Business Communication
Case
Studies
CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
Shoppers
‘Delight’s large retail store, had above-average quality and competitive
prices. It advertised its retail promotions in local
newspapers.
Its TV advertising was mainly aimed at building store image and did not address
retail promotions. The management
knew it
well that they had to advertise their retail promotions more, but they did not
feel comfortable with the effectiveness of
persent
efforts and wanted to better understand the impact of their present promotions.
To better understand the effectiveness of the
present
efforts, a study of advertising exposure, interpretation, and purchases was
undertaken. Researchers conducted 50 in-depth
interviews
with customers of the store’s target market to determine the appropriate
product mix, price, ad copy and media, In
addition,
the store,s image and that of its two competitors were measured. Based on the
research findings, different product lines that
would
appeal to the target customer were selected. The retail promotion was run for a
full week .Full-page advertisements were
released
each day in the two local Hindi newspapers, and also in one English newapaper
that devotes six pages to the coverage of the
state.
Each evening, a sample of 100 target market customers were interviewed by
telephone as follows:1 .Target customers were
asked if
they had read the newspaper that day .This was done to determine their exposure
to advertisement.2.After a general
description
of the product lines, the respondents were asked to recall any related retail
advertisements they had seen or read.3.if the
respondents
were able to recall, they were asked to describe the ad, the promoted products,
sale prices, and the name of the
sponsoring
store.4.If the respondents were accurate in their ad interpretation ,they were
asked to express their intentions to
purchase.5.Respondents
were also asked for suggestions to be incorporated in future promotions
targeted at this consumer segment
.Immediately
after the close of promotion,500target market customers were surveyed to
determine what percentage of the target
market
actually purchased the promoted products. It also determined which sources of
information influenced them in their decision
to
purchase and the amount of their purchase. Results of the study showed that ad
exposure was 75% and ad awareness level was
68% and
was considered as high. Only 43% respondents exposed to and aware of the ad
copay could accurately recall important
details,
such as the name of the store promoting the retail sale. Just 43% correct
interpretation was considered as low. Of those who
could
accurately interpret the ad copay ,32% said they intended to respond by
purchasing the advertised products and 68 per cent sad
they had
no intention to buy. This yields an overall intention to buy of 7%.The largest
area of lost opportunity was due to those who
did not
accurately interpret the ad copay. The post-promotion survey indicated that
only 4.2% of the target market customers made
purchases
of the promoted products during the promotion period. In terms of how these
buyers learned of the promotion,46%
mentioned
newspaper A(Hindi) ,27% newspaper B (Hindi),8% newspaper c( English), and 15%
learned about sale through word-ofmouth
communication.
The retail promotion was judged as successful in many ways, besides yielding
sales worth
Rs.900,000.However
,management was concerned about not achieving a higher level of ad
comprehension, missing a significant
sales
opportunity. It was believed that a better ad would have at least 75% correct
comprehension among those aware of the ads. This
in turn
would almost double sales without any additional cost.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. Give
an overview of the case
Q2. How do
you think survey helps to determine the preferences and other needs of
consumers?
Q3.
Prepare a survey questionnaire of any company of your choice?
Q4.
Surveys are suitable of certain types of products and brands. Comment.
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CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
It is not
enough to be an outstanding business expert only back at home. As a member of
the European Union, Hungary is in great
need of
business and communication professionals who are able to understand the
challenges and key issues of international
economic
relations in order to exploit any opportunities that may arise. If you are
seeking to do that, you need secure knowledge of
economic
and business matters, a fluent command of a second language for professional
purposes and thorough practical and work
experience.
The International Business Economics program of MET offers exactly that. Our
graduate students, with professional
level ability
in at least two foreign languages, leave school as well-trained business
experts with the potential to achieve success and
immediate
results in the international business scene. THE PROGRAM IS DESIGNED FOR
INDIVIDUALS WHO are well
informed
with a keen interest in the world of international business, politics and the
media, who look to find their future career in an
international
environment and who are open to exposure to foreign cultures. Future students
should also be able to use two foreign
languages
for most personal needs with a desire to improve their existing language skills
so that they become an important asset both
in their
future career and for their companies.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. Why
the knowledge of at least two foreign languages is necessary for international
business? Discuss.
Q2. Give
an overview of the case.
CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
Ability to
swap content out quickly —Prior to rolling out the SnapComms solution, the
insurance company were limited to what
they could
put on staff screensavers. This was due to the fact that pushing out
screensaver content to staff computers was only done
once per
quarter, so the ability to change what was displayed was time consuming for the
desktop team. With the SnapComms
Screensaver
Messages solution, the Communications team have complete control of when
screensavers are displayed, how many are
displayed
at once, and they now have the additional benefit of being able to target
specific screensavers to different parts of the
business.
The assigned message administrators can deploy a screensaver whenever they need
to, without engaging the Desktop
Support
team to push it out manually, making the whole process a lot more efficient.
SnapComms has addressed the issues that were
impacting
staff communications at the insurance company. Important communications now get
the cut through they need in order to
keep staff
informed of potential issues at their location in real time. The Communications
team now has the ability to run targeted
internal
communications campaigns without having to rely on the desktop support team.
And the Compliance manager has the
ability
disseminate compliance communications across the business, with an eye to the
future of being able to quiz staff on policies
and track
results in real time.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. Give
an overview of the case
Q2.
“SnapComms does more than just reduce email overload” Comment.
CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
When you
do business internationally, you may assume that all businesspeople have the same
basic understandings. Although you
will find
a common appreciation for making profits and reducing costs, you may run across
business approaches that surprise you.
Diverse
cultures have different business values and practices. A little effort at gaining
some cultural literacy can help you deal
successfully
with people around the globe. It's important that you demonstrate that you are
a global citizen so international customers
are
willing to do business with you. It's not realistic to set a goal of gaining a
deep understanding of all the cultures you may deal
with in
the course of growing your international marketing. Instead, aim for a core
competency. According to an article in "Profit"
magazine,
you can look at six areas of knowledge you need: Familiarize yourself with
cultural attitudes about dealing with strangers,
language
barriers, how groups respond to sales pitches as either favors or cut-and-dried
presentations, local channels you must use
for brand
awareness, the technical proficiency and capacity of the country or region and
how the culture views the importance of
doing
things on time or relaxing about meeting times and deadline dates. You must
understand how a culture views business dealings
so you
know what style to use when approaching businesspeople in that culture. Some
cultures look at a transaction as a favor
among
friends, while others embrace the more American style of a straightforward
discussion about making money. Still others may
allow
business discussions only in certain settings and frown on them at other times.
