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Six Sigma Green Belt
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. The primary purpose of a control chart is to
a. Set Specifications and tolerances
b. Compare operations.
c. Determine the stability of a process.
d. Accept or reject a lot of material
2. When a control chart is used on a new process, capability can be assessed at which of the following
times?
a. Before the chart is first started
b. After the first ten points are plotted
c. When the plotted points hug the centerline
d. After the process is shown to be in control
3. Precision is best described as
a. A comparison to a known standard
b. The achievement of expected outgoing quality
c. The repeated consistency of results
d. The difference between an average measurement and the actual value
4. The overall ability of two or more operators to obtain consistent results repeatedly when measuring
the same set of parts and using the same measuring equipment is the definition of
a. Repeatability
b. Precision
c. Reproducibility
d. Accuracy
5. Which of the following conditions must be met for a process to be in a state of statistical control?
a. Most of the product out by the process is in specification.
b. All subgroup averages and rang are within control limits.
c. All variation has been completely removed
d. Previously optimal process settings are used.
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6. Which of the following measures of dispersion is equal to the sum of deviations from the mean
squared divided by the sample size?
a. Range
b. Standard deviation
c. Variance
d. Mode
7. An X and R chart is used to
a. Indicate process variation
b. Specify design Limits
c. Interpret costs
d. Identify customer expectations
8. Which of the following is the most useful graphical tool for promoting and understanding the process
of capability?
a. A flowchart
b. A histogram
c. An affinity diagram
d. An Ishikawa diagram
9. The type of chart that presents the value of items in descending order is a
a. Histogram
b. Pareto chart
c. U chart
d. Cusum chart
10. Measures of which of the following provide attributes data?
a. Temperature in degrees
b. Attendance at meetings
c. Weight in pounds
d. Length in metric units
11. The fraction of nonconforming products is plotted on which of the following types of control chart?
a. P chart
b. U chart
c. Np chart
d. C chart
12. A cause and effect diagram is a useful tool for doing which of the following?
a. Determining the flow of a process
b. Detecting shifts in a process
c. Developing theories based on symptoms
d. Arranging theories by defect count
13. Which of the following statistics would best describe the central tendency of a sample of data?
a. Mode
b. Mean
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c. Standard deviation
d. Range
14. Which of the following type of tools or techniques is considered qualitative?
a. Histogram
b. Frequency distributions
c. Pareto chart
d. Process observations
15. Out of the following which technique is most useful in narrowing issues and limiting discussion?
a. Brainstorming
b. Quality function deployment
c. Cause and effect analysis
d. Mutilating
16. In statistics, an estimation error that is persistent or systematic is called
a. Bias
b. Sensitivity
c. Random
d. Shift
17. For a normal distribution, two standard deviation on each side of the mean would include what
percentage of the total population
a. 47%
b. 68%
c. 95%
d. 99%
18. If a distribution is normal, u=50 s=15, what percentage of data will be less than 30?
a. 59.18%
b. 40.82%
c. 9.18%
d. 1.33%
19. A company is receiving an unusually high number of returns from various customers. The first step in
investigating the problem would be to
a. Check the inspection records
b. Establish the correlation of the returns to shipments
c. Brainstorm the potential causes
d. Classify the returns by type and degree of serious
20. Which of the following is the best definition of a flow chart?
a. A diagram used to structure ideas into useful categories
b. An illustration used to analyze variation in a process
c. A picture used to separate steps of a process in sequential order
d. An analytical tool used to clarify opposing aspects of a desired change
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21. Which of the following activities would NOT contribute to the effective functioning of a team?
a. Eliminating unnecessary activities
b. Development team performance measures
c. Defining process in detail
d. Monitoring each member’s performance
22. What is the standard deviation of the population-10, 4, 16, 12, 8
a. 4.00
b. 4.47
c. 16.00
d. 20.00
23. Which of the following tools would be most appropriate for collecting data to study the symptoms of
a problem?
a. Check sheet
b. Flow diagram
c. Force-field analysis
d. Activity network diagram
24. Which of the following measures is a sufficient statistic for the parameter u?
a. Median
b. Mid-range
c. Mean
d. Mode
25. Positional, cyclical, and temporal variations are most commonly analyzed in
a. SPC charts
b. Multi-vari charts
c. Cause and effect diagram
d. Run charts
26. Which of the following describes the deming method for continuous improvement?
a. Cost of quality analysis
b. Process map
c. Tree Diagram
d. Plan-do-check-act cycle
27. In analysis of variance, which of the following distribution is the basis for determining whether the
variance estimates are all from the same population?
a. Chi square
b. Students
c. Normal
d. F
28. Which of the following statement best describes the set of value of a random variable?
a. It is finite.
b. It is an interval
c. It can be discrete or continuous.
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d. It can be tracked by using control charts or scatter plots.
29. Which of the following is the best description of randomization?
a. A technique used to increase the precision of an experiment
b. A means of assuring representative sampling
c. The repetition of an observation or measurement
d. The relationship between two or more variables
30. When the order of items is not important, which of the following method is used to determine the
number of sets and subsets of items?
a. Combination
b. Permutation
c. Factorization
d. Simulation
31. Scatter diagrams are best described as
a. Histograms.
b. Correlation analysis.
c. Pareto analysis.
d. Ishikawa diagrams.
32. A __________ is created to determine customers of a specific process.
a. Pareto chart
b. Flow diagram
c. Cause and effect diagram
d. Scatter diagram
33. A production line uses signs at specific points on the line to indicate when components or raw
materials need to be replenished. This practice is an example of
a. Kanban
b. Poka-yake
c. Checkpoints
d. Hoshin
34. Which of the following is a good tool for planning cycle time reduction and concurrent operations?
a. A timeline
b. A Pareto diagram
c. An X and R chart
d. A PERT chart
35. Attribute and variable data are best described as which of the following?
a. Counted values measured values
b. Counted values visual features
c. Measured values counted values
d. Visual features counted values
36. All of the following are common ways for people to react to conflict Except
a. Competing
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b. Collaborating
c. Avoiding
d. Sabotaging
37. A quality manager has chosen to survey customer satisfaction by taking samples based on the
categories of frequency of use, categories of use, and demographic. This technique is known as
a. Random sampling
b. Data collection
c. Stratification
d. Customer classification
38. Which of the following actions is Not used to reduce process cycle time?
a. Analyzing current processes
b. Reducing queue times
c. Setting priorities
d. Implementing activity-based costing
39. A company’s accounts payable department is trying to reduce the time between receipt and
payment of invoices and has recently completed a flowchart. Which of the following tool is the next
to be used by them?
a. Fishbone diagram
b. Scatter diagram
c. Box and whisker plat
d. Histogram
40. In a manufacturing company, the machine shop is what kind of customer in relation to the human
resource department?
a. Intermediate
b. Hidden
c. External
d. Internal
1. Describe how QFD fits into the overall DFSS process.
2. What is interrelationship Digraph? Explain it with example.
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3. Find the area under the standard normal curve between +1.50 standard deviations and +2.50
standard deviations.
4. Define terms related to One-Way ANOVA and interpret their results & data plots.
5. Define & describe the use of Rational Sub grouping ?
1. Suppose you are cooking steak for 100 people, & the current approval rating is 75% acceptable. You
want to know the affect of different methods and approaches to see how the overall approval or “yield”
is affected. By using the Full Factorial method explain how the overall approval or “yield” is affected.
2. Interpret Control Charts? Distinguish between common & special causes using rules for determining
stastical control.
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. Calculate the estimated variance of the population from which the following values have been
randomly selected: 2.8 2.7 2.6 2.9 2.8 2.8 2.8
a. 095
b. 009
c. 088
d. 008
2. The mean, median and mode of a distribution have the same value. What can be said about the
distribution?
a. It is exponential
b. It is normal
c. It is uniform
d. None of the above
3. Approximately what percent of the data values are smaller than the mean?
a. 25%
b. 50%
c. 75%
d. None of above
4. A normal probability plot is used to:
a. Determine whether the distribution is normal
b. Plot Z value
c. Determine process capability
d. It percent out of specification
5. Nominal Group technique is used to:
a. Help a group reach consensus
b. Generate a group on new ides
c. Provide a consistent stable group leadership
d. Provide a name for the group
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6. An example of a project metric would be:
a. The decrease in defect occurrence
b. The decrease in product cost
c. The decrease in cycle time
d. All the above
7. A correct statement about the relationship between the terms parameter and statistic is:
a. A population statistic is more accurate than a parameter
b. A sample parameter is used to estimate a statistic
c. A sample statistic is used to estimate a population parameter
d. Standard deviation calculation requires both statistics and parameters
8. A and B are events. P(A) = 0.80 and P(B) = 0.90:
a. Events A and B are disjoint or mutually exclusive
b. Events A and B are not disjoint or mutually exclusive
c. P (A and B) = 0
d. P(A and B) = 1.7
9. In a certain sampling situation, a=0, b=0.08. the power of the sampling plan this case is:
a. 0
b. 0.08
c. 1.00
d. 0.92
10. A newspaper article describes a high positive correlation between obesity and orange juice
consumption among six-year-old children’s. Parents who restrict the use of orange juice for their
children have:
a. Made a type I error
b. Made a type II error
c. Misunderstood margin of error
d. Confused correlation with causation
11. In an experimental design context, replications refer to:
a. Duplicating experimental result at another location
b. Repeating a test with the same factor levels
c. Obtaining the same or similar result from different factors
d. Repeating an experiment but using at least one different factor level
12. Find the upper control limit for a range chart if n=4 and the average range is 2.282
a. 2.282
b. 4.564
c. 5.208
d. 3.423
13. An x-bar control chart been established with control limits of 3.245 and 3.257, n=5. An engineer
collects the following sample and plots the average on the control chart:3.257, 3.256, 3.258, 3.259
a. The process is out of control
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b. The process is not out of control
c. The engineer misused the control chart
d. The control limits are incorrect
14. TEIZ is an acronym which refers to:
a. A set of problem solving tools
b. An organization of quality professionals
c. An experiment using transitional results
d. A Russian general responsible for creative thinking
15. A robust design is one which;
a. Has high reliability
b. Has low maintenance frequency
c. Is simple to manufacture’
d. Is resistant to varying environmental condition
16. A frequent cause of system sub optimization is:
a. Optimizing individual process
b. Failing to draw a system flow chart
c. Using data with outliers
d. Failing to consider the normal distribution
17. The x2 distribution is:
a. Symmetric
b. Left skewed
c. Right skewed
d. Normal
18. An advantage of using standard deviation rather than range for measuring dispersion of a large
sample is that:
a. Standard deviation has a simpler formula
b. Calculators have a standard deviation key but not a range Key
c. Standard deviation uses information from each measurement
d. Range calculation are not normally distributed
19. The team development stage characterized by expression of individual opinions and ideas often
without regard for team objectives is known as:
a. Performing
b. Norming
c. Conflicting
d. Storming
20. SMED is an acronym for activity that:
a. Involve housekeeping in the work area
b. Makes mistake of a certain type impossible
c. Emphasizes the pull of the customer
d. Reduces set up the time
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21. A principle advantage of fractional factorial experimental designs is:
a. Reduced cost
b. Improved accuracy
c. Increased confounding
d. Higher confidence level
22. Dr. W Edwards Deming:
a. Lectured in Japan after World War II
b. Was an author of several books in the US
c. Is considered an expert in the quality field
d. All of the above
PART TWO:
23. What percent of population falls below the lower specification limits?
a. 9.18%
b. 22.66%
c. 6.68%
d. 1.83%
24. Find the mean, median and mode of the following data set: 9, 11, 12, 14, 18, 18, 18, 20, 23:
a. 15.5, 18, 18
b. 15, 14, 18
c. 15, 12, 18
d. 15.5, 16, 18
Use for
problem
s 25-27:
1
- - 20
2 - + 30
3 + - 40
4 + + 50
Total Quality Management
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. If the amount of energy available for the intended function be ‘a’ and the amount of energy wasted be
‘b’ then Signal to noise ratio will be,
a. a/b
b. (a-b)/b
c. b/a
d. (a+b)/b
2. The number of orthogonal arrays added by Taguchi to the original work of Sir R A Fischer, was
a. 3
b. 2
c. 1
d. 4
3. If the α for each t test be 0.2 then for 4 ‘t’ tests the probability of a correct decision will be
a. 0.0008
b. 0.0016
c. 0.0002
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d. None
4. This is not a rapid prototype technique
a. Stereo lithography
b. Solid ground curing
c. Solid ground searching
d. None
5. The multiplication of importance of customer, scale up facture and sales point is called
a. Relative weight
b. Absolute weight
c. Weight of scale
d. Weight of sales
6. In documentation Pyramid all documentation moves from one level to next in
a. Ascending order
b. Descending order
c. One down one up fashion
d. Two down one up fashion
7. The quality system other than ISO 9000
a. PS 9000
b. CS 9000
c. AS 9000
d. LS 9000
8. In the 5 S methodology for workplace organization, ‘Seiton’ stands for
a. Proper arrangement
b. Orderliness
c. Personal cleanliness
d. Discipline
9. The basic plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle was first developed by
a. Deming
b. Shewhart
c. Juran
d. Fleming.
10. One of the best approach having three components, can be used for process improvement, is
a. Loran trilogy
b. Turan trilogy
c. Sudan triology
d. Juran triology
Part Two:
1. Write a note on ‘Kano model’ of customer requirement.
2. Define Herzberg’s two factor theory.
3. Write a note on Pareto analysis.
4. What do understand by Benchmarking?
5. Define “Degree of freedom”.
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Caselet 1
Philips India Ltd. previously called Pieco Electronics Ltd., a MNC has Dutch parents and its major plant
in Calcutta. The company is having a very sound corporate image in India for its electronic products,
namely TVs, Radios, transistors, battery cells, electric bulbs, electric tubes, two-in-ones, etc. Indians love
to have Phillips products, which are more costly than various Indian electronics products brands, as they
maintain a better quality. Philips operates through forward integration with its own authorized dealer’s
network in India. The company has maintained its corporate image and reputation in Indian market over
the years. The labour trouble started in 1990. The company had its ancient production system in its main
plant at Calcutta. Labour unions started agitations for salary hike and asked for a number of incentives
and facilities to establish parity with other competing electronic giants. “There was a political clout of the
labour unions which lead to increased militancy” says the Chief Executive Officer of the Phillips India
Ltd. The situation of labour trouble took such an ugly turn that the Dutch parents of the Philips India
decided to get out of India by closing the plant. In 1995, however, managers refused to give up and
implemented TQM. The first step was total employees involvement. The management adopted the
strategy of managing people through involving, empowering and motivating. The management reestablished
its future vision to be an international design and production center and decided to benchmark
with international quality system standards ISO 9000. The main weakness of the company during 1990
started converting into strength when labour unions started participating intensively. A number of selfdirected
and self-directed and self-managing mini, micro and mega-teams were formed and assigned
responsibility and accountability under dynamic leaders. By 1995 the Calcutta plant of Philips India
became a model factory for its major competitors to envy-its operations and turnaround. The R&D section
took the leading role for spearheading the company with its smart people and well equipped laboratories.
The posters claiming “quality” were exhibited in the premises and all working areas. All this made the
Calcutta plant a showpiece of Philips. It became the company’s best bet for an international
manufacturing center. The progress due to teamwork and quality orientation was so impressive that it led
the company to achieve the internationally most coveted- The European Quality Award. The company
also obtained certification of Environmental management system EMS 14001 which gave it a further
boost in improving its sagging image during the previous 4-5 years from 1990 onwards.
In a nutshell, five beliefs helped the management in its revival. These five beliefs are: (i) mission
statement, (ii) revolve around valuing, (iii) trusting and creating trustworthiness, (iv)respecting the people
and using their brainpower in teams, and (v) continuously motivating them. A few other things which
helped the company are: propagating employee ship. TQM was used to bring about the much needed
culture change, open communication, sharing information, sharing problems openly, and an appeal to
labour unions to uphold the pride of Calcutta. Moreover, the company started operating in 3 shifts instead
of only general shift over the previous time period. The continuous improvement through structured
Kaizen activities was adopted as a way of day-to-day work improvement in assignments. A suggestion
scheme was introduced which started getting a record Examination Paper of Quality Management
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number of practical and implementable suggestions. Cross-functional groups and small group
improvement activities did a wonderful job. Rewards and recognition system was introduced. Regular
surveys on employee motivation were undertaken to know and further boost the employees’ morale and
participation in decisions of the company. Focus on customer and their delightment was increased by
customer surveys, defect tracking, undertaking defect repairs, meeting the warranty claims, making after
sales service better, customer helpline documents, promptness in delivery, etc. Internal customer
satisfaction was improved by strengthening internal supplier-internal customer chain with self-appraised
vendor services. The inputs from the internal customers were obtained regularly for carrying out
performance appraisal of the officers. The practice kept the officers on their toes. “Today. The company
has not only recovered from its previous labour trouble but also has counted has counted itself amongst
the few world-class companies: It has obtained recognition the world-over by winning the most coveted
award- The European Quality Award”, says the Chief Executive of the company. “Philips India Ltd. has
become a benchmark for various competitors in India and abroad”, the CEO of the company adds further.
1. Discuss the various labour troubles which compelled the company management and its Dutch parents
to decide to wind up the Calcutta plant. What were the problems?
2. How would you apply the Phillips India policy to help other electronics companies in India to
implement TQM?
Caselet 2
Siemens is a short and simple word. But Siemens is at the top. Top covers a vast gambit. The patent for a
miniaturized hearing aid is TOP. Futuristic business and technology roadmaps are Top. Shareholder
returns are also top. In Germany, a new performance-linked management ranking system is Top. In
Turkey, process time optimization is Top. In India, Taguchi methods for quality monitoring are Top.
Value chains are Top. Top means different things in different countries, companies, business and even
divisions. But today, what began as an acronym for time-optimized processes has become a term
applicable to any management initiative-in R&D, human resources, shop floor management,
communication, organizational restructuring. The movement, as it has become today, spans the Siemens,
worldwide network though it is at various stages of implementation and development in different
countries, and is not implemented uniformly across divisions. The Top movement started about three
years ago by Siemens AG as increasing costs of production and a stagnating European market forced this
German multinational to take a close look at itself. The Top movement is based on a simple model:
productivity, innovation, and new markets are the pillars; the base is corporate culture; and the Top of the
temple is customer-orientation and profit ability. According to Heinrich Von Pierer, President, Siemens
AG, the Top initiative is not about re-engineering or cost-cutting, the core theme is growth through
innovation. “The motor driving the Top initiative is cultural change-we must focus on our customers,” he
says. However, Top is not only about encouraging cultural change. In 1996, in the course of three years, it
has achieved cost savings of DM 20 billion. The Top innovation initiative is made up of eight modules:
mobilization, communication, idea initiatives, teaching of operational skills, and cooperation with nonindustrial
research, patent initiatives, white space projects, and strategic innovation projects. The
viewpoints and business objectives are different at different places. For instance, in high-wage Germany,
Top is an integral part of Siemens AG’s human resources and management motivation exercise. The
central unions are also involved. It was also an integral part of the company’s R&D drive. Siemens AG
spends DM 7.3 billion on R&D every year. “A company’s innovative strength ultimately determines its
long-term competitive viability,” says Claus Weyrich, member of the managing board, Siemens AG. For
instance, the company has announced the ‘Siemens Inventor Examination Paper of Quality Management
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Prize’. The 12 German recipients of the prize in 1996 hold 400 patents among them. Starting from 1997,
the prize has gone international. The aim is that Siemens AG’s annual total of 2,500 patents goes up. As a
precursor to complete internationalization, Siemens had launched an international ‘innovation
competition 1997’, with a special category for young innovators whose innovations may not have yet
achieved practical applicability. Forty winners from regional centers will be feted at Siemens’ 150 years
celebrations next year. The fact that Siemens take its Top initiative very seriously. Indeed it is apparent
from its system of implementation through Top champions. Top champions are senior managers who
work full times as Top coordinators. Internationally, the Top movement is coordinated through a Top
center in Munich, which even has a home-page on the Internet to interact and coordinate with Top
manager across the world. All this is besides annual international conferences held within and outside
Germany. At Siemens India Ltd, Ranjeet Dalvi is a full-time General Manager in charge of the Top
program. Besides, the company’s 13 divisions each have at least one Top champion - a senior manager
with a large circle of influence, who is the divisional Top coordinator, and reports directly to the
divisional head. The resonance between Top champions or divisions in various countries with each other
and with Germany also differs.
In India, the evolution of the Top program has been naturally different from that in Germany. The aims
differ, to fit in with Siemens Ltd’s objectives: to increase its global presence substantially, and ensure that
it stays ahead of opportunities in the local market. “It is no longer enough that we serve the local market.
Every global competitor is here; we have to identify opportunities and adapt to them”, says AV
Chindarkar, Director-in-charge of switch gear, motors, drivers, automations, power transmission and
distribution. Siemens Ltd had already began an organization restructuring and business process reengineering
program, which has then called core-an acronym for corporate re-engineering. All of Siemens
Ltd’s process re-engineering was an in-house exercise, largely focused on mapping and optimizing
processes, using the time parameter; that by itself would ensure reduction in process costs and
improvement of productivity. The aim is to: “stay fit for future”. When the Top program came along, it
was integrated into the core initiative. “Top has become an umbrella for all kinds of initiatives and
management changes. It has become to mean all new things it helps to create a euphoria with in the
company”, says Ranjeet Dalvi. Though the Top program is still nascent at the newer divisions such as
telecom and software, it is act quite and advanced stage at the traditional business. Says Dalvi, “BPR is a
stage. Once you have finished re-engineering a process, theirs just so much you can do. Then you have to
move on to innovation.” Chindarkar believes that Siemens India has moved into the innovation phase.
“Much of the skill of indigenization that we are forced to learn in a closed economy may today become
the key to grater innovation,” he says. Siemens India Ltd’s vision: to become a Siemens competence
centre in South east Asia. A competence centre has been define as a Siemens arm with special
competencies in specific businesses in a particular country, that in term can serve Siemens concerns in
other countries.“We have to innovate many solutions that we provide, such as in automation. Existing
global technologies often do not fit in local customer need.” Says Chindarkar. With Siemens AG having
re-affirmed its commitment to the Asia-Pacific region, Siemens Ltd is today looking at networking itself
into the global scene, through innovations and unique products. Naturally, the Top initiative will be
crucial in this effort. What perhaps makes the Top program so easy to adopt and implement is its
flexibility. What could otherwise become disjointed management concept or practices are united in Top’s
common temple model at Siemens.
1. What is the Top initative in Siemens AG? Discuss it various aspects.
2. What are the Top eight initiatives for innovation in Siemens AG? Evaluate their impact on quality and
TQM.
END OF SECTION B Examination Paper of Quality Management
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1. Mechanical products such as cars do break down. Cars often are serviced by the car dealer. How can a
car dealer use the service department to enhance future car sales?
2. Using trade journals, professional society magazines, periodicals, and your networking ability, identify
two examples of quality by design success stories and explain there results.
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Quality Control
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. A curve that shows the amount inspected by both the consumer and the producer for different percent
nonconforming values.
a. ASN curve
b. ATI curve
c. AOQ curve
d. None of the above
2. The producer’s risk is represented by the symbols
a. Alpha
b. Beta
c. Gamma
d. None of the above
3. The International Committee of Weights and Measures revised the metric system in
a. 1970
b. 1960
c. 1950
d. 1999
4. ASRS stands for……………………………………………………………………..
5. A recent survey of retail customers by the ……………………………………………..
6. A cause-and-effect diagram was developed by ………………………………………
7. Variables that exhibit gaps are called ………………………………
8. How many techniques used to discard data.
a. One
b. Two
c. Three
d. None of the above
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9. Deviation charts are also called
a. Difference chart
b. Nominal chart
c. Target chart
d. (a), (b), & (c)
10. Dodge-Romig Tables developed by
a. H.F. Dodge
b. H.G. Romig
c. H.K. Fleming
d. Both (a) & (b)
Part Two:
1. Write short note on “Group Chart”.
2. What is “Measures of Dispersion”.
3. What is “Collection of Data”.
4. Write short note on “Binomial Probability Distribution”.
Caselet 1
It is 7:00 a.m. and the siren sounds high at Kandivli (a suburb of North Mumbai) plant of Mahindra &
Mahindra’s (M&M) Tractor division, signaling the starting time of the morning shift. Hardly any workers
have turned up. Reporting late on duty is a norm for the workers here. Seldom does the morning shift start
before 7:30 a.m. During the day shift, it was an ominous scene to find workers stretching out under the
trees and relaxing during the working hours. The union leaders hung around the factory without doing any
work at all. A few days back, the workers in the night shift had beaten up a milkman for creating a lot of
noise in the week hours of the morning and thus, disturbing their sleep during their working hours. Things
were worse at the other plant of M&M in Nagpur. But this was all in the 1980s. M&M has come a long
way since then – it has won the most coveted Deming prize for quality, and started a farming equipment
assembling plant in the U.S.A. After the huge success there, the company opened a second assembly plant
and a distribution centre in Georgia. Now, the company is in the process of establishing assembling units
in Canada to locally produce and market a range of low horsepower cab tractors with features such as AC
heater (keeping in view the cold weather conditions for the farmers there), personal stereo, and even a sun
roof. It has also Examination Paper of Quality Management
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acquired Jiangling Tractors in China, which it would use to develop low cost products suited to plough
deeper into the US farm equipment market. Now, the fourth largest tractor company in the world, M&M,
has four tractor plants in India (Mumbai, Nagpur, Rudrapur in Uttranchal, and Jaipur). It has been
maintaining its market leadership for the past two decades. During the late 1980s, the company tried to
apply TQM concepts such as quality circles without getting any success. M&M was the market leader in
the tractors segment at that time, but in view of the looming multinational threat in the near future, its
internal situation was very fragile. During 1990-94, the company started the use of the statistical process
control and tried to perform business process reengineering. Its journey towards the Deeming prize was
initiated in 1994, with the appointment of Prof. Yasutoshi Washio, a Japanese expert, in the
implementation of the Deeming guidelines. The same year, the company was rechristened M&M Farm
Equipment Sector (FES).
Initially, Prof. Washio was skeptical about the Indian companies and workers. He felt that the Indian
companies are more like the American companies, which feel that results are important. On the other
hand, for the Japanese, the process is more important. Moreover, he had serious doubts about the attitude
of the Indian workers with respect to teamwork – a Deeming prerequisite – as he felt that Indian were
individualistic. He has proved wrong by the M&M workers. In his own words, ‘The Indians can be good
team workers, much better than the young in Japan today and, in that sense, perhaps, Deeming is better
suited to Indian companies’. In the initial few years of interaction with the management of FES, Washio
found himself isolated due to disagreements on various fronts. Washio had major difficulties in making
most of the Indian companies understand the importance of implementation over creating a perfect
framework. In his own words, ‘Indians are very good with framework and the big picture, but are poor
with implementation. The kaizen is weak.’ Kaizen means gradual, orderly, and continuous improvement
in work processes. It took a while for Washio to make the FES personnel understand that good kaizen
hinges on implementation, so there is no need to spend too much time creating a perfect framework. Once
you start implementing these, the rest will happen automatically. The FES created a team to implement
the team to implementing the Deeming guidelines. The team identified eleven key areas to be fulfilled:
1. Top management leadership and involvement
2. Creating and maintaining TQM frameworks
3. Quality assurance
4. Management system
5. Human resource development
6. Effective utilization of resources
7. Understanding TQM concepts and value
8. Use of scientific method
9. Organizational power
10. Relationship with stakeholders
11. Enabling the unique TQM activities
In addition, there is another Deming must-do: eliminate dependence on inspection to achieve quality by
building quality into the product in the first place. The system at FES earlier was that at the end of the
assembly process or at the customer’s place, there used to be a final inspection. If a product showed
serious flaws then, it was sent again to the shop floor. This wasted a lot of time and effort, and it did not
add to the improvement in the quality of the manufactured product. In order to change this system,
computers were installed on the shop floor for showing the standard operating procedure (SOP) of a
particular process to make the workers understand the various steps in a process. This reduces the chances
of human error and acts as a natural check. At the end of every complete process, a check is performed by
a trained worker, who also follows an SOP. Employee involvement is the first step in ensuring the success
of any quality initiative. At FES, the workers would dictate terms to the shift supervisor by saying that
they would not do different tasks on many machines. The Examination Paper of Quality Management
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management took time to conceive them by giving them examples such as: if your wife can do multiple
tasks of cleaning the house, feeding the children, and washing the cloths, why can’t you do the same? The
workers were explained the multinational threats looming large. They were told that, if they did not mend
their ways, the company might shut down the factory, or even worse, a multinational may take it over and
would invariably lay off all the problem creating workers. Examples of companies shut down in Mumbai
due to the changed scenario were given. The entire programme was termed ‘Ashwamedh’ and analogies
were drawn from mythology and the current competitive situation. This brought a complete
transformation in the workforce that was now willing to perform multiple tasks, double their productivity,
and maintain shift discipline by reporting on time. The workers were informed by the management about
every difficulty faced by the company in beating the competition in the market place. Some of the
workers were sent with the marketing staff to meet the farmers using the company’s product and facing
problems. This was called ‘Operation Hamla’. The workers came back chastised and sobered when they
realized that a small mistake on the shop floor could cost a farmer his season’s crop. The company even
sent some of the union leaders for short training courses in the USA and UK.
This sustained effort on part of the company has paid rich dividends. Costs are down by 15% and the
market share has risen by one percent to 27.3% (10% higher than its closest competitor), despite an
overall decline in the tractor demands. The break-even point for a new model of a tractor has decreased to
30,000 -32,000 from the 54,000 tractors three years ago. The worker productivity levels have increased
by 100%. Tractor exports from the company have increased 100% over the past 10 years, with 70% to the
USA alone. The quality of tractors has improved drastically with the number of complaints per 1000
tractors dropping from 228 to 90. The rejection rate for components bought from vendors, rejection and
rework in machining, and rejection at final testing have all been brought down to near zero levels. FES
has introduced 15 new models in accordance with the requirements in the international markets. The
journey to world-class quality is not over yet. The company now aims at matching the world benchmarks
in productivity and quality to establish a cost leadership in the Indian industry.
1. If you were a part of the top management at M&M FES, how would you have involved the workers in
the Deming programme?
2. Do you think that M&M FES has a strategic quality management system in place?
Caselet 2
In 1965, a Yale University undergraduate student Frederick W. Smith wrote a term paper about the
passenger route systems used by most airfreight shippers, which he viewed as economically inadequate.
Smith wrote of the need for shippers to have a system designed specifically for airfreight that could
accommodate time sensitive shipments such as medicines, computer parts, and electronics. In August
1971, following a stint in the military, Smith bought controlling interest in Arkansas. While operating his
new firm, Smith identified the tremendous difficulty in getting packages and other airfreight delivered
with in 1 – 2 days. This dilemma motivated him to do the necessary research for resolving the inefficient
distribution system. Thus, the idea for Federal Express was born – a company that revolutionized global
business practices and now defines speed and reliability. Federal Express was so named due to the
patriotic meaning associated with the word ‘federal’, which suggested an interest in nationwide economic
activity. At that time, Smith hoped to obtain a contract with the Federal Reserve Bank and, although the
proposal was denied, he believed the name was a particularly good one for attracting public attention and
maintaining name recognition. Examination Paper of Quality Management
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Company Growth
Though the company did not show a profit until July 1975, it soon became the premier carrier of highpriority
goods in the marketplace and the standard setter for the industry it established. In the mid-1970s,
Federal Express took a leading role in lobbying for air cargo deregulation that finally came in 1977. These
changes allowed Federal Express to use larger aircraft (such as Boeing 727s and McDonnell-Douglas DC-
10s) and spurred the company’s rapid growth. Today FedEx express has the world’s largest all-cargo air
fleet, including McDonnell-Douglas MD-11s and Airbus A-300s and A-310s. The planes have a total
daily lift capacity of more than 26.5 million pounds. In a 24-hour period, the fleet travels nearly 500,000
miles while its couriers log 2.5 million miles a day- the equivalent of 100 trips around the earth. The
company entered its maturing phase in the first half of the 1980s. Federal Express was well established.
Competitors were trying to catch up with a company whose growth rate was compounding at about 40%
annually. In the fiscal year 1983, Federal Express reported $1 billion in revenues, making American
business history as the first company to reach that financial hallmark inside 10 years of start-up without
mergers or acquisitions.
Overseas Expansion
Following the first several international acquisitions, intercontinental operations began in 1984 with
service to Europe and Asia. The following year, FedEx marked its first regularly scheduled flight to
Europe. In 1988, the company initiated direct-scheduled cargo service to Japan. The acquisition of Tiger
International, Inc. occurred in February 1989. With the integration of the Flying Tigers network on 7
August 1989, the company became the world’s largest full-service, All-cargo Airline, Included in the
acquisition were route to 21 countries, a fleet of Boeing 747 and 727 aircraft, facilities throughout the
world, and Tigers’ expertise in international airfreight. Federal Express obtained authority to serve China
through a 1995 acquisition from evergreen International Airlines. Under this authority, Federal Express
became the sole US-based, All-cargo carrier with aviation rights to the world’s most populous nation.
Since then, the company’s global reach has continued to expand, resulting in an unsurpassed worldwide
network. FedEx Express today delivers to customers in more than 210 countries.
Evolving Identify
The first evolution of the company’s corporate identify came in 1994 when Federal Express officially
adopted ‘FedEx’ as its primary brand, talking a cue from its customers, who frequently referred to the
company by the shortened name. By that time, customers used the term as a verb, meaning, ‘to send an
overnight shipment’. It did not take long for the meaning to catch on, and today it is common terminology
to ‘FedEx’ a package. The second evolution came in 2000 when the company was renamed ‘FedEx
Express’ to reflect its position in the overall FedEx Corporation portfolio of services. This also signified
the expanding breadth of FedEx Express – specific service offerings as well as a FedEx that was no
longer just overnight delivery.
FedEx Firsts
Throughout its existence, FedEx has amassed an impressive list of ‘firsts’, most notably for leading the
industry in introducing new services for customers. Federal Express originated the Overnight Letter and
was
-day delivery by 10:30 a.m.,
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pany to offer time define service for freight, and
-back guarantees and free proof of performance – services that now
extend to its worldwide network.
Being a ‘first’ company resulted in many firsts for awards and honors, too. In 1990, Federal Express
became the first company to win the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in the service
category. It also received ISO 9001 registration for all of its worldwide operations in 1994, making in the
first global express transportation company to receive simultaneous system-wide certification. Today,
FedEx Express is the largest operating company in the FedEx family, handling about 3.2 million packages
and documents every business day.
People-Service-Profit
Federal Express’s ‘people-service-profit’ philosophy guides management policies and actions. The
company has a well-developed and thoroughly deployed management evaluation system called SFA
(survey/feedback/action), which involves a survey of employees, analysis of each work group’s results by
the work group’s manager, and a discussion between the manager and the work group to develop written
action plans for the manager to improve and become more effective. Data from the SFA process are
aggregated at all levels of the organization for use in policymaking. Training of front-line personnel is a
responsibility of managers and ‘recurrency training’ is a widely used instrument for improvement. Teams
regularly assess training needs and a worldwide staff of training professionals devices programs to
address those needs. To aid these efforts, Federal Express has developed an interactive video system for
employee instruction.
An internal television network, accessible throughout the company, also serves as an important avenue for
employee education. Consistently included in listings of the best US companies to work for, Federal
Express has a ‘no lay-off’ philosophy, and its ‘guaranteed fair treatment procedure’ for handling
employee grievances is used as a model by firms in many industries. Employees can participate in a
program to qualify front-line workers for management positions. In addition, Federal Express has a welldeveloped
recognition program for team and individual contributions to company performance. Over the
last five years, at least 91% of the employees responded that they were ‘proud to work for Federal
Express’.
