AIMA assignments: 2013: April/May submission:OM01: contact us for answers at assignmentssolution@gmail.com

    OM01
    Operations Management
    Assignment No.I
    Assignment Code: 2013OM01A1    Last Date of Submission: 15th April 2013
    Maximum Marks:100
Attempt all the questions. All the questions are compulsory and carry equal marks.
    Section-A
    Ques.    1    What is Corporate Strategy and how Operations Strategy is related to the Corporate
    Strategy?  Explain.
    Ques.    2    Why are some industries located near the source of raw materials, whereas some
    near the market for their finished goods?
    Ques.    3    How does a good plant layout help to improve productivity?

Ques.    4    The desired daily output for an assembly line is 360 units. This assembly line will operate                            
                        450 minutes per day. The following table contains information on this product’s task     
                        times and precedence relationship.

Task    A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H
Task time ( sec)    30    35    30    35    15    65    40    25
Immediate Precedence    -    A    A    B    C    C    E,F    D,G
                               
a)    Draw the precedence diagram                           
b)    What is the workstation cycle time                           
c)    Balance the line using the longest task time heuristic and determine the efficiency of the line.


    Section-B

Case Study : Productivity Gains at Whirlpool

Workers and management at Whirlpool Applicance’s Benton Harbor plant in Michigan have set an example of how to achieve productivity gains, which has benefited not only the company and its stockholders, but Whirlpool customers, and workers themselves.

Things weren’t always rosy at the plant.  Productivity and quality weren’t good.  Neither were labor-management relations.  Workers hide defective parts so management wouldn’t find them, and when a machine broke down, workers would simply sit down until sooner or later someone came to fix it.  All that changed in the late 1080s.  Faced with the possibility that the plant would be shut down, management and labor worked together to find a way to keep the plant open.  The way was to increase productivity – producing more without using more resources.  Interestingly, the improvement in productivity didn’t come by spending money on fancy machines.  Rather, it was accomplished by placing more emphasis on quality.  That was a shift from the old way, which emphasized volume, often at the expense of quality.  To motivate workers, the company agreed to gain sharing, a plan that rewarded workers by increasing their pay for productivity increases.

The company overhauled the manufacturing process, and taught its workers how to improve quality.  As quality improved, productivity went up because more of the output was good, and costs went down because of fewer defective parts that had to be scrapped or reworked.  Costs of inventory also decreased, because fewer spare parts were needed to replace defective output, both at the factory and for warranty repairs.  And workers were able to see the connection between their efforts to improve quality and productivity, and their pay.

Not only was Whirlpool able to use the productivity gains to increase workers’ pay, it was also able to hold the lid on price increases and to funnel some of the savings into research, which added to cost savings and quality improvement.

Questions

1.    What were the two key things that Whirlpool management did to achieve productivity gains?
2.    Who has benefited from the productivity gains?
3.    How are productivity and quality related?
4.    How can a company afford to pay its workers for productivity gains?












    OM01
    Operations Management
    Assignment No.II
    Assignment Code: 2013OM01A2    Last Date of Submission: 15th May 2013
    Maximum Marks:100
Attempt all the questions. All the questions are compulsory and carry equal marks.
    Section-A
    Ques.    1    Explain the role of Control Charts in Quality Control. Explain the uses and the need for
    having the mean chart, range chart and proportion chart.
    Ques.    2    (a)    What are the key areas to address when improving the cost of quality? 
(b)    Is ISO 9000 certification a guarantee for the firm’s product quality?  Explain   
              your answer.
    Ques.    3    (a)    What is materials management (MM) and who does it?
(b)            Detail the functions for receiving, inspection, and storage.  How are they a part of 
M1M?

Ques.    4    Daily demand for a product is normally distributed with mean at 60 units and a     
standard deviation of 6  units. The lead time is constant at 9 working days. The cost of placing an order is Rs. 20 and annual holding costs are 20% of the unit price of Rs. 10. A 95% service level is required for the customers who place orders during the re-order period. Determine the Economic Order Quantity and Re-order level assuming there  are 300 working days annually.

                            Section-B
The following table gives data on normal time, its cost and crash time, its cost for a project.


Activity    Normal    Crash
    Time (weeks)    Cost (Rs)    Time (weeks)    Cost (Rs)
1-2    3    300     2    400
2-3    3      30     3      30
2-4    7    420     5    580
2-5    9    720     7    810
3-5    5    250     4    300
4-5    0       0     0      0
5-6    6    320     4    410
6-7    4    400     3    470
6-8    13    780    10    900
7-8    10    1,000     9    1,200

Indirect cost is Rs 50 per week

i.    Draw the network and identify the critical path with a double line.
ii.    What are the normal project duration and associated cost?
iii.    Find out the total float associated with each activity.
iv.    Crash the relevant activities systematically and determine the optimal project completion time and cost.                                        )

AIMA assignments: 2013: April/May submission:MM01: contact us for answers at assignmentssolution@gmail.com

    MM01
    Marketing Management
    Assignment No.I
    Assignment Code: 2013MM01A1    Last Date of Submission: 15th April 2013
    Maximum Marks:100
Attempt all the questions. All the questions are compulsory and carry equal marks.
    Section-A
    Ques.    1    Why Analysis of Internal and External environment is necessary before carrying out any
     marketing activity to introduce a new product in a market?
    Ques.    2    What is the concept of value in marketing.  Explain?
    Ques.    3    Write short notes on:
    (a)    Portfolio approach and BCG model
    (b)    Delphi Technique and its usage
    Ques.    4    Competitive advantage and brand position gets strengthened through the  
    differentiation strategy.  Elaborate these differentiation strategies.
    Section-B

Case Study :  European low-cost airlines
Since the early 1990s there has been a significant growth in the European low-cost air travel market, which we consider here from the perspective of the five forces model.

Threat of new entrants
With deregulation and the development of new regional airports there are opportunities for new companies to enter the marketplace.  However there are significant cost implications in setting up and running an airline business.  The risks can be high, as illustrated by various financial casualties over the past ten years.  New entrants have to balance the risk against the opportunity to enter the market.  Moreover it is an intensely competitive market, and new entrants may not be able to gain the critical mass needed to survive.

Supplier power

There are various suppliers to this industry, including aircraft manufacturers (Airbus and Boeing are the two largest), refueling facilities and airports.

Buyer power
With the introduction of low-cost fares, discounted fares (from national carriers) and the influx of numerous airlines, buyers (mainly individuals rather than companies) have increased power of choice.  Of course, the level of buyer power also depends on the number of airlines flying to the chosen destination.  For example, several airlines fly from the London region to Paris, and customers are spoilt for choice, but this is not so for all departure and arrival locations.

Threat of substitutes
There are other modes of travel within Europe – car, coach and train.  In some countries the train service is highly efficient, comfortable and cost-effective; in others it is the opposite.  Therefore the degree of substitution is highly dependent on the availability and efficiency of the alternative modes of transport.

Industry competitors
This has become a highly competitive market.  It could be argued that it is at, or near, saturation point.  However, that might not discourage new entrants if they believe they can gain a sustainable competitive advantage through some form of differentiation or focus.  (See the discussion on generic strategies opposite.)
   
    Questions

1.    Do you think this low-cost air travel has triggered a total competition?  If yes, is pricing governed by market forces.  Elaborate.