Look into this aspect of the culture before you
make any
business proposals. You can evaluate your business transactions with a culture
different from your own in light of that
culture's
contextual clues. This helps you avoid gaffes and create business
communications that have a positive impact. The country's
history
and assumptions about Americans can affect how your message is received. Be
sensitive to hot-button issues and avoid any
phrases or
words that could suggest you look down on the culture or that you consider the
person you're dealing with to be a secondclass
citizen in
his own culture. This kind of cultural literacy is of utmost importance when
you communicate so you can avoid
unintentional
negative cultural messages when conducting business. Using internationally
accepted word choices and phrases
ensures
your business dealings won't be misunderstood. Some American phrases do not
translate well. For example, "We shall see"
means
"No" in China. Other phrases such as, "Flying by the seat of our
pants" or "Ballpark figure" may not have any meaning at all
in other
cultures. Scrutinize your written communications for figurative language that
may not translate. In addition, cut your verbal
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communications
to the basics. It's important for a company doing global business to remember
that the language at its home office
may not be
universal.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. How
can you increase business by increasing awareness of cultures? Discuss.
Q2. Why International
Business Communication is important? Debate.
Human
Resource Management
Case
Studies
CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
A
manufacturing company was importing raw material for production. The company
was incurring huge losses due to delay in
import
clearance of raw material as Custom had introduced a new system of clearance of
imported cargo through EDI. Mr. Rajan,
who was an
old employee of the company, was the in charge of clearance team. He was very
diligent, honest and an asset to the
company.
But somehow, he was reluctant to switch over to the electronics clearance
system of customs. He firmly believed in
custom
clearances of stores through hard copies of Bill of entry. He was due for promotion.
But his later performance was denying
him the
promotion. Company wanted to help him.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. What
may be the reason for adopting the same old procedure by Mr. Rajan.
Q2. Debate
as a HR Manager, how will you help Rajan so he does not loose promotion?
CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
This small
organization was struggling to retain valuable employees as larger companies
were luring people away with larger
salaries.
However, the people who left the company were often asking to return as their
salary was larger in the new firm but their
take-home
pay was less as a result of higher benefit costs. As such, we implemented our
Statements and met with employees
individually
to review the Statements. The reaction to the Wage & Benefit Statements was
overwhelmingly positive as most
employees
didn’t fully understand the value of the “hidden benefits” provided by the
company such as health insurance, life
insurance,
matching 401(k) payments, etc.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. Give
an overview of the case.
Q2.
Discuss why the take-home salary was less in larger new Give an overview of the
case companies.
CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
In a
pharmacy company manufacturing and marketing drugs and medicines, the research
staff has developed a number of new
products
and formulations which are effective. But at the same time it has to meet
severe competition from stalwarts with foreign
collaboration.
Mr. Shah, the Vice President Marketing, has a very successful Pharmacy
Marketing background. He has been with the
company
for the past 4 years. Mr. Shah had made ambitious plans for capturing a
sizeable share of the market in Gujarat. The
company
being medium sized, Mr. Shah had kept his marketing department and the
marketing team lean and trim. The field sales
staff was
given aggressive targets and was virtually pushed to reach the respective
targets. The field staff worked to their best
abilities
to complete their respective targets. Mr. Shah had himself been working almost
11-12 hours a day. There was no formal
appraisal
and reward system in the company. During last 5 years more than 60 Medical
Representatives and Area Supervisors had
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left the
company due to unsatisfactory increments and promotions. Those who left the
company were star workers. But Mr. Shah did
not care
for this high turnover. He was over confident that he would be able to hire
fresher’s and also select Candidates who were not
happy with
their remuneration in their respective companies. Mr. Shah had never
communicated to the field sales staff about their
performance
or reasons for not recognizing their outstanding performance in a few cases.
There was on the whole great
dissatisfaction
and good performers were leaving the company.
Answer the
following question.
Q1.
Enumerate the steps you will take to correct the situation?
Q2. In the
event of your suggesting a Performance Appraisal System, what type of appraisal
system would be suitable
and why.
Q3.
Discuss, if the appraisal system should also include merit, rewards and
promotions.
CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
In 2007,
Rolls Royce decided to close down one of its manufacturing units in Merseyside,
UK. This led to a large-scale retrenchment
of its
workforce. The decision was massively resented by the largest trade union body
of the UK, Unite. They felt that Rolls Royce
was
unjustly retrenching its highly skilled and loyal workforce. It doubted the
company's real intention behind the proposed closure.
The
company totally nullified the allegations made by Union. It claimed that to
circumvent the rising overhead expenses, it had been
forced by
circumstances to take such a measure. This resulted in industrial disputes and
mass agitations by the workers.
Answer the
following question.
Q1.
Discuss the factors that instigated the retrenchment of the skilled workforce
of Rolls Royce.
Q2. Analyze the role of HR
policies in shaping the image of a company.
Business
Communication
Answer the
following question.
Q1. What
is the time honored conventions for conducting Interviews? (10 marks)
Q2. Write
notes on Negotiation Climate (10 marks)
Q3.
Mention the 4 P’s of negotiation (10 marks)
Q4. Write
a short note on Planning &Drafting Speech (10 marks)
Q5. List
the 10 Communication of Improving listening Skill (10 marks)
Q6. List
the different Electronic modes of Communication & Explain the mode of
Communication (10 marks)
Q7.
Explain the 10 Commandments of Communication (10 marks)
Q8.
List the measures to overcome Communication barriers. (10 marks)
Human
Resource Management
Answer the
following question.
Q1. What
are the factors affecting Job Design? (10 marks)
Q2. Write
short note on Manpower planning? Forecasting manpower requirements (10 marks)
Q3. What
are the strategic challenges HRM facing? (10 marks)
Q4. What
is compensation? And what are the main objectives of compensation? (10 marks)
Q5. What
are the various categories of difficult employees? (10 marks)
Q6. Write
short note on Ownership (10 marks)
Q7.
Explain Job Description and Job Specification (10 marks)
Q8.
What is Human Resource Planning? (10 marks)
International
Business
Answer the
following question.
Q1. What
are the different forms of indirect distribution channel ? (10 marks)
Q2. What
is product branding and how does it help ? (10 marks)
Q3.
Describe International Product Life Cycle. (10 marks)
Q4. Write
down the reasons for investing in foreign markets. (10 marks)
Q5.
Describe the functions of financial market. (10 marks)
Q6.
Describe principles of trading system. (10 marks)
Q7. What
is DDU? (10 marks)
Q8. Explain theory of global
competitiveness alignment (10 marks)
Organizational
Behaviour
Answer the
following question.
Q1. Write
a short note on personnel effectiveness. (10
marks)
Q2.
Compare and contrast the ‘planned’ and ‘emergent’ approaches to effecting
organizational change. (10
marks)
Q3. Using
relevant theory, discuss the potential interplay of personal,
professional/occupational and organizational
identities
in the contemporary workplace. Draw out the management implications.
