he started preparing natural remedies based on Ayurveda for diseases such as Cholera, Plague and Malaria. Due to his cheap and effective remedies, he became to be known as ‘Daktar’ (Indian izedversion of ‘doctor’). And that is how his venture Dabur got its name—derived from Daktar Burman. The company faces stiff competition from many multinational and domestic companies. In the Branded and Packaged Food and Beverages segment major companies that are active include Hindustan Lever, Nestle, Cadbury and Dabur. In case of Ayurvedic medicines and products, the major competitors are Baidyanath, Vicco, Jhandu, Himani and other pharmaceutical companies.
Vision statement of Dabur says that the company is “dedicated to the health and wellbeing of every household”. The objective is to “significantly accelerate profitable growth by providing comfort to others”. For achieving this objective Dabur aims to:
 Focus on growing core brands across categories, reaching out to new geographies, within and outside India, and improve operational efficiencies by leveraging technology.
 Be the preferred company to meet the health and personal grooming needs of target consumers with safe, efficacious, natural solutions by synthesizing deep knowledge of Ayurveda and herbs with modern science.
 Be a professionally managed employer of choice, attracting, developing and retaining quality personnel.
 Be responsible citizen with a commitment to environmental protection.
 Provide superior returns, relative to our peer group, to our shareholders.
Chairman of the company
Vivek C. Burman joined Dabur in 1954 after completing his graduation in Business Administration from the USA. In 1986 he was appointed as the Managing Director of Dabur and in 1998 he took over as Chairman of the Company.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
Under Vivek Burman’s leadership, Dabur has grown and evolved as a multi-crore business house with a diverse product portfolio and a marketing network that traverses the whole of India and more than 50 countries across the world. As a strong and positive leader, Vivek C. Burman had motivated employees of Dabur to “do better than their best”—a credo that gives Dabur its status as India’s most trusted nature-based products company.
Leading brands
More than 300 diverse products in the FMCG, Healthcare and Ayurveda segments are in the product line of Dabur. List of products of the company include very successful brands like Vatika, Anmol, Hajmola, Dabur Amla Chyawanprash, Dabur Honey and Lal Dant Manjan with turnover of Rs.100 crores each.
Strategic positioning of Dabur Honey as food product, lead to market leadership with over 40% market share in branded honey market; Dabur Chyawanprash is the largest selling Ayurvedic medicine with over 65% market share. Dabur is a leader in herbal digestives with 90% market share. Hajmola tablets are in command with 75% market share of digestive tablets category. Dabur Lal Tail tops baby massage oil market with 35% of total share.
CHD (Consumer Health Division), dealing with classical Ayurvedic medicines, has more than 250 products sold through prescription as well as over the counter. Proprietary Ayurvedic medicines developed by Dabur include Nature Care Isabgol, Madhuvaani and Trifgol.
However, some of the subsidiary units of Dabur have proved to be low margin business; like Dabur Finance Limited. The international units are also operating on low profit margin. The company also produces several “me – too” products. At the same time the company is very popular in the rural segment.
Questions
1. What is the objective of Dabur? Is it profit maximisation of growth maximisation? (10)
2. Do you think the growth of Dabur from a small pharmacy to a large multinational company is an indicator of the advantages of joint stock company against the proprietorship form? Elaborate. (10)
Caselet2
The Regina Company„ one of the largest inakets of vacuum cleaners recent’) had scv cfc ptollkins with the quality of its products. The market responsc to this 1ak of quality caused financial problems for Ow company. in late 1995. Regina began having return rates as high as 30 to 50 percent on some of its Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus models. These models were sold primarily through discount stores. Further, Regina’s Spectrum vacuum cleaner, an upgraded version sold in specialty stores, was introduced in 1995 with many quality problems. ef The specific problems identified for the Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus models were associated with faulty belts and weak suction. In the Spectrum model, the agitator was melting; and making a loud noise, the foot pedals were breaking, and the steel-encased motor (which had been advertised as the
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
power source for the vacuum cleaner) had been replaced with a less desirable. less reliable motor.
As a result of these problems, Target stores discontinued Regina’s Housekeeper Plus model after reporting that “at least half of those sold were returned.” At Starmart, which accounts for about a quarter of the Housekeeper sales, I. out of every 5 machines sold was returned. To help service customer complaints, Regina set up an 800 telephone number for customers to contact the firm. directly. The sales returns caused Regina’s shareholders to question the 1995 fiscal earnings report. Furthermore, both inventories and accounts receivable doubled during the 1995 fiscal year. At the end of that period, Regina’s chairman and 40 percent stockholders
Resigned. The chairman’s resignation was closely followed by a company announcement stating that the financial results reported for the 1995 fiscal year were materially incorrect and had been withdrawn. This announcement brought a suit from shareholders who had bought Reoina stock on the basis of the 1995 camings report. It also prompted an audit of the 1995 results and a request to another accounting organization to work on Regina’s business and accounting controls. A few months later, Regina ‘agreed to be acquired by a unit of Magnum, a vacuum cleaner and Water-purification Company. Under Magnum, Regina shut down production while engineers worked to solve the problems inherent in the Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus vacuums, particularly the suction difficulties. In September 1998, Magnum and Regina decided to separate the two companies again. Since then, Regina has been regaining market share with its Housekeeper models. The ‘vacuums are popular because they carry on-board tools.
Questions:
1. What type of controls would you have established to preclude the major returns experienced by Regina? (10)
2. How would you have controlled the finished-goods -inventory to avoid its growing to twice the size that it was in the previous year. (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What is the importance of demand analysis in business decision? (15)
2. Explain individual demand function and market demand function. (15)
S-2-010619
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B

Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
IIBM Institute of Business Management
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
SubjectCode-B102Examination Paper
Enterprise Resource Planning
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
1. Which of the following describes an ERP system? (1)
a. ERP systems provide a foundation for collaboration between departments
b. ERP systems enable people in different business areas to communicate
c. ERP systems have been widely adopted in large organizations to store critical knowledge used to make the decisions that drive the organization’s performance.
2. The responsibilities of the office manager in a firm that produces electronics spares is: (1)
a. Everything in the office runs efficiently
b. Furniture and other equipment in the office is adequate
c. Processing all the incoming official mail and responding to some
d. All of the above
d. All of the above
3. Physiological Barriers of listening are:
(1)
a. Hearing impairment
b. Physical conditions
c. Prejudices
d. All of the above
4. What is the main function of Business Communication: (1)
a. Sincerity
b. Positive language
c. Persuasion
d. Ethical standard
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
5. Which presentation tend to make you speak more quickly the unusual: (1)
a. Electronic
b. Oral
c. Both „a‟ and”b”
d. None of the above
6. Labov’s Storytelling Model based on: (1)
a. Communication through speech
b. Language learning
c. Group Discussions
d. None of the above
7. Diagonal Communication is basically the: (1)
a. Communication across boundaries
b. Communication between the CEO and the managers
c. Communication through body language
d. Communication within a department
8. Direct Eye contact of more than 10 seconds can create: (1)
a. Discomfort &Anxiety
b. Emotional relationship between listeners and speakers
c. Excitement
d. None of the above
9. How to make Oral Communication Effective? (1)
a. By Clarity
b. By Brevity
c. By Right words
d. All of the above
10. Encoding means: (1)
a. Transmission
b. Perception
c. Ideation
d. None of the above
Part Two:
1. Define ERP? (5)
2. What are ERP packages? (5)
3. What are the reasons for the explosive growth of the ERP market? (5)
4. What is Business Integration and how do the ERP systems achieve it? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
Caselet1
With eight plants globally running from a single ERP instance on a server in Zeeland, Michigan, the IT team faced the challenges of scaling their systems to support the global growth fueling their company’s expansion. Running IQMS’ manufacturing ERP system delivered via Hosted Managed Services (HMS) provides Ventura Manufacturing the most economical system architecture for greater scalability and efficiency as well as to attain disaster recovery goals.
Ventura is an award-winning semi-automated assembly and production company that serves the automotive, office furniture, education seating, and molding and assembly of optical silicone industries globally. Headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan, the company has multiple plants in Zeeland in addition to plants in Budaörs, Hungary, Saltillo, Mexico and Shanghai, China.
As demand for Ventura’s services grew and the company began attracting customers worldwide, it was apparent the dependency on a single ERP system on-premise in Zeeland, Michigan was becoming an impediment to faster growth. “Relying on a single system to manage our global plants was proving to be a huge scale challenge,” said Joel Boyles, IT Team Lead at Ventura Manufacturing.
Ventura’s customer base is globally-based and to serve them as responsively and effectively as possible, Ventura made the decision to open new production plants in Hungary and Shanghai, China.
With eight plants globally running from a single ERP instance on a server in Zeeland, Michigan, the IT team faced the challenges of scaling their systems to support the global growth fueling their company’s expansion. The IT Teams at Ventura prides itself on offering live support to any plant, anywhere in the world that needs help, anytime. “When we just had the plants in Mexico and Hungary, our existing staff could scale to support the calls coming from plants for help with their IT systems and take care of ERP-related tasks,” Joel said. When the Shanghai, China facility went online, Ventura was reaching the limits of scale and speed with their IT teams and the system running on-premise in Zeeland.
As demands increased on the system, so did concerns over Availability and Disaster Recovery Objectives the IT Team had defined. Two metrics that are of specific interest to Ventura’s IT team are the Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO). IT defined the RTO goal as 8 hours and the RPO as 15 minutes, achievable on a 24/7 basis. To accomplish these goals, Ventura would need to create an entirely new system platform that could scale more efficiently with their growing business. The new platform would also need to increase the speed of system updates, which had been a problematic area in the past for the single system to complete.
Joel Boyles, IT Team Lead, says the challenges of scalability and disaster recovery are what drove the urgency for Ventura to decide that Hosted Managed Services (HMS) from IQMS was the best possible solution. “Plant system updates including MRP were taking at least 2 hours
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
per plant, which translated into our IT teams having 24/7 shifts in our Zeeland-based IT offices,” Joel said. “Clearly we had to redefine our system architecture for greater scalability and speed.”
Ventura chose IQMS’ Enterprise IQ delivered via Hosted Managed Services (HMS) because it was the most economical and fastest option for solving the system performance challenges and attaining the disaster recovery goals the company has. Under the IQMS HMS purchase option, software licenses are owned in perpetuity by Ventura and hardware and platform software is provided by the IQMS data center. IQMS is managing the Ventura systems today in a secure data center environment. Ventura’s IT team can gain access to key system metrics and key performance indicators anytime via any browser-enabled laptop, tablet or smart phone.
Questions
1. How Ventura Defined A Global Roadmap To Greater Speed And Reliability? ( 20)
Caselet 2
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is business management software—usually a suite of integrated applications—that a company can use to store and manage data from every stage of business, including:
•Product planning, cost and development
•Manufacturing
•Marketing and sales
•Inventory management
•Shipping and payment
Functions of ERP
• ERP provides an integrated real-time view of core business processes, using common databases maintained by a database management system. ERP systems track business resources—
 cash, raw materials, production capacity—and the status of business commitments: orders, purchase orders, and payroll.
• The applications that make up the system share data across the various departments (manufacturing, purchasing, sales, accounting, etc.) that entered the data.
• ERP facilitates information flow between all business functions,
ERP Implementation
Success
Company Background
 Cadbury is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelēz International.
 It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Wrigley’s.
 Founder: John Cadbury
 Founded in: 1824, B Currently, Cadbury India operates in four categories viz. Chocolate Confectionery, Milk Food Drinks, Candy and Gum category. In the Chocolate
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
Confectionery business, Cadbury has maintained its undisputed leadership over the years.
ERP Implementation
Cadbury turns out, in recent years, Kraft implemented SAP ERP 6.0 (System Analysis and Program Development) in what SAP called one of its largest global ERP implementations. Kraft credited ERP with reducing operational costs. 11,000 employees were sending data to the company’s SAP solution and it was linked to 1,750 applications by 2008. That same year, Kraft aslo added SAP’s master data management solution, Net Weaver, with an eye toward integrating legacy systems.
• Cadbury was left with a glut of chocolate products at the start of the year, after the installation of a new SAP-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system led to an excess of chocolate bars building up at the end of 2005.
• The new U.K. computer system is part of a five-year IT transformation project, called “Probe”, aimed at integrating the Cadbury Schweppes’ supply chain, purchasing, manufacturing, distribution, sales and marketing systems on a global, SAP-based
ERP platform
• Cadbury Schweppes is aiming for an ultimate savings from the Probe project, but its implementation has been far from smooth. The project was beset by problems and delays when it was first introduced in Australia in 2002.
Benefits of ERP
• Cadbury was on a fast paced growth and could not continue with the existing systems and the pace was too slow due to added inefficiencies. ERP added efficiency and guided the led all the issues fast paced growth.
• The implementation of ERP brought in a new way of warehouse management system and brought in structure to branch offices and the depots.
• While implementing the ERP systems, the company has built it upon the past strengths of the company thereby not losing out on its competitive
• The initial implementation took time and then the successive implementations took lesser time and cost and there is a huge advantage in saving cost while in the implementation phase itself.
• The reaction from competition does not matter in this because this is not a change that was advertised to the market. This is an internal process restructuring and was a welcome change within the company which badly needed the change.
• The company also has built in a robust regular feedback system to monitor the changes and check if they go according to the initial plan. The entire implementation is cross functional and hence it is important that there is a high increase in the efficiency. The ERP vendor was also selected from among the best in class vendors which helped the process occur in a streamlined fashion and avoided any possible chances of hiccups during the initial
implementation phase.
The system has also been deployed up to the vendors. They have a portal called vendor connect
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B
where they can see their inventory movement and make plans accordingly. Hence the restructuring happens not only internally but also across to the supplier which will add on to the benefits that are accrued.
It was considered at low cost and high result implementation which by itself highlights the success and the benefits.
Questions
1. Why did the Big Bang approach fail for The Hershey Company ? (20)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What is the difference between ERP and CRM software? (15)
2. What are some of the risks associated with ERP software? (15)
S-2-010619

Examination Paper of Financial Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B-103
Examination Paper Financial Management
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.Investment is the… (1)
a) Net additions made to the nation’s capital stocks
b) Person’s commitment to buy a flat or house
c) Employment of funds on assets to earn returns
d) Employment of funds on goods and services that are used in production process
II. Financial Management is mainly concerned with… (1)
a) All aspects of acquiring and utilizing financial resources for firms activities
b) Arrangement of funds
c) Efficient Management of every business
d) Profit maximization
III. The Primary goal of the financial management is….. (1)
a. To maximize the return
b. To minimize the risk
c. To maximize the wealth of owners
d. To maximize profit
IV. In his traditional role the finance Manager is responsible for (1)
a. Proper utilization of funds
b. Arrangement of financial resources
c. Acquiring capital assets of the organization
d. Efficient management of capital
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Financial Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
V.Market Value of the shares are decided by
(1)
a. The respective companies
b. The investment market
c. The government
d. Shareholders
VI. The only feasible purpose of financial management is (1) a. Wealth maximization b. Sales maximization c. Profit maximization d. Assets maximization
VII. Financial management process deals with (1)
a. Investments
b. Financing decisions
c. Both a and b
d. None of the above
VIII. Agency cost consists of
(1)
a. Binding
b. Monitoring
c. Opportunity and structure cost
d. All of the above
IX. Finance Function comprises
(1)
a. Safe custody of funds only
b. Expenditure of funds only
c. Procurement of finance only
d. Procurement & effective use of funds
X.Financial management mainly focuses on (1)
a. Efficient management of every business
b. Brand dimension
c. Arrangement of funds
d. All elements of acquiring and using means of financial resources for financial activities
Part Two:
1. What Is The Financial Management Reform? (5)
2. Why Was The FMR Introduced? (5)
3. What Changes Will The FMR Introduce? (5)
4. What Is Financial Management Information System (FMIS)? (5)
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper of Financial Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
Caselet 1
Your employer, a mid-sized human resources management company, is considering expansion into related fields, including the acquisition of Temp Force Company, an employment agency that supplies word processor operators and computer programmers to businesses with temporary heavy workloads. Your employer is also considering the purchase of a bigger staff & McDonald (B&M), a privately held company owned by two friends, each with 5 million shares of stock. B&M currently has free cash flow of $24 million, which is expected to grow at a constant rate of 5%. B&M’s financial statements report marketable securities of $100 million, debt of $200 million, and preferred stock of $50 million. B&M’s weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is 11%. Answer the following questions
Questions
1. Describe briefly the legal rights and privileges of common stockholders. (20)
Caselet 2
Casino is a large electrical construction company having a turnover of Rs.100 crores per annum. Since a few years the company has not been doing well in terms of profits. In order to find out the reason, a group of independent auditors were deployed to examine the operations of the company. The item they felt that needed closer attention was the budget control of new construction work. The audit showed that most electrical designs for new construction were carried out at the headquarters of the company by a project manager. In preparing a budget for a new project, he checked the expenses for similar jobs in the past, then simply multiplied them by various factors. The auditors found that during the past two years, most budgets were greatly overestimated. Incidentally, it was about two years ago that the project manager was given the primary responsibility for budgeting. In this role, he would submit his budget to the Expenditure Control Committee, consisting of higher-level managers who had only a limited interest in budgeting. It was to this committee that the project manager submitted requests for additional money whenever needed. Most of the requests were approved.
The chief auditor felt that the project team tended to “expand” the time needed to complete the task whenever the members thought the budget made it possible. In other words, they “adjusted” their productivity to match the money allocated to the project.
The auditors noted that other contractors could do similar jobs for 20% less money. They concluded that a new control procedure was needed.
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
Examination Paper of Financial Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Questions
1. What do you think of the budgeting process? (10)
2. What kind of control procedure should the auditors recommend? (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. Differentiate Between the Financial Management and Financial Accounting? (15)
2. Explain Briefly The Limitations of Financial Ratios? (15)
S-2-010619
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B