Service Quality Indicators
To spur progress toward its ultimate target of 100% customer satisfaction, Federal Express recently
replaced its old measure of quality performance-percent of on-time deliveries – with a 12 component
index that comprehensively describes how customers view its performance. Each item in the service
quality indicator (SQI) is weighted to reflect how significantly it affects the overall customer satisfaction.
Performance data are gathered with the company’s advanced computer and tracking systems, including
the SuperTracker, a hand-held computer used for scanning a shipment’s bar code every time a package
changes hands between pick-up and delivery. Rapid analysis of data from the firm’s far-flung operations
yields daily SQI reports transmitted to workers at all Federal Express sites. The management meets daily
to discuss the previous day’s performance and tracks weekly, monthly, and annual trends. Analysis of
data contained in the company’s more than 30 major database assist the quality action teams (QATs) in
locating the root causes of problems that surface in SQI reviews. Extensive customer and internal data are
used by cross-functional teams involved in the company’s new product introduction process. To reach its
aggressive quality goals, the company has set up one cross-functional team for each service component in
the SQI. A senior executive heads each team and assures the involvement of front line employees, support
personnel, and managers from all parts of the corporation when needed. Two of these corporate-wide
teams have a network of over 1,000 Examination Paper of Quality Management
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employees working on improvements. The SQI measurements are directly linked to the corporate
planning process, which begins with the CEO and the COO and an executive planning committee. Service
quality indicators from the basis on which corporative executives are evaluated. Individual performance
objectives are established and monitored. Executives bonuses rest upon the performance of the whole
corporation in meeting performance improvement goals. In the annual employee survey, if employees do
not rate management leadership at least as high as they rated them the year before, no executive receives a
year-end bonus. Employees are encouraged to be innovative and to make decisions that advance quality
goals. Federal Express provides employees with the information and technology they need to
continuously improve their performance. An example is the digitally assisted dispatch system (DADS),
which communicates to some 30,000 couriers through screens in their vans. The system enables quick
response to pick-up and delivery dispatches and allows couriers to manage their time and routes with high
efficiency. Since 1987, overall customer satisfaction with Federal Express’s domestic service has
averaged better than 95%, and its international service has rated a satisfaction score of about 94%. In an
independently conducted survey of air-express industry customers, 53% gave Federal Express a perfect
score, as compared with 39% for the next-best competitor. The company has received 195 of nearly 600
businesses and organizations have visited its facilities.
1. What lessons can Indian companies take from FedEx?
2. What are the factors that have gone against India and why did FedEx not start its operations here?
1. An electrician testing the incoming the voltage for a residential house obtains 5 readings: 115, 113,
121, 115, 116. What is the average?
2. A single sampling plan is desired with a consumer’s risk of 0.10 of accepting 3.0% nonconforming
product and a producer’s risk of 0.05 of not accepting 0.7% nonconforming product. Select the plan with
the lowest sample size.
Production and Operation Management
Part One:
Multiple choices:
1. If the number of restrictions on sources be ‘a’ and the number of restrictions
on destinations be
‘b’ then with the use of ‘stepping stone procedure’, the number of ‘used cells’
will be
a. a+b+1
b. a+b+2
c. a-b-1
d. a+b-1
2. Value of smoothing coefficient ‘α’ lies
a. Between 1 and ∞
b. Between 0 and 1
c. Between -1 and 1
d. Between 1 and 2
3. Forecasting error is
a. The difference between forecasted demand and actual demand
b. The ratio of forecasted demand and actual demand
c. The difference between the standard forecast demand and the evaluated forecast
demand
d. Ratio of standard forecast demand and the evaluated forecast demand
4. For forecasting the analyzers plot the demand data on a time scale, study the plot
and then look
for the consistent patterns. Now what does the high noise mean to these patterns
a. Many of the point lie away from the pattern
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b. Most of the points lie close to the pattern
c. All the points lie on the pattern
d. None
5. Payback period is
a. The length of time after which the production starts
b. The length of time after which the selling starts
c. The length of time required to recover the investment
d. The length of time for which firm bears replacement of the good.
Semester II Examination Papers
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6. Salvage value is the income from
a. Selling an asset
b. Buying an asset
c. Bargaining in selling
d. Price raised stock
7. On total factor basis ‘Productivity’ is given by x/y, where ‘y’ is
a. Labor + Capital +Materials
b. Labor + Capital + Materials + Energy
c. Capital
d. Capital + Materials
8. Economic efficiency is given by
a. Input /output
b. Input /100
c. (Output-input)/input
d. Output /input
9. This implies an effective management that ensures an organization’s long-term
commitment to
the continuous improvement of quality.
a. Quality management
b. Strategic management
c. Total quality management
d. Operations management
10. This techniques for improving productivity involves analyzing the operations of
the product or
service, estimate the value of each operation, and modifying (or) improving that
operation so that
the cost is lowered.
a. Value engineering
b. Time-event network
c. Work simplifications
d. Quality circles
Part Two:
1. What are the different types of models in production and operation management?
2. Define ‘Depreciation’.
3. What do you understand by ‘Bias’?
4. What are ‘Learning curves’?
Caselet 1
COMPANY BACKGROUND
The Bronson Insurance Group was originally founded in 1900 in Auxvasse, Missouri, by
James Bronson.
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The Bronson Group owns a variety of companies that underwrite personal and commercial
insurance
policies. Annual sales of the Bronson Group are $100 million. In recent years, the
company has suffered
operating losses. In 1990, the company was heavily invested in computer hardware and
software. One of
the problems the Bronson Group faced (as well as many insurance companies) was a
conflict between
established manual procedures and the relatively recent (within the past 20 years)
introduction of
computer equipment. This conflict was illustrated by the fact that much information
was captured on
computer but paper files were still kept for practical and legal reasons.
FILE CLERKS
The file department employed 20 file clerks who pulled files from stacks, refilled
used files, and delivered
files to various departments including commercial lines, personal lines, and claims.
Once a file clerk
received the file. Clerks delivered files to underwriters on an hourly basis
throughout the day. The
average file clerk was paid $8,300 per year. One special file clerk was used full
time to search for
requested files that another file clerk had not been able to find in the expected
place. It was estimated that
40 percent of the requested files were these “no hit” files requiring a search.
Often these “no hit” files
were eventually found stacked in the requester’s office. The primary “customers”
of the file clerks were
underwriters and claims attorneys.
UNDERWRITING
Company management and operations analysts were consistently told that the greatest
problem in the
company was the inability of file clerks to supply files in a speedy fashion. The
entire company from top
to bottom viewed the productivity and effectiveness of the department as
unacceptable. An underwriter
used 20-50 files per day. Because of their distrust of the files department,
underwriters tended to hoard
often used files. A count by operations analysts found that each underwriter kept
from 100-200 files in his
or her office at any one time. An underwriter would request a file by computer and
work on other
business until the file was received. Benson employed 25 underwriters.
MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM
Upper management was deeply concerned about this problem. The MIS department had
suggested using
video disks as a possible solution. A video disk system was found that would be
sufficient for the
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companies needs at a cost of about $12 million. It was estimated that the system
would take two years to
install and make compatible with existing information systems. Another, less
attractive was using
microfilm. A microfilm system would require underwriters to go to a single keyboard
to request paper
copies of files. The cost of a microfilm system was $5 million.
1. What do you recommend? Should the company implement one of the new technologies?
Why or
why not?
2. An operations analyst suggested that company employees shared a “dump on the
clerks”
mentality. Explain.
Caselet 2
Harrison T. Wenk III is 43, married, and has two children, ages 10 and 14. He has a
master’s degree
in education and teachers junior high school music in a small town in Ohio.
Harrison’s father passed
away two months ago, leaving his only child an unusual business opportunity.
According to his
father’s will, Harrison has 12 months to become active in the family food-catering
business, Kare-
Full Katering, Inc., or it will be sold to two key employees for a reasonable and
fair price. If
Harrison becomes involved, the two employees have the option to purchase a
significant, but less
than majority, interest in the firm. Harrison’s only involvement with this business,
which his
grandfather established, was as an hourly employee during high school and college
summers. He is
confident that he could learn and perhaps enjoy the marketing side of the business,
and that he could
retain the long-time head of accounting/finance. But he would never really enjoy dayto-
day
operations. In fact, he doesn’t understand what operations management really
involves. In 1991
Kare-Full Katering, Inc. had $3.75 million in sales in central Ohio. Net profit after
taxes was $
105,000, the eleventh consecutive year of profitable operations and the seventeenth
in the last 20
years. There are 210 employees in this labor-intense business. Institutional
contracts account for
over 70 percent of sales and include partial food services for three colleges, six
commercial
establishments) primarily manufacturing plants and banks), two long -term care
facilities, and five
grade schools. Some customer location employs a permanent operations manager; others
are served
from the main kitchens of Kare-Full Katering. Harrison believes that if he becomes
active in the
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business, one of the two key employees, the vice president of operations, will leave
the
firm.Harrison has decided to complete the final two months of this school year and
then spend the
summer around Kare-Full Katering – as well as institutions with their own food
services – to assess
whether he wants to become involved in the business. He is particularly interested in
finding out as
much as possible about operations. Harrison believes he owes it to his wife and
children to fairly
evaluate this opportunity.
1. Prepare a worksheet of operations activities that Harrison should inquire about
this summer.
2. If you were Harrison, what would you do? Why?
1. Productivity is an important tool for mangers as it helps them to track progress
toward the more
efficient use of resources in producing goods and services. Elucidate.
2. In additional to operations research, what are the other tools and techniques used
by organizations to improve productivity?
Examination Paper: Health and Hospital Management
1
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IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper MM.100
Hospital Administration
Section A: Objective Type (30 marks)
This section consists of Multiple choices questions & Short notes type questions.
Answer all the questions.
Part One questions carries 1 mark each & Part Two questions carry 5 marks each.
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. A method of collaborative work in which visual display of information on flip charts or other
media to which other group member can use is:
a. Decision matrices
b. Multivoting
c. Boarding
d. Brainstorming
2. A tool for Data collection which summarize perception of a large sample of people is:
a. Surveys
b. Interviews
c. Check sheet
d. Data sheets
3. Members of Inspection control committee are:
a. Microbiologist, O.T. in charge, Medical Superintendent
b. Representative from Nursing Service, CSSD in charge, Representative from major clinical
department
c. Both (a) & (b)
d. None of the above
4. MRD stands for:
a. Medical Records Department
b. Medicine Records Department
c. Medicine Release Department
d. None of the above
5. Format for appraisal in which rank order is establish of employees based on their relative merit:
a. Forced Distribution Technique
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b. Graphic Rating Scale
c. Ranking methods
d. Free Written Ratings
Examination Paper: Health and Hospital Management
2
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6. Analytical technique in Materials Management in which all items in inventory on the basis of
annual usage time cost is:
a. FSN Analysis
b. ABC Analysis
c. VED Analysis
d. None of the above
7. Planning tool used in Quality Management in which the items are written on individual cards and
displayed on a flip chart:
a. Relations Diagram
b. Process Decision Program chart
c. Affinity Diagram
d. Activity Network Diagram
8. Method of filing of Medical records in which involves filing of records in exact chronological
order according to unit / serial number:
a. Middle Digit filing
b. Terminal Digit filing
c. Straight Numeric filing
d. None of the above
9. Type of hospital in which the number of beds is over 300 beds is known as:
a. Large hospital
b. Medium sized hospital
c. Small hospital
d. None of the above
10. Meeting in hospital whose purpose is to pass on information received from agencies is:
a. Informative Meeting
b. Consultative Meeting
c. Executive Meeting
d. None of the above
Part Two:
1. What are the factors affecting “Retraining” in a hospital?
2. What is the optimum composition of the Drugs and Therapeutics?
3. What do you understand by outdoor patient department?
4. Write down the different members of Appointment committee of the hospital.
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper: Health and Hospital 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 to 200 words).
Caselet 1
Rakesh and Gagan were two brothers who had graduate in Medicine in the year 1979. Both
established themselves as successful practitioners. In 1992, they decided to set up their own hospital
as both were familiar with the nitty-gritty of the profession after spending a decade as successful
practitioners. In the year 1994, the concept was concretized when three floors Arogya Hospital with a
bed capacity of 60 came into existence at Gwalior. The facilities provided by the hospital were
pathology, X-ray, blood bank and ICU. In the year 1998, the number of beds was increased to 100
with the addition of a fourth floor. In the year 2005, a fifth floor was added and the hospital started
offering services like radiology, 3D spiral, C. Tscan, colourdoppler, pathology, blood bank, C.C.U.,
O.T., maternity unit, emergency and trauma services, in-patient accommodation, canteen,
telecommunication and entertainment.
The hospital had 35 nurses and 55 class four employees. The main task of the class four
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employees was to maintain the cleanliness of the hospital. Besides this, they were also entrusted with
the task of sponging, bed setting and shifting of the patients. Salary paid to these employees was
between Rs. 1200/- to Rs. 1800/- per month. The hospital staff was divided into different classes of
employees. Class one comprised of MBBS, MD, MS, and Administrative Officers. Class three
comprised of Technicians and Nurses. Class four comprised of Ayabais, Sweepers and Guards.
Hospital had 11 full time doctors, out of whom 7 were duty doctors (MBBS), 2 full time MD for ICU
and 2 full time in-house surgeons (MS). Besides this, the hospital had 50 visiting doctors who
operated on a turnkey basis. These doctors had their own clinics in different parts of the city and as
per requirement; they admitted their patents in the hospital. There was a mutual agreement between
the doctors and the hospital that the hospital would charge the patients and out of it the doctors would
receive their fees along with a percentage from the hospital share. The patients treated by the hospital
were patients requiring intensive care and minor illnesses. Out of the cases reported in the hospital,
60-75% were maternity and were referred to the hospital by leading gynecologists of the city, Dr.
Savita and Dr. Manorama. To help the doctors in the treatment of patients, work-instructions for
Resident Doctors, Supervisors, Ward boys / Ayabais and Sweeper boys/ bais were prepared by the
newly appointed Hospital-Administrator Priya. These instructions were prepared in English and were
hung on the walls of the enquiry counter. After a span of one month, Priya resigned from the hospital
on account of some personal reasons.
By the end of the year 2004, Ritu, a fresh post-graduate in Hospital-Administration from
Gwalior, was appointed as an Administrative Officer or take charge of the overall activities of the
hospital. Her role was to monitor the activities of employees of class three and four and various other
activities related to the functioning of the Hospital. The first task before her was to improve the
cleanliness of the hospital. She found that the toilets were not cleaned properly and the room hygiene
was dismal. She started making regular visits to all the wards and rooms in the hospital to observe and
monitor the employees lacked a human touch. To add to this, the patients also complained that the
employees demanded money for the services. After analyzing the situation, she came to the
conclusion that lack of motivation among the class four employees was one of the major factors
responsible for the pathetic condition prevailing in the hospital. Lack of motivation among the class
four employees was also visible in the form of high employee turnover, work negligence, absenteeism
and complaining behavior. High absenteeism among the class four employees resulted in work
Examination Paper: Health and Hospital Management
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IIBM Institute of Business Management
overload for sincere employees, as they were forced to work in the next shift. This was a regular
feature in the hospital as a result of which employees often remained stressed and therefore, less
committed towards their work. Although, they were being provided with dinner and snacks at the
expense of the hospital, as a gesture of goodwill for those who worked over time for the hospital. She
also found that the workers were not reporting for their duty on time, despite their arrival in the
hospital on time.
The second reason, which she identified for lack of hygienic condition in the hospital, was that
the visiting hours for the visitors were not specified, so there was a continuous flow of visitors round
the clock, which hampered and affected the cleaning activity of the hospital. It was found that the
patients’ rooms were always full of visitors who would not mind taking their meals in the room/ward.
She felt that there was no solution to visitors’ problem, as this was an integral part of the promotional
strategy of the management. She also found that the work-instructions given to the hospital-staff was
in English language and it was difficult for class four employees to understand them. Ritu translated
all these instructions in Hindi so that class four employees could understand and implement them.
Ritu had the daunting task to reduce the absenteeism and make the employees more committed to
their work and felt that a reward of Rs. 200, if given to an employee who remained present for 31
days could perhaps motivate the employee to remain regular at the work place. Further, to motivate to
perform, she decided to systematize the performance appraisal system by identifying performers and
non-performers. This being her first job, she was apprehensive about performance appraisal. The
employees were to be classified into three groups A, B and C, ‘A’ was for high performers, ‘B’ was
for average performers and ‘C’ was for poor performers. It was decided that the employees in the
grade ‘A’ would receive the highest increment followed by ‘B’ and ‘C’. To make the performance
appraisal objective, she identified various activities on which the employees could be appraised. To
make the performance appraisal system more objective, a two-tier appraisal system was developed by
her. In the first phase, the employees were to be rated regularly on the identified activities by patients
and their attendants. In the second phase, observation of doctors and nurses was to be considered.
Although Ritu had full cooperation from the hospital management, yet she was apprehensive about
www.mbacasestudyanswers.com
the employee’ acceptance of the new system. She had to wait and watch.
Questions:
1. Critically evaluate the factors identified by Ritu for enhancing organizational effectiveness.
2. Describe a performance appraisal system that you will recommend to Ritu for evaluating the
employees.
Caselet 2
The management of a hospital, faced with a resource crunch embarked on a cost containment
programme. Instructions were issued to various clinical, supportive and utility services to identify the
areas where cost containment could be effectively implemented without compromising with the
patient care facilities.
The hospital had both the centralized and the decentralized purchasing system. The officer-incharge
of the Emergency Department of the hospital, Dr. Systematic was a qualified and trained
hospital administrator. He systematically commenced analysis of the various activities and procedures
in vogue in the Emergency Department.
Dr. Systematic found out that the Emergency Department in addition to the glass syringes
purchased 9000 disposable syringes per annum. The interval of ordering was 30 days. The cost of
Examination Paper: Health and Hospital Management
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IIBM Institute of Business Management
each disposable was Rs. 20/-. The ordering cost per order was Rs. 15/- and the carrying cost were
15% of the average inventory per year. He calculated the Economic Order Quantity, lot size of
inventory per month, storage cost and other inventory related costs and analyzed the optimum interval
of ordering. He forwarded these results along with the other cost containment measures of the
Emergency Department to the hospital management. The recommendations of Dr. Systematic were
implemented and used as a model for other departments of the hospital. Dr. Systematic for effective
analysis and appraisal was honoured with the Doctor of the year award by the Hospital Management.
Questions:
1. What are the assumptions made by Dr. Systematic for their inventory model?
2. Do you recommend any further suggestion for inventory costs in a hospital?
END OF SECTION B
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
This section consists of Applied Theory Questions.
Answer all the questions.
Each question carries 15 marks.
Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
1. Write in brief about structure and function of Hospital Organization.
2. Write in brief about process of Material Management in a hospital.
Principles of Hospital Administration and Planning
Multiple Choices:
1. Public Health Services are concerned with the:
a. Control of communicable diseases
b. Maternal and child health
c. Occupational health and reduction of health hazards
d. All of the above
2. The service of an OPD is affected by the:
a. System
b. Arrival pattern
c. Appointment System
d. None of the above
3. CSSD stands for:
a. Central Sterile Supply Department
b. Circular Sterile Supply Department
c. Central Site Survey Department
d. All of the above
4. ICU Incharge responsibility should cover:
a. Continuity of care
b. Administrative matters
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c. Care and maintenance of equipments
d. All of the above
5. According to which method one nurse is assigned to a group of patient to provide total nursing
care:
a. Functional Assignment Method
b. Team Nursing Method
c. Group Assignment Method
d. Primary Nursing Method
Examination Paper: Health and Hospital Management
7
IIBM Institute of Business Management
6. Break-even point analysis, analyses the relationship between revenue and ______.
a. Variable Cost
b. Expenses
c. Cost
d. Volume
7. MRI stands for:
a. Medical Resonance Imaging
b. Magnetic Resonance Imaging
c. Medical Reasonable Imaging
d. None of the above
8. Ultrasonography waves are mechanical pressures waves whose frequency ranging from:
a. 10-100 MHz
b. 2-50 MHz
c. 100-150 MHz
d. 2-10- MHz
9. The Hospital laboratory works generally falls under the which divisions:
a. Hematology, cytology & Microbiology
b. Clinical Chemistry, Histopathology & Biochemistry
c. Urine and stool analysis
d. All of the above
10. ____________ is a dry type filter with a rigid casing enclosing the full depth of accordion type
filter pleats.
a. OT Suite
b. HEPA filter
c. Cleaner’s closet
d. Electrical outlets
Part Two:
1. What are the importances of Outpatient Services?
2. Define Hospital as a Social System.
3. What are the main functions of the Nursing Services?
4. Explain the classification of Ward Accommodation?
Caselet 1
Mr. Naveen Desai is the current president of Medicare Memorial Hospital’s board of trustees.
Medicare Memorial is a 200-bed voluntary short-term general hospital serving an area of
approximately 50,000 persons. Mr. Naveen has just begun a meeting with the administrator of the
hospital, Mr. Tarun. The purpose of the meeting is to seek an acceptable solution to an apparent
conflict-of-authority problem within the hospital between Mr. Tarun and the chief of surgery, Dr.
Mathew.
The problem was brought to Mr. Naveen’s attention by Dr. Rajeev. The problem that concerned Dr.
Mathew involved the operating room supervisor, Ms. Meetha. Ms. Meetha schedules the hospital’s
operating suite in accordance with policies that she “believes” to have been established by the
hospital’s administration. One source of irritation to the surgeons is her attitude that maximum
utilization must be made of the hospital’s operating rooms if hospitals cost are to be reduced. She
therefore schedules in such a way that operating room idle time is minimized. Surgeons complain that
the operating schedule often does not permit them sufficient time to complete a surgical procedure in
the manner they think desirable. More often than not, insufficient time is allowed between operations
for effective preparation of the operating room for the next procedure. Such scheduling, the surgical
staff maintains, contributes to low-quality patient care. Furthermore, some of the surgeons have
complained that Ms. Meetha shows favoritism in her scheduling, allowing some doctors ore use of the
www.mbacasestudyanswers.com
operating suite than others.
The situation reached a crisis when Dr. Mathew following an explosive confrontation with s. Meetha
made an appeal to the hospital administrator, who in turn informed Dr. Mathew that discharging
nurses was an administrative prerogative. In effect, Dr. Mathew, was told he did not have authority
over any issue affecting medical practice and good patient care in Medicare Hospital. He considered
this as a medical problem and threatened to take the matter to the hospital’s board of trustees.
As the meeting between Mr. Naveen and Mr. Tarun began, Mr. Tarun explained his position on the
problem. He stressed the point that a hospital administrator is legally responsible for patient care in
the hospital. He also contended that quality patient care cannot be achieved unless the board of
trustees authorized the administrator to make decisions, develop programs, formulate policies and
implement procedures. While listening to Mr. Tarun, Mr. Naveen recalled the position belligerently
taken by Dr. Mathew, who had contended that surgical and medical doctors holding staff privileges at
Medicare would never allow a ‘layman’ to make decisions impinging on medical practice. Dr.
Mathew also had said that Mr. Tarun should be told to restrict his activities to fund raising, financing,
maintenance – administrative problems rather than medical problems. Dr. Mathew had then requested
that Mr. Naveen clarify in a definitive manner the lines of authority at Medicare Memorial.
As Mr. Naveen ended his meeting with Mr. Traun, the severity of the problem was unmistakably
clear to him, but the solution remained quite unclear, Mr. Naveen knew a decision was required – and
soon.
Questions:
1. According to you, what conflict had developed at Medicare Memorial Hospital?
2. What should Mr. Naveen do?
Caselet 2
Outpatient service is one of the rapidly growing services of the hospital. Therefore in many instances,
outpatient departments built in the recent past have been found to be too small over the years because
of increasing demands, growth of new specialties and the desirability of carrying out an increasing
range of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures on outpatient basis. The department must, therefore,
be planned for a substantial capacity for growth.
In the general hospital, the outpatient department will consist of general outpatient clinic as well as
specialty clinics, in the form of a polyclinic. The structural requirement of outpatient department
incorporating a polyclinic will depend upon the extent of the services provided. The primary aim
should be to provide large floor areas free of structural members to give the maximum adaptability
for changing requirements.
In many hospitals, poorly planned physical relationship of the OPD are responsible for increasing the
work of staff and causing embarrassment and unnecessary movements for patients. On outpatients
visits, patent flow usually progresses from Enquiry and Registration to Waiting, then to examination
rooms and thereafter to investigation facilities, and lastly the pharmacy. In comparison to the other
departments of the hospital, viz. wards, diagnostic and service departments combined, the percentage
of space occupied by the outpatient department of most existing public hospitals varies from 12 to 18
per cent.
The area required for the outpatient department should be adequate to accommodate the reception and
waiting hall, waiting rooms, registration and outpatient medical records, clinics, toilet facilities and
the injection and dressing room, pharmacy, minor OT and circulation routes. Scales of space for
outpatient department can hardly be standardized in view of the varied requirements and range of
services provided. For planning premises, half square foot for each expected annual outpatient visits
is considered to provide adequate space in case of most general hospitals. A hospital expecting 500
outpatients per day over 300 normal working days in a year would thus require upto 75000 square
feet (6975 sqm) of space for its outpatient department.
Questions:
1. What will be procedures that could be performed on outpatient basis?
2. Outpatient Services is important in Hospitals. Why?
1. What are the role and functions of an ICU?
2. What are the Ethical and Legal Aspects of Hospital Administration?
Information Technology and Management
Multiple Choices:
1. Computer crime is defined by:
a. AITP
b. SWAT
www.mbacasestudyanswers.com
c. Both (a) & (b)
d. None of the above
2. Prototyping is sometimes called:
a. ASD
b. RSD
c. RAD
d. None of the above
3. Virtual reality is also called:
a. Computer-simulated reality
b. Neurons
c. Software robots
d. Telepresence
4. A trackball is a stationary device related to the:
a. Keyboard
b. Joystick
c. Mouse
d. All of the above
5. Hand-held microcomputer devices known as:
a. Personal digital assistance
b. Super computers
c. Both (a) & (b)
d. None of the above
6. KMS stands for:
a. Knowledge memory systems
b. Knowledge making system
c. Knowledge management systems
Examination Paper: Information Technology
2
IIBM Institute of Business Management
d. None of the above
7. A basic system component of information systems is:
a. Memory
b. Processing
c. Storage
d. All of the above
8. How many characters uses the MICR system?
a. 15 characters
b. 18 characters
c. 24 characters
d. 14 characters
9. EBCDIC stands for:
a. Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
b. Extended Binary Coded Decimal Instruction Code
c. Extended Binary Coded Data Interchange Code
d. Electronic Binary Coded Data Interchange Code
10. The smallest element of data is called:
a. Byte
b. Bit
c. Giga byte
d. None of the above
Part Two:
1. Write a note on ‘Cache Memory’.
2. What do know about ‘Assembler’?
3. Write a note on ‘Optical Character Recognition’.
4. Explain the term ‘Electronic commerce’.
Caselet 1
It began as a trading site for nerds, the newly jobless, home-bound housewives, and bored retirees to
sell subprime goods: collectibles and attic trash. But eBay quickly grew into a teeming marketplace
of 30 million, with its own laws and norms, such as a feedback system in which buyers and sellers
www.mbacasestudyanswers.com
Examination Paper: Information Technology
3
IIBM Institute of Business Management
rate each other on each transaction. When that wasn’t quite enough, eBay formed its own police
force to patrol the listings for fraud and kick out offenders. The company even has something akin to
a bank: Its Paypal payment-processing unit allows buyers to make electronic payments to eBay
sellers who can’t afford a merchant credit card account. “eBay is creating a second, virtual
economy,” says W. Brian Arthur, an economist at think tank Santa Fe Institute. “It’s opening up a
whole new medium of exchange.” eBay’s powerful vortex is drawing diverse products and players
into its profitable economy, driving its sellers into the heart of traditional retailing, a $2 trillion
market. Among eBay’s 12 million daily listings are products from giants such as Sears Roebuck,
Home Depot, Walt Disney, and even IBM. More than a quarter of the offerings are listed at fixed
prices. The result, says Bernard H. Tenenbaum, president of a retail buyout firm, is “They‘re coming
right for the mainstream of the retail business.” So what started out as a pure consumer auction
market-place is now also becoming a big time business-to-consumer and even business-to-business
bazaar that is earning record profits for eBay’s stockholders. And as the eBay economy expands,
CEO Meg Whitman and her team may find that managing it could get a lot tougher, especially
because eBay’s millions of passionate and clamorous users demand a voice in all major decisions.
This process is clear in one of eBay’s most cherished institutions: the voice of the Customer
program. Every couple of months, the executives of eBay bring in as many as a dozen sellers and
buyers, especially its high selling “Power Sellers,” to ask them questions about how they work and
what else eBay needs to do. And at least twice a week, it holds hour-long teleconferences to poll
users on almost every new feature or policy, no matter how small. The result is that users feel like
owners, and they take the initiative to expand the eBay economy – often beyond management’s
wildest dreams. Stung by an aerospace down-turn, for instance, machine-tool shop Reliable Tools
Inc., tried listing a few items on eBay in late 1998. Some were huge, hulking chunks of metal, such
as a $7,000 2,300-pound milling machine. Yet they sold like ice cream in August. Since then, says
Reliable’s auction manager, Richard Smith, the company’s eBay business has “turned into a
monster.” Now the Irwindale (California) shop’s $1 million in monthly eBay sales constitutes 75%
of its overall business. Pioneers such as Reliable promoted eBay to set up an industrial products
marketplace in January that’s on track to top $500 million in gross sales this year.Then there is eBay
Motors. When eBay manager Simon Rothman first recognized a market for cars on cars on eBay in
early 1999, he quickly realized that such high-ticket items would require a different strategy than
simply opening a new category. To jump-start its supply of cars and customers, eBay immediately
bought a collector-car auction company, Kruse International, for $150 million in stock, and later did
a deal to include listings from online classifieds site, AutoTrader.com. Rothman also arranged
insurance and warranty plans, an escrow service, and shipping and inspection services.This approach
worked wonder. Sales of cars and car parts, at a $5 billion-plus annual clip, are eBay's single largest
market. That has catapulted eBay in front of No. 1 U.S. auto dealer AutoNation in number of used
cars sold. About half of the sellers are brick-and-mortar dealers who now have a much larger
audience than their local area. “eBay is by far one of my better sources for buyers,” says Bradley
Bonifacius, Internet sales director at Dean Stallings Ford in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. And for now,
the big corporations, which still account for under 5 percent of eBay’s gross sales, seem to be
bringing in more customers then they steal. Motorola Inc., for example, helped kick off a new
wholesale business for eBay last year, selling excess and returned cell phones in large lots. Thanks to
the initiative of established companies such as Motorola, eBay’s wholesale business jumped
ninefold, to $23 million, in the first quarter.As businesses on eBay grow larger, they spur the
creation of even more businesses. A new army of merchants, for example, is making a business out
of selling on eBay for other people. From almost none a couple of years ago, these so called Trading
Assistants now number nearly 23,000. This kind of organic growth makes it exceedingly though to
predict how far the eBay economy can go. Whitman professes not to know. “We don’t actually
control this,” she admits. “We are not building this company by ourselves. We have a unique partner
– million of people.”
Questions:
1. Why has eBay become such a successful and diverse online marketplace? Visit the eBay website
to help you answer, and check out their many trading categories, specialty sites, international
sites, and other features.
2. Why do you think eBay has become the largest online/offline seller of used cars, and the largest
online seller of certain other products, like computers and photographic equipment?
www.mbacasestudyanswers.com
Caselet 2
It’s no secret that somewhere in a back room in the typical Fortune 500 company, there’s a team of
analytical wizards running sophisticated data mining queries that mine for gems such as data about
about the company’s best customers – those top 20 percent of clients that produce 80 percent of the
company’s profits. These jewels can be a business’s most valuable intellectual property, which
makes them very valuable to competitors. What’s to prevent that data set from walking out the door
or falling into the wrong hands? Sometimes, not much. Many companies lack the internal controls to
prevent that information from leaking. The problem is that such data is as hard to protect as it is to
find. Owens & Minor Inc., a $4 billion medical supplies distributor, counts some of the nation’s
largest health care organizations among its customers. In late 1996, it started mining data internally
using business intelligence software from Business Objects SA. “From the beginning, we were
aware of security issues around this strategic information about our operations,” says Don Stoller,
senior director of information systems at Owens & Minor. “For example, a sales executive in Dallas
should only have access to analyses from his region.” It is always possible that someone who has
legitimate access will abuse that trust, but companies can minimize that potential by strictly limiting
access to only those who need it. thus, Owens & Minor uses role-level security functions that clearly
define who has access to which data. “This meant we had to build a separate security table in our
Oracle database,” says Stoller. A few years later, when the company wanted to open its systems to
suppliers and customers, security became even more important. In 1998, Owens & Minor moved
quickly to take advantage of Web-intelligence software from Business Objects that’s designed to
Web-enable business intelligence systems. The result was Wisdom, an extranet Web portal that lets
Owens & Minor’s suppliers and customers access their own transactional data and generate
sophisticated analyses and reports from it.“It business-to-business transactions, security is key,” says
Stoller. “We had to make absolutely sure that Jhonson & Jhonson, for example, could not see any
3M’s information. This meant we had to set up specific customer and supplier security tables, and
we had to maintain new, secured database views using the Oracle DBMS and Business
Objects.”Wisdom was such a success that Owens & Minor decided to go into the intelligence
business with the launch of wisdom2 in the spring of 2000. “We capture data out of a hospital’s
materials management system and load it into our data warehouse,” Stoller explains. A hospital can
then make full use of its business-intelligence software to mine and analyze purchasing data. Owens
& Minor receives a licensing and maintenance fee for the services.Layers of security and encryption
require a considerable amount of overhead data for systems administration. Both Stoller and Michael
Rasmussen, an analyst at Giga Information Group, say that’s the main reason security concerns
about business intelligence are often swept under the carpet. The issues of authentication (identifying
the user) and authorization (what things the user is allowed to do) must be addressed, usually across
different applications, Rasmussen says, adding, “Systems administration can be a real
nightmare.”“We are going through some of this,” says David Merager, director of Web services and
corporate applications at Vivendi Universal Games Inc. (www.vugames.com). “Our business
intelligence needs more security attention.” Business intelligence reports come from two systems: an
Oracle-based for budgets on a Microsoft SQL Server database. The heart of the business intelligence
system consists of Microsoft’s OLAP application and software from Comshare Inc. that provides the
Web-based front end for the analytics. “Our budget teams use these reports to do real-time
analyses,” says Merager. Rodger Sayles, manager of data warehousing at Vivendi Universal, says
one way to secure such a system is to assign roles to all users within the Microsoft application. Roles
determine precisely what a user is allowed to see and do and are usually managed within a directory.
If your computing architecture is amenable to a single, centralized directory that supports roles, this
may be an attractive solution. “The problem is that once you have over 40 distinct roles, you run into
performance issues, and we have identified about 70 user roles,” Sayles explains. He says there’s
way around this difficulty. “I think we are going to use a combination of Web portals and user roles.
A user would sign on through a particular Web portal, which would effectively place the user in a
role category. This reduces the overhead burden on the application,” says Sayles.
Questions:
1. Why have developments in IT helped to increase the value of the data resources of many
companies?
2. How can companies use IT to meet the challenges of data resources security?
1. What potential security problems do you see in the increasing use of intranets and extranets in
business? What might be done to solve such problems? Give several examples.
www.mbacasestudyanswers.com
2. Suppose you are a manager being asked to develop e-business and e-commerce applications to
gain a competitive advantage in an important market for your company. What reservations might
you have about doing so? Why?