2.    Suggest strategies by which a new entrant can have competitive advantage over its competitors and excel.













    MM01
    Marketing Management
    Assignment No.II
    Assignment Code: 2013MM01A2    Last Date of Submission: 15th May 2013
    Maximum Marks:100
Attempt all the questions. All the questions are compulsory and carry equal marks.
    Section-A
    Ques.    1    (a)   What is the pattern of channel distribution normally adopted by a consumer durable
           firm.  Give answer in reference to a tyre industry?                                                   
    (b)    What makes service marketing a specialty?  Explain with special reference to 7ps of
            service marketing.
    Ques.    2    Write short notes on:-
    (a)      Core competence & unique selling preposition.                                                
    (b)       Inventory management & supply chain management
    Ques.    3    “An effective marketing mix must meet customer needs better than competitors”.  What
     are the elements of marketing mix.  Explain?
    Ques.    4    Briefly describe each of the four main stages of the product life cycle. What the
    strategies adapted at various stages of PLC? What are the major uses of PLC and
    what are the limitations of PLC?
    Section-B

Case Study : The Challenge of Change

The board room was filled with the voice of Marketing Manager, Ashutosh Kant.  He was addressing a meeting of senior managers of Escape, “The last three months were spent by our team of market research in finding out the reasons and patterns of sales at stores.  Let me emphasize that retail sale is showing growth all over the country and in the process, competition is hitting up. We can no longer sit and relax, instead we need to put ourselves fully to retain our market leadership.  The most disturbing highlights found in the survey are:

1.    People find our service staff bordering on aggressiveness and less helpful as they never leave people to browse.



2.    Children get bored and hence parents often leave the stores within minutes i.e., after finishing essential shopping.  They never browse or spend leisure time at stores, which can otherwise promote sales.
3.    With many choices available in the market, consumers have stopped treating our stores as a unique concept.  We are loosing out on exclusivity. 


Setting Up a Store
Mr Rehman, an entrepreneur, had set up a garments shop in one of Delhi’s busy markets about 10 years back.

He realized that to attract customers, he must do something new and keeping this in mind he chalked out a massive plan to open a chain of stores called Escape.  Some major features of his stores were:

i)    Complete dress range for kids, parents and teenagers.
ii)    Full accessories for women and men in leather, cosmetics, stationery, shoes, purses and jewellery.
iii)    A play centre where kids could spend time when the parents shopped. 

The stores were opened at two locations in Delhi on an area of 7000 sq ft each.  Within six months the shops became popular and the business grew rapidly in three years to a turnover of Rs 6 crores.  The marketing plans for the stores included cable operators, newspapers, and advertising.  The store conducted festivals such as children’s carnival and valentine special etc., to keep the crowds coming in.

The Ambience
Stress on ambience was high as Rehman wanted to create an image of a complete shopping, experience for the entire family.  The sales staff was trained to promote not push any product and to encourage customers to browse through.

The women’s section was given an ethnic setting and men’s section had polished wood and leather all over.  The garments, the accessories and gifts were displayed in large racks and full length mirrors were placed at multiple places.  Sales staff present at all three floors often advised the customers but never showed around everything.  The kids section included garments, toys and books and had more staff.

A major attraction of the store is a play centre for kids.  The parents could safely leave their children in the place, situated at the ground floor itself.  The place had separate sections of toys and books and was supervised by trained staff.  The parents, thus, could leave the children and shop in a relaxed way.  This concept was appreciated by all customers and became one of the prime attraction for customers.

The stores were one of its kind in the early 1990’s and grew rapidly.  New sections on books, gifts and handicrafts were launched and at any time, the stores had more than two hundred categories of products.  During this time, the competition started hitting up and three similar ventures were launched in the city.  This didn’t bother Rehman much, because he felt he had built an image of being the ultimate store.  By 1996, multi-storied, one-stop stores became the trend in this city and many more such stores came up.

Rehman had expanded his stores in three other cities as well and the turnover grew to 40 crores.  The total manpower of the company rose to 500 and several new management and non-management cadres were introduced in the company.

The last year Diwali festival of the store brought 40,000 customers in the entire month, which worried Rehman as it was almost 20% less than their estimations.  His marketing manager, after long discussions, hired a market researcher to study buying patterns and preferences of people walking in the store.

Questions

1.    What are the major issues in the case?
2.    Evaluate the strategies opted for by Rehman is creating the business.  What has gone wrong with his strategies now?
3.    If you were to present a marketing plan based on research findings, what strategies would you include in it?

AIMA assignments: 2013: April/May submission:HR01: contact us for answers at assignmentssolution@gmail.com

    HR01
    Human Resource Management
    Assignment No.I
    Assignment Code: 2013HR01A1    Last Date of Submission: 15th April 2013
    Maximum Marks:100
Attempt all the questions. All the questions are compulsory and carry equal marks.
    Section-A
    Ques.    1    What failures influence Human Resource Planning? Explain the process of HRP
    (Human Resource Planning) in large organizations.
    Ques.    2    You are planning to set up a subsidiary in India and are trying to decide whether the
    managing director of the new facility should be a local Indian manager, an expatriate
    manager from your firm’s home country or a third country manager from elsewhere in
    your worldwide operations. On what basis would you make the decision?
    Ques.    3    What is job analysis? What general guidelines should the HR specialist use when
    deciding how many and what sources of job information to use in a job analysis
    project?
    Ques.    4    Does the Human Resource function in organizations in India enjoy strategic status?
    Discuss with suitable examples.
    Section-B

Case Study: Looney Tunes on Parade

Republic Insurance Company is a regional, all-purpose firm with offices in a three-state area.  The central headquarters office houses the staff that plans and controls the field-office operations.  Because the company is in such a competitive industry, sales play a very important role in Republic’s efforts.

The group responsible for planning and controlling the sales effort of Republic’s three-state field force is the Strategic Management Division.  There are two main components of the Strategic Management Divisions:

1.    The Accounting Department pays the bills and keeps track of the income.
2.    The Plans Department does the marketing, product and price studies, profit, budget planning, and similar duties.

The organizational chart of this Strategic Management Division is shown below.  It depicts the structure of the division and the leadership roles within that structure which have a bearing on this case.  It also includes the names of the individuals who filled those leadership roles in   June 1987, the time at which the events in this case begin.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT DIVISION










The manager of the Plans Department is responsible for two units: Budgets and Pricing.  Each unit has a supervisor who is responsible for the projects and tasks assigned to the unit.  The Budgets Unit does long-term planning and evaluation of the profit and cost centers of Republic, and coordinates the overall budget planning for the entire company.  The Pricing Unit is responsible for keeping track of the competition’s prices on insurance policies, company-wide profit-forecasting, and other special studies about company products or costs.  The Pricing Unit regularly provides these studies to other units and divisions within the company.  These studies supply essential information to the managers of these other departments so that they can make their own business and budgeting plans.

In June of 1987, the Strategic Management Division was headed by Sam Benson.  Peter Gilmore, who had been with Republic for 10 years, managed the Plans Department’s two units.  The Budgets Unit was supervised by Sandi Bates, and the Pricing Unit’s supervisory position was vacant.

In that same month, Peter Gilmore received a referral from Personnel for the open supervisor’s position in the Pricing Unit.  The job candidate’s name was David Randle.  Randle had a resume that looked good (see the copy of the resume at the end of case) and Gilmore managed to squeeze him in for a 20-minute interview between business meetings.  The manager talked in general about the job and asked Randle about his resume.  He found Randle personable and easy to get along with, liked the candidate’s background, and decided to offer him the job.  He told Personnel to hire him and take care of the details.

Randle began work a week later, on July 1, 1987, as supervisor of the Pricing Unit.  He had two cost analysts and a secretary reporting to him.
R E S U M E

DAVID RANDLE
5634 Wastercrest Street
City, State 12345

EDUCATION                :    State University
                   
    The Evening College Program
    B.S. in Business
    3.75 GPA, 3.8 in major
    1978-1984

PERSONAL    :    Born: October 9, 1957
        Married
        Fluent in four languages:
        Spanish, French, Italian and Portugese

WORK HISTORY    :    Smith Store
        January 1987 – date
Cost Accountant: supervises Cost Unit, profit-planning, budget coordination for the stores.
       
        Johnson Adhesives Manufacturing
        February 1986 – July 1986
Price Analyst: developed and supervised computer records, inventory controls, payrolls
   
    Safety Media Films
    January 1983 – February 1986
Price Analyst: budget planning, international finance, financial planning
   
    Bander Food Chains
    November 1981 – January 1983
Senior Bookkeeper: price studies, computer records, supervision

Get Smart Book Publishers
February 1981 – November 1981

Junior Bookkeeper: payroll accounts, accounts receivable, payable, general ledger, audits.
Questions:
Q1.    Evaluate David Randle’s resume.
Q2.    Evaluate the selection procedure used by Peter Gilmore.
Q3.    Anticipate any effects of the selection procedure used by Peter Gilmore on David Randle’s future performance.













