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Human Resource Management
Subject Code-B102
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
This section consists of Multiple Choice and Short Answer type questions.
Answer all the questions.
Objective Question carries 1 mark each &Short Question carries 5 marks each.
Part One
Multiple Choices:
1. It is a cultural attitude marked by the tendency to regard one’s own culture as superior to others
a. Geocentrism
b. Polycentrism
c. Ethnocentrism
d. Egocentrism
2. It is the systemic study of job requirements & those factors that influence the performance of
those job requirements
a. Job analysis
b. Job rotation
c. Job circulation
d. Job description
3. This Act provides an assistance for minimum statutory wages for scheduled employment
a. Payment of Wages Act, 1936
b. Minimum Wages Act, 1948
c. Factories Act, 1948
d. Payment of Gratuity act, 1972
4. __________ is the actual posting of an employee to a specific job
a. Induction
b. Placement
c. Attrition
d. None
5. Broadening an individual’s knowledge, skills & abilities for future responsibilities is known as
a. Training
b. Development
c. Education
d. Mentoring
Examination Paper of Human Resource Management
2
IIBM Institute of Business Management
6. Change that is designed and implemented in an orderly and timely fashion in anticipation of
future events
a. Planned change
b. Technology change
c. Structural change
d. None
7. It is a process for setting goals and monitoring progress towards achieving those goals
a. Performance appraisal
b. Performance gap
c. Performance factor
d. Performance management system
8. A method which requires the rates to provide a subjective performance evaluation along a scale
from low to high
a. Assessment centre
b. Checklist
c. Rating scale
d. Monitoring
9. It is the sum of knowledge, skills, attitudes, commitment, values and the liking of the people in an
organization
a. Human resources
b. Personal management
c. Human resource management
d. Productivity
10. A learning exercise representing a real-life situation where trainees compete with each other to
achieve specific objectives
a. Executive development
b. Management game
c. Programmed learning
d. Understudy
Part Two:
1. What is the importance of Career Planning in industry?
2. List the various features of HRM.
3. How can you explain the concept of Performance Appraisal?
4. Differentiate between on- the- job and off- the- job training.
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper of Human Resource Management
3
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
This section consists of Caselets.
Answer all the questions.
Each Caselet carries 20 marks.
Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150-200 words).
Caselet 1
Uptron Electronics Limited, is a pioneering and internationally reputed firm in the electronics
industry. It is one of the largest firm in the country. It attracted employees from internationallyreputed
institute and industries by offering high salaries, perks, etc. It has advertized for the position
of an electronic engineer recently. Nearly 150 candidates applied for the jobMr. Sashidhar, an
electronics Engineering Graduate from the Indian Institute Of Technology with 5 years working
experience in a medium sized electronics firm, was selected from among the 130 candidates who took
tests and interview. The interview board recommended an enhancement in his salary by Rs 5,000
more than his present salary at his request. Mr Sashidhar was very happy to achieve this and he was
congratulated by a number of people including his previous employer for his brilliant interview
performance, and wished him good luck.
Mr Sashidhar joined Uptyron Electronics Ltd., on 21st January, 2002, with greater enthusiasm. He
also found his job to be quite comfortable and a challenging one and he felt it was prestigious to work
with this company during the formative years of his career. He found his superiors as well as
subordinates to be friendly and cooperative. But this climate did not live long. After one year of his
service, he slowly learnt about a number of unpleasant stories about the company, management, the
superior subordinate relations, rate of employee turnover, especially at higher level But he decided to
stay on as he has promised several things to the management in the interview. He wanted to please
and change the attitude of management through his diligent performance, firm commitment and
dedication. He started maximizing his contributions and the management got the impression that Mr.
Sashidhar had settled down and will remain in the company.
After some time, the superiors started riding rough- shod over Mr Sashidhar. He was overloaded with
multifarious jobs. His freedom in deciding and executing was cut down. He was ill treated on a
number of occasions before his subordinates. His colleagues also started assigning their
responsibilities to Mr Sashidhar. Consequently there were imbalances in his family life and
organizational life. But he seemed to be calm and contented. Management felt that Mr Sashidhar had
the potential to bear with many more organizational responsibilities.
So the general manager was quite surprised to see the resignation letter of Mr Sashidhar along with a
cheque equivalent to a month’s salary one fine morning on 18th January, 2004. The General Manager
failed to convince Mr Sashidhar to withdraw his resignation. The General Manager relieved him on
25th January, 2004. The General Manager wanted to appoint a committee to go into the matter
immediately, but dropped the idea later.
Questions:
1. What is wrong with the recruitment policy of the company?
2. Why did Mr. Sashidhar’s resignation surprise the General Manager?
Examination Paper of Human Resource Management
4
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Caselet 2
The contexts in which human resources are managed in today's organizations are constantly,
changing. No longer do firms utilize one set of manufacturing processes, employ a homogeneous
group of loyal employees for long periods of time or develop one set way of structuring how work is
done and supervisory responsibility is assigned. Continuous changes in who organizations employ
and what these employees do require HR practices and systems that are well conceived and
effectively implemented to ensure high performance and continued success.
1. Automated technologies nowadays require more technically trained employees possessing
multifarious skills to repair, adjust or improve existing processes. The firms can't expect these
employees (Gen X employees, possessing superior technical knowledge and skills, whose attitudes
and perceptions toward work are significantly different from those of their predecessor organizations:
like greater self control, less interest in job security; no expectations of long term employment;
greater participation urge in work activities, demanding opportunities for personal growth and
creativity) to stay on without attractive compensation packages and novel reward schemes.
