assignmentssolution@gmail.com

Get Assignments and Projects prepared by experts at a very nominal fee.

More than 8 years in assisting assignments and projects/dissertation/thesis of MBA,BBA,BCA,MCA,PhD and others-

Contact us at : Email : assignmentssolution@gmail.com

Help for : SMU, IIBM,IMT, NMIMS, NIBM ,KSBM, KAIZAN, ISBM, SYMBIOSIS, NIMS, IGNOU, XAVIER, XIBMS, ISM, PSBM, NSBM, NIRM, ISBM, ISMRC, ICMIND, UPES and many others.

Help in : Assignments, projects, M.Phil,Ph.D disseration & thesis,case studies

Courses,MBA,BBA,PhD,MPhil,EMBA,MIB,DMS,MMS,BMS,GDS etc

Contact us at : Email : assignmentssolution@gmail.com



Friday 31 July 2015

IIBM Exam Papers/Case studies : Contact us for answers at assignmentssolution@gmail.com

CASE 1 Rainforest Café: A Wild Place to Shop and Eat

Steve Schussler the first Rainforest Café in the Mall of America, the largest enclosed mall in the worlds, in 1994. Before opening this unique retail store and theme restaurant, Schussler tested the concept for 12 years, eventually building a prototype in his Minneapolis home. It was not easy sharing a house with parrots, butterflies, tortoises, and tropical fish, but Schussler’s creativity resulted in a highly profitable and fast-growing chain.
    In 1996, the Rainforest Cafés (….
, Landry’s closed a number of Rainforest’s mall locations but opened up new locations in London’s Piccadilly Circus, Euro Disney outside Paris, Niagara Falls, the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1.    What is Rainforest Café’s retail offering and target market?
2.    Were malls good locations for Rainforest Cafés? Why or why not? What would be the best location types?
3.    Many retailers have tried to make their stores more entertaining. In a number of cases, these efforts have failed. What are the pros and cons of providing a lot of entertainment in a retail store or restaurant?



CASE 2 Providing a Retail Experience: Build-A-Bear Workshop

Today’s consumers want good value, low prices, and convenience, but they also are attracted to a great shopping experience. Build-A-Bear Workshop, a chain with over 170 stores generating $300 million in annual sales, is a teddy-bear-themed entertainment retailer whose stores are playgrounds for children.
    …
windows and doors. Besides adding value as playhouses, the boxes advertise Build-A-Bear to the child’s friends. “[You] could buy a bear anywhere” says Maxine Clark, founder and Chief Executive Bear. “It’s the experience that customers are looking for.” The experience is depicted on the retailer’s Web site, www.buildabear.com.
    Customers pay about $25 for the basic bear, but they can also buy sound, clothing, and accessories for their bear. To keep the experience fresh, Build-A-Bear regularly introduces new and limited-edition animals. Cloths and accessories are also updated to reflect current trends. There are also in-store birthday parties and an official CD. To make sure that customers have a great experience every time they visit, all sales associates attend a three-week training program at “Bear University,” and the firm offers incentive bear styles arriving weekly. Build-A-Bear stores also feature seasonal merchandise such as a King of the Grill bear for Father’s Day and a Sweetheart bear for Valentine’s Day.

Refact
The origin of the teddy bear was a 1930 incident in which President Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot a cub while bear hunting. The spared animal was thereafter referred to as the Teddy Bear.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1.    Is the Build-A-Bear concept a fad, or does it have staying power?
2.    What can Build-A-Bear do to generate repeat visits to the store?





CASE 3 WeddingChannel.com

Anne is sitting at her desk eating her lunch and surfing the Internet. For a few months, she has been preparing for her wedding, which will take place in less than a month. She found many helpful articles that gave her some good ideas. These articles also helped her face reality and change her childhood dreams of a white carriage pulled by a team of horses to a stretch limo. She gave up the Snow White wedding gown with a 15-foot train and has now settled on a sleek sheath gown.
    In planning her big day, Anne used the help of WeddingChannel.com to make a checklist of what she needs to do. The Web site helped her organize a guest list, design and buy her invitations, set up a gift registry, and post some information for her friends about how she and Steven met. They met in college and are from different cities; therefore, they decided to have their wedding somewhere in between where their friends and family could meet. She used the resources provided on WeddingChannel.com to book the chapel and restaurant where the reception would be held.
    Every year, $72 billion is …
/colors for the big day. Guests can go online and shop at the well-known stores associated with WeddingChannel.com and conveniently purchase exactly what the couple needs for their future together.



DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

(1)    What are the keys to making WeddingChannel.com a success from the perspective of the companies investing in it?
(2)    Why would a retailer want to invest in a virtual community like WeddingChannel.com?
(3)    Can you think of other retailers that might benefit from developing a virtual community?



CASE 4 The Chen Family Buys Bicycles

The Chens live in Riverside, California, west of Los Angeles. Terry is a physics professor at the University of California, Riverside. His wife Cheryl is a volunteer, working 10 hour a week at the Crisis Center. They have two children: Judy, age 10, and Mark, age 8.
    In February, Cheryl’s parents sent her $100 to buy a bicycle for Judy’s birthday. They bought Judy her first bike when she was five. Now they wanted to buy her a full-size bike for her eleventh birthday. Even though Cheryl’s parents felt every child should have a bike…
der a Serrato for Terry but that they weren’t in inventory and delivery took between six and eight weeks. He suggested a Ross and showed Terry one he currently had in stock. They thought the $500 price was too high, but the owner convinced him to try it next weekend. They would ride together in the country. The owner and some of his friends took a 60-mile tour with Terry. Terry enjoyed the experience, recalling his college days. After the tour, Terry bought the Ross.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1.    Outline the decision-making process for each of the Chens’ bicycle purchases.
2.    Compare the different purchase processes for the three bikes. What stimulated each of them? What factors were considered in making the store choice decisions and purchase decisions?
3.     Go to the student side of the Online Learning Center (OLC) and click on multiattribute model. Construct a multiattribute model for each purchase decision. How do the attributes considered and importance weights vary for each decision?