Examination Paper of Strategic Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
SubjectCode-B108 Examination Paper
Strategic Management
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I. Horizontal integration is concerned with
(1)
a) Production
b) Quality
c) Product planning
d) All of the above
II. It refers to formal and informal rules, regulations and procedures that complement the company structure (1)
a) Strategy
b) Systems
c) Environment
d) All of the above
III. Strategic management is mainly the responsibility of (1)
a. Lower management
b. Middle management
c. Top management
d. All of the above
IV. Formal systems are adopted to bring ________ & amalgamation of decentralized units into product groups.
(1)
a. Manpower
b. Co-ordination
c. Production
d. All of the above
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IV.Like roots of a tree, ________of organization is hidden from direct view. (1)
a. Performance
b. Strategy
c. Core competence
d. All of the above
V. The actual performance deviates positively over the budgeted performance. This is an indication of ……….. Performance. (1) a. Superior b. Inferior c. Constant d. Any of the above
VI. Criteria for making an evaluation is (are)
(1)
a. Consistency with goals
b. Consistency with environment
c. Money
d. All of the above
VII. Changes in company ………. also necessitates changes in the systems in various degrees (1)
a. structure
b. system
c. strategy
d. turnover
VIII. Micro environment is the ………. environment of a company. (1)
a. Working
b. Human
c. External
d. Internal
X Techniques used in environmental appraisal are (1)
a.Single-variable
extrapolation/multivariable
interaction analysis
b.Structured/ unstructured
expert/inexpert opinion
c.Dynamic modes and mapping
d.All of the above
Part Two:
1. Distinguish between a strategy and tactics. (5)
2. Give an outline of relation between ‘Strategy and Customer’ in brief? (5)
3. Explain in brief the concept of strategic thinking? (5)
4. What are the basic elements of planning? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Caselet 1
Apple’s profitable but risky strategy
When Apple’s Chief Executive – Steven Jobs – launched the Apple iPod in 2001 and the iPhone in 2007, he made a significant shift in the company’s strategy from the relatively safe market of innovative, premium-priced computers into the highly competitive markets of consumer electronics. This case explores this profitable but risky strategy.
Early beginnings
To understand any company’s strategy, it is helpful to begin by looking back at its roots. Founded in 1976, Apple built its early reputation on innovative personal computers that were particularly easy for customers to use and as a result was priced higher than those of competitors. The inspiration for this strategy came from a visit by the founders of the company – Steven Jobs and Steven Wozniack – to the Palo Alto research laboratories of the Xerox Company in 1979. They observed that Xerox had developed an early version of a computer interface screen with the drop-down menus that are widely used today on all personal computers. Most computers in the late 1970s still used complicated technical interfaces for even simple tasks like typing – still called ‘word-processing’ at the time.
Jobs and Wozniack took the concept back to Apple and developed their own computer – the Apple Macintosh (Mac) – that used this consumer-friendly interface. The Macintosh was launched in 1984. However, Apple did not sell to, or share the software with, rival companies. Over the next few years, this non-co-operation strategy turned out to be a major weakness for Apple.
Battle with Microsoft
Although the Mac had some initial success, its software was threatened by the introduction of Windows 1.0 from the rival company Microsoft, whose chief executive was the well-known Bill Gates. Microsoft’s strategy was to make this software widely available to other computer manufacturers for a license fee – quite unlike Apple. A legal dispute arose between Apple and Microsoft because Windows had many on-screen similarities to the Apple product. Eventually, Microsoft signed an agreement with Apple saying that it would not use Mac technology in Windows 1.0. Microsoft retained the right to develop its own interface software similar to the original Xerox concept.
Coupled with Microsoft’s willingness to distribute Windows freely to computer manufacturers, the legal agreement allowed Microsoft to develop alternative technology that had the same on-screen result. The result is history. By 1990, Microsoft had developed and distributed a version of Windows that would run on virtually all IBM-compatible personal computers – see Case 1.2. Apple’s strategy of keeping its software exclusive was a major strategic mistake. The company was determined to avoid the same error when it
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
came to the launch of the iPod and, in a more subtle way, with the later introduction of the iPhone.
Apple’s innovative products
Unlike Microsoft with its focus on a software-only strategy, Apple remained a full-line computer manufacturer from that time, supplying both the hardware and the software. Apple continued to develop various innovative computers and related products. Early successes included the Mac2 and PowerBooks along with the world’s first desktop publishing program – PageMaker. This latter remains today the leading program of its kind. It is widely used around the world in publishing and fashion houses. It remains exclusive to Apple and means that the company has a specialist market where it has real competitive advantage and can charge higher prices.
Not all Apple’s new products were successful – the Newton personal digital assistant did not sell well. Apple’s high price policy for its products and difficulties in manufacturing also meant that innovative products like the iBook had trouble competing in the personal computer market place.
Apple’s move into consumer electronics
Around the year 2000, Apple identified a new strategic management opportunity to exploit the growing worldwide market in personal electronic devices – CD players, MP3 music players, digital cameras, etc. It would launch its own Apple versions of these products to add high-value, user-friendly software. Resulting products included iMovie for digital cameras and I DVD for DVD-players. But the product that really took off was the iPod – the personal music player that stored hundreds of CDs. And unlike the launch of its first personal computer, Apple sought industry co-operation rather than keeping the product to itself.
Launched in late 2001, the iPod was followed by the iTunes Music Store in 2003 in the USA and 2004 in Europe – the Music Store being a most important and innovatory development. iTune was essentially an agreement with the world’s five leading record companies to allow legal downloading of music tracks using the internet for 99 cents each. This was a major coup for Apple – it had persuaded the record companies to adopt a different approach to the problem of music piracy. At the time, this revolutionary agreement was unique to Apple and was due to the negotiating skills of Steve Jobs, the Apple Chief Executive, and his network of contacts in the industry. Apple’s new strategy was beginning to pay off. The iPod was the biggest single sales contributor in the Apple portfolio of products.
In 2007, Apple followed up the launch of the iPod with the iPhone, a mobile telephone that had the same user-friendly design characteristics as its music machine. To make the iPhone widely available and, at the same time, to keep control, Apple entered into an exclusive contract with only one national mobile telephone carrier in each major country – for example, AT&T in the USA and O2 in the UK. Its mobile phone was premium priced – for
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
example, US$599 in North America. However, in order to hit its volume targets, Apple later reduced its phone prices, though they still remained at the high end of the market. This was consistent with Apple’s long-term, high-price, high-quality strategy. But the company was moving into the massive and still-expanding global mobile telephone market where competition had been fierce for many years.
And the leader in mobile telephones – Finland’s Nokia – was about to hit back at Apple, though with mixed results. But other companies, notably the Korean company Samsung and the Taiwanese company, HTC, were to have more success later.
So, why was the Apple strategy risky?
By 2007, Apple’s music player – the iPod – was the premium-priced, stylish market leader with around 60 per cent of world sales and the largest single contributor to Apple’s turnover. Its iTune download software had been re-developed to allow it to work with all Windows-compatible computers (about 90 percent of all PCs) and it had around 75 percent of the world music download market, the market being worth around US$1000 million per annum. Although this was only some 6 percent of the total recorded music market, it was growing fast. The rest of the market consisted of sales of CDs and DVDs direct from the leading recording companies.
In 2007, Apple’s mobile telephone – the iPhone – had only just been launched. The sales objective was to sell 10 million phones in the first year: this needed to be compared with the annual mobile sales of the global market leader, Nokia, of around 350 million handsets. However, Apple had achieved what some commentators regarded as a significant technical breakthrough: the touch screen. This made the iPhone different in that its screen was no longer limited by the fixed buttons and small screens that applied to competitive handsets. As readers will be aware, the iPhone went on to beat these earlier sales estimates and was followed by a new design, the iPhone 4 in 2010.
The world market leader responded by launching its own phones with touch screens. In addition, Nokia also launched a complete download music service. Referring to the new download service, Rob Wells, senior Vice President for digital music at Universal commented: ‘This is a giant leap toward where we believe the industry will end up in three or four years’ time, where the consumer will have access to the celestial jukebox through any number of devices.’ Equally, an industry commentator explained: ‘[For Nokia] it could be short-term pain for long-term gain. It will steal some of the thunder from the iPhone and tie users into the Nokia service.’ Readers will read this comment with some amazement given the subsequent history of Nokia’s smart phones that is described in Case 9.2.
‘Nokia is going to be an internet company. It is definitely a mobile company and it is making good progress to becoming an internet company as well,’ explained Olli PekkaKollasvuo, Chief Executive of Nokia. There also were hints from commentators that Nokia was likely to make a loss on its new download music service. But the company was determined to ensure that Apple was given real competition in this new and unpredictable market.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Here lay the strategic risk for Apple. Apart from the classy, iconic styles of the iPod and the iPhone, there is nothing that rivals cannot match over time. By 2007, all the major consumer electronics companies – like Sony, Philips and Panasonic – and the mobile phone manufacturers – like Nokia, Samsung and Motorola – were catching up fast with new launches that were just as stylish, cheaper and with more capacity. In addition, Apple’s competitors were reaching agreements with the record companies to provide legal downloads of music from websites.
Apple’s competitive reaction
As a short term measure, Apple hit back by negotiating supply contracts for flash memory for its iPod that were cheaper than its rivals. Moreover, it launched a new model, the iPhone 4 that made further technology advances. Apple was still the market leader and was able to demonstrate major increases in sales and profits from the development of the iPod and iTunes. To follow up this development, Apple launched the Apple Tablet in 2010 – again an element of risk because no one really knew how well such a product would be received or what its function really was. The second generation Apple tablet was then launched in 2011 after the success of the initial model. But there was no denying that the first Apple tablet carried some initial risks for the company.
All during this period, Apple’s strategic difficulty was that other powerful companies had also recognized the importance of innovation and flexibility in the response to the new markets that Apple itself had developed. For example, Nokia itself was arguing that the markets for mobile telephones and recorded music would converge over the next five years. Nokia’s Chief Executive explained that much greater strategic flexibility was needed as a result: ‘Five or ten years ago, you would set your strategy and then start following it. That does not work anymore. Now you have to be alert every day, week and month to renew your strategy.’
If the Nokia view was correct, then the problem for Apple was that it could find its market-leading position in recorded music being overtaken by a more flexible rival – perhaps leading to a repeat of the Apple failure 20 years earlier to win against Microsoft. But at the time of updating this case, that looked unlikely. Apple had at last found the best, if risky, strategy.
Questions
1. using the concepts in this chapter undertake a competitive analysis of both Apple and Nokia – who is stronger? (10)
2. What are the problems with predicting how the market and the competition will change over the next few years? What are the implications for strategy development? (10)
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Caselet 2
Mr. Ashwin is the marketing manager of the cosmetics. division of the Medwin Drug Company. The company was well known as a leader in new proprietary drug and toiletry products and had a good record of profitability. The cosmetics division had been especially successful in women’s toiletries and .1/4.-o..,unctitk.:s and in the introduction of new products, It always based its new-product development on market research respect to what Would appeal to women and, after almost invariably test marketing a new product in a few almost invarariably test marketing a new product in selected cities, launched it with a heavy advertising and sales promotion program. It had hoped in this way not only to get a large initial share of the markets but also to become so well entrenched that competitors. who soon copy a successful product would not dislodge it from its market share.
After being cautioned by the president of Medwin Drug about the necessity for watching costs more carefully, the division manager became increasingly concerned with two opposing factors in his marketing strategy: ( 1) test marketing of new products (offering them for sale first in a few test cities with area advertising and sales programs) tended increasingly to give competitors advance information on new products, and certain competitors had been able to copy a product almost as soon as Medwin could offer it nationally and profited thereby from Medwin’s advertising; and (2) national advertising and sales promotion expenses were rising so fast that a single major product failure would have an important impact on division profits, on which his annual bonus was primarily determined. On the one hand, he recognized the wisdom of test marketing, but he disliked the costs and dangers involved. On the other hand, he hardly wished to take an unknown risk of embarking on a national program until a test showed that the product did in fact have a good market demand. Yet, he wondered whether all products should be test marketed.
Mr. Ashwin was asked to put this problem to his marketing department subordinates and ask them what should be done. To give the strategy some meaning, he used as a case at point the company’s new hair conditioner which had been developed on the basis of promising, although preliminary, market research. He asked his sales manager whether he thought the product would succeed and what he thought his “best estimate” of sales would be. He also asked his advertising manager to give some cost estimates on launching the product.
Mr. Kiran, division sales manager, thought a while, then said he was convinced that the product was a winner and that his best estimate would be sales of Rs. 5 crores per year for at least five years. Mr. Desai, the advertising manager, said that the company could launch the product for a cost of Rs. 1 crore the first year and some Rs. 25 lakhs per year thereafter. He also pointed out that the test-marketing program would cost Rs. 15 lakhs, of which half would be saved if these test cities were merely a part of a national program, and that the testing program would delay the national program for six months. But he warned Mr. Ashwin that test marketing would save the gamble of so much money on the national promotion program. At this point, Mr. Sachdev, the new marketing research manager, suggested that the group might come to a better decision if they used a proper decision-making technique.
Question:
1. Which decision-making technique can be used in this situation? Why? (20)
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What are the main characteristics of strategic decisions? (15)
2. What specific entrepreneurial aspects include the strategy formation process? (15)
S-2-010619
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B

IIBM MBA SECOND SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEETS PROVIDED

IIBM MBA SECOND SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEETS PROVIDED