(10
marks)
Q4. What
are the key dimensions that underlie the concept of trust? (10
marks)
Q5.
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the selection interview (10
marks)
Q6. How
can managers shape employee behavior? (10
marks)
Q7. List
and explain the four ways employees can express job dissatisfaction. (10
marks)
Q8. What
do you mean by learning? (10
marks)
Principles
and Practice of Management
Case
Studies
Case (20
Marks)
Mechano
Engineering, a public company limited, with its registered office at Mumbai and
plants at Mumbai, Nasik and Bangalore,
was
established in 1946. The company manufactures engineering products, with wide
range of applications and the customers are
public utilities,
private clients, project authorities, etc. Due to recession, the company was
stagnant for couple of years but, of late, it
is showing
signs of progress. The workers were divided between two different unionsone
of them
with a positive outlook towards
the
management and the second with a conservative and somewhat hostile approach,
which resulted in interunion
rivalry,
violence,
work
stoppage and, to some extent, risk to their lives. The workers also resorted to
go slow, stoppage of work on minor issues rather
frequently.
It was observed that the employee’s turnover was also high. Due to recessionary
trend, the management decided to reduce
the work
force and control the operations, the union and the officers were kept
informed. When the final date of layoff and
retrenchment
and announced, the workers resorted to strike, violence etc. The management has
to protect them by calling in the
security
staff. This affected the company’s performance and the news spread like wild
fire in the market. The immediate impact of
this was
cancellation of the major others by the clients, which further worsened the
situation. The General Manager (works) and the
Personnel
Manager submitted their resignations due to frustration and not falling in the
line with management thinking. They felt the
management
was thinking conservative approach and was not bothered about consequences. The
marketing staff was demoralized
and many
of the junior officers resigned. The management was not able to come out of
this vicious circle and was really at a loss to
understand
the behavior of the staff.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. The
management would now like you to study the above situation and give your
recommendation to overcome the
present
crisis.
Q2. Why
the officers were resigning? Justify your answer.
Case (20
Marks)
This case
is about the bullfighting sport Jallikattu, which was popular in the south
Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Jallikattu was
traditionally
played during the annual Pongal celebrations and had a lot of cultural
significance. But activists alleged that the sport
caused a
lot of deaths and injuries to both the bulls and the participants. In response
to the protests against the bullfighting sport, the
Supreme
Court of India banned Jallikattu in May 2014. However, the government of India
had later lifted the ban on Jallikattu.
Some
sections of society and most of the leading political parties supported
Jallikattu and argued that it was part of south Indian
culture.
But activist groups said that they were determined to continue their fight on
bullfighting. In January 2016, India’s Ministry
of
Environment and Forests (MEF) issued a notification allowing Jallikattu, a
bullfighting sport popular in the south Indian state of
Tamil
Nadu, to be held during the annual Pongal season. Jallikattu had earlier been
banned by the country’s Supreme Court in
response
to a petition by animal rights activists. The decision of the MEF was flayed by
animal rights groups who alleged that there
were
political motives behind the order. However, all the leading political parties
in the state denied that there was any political
motive and
said their support for the bullfighting sport was for pure cultural reasons.
Despite the calls to ban the bullfighting sport,
Jallikattu
received support from some sections of society which considered it as a symbol
of south Indian culture and tradition
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Answer the
following question.
Q1.
Discuss the need to formulate public policy on issues with cultural
significance.
Q2.
Explain the need of a pragmatic approach to solve issues related to public
policy.
Case (20
Marks)
A large
dry cleaning operation had a central production facility that was fed by 7
regional dropoff/
pickup
locations.
The busy
seasons
(i.e., spring and fall) resulted in considerable customer dissatisfaction and
loss of business as product turnaround went from
4 and 5
days to 8 and 9 days. This project involved the use of Job Analysis techniques
to improve individual productivity, eliminate
bottlenecks
in the flow of material, assign to specific people, and increase throughput. We
worked in small groups with employees
and
managers to brainstorm problems and methods for meeting customer expectations
as we needed employees to fully buyin
to the
implementation.
Along with cross training, quality checks at each station rather than at the
final station, and proper maintenance
techniques
that eliminated breakdowns on machines, we were able to implement a production
program that guaranteed a 5day
turnaround
time throughout the year or the cleaning was free. Most items were returned to
the feeder stores in 3 days and the
company
was considering an additional advertising program for selected times of the
year as a result of this new competitive
advantage.
We also created a series of flash reports for alerting managers to problems in
the workflow.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. Give
an overview of the case.
Q2.
Discuss how the flow of materials/ throughput was improved
Case (20
Marks)
Bill
Corwin was employed by a large bank for several years. He started as a
messenger, and then was assigned to a branch. He
progressed
in this branch from a bookkeeping clerk to a platform assistant. In this
position he had a variety of duties largely
centering
on administrative assistance to the officers of the branch. The bank’s many
branches were divided regionally, each region
having a
group of officers responsible for the branches in that region. Bill was
transferred from the branch in which he had worked
for 12
years to a branch in another region. At the time of his transfer he was told
that the branch was completely “run down” as to
operational
procedures and systems. The branch had a normal complement of 4 officers and 35
staff members. One month prior to
Bill’s
transfer, one of the four officers had retired, and two weeks after this
retirement the branch manager was hospitalized with a
serious
illness. When Bill arrived at his new assignment, he found a rather demoralized
situation. Complete lack of interest was
shown by
the two remaining officers and the rest of the staff was not properly trained
or disciplined. The two officers did not know
Bill, and
they were informed by the regional office that he was being assigned to the
branch as a platform replacement for only two
weeks.
During his first week at the branch Bill discovered that the senior clerks were
not qualified to train other staff members,
customer
complaints were rampant, there was both a record of excessive absenteeism and
excessive overtime, and the branch had
received
very poor audit reports by the bank’s internal auditors with the same major
exceptions reported on the previous four audits.
After two
weeks Bill was called to the regional office and offered the job of operations
officer. He was told that he would receive the
official
title in two months,. He was also told that the present operations officer, who
had held the job at this branch for seven years,
was to be
relieved of all operational responsibilities and that he would be instructed to
work with Bill until the branch was
functioning
effectively. Bill returned to the branch and started on his assignment. He
found the former operations officer cooperative
for about
one week. Bill then decided to go ahead without the help of the former
operations officer. Over the next three months he
worked
almost every night until 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. He tried to correct the problems
that had developed over several years. The
training
of employees involved considerable time, and he found it necessary to release
12 clerks who were causing trouble in various
ways. The
remaining staff and replacements started to function smoothly. He received his
title as promised. Then the branch
manager
returned to work after his prolonged illness. A week after his returned he
called Bill to his office and questioned his efforts
in the
branch. He told Bill that the former operations officer had mentioned that he
was an upsetting influence in the branch, had
fired
several good people, did not know his job, and that he left his job early
several days a week.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. If you
were Bill, how would you answer the branch manager?