CASE 5 Consumer Buying Behaviors—Is Wal-Mart in Vogue?

The September 2005 issue of Vogue magazine contained eight pages of advertisements from the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart. The other 792 pages contained advertisements from Ralph Lauren, The Gap, Saks Fifth Avenue, Dior, Estee Lauder, Gucci, Lancome, St. John, Louis Vuitton, Bill Blass, Yves Saint Laurent, L’Oreal, Guess Mitchael Kors, David Yurman, Clinique, Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Manolo Blahnik, Donna Karan, Paul Mitchell, Vera Wang, And Jimmy Choo, to name just a portion of the brands in this fall issue.
    The ads from Wal-Mart feature…
.
Socioeconomic Income, education, occupation.
Benefits sought To meet customers’ desires.
Usages Rate Purchase behavior (frequency), brand loyalty.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1.    Is there an overlap in these two consumer segments?
2.    Can Wal-Mart changes its image and appeal to an upscale shopper, or should it stick to loyal, cash-strapped customers?
3.    Would you recommend that Wal-Mart purchase additional pages in Vogue magazine this year? Explain your rationale.



CASE 6 Dollar General and Family Dollar Cater to an Underserved Market Segment

Dollar General, headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, and Family Dollar, based in Mathews, North Carolina, are the two leading retailers in the fastest growing segment of the industry, referred to as extreme value retailing. In 2005, Dollar General has over 7,500 stores in 30 states with sales surpassing $7 billion. Its annual growth in sales has been above 20 percent for the last six years. Family Dollar, with 5,600 stores in 44 states, generated over $5 billion in sales in 2004. Both retailers are opening new stores at rates exceeding a store a day.
    The extreme value retail format has …
tracking systems, automated distribution centers, space allocation software, and replenishment systems to reduce stockouts and increase inventory turnover.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1.    What is the target market of extreme value retailers like Dollar General and Family Dollar?
2.    Why are customers increasingly patronizing these extreme value retailer stores?
3.    How do extreme value retailers make a profit when their prices and average transactions are so low?
4.    Can extreme value retailers defend themselves against general merchandise discount retailers like Wal-Mart, or will Wal-Mart eventually drive them out of business? Why?



ret

Thursday 30 July 2015

IIBM Exam Papers/Case studies : Contact us for answers at assignmentssolution@gmail.com

Note: Attempt all the Question,
All the questions carry equal marks,
                                                                      
CASE 1

The Santek Images Business Unit
    Consolidated Products is a $21 billion company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.  The company’s five business units, which offer a wide array of products and services, are the result of an aggressive strategy of mergers and acquisitions starting in the late 1980s.  The corporate staff is surprisingly small, comprised of general management, legal staff, and human resources.  Part of the reason for this small staff is due to the eclectic array of businesses housed within one corporate entity.  A Business Week editor recently commented that “Consolidated Products could easily be broken up into five separate companies, since at one time it was five separate companies.”  The editor also said that if the company “ever learned how to leverage its size in the marketplace, Consolidated Products could be a Wall Street powerhouse!”
    While Consolidated Products is a global corporation with facilities around the world, it operates each business unit as a highly independent and decentralized company.  The corporate culture is best described as entrepreneurial, with each business unit being headed by an executive vice president who has complete profit and loss accountability.  One of the business units, Santek Images, is the focus of this case.

