Examination Paper Semester I: Financial
Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute
of Business Management
Semester-1
Examination Paper MM.100
Financial
Management
Section A:
Objective Type (30 marks)
· This section
consists of multiple choice & Short Notes.
· Answer all the
questions.
· Part One carries
1 mark each & Part two carries 5 marks each.
Part one:
Multiple
choices:
1. The approach focused mainly on
the financial problems of corporate enterprise
a. Ignored non-corporate enterprise
b. Ignored working capital
financing
c. External approach
d. Ignored routine problems
2. These are those shares, which
can be redeemed or repaid to the holders after a lapse of the
stipulated period
a. Cumulative preference shares
b. Non-cumulative preference
shares
c. Redeemable preference shares
d. Perpetual shares
3. This type of risk arise from
changes in environmental regulations, zoning requirements, fees,
licenses and most frequently
taxes
a. Political risk
b. Domestic risk
c. International risk
d. Industry risk
4. It is the cost of capital that
is expected to raise funds to finance a capital budget or investment
proposal
a. Future cost
b. Specific cost
c. Spot cost
d. Book cost
5. This concept is helpful in
formulating a sound & economical capital structure for a firm
a. Financial performance
appraisal
b. Investment evaluation
c. Designing optimal corporate
capital structure
d. None
Examination Paper Semester I: Financial
Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
6. It is the minimum required
rate of return needed to justify the use of capital
a. From investors
b. Firms point
c. Capital expenditure point
d. Cost of capital
7. It arises when there is a
conflict of interest among owners, debenture holders and the management
a. Seasonal variation
b. Degree of competition
c. Industry life cycle
d. Agency costs
8. Some guidelines on shares
& debentures issued by the government that are very important for the
constitution of the capital
structure are
a. Legal requirement
b. Purpose of finance
c. Period of finance
d. Requirement of investors
9. It is that portion of an
investments total risk that results from change in the financial integrity of
the investment
a. Bull- bear market risk
b. Default risk
c. International risk
d. Liquidity risk
10. _____________ measure the
systematic risk of a security that cannot be avoided through
diversification
a. Beta
b. Gamma
c. Probability distribution
d. Alpha
Part Two:
1. What is Annuity
kind of cash flow?
2. What do
understand by Portfolio risk?
3. What do you
understand by ‘Loan Amortization’?
4. What is the
Difference between NPV and IRR?
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper Semester I: Financial
Management
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
This case provides the
opportunity to match financing alternatives with the needs of different
companies.
It allows the reader to
demonstrate a familiarity with different types of securities. George Thomas was
finishing some weekend reports on
a Friday afternoon in the downtown office of Wishart and Associates,
an investment-banking firm.
Meenda, a partner in the firm, had not been in the New York office since
Monday. He was on a trip through
Pennsylvania, visiting five potential clients, who were considering the
flotation of securities with the
assistance of Wishart and Associates. Meenda had called the office on
Wednesday and told George's
secretary that he would cable his recommendations on Friday afternoon.
George was waiting for the cable.
George knew that Meenda would be recommending different types of
securities for each of the five
clients to meet their individual needs. He also knew Meenda wanted him to
call each of the clients to
consider the recommendations over the weekend. George was prepared to make
these calls as soon as the cable
arrived. At 4:00 p.m. a secretary handed George the following telegram.
George Thomas, Wishart and
Associates STOP Taking advantage of offer to go skiing in Poconos STOP
Recommendations as follows: (1)
common stock, (2) preferred stock, (3) debt with warrants, (4)
convertible bonds, (5) callable
debentures STOP. See you Wednesday STOP Meenda. As George picked
up the phone to make the first
call, he suddenly realized that the potential clients were not matched with
the investment alternatives. In
Meenda's office, George found folders on each of the five firms seeking
financing. In the front of each
folder were some handwritten notes that Meenda had made on Monday
before he left. George read each
of the notes in turn. APT, Inc needs $8 million now and $4 million in
four years. Packaging firm with
high growth rate in tri-state area. Common stock trades over the counter.
Stock is depressed but should
rise in year to 18 months. Willing to accept any type of security. Good
management. Expects moderate
growth. New machinery should increase profits substantially. Recently
retired $7 million in debt. Has
virtually no debt remaining except short-term obligations.
Sandford
Enterprises
Needs $16 million. Crusty
management. Stock price depressed but expected to improve. Excellent growth
and profits forecast in the next
two year. Low debt-equity ratio, as the firm has record of retiring debt
prior to maturity. Retains bulk
of earnings and pays low dividends. Management not interested in
surrendering voting control to
outsiders. Money to be used to finance machinery for plumbing supplies.
Sharma
Brothers., Inc.
Needs $20 million to expand
cabinet and woodworking business. Started as family business but now has
1200 employees, $50 million in
sales, and is traded over the counter. Seeks additional shareholder but not
willing to stock at discount.
Cannot raise more than $12 million with straight debt. Fair management.
Good growth prospects. Very good
earnings. Should spark investor's interest. Banks could be willing to
lend money for long-term needs.
Sacheetee Energy
Systems
The firm is well respected by
liberal investing community near Boston area. Sound growth company.
Stock selling for $16 per share.
Management would like to sell common stock at $21 or more willing to
Examination Paper Semester I: Financial
Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
use debt to raise $ 28 million,
but this is second choice. Financing gimmicks and chance to turn quick
profit on investment would appeal
to those likely to invest in this company.
Ranbaxy Industry
Needs $25 million. Manufactures
boat canvas covers and needs funds to expand operations. Needs longterm
money. Closely held ownership
reluctant surrender control. Cannot issue debt without permission of
bondholders and First National
Bank of Philadelphia. Relatively low debt-equity ratio. Relatively high
profits. Good prospects for
growth Strong management with minor weaknesses in sales and promotion
areas. As George was looking over
the folders, Meenda's secretary entered the office. George said, "Did
Meenda leave any other material
here on Monday except for these notes?” She responded, "No, that's it,
but I think those notes should be
useful. Meenda called early this morning and said that he verified the
facts in the folders. He also
said that he learned nothing new on the trip and he sort of indicated that, he
had wasted his week, except of
course, that he was invited to go skiing at the company lodge up there".
George pondered over the
situation. He could always wait until next week, when he could be sure that he
had the right recommendations and
some of the considerations that outlined each client's needs and
situation. If he could determine
which firm matched each recommendation, he could still call the firms by
6:00 P.M. and meet the original
deadline. George decided to return to his office and match each firm with
the appropriate financing.
Question:
1. Which type of financing is
appropriate to each firm?
2. What types of securities must
be issued by a firm which is on the growing stage in order to meet
the financial requirements?
Case let 2
This case has been framed in
order to test the skills in evaluating a credit request and reaching a correct
decision. Perluence International
is large manufacturer of petroleum and rubber-based products used in a
variety of commercial
applications in the fields of transportation, electronics, and heavy
manufacturing.
In the northwestern United
States, many of the Perluence products are marketed by a wholly-owned
subsidiary, Bajaj Electronics
Company. Operating from a headquarters and warehouse facility in San
Antonio, Strand Electronics has
950 employees and handles a volume of $85 million in sales annually.
About $6 million of the sales
represents items manufactured by Perluence. Gupta is the credit manager at
Bajaj electronics. He supervises
five employees who handle credit application and collections on 4,600
accounts. The accounts range in
size from $120 to $85,000. The firm sells on varied terms, with 2/10, net
30 mostly. Sales fluctuate
seasonally and the average collection period tends to run 40 days. Bad-debt
losses are less than 0.6 per cent
of sales. Gupta is evaluating a credit application from Booth Plastics, Inc.,
a wholesale supply dealer serving
the oil industry. The company was founded in 1977 by Neck A. Booth
and has grown steadily since that
time. Bajaj Electronics is not selling any products to Booth Plastics and
had no previous contact with Neck
Booth. Bajaj Electronics purchased goods from Perluence
International under the same
terms and conditions as Perluence used when it sold to independent
customers. Although Bajaj
Electronics generally followed Perluence in setting its prices, the subsidiary
operated independently and could
adjust price levels to meet its own marketing strategies. The Perluence's
cost-accounting department
estimated a 24 per cent markup as the average for items sold to Pucca
Electronics. Bajaj Electronics,
in turn, resold the items to yield a 17 per cent markup. It appeared that
these percentages would hold on
any sales to Booth Plastics. Bajaj Electronics incurred out-of pocket
expenses that were not considered
in calculating the 17 per cent markup on its items. For example, the
contact with Booth Plastics had
been made by James, the salesman who handled the Glaveston area.
Examination Paper Semester I: Financial
Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
James would receive a 3 per cent
commission on all sales made Booth Plastics, a commission that would
be paid whether or not the
receivable was collected. James would, of course, be willing to assist in
collecting any accounts that he
had sold. In addition to the sales commission, the company would incur
variable costs as a result of
handling the merchandise for the new account. As a general guideline,
warehousing and other
administrative variable costs would run 3 per cent sales. Gupta Holmstead
approached all credit decisions
in basically the same manner. First of all, he considered the potential
profit from the account. James
had estimated first-year sales to Booth Plastics of $65,000. Assuming that
Neck Booth took the, 3 per cent
discount. Bajaj Electronics would realize a 17 per cent markup on these
sales since the average markup
was calculated on the basis of the customer taking the discount. If Neck
Booth did not take the discount,
the markup would be slightly higher, as would the cost of financing the
receivable for the additional
period of time. In addition to the potential profit from the account, Gupta was
concerned about his company's
exposure. He knew that weak customers could become bad debts at any
time and therefore, required a
vigorous collection effort whenever their accounts were overdue. His
department probably spent three
times as much money and effort managing a marginal account as
compared to a strong account. He
also figured that overdue and uncollected funds had to be financed by
Bajaj Electronics at a rate of 18
per cent. All in all, slow -paying or marginal accounts were very costly to
Bajaj Electronics. With these
considerations in mind, Gupta began to review the credit application for
Booth Plastics.
Question:
1. How would you judge the
potential profit of Bajaj Electronics on the first year of sales to Booth
Plastics and give your views to
increase the profit.
2. Suggestion regarding Credit
limit. Should it be approved or not, what should be the amount of
credit limit that electronics
give to Booth Plastics.
Section C:
Applied Theory (30 marks)
· This section
consists of applied theory questions.
· Answer all the
questions.
· Each question
carries 15 marks each.
· Detailed
information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200-250 words).
1. Honey Well Company is
contemplating to liberalize its collection effort. Its present sales are Rs.
10 lakh, its average collection
period is 30 days, its expected variable cost to sales ratio is 85 per
cent and its bad debt ratio is 5
per cent. The Company’s cost of capital is 10 per cent and tax are
is 40 per cent. He proposed
liberalization in collection effort increase sales to Rs. 12 lakh
increases average collection
period by 15 days, and increases the bad debt ratio to 7 percent.
Determine the change in net
profit.
2. Explain the concept of working
capital. What are the factors which influence the working capital?
S-1-91110
END OF SECTION B
END OF SECTION C
Examination Paper Semester I:
Human Resource Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute
of Business Management
Semester-1
Examination Paper MM.100
Human Resource
Management
Section A:
Objective Type (30 marks)
· This section
consists of multiple choice & Short Notes type questions.