Examination Paper of Human Resource Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B102
Examination Paper
Human Resource Management
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.The following is (are) concerned with developing a pool of candidates in line with the human resources plan (1)
a) Development
b) Training
c) Recruitment
d) All of the above
II. The following is (are) the key components of a business process Re-engineering program? (1)
a) Product development
b) Service delivery
c) Customer satisfaction
d) All of the above
III. The actual achievements compared with the objectives of the job is (1)
a) Job performance
b) Job evaluation
c) Job description
d) None of the above
IV. Performance development plan is set for the employee by his immediate boss. (1)
a) Employer
b) Department Head
c) Immediate boss
d) Any of the above
V.The following type of recruitment process is said to be a costly affair. (1)
a) Internal recruitment
b) External recruitment
c) Cost remains same for both types VI. The following is (are) the objective(s) of inspection. (1) a) Quality product b) Defect free products c) Customer satisfaction d) All of the above
Examination Paper of Human Resource Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
VII. Which of the following is an assumption of rationality to rationale decision making? (1)
a. Preferences are clear
b. Final choice will maximize payoff
c. The problem is clear and unambiguous
d. All of the above
VIII. ___________ is accepting solutions that are “good enough”. (1)
a. Bounded rationality
b. Satisficing
c. Escalation of commitment
d. None of the above
IX. The three important components in aligning business strategy with HR practice: (1)
a) Business Strategy, Human Resource Practices, Organizational Capabilities
b) Marketing Strategy, Human Resource Practices, Organizational Capabilities
c) Business Strategy, Human Resource Practices, Organizational structure
X. The basic managerial skill(s) is(are) (1)
a) To supervise
b) To stimulate
c) To motivate
d) All of the above
d) Marketing Strategy, Human Resource
Practices, Organizational structure
Part Two:
1. What is the nature of Human Resource Management? (5)
2. What is Human Resource Development (HRD) (5)
3. Discuss the future trends and challenges of HRM? (5)
4. What is manpower planning? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
Examination Paper of Human Resource Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Caselet 1
Sanjay Nagpal is a new recruit from a reputed management institute. He is recruited as a sales trainee in a sales office of a large computer hardware firm located in Chennai.
Raghvan is the zonal sales manager responsible for overseeing the work of sales officer, field executives and trainee salesmen numbering over 50 of three areas namely Chennai, Bangalore, and Trivandrum.
The sales growth of the products in his area was highly satisfactory owing to the developmental initiatives taken by respective State Governments in spreading computer education.
Raghvan had collected several sales reports, catalogues and pamphlets detailing the types of office equipment sold by the company for Sanjay’s reference.
After short chat with Sanjay, Raghvan assisted him to his assigned desk and provided
him with the material collected. Thereafter Raghvan excused himself and did not return.
Meanwhile, Sanjay scanned through the material given to him till 5:00pmbefore leaving
office.
Questions
1. What do you think about Raghavan’s training program? (10)
2. What method of training would have been best under the circumstances? Would you consider OJT, simulation or experiential methods? (10)
Caselet 2
Preeti was promoted three months ago from reservations supervisor to front-desk manager for Regency Hotel, an independent, 330-room hostelry. She enjoys her new management responsibilities and is pleased that the occupancy rate averaged 94 percent last month, way above the industry average. But at times she feels stressed by the confusion of managing all front-end operations of the hotel, from reservations and cashiering to the bell desk and concierge. She feels most at home handling the reservation function, a task she always enjoyed as a trainee because she likes to help people. About once a week the staff in the reservation function overbooks rooms, usually because of incomplete scans of conference sales files. Customers with reservations w,0110 arrive late are upset when they have to be referred 1, nearby hotels. Whenever overbooking occurs, Ms. eti takes over direct control of the reservations operation herself, often personally handling reservations for two or three days until order seems to return.
But sometimes while Ms. Preeti is off focusing on the reservations task, other problems arise. On five days last month, clerks at the reception desk checked in every “walk-in” who appeared without reservations. They assumed there would be ample no-shows among those holding reservations. On one occasion, Regency ended up oversold by 24 rooms. Mr. Alex, the hotel general manager, is concerned about Ms. Preeti’s development into her new management position. He knows Ms. Preeti is proud of the high occupancy levels (which mean greater profits) and doesn’t want to destroy that pride. However, he sees her as more interested in
Examination Paper of Human Resource Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B
individual staff tasks (such as making reservations) than in the complexities of managing, training, and motivating her staff. He has talked with Ms. Preeti about balancing her activities as a manager. Alex emphasized that she needs to make sure her staff knows the systems and guidelines and be firm with employees who continue to check in guests when the hotel obviously will be overbooked. He plans to meet with her in a three-month performance review to see if he can shift her motivational expectations about the job.
Question:
1. Do Ms. Preeti’s problems seem to be the result of her lack of motivational immaturity or of her lack of motivational attention to her people? (20)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What are the future challenges before managers? (15)
2. What is the process of HRP? (15)
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Examination Paper of Marketing Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B104
Examination Paper
Marketing Management
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.“Image building” objectives are common in _____ type of market structure. (1)
a) Competition
b) Oligopoly
c) Monopoly
d) Monopsony
II. The concept of marketing mix was developed by______ (1)
a) N.H Borden
b) Philip Katter
c) Satanton
d) W.Anderson
III. Marketing mix consists of ___ (1)
a) Production recognition
b) Price structure
c) Distribution planning
d) All of these
IV. The concept of marketing mix involves a deliberate and careful choice of organization, product, price promotion, place strategies and___ (1)
a) Policies
b) Concept
c) Planning
d) All of these
V.Operating cost for new system is added into implementation cost and is then divided by gains by improvements in productivity is called (1)
a) Economic Value Added
b) Analysis Of Benefits
c) Return On Investment
d) Return On Public Offering VI. Pricing strategy used to set prices of products that are must be used with main product is called (1) a) Optional Product Pricing b) Product Line Pricing c) Competitive Pricing d) Captive Product Pricing e
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Marketing Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
VII. New product pricing strategy through which companies set lower prices to gain large market share is classified as
(1)
a. Optional Product Pricing
b. Skimming Pricing
c. Penetration Pricing
d. Captive Product Pricing
VIII. Company marketing mix that target market segments very broadly is called (1)
a. Mass Marketing
b. Segmented Marketing
c. Niche Marketing
d. Micromarketing
IX. What does the term PLC stands for?
(1)
a) Product life cycle
b) Production life cycle
c) Product long cycle
d) Production long cycle
X. Which of the following is not a characteristic of “Market Introduction Stage” in PLC? (1)
a) Demands has to be created
b) Costs are low
c) Makes no money at this stage
d) Slow sales volume to start
e) There is little or no competition
Part Two:
1. Name and define the four Ps of the marketing mix? (5)
2. Definition of ‘Pricing Strategies’? (5)
3. What is the role of a Marketing Plan? (5)
4. Describe the difference in Push & Pull distribution strategies? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Marketing Management
Caselet1
Because of its imaginative marketing, excellent new products, and fine service to customers, the Westside Business Computers and Equipment Company grew to be a leader in its field, with sales over Rs. 100 crores annually, high profit margins, and continually rising stock prices. It became one of the favorites of investors, who enjoyed its fast growth rate and high profits. But the president of the company, Mr. Desai, soon realized that the organization structure, which had served the company so well, no longer fitted the company’s needs.
For years the company had been organized along functional lines, with vice-presidents in charge of production, purchasing, finance, marketing, personnel, engineering, and research and development. In its growth, the company had expanded its product lines beyond business computers to include photocopying machines, projectors, and motion-picture cameras. As time passed on, concern had arisen that its organization structure did not provide for profit responsibility below the office of the president, did not appear to fit the far-flung nature of the business now being conducted in many foreign countries, and seemed to emphasize the “walls” impeding effective coordination between the functional departments of marketing, production, and engineering. There seemed to be too many decisions that could not be made at any level lower than the president’s office.
As a result, Mr.Desai decentralized the company into fifteen independent domestic and foreign divisions, each with complete profit responsibility. However, after this reorganization was in effect, he began to feel that the divisions were not adequately controlled. There developed considerable duplication in purchasing and personnel functions, each division manager ran his or her operations without regard to company policies and strategies, and it became apparent to the president that the company was disintegrating into a number of independent parts.
Having seen several large companies get into trouble when a division suffered large losses, Mr.Desai concluded that he had gone too far with decentralization. As a result, he withdrew some of the authority delegations to the division managers and required them to get top corporate management approval on such important matters as (1) any capital expenditures over Rs.5,00,000 (2) the introduction of any new products, (3) marketing and pricing strategies and policies, (4) plant expansion, and (5) changes in personnel policies.
The division general managers were understandably unhappy when they saw some of their independence taken away from them. They openly complained that the company was not very sure about the organizational structure that it wants to follow. The president, worried about his position, calls you in as a consultant to advise him on what to do.
Questions
1. Do you agree on what Mr. Desai did to regulate control was correct? (10)
2. What would you have done under these circumstances? (10)
Caselet2
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Marketing Management
Mr. Sachin, the Sales manager of the Blue Ridge Furniture Company, had just completed a two-week trip auditing customer accounts and prospective accounts in the southern states. His primary intention was to do follow-up work on prospective accounts contacted by sales staff members during the past six months. Prospective clients were usually furniture dealers or large department stores with furniture departments.
To his amazement, Mr. Sachin discovered that almost all the so-called prospective accounts were fictitious. The people had obviously turned in falsely documented field reports and expense statements. Company salespeople had actually called upon 3 of 22 reported furniture stores or department stores. Thus. Mr. Sachin summarized that salespeople had falsely claimed approximately 85 percent of the goodwill contacts. Further study showed that all salespeople had followed this general practice and that not one had a clean record.
M r. Sachin decided that immediate action was mandatory although the salespeople were experienced senior individuals. Angry as he was, he would have preferred, firing them. But he was responsible for sales and realized that replacing the staff would seriously cripple the sales program for the coming year.
Questions
1. As Mr. Sachin, what would you do now to resolve the problem of the false reports? (10)
2. What could Mr. Sachin have done to prevent this problem? (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What is marketing mix in marketing management? What are the seven (7) elements of marketing? (15)
2. What are the goals or objectives of marketing? (15)
S-2-010619
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B

 

Examination Paper of Principles and Practices of Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B101
Examination Paper
Principles and Practices of Management
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I. Management as a Science defines…..Tick the correct one.(1)
a) Perfection through practice
b) Practical Knowledge
c) Creativity
d) Test of Validity & Predictability
II. Indirect Reward involves: (1)
a. Wages
b. Provident Fund
c. Praise& Rewards
d. Incentives
III. This is the part of the management process which actuates the organization members to work efficiently and effectively for the attainment of organizational objectives. Which management function describes this? (1)
a) Planning
b) Organizing
c) Staffing
d) Directing
e) Controlling
IV. It is the function of manning the organization structure and keeping it
manned. The main purpose is to put right man on right job i.e. square pegs in square holes and round pegs in round holes. (1)
a. Manpower Planning
b. Recruitment
c. Performance Appraisal
d. Staffing
e. Training & Development
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Principles and Practices of Management
V. This type of Organization flows “Flat Hierarchy”. (1)
a. Traditional
b. Modern
c. None of them
d. All of them
VI. It is deciding in advance – what to do, when to do & how to do. It bridges the gap from where we are & where we want to be.(1)
a. Staffing
b. Organizing c
c. Planning
d. Directing
e. None of them
VII. Decentralization may lead to the problem of co-ordination at the level of an enterprise as the decision-making authority is not concentrated. (1)
a. True
b. False
VIII. “Understanding” is the essence of communication. This only happens when there is an intention of not understanding and not being understood by those involved in a communication situation. (1)
a. True
b. False
IX. Here delegation is not entrusted the work neither he is given the responsibility and authority formally. It does not create any obligation.(1)
a. Formal Delegation
b. Informal Delegation
c. None of them
d. All of them
X. The organization must have a supreme authority and a clear line of authority should run from that person (or group) down through the hierarchy, e.g., from the Chairman—the Managing Director—Plant Manager— Production Manager— Foreman-rank and file of employees. (1) a. Principle of Delegation b. Principle of Balance c. Scalar Principle d. Principle of change
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Principles and Practices of Management
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
Part B:
1. Define Administration. In which respect it is different from
Management? (5)
2. What do you understand by the term “Level of Management”? Briefly describe the different levels of Management. (5)
3. Factors involved in Decentralization of Authority. (5)
4. Write a short note on the Principles of Unity of Command. (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
Caselet1
Rajiv Gupta, President of the Universal Food Products Company, was tired of being the only one in his company actually responsible for profits. While he had good vice-presidents in charge of advertising, sales, finance, purchasing, production, and product research, he realized that he could not hold any of them responsible for company profits, as much as he would like to. He often found it difficult even to hold them responsible for the contribution from their respective areas to company profits. The sales vice-president, for instance, had rather reasonably complained that he could not be fully responsible for sales when the advertising was ineffective, or in a situation when the products customers wanted were not readily available from manufacturing department, or when he did not have the new products he needed to meet market competition. Likewise, the manufacturing vice president had some justification when he made the point that he could not hold down costs and still be able to produce short runs so as to fill orders on short notice; moreover, financial controls would not allow the company to carry a large inventory of everything. Mr. Rajiv had considered breaking his company down into six or seven segments by setting up product divisions with a manger over each with profit responsibility. But he found that this would not be feasible or economical since many of the company’s branded food products were produced using the same equipment and used the same raw materials, and a salesperson calling on a store or supermarket could far more economically handle a number of related products ….than one or a few. Consequently, Mr. Rajiv came to the conclusion that the best thing for him to do was to set up six product managers reporting to a product marketing manager. Each product
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Principles and Practices of Management
manager would be given responsibility for one or a few products and would oversee for each product, all aspects of product research, manufacturing, advertising, and sales, thereby the person becoming responsible for the performance and profits of the products under his/her portfolio. Mr. Rajiv realized that he could not give these product managers actual line of authority over the various operating departments of the company since that will cause each vice president and his or her department to report to six product managers and the product marketing manager, as well as the president. He was concerned with this problem. But, he knew that some of the most successful larger companies in the world had used the product manager system. Mr. Rajiv resolved to put in the product manager system as outlined and hoped for the best. But he wondered how he could avoid the problem of confusion in reporting relationship
Questions
1. Do you agree with Mr. Rajiv’s program? If it were you, would you have done it differently? Explain. (10)
2. Exactly what is your suggestion that may help to avoid any confusion in this organizational structure? (10)
Caselet2
As Ms. Mansi began to devote all of her time to managing The Arbor, she was dismayed byfinding the anomalies what she believed to be a fairly haphazard management system. While the developer of the retail complex was clearly an astute entrepreneur, she began to feel that he had not paid enough attention to detail in the course of day-to-day operating procedures.
She and Mr. Das had learnt a lot about management from their experience with SLS. Mr. Das for example, had found that the most effective way of running the business involved buying only from reputable suppliers, keeping all plants well fertilized and pruned while they were in inventory, and checking with customers after landscape jobs had been completed to ensure that they were satisfied.
When she bought The Arbor, Ms. Mansi talked with a friend who managed a store at the regional shopping mall in town. Her friend explained how the mall development company had elaborate rules and procedures for its tenants. These rules and procedures dictated store hours, appearance standards, lease terms, promotional and advertising policies, and just about everything imaginable.
The Arbor, however, was a different story. There were no written policies for tenants. As a result, there was considerable variation in how they were managed. Some stores opened on Sunday or in the evening, for example, while others did not; some tenants had long-term leases while others had no current lease at all.
To address these and other issues, Ms. Mansi called a meeting of all the tenants and expressed her concerns. To her surprise, she found that they already were aware of each of her issues, as well as some others that she had not yet had time to consider. They argued, however, that the current system was really the best for The Arbor. As a small operation, each tenant knew all the others, and they worked together to keep things in good order. They thought it was fine that they kept different hours — few customers came to The Arbor just to walk around and shop. Customers usually came to visit specific stores and were aware of the store’s hours. The tenants even
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Principles and Practices of Management
END OF SECTION B
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
expressed their opinion about the lease situation as a fine condition. Some wanted the security afforded by a lease, while others preferred the flexibility of no lease.
Questions
1. What are the different control examples illustrated in this situation? (10)
2. What kind of control systems might be the most useful for retailers? (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. Define Management & its functions? (15)
2. Explain the various concepts of Management. (15)
S-2-010619
END OF SECTION C

IIBM MBA THIRD SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEETS PROVIDED