Santek Images

Santek Images produces instant film and the imaging products that use that film for industrial applications.  Increasingly, Santek has shifted much of its production requirements to oversees producers.  The outsourcing of finished products, also called contract purchasing, represents a 180-degree shift from the vertically integrated model that Santek pursued during the 1970s and 80s.  A key driver behind the outsourcing of non-core products was the realization that previous ways of doing business could not support 10-20 new-product launches a year, which is the target that Santek’s executive vice president has established.
Many products at Santek use self-contained instant film, which Santek refers to as media.  Only one other company in the world has similar technical capabilities.  However, Santek now faces intense competition from digital technology, forcing the unit to make digital imagery part of its image acquisition core competency.  Most outsourcing at Santek now involves product hardware, such as the product casing, rather than media. 
There are several reasons why Santek insources media while outsourcing hardware.  Most of the innovation valued by customers occurs within media rather than hardware, making media a primary area to focus research and development efforts.  Furthermore, the margins for media products are higher than the margins for hardware products.  From an investment and financial perspective, limited corporate resources are best allocated to media rather than hardware.  While hardware is necessary, it does not offer the best financial and innovative opportunities.  This does not mean that hardware is not important.  Santek recently suffered through an embarrassing recall because a contract manufacturer produced a finished product casing that cracked when exposed to high temperatures (above 90 degrees).
Asian suppliers provide virtually all outsourced hardware requirements.  While Japan is the epicenter for hardware manufacturing, other low cost areas in Asia are emerging.  Outsourcing to Asia offers two major benefits—access to technology and low cost.  As with most electronics and their supporting components, U.S. and European producers are no longer competitive.
Beginning in 2002, Santek began to actively search for contract or outsource manufacturers, particularly for camera hardware.  Unfortunately, there was no organization in place to formally support that effort.  While a small OEM group worked to find contract manufacturers during the 1970s to 1995, Santek did not endorse or focus on outsourcing as a key corporate strategy.  As a result, creating an outsourcing organization was not a major concern at Santek.
In 2001, Santek formed a contract purchasing organization, which has primary responsibility for hardware outsourcing.  The contract-purchasing director (also referred to as the outsourcing director) reports to the vice president of new product delivery.  This group has responsibility for procurement (identifying and qualifying outsource manufacturers), product quality, and working with contract manufacturers during new product development.
To date, the contract-purchasing director believes his staff has done a good job of shifting production from internal to external sources.  In addition to managing two international procurement groups, the contract-purchasing director is responsible for managing relationships with the outsource providers.  After several years of outsourcing, the director of contract purchasing, Steve Keller, started to notice that the performance gains from outsourcing were flattening out quickly.  When he recently surveyed his contract manufacturers about their perception of doing business with Santek, he was surprised by their answers.
Of the 12 contract manufacturers currently used, seven thought of Santek as just another customer.  These suppliers did not believe there was anything unique or special about the relationship.  Three other suppliers expressed serious concern about doing future business with Santek since they were dedicating their capacity (through longer-term contracts) to other customers (who were not competitors of Santek).  Two other suppliers expressed an interest in developing a closer relationship with Santek.  It appeared that these suppliers were developing new technology and products that aligned well with Santek’s future product plans.  These two also had the longest working relationship with Santek of the current suppliers.  Steve could not help but wonder if his group could do more to develop or elevate the relationship with these two suppliers.  And, if he could develop the relationship, could his group achieve greater performance improvements?

Questions:

1.    Many outsourcing decisions involve the concept of a core competency.  Define what is meant by this term.  Discuss if film technology is truly a core competency of Santek.

2.    Develop a process that would guide firms through the insourcing/outsourcing process.  Create a process that is robust enough to use across a variety of product/service applications. 

3.    A major challenge with an insourcing/outsourcing analysis involves gathering reliable data.  Discuss the various groups that should be involved when conducting an insourcing/outsourcing analysis.  What information can each of these groups provide?

4.    Do you think hardware suppliers are candidates for alliances or partnerships with Santek?  Why?

5.    Partnerships and alliances are special forms of supplier-buyer relationships.  First, define the concept of partnerships and alliances.  Second, identify when a firm should pursue a partnership or alliance with selected suppliers.  Use the portfolio segmentation tool to assist with your answer.

6.    Develop a process that firms can use when identifying and developing supply chain alliances.

















CASE 2
Bryan Janz was just arriving back from lunch when his office phone rang.  It was his wife, Nina, calling from home.  Nina told Bryan that FedEx had just delivered a package addressed to her.  The package contained a beautiful clock now sitting over the fireplace.  In fact, Nina said, “the clock looks absolutely beautiful on our living room fireplace”.  Thinking the clock was from a family member, Bryan asked who sent the present.  She said she did not recognize the name—the clock was from Mr.  James McEnroe.  Bryan immediately told Nina that she had to repack the clock because it was from a supplier who has been trying to win business from Bryan’s company.  They definitely could not accept the clock.  Nina was very upset, and responded that the clock was perfect for the room and, besides, the clock came to their home, not to Bryan’s office.  Because of Nina’s attachment to the clock, Bryan was unsure about what to do.

Questions:

1.    What should Bryan do about the clock?

2.    What does the Institute of Supply Management (formerly the NAPM) code of ethics say about accepting supplier favors and gifts?