· Answer all the
questions.
· Part one carries
1 mark each & Part two carries 5 marks each.
Part One:
Multiple
choices:
1. It is a cultural attitude
marked by the tendency to regard one’s own culture as superior to others
a. Geocentrism
b. Polycentrism
c. Ethnocentrism
d. Egocentrism
2. It is the systemic study of
job requirements & those factors that influence the performance of
those job requirements
a. Job analysis
b. Job rotation
c. Job circulation
d. Job description
3. This Act provides an
assistance for minimum statutory wages for scheduled employment
a. Payment of Wages Act, 1936
b. Minimum Wages Act, 1948
c. Factories Act, 1948
d. Payment of Gratuity act, 1972
4. __________ is the actual
posting of an employee to a specific job
a. Induction
b. Placement
c. Attrition
d. None
5. Broadening an individual’s
knowledge, skills & abilities for future responsibilities is known as
a. Training
b. Development
c. Education
d. Mentoring
Examination Paper
Semester I: Human Resource Management
IIBM Institute of Business
Management
6. Change that is
designed and implemented in an orderly and timely fashion in anticipation of
future events
a. Planned change
b. Technology change
c. Structural change
d. None
7. It is a process
for setting goals and monitoring progress towards achieving those goals
a. Performance
appraisal
b. Performance gap
c. Performance factor
d. Performance
management system
8. A method which
requires the rates to provide a subjective performance evaluation along a scale
from low to high
a. Assessment centre
b. Checklist
c. Rating scale
d. Monitoring
9. It is the sum of
knowledge, skills, attitudes, commitment, values and the liking of the people
in an
organization
a. Human resources
b. Personal
management
c. Human resource
management
d. Productivity
10. A learning
exercise representing a real-life situation where trainees compete with each
other to
achieve specific
objectives
a. Executive
development
b. Management game
c. Programmed
learning
d. Understudy
Part
Two:
1. Explain the
importance of Career Planning in industry.
2. Write the features
of HRM.
3. Briefly
explain the concept of Performance Appraisal.
4. Explain
On-Job and Off Job Training.
END
OF SECTION A
Examination Paper
Semester I: Human Resource Management
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 150-200 words).
Case
let 1
Trust them with
knee-jerk reactions," said Vikram Koshy, CEO, Delta Software India, as he
looked at the
quarterly report of
Top Line Securities, a well-known equity research firm. The firm had announced
a
downgrade of Delta, a
company listed both on Indian bourses and the NASDAQ. The reason? "One out
of every six
development engineers in the company is likely to be benched during the
remaining part of
the year." Three
analysts from Top Line had spent some time at Delta three weeks ago. Koshy and
his
team had explained
how benching was no different from the problems of excess inventory, idle time,
and
surplus capacity that
firms in the manufacturing sector face on a regular basis, "Delta has
witnessed a
scorching pace of 30
per cent growth during the last five years in a row," Koshy had said,
"What is
happening is a
corrective phase." But, evidently, the analysts were unconvinced.
Why
Bench?
Clients suddenly
decide to cut back on IT spends Project mix gets skewed, affecting work
allocation
Employee productivity
is set to fall, creating slack working conditions. High degree of job
specialization
leads to redundancy
What
are the options?
Quickly cut costs in
areas which are non-core look for learning’s from the manufacturing sector
Focus on
alternative markets
like Europe and Japan Move into products, where margins are better. Of course,
the
Top Line report went
on to cite several other "signals," as it said: the rate of annual
hike in salaries at
Delta would come down
to 5 per cent (from between 20 and 30 per cent last year); the entry-level
intake
of engineers from
campuses in June 2001, would decline to 5 per cent (unlike the traditional 30
per cent
addition to manpower
every year); and earnings for the next two years could dip by between 10 and 12
per cent. And the
loftiest of them all: "The meltdown at Nasdaq is unlikely to reverse in
the near future."
"Some of the
signals are no doubt valid. And ominous," said Koshy, addressing his
A-Team, which had
assembled for the
routine morning meeting. "But, clearly, everyone is reading too much into
this business
of benching. In fact,
benching is one of the many options that our principals in the US have been
pursuing
as part of cutting
costs right since September, 2000. They are also expanding the share of
off-shore jobs.
Five of our
principals have confirmed that they would outsource more from Delta in
India-which is likely
to hike their
billings by about 30 per cent. At one level, this is an opportunity for us. At
another, of
course, I am not sure
if we should be jubilant, because they have asked for a 25-30 per cent cut in
billing
rates. Our margins
will take a hit, unless we cut costs and improve productivity."
"Productivity is clearly a
matter of priority
now," said Vivek Varadan, Vice-President (Operations). "If you
consider benching as a
non-earning mode, we do
have large patches of it at Delta. As you are aware, it has not been easy to
secure 70 per cent
utilization of our manpower, even in normal times. I think we need to look at
why we
have 30 per cent
bench before examining how to turn it into an asset." "There are
several reasons,"
remarked Achyut
Patwardhan, Vice-President (HR). "And a lot of it has to do with the
nature of our
business, which is
more project-driven than product-driven. When you are managing a number of
overseas and domestic
projects simultaneously, as we do at Delta, people tend to go on the bench.
They
wait, as they
complete one project, and are assigned the next. There are problems of
coordination between
projects, related to
the logistics of moving people and resources from one customer to another. In
fact, I
am fine-tuning our
monthly manpower utilization report to provide a breakup of bench costs into
Examination Paper Semester I:
Human Resource Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
specifics-leave period, training
programmes, travel time, buffers, acclimatization period et al." "It
would
be worthwhile following the
business model used by US principal Techno Inc," said Aveek Mohanty,
Director (Finance). "The
company has a pipeline of projects, but it does not manage project by project.
What it does is to slice each
project into what it calls 'activities'. For example, communication
networking; user interface
development; scheduling of processes are activities common to all projects.
People move from one project to
another. It is somewhat like the Activity Based Costing. It throws up the
bench time straightaway, which
helps us control costs and revenue better." "I also think we should
reduce
our dependence on projects and
move into products," said Praveen Kumar, Director (Marketing). "That
is
where the opportunity for brand
building lies. In fact, now is the time to get our technology guys involved
in marketing. Multiskilling helps
reduce the bench time." "Benching has an analogy in the manufacturing
sector," said Girish
Shahane, Vice-President (Services). "We could look for learning's there.
Many firms
have adopted Just-In-Time (JIT)
inventory as part of eliminating idle time. It would be worthwhile
exploring the possibility of JIT.
But the real learning lies in standardization of work. It is linked to what
Mohanty said about managing by
activities." "At a broader level, I see several other
opportunities," said
Koshy, "We can fill in the
space vacated by US firms and move up the value chain. But before we do so,
Delta should consolidate its
position as the premier outsourcing centre. Since there are only two ways in
which we can generate
revenue-sell expertise or sell products-we should move towards a mix of both.
Tie-ups with global majors will
help. Now is the time to look beyond the US and strike alliances with
firms in Europe- and also
Japan-as part of developing new products for global markets."
Questions
1. Should benching be a matter of
concern at Delta?
2. What are the risks involved in
moving from a project-centric mode to a mix of projects and
products?
Case let 2
The contexts in which human
resources are managed in today's organizations are constantly, changing.
No longer do firms utilize one
set of manufacturing processes, employ a homogeneous group of loyal
employees for long periods of
time or develop one set way of structuring how work is done and
supervisory responsibility is
assigned. Continuous changes in who organizations employ and what these
employees do require HR practices
and systems that are well conceived and effectively implemented to
ensure high performance and
continued success.
1. Automated technologies
nowadays require more technically trained employees possessing multifarious
skills to repair, adjust or
improve existing processes. The firms can't expect these employees (Gen X
employees, possessing superior
technical knowledge and skills, whose attitudes and perceptions toward
work are significantly different
from those of their predecessor organizations: like greater self control,
less interest in job security; no
expectations of long term employment; greater participation urge in work
activities, demanding
opportunities for personal growth and creativity) to stay on without attractive
compensation packages and novel
reward schemes.
2. Technology driven companies
are led by project teams, possessing diverse skills, experience and
expertise. Flexible and dynamic
organizational structures are needed to take care of the expectations of
managers, technicians and
analysts who combine their skills, expertise and experience to meet changing
customer needs and competitive
pressures.
3. Cost cutting efforts have led
to the decimation of unwanted layers in organizational hierarchy in recent
times. This, in turn, has brought
in the problem of managing plateau employees whose careers seem to
have been hit by the delivering
process. Organizations are, therefore, made to find alternative career paths
for such employees.
Examination Paper
Semester I: Human Resource Management
IIBM Institute of Business
Management
4. Both young and old
workers, these days, have values and attitudes that stress less loyalty to the
company and more
loyalty to oneself and one's career than those shown by employees in the past,
Organizations,
therefore, have to devise appropriate HR policies and strategies so as to
prevent the flight
of talented employees
Question
1. Discuss that
technological breakthrough has brought a radical changes in HRM.
Section
C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
· This
section consists of applied theory Questions.
· Answer
all the questions.
· Each
question carries 15 marks.
· Detailed
information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150-200 words).
1. Several types of
interviews are commonly used depending on the nature & importance of the
position to be
filled within an organization. Explain the different types of Interviews.
2. Explain the
legal provisions regarding safety of workers.
S-1-191110
END
OF SECTION B
END
OF SECTION C
Examination Paper Semester I: Managerial
Economics
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute
of Business Management
Semester-1
Examination Paper MM.100
Managerial
Economics
Section A:
Objective Type (30 marks)
· This section
consists of multiple choices & Short notes type questions.
· Answer all the
questions.
· Part one carries
1 mark each & Part two carries 5 marks each.
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
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
Examination Paper Semester I: Managerial
Economics
IIBM Institute of Business Management
6. Costs that are reasonably
expected to be incurred in some future period or periods
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
Discrimation’?
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper Semester I: Managerial
Economics
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
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 Semester I: Managerial
Economics
IIBM Institute of Business Management
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
Examination Paper Semester I: Managerial
Economics
IIBM Institute of Business Management
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 Semester I: Managerial
Economics
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. 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.
S-1-91110
END OF SECTION C
Examination Paper Semester I: Marketing
Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute
of Business Management
Semester-1
Examination Paper MM.100
Marketing
Management
Section A:
Objective Type (30 marks)
· This section
consists of Multiple Choices & Short Notes type Questions.
· Answer all the
Questions.
· Part one carries
1 mark each & Part Two carries 4 marks each.
