Examination Paper: Sales
Management
IIBM Institute of Business
Management 1
IIBM Institute
of Business Management
Examination
Paper MM.100
Sales and
Distribution Management
Section A:
Objective Type (30 marks)
· This section
consists of Multiple Choice questions & short notes 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. Out of the following which gap
arise when the sales force does not have the required knowledge,
skills or capabilities to become
successful on the Job.
a. Knowledge gap
b. Capability gap
c. Methods gap
d. Training gap
2. 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
3. It improves on traditional
computer based training by making the information available to the
salesperson immediately and in a
personalized manner.
a. Distance Learning
b. Interactive Multimedia
Training
c. Mentoring
d. Electronic Performance Support
System
4. These are preprogrammed
computer packages, and are based on reality:
a. Role Playing
b. Case Studies
c. Simulation Games
d. Job Rotation
5. The responsibility which
include dealing with stakeholders with fairness impartiality and equality
is known as:
a. Ethical Responsibilities
b. Legal Responsibilities
c. Economic Responsibilities
d. Voluntary Responsibilities
Examination Paper: Sales
Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
2
6. 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
7. This strategy is to make sure
that the product is made available in as many outlets as possible so
that anywhere the consumer go, he
or she should be able to get the product of his choice.
a. Exclusive Distribution
b. Selective Distribution
c. Intensive Distribution
d. Distribution Channel
8. This is the stage of the birth
of multiple retail formats to please the customer.
a. Stage of Infancy (Child hood)
b. Meeting Customer Expectations
(Youth)
c. Shift in the power equation
(Adulthood)
d. Consolidation (Maturity)
9. It is the identity that the
store develops for itself in terms of what it has to offer the customers.
a. Positioning Strategy
b. Product Differentiation
Strategy
c. Operational Strategy
d. Targeting
10. It is the most convenient
size of the product that the customer can buy at a time.
a. Lot Size
b. Waiting Time
c. Choice to the consumer
d. Place Utility
Part Two:
1. What is Channel Conflict?
2. What is an Information System?
What is the purpose of Information Systems?
3. State the different categories
of Inventory.
4. What is Electronic Data
Interchange?
END
OF SECTION A
Examination Paper: Sales
Management
IIBM Institute of Business
Management 3
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).
Swish flow Ltd.
- Hiring Salespeople
“Why two out of five salesperson
have resigned within six months of joining the company/” asked
marketing director to the sales
manager, Sunil Kumar of Swish flow Ltd. “I think, there is
something wrong with our staffing
process, “responded Sunil Kumar, without knowing the real reasons
for the turnover of salespeople.
Swish flow Ltd started
manufacturing and marketing consumer durables like fans and water purifiers for
household consumer’s commercial
firms in 1993. The sales and marketing office was located in Mumbai,
the commercial capital of India.
Swish flow was a newly established company and for its first year of
operations, the company decided
to recruit five salesperson to cover major metros and cities of
Maharashtra. The staffing process
included the sales manager deciding the job qualifications salespersons
based on what he learnt in the
MBA programme. The administration manger was asked to place the
advertisement in the local
newspapers. The resumes of applicants were forwarded to Sunil Kumar, who
screened the same and sent interview
calls to about ten applicants. The interviews were conducted by
Sunil Kumar and the marketing
director and the selected candidates were given the appointment letters.
Some of the candidates had a
problem of finding suitable residence, but the company policy did not
provide any consideration for he3
same. Sunil Kumar conducted one-week training programme and
generally guided the new
salesperson, who reported to him directly. There was a delay in the receipt of
the fans from the factory,
located at Baroda in Gujarat. During this period of three months, Sunil Kumar
was asked to conduct market
surveys and look after advertising function of the entire group. He asked the
salespersons to collect market
information on various other products like water purifiers, power tillers,
and so on in which the group was
interested to diversify. During this period, two salespersons suddenly
stopped coming to work, after
collecting their salaries of the previous working month.