3.    Why do you think the supplier sent the clock to Bryan’s home and addressed it to his wife?

4.   Does the mere act of sending the clock to Bryan mean that Mr. McEnroe is an unethical   
      Salesperson?





































CASE 3

VCI/Ellison, which represents the consolidation of the heavy transportation equipment units of two previously separate and regional companies, is facing worldwide pricing pressures from customers and competitors.  The ability to meet financial targets has presented a major challenge for this new global company.  With limited ability to raise product prices, the alternatives facing VCI/Ellison have become managing material costs better or absorbing price increases through lower profit margins and profitability.  Given that direct materials represent over 70% of the company’s total costs, it becomes easy to appreciate the impact that improved global sourcing efforts should have on profitability.
From the time VCI, a European company, assumed ownership of U.S.-based Ellison both companies have sought to leverage the commonality between them on a global basis.  The company concluded early on that procurement offered excellent opportunities for global synergy across the two continents.  Ellison Equipment, working with VCI, has implemented a multi-step global sourcing process designed to leverage the volumes available through the newly combined units.  This case offers insight into how two geographically and culturally diverse companies, brought together through acquisition, are attempting to gain synergy and efficiency through integrated global sourcing.  The challenges facing this global effort include not only geographic separation, but also cultural, language, technical, and business practice differences.
Global Sourcing Process Overview The global process at this company features two teams, one at Ellison Equipment and one at VCI, working concurrently on the same global project.  While Ellison had experience using cost reduction teams, VCI had never used teams within their procurement or engineering areas.  As part of this process teams are aligned on both sides of the ocean working jointly on a commodity category or project.  The teams eventually work face-to-face as they progress through the process steps.
Each global sourcing project has an expected duration of six months (although the transition to a new supplier can take much longer).  After working with an external consultant to segment its primary products into six commodity groups, VCI and Ellison jointly identified 27 project opportunities.  This process is designed to support nine projects at a time (each having a six-month duration) with three iterations or waves.  Each team pursues three categories of commodities (which may have sub-categories or sub-commodities) simultaneously, so three teams in a wave pursue a total of nine projects.
VCI/Ellison has also decided to apply its global process to contracts that the sourcing teams determine are regional rather than global (a region is defined as North America or Europe only).  A global supplier is one that can competitively supply a product or service to all of VCI/Ellison’s worldwide production and assembly locations.  To date a majority of contracts have been classified as regional.  This is not surprising given the fact that the major competitors in the heavy equipment industry operate regionally, which the supply community is structured to support.
VCI/Ellison’s Global Sourcing Process With the help of an external consultant VCI/Ellison has created a rigorous and thorough nine-step global strategy development and implementation process.  Steps 1-4 of this process involve strategy development, while Steps 5-8 involve strategy implementation.  Global sourcing project teams are responsible for the first four steps.  Step 0 involves the executive steering committee selecting nine global sourcing projects at a time (called a wave) and identifying the cost savings expected from each project.
Perhaps the most important task associated with Step 1, which is project launch, is the formation of the global sourcing teams.  Team members are selected based on their familiarity with the commodity or items under review.  Since there is usually only one engineer and buyer for the commodity, these individuals become team members almost by default. 
The team leader works with the team to develop time schedules, a list of deliverables, and expected milestones within the six-month project window.  During this part of the process the teams begin to quantify what they are studying by collecting and validating data.  Across each category there may be four or five segments or sub-categories that require separate analysis.  While each team decides on the segmentation of a category, both teams assigned to the project must agree on the segmentation.
Even thought each project technically has two teams assigned (one at each company working simultaneously), they are really one team looking at the same project.  Teams can proceed to the next process step without the explicit approval of the executive steering committee.  However, teams are required to publish progress updates weekly.  A major responsibility of the business analyst (discussed later) is to compile and provide performance updates to the executive steering committee.
Some managers consider Step 2, sourcing strategy development, to be the most interesting and critical part of the global process.  During this step the project teams identify potential worldwide suppliers.  One of the realizations when beginning this process was that supplier switching, including switching from long-established suppliers, was likely to occur.  This realization was based partly on the external consultant’s global sourcing experience.  Supplier switching can be time-consuming and difficult as new supply chain relationships are established.
From the list of potential suppliers, the teams send Requests for Information (RFIs), which they can modify to meet the specific needs of their category or segment.  The RFI is a generic supplier questionnaire that introduces the global process and requests data about sales, production capacity, quality certification (such as ISO 9000), familiarity with the equipment industry, and major customers.  It is not unusual to send 400-500 RFIs during a project, depending on the complexity of the category and segments the team is working.
The RFI is a first filter in the supplier selection process.  During this step it is critical that suppliers return a high percentage of the RFIs, which are separated and reported by region of the world.  Of the 400-500 RFIs forwarded to suppliers, a team may receive and analyze several hundred completed RFIs.  The teams also conduct a detailed supply market analysis to develop a thorough understanding of the economics and dynamics of a particular market.
Step 2 is usually the first time that the two teams working on a global sourcing project meet face to face.  The European and U.S. teams meet physically to conduct face to face analysis of the RFIs returned by suppliers.  It is each team’s responsibility to establish the criteria for determining which suppliers will receive Requests for Proposals (RFPs).  A key decision during Step 2 is whether a procurement opportunity appears to be regional versus global.  A lack of globally capable suppliers can make a project a regional opportunity.
Step 2 requires a major effort on the part of engineering.  Engineers on both sides will examine drawings in an effort to commonize part specifications between locations.  While a project team may conclude that a global supply source does not exist, there may be opportunities to commonize or standardize specifications across the two locations.
Step 3, requests for proposals, features the development, sending, and analysis of formal proposals to the most promising suppliers identified in Step 2.  The average number of proposals forwarded to suppliers per project is 20-30.  Suppliers typically require six weeks to analyze and return the RFPs.  The teams strive for a high percentage of returned proposals, similar to the RFIs.  Team leaders, representing the project teams, report RFP progress to the executive steering committee at a weekly meeting.