2. Technology driven companies are led by project teams, possessing diverse skills, experience and
expertise. Flexible and dynamic organizational structures are needed to take care of the expectations
of managers, technicians and analysts who combine their skills, expertise and experience to meet
changing customer needs and competitive pressures.
3. Cost cutting efforts have led to the decimation of unwanted layers in organizational hierarchy in
recent times. This, in turn, has brought in the problem of managing plateau employees whose careers
seem to have been hit by the delivering process. Organizations are, therefore, made to find alternative
career paths for such employees’
4. Both young and old workers, these days, have values and attitudes that stress less loyalty to the
company and more loyalty to oneself and one's career than those shown by employees in the past,
Organizations, therefore, have to devise appropriate HR policies and strategies so as to prevent the
flight of talented employees
Question:-
1. Discuss that technological breakthrough has brought radical changes in HRM.
END OF SECTION B
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
This section consists of applied theory Questions.
Answer all the questions.
Each question carries 15 marks
Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150-200 words).
1. Several types of interviews are commonly used depending on the nature & importance of the
position to be filled within an organization. Explain the different types of Interviews.
2. How would you explain Organizational Change and Development?
END OF SECTION C
Human Resource Management
Subject Code-B102
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
This section consists of Multiple Choice and Short Answer type questions.
Answer all the questions.
Objective Question carries 1 mark each &Short Question carries 5 marks each.
Part One
Multiple Choices:
1. It is a cultural attitude marked by the tendency to regard one’s own culture as superior to others
a. Geocentrism
b. Polycentrism
c. Ethnocentrism
d. Egocentrism
2. It is the systemic study of job requirements & those factors that influence the performance of
those job requirements
a. Job analysis
b. Job rotation
c. Job circulation
d. Job description
3. This Act provides an assistance for minimum statutory wages for scheduled employment
a. Payment of Wages Act, 1936
b. Minimum Wages Act, 1948
c. Factories Act, 1948
d. Payment of Gratuity act, 1972
4. __________ is the actual posting of an employee to a specific job
a. Induction
b. Placement
c. Attrition
d. None
5. Broadening an individual’s knowledge, skills & abilities for future responsibilities is known as
a. Training
b. Development
c. Education
d. Mentoring
Examination Paper of Human Resource Management
2
IIBM Institute of Business Management
6. Change that is designed and implemented in an orderly and timely fashion in anticipation of
future events
a. Planned change
b. Technology change
c. Structural change
d. None
7. It is a process for setting goals and monitoring progress towards achieving those goals
a. Performance appraisal
b. Performance gap
c. Performance factor
d. Performance management system
8. A method which requires the rates to provide a subjective performance evaluation along a scale
from low to high
a. Assessment centre
b. Checklist
c. Rating scale
d. Monitoring
9. It is the sum of knowledge, skills, attitudes, commitment, values and the liking of the people in an
organization
a. Human resources
b. Personal management
c. Human resource management
d. Productivity
10. A learning exercise representing a real-life situation where trainees compete with each other to
achieve specific objectives
a. Executive development
b. Management game
c. Programmed learning
d. Understudy
Part Two:
1. What is the importance of Career Planning in industry?
2. List the various features of HRM.
3. How can you explain the concept of Performance Appraisal?
4. Differentiate between on- the- job and off- the- job training.
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper of Human Resource Management
3
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
This section consists of Caselets.
Answer all the questions.
Each Caselet carries 20 marks.
Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150-200 words).
Caselet 1
Uptron Electronics Limited, is a pioneering and internationally reputed firm in the electronics
industry. It is one of the largest firm in the country. It attracted employees from internationallyreputed
institute and industries by offering high salaries, perks, etc. It has advertized for the position
of an electronic engineer recently. Nearly 150 candidates applied for the jobMr. Sashidhar, an
electronics Engineering Graduate from the Indian Institute Of Technology with 5 years working
experience in a medium sized electronics firm, was selected from among the 130 candidates who took
tests and interview. The interview board recommended an enhancement in his salary by Rs 5,000
more than his present salary at his request. Mr Sashidhar was very happy to achieve this and he was
congratulated by a number of people including his previous employer for his brilliant interview
performance, and wished him good luck.
Mr Sashidhar joined Uptyron Electronics Ltd., on 21st January, 2002, with greater enthusiasm. He
also found his job to be quite comfortable and a challenging one and he felt it was prestigious to work
with this company during the formative years of his career. He found his superiors as well as
subordinates to be friendly and cooperative. But this climate did not live long. After one year of his
service, he slowly learnt about a number of unpleasant stories about the company, management, the
superior subordinate relations, rate of employee turnover, especially at higher level But he decided to
stay on as he has promised several things to the management in the interview. He wanted to please
and change the attitude of management through his diligent performance, firm commitment and
dedication. He started maximizing his contributions and the management got the impression that Mr.
Sashidhar had settled down and will remain in the company.
After some time, the superiors started riding rough- shod over Mr Sashidhar. He was overloaded with
multifarious jobs. His freedom in deciding and executing was cut down. He was ill treated on a
number of occasions before his subordinates. His colleagues also started assigning their
responsibilities to Mr Sashidhar. Consequently there were imbalances in his family life and
organizational life. But he seemed to be calm and contented. Management felt that Mr Sashidhar had
the potential to bear with many more organizational responsibilities.
So the general manager was quite surprised to see the resignation letter of Mr Sashidhar along with a
cheque equivalent to a month’s salary one fine morning on 18th January, 2004. The General Manager
failed to convince Mr Sashidhar to withdraw his resignation. The General Manager relieved him on
25th January, 2004. The General Manager wanted to appoint a committee to go into the matter
immediately, but dropped the idea later.