Database Management Systems
Multiple choices:
1. The normal language of database is:
a. PHP
b. SQL
c. C++
d. Java
2. DDL, a database system language:
a. Creates table
b. Manipulates table
c. Cannot work with table
d. None
3. Symbol for one to one relationship is………………………………………………………
4. HDBMS stands for:
a. Hello DBMS
b. Hierarchical DBMS
c. Hyper DBMS
d. High DBMS
5. In Anti joining of R►S means ……………………………………………………………
Part Two:
1. What are “Foreign Keys”?
2. Differentiate between ‘DBMS’ and ‘RDBMS’.
3. Write the syntax to insert charts into a table from another table.
4. What are ‘Armstrong’s Axioms’?
This section consists of Long Questions.
Answer all the questions.
Each question carries 10 marks.
Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
1. Elaborate the testing of Serializability techniques with example.
2. Explain the working of lock manager.
3. What is deadlock? How is a deadlock detected? Enumerate the method for recovery from the
deadlock.
4. Explain why a transaction execution should be atomic. Explain ACID properties, considering the
following transaction.
Ti: read (A);
A : = A- 50;
Write (A);
Read (B);
B : = B + 50;
Write (B)
1. The HR manager has decided to raise the salary for all the employees in department number 30
by 0.25. Whenever any such raise is given to the EMPLOYEES, a record for the same is
maintained in the EMP-RAISE table. It includes the employee number, the date when the raise
was given and the actual raise. Write a PL/SQL block to update the salary of each employee and
insert a record in the EMP-RAISE table.
2. Retrieve the salesman name in ‘New Delhi’ whose efforts have resulted into atleast one sales
transaction.
Table Name : SALES-MAST
Salesman-no Name City
B0001
B0002
B0003
B0004
B0005
B0006
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B0007
Puneet Kumar
Pravin Kumar
Radha Krishna
Brijesh Kumar
Tushar Kumar
Nitin Kumar
Mahesh Kumar
Varanasi
Varanasi
New Delhi
New Delhi
Allahabad
Allahabad
Gr. Noida
Table Name : SALES-ORDER
Order-no Order-date Salesman-no
S0001
S0002
S0003
S0004
S0005
S0006
10-Apr-07
28-Apr-07
05-May-07
12-June-07
15-July-07
18-Aug-07
B0001
B0002
B0003
B0004
B0005
B0006
Information Technology and Management
Multiple Choices:
1. Computer crime is defined by:
a. AITP
b. SWAT
c. Both (a) & (b)
d. None of the above
2. Prototyping is sometimes called:
a. ASD
b. RSD
c. RAD
d. None of the above
3. Virtual reality is also called:
a. Computer-simulated reality
b. Neurons
c. Software robots
d. Telepresence
4. A trackball is a stationary device related to the:
a. Keyboard
b. Joystick
c. Mouse
d. All of the above
www.mbacasestudyanswers.com
5. Hand-held microcomputer devices known as:
a. Personal digital assistance
b. Super computers
c. Both (a) & (b)
d. None of the above
6. KMS stands for:
a. Knowledge memory systems
b. Knowledge making system
c. Knowledge management systems
Examination Paper: Information Technology
2
IIBM Institute of Business Management
d. None of the above
7. A basic system component of information systems is:
a. Memory
b. Processing
c. Storage
d. All of the above
8. How many characters uses the MICR system?
a. 15 characters
b. 18 characters
c. 24 characters
d. 14 characters
9. EBCDIC stands for:
a. Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
b. Extended Binary Coded Decimal Instruction Code
c. Extended Binary Coded Data Interchange Code
d. Electronic Binary Coded Data Interchange Code
10. The smallest element of data is called:
a. Byte
b. Bit
c. Giga byte
d. None of the above
Part Two:
1. Write a note on ‘Cache Memory’.
2. What do know about ‘Assembler’?
3. Write a note on ‘Optical Character Recognition’.
4. Explain the term ‘Electronic commerce’.
Caselet 1
It began as a trading site for nerds, the newly jobless, home-bound housewives, and bored retirees to
sell subprime goods: collectibles and attic trash. But eBay quickly grew into a teeming marketplace
of 30 million, with its own laws and norms, such as a feedback system in which buyers and sellers
rate each other on each transaction. When that wasn’t quite enough, eBay formed its own police
force to patrol the listings for fraud and kick out offenders. The company even has something akin to
a bank: Its Paypal payment-processing unit allows buyers to make electronic payments to eBay
sellers who can’t afford a merchant credit card account. “eBay is creating a second, virtual
economy,” says W. Brian Arthur, an economist at think tank Santa Fe Institute. “It’s opening up a
whole new medium of exchange.” eBay’s powerful vortex is drawing diverse products and players
into its profitable economy, driving its sellers into the heart of traditional retailing, a $2 trillion
market. Among eBay’s 12 million daily listings are products from giants such as Sears Roebuck,
Home Depot, Walt Disney, and even IBM. More than a quarter of the offerings are listed at fixed
prices. The result, says Bernard H. Tenenbaum, president of a retail buyout firm, is “They‘re coming
right for the mainstream of the retail business.” So what started out as a pure consumer auction
market-place is now also becoming a big time business-to-consumer and even business-to-business
bazaar that is earning record profits for eBay’s stockholders. And as the eBay economy expands,
CEO Meg Whitman and her team may find that managing it could get a lot tougher, especially
because eBay’s millions of passionate and clamorous users demand a voice in all major decisions.
This process is clear in one of eBay’s most cherished institutions: the voice of the Customer
program. Every couple of months, the executives of eBay bring in as many as a dozen sellers and
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buyers, especially its high selling “Power Sellers,” to ask them questions about how they work and
what else eBay needs to do. And at least twice a week, it holds hour-long teleconferences to poll
users on almost every new feature or policy, no matter how small. The result is that users feel like
owners, and they take the initiative to expand the eBay economy – often beyond management’s
wildest dreams. Stung by an aerospace down-turn, for instance, machine-tool shop Reliable Tools
Inc., tried listing a few items on eBay in late 1998. Some were huge, hulking chunks of metal, such
as a $7,000 2,300-pound milling machine. Yet they sold like ice cream in August. Since then, says
Reliable’s auction manager, Richard Smith, the company’s eBay business has “turned into a
monster.” Now the Irwindale (California) shop’s $1 million in monthly eBay sales constitutes 75%
of its overall business. Pioneers such as Reliable promoted eBay to set up an industrial products
marketplace in January that’s on track to top $500 million in gross sales this year.Then there is eBay
Motors. When eBay manager Simon Rothman first recognized a market for cars on cars on eBay in
early 1999, he quickly realized that such high-ticket items would require a different strategy than
simply opening a new category. To jump-start its supply of cars and customers, eBay immediately
bought a collector-car auction company, Kruse International, for $150 million in stock, and later did
a deal to include listings from online classifieds site, AutoTrader.com. Rothman also arranged
insurance and warranty plans, an escrow service, and shipping and inspection services.This approach
worked wonder. Sales of cars and car parts, at a $5 billion-plus annual clip, are eBay's single largest
market. That has catapulted eBay in front of No. 1 U.S. auto dealer AutoNation in number of used
cars sold. About half of the sellers are brick-and-mortar dealers who now have a much larger
audience than their local area. “eBay is by far one of my better sources for buyers,” says Bradley
Bonifacius, Internet sales director at Dean Stallings Ford in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. And for now,
the big corporations, which still account for under 5 percent of eBay’s gross sales, seem to be
bringing in more customers then they steal. Motorola Inc., for example, helped kick off a new
wholesale business for eBay last year, selling excess and returned cell phones in large lots. Thanks to
the initiative of established companies such as Motorola, eBay’s wholesale business jumped
ninefold, to $23 million, in the first quarter.As businesses on eBay grow larger, they spur the
creation of even more businesses. A new army of merchants, for example, is making a business out
of selling on eBay for other people. From almost none a couple of years ago, these so called Trading
Assistants now number nearly 23,000. This kind of organic growth makes it exceedingly though to
predict how far the eBay economy can go. Whitman professes not to know. “We don’t actually
control this,” she admits. “We are not building this company by ourselves. We have a unique partner
– million of people.”
Questions:
1. Why has eBay become such a successful and diverse online marketplace? Visit the eBay website
to help you answer, and check out their many trading categories, specialty sites, international
sites, and other features.
2. Why do you think eBay has become the largest online/offline seller of used cars, and the largest
online seller of certain other products, like computers and photographic equipment?
Caselet 2
It’s no secret that somewhere in a back room in the typical Fortune 500 company, there’s a team of
analytical wizards running sophisticated data mining queries that mine for gems such as data about
about the company’s best customers – those top 20 percent of clients that produce 80 percent of the
company’s profits. These jewels can be a business’s most valuable intellectual property, which
makes them very valuable to competitors. What’s to prevent that data set from walking out the door
or falling into the wrong hands? Sometimes, not much. Many companies lack the internal controls to
prevent that information from leaking. The problem is that such data is as hard to protect as it is to
find. Owens & Minor Inc., a $4 billion medical supplies distributor, counts some of the nation’s
largest health care organizations among its customers. In late 1996, it started mining data internally
using business intelligence software from Business Objects SA. “From the beginning, we were
aware of security issues around this strategic information about our operations,” says Don Stoller,
senior director of information systems at Owens & Minor. “For example, a sales executive in Dallas
should only have access to analyses from his region.” It is always possible that someone who has
legitimate access will abuse that trust, but companies can minimize that potential by strictly limiting
access to only those who need it. thus, Owens & Minor uses role-level security functions that clearly
define who has access to which data. “This meant we had to build a separate security table in our
Oracle database,” says Stoller. A few years later, when the company wanted to open its systems to
suppliers and customers, security became even more important. In 1998, Owens & Minor moved
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quickly to take advantage of Web-intelligence software from Business Objects that’s designed to
Web-enable business intelligence systems. The result was Wisdom, an extranet Web portal that lets
Owens & Minor’s suppliers and customers access their own transactional data and generate
sophisticated analyses and reports from it.“It business-to-business transactions, security is key,” says
Stoller. “We had to make absolutely sure that Jhonson & Jhonson, for example, could not see any
3M’s information. This meant we had to set up specific customer and supplier security tables, and
we had to maintain new, secured database views using the Oracle DBMS and Business
Objects.”Wisdom was such a success that Owens & Minor decided to go into the intelligence
business with the launch of wisdom2 in the spring of 2000. “We capture data out of a hospital’s
materials management system and load it into our data warehouse,” Stoller explains. A hospital can
then make full use of its business-intelligence software to mine and analyze purchasing data. Owens
& Minor receives a licensing and maintenance fee for the services.Layers of security and encryption
require a considerable amount of overhead data for systems administration. Both Stoller and Michael
Rasmussen, an analyst at Giga Information Group, say that’s the main reason security concerns
about business intelligence are often swept under the carpet. The issues of authentication (identifying
the user) and authorization (what things the user is allowed to do) must be addressed, usually across
different applications, Rasmussen says, adding, “Systems administration can be a real
nightmare.”“We are going through some of this,” says David Merager, director of Web services and
corporate applications at Vivendi Universal Games Inc. (www.vugames.com). “Our business
intelligence needs more security attention.” Business intelligence reports come from two systems: an
Oracle-based for budgets on a Microsoft SQL Server database. The heart of the business intelligence
system consists of Microsoft’s OLAP application and software from Comshare Inc. that provides the
Web-based front end for the analytics. “Our budget teams use these reports to do real-time
analyses,” says Merager. Rodger Sayles, manager of data warehousing at Vivendi Universal, says
one way to secure such a system is to assign roles to all users within the Microsoft application. Roles
determine precisely what a user is allowed to see and do and are usually managed within a directory.
If your computing architecture is amenable to a single, centralized directory that supports roles, this
may be an attractive solution. “The problem is that once you have over 40 distinct roles, you run into
performance issues, and we have identified about 70 user roles,” Sayles explains. He says there’s
way around this difficulty. “I think we are going to use a combination of Web portals and user roles.
A user would sign on through a particular Web portal, which would effectively place the user in a
role category. This reduces the overhead burden on the application,” says Sayles.
Questions:
1. Why have developments in IT helped to increase the value of the data resources of many
companies?
2. How can companies use IT to meet the challenges of data resources security?
1. What potential security problems do you see in the increasing use of intranets and extranets in
business? What might be done to solve such problems? Give several examples.
2. Suppose you are a manager being asked to develop e-business and e-commerce applications to
gain a competitive advantage in an important market for your company. What reservations might
you have about doing so? Why?
Management Information Systems
This section consists of Multiple choice questions and Short Note type questions.
Answer all the questions.
Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Part one:
Multiple choices:
1. Management Information System is mainly dependent upon:
a. Accounting
b. Information
c. Both ‘a’ and ‘b’
d. None of the above
2. The most important attribute of information quality that a manager requires is:
a. Presentation
b. Relevance
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c. Timeliness
d. None of the above
3. Human Resource Information Systems are designed to:
a. Produce pay checks and payrolls reports
b. Maintain personnel records
c. Analyze the use of personnel in business operations
d. Development of employees to their full potential
4. Operational Accounting System include:
a. Inventory control
b. Cost accounting reports
c. Development of financial budgets and projected financial statements
d. None of the above
5. EIS stands for:
a. Executive Information System
b. Excellent Info System
c. Excessive Information System
d. None of the above
Examination Paper : Semester II
IIBM Institute of Business Management 2
6. Intranet provide a rich set of tools for those people:
a. Who are members of the different company or organization
b. Who are members of the same company or organization
c. Both ‘a’ and ‘b’
d. None of the above
7. Which one is not the future of wireless technology?
a. E-mail
b. VOIP
c. RFID
d. Telegram
8. OLTP stands for:
a. Online Transactional Processing
b. Online Transmission Processing
c. Online Transactional Process
d. None of the above
9. Which one of the following is not considered as future of m-commerce:
a. Ubiquity
b. Localization
c. Simple authentication
d. Common operation
10. Which of the following is not the level of decision making:
a. Management control
b. Activity control
c. Operational control
d. Strategic decision making
Part Two:
1. What are the ‘Strategic Information Systems’?
2. Write down the various business model of internet.
3. What is ‘Network Bandwidth’?
4. Differentiate between OLTP and OLPP.
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper : Semester II
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IIBM Institute of Business Management 3
Section B: Case lets (40 marks)
This section consists of Case lets.
Answer all the questions.
Each Case let carries 20 marks
Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200
words).
Case let 1
Overview of our Client’s Strategy
Our client had an online store. They were spending $15,000 each month on pay per
click
advertising. This resulted in about $225,000 per month in sales. They didn’t know
which clicks
were leading to sales because they didn’t track the clicks. There rankings in the
natural listings was
minimal because they hadn’t done keywords research on what visitors were using to
try to find a
site like there’s. They weren’t able to quantity results because their we
statistics program only
showed very general traffic information. They were also doing an irregular email
newsletter even
though they had more than 32,000 e-mails in their database.
Analysis of the situation
In the natural listings we suspected they were being penalized by the search enines
for duplicate
content. The search engines frown on this because they feel this is trying to fool
them. Google will
often give a site like this something called “Supplement Results”, which means that
the search
engines know the page exists but doesn’t have any content in their database. We also
suspected
their email newsletter was being blocked by many spam blockers because the names of
the products
they sold were often on used in spam e-mails.
Implementation of a Solution
For the pay per click advertising we started tracking the clicks down to the
individual terms and the
actual results that came from them. We were able to delete terms that were not
getting enough sales
and increase the bids on ones that brought sales. For the natural listings we did
keywords research
and focused on the main keywords on the content for the home page and in the META
tags. We
also found that visitors search on product names rather than manufactures, so in the
title tag for the
page we switched and put the product name before the manufacturer. With the
newsletter, we used
a good mix of graphics and content to appease the spam blockers, as well as put the
product names
in graphics so they wouldn’t be blocked. In order to analyze of the site’s traffic,
we implemented a
powerful web statistics program.
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Results of our work
Through our tactics, our clients were able to move up to #4 on Google for their main
search term,
which got a lot of traffic. With pay per click, they went from $.43. They decrease
their budget to
$10,000 per month, yet were able to increase their traffic by 33 percent. Through our
optimization
of their pay per click, their cost per conversion to sale decreased by at least 45
percent. The
deliverability of their newsletter increased as well. Within a year, their sales
increased to over
$600,000 per month.
Questions:
1. Discuss the client strategy for the success of store.
2. Suppose if you are the client maker what would you suggest for the client.
Examination Paper : Semester II
IIBM Institute of Business Management 4
Case let 2
Data Warehouse is a massive independent business database system that is populated
with data that
has been extracted from a range of sources. The data is held separately from its
origin and is used to
help to improve the decision-making process.
Many traditional Databases are involved in recording day to day operational
activities of the
business, called Online Transaction Processing (OLTP), COMMONLY IMPLEMENTED IN
Airline Bookings and Banking Systems, for faster’s response and better control over
data.
After establishment of OLTP Systems, reports and summaries can be drawn for giving
inputs to
decision-making process and this process is called Online Analytical Processing
(OLAP).
For better customer relationships management strategy, the call centre’s and data
Warehouse works
as a strategic tool for decision-support which requires lot of time for
establishment, and needs to be
updated with operational information on daily weekly or monthly basis.
Data Warehouse is used for proactive strategies formulation strategies formulation in
critical and
complex situations. A number of CRM vendors are advocating for single integrated
customer
database which includes call centre, web sites, branches and direct mail, but it
lacks in analytical
functioning of data warehouse. This Database can’t be expanded also, and carry
decision support
operations on call centre Database becomes slow & the query processing and inquiries
andling
operations also become slow & inefficient for agents dealing with customers.
Data Warehouse is must for identifying most profitable & loyal customers and those
customers can
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be offered better customized services which increase the chances of additional
profits.
Although call centre system & data warehouse are altogether different systems yet
dependent on
each other to fully exploit their potential respectively.
Questions:
1. Explain the role of data warehousing in the functioning of a call centre.
2. How the response time in performing OLAP queries can be improved?
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 200 to 250
words).
1. Explain the term e-commerce. Also explain the history and limitations of ecommerce.
2. What do you understand by the term “Database”? Explain the various database
models in
detail.
Pharmaceuticals Industrial Management
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. Which of the following not the principle of co-‘ordination?
a. Principle of early beginning
b. Principle of continuity
c. Principle of time
d. Principle of reciprocity
2. Oral communication includes-.
a. Lecture
b. Poster
c. Union publication
d. Complaint procedure
3. Enthusiasm, co-operation, tact and skillful handling come under-.
a. Intellectual quality
b. Character quality
c. Psychological quality
d. Physical quality
4. Which of the following is the demerit of formal communication?.
a) Decay in accuracy
b) Time consuming
c) It is temporary
d) Fairly unsuitable
5. Arrange the following into decision making process
i. Conception
ii. Investigation
iii. Perception
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iv. Selection
a) iv,i,iii, ii
b) ii,iv iii,i
c) iv,i,iii,ii
d) iii,i,ii, iv
Examination Paper of Pharmaceuticals Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 2
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6. FIFO stands for ______________________.
7. Record of all item of material and good in the store is recorded in which document?
a) Store ledger
b) Bin card
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
8. VED stands for ______________________.
9. In the EOQ formula ‘C’ is stand fora)
Annual consumption
b) Cost of per unit of material
c) Cost per order
d) Storage
10. WTO stands for ______________________.
Part Two:
1. What is questionnaire? Explain rules or guidelines for designing a good questionnaire?
2. Define drug store management? ‘Discuss the arrangements of drugs in drug store?
3. Name the various steps in the selection of a pharmacist?
4. What are the purposes of training given to a pharmacist?
Caselet 1
For the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry which has been presenting a robust performance during the last
few years, the internet is a powerful tool. Web-enabling leverages the pharmaceutical firm’s existing
investment in IT. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Sales Force Automation (SFA)
systems can be web-enabled to cost of operations, and on being effectively used, they establish immense
customer goodwill. Examination Paper of Pharmaceuticals Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 3
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The speed, efficiency and accuracy of a pharmaceutical company’s response to customer queries
determine the extent of customer satisfaction. About 200,000 doctors will be contacted by a typical midsized
pharmaceutical company, on a regular basis. It is crucial that these doctors are kept abreast of
product profiles, new introductions etc. also, during the sales calls made by the field force queries are
raised by the doctors, which need to be addressed quickly. By possessing a comprehensive medical
information system, pharmaceutical companies are able to fulfill their obligations, and, at the same time,
lend support to their sales and business partnerships. A good CRM system incorporates features that
enable information sharing and identification of trends in the market; at the same time, to accommodate
growth, it runs on a scalable platform.
A good CRM system is characterized by two key functions:
fax or e-mail, using a comprehensive data base.
The CRM system can help make urgent responses. It will also have a system of archiving call sheets.
The benefits of a good CRM system include a facility to handle a large number of medical queries
efficiently; tracking customer correspondence/exchanges; retrieval and dissemination of the latest medical
information; providing statistical reports for the re-assessment of product profiles. A good CRM system
arms the company with tools to implement measures for continuous improvement of its business
practices; it can be an invaluable aid to the sales force in understanding the interests and concerns of
medical practitioners.
Sales Force Automation (SFA) is a system related to the CRM system. This tool enables a company to
manage a vast field force. The system provides up-tp-date information to the field force while they are on
the field; it provides the managers with a facility to keep a tab on field force’s activities and ensure they
are going according to plan.
A good SFA system incorporates features as under:
Customer Profiles: by maintain up-to-date, detailed profiles of customers, the system facilitates
tailoring of the profile base for different needs; a comprehensive view on important business opportunities
and important customer is generated.
Hospital Profiles: detailed hospital profiles maintained helps in implementing focused strategies.
Activity Planning: planning of activities by each member of the team is made possible by the SFA
system.
Promotion/Call Reporting: detailed information about a particular promotion, and each sales call are
made available; this enables planning of future activities that focus on specific needs.
Online Submission: daily call reports can be submitted online; call coverage reports and record of
monthly target achievement can be maintained.
Analysis and Reports: to facilitate better planning and strategy formulation, the SFA system provides
detailed statistics.
If the traditional applications and expertise of pharmaceuticals companies can be leveraged by webenabling
them, then major benefits are in store for them. The companies can cut down costs, manage their
markets with more effectiveness and also enter into new markets.
The following are some of the CRM/SFA systems available in the market for the pharmaceutical industry.
Examination Paper of Pharmaceuticals Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 4
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ine MR Reporting Software of Marg Compusoft Pvt. Limited.
-based Pharma CRM Implementation Kit of Infosys Technologies Limited.
-electronics.
Questions:
1. Briefly explain the concept of CRM & SFA systems.
2. State the features of a Good SFA system.
3. Write down some CRM/SFA systems which are available in the market for Pharmaceutical Industry.
4. What are the benefits of CRM system?
Caselet 2
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals uses a web-based tool for sales force automation. The tool helps the sales
force in adding new contacts/accounts, deciding upon the appointments, planning their tour, planning
joint working, submitting their daily call reports, submitting request for samples, promotional articles etc.
based on the actual travel, the tool also calculates te necessary expenses to be paid to the field sales
officer. The sample management and promo management modules in the software keep a complete track
of samples and promo items. Te entire leave management system for the field sales staff runs on this
software. A part from this , the software has multiple reports such as missed call report; call average
report etc, which helps the entire sales force hierarchy to be aware of the developments and act
accordingly.
Majority of the above features and functionalities are available on the mobile interface of the application
as well. The software also allows the field force to capture certain important remarks made by the
customers. The CRM team/medical support team can make the best utilization of this data gathered.
These systems are upgraded on need basis. A part from the pure technical upgrades, the enrichment of
features and functionalities happen through the new version release of the software. The sales force
automation tool is in the form of portal. The portal has two components in terms of content- static Content
and Dynamic content. The transactions happen on the dynamic content side, where as any circulars,
information to the field force, product related FAQs, Manuals etc. are posted on the static content side.
This section really helps to keep in touch with the field force. Any product information which would help
the field force to upgrade the product knowledge can be posted here. Going forward, Glenmark also plans
to have CBT (computer based training) programs to be made online on this portal. These types of
interactive programs will really boost the process of learning for the field sales force.
Questions:
1. Explain the working of a Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.
2. State the features of a Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.
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Section C: Applied Theory (30 Marks)
rries 15 marks.
1. Define ‘Pharmaceutical marketing? Explain objectives and importance of pharmaceutical marketing.
2. Define ‘Advertising’? What are the advantages and disadvantages of advertising in pharmaceutical
marketing?
Pharmaceutical Marketing
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. What is the full form of ‘IPR’?
a. Intellectual property rights
b. Intellectual patent rights
c. Intellectual process rights
d. International patent rights
2. The environment that poses tremendous opportunities for new products and services to alert marketer is
an _________ environment.
a. Ecological
b. Social
c. Technological
d. Competitive
3. Arrange these market opportunities analysis step by step:
i. Evaluate new opportunities in new segments
ii. Build on your strengths
iii. Explore new market opportunities
iv. Analyze your existing markets
a. i, ii,iii,iv
b. ii,iv,i,iii
c. iv,ii,iii,i
d. i,iii,iv,ii
4. Marketing virtually the same product with two or more brand names is a strategy of:
a. Family brand strategy
b. Multiple brand strategy
c. Individual brand
d. Private brand
5. The pricing that deals with the judgmental or subjective elements of pricing is a:
a. Cost-based pricing
b. Petition based pricing
c. Market based pricing
d. Demand based pricing
Examination Paper of Pharmaceuticals Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 7
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6. Which of the following is not a member of distribution channel?
a. The Physician
b. Manufacturer
c. The consumer
d. The transporter
7. Arrange the communication process in order:
i. Medium
ii. Feedback
iii. Sender
iv. Receiver
v. Message
a) ii,iv,v,i,iii
b) iii,v,i,iv,ii
c) iv,i,iii,v,ii
d) iii,ii,iv,i,v
8. The strategy used to create a demand for a product within a channel of distribution by appealing
directly to the consumer is a:
a. Pull strategy
b. Push strategy
c. Combination strategy
d. Competitive strategy
9. Toward off a competitive threat or to create an entry barrier, some companies from different power
blocks may temporarily form a cartel it is termed as:
a. Franchise power
b. Integration power
c. Niche power
d. Coalition power
10. Which of the following ‘R’ is not a part of good management principle?
a. Resources
b. Recognition
c. Responsibility
d. Reward
Part Two:
1. Define the term “Marketing Communication”.
2. Differentiate between ‘Product Item’ and ‘Product Mix’.
3. Differentiate between ‘Cost Based Pricing’ and ‘Demand Based Pricing’.
4. Describe “Boston Matrix”.
Caselet 1
Apex Pharma was one of the Leading pharmaceutical companies with manufacturing plants spread all
over India. Initially, the company produced bulk drugs as the activities expanded, the company started
manufacturing formulation. The first formulation plant was commissioned at Mandideep, Bhopal in 1983.
This plant was exclusively catering to the overseas demand in various countries including the US, South
Africa, Australia and the UK.
The demand in pharmaceutical industry is not evenly spread throughout the year. There were months
when the company operated at 50%-60% of its capacity, and there were months, when the company
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operated at more than the installed capacity, by working in three shifts. As a general policy, the company
used to operate in two shifts. Third shift operations were only resorted to during the peak season. Apex,
during the period of increased demand, outsourced medicines from other companies. However, the
medicines which were outsourced were sold only in the domestic market. The company applied high
quality standards so as to fulfill the requirements of the export market.
Apex’s Bhopal plant was run as a cost center and hence, it was not supposed to report any profits or
losses. The plant had three different blocks manufacturing different sets of medicines (capsules, tablets,
dry syrups and injectibles).
thetic Penicillin Block (SSP): This block produced antibiotics and drugs based on amoxicillin
and ampicillin.
-antibiotic drugs.
Apex had a policy to invest in a new plant and machinery only when the company foresaw a sustainable
long-term demand for a particular product. For its cephalosporin’s range of drugs, the company was
experiencing an increased demand from the US markets for the past 2-3 years.
The total investment in C-block was Rs. 130 million with the existing capacity of 396 million capsules
per year. The demand had increased to 590 million capsules per year. To meet the increased demand, the
management decided to purchase a new machine. The finance manager, Ramesh Swami, had two options
(Refer Table 1)
Table 1 Particulars Machinery I Machinery II
Brand Zenhasi (USA) Zentacs (Second hand
machinery from Russia)
Capacity 300 million capsules per
annum
200 million capsules per
annum
Cost of Machine
Life of Machine
Rs. 11.70 million
5 years
Rs. 9.50 million
3 years
Residual Value Nil Nil
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CASE STUDY ANSWERS
ASSIGNMENT SOLUTIONS
PROJECT REPORTS AND THESIS
ISBM / IIBMS / IIBM / ISMS / KSBM / NIPM
SMU / SYMBIOSIS / XAVIER / NIRM / PSBM
/ NSBM / ISM / IGNOU / IICT / ISBS / LPU /
ISM&RC
MBA - EMBA - BMS - GDM - MIS - MIB
DMS - DBM - PGDM - DBM - DBA
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aravind.banakar@gmail.com
ARAVIND
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Retail Management
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. The minimum value of Conversion ratio is:
a. 0
b. 0.5
c. 2
d. 1
2. The law of retail gravitation is also called:
a. Huff’s law.
b. Belly’s law.
c. Philip Kotler’s law.
d. Relly’s law.
3. In Huff’s probability model of retail store location, the exponential ‘alpha’ denotes:
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a. The attractiveness of the store.
b. Power of the store in terms of potential customer located farthest.
c. It is simply a power over the attractiveness of the store.
d. None of the above
4. If the market has low level of retail saturation then the chances of success in the market is:
a. Higher.
b. Lower.
c. Unpredictable.
d. Extremely lower
5. If the original price be ‘a’ and the reduce price be ‘b’ then the mark down % in Pricing techniques
is given by:
a. (a - b)/a.
b. (a – b)/b.
c. (b – a)/a.
d. (b – a)/b.
Examination Paper: Retail Management
2
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Part Two:
1. What do mean by ‘Super market’?
2. What do you understand by Upper and Lower threshold in pricing methodologies?
3. What does the term ‘silent market’ say?
4. Explain ‘Gap theory’ related with service quality.
5. Explain barometric technique used for sales forecasting.
Caselet 1
The Branded Jewellery Market in India: An Overview
Brands are built over decades, more so in high-value markets like gold jewellery .The total jewellery
market in India is around Rs.60, 000 crore, out of which the estimated size of the diamond jewellery
market is Rs.8,000 crore, and that of branded diamond jewellery is about Rs.600 crore. For a brand to
become firmly established it must deal with several tangible and intangible factors. It requires focused
advertising, customer confidence, name-recognition, display and astute salesmanship to compete with
traditional jewellers. Success hinges upon how a particular brand can differentiate itself from the clutter.
Most important, affordability and quality are the elements in sustaining a brand. The growth of a
jewellery brand depends on the confidence it can instill in buyers about the purity of the gold, be it 14, 18,
or 22-carat. It also depends on the mark-up in price. The cost includes making (labour) charges on top of
value of the material, gold content and stones including diamonds and precious stones, if used. Besides, a
system of hallmarking for the purity of metal and identification of the manufacturer and jewellery items is
a need if not an imperative. At present the branded jewellery business is in its infancy in India,
constituting hardly 10% of the market. With the market growing annually at the rate of 20-25%, its share
will expand. While domestic jewellery makers have the advantage of skills which still form a sizeable
component of value, the confidence factor (in traditional craftsmen) is, however, on the decline. This
gives branded jewellery an edge over the traditional variety. One handicap branded jewelers face is the
differing tastes of consumers. Thus, inventories will be high as also the carrying cost. On the other hand,
the convenience of readymade jewellery is an ace in the brand marketer’s hand. The consumer has no
time to waste on the whims of craftsmen. Earlier, there was not much of a choice available.
Consumer Perception of Gold Jewellery
India is the world’s largest consumer of gold. The precious metal is traditionally purchased either as an
investment or to make intricate ornamental heirloom jewellery. The liberal economic dispensation
ushered in at beginning of the 1990s and the emergence of an affluent professional class led to the
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IIBM Institute of Business Management
creation of a burgeoning designer wear/cosmetics/fashion accessory market in India. This encouraged
some domestic jewellery manufacturers to carve out a niche in this market. The abolition of the Gold
Control Order and the subsequent easing of restrictions on the import of the precious metal, including a
substantial reduction in import duties, have encouraged the development of this new market.In the mid-
1990s the Indian consumer’s attitude towards gold jewellery changed. Gold jewellery, from being just an
investment avenue, was now seen as a way to make a lifestyle and personality statement. Globally, 90%
of the jewellery is sold as dress-wear – a part of the wardrobe and not the vault. Branded jewellery as a
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fashion accessory constitutes around one per cent of the Rs. 60,000 crore per annum jewellery market in
India. However, it is growing fast and has become a part of every girl’s treasure trove. One can easily spot
branded jewellery counters at Shoppers’ Stop and Lifestyle. With exclusive designs, standardized pricing
and superior finish, branded jewellery is aptly termed as fashion accessories, suitable for both western as
well as traditional wear. It must be mentioned that purchasing gold is not necessarily an urban
phenomenon and market share gains are likely to be more rapid in smaller towns. Though designer
jewellery arrived in India in the late nineties, it was only in this millennium that the scenario changed.
With aggressive advertising campaigns, the big brands – Tanishq, Carbon, Gili, Sarkles and Oyzterbay,
to name a few – arrived, teaching the customers at the paying end to shop like his or her counterpart in the
West. The message read loud and clear: “Your wardrobe includes jewels too!” Stiff competition from
traditional jewellers forced the newcomers to introduce a series of exchange offers and guarantee
certificates to woo the adventurous consumer. Nevertheless, this gold-loving nation has been very
cautions in its appreciation of branded jewellery. Much of the gold jewellery in India is 22-carat unlike in
western countries where it is basically 14 carats. Fine jewellery by international standards goes up to 18
carats. For stone setting alloys up to 18 carats are preferred. Educated middle-income women, particularly
working women, tend to wear less gold jewellery these days. However, growing incomes – especially
among NRIs - have increased demand. Most jewellery consumers are women between 25-45 years and
men in the 40-55 year bracket. Men largely buy lower-value items, such as rings, chains or tie-pins,
frequently as gifts. While women are seen more often in jewellery showrooms, it is the men who are still
the effective decision-markets as far as buying goes in a majority of cases. The phenomenon, however, is
changing. People are now looking beyond traditional 22-carat jewellery. Changing lifestyle has made
buyers more product and quality-conscious. And branded jewellery as an off-the-counter product is
gaining greater acceptance. In the past five years or so since branded jewellery entered the market, it has
threatened the very survival of traditional jewellers and craftmen in the same way as traditional tailors,
who are being replaced by makers of branded readymades. Inroads are being made by branded jewellery
both in the domestic and international markets. This indicates that Indian women are definitely showing
signs of accepting branded jewellery.
Country-wise Gold usage in Carat Jewellery (1990 to 1999)
Country 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Italy 381 415 461 441 435 446 439 500 535 511
India 238.6 227 293.8 259 346 400.6 427.8 594 682.6 644
USA 126.6 121.2 132.1 140 146.7 148.3 152.4 159 170.2 178.2
Japan 109.5 106.7 104 88 85 78 74 55 39 37
Turkey 130.9 102.6 116.3 126.6 80.7 110.4 140.7 168.1 159 115
Germany 49.8 51 45.4 44.5 41.8 38.9 37.2 35.9 34.3 32.6
Other
Countries 1070.8 1163.7 1377.1 1250.1 1253.8 1345.6 1366 1580.4 1331.4 1416.2
China 0 134.7 203 179 208 204 189 224 173 166
Soviet
Union/CIS 0 36.9 29.2 26 20.2 20.2 25.3 29 27 28
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The Forward Path
The future of the branded category of jewellery seems to be bright in India with the consumer becoming
more conscious of fashion trends and also ready to bring gold ‘from the vault to the wardrobe!’ Fashion
jewellery has come to stay. With people willing to spend lavishly on their clothes, it won’t be long before
they start looking for matching ornaments.