Teams are responsible for analyzing the returned supplier proposals.  Like the RFIs, teams can set their own evaluation criteria and weights, but members must reach consensus in their choices.  The proposal allows suppliers to provide design suggestions.
The teams usually meet via video or audio conferencing to review the proposals.  Engineers again take a lead role in evaluating technical merits.  Complex purchase requirements may require teams to meet face-to-face for a second time.  Using standardized spreadsheet tools that are available to all teams, each team analyzes its proposals and decides, based on the analysis, which suppliers will be invited to negotiations. 
A negotiation workshop takes place at VCI’s European learning center during this step.  This session has several objectives—team members receive training in negotiation, the project teams develop their negotiating strategy, and the teams select a negotiation leader.  If a team determined that a sourcing opportunity was regional, negotiation will occur separately by region.  Teams select regional negotiation leaders if the project is a regional opportunity or a single negotiator if the project is global.  The decision of who should be the negotiating leader is based on discussion and consensus rather than voting.  Of the first 27 projects, fully one-third of the negotiating leaders were selected from outside the project teams.
Step 4 involves recommending a strategy and negotiating with selected suppliers.  Project teams make a recommendation to an executive committee, specifically the vice presidents of purchasing and engineering from VCI and Ellison.  The executive committee may ask questions but to date has not overturned any team recommendations.  Team recommendations include the selected supplier(s) with expected savings and timings identified.  The teams also identify whether the suppliers are regional or global but do not recommend contract length.
In this step the negotiating team probes and discusses in-depth the proposals submitted by suppliers.  Suppliers can be disqualified if engineering determines the supplier cannot satisfy technical requirements, or the team is not satisfied with the commercial issues
All negotiation in Step 4 is conducted face to face with suppliers at VCI/Ellison sites.  Half the negotiations so far have occurred in the U.S. and half in Europe.  Before suppliers arrive they receive feedback concerning the competitiveness of their proposal, which they are allowed to revise before negotiations commence.  Suppliers may be excused if they are informed that they are not competitive and choose not to revise their proposal.  Once the lead negotiator takes over, the team leader’s role begins to diminish (unless the team leader is also the lead negotiator).  The team leader usually remains as part of the negotiating team.
Step 5, called supplier certification, features purchasing and engineering groups receiving the team’s recommendation and preliminary terms of the negotiated agreement.  At this time functional directors will begin to budget expected savings from the proposed contract into their financial projections.  Supplier site visits can occur during this step by representatives of the functional groups.  For example, engineering, procurement, and quality assurance may want to validate a number of topics during this step.  The time frame for this step varies from one month to over a year.
Step 6, finalizing the contract, involves crafting the final contract based on the outcome of the negotiations.  The negotiation leader remains with the process until the contract is complete.  While the legal department is also involved, a buyer writes the contract using an agreement template.  Contracts are typically three years in duration.  Both sides of the ocean are involved in formalizing the contract if the agreement is global rather than regional.
Global agreements differ from traditional contracts.  They include productivity improvement requirements to offset material increases.  The agreements also encourage technical advancements by the supplier to further reduce material costs or enhance product performance.  This process also includes a formal process to manage improvements, whereas the process for previous or non-global agreements has been informal.  And, in a somewhat significant departure from previous contracting practices, incentives such as 50/50 improvement sharing are starting to appear.
Step 7, sample testing and approval, assesses the samples provided by the selected supplier.  Production facilities go through a production readiness stage, initial sample inspection reports are developed, parts are checked off of production tooling, and the negotiation leader develops a production rollout plan with help from his or her counterpart on the other side of the ocean.
Step 8, the concluding step of a global project, is the production readiness stage.  The selected supplier may send a day or weeks worth of supply to be used in actual production.  Logistics becomes part of the implementation team if there is a switch from one supplier to another.
Organizational Enablers VCI/Ellison has put in place certain enablers that support global sourcing.  This includes the formation of an executive steering committee, the use of global teams, formally selected team leaders, and the creation of a business analyst’s position to support the operational and analytical needs of the teams.
An executive steering committee at each unit reviews and prioritizes projects for study.  A sourcing director at VCI and a counterpart at Ellison drive the process at both organizations.  Working jointly, these executives recommend projects for study, solicit input from functional areas in terms of cost savings and quality improvement opportunities, develop a plan to pursue the project (including assembling a cross-functional team), track the status of each project through weekly progress updates, and manage the global process to ensure its continued success.  The executive steering committee members conduct a video conferencing meeting each week for two hours.  This meeting also involves team leaders for projects that are in process.
Cross-functional teams are an integral part of this process.  Two teams, one from VCI and one from Ellison, work simultaneously on the same sourcing opportunity, each with a formal team leader, two functional members (usually from engineering and purchasing), and a business analyst that supports both teams.  Each project consists of seven combined positions across two teams.  The team leader and business analyst are full-time assignments while the buyer and engineer provide a part-time commitment.
Teams are responsible only for the first four steps of the global sourcing process.  The two teams usually come together physically two or three times over a project’s duration.  Both sides agree, however, that face to face interaction is time consuming.  At the conclusion of each project the teams are required to write a “white book” documenting the lessons learned from their experience. 
With any team-based approach the role of the team leader is critical to success.  Project leaders are responsible for planning team meetings, which are held once or twice a week depending on the phase of the project, and reporting project status to the executive steering committee.  Planning includes setting the meeting agenda, ensuring the global process steps are followed, and working with team members to meet time lines and achieve project goals.  The leader also communicates with each member’s management when necessary to ensure commitment.  Agreement is widespread that the team leader is a critical part of the process, particularly when the leader must work with members to balance their priorities while still challenging the team to achieve demanding performance improvement targets.
Each set of teams that works on three projects simultaneously has a business analyst assigned to support the effort.  The time required for managing requests for information (RFIs) and requests for proposals (RFPs) across two continents is extensive.  VCI/Ellison created a full-time business analyst position to manage the required tasks when pursuing global agreement.  Exhibit 1 outlines the key features of this position.


