BUSINESS COMMUNICATION SKILL IIBMS EXAM ANSWER SHEETS PROVIDED
CONTACT:
DR. PRASANTH MBA PH.D. DME MOBILE / WHATSAPP: +91 9924764558 OR +91 9447965521 EMAIL: prasanththampi1975@gmail.com WEBSITE: www.casestudyandprojectreports.com
CASE I
A Reply Sent to an Erring Customer
Dear Sir,
Your letter of the 23rd, with a cheque for Rs. 25,000/- on account, is to hand. We note what you say as to the difficulty you experience in collecting your outstanding accounts, but we are compelled to remark that we do not think you are treating us with the consideration we have a right to expect.
It is true that small remittances have been forwarded from time to time, but the debit balance against you has been steadily increasing during the past twelve months until it now stands at the considerable total of Rs. 85,000/-
Having regard to the many years during which you have been a customer of this house and the, generally speaking, satisfactory character of your account, we are reluctant to resort to harsh measures.
We must, however, insist that the existing balance should be cleared off by regular installments of say Rs. 10,000/- per month, the first installment to reach us by the 7th. In the meantime you shall pay cash for all further goods; we are allowing you an extra 3% discount in lieu of credit. We shall be glad to hear from you about this arrangement, as otherwise we shall have no alternative but definitely to close your account and place the matter in other hands.
Yours truly,
Questions:
1. Comment on the appropriateness of the sender’s tone to a customer.
2. Point out the old – fashioned phrases and expressions.
3. Rewrite the reply according to the principles of effective writing in business.
Case II
Advertising Radio FM Brand
A young, gorgeous woman is standing in front of her apartment window dancing to the 1970s tune, “All Right Now” by the one – hit band free. Across the street a young man looks out of his apartment window and notices her. He moves closer to the window, taking interest. She cranks up the volume and continues dancing, looking out the window at the fellow, who smiles hopefully and waves meekly. He holds up a bottle of wine and waves it, apparently inviting her over for a drink. The lady waves back. He kisses the bottle and excitedly says, “Yesss.” Then, he gazes around his apartment and realizes that it is a mess. “No!” he exclaims in a worried tone of voice.
Frantically, he does his best to quickly clean up the place, stuffing papers under the sofa and putting old food back in the refrigerator, He slips on a black shirt, slicks back his hair, sniffs his armpit, and lets out an excited , “Yeahhh!” in eager anticipation of entertaining the young lady. He goes back to the window and sees the woman still dancing away. He points to his watch, as if to say “Come on. It is getting late.” As she just continues dancing, he looks confused. Then a look of sudden insight appears on his face, “Five,” he says to himself. He turns on his radio, and it too is playing “All Right Now.” The man goes to his window and starts dancing as he watches his lady friend continue stepping. “Five, yeah,” he says as he makes the “okay” sign with his thumb and forefinger. He waves again. Everyone in the apartment building is dancing by their window to “All Right Now.” A super appears on the screen: “Are you on the right wavelength?”
Questions:
1. What is non – verbal communication? Why do you suppose that this commercial relies primarily on non-verbal communication between a young man and a gorgeous woman? What types of non – verbal communication are being used in this case?
2. Would any of the non-verbal communications in this spot (ad) not work well in another culture?
3. What role does music play in this spot? Who is the target market?
4. Is the music at all distracting from the message?
5. How else are radio stations advertised on TV?
CASE III
EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW OF R P SINHA
Mr. R P Sinha is a MBA. He is being interviewed for the position of Management Trainee at a reputed company. The selection committee’s is chaired by a lady Vice – President. Mr. Sinha’s interview was as follows :
Committee : Good morning !
Mr. Sinha : Good morning to Sirs and Madam !
Chairperson : Please, sit down.
Mr. Sinha : Thank you (sits down at the edge of the chair, keeps his portfolio on the table)
Q. Chairperson : You are Mr. R. P. Sinha
A Sinha : Yes, Madam. This is how I am called.