Part one:
Multiple
choices:
1. It is a concept where goods
are produced without taking into consideration the choices or tastes of
customers
a. Marketing mix
b. Production concept
c. Marketing concept
d. Relationship marketing
2. It involves individuals who
buys products or services for personal use and not for manufacture or
resale
a. Environment analysis
b. Macro environment
c. Micro environment
d. Consumer
3. It is the groups of people who
interact formally or informally influencing each other’s attitudes&
behavior
a. Consumer behavior
b. Culture
c. Reference groups
d. Primary groups
4. The concept of the product
that passes through various changes in its total life known as
a. Product life cycle
b. Line stretching
c. Consumer adoption
d. Product
5. It refers to unique set of
brand associations that brand strategist aspires to create or maintain
a. Branding
b. Packaging
c. Brand identity
d. Brand image
Examination Paper Semester I: Marketing
Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
6. It involves a pricing strategy
that charges customers different prices for the same product or
service
a. Promotional pricing
b. Price discrimination
c. Non price competition
d. None
7. It refers to an arrangement
where another company through its own marketing channel sells the
products of one producers
a. End customer
b. Wholesaler
c. Retailing
d. Strategic channel alliance
8. It involves facility
consisting of the means & equipments necessary for the movement of
passengers of goods
a. Logistics
b. Warehousing
c. Transportation
d. None
9. The advertising which is used
to inform consumers about a new product or feature & to build
primary demands is known as
a. Advertising
b. Informative advertising
c. Persuasive advertising
d. Advertising strategy
10. An art that predicts the
likelihood of economic activity on the basis of certain assumptions
a. Compensation
b. Sales forecasting
c. Sales budgeting
d. Selling policy
Part Two:
1. Write a note on importance of
consumer behavior for a business firm?
2. Define the term ‘Price’.
3. Distinguish between Marketing
Concept and Selling Concept?
4. What are the new trends in
advertisement?
5. Briefly explain the following
:
a) Socio –culture environment
b) Marketing environment
interface.
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper Semester I: Marketing
Management
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
Ask the company top brass what ‘almost
there’ means. The answer: a premier Indian retail company that
has come to be known as a
specialty chain of apparel and accessories. With 52 product categories under
one roof, Shoppers’ Stop has a
line-up of 350 brands. Set up and headed by former Corona employee, B.
S. Nagesh, Shoppers’ Stop is
India’s answer to Selfridges and Printemps. As it proudly announces, ‘We
don’t sell, we help you buy.’
Back in 1991, there was the question of what to retail. Should it be a
supermarket or a departmental
store? Even an electronics store was considered. Finally, common sense
and understanding won out. The
safest bet, for the all-male team was to retail men’s wear. They knew the
male psyche and felt that they
had discerning taste in men’s clothing. The concept would be that of a
lifestyle store in a luxurious
space, which would make for a great shopping experience. The first
Shoppers’ Stop store took shape
in Andheri, Mumbai, in October 1991, with an investment of nearly Rs.
20 lakh. The original concept
that formed the basis of a successful marketing campaign for seven years is
here to stay. And the result is
an annual turnover of Rs. 160 crores and five stores, nine years later.
Everything went right from the
beginning, except for one strange happening. More than 60 per cent of the
customers who walked into
Shoppers’ Stop in Mumbai were women. This gave rise to ideas. Soon, the
store set up its women’s section.
Later, it expanded to include children’s wear and then, household
accessories. The second store in
Bangalore came in 1995. The store at Hyderabad followed in 1998 with
the largest area of 60,000 sq.
ft. The New Delhi and Jaipur stores were inaugurated in 1999. All this
while, the product range kept
increasing to suit customer needs. The most recent experiment was home
furnishings. Secure in the
knowledge that organised retailing in global brands was still in its infancy in
India, Shoppers’ Stop laid the
ground rules which the competition followed. The biggest advantage for
Shoppers’ Stop is that it knows
how the Indian consumer thinks and feels while shopping. Yes, feeling –
for in India, shopping remains an
outing. And how does it compare itself to foreign stores? While it is not
modeled on any one foreign
retailer, the ‘basic construct’ is taken from the experience of a number of
successfully managed retail
companies. It has leveraged expertise for a critical component like technology
from all over the world, going as
far as hiring expatriates from Littlewoods and using state-of-the-art ERP
models. Shoppers’ Stop went a
step further by even integrating its financial system with the ERP model.
Expertise was imported wherever
it felt that expertise available in-house was inadequate. But the store felt
there was one acute problem. A
shortage of the most important resource of them all was trained humans.
Since Indian business institutes
did not have professional courses in retail management, people were hired
from different walks of life and
the training programme was internalized. By 1994, the senior executives
at Shoppers’ Stop were taking
lectures at management institutes in Mumbai. The Narsee Monjee Institute
of Management Studies (NMIMS)
even restructured its course to include retail management as a subject.
Getting the company access to the
latest global retail trends and exchange of information with business
greats was an exclusive
membership to the Intercontinental Group of Department Stores (IGDS). It allows
membership by invitation to one
company from a country and Shoppers’ Stop rubs shoulders with 29 of
the hottest names in retailing –
Selfridges from the UK, C.K. Tang from Singapore, Lamcy Plaza from
Dubai and the like. With
logistics I in place, the accent moved to the customer. Shoppers’ Stop
conducted
surveys with ORG-MARG and Indian
Market Research Bureau (IMRB) and undertook in-house
wardrobe audits. The studies
confirmed what it already knew. The Indian customer is still evolving and is
very different from, say, a
European customer, who knows exactly what he wants to purchase, walks up
to a shelf, picks up the
merchandise, pays and walks out. In India, customers like to touch and feel the
Examination Paper Semester I: Marketing
Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
merchandise, and scout for
options. Also, the majority of Indian shoppers still prefer to pay in cash. So,
transactions must be in cash as
against plastic money used the world over. Additionally, the Indian
customer likes being served –
whether it is food, or otherwise. The company’s customer profile includes
people who want the same
salesperson each time they came to the store to walk them through the shop
floors and assist in the
purchase. Others came with families, kids and maids in tow and expected to be
suitably attended to. Still
others wanted someone to carry the bags. So, the shops have self-help counters,
with an assistant at hand for
queries or help. The in-house wardrobe audit also helped with another facet
of the business. It enabled
Shoppers’ Stop to work out which brands to stock, based on customer
preferences. In fact, the USP of
Shoppers’ Stop lies in judiciously selected global brands, displayed
alongside an in-house range of
affordable designer wear. The line-up includes Levi’s, Louis Philippe,
Allen Solly, Walt Disney, Ray Ban
and Reebok, besides in-house labels STOP and I. Brand selection is
the same across the five
locations, though the product mix may be somewhat city-based to accommodate
cuts and styles in women’s wear,
as well as allowing for seasonal variations (winter in Delhi, for instance,
is a case in point). Stocking of
brands is based on popular demand – recently, Provogue, MTV Style, and
Benetton have been added.
In-house labels are available at competitive prices and target the
value-formoney
customer and make up around 12
per cent of Shoppers’ Stop’s business. Sometimes in-house
brands plug the price gap in
certain product categories. To cash in on this, the company has big plans for
its in-house brands: from
re-branding to repositioning, to homing in on product categories where existing
brands are not strong.
Competition between brands is not an issue, because being a trading house, all
brands get equal emphasis. The
in-house brand shopper is one who places immense trust in the company
and the quality of its goods and
returns for repeat buys. And the company reposed its faith in regular
customers by including them in a
concept called the First Citizen’s Club (FCC). With 60,000 odd
members, FCC customers account
for 10 per cent of entries and for 34 per cent of the turnover. It was the
sheer appeal of the experience
that kept pulling these people back. Not one to let such an opportunity
pass, the company ran a
successful ad campaign (that talks about just this factor) in print for more
than
eight years. The theme is still
the same. In 1999, a TV spot, which liked the shopping experience to the
slowing down of one’s internal
clock and the beauty of the whole experience, was aired. More recently,
ads that spell out the store’s
benefits (in a highly oblique manner) are being aired.
The campaign is based on entries
entered in the Visitors’ Book. None of the ads has a visual or text – or
any heavy handedly direct
reference to the store or the merchandise. The ads only show shoppers having
the time of their lives in calm
and serene locales, or elements that make shopping at the store a pleasure –
quite the perfect getaway for a
cosmopolitan shopper aged between 25 and 45. The brief to the agency,
Contract, ensured that brand
recall came in terms of the shopping experience, not the product. And it has
worked wonders. Value-addition at
each store also comes in the form of special care with car parks,
power backup, customer paging,
alteration service and gift-wrapping. To top it all, cafes and coffee bars
make sure that the customer does
not step out of the store. In Hyderabad, it has even created a Food
Court. Although the food counter
was not planned, it came about as there was extra space of 67,000 sq. ft.
Carrying the perfect experience
to the shop floor is an attempt to stack goods in vast open spaces neatly.
Every store has a generic
structure, though regional customer variances are accounted for. Each store is
on lease, and this is clearly
Shoppers’ Stop’s most expensive resource proposition – renting huge spaces
in prime properties across
metros, so far totaling 210,000 sq. ft of retail space. Getting that space was
easy
enough for Shoppers’ Stop, since
its promoter is the Mumbai-based Raheja Group, which also owns 62
per cent of the share capital.
Questions
1. What are the significant
factors that have led to the success of Shoppers’ Stop?
2. Draw the typical profile(s) of
Shoppers’ Stop customer segments.
Examination Paper Semester I: Marketing
Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
3. How are Indian customers
visiting Shoppers’ Stop any different from customers of developed
western countries?
4. How should Shoppers’ Stop
develop its demand forecasts?
Case let 2
The rise of personal computers in
the mid 1980s spurred interest in computer games. This caused a crash
in home Video game market.
Interest in Video games was rekindled when a number of different
companies developed hardware
consoles that provided graphics superior to the capabilities of computer
games. By 1990, the Nintendo
Entertainment System dominated the product category. Sega surpassed
Nintendo when it introduced its
Genesis System. By 1993, Sega commanded almost 60 per cent of Video
game market and was one of the
most recognized brand names among the children. Sega’s success was
short lived. In 1995, Saturn (a
division of General Motors) launched a new 32-bit system. The product
was a miserable failure for a
number of reasons. Sega was the primary software developer for Saturn and
it did not support efforts by
outside game developers to design compatible games. In addition, Sega’s
games were often delivered quite
late to retailers. Finally, the price of the Saturn system was greater than
other comparable game consoles.
This situation of Saturn’s misstep benefited Nintendo and Sony greatly.
Sony’s Play Station was unveiled
in 1994 and was available in 70 million homes worldwide by the end of
1999. Its “Open design”
encouraged the efforts of outside developers, resulting in almost 3,000
different
games that were compatible with
the PlayStation. It too featured 32-bit graphics that appealed to older
audience. As a result, at one
time, more than 30 per cent of PlayStation owners were over 30 years old.
Nintendo 64 was introduced in
1996 and had eye-popping 64-bit graphics and entered in more than 28
million homes by 1999. Its
primary users were between the age of 6 and 13 as a result of Nintendo’s
efforts to limit the amount of
violent and adult-oriented material featured on games that can be played on
its systems. Because the company
exercised considerable control over software development, Nintendo
64 had only one-tenth the number
of compatible games as Sony’s PlayStation did. By 1999, Sony had
captured 56 per cent of the video
game market, followed by Nintendo with 42 per cent. Sega’s share had
fallen to a low of 1%. Hence,
Sega had two options, either to concede defeat or introduce an innovative
video machine that would bring in
huge sales. And Sega had to do so before either Nintendo or Sony
could bring their next-generation
console to market. The Sega Dreamcast arrived in stores in September
1999 with an initial price tag of
$199. Anxious gamers placed 300,000 advance orders, and initial sales
were quite encouraging. A total
of 1.5 million Dreamcast machines were bought within the first four
months, and initial reviews were
positive. The 128-bit system was capable of generating 3-D visuals, and
40 different games were available
within three months of Dream cast’s introduction. By the end of the
year, Sega had captured a market
share to 15 per cent. But the Dreamcast could not sustain its
momentum. Although its game
capabilities were impressive, the system did not deliver all the
functionality Sega had promised.