Exhibit 1
Positive and Negative Features Related to
the Business Analyst Position

Positive Features    Negative Features
Experience from the position builds expertise about the global sourcing process
    Managing three projects simultaneously creates an intense work pace
Full-time commitment to the process helps the business analyst avoid other job distractions    Process has some inefficiencies (faxing, handling reams of paper, some software inefficiencies), creating additional and perhaps unnecessary work burden

Team leader and business analyst are key “point people” to management and suppliers
    Long and stressful days can affect morale and promote turnover
Given the work required to manage RFIs, RFPs, and negotiations, the global sourcing process would not succeed without the analyst position and a strong analyst
     Too many RFI suppliers pass to RFP stage, creating intensive work requirements for the analyst
Business analyst position prepares individuals for future sourcing careers     Obtaining drawings for RFPs from engineers is a time consuming process


The analyst is central to the success of the RFI and RFP process.  Analysts compile and send RFI and RFP packages to suppliers, track and report response rates, input RFI and RFP response information into a sourcing software system and database, and follow-up with suppliers who are late with their submission.  The business analyst also answers any questions that suppliers have or forwards their inquiries to the appropriate procurement or engineering representative.  The analyst also provides feedback to suppliers concerning the competitiveness of their initial quotation or proposal.  Finally, analysts have responsibility for forwarding the project database to their counterpart team across the ocean on a regular basis.  Team members are relieved of extensive analytic and clerical duties, which allows members to commit time to value-adding activities.
While management views the business analyst position as an ideal way for high-potential individuals to gain exposure to purchasing and sourcing, there are some issues with this part of the process.  Managing three projects simultaneously creates an intense work pace that affects morale and promotes turnover.  Furthermore, one analyst maintained that too many RFPs are forwarded to suppliers, resulting in an intensive work requirement.  Obtaining the necessary drawings from engineering is also a time consuming activity.  Finally, the process to coordinate team activities between the U.S. and Europe presents some difficulties.  The analyst must fax documents daily, manage reams of paper, and use software that was not compatible between the U.S. and European systems.
Global Sourcing Outcomes A number of themes emerge when managers describe the value of taking an integrated approach to worldwide sourcing.  Perhaps most importantly, global sourcing was the first major integrative effort undertaken between VCI and Ellison.  This process demonstrated that the two organizations could work jointly to capture the benefits offered by taking a global rather than regional perspective, although the company is somewhat disappointed by the number of opportunities that were determined to be regional rather than global.  Second, this process demonstrated that material savings are available from a disciplined approach to worldwide sourcing.  Contracts resulting from this process average over 10% in material price savings, which is not as high as the savings that Santek is realizing.  Part of this is due to the fact that many of VCI/Ellison’s agreements are regional rather than global.
Global sourcing has also narrowed the differences between Ellison’s and VCI’s sourcing practices.  Ellison has historically been more relationship focused with suppliers and viewed negotiation as a means to build upon those relationships.  VCI has shown a greater willingness to switch suppliers more frequently and faster due to cost and quality considerations.  The global process has enabled the two companies to converge on a consistent sourcing approach that combines the best features of both sourcing philosophies.
A repeated sentiment among managers is that this nine-step process introduced a discipline to sourcing at VCI/Ellison.  Each sourcing project moves lock-step over a six-month period with weekly reporting to an executive steering committee.  Global sourcing teams must meet deadlines and milestones, make sure information gets to suppliers, and thoroughly research the supply base before negotiating and awarding contracts.  The process has made everything “official” with suppliers, who have taken VCI/Ellison’s global efforts seriously.
The process is not without less positive outcomes or observations.  One issue concerns a lack of knowledge between VCI and Ellison personnel about each other’s supply base.  As a result, each side during a project has had a natural tendency to favor its own suppliers.  When the two project teams work together face-to-face, they have to spend time sorting out who the best suppliers from each side are globally.  This “home market bias” has hindered the process to some degree.  Global sourcing teams have been forced to learn more about each other’s suppliers, which requires greater effort and an open mind.
As expected, all 27 global project teams to date have not been equally effective.  One team leader argues that any differences in performance are due to the quality and effort of the team members and leaders rather than project complexity.  This highlights the need for careful member evaluation and selection.  Unfortunately, team leaders do not receive special training before they assume that critical position.  And, team members are usually selected because they are most familiar with the item or category under study rather than their ability to be effective team members.
While external consultants played a critical and highly visible role in developing and using VCI/Ellison’s global process, managers point out that the use of consultants caused some concern.  For example, consultants assumed the role of team leader with several early teams, raising questions concerning who should lead the teams and their qualifications.  The consultants often dictated what the RFPs should contain, which created some disagreement within project teams.  The consulting group also insisted on top management presence at weekly meetings.  While this demonstration of executive commitment was valuable for the first few months, later meetings became too detailed to warrant executive attendance.  Finally, too much time was spent educating consultants about the heavy equipment industry.  There was some surprise initially at the lack of experience of the consultants sent to work with VCI/Ellison on a day-to-day basis.
Concluding Observations An issue that all companies should address is whether the supply base that supports their industry has global capabilities.  Most competitors in the heavy equipment industry operate regionally, which the supply community is structured to support.  The issue of a regional versus global industry raises a critical question—is the heavy equipment industry, with its regional perspective and different customer tastes and requirements, a true global industry?  How much time should VCI/Ellison spend searching for common interests, including in procurement and design, when perhaps limited opportunities are available?
As VCI/Ellison completes the first major iteration of its global process (three waves of nine projects each that addressed the entire product structure), some managers are openly concerned about losing the discipline associated with this process.  When first introduced the global sourcing process was something new that received special attention from executive leadership and suppliers.  Some managers have expressed a concern that internal participants and suppliers already perceive the process is “winding down” and that most of the available savings have been captured.  Maintaining momentum rather than succumbing to complacency will likely require a group that is committed to driving this process forward.  In all likelihood that group must be the executive steering committee that is responsible for directing VCI/Ellison’s global efforts.









Questions:

1.    What is global sourcing?  Are there different levels of global sourcing?

2.    What are some of the differences, including cultural differences, between VCI and Ellison?  Can these differences affect the success of the company’s global sourcing projects?

3.    Why is this company pursuing integrated global sourcing?  Describe the global process that VCI/Ellison has implemented.