Questions:
1. What improvements do you
suggest in the staffing process followed by the company?
2. Was Sunil Kumar right in
getting market surveys done by the new salesperson?
Caselet 2
Snow White Paper Company is
located in an agricultural belt about 300 kilometers from a metro city.
The company is into writing and
printing papers. Its primary raw material is wheat straw. Last year,
the company had a turnover of Rs.
134 crore on a volume of 45,000 tons of paper. While preparing
the business plan for the current
year, the top management was concerned with the following
distribution issue that they want
you to help resolve:
PROBLEM:
FINISHED GOODS DISTRIBUTION
The paper industry is dominated
by selling agents who bring the manufacturer like Snow White and
the buyer like
printing/publishing companies, and note book makers, together. They make a
commission of about 2 percent on
all transactions. Some other points:
Examination Paper: Sales
Management
IIBM Institute of Business
Management 4
· Snow White
depends on about 110 agents to canvass business for it from the users.
· The Company
sells about 23 percent of its paper directly to some government organizations.
· The agent
arranges for the buyer to pay the company for its produce by a advance demand
draft. It is expected that the
agent provides the credit support to the buyer.
· Agents are not
exclusive for Snow White and work for other paper mills also and normally
play the mills against each
other. They have a grip on the business and are reluctant to put the
mill directly in touch with the
buyers.
· There is always
an uncertainty on the orders and the price, which would be obtained on the
orders- the company cannot plan
its profits properly nor offer the best service to end users so
that they always ask for Snow
white.
Question:
1. 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?
Section C:
Applied Theory (30 Marks)
· This section
consists of Applied Theory Questions.
· Answer all the
questions.
· Each question
carries 10 marks.
· Detailed
information should from the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
1. Explain in detail the Role of
Retailers.
2. How does the availability of
the Internet impact on International sales?
3. What are the basic concepts of
Sales Organization? Explain any one of those concepts.
END
OF SECTION C
END
OF SECTION B
Examination Paper: Sales
Management
IIBM Institute of Business
Management 5
IIBM Institute
of Business Management
Examination
Paper MM.100
Management of a
Sales Force
Section A:
Objective Type (30 marks)
· This section
consists of Multiple Choice questions & short notes 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. ____________ is the stage in
which the salesperson must discover, clarify and understand the
buyer’s needs.
a. Customer Research
b. Approach
c. Need Assessment
d. Planning
2. This outcome equates to how
much information was absorbed and usually involves in giving the
trainee some type of test.
a. Reactions
b. Leaving
c. Behavior
d. Results
3. A salesperson’s ______________
is calculated by dividing the number of orders received by the
number of calls made (O/C).
a. Batting Average
b. Call Rate
c. Size of Orders
d. Direct Selling Expense
4. Such costs are incurred in
connection with a single unit of sales operations.
a. Direct Costs
b. Indirect Costs
c. Overhead Costs
d. Fixed Costs
5. These are the activities that
people must perform in orders to carry out the strategy.
a. Objectives
b. Strategies
Examination Paper: Sales
Management
IIBM Institute of Business
Management 6
c. Tactics
d. Goals
6. The highest executives in
sales management is most often called:
a. Vice President of Sales
b. Branch Manager
c. Team Leader
d. District Sales Manager
7. A ____________ is someone with
knowledge, experience, rank, or power that provides personal
counseling & career guidance
for younger employees.
a. Mentor
b. Leader
c. Supervisor
d. Peer
8. The most widely used method of
expense control in which the company reimburses sales
representatives for all
legitimate business & travel costs they incur while on company business is
known as:
a. Clarity
b. Payment Plans
c. Limited Payment Plans
d. Unlimited Payment Plans
9. It is a direct monetary reward
paid for performing certain duties over a period of time.
a. Salary
b. Incentives
c. Bonus
d. Pension
10. This is a performance goal
assigned to a marketing unit for a specific period of time.
a. Salary Plus Bonus
b. Salary plus Commission
c. Salary Plus Commission &
Bonus
d. Sales Quota
Part Two:
1. Write a short note on
‘Strategic Account Management’.