IIBM MBA THIRD SEMESTER EXAM ANSWER SHEETS PROVIDED

Examination Paper of Computer Fundamental
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B112
Examination Paper
Computer Fundamental
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.A Light Sensitive device that converts drawing, printed text or other image into digital from is (1)
a) Keyboard
b) Plotter
c) Scanner
d) OMR
II. The basic operations performed by a computer are (1)
e) Arithmetic operation
f) Logical operation
g) Storage and relative operation
h) All the above l
III. The two major types of computer chips are (1)
a. External memory chip
b. Primary memory chip
c. Microprocessor chip
d. Both b and c
IV. Microprocessors as switching devices are for which generation computers (1)
a. First Generation
b. Second Generation
c. Third Generation
d. Fourth Generation
Examination Paper of Computer Fundamental
IIBM Institute of Business Management
END OF SECTION A
V.What is the main difference between a mainframe and a super computer?
a. A Super computer is much larger than the mainframe computers.
b. Super computers are smaller than the mainframe computers.
c. Supercomputers are focused to execute few programs as fast as possible while mainframe computers use its power to execute as many programs concurrently.
d. Supercomputers are focused to execute as many programs as possible while mainframe
VI. ASCII and EBCDIC are the popular character coding systems. What does EBCDIC stand for?
a) Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
b) Extended Bit Code Decimal Interchange Code
c) Extended Bit Case Decimal Interchange Code
d) Extended Binary Case Decimal Interchange Code
VII. The brain of any computer system is
a) ALU
b) Memory
c) CPU
d) Control unit
VIII. Storage capacity of magnetic disk depends on
a) tracks per inch of surface
b) bits per inch of tracks
c) disk pack in disk surface
d) All of above
IX. The two kinds of main memory are:
a) Primary and secondary
b) Random and sequential
c) ROM and RAM
d) All of above
X. A storage area used to store data to a compensate for the difference in speed at which the different units can handle data is
a) Memory
b) Buffer
c) Accumulator
d) Address
Part Two:
1. What is Windows? (5)
2. What is Windows? (5)
3. What is Computer Virus? (5)
4. What is the meaning of ‘CC’ in case of E-mail? (5)
Examination Paper of Computer Fundamental
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of Caselets.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each Caselet carries 20 marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
Caselet 1
Mr. and Mrs. Sharma went to Woodlands Apparel to buy a shirt. Mr. Sharma did not read the price tag on the piece selected by him. At the counter, while making the payment he asked for the price. Rs. 950 was the answer.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Sharma, who was still shopping came back and joined her husband. She was glad that he had selected a nice black shirt for himself. She pointed out that there was a 25% discount on that item. The counter person nodded in agreement.
Mr. Sharma was thrilled to hear that “It means the price of this shirt is just Rs. 712. That‟s fantastic”, said Mr. Sharma. He decided to buy one more shirt in blue color.In no time, he returned with the second shirt and asked them to be packed. When he received the cash memo for payment, he was astonished to find that he had to pay Rs.. 1,900 and Rs.1,424.
Mr. Sharma could hardly reconcile himself to the fact that the counter person had quoted the discounted price which was Rs. 950. The original price printed on the price tag was Rs.1,266.
Questions
1. What should Mr. Sharma have done to avoid them is understanding? (10)
2. Discuss the main features involved in this case. (10)
Caselet 2
I don’t want to speak to you. Connect me to your boss in the USA,” hissed the Alfred is a do-it yourself entrepreneur who built up his fortune in trading. He traded in anything and everything and kept close control of every activity. That was now he had grown rich enough to indulge in his own dream-to build a college in his home town. A college that would be at par to the ones in the better cities, the one in which he could not study himself.
Work started a year hack and the buildings were coming along well He himself did not use computers much and became hooked to the Internet and e-mail only recently. He was determined to provide a PC with Internet connectivity to every students and faculty member. He was currently engrossed in plans for the 100 seater computer lab.
What was confusing him was the choice of Internet connectivity. He had about a dozen quotations in front of him, Recommendations ranged from 64 Kbps ISDN all the way to 1 Gbps leased line to Guwahati which was almost 200 kms away. Prices ranged from slightly under a lakh all the way upto 25 lakh and beyond. He did not understand most of the equipment quoted firewall, proxy server, cache appliance, nor was he sure what the hidden cost were. Although it went against his very nature, he would have to identify a trustworthy consultant who would help him make sense of the whole thing.
Examination Paper of Computer Fundamental
IIBM Institute of Business Management
END OF SECTION B
• This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each question carries 15marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
Questions
1. In the context of the given case, what managerial issues need to be addressed by Alfred. Why is It Important for managers to be tech savvy? (10)
2. What is the importance of a ‘Systems consultant’ to an organization? What skills should he/she possess? (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What are Web sites & URL(s)? (15)
2. Explain how data is organized on a magnetic tape? (15)
S-2-010619

 

Examination Paper of Health & Hospital Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper MM.100
Hospital Administration
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
 This section consists of Multiple Choi  ces and Short Notes type Questions. 
 Answer all the questions. 
 Part One carries 1 mark each and Part Two carries 5 marks each. 
Part One:
Multiple forms:
1. Low growth low market share products are termed as___________
a. Stars
b. Cash cows
c. Dogs
d. None
2. To improve organizational performance „Alfred Sloan‟ introduced „3S term‟ as doctrine of
strategy, structure and?
a. System
b. Solution
c. Share
d. None
3. Overburdening may occur due to too many group members seeking out an individual for
information and assistance, a solution to such problem is_____________
a. Linear organization
b. Circular organization
c. Elliptical organization
d. None
4. NHS stands for_________________
5. ICU in medication stands for Internal cure union.(T/F)
6. There are 4 levels of strategic consensus that have been identified among the managers, one level
in which managers are informed about the strategy but they are not willing to act is
called___________
a. Blind devotion
b. Informed scepticism
c. Weak consensus
d. None
7. OCB stands for Organization citizenship behavior.(T/F)
1
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Health & Hospital Management
8. BPR stands business process re enforcement.(T/F)
9. The best way to avoid conflict and there by preserve relationship with in the health care
organization is____________
a. Spiral of silence
b. Web of solution
c. Web of solution
d. None
10. IPE stands for inter disciplinary education.(T/F)
Part Two:
1. Discuss the Managerial issues in Disaster Management?
2. What do you understand by the Outpatient Department (OPD)?
3. Write a short note on Quality Assurance in a Hospital?
4. Briefly describe the importance and functions of Housekeeping department in the Hospital?
END OF SECTION A
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
 This section consists of Caselets. 
 Answer all the questions. 
 Each caselet carries 20 marks. 
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words). 
Caselet 1
CULTURAL BELIEFS
An organization‟s culture can be studied at three levels: artefacts, values and assumptions. Artefacts
are the organizational structures that are visible to the members of the organization. Values are the
strategies, goals and philosophies of the organization‟s members. The basic, underlying assumptions
of group members include taken-for-granted beliefs, perceptions, thoughts and feelings. Even though
certain basic assumptions are evident, taken for granted and are not normally confronted or debated,
the culture of the organization will become evident at the level of observable artefacts and in the
shared values, norms and rules of behavior of the organization‟s member. Group norms are sets of
shared values that have been valedated through a consensus process. The social validation of group
norms arises when certain values are confirmed by the shared experiences of the group and these
norms are passed onto new members as being the correct way to do things. This mechanism of
embedding and meshing culture is undertaken at an unconscious level in most organizations.
2
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Health & Hospital Management
Although culture resides in the minds of the members of the organization, it is transmitted through
visible expressions, such as formal and informal routines and everyday rituals of existence undertaken
by members of the organization. Over time, shared experiences develop into a set of core values that
become embedded in individual and organizational philosophy and ideology that ultimately serves to
guide action and behavior. This process is an important mechanism in the transmission of shared
professional assumptions, values, artefacts and symbols from the master to the student and in the
development of the socialization process that professional clinicians undergo. Therefore, the internal
orientation of employees is based primarily on the culture, values, beliefs, ethics and assumptions of
the organization‟s staff; this is particularly evident amongst health service employees, although the
orientation may differ between clinicians and non-clinicians.
1. Why according to you Artefacts are essential for the development of an organization‟s culture?
2. Elaborate the cultural beliefs of your company?
Caselet 2
There are many ways of managing change. Few organizational changes are complete failures, and
few are entirely successful. The management of change draws from psychological, behavioral,
political, social and culture dimensions, many of which may be conflicting. A realization that change
is the result of competition between driving and restraining forces is evident in much of the literature.
Lewin noted some forces drive change whilst others resist change. A change agent is required to
fecilitate change, to manage the restraining forces, and to drive change through. The change is
required to understand change as a phenomenon, identify the key emotional reactions associated with
change, such as resistance, and know how to manage change in a positive manner. Kotter contends
that both leadership and management skills are required to effectively and positively manage change,
particularly in a volatile environment. He further argues that the change process is deductive; it is
about managing complexity and is often undertaken in order to prevent a more chaotic reality than
that presently in force. If change is approached with a certain level of excitement and enthusiasm, it
will create opportunities that will make patients lives better. However, change is often introduced
without due regard for the realities of individual areas of health care practice. Some managers may
not have an insight into the effect of the change on the lives of individuals or realizations that even
minor change may have unintended consequences for the individual and the organization. Most
resistance to change occurs not because of the proposed change, but as a result of individual
perceptions of expected outcomes due to the change and on how this is likely to impact on their lives.
Therefore, an accurate assessment of the environment, both internal and external to the organization,
is required prior to the change, thus preventing negative consequences for individuals.
1. Why there is a need of change?
2. With reference to your company, what changes you prefer?
END OF SECTION B
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
3
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Health & Hospital Management
 This section consists o  f Applied Theory Questions. 
 Answer all the questions. 
 Each question carries 15 marks. 
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words). 


1. What do you mean by Emergency Department Planning? How would you explain the managerial
issues in Emergency department?
2. Write a short note on the following terms:
1) Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD)
2) Total Quality Management in Health Care
3) Medical Audit and its Administration
END OF SECTION C
4
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Health & Hospital Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper MM.100
Hospital Care
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
 This section consists of Multiple Choi  ces and Short Not type Questions. 
 Answer all the questions. 
 Part One carries 1 mark each and Part Two carries 5 marks each. 
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. A method of collaborative work in which visual display of information on flip charts or other
media to which other group member can use is__________
a. Decision matrices
b. Multivoting
c. Boarding
d. Brainstorming
2. A tool for Data collection which summarise perception of a large sample of people
is___________
a. Surveys
b. Interviews
c. Check sheet
d. Data sheets
3. Members of Inspection control committee_________
a. Microbiologist, O.T. incharge, Medical Superintendent
b. Representative from Nursing Service, CSSD in charge, Representative from major clinical
department
c. Both (a) & (b)
d. None of the above
4. MRD stands for___________
a. Medical Records Department
b. Medicine Records Department
c. Medicine Release Department
d. None of the above
5. Format for appraisal in which rank order is establish of employees based on their relative
merit_________
a. Forced Distribution Technique
b. Graphic Rating Scale
c. Ranking methods
d. Free Written Ratings
5
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Health & Hospital Management
6. Analytical technique in Materials Management in which all items in inventory on the basis of
annual usuage time cost is________
a. FSN Analysis
b. ABC Analysis
c. VED Analysis
d. None of the above
7. Planning tool used in Quality Management in which the items are written on individual cards and
displayed on a flip chart__________
a. Relations Diagram
b. Process Decision Program chart
c. Affinity Diagram
d. Activity Network Diagram
8. Method of filing of Medical records in which involves filing of records in exact chronological
order according to unit / serial number___________
a. Middle Digit filing
b. Terminal Digit filing
c. Straight Numeric filing
d. None of the above
9. Type of hospital in which the number of beds is over 300 beds is known as___________
a. Large hospital
b. Medium sized hospital
c. Small hospital
d. None of the above
10. Meeting in hospital whose purpose is to pass on information received from agencies is_________
a. Informative Meeting
b. Consultative Meeting
c. Executive Meeting
d. None of the above
Part Two:
1. What are the factors affecting “Retraining” in a hospital?
2. Write a short note on Finance in Hospitals?
3. Describe the Negotiating system for Hospitals rates?
4. Write down the different members of Appointment committee of the hospital?
END OF SECTION A
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
6
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Health & Hospital Management
 This s  ection consists of Caselets. 
 Answer all the questions. 
 Each caselet carries 20 marks. 
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words). 
Caselet 1
Rakesh and Gagan were two brothers who had graduate in Medicine in the year 1979. Both
established themselves as successful practitioners. In 1992, they decided to set up their own hospital
as both were familiar with the nitty-gritty of the profession after spending a decade as successful
practitioners. In the year 1994, the concept was concretized when three floors Arogya Hospital with a
bed capacity of 60 came into existence at Gwalior. The facilities provided by the hospital were
pathology, X-ray, blood bank and ICU. In the year 1998, the number of beds were increased to 100
with the addition of a fourth floor. In the year 2005, a fifth floor was added and the hospital started
offering services like radiology, 3D spiral, C. Tscan, colourdoppler, pathology, blood bank, C.C.U.,
O.T., maternity unit, emergency and trauma services, in-patient accommodation, canteen,
telecommunication and entertainment.
The hospital had 35 nurses and 55 class four employees. The main task of the class four
employees was to maintain the cleanliness of the hospital. Besides this, they were also entrusted with
the task of sponging, bed setting and shifting of the patients. Salary paid to these employees was
between Rs. 1200/- to Rs. 1800/- per month. The hospital staff was divided into different classes of
employees. Class one comprised of MBBS, MD, MS, and Administrative Officers. Class three
comprised of Technicians and Nurses. Class four comprised of Ayabais, Sweepers and Guards.
Hospital had 11 full time doctors, out of whom 7 were duty doctors (MBBS), 2 full time MD for ICU
and 2 full time in-house surgeons (MS). Besides this, the hospital had 50 visiting doctors who
operated on a turnkey basis. These doctors had their own clinics in different parts of the city and as
per requirement, they admitted their patents in the hospital. There was a mutual agreement between
the doctors and the hospital that the hospital would charge the patients and out of it the doctors would
receive their fees along with a percentage from the hospital share. The patients treated by the hospital
were patients requiring intensive care and minor illnesses. Out of the cases reported in the hospital,
60-75% were maternity and were referred to the hospital by leading gynaecologists of the city, Dr.
Savita and Dr. Manorama. To help the doctors in the treatment of patients, work-instructions for
Resident Doctors, Supervisors, Wardboys / Ayabais and Sweeper boys/ bais were prepared by the
newly appointed Hospital-Administrator Priya. These instructions were prepared in English and were
hung on the walls of the enquiry counter. After a span of one month, Priya resigned from the hospital
on account of some personal reasons.
By the end of the year 2004, Ritu, a fresh post-graduate in Hospital-Administration from
Gwalior, was appointed as an Administrative Officer or take charge of the overall activities of the
hospital. Her role was to monitor the activities of employees of class three and four and various other
activities related to the functioning of the Hospital. The first task before her was to improve the
cleanliness of the hospital. She found that the toilets were not cleaned properly and the room hygiene
was dismal. She started making regular visits to all the wards and rooms in the hospital to observe and
monitor the employees lacked a human touch. To add to this, the patients also complained that the
employees demanded money for the services. After analyzing the situation, she came to the
conclusion that lack of motivation among the class four employees was one of the major factors
responsible for the pathetic condition prevailing in the hospital. Lack of motivation among the class
four employees was also visible in the form of high employee turnover, work negligence, absenteeism
and complaining behaviour. High absenteeism among the class four employees resulted in work
overload for sincere employees, as they were forced to work in the next shift. This was a regular
feature in the hospital as a result of which employees often remained stressed and therefore, less
committed towards their work. Although, they were being provided with dinner and snacks at the
7
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Health & Hospital Management
expense of the hospital, as a gesture of goodwill for those who worked over time for the hospital. She
also found that the workers were not reporting for their duty on time, despite their arrival in the
hospital on time.
The second reason, which she identified for lack of hygienic condition in the hospital was that the
visiting hours for the visitors were not specified, so there was a continuous flow of visitors round the
clock, which hampered and affected the cleaning activity of the hospital. It was found that the
patients‟ rooms were always full of visitors who would not mind taking their meals in the room/ward.
She felt that there was no solution to visitors‟s problem, as this was an integral part of the
promotional strategy of the management. She also found that the work-instructions given to the
hospital-staff was in English language and it was difficult for class four employees to understand
them. Ritu translated all these instructions in Hindi so that class four employees could understand and
implement them.
Ritu had the daunting task to reduce the absenteeism and make the employees more committed to
their work and felt that a reward of Rs. 200, if given to an employee who remained present for 31
days could perhaps motivate the employee to remain regular at the work place. Further, to motivate to
perform, she decided to systematize the performance appraisal system by identifying performers and
non-performers. This being her first job, she was apprehensive about performance appraisal. The
employees were to be classified into three groups A, B and C, „A‟ was for high performers, „B‟ was
for average performers and „C‟ was for poor performers. It was decided that the employees in the
grade „A‟ would receive the highest increment followed by „B‟ and „C‟. To make the performance
appraisal objective, she identified various activities on which the employees could be appraised. To
make the performance appraisal system more objective, a two-tier appraisal system was developed by
her. In the first phase, the employees were to be rated regularly on the identified activities by patients
and their attendants. In the second phase, observation of doctors and nurses was to be considered.
Although Ritu had full cooperation from the hospital management, yet she was apprehensive about
the employee‟ acceptance of the new system. She had to wait and watch.
1. Critically evaluate the factors identified by Ritu for enhancing organizational effectiveness?
2. Describe a performance appraisal system that you will recommend to Ritu for evaluating the
employees?
Caselet 2
The management of a hospital, faced with a resource crunch embarked on a cost containment
programme. Instructions were issued to various clinical, supportive and utility services to identify the
areas where cost containment could be effectively implemented without compromising with the
patient care facilities.
The hospital had both the centralized and the decentralised purchasing system. The officer-incharge
of the Emergency Department of the hospital, Dr. Systematic was a qualified and trained
hospital administrator. He systematically commenced analysis of the various activities and procedures
in vogue in the Emergency Department.
Dr. Systematic found out that the Emergency Department in addition to the glass syringes
purchased 9000 disposable syringes per annum. The interval of ordering was 30 days. The cost of
each disposable was Rs. 20/-. The ordering cost per order was Rs. 15/- and the carrying cost were
15% of the average inventory per year. He calculated the Economic Order Quantity, lot size of
inventory per month, storage cost and other inventory related costs and analysed the optimum interval
of ordering. He forwarded these results along with the other cost containment measures of the
Emergency Department to the hospital management. The recommendations of Dr. Systematic were
implemented and used as a model for other departments of the hospital. Dr. Systematic for effective
analysis and appraisal was honoured with the Doctor of the year award by the Hospital Management.
8
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Health & Hospital Management
1. What are the assumptions made by Dr. Systematic for their inventory model?
2. Do you recommend any further suggestion for inventory costs in a hospital?
END OF SECTION B
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
 This section consists o  f Applied Theory Questions. 
 Answer all the questions. 
 Each question carries 15 marks. 
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words). 