Questions:
1. What is wrong with the recruitment policy of the company?
2. Why did Mr. Sashidhar’s resignation surprise the General Manager?
Examination Paper of Human Resource Management
4
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Caselet 2
The contexts in which human resources are managed in today's organizations are constantly,
changing. No longer do firms utilize one set of manufacturing processes, employ a homogeneous
group of loyal employees for long periods of time or develop one set way of structuring how work is
done and supervisory responsibility is assigned. Continuous changes in who organizations employ
and what these employees do require HR practices and systems that are well conceived and
effectively implemented to ensure high performance and continued success.
1. Automated technologies nowadays require more technically trained employees possessing
multifarious skills to repair, adjust or improve existing processes. The firms can't expect these
employees (Gen X employees, possessing superior technical knowledge and skills, whose attitudes
and perceptions toward work are significantly different from those of their predecessor organizations:
like greater self control, less interest in job security; no expectations of long term employment;
greater participation urge in work activities, demanding opportunities for personal growth and
creativity) to stay on without attractive compensation packages and novel reward schemes.
2. Technology driven companies are led by project teams, possessing diverse skills, experience and
expertise. Flexible and dynamic organizational structures are needed to take care of the expectations
of managers, technicians and analysts who combine their skills, expertise and experience to meet
changing customer needs and competitive pressures.
3. Cost cutting efforts have led to the decimation of unwanted layers in organizational hierarchy in
recent times. This, in turn, has brought in the problem of managing plateau employees whose careers
seem to have been hit by the delivering process. Organizations are, therefore, made to find alternative
career paths for such employees’
4. Both young and old workers, these days, have values and attitudes that stress less loyalty to the
company and more loyalty to oneself and one's career than those shown by employees in the past,
Organizations, therefore, have to devise appropriate HR policies and strategies so as to prevent the
flight of talented employees
Question:-
1. Discuss that technological breakthrough has brought radical changes in HRM.
END OF SECTION B
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
This section consists of applied theory Questions.
Answer all the questions.
Each question carries 15 marks
Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150-200 words).
1. Several types of interviews are commonly used depending on the nature & importance of the
position to be filled within an organization. Explain the different types of Interviews.
2. How would you explain Organizational Change and Development?
END OF SECTION C
CASE: I ARROW AND THE APPAREL INDUSTRY
Ten years ago, Arvind Clothing Ltd., a
subsidiary of Arvind Brands Ltd., a member of the Ahmedabad based Lalbhai
Group, signed up with the 150- year old Arrow Company, a division of Cluett
Peabody & Co. Inc., US, for licensed manufacture of Arrow shirts in India.
What this brought to India was not just another premium dress shirt brand but a
new manufacturing philosophy to its garment industry which combined high
productivity, stringent in-line quality control, and a conducive factory
ambience.
Arrow’s first plant, with a 55,000
sq. ft. area and capacity to make 3,000 to 4,000 shirts a day, was established
at Bangalore in 1993 with an investment of Rs 18 crore. The conditions inside—with
good lighting on the workbenches, high ceilings, ample elbow room for each
worker, and plenty of ventilation, were a decided contrast to the poky,
crowded, and confined sweatshops characterising the usual Indian apparel
factory in those days. It employed a computer system for translating the
designed shirt’s dimensions to automatically mark the master pattern for
initial cutting of the fabric layers. This was installed, not to save labour
but to ensure cutting accuracy and low wastage of cloth.
The over two-dozen quality
checkpoints during the conversion of fabric to finished shirt was unique to the
industry. It is among the very few plants in the world that makes shirts with 2
ply 140s and 3 ply 100s cotton fabrics using 16 to 18 stitches per inch. In
March 2003, the Bangalore plant could produce stain-repellant shirts based on
nanotechnology.
The reputation of this plant has
spread far and wide and now it is loaded mostly with export orders from
renowned global brands such as GAP, Next, Espiri, and the like. Recently the
plant was identified by Tommy Hilfiger to make its brand of shirts for the
Indian market. As a result, Arvind Brands has had to take over four other
factories in Bangalore on wet lease to make the Arrow brand of garments for the
domestic market.
In fact, the demand pressure from
global brands which want to outsource form Arvind Brands is so great that the
company has had to set up another large factory for export jobs on the
outskirts of Bangalore. The new unit of 75,000 sq. ft. has cost Rs 16 crore and
can turn out 8,000 to 9,000 shirts per day. The technical collaborators are the
renowned C&F Italia of Italy.
Among the cutting edge
technologies deployed here are a Gerber make CNC fabric cutting machine,
automatic collar and cuff stitching machines, pneumatic holding for tasks like
shoulder joining, threat trimming and bottom hemming, a special machine to
attach and edge stitch the back yoke, foam finishers which use air and steam to
remove creases in the finished garment, and many others. The stitching machines
in this plant can deliver up to 25 stitches per inch. A continuous monitoring
of the production process in the entire factory is done through a computerised
apparel production management system, which is hooked to every machine. Because
of the use of such technology, this plant will need only 800 persons for a
capacity which is three times that of the first plant which employs 580
persons.
Exports of garments made for
global brands fetched Arvind Brands over Rs 60 crore in 2002, and this can
double in the next few years, when the new factory goes on full stream. In
fact, with the lifting of the country-wise quota regime in 2005, there will be
surge in demand for high quality garments from India and Arvind is already
considering setting up two more such high tech export-oriented factories.
It is not just in the area of
manufacture but also retailing that the Arrow brand brought a wind of change on
the Indian scene. Prior to its coming, the usual Indian shirt shop used to be a
clutter of racks with little by way of display. What Arvind Brands did was to
set up exclusive showrooms for Arrow shirts in which the functional was
combined with aesthetic. Stuffed racks and clutter eschewed. The product were
displayed in such a manner the customer could spot their qualities from a
distance. Of course, today this has become standard practice with many other
brands in the country, but Arrow showed the way. Arrow today has the largest
network of 64 exclusive outlets across India. It is also present in 30 retail
chains. It branched into multi-brand outlets in 2001, and is present in over
200 select outlets.