Q. Chairperson : You have passed MBA with 1st Division.
A. Sinha : Yes, Madam.
Q. Chairperson : Why do you want to work in our organization ?
A Sinha : It is just like that. Also, because it has good reputation.
Q. Member A : This job is considered to be quite stressful. Do you think you can manage the stress involved.
A. Sinha : I think there is too much talk about stress these days. Sir, would you tell clearly what you mean by stress ? I am very strong for any stress.
Q. Member B : What are your strengths ?
A. Sinha : Sir, who am I talk boastfully about my strengths. You should tell me my strengths.
Q. Member C : What are your weaknesses ?
A. Sinha : I become angry very fast.
Q. Member A : Do you want to ask us any questions ?
A Sinha : Yes Sir ! What are the future chances for one who starts as a management trainee ?
The member tells M. Sinha the typical career path for those starting as Management Trainee. The Chairperson thanks Mr. Sinha. Mr. Sinha promptly says in reply, “you are welcome,” and comes out.
Questions:
1. Do you find Mr. Sinha’s responses to various questions effective? Give reasons for your view on each answer given by Mr. Sinha.
2. Rewrite the responses that you consider most effective to the above questions in a job interview.
3. Mr. Sinha has observed the norm of respectful behaviour and polite
conversation. But, do you think there is something gone wrong in his case ? Account for your general impression of Mr. Sinha’s performance at the interview.
Case IV
Outsourcing Backlash Gets Abusive, Ugly
I don’t want to speak to you. Connect to your boss in the US,” hissed the American on the phone. The young girl at a Bangalore call centre tried to be as polite as she could.
At another call centre, another day, another yound girl had a Londoner unleashing himself on her, “ Yound lady do you know that because of you Indians we are losing jobs.”
The outsourcing backlash is getting ugly. Handling irate callers is the new brief for the young men and women taking calls at these outsourced job centers. Supervisors tell them to be “cool”.
Avinash Vashistha, managing partner of NEOIT, a leading US-based consultancy firm says,” Companies involved in outsourcing both in the US and India are already getting a lot of hate mail against outsourcing and it is hardly surprising that some people should behave like this on the telephone.” Vashistha says Indian call centers should train their operators how to handle such calls.
Indeed, the furore raised by the western media over job losses because of outsourcing has made ordinary citizens there sensitive to the fact that their call are being taken not from their midst but in countries, such as India and the Philippines.
The angry outbursts the operators face border on the racist and sexist, says the manager of a call center in Hyderabad. But operators and senior executives of call centers reguse to go on record for fear of kicking up a controversy that might result in their companies’ losing clients overseas.
“It’s happening often enough and so let’s face it,” says a senior executive of a Gurgaon call centre, adding, “This doesn’t have any impact on business.”
Questions:
1. Assume you are working as an operator at a call centre in India and are receiving irate calls from Americans and Lodoners. How would you handle such calls? Conceive a short conversation between you and your client, and put it on paper.
2. “Keep your cool.” What does this mean in term of conversation control?
3. Do you agree with the view that such abusive happenings on the telephone do not have any impact on business? Justify.
BUSINESS ETHICS
Note : Section I is compulsory & Section II solve any six questions :
Section I
CASE STUDY:
No Minor Offence
Census data reveals high level of Under – age marriages
Census statics are generally full of surprises. But this one is startling : 6.4 million Indians under the age of 18 are already married. That’s not all. As many as 1.3 lakh girls under 18 are widowed and another 56,000 are divorced or separated. The legal marriageable age for women is 18, for men 21. A century and a half after Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar’s crusade against child marriage, the practice persists. Obviously, the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, exists only on paper and has not been able to deter parents from marrying off under –aged sons and daughters. The incidence is understandably higher in rural areas, but not low as expected in the cities. It’s more common in the BIMARU states, with Rajasthan leading the way Ironically, the Act renders all under-age marriages illegal but not void, which means that an illegally married couple can stay married . It is, therefore, violated with impunity and hardly anyone is ever hauled up. Despite the fact that child marriage is a criminal offence, action is rarely taken by the police. Even civil society remains a passive spectator. There’s not enough penalty-a fine of Rs.1,000 and imprisonment up to three shows that the state does not view the crime seriously.