1. Write in brief about structure and function of Hospital organization?
2. Write down the following terms:
1) Labour Relation System.
2) Organization of Hospital Workers.
END OF SECTION C
S-2-300813
9
IIBM Institute of Business Management

Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B106
Examination Paper
Managerial Economics
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.Demand is determined by
(1)
a) Price of the product
b) Relative prices of other goods
c) Tastes and habits
d) All of the above
II. When a firm’s average revenue is equal to its average cost, it gets (1)
a) Super profit
b) Normal profit
c) Sub normal profit
d) None of the above
III. Managerial economics generally refers to the integration of economic theory with business
(1)
a) Ethics
b) Management
c) Practice
d) All of the above
IV. Which of the following was not immediate cause of 1991 economic crisis (1)
a) Rapid growth of population
b) Severe inflation
c) Expanding Fiscal deficit
d) Rising current account deficit
V.Money functions refers to : (1)
a) Store of value
b) Medium of Exchange
c) Standard of deferred payments
d) All of the above VI. Given the price, if the cost of production increases because of higher price of raw materials, the supply (1) a) Decreases b) Increases c) Remains same d) Any of the above
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
IIBM Institute of Business Management
VII. Total Utility is maximum when (1)
a. Marginal Utility is maximum
b. Marginal Utility is Zero
c. Both of the above
d. None Of The Above
VIII. Cardinal approach is related to (1)
a. Equimarginal Curve
b. Law of diminishing returns
c. Indifference Curve
d. All of the above
IX. Marginal Utility curve of a consumer is also his (1)
a) Supply Curve
b) Demand Curve
c) Both of above
d) None of above
X. Government of India has replaced FERA by (1)
a) The competition Act
b) FRBMA
c) MRTP Act
d) FEMA
Part Two:
1. What is Managerial Economics? What is its relevance to Engineers/Managers? (5)
2. “Managerial Economics is economics that is applied in decision making” Explain? (5)
3. Differentiate b/w, Micro economics vs. macroeconomics? (5)
4. Factors Affecting Price Elasticity of Demand? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
Caselet1
Dabur is among the top five FMCG companies in India and is positioned successfully on the specialist herbal platform. Dabur has proven its expertise in the fields of health care, personal care, home care and foods. The company was founded by Dr. S. K. Burman in 1884 as small pharmacy in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. And is now led by his great grandson Vivek C. Burman, who is the Chairman of Dabur India Limited and the senior most representative of the Burman family in the company. The company headquarter is in Ghaziabad, India, near the Indian capital New Delhi, where it is registered. The company has over 12 manufacturing units in India and abroad. The international facilities are located in Nepal, Dubai, Bangladesh, Egypt and Nigeria. S.K. Burman, the founder of Dabur, was trained as a physician. His mission was to provide effective and affordable cure for ordinary people in far-flung villages. Soon, he started preparing natural remedies based on Ayurveda for diseases such as Cholera, Plague and Malaria. Due to his cheap and effective remedies, he became to be known as ‘Daktar’ (Indian izedversion of ‘doctor’). And that is how his venture Dabur got its name—derived from Daktar Burman. The company faces stiff competition from many multinational and domestic companies. In the Branded and Packaged Food and Beverages segment major companies that are active include Hindustan Lever, Nestle, Cadbury and Dabur. In case of Ayurvedic medicines and products, the major competitors are Baidyanath, Vicco, Jhandu, Himani and other pharmaceutical companies.
Vision statement of Dabur says that the company is “dedicated to the health and wellbeing of every household”. The objective is to “significantly accelerate profitable growth by providing comfort to others”. For achieving this objective Dabur aims to:
 Focus on growing core brands across categories, reaching out to new geographies, within and outside India, and improve operational efficiencies by leveraging technology.
 Be the preferred company to meet the health and personal grooming needs of target consumers with safe, efficacious, natural solutions by synthesizing deep knowledge of Ayurveda and herbs with modern science.
 Be a professionally managed employer of choice, attracting, developing and retaining quality personnel.
 Be responsible citizen with a commitment to environmental protection.
 Provide superior returns, relative to our peer group, to our shareholders.
Chairman of the company
Vivek C. Burman joined Dabur in 1954 after completing his graduation in Business Administration from the USA. In 1986 he was appointed as the Managing Director of Dabur and in 1998 he took over as Chairman of the Company.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
Under Vivek Burman’s leadership, Dabur has grown and evolved as a multi-crore business house with a diverse product portfolio and a marketing network that traverses the whole of India and more than 50 countries across the world. As a strong and positive leader, Vivek C. Burman had motivated employees of Dabur to “do better than their best”—a credo that gives Dabur its status as India’s most trusted nature-based products company.
Leading brands
More than 300 diverse products in the FMCG, Healthcare and Ayurveda segments are in the product line of Dabur. List of products of the company include very successful brands like Vatika, Anmol, Hajmola, Dabur Amla Chyawanprash, Dabur Honey and Lal Dant Manjan with turnover of Rs.100 crores each.
Strategic positioning of Dabur Honey as food product, lead to market leadership with over 40% market share in branded honey market; Dabur Chyawanprash is the largest selling Ayurvedic medicine with over 65% market share. Dabur is a leader in herbal digestives with 90% market share. Hajmola tablets are in command with 75% market share of digestive tablets category. Dabur Lal Tail tops baby massage oil market with 35% of total share.
CHD (Consumer Health Division), dealing with classical Ayurvedic medicines, has more than 250 products sold through prescription as well as over the counter. Proprietary Ayurvedic medicines developed by Dabur include Nature Care Isabgol, Madhuvaani and Trifgol.
However, some of the subsidiary units of Dabur have proved to be low margin business; like Dabur Finance Limited. The international units are also operating on low profit margin. The company also produces several “me – too” products. At the same time the company is very popular in the rural segment.
Questions
1. What is the objective of Dabur? Is it profit maximisation of growth maximisation? (10)
2. Do you think the growth of Dabur from a small pharmacy to a large multinational company is an indicator of the advantages of joint stock company against the proprietorship form? Elaborate. (10)
Caselet2
The Regina Company„ one of the largest inakets of vacuum cleaners recent’) had scv cfc ptollkins with the quality of its products. The market responsc to this 1ak of quality caused financial problems for Ow company. in late 1995. Regina began having return rates as high as 30 to 50 percent on some of its Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus models. These models were sold primarily through discount stores. Further, Regina’s Spectrum vacuum cleaner, an upgraded version sold in specialty stores, was introduced in 1995 with many quality problems. ef The specific problems identified for the Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus models were associated with faulty belts and weak suction. In the Spectrum model, the agitator was melting; and making a loud noise, the foot pedals were breaking, and the steel-encased motor (which had been advertised as the
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
power source for the vacuum cleaner) had been replaced with a less desirable. less reliable motor.
As a result of these problems, Target stores discontinued Regina’s Housekeeper Plus model after reporting that “at least half of those sold were returned.” At Starmart, which accounts for about a quarter of the Housekeeper sales, I. out of every 5 machines sold was returned. To help service customer complaints, Regina set up an 800 telephone number for customers to contact the firm. directly. The sales returns caused Regina’s shareholders to question the 1995 fiscal earnings report. Furthermore, both inventories and accounts receivable doubled during the 1995 fiscal year. At the end of that period, Regina’s chairman and 40 percent stockholders
Resigned. The chairman’s resignation was closely followed by a company announcement stating that the financial results reported for the 1995 fiscal year were materially incorrect and had been withdrawn. This announcement brought a suit from shareholders who had bought Reoina stock on the basis of the 1995 camings report. It also prompted an audit of the 1995 results and a request to another accounting organization to work on Regina’s business and accounting controls. A few months later, Regina ‘agreed to be acquired by a unit of Magnum, a vacuum cleaner and Water-purification Company. Under Magnum, Regina shut down production while engineers worked to solve the problems inherent in the Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus vacuums, particularly the suction difficulties. In September 1998, Magnum and Regina decided to separate the two companies again. Since then, Regina has been regaining market share with its Housekeeper models. The ‘vacuums are popular because they carry on-board tools.
Questions:
1. What type of controls would you have established to preclude the major returns experienced by Regina? (10)
2. How would you have controlled the finished-goods -inventory to avoid its growing to twice the size that it was in the previous year. (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What is the importance of demand analysis in business decision? (15)
2. Explain individual demand function and market demand function. (15)
S-2-010619
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B

IIBM MBA EXAM ANSWER SHEETS PROVIDED

IIBM MBA EXAM ANSWER SHEETS PROVIDED

Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B109
Examination Paper Business Communication
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.The most important goal of business communication is_________. (1)
a) favorable relationship between sender and receiver
b) organizational goodwill
c) receiver response
d) receiver understanding
II. Down ward communication flows from_________ to_________. (1)
e) Upper to lower
f) Lower to upper
g) Horizontal
h) Diagonal
III. Horizontal communication takes place
between_________. (1)
a. superior to subordinate
b. subordinate to superior
c. employees with same status
d. none of these
IV. The study of communication through touch is_________. (1)
a. chronemics
b. haptics
c. proxemics
d. semantic
V._____________ channel of communication is known as grapevine (1)
a. Formal
b. Informal
c. Horizontal
d. Vertical
VI. The following is (are) the most effective ways of communication. (1) a. Verbal b. Non verbal c. Written d. All of the above
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
END OF SECTION A
• This section consists of Caselets.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each Caselet carries 20marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
VII. The handshake that conveys confidence is (1)
a. Limp
b. Firm
c. Loose
d. Double
VIII. ________ of the letter consists of main message. (1)
a. Heading
b. Body
c. Greeting
d. Closing
IX. Body of a letter is divided into ________
parts. (1)
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
X. X. A persuasive message will fail if_____ (1)
a. it does not focus on what is in it for the reader
b. it only lists facts
c. it moves too slowly
d. all of the above
Part Two:
1. Brief Grapevine communication? (5)
2. List the 7 C’s of Communication? (5)
3. Describe the various barriers of communication? (5)
4. Write the negotiation process. (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
Caselet 1
Barry and Communication Barriers Effective Communication as a Motivator One common complaint employees voice about supervisors is inconsistent messages – meaning one supervisor tells them one thing and another tells them something different. Imagine you are the supervisor/manager for each of the employees described below. As you read their case, give
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
consideration to how you might help communicate with the employee to remedy the conflict. Answer the critical thinking questions at the end of the case then compare your answers to the Notes to Supplement Answers section. Barry is a 27-year old who is a foodservice manager at a casual dining restaurant. Barry is responsible for supervising and managing all employees in the back of the house. Employees working in the back of the house range in age from 16 years old to 55 years old. In addition, the employees come from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. For many, English is not their primary language. Barry is Serv Safe® certified and tries his best to keep up with food safety issues in the kitchen but he admits it’s not easy. Employees receive “on the job training” about food safety basics (for example, appropriate hygiene and hand washing, time/temperature, and cleaning and sanitizing). But with high turnover of employees, training is often rushed and some new employees are put right into the job without training if it is a busy day. Eventually, most employees get some kind of food safety training. The owners of the restaurant are supportive of Barry in his food safety efforts because they know if a food safety outbreak were ever linked to their restaurant; it would likely put them out of business. Still, the owners note there are additional costs for training and making sure food is handled safely. One day Barry comes to work and is rather upset even before he steps into the restaurant. Things haven’t been going well at home and he was lucky to rummage through some of the dirty laundry and find a relatively clean outfit to wear for work. He admits he needs a haircut and a good hand scrubbing, especially after working on his car last evening. When he walks into the kitchen he notices several trays of uncooked meat sitting out in the kitchen area. It appears these have been sitting at room temperature for quite some time. Barry is frustrated and doesn’t know what to do. He feels like he is beating his head against a brick wall when it comes to getting employees to practice food safety. Barry has taken many efforts to get employees to be safe in how they handle food. He has huge signs posted all over the kitchen with these words: KEEP HOT FOOD HOT AND COLD FOOD COLD and WASH YOUR HANDS ALWAYS AND OFTEN. All employees are given a thermometer when they start so that they can temp food. Hand sinks, soap, and paper towels are available for employees so that they are encouraged to wash their hands frequently.
Questions
1. What are the communication challenges and barriers Barry faces? (10)
2. What solutions might Barry consider in addressing each of these challenges and barriers? (10)
Caselet 2
Mr. Dutta, newly appointed president of century Airlines, knew the company’s survival depended on customer service, which in turn depended on motivated employees. So he created the Century Spirit program to build team spirit by encouraging employee participation, individual initiative, and open communication. Among the program’s early successes was newspaper started by a group of flight attendants. The plane truth published information about benefits and work conditions as well as feature stories and humorous articles. It quickly became popular not only with flight attendant but with pilot, machinists, and baggage handlers.
As time went on, though, the plane truth began to run articles critical of the company. When management cut back worker’s hours, the, newspaper questioned what sacrifices the executive were making. When the technical services department releases figures showing long turnaround times, the paper questioned the machinist’s work ethic. Worried that customer might see the newspaper; Mr. Dutta wanted to cancel it. The president of the flight attendants union also wanted to see it was stirring up trouble with the machinists.
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each question carries 15marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
Ms. Rachel, Century’s human resource director, was asked to stop the publication. But she hesitated. She knew the employee morale was on the brink, but she did not know whether the newspaper was venting worker’s frustrations and reinforcing team spirit or stirring up old animosities and bringing the whole company down. Was it creating more tension than unity or vice-versa?
Questions
1. What Communication issues are involved at Century Airlines? (10)
2. What Communication Channels are being Utilized (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. Explain the various non verbal communications with an example in business
Scenario? (15)
2. Delineate the types of parts of business report writing? (15)
S-2-010619

 

Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B106
Examination Paper
Managerial Economics
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.Demand is determined by
(1)
a) Price of the product
b) Relative prices of other goods
c) Tastes and habits
d) All of the above
II. When a firm’s average revenue is equal to its average cost, it gets (1)
a) Super profit
b) Normal profit
c) Sub normal profit
d) None of the above
III. Managerial economics generally refers to the integration of economic theory with business
(1)
a) Ethics
b) Management
c) Practice
d) All of the above
IV. Which of the following was not immediate cause of 1991 economic crisis (1)
a) Rapid growth of population
b) Severe inflation
c) Expanding Fiscal deficit
d) Rising current account deficit
V.Money functions refers to : (1)
a) Store of value
b) Medium of Exchange
c) Standard of deferred payments
d) All of the above VI. Given the price, if the cost of production increases because of higher price of raw materials, the supply (1) a) Decreases b) Increases c) Remains same d) Any of the above
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
IIBM Institute of Business Management
VII. Total Utility is maximum when (1)
a. Marginal Utility is maximum
b. Marginal Utility is Zero
c. Both of the above
d. None Of The Above
VIII. Cardinal approach is related to (1)
a. Equimarginal Curve
b. Law of diminishing returns
c. Indifference Curve
d. All of the above
IX. Marginal Utility curve of a consumer is also his (1)
a) Supply Curve
b) Demand Curve
c) Both of above
d) None of above
X. Government of India has replaced FERA by (1)
a) The competition Act
b) FRBMA
c) MRTP Act
d) FEMA
Part Two:
1. What is Managerial Economics? What is its relevance to Engineers/Managers? (5)
2. “Managerial Economics is economics that is applied in decision making” Explain? (5)
3. Differentiate b/w, Micro economics vs. macroeconomics? (5)
4. Factors Affecting Price Elasticity of Demand? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
Caselet1
Dabur is among the top five FMCG companies in India and is positioned successfully on the specialist herbal platform. Dabur has proven its expertise in the fields of health care, personal care, home care and foods. The company was founded by Dr. S. K. Burman in 1884 as small pharmacy in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. And is now led by his great grandson Vivek C. Burman, who is the Chairman of Dabur India Limited and the senior most representative of the Burman family in the company. The company headquarter is in Ghaziabad, India, near the Indian capital New Delhi, where it is registered. The company has over 12 manufacturing units in India and abroad. The international facilities are located in Nepal, Dubai, Bangladesh, Egypt and Nigeria. S.K. Burman, the founder of Dabur, was trained as a physician. His mission was to provide effective and affordable cure for ordinary people in far-flung villages. Soon, he started preparing natural remedies based on Ayurveda for diseases such as Cholera, Plague and Malaria. Due to his cheap and effective remedies, he became to be known as ‘Daktar’ (Indian izedversion of ‘doctor’). And that is how his venture Dabur got its name—derived from Daktar Burman. The company faces stiff competition from many multinational and domestic companies. In the Branded and Packaged Food and Beverages segment major companies that are active include Hindustan Lever, Nestle, Cadbury and Dabur. In case of Ayurvedic medicines and products, the major competitors are Baidyanath, Vicco, Jhandu, Himani and other pharmaceutical companies.
Vision statement of Dabur says that the company is “dedicated to the health and wellbeing of every household”. The objective is to “significantly accelerate profitable growth by providing comfort to others”. For achieving this objective Dabur aims to:
 Focus on growing core brands across categories, reaching out to new geographies, within and outside India, and improve operational efficiencies by leveraging technology.
 Be the preferred company to meet the health and personal grooming needs of target consumers with safe, efficacious, natural solutions by synthesizing deep knowledge of Ayurveda and herbs with modern science.
 Be a professionally managed employer of choice, attracting, developing and retaining quality personnel.
 Be responsible citizen with a commitment to environmental protection.
 Provide superior returns, relative to our peer group, to our shareholders.
Chairman of the company
Vivek C. Burman joined Dabur in 1954 after completing his graduation in Business Administration from the USA. In 1986 he was appointed as the Managing Director of Dabur and in 1998 he took over as Chairman of the Company.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
Under Vivek Burman’s leadership, Dabur has grown and evolved as a multi-crore business house with a diverse product portfolio and a marketing network that traverses the whole of India and more than 50 countries across the world. As a strong and positive leader, Vivek C. Burman had motivated employees of Dabur to “do better than their best”—a credo that gives Dabur its status as India’s most trusted nature-based products company.
Leading brands
More than 300 diverse products in the FMCG, Healthcare and Ayurveda segments are in the product line of Dabur. List of products of the company include very successful brands like Vatika, Anmol, Hajmola, Dabur Amla Chyawanprash, Dabur Honey and Lal Dant Manjan with turnover of Rs.100 crores each.
Strategic positioning of Dabur Honey as food product, lead to market leadership with over 40% market share in branded honey market; Dabur Chyawanprash is the largest selling Ayurvedic medicine with over 65% market share. Dabur is a leader in herbal digestives with 90% market share. Hajmola tablets are in command with 75% market share of digestive tablets category. Dabur Lal Tail tops baby massage oil market with 35% of total share.
CHD (Consumer Health Division), dealing with classical Ayurvedic medicines, has more than 250 products sold through prescription as well as over the counter. Proprietary Ayurvedic medicines developed by Dabur include Nature Care Isabgol, Madhuvaani and Trifgol.
However, some of the subsidiary units of Dabur have proved to be low margin business; like Dabur Finance Limited. The international units are also operating on low profit margin. The company also produces several “me – too” products. At the same time the company is very popular in the rural segment.
Questions
1. What is the objective of Dabur? Is it profit maximisation of growth maximisation? (10)
2. Do you think the growth of Dabur from a small pharmacy to a large multinational company is an indicator of the advantages of joint stock company against the proprietorship form? Elaborate. (10)
Caselet2
The Regina Company„ one of the largest inakets of vacuum cleaners recent’) had scv cfc ptollkins with the quality of its products. The market responsc to this 1ak of quality caused financial problems for Ow company. in late 1995. Regina began having return rates as high as 30 to 50 percent on some of its Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus models. These models were sold primarily through discount stores. Further, Regina’s Spectrum vacuum cleaner, an upgraded version sold in specialty stores, was introduced in 1995 with many quality problems. ef The specific problems identified for the Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus models were associated with faulty belts and weak suction. In the Spectrum model, the agitator was melting; and making a loud noise, the foot pedals were breaking, and the steel-encased motor (which had been advertised as the
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
power source for the vacuum cleaner) had been replaced with a less desirable. less reliable motor.
As a result of these problems, Target stores discontinued Regina’s Housekeeper Plus model after reporting that “at least half of those sold were returned.” At Starmart, which accounts for about a quarter of the Housekeeper sales, I. out of every 5 machines sold was returned. To help service customer complaints, Regina set up an 800 telephone number for customers to contact the firm. directly. The sales returns caused Regina’s shareholders to question the 1995 fiscal earnings report. Furthermore, both inventories and accounts receivable doubled during the 1995 fiscal year. At the end of that period, Regina’s chairman and 40 percent stockholders
Resigned. The chairman’s resignation was closely followed by a company announcement stating that the financial results reported for the 1995 fiscal year were materially incorrect and had been withdrawn. This announcement brought a suit from shareholders who had bought Reoina stock on the basis of the 1995 camings report. It also prompted an audit of the 1995 results and a request to another accounting organization to work on Regina’s business and accounting controls. A few months later, Regina ‘agreed to be acquired by a unit of Magnum, a vacuum cleaner and Water-purification Company. Under Magnum, Regina shut down production while engineers worked to solve the problems inherent in the Housekeeper and Housekeeper Plus vacuums, particularly the suction difficulties. In September 1998, Magnum and Regina decided to separate the two companies again. Since then, Regina has been regaining market share with its Housekeeper models. The ‘vacuums are popular because they carry on-board tools.
Questions:
1. What type of controls would you have established to preclude the major returns experienced by Regina? (10)
2. How would you have controlled the finished-goods -inventory to avoid its growing to twice the size that it was in the previous year. (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What is the importance of demand analysis in business decision? (15)
2. Explain individual demand function and market demand function. (15)
S-2-010619
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B

Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
IIBM Institute of Business Management
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
SubjectCode-B102Examination Paper
Enterprise Resource Planning
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
1. Which of the following describes an ERP system? (1)
a. ERP systems provide a foundation for collaboration between departments
b. ERP systems enable people in different business areas to communicate
c. ERP systems have been widely adopted in large organizations to store critical knowledge used to make the decisions that drive the organization’s performance.
2. The responsibilities of the office manager in a firm that produces electronics spares is: (1)
a. Everything in the office runs efficiently
b. Furniture and other equipment in the office is adequate
c. Processing all the incoming official mail and responding to some
d. All of the above
d. All of the above
3. Physiological Barriers of listening are:
(1)
a. Hearing impairment
b. Physical conditions
c. Prejudices
d. All of the above
4. What is the main function of Business Communication: (1)
a. Sincerity
b. Positive language
c. Persuasion
d. Ethical standard
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
5. Which presentation tend to make you speak more quickly the unusual: (1)
a. Electronic
b. Oral
c. Both „a‟ and”b”
d. None of the above
6. Labov’s Storytelling Model based on: (1)
a. Communication through speech
b. Language learning
c. Group Discussions
d. None of the above
7. Diagonal Communication is basically the: (1)
a. Communication across boundaries
b. Communication between the CEO and the managers
c. Communication through body language
d. Communication within a department
8. Direct Eye contact of more than 10 seconds can create: (1)
a. Discomfort &Anxiety
b. Emotional relationship between listeners and speakers
c. Excitement
d. None of the above
9. How to make Oral Communication Effective? (1)
a. By Clarity
b. By Brevity
c. By Right words
d. All of the above
10. Encoding means: (1)
a. Transmission
b. Perception
c. Ideation
d. None of the above
Part Two:
1. Define ERP? (5)
2. What are ERP packages? (5)
3. What are the reasons for the explosive growth of the ERP market? (5)
4. What is Business Integration and how do the ERP systems achieve it? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
Caselet1
With eight plants globally running from a single ERP instance on a server in Zeeland, Michigan, the IT team faced the challenges of scaling their systems to support the global growth fueling their company’s expansion. Running IQMS’ manufacturing ERP system delivered via Hosted Managed Services (HMS) provides Ventura Manufacturing the most economical system architecture for greater scalability and efficiency as well as to attain disaster recovery goals.
Ventura is an award-winning semi-automated assembly and production company that serves the automotive, office furniture, education seating, and molding and assembly of optical silicone industries globally. Headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan, the company has multiple plants in Zeeland in addition to plants in Budaörs, Hungary, Saltillo, Mexico and Shanghai, China.
As demand for Ventura’s services grew and the company began attracting customers worldwide, it was apparent the dependency on a single ERP system on-premise in Zeeland, Michigan was becoming an impediment to faster growth. “Relying on a single system to manage our global plants was proving to be a huge scale challenge,” said Joel Boyles, IT Team Lead at Ventura Manufacturing.
Ventura’s customer base is globally-based and to serve them as responsively and effectively as possible, Ventura made the decision to open new production plants in Hungary and Shanghai, China.
With eight plants globally running from a single ERP instance on a server in Zeeland, Michigan, the IT team faced the challenges of scaling their systems to support the global growth fueling their company’s expansion. The IT Teams at Ventura prides itself on offering live support to any plant, anywhere in the world that needs help, anytime. “When we just had the plants in Mexico and Hungary, our existing staff could scale to support the calls coming from plants for help with their IT systems and take care of ERP-related tasks,” Joel said. When the Shanghai, China facility went online, Ventura was reaching the limits of scale and speed with their IT teams and the system running on-premise in Zeeland.
As demands increased on the system, so did concerns over Availability and Disaster Recovery Objectives the IT Team had defined. Two metrics that are of specific interest to Ventura’s IT team are the Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO). IT defined the RTO goal as 8 hours and the RPO as 15 minutes, achievable on a 24/7 basis. To accomplish these goals, Ventura would need to create an entirely new system platform that could scale more efficiently with their growing business. The new platform would also need to increase the speed of system updates, which had been a problematic area in the past for the single system to complete.
Joel Boyles, IT Team Lead, says the challenges of scalability and disaster recovery are what drove the urgency for Ventura to decide that Hosted Managed Services (HMS) from IQMS was the best possible solution. “Plant system updates including MRP were taking at least 2 hours
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
per plant, which translated into our IT teams having 24/7 shifts in our Zeeland-based IT offices,” Joel said. “Clearly we had to redefine our system architecture for greater scalability and speed.”
Ventura chose IQMS’ Enterprise IQ delivered via Hosted Managed Services (HMS) because it was the most economical and fastest option for solving the system performance challenges and attaining the disaster recovery goals the company has. Under the IQMS HMS purchase option, software licenses are owned in perpetuity by Ventura and hardware and platform software is provided by the IQMS data center. IQMS is managing the Ventura systems today in a secure data center environment. Ventura’s IT team can gain access to key system metrics and key performance indicators anytime via any browser-enabled laptop, tablet or smart phone.
Questions
1. How Ventura Defined A Global Roadmap To Greater Speed And Reliability? ( 20)
Caselet 2
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is business management software—usually a suite of integrated applications—that a company can use to store and manage data from every stage of business, including:
•Product planning, cost and development
•Manufacturing
•Marketing and sales
•Inventory management
•Shipping and payment
Functions of ERP
• ERP provides an integrated real-time view of core business processes, using common databases maintained by a database management system. ERP systems track business resources—
 cash, raw materials, production capacity—and the status of business commitments: orders, purchase orders, and payroll.
• The applications that make up the system share data across the various departments (manufacturing, purchasing, sales, accounting, etc.) that entered the data.
• ERP facilitates information flow between all business functions,
ERP Implementation
Success
Company Background
 Cadbury is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelēz International.
 It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Wrigley’s.
 Founder: John Cadbury
 Founded in: 1824, B Currently, Cadbury India operates in four categories viz. Chocolate Confectionery, Milk Food Drinks, Candy and Gum category. In the Chocolate
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
Confectionery business, Cadbury has maintained its undisputed leadership over the years.
ERP Implementation
Cadbury turns out, in recent years, Kraft implemented SAP ERP 6.0 (System Analysis and Program Development) in what SAP called one of its largest global ERP implementations. Kraft credited ERP with reducing operational costs. 11,000 employees were sending data to the company’s SAP solution and it was linked to 1,750 applications by 2008. That same year, Kraft aslo added SAP’s master data management solution, Net Weaver, with an eye toward integrating legacy systems.
• Cadbury was left with a glut of chocolate products at the start of the year, after the installation of a new SAP-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system led to an excess of chocolate bars building up at the end of 2005.
• The new U.K. computer system is part of a five-year IT transformation project, called “Probe”, aimed at integrating the Cadbury Schweppes’ supply chain, purchasing, manufacturing, distribution, sales and marketing systems on a global, SAP-based
ERP platform
• Cadbury Schweppes is aiming for an ultimate savings from the Probe project, but its implementation has been far from smooth. The project was beset by problems and delays when it was first introduced in Australia in 2002.
Benefits of ERP
• Cadbury was on a fast paced growth and could not continue with the existing systems and the pace was too slow due to added inefficiencies. ERP added efficiency and guided the led all the issues fast paced growth.
• The implementation of ERP brought in a new way of warehouse management system and brought in structure to branch offices and the depots.
• While implementing the ERP systems, the company has built it upon the past strengths of the company thereby not losing out on its competitive
• The initial implementation took time and then the successive implementations took lesser time and cost and there is a huge advantage in saving cost while in the implementation phase itself.
• The reaction from competition does not matter in this because this is not a change that was advertised to the market. This is an internal process restructuring and was a welcome change within the company which badly needed the change.
• The company also has built in a robust regular feedback system to monitor the changes and check if they go according to the initial plan. The entire implementation is cross functional and hence it is important that there is a high increase in the efficiency. The ERP vendor was also selected from among the best in class vendors which helped the process occur in a streamlined fashion and avoided any possible chances of hiccups during the initial
implementation phase.
The system has also been deployed up to the vendors. They have a portal called vendor connect
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B
where they can see their inventory movement and make plans accordingly. Hence the restructuring happens not only internally but also across to the supplier which will add on to the benefits that are accrued.
It was considered at low cost and high result implementation which by itself highlights the success and the benefits.
Questions
1. Why did the Big Bang approach fail for The Hershey Company ? (20)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What is the difference between ERP and CRM software? (15)
2. What are some of the risks associated with ERP software? (15)
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IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM QUESTION AND ANSWER PROVIDED

IIBM MBA FIRST SEMESTER EXAM QUESTION AND ANSWER PROVIDED

 

Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B109
Examination Paper Business Communication
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.The most important goal of business communication is_________. (1)
a) favorable relationship between sender and receiver
b) organizational goodwill
c) receiver response
d) receiver understanding
II. Down ward communication flows from_________ to_________. (1)
e) Upper to lower
f) Lower to upper
g) Horizontal
h) Diagonal
III. Horizontal communication takes place
between_________. (1)
a. superior to subordinate
b. subordinate to superior
c. employees with same status
d. none of these
IV. The study of communication through touch is_________. (1)
a. chronemics
b. haptics
c. proxemics
d. semantic
V._____________ channel of communication is known as grapevine (1)
a. Formal
b. Informal
c. Horizontal
d. Vertical
VI. The following is (are) the most effective ways of communication. (1) a. Verbal b. Non verbal c. Written d. All of the above
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
END OF SECTION A
• This section consists of Caselets.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each Caselet carries 20marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
VII. The handshake that conveys confidence is (1)
a. Limp
b. Firm
c. Loose
d. Double
VIII. ________ of the letter consists of main message. (1)
a. Heading
b. Body
c. Greeting
d. Closing
IX. Body of a letter is divided into ________
parts. (1)
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
X. X. A persuasive message will fail if_____ (1)
a. it does not focus on what is in it for the reader
b. it only lists facts
c. it moves too slowly
d. all of the above
Part Two:
1. Brief Grapevine communication? (5)
2. List the 7 C’s of Communication? (5)
3. Describe the various barriers of communication? (5)
4. Write the negotiation process. (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
Caselet 1
Barry and Communication Barriers Effective Communication as a Motivator One common complaint employees voice about supervisors is inconsistent messages – meaning one supervisor tells them one thing and another tells them something different. Imagine you are the supervisor/manager for each of the employees described below. As you read their case, give
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
consideration to how you might help communicate with the employee to remedy the conflict. Answer the critical thinking questions at the end of the case then compare your answers to the Notes to Supplement Answers section. Barry is a 27-year old who is a foodservice manager at a casual dining restaurant. Barry is responsible for supervising and managing all employees in the back of the house. Employees working in the back of the house range in age from 16 years old to 55 years old. In addition, the employees come from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. For many, English is not their primary language. Barry is Serv Safe® certified and tries his best to keep up with food safety issues in the kitchen but he admits it’s not easy. Employees receive “on the job training” about food safety basics (for example, appropriate hygiene and hand washing, time/temperature, and cleaning and sanitizing). But with high turnover of employees, training is often rushed and some new employees are put right into the job without training if it is a busy day. Eventually, most employees get some kind of food safety training. The owners of the restaurant are supportive of Barry in his food safety efforts because they know if a food safety outbreak were ever linked to their restaurant; it would likely put them out of business. Still, the owners note there are additional costs for training and making sure food is handled safely. One day Barry comes to work and is rather upset even before he steps into the restaurant. Things haven’t been going well at home and he was lucky to rummage through some of the dirty laundry and find a relatively clean outfit to wear for work. He admits he needs a haircut and a good hand scrubbing, especially after working on his car last evening. When he walks into the kitchen he notices several trays of uncooked meat sitting out in the kitchen area. It appears these have been sitting at room temperature for quite some time. Barry is frustrated and doesn’t know what to do. He feels like he is beating his head against a brick wall when it comes to getting employees to practice food safety. Barry has taken many efforts to get employees to be safe in how they handle food. He has huge signs posted all over the kitchen with these words: KEEP HOT FOOD HOT AND COLD FOOD COLD and WASH YOUR HANDS ALWAYS AND OFTEN. All employees are given a thermometer when they start so that they can temp food. Hand sinks, soap, and paper towels are available for employees so that they are encouraged to wash their hands frequently.
Questions
1. What are the communication challenges and barriers Barry faces? (10)
2. What solutions might Barry consider in addressing each of these challenges and barriers? (10)
Caselet 2
Mr. Dutta, newly appointed president of century Airlines, knew the company’s survival depended on customer service, which in turn depended on motivated employees. So he created the Century Spirit program to build team spirit by encouraging employee participation, individual initiative, and open communication. Among the program’s early successes was newspaper started by a group of flight attendants. The plane truth published information about benefits and work conditions as well as feature stories and humorous articles. It quickly became popular not only with flight attendant but with pilot, machinists, and baggage handlers.
As time went on, though, the plane truth began to run articles critical of the company. When management cut back worker’s hours, the, newspaper questioned what sacrifices the executive were making. When the technical services department releases figures showing long turnaround times, the paper questioned the machinist’s work ethic. Worried that customer might see the newspaper; Mr. Dutta wanted to cancel it. The president of the flight attendants union also wanted to see it was stirring up trouble with the machinists.
Examination Paper of Business Communication
IIBM Institute of Business Management
• This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each question carries 15marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
Ms. Rachel, Century’s human resource director, was asked to stop the publication. But she hesitated. She knew the employee morale was on the brink, but she did not know whether the newspaper was venting worker’s frustrations and reinforcing team spirit or stirring up old animosities and bringing the whole company down. Was it creating more tension than unity or vice-versa?
Questions
1. What Communication issues are involved at Century Airlines? (10)
2. What Communication Channels are being Utilized (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. Explain the various non verbal communications with an example in business
Scenario? (15)
2. Delineate the types of parts of business report writing? (15)
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Examination Paper of Management Information Systems
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
SubjectCode-B110
Examination Paper
Management Information Systems
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.A person machine-system and a highly integrated grouping of information-processing functions designed to provide management with a comprehensive picture of specific operation is called (1)
a) DSSB
b) MISC
c) IISD
II. Which one of the following is not an important characteristic of useful and effective information? (1)
a) Accuracy
b) Timelines
c) Completeness
d) Economy
d) All of the above
III. The most important reason for failure of MIS is (1)
a) Use of improper tools for design
b) Noninvolvement of end-user
c) Improper specification
d) None of the above
IV. Top level Managers use (1)
a) Strategic information
b) Tactical information
c) Operational information
d) None of these
V.System is an important factor of MIS. There are various types of systems. Which one of the following is not a system? (1)
a) Physical system
b) Integrated system
c) Open system
d) Open system
VI. Which one of the following is not an approach for development of MIS? (1) a) Hierarchical approach b) Integrative approach c) Modular approach d) Elective approach
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Management Information Systems
IIBM Institute of Business Management
VII. Management is linked to information by (1)
a. Decisions
b. Data
c. Both [A] And [B]
d. None Of The Above
VIII. Which pattern reflects a pure executive form of management?
(1)
a. Functional
b. Line
c. Line and Staff
d. Committee
IX. The term financial engineering is related to (1)
a) Cost of production
b) Financial restructuring
c) Product planning
d) Capital issue
X. The goal of financial management is to (1)
a) Maximize the wealth of preference share holders
b) Maximize the wealth of debenture holders
c) Maximize the wealth of equity share holders
d) All of the above
Part Two:
1. What is purpose of information system from a business perspective? (5)
2. What are Enterprise System? How do they benefit businesses? (5)
3. Differentiate DSS from MIS. (5)
4. What do you mean by Data visualizations? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Management Information System
Caselet -1
A waiter takes an order at a table, and then enters it online via one of the six terminals located in the restaurant dining room. The order is routed to a printer in the appropriate preparation area: the cold item printer if it is a salad, the hot-item printer if it is a hot sandwich or the bar printer if it is a drink. A customer’s meal check-listing (bill) the items ordered and the respective prices are automatically generated. This ordering system eliminates the old three-carbon-copy guest check system as well as any problems caused by a waiter’s handwriting. When the kitchen runs out of a food item, the cooks send out an ‘out of stock’ message, which will be displayed on the dining room terminals when waiters try to order that item. This gives the waiters faster feedback, enabling them to give better service to the customers. Other system features aid management in the planning and control of their restaurant business. The system provides up-to-the-minute information on the food items ordered and breaks out percentages showing sales of each item versus total sales. This helps management plan menus according to customers’ tastes. The system also compares the weekly sales totals versus food costs, allowing planning for tighter cost controls. In addition, whenever an order is voided, the reasons for the void are keyed in. This may help later in management decisions, especially if the voids consistently related to food or service. Acceptance of the system by the users is exceptionally high since the waiters and waitresses were involved in the selection and design process. All potential users were asked to give their impressions and ideas about the various systems available before one was chosen.
Questions
1. What would make the system a more complete MIS rather than just doing transaction processing? (10)
2. Explain the probable effects that making the system more formal would have on the customers and the management? (10)
Caselet 2
The Company is considered to be a leader in the design and production of industrial and commercial air-conditioning equipment. While most of the products were standard items, a considerable number involving large sales volume were specially designed for installation in big office buildings and factories. Besides being an innovator in product design and having an exceptionally good customer service department, the company is well known for its high-quality products and its ability to satisfy the customer requirements promptly.
Because of its rapid growth, the company had to be careful with its cash requirements, especially for accounts receivable and for inventories. For many years, the company had kept inventories under close control at a level equal to 1.7 times the monthly sales, or a turnover of nearly 6 times per year. But, all of a sudden, inventories soared to triple monthly sales, and the company found itself with Rs.30 crores of inventories above a normal level. Calculating a cost of carrying inventory at 30 percent of the value of
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Management Information System
inventories (including the cost of money, storage and handling, and obsolescence), it was estimated that this excess inventory was costing the company Rs.9 crores per year in profits before taxes. In addition, it forced the to call on its bank for more loans than had company been expected.
Mr. Dcepak Mehra, president of Connair, was understandably worried and incensed when this matter came to his attention. He was told that the primary reasons for this rise in inventory were excessive buying of raw materials in advance because of anticipated shortages and the failure of a new computer software, with the result the people in the production and purchasing departments were not having complete information as to what was happening to inventory for several months.
Mr. Mehra, taking the stand that no company should let something like this surplus inventory occur without advance notice and that no manager can be expected to control a business on the basis of history, instructed his vice-president for finance to come up with a program to get better control of inventories in the future.
Questions for Discussion:
1. What do you find wrong with Connair’s controls? (10)
2. Are there any other techniques or approaches to control that you would suggest? (10)
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. List and describe the information systems serving each of the major functional areas of business? (15)
2. What are the characteristics of MIS? How MIS do differs from TPS? (15)
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 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B

Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Subject Code-B107 Examination Paper
Production and Operations Management
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I.The purpose of the transportation approach for locational analysis is to minimize (1)
a) Total costs
b) Total shipping costs
c) Total variable costs
d) Total fixed costs
II. Which of the following would not generally be a motive for a firm to hold inventories? To (1)
e) Take advantage of quantity discounts
f) Minimize holding costs
g) Reduce stock out risks
h) Decouple production from distribution
III. Which of the following are assignable cause? (1)
a. Large variations in hardness of material
b. Tool wear
c. Errors in setting
d. All of the above
IV. Like roots of a tree, ________of organization is hidden from direct view.
(1)
a. Goodwill
b. Core competence
c. Higher management
d. Capital investment
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
V.Inadequate production capacity ultimately leads to (1)
a. Poor quality
b. Poor Customer Service
c. Poor inventory control
d. All of the above
VI. Limitations of Traditional cost accounting are (1) a. Assumes factory as an isolated entity b. It measures only the cost of producing c. Both (A) and (B) d. None of the above
VII. Business is rated on which dimensions
(1)
a. Market attractiveness
b. Business strength
c. Both (A) and (B)
d. None of the above
VIII. How does ‘structure’ reduce external uncertainty arising out of human behavior (1)
a. Research and planning
b. Forecasting
c. Both (A) and (B)
d. None of the above
IX. Objective of Work Study is to improve _______ (1)
a. Cycle time
b. Productivity
c. Production
d. All of the above
X. Which of the following are activities of corrective maintenance? (1)
a. Overhauling
b. Emergency repairs
c. Modifications and improvements
d. All of the above
Part Two:
1. What are the dimensions of quality? (5)
2. What is Quality? (5)
3. What is Materials Planning? (5)
4. Need for Inventory Management – Why do Companies hold inventories? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
Caselet 1
The pizza business did well and by 1965, Thomas was able to open two more stores in the town -Pizza King and Pizza from the Prop. Within a year, Varti opened a pizza store in a neighborhood town with the same name, DomiNick’s Pizza. Thomas decided to change the name of his first store, DomiNick’s Pizza, and one of his employees suggested the name Domino’s Pizza(Domino’s). The advantage of this name Thomas felt was that it would be listed after DomiNick in the directory. Domino’s philosophy rested on two principles – limited menu and delivering hot and fresh pizzas within half-an-hour. In 1967, it opened the first franchise store in Ypsilanti, and in 1968, a franchise store in Burlington, Vermont. However, the company ran into problems when its headquarters (the first store) and commissary were destroyed by fire. In the early 1970s, the company faced problems again when it was sued by Amstar, the parent company of Domino Sugar for trademark infringement. Thomas started looking for a new name and came up with Red Domino’s and Pizza’s Dispatch. However, there wasn’t any need for it because Domino’s won the lawsuit in 1980.In 1982, Domino’s Pizza established Domino’s Pizza International (DPI) that was made responsible for opening Domino’s stores internationally. The first store was opened in Winnipeg, Canada. Within a year, DPI spread to more than 50 countries and in 1983, it inaugurated its1000th store. Around the same time, new pizza chains like Pizza Hut and Little Caesar established themselves in the USA. Domino’s Pizza faced intense competition because it had not changed its menu of traditional hand-tossed pizza. The other pizza chains offered low-priced breadsticks, salads and other fast food apart from pizzas. Domino’s faced tough competition from Pizza Hut in the home delivery segment also. Little Caesar was eating into Domino’s market share with its innovative marketing strategies. By 1989, Domino’s sales had reduced significantly and cash flows were affected due to the acquisition of assets. In 1993, Thomas took measures to expand Domino’s product line, in an attempt to revive the company and tackle competition. The company introduced pan pizza and bread sticks in the USA. In late 1993, Domino’s introduced the Ultimate Deep Dish Pizza and Crunchy Thin Crust Pizza. In 1994, it rolled out another non-pizza dish – Buffalo wings. Though Domino’s did not experiment with its menu for many years, the company adopted innovative ways in managing a pizza store. Thomas gave about 90% of the franchisee agreements in the USA to people who had worked as drivers with Domino’s. The company gave ownership to qualified people, after they had successfully managed a pizza store for a year and had completed a training course. Domino’s also gave franchises to candidates recommended by existing franchisees. Outside the USA, most of Domino’s stores were franchise-owned. Domino’s was also credited for many innovations in the pizza industry and setting standards for other pizza companies. It has developed dough trays, corrugated pizza boxes, insulated bags for delivering pizzas, and conveyor ovens.
In 1993, Domino’s withdrew the guarantee of delivering pizzas within 30-minutes of order andstarted emphasizing on Total Satisfaction Guarantee (TSG) which read: “If for any reason, you are dissatisfied with your Domino’s Pizza dining experience, we will re-make your pizza or refund your money.” Domino’s entered India in 1996 through a franchise agreement with VamBhartia Corp in Delhi. With the overwhelming success of the first outlet, the company opened another outlet in Delhi. By 2000, Domino’s had outlets in all major cities in India. When
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
Domino’s entered India, the concept of home delivery was still in its nascent stages. It existed only in some major cities and was restricted to delivery by the friendly neighborhood fast food outlets. Eating out at ‘branded’ restaurants was more common. To penetrate the Indian market, Domino’s introduced an integrated home delivery system from a network of company outlets within 30 minutes of the order. Goutham Advani (Advani), Chief of Marketing, Domino’s Pizza India, said, “What really worked its way into the Indian mind set was the promised 30-minute delivery.” Domino’s also offered compensation: Rs.30/- off the price tag if there was a delay in delivery. For the first 4 years in India, Domino’s concentrated on its ‘Delivery’ strategy.
Domino’s Logistics Model
Analysts felt that Domino’s took a cue from McDonald’s supply chain model. However, they opined that the level of complexity in McDonald’s system in India was not as high as that of Domino’s. Commented Bhatia ,”McDonald’s operations are not as spread out as ours. They are in four cities while we are in 16.Centralizing wouldn’t work on such a geographical scale”. The logistics model adopted by Domino’s offered some obvious benefits including lower transportation costs, cheaper procurement and economies of scale. Domino’s had already cut out the duplication in procurement and processing of raw materials across each of the three commissaries. The old model of self-contained commissaries had another disadvantage: adding new outlets did not translate into greater economies of scale. Bhatia planned to extend the model to other parts of the country as well. The commissary was to be located near the largest market in that region. Bhatia said, “Our roll-out began only after we mapped out our procurement strategy.” Based on the agricultural map of India, Domino’s looked McDonald’s had one of the best logistics models in India. To maintain consistency and quality of its products, McDonald’s shipped all the raw materials lettuce, patties et al to a cold storage close to the main market. Based on a daily demand schedule that was prepared a day in advance, the required amount of raw material was transported to individual outlets to get the best product at the lowest cost.
Thus, tomatoes would come from Bhubaneswar, spices from the south, baby corn from Nepal (where it’s 40% cheaper than in India) and vegetables from Sri Lanka. Similarly, Domino’s India planned to extend its operations to Nepal, Sri Lanka and Dhaka. The company planned to establish a commissary in Sri Lanka. Domino’s also identified specialty crops in each region. The commissary in that region was entrusted with the task of processing that specialty crop. For instance, the commissary for the eastern region in Kolkata was responsible for buying tomatoes, processing them and then sending them to all the other commissaries. Similarly, the northern commissary had to deliver pizza bases. This way, Domino’s minimized duplication as well as the dangers of perish ability. Once the new model was formalized, Bhatia planned to use Domino’s 25 refrigerated trucks to transport products for other companies on the same route. For instance, if an operator in Kochi(Kerala) needed to transport specialty cheese, he could use the Domino’s fleet to transport his products. Said Bhatia, “Not too many people have refrigerated trucks in the country. And we can offer them quality service because we will be giving them standards we use for ourselves.” Company sources said that enquiries from clients for such transport facilities had started coming in. Bhatia said he was in the process of selecting a person to head the logistics operation, which would be spun off as a separate profit centre. Bhatia seemed confident that the profit centre had the potential to bring in Rs 10 by 2006. However, he said the profit center would not be allowed to impede the growth of the pizza
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
business, Domino’s core operation. Only those deliveries that did not delay or deroute the truck would be considered
Questions
1. Describe about the Article for Logistics and Operations Management Domino’s Pizza’s Process Technology (20)
Caselet 2
ABC Ltd. is the country’s largest manufacturer of spun yarn with well-established market. ABC Ltd. has good reputation for quality and service. Their marketing department identified that the potential for global market is expanding rapidly and hence the company undertook exercise for expansion of the capacity for export market. The company formed team of Marketing and Materials department to study the global logistics possibilities. After extensive study, the team came up with a report on global logistics and submitted that global logistics is essentially same as domestic due to following similarities: • The conceptual logistics framework of linking supply sources, plants, warehouses and customers is the same. • Both systems involve managing the movement and storage of products. • Information is critical to effective provision of customer service, management of inventory, vendor product and cost control. • The functional processes of inventory management, warehousing, order processing, carrier selection, procurement, and vendor payment are required for both. • Economic and safety regulations exist for transportation. The company had very economical and reliable transportation system in existence. For exports as well they decided to evaluate capabilities of their existing transporter and entrusted them with the job of transport till port. For customs formalities they engaged a good CHA after proper cost evaluation and entered into contract for freight with shipping company agent. The response for company’s export was very good and the company could get as many as 15 customers within first two months and reached to a level of USD 250,000 per month by the end of first half of the year. Based on this response the export volumes were expected to grow to a level of USD 400,000 per month by the end of the year. When the review was made at the end of the year, company found that export volumes had in fact come down to the level of USD 120,000 which was much lower than it had reached in the first half of the year. The managing committee had an emergency meeting to discuss this and the export manager was entrusted with the task of identifying the reasons for this decline. Mr. Ganesh decided to visit the customers for getting the first hand information. When he discussed the matter with the customers, the feedback on the quality and price were good but the customers were very upset on the logistic services due to delayed shipments, frequent changes in shipping schedules, improper documentation, improper identifications, package sizes, losses due to transit damages etc. After coming back, the export manager checked the dispatch schedules and found that production and ex-works schedules were all proper. Then he studied the logistics systems and found that the logistics cost was very high and all the logistics people were demotivated due to the overwork and were complaining of total lack of co-ordination and the system had become totally disorganized.
Questions
1. Explain the problems experienced by ABC Ltd. What is the main cause of these problems? (20)
END OF SECTION B
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. The Advantages & Disadvantages of Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)? (15)
2. Distinguish between just-in-time and just-in-case as stock management systems?(15)
S-2-010619
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C