From just formal dress shirts in
the beginning, the product range of Arvind Brands has expanded in the last ten
years to include casual shirts, T-shirts, and trousers. In the pipeline are
light jackets and jeans engineered for the middle-aged paunch. Arrow also tied
up with the renowned Italian designer, Renato Grande, who has worked with names
like Versace and Marlboro, to design its Spring / Summer Collection 2003. The
company has also announced its intention to license the Arrow brand for other
lifestyle accessories like footwear, watches, undergarments, fragrances, and
leather goods. According to Darshan Mehta, President, Arvind Brands Ltd., the
current turnover at retail prices of the Arrow brand in India is about Rs 85
crore. He expects the turnover to cross Rs 100 crore in the next few years, of
which about 15 per cent will be from the licensed non-clothing products.
In 2005, Arvind Brands launched a
major retail initiative for all its brands. Arvind Brands licensed brands
(Arrow, Lee and Wrangler) had grown at a healthy 35 per cent rate in 2004 and
the company planned to sustain the growth by increasing their retail presence.
Arvind Brands also widened the geographical presence of its home-grown brands,
such as Newport and Ruf-n Tuf, targeting small towns across India. The company
planned to increase the number of outlets where its domestic brands would be
available, and draw in new customers for readymades. To improve its presence in
the high-end market, the firm started negotiating with an international brand
and is likely to launch the brand.
The company has plans to expand
its retail presence of Newport Jeans, from 1200 outlets across 480 towns to
3000 outlets covering 800 towns.
For a company ranked as one of the
world’s largest manufactures of denim cloth and owners of world famous brands,
the future looks bright and certain for Arvind Brands Ltd.
Company profile
Name of the Company : Arvind Mills
Year of Establishment : 1931
Promoters : Three
brothers--Katurbhai, Narottam
Bhai,
and Chimnabhai
Divisions : Arvind
Mills was split in 1993 into
Units—textiles, telecom and
garments. Arvind Ltd. (textile unit) is 100 per cent subsidiary of Arvind
Mills.
Growth Strategy
: Arvind
Mills has grown through buying-up of sick units, going global and acquisition
of German and US brand names.
Questions
1.
Why did Arvind Mills choose globalization as the major route to achieve
growth when the domestic market was huge?
2.
How does lifting of ‘Country-wise quota regime’ help Arvind Mills?
3.
What lessons can other Indian businesses learn form the experience of
Arvind Mills?
CASE – 1 (15 Marks)
Tony the Tiger goes Global
Kellogg Company has distribution in more than 150 countries and yet is still “unknown to half the world’s
population.” according to Arnold Langbo, Kellogg’s CEO. Langbo plans to change that.
Kellogg recently built a company—owned cereal plant in Latvia and currently has sales in Poland, Hungary
and Czechoslovakia. It has also started construction on a plant in India and is entering China. However
international expansion and the development of global brands will not be easy.
To become more international, the firm recently reorganized into four divisions :North America,Latin
America, Europe and Australasia. According to Langbo:
The way we used to be organized, we were a US-based Multinational-a company with a big domestic business
and, by the way,some international business. That was the way we were thinking; that’s the way the
organization was structured.
Today, if you talk to customers in the UK, Canada, or Australia, they think of Kellogg’s as being based in the
U.K or Canada or Australia. We’re global in organizational structure and business but also multidomestic.
We now have a number of truly global brands (Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes, with Froot Loopa and Rice
Krispies close, and Frosted Mini-Wheats and Honey Nut loops moving rapidly).There used to be slight
variations in our food around the world, but now you’ll recognize the product wherever you go.
Expanding into many markets will involve more than trying to gain share from other cereal marketers. It
will require altering long—held traditions:
In Eastern Europe it’s going to he pretty slow because we’re going to have to go in there and literally create
the habit—much as we did in Germany 25 years ago or France 20 years ago. Cereal is a whole new breakfast
concept for these people. However, they do eat breakfast in those countries, and they eat fairly substantial
breakfasts.
In Asia, consumers are used to eating something warm, soft, and savory for breakfast—and we’re going to sell
them something that’s cold, crisp, and sweet or bran tasting. That’s quite a difference.
The challenge is made greater by the presence of aggressive competition in many developed or develop-ing
markets. Competition is particularly intense in Europe where Nestle and General Mills formed a joint venture
called Cereal Partners Worldwide. Langbo characterizes the new competitor this way:
They are a very formidable competitor with Nestle’s distribution strength and knowledge of the European
market and General Mills’ technology and cereal marketing expertise.
The result of the entry of the new competitor, which spent an estimated $35 to $50 million in advertising in the
top six European markets, and the response of existing firms such as Kellogg was an increase in the growth
rate of total cereal sales as well as share erosion among the weaker brands.
Competition is strong even in some countries where consumption is low. For example, in Japan, with
consumption at four bowls per year per person, compared to 10 pounds in the United States, there are more
than 100 products fighting for shelf space.
According to Langbo, a global brand requires a core position strategy or product benefit that will work in
multiple countries and local execution of that idea to reflect local attitudes. The key ideas for three of
Kellogg’s global or near-global brands are described by Langbo in the following paragraphs.