    HR01
    Human Resource Management
    Assignment No.II
    Assignment Code: 2013HR01A2    Last Date of Submission: 15th May 2013
    Maximum Marks:100
Attempt all the questions. All the questions are compulsory and carry equal marks.
    Section-A
    Ques.    1    What is employee empowerment? As a manager from where would you seek the
    power to empower others?
    Ques.    2    Write short note on Trade Union Movement in India
    Ques.    3    Why are some people satisfied with what is identified as a mid-career plateau while
    others at the same point experience career burnout?
    Ques.    4    Training programs are frequently the first items eliminated when managers when
    management wants to cut costs. Why do you believe this occurs?
    Section-B

Case Study: Wanted – Good Secretary

For over three years, Bernard Malinowaski had been the manager of the Customer Service Department at Buford department store.  After nearly six years working in various customer service assignments, he still enjoyed the work of responding to the inquiries, requests, and complaints of Buford’s various retail customers.  He felt it was a way to help the customers and Buford at the same time.

He supervised five service representative who dealt directly with the customers.  At times, the service representatives would also support different marketing programs and initiatives.  There was one secretary for the department who provided the administrative and clerical support needed to keep the department running efficiently.  Bernard realized all too well how important it was to have a top-performer in that position.

That was why he was so concerned-and surprised-by the recent performance of his new secretary, Betty Lyons.  Bernard’s expectations had been high when he hired Betty two months ago.  He thought she would be the one who might stick around and solve the “revolving door” problem he had experienced with every former occupant of that job.  But now, he started to think about replacing Betty.

When she started in Customer Service, Betty seemed to be the ideal worker:  She was energetic, cared about doing a good job, worked hard, and got along well with her co-workers.   But here she was, making the same old mistakes all her predecessors had made.  He ticked off in his own mind the by-now familiar list of problems:

•    Letters to customers always looked sloppy and poorly composed.   The recent addition of a word processor to the unit not resulted in any improvements.
•    The turnaround time for producing the letters was too long, often seeming to take two or three days from the date of submission.
•    Filing and record keeping duties piled up and never seemed to be completed on any sort of timely or up-to-date basis.

To make matters worse, recently she had started complaining of being “overworked.”  Indeed, Bernard overheard her say to one of the service representatives just yesterday: “Have they ever told you what they expect you to do  or what the priorities are around here”  I’m so busy and pulled in so many directions,  I can’t do everything.  And I don’t know what I’m supposed to do first.”

Benard knew she was not performing up to standard, and that he would have to act soon.  He thought to himself:  “It’s funny, but the good ones always seem to have the most problems.  When they do their work well, we give them more to do and then, bang, their work falls to pieces.  The mediocre ones always stay mediocre-just getting the job barely done. “Bernard felt the people should derive satisfaction from completing a job done well-and if not, well, he did give them a pay raise once a year.  “That should be reward enough, ”He thought.  And that was all the reward he gave them.


Questions:

Q1.    Is there a performance problem?
Q2.    Describe the issues
Q3.    How should Bernard respond?

AIMA assignments: 2013: April/May submission:GM07: contact us for answers at assignmentssolution@gmail.com

    GM07
    Research Methodology
    Assignment No.I
    Assignment Code: 2013GM07A1    Last Date of Submission: 15th April 2013
    Maximum Marks:100
Attempt all the questions. All the questions are compulsory and carry equal marks.
    Section-A
    Ques.    1    You have been hired by a company which is planning to enter the textile market offering
     uncrushable/wrinkle free shirts for the working executives. How would you define the
    marketing research problem in this case.
    Ques.    2    Explain ‘Validity’ & ‘Reliability’. What difficulties can a manager face while applying
    scientific methods to marketing research?
    Ques.    3    Write short notes on:
    (a)    Methods of data collection in survey research.
    (b)    Secondary data analysis
    Ques.    4    Distinguish between exploratory, descriptive and cross-sectional designs. Give
    suitable examples for each. Do not copy paste the examples already provided in your
    textbook.
    Section-B

KONIKA PHOTO FILMS

In 1988, Japan-based Konika Corporation, decided to have a representative in India and started scouting around for a distributor. It selected Goa-based Photophone Industries Ltd. Thereafter there have been several developments for the company.
   
The present position is, however, not as good as the company would like to see. It is facing severe competition from Kodak and Fuji, who have been spending heavily on brand building. Kodak had also established its manufacturing base in India in 1995.

During the ten year period from 1988 to 1997 – the market share of Konika has declined. In view of this, Konika got keen to increase its market share. It would like to build up its image and strengthen itself from the grass root level.
Questions: 
1.    What is the major problem being faced by Konika Corporation Limited?
2.    Assuming that marketing research can help Konika to achieve its objective, prepare a suitable research proposal for the proposed study.


    GM07
    Research Methodology
    Assignment No.II
    Assignment Code: 2013GM07A2    Last Date of Submission: 15th May 2013
    Maximum Marks:100
Attempt all the questions. All the questions are compulsory and carry equal marks.
    Section-A
    Ques.    1    What comprises the research report? What are the pitfalls that the researcher needs to
     avoid while preparing the research report?
    Ques.    2    Are an equal number of home-based businesses owned by men & women? A recent
    study of 899 home-based businesses reported that 369 were owned by women. Is
    there evidence that there are an equal number of home-based businesses owned by
    men & women? Use a 0.05 level of significance.
    Ques.    3    A Company manufactures steel bars. If the production process is working properly, it
    turns out steel bars with an average length of at least 2.8 meters with a standard
    deviation of 0.20 meter (as determined from the engineering specifications of the
    production equipment involved). Longer steel bars can be used or altered, but shorter
    bars must be scrapped. A sample of 25 bars is selected from the production line. The
    sample indicates an average length of 2.73 meter. The company wishes to determine
    whether the production equipment needs an alignment. If the company wishes to test
    the hypothesis at the 0.05 level of significance, what decision would it make using the
    critical value approach to hypothesis testing?
    Ques.    4    When one can use observation as a useful technique for market research? Explain the
     classifications associated with observational research.
    Section-B

Consumer Satisfaction
A company is engaged in the manufacture of washing machines and a few other products. But, the former accounts for a sizeable proportion of its total production. Of late, the company has been finding it increasingly difficult to maintain its competitiveness on account of the availability of washing machines of a number of companies within the affordable price range. There are 17 brands which together are offering 88 models.

    The top management of this company has considered the problem of increasing competition and declining sales. It is of the opinion that a survey should be conducted to ascertain the customer satisfaction in respect of its washing machines. However, before undertaking a detailed survey, it would like to be clear on the concept of consumer satisfaction.

Questions:
1.    How would you identify parameters which can effectively measure consumer satisfaction?
2.    Construct a suitable scale using the parameters identified in Question 1.

AIMA assignments: 2013: April/May submission:GM02: contact us for answers at assignmentssolution@gmail.com

    GM02
    Economic and Social Environment of Business
    Assignment No.I
    Assignment Code: 2013GM02A1    Last Date of Submission: 15th April 2013
    Maximum Marks:100
Attempt all the questions. All the questions are compulsory and carry equal marks.
    Section-A
    Ques.    1    Explain the privatization move of public sector enterprises in recent years.  Also explain
     the measures to be followed for survival of public sector enterprises in India.
    Ques.    2    Compare and explain how competition bill replaced MRTP Act.
    Ques.    3    a).    Write short note on environmental Scanning
    b).    Discuss the significant elements comprising the external environment of business

Ques.4    Describe the contribution of small scale industry in Indian Economy.  Discuss the various                              
                    problems faced by SSI   

Section-B

Procter and Gamble (P & G), a global consumer products giant, “stormed the Japanese market with American products, American managers, American sales methods and strategies.  The result was disastrous until the company learnt how to adapt products and marketing style to Japanese culture.  P&G which entered the Japanese market in 1973 lost money until 1987, but by 1991 it became its second largest foreign market.