Q2. Did
the regional office handle Bill’s transfer properly? Explain
Q3. What
should be done by the regional office now?
Q4. Do you believe that Bill
can function effectively as a manager in this branch? Justify.
Public
Administration
Answer the
following question.
Q1.
Explain the Meaning, Scope and Significance of Public Administration, Public
and Private Administration, Evolution
of the
discipline and its present status
(10
marks)
Q2.
Describe the following:Evolution of Indian Administration (10
marks)
Q3.
Explain what you understand by Good Governance. Also briefly discuss on the
concept and application eGovernance
(10
marks)
Q4. Under
the Comparative Public Administration, discuss the Bureaucratic and Ecological
models (10
marks)
Q5.
Describe the following:Administration
of
Medieval India (10
marks)
Q6.
Describe the following:Administration
of Modern
India(from British Period) (10
marks)
Q7. How
Public Administration and Changing role of Bureaucracy play a crucial role as a
tool for Development (10
marks)
Q8. In the
context of liberalization how effective is Changing role of the Public Sector.
(10
marks)
Marketing
Management
Answer the
following question.
Q1.
Explain Test Marketing. (10
marks)
Q2.
Explain Sales Promotion Techniques (10
marks)
Q3.
Explain Forms of Direct Marketing. (10
marks)
Q4.
Discuss the role & importance of physical distribution in the consumer
products marketing. (10
marks)
Q5.
Explain Significance of Branding. (10
marks)
Q6.
Explain Channel conflicts (10
marks)
Q7. Give
the steps in launching a new product. Also give various methods of test
marketing a new Product. (10
marks)
Q8.
How will
you alter the marketing mix –intensity & composition ,as a product is
entering the maturity stage in the lifecycle?
How again
the marketing mix will have to be modified ,when the same product ,later on,
starts showing sales –
decline?
(10
marks)
Marketing
Management
Answer the
following question.
Q1. What
is Inventory Management (10
marks)
Q2.
Explain OnLine
marketing
(10
marks)
Q3.
Explain Warehousing and Inventory Decisions (10
marks)
Q4.
Present the major. issues affecting “costs’ in the context of Inventory ,
management. Explain your views citing
examples
(10
marks)
Q5. A New
brand of a ‘Tyre –thatNever
–punctures’
is to be launched in India by a multinational company with your
advice
about concept – testing and test marketing
Justify
your contention
(10
marks)
Q6.
Explain Cobranding
(10
marks)
Q7. What
do you mean by the term Physical Distribution? Explain briefly the nature &
importation in the sphere of
physical
distribution
(10
marks)
Q8. “Ware
– housing decision are growingly becoming more critical” . Discuss quoting
examples (10
marks)
Supply Chain Management
Answer the
following question.
Q1. Give
top seven strategies in effective inventory reduction (10 marks)
Q2. Write
a difficulties with the traditional beer game (10 marks)
Q3.
Describe the evolution of supply chain management (10 marks)
Q4. What
are multiple order opportunities? (10 marks)
Q5. Write
a short note on customer value measures (10 marks)
Q6.
Discuss simulation models and optimization techniques (10 marks)
Q7. Write
the impact of the internet on supply chain strategies? (10 marks)
Q8. Write a short note on
customer value measures? (10 marks)
Supply
Chain Management
Answer the
following question.
Q1. Write
the impact of the internet on supply chain strategies (10 marks)
Q2. States
the issues in international supply chain management. (10 marks)
Q3. Write
a note on Warehouse capacities (10 marks)
Q4. Write
the impact on transportation & Fulfillment. (10 marks)
Q5. What
is importance’s of business processes. (10 marks)
Q6. What
do you mean by selecting an appropriate strategy (10 marks)
Q7. Give
top seven strategies in effective inventory reduction? (10 marks)
Q8. Write a note on supply
chain performance measures? (10 marks)
Business
Ethics
Case
Studies
Case (20
Marks)
General
Motors, the world’s largest automobile manufacturer, accused Japan of currency
manipulation giving its automakers a huge
competitive
advantage in the US. market and causing significant harm to the US auto
industry. The company charged that Japan’s
weak ‘yen
policy’ gave its exporters an outright annual subsidy of up to 12,000 dollars
per vehicle exported to the United States,
giving an
expected windfall of two billion dollars to Japan’s automakers “This subsidy
has both facilitated the expansion of Japanese
companies
in the US and succeeded in keeping Americanbuilt
automobiles
out of Japan,” GM’s chief economist Mustafa
Mohatarem
told a congressional hearing. The impact of Japan’s sustained currency
manipulation is a key reason for a plethora of
problems
facing USowned
automakers,
Mohatarem told a USJapan
trade
hearing held by the House Representatives’ ways and
means
committee “However, it is frustrating, really unbelievable, to many of us in
this business and the American manufacturing
sector
that the Japanese government’s extraordinary $420 billion currency manipulation
program has gone unquestioned and
unchallenged,
while China has become the sole focus of attention as the threat to American
competitiveness,” he said. Lawmakers
criticized
the government for not being tough with Japan on its currency policy and sought
an explanation from David Loevinger,
deputy
assistant secretary at the US treasury, among other government officials
present at the hearing.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. Give
an overview of the case
Q2. Was
the accusation of General Motors against Japan justifiable? Explain.
Case (20
Marks)
What is
the biggest bane of the Indian system? Corruption. Statistics and action plan
released to PT by the Excise Department (Pune
Zone)
testifies to this. Tax evasion for excise duties for the year 20022003
has almost
doubled from the previous year, this year it is
Rs. 174
crore. R.K Tewari, Chief Commissioner, Customs and Central Excise, Pune zone
says, “We have launched a two year
program.
In our first year, we have made an attempt to get the actual evasion figures.
Figures till last year were highly understand.
This year
we are going to crack the whip on defaulters and we have a toughened action
plan for the same.” Another striking feature
is that
the collection of arrears is remarkably low. For the year 20012002,
it stood
at Rs. 22 crore. However, now with tax evasion
for this
year pegged at Rs. 174 crore, the department has fixed a target of Rs. 42 crore
for arrears collection. “Our action plan is
especially
designed for the same”, says Tewari. Why is collection so lukewarm? “This is
basically because of our legal system. Any
defaulter
fights us till the apex court and that takes years to sort out,” he explains.
As for the corruption in the department, Tewari
says “Some
people in the department could be working handinglove
with the
defaulters.” Tewari claims that the biggest defaulters
are not
the big corporates, but the small and medium scale industries.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. What
are your view points on the above case?
Q2. What
may be the reasons for the lower collection of the arrears of excise tax?
Elaborate.