Page 1 Out of 1
Frosted Flakes
Frosted Flakes is based on the concept of vitality. This idea originated in the United States but is a universal
idea that both translates and travels well. Because the product has a special appeal to children, the cultural
differences are not so pronounced. Tony the Tiger illustrates the vitality theme in a universally understandable
manner. Tony is loved throughout the world symborizing appeals that are truly global. We use Tony and he
vitality message everywhere from the United States to Taiwan in Argentina.
Corn Flakes
The basic positioning concept for Corn Flakes is simple, unadulterated food that tastes surprisingly good. This
concept also has universal appeal. It is typically the first product we introduce in a new market, It is the
foundation of our line, and it is the world’s most popular cereal.
All-Bran
The value proposition for All-Bran is the health benefits of fiber in the diet. This proposition does not have
universal appeal without development. The concept of the value of fiber in the diet is new to many countries
and is often resisted.
In 1984, we began a massive campaign to countries where the benefits of fiber were not widely accepted.
campaign varied across countries due to differences in the attitudes of local medical and nutritional
professionals, specific diseases that were most on the minds of the local population, and local restrictions on
health claims. However, the basic approach was to educate and support the medical and nutritional community
in each country. We would sponsor symposia on dietary fiber. As a country’s experts became convinced of the
value of fiber, they told their story in their academic press, the general press, and in public service
announcements. Today, despite competition from many other high-fiber cereals., All-Bran is one of the top 15
cereals worldwide.
Questions
1. What type of innovation would cold cereal be to a country not accustomed to this type of food?
2. Conduct an innovation analysis based for cold cereal in China.
3. What values are involved in the consumption of product such as breakfast cereal?
4. What values would support and what values would harm the chances of Kellogg succeeding the cold cereal
in
the following countries? What other factors would be important?
CASE II
Key to Buyers' Minds
Consumer buying research has turned a new leaf in
India. The era of demographics seems to be on the backbench. Now, Marketing
Research people are less likely to first ask you about your age, income, and
education etc. Instead, there is a distinct shift towards inquiries about
attitudes, interests, lifestyles, and behaviour - in short towards a study of
consumers' minds called psychographics.
Pathfinders, the marketing
research wing of Lintas, occasionally came out with its highly respected
"Study on Nation's Attitudes and Psychographics (P:SNAP). The first in
this series was released in 1987 with an objective to develop a database of
lifestyles and psychographics information on the modem Indian women. The second
was in 1993, and the third in 1998. Pathfinders choose woman for the study
because of the belief that more often than not, in urban areas, it is the woman
who makes buying decision.
The Pathfinders' study
involves interviewing over 10,000 women over the entire country and segmenting
them in clusters according to their beliefs, attitudes, lifestyles, and lastly
their demographics profile. The idea is to identify groups of consumers with
similar lifestyles who are likely to behave towards products or services.
For advertisers and
advertising agencies, this profile helps enormously. For example, an advertiser
may want to give a westernised touch to a commercial. The profile of the target
customer, as revealed by this study, tells the advertising people the perimeter
within which she/he must stay, otherwise the ad may become an exaggerated
version of westernised India.
For the purpose of this
study, Pathfinders divided the Indian women in 8 distinct cluster of varying
values and lifestyles. Figures from two studies are available publicly and are
given below:
|
Cluster
|
1987 (%)
|
1993 (%)
|
|
Troubled homebody
|
15.9
|
18.3
|
|
Tight-fisted traditionalist
|
14.8
|
10.0
|
|
Contended conservative
|
7.0
|
9.3
|
|
Archetypal provider
|
13.0
|
8.8
|
|
Anxious rebel
|
14.1
|
15.8
|
|
Contemporary housewife
|
19.2
|
22.1
|
|
Gregarious hedonist
|
8.7
|
6.6
|
|
Affluent sophisticate
|
7.3
|
9.1
|
The studies seek to track
the macro level changes and movements within these 8 clusters in a period of
time.
We note from the table
that in 1987, 8.7% of the women could be classified as "gregarious
hedonist" - those who consider their own pleasure to be supreme in life.
'In 1993, this figure fell to 6.6%. The "troubled homebody" segment -
those with large families and low-income, increased from 15.9% in 1987 to 18.3%
in 1993.
Information, such as this,
is obviously useful to assess the collective mood. That's why Pathfinders have
an impressive list of clients fort heir P:SNAP, which includes Hindustan Lever,
Cadbury, Johnson and Johnson, and Gillette.
SOME PSYCHOGRAPHICS PROFILES OF INDIAN WOMEN
Rama Devi, the Contended Conservative
The lady lives a 'good' life - she is a devoted wife, a
dotting mother of two school-going sons, and a God fearing housewife. She has
been living her life by the traditional values she cherishes - getting up at
the crack of dawn, getting the house cleaned up, having the breakfast of 'Aloo
Parathas' ready in time before the children's school-bus honks its horn, laying
down the dress her 'government servant' husband will put on after his bath, and
doing her daily one-hour Puja. She fasts every Monday for the welfare of her
family, looks at the 'freely mixing' and 'sexually liberal' youngsters with
deep disdain and cannot understand the modem young woman' s 19reed' for money,
jewellery, and jobs.
Her one abiding interest
outside the household is the Ganesh Mandir that she has visited every
Wednesday, ever since she got married. She lacks higher education and hence has
little appreciation for the arts, the literature, and the sciences. Her ample
spare time is spent watching the TV, which is her prime source of entertainment
and information.
Shobha, the Troubled Homebody
Shobha married young to the first person she fell in
love with, Prakash. Four children came quickly before she was quite ready to
raise a family. Now, she is unhappy. She
is having trouble in making ends meet on her husband's
salary who is employed as clerk in a private business and is often required to
work up to late hours. She is frustrated, as her desire for an idyllic life has
turned sour. She could not get education beyond high school and hence there are
hardly any job opportunities for her. Her husband also keeps on complaining of
the long hours of backbreaking work he has to put in. He consumes country-made
liquor routinely.