P & G, acclaimed as “the world’s most admired marketing machine”, entered India, which has been considered as one of the largest emerging markets, in 1985.  It entered the Indian detergent marketing the early nineties with the Ariel brand through P & G India (in which it had a 51 per cent holding which was raised 65 per cent in January 1993, the remaining 35 per cent being hold by the public).  P & G established P&G Home products, a 100 per cent subsidiary later (1993) and the Ariel was transferred to it.  Besides soaps and detergents, P & G had or introduced later product portfolios like shampoos (Pantene) medical products (Vicks range, Clearasil and Mediker) and personal products (Whisper feminine hygiene products, pampers diapers and old spice range of men’s toiletries).

The Indian detergents and personal care products market was dominated by Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL).  In some segments of the personal care products market the multinational Johnson & Johnson has had a strong presence.  Tata group’s Tomco, which had been in the red for some time, was sold to Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL).  HLL, a subsidiary of P&G’s global competitor, has been in India for about a century.  The take over of Tomco by HLL further increased its market dominance.  In the low priced detergents segment Nirma has established a very strong presence.

Over a period of about one and a half decades since its entry in India, P&G invested several thousand crores.  However, dissatisfied with its performance in India, it decided to restructure its operations, which in several respects meant a shrinking of activities – the manpower was drastically cut, and thousands of stockiest were terminated.  P&G, however holds that, it will continue to invest in India.  According to Gary Cofer, the country manager, “it takes time to build a business category or brand in India.  It is possibly an even more demanding geography than others.”

China, on the other hand, with business worth several times than in India in less than 12 years, has emerged as a highly promising market for P&G.  When the Chinese market was opened up, P&G was one of the fist MNCs to enter.  Prior to the liberalization, Chinese consumers had to content with shoddy products manufactured by government companies.  Per capita income of China is substantially higher than India’s and the Chinese economy was growing faster than the Indian.  Further, the success of the single child concept in China means higher disposable income.

Further it is also pointed out that for a global company like P&G, understanding Chinese culture was far easier since the expat Chinese in the US was not very different from those back home where as most Indian expats tended to adapt far more to the cultural nuances of the immigrant country.

One of P&G’s big bets in India was the compact technology premium detergent brand Ariel.  After an initial show, Ariel, however, failed to generate enough sales – consumers seem to have gone by the per kilo cost than the cost per wash propagated by the promotion.  To start with, P&G had to import the expensive state-of-the-art ingredients, which attracted heavy customs duties.  The company estimated that it would cost Rs.60 per kilo for Ariel compared to Rs.27 for Surf and Rs.8 for Nirma.  Because of the Rupee devaluation of the early 1990s, the test market price of Rs.35 for 500 gms was soon Rs.41 by the time the product was launched.  HLL fought Ariel back with premium variants of Surf like Surf Excel.

It is pointed out that, “in hindsight, even P&G managers privately admit that bringing in the latest compact technology was a big blunder.  In the eighties, P&G had taken a huge beating in one of its most profitable markets, Japan, at the hands of local company Kao.  Knowing the Japanese consumer’s fondness for small things, Kao weaved magic with its new-found compact technology.  For a company that prided itself on technology, the drubbing in Japan was particularly painful.  It was, therefore, decided that compacts would now be the lead brand for the entire Asia-Pacific region.  When P&G launched Ariel in India, it hoped that the Indian consumer would devise the appropriate benchmarks to evaluate Ariel.  As compacts promised economy of use, P&G hoped that consumers would buy into the low-cost-per-wash story.  But selling that story through advertising was particularly difficult, especially since Indian consumers believed that the washing wasn’t over unless the bar had been used for scrubbing.  Even though Ariel was targeted at consumers with high disposable income, who represented half the urban population, consumers simply baulked at the outlay.

Thereafter, one thing led to another.  Ariel’s strategy of introducing variants was a smart move to flank Lever at every price point by cleverly using the brand’s halo effect.  And by supporting the brand in mass media and retaining the share of voice. By 1996, it had become clear that Ariel’s equity as a high-performance detergent had begun to take a beating.  Its equity as a top-of-the-line detergent was getting eroded…Nowhere in P&G’s history had a concept like Super Soaker been used to gain volumes…It was decided that Super Soaker would no longer be supported, nor would Ariel bar be supported in media.

Case Questions:

5        Where did P&G go wrong (if it did) in the evaluation of the Indian market
    and its strategy?                                  (10)

6.              Discuss the reasons for the differences in the performance of P&G in India and China.                                                                                                                                         (10)


    GM02
    Economic and Social Environment of Business
    Assignment No.II
    Assignment Code: 2013GM02A2    Last Date of Submission: 15th May 2013
    Maximum Marks:100
Attempt all the questions. All the questions are compulsory and carry equal marks.
    Section-A
    Ques.    1    Write short notes on Industrial sickness in India
    Ques.    2    Bring out the challenges of globalization.
    Ques.    3    What was the rationale behind setting up development financial institutions? Do you
    think these institutions have lost their relevance in the current economic scenario?

  Ques.4    Discuss with reference to monetary and fiscal policy, how RBI regulates supply of money in the country. 



    Section-B

Case Study
Indian SMEs need to be more IT Savvy

Small and medium businesses (SMBs) contribute more than 60 per cent of India’s GDP, while their spending on IT is only 30 percent of India’s total IT spending according to a recent study by Zinnov Management Consulting Pvt. Ltd. Titled IT Opportunity in Indian SMB Sector.  Zinnov estimates that SMB’s total revenue contribution to Indian GDP, which today is more than $600 billion, has been growing at a CAGR of 12 percent over the last seven years.  There is therefore huge potential for the SMB sectors IT spend to increase, the study concludes.

IT spend by SMBs was $6.5 billion in 2007-08, which is around 30 percent of the total IT spend in India.  This consisted of $4.2 billion of hardware, $1 billion on software, and $1.3 billion on services, coming to a total of $6.5 billion, compared to an IT spend of $15.1 by large organizations, according to the study.

The study says three key factors inhibit the adoption of technology in SMBs.  The first is a lack of IT awareness, with many SMB owners in the tier II and tier III cities or rural areas unaware of existing IT solutions that may solve their problems.  The study suggests that to tackle this, the focus of most IT vendors should not be restricted in increasing their penetration across the country – they also need to educate SMB owners about using technology to solve their business problems.

The second inhibiting factor is a lack of vertical-specific solutions, with most IT solutions not being customized to vertical- or cluster-specific problems of SMBs.  The textile industry, for example, has a four-stage value chain- spinning, weaving, processing and stitching – but currently there aren’t many specific customized solutions catering to each process of the value chain.

The third inhibiting factor is under return on investments.  SMB owners need to be convinced of returns before making any capital investments in IT.  In most cases, they expect quantified benefits such as growth in revenues or profit margins or significant cost savings.  The study notes that though a complex `return on investment’ mathematical calculation might not be the best solution, IT vendors would have to build a case for IT solutions and highlight benefits that can solve SMBs’ key problems.

The study also notes that three key factors are limiting the growth technology adoption among SMBs.  The first in high investments made in legacy systems- most SMBs invest in technology solutions on a long-term basis, and do not welcome frequent technological developments, which force them to migrate to newer technology and dump legacy systems.  IT vendors and their channel partners must address this situation by guiding SMB owners, designing their IT investments and becoming their trusted partners, the study suggests.

The second factor limiting the growth of technology adoption is the need for integration.  Most SMBs invest in IT in a phased manner due to constraints in IT budgets and lack of a clear roadmap of IT implementation.  Hence, it becomes a big challenge for SMBs to integrate various technologies on different platforms.  But the very need for seamless integration between various technologies translates into a big opportunity for IT vendors, the study notes.

The third factor limiting the growth of technology adoption among SMBs is the high cost of technical support.  SMBs that have invested in IT need continuous technical support due to their limited knowledge of technology, but most SMBs don’t invest much on internal IT staff.  SMB owners often have to choose between regular support at high cost and limited support at an economical price.  However, neither of the two options solves the need for technical support, the study notes.

However, the study also stresses that there are a mix of macro and micro factors that will drive technology adoption by SMBs between now and 2015.  the first is an improvement in the country’s IT infrastructure, due to growth in broadband and mobile penetration in tier II and III cities and rural areas, and the availability of affordable customized hardware and software for SMBs.