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Case 12 (20
Marks)
Dallas:
For the last six months, many Roman Catholic priests have felt like the public
face of scandal, in their communities, even
though
most had no role in the sex abuse crisis engulfing the church. Now, they say, they
face a new concern: whether the blameless
in their
ranks will be hurt under the ambitious policy bishops have adopted to keep
abusive clergy away from parishioners. Under the
“Charter
for the Protection of Children and Young People,” clergymen who molest children
will never again be active in church
work, and
some will be formally removed from the priesthood. Many priests say they are
concerned about the document’s board
definition
of abuse, and they question whether the church leaders who approved it have
taken enough responsibility for their own
roles in
creating the moral emergency. “The policy is driven a lot more by public
sentiment than the principle of compassion.” said
the Rev.
Robert Silva, Head of the National Federation of priests’ Councils, which
claims a membership of about half of the nation
46,000
priests. Since the scandal erupted in January with the conviction of a former
Boston priest for molesting a boy, scores of
people
have come forward with accusations of sexual abuse by priests and indifference
from church leaders. At least 250 priests
have since
resigned or been suspended. Silva said priests – already anxious about their
interactions with children – we be even more
apprehensive
because of the definition of abuse the bishops approved on Friday. Abuse will
now be considered as any inappropriate
contact
with a child, regardless of whether it involves force, physical contact or
whether any harm is apparent. Silva called the
wording "very
frightening.” Philadelphia cardinal, Anthony Bevilacqua, who is a canon lawyer,
said he too was concerned by the
language
and hoped it would be clarified when the document comes under review in two
years. “It’s very difficult to come to a
definition,”
he said. “It must be something of a serious nature and involve some kind of
bodily interaction.” Silva also complained
that the
plan contained severe punishments for the priests but no sanctions for bishops
who mishandle abuse cases. The bishops have
informed a
national governor Frank Keating, to annually review whether church leaders are
complying with the policy. Some clergy
said that
wasn’t enough. The bishops added a clause saying they “deeply regret that any
of our decisions have obscured the good
work of
our priests.” But Mondignor Kenneth Lasch, a parish priest and canon lawyer in
Paterson, New Jersey, Diocese felt the
apology
sounded stilted.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. Give
an overview of the above case.
Q2.
Discuss the moral and ethical issues w.r.t the facts above.
Case (20
Marks)
Since the
story broke that VW deliberately buried emissions results in its software,
plenty has been written about this case of
corporate
malfeasance, perhaps more than any since Enron. The Volkswagen brand crisis
seems fairly straightforward to me. With
no mission
or values, I contend there is no hope for achieving VW’s goals ethically and in
a way to sustain the company. Some
confuse
mission statements with other corporate communications that are really
marketing taglines and slogans. Mission statements
are not
typically external documents, used to convince others of the value the company
creates. Rather the most effective mission
statements
are largely internal documents, guiding people within an organization about its
purpose and paired with a values
statement
so that organizations have clarity about both their purpose and how they are
going to achieve it. Volkswagen doesn’t have
a mission
statement. There were values stated in the 2006 annual report, but they
disappeared in future years. A vision statement
dated June
2011 pronounced: “By working in cooperation
with
politicians and society, the world of business can play a key part
when it
comes to combating serious environmental issues and social inequality.
Volkswagen's main contribution to the project is
related to
sustainable mobility.” An analysis by Strategic Management Insight 2013 could
find only this goal in lieu of a mission
statement:
“The Group’s goal is to offer attractive, safe, and environmentally sound
vehicles which can compete in an increasingly
tough
market and set world standards in their respective class.” SMI found Volkswagen
Group’s goal lacked any statement of values
or
philosophy, did not mention customers, employees, or technology. It achieved a
score of 1.6 out of a possible 4.5 in SMI’s
evaluation.
By 2014, Volkswagen’s annual report talked about its strategy. Still no
mission, no values: “Our Strategy 2018 focuses on
positioning
the Volkswagen Group as a global economic and environmental leader among
automobile manufacturers. We have
defined
four goals that are intended to make Volkswagen the most successful,
fascinating and sustainable automaker in the world by
2018.”
These goals related to innovation, customer satisfaction, sales, profits and
employee retention, but say nothing about core
values. In
2010, Volkswagen joined 21 other German automakers in 2010 in agreeing to a
“mission statement for responsible actions
in
business.” Yet it sill operated without a clear core set of defined beliefs or
values to guide VW’s work, or a motivational or reward
system
aligned with a mission. While the six principles seem wellintentioned
ecologically,
without a welldesigned
system to
support
this goal, Volkswagen missed achieving it, and in fact, behaved in a way
counter to its stated aspiration. Employees
everywhere
roll their eyes through discussions of mission, purpose, and values. For many,
uninterested in the larger system they
operate
within professionally, they seem bored sitting in long meetings listening to
what are for them buzzwords that get in the way
of the
real work to be done in any company. Volkswagen was the largest automaker in
the world in 2011, offering 13 brands from
Audi to
Porsche. That was a few strategies and vision statements ago. Today
Volkswagen’s share price is half what it was a year ago,
following
a precipitous stock price drop when news of the scandal broke. It’s recently
appointed CEO has been reported to take the
same
misleading software design approach during his time at Porsche. No surprise,
given that he was working in the same
purposeless
company, without an articulated set of values to guide his work. Much more will
likely be written about VW and, as it
not is its
first corporate scandal; perhaps the company’s epitaph is in the works. Bottom
line: no mission, no hope.
Answer the
following question.
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Q1.
Discuss why the effective mission statements should be paired with a values
statement.
Q2. Give your views on the
case and sustainability.
Human
Resource Management
Case
Studies
CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
In today's
rapidly changing business environment, organizations have to respond quickly to
requirements for people. Hence, it is
important
to have a welldefined
recruitment
policy in place, which can be executed effectively to get the best fits for the
vacant
positions.
Selecting the wrong candidate or rejecting the right candidate could turn out
to be costly mistakes for the organization.
Selection
is one area where the interference of external factors is minimal. Hence the HR
department can use its discretion in
framing
its selection policy and using various selection tools for the best results.
Most of the organizations now know the importance
of having
an effective recruitment and selection policy. The importance of a good
selection process that starts with gathering
complete
information about the applicant from his application form and ends with
inducting the candidate into the organization.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. What
is the importance of having an effective recruitment and selection policy in an
organization?
Q2.
Explain the recent trends that have influenced the process of recruitment and
selection in an organization.
Q3. What
are the various challenges faced by organizations in the process of recruiting
and selecting employees
Q4. Give
an overview off the case.
CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
The
president of the Academy Employment Service has inaugurated a Management by
Objectives program in order that more
accurate
appraisals may be made of professional personnel. Frank Bank, an employment
interviewer, has for the past year
established
relations with Small Business College, a privately run school in the southern
part of the state. It graduates about 25
people per
month and Bank had agreed to place as many of those who wanted placement in
trainingrelated
jobs.