Shobha finds escape in
Black and White TV soap operas and films that transport her into the world of
her dreams. She watches TV almost all through the day and her children roam
around in the locality streets and cannot expect any help from their'
ever-grumbling' mother. Purchases are mostly limited to 'essentials' and any
discretionary purchases are postponed till it becomes possible.
Neeru, the Archetypal Provider
Neeru epitomises simplicity. Her life is untangled. It
runs on a set timetable with almost clockwork precision. She works as a primary
school teacher in a rural government school about 50 kilometers from her
district town residence. She is married to a social worker in an NGO whose
income is erratic. Her three children, two teenaged sons and l0-year old
daughter are getting school education.
The day begins with the
lady getting up before anybody else and finishing the household chores as fast
as she can. There is no room for delay as the State government 'Express' bus,
on which she ravels to her school will be at the bus stop across the road
precisely at 8.00 A.M. If she misses that, the next ordinary bus comes at 11.15
A.M, quite useless as it will reach her school only at 1.00 P.M. The school
closes at 2.00 P.M. There are private Jeeps running sporadically, but the fare
is high and Neeru does not believe in wasting hard earned money. Besides, she
travels on husband's 'free pass'. Neeru prides herself on her monthly savings
ofRs.1000 for the last many years. The money will go toward the wedding of her
daughter.
Vandana, the tight-fisted traditionalist
For Vandana, saving money is 'in-born' discipline. When
she was young and unmarried, she remembers her mother was extremely
tight-fisted and ran the household in under Rs.800 per month. It was the
necessity of those times as her father retired at a princely salary of Rs.1800
per month. All through her childhood, she saw deprivation and hardship. She
would not join the annual class picnic in her school days as it meant'
avoidable expenditure'.
Now she is married and
mother of two school going children. The husband works in a bank as a clerk. He
has taken all the loans that he could from the bank and invested the money in
real estate. As a result of monthly deductions toward repayment of loans, his
take home salary is now very little. But Vandana can manage. The school dresses
are sewn by her at home, the stationary required comes from a wholesale market,
and the books are second-hand from 'friends', cultivated for the purpose. On
birthdays, Vandana prepares a sweet dish at home and they spend on a film.
There is a cow and calf at home, being kept as a source of revenue and milk.
She sells half the milk to a neighbour and the family consumes the rest. Life in
general is hard and frugal. There is a colour TV at home, but they disconnected
the cable connection ever since the rates went up. Now they watch Doordarshan
only.
Aditi, the Anxious Rebel
Daughter of a Freedom Fighter, Aditi has always fought
her values and principles.
People still remember when she walked out of the exam
half in a huff as a mark of protest against mass cheating' sanctioned' by the
centre superintendent in a tough paper. While every body else passed with high
marks, Aditi failed.
Even though she repeated
the paper, Aditi never learned to swim along the flow. She always swam against
the current. She joined the Communist Party in her college and gave rousing
speeches against the teachers and authorities. This resulted in her getting
very poor marks and left her jobless.
Later, Aditi joined an NGO
and now works on social issues. She says she is a creature of the mind, not
materialism. Her favourite dress is a long flowing Kurta, and slacks. She wears
loosened hair and chappals. She reads voraciously. Financially, she is
independent and lives with her parents. Her disdain for the institution of
marriage and contempt for the modern Indian male keep her single and
unattached. She will continue-to be so as she prefers this status, but may
adopt a baby later in life.
Reema, the Gregarious Hedonist
Just 19, and Reema is already divorced. Her father is a
wealthy businessman. During Reema's childhood, her father was mostly away in
Dubai and Africa, trying to amass a fortune. That he did but he lost on his
chance to be a good father. Both his children started feeling like' orphans'
after their mother got involved with another man.
Reema was ever longing for
her family when alone came Harsh, her private high school tuition teacher.
Harsh was all of 22 and very caring. He was tall, handsome, and very popular in
school and many girls had a crush on him. Reema was sixteen then and a great
fan of Harsh. For her, Harsh was a prize catch as he combined the loving
qualities of a father with a mix of being a good teacher. She was soon dazzled
and surrendered in a physical relationship.
Marriage followed. She
never understood how Harsh changed overnight from a caring father figure to a
demanding husband. And she could never cope with the six hours she had to spend
in the kitchen everyday. Why should she do the cooking, she asked Harsh, as it
was something that the 'Ayas' did? The reality of a humdrum middle-class
existence hit her hard and she soon walked out of 'the hell'.
Her father understood her
need to recover and made her allowance rather generous. He bought her a Red
Sports Car and got her an admission in a private college.
College is entertainment
for her. She attends college only on days when there is some function like a
cultural evening or the sports meet. Now, Reema spends on alcohol, dresses,
parties, and holidays. She consumes a mood elevating drug every evening and
keeps sending SMS messages on her mobile to her friends all through the night.
For her, life means 'buying pleasure endlessly'.
Shruti, the Contemporary Housewife
Shruti is an urbane woman. She is well educated and
genteel. She is an officer in a national bank, and active in her club affairs
and community activities. Socialising is an important part of her life. She is
a doer, interested in watching cricket, politics, and current affairs. Her life
is hectic as she has a lot to do for home and office everyday. Still she often
enjoys viewing movies on TV every week.
Shruti shops for Sarees,
jewellery, and cosmetics for herself on a regular basis. However, family needs
come before her own needs. Her home is a double income household and she has
one kid. All the modern gadgets are present and the standard of living is upper
middle-class.