The practice is linked to the curse of dowary. “Chhota Chhora dhhej kam mangta” ( the younger the groom, the smaller the dowry demand) justifies many such alliances. The grimmest part of the scenario is the physical havoc that early marriage wreaks upon girls who are too young to bear the burden of maternal and child mortality. There is also the belief that a daughters’ marriage is a scared obligation that parents must fulfill at the earliest. A new legislation, Prevention of Child marriages Bill, 2004, to replace the loophole-ridden 1929 Act is awaiting parliament’s approval. But legislation alone is not enough. Compulsory registration of marriages is one way of tackling the problem. Creating awareness about the ill-effects of such marriages and mobilizing committed social workers to intervence are others. However, social workers have to often function in hostile conditions. The 1992 case of Bhanwari Devi, the Rajasthan saathin who was raped for preventing a child marriage, is chilling. In the end only education, economic security and increasing empowerment of women can eliminate the problem.
Questions
1. Discuss ethically the drawbacks you find in the under-age marriages?
2. How does the increasing empowerment of women help eliminate problems if this type?
Section II
Solve any six questions :
Q2.
a) What is moral hazards and why is it important?
b) What is emergent strategy?
Q3.
a) What are the objectives of a business, and which is the most important?
b) How many steps are there in the decision making process and what are they?
Q4.
a) What CSR issues exist for NFPs?
b) What measures of performance are typically used by these organization?
Q5.
a) How globalization effect CSR?
b) Is globalization threat for CSR?
Q6.
a) Why is the measurement of performance important?
b) What is ISO14000 and what factors does it cover?
Q7.
a) What are the responsibilities of business in their corporate decision?
b) What is the relationship between CSR and corporate behavior?
Q8.
a) What are the 4 factors of sustainability?
b) What are the factors of distributable sustainability?
Q9.
a) What justification does stakeholder Theory use for considering stakeholder?
b) What are the step involved in the incorporation of environmental accounting into the risk evaluation system of an organization?
PRINCIPLES OF PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
CASE – 1
Aravali Hospital was built two years ago, and currently has a workforce of 215 people. The hospital is small, but because it is new, it is extremely efficient. The board has voted to increase its capacity from 60 to 180 beds. By this time next year, the hospital will over three times as large as now, in terms of both beds and personnel.
The administrator, Maya Joshi, feels that the major problem with this proposed increase is that hospital will lose its efficiency. “I want to hire people who are just like our current team of personnel—hardworking, dedicated talented, and able to interact well with patients. If we triple the number of employees, I do not see how it will be possible to maintain our quality of patient care. We are going to lose our family atmosphere. We will be inundated with mediocrity, and we will end up being like every other institution in the local area—large and uncaring.”
The chairman of the board is also concerned about the effect of hiring such a large number of employees. However, he believes that Joshi is over-reacting. “It cannot be that hard to find people who are like our current staff. There must be a lot of people out there who are just as good. What you need to do is develop a plan of action that will allow you to carefully screen those who will fit into your current organisational culture, and those who will not. It is not going to be as difficult as you believe. Trust me. Everything will work out just fine”.
As a result of the chairman’s comments, Joshi had decided that the most effective way of dealing with the situation is to develop a plan of action. She intends to meet with her administrative group and determine the best way of screening incoming candidates, and then helping those who are hired to become socialised in terms of the hospital’s culture. Joshi has called a meeting for day after tomorrow. At that time, she intends to discuss her ideas, get suggestions from her people, and then formulate a plan of action.