The second factor is government initiatives-the government is encouraging SMBs to adopt technologies to make their processes more efficient, and enable them to better face global competition.

The third factor is the pressures of globalization felt by SMBs themselves- those of them venturing into global markets or partnering with MNCs require IT to successfully conduct business at the global level; on the other hand, the influx of global players is increasing the pressure of competition within the Indian market, and SMBs get to experience the superior efficiency that comes with the adoption of IT.

The fourth and final factor is the SMB-focused IT initiatives of IT majors.  India has seen an increase in interest among large IT majors in catering to the specific needs of the SMB segment.

Case Questions:

1.    What are the key factors limiting the growth of technology adoption among SMBs    

2.    “There are a mix of macro and micro factors that will drive technology adoption by SMBs  between now and 2015.”  Explain the factors in the light of above statement.  

AIMA assignments: 2013: FM 11 April/May submission:contact us for answers at assignmentssolution@gmail.com

    FM12
    Financial Management
    Assignment No.I
    Assignment Code: 2013FM12A1    Last Date of Submission: 15th April 2013
    Maximum Marks:100
Attempt all the questions. All the questions are compulsory and carry equal marks.
    Section-A
  Ques.1    Explain the concept of cost of capital ? How can you classify them.
 
  Ques.2    What are the steps involved in computation of WACC? What factors affect the WACC.
    Ques.    3    Using annual, semi-annual and quarterly compounding periods for each of the
    following (1) compute the future value if Rs.1,000 is initially deposited and (2)
    Determine the effective rate of interest.
    (a)    At 10 percent annual interest for 5 years
    (b)    At 8 percent annual interest for 6 years
    (c)    At 6 percent annual interest for 10 years
    Ques.    4    Describe the emerging role of the Financial Manager in India.
    Section-B
                                                                      Case Study

Babu Lal & Associates (BLA) was organized as a partnership firm in 1989, with its main office in Delhi. Since that time, the firm diversified into various product lines, both in manufacturing and trading, and also expanded its market. Sales of BLA increased from Rs 7 1akh in 1989 to the estimated figure of Rs 150 lakh for the accounting year ending on March 31, 2007.

At present; BLA has three works offices engaged processing of basic Industrial chemicals, production of hardware goods and leather products. All these works offices are located in Faridabad, Haryana. In addition to that, BLA also owns one cold storage-cum-warehouse located in Azadpur, Delhi. Each unit operates under the 'overall' guidance of Mr Babu Lal. All works offices serve as a sales and distribution point for the line of product carried on by that unit and is run by a supervisor who is responsible for hiring and supervision of personnel and for sales, credit, purchasing, and inventory and cost control at the unit level. All decisions affecting BLA's overall policy, capital expenditure and the addition of product lines are reviewed by Babu Lal.

For the last two years BLA is experiencing shortage of funds caused by low profits and the installment payments of term loan to HDFC Bank. The payments became necessary as per the agreement with the bank. However the problem which bothered Mr Babu Lal was of low profits. He asked each unit supervisor to submit his suggestion to improve the long run profitability of the company. While going through various suggestions. Mr Babu Lal found three proposals of investment which he took up for consideration. He was concerned about the profitability and payment schedule of each one of them. He estimated that the use of 12 per cent after-tax required rate of return would be appropriate in evaluating the proposals. The first one Mr Babu Lal selected was new investment proposal from Faridabad Chemical Processing Unit.
New Investment Proposal:
The chemicals processing works office head has suggested that BLA should invest in a plant which can produce a new chemical. He expects that the new chemical would be widely accepted and used by the manufacturers of plastic bags. The works manager of that unit submitted the following information on the basis of market survey and sales forecasts generated by him.
    Rs.
Estimated investment    3,96,000
Estimated Life    10  years
Annual after-tax cash flows: Years 1-4    76,000
Annual after-tax cash flows: Years 5-10    1,20,000

He has estimated that the salvage value of the machine at the end of its expected life is likely to be 50 per cent of its book value. About tax benefits he mentions in his proposal that BLA would be entitled for depreciation at the rate of 33.33 per cent using diminishing balance method.

Cost Saving Proposal:
The hardware unit of BLA used to contribute 40 per cent towards the overall profitability of the company. But recently the contribution had declined significantly because of the rising cost and labour problems. Therefore, the proposals submitted by the hardware unit supervisor emphasized the cost-reduction techniques. Among other suggestions Mr Babu Lal found a proposal to invest in a machine which would help the company to reduce the costs. The following note was submitted by the manager of the unit:

"Automation Industry is a manufacturer of special machines used in the processes like ours. The installations of these machines go a long way to reduce the costs. At present one particular machine which is being marketed by them will do the Job satisfactorily, and will help the company in reducing its costs. The machine costs Rs 4.63.500 by paying the entire amount in cash.
However, the company also provides the facility of purchasing the machine on installment basis. In that case the amount has to be paid in eight equal annual installments and the rate of interest compounded annually by the company would be 11 per cent.
Mr Babu Lal was interested in knowing the amount which the company would be required to pay each year. Given that the life of this machine is 15 years, how much after-tax-cost savings should accrue to BLA each year to recover the investment made on installment basis?"

Expansion Proposal:
The cold storage manager has proposed to install refrigeration system in their newly acquired complex. A distributor of various makes of refrigera¬tion systems is prepared to install the system which costs Rs 1.40.000. The distributor has informed the cold storage manager that the firm can pay in four years, interest rate being 13 per cent. He submitted the following schedule giving the details of annual payments.
    Rs.
Principal
Four years of interest @ 13%    1,40,000
72,800
Total    2,12,800
Annual payment    53,200

In case BLA installs this refrigeration system, what is the rate of return that the distributor will earn on such installment payments? In case Mr Babu Lal negotiates with the distributor and he agrees to earn 13 per cent rate of return, what will be the annual installment amount which he will be required to pay to the distributor?
Financing and its Cost:
Mr Babu Lal estimated that he would require about Rs 5 lakh to finance the three proposals in case they are accepted. Funds from internal sources were out of question. He approached HDFC Bank to explore the possibility of seven-year term loan. The bank officials informed him that the current rate of interest on such loans would be 15 per cent. The payments for both principal and interest would be required to be made either at the end of each year or at the end of the maturity of loan. In the latter case he was interested in finding how much he should save each year by investing outside at 16 per cent so that he has sufficient funds to repay the loan at maturity. He was also concerned about the after-tax required rate of return which he should use in evaluating the proposal.

   
    FM12
    Financial Management
    Assignment No.II
    Assignment Code: 2013FM12A2    Last Date of Submission: 15th May 2013
    Maximum Marks:100
Attempt all the questions. All the questions are compulsory and carry equal marks.
    Section-A
    Ques.    1    (a)     Explain the meaning of inventory management. Discuss the techniques of
                    Inventory control.
    (b)     During the period of inflation, which method of inventory issue will give higher
            profits?
    (i)     LIFO
    (ii)     FIFO
    Explain with example.
    Ques.    2    a)     What are the costs associated with maintaining receivable?
    b)     Explain the factors determining the credit policy of a firm.
    Ques.    3    Explain the following theories of Capital structure.
    i.        Net Income approach
    ii.    Modigliani and Miller approach.

Ques.    4    Assume perfect capital market. An all equity firm has Rs.6,000 in cash and assets worth  
            Rs 28,000. The firm has 1200 shares outstanding and no investment opportunities.
a.    If the firm pays no dividend today, what is the stock price and the wealth of stockholders?
b.    If the firm pays a dividend of Rs.6000 today.
i.    What is the stock price before dividend?
ii.    What is the stock price after dividend?
iii.    What is the wealth of stockholders after the dividend?
c.    If the firm pays a dividend of Rs.9000 today.
i.    What is the stock price before dividend?
ii.    What is the stock price after dividend?
iii.    How many new shares must be issued?
iv.    How does the dividend affect stockholder wealth?
                            Section-B

Case Study

Ashok Manufacturing Company Limited (AMC) is engaged in manufac¬turing rubber-based products used in a variety of commercial applications. The company is located in Noida near Delhi and is one of the leading suppliers of these products to a large number of companies engaged in manufacturing automobile accessories electronic and light engineering products. In recent years the competition in this type of business has intensified. AMC has been able to face this competition and has been growing rapidly. The main reasons for its growth have been its good image for quality products, technological improvements leading to increased production capacity cost advantage and strong marketing team.