Momeeta, the Affluent Sophisticate
Momeeta was born Mamta, but elevated herself to Momeeta
after marriage to a business tycoon. Momeeta is an elegant woman with style.
She lives in Mumbai because that is where she wants to be. She likes the
economic and social aspects of big city living and takes advantage of her'
contacts'. She has built up friendship and cultivated the city bigwigs by
inviting them to the numerous parties she throws in her luxurious penthouse.
Momeeta is a
self-confident, on-the-go woman, and not a homebody. She is fashion conscious
and clothes herself in the latest designer dresses. Even at 40, she can carry
off a mini with aplomb. She is financial very secure and hence does not shop
with care. She shops for quality, exclusivity, and the brand name, not the
price. She frequently travels abroad, buys expensive gifts for friends, and has
an international understanding on what is "chic" at the moment.
Three psychographics profiles of Indian women and their
food shopping habits:
|
Type
I
|
Type
II
|
Type
III
|
|
Money
conscious
|
Careful
shopper
|
Gourmet/satisfaction
|
|
Food shopping
is done on necessity and is postponed
as long as possible.
|
Makes out
shopping lists and makes weekly/ monthly purchases.
|
General liking
for food shopping and food related activities.
|
|
Minimum amount
of money spent. This is enabled through comparative evaluation of many shops,
even if it takes more time.
|
Can purchase
larger quantities if there is an incentive like lower prices or a gift
scheme. Food budget is flexible.
|
Collects and
files food recipes. Experiments with new food products and methods of
cooking. Likes to exhibit her culinary skills to her friends and family.
|
|
Operates within
the food budget. Does not buy larger quantities to save money.
|
Checks
labelling for price, nutrition and expiry date information
|
Spends a lot of
time in kitchen as preparing food is an enjoyable activity.
|
|
Price and
immediate outflow of cash is the dominant purchase concern.
|
Goes for tried
and trusted brands even if they cost a little more. This is an important
purchase concern.
|
Food items are
bought either based on the past satisfaction from them or for their novelty
value. Unknown food items are purchased if they excite the senses. This is
the dominant purchase concern.
|
|
Who fits in
where?
Shobha, Neeru,
and Vandana,
|
Shruti, Aditi,
and
Rama Devi
|
Momeeta (she is
a food lover).
|
(Prof Deepak Khanna,
colleague, has developed these profiles based on his perceptions of certain
personality types).
QUESTIONS
1.
Explain how the above-mentioned information
is likely to benefit a marketer?
2.
Which of the above mentioned types are
likely to respond to sales promotion? Explain.
3.
A manufacturer of personal care products in
the premium segment starts frequent sales promotions. What is likely to be the
impact on the above-mentioned types?
Case Study 1 - Documentary Credit (Marks -16)
M/S Auto India
Introduction
M/S Auto India is a public limited company; they manufacture SUVs (sports utility Vehicle), in technical
collaboration with General Motors of USA. The company has established their manufacturing base at
Ranjangaon in Pune. They have acquired an area of 250 acres and the total project cost is estimated at
Rs 1500 crores. As per the projections, the company is slated to achieve a 25% market share in the
Indian market, within a period of two years.
Out of the total project cost, 49% is brought in by General Motors and the rest is tied up with financial
institutions, international banks and Indian banks. The working capital is financed by a consortium of
banks in which Global bank, Pune branch, is the leader. The company imports many parts of the car
engine in a CKD (completely knocked down) condition from General Motors, Detroit, after establishing
import letters of credit through its main bankers, Global Bank, Pune Branch.
M/S Auto India approached Global Bank, Pune for opening of import letter of credit as per UCP ICC 600
for USD 100,000, on sight basis, in favour of General Motors, Detroit.
Type of credit - Irrevocable negotiable
Application - UCP ICC 600
Applicant - M/S Auto India, Pune, India
Beneficiary - M/S General Motors, Detroit, USA.
Issuing Bank - Global Bank, Pune, India
Advising Bank - The American Bank, New York
Negotiating Bank - The American Bank, New York
Reimbursing Bank - International Bank, New York
Availability - Negotiable at sight
Expiry - At the counters of The American Bank, New York
Amount - USD 100,000
Merchandise - Car engine parts
Quantity and price - 50 units @ USD 2000 per unit
Circumstances
Issuing Bank
Global Bank, Pune issued its irrevocable negotiable credit through its head office in Pune
since Global Bank co-ordinated all its accounting and communication functions at its head office. The
Bank’s head office transmitted the credit through Swift network as
instructed by its Pune branch to General Motors, Detroit, through The American Bank, New
York.
Advising Bank
The American Bank, New York advised the credit to General Motors, Detroit on receipt
of the swift transmission.
Credit
Along with other conditions, the credit clearly stated that the negotiating bank was to
forward the documents directly to Global Bank’s head office at Pune.
Beneficiary
After export of the consignment, General Motors, Detroit presented the documents under
the credit to The American bank, New York.
Negotiating Bank
The American Bank, New York, examined the documents presented by General Motors
and determined that they were in compliance with the terms and conditions of the credit. The
American bank negotiated the documents and forwarded the documents, as per the credit
terms, to the HO of Global Bank in Pune and claimed reimbursement from International
bank, New York.
Reimbursing Bank
International Bank, New York honoured the reimbursement claim by crediting the current
account of the American Bank, New York and debiting the account of Global Bank, Pune, in its
books.
Issuing Bank Head Office
Global Bank’s Head Office, at Pune, received the documents and after internal
registration of the documents, forwarded the documents to its Pune Branch by inter-office
mail.