Questions
1. What can Joshi and her staff do to select the type of entry-level candidates they want?
2. How can Joshi ensure that those who are hired come to accept the core cultural values of the hospital? What steps would you recommend?
CASE – 2
Leo Medical Diagnostic and Research Center has patented its new invention of poly fiber cardiovascular valve. The product developed is a novel one and can be manufactured at a very low cost. The utility and life of the product in laboratory testing was found to be more than the life of the patients. The product could enhance the life of patient by at least five years. Considering all these factors Leo Medical Diagnostic and Research Center chose to set a unit to manufacture the product. However, the company has a dilemma. As the product is new and requires the acceptance of medical community, it is considering appointing a promotion and sales co-coordinator to manage the promotional and communication efforts of the firm.
Questions
(a) Do you think the number of units of a product to be manufactured is a random number? Explain your reasoning.
(b) How does one determine the number of units of a product to be manufactured in an organisation?
(c) What are the elements you would take into consideration for forecasting the production and sales requirement of the product developed by Leo Medical Center?
(d) How would you go about planning and organising the manufacturing and selling efforts of the organisation?
CASE – 3
Hari Mohan has a position on the corporate planning staff of a large company in a high technology industry. Although he has spent most of his time on long-range, strategic planning for the company, he has been appointed to a task force to reorganize the company. The president and the board of directors are concerned that they are losing their competitive position in the industry because of an outdated organisation structure. Being a planning expert, Hari Mohan convinced the task force that they should proceed by first determining exactly what type of structure they have now, then determining what type of environment the company faces, now and in the future, and then designing the organisation structure accordingly. In the first phase, they discovered that the organisation is currently structured along classic bureaucratic lines. In the second phase, they found that they are competing in a highly dynamic, rapidly growing and uncertain environment that requires a great deal of flexibility and response to change.
Questions
(a) What type or types of organisation design do you feel this task force should recommend in the third and final phase of the approach to their assignment?
(b) Explain how the systems and the contingency theories of organisation can each contribute to the analysis of this case.
(c) Do you think Hari Mohan was correct in his suggestion of how the task force should proceed? What types of problems might develop as by-products of the recommendation you made in question 1?
CASE – 4
Bharat Engineering Works Limited is a major industrial machineries besides other engineering products. It has enjoyed market preference for its machineries because of limited competition in the field. Usually there have been more orders than what the company could supply. However, the scenario changed quickly because of the entry of two new competitors in the field with foreign technological collaboration. For the first time, the company faced problem in marketing its products with usual profit margin. Sensing the likely problem, the chief executive appointed Mr Arvind Kumar as general manager to direct the operations of industrial machinery division. Mr Kumar had similar assignment abroad before coming back to India.
Mr Kumar had a discussion with the chief executive about the nature of the problem being faced by the company so that he could fix up his priority. The chief executive advised him to consult various heads of department to have first hand information. However, he emphasised that the company lacked an integrated planning system while members of the Board of Directors insisted on introducing this in several meetings both formally and informally.
After joining as General Manager, Mr Kumar got briefings from the heads of all departments. He asked all heads to identify major problems and issues concerning them. The marketing manager indicated that in order to achieve higher sales, he needed more sales support. Sales people had no central organisation to provide sales support nor was there a generous budget for demonstration teams which could be sent to customers to win business.
The production manager complained about the old machines and equipments used in manufacturing. Therefore, cost of production was high but without corresponding quality. While competitors had better equipments and machinery, Bharat Engineering had neither replaced its age-old plant nor reconditioned it. Therefore to reduced the cost, it was essential to automate production lines by installing new equipment.
Director of research and development did not have specific problem and therefore, did not indicate for any change. However, a principal scientist in R&D indicated on one day that the director of R&D, though very nice in his approach, did not emphasize on short-term research projects, which could easily increase production efficiency by at least 20 per cent within a very short period without any major capital outlay.
Questions
(a) Discuss the nature and characteristics of the problems in this case.