4.    The assessment of worldwide suppliers creates an extensive workload.  Discuss how VCI/Ellison supports the analysis requirements faced by each global sourcing team.

5.    Discuss the concept of a “wave.”  Why does executive management want each global sourcing project to last six months and move through a lock-step series of steps?












































CASE 4

Faced with intense competition, increasing expectations from customers, reduced product life cycles, and localized geographic markets, Whirlpool Corporation (a Fortune 500 manufacturer of appliances) realized that the need to achieve a competitive advantage from its sourcing and material efforts was greater than ever.  Part of the strategy to achieve this advantage involved pursuing an alliance with a key steel supplier.  Steel is a major component used across all of the company’s finished products (such as washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators, and others).  The purchasing managers at Whirlpool faced a number of questions with regard to their purchasing strategy:
•    What do we need to do to be competitive?
•    Who is best suited to be the primary steel supplier?
•    What do we need to know, and how do we get the information required to answer this question, especially with regard to our organizational culture, technological roadmap, and where both organizations are moving in the long term?
•    How do we implement a strategic alliance?
•    How do we establish a strategic alliance in terms of confidentiality agreements, termination agreements, and negotiation strategies?
•    How do we provide the supplier with evaluations to ensure that this alliance continues, with regard to continuous performance, goal achievement, and commitment?
•    What do we do if we do not meet our objectives—change the situation or simply terminate the agreement?
Whirlpool realized it needed to reduce the number of steel suppliers it used and locate a supplier with a common desire to enter into a longer-term alliance.  Whirlpool’s organizational goals were to leverage the selected supplier’s technical capabilities through early supplier involvement, day-to-day redesign support, and process improvement.  At the same time, top executives realized that in order to obtain these benefits, it was important that the supplier partner perceive value in the relationship.
While all of this was occurring in 1984 at Whirlpool, the management team at Inland Steel was considering a different set of questions.  Four vice presidents of marketing at Inland Steel, an integrated steel producer located in the same geographic region as Whirlpool, were reviewing their market strategies and the recent changes that had occurred in their strategic alliances.  They had made the decision to reduce their customer base, and were forming a new management plan.  This was part of Inland’s Customer Relationship Management strategy, which entailed reducing their customer base in order to serve only their preferred customers that would yield the highest long-term profitability for the company.   This strategy was a direct result of Inland Steel’s total quality management program, which dictates that to delight the customer one must identify key markets and focus on those markets.  
A major component of this market strategy was to approach key customers with the idea of entering into long-term agreements.  In doing so, Inland Steel realized that the best opportunity for reducing costs was to become involved early in new product design with key customers.  However, to achieve this objective, the vice presidents realized that significant capital investment would be required to update Inland Steel’s facilities with state-of-the-art steel processing technology to align technologies with key customers.   In some cases, this involved some degree to risk, as aligning capital investments with specific key customers could “shut out” new business with other potential customers.    However, the management team reached a consensus that the only way to succeed in the current market structure was to reduce costs through early involvement in customer new product designs, and to back this up with capital investments in design capabilities and new facilities.
Meanwhile, Whirlpool executives were mulling over whether Inland Steel was the right supplier to form an alliance with.   Whirlpool Corporation had used Inland Steel as a supplier for several years, but had used many different steel suppliers during this period.   The strategy of forming a formal buyer-supplier partnership was a relatively new one.  As these two companies explored the idea, it became obvious that a complementary common strategic vision existed between the two companies, which could make such a partnership a reality.  This common vision was based on the fact that the Whirlpool Corporation needed to sustain a competitive advantage and support its direct customer relationships, while Inland needed to manage the transition inherent in a customer-focused market strategy.  Thus, Whirlpool Corporation sought to work with Inland Steel to realize reduced costs vis-à-vis the competition, and Inland sought to obtain a major share of Whirlpool’s steel contract.  While this initial concept seemed straightforward, it required almost seven years to make it a reality.
The vision was made a reality by first understanding that reducing cost did not simply mean lowering the price paid per ton of steel, but rather to take cost out of the business processes, which takes much more time.  Linkages throughout every step of the value chain, not just between purchasing and sales, had to be established (See Exhibit 1).  The end goal became to maximize profitability at both companies, while not relying on explicit formulas and equations formalized in contract form.  Along the way, the companies encountered a number of obstacles.  However, as the vice president of purchasing at Whirlpool Corporation described the process, “Neither of us let these problems get in the way of cost reduction efforts, which in the long run far exceeded the changes in market steel prices.”
Overcoming the obstacles in the relationship required a seamless organization and the elimination of levels of bureaucracy.  Functional personnel in each firm had to be able to communicate directly with their counterparts in the other firm, all the way to the chief executive office.  The underlying foundation of the relationship was challenged many times during the early years.  “The reason why this relationship works,” says the vice president of marketing at Inland Steel, “is that Whirlpool Corporation created an environment that allowed questions to be laid out on the table every time a new issue came up.”
A Roadmap to Trust
The following is a timeline of the development of the strategic relationship between Whirlpool Corporation and Inland Steel.  In 1984, Inland Steel began to share its market strategy and management vision with Whirlpool.  The sharing was unique because the supplier (Inland Steel) actually took the initiative when pursuing the strategic alliance.  By 1986, Whirlpool had reduced its supply-base from eleven steel suppliers to seven, and Inland had invested over $1 billion in new capital investment.  This investment was specifically designed for Whirlpool’s steel requirements in the appliance industry, which could not be used in their other major market, the automobile industry.  Inland Steel needed to be granted access to Whirlpool’s engineering personnel to identify the different ways that Whirlpool Corporation was using steel and convert these into process specifications.  At this point, Inland was given assurances that it would receive a larger volume of Whirlpool’s orders.  One of the most important of Whirlpool’s later actions was that the company actually did place the orders it said it would.
In 1988 and 1989, the alliance was reevaluated by Whirlpool Corporation, and Inland’s orders from Whirlpool increased by 30%.  Simultaneously, Inland began the first of their joint cost-reduction projects, which sought to eliminate cost from the business processes.  By 1990, Whirlpool had reduced its number of steel suppliers to four.  The companies held a joint leadership meeting to bring discussion of the alliance to top management’s attention and to formally develop a supplier council.  The companies also developed a long-range vision, which was deemed critical to the success of the partnership.
The alliance solidified in 1993.  By this time, Inland Steel had established resources at its technical center dedicated to the needs of Whirlpool.  In 1994, Whirlpool increased its orders to Inland Steel by another 15%, bringing the total to approximately 80% of Inland’s total steel requirements.  At this point, the two companies were sharing joint strategies, and Whirlpool’s organizational restructuring was developed around the Inland Steel relationship.  Purchasing management was actively involved in top-level strategic planning.  To date, the strategic relationship between Whirlpool and Inland Steel is in place and producing benefits that a traditional relationship could not have produced.
Issues and Concerns
In the process of developing greater trust between the two organizations, the companies had to address a number of issues directly.  First, different employee practices between the two companies often led to conflict.  This conflict was reduced in part by promoting greater cross-cultural interaction, such as having a purchasing manager work at the supplier’s plant, which helped to smooth over any differences in corporate culture that existed.  The sharing of cost data was also problematic, but this happened in segments so as to target specific cost drivers in different areas of the business process.  In the long run, by focusing on quality improvements and reject-rate reduction, hourly labor costs became almost a non-issue.  Even though Whirlpool had several CEOs during this period, the relationship between the companies remained intact because of the level of trust that had developed over time.  The relationship was no longer between people but rather between organizations.
Inland Steel was also concerned that a single-sourcing policy might cause it to lose touch with the market, and was concerned with confidentiality of information.  At the same time, Whirlpool was concerned about the technological risks of relying on only one supplier.  However, these concerns were ultimately dwarfed by the belief that both companies would be low-cost producers in the long-term because of the relationship.