A 56K modem (which used a home phone line) and a Web browser
were meant to allow access to the
Internet so that gamers could play each other online, surf the Web, and
visit the Dreamcast Network for
product information and playing tips. Unfortunately, these features either
were not immediately available or
were disappointing in their execution. Sega was not the only one in
having the strategy of adding
functionality beyond games. Sony and Nintendo followed the same
approach for their machines
introduced in 1999. Both Nintendo’s Neptune and Sony’s PlayStation 2
(PS2) were built on a DVD
platform and featured a 128-bit processor. Analysts applauded the move to
DVD because it is less expensive
to produce and allows more storage than CDs. It also gives buyers the
ability to use the machine as CD
music player and DVD movie player. As Sony marketing director
commented, “The full
entertainment offering from Play Station 2 definitely appeals to a much broader
audience. I have friends in their
30s who bought it not only because it’s a gaming system for their kids,
but also a DVD for them.” In
addition, PlayStation 2 is able to play games developed for its earlier model
that was CD-based. This gives the
PS2 an enormous advantage in the number of compatible game titles
Examination Paper Semester I: Marketing
Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
that were immediately available
to gamers. Further enhancing the PS2’s appeal is its high-speed modem
and allows the user’s easy access
to the Internet through digital cable as well as over telephone lines. This
gives Sony the ability to distribute
movies, music, and games directly to PS2 consoles. “We are
positioning this as an all-round
entertainment player,” commented Ken Kutaragi, the head of Sony
Computer Entertainment. However,
some prospective customers were put off by the console’s initial
price of $360. Shortly after the
introduction of Neptune, Nintendo changed its strategies and announced
the impending release of its
newest game console, The GameCube. However, unlike the Neptune, the
GameCube would not run on a DVD
platform and also would not initially offer any online capabilities. It
would be more attractively priced
at $199. A marketing vice president for Nintendo explained the
company’s change in direction, “We
are the only competitor whose business is video games. We want to
create the best gaming system.”
Nintendo also made the GameCube friendly for outside developers and
started adding games that
included sports titles to attract an older audience. Best known for its extra
ordinary successes with games
aimed at the younger set, such as Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros, and
Pokemon, Nintendo sought to
attract older users, especially because the average video game player is 28.
Youthful Nintendo users were
particularly pleased to hear that they could use their handheld Game Boy
Advance systems as controllers
for the GameCube. Nintendo scrambled to ensure there would be an
adequate supply of Game Cubes on
the date in November 2001, when they were scheduled to be available
to customers. It also budgeted
$450 million to market its new product, as it anticipated stiff competition
during the holiday shopping
season. With more than 20 million PlayStation 2 sold worldwide, the
GameCube as a new entry in the
video game market would make the battle for market share even more
intense. For almost a decade, the
video game industry had only Sega, Nintendo, and Sony; just three
players. Because of strong brand
loyalty and high product development costs, newcomers faced a
daunting task in entering this
race and being competitive. In November 2001, Microsoft began selling its
new Xbox, just three days before
the GameCube made its debut. Some observers felt the Xbox was aimed
to rival PlayStation 2, which has
similar functions that rival Microsoft’s Web TV system and even some
lower level PCs. Like the Sony’s
PlayStation 2, Xbox was also built using a DVD platform, but it used an
Intel processor in its
construction. This open design allowed Microsoft to develop the Xbox in just
two
years, and gave developers the
option of using standard PC tool for creating compatible games. In
addition, Microsoft also sought
the advice of successful game developers and even incorporated some of
their feedback into the design of
the console and its controllers. As a result of developers’ efforts,
Microsoft had about 20 games
ready when the Xbox became available. By contrast, the GameCube had
only eight games available.
Microsoft online strategy was another feature that differentiated of the Xbox
from the GameCube. Whereas
Nintendo had no immediate plans for Web-based play, the Xbox came
equipped with an Ethernet port
for broadband access to Internet. Microsoft also announced its own Webbased
network on which gamers can come
together for online head-to head play and for organised online
matches and tournaments.
Subscribers to this service were to pay a small monthly fee and must have
high-speed access to the
Internet. This is a potential drawback considering that a very low percentage
of
households world over currently
have broadband connections. By contrast Sony promoted an open
network, which allows software
developers to manage their own games, including associated fees charged
to users. However, interested
players must purchase a network adapter for an additional $39.99. Although
game companies are not keen on
the prospect of submitting to the control of a Microsoft-controlled
network, it would require a
significant investment for them to manage their own service on the Sonybased
network. Initially the price of
Microsoft’s Xbox was $299. Prior to the introduction of Xbox, in a
competitive move Sony dropped the
price of the PlayStation 2 to $299. Nintendo’s GameCube already
enjoyed a significant price
advantage, as it was selling for $100 less than either Microsoft or Sony
products. Gamers eagerly snapped
up the new consoles and made 2001 the best year ever for video game
sales. For the first time,
consumers spent $9.4 billion on video game equipment, which was more than
they did at the box office. By
the end of 2001 holiday season, 6.6 million PlayStation 2 consoles had been
sold in North America alone,
followed by 1.5 million Xbox units and 1.2 million Game Cubes. What
ensued was an all out price war.
This started when Sony decided to put even more pressure on the
Microsoft’s Xbox by cutting the
PlayStation 2 price to $199. Microsoft quickly matched that price.
Examination Paper Semester I: Marketing
Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Wanting to maintain its low-price
status, Nintendo in turn responded by reducing the price of its the
GameCube by $50, to $149. By mid
2002, Microsoft Xbox had sold between 3.5 and 4 million units
worldwide. However, Nintendo had
surpassed Xbox sales by selling 4.5 million Game Cubes. Sony had
the benefit of healthy head
start, and had shipped 32 million PlayStation 2s. However, seven years after
the introduction of original
PlayStation, it was being sold in retail outlets for
a mere $49. It had a significant
lead in terms of numbers of units in homes around the world with a 43 per
cent share. Nintendo 64 was
second with 30 per cent, followed by Sony PlayStation 2 with 14 per cent.
The Xbox and GameCube each
claimed about 3 per cent of the market, with Sega Dreamcast comprising
the last and least market share
of 4.7 per cent. Sega, once an industry leader, announced in 2001 that it
had decided to stop producing the
Dreamcast and other video game hardware components. The company
said it would develop games for
its competitors’ consoles. Thus Sega slashed the price of the Dreamcast
to just $99 in an effort to liquidate
its piled up inventory of more than 2 million units and immediately
began developing 11 new games for
the Xbox, four for PlayStation 2, and three for Nintendo’s Game Boy
Advance. As the prices of video
game consoles have dropped, consoles and games have become the
equivalent of razors and blades.
This means the consoles generate little if any profit, but the games are a
highly profitable proposition.
The profit margins on games are highly attractive, affected to some degree
by whether the content is
developed by the console maker (such as Sony) or by an independent game
publisher (such as Electronic
Arts). Thus, the competition to develop appealing, or perhaps even
addictive, games may be even more
intense than the battle among players to produce the best console. In
particular, Nintendo, Sony, and
Microsoft want games that are exclusive to their own systems. With that
in mind, they not only rely on
large in-house staffs that design games but they also pay added fees to
independent publishers for exclusive
rights to new games. The sales of video games in 2001 rose to 43
per cent, compared to just 4 per
cent increase for computer-based games. But computer game players are
believed to be a loyal bunch, as
they see many advantages in playing games on their computers rather
than consoles. For one thing,
they have a big advantage of having access to a mouse and a keyboard that
allow them to play far more
sophisticated games. In addition, they have been utilizing the Internet for
years to receive game updates and
modifications and to play each other over the Web. Sony and
Microsoft are intent on capturing
a portion of the online gaming opportunity. Even Nintendo has decided
to make available a modem that
will allow GameCube users to play online. As prices continue to fall and
technology becomes increasingly
more sophisticated, it remains to be seen whether these three companies
can keep their names on the
industry’s list of “high scorers”.
Questions
1. Considering the concept of product
life cycle, where would you put video games in their life
cycle?
2. Should video game companies
continue to alter their products to include other functions, such as
e-mail?
END OF SECTION B
Examination Paper Semester I: Marketing
Management
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 200-250 words).
1. 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?
2. Write notes on the fowling :
a) Explain right to safety.
b) What is right to consumer
protection?
S-1-91110
END OF SECTION C
Examination Paper Semester I:
Organizational Behaviour
IIBM Institute of Business
Management
IIBM Institute
of Business Management
Semester-1
Examination Paper MM.100
Organizational
Behaviour
Section A:
Objective Type (30 marks)
· This section
consists of Multiple Choice & Short Notes type Questions.
· Answer all the
questions.
· Part One carries
1 mark each & Part two carries 5 marks each.
Part one:
Multiple
choices:
1. It is the degree to which a
person identifies with a particular organization and its goals, & wishes
to maintain membership in the
organization
a. Job involvement
b. Terminal value
c. Attitude
d. Value
2. _________ means moving
information from the hidden area to the open area
a. blind area
b. unknown area
c. public area
d. self disclosure
3. An approach in which the goals
of one party are in direct conflict with the goals of the other party
a. Negotiation
b. Distributive bargaining
c. Stress
d. None
4. The measure of a person’s
ability to operate within business organizations through social
communication & interactions
a. Transactional analysis
b. Interpersonal skill
c. Life position
d. Johari window
5. Where the source of power is
in person’s control over rewarding outcomes, that power is called
a. Coercive power
b. Referent power
c. Legitimate power
d. Reward power
Examination Paper Semester I:
Organizational Behaviour
IIBM Institute of Business
Management
6. It means melting resistance to
change; the people who will be affected by the change come to
accept the need for it
a. Organization
b. Unfreezing
c. Changing
d. Refreezing
7. This training is also known as
laboratory training, encounter groups & T-groups
a. Sensitivity
b. Survey
c. Process
d. Team building
8. They are the things that come
together to define a culture & reveal that the culture is about to
those who pay attention to them
a. Culture
b. Espoused value
c. Artifacts
d. Organizational culture
9. This stage encompasses all the
learning that occurs before a new member joins the organizations
a. Socialization
b. The Pre-arrival stage
c. Encounter stage
d. Metamorphosis stage
10. It refers to the behavior
pattern adopted by a leader to influence the behavior of his subordinate
for attaining the organizational
goal
a. Leadership
b. Traits of leadership
c. Leadership grid
d. Leadership style
Part Two:
1. Define Informal groups.
2. What do you understand by the
term ‘Emotion’?
3. Write a note on ‘Reinforcement
theory’.
4. Explain the terms ‘Attitudes
and Values’.