(b) What steps should be taken by Mr Kumar to overcome these problems?
CONTACT:
DR. PRASANTH MBA PH.D. DME MOBILE / WHATSAPP: +91 9924764558 OR +91 9447965521 EMAIL: prasanththampi1975@gmail.com WEBSITE: www.casestudyandprojectreports.com
CASE I
A Reply Sent to an Erring Customer
Dear Sir,
Your letter of the 23rd, with a cheque for Rs. 25,000/- on account, is to hand. We note what you say as to the difficulty you experience in collecting your outstanding accounts, but we are compelled to remark that we do not think you are treating us with the consideration we have a right to expect.
It is true that small remittances have been forwarded from time to time, but the debit balance against you has been steadily increasing during the past twelve months until it now stands at the considerable total of Rs. 85,000/-
Having regard to the many years during which you have been a customer of this house and the, generally speaking, satisfactory character of your account, we are reluctant to resort to harsh measures.
We must, however, insist that the existing balance should be cleared off by regular installments of say Rs. 10,000/- per month, the first installment to reach us by the 7th. In the meantime you shall pay cash for all further goods; we are allowing you an extra 3% discount in lieu of credit. We shall be glad to hear from you about this arrangement, as otherwise we shall have no alternative but definitely to close your account and place the matter in other hands.
Yours truly,
Questions:
1. Comment on the appropriateness of the sender’s tone to a customer.
2. Point out the old – fashioned phrases and expressions.
3. Rewrite the reply according to the principles of effective writing in business.
Case II
Advertising Radio FM Brand
A young, gorgeous woman is standing in front of her apartment window dancing to the 1970s tune, “All Right Now” by the one – hit band free. Across the street a young man looks out of his apartment window and notices her. He moves closer to the window, taking interest. She cranks up the volume and continues dancing, looking out the window at the fellow, who smiles hopefully and waves meekly. He holds up a bottle of wine and waves it, apparently inviting her over for a drink. The lady waves back. He kisses the bottle and excitedly says, “Yesss.” Then, he gazes around his apartment and realizes that it is a mess. “No!” he exclaims in a worried tone of voice.
Frantically, he does his best to quickly clean up the place, stuffing papers under the sofa and putting old food back in the refrigerator, He slips on a black shirt, slicks back his hair, sniffs his armpit, and lets out an excited , “Yeahhh!” in eager anticipation of entertaining the young lady. He goes back to the window and sees the woman still dancing away. He points to his watch, as if to say “Come on. It is getting late.” As she just continues dancing, he looks confused. Then a look of sudden insight appears on his face, “Five,” he says to himself. He turns on his radio, and it too is playing “All Right Now.” The man goes to his window and starts dancing as he watches his lady friend continue stepping. “Five, yeah,” he says as he makes the “okay” sign with his thumb and forefinger. He waves again. Everyone in the apartment building is dancing by their window to “All Right Now.” A super appears on the screen: “Are you on the right wavelength?”
Questions:
1. What is non – verbal communication? Why do you suppose that this commercial relies primarily on non-verbal communication between a young man and a gorgeous woman? What types of non – verbal communication are being used in this case?
2. Would any of the non-verbal communications in this spot (ad) not work well in another culture?
3. What role does music play in this spot? Who is the target market?
4. Is the music at all distracting from the message?
5. How else are radio stations advertised on TV?
CASE III
EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW OF R P SINHA
Mr. R P Sinha is a MBA. He is being interviewed for the position of Management Trainee at a reputed company. The selection committee’s is chaired by a lady Vice – President. Mr. Sinha’s interview was as follows :
Committee : Good morning !
Mr. Sinha : Good morning to Sirs and Madam !
Chairperson : Please, sit down.
Mr. Sinha : Thank you (sits down at the edge of the chair, keeps his portfolio on the table)
Q. Chairperson : You are Mr. R. P. Sinha
A Sinha : Yes, Madam. This is how I am called.