2. Why there is a need of a
detailed data in sales?
3. Briefly explain the nature
& benefits of Territories.
4. What is Market Specialization?
END
OF SECTION A
Examination Paper: Sales
Management
IIBM Institute of Business
Management 7
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
MAJESTIC
PLASTICS COMPANY
Reps Selling Too
Many Low-Profit Products
Over the past several days the
top executives in the Majestic Plastic Company had been conducting their
annual performance review of the
company’s operations. The company president, Boyd Russell, sat in on
most of these sessions and
periodically became quite involved in some of the departmental reviews. The
sales department was the one
currently under discussion, and Clyde Brion, the general sales manager, was
the focus of attention. Overall,
the sales and profit results were satisfactory, but the executives noted what
they thought was a problem in two
Louise Shannon was the rep, and the other was in Chicago, which was
Henry Sadowski’s territory.
In each of these territories, the
sales reps total sales volume was satisfactory. The problem was that the
bulk of their sales volume was in
low profit products- that is, products whose gross margin was well
below the company’s desired
average. Then the chief financial officer, Oliver Twombly, recalled that this
same situation had been brought
up at last year’s performance review. Clyde Brion realized he was on the
spot with his fellow executives,
including the president.
Top management really did not
want to change the basic compensation plan because, ore the company as
a whole, it apparently had been
working okay. And Brion concurred in this decision. He pointed out that
Shannon ad Sadowski consistently
met their total sales quotas and that each had won a sales contest
designed to stimulate total
sales. But their performance was not balanced. They went way over quota on
low-margin goods. They were not
selling a desirable mix of products, nor were they generating their share
of new accounts. Basically they
were getting large repeat orders from a few established accounts. And
Shannon and Sadowski generally
were neglecting the newer products that were the foundation of the
company’s future growth.
Brion had been aware of this
situation for some time, but he had never given it the attention it deserved,
partly because the two reps total
sales volume was satisfactory and partly because he had other brushfires
to put out. Now he was convinced
that he had better do something-and do it quickly.
Question:
1. What should Clyde Brion do to
remedy the imbalanced sales performance of Louise Shannon and
Henry Sadowski?
Examination Paper: Sales
Management
IIBM Institute of Business
Management 8
Caselet 2
SUNRISE CLEANERS
To Train or Not
to Train
Sunrise Cleaner Company’s sales have
been expanding rapidly in the past several years and are expected
to continue increasing throughout
the next decade. In order to meet this demand, Mickie Parsons,
Sunrise’s sales manager, has
hired a number of sales representatives and expects to hire 6 to 10
salespeople in the coming year
and more the following year. In the past, Sunrise hired only experienced
reps, but lately the company has
been hiring recent marketing graduates. While the new grades don’t have
experience, they often are a high
level of motivation and a good understanding of overall marketing
planning. However, the less
experience reps need more training-both on company policies and sales
procedures-before they are
effective in making sales calls. Parson is trying to design a training program
that will provide the necessary
training at the lowest possible cost.
Currently, Sunrise does not have
a training program. Te new hires just spend a week in a territory with an
experienced rep, and ten they are
given their own territory. While this system was satisfactory with
experienced people, it is not
adequate for the inexperienced people the company is now hiring.
Mickie Parsons has suggested the
president of Sunrise, Keat Markley, that the company institute a one-or
two-week training program at
company headquarters. Parsons has suggested two options. The first option
is to hire a staff recruiter/
trainer who would spend half of his or her time on recruiting and the other
half
on training. The new staff
specialist would be paid a salary of about $60,000 a year- so the added cost
with respect to the training
responsibilities would be $30,000 a year. The second option is to contract with
an outside company that
specializes les force training. That company would provide a specialist to set
up
and conduct a training program at
a cost of approximately $20, 0000 per week.