Between 15 and 20
people per
month signed up for this service. When the president asked Bank to prepare
objectives for his job, this seemed to be one
of the
easy places to do it. Inasmuch as Bank was now placing about 35 percent of the
applicants, the president asked if he thought
he could
raise this to 50 percent. Bank assured him that he could. In reviewing Bank’s
accomplishments at the end of the 6month
period, it
was concluded by the personnel unit that Bank was placing only 5 to 7 percent
of the graduates in trainingrelated
jobs.
Several
lengthy and heated discussions took place regarding just what was meant by
trainingrelated.
Bank
considered any job to be
trainingrelated,
while the
personnel unit contended that the job content had to bear some relationship to
the training acquired in
school.
Moreover, if the placed student quit before 90 days of work, the personnel unit
would not classify this as a successful
placement.
Continuous documentation of Bank’s 5 to 7 percent performance against the 50
percent objective led to Bank’s serious
consideration
of early retirement.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. Is
this objective a wellstated
one? Why
or why not?
Q2. If you
were the president, how would you resolve the dispute between Bank and the
personnel unit?
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CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
Many
domestic and international IT and ITES companies are facing a talent crunch in
India due to the lack of quality manpower.
Infosys,
Wipro, IBM are some of the companies that are facing the problem of talent
shortage. In October 2006, Ram Shriram, a
founding
board member of Google Inc. said that the company faced a challenge of finding
candidates with the right skill sets in
India,
when compared to other parts of the world. He cited the shortage of web
development skills, web design technology
professionals,
and the need for more talented middlelevel
managers.
Analysts pointed out that these remarks were a further
indication
of the impending talent shortage in the Indian IT sector. NASSCOM had estimated
that, by 2010, India could face a
shortfall
of 500,000 IT professionals. It was believed that this could seriously threaten
India's position as a leading provider of IT
and ITES
services. According to NASSCOM, every year over 3 million people (graduates and
post graduates) are added to the
workforce
in India. Of these, only 25 percent of technical graduates and 1015
percent of
other graduates are considered employable
by the growing
IT and ITES sectors.
Answer the
following question.
Q1.
Discuss why only about 25% technical and 10% other graduates are found
employable in India.
Q2. Give
details of the measures required to be taken by India to enhance the
employability of fresh graduates.
CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
This
project involved improving the customer service skills, interpersonal skills,
and sales closing ratios of the plumbers. The
employees
were paid minimum wage but received a commission on sales that resulted in the
top 5 of the 20 plumbers making over
$100,000
per year, 10 plumbers earning between $50,000 and $70,000 per year and 5
plumbers earned significantly below $50,000
per year.
Having extensively analyzed the sales tactics of the top 5 plumbers, we were
able to isolate the best practices of their
closing
techniques and incorporate those techniques into a training program. Before the
training program, the top plumbers closed
about 7
out of 10 clients, while the middle group closed about 4 out of 10, and the
bottom group closed an average of 2 out of 10
clients.
After the program, there was relatively no change in the closing ratios of the
top plumbers, as was expected. In fact, we used
the top
plumbers as “instructors” during the program to provide evidence that the material
presented was not just theory. However,
the Blevel
plumbers
began closing an average of 6 out of 10 customers and the Clevel
producers,
who were still closing around 2
out of 10
clients, were targeted for termination. We subsequently worked for a few months
with the Sales Manager to provide regular
weekly
phone coaching of the Blevel
plumbers
to reinforce the skills from the training and to ensure that they didn’t slip
back into
their old
“sales comfort zones.”
Answer the
following question.
Q1. Give
the reasons for earning significantly low by the 5 out of 20 plumbers.
Q2.
Discuss the likely qualities of the plumbers earning much more than others.
Q3. Why
the training program was proposed by the project team?
Q4. Discuss the outcome of
the training and using top plumbers as instructors.
International
Business
Case
Studies
CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
Mahindra
& Mahindra (M & M) is a major player in the tractor and certain
segments of the automobile market in India. After an
impressive
growth for a few years, the tractor market in India has been stagnating during
19981999
to
20002001.
M & M
has been
selling
its tractors and utility vehicles in foreign markets including USA. Some of the
components for its products have been sourced
from abroad.
M & M has a 100 per cent subsidiary in USA, Mahindra USA, with a strong
network of 100 dealers. Mahindra has a
five per
cent market share in the US market in the 2030
horse
power (HP) range. As a part of the strategy aimed at building a global
supply
chain, Mahindra USA has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the
Korean tractor major Tong Yang, a part of
the $ 2
billion Tong Yang Moolsam group, according to which Mahindra will source high
horse power (mostly 2540
hp range)
and
sell them around
the world under the M & M brand name. To start with, the premium range of
tractors will be sold in the US. M &
M’s
current tractor range is more utilityoriented
and lacks
the aesthetic appeal that Tong Yang’s tractors have a must for a strong
presence
in the US market.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. What
are the advantages and disadvantages of global sourcing?
Q2. How
will the foreign market expansion help M & M?
Q3. How
does the strategic alliance with Tong Yang benefit M & M?
Q4. What
are the possible risks of the alliance? How can they be overcome/ minimized?
CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
The case
discusses UK based tobacco company British American Tobacco (BAT) business
strategies in South Korea. One of the
largest
tobacco companies in the world, BAT operated in more than 180 countries. South
Korea was a tough market and several
multinational
companies, which had found success in many countries across the world, were
unsuccessful when it came to South
Korea. In
such a scenario, BAT not only managed to enter the highly monopolized tobacco
market in Korea, but also carved a niche
for itself
and became the second largest player within few years. BAT entry into the
market coincided with the macroeconomic
changes
and liberalization in the country. By taking advantage of these changes, BAT
was able to establish itself firmly in the
market. By
gaining thorough understanding of the market, BAT introduced several new
products with low tar content for the Korean
consumers.
However, by early 2007, with changing attitudes towards smoking and increasing
prices of tobacco, industry experts felt
that BAT
could be in for some tough times ahead.
Answer the
following question.
Q1.
Analyze the entry and expansion strategies of BAT in South Korea.
Q2.
Examine the localization strategies of BAT in South Korea.
Q3.
Examine the challenges faced by BAT in South Korea.
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Foundation
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CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
The case
focuses on how retailing giant WalMart
struggled
in the Japanese market. It was the reason of WalMart's
decision
to go
global in
the early 1990s. The case is about WalMart's
entry
strategy and describes its efforts to bring in its best practices in retailing
like Every
Day Low Prices (EDLP) and Rollback to the Japanese market through its joint
venture with Seiyu. There were the
problems
that WalMart
faced in
Japan because of the differences between the operational and cultural
environment in its home
market and
the Japanese market. It finally ends with a discussion on the company's future
prospects in Japan.