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper Semester I:
Organizational Behaviour
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
M/s. ABC Ltd is a medium-sized
engineering company producing a large-range of product lines
according to customer
requirements. It has earned a good reputation as a quick and reliable supplier
to its
customers because of which its
volume of business kept on increasing. However, over the past one year,
the Managing Director of the
company has been receiving customer complaints due to delays in dispatch
of products and at times the
company has to pay substantial penalty for not meeting the schedule in time.
The Managing Director convened an
urgent meeting of various functional managers to discuss the issue.
The marketing manager questioned
the arbitrary manner of giving priority to products in manufacturing
line, causing delays in wanted
products and over-stocking of products which are not required
immediately. Production Control
Manager complained that he does not have adequate staff to plan and
control the production function;
and whatever little planning he does, is generally overlooked by shop
floor manager. Shop floor
managers complained of unrealistic planning, excessive machine breakdowns,
power failure, and shortage of
materials for scheduled products because of which it is impossible to stick
to the schedule. Maintenance
manager says that he does not get important spares required for
equipmentmaintenance
because of which he cannot repair
machines at a faster rate. Inventory control manager says
that on one hand the company
often accuses him of carrying too much stock and on other hand people are
grumbling over shortages. Fed up
by mutual mud-slinging, the Managing Director decided to appoint
you, a bright management
consultant with training in business management to suggest ways and means to
put his “house in order”.
Questions
1. How would you examine if there
is any merit in the remarks of various functional managers?
2. What, in your opinion, could
be the reasons for different Managerial thinking in this case?
3. How would you design a system
of getting correct information about job status to identify delays
quickly?
4. What would you suggest to
promote co-ordinate interaction of various people to meet the
scheduled dates?
Examination Paper Semester I:
Organizational Behaviour
IIBM Institute of Business
Management
Case let 2
Rajender Kumar was a production
worker at competent Motors Limited (CML) which made components
and accessories for the
automotive industry. He had worked at CML for almost seven years as a welder,
along with fifteen other men in
the plant. All had received training in welding both on the job and through
company sponsored external
programmes. They had friendly relations and got along very well with one
another. They played Volleyball
in the playground regularly before retiring to the quarters allotted by the
company. They work together in
the company canteen, cutting Jokes on each other and making fun of
everyone who dared to step into
their privacy during lunch hour. Most of the fellows had been there for
some length of time, except for
two men who had joined the ranks only two months back. Rajender was
generally considered to be the
leader of the group, so it was no surprise that when the foreman of the new
was transferred and his job was
posted, Rajender applied for the job and got it.
There were only four other
applicants for the job, two from mechanical section and two from outside,
when there was a formal
announcement of the appointment on a Friday afternoon, everyone in the group
congratulated Rajender. They
literally carried him on their shoulders, and bought him snacks and
celebrated. On Monday morning,
Rajender joined duty as Foreman. It was company practice for all
foremen to wear blue jacket and a
white shirt. Each man’s coat had his name badge sewn onto the left
side pocket. The company had
given two pairs to Rajender. He was proud to wear the coat to work on
Monday. People who saw him from a
distance went up to him and admired the new blue coat. There was
a lot of kidding around calling
Rajender as ‘Hero’, ‘Raja Babu’ and ‘Officer’ etc. One of the guys went
back to his locker and returned
with a long brush and acted as though he were removing dust particles on
the new coat. After about five
minutes of horseplay, all the men went back to work. Rajender went to his
office to familiarize himself
with the new job and environment. At noon, all the men broke for Lunch and
went to the canteen to eat and take
a break as usual. Rajender was busy when they left but followed after
them a few minutes later. He
bought the food coupon, took the snacks and tea and turned to face the open
canteen. On the left-side corner
of the room was his old work group; on the right-hand side of the canteen
sat the other entire foreman in
the plant—all in their smart blue coats.
At that point of time, silence
descended on the canteen. Both groups looked at Rajender anxiously,
waiting to see which group he
would choose to eat with.
Questions
1. Whom do you think Rajender
will eat with? Why?
2. If you were one of the other
foremen, what could you do to make Rajinder’s transition easier?
END OF SECTION B
Examination Paper Semester I:
Organizational Behaviour
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. 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. The leader is expected to play
many roles & therefore he must be qualified to guide others to
organizational achievement. On
the basis of this explain the leadership skills & leadership traits.
S-1-91110
END OF SECTION C
Examination Paper Semester I:
Principles and Practice of Management
IIBM Institute of Business
Management
IIBM Institute
of Business Management
Semester-1
Examination Paper MM.100
Principles and
Practice of Management
Section A:
Objective Type (30 marks)
· This section consists
of Multiple Choices & Short Notes type Questions.
· Answer all the
Questions.
· Part one carries
1 mark each & Part two carries 5 marks each.
Part one:
Multiple
Choices:
1. A plan is a trap laid to
capture the ________.
a. Future
b. Past
c. Policy
d. Procedure
2. It is the function of
employing suitable person for the enterprise
a. Organizing
b. Staffing
c. Directing
d. Controlling
3. ___________ means “ group of
activities & employees into departments”
a. Orientation
b. Standardization
c. Process
d. Departmentation
4. This theory states that
authority is the power that is accepted by others
a. Acceptance theory
b. Competence theory
c. Formal authority theory
d. Informal authority theory
5. It means dispersal of
decision-making power to the lower levels of the organization
a. Decentralization
b. Centralization
c. Dispersion
d. Delegation
Examination Paper Semester I:
Principles and Practice of Management
IIBM Institute of Business
Management
6. This chart is the basic
document of the organizational structure
a. Functional chart
b. Posts chart
c. Master chart
d. Departmental chart
7. Communication which flow from
the superiors to subordinates with the help of scalar
chain is known as
a. Informal communication
b. Downward communication
c. Upward communication
d. Oral communication
8. Needs for belongingness,
friendship, love, affection, attention & social acceptance are
a. Physiological needs
b. Safety needs
c. Ego needs
d. Social needs
9. A management function which
ensures “jobs to be filled with the right people, with the
right knowledge, skill &
attitude”
a. Staffing defined
b. Job analysis
c. Manpower planning
d. Recruitment
10. It is a process that enables
a person to sort out issues and reach to a decisions affecting
their life
a. Selection
b. Raining
c. Reward
d. Counseling
Part Two:
1. Differentiate between ‘Administration’
and ‘Management’.
2. What were the common drawbacks
in classical and Neo classical theories of management?
3. Write a short note on “Line
Organization.”
4. Write a short note on ‘Acceptance
theory’.
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper Semester I:
Principles and Practice of Management
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 150-200 words).
Case let 1
Mr. Vincent, the Manager of a
large supermarket, was taking a management course in the
evening programme at the local
college. The Professor had given an interesting but disturbing
lecture the previous night on the
various approaches to management. Vincent had always thought
that management involved just
planning, organizing and controlling. Now this Professor was
saying that management could also
be thought of as quantitative models, systems theory and
analysis, and even something
called contingency relationships. Vincent had always considered
himself a good manager, and his
record with the supermarket chain had proved it. He thought of
himself, “I have never used
operations research models, thought of my store as an open system,
or developed or utilized any
contingency relationship. By doing a little planning ahead,
organizing the store, and making
some things got done, I have been a successful manager. That
other stuff just does not make
sense. All the professor was trying to do was complicate things. I
guess I will have to know it for
the test, but I am sticking with my old plan, organize and control
approach to managing my store.”
Questions
1. Critically analyze Mr. Vincent’s
reasoning.
2. If you were the professor and
you knew what was going through Vincent’s mind, what would you
say to Vincent?
Case let 2
The Regional Administration
Office of a company was hastily set up. Victor D’Cuhna a young executive
was directly recruited to take
charge of Data Processing Cell of this office. The data processing was to
help the administrative office in
planning and monitoring. The officer cadre of the administrative office
was a mix of directly recruited
officers and promotee officers (promotion from within the organization).
Females dominated the junior
clerical cadre. This cadre was not formally trained. The administrative
office had decided to give these
fresh recruits on-the-job training because when results were not upto the
expectations blame was brought on
the Data Processing Cell. Victor D’Cuhna realized that the
administrative office was heading
for trouble. He knew that his task would not be easy and that he had
been selected because of his
experience, background and abilities. He also realized that certain functional
aspects of the administrative
office were not clearly understood by various functionaries, and systems and
procedures were blindly and
randomly followed. Feedback was random, scanty and controversial, and
Data Processing Cell had to
verify every item of feedback. Delays were inevitable. D’Cuhna sought the
permission of senior management
to conduct a seminar on communication and feedback of which he was
an expert. The permission was
grudgingly given by the senior management. Everyone appreciated the
seminar. Following the first
seminar, D’Cuhna conducted a one week training course for the clerical
Examination Paper Semester I:
Principles and Practice of Management
IIBM Institute of Business
Management
cadre, especially for the junior,
freshly recruited clerks. Amongst other topics, D’Cuhna laid emphasis on
filing system, information
tracking, communication, and feedback. This helped reorient attitudes to some
extent. But the female clerks
preferred to ignore the theme and widely circulated the belief that D’Cuhna
was an upstart and a show off.
Within a short time, considerable friction had been generated in the
administrative office While
directly recruited officers supported D’Cuhna’s initiative and the specialist
officers admired him, senior
management became cautious and uncomfortable. The junior promotee
officers were prejudiced against
him. The grand finale followed swiftly. D’Cuhna happened to get
annoyed with a female clerk.
During the absence of her officer, who was on sick leave and had not been
substituted by another officer,
she began submitting nil returns. D’Cuhna took pains to explain to her that
for certain topics a nil feedback
was not tenable. The current status had to be reported— the stage at
which the matter was pending,
what had been done, and what would be done about it? The lady reported
that it was none of his business
to tell her this. He should talk to her officer when the officer reports back
from leave. D’Cuhna said he
would, but in the meanwhile she should present the correct picture. When
D’Cuhna called for the files, she
refused to part with them. D’Cuhna fired her and reported the situation
to the Chief Regional Manager.
The other ladies were up in the arms against D’Cuhna. The lady also
complained to higher management
that D’Cuhna had made passes at her. Other ladies supported her
complaint. She also complained
that D’Cuhna had no business to scold her. D’Cuhna countered that had
there been a male clerk in her
place he would have scolded him too. When females enjoyed equal rights
with males, D’Cuhna felt he must
remain impartial. Nevertheless, D’Cuhna was transferred to another
place. The transfer to another
place, rather than to another department in same place, was particularly
humiliating to him. A shocked and
disillusioned D’Cuhna quit the enterprise.
Questions
1. Diagnose the problem and
enumerate the reasons for the failure of D’Cuhna?
2. What could D’Cuhna have done
to avoid the situation in which he found himself?
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 200-250 words).
1. What is Training? Explain the
different methods of training?
2. Explain Decision-Making
process of an organization?
S-1-91110
END OF SECTION B
END
OF SECTION C
Examination
Paper – Project Management
1
IIBM
Institute of Business Management
IIBM
Institute of Business Management
Examination
Paper MM.100
Project
Management
Guidelines for paper
Total No. of Questions is 100.
The minimum passing marks is 50%.
Each Question carries 1 mark.
Answer all the Questions.