Parsons was just concluding her
presentation to Keat Markley. “I feel that a training program would
increase the average annual sales
per rep a minimum of 5 percent- to $1,050, 000 per rep.”
Markley replied, “I am not
convinced that the training would improve performance enough to justify the
costs. You know it isn’t just the
cost of the trainer. We would also have to bring these reps into
headquarters and pay their
expenses while they are here. There would be some equipment and materials
involved…. All for a 5 percent
increase in sales! I want to be sure that the 5 percent would more than
cover these costs. What about
using computer training software to train the new reps? Eng I read says that
all of the top companies are
using online programs to do a lot of their training and that they are saving
bundles in the process.”
“I’ve have checked into that
option,” Parsons said, “but I don’t think that a basic off-the –shelf program
would be very effective for
training inexperienced graduates and the initial cost of developing a
customized program would be
excessive- a minimum of $3,00,000 with each additional week module
costing $50,000. Besides, I think
an online program works best for refresher training or for introducing
new product information, not for
teaching basic selling skills- that should be face-to-face training.” “OK,”
said Markley, “you put together
an analysis that considers all the costs of these training options, and ten
make a recommendation to me. Be
sure that you look at the increase in sales that will be necessary to
cover these additional costs.”
Parsons left the meeting already
calculating the costs in her head. She knew that bringing a rep into
headquarters would cost $250 per
rep for travel and $750 per rep per week for lodging and meals.
Materials for any of the programs
would likely add an extra $100 per rep and the audiovisual equipment
for the face-to-face training
would be headed for her office, where she could put all of these costs together
in order to make a reasoned
recommendation to Markley as soon as possible.
Examination Paper: Sales
Management
IIBM Institute of Business
Management 9
Question:
1. What type of training program
should Mickie Parsons recommend to Keat Markley? What’s your
reasoning for your
recommendation?
Section C:
Applied Theory (30 Marks)
· This section
consists of Applied Theory Questions.
· Answer all the
questions.
· Each question
carries 10 marks.
· Detailed
information should from the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
1. ‘Sales Forecasting is a very
difficult task’ Comment on the statement and also suggest some
guidelines for the manager that
can enhance the accuracy of the states forecast.
2. Certain Leadership &
Supervisory problems are commonly encountered when managing sales
people. State those problems
which are encountered in leadership.
3. What is Training Assessment?
What are the Training Program objectives?
S-2-210311
END
OF SECTION B
END
OF SECTION C
Examination Paper:
Semester II
IIBM Institute of
Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper MM.100
Strategic Management
Section A: Objective Type (30 marks)
· This
section consists of multiple choice questions & Short notes 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. 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
Examination
Paper: Semester II
IIBM Institute of
Business Management
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:
1. What
are the dimensions of Strategic management?
2.
Critically analyze the concept of BCG Matrix.
3.
What is SWOT analysis?
4.
What are the characteristics of Short-term Objectives?
END OF SECTION A
Examination
Paper: Semester II
IIBM Institute of
Business Management
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
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: Semester II
IIBM Institute of
Business Management
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?
Examination
Paper: Semester II
IIBM Institute of
Business Management
Case let 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: Semester II
IIBM Institute of
Business Management
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 are the basic principles of Organizational structure? What are the types
of
Organizational
structures?
2.
Though BCG matrix can be very helpful in forcing decisions in managing a
portfolio
of products, it can be employed as a sole men 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-1-280111
Examination Paper : Semester
II
IIBM Institute of Business
Management 1
IIBM
Institute of Business Management
Examination
Paper MM.100
Management
Information Systems
Section
A: Objective Type (30 marks)
· 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
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
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.
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
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 e-commerce.
2. What do you understand by
the term “Database”? Explain the various database models in
detail.
END OF SECTION
S-1-280111
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