Source: The Gems Jewellers Export Promotion Council.
Major Jewellery Brands:
Carbon
Carbon, a pioneer in the branded jewellery segment, has a range of 18 carat fashion accessories that
includes rings, necklaces, pendants, ear tops and bracelets. Established in October 1996, carbon is a
distinctive lifestyle jewellery brand for the sophisticated and contemporary woman. The Carbon range is
currently available in 40 outlets (in a shop-in-shop format only) across 16 cities, and will be in 23 cities
by 2005.The Company is also planning to have its own outlets, the first of which is likely to open before
the end of 2003. it also plans to expand its market by going in for products for specific occasions such as
festivals, birthdays and anniversaries. In addition, it’s looking at cross-promoting Carbon jewellery with
other branded lifestyle products such as perfumes, clothing and cosmetics. The price range of Carbon
products is modest (Rs.3,750 to Rs.20,000 per piece), and unlike traditional jewellery whose prices can be
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brought down through bargaining, its items have a nationally uniform MRP. Through its marketing and
advertising campaigns, Carbon aims at creating a contemporary feel with more value for the wearer. Six
years since its inception, Carbon’s annual sales have reached a considerable Rs.16 crore (approx) in the
domestic market, with an average piece value of Rs. 5,000.Carbon recently launched the Persona
collection for women to mark its fifth anniversary. This collection of five pendants depicts five different
facets of a woman. Besides woman’s earrings and pendants, Carbon has something for men too: cufflinks,
tie-pins and bracelets. Carbon’s product strength is in its collections like Venus and Sun sign. The
company brings out a new range almost every month based on consumer response. Carbon is one of the
organized and more successful ventures in branded jewellery retailing from the house of Peakok
Jewellery Private Limited. It was incorporated in Bangalore in early 1991 and spearheaded by Mahesh
Rao, a young entrepreneur with extensive experience in the fashion accessories market. Mr. Rao felt in
the mid-1990s that the Indian consumer’s attitude towards gold jewellery would change from being an
investment avenue to one that made a lifestyle and personality statement. Seizing the opportunity, he
initiated within the Peacock fold, besides their exports, a new brand of 18-carat gold jewellery called
Carbon for the domestic market. Peacock has a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Koramangala,
Bangalore.
Tanishq
Titan Industries Limited is a joint venture of the Tata Group and The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development
Corporation (TIDCO). Its product range includes watches, clocks and jewellery. In a short span of time,
the company has built an enviable reputation for its corporate practices, products and services. After
entering the watch segment in 1987, Titan ventured into the precious jewellery segment in 1995 under the
brand name Tanishq. It is India’s only fine jewellery brand with a national presence and is an
acknowledgement business leader in the country’s jewellery market. In early 2000, Titan organized
itself into two business units: watches and clocks, and jewellery. According to Jacob Kurien, chief
operating officer of Tanishq, this helped the company redefine its business purpose and focus. Tanishq
has invested Rs.60 crore in its manufacturing unit in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. Tanishq worked tirelessly on a
two-pronged brand-building strategy: (i) Cultivate trust by educating customers on the unethical practices
in the business, and (ii) use innovative methods to change the perception of jewellery as a high-priced
purchase. Tanishq has leveraged the design skills that are part of the Titan heritage to refine its products,
and has invested a lot in R&D and consumer research on what the Indian woman is looking for and how
she is evolving. Tanishq jewellery is sold exclusively through a company-controlled retail chain which
now has 55 outlets – five owned by the company and the rest run by franchisees – spread over 40 cities
Total 2107.2 2358.8 2761.9 2554.2 2618.9 2792 2815.4 3345.4 3151.5 3128
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and is still expanding. The locations are chosen on the basis of geographical spread and the shopping
dynamics of a particular metro. The primary promotional medium for Tanishq is its boutiques, which
explains the emphasis on store design and layout. Its stores demonstrate design leadership and
differentiation and provide excitement around the collections in the outlets. Tanishq made its foray into
18-carat jewellery in the early 1990s; switched to 22-carat and again turned to 18-carat jewellery. To meet
the increasing demand, it plans to nearly double the number of its outlets and offer a range of ‘wearable’
products. The brand caters to customers looking for items in between costume jewellery and real gold
ornaments.
Major collections of Tanishq include:
Aria: Tanishq Aria is a spectacular collection of diamond jewellery. With over 80 exquisite designs of
earrings, finger-rings, bangles and neckwear, the prices in this collection began at as Rs.3, 200.
The collection targets the contemporary woman, with designs representing a seamless blend of the
traditional and the modern. Aria has been crafted by experts with a thorough understanding of the Indian
woman’s jewellery needs. The Aria collection is available at all Tanishq showrooms. Collection G: the
World Gold Council recently launched a range of 22-carat lightweight gold jewellery called Collection G.
This range is promoted by Tanishq and is an exclusive concept/brand of WGC. It includes pendants,
earrings, finger-rings and bracelets, and targets urban woman in the age group of 18-30 years. In 22-carat
gold, the designs are stylish and modern and go with all forms attire – casual and formal. Indian and
Western. It has multiple finishes on a single piece to convey a modern look. The jewellery is priced from
Rs.4, 995.
Gili
Gili, a distinctive brand established by the Gitanjali Group, is one of India’s largest exporters of fine
diamonds and a De Beers sight holder. It came into existence soon after the abolition of the Gold Control
Order by the Indian government. Gili offers a wide range of 18-carat plain gold and diamond-studded
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jewellery, designed to appeal to the contemporary Indian woman. Indian and western styles and motifs
combine to produce truly unique ornaments that are finely crafted and extremely attractive. Gili’s
products are available through a mail-order catalogue and show-in-shop counters in fine stores all over
the country. In addition, it has special promotional offers during special events like Valentine’s Day,
Raksha Bandhan and Diwali, and beauty contents and shows. Gili jewellery comes with a guarantee
on the quality and weight of the diamond and gold. Gili’s Millennium Series diamonds are triple certified
and come in a special box. Ideal to give as a gift or keep as a souvenir of a one-in-a-lifetime occasion. In
1997, Gili launched a collection of 18-carat gold ethnic Indian ornaments with traditional forms and
motifs, created with the most modern technology available today. These pieces are well finished,
beautifully polished and available at extremely affordable prices. The Gili Gold range caters to the
modern individual, with locally manufactured designs in 24-carat gold that are elegant, simple. Timeless
rings, pendants, earrings, necklaces and bangles. Gili have captured the 18-carat diamond-studded
jewellery segment in the price range of Rs. 2,500 to 15,000.
Intergold
Intergold is the biggest exporter of diamond-studded jewellery in India. It started off more than a decade
ago as a diamond exporting company in Mumbai and has achieved unprecedented success in the diamond
industry in a short span. The export division has a 6,000 sft factory, which churns out 3,000 high-quality
pieces for export daily. The integrated store has a strong identify of its own: the place looks inviting and
is aesthetically appealing. The décor and design of the stores have been conceptualized to harmonies with
the actual product design. Thematic window displays attract customers and see-through glass windows
virtually compel them to walk in without being overawed, as they usually are at diamond jewellery
showrooms. The products in the store are divided into categories like pendants, necklaces and earrings for
the convenience of buyers. They are further divided according to price so a customer doesn’t need to
worry about affordability for each product. Showrooms personnel are knowledgeable about the products
and sales techniques, apart from being trained to use audio-visual aids for the benefit of consumers.
Intergold specializes in diamond, platinum and Italian jewellery and white gold. There’s something here
for buyers from all age groups with varying tastes. In the women’s range, Intergold offers pendants, rings,
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earrings, small sets and necklaces, whereas men can go in for classy tie tacks, tie pins, button covers,
sherwani buttons, belt buckles, cuff links, pendants and rings. Intergold sells only through exclusive retail
outlets and has branches in Mumbai, Goa, Surat and Bangalore. It plans to open stores in Delhi,
Hyderabad, and Calcutta soon. All Integrated stores are equipped with ultrasonic cleaners for cleaning
jewellery and diamond testers to check whether the gems are genuine.
Oyzterbay
In July 2000, six professional from Tanishq left the organization to float a new start-up – Oyzterbay.com
– for branded jewellery. Oyzerbay wants to be in e-tailing as well as brick-and-mortar retailing. The
initial plan is to have 50 exclusive outlets (both its own and franchisees) across the country. Oyzerbay
signature stores showcase and display precious metals, gemstones and crafted jewellery designs.
Oyzterbay is a young company at the forefront of change in the jewellery industry. In February 2001, it
launched its first internationally styled store at Bangalore, with a stunning range of precious jewellery in
carat gold and silver at affordable prices. The Oyzterbay network now covers all major Indian cities and
an overwhelming response has induced the company to expand to 50 outlets soon. Oyzterbay positions
itself as well-styled, high-quality jewellery for young women. Delicate and bold, traditional and modern,
the designs reflect the change in the attitude towards jewellery: from heavy overdressing to elegant daily
wear, and from ostentations display to understated panache. Prices start at a mere Rs.500 for sterling
silver jewellery, and all products – including solid gold jewellery – are priced below Rs. 10,000, a move
that also positions Oyzterbay as the only chain catering to the burgeoning gift market. The range is
continually refreshed based on market feedback and emerging design trends. Oyzterbay stores lead the
market in attitude, ambience and service. They sport a contemporary and inviting glass-front store design
in soft colors of wood with accents of steel, in stark contrast to the forbidding opulence of traditional
jewellery stores. Complemented by modern in-store graphics and merchandising, the house colors –
tangerine pink and metallic mauve – pervade all elements of the corporate identity. The Oyzterbay web
store replicates the store experience with state-of-the-art features that make buying and gifting Oyzterbay
jewellery quick, easy and secure. A multi-media advertising campaign rolling out from April 2001 has
created waves with its fresh approach to the jewellery market. Jewellery for the Living has rapidly
become a byline for jewellery for the young woman of today - that is, jewellery for the joy of wearing, not
destined for the safe-deposit locker. Oyzterbay products are also available in large department store
chains in a shop-in-shop format.
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Sparkles
Sparkles are carrying on a family tradition in producing 9-carat, 14-carat and 18-carat jewellery. The
objective is not only to provide off-the-shelf diamond jewellery in a wide array of designs, but also to
offer customers an affordable range of choices. A trend-setting initiative in the Indian market, Sparkles
became a revolutionary success and grew to become one of the market leaders in the branded jewellery
segment. Sparkles sells through 28 outlets in seven major Indian cities. With a wide range of designs and
more coming out every month, it is only a matter of time before it covers more cities and outlets. Besides
these regular outlets, its web-site sparklesindia.com has been a pioneering effort that has taken branded
jewellery to the newest communication medium – the Internet. During the past few years Sparkles has
been tracking what its customers want, and is striving with every new design and product to meet their
expectations. Total satisfaction and loyalty vindicates their commitment to constantly strive for quality.
Sparkles – from Poddar Jewels, Mumbai – is the only company to have added an ethnic touch to the usual
collection with nose studs.
Questions:
1. Do you think that an exclusive brand retail store would work in India? Or a mix of formats for a
brand? Discuss.
2. Will the franchisee route to a faster roll-out of retail outlets work for these jewellery brands?
What are the pros and cons?
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IIBM Institute of Business Management
Caselet 2
Bobcat India Limited revolutionized footwear selling in India. The company hit upon the idea of reaching
customers through exclusive retail stores way back in 1932 and set up its own outlets, which numbered
around 1,200. It was no mean task setting up such a large network of retail outlets, especially when 90%
of them were owned and operated by the company, the rest being dealer-owned and operated. This chain
store format identify has been a strong differentiating factor in the Indian retail sector, being the first of its
kind. Combined with the high quality of the footwear, the brand soon had top-of-the-mind recall and
stayed there for many years. Unit a few years ago, the name ‘Bobcat’ was synonymous with organized
retailing in India, the only one of its kind.
The Chain Store Format
The Bobcat chain store format had its own credo – a signature store design with exclusive signage and
windows in order to facilitate easy association in the minds of the Indian consumers.
At present there are only two major categories of stores in the Bobcat Chain Store format:
(a) Bobcat Family Stores
(b) Bobcat Bazaar
(a) Bobcat Family Stores
These are sub-dividend into two formats again, based on the size of the stores. They are:
(1)Super Stores, generally more than 5,000 sq.ft. Catering to customers in the footwear category.Highstreet
stores that are anywhere between 500 and 1,500 sq.ft. Found in busy shopping areas.
(b)Bobcat Bazaar
Bobcat Bazaar stores sell the company’s planned economy product lines and marked-down merchandise
round the year. Known as R-pair stores, their performance depends heavily upon the availability of
marked-down merchandise. Such markdowns are done on products that have suffered quality accidents,
are shop-soiled, lines that are closed-out etc.
Recent Format Developments
New retail formats have begun to supersede conventional ones. Independent big-box multi-brand
department stores have started selling footwear as a category, especially in metros and cities. Malls are
another new shopping format that is growing rapidly in the metros. Many upcoming footwear retailers are
obtaining space inside the malls as mall partners to take advantage of the ready footfalls available. For the
existing independent Bobcat stores it is expensive now to run campaigns and promotions to attain the
required footfalls and expected conversions.
Merchandising in Bobcat Family Stores
The exclusively of the ‘Bobcat’ brand to the Bobcat retail stores was the differentiating factor for
customers until recently. However, a few years ago the company decided to sell Bobcat branded goods
through its channel sales wing called Bobcat Wholesale. Hitherto, the wholesale channel had a different
brand for itself called BSC. This wholesale channel supplies merchandise to footwear retailers across
India through its authorized distributors. The brand Bobcat has now been extended to this wholesale
channel too, which means that Bobcat branded goods is available in every other local footwear store. The
exclusivity of the brand to its own outlets has come to an end. And, even as the sales of the wholesale
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division remain stagnant, what compelling reasons can a customer have to
visit a Bobcat Store now? A peculiar feature of the Bobcat store was its odd price points: Rs 149.95,
199.95, etc.
Merchandise presentation and Visual Merchandising
Bobcat pioneered the concept of show window displays in India with a style that was unique to the
company. It was professionally managed, with an exclusive team handling the motif and the design.
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Every month the direction to decorate the show windows were given by a mailer prepared by special
decorators. Sales personnel in each store were trained to be window decorators too. Recently, these
windows had to be done away with because the company thought that they should follow the
contemporary practice of free-access retailing, where all merchandise pairs are displayed in open shelves
to enable customers to help themselves. Remember, in India footwear is always tried on a footstool and
bought after considerable service extended by the salesperson personally. Free-access retailing may work
when there is adequate space inside a store to move around. The effect of such ‘pigeon-hole’ free access
is that they give an impression that they are Bobcat’s R-Pair outlets. What can now entice the customer
into entering a Bobcat store?
Customer Service
Though Bobcat faces tough manpower challenges (the store sales personnel and managers have separate
labor unions), the sales personnel who are on its permanent rolls are trained in selling footwear. However,
there are a large proportion of untrained and temporary hands. Further, salespersons do not wear any
uniform and hence customers can hardly identify them. There is as yet no loyalty program to create
customer stickiness to any store or the brand, and most of the stores are not connected by a central
information system or ERP (enterprise-wide resource planning) as the organization has its limitations
when it comes to investing in such initiatives. Organized retail companies need to have non-negotiable
standards of customer service or they will lose customers to its competitors. The company is now losing
its market share despite its strong position in categories like men’s footwear, children’s uniform shoes,
etc. However, the number of stores it has around the country is around the same, at 1,200. The company
now needs to put together a plan for both its survival and growth on a war footing. The top management
is revisiting its strategies in every functional area to turn the company around.
Questions:
1. What store format mix would you recommend for the company?
2. Did the company do the right thing by extending the in-store brand to the wholesale channel?
What should it do now?
.
1. “The Indian Retail sectors are witnessing a transition phase where organized retailing is taking a
lead over unorganized retailing”. In the light of above statement, explain the current states of
Indian Retailing.
2. “The customer is fully satisfied when the perceived services meets or exceeds their
expectations”. Explain.
Consumer Behavior
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. The Yellow color is related with personality links like:
a. Caution, warmth
b. Power, informality
c. Passion, excitement
d. Purity, innocence
2. Consumers having high ethnocentric value in CETSCALE for foreign made products are likely to
feel that:
a. It is worthy to purchase the foreign products.
b. It is wrong to purchase foreign made products.
c. Only foreign made products should be purchased.
d. They should remain neutral.
3. If the OSL(optimum stimulation level) score of a person is greater than the lifestyle he/she is
living then he/she likely to:
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a. Take rest
b. Appear quite satisfied
c. Seem bored
d. Cannot be predicted.
4. The psychologists who disagree with the Freud’s theory of personality are usually referred as:
a. Non Freudians
b. Freudians
c. Neo Freudians
d. C-Freudians
5. According to Sigmund Freud, the human personality consists of 3 interacting systems viz the id,
the superego and the ego. What actually ‘id’ refers to
a. Its role is to see the individual’s needs in a socially acceptable fashion.
b. Its role is to drive impulsions for the needs to be satisfied immediately.
c. Its function is to control and balance the impulsive demands.
d. None of the above
Part Two:
1. What is a ‘common man approach’?
2. Differentiate between ‘Enculturation’ and ‘Acculturation’.
3. Write a short note on ‘Rokeach Value Survey’, a widely used value instrument, in consumer
behavior studies.
4. Explain the ‘Sociometric method’ of measurement in ‘Opinion Leadership’.
5. What do you understand by the term ‘Viral marketing’?
Caselet 1
The Indian refrigeration industry had apparently reached maturity in the eighties. The introduction stage
could be seen in 1962-66; growth, 1967-80; and maturity 1981-88.Between 1989-90 and 1990-91, the
market grew by 12 to 12.35 lakhs units; in 1992-93 it is estimated to have come down from 12 to 10.39
lakhs pieces. Thus, the decline seems to have begun. Presently, there are six main competitors in the
refrigerator market in India. The industry seems to have structure prevailing in monopolistic competition.
The products at present available in the market are under the brand names of Godrej, Kelvinator, Voltas,
Videocon, BPL and Allwyn. The new entrants to the market like BPL and Videocon with latest ultra
modern refrigeration technology have thrown down the gauntlet to the existing leaders like Godrej and
Kelvinator. A study has been conducted to find out what change have occurred in consumers behavior
due to the emergence of these new challenges, because, for all one knows; a very tough competition has
recently emerged among the industrial giants due to which consumer behavior has undergone drastic
change. The main purpose of study is to see how defectors are affecting consumer behavior. The specific
objectives of this study are positioning of products and brands, rating of different parameters and their
ranking, consumers’ degree of satisfaction, estimating ideal capacity and ideal prices. Consumer’s
perception of price and brand, awareness of different brands and various sources of information to the
consumer. This survey leads to the conclusion, that most of the people are aware of 165-liter capacity
with awareness of nearly 95%, others are less known to consumers. The most important parameters for
customers while buying a refrigerator are technology, cooling efficiency, durability, price, capacity and
after-sales service in that order. According to the dealers, the customers consider brand name, technology,
cooling efficiency, durability and after-sales service as very important. Other parameters like special
gift/price, guarantee/warranty are just important parameters. According to the customers, BPL, Voltas and
Videocon are high – priced refrigerator; Godrej and Kelvinator, comparatively low-priced; and Allwyn,
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medium-priced. From the dealers’ survey it has been found out that the ideal capacity is 165 liter; and the
ideal price Rs. 7,000-8,000.
Questions:
1. Due to the emergence of new industrial giants like BPL and Videocon, consumer
behavior has undergone a sea-change. In what ways?
2. Discuss which will be the most effective strategy according to you that will make
Consumer brand loyal in the refrigerator industry.
Caselet 2
Walking down the streets of Delhi’s Connaught place, capital’s business heart, Mike Steve, 50 years old
CEO of Macnine shoes (India), was looking at the feet of the busy office goers. The CEO purposely
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walked to his office near Super Bazaar from the Palika car parking to have a firsthand feeling of the
market response to the Macnine shoes, and in general the foot-wear habit of urban Indians. Macnine shoes
brought an image of simple no fuss yet elegant office-going shoes. The shoes, known for its comfort and
reasonable prices shared a good market share in face of competition from Windsor, Red Tape, Lee
Cooper, Woodland, etc. but as the days passed Mike’s trained eyes could see the changing scenario.
Office goers no longer seemed to prefer “no fuss” shoes, there was a distinct preference for heavy looking
chunky shoes. People’s perception about office-going shoes was changing from regular 6-hole laced
shoes to these heavy looking shoes. As a result, Macnine shoes’ market share decreased by 10 per cent
between 1998 and 1999. Disturbed by the fact, Mr. Steve called a meeting of the departmental heads and
after five-hour long meeting it was accepted, Indian consumers had undergone a sea change in their
attitudes and perceptions about the products. Office was no long seen as a boring work-place where a “no
nonsense” rather “stiff upper lip” attitude has to be maintained. Office was seen as more a part of regular
life and a relaxed “as you want to be” (of course within limits) attitude. Keeping pace with the time,
Macnine shoes also should shed its “traditional” image. More importantly, consumers are going more and
more for branded shoes, rather than mass production shoes that will be available at the retail shops. The
departmental heads agreed that there is a definite price-quality perception in the mind of the consumers.
Consumers perceive high price as a certificate of high quality that will be associated with the branded
products. Based on the price-quality perception, Macnine shoes were decided to be positioned in the
market. Dramatically changing from the basic principle of quality and affordability targeting the growing
middle class, the company saw a better prospect in developing a high priced brand image as shoe was no
longer, especially in big cities seen as necessity but it was a part of life style marketing where shoes were
seen as fashion accessories.
Macnine shoes which for over two decades was known for making popular affordable shoes, took a one
eighty degree turn and developed dedicated showroom with premium shoes and other accessories like Tshirts,
bags, socks etc. but, the result were quite contrary to what was expected, the decrease in market
share continued despite these efforts. The reason seems quite simple, or decade’s consumer has known
the shoe to be in the affordable range. With this sudden change the loyal buyers felt betrayed and turned
away towards other local brands. The main selling point of the company was missing the consumers no
longer felt the urge to come to buy macnine shoes. The fact was the brands who started as selling
premium shoes were perceived to be in a category of catering the upper category of consumers with
extremely focused range of shoes which borne a premium price. Talk of red Tape, talk of Lee Copper, the
image that comes to the consumer’s mind is of premium shoes with all its associated characteristics.
While past experience brings in the minds of the consumer an “affordability” image of Macnine shoes.
When the company drastically wanted to change the image, they could not fit into consumer perception of
Examination Paper: Retail Management
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IIBM Institute of Business Management
a premium shoe, while high price deterred people who wanted affordability foremost. Macnine lost on
both the grounds.
Questions:
1. Explain the “role and status” for Macnine shoes.
2. Suggest some ways of changing consumer perception of Macnine shoes.
1. A college student has just purchased a new personal computer. What factors might cause the
student to experience post purchase dissonance? How might the student try to overcome it?
How can the retailer who sold the computer help reduce the student’s dissonance? How can
the computer’s manufacturer help?
2. An Advertising on a known deodorant shows a young beautiful girl is upset to meet her
boyfriend, as friends point out at her “Bad body odour”. The advertisement is trying to arouse
which motive in the consumer? Discuss by giving one similar examples?
Six Sigma Green Belt
This section consists of Multiple Choice questions.
Answer all the questions.
Each question carries 1 mark.
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. The primary purpose of a control chart is to:
a. Set Specifications and tolerances
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b. Compare operations.
c. Determine the stability of a process.
d. Accept or reject a lot of material
2. When a control chart is used on a new process, capability can be assessed at which of the following
times?
a. Before the chart is first started
b. After the first ten points are plotted
c. When the plotted points hug the centerline
d. After the process is shown to be in control
3. Precision is best described as:
a. A comparison to a known standard
b. The achievement of expected outgoing quality
c. The repeated consistency of results
d. The difference between an average measurement and the actual value
4. The overall ability of two or more operators to obtain consistent results repeatedly when measuring
the same set of parts and using the same measuring equipment is the definition of:
a. Repeatability
b. Precision
c. Reproducibility
d. Accuracy
5. Which of the following conditions must be met for a process to be in a state of statistical control?
a. Most of the product out by the process is in specification.
b. All subgroup averages and rang are within control limits.
c. All variation has been completely removed
d. Previously optimal process settings are used.
Examination paper: Six Sigma Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 2
6. Which of the following measures of dispersion is equal to the sum of deviations from the mean
squared divided by the sample size?
a. Range
b. Standard deviation
c. Variance
d. Mode
7. An X and R chart is used to:
a. Indicate process variation
b. Specify design Limits
c. Interpret costs
d. Identify customer expectations
8. Which of the following is the most useful graphical tool for promoting and understanding the process
of capability?
a. A flowchart
b. A histogram
c. An affinity diagram
d. An Ishikawa diagram
9. The type of chart that presents the value of items in descending order is a:
a. Histogram
b. Pareto chart
c. U chart
d. Cusum chart
10. Measures of which of the following provide attributes data?
a. Temperature in degrees
b. Attendance at meetings
c. Weight in pounds
d. Length in metric units
11. The fraction of nonconforming products is plotted on which of the following types of control chart?
a. P chart
b. U chart
c. Np chart
d. C chart
12. A cause and effect diagram is a useful tool for doing which of the following?
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a. Determining the flow of a process
b. Detecting shifts in a process
c. Developing theories based on symptoms
d. Arranging theories by defect count
13. Which of the following statistics would best describe the central tendency of a sample of data?
a. Mode
b. Mean
c. Standard deviation
d. Range
Examination paper: Six Sigma Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 3
14. Which of the following type of tools or techniques is considered qualitative?
a. Histogram
b. Frequency distributions
c. Pareto chart
d. Process observations
15. Out of the following which technique is most useful in narrowing issues and limiting discussion?
a. Brainstorming
b. Quality function deployment
c. Cause and effect analysis
d. Mutilating
16. In statistics, an estimation error that is persistent or systematic is called:
a. Bias
b. Sensitivity
c. Random
d. Shift
17. For a normal distribution, two standard deviation on each side of the mean would include what
percentage of the total population:
a. 47%
b. 68%
c. 95%
d. 99%
18. If a distribution is normal, u=50 s=15, what percentage of data will be less than 30?
a. 59.18%
b. 40.82%
c. 9.18%
d. 1.33%
19. A company is receiving an unusually high number of returns from various customers. The first step in
investigating the problem would be to
a. Check the inspection records
b. Establish the correlation of the returns to shipments
c. Brainstorm the potential causes
d. Classify the returns by type and degree of serious
20. Which of the following is the best definition of a flow chart?
a. A diagram used to structure ideas into useful categories
b. An illustration used to analyze variation in a process
c. A picture used to separate steps of a process in sequential order
d. An analytical tool used to clarify opposing aspects of a desired change
21. Which of the following activities would NOT contribute to the effective functioning of a team?
a. Eliminating unnecessary activities
b. Development team performance measures
c. Defining process in detail
d. Monitoring each member’s performance
Examination paper: Six Sigma Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 4
22. What is the standard deviation of the population-10, 4, 16, 12, and 8?
a. 4.00
b. 4.47
c. 16.00
d. 20.00
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23. Which of the following tools would be most appropriate for collecting data to study the symptoms of
a problem?
a. Check sheet
b. Flow diagram
c. Force-field analysis
d. Activity network diagram
24. Which of the following measures is a sufficient statistic for the parameter u?
a. Median
b. Mid-range
c. Mean
d. Mode
25. Positional, cyclical, and temporal variations are most commonly analyzed in:
a. SPC charts
b. Multi-vari charts
c. Cause and effect diagram
d. Run charts
26. Which of the following describes the deming method for continuous improvement?
a. Cost of quality analysis
b. Process map
c. Tree Diagram
d. Plan-do-check-act cycle
27. In analysis of variance, which of the following distribution is the basis for determining whether the
variance estimates are all from the same population?
a. Chi square
b. Students
c. Normal
d. F
28. Which of the following statement best describes the set of value of a random variable?
a. It is finite.
b. It is an interval
c. It can be discrete or continuous.
d. It can be tracked by using control charts or scatter plots.
29. Which of the following is the best description of randomization?
a. A technique used to increase the precision of an experiment
b. A means of assuring representative sampling
c. The repetition of an observation or measurement
d. The relationship between two or more variables
Examination paper: Six Sigma Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 5
30. When the order of items is not important, which of the following method is used to determine the
number of sets and subsets of items?
a. Combination
b. Permutation
c. Factorization
d. Simulation
31. Scatter diagrams are best described as:
a. Histograms.
b. Correlation analysis.
c. Pareto analysis.
d. Ishikawa diagrams.
32. A __________ is created to determine customers of a specific process.
a. Pareto chart
b. Flow diagram
c. Cause and effect diagram
d. Scatter diagram
33. A production line uses signs at specific points on the line to indicate when components or raw
materials need to be replenished. This practice is an example of:
a. Kanban
b. Poka-yake
c. Checkpoints
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d. Hoshin
34. Which of the following is a good tool for planning cycle time reduction and concurrent operations?
a. A timeline
b. A Pareto diagram
c. An X and R chart
d. A PERT chart
35. Attribute and variable data are best described as which of the following?
a. Counted values measured values
b. Counted values visual features
c. Measured values counted values
d. Visual features counted values
36. All of the following are common ways for people to react to conflict except:
a. Competing
b. Collaborating
c. Avoiding
d. Sabotaging
37. A quality manager has chosen to survey customer satisfaction by taking samples based on the
categories of frequency of use, categories of use, and demographic. This technique is known as
a. Random sampling
b. Data collection
c. Stratification
d. Customer classification
Examination paper: Six Sigma Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 6
38. Which of the following actions is Not used to reduce process cycle time?
a. Analyzing current processes
b. Reducing queue times
c. Setting priorities
d. Implementing activity-based costing
39. A company’s accounts payable department is trying to reduce the time between receipt and
payment of invoices and has recently completed a flowchart. Which of the following tool is the next
to be used by them?
a. Fishbone diagram
b. Scatter diagram
c. Box and whisker plat
d. Histogram
40. In a manufacturing company, the machine shop is what kind of customer in relation to the Human
Resource department?
a. Intermediate
b. Hidden
c. External
d. Internal
Section B: Short Notes (30 Marks)
This section consists of Short Notes Questions.
Answer all the questions.
Each Question carries 6 marks.
1. Describe how QFD fits into the overall DFSS process.
2. What is interrelationship Digraph? Explain it with example.
3. Find the area under the standard normal curve between +1.50 standard deviations and +2.50
standard deviations.
4. Define terms related to One-Way ANOVA and interpret their results & data plots.
5. Define & describe the use of Rational Sub grouping.
.
1. Suppose you are cooking steak for 100 people, & the current approval rating is 75% acceptable.
You want to know the affect of different methods and approaches to see how the overall approval
or “yield” is affected. By using the Full Factorial method explain how the overall approval or
“yield” is affected.
2. Interpret Control Charts? Distinguish between common & special causes using rules for
determining stastical control.’
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Six Sigma Black Belt
This section consists of Multiple Choice questions.
Answer all the questions.
Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part Two questions carry 2 marks each.
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. Calculate the estimated variance of the population from which the following values have been
randomly selected: 2.8 2.7 2.6 2.9 2.8 2.8 2.8.
a. 095
b. 009
c. 088
d. 008
2. The mean, median and mode of a distribution have the same value. What can be said about the
distribution?
a. It is exponential
b. It is normal
c. It is uniform
d. None of the above
3. Approximately what percent of the data values are smaller than the mean?
a. 25%
b. 50%
c. 75%
d. None of above
4. A normal probability plot is used to:
a. Determine whether the distribution is normal
b. Plot Z value
c. Determine process capability
d. It percent out of specification
5. Nominal Group technique is used to:
a. Help a group reach consensus
b. Generate a group on new ides
c. Provide a consistent stable group leadership
d. Provide a name for the group
Examination paper: Six Sigma Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 9
6. An example of a project metric would be:
a. The decrease in defect occurrence
b. The decrease in product cost
c. The decrease in cycle time
d. All the above
7. A correct statement about the relationship between the terms parameter and statistic is:
a. A population statistic is more accurate than a parameter
b. A sample parameter is used to estimate a statistic
c. A sample statistic is used to estimate a population parameter
d. Standard deviation calculation requires both statistics and parameters
8. A and B are events. P(A) = 0.80 and P(B) = 0.90:
a. Events A and B are disjoint or mutually exclusive
b. Events A and B are not disjoint or mutually exclusive
c. P (A and B) = 0
d. P(A and B) = 1.7
9. In a certain sampling situation, a=0, b=0.08. the power of the sampling plan this case is:
a. 0
b. 0.08
c. 1.00
d. 0.92
10. A newspaper article describes a high positive correlation between obesity and orange juice
consumption among six-year-old children’s. Parents who restrict the use of orange juice for their
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children have:
a. Made a type I error
b. Made a type II error
c. Misunderstood margin of error
d. Confused correlation with causation
11. In an experimental design context, replications refer to:
a. Duplicating experimental result at another location
b. Repeating a test with the same factor levels
c. Obtaining the same or similar result from different factors
d. Repeating an experiment but using at least one different factor level
12. Find the upper control limit for a range chart if n=4 and the average range is 2.282.
a. 2.282
b. 4.564
c. 5.208
d. 3.423
13. An x-bar control chart been established with control limits of 3.245 and 3.257, n=5. An engineer
collects the following sample and plots the average on the control chart: 3.257, 3.256, 3.258, 3.259
a. The process is out of control
b. The process is not out of control
c. The engineer misused the control chart
d. The control limits are incorrect
Examination paper: Six Sigma Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 10
14. TEIZ is an acronym which refers to:
a. A set of problem solving tools
b. An organization of quality professionals
c. An experiment using transitional results
d. A Russian general responsible for creative thinking
15. A robust design is one which;
a. Has high reliability
b. Has low maintenance frequency
c. Is simple to manufacture’
d. Is resistant to varying environmental condition
16. A frequent cause of system sub optimization is:
a. Optimizing individual process
b. Failing to draw a system flow chart
c. Using data with outliers
d. Failing to consider the normal distribution
17. The x2 distribution is:
a. Symmetric
b. Left skewed
c. Right skewed
d. Normal
18. An advantage of using standard deviation rather than range for measuring dispersion of a large
sample is that:
a. Standard deviation has a simpler formula
b. Calculators have a standard deviation key but not a range Key
c. Standard deviation uses information from each measurement
d. Range calculation are not normally distributed
19. The team development stage characterized by expression of individual opinions and ideas often
without regard for team objectives is known as:
a. Performing
b. Norming
c. Conflicting
d. Storming
20. SMED is an acronym for activity that:
a. Involve housekeeping in the work area
b. Makes mistake of a certain type impossible
c. Emphasizes the pull of the customer
d. Reduces set up the time
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21. A principle advantage of fractional factorial experimental designs is:
a. Reduced cost
b. Improved accuracy
c. Increased confounding
d. Higher confidence level
Examination paper: Six Sigma Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 11
22. Dr. W Edwards Deming:
a. Lectured in Japan after World War II
b. Was an author of several books in the US
c. Is considered an expert in the quality field
d. All of the above
Part Two:
23. What percent of population falls below the lower specification limits?
a. 9.18%
b. 22.66%
c. 6.68%
d. 1.83%
24. Find the mean, median and mode of the following data set: 9, 11, 12, 14, 18, 18, 18, 20, and 23:
a. 15.5, 18, 18
b. 15, 14, 18
c. 15, 12, 18
d. 15.5, 16, 18
Use for problems 25-27:
A B Res.