Q. Chairperson : You have passed MBA with 1st Division.
A. Sinha : Yes, Madam.
Q. Chairperson : Why do you want to work in our organization ?
A Sinha : It is just like that. Also, because it has good reputation.
Q. Member A : This job is considered to be quite stressful. Do you think you can manage the stress involved.
A. Sinha : I think there is too much talk about stress these days. Sir, would you tell clearly what you mean by stress ? I am very strong for any stress.
Q. Member B : What are your strengths ?
A. Sinha : Sir, who am I talk boastfully about my strengths. You should tell me my strengths.
Q. Member C : What are your weaknesses ?
A. Sinha : I become angry very fast.
Q. Member A : Do you want to ask us any questions ?
A Sinha : Yes Sir ! What are the future chances for one who starts as a management trainee ?
The member tells M. Sinha the typical career path for those starting as Management Trainee. The Chairperson thanks Mr. Sinha. Mr. Sinha promptly says in reply, “you are welcome,” and comes out.
Questions:
1. Do you find Mr. Sinha’s responses to various questions effective? Give reasons for your view on each answer given by Mr. Sinha.
2. Rewrite the responses that you consider most effective to the above questions in a job interview.
3. Mr. Sinha has observed the norm of respectful behaviour and polite
conversation. But, do you think there is something gone wrong in his case ? Account for your general impression of Mr. Sinha’s performance at the interview.
Case IV
Outsourcing Backlash Gets Abusive, Ugly
I don’t want to speak to you. Connect to your boss in the US,” hissed the American on the phone. The young girl at a Bangalore call centre tried to be as polite as she could.
At another call centre, another day, another yound girl had a Londoner unleashing himself on her, “ Yound lady do you know that because of you Indians we are losing jobs.”
The outsourcing backlash is getting ugly. Handling irate callers is the new brief for the young men and women taking calls at these outsourced job centers. Supervisors tell them to be “cool”.
Avinash Vashistha, managing partner of NEOIT, a leading US-based consultancy firm says,” Companies involved in outsourcing both in the US and India are already getting a lot of hate mail against outsourcing and it is hardly surprising that some people should behave like this on the telephone.” Vashistha says Indian call centers should train their operators how to handle such calls.
Indeed, the furore raised by the western media over job losses because of outsourcing has made ordinary citizens there sensitive to the fact that their call are being taken not from their midst but in countries, such as India and the Philippines.
The angry outbursts the operators face border on the racist and sexist, says the manager of a call center in Hyderabad. But operators and senior executives of call centers reguse to go on record for fear of kicking up a controversy that might result in their companies’ losing clients overseas.
“It’s happening often enough and so let’s face it,” says a senior executive of a Gurgaon call centre, adding, “This doesn’t have any impact on business.”
Questions:
1. Assume you are working as an operator at a call centre in India and are receiving irate calls from Americans and Lodoners. How would you handle such calls? Conceive a short conversation between you and your client, and put it on paper.
2. “Keep your cool.” What does this mean in term of conversation control?
3. Do you agree with the view that such abusive happenings on the telephone do not have any impact on business? Justify.
BUSINESS ETHICS
Note : Section I is compulsory & Section II solve any six questions :
Section I
CASE STUDY:
No Minor Offence
Census data reveals high level of Under – age marriages
Census statics are generally full of surprises. But this one is startling : 6.4 million Indians under the age of 18 are already married. That’s not all. As many as 1.3 lakh girls under 18 are widowed and another 56,000 are divorced or separated. The legal marriageable age for women is 18, for men 21. A century and a half after Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar’s crusade against child marriage, the practice persists. Obviously, the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, exists only on paper and has not been able to deter parents from marrying off under –aged sons and daughters. The incidence is understandably higher in rural areas, but not low as expected in the cities. It’s more common in the BIMARU states, with Rajasthan leading the way Ironically, the Act renders all under-age marriages illegal but not void, which means that an illegally married couple can stay married . It is, therefore, violated with impunity and hardly anyone is ever hauled up. Despite the fact that child marriage is a criminal offence, action is rarely taken by the police. Even civil society remains a passive spectator. There’s not enough penalty-a fine of Rs.1,000 and imprisonment up to three shows that the state does not view the crime seriously.