During the last two years of operation the company has been facing frequent cash deficit problems as a result of which the company has not been able to meet its obligation to pay to its suppliers in time and this has forced the company to postpone its payments. The company's reputation as a credit-worthy customer has gone down. Mr Ashok speculates that if this experience is repeated the suppliers would force the company for cash payments for its purchases. To prevent the occurrence of this type of unforeseen events he wanted to plan his cash in a better way.

Mr Ashok asked his finance manager Mr V P Iyer to develop the monthly cash forecasts for the period starting from January 2007 to June2007. Mr Iyer obtained the following actual sales figures from the records of the last three months:
October 2006            : Rs 240 lakh
November 2006            : Rs 280 lakh
December 2006            : Rs 320 lakh

Mr Iyer first tried to find out the sales forecasts for the next seven months. After consulting with Mr. Ashok, he developed the following forecasts:
January 2007            : Rs 260 lakh
February 2007            : Rs 210 lakh
March 2007            : Rs 160 lakh
April 2007            : Rs 240 lakh
May 2007            : Rs 200 lakh
June 2007            : Rs 160 lakh
July 2007            : Rs 200 lakh

Over the past three years. AMC had averaged 25 per cent of the company's total sales as cash sales, the remaining 75 per cent of the sales being accounts receivable. Forty per cent of these accounts receivables were collected m the first month after sales. 30 per cent collections took place m the second month after the sales and the remaining receivables were collected m the last month.

AMC's average consumption of raw mater1alis 80 per cent of the sales. The accounts indicated that 40 per cent of this is paid m the month of sales itself, 55 per cent in the following month and the remaining m the third month.

Mr Iyer anticipated payments for wages and salaries to be as follows:
January        : Rs 42 lakh
February        : Rs 39 lakh
March            : Rs 32 lakh
April            : Rs 40 lakh
May            : Rs 32 lakh
 June            : Rs 28 lakh

The other general adm1nistrative expenses were assumed to be about Rs 2.51akh per month. Mr Iyer was aware of the 16 per cent annual Interest payment liability on Rs 20 lakh of borrowings to be paid m the month of March. A tax payment on 2005 income of Rs 2.5lakh is due in April. Mr Iyer estimated that AMC's tax liability for the next accounting year 15 expected to be Rs 24 lakh for which the company would be required to pay the tax m advance. Quarterly installment of such liability would be due in March, June, September and December. He also found that a capital expenditure of Rs 70 lakh is planned in February of which 50 per cent will have to be paid m the same month and the remaining in May. The company has a cash balance of Rs 1.40.000 as on December 31 which is the minimum desired level of cash. For projecting the cash flows for the next six months Mr.  Iyer assumed the prices and costs to remain constant.

After collecting the information about cash flows Iyer created a file in LOTUS 123 by classifying each item of cash flows systematically into cash receipts and payments. While entering the amounts of cash flows he was not sure how to input these figures. His immediate concern was that as and when any change in sales or collection experience is made the cash flow forecasts should automatically get updated. Before entering the figures in the worksheet file he wanted to plan it more systematlcal1y. He saved this fie which contained only the format of cash receipts and payments as KMC.WKI. He referred to the note on principles of spread¬sheet design to format his cash flows m a systematic way. He wants your help in completing this worksheet.

You are required to design a statement showing cash inflows and outflows in proper format for the period from October 2006 to June 2007.

IIBM Exam papers: Inventory management :contact us for answers at assignmentssolution@gmail.com

Examination Paper
5
IIBM Institute of Business Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper MM.100
Inventory Management
Section A: Objective Type (30 marks)
This section consists of Multiple Choice questions & Short Answer type questions.
Answer all the questions.
Part One questions carries 1 mark each & Part Two questions carries 5 marks each.
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. ……………………. is IT tool used for automation data capture.
2. Stockout Level is also called the
a. Red Zone
b. Amber Zone
c. Both (a) & (b)
d. None of the above
3. When classified on the basis of time period, they are
a. Supply forecast
b. Price forecast
c. Demand forecast
d. None of the above
4. The Delphi Method was developed by the Rand Corporation in the
a. 1980
b. 1970
c. 1950
d. None of the above
5. The BOM file is also called the
a. Product Structure File
b. Product Tree
c. Both (a) & (b)
d. None of the above
6. What is the meaning of “Doller Days”.
a. Making money with in area
b. Management of the value of inventory and time with in area
c. Inventory control
d. Management of time
Examination Paper
6
IIBM Institute of Business Management
7. Weeks of supply = ……………………………………………..
8. Fastest and Expensive mode of Transport.
a. Air
b. Rail
c. Water
d. Pipeline
9. ERP systems were developed in
a. 1998
b. 1990
c. 1980
d. 1987
10. The ABC analysis is also called the ………………………………
Part Two:
1. What is “Dependent Demand”?
2. Write short note on “Simulation Models”.
3. What is “Time Phasing”.
4. Write short note on “Statistical Techniques of Forecasting”.
END OF SECTION A
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
This section consists of Caselets.
Answer all the questions.
Each caselet carries 20 marks.
Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words).
Caselet 1
M/s Jyoti Textiles, with four spinning mills, eighteen cloth cutting centres, sixteen processing
departments and more than 200 machine centres has installed an information system.
The operations are characterised by a nationwide distribution network. The finished goods moves
through 38 branch offices and 312 authorised distributors all of whom maintain some inventory.
Authorized distributors generate 37% of the orders but account for only 24% of the sales. Most of
the business is done through the branch offices.
The product line is large; products are classified into 175 family groups, representing 12000
finished goods. Approximately 1,500 new items enter the product line annually, and a similar
number are discounted.
Examination Paper
7
IIBM Institute of Business Management
The 12,000 finished goods require 25,000 component parts of which 6,600 are carried in
inventory and 18,400 are made to order. The newly implemented information system already has
paid off substantially and refinements continue to increase benefits. In the preceding year, M/s Jyoti
Textiles achieved a 60% customer service level (i.e. 60% of the orders were delivered according to
original customer request, with no delays or adjustment of dates). Clerical expenses were 36% of the
sales.
The company felt this was not good enough and wanted to improve the customer service. The
company therefore is thinking of a highly integrated system.
1. Keeping in mind the objectives, do you think the company should go in for a highly
integrated system? Support your answer with reasons.
2. Discuss the relevant inventory management strategies for the company.
Caselet 2
Advanced Management University is a large private university teaching a slew of courses and
boasting of a distinguished faculty. The university believed in Quality Education at any cost.
Recently, Ms Julie Joy took over as Head of Purchasing and was informed that she would be
responsible for the entire procurement activity in the university, including its storing, inspection etc.
On the first day, she began a tour of the campus. She found a sweeper putting used x-rays printed
stationery, bits of metal and banana peels into a huge dustbin. She was perplexed and wanted to
find out what happens to the garbage thereafter. She was informed that such garbage bags were kept
in one place and then taken away by the municipality trucks whenever they came.
It did not take Ms Julie Joy to realize that there was no salvage program in the university. But she
also realized that being new, it would be tricky for her to introduce new practices, given that the
faculty were highly egoistic, though learned. She also had to show clear financial benefits to be
accrued from a program of garbage recycling/salvage, for approval of any new process by the
management.
1. What arguments are there in favour of a formal salvage program at Advanced Management
University?
2. What arguments would be expected against the program?
3. What organisational structure should Julie Joy install?
4. Develop a salvage program for Advanced Management University.
END OF SECTION B
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
This section consists of Long Questions.
Answer all the questions.
Each question carries 15 marks.
Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
Examination Paper
8
IIBM Institute of Business Management
1. At Ford Motor company, every car or truck model has its own internal website to track design,
production, quality control and delivery processes. Suppliers and customers also have access
to the site, and all concerned are expected to provide full supply chain information. How do
you think this would affect the life of the middle manager?
2. Give example of some typical case where inventory management based on unscientific method
could go wrong.
END OF SECTION C
-------------------------------------------------------------- *** -------------------------------------------------------