Issuing Bank Branch
On receipt of the documents by the Pune branch of Global Bank, they examined the
documents and determined that they were discrepant. They were (a) 60 units were
shipped instead of 50 units, thereby overdrawing the credit value by USD 2000 (b)
Inspection certificate by Auto Inspection Council, USA is not submitted, as per credit
terms. Global Bank contacted Auto India for waiver of the discrepancies.
Applicant
Auto India requested for copies of the documents to be forwarded by fax and after
reviewing the same, they refused to waive the discrepancies.
Issuing Bank Branch
Global Bank, Pune Branch instructed its HO to transmit an authenticated swift to The
American Bank, New York stating that Global Bank had rejected the documents for the noted
discrepancies, requesting the American Bank’s instructions as to disposal of the documents,
and demanding a refund of the funds reimbursed.
Issuing Bank Head Office
The HO of the Global Bank sent the authenticated swift message to the American Bank,
New York, as instructed by its Pune Branch.
Negotiating Bank
On receipt of the swift notification advising that Global Bank had rejected the documents
for the stated discrepancies, the American Bank informed Global Bank that it did not accept
the rejection of the drawing since the Global Bank did not comply with UCP 600 sub-article 14
for standard examination of documents. Therefore, Global Bank was said to be stopped from
dishonouring its irrevocable obligation.
Issuing Bank
Global Bank, Pune Branch responded by stating that they acted in accordance with UCP
article 14, since their action did not exceed five banking days following the day of receipt of the
documents at their branch counters after which they scrutinised the documents and
determined to refuse them. They maintained that as per article 14 of UCP 600, they notified
about the rejection of the documents, by swift, not later than the close of the fifth banking day
following the day of receipt of the documents. They had pointed out all the discrepancies and
had informed American Bank, New York that they were holding the documents at the latter’s
disposal.
Negotiating Bank
The American Bank, New York replied as follows:-
We disagree with your position that you acted in accordance with UCP 600 article 14.
Documents were delivered by courier to your HO as per the terms of the credit, on Monday,
January 7, 2008. Your swift notifying rejection of the documents was not sent until
Wednesday, Jan 16, 2008 that is, on the eighth banking day after receipt of the documents
by your bank.
Issuing Bank
Global Bank, Pune Branch, responded by stating that even though its HO received the
documents on January 7,2008; the Global Bank’s Pune Branch did not receive the documents
until the following Thursday, January 10, 2008, and the swift advice rejecting the documents
was sent within the time period permitted in UCP article 14.
Negotiating Bank
The American Bank, New York, replied that it was not their concern how Global Bank’s
operational policy impacted on their inability to comply with UCP. The American Bank, New
York stated that in accordance with the credit terms and conditions, documents were
negotiated by them and forwarded to Global Bank’s HO by courier. The documents were
received by Global Bank on Jan 7, 2008, and any notice of rejection of the documents should have been
given within the close of the fifth banking day following receipt of the documents. Global Bank’s Pune
Branch failed to do so. Therefore, the American Bank, New York’s position was firm relative to UCP 600
article 14 and they would not refund the funds reimbursed.
Questions
1) Was Global Bank, Pune Branch correct in its argument, as the credit issuing bank?
2) Was the stand taken by The American Bank, New York correct, as the negotiating bank?
Business Ethics
Max. Marks: 80
SECTION - A
1. Answer any ten of the following in about 3-4 lines each: (2x10-20)
a) Define Business Ethics.
b) What is morality?
c) How religion and ethics are related?
d) What is ethical dilemma?
e) Define Corporate Governance.
f) Whar are attitudes?
g) What is the psychological egoism?
h) State the two unethical practices in Software Company?
i) What are tax ratios?
j) List four features of utilitarianism?
k) What is whistle blowing?
l) What is software privacy?
SECTION - B
Answer any three of the following. Each question carries 5 marks. (3x5=15)
2. Explain the significance of ethics in business planning and decision making.
3. What are corporate crimes? What are their effects on society?
4. What are the implications of unethical practices on human resource management?
5. What do you mean by classical utilitarianism? Explain its principles.
6. Explain the benefits of good corporate governance.
SECTION - C
Answer any three of the following. Each question carries fifteen marks. (3x15=45)
7. Explain the ethical issues involved in managing finance with an objective
of maximizing shareholders wealth rather than shareholders interests.
8. Describe congnitivism and non-congnitivism ethical theories.
9. Explain the impact of corporate governance of Narayana Murthy Committee.
10. Explain the factors influencing ethical environment a service organization.
11. Explain the corporate social responsibility towards the educational institutions.
Max. Marks: 80
SECTION - A
1. Answer any ten of the following in about 3-4 lines each: (2x10-20)
a) Define Business Ethics.
b) What is morality?
c) How religion and ethics are related?
d) What is ethical dilemma?
e) Define Corporate Governance.
f) Whar are attitudes?
g) What is the psychological egoism?
h) State the two unethical practices in Software Company?
i) What are tax ratios?
j) List four features of utilitarianism?
k) What is whistle blowing?
l) What is software privacy?
SECTION - B
Answer any three of the following. Each question carries 5 marks. (3x5=15)
2. Explain the significance of ethics in business planning and decision making.
3. What are corporate crimes? What are their effects on society?
4. What are the implications of unethical practices on human resource management?
5. What do you mean by classical utilitarianism? Explain its principles.
6. Explain the benefits of good corporate governance.
SECTION - C
Answer any three of the following. Each question carries fifteen marks. (3x15=45)
7. Explain the ethical issues involved in managing finance with an objective
of maximizing shareholders wealth rather than shareholders interests.
8. Describe congnitivism and non-congnitivism ethical theories.
9. Explain the impact of corporate governance of Narayana Murthy Committee.
10. Explain the factors influencing ethical environment a service organization.
11. Explain the corporate social responsibility towards the educational institutions.
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