Examination Paper of Strategic Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
SubjectCode-B108 Examination Paper
Strategic Management
MM.100
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choice:
I. Horizontal integration is concerned with
(1)
a) Production
b) Quality
c) Product planning
d) All of the above
II. It refers to formal and informal rules, regulations and procedures that complement the company structure (1)
a) Strategy
b) Systems
c) Environment
d) All of the above
III. Strategic management is mainly the responsibility of (1)
a. Lower management
b. Middle management
c. Top management
d. All of the above
IV. Formal systems are adopted to bring ________ & amalgamation of decentralized units into product groups.
(1)
a. Manpower
b. Co-ordination
c. Production
d. All of the above
 This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IV.Like roots of a tree, ________of organization is hidden from direct view. (1)
a. Performance
b. Strategy
c. Core competence
d. All of the above
V. The actual performance deviates positively over the budgeted performance. This is an indication of ……….. Performance. (1) a. Superior b. Inferior c. Constant d. Any of the above
VI. Criteria for making an evaluation is (are)
(1)
a. Consistency with goals
b. Consistency with environment
c. Money
d. All of the above
VII. Changes in company ………. also necessitates changes in the systems in various degrees (1)
a. structure
b. system
c. strategy
d. turnover
VIII. Micro environment is the ………. environment of a company. (1)
a. Working
b. Human
c. External
d. Internal
X Techniques used in environmental appraisal are (1)
a.Single-variable
extrapolation/multivariable
interaction analysis
b.Structured/ unstructured
expert/inexpert opinion
c.Dynamic modes and mapping
d.All of the above
Part Two:
1. Distinguish between a strategy and tactics. (5)
2. Give an outline of relation between ‘Strategy and Customer’ in brief? (5)
3. Explain in brief the concept of strategic thinking? (5)
4. What are the basic elements of planning? (5)
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
END OF SECTION A
 This section consists of Caselets.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each Caselet carries 20marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Caselet 1
Apple’s profitable but risky strategy
When Apple’s Chief Executive – Steven Jobs – launched the Apple iPod in 2001 and the iPhone in 2007, he made a significant shift in the company’s strategy from the relatively safe market of innovative, premium-priced computers into the highly competitive markets of consumer electronics. This case explores this profitable but risky strategy.
Early beginnings
To understand any company’s strategy, it is helpful to begin by looking back at its roots. Founded in 1976, Apple built its early reputation on innovative personal computers that were particularly easy for customers to use and as a result was priced higher than those of competitors. The inspiration for this strategy came from a visit by the founders of the company – Steven Jobs and Steven Wozniack – to the Palo Alto research laboratories of the Xerox Company in 1979. They observed that Xerox had developed an early version of a computer interface screen with the drop-down menus that are widely used today on all personal computers. Most computers in the late 1970s still used complicated technical interfaces for even simple tasks like typing – still called ‘word-processing’ at the time.
Jobs and Wozniack took the concept back to Apple and developed their own computer – the Apple Macintosh (Mac) – that used this consumer-friendly interface. The Macintosh was launched in 1984. However, Apple did not sell to, or share the software with, rival companies. Over the next few years, this non-co-operation strategy turned out to be a major weakness for Apple.
Battle with Microsoft
Although the Mac had some initial success, its software was threatened by the introduction of Windows 1.0 from the rival company Microsoft, whose chief executive was the well-known Bill Gates. Microsoft’s strategy was to make this software widely available to other computer manufacturers for a license fee – quite unlike Apple. A legal dispute arose between Apple and Microsoft because Windows had many on-screen similarities to the Apple product. Eventually, Microsoft signed an agreement with Apple saying that it would not use Mac technology in Windows 1.0. Microsoft retained the right to develop its own interface software similar to the original Xerox concept.
Coupled with Microsoft’s willingness to distribute Windows freely to computer manufacturers, the legal agreement allowed Microsoft to develop alternative technology that had the same on-screen result. The result is history. By 1990, Microsoft had developed and distributed a version of Windows that would run on virtually all IBM-compatible personal computers – see Case 1.2. Apple’s strategy of keeping its software exclusive was a major strategic mistake. The company was determined to avoid the same error when it
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
came to the launch of the iPod and, in a more subtle way, with the later introduction of the iPhone.
Apple’s innovative products
Unlike Microsoft with its focus on a software-only strategy, Apple remained a full-line computer manufacturer from that time, supplying both the hardware and the software. Apple continued to develop various innovative computers and related products. Early successes included the Mac2 and PowerBooks along with the world’s first desktop publishing program – PageMaker. This latter remains today the leading program of its kind. It is widely used around the world in publishing and fashion houses. It remains exclusive to Apple and means that the company has a specialist market where it has real competitive advantage and can charge higher prices.
Not all Apple’s new products were successful – the Newton personal digital assistant did not sell well. Apple’s high price policy for its products and difficulties in manufacturing also meant that innovative products like the iBook had trouble competing in the personal computer market place.
Apple’s move into consumer electronics
Around the year 2000, Apple identified a new strategic management opportunity to exploit the growing worldwide market in personal electronic devices – CD players, MP3 music players, digital cameras, etc. It would launch its own Apple versions of these products to add high-value, user-friendly software. Resulting products included iMovie for digital cameras and I DVD for DVD-players. But the product that really took off was the iPod – the personal music player that stored hundreds of CDs. And unlike the launch of its first personal computer, Apple sought industry co-operation rather than keeping the product to itself.
Launched in late 2001, the iPod was followed by the iTunes Music Store in 2003 in the USA and 2004 in Europe – the Music Store being a most important and innovatory development. iTune was essentially an agreement with the world’s five leading record companies to allow legal downloading of music tracks using the internet for 99 cents each. This was a major coup for Apple – it had persuaded the record companies to adopt a different approach to the problem of music piracy. At the time, this revolutionary agreement was unique to Apple and was due to the negotiating skills of Steve Jobs, the Apple Chief Executive, and his network of contacts in the industry. Apple’s new strategy was beginning to pay off. The iPod was the biggest single sales contributor in the Apple portfolio of products.
In 2007, Apple followed up the launch of the iPod with the iPhone, a mobile telephone that had the same user-friendly design characteristics as its music machine. To make the iPhone widely available and, at the same time, to keep control, Apple entered into an exclusive contract with only one national mobile telephone carrier in each major country – for example, AT&T in the USA and O2 in the UK. Its mobile phone was premium priced – for
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
example, US$599 in North America. However, in order to hit its volume targets, Apple later reduced its phone prices, though they still remained at the high end of the market. This was consistent with Apple’s long-term, high-price, high-quality strategy. But the company was moving into the massive and still-expanding global mobile telephone market where competition had been fierce for many years.
And the leader in mobile telephones – Finland’s Nokia – was about to hit back at Apple, though with mixed results. But other companies, notably the Korean company Samsung and the Taiwanese company, HTC, were to have more success later.
So, why was the Apple strategy risky?
By 2007, Apple’s music player – the iPod – was the premium-priced, stylish market leader with around 60 per cent of world sales and the largest single contributor to Apple’s turnover. Its iTune download software had been re-developed to allow it to work with all Windows-compatible computers (about 90 percent of all PCs) and it had around 75 percent of the world music download market, the market being worth around US$1000 million per annum. Although this was only some 6 percent of the total recorded music market, it was growing fast. The rest of the market consisted of sales of CDs and DVDs direct from the leading recording companies.
In 2007, Apple’s mobile telephone – the iPhone – had only just been launched. The sales objective was to sell 10 million phones in the first year: this needed to be compared with the annual mobile sales of the global market leader, Nokia, of around 350 million handsets. However, Apple had achieved what some commentators regarded as a significant technical breakthrough: the touch screen. This made the iPhone different in that its screen was no longer limited by the fixed buttons and small screens that applied to competitive handsets. As readers will be aware, the iPhone went on to beat these earlier sales estimates and was followed by a new design, the iPhone 4 in 2010.
The world market leader responded by launching its own phones with touch screens. In addition, Nokia also launched a complete download music service. Referring to the new download service, Rob Wells, senior Vice President for digital music at Universal commented: ‘This is a giant leap toward where we believe the industry will end up in three or four years’ time, where the consumer will have access to the celestial jukebox through any number of devices.’ Equally, an industry commentator explained: ‘[For Nokia] it could be short-term pain for long-term gain. It will steal some of the thunder from the iPhone and tie users into the Nokia service.’ Readers will read this comment with some amazement given the subsequent history of Nokia’s smart phones that is described in Case 9.2.
‘Nokia is going to be an internet company. It is definitely a mobile company and it is making good progress to becoming an internet company as well,’ explained Olli PekkaKollasvuo, Chief Executive of Nokia. There also were hints from commentators that Nokia was likely to make a loss on its new download music service. But the company was determined to ensure that Apple was given real competition in this new and unpredictable market.
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Here lay the strategic risk for Apple. Apart from the classy, iconic styles of the iPod and the iPhone, there is nothing that rivals cannot match over time. By 2007, all the major consumer electronics companies – like Sony, Philips and Panasonic – and the mobile phone manufacturers – like Nokia, Samsung and Motorola – were catching up fast with new launches that were just as stylish, cheaper and with more capacity. In addition, Apple’s competitors were reaching agreements with the record companies to provide legal downloads of music from websites.
Apple’s competitive reaction
As a short term measure, Apple hit back by negotiating supply contracts for flash memory for its iPod that were cheaper than its rivals. Moreover, it launched a new model, the iPhone 4 that made further technology advances. Apple was still the market leader and was able to demonstrate major increases in sales and profits from the development of the iPod and iTunes. To follow up this development, Apple launched the Apple Tablet in 2010 – again an element of risk because no one really knew how well such a product would be received or what its function really was. The second generation Apple tablet was then launched in 2011 after the success of the initial model. But there was no denying that the first Apple tablet carried some initial risks for the company.
All during this period, Apple’s strategic difficulty was that other powerful companies had also recognized the importance of innovation and flexibility in the response to the new markets that Apple itself had developed. For example, Nokia itself was arguing that the markets for mobile telephones and recorded music would converge over the next five years. Nokia’s Chief Executive explained that much greater strategic flexibility was needed as a result: ‘Five or ten years ago, you would set your strategy and then start following it. That does not work anymore. Now you have to be alert every day, week and month to renew your strategy.’
If the Nokia view was correct, then the problem for Apple was that it could find its market-leading position in recorded music being overtaken by a more flexible rival – perhaps leading to a repeat of the Apple failure 20 years earlier to win against Microsoft. But at the time of updating this case, that looked unlikely. Apple had at last found the best, if risky, strategy.
Questions
1. using the concepts in this chapter undertake a competitive analysis of both Apple and Nokia – who is stronger? (10)
2. What are the problems with predicting how the market and the competition will change over the next few years? What are the implications for strategy development? (10)
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Caselet 2
Mr. Ashwin is the marketing manager of the cosmetics. division of the Medwin Drug Company. The company was well known as a leader in new proprietary drug and toiletry products and had a good record of profitability. The cosmetics division had been especially successful in women’s toiletries and .1/4.-o..,unctitk.:s and in the introduction of new products, It always based its new-product development on market research respect to what Would appeal to women and, after almost invariably test marketing a new product in a few almost invarariably test marketing a new product in selected cities, launched it with a heavy advertising and sales promotion program. It had hoped in this way not only to get a large initial share of the markets but also to become so well entrenched that competitors. who soon copy a successful product would not dislodge it from its market share.
After being cautioned by the president of Medwin Drug about the necessity for watching costs more carefully, the division manager became increasingly concerned with two opposing factors in his marketing strategy: ( 1) test marketing of new products (offering them for sale first in a few test cities with area advertising and sales programs) tended increasingly to give competitors advance information on new products, and certain competitors had been able to copy a product almost as soon as Medwin could offer it nationally and profited thereby from Medwin’s advertising; and (2) national advertising and sales promotion expenses were rising so fast that a single major product failure would have an important impact on division profits, on which his annual bonus was primarily determined. On the one hand, he recognized the wisdom of test marketing, but he disliked the costs and dangers involved. On the other hand, he hardly wished to take an unknown risk of embarking on a national program until a test showed that the product did in fact have a good market demand. Yet, he wondered whether all products should be test marketed.
Mr. Ashwin was asked to put this problem to his marketing department subordinates and ask them what should be done. To give the strategy some meaning, he used as a case at point the company’s new hair conditioner which had been developed on the basis of promising, although preliminary, market research. He asked his sales manager whether he thought the product would succeed and what he thought his “best estimate” of sales would be. He also asked his advertising manager to give some cost estimates on launching the product.
Mr. Kiran, division sales manager, thought a while, then said he was convinced that the product was a winner and that his best estimate would be sales of Rs. 5 crores per year for at least five years. Mr. Desai, the advertising manager, said that the company could launch the product for a cost of Rs. 1 crore the first year and some Rs. 25 lakhs per year thereafter. He also pointed out that the test-marketing program would cost Rs. 15 lakhs, of which half would be saved if these test cities were merely a part of a national program, and that the testing program would delay the national program for six months. But he warned Mr. Ashwin that test marketing would save the gamble of so much money on the national promotion program. At this point, Mr. Sachdev, the new marketing research manager, suggested that the group might come to a better decision if they used a proper decision-making technique.
Question:
1. Which decision-making technique can be used in this situation? Why? (20)
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper of Strategic Management
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. What are the main characteristics of strategic decisions? (15)
2. What specific entrepreneurial aspects include the strategy formation process? (15)
S-2-010619
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
 Answer all the questions.
 Each question carries 15marks.
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
END OF SECTION C
END OF SECTION B