IIBM Exam papers: Advertising media planning :contact us for answers at assignmentssolution@gmail.com

Examination Paper of Media Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 1
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper MM.100
Advertising Media Planning
Section A: Objective Type (30 marks)
• This section consists of Multiple Choice questions & short note questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part Two questions carry 5 marks each.
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. Advertising done once a month is calleda.
Continuity
b. Flighting
c. Pulsing
d. All of the above
2. Classification of geographic areas includea.
Regions
b. TV  market  delineation  such  as  DMA’S
c. Age
d. Both a & b
3. The data set contains the boundaries for metropolitan & micropolitan statistical areas in united
states is known asa.
Designated market areas
b. Metropolitan & micropolitan statistical areas
c. Core-based statistical areas
d. None of these
4. Which of the following is the general media planning sites:-
a. Advertising media internet center
b. Media post
c. Both a & b
d. Media mark research & intelligence
5. Arrange the following into classic Engel/kollat model of the buying process.
a. Search for alternatives to solve the problem
b. Alternative evaluation
c. Post purchasing evaluation
Examination Paper of Media Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 2
d. Problem recognition
a. i, ii, iii, iv
b. ii, I, iv, iii
c. iv, I, ii, iii
d. iii, iv, ii, i
6. Which of the following are the top five perennial questions that media research cannot answer?
a. How much is enough
b. Which medium is most effective
c. Which is better: flighting or continuity
d. All of the above
7. DMA stands for
8. GRPs stands for
9. What is the full form of BDIa.
Broad development index
b. Brand development index
c. Brand display index
d. Balanced dynamic index
10. Which of the following are the elements of media strategy?
a. Media target
b. Creative strategy
c. Reach & frequency
d. All of the above
Part Two:
1. What are the principles for selecting media vehicles?
2. What are the important reasons for using a media mix?
3. List the strategies used by media planner to create the awareness.
4. Write short note on GRPs?
Section B: Caselets (40 Marks)
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper of Media Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 3
• This section consists of Caselets.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each Caselet carries 20 marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
Caselet 1
Mr. Deepak Mathur founded a small radio manufacturing plant in Noida in the 1980s. From this small
start   came   one   of   the   nation’s   largest   radios,   television, and allied products companies. By 1995, its
sales approached Rs. 150 crores annually, with 15,000 employees and 10 manufacturing locations.
Throughout its growth, Mr. Mathur remained the active, imaginative, and driving force of this company.
In earlier days every manager and worker knew him, and he was able to call most of them by their first
names, so even after the company grew fairly large, people felt that they knew the founder and chief
executive, and their strong feeling of personal loyalty had much to do with the fact that the company
was never unionized.
However,   as   the   company   prospered   and   grew,   Mr.   Mathur   worried   that   it   was   losing   its   “smallcompany”
   spirit.   He   also   felt   that   communications   were   suffering,   that   his   objectives   and   philosophy 
were not being understood in the company, that much wasteful duplication was occurring through poor
knowledge of what others in the company were doing, and that new-product development and
marketing were suffering as a result. Likewise, he was concerned that he had lost with the people. In
order to solve the communication problem, he ensured that several communication devices were
installed. He put into effect communication device he found other companies using: bulletin boards in
every office and manufacturing plant throughout the country; a revitalized company newspaper carrying
much   company  and   personal   news   affecting   all   locations;”Company   Facts   Books”   for   every   employee, 
giving significant information about their company; regular profit-sharing letters; monthly one-day
meetings at headquarters for the top 100 executives; annual three-day meetings of 1200 managers of all
levels at a resort area; and a large number of special committees to discuss company matters. After
much time, effort and expense, Mr. Mathur was disappointed to find that the problem of
communication  and  of  the  “small-company”  feeling  still  existed  and  that  the  results  of  his  programs  did 
not seem to be significant.
Questions:
1. What  do  you  see  as  the  company’s  real  communication  problem?
2. What would you suggest to improve communication in the company?
Caselet 2
The latest trends have resulted in new innovative ways of promotion through the mobile phones. The
latest addition to the numerous ways of marketing and designing effective ads in mobile phones is ecouping.
E-Couping has become a rage among the advertisers as well as the users. Here, wireless users
are provided with, for example, a 20 percent off-coupon offer on a DVD player. And the results are very
encouraging. US Mobile Message Markets report says that this industry segment generated revenues of
$571 million in 2000 and is projected to surpass $5 billion by 2007. Almost 86 percent of the people
Examination Paper of Media Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 4
surveyed favored a trade-off for receiving advertisements on their mobile phones in markets across UK,
Europe and the US. More than 88 percent of the people expressed their enthusiasm to e-couping, which
could   be   reimbursed   at   the   stores   nearby.   The   four   key   factors   important   to   consumers’   acceptance: 
Choice – being able to decide whether or not to receive messages; control-being able to bypass sale
messages easily; customization-being able to filter the types of messages received; and mutual benefitgetting
something back in return a reduction in the cost of services for example
Spending on mobile Content
Europe, 2001-2006
Year Spending
2001 $590
2002 $860
2003 $1,407
2004 $2,233
2005 $2,2915
2006 $3,280
A study by Forrester Research in conjunction with the Federation of European Direct Marketing
(FEDMA) found that SMS can reach two-thirds of 250 million European mobile phone owners. According
to the Forrester study, 21 percent of the 250 direct marketers surveyed online use SMS at least
occasionally, 12 percent have tried it and 5 percent plan regular SMS use in 2003. The advantage of SMS
marketing is that, unlike e-mail marketing, it offers three types of campaigns-one off push campaigns for
awareness building; one-off pull campaigns for promotion; and continued dialogue for customer
retention. One-time pull campaigns average 13 percent response rates, which outperform phone and
mail alternatives, according to Forrester.
According   to   Jupiter   MMXI,   European   consumers   will   spend   €3.3   billion   for   content   on   their   mobile 
phones  by  2006  compared  to  €1.7  billion  for  content  on  their  PCs.  Mobile  phones  offer  a  much  better 
billing platform than the PC. In 2001, €590  million  was  spent  by  Europeans  for  content  on  their  mobile 
phones,  such  as  ring  tones,  logos,  sports  scores  and  stock  prices.  This  is  almost  twice  the  €252  million 
spent   on   the   PC.   “Increasing   use   of   Short   Messaging   Service   on   mobile   phones   is   good   news for the
media industry. Newspapers and magazines struggling to generate direct consumer revenues from their
websites  have  more  opportunity  to  charge  for  content  on  mobile  phones,  “said  Jupiter  MMXI’s  Olivier 
Beau  villain.  “They  should  use  their  Web  presence as a way to promote mobile content with which they
will  be  able  to  generate  more  revenues.”
Question:
1. On the basis of above case explain how to advertise and market your Product through SMS?
2. Give the detailed advantages of advertising & marketing the products through Short Messaging
Services (SMS).
END OF SECTION B
Examination Paper of Media Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 5
Section C: Applied Theory (30 Marks)
• This section consists of Long Questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each question carries 15 marks.
• Detailed information should from the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 150 words).
1. Define Media planning. Explain the objective of marketing in media planning?
2. What is the creative media strategy? List the guidelines for a creative media strategy
END OF SECTION C

IIBM Exam papers: Media and advertising management :contact us for answers at assignmentssolution@gmail.com