25. Calculate the main effect of factor A:
a. 20
b. 25
c. 30
d. None of the above
26. Calculate the interaction effect:
a. 20
b. 25
c. 40
d. None of the above
27. If it is desirable to maximize the response R, the following levels should be used:
a. A+ and B+
b. A+ and Bc.
A- and B+
d. None of the above
1 - - 20
2 - + 30
3 + - 40
4 + + 50
Examination paper: Six Sigma Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 12
Use for questions28-30:
Here is an experimental design with result:
A B C Responses
1
- - + 10 11 10
2 - + - 22 20 23
3 + + + 34 36 37
4 + - - 26 25 25
28. This experimental design is:
a. Full factorial
b. Half factorial
c. Quarter factorial
d. None of the above
29. The number of factors, levels and replications:
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a. 3, 3, 3
b. 3, 2, 2
c. 3, 2, 3
d. None of the above
30. An indication of the experimental error is available because the design has:
a. Multiple replications
b. Multiple levels
c. Multiple factors
d. None of the above
31. The average number of defects is 21.6. Find the upper control limit for the C-chart.
a. 26.4
b. 24.6
c. 26.2
d. None of the above
1. Briefly define Affinity Diagram with an example.
2. By using imaginary figures draw a Run Chart.
END OF SECTION A
Examination paper: Six Sigma Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 13
3. Consider the following data & develop a normal probability graph paper & normal probability
plot:
7.9, 9.7, 10.6, 12.7, 12.8, 18.1, 21.2, 33.0, 43.5, 51.1, 81.4, 93.1
4. A painting process produces coatings with a thickness of 0.0005 & a standard deviation of
0.00002. What should the tolerance limits be for this process? Briefly explain Tolerance design?
5. What is Pugh matrix? State the steps which are used in Pugh matrix.
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 from the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
1. Define & describe the purpose of root cause analysis? Recognize the issues involved in
identifying a root cause analysis and list various tools for resolving chronic problem?
2. Describe the purpose & elements of FMEA including risk priority number (RPN), and evaluate
FMEA results for processes, products, & services. Distinguish between design FMEA (DFMEA)
& process FMEA (PFMEA) and interpret results from each.
-
This section consists of Multiple Choice Questions and True & False.
Answer all the Questions.
Each Question carries 1 Mark.
Part One:
Multiple choices:
1. TCP stands for:
a. Translate Control Protocol
b. Translate Cable Protocol
c. Transmission Control Program
d. Transmission Cable Program
2. Why we do not tap into a 10Base2 or 10BaseT cable in the same way as we tap with 10Base5
cable?
a. Because the cable is so thin.
b. Because the cable is so strong.
c. Because the cable is so thick.
d. Because the cable is so fat.
3. The Ethernet has its roots in an early packet radio network called:
a. SMA
b. PARC
c. RWS
d. ALOHA
4. ___________is the second major class of Intra Domain Routing protocol.
a. Reliable Flooding
b. Link State
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c. Route Calculation
d. Implementation
5. A Network that provides a constant band width for the complete duration of message transfer is a
a. Cell switched Network
b. Packet switched Network
c. Circuit switched Network
d. None of the above
6. A router :
a. Forwards a packet to all outgoing links up to which the packet originated.
b. Determines on which outgoing link a packet is to be forwarded
c. Forwards a packet to the next free outgoing link
d. Forwards a packet to all outgoing links
Examination Paper: Information System Management
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IIBM Institute of Business Management
7. What is the maximum speed of 10Base5 Ethernet Cable?
a. 100 Mbps
b. 500 Mbps
c. 50 Mbps
d. 10 Mbps
8. What is the maximum number of addressable stations on a 10BaseT Ethernet network?
a. 1024
b. 2500
c. 200
d. 512
9. A device that encodes analog voice into a digital ISDN Link is called:
a. DSL
b. GSM
c. CODEC
d. AMPS
10. One of the small difference between the IBM Token Ring specifications and 802.5 is that:
a. The former actually requires the use of MSAUs.
b. The former actually requires the use of MAC.
c. The former actually requires the use of TTRT.
d. None of the above
True & False:
1. The sliding window protocol is the best known algorithm in computer networking.
2. One of the issues that faces a network designer is how to make this decision in a fair
manner.
3. Multicast addresses area used to send messages to subset of the hosts on an Ethernet.
4. 802.11 can support collision detection.
5. A Network Interface card operates at the Network Layer of the OSI model.
6. TCP port 5432 is the well known server part.
7. CPU is directly responsible for moving data between two networks.
8. Classless inter domain routing is a technique that addresses four scaling concerns in the
Internet.
9. LAN is a connection oriented packet-switching technology.
10. Ethernet addresses are configured into the network adaptor by the manufacturer.
Answer all the questions.
Each Question carries 5 marks.
1. What are the benefits of Packet Switching?
2. What is an Internetwork?
3. What protocols are there in the TCP/IP internet Layer?
4. What is difference between Virtual circuit Switching and Cell Switching?
Section C: Long Questions (30 marks)
This section consists of Long Questions.(word limit 100 words)
Each Question carries 10 marks.
Attempt any 3 Questions.
1. Write a short note on Classless Inter Domain Routing (CIDR)?
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2. What distinguish a computer network from other type of networks?
3. What are the Salient features of Global Internet?
4. Distinguish between Reverse-Path Multicast (RPM) and Protocol Independent Multicast?
Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
1. The Sliding window protocol is perhaps the best known algorithm in computer Network.
Describe however is that it can be used to serve different roles.
2. Explain how the Sliding Window Algorithm works in Direct Link Network.
END OF SECTION D
Operating Systems
Multiple Choices:
1. The PCD data is allocated using a data Structure is called______________.
a. Heap
b. Object Module
c. Tag
d. Head
2. Process is:
a. Language of programme
b. Name of a computer software
c. An execution of programme
d. None of the above
3. Streaming tape can store record:
a. Without a break irrespective of its size
b. With a break in size of record
c. Of size 10 kb
d. Both (a) & (c)
4. _______________is a policy decision based on the page reference information available in
the page table.
a. Memory Allocation
b. Shared Pages
c. Page Replacement
d. Memory Mapping
5. Remote procedure call (RPC) is used by an application execute:
a. To execute a procedure in the system
b. To execute a procedure in another compute in the distributed system
c. Name of a software
d. None of the above
6. Multiprocessor computer system provides:
a. Slow performance by serving several processes simultaneously
b. High performance by serving several processes simultaneously
c. High performance by serving one process
d. None of the above
Examination Paper: Information System Management
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IIBM Institute of Business Management
7. Remote procedure call (RPC) is used by an application execute:
a. To execute a procedure in the system
b. To execute a procedure in another compute in the distributed system
c. Name of a software
d. None of the above
8. A distributed transaction is also called:
a. Single-site transaction
b. Two –site transaction
c. Multi-site transaction
d. Both (a) & (b)
9. File control block (FCB) contains all information concerning:
a. A file processing activity
b. Execution activity
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c. Both (a) & (b)
d. None of the above
10. Non-uniform memory architecture system consists of number of nodes and each node
consists:
a. Monitor
b. Register
c. Both (a) & (b)
d. 1 or more C.P.Us
True & False:
1. CPU helps in effective memory management by an OS.
2. High reliability in distributed file systems can be ensured through sharing semantics.
3. The compatible time sharing system for the IBM 7094 was one of the first time sharing
systems.
4. The Processors of multiprocessors are divide into processor sets.
5. A resource rank is associated with each resource class.
6. A cached directory is a copy of directory that exists at a primary site.
7. A cluster of nodes is a section of the distributed system that contains sufficient hardware
and software resources.
8. A cycle is a sufficient condition for a deadlock in MISR system
9. File system integrity implies correctness and consistency of control data and operations of
the file system.
10. A mathematical model consists of three components model of the server
Section B: Short Questions (20 marks)
This section consists of Short Questions (Answer should be in 5 Line).
Answer all the questions.
Each Question is of 5 marks.
1. What do you mean by “Authentication”?
2. Distinguish between File System and IOCS.
3. Define “Segmentation with Paging”.
4. Describe the Deadlock characteristics for different resource system.
1. Write a Short Note on “Structure of an Operating System”.
2. Define Request-Reply-Acknowledgement Protocol and Explain a Blocking version
of RRA Protocol.
3. Explain how starvation is avoided the UNIX and Window system?
4. Discuss influence of disk scheduling algorithms on effectiveness of I/O buffering?
Section D: 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 200 to 250 words).
1. Describe why authentication is important for file protection?
2. Show actions of the basic and control parts of a process to important Ricart-Agrawala
Algorithm?
Examination Paper: Project Management
1
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper MM.100
Project Management
Section A: Objective Type (30 marks)
This section consists of multiple choices questions and short answer type questions.
Answer all the questions.
Part One questions carry 1 mark each and Part Two questions carry 5 marks each.
Part One:
Multiple choices:
1. During _________formal tools and techniques were developed to help and manage large
complex projects.
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a. 1950s
b. 1980s
c. 1920s
d. 1990s
2. PERT stands for:
a. Program Evaluation and Reverse Technique
b. Progress Evaluation and Review Technique
c. Program Evaluation and Review Technique
d. None of the above
3. The most basic model of any Operating System is:
a. Project Model
b. Input-output model
c. Output-input model
d. None of the above
4. Overall complexity =
a. Organizational complexity*resource complexity*technical complexity
b. Organizational complexity+technical complexity-resource complexity
c. Technical complexity+resource complexity/organizational complexity
d. Organizational complexity*resource complexity/technical complexity
5. Relevant areas of the APM body of knowledge are:
a. Quality Management
b. Budgeting and cost Management
c. Project Cost Management
d. Both ‘a’ and ‘b’
Examination Paper: Project Management
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IIBM Institute of Business Management
6. Costs associated with the planning process include:
a. Planer’s tools
b. Opportunity cost
c. Planned labour and associated expenses
d. All of the above
7. CPA stands for:
a. Critical Path Analysis
b. Common Path Analysis
c. Critical Path Algorithm
d. Common Problem Analysis
8. The project duration with the normal activity time is ____days.
a. 11
b. 16
c. 17
d. 21
9. The nature of the work organization is important as it:
a. Defines responsibility and authority
b. Outlines reporting arrangements
c. Determines the management overhead
d. All of the above
10. Matrix Management was invented by
a. Mullins
b. Belbin
c. Drucker
d. Frederick Taylor
Part Two:
1. Define ‘Cost Estimating Techniques’.
2. Write a note on ‘Critical Path Analysis’.
3. Differentiate between General Management and Project Management.
4. What is ‘Team Life Cycle’?
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper: Project Management
3
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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 to 200 words).
Caselet 1
It’s a Risky Business
Four friends wanted to start a business. After much discussion, they had hit upon the idea of launch a
mail-order toys and games business. They were in the development stage of their business plan and
wanted to be sure that they had been through with their planning. To reinforce this, they had just received
a letter from a group of venture capitalists, agreeing to fund the start up. It concluded its review of their
plan by stating:
The business plan presents a credible opportunity for all involved and we are prepared to approve the
funding request, subject to a risk analysis being carried out on the project to start the business.
The group was stunned-the funding that they had been hoping for was suddenly a reality. Just one thing
stood in their way- that damned risk analysis process.
They started with identifying the key risk elements that could face the business during in start up phase.
They considered the process between the time that they received the funding and day one of trading. What
could possibly go wrong? Lots of things. They brainstormed the possibilities and recorded them. They
then considered the effect that these would have on the project as a whole. The list they generated
prothings going wrong and not enough making sure that the positive steps towards the business opening
were happening. They needed to priorities’ the events. As importantly, what would happen, when they
eventually occurred? Who would be responsible for each of them? On what basis could they rank each
risk, in order to identify the most important risks for which they would develop mitigation and
ownership?
They decided to use a table to show the risk event, the likelihood, the severity and by multiplying the two
providing a risk priority number (RPN). This would the allow ranking of the risk elements. For the three
highest ranked elements, the group then generates a mitigation process with someone in the group taking
ownership of that process.
As can be seen, the top three risks were identified and mitigation tasks put in place to either prevent the
risk event happening or to reduce its effect. The initials of the ‘owners’ of that risk in the last column
show who has agreed to monitor that set of events and ensure that the mitigation is put into place before
the project suffers from that event occurring.
Questions:
1. What further methods could have been used to generate ideas for the identification part of the risk
process?
2. What should happen as the project progresses to manage risk?
Examination Paper: Project Management
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IIBM Institute of Business Management
Caselet 2
Fast-track Product Redevelopment at Instron
Background
Instron designs and manufactures machines for testing the properties of all types of material. One
particular plastic testing instrument has been selling around 250 units per year worldwide. In 1992 at the
height of the recession, with margins being squeezed and sales volume dropping, Instron decided to
redesign the instrument to reduce its cost and make it easier to manufacture.
The Project
Instron began to undertake change in the late 1980s, which included a programme to institute concurrent
new product development. This was accompanied by pressure for cost reduction, the introduction of
manufacturing changes, and the breaking of the firm into business teams.
The team was highly transient and changing environment, there were few restrictions on the way the
redesign project had to be handled. It was one of the first projects in Instron to be run from the beginning
as a concurrent engineering project. A small multi-functional team was formed, consisting of a
manufacturing engineer, a design engineer, a marketing engineer and a draughtsman. The design rief was
to improve the ease of manufacture of the product such tat a cost reduction of 20 percent could be
achieved.
The team was co-located in an area adjacent to the manufacturing facility. Although there was some
initial resistance, the comment was made that ‘they don’t know how they ever worked without it’. The
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ease of communication and sharing of ideas became a more natural part of working life.
Adverse Effects
The principles of concurrency were, in general, favorably accepted by departments downstream of the
design process and with some notable exceptions, unfavorably viewed by the design department.
Individuals had concurrency imposed on them in the initial projects selected; be tried out. Senior
management staff was selected as champions of the cause, with the objective of overcoming the resistance
to change that existed. This came in a number of forms:
1. Passive resistance- summarized as ‘don’t show reluctance to apply the new ideas, attend all the
group meetings, nod in agreement, then carry on as before.
2. Active resistance- ‘do what you like, but don’t ask me to do it’
3. Undermining the initiative- through overstating the apparent problems.
They began by carrying out brainstorming sessions with manufacturing engineers, buyers, members of the
shop floor, suppliers and additional design engineers, to find new and innovative ways to improve the
product. The outcome of these investigations was to draw up a list of areas where improvements were
thought possible.
The Benefits Achieved
The results of this team’s action were:
Cost reduced by 49 percent
Product range rationalized from 12 to 2 versions
Unique part count reduced from 141 to 98 and total number of parts reduced from 300 to 189
Assembly/machining time reduced by 55 percent
Project completed on time, with last version being released in April 1994.
Once operational, few problems were encountered and those that did occur were minor in nature. The
success was attributed by the firm to two decisions:
The selection of the right project- one that made it easy to demonstrate concurrency
The selection of the right people- those who were prepared to be open-minded and have some
enthusiasm for the changes.
The company now views this as a simple project that restored the profitability of an established product
through the use of innovation, ingenuity and new design techniques by the whole concurrent team. What
Examination Paper: Project Management
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IIBM Institute of Business Management
is also clear is that the product was subject to technical change in only one area- the materials used. The
other benefits have all been due to the approach tat the firm’s management has taken to its new product
development (NPD) Process. The firm felt that the project has been a success and that this method of
working would become an institutionalized methodology.
Questions:
1. Identify the steps the firm took in this project. How did this contribute to the success?
2. How might the main adverse effects be identified?
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 200 to 250 words).
1. What is the role of strategy in Project Management?
2. Identify the different roles that cost, price and profit can play in determining project costs.
Project Management in IT
This section consists of multiple choice questions and short notes type questions.
Answer all the questions.
Part One questions carry 1 mark each and Part two questions carry 5 marks each.
Part One:
Multiple choices:
1. The knowledge areas of Project Management Process Group are:
a. Planning and Initiating
b. Executing and Closing
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c. Monitoring and Controlling
d. All of the above
2. To create a successful project, a project manager must consider:
a. Scope
b. Time
c. Cost
d. All of the above
3. Which one of the following is not involved in the top ten skills or competencies of an effective
project manager:
a. People skills
b. Leadership
c. Integrity
d. Technical skills
4. Another name of a phase exit is a _______ point.
a. Review
b. Stage
c. Meeting
d. Kill
5. Which process group includes activities from each of the nine knowledge areas?
a. Initiating
b. Planning
c. Executing
d. Closing
Examination Paper: Project Management
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IIBM Institute of Business Management
6. The project team works together to create the ______.
a. Scope statement
b. WBS
c. WBS dictionary
d. Work package
7. __________ is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration.
a. PERT
b. A Gantt chart
c. Critical Path Method
d. Crashing
8. Which of the following is not a key output of project cost management:
a. A cost estimate
b. A cost management plan
c. A cost baseline
d. None of the above
9. CMMI Stands for:
a. Capability Maturity Model Integration
b. Complex Maturity Model Integration
c. Common Maturity Model Information
d. Capability Maturity Model Information
10. A proposal evaluation sheet is an example of:
a. RFP
b. NPV analysis
c. Earned value analysis
d. Weighted scoring model
Part Two:
1. Define Product Life Cycle.
2. What is Project Integration Model?
3. Write a note on Gantt charts.
4. What is Project Quality Management?
Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
Caselet 1
A preliminary estimate of costs for the entire project is $140,000. This estimate is based on the
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project manager working about 20 hours per week for six months and other internal staff working a
total of about 60 hours per week for six months. The customer representatives would not be paid for
their assistance. A staff project manager would earn $50 per hour. The hourly rate for the other
project team member would be $70 per hour, since some hours normally billed to clients may be
needed for this project. The initial cost estimate also includes $10,000 for purchasing software &
services from suppliers. After the project is completed, maintenance costs of $40,000 are included
for each year, primarily to update the information and coordinate the “Ask the Expert” feature and
online articles. Projected benefits are based on a reduction in hours consultants spend researching
project management information, appropriate tools and templates, and so on. Projected benefits are
also based on a small increase in profits due to new business generated by this project. If each of
more than 400 consultants saved just 40 hours each year (less than one hour per week) and could bill
that time to other projects that generate a conservative estimate of $10 per hour in profits, then the
projected benefit would be $160,000 per year. If the new intranet increased business by just 1
percent, using past profit information, increased profits due to new business would be at least
$40,000 each year. Total projected benefits, therefore, are about $200,000 per year.
Exhibit A summarizes the projected costs and benefits and shows the estimated net percent value
(NPV), return on investment (ROI), and year in which payback occurs. It also lists assumptions
made in performing this preliminary financial analysis. All of the financial estimates are very
encouraging. The estimate payback is within one year, as requested by the sponsor. The NPV is
$272,800, and the discounted ROI based on a three-year system life is excellent at 112 percent.
Discount rate 8%
Assume the
project is done
in about is
months
Year
0 1 2 3 Total
Costs 140,000 40,000 40,000 40,000
Discount
factor
1 0.93 0.86 0.79
Discounted
costs
140,000 37,037 34,294 31,753 243,084
Benefits 0 200,000 200,000 200,000
Discount
factor
1 0.93 0.86 0.79
Discounted
benefits
0 186,185 171,468 158,766 515,419
Discounted (140,000) 148,148 137,174 127,013
Examination Paper: Project Management
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IIBM Institute of Business Management
benefits –
costs
Cumulative
benefits-costs
(140,000) 8,148 145,322 272,336 NVP
Payback in
year 1
Discounted
life cycle
ROI----
112%
Assumptions
Costs #hours
PM (500hours,
$50/hour)
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25,000
Staff (1500
hours,
$70/hour)
105,000
Outsourced
software &
services
10,000
Total project
costs (all
applied in year
0)
140,000
Benefits
# consultants 400
Hours saved 40
$/hour profit 10
Benefits from
saving time
160,000
Benefits from
1% increase in
profits
40,000
Total annual
projected
benefits
200,000
Questions:
1. What according to you are the factors that can hamper the profit growth related with the
project?
2. Mention some strategies to further improve the project’s turnover.
Examination Paper: Project Management
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IIBM Institute of Business Management
Caselet 2
Many organizations spend a great deal of time and money on training efforts for general project
management skills, but after the training, project managers may still not know how to tailor their
project management skills to the organization’s particular needs. Because of this problem, some
organizations develop their own internal information technology project management methodologies.
The PMBOKR Guide is a standard that describes best practices for what should be done to manage a
project. A methodology describes how things should be done, and different organizations often have
different ways of doing things. For example, after implementing a systems development life
cycle (SDLC) at Blue Cross Shield of Michigan, the Methods department became aware that
developers and project managers were often working on different information technology project in
different ways. Deliverables were often missing or looked different from project to project. They may
have all had a project charter, status report, technical documents (i.e., database design documents,
user interface requirements, and so on), but how they were producing and delivering these
deliverables was different. There was a general lack of consistency and a need for standards to guide
both new and experienced project managers. Top management decides to authorize funds to develop a
methodology for project managers that could also become the basis for information technology
project management training within the organization. It was also part of an overall effort to help raise
the company’s Software Capability Maturity Model level. BlueCross BlueShield of Michigan
launched a three-month project to develop its own project management methodology. Some of the
project team members had already received PMP certification, so they decided to base their
methodology on the PMBOKR Guide 2000, making adjustment as needed to best describe how their
organization managed information technology projects. See a complete article on this project on the
companion Web site for this text. Also see the Suggested Reading to review the State of Michigan
Project Management Methodology, which provides another good example of an information
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technology project management methodology. Many organizations include project management in
their methodologies for managing Six Sigma projects. Other organizations include project
management in their software development methodologies, such as the Rational Unified Process
(RUP) framework. RUP is an interactive software development process that focuses on team
productivity and delivers software best practices to all team members. According to RUP expert Bill
Cottrell, “RUP embodies industry-standard management and technical methods and techniques to
provide a software engineering process particularly suited to creating and maintaining componentbased
software system solutions,” Cottrell explains that you can tailor RUP to include the PMBOK
process groups. Specifically, IBM Rational, the creators of RUP, found that it could adjust RUP input
artifacts with PMBOK process inputs, RUP steps with PMBOK process tools and techniques, and
RUP resulting artifacts with PMBOK process outputs.
Questions:
1. According to you what are the skills that needed for the project management of an organization?
2. How the six sigma project became a helpful tool in very sophisticated kind of project
management?
Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
1. What is cost? What is the importance of Project cost Management and explain basic principles of
Cost Management.
2. Define the following:
a. Resource Histograms
b. Project Communication Management
Examination Paper
International Business Management
Section A: Objective Type (30 marks)
This section consists of multiple choice questions and short answer type questions
Answer all the questions.
Part One carries 1 mark each and Part Two questions carries 5 marks each.
Part One:
Multiple choices:
1. What is the series consideration for strategy implementation?
a. Strategic orientation
b. Location
c. Dimensions
d. Both (a) & (b)
2. The major activity in global marketing is
a. Pricing policies
b. Product lines
c. Market assessment
d. All of the above
3. The third ‘P’ in the international marketing mix is
a. Product
b. Price
c. Promotion
d. Place
4. The European Economic Community was established
a. 1958
b. 1975
c. 1967
d. 1957
5. Environment Protection Act
a. 1986
b. 1967
c. 1990
d. None of the above
Examination Paper
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IIBM Institute of Business Management
6. People’s attitude toward time depend on
a. Language
b. Relationship
c. Culture
d. All of the above
7. Culture necessitates adaption of
a. Product
b. Price
c. Promotion
d. Place
8. The legal term for brand is
a. Symbol
b. Name
c. Trade mark
d. All of the above
9. FDI flows are often a reflection of rivalry among firms in
a. Global market
b. Indian market
c. International market
d. None of the above
10. ISO certification is
a. Expensive process
b. Elaborate process
c. Evaluative Process
d. Both (a) & (b)
Part Two:
1. What do understand by ‘Inward-oriented Policies’?
2. What is ‘Factor Endowments Theory’?
3. Explain the term ‘Totalitarianism’.
4. Write about ‘Persistent Dumping’.
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper
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 200 to 250 words).
Caselet 1
THE EU’S LAGGING COMPETITIVENESS
In a report produced for the European Commission, published in November 1998, it was argued that
the EU lags behind the USA and Japan on most measures of international competitiveness. Gross
domestic product per capita, sometimes used as an indicator of international competitiveness at the
country level, was 33 per cent lower in the EU as a whole than in the USA and 13 per cent lower
than in Japan. The EU’s poor record in creating employment was singled out for particular criticism.
As this appeared to apply across the board in most industrial sectors, it suggested that the EU’s poor
performance related to the business environment in general and, in particular, to the inflexibility of
Europe’s labour markets for goods and services. A shortage of risk capital for advanced
technological development and high cost and inefficiency of Europe’s financial services were also
highlighted by the report. For one reason or another, European industries generally lag behind in
technology industries. If measured by the number of inventions patented in at least two countries, the
USA is well ahead of most European countries, as well as Japan. Despite these shortcomings, the
report’s authors focus attention on flexible markets, market liberalisation, and the creation of a
competitive business environment rather than on targeted intervention by the EU or national
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authorities.
1. Is gross domestic product per capita a useful indicator of International competitiveness in the EU?
2. Is it fair to point the blame for the EU’s poor international competitiveness at inflexible labour
markets, regulated goods and services markets, and a general lack of competition? What
alternative explanations might be suggested?
Examination Paper
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Caselet 2
PERU
Peru is located on the west coast of South America. It is the third largest nation of the continent (after
Brazil and Argentina), and covers almost 500,000 square miles (about 14 per cent of the size of the
United States). The land has enormous contrasts, with a desert (drier than the Sahara), the towering
snow-capped Andes mountains, sparkling grass-covered plateaus, and thick rain forests. Peru has
approximately 27 million people, of which about 20 per cent live in Lima, the capital. More Indians
(one half of the population) live in Peru than in any other country in the western hemisphere. The
ancestors of Peru’s Indians were the famous Incas, who built a great empire. The rest of the
population is mixed and a small percentage is white. The economy depends heavily on agriculture,
fishing, mining, and services. GDP is approximately $115 billion and per capita income in recent
years has been around $4,300. In recent years the economy has gained some relative strength and
multinationals are now beginning to consider investing in the country. One of these potential
investors is a large New York based that is considering a $25 million loan to the owner of a Peruvian
fishing fleet. The owner wants to refurbish the fleet and add one more ship. During the 1970s, the
Peruvian government nationalised a number of industries and factories and began running them for
the profit of the state. In most cases, these state-run ventures became disasters. In the late 1970s, the
fishing fleet owner was given back his ships and are getting old and he needs an influx of capital to
make repairs and add new technology. As he explained it to the NEW YORK banker: “fishing is no
longer just un art. There is a great deal of technology involved. And to keep costs low and be
competitive on the world market , you have to have the latest equipment for both locating as well
as catching and then loading and unloading the fish.”Having reviewed the fleet owner’ operation, the
large multinational bank believes that the loan is justified. The financial institution is concerned ,
however , that the Peruvian government might step in during the next couple of years and again
take over the business . If this were to happen, it might take an additional decade, for the loan to be
repaid. If the government were to allow the fleet owner to operate the fleet the way he has over the
last decade, the loan could be rapid within seven years. Right now, the bank is deciding on the
specific terms of the agreement. Once these have been worked out , either a loan officer will fly
down to lima and close the deal or the owner will be asked to come to NEW YORK for the signing.
Whichever approach is used, the bank realize that final adjustments in the agreement will have
to be made on the spot. Therefore, if the bank sends a representative to Lima, the individual will have
to the authority to commit the bank to specific terms. These final matters should be worked out within
the next ten days.
1. What are some current issues Facing Peru? What is the climate for doing business in Peru today?
2. Would the bank be better off negotiating the loan in New York or in Lima? Why?
END OF SECTION B
Examination Paper
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
This section consists of Long Questions.
Answer all the questions.
Each question carries 15 marks.
Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
1. Imagine that you are the director of a major international lending institution supported by funds
from member countries. What one area in newly industrialized and developing economics would
be your priority for receiving development aid? Do you suspect that any member country will be
politically opposed to aid in this area? Why or Why not?
2. The principle problem in analysing different forms of export financing is the distribution of risks
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between the exporter and the importer. Analyse the following export financing instruments in this
respect:
(a) Letter of Credit
(b) Cash in advance
(c) Draft
(d) Consignment
(e) Open Account
Management Information Systems
Part one:
Multiple choices:
1. Management Information System is mainly dependent upon:
a. Accounting
b. Information
c. Both ‘a’ and ‘b’
d. None of the above
2. The most important attribute of information quality that a manager requires is:
a. Presentation
b. Relevance
c. Timeliness
d. None of the above
3. Human Resource Information Systems are designed to:
a. Produce pay checks and payrolls reports
b. Maintain personnel records
c. Analyze the use of personnel in business operations
d. Development of employees to their full potential
4. Operational Accounting System include:
a. Inventory control
b. Cost accounting reports
c. Development of financial budgets and projected financial statements
d. None of the above
5. EIS stands for:
a. Executive Information System
b. Excellent Info System
c. Excessive Information System
d. None of the above
6. Intranet provide a rich set of tools for those people:
a. Who are members of the different company or organization
b. Who are members of the same company or organization
c. Both ‘a’ and ‘b’
Examination Paper of Management Information Systems
IIBM Institute of Business Management 2
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d. None of the above
7. Which one is not the future of wireless technology?
a. E-mail
b. VOIP
c. RFID
d. Telegram
8. OLTP stands for:
a. Online Transactional Processing
b. Online Transmission Processing
c. Online Transactional Process
d. None of the above
9. Which one of the following is not considered as future of m-commerce:
a. Ubiquity
b. Localization
c. Simple authentication
d. Common operation
10. Which of the following is not the level of decision making:
a. Management control
b. Activity control
c. Operational control
d. Strategic decision making
Part Two:
1. What are the ‘Strategic Information Systems’?
2. Write down the various business model of internet.
3. What is ‘Network Bandwidth’?
4. Differentiate between OLTP and OLPP.
END OF SECTION
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
f Caselets.
Examination Paper of Management Information Systems
IIBM Institute of Business Management 3
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Caselet 1
Overview of our Client’s Strategy
Our client had an online store. They were spending $15,000 each month on pay per click advertising. This
resulted in about $225,000 per month in sales. They didn’t know which clicks were leading to sales
because they didn’t track the clicks. There rankings in the natural listings was minimal because they
hadn’t done keywords research on what visitors were using to try to find a site like there’s. They weren’t
able to quantity results because their we statistics program only showed very general traffic information.
They were also doing an irregular email newsletter even though they had more than 32,000 e-mails in
their database.
Analysis of the situation
In the natural listings we suspected they were being penalized by the search enines for duplicate content.
The search engines frown on this because they feel this is trying to fool them. Google will often give a
site like this something called “Supplement Results”, which means that the search engines know the page
exists but doesn’t have any content in their database. We also suspected their email newsletter was being
blocked by many spam blockers because the names of the products they sold were often on used in spam
e-mails.
Implementation of a Solution
For the pay per click advertising we started tracking the clicks down to the individual terms and the actual
results that came from them. We were able to delete terms that were not getting enough sales and increase
the bids on ones that brought sales. For the natural listings we did keywords research and focused on the
main keywords on the content for the home page and in the META tags. We also found that visitors
search on product names rather than manufactures, so in the title tag for the page we switched and put the
product name before the manufacturer. With the newsletter, we used a good mix of graphics and content
to appease the spam blockers, as well as put the product names in graphics so they wouldn’t be blocked.
In order to analyze of the site’s traffic, we implemented a powerful web statistics program.
Results of our work
Through our tactics, our clients were able to move up to #4 on Google for their main search term, which
got a lot of traffic. With pay per click, they went from $.43. They decrease their budget to $10,000 per
month, yet were able to increase their traffic by 33 percent. Through our optimization of their pay per
click, their cost per conversion to sale decreased by at least 45 percent. The deliverability of their
newsletter increased as well. Within a year, their sales increased to over $600,000 per month.
Questions:
1. Discuss the client strategy for the success of store.
2. Suppose if you are the client maker what would you suggest for the client.
Caselet 2
Data Warehouse is a massive independent business database system that is populated with data that has
been extracted from a range of sources. The data is held separately from its origin and is used to help to
improve the decision-making process.
Many traditional Databases are involved in recording day to day operational activities of the business,
called Online Transaction Processing (OLTP), COMMONLY IMPLEMENTED IN Airline Bookings and
Banking Systems, for faster’s response and better control over data. Examination Paper of Management
Information Systems
IIBM Institute of Business Management 4
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After establishment of OLTP Systems, reports and summaries can be drawn for giving inputs to decisionmaking
process and this process is called Online Analytical Processing (OLAP).
For better customer relationships management strategy, the call centre’s and data Warehouse works as a
strategic tool for decision-support which requires lot of time for establishment, and needs to be updated
with operational information on daily weekly or monthly basis.
Data Warehouse is used for proactive strategies formulation strategies formulation in critical and complex
situations. A number of CRM vendors are advocating for single integrated customer database which
includes call centre, web sites, branches and direct mail, but it lacks in analytical functioning of data
warehouse. This Database can’t be expanded also, and carry decision support operations on call centre
Database becomes slow & the query processing and inquiries andling operations also become slow &
inefficient for agents dealing with customers.
Data Warehouse is must for identifying most profitable & loyal customers and those customers can be
offered better customized services which increase the chances of additional profits.
Although call centre system & data warehouse are altogether different systems yet dependent on each
other to fully exploit their potential respectively.
Questions:
1. Explain the role of data warehousing in the functioning of a call centre.
2. How the response time in performing OLAP queries can be improved?
END OF SECTION B
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. Explain the term e-commerce. Also explain the history and limitations of e-commerce.
2. What do you understand by the term “Database”? Explain the various database models in detail.
Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
IIBM Institute of Business Management 1
Managerial Economics
Section A: Objective Type (30 marks)
Part one:
Multiple choices:
1. It is a study of economy as a whole.
a. Macroeconomics
b. Microeconomics
c. Recession
d. Inflation
2. A comprehensive formulation which specifies the factors that influence the demand for the product.
a. Market demand
b. Demand schedule
c. Demand function
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d. Income effect
3. It is computed when the data is discrete and therefore incremental changes is measurable.
a. Substitution effect
b. Arc elasticity
c. Point elasticity
d. Derived demand
4. Goods & services used for final consumption is called:
a. Demand
b. Consumer goods
c. Producer goods
d. Perishable goods
5. The curve at which satisfaction is equal at each point.
a. Marginal utility
b. Cardinal measure of utility
c. The Indifference Curve
d. Budget line
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6. Costs that are reasonably expected to be incurred in some future period or periods are:
a. Future costs
b. Past costs
c. Incremental costs
d. Sunk costs
7. Condition when the firm has no tendency either to increase or to contract its output:
a. Monopoly
b. Profit
c. Equilibrium
d. Market
8. Total market value of all finished goods & services produced in a year by a country’s residents is
known as:
a. National income
b. Gross national product
c. Gross domestic product
d. Real GDP
9. The sum of net value of goods & services produced at market prices:
a. Government expenditure
b. Product approach
c. Income approach
d. Expenditure approach
10. The market value of all the final goods & services made within the borders of a nation in an year.
a. Globalization
b. Subsidies
c. GDP
d. GNP
Part Two:
1. Define ‘Arc Elasticity’.
2. Explain the law of ‘Diminishing marginal returns’.
3. What is ‘Prisoner’s Dilemma’, of non cooperative game?
4. What is ‘Third degree Discrimination’?
END OF SECTION A Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
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Section B: Case lets (40 marks)
Case let 1
The war on drugs is an expensive battle, as a great deal of resources go into catching those who buy or
sell illegal drugs on the black market, prosecuting them in court, and housing them in jail. These costs
seem particularly exorbitant when dealing with the drug marijuana, as it is widely used, and is likely no
more harmful than currently legal drugs such as tobacco and alcohol. There's another cost to the war on
drugs, however, which is the revenue lost by governments who cannot collect taxes on illegal drugs. In a
recent study for the Fraser Institute, Canada, Economist Stephen T. Easton attempted to calculate how
much tax revenue the government of the country could gain by legalizing marijuana. The study estimates
that the average price of 0.5 grams (a unit) of marijuana sold for $8.60 on the street, while its cost of
production was only $1.70. In a free market, a $6.90 profit for a unit of marijuana would not last for long.