Answer the
following question.
Q1.
Discuss the precautions to be taken for an entry strategy to an overseas
market.
Q2.
Explain the reasons for the success of a company in such markets
CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
The case
examines the 'China Strategy' of Danfoss, the Danish heating, ventilation and
air conditioning equipment manufacturer. It
describes
the reasons why Danfoss entered the Chinese market and the initial hurdles
faced by the company. Danfoss plans to make
China its
'second home' after Europe. The company had been making losses in the country
until 2001, after which the company
broke even
and started making profits. Danfoss had set a sales target of US$ 480 million
in China by 2008. The company followed
the
strategies to turn its operations profitable, whether the company will be able
to achieve its 2008 revenue target or not.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. Examine the advantages
and disadvantages of doing business in China.
Marketing Management
Case
Studies
CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
Ford
Motors (Ford), one of the biggest manufacturers of automobiles in the US lost
could not sustain its Lincoln brand due to
mismanagement.
The company Concentrated more on its trucks division for profits and let its
luxury car business slide. It faced
falling
sales and profits due to a bloated product line, which was out of sync with the
market. To get back to its former eminence,
Ford
initiated the rebranding of its Lincoln luxurycar
brand.
Answer the
following question.
Q1.
Explain the concepts of brand, brand image and brand loyalty in the context of
Ford.
CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
CocaCola
Company
was universally recognized as a market leader in soft drinks with worldwide
revenue of $23.1 billion and
presence in
over 200 countries (2006). The Company manufactured beverage concentrates and
syrups. The CocaCola
Company
owned four
of the world’s top five softdrink
brands,
which included CocaCola,
Diet Coke,
Fanta and Sprite. In America, sales of
carbonated
drinks declined a little in 2005 as government campaigns and media coverage
raised concerns over obesity. Bottled teas
and
nutritionenhancers
were big
opportunities for CocaCola.
Sales of
bottled teas were growing steadily and nutrient drinks had a
market of
about $1 billion by 2006. According to a study conducted by the National Center
for Health Statistics, Americans opted
for a
healthy alternative to their daily dose of energy instead of carbonated drinks.
The study prompted CocaCola
to go in
for the
calorie
burning Enviga. On 6th November, 2006, CocaCola
along with
Nestlé launched Enviga, a Nestea carbonated canned greentea
drink.
Enviga burnt 60 to 100 calories per three 12ounce
cans in
healthy adults aged between 1835
years. For
overweight
Americans,
the release of Enviga was meant to bring good news. According to CocaCola,
Enviga
helped in reducing obesity. But
according
to doctors green tea was unlikely to make anyone shrink, so the Center for
Science in the Public Interest, an organization
that focuses
on health and nutrition issues in US sued CocaCola
and Nestle
for their ad campaign of Enviga but the company had no
plans to
change its claims. In the recent past CocaCola
had
already faced two softdrink
flops out
of their four releases in the form
of
CocaCola
C2 and
Vanilla Coke. What would CocaCola's
strategy
be with the new drink? Would it be able to make it a success
despite
the initial controversy that surrounded it? Would consumers take to Enviga?
Answer the
following question.
Q1.
Discuss the trouble faced by CocaCola
in 2005.
Q2. Debate
CocaCola’s
marketing
strategies for Enviga and discuss whether ColcaCola
will
succeed in its new
product.
CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
In 1975,
HLL launched its first fairness cream under the F&L brand. With the launch
of F&L, the market, which was dominated by
Ponds
(Vanishing Cream and Cold Cream) and Lakme (Sunscreen Lotion), lost their
dominant position. The dominance of HLL's
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F&L
continued till 1998, when CavinKare launched its Fairever cream in direct
competition with F&L. In June 1999, the FMCG
major
Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL) announced that it would offer 50% extra volume on
its Fair & Lovely (F&L) fairness cream at
the same
price to the consumers. This was seen by industry analysts as a combative
initiative to prevent CavinKare's Fairever from
gaining
popularity in retail markets. HLL's scheme led to increased sales of F&L
and encouraged consumers to stay with F&L and
not shift
to the rival brand. In December 1999, Godrej Soaps created a new product
category fairness
soaps by
launching
its Fair
Glow
Fairness Soap. The product was successful and reported sales of more than Rs.
700 million in the first year of its launch.
Godrej
extended the brand to fairness cream by launching FairGlow Fairness Cream in
July 2000. By 2001, CavinKare's Fairever
fairness
cream, with the USP of 'a fairness cream with saffron' acquired a 15% share,
and F&L's share fell from 93% (in 1998) to
76%.
Within a year of its launch, Godrej's Fair Glow cream became the third largest
fairness cream brand, with a 4% share in the Rs.
6 billion
fairness cream market in India. he other players, including J.L. Morrison's
Nivea Visage fairness cream and Emami Group's
Emami
Naturally Fair cream, had the remaining 5% share. Clearly, the fairness cream
and soaps market was witnessing a fierce
battle
among the three major players HLL,
CavinKare,
and Godrej each
trying to
woo the consumer with their attractive schemes.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. Give
reasons for the loss of the dominant position of Ponds (Vanishing Cream and
Cold Cream) and Lakme
(Sunscreen
Lotion) in the market.
Q2. Who
were the major players of fairness ream? Describe the marketing strategy
adopted by by Hindustan Lever
Ltd. (HLL)
to gain popularity in retail market.
CASE
STUDY (20
Marks)
The Indian
watch industry was in a state of flux and market leader 'Titan' had to gear up
its marketing strategies to retain its brand
positioning.
Titan as a brand had established itself for its style and choice of design.
Titan's clear segmentation strategy had served it
well and
the challenge Titan faced was to combat the onslaught of popular international
brands like Rado and Rolex. Would Titan be
able to
match up by leveraging on its brand equity?
Answer the
following question.
Q1. State
the challenges faced by an Indian watch brand due to the entry of foreign
players
Q2. Analyze the impact of
brand equity for market sustenance.
Principles
and Practice of Management
Case
Studies
Case (20
Marks)
A
manufacturing company was importing raw material for production. The company
was incurring huge losses due to delay in
import
clearance of raw material. Custom had introduced a new system of clearance
through EDI. Mr. Rajan, who was an old
employee
of the company, was the in charge of clearance team. He was very diligent,
honest and an asset to the company. But
somehow,
he was reluctant to switch over to electronics clearance system of customs. He
firmly believed in custom clearances of
stores
through hard copies of Bill of entry. He was due for promotion. But his later
performance was denying him the promotion.
Company
wanted to help him.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. What
may be the reason for adopting the same old procedure by Mr. Rajan? Discuss.