Multiple
Choices: Total Marks: 100
1. A ________________ is a
temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or
result.
a) Program
b) Process
c) Project
d) Portfolio
2. Which of the following is
not a potential advantage of using good project management?
a) Shorter development times
b) Higher worker morale
c) Lower cost of capital
d) Higher profit margins
3. Which of the following is
not an attribute of a project?
a) Projects are unique
b) Projects are developed
using progressive elaboration
c) Projects have a primary
customer or sponsor
d) Projects involve little
uncertainty
4. Which of the following is
not part of the triple constraint of project management?
a) Meeting scope goals
b) Meeting time goals
c) Meeting communications
goals
d) Meeting cost goals
5. The first stage of any
project is
a) Proposal
b) Conceptualization
c) Implementation
d) Management
Examination
Paper – Project Management
2
IIBM
Institute of Business Management
6. __________________ is the
application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project
activities to meet project
requirements.
a) Project management
b) Program management
c) Project portfolio
management
d) Requirements management
7. Project portfolio
management addresses ____________________ goals of an organization, while
project management addresses
_________________ goals.
a) Strategic, tactical
b) Tactical, strategic
c) Internal, external
d) External, internal
8. Several application
development projects done for the same functional group might best be
managed as part of a
a) Portfolio
b) Program
c) Investment
d) Collaborative
9. Which of the following is
not one of the top ten skills or competencies of an effective project
manager?
a) People skills
b) Leadership
c) Integrity
d) Technical skills
10. What is the certification
program called that the Project Management Institute provides?
a) Microsoft Certified
Project Manager (MCPM)
b) Project Manager
Professional (PMP)
c) Project Management Expert
(PME)
d) Project Management Mentor
(PMM)
11. A _________________ is a
series of actions directed towards a particular result.
a) Goal
b) Process
c) Plan
d) Project
Examination
Paper – Project Management
3
IIBM
Institute of Business Management
12. ____________________
Processes include coordinating people and other resource to carry out
the project plans and produce
the products, service, or results of the project or phase.
a) Initiating
b) Planning
c) Executing
d) Monitoring &
controlling
13. Which process group
normally requires the most resources and time?
a) Initiating
b) Planning
c) Executing
d) Monitoring and controlling
14. A work breakdown structure,
project schedule, and cost estimates are outputs of the process.
a) Initiating
b) Planning
c) Executing
d) Monitoring and controlling
15. Which process group
includes activities from each of the nine knowledge areas?
a) Initiating
b) Planning
c) Executing
d) Monitoring and controlling
16. Project management as a
profession is almost unique in having institutions concerned with its
development who promote what
they term their
a) Body of language
b) Body of knowledge
c) Strategy
d) Work
17. Initiating involves
developing a project charter and preliminary project scope statement, which
are part of the project
_____________________ management knowledge.
a) Integration
b) Scope
c) Communications
d) Risk
18. A ________________
describes how things should be done, and different organizations often
have different ways of doing
things.
a) Regulation
b) Process
c) Standard
d) Methodology
Examination
Paper – Project Management
4
IIBM
Institute of Business Management
19. ___________________
involves measuring progress toward project objectives and talking
corrective actions.
a) Initiating
b) Planning
c) Executing
d) Monitoring and controlling
20. What type of report do
project teams create to reflect on what went right with the project?
a) Lessons – learned report
b) Status report
c) Final project report
d) Business case
21. Project manager is
responsible for
a) Overseeing change
b) Cross functional
activities
c) Ever changing set of tasks
d) All above
22. Many people use ________________
to have a standard format for preparing various project
management documents.
a) Methodologies
b) Templates
c) Project management
software
d) Standards
23. What is the last step in
the four – stage planning process for selecting information technology
projects?
a) Information technology
strategy planning
b) Business area analysis
c) Project planning
d) Resource allocation
24. A new government law
requires an organization to report data in anew way. Under which
category would a new
information system project to provide this data fall?
a) Problem
b) Opportunity
c) Directive
d) Regulation
25. A __________________ is a
document that formally recognizes the existence of a project and
provides direction on the
project’s objectives and management.
a) Project charter
b) Preliminary scope
statement
c) Business case
d) Project management plan
Examination
Paper – Project Management
5
IIBM
Institute of Business Management
26. ICOM model, which is one
of the major roles of project manager, stand for
a) Integrated Constraint of
Mechanism
b) Inputs, Outputs,
Constraints & Mechanism
c) Inputs, Outputs,
Constraints & Money
d) None
27. A _______________ often
includes sensitive information, so it should not be part of the overall
project plan for anyone to
see.
a) Business case
b) Project charter
c) Personnel chart
d) Stakeholder analysis
28. Which of the following is
not a suggestion for performing integrated change control?
a) Use good configuration
management
b) Minimize change
c) Establish a formal change
control system
d) View project management as
a process of constant communication and negotiation
29. _______________ refer(s)
to all the work involved in creating the products of the projects and
processes used to create
them.
a) Deliverables
b) Milestones
c) Scope
d) Product development
30. Assume you have a project
with major categories called planning, analysis, design, and testing.
What level of the WBS would
these items fall under?
a) 0
b) 1
c) 2
d) 3
31. Which of the following is
not a best practice that can help in avoiding scope problems on
information technology
projects?
a) Keep the scope realistic
b) Use off-the-shelf hardware
and software whenever possible
c) Follow good project
management processes
d) Don’t involve too many
users in scope management
32. Having ascertains the
portfolio of projects obtained objectives for each of them, we have to move
to the next stage of the
strategy process to balance the objectives
a) Policy deployment
b) Strategy matrix
c) Project performance
measurement
d) None
Examination
Paper – Project Management
6
IIBM
Institute of Business Management
33. What major restaurant
chain terminated a large project after spending $170 million on it,
primarily because they
realized the project scope was too much to handle?
a) Burger King
b) Pizza Hut
c) McDonalds
d) Taco Bell
34. Scope
____________________ is often achieved by a customer inspection and then sign –
off on
key deliverables.
a) Verification
b) Validation
c) Completion
d) Close – out
35. Project management
software helps you develop a _________________, which serves as a basis
for creating Gantt charts,
assigning resources, and allocating costs.
a) Project plan
b) Schedule
c) WBS
d) Deliverable
36. WBS (Work Breakdown
Structure) is also known as
a) Chunking
b) Unbundling
c) Both (a) & (b)
d) None
37. What is the first process
in planning a project schedule?
a) Milestone definition
b) Activity definition
c) Activity resource
estimation
d) Activity sequencing
38. Predecessors, successes,
logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints,
imposed dates, and
assumptions are all examples of ___________________.
a) Items in an activity list
b) Items on a Gantt chart
c) Milestone attributes
d) Activity attributes
Examination
Paper – Project Management
7
IIBM
Institute of Business Management
39. As the project manager
for a software development project, you are helping to develop its
schedule. You decide that
writing code for a system cannot start until sign off on the analysis
work. What type of dependency
is this?
a) Technical
b) Mandatory
c) Discretionary
d) External
40. You cannot start editing
a technical report until someone else completes the first draft. What type
of dependency does this
represent?
a) Finish – to – start
b) Start – to – start
c) Finish – to – finish
d) Start – to – finish
41. …………………. Involves going
through the cycle several times to test the effects of the changes
make on the outcomes.
a) Planning
b) Strategy
c) Iterative
d) None
42.
Above figure shows two
activities A & B; B cannot start until A finished and the times for A &
B are 5 and 7 days
respectively. This logic is known as
a) Dependency
b) Precedence
c) Freedom
d) None
43.
In the above figure calculate
the EET (earliest event time) at 20.
a) 10
b) 20
c) 5
d) 25
10
0
20
0
A
5Days
1 2
3
A B
5Days 7Days
Examination
Paper – Project Management
8
IIBM
Institute of Business Management
44. What symbol on a Gantt
chart represents a slipped milestone?
a) A black arrow
b) A white arrow
c) A black diamond
d) A white diamond
45. What type of diagram
shows planned and actual project schedule information?
a) A network
b) A Gantt chart
c) A Tracking
d) A milestone chart
46. ____________________ is a
network diagramming technique used to predict total project
duration.
a) PERT
b) A Gantt chart
c) Critical path method
d) Crashing
47. Which of the following
statement is false?
a) “Growing grass” was on the
critical path for a large theme park project.
b) The critical path is the
series of activities that determine the earliest time by which a
project can be completed.
c) A forward pass through a
project network diagram determines the early start and
early finish dates for each
activity.
d) Fast tracking is a technique
for marking cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the
obtain the greatest amount of
schedule comparison for the least incremental cost.
48. _____________________ is
a method of scheduling that considers limited resources when
creating a project schedule
and includes buffers to protect the project completion date.
a) Parkinson’s Law
b) Murphy’s Law
c) Critical path analysis
d) Critical chain scheduling
49. _______________ is a
resource scarified or foregone to achieve a specific objective or something
given up in exchange.
a) Money
b) Liability
c) Trade
d) Cost
Examination
Paper – Project Management
9
IIBM
Institute of Business Management
50. What is main goal of
project cost management?
a) To complete a project for
as little cost as possible
b) To complete a project
within an approved budget
c) To provide truthful and
accurate cost information on projects
d) To ensure that an
organization’s money is used widely
51. A fundamental of ‘Theory
of Constraints’ (TOC) is to manage systems by focusing on the
constraints, termed as
a) Watermark
b) Bottleneck
c) Tick-sheet
d) None
52. “An activity will expand
to fill the time available”; it is
a) Newton’s Law
b) Parkinson’s Law
c) Einstein’s Law
d) None
53. Which of the following is
not a key output of project cost management?
a) A cost estimate
b) A cost management plan
c) Updates to the cost
management plan
d) A cost baseline
54. If a company loses $5 for
every $100 in revenue for a certain product, what is profit margin for
that product?
a) -5 percent
b) 5 percent
c) -$5
d) $5
55. __________________
reserves allow for future situations that are unpredictable.
a) Contingency
b) Financial
c) Management
d) Baseline
56. You are preparing a cost
estimate for a building based on its location, purpose, number of square
feet, and other
characteristics. What cost estimating technique are you using?
a) Parametric
b) Analogous
c) Bottom – up
d) Top – down
Examination
Paper – Project Management
10
IIBM
Institute of Business Management
57. ______________ involves
allocating the project cost estimate to individual work items over time.
a) Reserve analysis
b) Life cycle costing
c) Project cost budgeting
d) Earned value analysis
58. _________________ is a
project performance measurement technique that integrates scope time,
and cost data.
a) Reserve analysis
b) Life cycle costing
c) Project cost budgeting
d) Earned value analysis
59. If the actual cost for a
WBS item is $1500 and its earned value was $2000, what is its cost
variance, and is it under or
over budget?
a) The cost variance is
-$500, which is over budget
b) The cost variance is
-$500, which is under budget
c) The cost variance is $500,
which is over budget
d) The cost variance is $500,
which is under budget
60. If a project is halfway
completed and its schedule performance index is 110% and its cost
performance index is 95%, how
is it progressing?
a) It is ahead of schedule
and under budget
b) It is ahead of schedule
and over budget
c) It is behind schedule and
under budget
d) It is behind schedule and
over budget
61. To determine the cost of
particular element in advance of the project, which technique can be
employed?