Entrepreneurs noticing the great profits to be made in the marijuana market would start their own grow
operations, increasing the supply of marijuana on the street, which would cause the street price of the
drug to fall to a level much closer to the cost of production. Of course, this doesn't happen because the
product is illegal; the prospect of jail time deters many entrepreneurs and the occasional drug bust ensures
that the supply stays relatively low. We can consider much of this $6.90 per unit of marijuana profit a
risk-premium for participating in the underground economy. Unfortunately, this risk premium is making a
lot of criminals, many of whom have ties to organized crime, very wealthy. Stephen T. Easton argues that
if marijuana was legalized, we could transfer these excess profits caused by the risk premium from these
grow operations to the government: If we substitute a tax on marijuana cigarettes equal to the difference
between the local production cost and the street price people currently pay – that is, transfer the revenue
from the current producers and marketers (many of whom work with organized crime) to the government,
leaving all other marketing and transportation issues aside we would have revenue of (say) $7 per [unit].
If you could collect on every cigarette and ignore the transportation, marketing, and advertising costs, this
comes to over $2 billion on Canadian sales and substantially more from an export tax, and you forego the
costs of enforcement and deploy your policing assets elsewhere. One interesting thing to note from such a
scheme is that the street price of marijuana stays exactly the same, so the quantity demanded should
remain the same as the price is unchanged. However, it's quite likely that the demand for marijuana would
change from legalization. We saw that there was a risk in selling marijuana, but since drug laws often
target both the buyer and the seller, there is also a risk (albeit smaller) to the consumer interested in
buying marijuana. Legalization would eliminate this risk, causing the demand to rise. This is a mixed bag
from a public policy standpoint: Increased marijuana use can have ill effects on the health of the
population but the increased sales bring in more revenue for the government. However, if legalized,
governments can control how much marijuana is consumed by increasing or decreasing the taxes on the
product. There is a limit to this, however, as setting taxes too high will cause marijuana growers to sell on
the black market to avoid excessive taxation. When considering legalizing marijuana, there are many
economic, health, and social issues we must analyze. One economic study will not be the basis of
Canada's public policy decisions, but Easton's research does conclusively show that there are economic
benefits in the legalization of marijuana. With governments scrambling to find new sources of revenue to
pay for important social objectives such as health care and education expect to see the idea raised in
Parliament sooner rather than later. Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
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Questions:
1. Plot the demand schedule and draw the demand curve for the data given for Marijuana in the case
above.
2. On the basis of the analysis of the case above, what is your opinion about legalizing marijuana in
Canada?
Case let 2
Companies that attend to productivity and growth simultaneously manage cost reductions very differently
from companies that focus on cost cutting alone and they drive growth very differently from companies
that are obsessed with growth alone. It is the ability to cook sweet and sour that under grids the
remarkable performance of companies likes Intel, GE, ABB and Canon. In the slow growth electrotechnical
business, ABB has doubled its revenues from $17 billion to $35 billion, largely by exploiting
new opportunities in emerging markets. For example, it has built up a 46,000 employee organization in
the Asia Pacific region, almost from scratch. But it has also reduced employment in North America and
Western Europe by 54,000 people. It is the hard squeeze in the north and the west that generated the
resources to support ABB's massive investments in the east and the south. Everyone knows about the
staggering ambition of the Ambanis, which has fuelled Reliance's evolution into the largest private
company in India. Reliance has built its spectacular rise on a similar ability to cook sweet and sour. What
people may not be equally familiar with is the relentless focus on cost reduction and productivity growth
that pervades the company. Reliance's employee cost is 4 per cent of revenues, against 15-20 per cent of
its competitors. Its sales and distribution cost, at 3 per cent of revenues, is about a third of global
standards. It has continuously pushed down its cost for energy and utilities to 3 per cent of revenues,
largely through 100 per cent captive power generation that costs the company 4.5 cents per kilowatt-hour;
well below Indian utility costs, and about 30 per cent lower than the global average. Similarly, its capital
cost is 25-30 per cent lower than its international peers due to its legendary speed in plant commissioning
and its relentless focus on reducing the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) that, at 13 per cent, is
the lowest of any major Indian firm.
A Bias for Growth
Comparing major Indian companies in key industries with their global competitors shows that Indian
companies are running a major risk. They suffer from a profound bias for growth. There is nothing wrong
with this bias, as Reliance has shown. The problem is most look more like Essar than Reliance. While
they love the sweet of growth, they are unwilling to face the sour of productivity improvement.
Nowhere is this more amply borne out than in the consumer goods industry where the Indian giant
Hindustan Lever has consolidated to grow at over 50 per cent while its labour productivity declined by
around 6 per cent per annum in the same period. Its strongest competitor, Nirma, also grew at over 25 per
cent per annum in revenues but maintained its labour productivity relatively stable. Unfortunately,
however, its return on capital employed (ROCE) suffered by over 17 per cent. In contrast, Coca Cola,
worldwide, grew at around 7 per cent, improved its labour productivity by 20 per cent and its return on
capital employed by 6.7 per cent. The story is very similar in the information technology sector where
Infosys, NIIT and HCL achieve rates of growth of over 50 per cent which compares favorably with the
world's best companies that grew at around 30 per cent between 1994-95. NIIT, for example, strongly
believes that growth is an impetus in itself. Its focus on growth has helped it double revenues every two
years. Sustaining profitability in the face of such expansion is an extremely challenging task. For now,
this is a challenge Indian InfoTech companies seem to be losing. The ROCE for three Indian majors fell
by 7 per cent annually over 1994-96. At the same time IBM Microsoft and SAP managed to improve this
ratio by 17 per cent. There are some exceptions, however. The cement industry, which has focused on
productivity rather than on growth, has done very well in this dimension when compared to their global
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counterparts. While Mexico's Cemex has grown about three times fast as India's ACC, Indian cement
companies have consistently delivered better results, not only on absolute profitability ratios, but also on
absolute profitability growth. They show a growth of 24 per cent in return on capital employed while
international players show only 8.4 per cent. Labour productivity, which actually fell for most industries
over 1994-96, has improved at 2.5 per cent per annum for cement.
The engineering industry also matches up to the performance standards of the best in the world.
Companies like Cummins India have always pushed for growth as is evidenced by its 27 per cent rate of
growth, but not at the cost of present and future profitability. The company shows a healthy excess of
almost 30 per cent over WACC, displaying great future promise. BHEL, the public sector giant, has seen
similar success and the share price rose by 25 per cent despite an indecisive sensex. The only note of
caution: Indian engineering companies have not been able to improve labour productivity over time,
while international engineering companies like ABB, Siemens and Cummins Engines have achieved
about 13.5 per cent growth in labour productivity, on an average, in the same period. The pharmaceuticals
industry is where the problems seem to be the worst, with growth emphasized at the cost of all other
performance. They have been growing at over 22 per cent, while their ROCE fell at 15.9 per cent per
annum and labour productivity at 7 per cent. Compare this with some of the best pharmaceutical
companies of the world – Glaxo Wellcome, SmithKline Beecham and Pfizer –who have consistently
achieved growth of 15-20 per cent, while improving returns on capital employed at about
25 per cent and labour productivity at 8 per cent. Ranbaxy is not an exception; the bias for growth at the
cost of labour and capital productivity is also manifest in the performance of other Indian Pharma
companies. What makes this even worse is the Indian companies barely manage to cover their cost of
capital, while their competitors worldwide such as Glaxo and Pfizer earn an average ROCE of 65 per
cent. In the Indian textile industry, Arvind Mills was once the shining star. Like Reliance, it had learnt to
cook sweet and sour. Between 1994 and 1996, it grew at an average of 30 per cent per annum to become
the world's largest denim producer. At the same time, it also operated a tight ship, improving labour
productivity by 20 per cent. Despite the excellent performance in the past, there are warning signals for
Arvind's future. The excess over the WACC is only 1.5 per cent, implying it barely manages to satisfy its
investor’s expectations of return and does not really have a surplus to re-invest in the business.
Apparently, investors also think so, for Arvind's stock price has been falling since Q4 1994 despite such
excellent results and, at the end of the first quarter of 1998, is less than Rs 70 compared to Rs 170 at the
end of 1994. Unfortunately, Arvind's deteriorating financial returns over the last few years is also typical
of the Indian textile industry. The top three Indian companies actually showed a decline in their return
ratios in contrast to the international majors. Nike, VF Corp and Coats Viyella showed a growth in their
returns on capital employed of 6.2 per cent, while the ROCE of Grasim and Coats Viyella (India) fell by
almost 2 per cent per annum. Even in absolute returns on assets or on capital employed, Indian companies
fare a lot worse. While Indian textile companies just about cover their WACC, their international rivals
earn about 8 per cent in excess of their cost of capital.
Questions:
1. Is Indian companies running a risk by not giving attention to cost cutting?
2. Discuss whether Indian Consumer goods industry is growing at the cost of future profitability.
3. Discuss capital and labour productivity in engineering context and pharmaceutical industries in India.
4. Is textile industry in India performing better than its global competitors?
END OF SECTION B Examination Paper of Managerial Economics
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Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
1. Free trade promotes a mutually profitable regional division of labour, greatly enhances the potential
real national product of all nations and makes possible higher standards of living all over the globe.”
Critically explain and examine the statement.
2. What role does a decision tree play in business decision-making? Illustrate the choice between two
investment projects with the help of a decision tree assuming hypothetical conditions about the states of
nature, probability distribution, and corresponding pay-offs.
END OF SECTION C
S-2-301012
Strategic Management
Short notes type questions.
Part One:
Multiple choices:
1. A plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal is:
a. Tactic
b. Strategy
c. Financial benefits
d. None of the above
2. It is important to develop mission statement for:
a. Allocating organizational resources
b. Provide useful criteria
c. Company creed
d. Customer orientation
3. The five forces model was developed by :
a. Airbus
b. Karin Larsson
c. Michael E.Porter
d. Boeing
4. How many elements are involve in developing in an organizational strategy:
a. Six
b. Two
c. Four
d. Nine
5. The three important steps in SWOT analysis are:
a. Identification, Conclusion, Translation
b. Opportunities, Threats, Strengths
c. People, Corporate cultures, Labour
d. Power, Role, Task
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6. GE matrix consists of how many cells?
a. Nine cells
b. Six cells
c. Eight cells
d. Three cells
7. Which of these is the type of Games:
a. Simultaneous Games
b. Sequential Games
c. Repeated Games
d. All of the above
8. SBU stands fora.
Simple Basic Unit
b. Strategic Basic Unit
c. Strategic Business Unit
d. Speed Business Unit
9. The BCG matrix is known as:
a. Growth share matrix
b. Directional policy matrix
c. GE nine-cell matrix
d. Space matrix
10. ______________ specifies sales revenues and selling distribution and marketing costs.
a. Financial budget
b. Sales budget
c. Operating budget
d. Expenses budget
Part Two:
Q. 1 What are the dimensions of Strategic management?
Q. 2 Critically analyze the concept of BCG Matrix.
Q. 3 What is SWOT analysis?
Q. 4 What are the characteristics of Short-term Objectives?
END OF SECTION A Examination Paper of Strategic Management
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Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
Caselets.
Caselet 1
National Competitive Advantage of IKEA Group, a Swedish company founded in 1943 with its
headquarters in Denmark, is a multinational operator of a chain of stores for home furnishing and
furniture. It is the world’s largest retailer, which specializes, in stylish but inexpensive Scandinavian
designed furniture. At the end of 2005 the IKEA Group of Companies had a total of 175 stores in 31
countries. In addition there are 19 IKEA stores owned and run by franchisees, outside the IKEA store
around the world.
In Sweden, nature and a home both play a big part in people’s life. In fact one of the best ways to describe
the Swedish home furnishing style is to describe nature-full of light and fresh air, yet restrained and
unpretentious.
To match up the artist Carl and Karin Larsson combined classical influences with warmer Swedish folk
styles .They created a model of Swedish home furnishing design that today enjoys world-wide renown. In
the 1950s the styles of modernism and functionalism developed at the same time as Sweden established a
society founded on social equality .The IKEA product range –The IKEA product range- modern but not
trendy, functional yet attractive, human-centered and child friendly – carries on these various Swedish
home furnishing traditions.
The IKEA Concept, like lots founder, was born in Samaland. This is a part of Southern Sweden where the
soil is thin and poor. The people are famous for working hard, living on small means and using their
heads to make the best possible use of the limited resources they have. This way of doing things is at the
heart of the IKEA approach to keeping prices low.
IKEA was founded when Sweden was fast becoming an example of the caring society, where rich and
poor alike were well looked after. This is also a theme that fits well with the IKEA vision. In order to give
the many people a better everyday life, IKEA asks the customer to work as a partner. The product range is
child-friendly and covers the need of the whole family, young and old. So together we can a better
everyday life for everyone.
In addition to working about around 1,800 different suppliers across the world, IKEA produces many of
its own products through sawmills and factories in the IKEA industrial group, Swedwood.
Swedwood also has a duty to transfer knowledge to other suppliers, for example by educating them in
issues such as efficiency, quality and environmental work.
Swedwood has 35 industrial units in 11 countries. Examination Paper of Strategic Management
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Purchasing: IKEA has 42 Trading Service Offices (TSO’s) in 33 countries. Proximity to their suppliers is
the key to rational, long term cooperation. That’s why TSO co-workers visit suppliers regularly to
monitor production, test new ideas, negotiate prices and carry out quality audits and inspection.
Distribution: The route from supplier to customer must be as direct, cost- effective and environmentally
friendly as possible. Flat packs are important aspects of this work: eliminating wasted space means we
can transport and store goods more efficiently. Since efficient distribution plays a key role in the work of
creating the low price, goods routing and logistics are a focus for constant development.
The business Idea: The IKEA business idea is to offer a wide range of home furnishings with good design
and function at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. And still have
many left! The company targets the customer who is looking for value and is willing to do a little bit of
work serving themselves, transporting the items home and assembling the furniture for a better price. The
typical IKEA customer is young low to middle income family.
The Competition Advantage: The competition advantage strategy of IKEA’s product is reflected through
IKEA’s success in the real industry. It can be attributed to its vast experience in the retail market, product
differentiation, and cost leadership.
IKEA Product Differentiation: A wide product range The IKEA product range is wide and versatile in
several ways. First, it’s versatile in function. Because IKEA think customer, shouldn’t have to run from
one small specialty shop to another to furnish their home, IKEA gather plants, living room furnishings,
toys , frying pans, whole kitchens i.e.; everything which in a functional way helps to build a home – in
one place , at IKEA stores.
Second, it’s wide in style. The romantic at heart will find choices just as many as the minimalist at IKEA.
But There is only one thing IKEA don’t have, and that is, the far- out or the over-decorated. They only
have what helps build a home that has room for good living.
Third, by being coordinated, the range is wide in function and style at the same time. No matter which
style you prefer, there’s an armchair that goes with the bookcase that goes with the new extending table
that goes with the armchair. So their range is wide in a variety of ways.
Cost Leadership: A wide range with good form and function is only half the story. Affordability has a part
to play – the largest part. A wide range with good form and function is only half the story. Affordability
has a part to play- the largest part. And the joy of being able to own it without having to forsake
everything else. And the customers help, too, by choosing the furniture, getting it at the warehouse,
transporting it home and assembling it themselves , to keep the price low.
Questions
1. Do you think that IKEA has been successful to utilize Porter’s Five force analysis? Give reasons.
2. Where do you think can IKEA improve?
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Caselet 2
For ITC Ltd., 2007-2008 continued to be year of quiet growth. Just more launches in its relatively new
segment of non-cigarettes fast moving consumer goods, and solid growth. As in the past few years, ITC’s
non-cigarettes businesses continued to grow at a scorching pace, accounting for a bigger share of overall
revenues. “The non-cigarette portfolio grew by 37.6% during 2006-2007 and accounted during that year
for 52.3% of the company’s net turnover.” An ITC spokesman said. In fact, over the first three quarters of
2007-08, ITC’s non-cigarette FMCG businesses have grown by 48% on the same period last year,
“Indicating that its plans for increasing market share and standing are succeeding.”
The branded packaged foods business continued to expand rapidly, with the focus on snacks range Bingo.
The biscuit category continued its growth momentum with the ‘Sun feast’ range of biscuits launching
‘Coconut’ and ‘Nice’ variants and the addition of ‘ Sunfeast BenneVita Flaxseed’ biscuits. Aashirwad atta
and kitchen ingredients retained their top slots at the national level, with the spices category adding an
organic range. In the confectionery category which grew by 38% in the third quarter, ITC cited AC
Nielsen data it claims market leader status in throat lozenges. Instant mixes and pasta powdered the sales
of its ready to eat foods under the kitchens of India and Aashirwad brands.
In Lifestyle apparel, ITC launched Miss Players fashion wear for young women to compliment its range
for men.
Overall, the biscuit category grew by 58% during the last quarter, ready to eat foods under the kitchens of
India and Aashirwad brands by 63% and the lifestyle business by 26%.
For the Industry, the most significant initiative to watch the ITC foray into premium personal care
products with its Fiama Di Wills range of shampoos , conditioners, shower gels, and soaps. In the popular
segment, ITC has launched a range of soaps and shampoos under the brand name Superia.
Ravi Naware, Chief executive of ITC’s food business was quoted recently as saying that the business will
make a positive contribution to ITC’s bottom line in the next two to three years.
In hotels, ITC’s Fortune Park brand was making the news during the year, with a rapid rollout of first
class business hotels.
In the agri-business segment, the e-choupal network is trying out a pilot in retailing fresh fruits and
vegetables. The e-choupals have already specialized in feeding ITC high quality wheat and potato, among
other commodities grown by farmers with help from e-choupal.
Questions:
Q1. Do you think the progress of ITC Ltd. is realistic?
Q2. After analyzing the above case, do you think every company should aim at cost leadership with high
quality product?
END OF SECTION B Examination Paper of Strategic Management
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Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
Q.1. What are the basic principles of Organizational structure? What are the types of
Organizational structures?
Q.2. Though BCG matrix can be very helpful in forcing decisions in managing a
portfolio of products, it can be employed as a solemen of determining strategies
for a portfolio of the product. Do you agree with this statement or not? Why or
why not?
END OF SECTION C
S-2-301012
Examination Paper of Supply Chain Management
1 IIBM Institute of Business Management
Supply Chain Management
Section A: Objective Type (30 marks)
Answer all the questions.
Part One questions carry 1 mark each & Part Two questions carry 2 marks each.
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. When demand is steady, the cycle inventory for a given lot size (Q) is given by
a. Q/4
b. Q/8
c. Q/6
d. Q/2
2. There are two firms ‘x’ and ‘y’ located on a line of distance demand(0-1) at ‘a’ and ‘b’ respectively, the
customers are uniformly located on the line, on keeping the fact of splitting of market, the demand of firm
‘x’ will be given by,
a. (a+b)/2
b. a+(1-b-a)/2
c. (1+b-a)/2
d. a+(a-b)/2
3. Push process in supply chain analysis is also called
a. Speculative process
b. Manufacturing process
c. Supplying process
d. Demand process
4. If the Throughput be ‘d’ and the flow time be ‘t’ then the Inventory ‘I’ is given by
a. I *d=t
b. I=t+d
c. d=I*t
d. I =d*t
5. Forecasting method is
a. Time series
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b. causal
c. Qualitative
d. All the above
6. Component of order cost include
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a. Handling cost
b. Occupancy cost
c. Receiving costs
d. Miscellaneous costs
7. How many distinct types of MRO inventory are there
a. One
b. Four
c. Three
d. Two
8. Supply chain driver is
a. Inventory
b. Return ability
c. Fulfillment
d. All of above
9. SRM stands for
a. Strategic Relationship Management
b. Supply Return ability Management
c. Supplier Relationship Management
d. None of the above
10. Discount factor equals to, where k is the rate of return.
a. 1/1+k
b. 2/1+k
c. 1/1-k
d. 1/2+k
Part Two:
1. Explain “zone of strategic fit”.
2. Explain “scope of strategic fit”.
3. What do you understand by “stimulation forecasting method”?
4. Write a note on “obsolescence (or spoilage) cost”.
5. Define “square law” in safety inventory of supply chain management.
6. What does the word “postponement” signifies in supply chain?
7. What do you understand by the term “tailored sourcing”?
8. Explain the term “outsourcing”.
9. Write a note on “threshold contracts” for increasing agent efforts.
10. What is “dynamic pricing”?
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END OF SECTION A
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
Answer all the questions.
Each caselet carries 20 marks.
Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
Caselet 1
Orion is a global co. That sells copiers. Orion currently sells 10 variants of a copier, with all inventory
kept in finished-goods form. The primary component that differentiates the copiers is the printing
subassembly. An idea being discussed is to introduce commonality in the printing subassembly so that
final assembly can be postponed and inventories kept in component form. Currently, each copier costs
$1,000 in terms of components. Introducing commonality in the print subassembly will increase
component cost to$1.025.One of the 10 variants represents 80 percent of the total demand. Weekly
demand for this variant is normally distributed ,with a mean of 1,000 and a standard deviation of
200.Each of the remaining nine variants has a weekly demand of 28 with a standard deviation of 20.Orion
aims to provide a 95per level of services .Replacement lead time for components is four weeks. Copier
assembly can be implemented in a matter of hours. Orion manages all inventories using a continuous
review policy and uses a holding cost of 20 percent.
1. How much safety inventory of each variant must Orion keep without component commonality? What
are the annual holding costs?
2. How much safety inventory must be kept in component form if Orion uses common components for all
variants? What is the annual holding cost? What is the increase in component cost using commonality? Is
commonality justified across all variants?
3. At what cost of commonality will complete commonality be justified?
4. At what cost of commonality will commonality across the low-volume variants be justified?
Caselet 2
An electronic manufacturer has outsourced production of its latest MP3 player to a contract manufacturer
in Asia. Demand for the players has exceeded all expectations whereas the contract manufacturers sell
three types of players- a 40-GB player, a 20-GB player, 6-GB player. For the upcoming holiday season,
the demand forecast for the 40-GB player is normally distributed, with a mean of 20,000and a standard
deviation Dard deviation of 11,000, and the demand forecast for the 6-GB player has a mean of 80,000
and a standard deviation of 16,000. The 40-GB player has a sale price of $200, a production cost of $100,
and a salvage value of $80 .The 20-GB player has a price of $150, a production cost of $70, and a salvage
value of $50. Examination Paper of Supply Chain Management
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1. How many units of each type of player should the electronics manufacturer order if there are no
capacity constraints?
2. How many times of each type of player should the electronics manufacturer order if the available is
140,000? What is the expected profit?
END OF SECTION B
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
Answer all the questions.
Each question carries 15 marks.
Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
1. Consider two products with the same margin carried by a retail store. Any leftover units of one product
are worthless. Leftover units of the other product can be sold to outlet stores. Which product should have
a higher level of availability? Why?
2. McMaster-Carr sells maintenance, repair, and operations equipment from five warehouses in the
United States. W.W. Grainger sells products from more than 350 retail locations, supported by several
warehouses. In both cases, customers place orders using the Web or on the phone. Discuss the pros and
cons of the two strategies.
END OF SECTION C Examination Paper of Supply Chain Management
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Statistical Quality Control
e questions & Short Answer type questions.
Answer all the questions.
Part One questions carry 1 mark each & Part Two questions carry 4 marks each.
Part One:
Multiple choices:
1. If in a hall there are 18 persons then how many handshakes are possible
a. 18*18
b. 18*17/2
c. 18*17
d. None
2. If the number of trials be ‘n’ and the probability of occurrence be ‘p’ then the standard deviation with
respect to np, is given by
a. (np)1/2
b. (np(1-p))1/2
c. (np)1/4
d. (np(1-p))1/4
3. For a biased coin the probability of occurrence of head is 0.4 ,if the coin is tossed twice then the
probability of occurrence of at least one head will be
a. 0.76
b. 0.48
c. 0.64
d. 0.16
4. Factorial of 5 equals
a. 60
b. 120
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c. 24
d. 5
5. Combinatory of (4,2) equals
a. 12
b. 8
c. 6
d. None
6. ‘Economic Control of Quality of Manufactured Product’, a book by Walter A Shewhart in
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a. 1931
b. 1941
c. 1930
d. 1956
7. Quality is judged by…………
a. Retailer
b. Government
c. Customer
d. Hole seller
8. A run chart is a special chart of…………
a. Pie chart
b. Line chart
c. R chart
d. C chart
9. Universes may differ
a. In average
b. In above average
c. At higher level
d. All of the above
10. ASQC and ANSI began in
a. 1956
b. 1976
c. 1978
d. 1960
Part Two:
1. Differentiate between ‘defect’ and ‘defective’.
2. Explain the need of ‘short method’.
3. What does ‘Tchebycheff’s inequality theorem’ say?
4. Explain the usability of ‘stochastic limit’.
5. Write a note on ‘Cause and Effect’ diagram.
END OF SECTION A Examination Paper of Supply Chain Management
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Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
Answer all the questions.
Each caselet carries 20 marks.
Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
Caselet 1
ADAPTABILITY IN ACTION: A CASE OF RSL
Rajasthan Synthetics Ltd. (RSL) was established in the year 1994 at Bhilwara, Rajasthan to manufacture
synthetic yarn with a licensed capacity of 29,000 spindles. Manish Kumar, a Harvard Business School
graduate, established RSL with 8% equity participation from Itochu Corporation Japan to manufacture
synthetic yarn for shirting, a promising business at that time. The demise of the NTC textile mills was
fresh in the minds of the promoters and therefore, state of the art technology imported from U.K.,
Germany, Japan and France was used in the manufacturing facility. By the time the company started
manufacturing yarn the competition in shirting yarn had become fierce and the returns had diminished.
The company incurred losses in the first four years of its operations and the management was looking for
opportunities to turn things around. The manufacturing plant started functioning with an installed capacity
of 26,000 spindles, a small unit considering yarn-manufacturing industry, in the year 1996 to manufacture
synthetic yarn for shirting only. Initially, the major fabric manufactures of India such as Raymonds,
Donear, Grasim, Amartex, Siyaram, Pantaloon and Arviva were the main customers of the company and
the total produce of the company was sold within the domestic market. These fabric manufactures used to
import the premium quality yarn before RSL started supplying the yarn to them. The company in the first
year of its operations realized that shirting yarn was one of the fiercely competitive products and the
company with its high interest liability was unlikely to earn the desired profits. Also, the company had a
narrow product mix limited to only two more blow room lines were installed in the first quarter of 1997.
The addition of two blow room lines helped RSL to manufacture four different types of yarns at the same
time. Utilizing this added flexibility, RSL began manufacturing yarn for suitings.Since the suiting yarn
was providing better returns, the company was keen to increase manufacturing of suiting yarn but was
hampered by the two for one doubling (TFO) facility, which was limited to only 40% of the total produce.
To remove this bottleneck, 12 more TFO machines were added to the existing 8 TFO machines. The
addition of these machines increased the doubling capacity to 70% of the production providing additional
product mix flexibility to the company. This enabled the company to manufacture yarn to cater to the
requirements of suiting, industrial fabric and carpet manufacturers. In the initial years of its operations,
RSL realized that the promises made by the Government of Rajasthan to provide uninterrupted power
supply of the required quality (stable voltage and frequency) and ample quantity of water were unlikely to
be met through the public distribution system. The voltage and frequency of electric power provided
through the public distribution system were erratic and frequent announced and unannounced power cuts
stopped production on a regular basis. In these circumstances, meeting quality requirements of the
customers and adhering to delivery schedules was a herculean task. To ensure smooth and uninterrupted
operations RSL installed in-house power generation facility of 4 megawatts capacity and dug 10 tubewells.
RSL faced stiff competition in the domestic market from Gujarat Spinning and Weaving Mills,
Surat, Rajasthan Textile Mills, Bhawani Mandi, Charan Spinning Mills, Salem and Indorama Synthetics
Ltd., Pithampur in all their product categories and the returns were low. In order to combat stiff
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competition in the domestic market and improve returns the company started developing export markets
for their products in the year 1998. Initially, RSL started exporting carpet yarn to Belgium and till 2001;
carpet yarn formed the major component of their exports. A trade agreement was signed with Fibratex
Corporation, Switzerland to share profits equally for expanding their overseas operations. During the
same period, RSL continued to scout for new export markets and was successful in entering top-of-theline
fancy for premium fashion fabric manufactures of international repute like Mango and Zara.
Rajasthan Synthetics Ltd. also exported fancy yarn to a number of fabric manufacturers located in Italy,
France, England, Spain and Portugal. Yarn manufacturers from Indonesia, Korea and Taiwan gave stiff
competition to RSL when it entered the international market. The companies from South Asian countries
had a major cost advantage over RSL because of cheap, uninterrupted availability of power and high
labour productivity. Currencies had been sharply devalued during the South Asian financial crisis, which
rendered the products manufactured by these companies still cheaper in international markets. Despite all
these disadvantages, RSL was able to gain a foothold through constant adaption of their products
according to the customer requirements in the highly quality conscious international yarn market and was
exporting 95% of its total produce by the beginning of the year 2002.
Rajasthan Synthetics Ltd. had fine-tuned its distribution channels according to the type of markets and
size of orders from the customers. In line with this policy the export to Middle East, Far East and Turkey
was carried out through agents. Similarly, low volume export of fancy yarn requirements was also catered
through agents. While dealing with importers directly, RSL strictly followed the policy of exports against
confirmed Letter of Credits only. The company directly exported to important clients in Belgium,
England and France. The domestic market was also served through an agency system. Rajasthan
Synthetics Ltd. considered inventories as an unnecessary waste and kept minimum possible inventories
while ensuring required level of service. To ensure that the inventories were held to a minimum, the
manufacturing plan consisted of 60 to 70% against customer orders, 30 to 40% against anticipated sales
and 2% capacity was reserved for new product development. A Strategic Management Committee (SMC)
consisting of MD, CEO, GM (marketing) and GM (technical) reviewed the production plan of the
manufacturing plant on quarterly basis. The SMC also developed the plans for profitability, product mix
and cost minimization. Delivering high-quality products and meeting delivery commitments for every
shipment were essential pre-requisites to be successful in the global market place. The company had
understood this very early and to ensure that the products manufactured by RSL met the stringent quality
requirements of its international customers, the company had developed a full-fledged testing laboratory
equipped with ultra modern testing machines like User Tester-3 and Classifault. The company had
stringent quality testing checks at every stage of tarn production right from mixing of fiber to packing of
finished cones. Its in-house Research and Development and Statistical Quality Control (SQC) divisions
ensured consistent technical specifications with the help of sophisticated state-of-the-art machines. A
team of professionally qualified and experienced personnel to ensure that the yarn manufactured by the
company was in line with international standards backed the company. The company continuously
upgraded its product mix and at the same time, new products developed by in-house research and
development department were added to the product mix form time to time. RSL’s management was quick
to analyze the potential of these in-house developments and followed a flexible approach in determining
the level of value addition. The company had developed a new yarn recently and was selling it under the
Rajtang brand name. This new yarn was stretchable in three dimensions, absorbed moisture quickly, was
soft and silky and fitted the body. This yarn was extracted from natural products and being body-friendly,
was in great demand in international markets. Looking at the higher value addition possibilities RSL
decided to forward integrate and started manufacturing fabric, using Rajtang and provided ready-made
garments like swimming suit, tracksuit, undergarments, tops, slacks and kids dresses. The ready-made
dresses from the fabric were being manufactured on the specifications and designs of RSL. The
management decided to market these products under the brand name “Wear-it” through Wearwell
Garments Pvt. Ltd., an associate company of RSL, to ensure Examination Paper of Supply Chain
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that RSL did not lose its focus. The Managing Director of RSL felt that continuous adaptability to market
requirements through a flexible approach, cost cutting in every sphere of operations and team approach to
management had taken them ahead. However, RSL had become highly dependent on the volatile export
market and if it was not able to retain the international market it would have to re-establish itself in the
domestic market, which was not an easy task.
1. What marketing strategy should RSL adopt to remain competitive in the international market?
2. Has the company taken the right decision to forward integrate and enter into the highly volatile garment
market?
Caselet 2
Popular mythology in the United States likes to refer to pre-World War II Japan as a somewhat backward
industrial power that produced and exported mostly trinkets and small items of dubious quality bought by
Americans impoverished by the Great Depression. Few bring up the fact that, prior to the Pearl Harbor
attack, Japan had conquered what are now Korea, Manchuria, Taiwan, and a large portion of China,
Vietnam, and Thailand; and by the end of 1942 Japan had extended its empire to include Burma, the
Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, New Guinea, plus many strings of islands in the
eastern Pacific Ocean. Its navy had moved a large armada of worships 4,000 miles across the Pacific
Ocean, in secret and in silence, to attack Pearl Harbor and then returned safely home. Manufacturers
capable of producing only low-grade goods don’t accomplish such feats. High-quality standards for
military hardware, however, did not extend to civilian and export goods, which received very low priority
during the war years. Thus the perception in the United States for a long time before and then
immediately after the war had nothing to do with some inherent character flaw in Japanese culture or
industrial capability. It had everything to do with Japan’s national priorities and the availability of funds
and material. Following Japan’s surrender in 1945, General MacArthur was given the task of rebuilding
the Japanese economy on a peaceful footing. As part of that effort an assessment of damage was to be
conducted and a national census was planned for 1950. Deming was asked in 1947 to go to Japan and
assist in that effort. As a result of his association with Shewhart and quality training, he was contacted by
representatives from the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE), and in 1950, Deming
delivered his now famous series of lectures on quality control. His message to top industry leaders, whom
he demanded to attend, and to JUSE was that Japan had to change its image in the United States and
throughout the world. He declared that it could not succeed as an exporter of poor quality and argued that
the tools of statistical quality control could help solve many quality problems. Having seen their country
devastated by the war, industry and government leaders were eager to learn the new methods and to speed
economic recovery. Experience was to prove to Deming and others that, without the understanding,
respect, and support of management, no group of tools alone could sustain a long-term quality
improvement effort.
1. How could have the SQC approach, been useful in solving the immediate problems of Japan?
2. If you were among one of the management members, what would have been your first insight?
END OF SECTION B Examination Paper of Supply Chain Management
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Section C: Practical Problems (30 marks)
Answer all the questions.
Each question carries 15 marks.
1. A sample of 30 is to be selected from a lot of 200 articles. How many different samples are possible?
2. In Dodge’s CSP-1, it is desired to apply sampling inspection to 1 piece out of every 15 and to maintain
an AOQL of 2%. What should be the value of i?
Customer Relationship Management
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. The extent to which customers recognize and willing to accept this variation is called:
a. Zone of tolerance
b. Zone of fitness
c. Zone of acceptance
d. None of the above
2. SERVQUAL is used to measure service quality. (T/F)
3. SWICS stands for………………………………………………………………………………
4. Real /perceived and monetary/non monetary costs are termed as switching costs.(T/F)
5. TARP stands for ……………………………………………………………………………….
6. If the direct cost be ‘a’, overhead cost be ‘b’ and profit margin be ‘c’ then the cost based
pricing
can be calculated by:
a. a+b+c
b. a-b+c
c. a/b*c
d. None of the above
7. If the percentage change in quality purchased be ‘a’ and the percentage change in price be ’b’
then elasticity is given by:
a. a*b
b. a/b
c. a+b
d. a-b
8. If the actual revenue be ‘a’ and the potential revenue be ‘b’ then the yield can be given by:
a. a-b
b. a+b
c. a/b
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d. b/a
9. Reactors make adjustments unless forced to do so by environmental pressures.(T/F)
10. Least profitable customers are categorized in:
a. Platinum
b. Gold
c. Iron
d. Lead
Part Two:
1. What do you understand by “Customer Gap”?
2. Write the difference between perceptions of service quality and customer satisfaction.
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3. Write short “SERVQUAL” survey.