Examination Paper of Media Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 6
IIBM Institute of Business Management
Examination Paper MM.100
Media and Advertising Management
Section A: Objective Type (30 marks)
• This section consists of Multiple Choice question & Short note questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part Two questions carry 5 marks each.
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. Which of the following is not the spectrum of advertising?
a. Sales organization
b. Communication with consumer
c. Distribution channel
d. Advertising for media
2. AIDA stands for__________
3. Which of the following is the indirect role of advertising?
a. Lowering of price
b. Advertising & competition
c. Guide to perspective buyer
d. Both a & b
4. Lack of clarity in setting advertising objectives may arise due to thea.
Problem in stating objectives in quantifiable terms
b. Inability in identifying the largest audience
c. Inadequate information
d. All of the above
5. Which of the following is not the criticism of advertising?
a. Advertising creates insecurity
b. Barriers to entry
c. Product proliferation
d. Inefficient manufacturer stay in business
6. A part of amount per unit of the item sold is assigned as the advertising appropriation is known
asa.
Percentage of sales
b. Unit of sales
Examination Paper of Media Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 7
c. Competitive parity
d. Return on investment method
7. POP stands for __________
8. Which of the following is the strategy of segmentationa.
Strategy of concentration
b. Strategy of differentiation
c. Both a & b
d. None
9. Various types of advertising material which can be used in shops and stores to draw the
attention of the prospects such as dispensers, hanging signs, danglers and streamer is known asa.
Outdoor promotional media
b. Point of purchase material
c. Direct announcement
d. Advertising specialties and gifts
10. What are the common themes, commonly used by a copywriter in creating “Industrial
advertisement”.
a. Old and with long experience
b. Research and development
c. Technical breakthrough
d. All of the above
Part Two:
1. State the role of Advertising.
2. What are the differences between industrial & consumer advertising?
3. Explain the” Roger’s  innovation  model” of advertising?
4. Describe the situation in which advertising may be acquired.
Section B: Caselets (40 Marks)
• This section consists of Caselets.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each Caselet carries 20 marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words).
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper of Media Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 8
Caselet 1
With more players likely to enter the direct to home (DTH) space, the reach to cable and satellite (C&S)
homes, both in urban & rural area, is expected to grow say industry sources.
According to a report by Media Partners Asia, a Hong-based media think-tank, currently DTH remains
the primary digital pay TV platform in India.
Dish TV, a DTH venture in which Zee Telefilms has a 20 per cent stake, had 7, 50,000 pay-TV
subscriptions in December 2005 and is expected to have reached approximately one million
subscriptions by March 2006. Tata Sky, a $500-million  DTH  joint  venture  between  the  Tata’s  and  News 
Corp, is expected to be launched after June and it plans to acquire around one million subscriptions by
this year. DTH ventures from Reliance and Sun TV are also likely to come to the market over the next
year or two, the reported said.
A highly placed industry source said another advantage for the DTH subscriber would be the lack of
interaction with the local cable operator. For instance, Tata Sky plans to introduce pre-paid cards. Mr.
Vikram Kaushik, CEO, Tata Sky, said pre-paid cards would make subscription payment easier for the
consumer. Secondly, the hardware will also available in all consumer electronic stores. Tata Sky plans to
take   the   responsibility   of   directly   installing   the   hardware   in   every   subscriber’s   home   and   servicing   it 
whenever needed, he said.
Currently, one of deterrents to DTH has been sharing of content between channels. Some efforts is
being made  to  work  this  out  say  industry  sources.  Said  Mr.  Kaushik,  “Tata  Sky’s  endeavor  is  to    get  all 
existing popular channels on its platform. We are at various stages of discussion with all major
telecasters in this regard and are confident that they will come  on  the  Tata  Sky  platform.”
Talking about DTH penetration into the rural areas, Mr. Kaushik said the DTH service would reach every
Indian home, however remote it may be. In contrast to the global norms, the multisystem operators
(MSOs) in India do not control the last mile, which is largely owned by the fragmented local cable
operator (LCO) industry. In 2005, there were roughly 33,000 LCOs in India
The study said that in such a background, LCOs typically under-report subscription to the MSOs and
telecasters. The leading MSOs, including Siticable, Hathway and Incablenet, have a reach of about 16
million home but have the last mile ownership only for about three million homes with around 9,00,000
direct subscribers and the remaining 2.1 million derived through arrangement with LCOs.
Question:
1. DTH remains the primary digital pay-TV platform in India. Comment?
2. Give  the  advantages  of  the  Cable’s.
Caselet 2
The SkyGo Wireless Marketing Study
The results of a wireless advertising study conducted by SkyGo shows that consumers are extremely
open to receiving advertisements on their wireless devices, and that wireless marketing may be so
effective that will drive the adoption of mobile commerce and the usage of the wireless Internet. SkyGo
Inc., which bills itself  as  “the  authority  on  wireless  marketing,”  conducted  the  study,  surveying  1,  000 
participants in Boulder, Colorado., for more than four months. The participants, who received at least
three advertisements a day, recorded their feelings about the advertisements in five online surveys
during the study.
Examination Paper of Media Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 9
“According  to  the  study’s  results,  64  percent  of  more  than  500,000  advertisements  sent  out  during  the 
study were opened. Each advertisement featured a title page and once open, led to a variety of different
screens.   “The   open   rate   was   very   high.”   Said   Darcen   Tsui,   co-founder and chief executive officer of
SkyGo. But, perhaps the most significant finding of the study is the number of advertisements that led to
an actual purchase. Of all the advertisements sent out, 2.9 percent ended in an online or offline
purchase. Tsui said the number is extremely high-most marketers are pleased with 0.5 percent. The
number  represents  a  strong  argument  for  mobile  commerce  and  for  SkyGo’s  advertising  platform,  which 
he company is marketing to carriers and wireless websites. The study also found 58 percent of
participants could remember specific advertisements with some help, another large3number of
marketers.  “Fifty-eight  percent  is  a  very  good  number.”  Tsui  said.  The  study,  which Sky Go designed in
hopes of covering the full range of wireless marketing strategies, featured advertisements from more
than 50 national and local brands and agencies, including Visa, Procter & gamble, next Card, digital
Impact, Kinko’s, HP Online, eCoupons, JCPenny, CompUSA, Kentucky Fried Chicken, ESPN.com, Subway
and Hollywood.com. The study featured a total of 565 unique advertising campaigns. According to Sky
Go, advertisement featuring interactive Trivia-Tsui gave the example of a Kinko’s ad quizzing users about
the  origin  of  the  company’s  name-had the greatest impact on participants.
The Details of the Methods adopted for the Study
From September 2000 to January 2001, SkyGo conducted a groundbreaking consumer market study in
Boulder, Colorado. As the only comprehensive study of wireless advertising and marketing conducted in
the United States, SkyGo Study is distinguished as:
• The only study using the most advanced, interactive wireless technology available for phones
(WAP)
• The only study of permission-based alerts
• Testing the largest portfolio of creative ad formats
• Testing to the largest, most statistically and demographically relevant consumer base
• The longest duration (four months) and
• Monitored by third-party research organizations ensuring the most unbiased and astute analysis
of findings available to data in the US.
Details of the Study
The Objectives: To validate consumer acceptance of wireless advertising and identify preferences for
specific advertising types. To establish industry standards for the acceptable use of wireless advertising.
Network Used: AT& T Pocket Net, Mobile Devices Used: Ericsson R280 LX cellular phone
Number of Participants: 1000 +, Number of advertisers: 50+
Partners and Advertisers: National advertisers, local advertisers, direct marketers, national agencies, mcommerce
technology companies and carriers.
Consumer Demographics: 40% early adopters, 40% representative of general national mobile phone
user, 20% students.
Duration: Four Months, Research Partners: the Kelsey Group and Constant, Inc.
After careful research of potential test markets, Boulder, Coloroda was selected because it met the
following criteria:
• Boulder represents a cross-section of US early adopter demographics (high mobile phone
penetration and a sophisticated audience of affluent Internet users)
Examination Paper of Media Management
IIBM Institute of Business Management 10
• Boulder holds a large group of technically astute, highly educated consumers (similar to Austin,
Texas and San Jose, California)
• It is a mid-sized city, enabling effective recruiting of local advertisers and national advertisers
represented locally across the key product and service categories and
• The presence of a university provided an opportunity to include a student population in the
study pool.
Questions:
1. What type of data will be reported in the Final Study?
2. Explain, by Market Researcher select the Boulder Colorado?
Section C: Applied Theory (30 Marks)
• This section consists of Long Questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each question carries 15 marks.
• Detailed information should from the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 150 words).
1. Define  “Advertising”.  Explain  the  Benefits  of  “Advertising”?
2. What  is  “Industrial  Advertising”?  Explain  the  objective  of  “Industrial advertising”?
S-2-311012
END OF SECTION B
END OF SECTION C