a) Parametric estimating
b) As…………but…………s
c) Forecasts
d) All above
62. _______________ is the
degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements.
a) Quality
b) Conformance to
requirements
c) Fitness for use
d) Reliability
63. What is the purpose of
project quality management?
a) To produce the highest
quality products and services possible
b) To ensure that appropriate
quality standards are met
c) To ensure that the project
will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken
d) All of the above
Examination
Paper – Project Management
11
IIBM
Institute of Business Management
64. _______________ generates
ideas for quality improvements by comparing specific project
practices or product
characteristics to those of other projects or products within or outside the
performing organization.
a) Quality audits
b) Design of experiments
c) Six Sigma
d) Benchmarking
65. What tool could you use
to determine whether a process is in control or out of control?
a) A cause – and – effect
diagram
b) A control chart
c) A run chart
d) A scatter chart
66. Complication to the
critical path represents the formation of compound series of activities often
involving different paths
which has been termed
a) The critical chain
b) The critical path
c) TOC
d) Resource path
67. Six Sigma’s target for
perfection is the achievement of no more than ________________ defects,
errors, or mistakes per
million opportunities.
a) 6
b) 9
c) 3.4
d) 1
68. The seven run rule states
that if seven data points in a row on a control chart are all below the
mean, above the means, or all
increasing or decreasing, then the process needs to be examined for
_________________ problems.
a) Random
b) Non – random
c) Six Sigma
d) Quality
69. What is the preferred
order for performing testing on information technology projects?
a) Unit testing, integration
testing, system testing, user acceptance testing
b) Unit testing, system
testing, integration testing, user acceptance testing
c) Unit testing, system
testing, user acceptance testing, integration testing
d) Unit testing, integration
testing, user acceptance testing, system testing
Examination
Paper – Project Management
12
IIBM
Institute of Business Management
70. ___________________ is
known for his work on quality control in Japan and developed the 14
points for Management in his
text Out of the Crisis.
a) Juran
b) Deming
c) Crosby
d) Ishikawa
71. The theory of constraints
(TOC) is successfully applied in
a) Planning
b) Checking
c) Manufacturing
d) Controlling
72. PMI’s OPM3 is an example
of a ____________________ model or framework for helping
organization improve their
processes and systems.
a) Benchmarking
b) Six Sigma
c) Maturity
d) Quality
73. Which of the following is
not part of project human resource management?
a) Resource estimating
b) Acquiring the project team
c) Developing the project
team
d) Managing the project team
74. _________________ causes
people to participate in an activity for their own enjoyment.
a) Intrinsic motivation
b) Extrinsic motivation
c) Self motivation
d) Social motivation
75. At the bottom of Maslow’s
pyramid or hierarchy of needs are _____________ needs.
a) Self – actualization
b) Esteem
c) Safety
d) Physiological
76. ________________ power is
based on a person’s individual charisma.
a) Affiliation
b) Referent
c) Personality
d) Legitimate
Examination
Paper – Project Management
13
IIBM
Institute of Business Management
77. What technique can you
use to resolve resource conflicts by delaying tasks?
a) Resource loading
b) Resource leveling
c) Critical path analysis
d) Over allocation
78. Which of the following is
not a tool or technique for managing project team?
a) Observation and
conversation
b) Project performance
appraisals
c) Issue logs
d) Social Styles Profile
79. What do many experts
agree is the greatest threat to the success of any project?
a) Lack of proper funding
b) A failure to communicate
c) Poor listening skills
d) Inadequate staffing
80. Which communication skill
is most important for information technology professionals for career
advancement?
a) Writing
b) Listening
c) Speaking
d) Using communication
technologies
81. Which of the following is
not a process in project communication management?
a) Information planning
b) Information distribution
c) Performance reporting
d) Managing stakeholders
82. A building may not be
constructed unless the planning permission for it has been obtained, this is
the
a) Legal constraint
b) Quality constraint
c) Cost constraint
d) Logic constraint
83. A ________________ report
describes where the project stands at a specific point in time.
a) Status
b) Performance
c) Forecast
d) Earned value
Examination
Paper – Project Management
14
IIBM
Institute of Business Management
84. __________________ is an
uncertainly that can have a negative or positive effect on meeting
project objectives.
a) Risk utility
b) Risk tolerance
c) Risk management
d) Risk
85. A person who is a risk -
______________ receives greater satisfaction when more payoffs is at
stake and is willing to pay a
penalty to take risks.
a) Averse
b) Seeking
c) Neutral
d) Aware
86. Which risk management
process involves prioritizing based on their probability and impact of
occurrence?
a) Risk management planning
b) Risk identification
c) Qualitative risk analysis
d) Quantitative risk analysis
87. The 7-S framework of
project management issues was promoted by
a) McJonald and Co.
b) McKinsly and Co.
c) J & K Co.
d) None
88. Your project involves
using a new release of a software application, but if that release is not
available, your team has
______________ plans to use the current release.
a) Contingency
b) Fallback
c) Reserve
d) Mitigation
89. A risk _________________
is a document that contains results of various risk management
processes, often displayed in
a table or spreadsheet format.
a) Management plan
b) Register
c) Breakdown structure
d) Probability / impact
matrix
Examination
Paper – Project Management
15
IIBM
Institute of Business Management
90. Your project team has
decided not to use an upcoming release of software because it might cause
your schedule to slip. Which
negative risk response strategy are you using?
a) Avoidance
b) Acceptance
c) Transference
d) Mitigation
91. For non critical activities,
network diagrams build in …………………………. at the start of
activities.
a) Temporary
b) Buffer
c) Slack
d) Anywhere
92. If a project being
undertaken by a particular project team, then these are referred as
a) Resource capability
b) Resource capacity
c) Resource calendar
d) Resource pool
93. The term ‘hedgehog
syndrome’ means
a) Management problem
b) Solving problem
c) Repetition of problem
d) Find out a problem
94. What is the first
procurement process?
a) Planning contracting
b) Planning purchasing and
acquisitions
c) Requesting seller
responses
d) Procurement management
planning
95. The _____________ is the
point at which the contractor assumes total responsibility for each
additional dollar of contract
cost.
a) A breakeven point
b) Share ratio point
c) Point of reconciliation
d) Point of total assumption
96. We’re standing on this
hill here. We want to be on that hill over there, this is
a) View
b) Vision
c) Mission
d) Aim
Examination
Paper – Project Management
16
IIBM
Institute of Business Management
97. A ______________________
is a document prepared by a seller when there are different
approaches for meeting buyer
needs.
a) RFP
b) RFQ
c) Proposal
d) Quote
98. Buyers often prepare a
______________________ list when selecting a seller to make this
process more manageable.
a) Preferred
b) Short
c) Qualified suppliers
d) BAFO
99. A proposal evaluation
sheet is an example of a(n) ______________________.
a) RFP
b) NPV analysis
c) Earned value analysis
d) Weighted scoring model
100. __________________ is a
term used to describe various procurement functions that are
now done electronically.
a) E – procurement
b) eBay
c) E – commerce
d) EMV
Examination Paper of Six Sigma Green Belt
IIBM Institute of Business Management 1
CERTIFIED SIX SIGMA GREEN BELT
EXAMINATION PAPER
Guideline for paper
Total No. of Question is 100.
The minimum passing marks is 40%
Each question carries 1 mark.
Answer all the questions.
Total: 100 Marks
1. The Following is a sample
data set.
10 8 8 6 5
What is the variance of this
data set?
a. 3.0
b. 3.8
c. 7.3
d. 7.4
2. An auditor should use a
histogram in a quality audit to do which of the following?
a. Provide objective evidence
that the audited uses statistical process control (SPC)
b. Expose patterns that are
normally difficult to detect
c. Interpret data for a trend
chart
d. create a stratified tally
diagram
3. Comparing how a process is
actually performed against the documented work instruction for that
process is an example of which
of the following techniques?
a. Quantitative
b. Qualitative
c. Statistical
d. Random sampling
4. Attribute sampling should
be used when
a. The data are measurements
in metric units.
b. Ayes-or-no decision is to
be made.
c. The population has
variability.
d. A multi-stage sampling
plan is needed.
5. Scatter diagrams are best
described as
a. Histograms.
b. Correlation analysis.
c. Pareto analysis.
d. Ishikawa diagrams.
6. If data are plotted over
time, the resulting chart will be a
a. Run chart
Examination Paper of Six Sigma Green Belt
IIBM Institute of Business Management 2
b. Histogram
c. Pareto chart
d. Poisson distribution
7. To determine who are or
might be customers for a specific process, it would be most useful to create a
a. Pareto chart
b. Flow diagram
c. Cause and effect diagram
d. Scatter diagram
8. A production line uses
signs at specific points on the line to indicate when components or raw
materials
need to be replenished. The
practice is an example of
a. Kanban
b. Poka-yake
c. Checkpoints
d. Hoshin
9. 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
10. Attribute and variable
data are best described as which of the following? Attribute variable
a. Counted values measured
values
b. Counted values visual
features
c. Measured values counted
values
d. Visual features counted
values
11. All of the following are
common ways for people to react to conflict EXCEPT
a. Competing
b. Collaborating
c. Avoiding
d. Sabotaging
12. A quality manager has
chosen to survey customer satisfaction by talking 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
13. 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
14. 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 tools would be the for them to
use next?
Examination Paper of Six Sigma Green Belt
IIBM Institute of Business Management 3
a. Fishbone diagram
b. Scatter diagram
c. Box and whisker plat
d. Histogram
15. 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
16. The primary purpose of a
project charter is to
a. Subdivide the project into
smaller, more manageable components
b. Provide management with a
tool for selecting a project that addresses business needs
c. Provide management with a
tool to ensure that project deadlines are met
d. Provide the project
manager with authority to apply organizational resources to project activities
17. Sample selection of parts
for inspection must be selected at random to ensure
a. A minimum sample size.
b. The probability of not
rejecting the lot
c. The probability of
accepting the lot
d. Finding typical
characteristics of the lot.
18. Which of the following
are bases for establishing calibration intervals?
I. Stability
II.Purpose
III.Degree of usage
a. I and II only
b. I and III only
c. II and III only
d. I, II, and III
19. Specification limits are
derived from which of the following?
a. Process capability studies
b. Process control charts
c. Customer requirements
d. Historical data
20. 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
21. 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
Examination Paper of Six Sigma Green Belt
IIBM Institute of Business Management 4
22. 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
23. 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
24. 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.