Q2. As a
HR Manager, how will you help Rajan so he does not loose promotion? Explain.
Case (20
Marks)
You are
the head of a large department and several supervisors report to you. Recently
you were confronted with a knotty problem. It
seems that
one of the supervisors had gotten into a loud and disagreeable argument with an
employee. You called the supervisor to
your
office to hear his story. The supervisor admitted losing his temper and
shouting at the employee, but he believed it was justified.
He had
been observing the employee over the year the man had been with the company.
During this period the employee had been
frequently
late, and his absentee rate was above average. In addition, the supervisor went
on to say that the employee was a
socializer
on the job, frequently leaving his work to talk to other employees and to use
the telephone for personal calls. The
supervisor
then said that the proverbial last straw caused his outburst. The employee had
come in late, and after about an hour of
work he
made a telephone call which the supervisor had timed as lasting 14 minutes. The
supervisor then started his tirade. The
employee
denied being on the telephone that long, the supervisor called him a liar, and
they continued the vituperative exchange
which
ended when you called the supervisor to your office. After listening to the
supervisor, you asked him if he had disciplined the
employee
before, since apparently he had a poor record. You also asked if the employee
had been placed on probation or had been
warned.
The supervisor looked at you sheepishly and seemed reluctant to answer. You
pressed him, for an answer, and he finally
blurted
out that he was afraid to discipline the employee because he was black. He
stated that the impression he had from you and
higher
management was that black employees should be given special treatment so that
they would feel welcome and not
discriminated
against. He felt the company wanted to impress the public with its
forwardlooking
employment
practices and didn’t
want any
trouble with the black community. As a result, he was lax in discipline and had
kept a handsoff
approach
with all black
employees
until his outburst. He said he couldn’t stand it anymore, and the 14mintue
telephone
call caused him to lose his temper.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. Why
would a supervisor find it difficult to communicate with a black employee?
Q2. Could
the company have done anything to offset the misunderstanding the supervisor
apparently had about the
treatment
of black employees?
4/25/2017 Aeren
Foundation
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Q3. To
what extent did the supervisor’s lack of communication encourage the employee
to think his behavior was
satisfactory?
Explain.
Q4. What
would you now tell the supervisor?
Case (20
Marks)
National
Printers LTD, is a nationwide company engaged in printing and packaging
industry with a market share of around 20 per
cent. Its
corporate office at Mumbai, is a buzz with the appointment of director,
personnel, Mr.Shashikant and today he’s to present
his ideas
in first meeting he has called. The meeting attended by three VicePresident,
heads of
finance, marketing and around 45
managers,
started and he was called upon to present his views. Mr.Shashikant started, “my
division is responsible for developing
performance
standards evaluation and personnel development of line managers. I want to
specially focus on larger issue of
developing
their abilities the company has relied upon evaluation by superiors and
personnel department. But may I suggest, that the
performance
of the manager should be evaluated by adding one more element, i.e.,
information obtained from their subordinates.”
He added,
“I propose a procedure for obtaining information on key parameters as viewed by
the subordinates. The procedure is
simple.
Each manager and his subordinates will meet in presence of personnel trainer
and discuss the concept. One trainer would
then
complete a question which would indicate his/her expertise, people skills,
functional skills, etc. the subordinates will judge the
manager on
numerical scale and also provide base for such rating. The responses should be
kept anonymous, if desired”. “Once all
the
information is received, trainers will meet managers, brief them and discuss.
The purpose is to develop a plan where provisions
of
corrective actions, training programs and skill enhancement can be suggested”.
Mr.Shashikant concluded by reaffirming that the
exercise
will provide valuable information and feedback and also help managers to
develop themselves. He said once the offer is
accepted,
standards for performance shall be developed by the top management and then
further steps would be taken.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. As a
manager with this company. What’s your reaction to this offer?
Q2. Give
reasons, if you agree for training on skill development based on the
performance report
Case (20
Marks)
The
president of Simplex Mills sat at his desk in the hushed atmosphere, so typical
of business offices, after the close of working
hours. He
was thinking about Rehman, the manager incharge
of
purchasing, and his ability to work with George, the production
manager,
and Vipulabh, the marketing and sales manager in the firm. When the purchasing
department was established two years
ago, both
George and Vipulabh agreed with the need to centralize this function and place
a specialist in charge. George was of the
view that
this would free his supervisors from detailed ordering activities. Vipulabh
opined that the flow of materials into the firm
was
important enough to warrant a specialized management assignment. Yet since the
purchasing department began operating it has
been
precisely these two managers who have had a number of confrontations with the
new purchase manager, and occasionally with
one
another, in regard to the way the purchasing function in being carried out.
From George’s point of view, instead of simplifying
his job as
production manager by taking care of purchasing for him, the purchasing
department has developed a formal set of
procedures
that has resulted in as much time commitment on his part as he had previously
spent in placing his orders directly with
vendors.
Further, he is specially irritated by the fact that his need for particular
items or particular specification is constantly being
questioned
by the purchasing department. When the department was established, George
assumed that the purchasing manager was
there to
fill his needs, not to question them. As Vipulabh sees it, the purchasing
function is an integral part of marketing function,
and the
two therefore need to be jointly managed as a unified process. Purchasing
function cannot be separated from a firm’s overall
marketing
strategy. However, Rehman has attempted to carry out the purchasing function
without regard for this obvious relationship
between
his responsibilities and those of Vipulabh, thus making a unified marketing
strategy impossible. In his previous position,
Rehman had
worked in the purchasing department of a firm considerably larger than Simplex.
Before being hired, he was
interviewed
by all the top managers, including George and Vipulabh, but it was the
president himself who negotiated the details of
the job
offer. As Rehman sees it, he was hired as a professional to do a professional
job. Both George and Vipulabh have been
distracting
him from this goal by presuming that he is somehow subordinate to them, which
he believes is not the case. The people in
the
production department, who use the purchasing function most, have complained
about the detail that he requires on their
requisitions.
But he has documented proof that materials are now being purchased much more
economically than they were under
the former
decentralised system. He finds Vipulabh’s interests more difficult to
understand, since he sees no particular relationship
between
his responsibilities for efficient procurement, and Vipulabh’s responsibilities
to market the firm’s products. The president
has been
aware of the continuing conflict among three managers for some time, but on the
theory that a little rivalry is healthy and
stimulating,
he has felt that it was nothing to be unduly concerned about. But now that much
of his time is being taken up by much
of what he
considers to be petty bickering, the time has come to take some positive action.
Answer the
following question.
Q1. Is
George’s view of the situation realistic? Explain
Q2. How do
you evaluate Vipulabh’s position? Elaborate.
Q3. How
might this conflict be associated with factors in the formal organization?
Q4. What
should the president of Simplex Mills do now? Explain