4. What are different types of “Complainer”?
Questions:
1. How do you think Giordano had/would have to adapt its marketing and operations strategies
and
tactics when entering and penetrating your country?
2. What general lessons can be learned from Giordano for other major clothing retailers in your
country
1. What did Jyske Bank change to enable it to deliver its new competitive positioning?
2. How did Jyske Bank implement those changes?
1. Choose a firm you are familiar with. Describe how you would design an ideal service recovery
strategy for that organization.
2. Discuss the customer’s role as a productive resource for the firm. Describe a time when you
played this role. What did you do and how feel? Did the firm help you perform your role
effectively? How?
Enterprise Resource Planning Professional
1. Enterprise resource planning isa)
Computer System
b) Manufacturing Organization
c) Method of effective planning of all the resources in an organization
d) None of the above
2. Enterprise resource planning vendors are those people a)
Who are experts in administration and management of project
b) Who have developed the ERP package
c) Who uses the ERP system
d) None of the above
3. The objectives of ERP -
a) Provide support for all variations best business practices
b) Enable implementation of these practices
c) Empower the customer to modify the implemented business process
d) All of the above
4. Which of the followings not the advantages of ERP a)
ERP eliminates duplication of work
b) Reduce overheads, lead type, cycle time and work in progress
c) Customization of the ERP software is limited
d) Help to achieve competitive advantage
5. EDI stands for__________________
a) Electronic digital interface
b) Electronic data interchange
c) Enterprise data interface
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d) None of these
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Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning Professional
6. A____________________ tool use to quickly develop quality database design by reusing
commonly available data models which are applicable to the enterprises requirements and
customizing the details for the application at hand
a) Integrated data model
b) Integrated management information system
c) Business process re-engineering
d) Supply chain management
7. GUI stands for ____________________
8. Support re-engineering processes to fit the software systems best practice is approach of
a) Re-engineering approach
b) Customizing approach
c) Rational approach
d) None of the above
9. The full set of capabilities needed to manage, schedule, pay and hire people who make the
company run includes payroll, benefits administration, applicant data administration
called a)
Finance accounting
b) Human resources
c) Sales and distribution
d) Manufacturing and logistics
10. POS stands for_________________
11. The interface which interacts which interacts with human beings, other systems, and the
internet happens in this layer
a) Presentation interface
b) Database interface
c) Client interface
d) Service oriented architecture
12. This layer is where you will write some generic methods to interface with your data.
a) Data tier
b) Business tier
c) Data access tier
d) Presentation logic tier
13. _________________describes commerce transaction between businesses, such as
between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer.
a) B2B
b) B2C
c) E-commerce
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d) None of these
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Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning Professional
14. A conceptual tool that contains a set of elements and their relationships and allows
expressing the business logic of a specific firm.
a) Business process
b) Business engineering
c) Business model
d) All of these
15. Which one of the following is not come under the 3 forces of ERP?
a) Customer
b) Cost
c) Competition
d) Change
16. SDLC stands for_____________________
17. The approaches, where all modules of ERP package are implemented at one go across all
business units of the organization.
a) Big bang approach
b) Pilot approach
c) Phased approach
d) None of these
18. ERP lifecycle starts from a)
Project planning
b) Project execution
c) Project initiation
d) Project closure
19. Which of the following is a phase of ERP implementation life cycle in which
custom code Construction and unit testing by the programming team is primarily
involved?
a) Analysis phase
b) Design phase
c) Implementation phase
d) Construction phase
20. In the term supply chain management what is the meaning of “Chain”.
a) Providing goods, services and knowledge
b) Infers pro-activity
c) Across several entities that are linked
d) Both a&b
21. MRP in Enterprise resource planning stands for a)
Maximum retail price
b) Material requirement planning
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d) None of the above
22. ________________ focuses on the physical movement and storage of goods and material.
a) Supply chain management
b) Material requirement planning
c) Logistics
d) Distribution system
23. The decision, to purchase a product or service from external suppliers, are the basis for the
external supply chain isa)
Internal supply chains
b) External supply chains
c) Both a&b
d) None of these
24. A processes are initiated and performed in anticipation of customer order is known as a)
Pull process
b) Push process
c) Pull/push process
d) All of these
25. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has originated from a)
Material Requirement planning
b) Supply Chain Management
c) Logistics
d) Business Process Re-engineering
26. DSS stands for_______________
27. CRM Stands for______________
28. Which of the following is not the leading ERP giant?
a) Microsoft
b) UPS ERP
c) SAP ERP
d) E-commerce
29. Which of the following is the market that independently owned market place that brings
thousands of suppliers and buyers to cyber space in a dynamic real time environment?
a) Private Market Place
b) Net Market
c) Both a&b
d) None of the above
30. The Sub-module of ERP system which is capable of planning and implementing
procedure for inspection and quality assurance.
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a) Material management
b) Quality Management
c) Production planning and control
d) Project management system
31. Material requirements plan specify a)
The quantities of the product families that need to be produced
b) The quantity and timing of planned order releases
c) The capacity needed to provide the projected output rate
d) The costs associated with alternative plans
32. MRP II is accurately described as a)
MRP software designed for services
b) MRP with a new set of computer programs that execute on micro-computers
c) MRP augmented by other resource variables
d) usually employed to isolate manufacturing operations from other
aspects of an organization
33. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a)
Severely limited by current MRP computer systems
b) Not related to MRP
c) An advanced MRP II system that ties-in customers and suppliers
d) Not currently practical
34. Distribution Resource Planning (DRP) is
a) A transportation plan to ship materials to warehouses
b) A time-phased stock replenishment plan for all levels of a distribution
network
c) A shipping plan from a central warehouse to retail warehouses
d) Material requirements planning with feedback loop from distribution centers
35. In what way are Distribution Resource Planning (DRP) and Material Requirements
Planning (MRP) similar?
a) Both employ similar logic and procedures.
b) Both are employed in a manufacturing organization
c) Both work most efficiently with largest lot sizes
d) Both are employed by retail organizations.
36. Which of the following is false concerning enterprise resource planning (ERP)?
a) It attempts to automate and integrate the majority of business processes.
b) It shares common data and practices across the enterprise
c) It is inexpensive to implement.
d) It provides and accesses information in a real-time environment
37. Enterprise resource planning (ERP)-
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a) Has been made possible because of advances in hardware and software
b) Uses client/server networks
c) Creates commonality of databases
d) All of the above are true of ERP.
38. Net marketplacea)
Focuses on continuous business process coordination between companies for
supply chain management
b) Operate as independent intermediaries between buyers and sellers
c) Are geared towards short-term sport purchasing
d) Are more relationship oriented and less transaction oriented than private
industrial networks
39. The is the MRP input detailing which end items are to be produced, when they are
needed, and in what quantities.
a) Master production schedule
b) Gross requirements
c) Inventory records
d) Assembly time chart
40. The ______ is the input to Materials Requirements Planning which lists the assemblies, parts
and raw materials needed to produce one unit of final product.
a) Bill of materials
b) Net requirements chart
c) Inventory records
d) Assembly time chart
41. The software architecture where architecture where functionality is grouped around
business processes and packaged as interoperable services.
a) Database interface
b) Proxy layer
c) Service oriented architecture
d) FA module
42. The area of_______________ concerns movement of a finished product to customers.
a) Material requirement planning
b) Supply chain management
c) Physical distribution
d) Master product scheduling
43. Which of the following function is performed by the different channels of distribution?
a) Product acquisition
b) Product movement
c) Product transaction
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d) All of the above
44. Which of the following is the primary unit of analysis for supply chains is the performance
cycle?
a) Performance cycle
b) Process cycle time
c) Product movement
d) Distribution system
45. The model that are generally developed for decision support, i.e. to help manager
make better decisions is calleda)
Descriptive model
b) Normative model
c) Forecasting model
d) None of the above
46. Which of the following is come under the process of supply chain management?
a) Customer order cycle
b) Replenishment cycle
c) Manufacturing cycle
d) All of the above
47. The type of supply chain management include suppliers of the immediate supplier and
consumer of the immediate customers, all linked by one or more of the upstream and
downstream flow of product , services known as a)
Basic supply chain.
b) Extended supply chain
c) Both a&b
d) None of these
48. Installing all the computer hardware and related peripherals like printers and networking
equipment is the role ofa)
Role of consultants
b) Role of hardware vendors
c) Role of software vendors
d) Role of users
49. The tool which is use to generate stronger password as system security for their clients is -
a) IFS/Avalon
b) MFG/PRO
c) SAP R/3
d) BAAN IV
50. A blueprint describing various business processes and their interaction and an underlying
data model is known aswww.
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a) Business model
b) Business process re-engineering
c) Enterprise resource planning
d) Material requirement planning
51. TIS stands for_______________
52. BPR stands for_______________
53. The body of knowledge, principles, and disciplines related to the analysis, design,
implementation and operation of all elements associated with an enterprise isa)
Business engineering
b) Business process engineering
c) Business modeling
d) None of these
54. What is the full form of B2C?
a) Business-to-Costing
b) Business-to-consumer
c) Business-to-commerce
d) Business-to-component
55. New technologies in ERP II are a)
E-commerce
b) Web services
c) Knowledge management
d) All of the above
56. The software that can work in combination with other application like SAP, oracle is known
as a)
Microsoft
b) SAP ERP
c) People soft ERP
d) UPS ERP
57. The technology areas that apply to ERP system are a)
Database system
b) Communication protocol
c) User interface framework
d) All of these
58. RDBMS stands for_________________
59. SQL stands for_________________
60. The enterprise application which are helpful in ensuring that the information processed
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reaches the concerned persona and in the proper time and place is known as-
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a) Management information systems
b) Information integrated systems
c) Executive information systems
d) None of the above
61. Computer-to-computer direct transfer of standard business documents through
electronic media between the firms is calleda)
EDI
b) ERP
c) MRP
d) Net market
62. Which of the following is the middle tier layer of the ERP system architecture?
a) Presentation layer
b) Application layer
c) Database layer
d) Network layer
63. What is the full form of RFID a)
Rational frequency identification
b) Radio functional identification
c) Radio frequency identification
d) All of the above
64. SOA stands for_________________
65. The act of breaking up large, monolithic ERP system into components that would work
together is a)
Componentization
b) Mobility
c) Quality function deployment
d) None
66. _________________ ERP services help the companies to keep track on what is going on is
called a)
Web-enable ERP
b) E-business
c) Electronic data interchange
d) All of these
67. A set of logically related business activities that combine to deliver something of value (e.g.
products, goods, services, or information ) to a customer is called:
a) Business process engineering
b) Business process
c) Business process re-engineering
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68. Which of the following is the principle of business engineering?
a) Increased speed and efficiency
b) Faster communication of information
c) Reduction of barriers to fast
d) All of the above
69. TQM stands for_________________
70. Which of the following is not come under the diagrammatic representation of the business
model?
a) Business strategy
b) Business Engineering
c) Business model
d) MIS
71. IFS application support mixed-mode manufacturing at multiple sites, with multiple
currencies and languages.
a) True
b) False
72. ERP is a business strategy and a set of industry-domain-specific application that build
customer and shareholder value by enabling and optimizing enterprise and inter-enterprise
operational and financial processes.
a) True
b) False
73. Industrial and finance systems, also known as IFS.
a) True
b) False
74. Which of the following are the essential elements of ERP system?
a) Time constraint in respect to the organization function
b) Product architecture
c) Maintainability and up gradation
d) All of the above
75. The challenges which are faced during selection of ERP are-.
a) Customizable and predefined modules
b) Resorting to an external body for ERP services
c) Application service provider
d) All of the above
76. The importance of up gradation and maintenance is not as important as the setting
up of the organization.
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a) True
b) False
77. Modularity is a general system concept, typically defined as a continuum describing the
degree to which a system’s components may be separated and recombined.
a) True
b) False
78. The logical culmination of the process is the creation of a final selection and a project
charter.
a) True
b) False
79. Which one of the following is a bundle of package interfaced together to transfer data from
one to the other?
a) Upgrading
b) Modularity
c) ERP outsourcing
d) Interface package
80. Customization is an integral part of ERP solution, in which crucial decision needs to be
taken by the organization as it is detrimental in ERPs success.
a) True
b) False
81. SAP is both the name of the company and the ERP package.
a) True
b) False
82. Production planning and control is the sub-module of ERP system which support both
discrete and process manufacturing processes.
a) True
b) False
83. Ramco Marshal Product is suitable for small and medium enterprises without any industry
specific solution.
a) True
b) False
84. Baan software is an integrated solution manufacturing, distribution, finance and
transportation, service, project and orgware modules.
a) True
b) False
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11
IIBM Institute of Business Management
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Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning Professional
85. Analysis should start off with strategy alignment which should align the project with
strategic goals of the enterprise.
a) True
b) False
86. In pilot approach implementation is phased out according to the modules of the package,
e.g. finance implementation, followed by materials management, etc.
a) True
b) False
87. The implementation stage performs the last few critical activities necessary for
system live-processing.
a) True
b) False
88. CSFs stand for critical successes factors.
a) True
b) False
89. Many factors need to be reviewed during an audit to ensure security and privacy in an ERP
system.
a) True
b) False
90. Material management is a sub-module of ERP system which support the activities
associated with planning and performing repairs and preventative maintenance.
a) True
b) False
91. Proxy layer is a layer which acts on behalf of the distributed logic layer to provide access to
the next tier, the business tier.
a) True
b) False
92. ERP model provide a suitable framework to refocus application effort for greater
enterprise integration and opportunities for collaboration.
a) True
b) False
93. Oracle application is the ERP package which is developed by Oracle Corporation.
a) True
b) False
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Examination Paper of Enterprise Resource Planning Professional
94. To understand the client requirements, business processes, company standards, the specific
systems IT environment as well as approach that will be used is the main goal ofa)
Project team creation
b) Offshore process definition
c) Offshore simulation
d) Onsite to offshore knowledge transition
95. MRP I was a method for production planning and scheduling suited to the low performance
systems in 1970s.
a) True
b) False
96. Concurrent engineering is a systematic approach to integrated product development that
emphasizes the response to customer expectation.
a) True
b) False
97. Product acquisition means store large amount of materials for rapid delivery to a customer.
a) True
b) False
98. Procurement involves five activities: sourcing, order placement and expediting, supplier
relationship, transportation and receiving.
a) True
b) False
99. Which of the following are the types of logistics?
a) Inbound logistic
b) Outbound logistic
c) Both a&b
d) None of these
100. The functions associated with the materials functions include:
a) Procurement
b) Make or buy
c) Inventory management
d) All of the above
Business Communication
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Part One:
6. Improve the sentences in sense of attitude:
a) You failed to sign your check.
b) Your error on your tax form will result in a penalty to you.
c) Don’t drop in without an appointment. Your counselor or caseworker may be
unavailable.
d) If you have submitted a travel request, as you claim, we have failed to receive it.
7. Multiple choice:
a) In which country children are taught to look at neck while facing somebody or
listening
India
Korea
Puerto Rican
Japan
b) Diagonal Communication is
Communication across boundaries
Communication between the CEO and the managers
Communication through body language
Communication within a department
c) According to Italians the circle formed with the thumb and first finger means
OK
Beautiful
Delicious
Worthless
d) In china ‘white’ color indicates
Peace
Growth
War
Mourning
5. Kinesics is a study on body movements of an individual which includes gestures,
facial configurations. This study relates to
a. Verbal communication
b. Non verbal communication
c. Informal communication
d. Formal communication
6. If the audience is of extrovert type then
a. One should write a memo and let the reader think about the proposal.
b. One should try to put the proposal more oral than writing.
c. One should put the proposal with step by step reasoning.
d. One should present the proposal quickly.
Part Two:
1. Write something about ‘Culture’ and its types.
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2. What do understand by ‘Nonsexist language’?
3. Write a short note on ‘Justification report’.
4. What are ‘T’ letters?
1. Do you agree with Saleem that “Such luxuries are for big companies, but not for us”?
Why or why not?
2. How should Kartik handle the current situation?
1. How do you tackle this type of situation as manager?
2. What leadership style of communication would you suggest in the following situation to
deal the problem?
1. “Downward communication is like water streaming down from a waterfall or stream head.
It pours easily with great force and wets a large area, while upward communication is like a
small spurt of water shooting up from a fountain against the pull of gravity. The higher it
travels, the more it loses its force. Elucidate.
2. In dynamic interpersonal aspects of communication interactive way of communication is
considered to be more relevant and appropriate. Elucidate.
Corporate Governance
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1________A group of persons chosen to govern the affairs of a corporation or other large
institution.
e) .Memorandum of Association
e) Nomination Committee
f) Board of Directors
g) Shareholders
2. BIFR stands for_______
d) Board of India and Financial Reconstruction
e) Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction
f) Board of Industrial and Finance Reconstruction
g) None of the above
3 .________is a review in which an auditor analyzes and verifies various records and
processes relating to a company‟s quality program.
h) Cost Audit
i) Quality Audit
j) Internal Audit
k) None of the above
22. Which of the following comes under in Justification?
a) Long Run Viability
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b) Better Environment
c) Public Image
d) All of the above
23. USEPA stands for_______
24. The existence of a single producer or seller which is producing or selling a product
which has no close substitutes is called_______
a) Externalities
b) Price control
c) Monopoly
d) None of the above
25. SEBI stands for______
e) Securities and exchange Board of India
f) Stock and exchange Board of India
g) Self-regulatory and exchange Board of India
h) None of the above
31. Which of the following issue is not come under in corporate Governance?
a) Correct Preparation
b) Internal Control
c) oversight and management risk
d) Compensation of CEO and other Directors
32. Shareholder are required to inform the company in writing of any change in their
address quoting their folio number is known as______
a) Change of address
b) Transposition of shares
c) None receipt of Dividend
d) All of the above
33. Which of the following comes under External corporate Governance controls?
a) Competition
b) Managerial labour market
c) Debt Covenants
d) All of the above
Part Two:
2 What are the scopes of corporate governance?
3 Discuss the basic rights of shareholders?
4 List the type of “Auditors”.
5 Write a short note on corporate social responsibility.
1. Analyze the issues in the case.
2. Why should advertiser bother about ethics if the ads measure up to legal parameters
3. List the number and types of committees.
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4. Discuss the Performance evaluation planning in brief.
1. Define corporate governance; explain the principles of corporate governance?
2. Distinguish between the Anglo-American Model and the German Model.
ISO: 9001: 2008
8. A desired result is achieved more efficiently when activities & related resources are
managed as a
a) Program
b) Process
c) Aim
d) Project
9. An advantage of process approach is
a) Internal working
b) External management
c) Ongoing control
d) None
10. A quality management system has confirmed to ISO 9001:2008 is aimed to achieve
a) Minimum quality
b) Best quality
c) Maximum profit
d) Customer satisfaction
11. If exclusions are not limited to requirements with clause 7, then which action is
taken against claims of confirmed
a) Claims of conformity to this international standard are not acceptable
b) Claims of conformity to this international standard are acceptable
c) Modify those exclusions
d) None
12. Whenever the term “product” is used, it can also mean
a) Cost
b) Quality
c) Profit
d) Service
14. A process that the organization needs for its quality management system and
which the organization chooses to have performed by an external party, is
a) Outsourced process
b) Internal process
c) External process
d) None
15. To determine how all of the process relate to each other, process must be
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a) Mapped
b) Flowcharted
c) Both (a) & (b)
d) None
16. The term “quality” can be used with adjective such as
a) Poor
b) Good
c) Excellent
d) All above
17. Which clause requires the organization to identify and prepare documents necessary for
effective planning, operation, and control of its processes?
a) Clause 3.2
b) Clause 1.4
c) Clause 4.2.1d
d) Clause 2.4e
18. There is no requirement to create a documented procedure for describing the process of
creating a quality policy in
a) Clause 4.2.3
b) Clause 8.5.2
c) Clause 5.3
d) Clause 7.1
19. The extent of quality management system documentation dependent on the
a) Size & type of organization
b) Complexity & interaction of the organization’s process
c) Competency of the organization’s people
d) All above
20. According to clause 3.7.2, the document is defines as
a) Information and supporting medium
b) Product
c) Report
d) Data
26. Top management is required to ensure that customer requirements are
a) Determined
b) Understood
c) Met
d) All above
27. According to clause 3.3.5, the “customer” term is defined as
a) Organization or person that receives product
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b) A person that sells a product
c) Purchaser
d) None
28. Clause, which requires that top management establish the quality policy is
a) Clause 5.3
b) Clause 5.1
c) Clause 3.2
d) Clause 4.3
29. Once the policy is established the organization must _________________ it.
a) Deploy
b) Implement
c) Recreate
d) Verify
30. The quality policy describes overall interactions and direction of an organization
related to quality as formally expressed by top management. This definition is
defined by
a) Clause 3.2.4
b) Clause 3.3.1
c) Clause 3.1.1
d) Clause 3.2.7
31. Clause, which requires management of change so that the integrity of the quality
management system is maintained when the system is change, is
a) Clause 3.2.4
b) Clause 5.4.2
c) Clause 3.2.1
d) Clause 4.5.3
32. According to clause 5.2, who is responsible to ensure that customer requirements are
determined and met with the aim of enhancing customer satisfaction?
a) Top management
b) Employees of the organization
c) Low level manager
d) None
2 An activity defined in clause 3.8.7 undertaken to determine the suitability,
adequacy & effectiveness of the subject matter to achieve established
objective, is
d) Process
e) Procedure
f) Review
g) Requirement
3 Clause, which requires that personnel are competent, is
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d) Clause 6.2.4
e) Clause 6.2.1
f) Clause 5.2.3
g) Clause 6.5
4 According to clause 3.1.6, competency is defined as
d) Demonstrated ability to apply knowledge and skills
e) To compare with other organization
f) Improvement in quality
g) None
5 The records that are created by the activities to ensure competency may need to be
enrolled per clause 4.2.2, which is related to
d) Control of documents
e) Control of records
f) Quality Management System
g) Monitoring & Measurement
6 The organization need to identify what classroom training, seminars, on-the-job, or other
training is necessary so that
d) Top managers involved in Quality Management System is competent
e) Low level managers involved in Quality Management System is competent
f) Every employee involved in Quality Management System is competent
g) All above
7 From the following in which part it is common practice to conduct training evaluation?
d) Evaluation of the training immediately upon completion
e) Evaluation of the training received several weeks after the training
f) Evaluation of the skills developed several months after the training
g) All above
8 Which clause defines the infrastructure as system of facilities, equipment & services
needed for the operation of an organization?
d) Clause 3.6.1
e) Clause 3.3.3
f) Clause 3.3.1
g) Clause 3.3.2
34. The work environment of an organization can be considered to be a combination of
a) Internal & external events
b) Human & process
c) Customers & consumers
d) Human & physical factors
35. Which physical factor can affect the work environment?
a) Heat
b) Hygiene
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c) Humidity
d) All above
36. From the following which clause provides the essence of the use of the process approach?
a) Clause 4.1
b) Clause 8.1
c) Clause 7.1
d) All above
37. According to clause 3.4.2, the product is defined as
a) Result of a process
b) A service
c) Software
d) Hardware
38. The planning for realization processes covered in _________________ should define
the records the organization will keep during the process of determining customer
requirements.
a) Clause 7.5
b) Clause 7.1
c) Clause 8.3
d) Clause 2.8
39. The obligation assumed by the organization includes not only the products defined
but also ancillary items such as
a) Conformance to stated delivery dates
b) Adherence to referenced external standards
c) Compliance with the commercial terms & condition applicable to the order,
contract, quote or tender
d) All above
40. According which clause, the organizations have the ability to meet requirements?
a) Clause 6.2.2
b) Clause 7.2.2
c) Clause 8.2.2
d) Clause 5.2.2
6 A critical activity generally involves several functions & levels in an organization, is
a) Sell the product
b) Improve the quality
c) Determination of customer requirements
d) None
7 The arrangement identified & implemented should be appropriate for the organization in
terms of
a) Its products
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b) Its orders
c) Its contracts
d) All above
8 Clause, which applies to all product type, to all market sectors, and to organization of all
sizes, is
a) Clause 7.2.1
b) Clause 6.5.2
c) Clause 3.5.3
d) Clause 2.6.2
9 The intent of clause ____________ is to make sure that the organization plans and
controls design and development projects.
a) Clause 6.4
b) Clause 7.2.1
c) Clause 7.3.1
d) Clause 5.4.2
10 If the design and development processes are planned and controlled well, then the
projects will be completed
a) On time
b) Within budget
c) Both (a) & (b)
d) None
11 The output from the design and development process is expected to include an
information that relates to
a) Producing
b) Creating
c) Manufacturing
d) Processing
12 According to clause 4.2.2, inputs relating to product requirements shall be determined
and records maintained. These inputs shall include
a) Functional and performance requirements
b) Applicable statuary & regulatory requirements
c) Where applicable, information derived form previous similar designs
d) All above
38. Which clause defines the requirements specification for new product & maintains the
records?
a) Clause 7.3.2
b) Clause 8.7.2
c) Clause 6.4.1
d) Clause 5.4.3
39. Which work should not begin until a document exits in form acceptable to all
who have responsibility for contributing to product specification?
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a) Designing
b) Development
c) Production
d) Selling
40. Design and development output be provided in a way that can be used for
a) Identification
b) Justification
c) Validation
d) Verification
41. Which statement is true?
a) Validation is usually performed after successful design & development
verification
b) Verification is usually performed after successful design & development
validation
c) Validation & verification both are same
d) Validation & verification both are performed simultaneously
42. Which clause requires that the organization shall ensure that purchased product
conforms to specified purchase requirements?
a) Clause 8.2.1
b) Clause 7.4.1
c) Clause 6.5.2
d) Clause 4.4.1
43. Clause 7.4.1 requires records of the results of supplier evaluations and subsequent
follow-up actions, with specific reference to
a) Clause 5.2
b) Clause 4.2.4
c) Clause 5.3.1
d) Clause 7.2.1
44. Clause, which requires the organization defined a process for verifying that purchased
product conforms to defined requirements, is
a) Clause 7.4.3
b) Clause 7.4.2
c) Clause 7.4.1
d) Clause 7.4.5
2 Clause, which requires to pertain when verification activities are to be performed at the
supplier’s premises, is
a) Clause 7.4.3
b) Clause 7.4.2
c) Clause 7.4.1
d) Clause 7.4.5
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3 Which clause requires a process to ensure that purchasing documents adequacy state
all of the requirements for the items to be purchased?
a) Clause 7.4.1
b) Clause 7.4.2
c) Clause 7.4.3
d) Clause 7.4.4
4 If purchased material has high actual potential impact on either the final
product on the realization processes, then
a) No need to control it
b) Less control is required
c) More robust control is required
d) None
5 Determination the nature of the control is the responsibility of
a) Suppliers
b) Customers
c) Employees
d) Organization
6 Which clause addresses the processes necessary for an organization to produce and
deliver product & services?
a) Clause 6.4.1
b) Clause 5.2.3
c) Clause 7.5.1
d) Clause 7.2.3
7 Documentation requirements for the overall quality management system are stated in
a) Clause 4
b) Clause 5
c) Clause 6
d) Clause 7
8 The focus of clause 7.5.1, ‘control of production and service provision’, is the key
concept that processed need to be carried out under
a) Uncontrolled conditions
b) Controlled conditions
c) Both (a) & (b)
d) None
55. If changes are made to process equipment, the product design, the materials used to
produce the product or to other significant factors such as new personnel, then the
process often requires
a) Reevaluation
b) Revalidation
c) Reproduction
d) Recertification
56. Validation should be carried out at appropriate ________________ to respond to
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changes in market requirements, regulations, or standard in addition to assuring the
continued acceptable performance of processes.
a) Intervals
b) Checkouts
c) Positions
d) Timings
57. Which one is true?
a) Identification and traceability are same
b) Identification and traceability are not same
c) Identification and traceability are not related
d) Identification and traceability are separate bur related issues
58. Identification and traceability is related to
a) Clause 7.5.3
b) Clause 7.5.2
c) Clause 8.2.1
d) Clause 7.5.1
59. Clause, which provides the framework for the establishment and maintenance of a
measurement system, is
a) Clause 7.1
b) Clause 6.5
c) Clause 7.6
d) Clause 5.6
60. According to clause 8.1 ‘Measurement, Analysis & Improvement’, from the following
which is the responsibility of the organization?
a) What it needs to monitor & measure
b) Where to monitor & measure
c) What analysis should be performed
d) All above
61. Which clause monitored the customer satisfaction information?
a) Clause 7.2.1
b) Clause 8.2.1
c) Clause 8.2.5
d) Clause 6.2.4
62. Internal audit of the quality management system remains grouped with clauses for
monitoring information relation to __________________.
a) Customer requirements
b) Customer perceptions
c) Customer satisfaction
d) All above
63. Clause 8.4, ______________________, of ISO 9001:2008, which could be a
source of information in identifying the key process to monitor.
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a) Monitoring & measurement
b) Control of records
c) Analysis of data
d) Customer satisfaction
64. When process monitoring or measurements indicate that the desired results are not being
achieved, the process may need ________________ to identify and eliminate root causes.
a) Corrective action
b) Reproduction
c) Modification
d) Perceptive action
65. Monitoring & Measurement of a product is related to
a) Clause 8.2.4
b) Clause 7.2.4
c) Clause 6.2.1
d) Clause 7.3.2
66. For purchased material, clause ___________, ‘verification of purchased product’,
requires the organization to identify and implement verification activities.
a) Clause 7.5.1
b) Clause 8.2.3
c) Clause 8.2.4
d) Clause 7.4.3
67. Which clause requires establishing process to ensure that product that does not
confirm to requirement is identified and controlled to prevent unintended use or
delivery?
a) Clause 8.2
b) Clause 8.3
c) Clause 7.5
d) Clause 6.4
68. Is services are the product of an organization, clause 8.3 may have ___________
applicability.
a) Limited
b) Unlimited
c) Complete
d) Less
69. A(n) _______________ shall be established to define the controls & related
responsibilities and authorities for dealing with non conforming product.
a) Documented procedure
b) Report
c) File
d) Information
70. When nonconforming product is corrected it shall be subject to
_________________ to demonstrate conformity to the requirements.
a) Revalidation
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b) Re verification
c) Review
d) Implement
71. The organization should consider documenting a process for addressing situations in
which
_____________ is detected after delivery to or use by a customer has occurred.
a) Nonconformity product
b) Conformity product
c) Both (a) & (b)
d) None
72. The analysis of data shall provide information relating to
a) Customer satisfaction
b) Conformity to product requirements
c) Suppliers
d) All above
73. The clause, which requires the organization to collect & analyze appropriate data to
determine the suitability & effectiveness of the quality management system, is
a) Clause 8.1
b) Clause 8.2
c) Clause 8.3
d) Clause 8.4
74. Clauses, which are linked in the sense that the organization should function on a
closed-loop bases, are
a) Clauses 5, 6 and 7
b) Clauses 6,7 and 8
c) Clauses 5,7 and 8
d) Clauses 4,5 and 6
75. The _______________ is a powerful tool for driving continual improvement.
a) QMS
b) Analysis of Data
c) Modify data
d) Improvement
76. Collecting of data without developing the data into useful information is a (n)
_______________
of organizational resources.
a) Product
b) Service
c) Tool
d) Waste
77. The purpose of analysis is to convert data into
a) Usable information
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b) Relevant information
c) Product
d) None
78. The organization should seriously consider documenting expectation for continual
improvement at least in the area of data related to
a) Customer satisfaction
b) Conforming to product requirements
c) Opportunities for preventive action
d) All above
79. The appropriate information on customer satisfaction on and/ or dissatisfaction may
depend upon the ______________ of an organization relationship with its customer.
a) Nature
b) Behavior
c) Service
d) All above
80. The organization shall continually improve the effectiveness of the QMS through the use
of the
a) Quality policy
b) Quality objectives
c) Audit results
d) All above
81. The setting of objectives consistent with a quality policy containing a commitment to
continual improvement of the effectiveness of the QMS is required in
a) Clause 5.4.1
b) Clause 5.4.3
c) Clause 5.4.4
d) Clause 6.2.1
82. The intent of clause _____________ is to achieve an integrated improvement
mentality throughout the organization.
a) Clause 8.5.4
b) Clause 8.4.1
c) Clause 8.5.1
d) Clause 8.3.2
83. ________________ involves the taking action to eliminate the causes of
nonconformities.
a) Corrective action
b) Preventive action
c) Improvement
d) Analysis of data
84. Clause, which is related to requirements for customer communications states that
arrangement must be made with customer relating to complains, is
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a) Clause 8.3
b) Clause 8.5.2
c) Clause 7.2.3
d) Clause 6.2.1
85. In preventive action the organization is required to identify how it will eliminate the
“causes” of potential nonconformities in order to prevent their
a) Resources
b) Occurrence
c) Visibility
d) None
86. FMECA stands for
a) Failure modes, effect, and critical analysis
b) Failure modes, eliminate and cancel analysis
c) Foreign money exchange and complete association
d) None
87. Which clause requires records of preventive action results with specific reference to
clause 4.2.4 for control of records generated?
a) Clause 8.4.1
b) Clause 7.2.4
c) Clause 8.5.2
d) Clause 8.5.3
88. The success or failure of the Quality Management System implementation depends on
a) How the requirements are implemented
b) The process used for implementation
c) The midset of top managers & other employees
d) All above
89. Planning for continual improvement described in ISO 9001:2008,
a) Clause 5.4.2
b) Clause 8.1
c) Both (a) & (b)
d) None
90. Active and serious management review of the entire loop required in
a) Clause 4.2
b) Clause 5.6
c) Clause 7.2
d) Clause 8.6
91. A desired result is achieved more efficiently when activities and related resources are
manage as a
a) Process
b) Project
c) Individual work
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d) Plan
92. A process is nothing more than a collection of
a) Related activities
b) Interrelated activities
c) Modules
d) Individual task
93. ___________________ provide requirements to the process and feedback how
well those requirements have been met.
a) Consumers
b) Customers
c) Suppliers
d) Managers
94. A system is a collection of _________________ with a common set of objectives &
outputs.
a) Interrelated process
b) Interrelated activities
c) Hardware
d) Software
95. The approach in which audits all of the process, each major process can be ensure
compliance with ISO 9001:2008 called
a) Horizontal audit
b) Vertical audit
c) Both (a) & (b)
d) None
96. Vertical audits can be used for ________________ areas that have major parts of
the overall system.
a) Process
b) Planning
c) Functional
d) Improvement
97. In which sector ISO 9001 certification is frequently used to increase confidence in the
products & services provided by certified organization?
a) Private
b) Public
c) Both (a) & (b)
d) None
98. The key objective of the ISO/IEC sector policy is
a) Maximize the use of generic QMS international standards
b) Support international trade & remove trade barriers
c) Support developing countries
d) All above
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99. Records of audits and their results are described in
a) Clause 8.2.2
b) Clause 8.2.4
c) Clause 7.5
d) Clause 8.3.4
100. The basis used for calibration is defined in
a) Clause 7.3
b) Clause 7.6a
c) Clause 7.5.2a
d) Clause 7.3.4
ISO: 14001:2004
13. The ISO 14001 EMS standard only specifies
a) The structure of EMS
b) The working of EMS
c) The behavior of EMS
d) None
14. Which clause addresses the general requirements of an Environment Management
System?
a) Clause 4.1
b) Clause 4.2
c) Clause 4.3
d) Clause 4.5
15. The ISO 14001 structure, like classic quality management systems, is based on
a) Plan – Check – Do – Act cycle
b) Check – Plan – Do – Act cycle
c) Do – Plan – Check – Act cycle
d) Plan – Do – Check – Act cycle
16. An environmental system
a) Serves as a tool to improve environmental performance
b) Provides a systematic way of managing an organization’s environmental
affairs
c) Focuses on continual improvement of the system
d) All above
21. Clause 4.5 of ISO 14001:2004 - …………………… corresponds to the check stage of
the PDCA cycle.
a) Planning
b) Checking
c) Verifying
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d) None
22. A process of enhancing the environmental management system to achieve improvement
is overall environmental performance in line with the organization’s environmental
policy is called
a) Environment
b) Continual Improvement
c) Prevention of Pollution
d) Environmental Aspect
23. Which clause states that, ‘the organization shall define and document the
scope of its environmental management system’?
a) Clause 4.5
b) Clause 4.3
c) Clause 4.1
d) Clause 4.2
24. Top managers demonstrate their commitment by articulating the ……………………
values.
a) Written values
b) Environmental values
c) Physical values
d) Numeric values
25. Regarding ‘Prevention of Pollution’ the ISO 14001 : 2004 definition incorporates the
concept of
a) End – of – pipe
b) End – of process
c) Reduce creation of pollutants
d) Eliminate waste at source
26. The environment policy is a statement of intension. It must be
a) Documented
b) Implemented
c) Maintained
d) All above
27. Planning is covered by
a) Clause 4.1
b) Clause 4.2
c) Clause 4.4
d) Clause 4.3
33. Environmental aspects must be identified only for those activities products, and services
that fall within the …………………… .