The practice is linked to the curse of dowary. “Chhota Chhora dhhej kam mangta” ( the younger the groom, the smaller the dowry demand) justifies many such alliances. The grimmest part of the scenario is the physical havoc that early marriage wreaks upon girls who are too young to bear the burden of maternal and child mortality. There is also the belief that a daughters’ marriage is a scared obligation that parents must fulfill at the earliest. A new legislation, Prevention of Child marriages Bill, 2004, to replace the loophole-ridden 1929 Act is awaiting parliament’s approval. But legislation alone is not enough. Compulsory registration of marriages is one way of tackling the problem. Creating awareness about the ill-effects of such marriages and mobilizing committed social workers to intervence are others. However, social workers have to often function in hostile conditions. The 1992 case of Bhanwari Devi, the Rajasthan saathin who was raped for preventing a child marriage, is chilling. In the end only education, economic security and increasing empowerment of women can eliminate the problem.
Questions
1. Discuss ethically the drawbacks you find in the under-age marriages?
2. How does the increasing empowerment of women help eliminate problems if this type?
Section II
Solve any six questions :
Q2.
a) What is moral hazards and why is it important?
b) What is emergent strategy?
Q3.
a) What are the objectives of a business, and which is the most important?
b) How many steps are there in the decision making process and what are they?
Q4.
a) What CSR issues exist for NFPs?
b) What measures of performance are typically used by these organization?
Q5.
a) How globalization effect CSR?
b) Is globalization threat for CSR?
Q6.
a) Why is the measurement of performance important?
b) What is ISO14000 and what factors does it cover?
Q7.
a) What are the responsibilities of business in their corporate decision?
b) What is the relationship between CSR and corporate behavior?
Q8.
a) What are the 4 factors of sustainability?
b) What are the factors of distributable sustainability?
Q9.
a) What justification does stakeholder Theory use for considering stakeholder?
b) What are the step involved in the incorporation of environmental accounting into the risk evaluation system of an organization?
PRINCIPLES OF PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
CASE – 1
Aravali Hospital was built two years ago, and currently has a workforce of 215 people. The hospital is small, but because it is new, it is extremely efficient. The board has voted to increase its capacity from 60 to 180 beds. By this time next year, the hospital will over three times as large as now, in terms of both beds and personnel.
The administrator, Maya Joshi, feels that the major problem with this proposed increase is that hospital will lose its efficiency. “I want to hire people who are just like our current team of personnel—hardworking, dedicated talented, and able to interact well with patients. If we triple the number of employees, I do not see how it will be possible to maintain our quality of patient care. We are going to lose our family atmosphere. We will be inundated with mediocrity, and we will end up being like every other institution in the local area—large and uncaring.”
The chairman of the board is also concerned about the effect of hiring such a large number of employees. However, he believes that Joshi is over-reacting. “It cannot be that hard to find people who are like our current staff. There must be a lot of people out there who are just as good. What you need to do is develop a plan of action that will allow you to carefully screen those who will fit into your current organisational culture, and those who will not. It is not going to be as difficult as you believe. Trust me. Everything will work out just fine”.
As a result of the chairman’s comments, Joshi had decided that the most effective way of dealing with the situation is to develop a plan of action. She intends to meet with her administrative group and determine the best way of screening incoming candidates, and then helping those who are hired to become socialised in terms of the hospital’s culture. Joshi has called a meeting for day after tomorrow. At that time, she intends to discuss her ideas, get suggestions from her people, and then formulate a plan of action.
Questions
1. What can Joshi and her staff do to select the type of entry-level candidates they want?
2. How can Joshi ensure that those who are hired come to accept the core cultural values of the hospital? What steps would you recommend?