25. 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
26. An X and R chart is used
to
a. Indicate process variation
b. Specify design Limits
c. Interpret costs
d. Identify customer
expectations
27. Which of the following is
the most useful graphical tool for promoting an understanding of process
capability?
a. A flowchart
b. a histogram
c. An affinity diagram
d. An Ishikawa diagram
28. 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
29. 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
Examination Paper of Six Sigma Green Belt
IIBM Institute of Business Management 5
30. 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
31. 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
32. 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
33. Which of the following
types of tools or techniques is considered qualitative?
a. Histogram
b. Frequency distributions
c. Pareto chart
d. Process observations
34. Which of the following
techniques is most useful in narrowing issues and limiting discussion?
a. Brainstorming
b. Quality function
deployment
c. Cause and effect analysis
d. Mutilating
35. In statistics, an
estimation error that is persistent or systematic is called
a. Bias
b. Sensitivity
c. Random
d. Shift
36. A customer satisfaction
survey used the following rating scale:
1= very satisfied
2= Satisfied
3= Neutral
4= dissatisfied
5= very dissatisfied
This is an example of which
of the following measurement scales?
a. Nominal
b. Ordinal
c. Ratio
d. Interval
37. Which of the following
techniques is used in identifying underlying problems?
a. Cause and effect analysis
Examination Paper of Six Sigma Green Belt
IIBM Institute of Business Management 6
b. Prioritization matrix
c. Force field analysis
d. Pareto analysis
38. 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%
39. In measurement system
analysis, which of the following pairs of data measures is used to determine
total variance?
a. Process variance and
reproducibility
b. Noise system and
repeatability
c. Measurement variance and
process variance
d. System variance and bias
40. Process data being used
in the initial set-up of a process are assumed have a normal distribution. If
the
nominal (target) is at the
center of the distribution, and the specification limits are set at = 3 from
the
center the Cpk is equal to
a. -0.25
b. 1.00
c. 1.33
d. 1.67
41. A green belt is going to
monitor the number of defects on different size samples. Which of the
following control chart would
be most appropriate?
a. u
b. np
c. c
d. p
42. Correction,
over-production, inventory, and motion are all examples of
a. waste
b. 5S target areas
c. Noise
d. Value-added activities
43. The primary factor in the
successful implementation of six sigma is to have
a. The necessary resources
b. The support/leadership of
top management
c. Explicit customer
requirements
d. A comprehensive training
program
44. Which of the following
types of variation is LEAST likely to occur in sequential repetitions of a
process over a short period
of time?
a. Cyclical
b. Positional
c. Temporal
d. Seasonal
Examination Paper of Six Sigma Green Belt
IIBM Institute of Business Management 7
45. The primary reason that
most companies implement six sigma is to
a. Reduce defects
b. Improve Processes
c. Improve profit
d. Increase customer
satisfaction
46. The term used to describe
the risk of a type I error in a test of hypotheses is
a. Power
b. Confidence level
c. Level of significance
d. Beta risk
47. One characteristic of
attributes data is that it is always
a. continuous
b. Discrete
c. Expensive to collect
d. Read from a scale of
measurement
48. Which of the following
tests may be used to determine whether a sample comes from a population
with an exponential
distribution?
a. T
b. F
c. Chi-square
d. ANOVA
49. Which of the following
tools are appropriate for a quality engineer to use in qualifying a process
that
has variable data?
I. An and R control chat
II. A his to gram
III. A cc hart
IV. A p chart
a. I and II only
b. II and III only
c. III and IV only
d. I, II, and IV only
50. The correlation
coefficient for the length and weight of units made by a process is determined
to be
0.27. if the process were
adjusted to reduce the weight of each unit by 0.5 ounce, the correlation
coefficient of the length and
weight of the units made by the new process would be equal to
a. 0.50
b. 0.27
c. 0.23
d. -0.23
51. A form, in either diagram
or table format, that is prepared in advance for recording data is known as a
a. Cause-and-effect diagram
b. Pareto chart
c. Flowchart
d. Check sheet
Examination Paper of Six Sigma Green Belt
IIBM Institute of Business Management 8
52. A major drawback of using
histogram in process control is that they
a. do not readily account for
the factor of time
b. Are relatively difficult
to construct and interpret
c. Require too many data
points
d. Require too many intervals
53. Which of the following
tools would be of the greatest use for finding the most efficient path and
realistic schedule for the
completion of a project?
a. Interrelationship diagram
b. Activity network diagram
c. Tree diagram
d. Affinity diagram
54. A control plan is
designed to do which of the following?
a. Supplement information
contained in operator instructions
b. Support the production
scheduling system
c. Provide a documented
system for controlling processes
d. Provide a method for
tracking the design review process
55. To determine the average
number of nonconforming parts over time, which of the following attribute
control chart would be most
appropriate?
a. A chat
b. Np chart
c. P chart
d. U chat
56. Which of the following
techniques is most appropriate for generating continuous improvement ideas?
a. Tree diagram
b. Brainstorming
c. Prioritization matrix
d. Interrelationship diagraph
57. Which of the following
tools is used extensively quality function deployment (QFD)?
a. Affinity diagram
b. Matrix diagram
c. Cause and effect diagram
d. Activity network diagram
58. Which of the following
tools is most likely to be organizing a list of ideas generated during a
brainstorming session?
a. Activity network diagram
b. Affinity diagram
c. Histogram
d. Process control chart
59. Which of the following
tools would be most appropriate for collecting data to study the symptoms of
a problem?
a. A check sheet
b. A flow diagram
c. A force field analysis
d. An activity network
diagram
Examination Paper of Six Sigma Green Belt
IIBM Institute of Business Management 9
60. Kaizen is defined as
a. Re-engineering
b. Lean manufacturing
c. Continuous improvement
d. Error –proofing
61. The LEAST informative of
the four measurement scales is the
a. Ratio
b. Nominal
c. Ordinal
d. Interval
62. Which of the following
can used to determine the goodness of fit of a distribution to a data set?
a. T test
b. ANOVA
c. F rest
d. Chi square test
63. A fair coin is tossed 10
times. What are the expected mean and variance of the number of heads?
Mean variance
a. 0.5 0.025
b. 5.0 2.500
c. 5.0 5.000
d. 10.0 5.000
64. A process capability
analysis is NOT used to
a. Determine the ability of a
process to meet specifications
b. Maintain a process in a
state of statistical control
c. Establish new
specifications
d. Prioritize competing
processes
65. A type of line graph used
to assess the stability of a process is called a
a. Control chart
b. Pareto chart
c. Check sheet
d. cause and effect diagram
66. A process produces
nonconformities according to a distribution. If the mean of the nonconformities
is
25, what is the standard
deviation?
a. 2.5
b. 5.0
c. 12.5
d. 25.0
67. Five six-sided dice are
rolled together 100 times. Two histograms are constructed: one for the 500
individual results and one
for the 100 averages of five results. In this situation, the individual results
follow a uniform
distribution, while the averages follow which of the following distributions?
a. Normal
b. Student’s t
c. Binomial
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d. Uniform
68. A calibrated micrometer
was used to take 10 replicated measures of a reference standard. If X
m=0.073, and the true value
of the reference standard is 0.075, what is the bias of the micrometer?
a. 0.001
b. 0.002
c. 0.073
d. 0.075
69. The power of a test for
the difference between means is measured by
a. A
b. 1-a
c. B
d. 1-b
70. A process is stable and
its output is normally distributed. The process has a specification of
16.73=0.01. What is the
maximum process standard deviation if the Cp must be=1.5?
a. 0.0011
b.0.0022
c. 0.0041
d. 0.0133
71. Which of the following is
the most effective technique for prioritizing critical factors foe
problemsolving?
a. Venn diagram
b. Scatter diagram
c. Pareto diagram
d. Cause and effect diagram
72. The main advantage of a
matrix diagram is that it
a. Displays all the possible
causes related to a problem
b. Displays the strength of
relationship between each paired combination of variables
c. Identifies, analyzes, and
classifies the cause and effect relationship that among all critical issues
d. Identifies a sequence of
actions and materials entering a process
73. Poka-yake is best defined
as
a. Improving machine
efficiency
b. Reducing field failures to
virtually zero
c. Capturing the voice of the
customer
d. Preventing controllable
defects
74. Which of the following
describes the 95% confidence interval of a 20% absentee rate in a department
with 30 people?
a. 6% to 34%
b. 8% to 32%
c. 13% to 27%
d. 17% to 23%
75. Which of the following
are needed to calculate the process capability index,Cp?
a. The specification limits
and the mean
b. The specification limits
and s^ (Sigma Cap)
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c. The process mean and
s^(Sigma Cap)
d. The upper and lower
specification limits
76. Repeatability and
reproducibility are terms that operationally define
a. Bias
b. Accuracy
c. Discrimination
d. Precision’
77. A method that classifies
data without significantly reducing accuracy or precision is known as
a. Bias adjustment
b. Statistical efficiency
c. Blocking
d. Coding
78. If a process has a
variance of 4 units and a specification of 96+4, what is the process
performance
index (Pp)?
a. 0.33
b. 0.66
c. 1.00
d. 1.50
79. If a histogram has a
distribution that is bimodal this indicates that the
a. Process is in control
b. Distribution is abnormal
c. Data collected is accurate
d. data has two points
80. Which of the following
best describes how an affinity diagram is used?
a. Grasping organizational
performance relative to contrasting data
b. Prioritizing data from
most signification to least significant
c. Grouping ideas that are
created during brainstorming
d. Identifying when a process
is in control
81. Warranty claims are
classified in which of the following cost of quality groups?
a. Internal failure
b. External failure
c. Appraisal
d. Prevention
82. At what stage of the
problem-solving process would a team most likely use a cause-effect diagram?
a. Description of the process
associated with the problem
b. Definition of the problem
and its scope
c. Organization of possible
problem causes
d. Collection of data to
identify actual causes
83. Steel bars are cut to
cylindrical shafts by means of a lathe. The diameter and allowable tolerance of
the shaft is 2.00=.001 inch.
A control chart is used to monitor the quality level of the process. Which of
the following plots on the
control chart might indicate a problem of wear on the lathe?
a. The diameter of a single
shaft above 2.001 inch
b. the diameter of a single
shaft below 1.999 inch
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c. An Apparent increasing
trend in the shaft diameters
d. Erratic in-tolerance or
out-of-tolerance diameter measurements
84. A sample consists of one
or more units of product drawn from a lot or batch on the basis of
a. Defect of the product
b. Random selection
c. Size of the product
d. When the inspection
process was completed
85. What is the percent yield
for a normally distributed process in which the item length specification is
5.750=0.004, X is 5.752, and
the standard deviation is 0.002?
a. 15.73%
b. 19.15%
c. 47.72%
d. 83.99%
86. In preparation for
construction of a cause and effect diagram, it is important to
a. Plot separate chart for
each source
b. Focus only on what makes
thing go wrong
c. Record everything people
suggest
d. Validate possible root
cause
87. Which of the following
tools should be used a team is generating and prioritizing a list of options
that
include highly controversial
issues?
a. Brainstorming
b. Affinity diagram
c. Nominal group technique
d. 5 whys
88. 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%
89. 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
90. 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
Examination Paper of Six Sigma Green Belt
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91. 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
92. What is the standard
deviation of the population below?
10, 4, 16, 12, 8
a. 4.00
b. 4.47
c. 16.00
d. 20.00
93. 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
94. Which of the following
measures is a sufficient statistic for the parameter u?
a. Median
b. Mid-range
c. Mean
d. Mode
95. 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
96. 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
97. in analysis of variance,
Which of the following distributions is the basis for determining whether the
variance estimates are all
from the same population?
a. Chi square
b. Student’s
c. Normal
d. F
98. Which of the following
statement best describes the set all 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.
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99. 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
100. When the order of items
is not important, which of the following is the method to use to determine
the number of sets and
subsets of items?
a. Combination
b. Permutation
c. Factorization
d. Simulation
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