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a) Undefined scope
b) Defined scope
c) Any scope
d) Predefined procedure
34. The most typical approach to identification of environmental aspects involves
a) Examination of individual process
b) Investigate the complete process
c) Audition of environmental policy
d) None
35. Environmental impacts can be
a) Acute
b) Chronic
c) Both (a) & (b)
d) None
36. Which clause of ISO 14001:2004 states that, ‘within the defined scope of its
environmental management system, the environmental policy is available to the
public’?
a) Clause 4.2
b) Clause 4.2.5
c) Clause 4.3.1
d) Clause 4.5
37. If an organization’s environmental management system is to be effective, it must
eliminate
a) Beneficial environmental effects
b) Wholly environmental effects
c) Partially environmental effects
d) Adverse environmental effects
38. Environmental Impact states that
a) Any change to the process
b) Effect of the climate
c) Any change to the environment
d) Change the overall management system
9 Clause, which focuses on activities intended to improve the environmental management
system, is
d) Clause 4.4.4
e) Clause 4.5
f) Clause 4.6
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g) Clause 4.3
10 The environmental policy statement contains language that only commits to compliance
with
d) Legal requirements
e) Other requirements
f) Both (a) & (b)
g) None
11 Who is the responsible for identifying and documenting the legal & other requirements
that apply to the unit’s environmental respects & operations?
d) ISO 14001 coordinator
e) Environmental manager
f) DNC staff
g) All above
12 The legal & other requirements that may be applicable to a unit’s environmental
aspects may include
d) National & International legal requirements
e) Local governmental legal requirements
f) ISO 14001 : 2004
g) All above
13 Clause, which mandates periodic evaluation to see whether an organization is in
compliance with all identified legal requirements, is
d) Clause 4.5.6
e) Clause 4.5.2
f) Clause 4.3.2
g) Clause 4.1
14 The framework for setting and receiving environmental objectives & targets is provided
by
d) Environmental Management System
e) Environmental Manager
f) ISO 14001 :2004
g) Environmental Policy
15 Example of objectives that reflect the policy to conserve “natural resources” are
d) Reduce water use
e) Reduce energy use
f) Both (a) & (b)
g) None
41. Environmental targets describe ……………….. will be to achieve stated objectives.
a) What
b) How much
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c) Why
d) When
42. If there is a technology that could reduce a significant impact by 50%, but the
organization discovers that the purchasing price is equal to its entire operating
budget. Then which factor should conclude by the organization that precludes it
from purchasing the technology?
a) Financial requirements
b) Legal requirements
c) Technological options
d) Operational requirements
43. In ISO 14001:2004, significant environmental aspects or impacts are the focus of
a) 4.2a clause
b) 4.3.2 clause
c) 4.4.2 clause
d) All above
44. An organization must establish objectives & targets related to
a) Regulatory compliance
b) Continual improvement
c) Compliance with other voluntary required
d) All above
45. A component, which must be determined by the organization in which specific
objectives & targets are to be achieved, is
a) Policy
b) System
c) Time frame
d) Management
46. The single most critical resource, at various levels with an organization is
a) Lack of money
b) Availability of employees
c) Bad goodwill
d) Labor
47. Within the context of an environmental management system, authority pertains to
a) Influence
b) Power
c) Both (a) & (b)
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13 The environmental policy statement contains language that commits to compliance with
legal & other requirements. This commitment is supported by
a) Clause 4.3.1
b) Clause 4.3.2
c) Clause 4.3.5
d) Clause 4.4.1
14 Nonconformity as “non – fulfillment of a requirement” is defined in
a) Section 3.17
b) Section 3.16
c) Section 3.15
d) Section 2.17
15 In ISO 14001:2004 clause 4.6 is related to
a) Internal audit
b) Monitoring & measurement
c) Evaluation of compliance
d) Management review
16 In any evaluation of worker competence, who may include
a) Temporary workers
b) Contractors
c) Other working on behalf of an organization
d) All above
17 Training needs must be identified for workers who are required to hold a
a) Worker label
b) Award
c) License
d) Any credential
18 Under which section an interested party is defined as a, “person or group concerned
with or affected by the environmental performance of an organization”?
a) Section 2.11
b) Section 4.12
c) Section 3.13
d) Section 1.11
19 ISO Awareness Training is recorded through various means & it is verified by
a) EMS Internal audits
b) Operational Control
c) Control of Records
d) ISO 14001 Coordinator
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45. Which clause confirmed an environmental management system audit is neither an
environmental performance audit not a regulatory compliance audit?
a) Clause 4.5.1
b) Clause 4.5.2
c) Clause 4.5.3
d) Both (a) & (b)
46. Sharing of information and exchange of ideas among all organizational functions and
levels, is referred to as
a) Transaction
b) Communication
c) Deal
d) Transmission
47. With regard to its environmental aspects and environmental management system, the
organization shall establish & maintain …………………………… between the various
levels & function of the organization.
a) External communication
b) Internal communication
c) Both (a) & (b)
d) None
48. Clause, which states that responsibility must be defined, documented, & communicated,
is
a) Clause 4.4.1
b) Clause 4.2.3
c) Clause 4.1.4
d) Clause 4.3.2
49. If an organization provides written information to its all employees, then it is
a) Communicating
b) Conferencing
c) Advertizing
d) Distribution of information
50. ISO 14001: 2004 uses the terms ‘levels’ and ‘function’. What does the ‘function’ word
mean?
a) A group of members
b) A program organized at the last of the year
c) A group of related actions that contribute to a larger accomplishment
d) A position of rank
51. The example of external party for an organization could be
a) Regulatory agencies
b) Community residents
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c) Civic associations
e) All above
62. The environmental management system documentation shall include
a) The environmental policy
b) Objectives
c) Targets
d) All above
63. To establish effective procedure, it is necessary to understand what is meant by
the term communication, which is defined in
a) Clause 4.3.4
b) Clause 4.4.3
c) Clause 4.1.4
d) Clause 4.3.2
64. An umbrella document, often in the form of manual, that provides an overview of the
EMS & described how each element of ISO 14001 : 2004 is being achieved
a) System description
b) Procedure
c) Work instructions
d) Records
65. Work instructions provide
a) Detailed information for group
b) Information of EMS
c) Relevant data
d) Detailed information for individuals
66. A document explains
a) What must be done
b) Format of the work
c) How should it be done
d) When it should it be done
67. ISO 14001 :2004 states all documents required by the standard must be controlled which
include
a) Environmental policy
b) Roles, responsibilities & authorities
c) Operational control procedures
d) All above
68. Documents, those created by others brought into an organization for some purpose, are
subject to somewhat different controls, are
a) Internal documents
b) External document
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e) Both (a) & (b)
f) None
76. Section, which defines a document as “information and its supporting medium,” is
a) Section 3.11
b) Section 2.10
c) Section 3.5
d) Section 3.4
77. Documents, which always reflect the current version because there is only on “location” (in
computer) at which documents are available and are increasingly used by organization, are
a) Internal documents
b) External documents
c) Electronic documents
d) All above
78. A document, that is current at time of issuance and will be updated as revisions are
made, is called
a) Master lists
b) Controlled copy
c) Uncontrolled copy
d) Validation form
79. If the copies of EMS are downloaded, printed, and/or saved electronically, but
they are considered
a) Uncontrolled
b) Controlled
c) Current
d) None
80. The approaches selected by an organization to control its operations should reflect
a) The nature of the aspect of the interest
b) The media affected by its interest
c) The purpose of the control
d) All above
81. The operations of an organization is affected by its
a) Employees
b) Suppliers
c) Contractors
d) All above
82. Creating a new procedure , an organization can use its existing communication
procedure to fulfill the requirements, imposed by
a) Clause 4.5
e) Clause 4.3.2
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f) Clause 4.4.3
g) Clause 4.1.4
90. When universal waste & recyclable material is collected, stored, it has managed for
disposal / recycle, at
a) Dustbin
b) Recycling center
c) Organization
d) Anywhere
91. Evaluation of environmental impacts should consider
a) Accidental emission to the air
b) Accidental discharges to the water
c) Accidental discharges to the land
d) All above
92. A database, which includes information used to determine the root cause of the
incident & specifies corrective / preventive actions to prevent recurrence of the
incident, is
a) Environmental Management System
b) Environmental Incident Reporting System
c) Integrated Contingency System
d) None
93. Clause 4.4.7 is related to
a) Emergency preparedness & response
b) Monitoring & measuring
c) Operational control
d) Control of documents
94. Regarding environmental incidents and emergency, all employees are trained
to report environmental incidents & emergency situations to
a) The Environmental Manager
b) Technical Service Manager
c) Contractor
d) Load Dispatcher
95. An organization, for every significant environmental impact must decide
a) What to measure
b) How to measure
c) When to measure
d) All above
97. Which scales of measurement are used to identify categories of objects or events?
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Nominal scales
Ordinal scales
Interval scales
Ratio scales
98. If adverse environmental impacts is labeled as “high – medium – low” as rated “3 – 2 –
1”, then which scale would be useful to assign values represents things that are better or
worse in comparison others?
Nominal scales
Ordinal scales
Interval scales
Ratio scales
99. Whatever type of measure is selected, that must be
Reliable
Valid
Both (a) & (b)
None
100. Documents that the organization feels are necessary to ensure effective
operation & control of process related to its significant environmental aspects, are
required by
Clause 4.1.1
Clause 4.2.2
Clause 4.3.3
Clause 4.4.4
101. Data, which inform an organization whether procedure are being followed &
whether they are effective in managing environmental aspects & controlling related
environmental impacts.
Data obtained form ICP
Data obtained from EMS
Data obtained through the measurement techniques
Data obtained through the measurement & monitoring techniques
102. For ISO 14001 registration, an organization must provide evidence of
A procedure for evaluating legal compliance
Compliance review by management
Corrective action for any noncompliance
All above
103. If the organization’s ……………………………… has not identified the noncompliance, the
registrar audit team will ascertain whether the organization had identified & has access to its legal
a) other requirements.
Internal audits
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b) External audit
c) Registration audit
d) None
73. Who will first attempt to determine whether the audited organization’s internal
audit team identified the same noncompliance?
a) Audit team
b) Manager
c) Registrar Audit Team
d) Auditor
74. If organization has identified the requirement with which its fails to comply, the
registrar audit team will question, that
a) Why evaluation of compliance did not reveal this efficiency
b) Why evaluation of compliance is not suitable
c) Both (a) & (b)
d) None
75. Clause, which says that, ‘the organization shall keep records of the results of the
periodic evaluation, is
a) Clause 4.5.2.1
b) Clause 4.5.2.2
c) Clause 4.4.2
d) Clause 4.4.3
76. Who is responsible for the scheduling & completion of quarterly audits of objectives &
targets & periodic audits of selective environmental compliance issues?
a) Technical Services Manager
b) Satellite point Manager
c) EMS Manager
d) ISO 14001 Coordinator
77. Preventive action is defined as
a) Action to eliminate the causing of a potential nonconformity
b) Action to eliminate the cause of a potential conformity
c) Both (a) & (b)
d) None
78. Identification of nonconformities tends to be considered in conjunction with
a) Environmental Management System
b) EMS Audits
c) List of nonconformities
d) None
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79. An organization must take action to mitigate environmental harm that already resulted
from the
a) Conformity
b) Mistake
c) Nonconformity
d) Process
80. When corrective or preventive action is taken, the …………………….. will review the
action at an appropriate time to determine the results of the action.
a) Technical Services Manager
b) ISO 14001 Coordinator
c) Suppliers
d) Environmental Manager/ Designee
81. Prevention action defined as “action to eliminate the cause of a potential
nonconformity” in section
a) Section 3.17
b) Section 3.15
c) Section 3.3
d) None
82. ……………………. provide information that confirms the occurrence of activities or
verifies performance relative to a fixed or recommended standard.
a) Data
b) Files
c) Records
d) Diaries
83. The ISO 14001 :2004 states explicitly that records must be kept
a) Compliance, training & awareness
b) Monitoring & measurement
c) Internal audit
d) All above
84. Internal audit is defined in
a) Clause 4.3.1
b) Clause 4.5.5
c) Clause 4.4.1
d) Clause 4.4.3
85. Records should be in ink, rather than pencil, to prevent
a) Smudging
b) Darkness
c) Readability
d) Legibility
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86. The linkage between an activity and an associated record should be clear, this feature of
record is known as
a) Identifiable
b) Legible
c) Traceable
d) All above
87. Which section defines an auditor is a “person with the competence to conduct an audit”?
a) Section 3.14
b) Section 3.17
c) Section 3.1
d) Section 3.4
88. Any record, electronic or hard copy, identified on the environmental records retention
schedule that demonstrates conformance with EMS & legal & other requirements, is
known as
a) Environmental record
b) Environmental aspect
c) Information
d) Document
89. The ……………….. is used to determine if it is time to destroy an environmental record.
a) EMS List
b) Employee’s Detail List
c) Records Retention List
d) None
90. An environmental management system audit is
a) Environmental performance audit
b) Regulatory Compliance Audit
c) Both (a) & (b)
d) None
91. An EMS audit verifies that appropriate procedures are in place & functioning to
ensure conformity with
a) ISO 14001 : 2004
b) An organization’s document
c) Both (a) & (b)
d) None
92. The internal audit procedure must address
a) Responsibilities
b) Audit Criteria
c) Frequency
d) All above
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93. Smaller organizations may be unable to delicate the resources required for a
sufficient no. of auditors. In such a circumstance, an organization might borrow
auditors from
a) Corporate headquarters
b) Consortia
c) Consulting firms
d) Sister facilities
94. Information that is verifiable & is based on facts obtained through observation
measurement, testing, or other means, is
a) Nonconformance
b) Conformance
c) Objective evidence
d) None
95. Input to management review shall include
a) Results of internal audits
b) Communication(s) from external interested parties, including complaints
c) Status of corrective & preventive actions
d) All above
96. Management review should be viewed as
a) Strategic
b) Potential
c) Tactical in Nature
d) None
97. Decision – makers, who contribute to the management review process & provide the
authority & resources to address recommended improvements, are
a) Managers
b) Employees
c) Contractors
d) Executives
98. The reason given by SMEs for implementing ISO 14001 is
a) Customer requirements
b) Continuous improvement or environmental performance
c) Improved regulatory compliance
d) All above
99. The small organization, those with one to five employees, sometimes referred to as
a) Medium enterprises
b) Micro enterprises
c) Mini enterprises
d) Super enterprises
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100. Continual improvement as a “recurring process of enhancing the environmental
management system in order to achieve improvements in overall environmental
performance consistent with the organization’s environment policy”, is defined by
a) Section 3.1
b) Section 3.14
c) Section 3.17
d) Section 3.2
CASE STUDY ANSWERS
ASSIGNMENT SOLUTIONS
PROJECT REPORTS AND THESIS
ISBM / IIBMS / IIBM / ISMS / KSBM / NIPM
SMU / SYMBIOSIS / XAVIER / NIRM / PSBM
/ NSBM / ISM / IGNOU / IICT / ISBS / LPU /
ISM&RC
MBA - EMBA - BMS - GDM - MIS - MIB
DMS - DBM - PGDM - DBM - DBA
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www.casestudysolution.in
www.casestudies.co.in
aravind.banakar@gmail.com
ARAVIND
09901366442 – 09902787224
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Sales and Distribution Management
Multiple Choices:
17. Which of the following comes under role of a salesman?
a) Territory Sales
b) Direct Sales
c) Technical Sales
d) All of the above
18. This method is used by the trainers to present more information in a short time to a large
number of participants________
a) Lecture
b) Demonstration
c) Group discussion
d) None of the above
19. ________is an emerging form of distribution and promotion that combines elements of
personal selling and advertising.
a) Direct Mail
b) Direct Marketing
c) Team selling
d) None of the above
20. An exercise that is crucial for every company in the business of manufacturing and
selling its products is called_______.
a) Retailer
b) Wholesaler
c) Customer
d) None of the above
21. ________involves manufacturer marketing activities directed at channel intermediaries.
a) Pull Strategy
b) Push Strategy
c) Both (a) & (b)
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d) None of the above
IIBM Institute of
Business Management 1
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Examination Paper of Sales Management
28. They are the shopkeepers who set up shops in the market place to cater to the needs of
hundreds of consumers
a) Distributors
b) Wholesalers
c) Agents
d) Retailers
29. Which one of the following is the 2nd stage of Product life cycle?
a) Maturity
b) Growth
c) Decline
d) Introduction
30. MSA Stands for_______
31. It refers to the number of selling activities that a salesman is expected to perform in his
area over a period of time is known as________.
a) Sales volume quotas
b) Financial quotas
c) Activities quotas
d) All of the above
32. Which of the following comes under financial incentives?
a) Higher Salary
b) Profit Sharing
c) More Commission
d) All of the above
Part Two
39. List the different types of forecasting methods?
40. Write a short note on “Training”?
41. Define the purpose of sales budget?
42. How would you explain the Distribution Strategy?
43. What improvements do you suggest in the staffing process followed by the company?
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44. Was Sunil Kumar right in getting market surveys done by the new salesperson?
45. How can you help Snow White become less dependent on the selling agents and plan its
sales and profitability better? How can they plan their customer service efforts?
5. Define the personal selling? Also explain the process of personal selling?
6. What is Motivation? Explain the all theory of Motivation.
7. Define the following terms:
Function of Retailers
Function of Wholesaler
Management of a Sales Force
Multiple Choices:
1. ____________ is the conscious, systematic process of making decisions about goods and
activities that an individual, group, work unit or organization will pursue in the future.
a. Controlling
b. Planning
c. Training
d. Staffing
2. Which of the following comes under forecasting steps?
a. Trends in sales
b. Past Pattern
c. Competitive factors
d. All of the above
3. SMART Stand for_______
a. Specific-Measure-Achievable-Realistic-Time-bound
b. Smart-Measurable-Achievable-Realistic-Time-bound
c. Specific-Measurable-Achievable-Realistic-Time-bound
d. None of the above
4. Which of the following is not comes under relationship selling?
a. Respond to customer needs
b. Proactive
c. Value-based offers
d. Customer‟s customer
5. Establishing the resource needed to successful execute the operating plan by hiring,
coaching and developing people is known as______
a. Planning
b. People Development
c. Proactive
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e) All of the above
51. AIDA stands for_________
52. This study was conducted using the questionnaire technique among first line
managers of Pharmaceutical companies is called______
a) Results
b) Methodology
c) Both (a) & (b)
d) None of the above
53. ______refers to a solely fixed financial reward provided at appropriate times, either
weekly or monthly, depending on the pay period norm.
a) Performance Bonus
b) Straight Commission
c) Straight Salary
d) Salary plus Bonus
54. Which of the following comes under job Description?
a) Duties
b) The job title
c) Responsibilities
d) All of the above
55. _______is the process of weaning our the good from the bad from the large pool of
applicant and choosing the right applicant for the job and the company.
a) Recruiting
b) Selecting
c) Discrimination
d) None of the above
Part Two:
2 Write a short note on „Territory Management‟.
3 Define the Assessment of Sales Training?
4 List the tips on making a good sales plan.
5 Explain the Types of Training?
What should Clyde Brion do to remedy the imbalanced sales performance of Louise
Shannon and Henry Sadowski?
What type of training program should Mickie Parsons recommend to Keat Markley?
What‟s your reasoning for your recommendation?
Elaborate the Role of Area Sales Manager?
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Define the term selection? How would you explain the selection process?
What is Incentive? Define the types of Incentives?
Financial Management
22. Capital turnover ratio is calculated as
a) Sales *Capital employed
b) Sales / Capital employed
c) Sales /Total Assets
d) Total assets / Owners fund
23. In ABC analysis C class consist of ________.
a) a very large number of items which are less important
b) a very less number of items which are important
c) quaintly if items which take place after a long time
d) that quantity which is fixed in such a way that the total variable cost of managing the
inventory can be minimized
24. The real owners of the company are
a) Equity shareholders
b) Dividend holders
c) Preference shareholders
d) Stakeholders
25. The Proprietary concern is owned by
a) Three persons
b) Only one person
c) any one but s persons must
d) None of the above
26. Assets and liabilities in the Balance Sheet are shown at ________ prices
Latest
Current
Nominal
Historical
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6. Financing consists of the raising, providing, managing of all the money, capital or funds of
any kind to be used in connection with the business' is defined by
a) Ronald Burns
b) Orichad d. maningous
c) Bonneville and Dewey
d) Kenneth Midgley
7. Shareholders of a joint stock company appoint their representative in the form of ________
to carry on the day-to-day affairs of the company
a) Directors
b) Stakeholders
c) Partners
d) owner
1. The cost which remains constant irrespective of changes in the sales revenue is termed as
Fixed cost
Variable cost
Runtime cost
Normal cost
2. The comparison of the ratios of one organisation with that of the other organisation is termed
as
________ comparison
Inter-firm
out-side firm
Other firm
All the above
3. A systematic record of the events of the business leading to a presentation of a complete
financial picture is known as
Financial statement
Balance Sheet
Trading account
Accounting
3. Retained earnings is a source of ________ finance
Internal
External
Quick
Liquid
Part Two:
1. What is Annuity kind of cash flow?
2. What do understand by ‘Portfolio risk
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3. What do you understand by yield to maturity (YTM)?
4. Elaborate ‘Central limit theorem’.
5. What is the Difference Between NPV and IRR?
1. Evaluate the strategies used by the management in the changed scenario.
2. Which strategies the company adopt for the future?
3. Evaluate the performance of the company financially, using financial ratios and
figures.
4. Analyze the case using SWOT analysis.
1. Evaluate the company’s ability to sustain its performance in the present scenario.
2. Suggest the possible costing techniques which can help V.K. Gupta its decisionmaking
(Illustrate using examples).
3. Conduct a financial analysis of the company of the company and comment its
financial performance?
4. Suggest the various funding patterns that may be adopted by the company in light
of the company’s capital structure.
a. Explain the norms suggested by Tondon Committee for providing bank
credit? How did the recommendations of Chore Committee bring
modifications?
b. A population is made up of groups that have wide variations within the
groups and less variations from group to group. Which is the appropriate
type of sampling method?
c. Over capitalization and undercapitalization are both unhealthy signs for a
firm “Discuss”? Can they be remedied?
Human Resource Management
Name the program which makes supervisor more alert, as it is his
responsibility to rate his Subordinates
Periodic appraisal
Yearly appraisal
Monthly appraisal
Weekly appraisal
b) The HRD programmes fail due
Crime factor
Social justice
Inflation
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Poverty
7. Name the recruitment process which is said to be a costly affair
a. Internal
b. External
c. International
d. National
8. In resent times, which department and head of the same usually initiates the
manpower plan.
a. Operation department
b. production department
c. H R department
5. The job evaluation programme once installed must be continued on a ________ basis.
Permanent
Unplanned
Planned
Daily
6. The process of 360 Degree appraisal is broken into two stages - planning and
_________.
Succession
Implementation
Non planning
Action planning
7. Human resource management is responsible for getting the best people, training and
providing mechanism to achieve organization ____________.
Goal
Target
loss
profit
8. The process of analyzing jobs from which job descriptions are developed are called
________.
Company analysis
Job Analysis
Appraisal
Job enrichment
9. Which is not the method of performance appraisal ?
Straight ranking method
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Grading method
Group Appraisal
Circle
Part Two:
1 Explain the importance of Career Planning in industry.
2 Explain the nature of Human Resource Development. Examine its scope and nature.
3. Discuss the various Methods of Performance Appraisals?
4 Explain On-Job and Off Job Training.
1.How far do you think that that HR strategies are in alignment with the corporate
strategy of the company?
2. Had you been Kamal Kumar, what steps would you to minimize the employee
turnover?
What additional compensation and reward system would you suggest apart from the ones
mentioned in the case?
If you had been in the place of Suyash, what measures would have recommended
overcoming the Chinese threat?
What is manpower planning? Explain the various steps involved in the manpower
planning. Discuss its objectives.
What are Quality Circles? Examine the process involved in Quality Circles and evaluate
the advantages and disadvantages of quality circles.
Managerial Economics
27. Economists have classified input as
a) Timeless
b) landless
c) labourless
d) all the above
28. ΣPi=………where Pi is the probability of certain task.
a) Not defined
b) 1
c) 0
d) It will depend on the number of Pi values we are taking for summation.
29. Slope at x=2 for the given curve y=3x3+2x be
a) 26
b) 38
c) 36
d) 18
30. For a vertical demand curve the elasticity will be
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a) 0
b) 1
c) Between 0 and 1
d) ∞
31. The difference between price and average variable cost is defined as
a) Loss contribution
b) Profit contribution
c) Expectations
d) Market contribution
33. For an industry with ‘n’ firms the total equilibrium o/p for a Cournot oligopoly
with Q0 as o/p from perfect competitive market, is given by
a) Q0(n+1)/n
b) Q0n/(n+1)
c) (n+1)n/Q0
d) (n+1)/(nQ0)
34. Game theory was designed
a) To create situation where individual and organization have conflicting
objectives for competitive growth.
b) To create situation where organization and organization have conflicting
objectives
c) To evaluate the condition of the market
d) To evaluate situations where individual and organization have conflicting
objectives.
35. The firms may be able to escape from ‘Prisoner’s Dilemma’ if the action is
a) Repetitive
b) Non repetitive
c) Sequential
d) No dependence on the type of action
36. Which is not the Property of Indifference curve
a) Convex to the origin
b) Have positive slope
c) Indicate lower level of satisfaction
d) Do not intersect nor are they tangent to one another
37. Standard deviation is a measure of
a) Sink of price
b) Rise of price
c) Slope of demand curve
d) Risk
Part Two:
46. Define ‘Arc Elasticity’.
47. Explain the law of ‘Diminishing marginal returns’.
48. What is ‘Prisoner’s Dilemma’, a non cooperative game?
49. What is ‘Third degree Discrimation’?
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4. Are the problems faced by the Company periodic in nature, and when would the
bad period over the problems cease to persist?
2. Is there a case for shifting the business focus from the Indian market to export to
foreign countries?
Q. Is there a case for restructuring and the business process re-engineering so that
certain problems and its impact are under control?
R. What would you recommend as a mission and goal to the Company?
S. How long can an industry sustain on protection?
T. What is the impact of incidental services like assembly, testing, marketing, etc.
on the total cost?
U. Would you agree to the suggestion for a complete changeover to wooden
cabinet?
V. Would it be desirable to import the components rather than make them in India?
8. Free trade promotes a mutually profitable regional division of labour, greatly
enhances the potential real national product of all nations and makes possible
higher standards of living all
over the globe.”Explain and critically examine the statements.
2. What role does a decision tree play in business decision-making? Illustrate the
choice between two investment projects with help of a decision tree assuming
hypothetical conditions about the states of nature, probability distribution, and
corresponding pay-offs.
Marketing Management
Multiple choices:
1. FICCI stands for
Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Federation of International Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Federation of Indian Chamber of Cost and Inventory
Federation of International Chamber of Cost and Inventory
2. Market ________ is more prevalent than Mass marketing
a) place
b) Segmentation
c) Circle
d) Area
3. What is product concept?
Detailed summery about the product
Detailed version of idea stated in consumer terms
product that satisfy consumer demand
Consumer's perception of an actual product
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4. Economists call all human resources as
Hands
Labor
Employees
Employers
5. A centralized inventory means
Slow delivery to customer
Fast delivery to customers
Building and stocking one warehouse
Item store
9. ________ of physical distribution activities increases it's productivity as well as of manufacturer.
a. Termination
b. Automation
c. Distribution
d. Maximization
10. What involves review of projected sales, costs and profits.
a. Business Report
b. Business analysis
c. corporate statistics
d. Sales Budget Report
11. Product means the ________ and services the company offers the target market.
a. Items
b. Goods
c. Machines
d. power
12. Customers are brand, style and type conscious when buying ________ products.
a. Special
b. Basic
c. Consumer
d. Inferior
13. Product, price, place and ___________are the 4p's of marketing
a. Prestige
b. Percentage
c. Peace
d. promotion
Part Two:
10. Write a note on importance of consumer Behavior for a business firm?
11. Define the term price?
12. Distinguish between Marketing Concept and selling Concept?
13. What are the new trends in advertisement?
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14. Do you feel that Suraksha is cannibalising the Pickwick Brand?
15. What are the problems generally faced by the companies going for
multibranding?
16. What were the various strategies adopted by Vishesh Diagnostic Center. Discuss
them in light of seven Ps of service marketing.
17. What do you understand by service quality; explain what parameters of service
quality are listed in the case?
18. How would you visualize the success of Vishesh Diagnostic Centre after
diversification?
19. If you were Rajesh Kasliwal what necessary steps you would have taken to
enhance the performance of the Centre?
What is meant by sales promotion? Describe briefly the various methods
of sales promotional tools used by business organizations to boost the
sales. Explain any four methods of sales promotion?
Write notes on the fowling :
Explain right to safety.
What is right to consumer protection?
Organizational Behavior
32. Friendship groups are
Party Groups
Formal Group
Evolved informally
Social Groups
33. Effective communication is the foundation
Of modern organization
Of formal organization
Of Foreign relations
Of informal organization
34. Perception is used in
a) Selection of candidate for employment
b) Compensation and reward
c) Enrichment and motivation
d) None of the above.
35. Attitude do not influence by
Family
Educational background
Policies of organization
Religion
36. Job enlargement means
Adding other task to the job.
Removing job responsibilities.
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Job Testing
Job formal examination
14. Conflict is a
a. Immoral activity
b. Rational Behaviouer
c. None of the above
d. Natural disagreement
15. Fatigue can be defined as the ________ of the body as a result of continuous
physical activity
a. Tiredness
b. Activeness
c. Possessiveness
d. Color
16. Written communication is a
a. Non-Direct Communication
b. Direct Communication
c. Waste of papers
d. Waste of time
17. Direct Communication________ are the rules of pattern and behaviour that are
expected from all team members.
a. Norms
b. Regulations
c. Guidelines
d. Format
18. The pension plans, gratuity contribution and mandatory provident fund rules are
framed basically to take care of ________ needs.
a. Security
b. Sensitive
c. Scrutiny
d. Saving
Part Two:
20. Explain ‘Y’ theory of Mc Gegor.
21. Explain Chris Argyris’s immaturity – maturity theory.
22. Explain ‘Halo effect’.
23. Write a note on ‘Reinforcement theory’.
24. Explain the terms “attitudes and values.
44. Did kanchan and Company Limited adopt the right strategy in improving the
overall performance of the organization?
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45. Was it right to use a complex system for determining the workers incentives?
46. If you were the head of the unit, what steps would you have taken to remove the
problems which were still persisting.
47. What should the company do to maintain and improve its market position?
69. The company faced the problem of mass absenteeism. Is it desirable to recruit
workers from the same community?
70. Were the efforts put by the organization worth in transforming Madan lal from a
drug addict to a performing worker? Justify your answer.
71. Was suspension of Madan lal justified? Comment.
72. Was the organization socially committed in a real sense or all the efforts were
focused at profit making?
1. A large unit manufacturing electrical goods which has been known for its liberal
personnel policies and fringe benefits is facing the problem of low productivity and
high absenteeism. How should the management improve the organizational climate?
2.Discuss the nature and significance of morale ? Describe the relationship
between morale and productivity?
Principles and Practice of Management
37. ________ Decisions relate to the day to day operations of the enterprise
generally taken by middle and lower level management.
a) Productive
b) Qualitative
c) Non- productive
d) Operative
38. Organizational MBO was invented by ________.
a) Go slaws
b) Peter Drucker
c) W . Taylor
d) J G Melon
39. Barriers to delegation of authority would be:
Fear of loosing status by managers
Over-confidence among managers
e. Lack of trust in subordinates
f. All of the Above
2 'Span of control' is also referred to as span of _______
a) Management
b) Delegation
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c) Life
d) Practice
3 Learning from mistakes is often more powerful than learning from________.
a) Mentoring
b) Success
c) Failure
d) Process
4 ________ provides all types of help required to make the business more efficient
and profitable.
a) Mediators
b) Consultants
c) Help Department
d) Government
5 Management is said to be the combination of three factors, arts, science and
the third is
a) Retrenchment
b) Projection
c) Economics
d) profession
6 Motivating a worker is to create a need and what else on the part of a
worker to better his present performance.
a) Professionalism
b) Motivation
c) Desire
d) Delegation
7 One of the external factors that influence management is
a) Technology
b) Globalization
c) Economic
d) Legal
8 What does decoding mean?
a) Message Downloading
b) Message Exploring
c) Message interpretation
d) Message Decoding
Part Two:
1. Differentiate between ‘Administration’ and ‘Management’.
2. What were the common drawbacks in classical and Neo classical theories of
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management?
3. Write a short on ‘Retrenchment corporate strategy’.
4. Write a short note on ‘Acceptance theory’.
5. Explain the two program developed by Dairy Crest with the help of Roffey Park
to train their managers at different levels.
6. Designing a training session involves the analysis of training needs and plan a
training program. Explain the aspects such as the content of training sessions, the
training methods, the trainer and trainee aspect in designing of a training session.
7. What evidence exists that Shell uses an effective decision-making process in
making various decisions? What were the various problems with decisionmaking?
8. Explain how scenarios help Shell’s managing directors engage in divergent
thinking? Discuss the limitations of such an approach?
1. General Electric was composed of one hundred businesses, before Jack Welch
became the CEO. When he became the CEO he streamlined the organization by
selling businesses and acquired new ones. He recreated the organization and
made it a profitable firm in the world. Thus Jack Welch became the greatest
Transformational leader in the world. What makes a Transformational leader so?
2. What are the different precautions should be taken by a job seeker while
attaining interviews
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CASE STUDY ANSWERS
ASSIGNMENT SOLUTIONS
PROJECT REPORTS AND THESIS
ISBM / IIBMS / IIBM / ISMS / KSBM / NIPM
SMU / SYMBIOSIS / XAVIER / NIRM / PSBM /
NSBM / ISM / IGNOU / IICT / ISBS / LPU / ISM&RC
MBA - EMBA - BMS - GDM - MIS - MIB
DMS - DBM - PGDM - DBM - DBA
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ARAVIND
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