CASE – 2
Leo Medical Diagnostic and Research Center has patented its new invention of poly fiber cardiovascular valve. The product developed is a novel one and can be manufactured at a very low cost. The utility and life of the product in laboratory testing was found to be more than the life of the patients. The product could enhance the life of patient by at least five years. Considering all these factors Leo Medical Diagnostic and Research Center chose to set a unit to manufacture the product. However, the company has a dilemma. As the product is new and requires the acceptance of medical community, it is considering appointing a promotion and sales co-coordinator to manage the promotional and communication efforts of the firm.
Questions
(a) Do you think the number of units of a product to be manufactured is a random number? Explain your reasoning.
(b) How does one determine the number of units of a product to be manufactured in an organisation?
(c) What are the elements you would take into consideration for forecasting the production and sales requirement of the product developed by Leo Medical Center?
(d) How would you go about planning and organising the manufacturing and selling efforts of the organisation?
CASE – 3
Hari Mohan has a position on the corporate planning staff of a large company in a high technology industry. Although he has spent most of his time on long-range, strategic planning for the company, he has been appointed to a task force to reorganize the company. The president and the board of directors are concerned that they are losing their competitive position in the industry because of an outdated organisation structure. Being a planning expert, Hari Mohan convinced the task force that they should proceed by first determining exactly what type of structure they have now, then determining what type of environment the company faces, now and in the future, and then designing the organisation structure accordingly. In the first phase, they discovered that the organisation is currently structured along classic bureaucratic lines. In the second phase, they found that they are competing in a highly dynamic, rapidly growing and uncertain environment that requires a great deal of flexibility and response to change.
Questions
(a) What type or types of organisation design do you feel this task force should recommend in the third and final phase of the approach to their assignment?
(b) Explain how the systems and the contingency theories of organisation can each contribute to the analysis of this case.
(c) Do you think Hari Mohan was correct in his suggestion of how the task force should proceed? What types of problems might develop as by-products of the recommendation you made in question 1?
CASE – 4
Bharat Engineering Works Limited is a major industrial machineries besides other engineering products. It has enjoyed market preference for its machineries because of limited competition in the field. Usually there have been more orders than what the company could supply. However, the scenario changed quickly because of the entry of two new competitors in the field with foreign technological collaboration. For the first time, the company faced problem in marketing its products with usual profit margin. Sensing the likely problem, the chief executive appointed Mr Arvind Kumar as general manager to direct the operations of industrial machinery division. Mr Kumar had similar assignment abroad before coming back to India.
Mr Kumar had a discussion with the chief executive about the nature of the problem being faced by the company so that he could fix up his priority. The chief executive advised him to consult various heads of department to have first hand information. However, he emphasised that the company lacked an integrated planning system while members of the Board of Directors insisted on introducing this in several meetings both formally and informally.
After joining as General Manager, Mr Kumar got briefings from the heads of all departments. He asked all heads to identify major problems and issues concerning them. The marketing manager indicated that in order to achieve higher sales, he needed more sales support. Sales people had no central organisation to provide sales support nor was there a generous budget for demonstration teams which could be sent to customers to win business.
The production manager complained about the old machines and equipments used in manufacturing. Therefore, cost of production was high but without corresponding quality. While competitors had better equipments and machinery, Bharat Engineering had neither replaced its age-old plant nor reconditioned it. Therefore to reduced the cost, it was essential to automate production lines by installing new equipment.
Director of research and development did not have specific problem and therefore, did not indicate for any change. However, a principal scientist in R&D indicated on one day that the director of R&D, though very nice in his approach, did not emphasize on short-term research projects, which could easily increase production efficiency by at least 20 per cent within a very short period without any major capital outlay.
Questions
(a) Discuss the nature and characteristics of the problems in this case.
(b) What steps should be taken by Mr Kumar to overcome these problems?
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