Mechanisms to Support the Relationship
Executive management at both companies recommend that organizations considering pursuing partnerships need to think early on how they will deal with issues such as those just mentioned.  Although no single right answers exist, there are different approaches to these issues that must be tailored to the specific situation.  For example, significant organizational realignment was needed so that people could work specifically with their counterparts in the other firm.
The creation of a supplier council was also instrumental to the relationship.  This approach permitted the sharing of strategies and tactics so that each party became aware of each other’s activities.  Senior management discussion, both structured periodic meetings and informal spontaneous telephone conversations, also helped promote greater trust.  Quarterly performance reviews by Whirlpool were helpful to Inland for understanding how well they were meeting performance expectations.  Engineers from Inland were also co-located at Whirlpool’s product development center, which created many other informal avenues for communication.
Whirlpool has begun to apply the same “customer service” principles used by Inland to their own customer based.   Whirlpool’s CEO has redefined his company’s mission as a fabric-care of a food-preservation enterprise rather than as a washing-machine or refrigerator maker.   Whirlpool sales executives recognize that certain distribution channels make up the majority of their sales volumes – in this case, what they call the “Power Retailers”, such as Circuit City, Sears, and Electric Avenue.   These retailers demand 100% availability, and Whirlpool’s logistics managers meet this expectation.   A second set of customers, building contractors and government agents, purchase in smaller volumes, but also require higher levels of customer service.   Thus, they promise close to 95% availability for this group.   Finally, the “Discount Outlets” and “Mom and Pop” operations require 85% availability, as they purchase infrequently and in smaller volumes.   In effect, a different customer service standard is set for different customers, depending on their importance. 
The underlying outcome for both parties in this agreement is that the relationship became viewed as a covenant, which implies a greater commitment than a contract.  In the words of one Inland Steel executive, “A covenant implies a promise that is enduring and provides a way to manage expectations.  The single most important tenet of the relationship is the need to satisfy the end consumer who purchases the finished appliance.  By focusing on this covenant, the relationship should survive and prosper over the long term.”
Questions:
1.    Discuss what the following statement means: ‘It can take years for a buyer/seller partnership to begin delivering results.’

2.    Discuss the advantages of having point-to-point contact (Exhibit 1) between functional groups at different companies.  Are there any disadvantages to this approach?

3.    What role does trust play in the relationship between Whirlpool Corporation and Inland Steel?  Provide examples from the case that illustrate trust within this relationship.

4.    Why is it important to have a strategic fit between the companies involved in a buyer/seller alliance or partnership?

        5.    When formulating its purchasing strategy, what other strategy alternatives besides an alliance with another company could Whirlpool Corporation have pursued?
   
EXHIBIT 1
Supply Chain Linkages Between Whirlpool Corporation and Inland Steel
Supplier    Buyer
Manufacturing    <——————————>    Manufacturing
Human resources    <——————————>    Human resources
Accounting    <——————————>    Accounting
Engineering    <——————————>    Engineering
Sales/Marketing    <——————————>    Purchasing
CASE 5

    Consolidated Products is a $21 billion company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.  The company’s five business units, which offer a wide array of products and services, are the result of an aggressive strategy of mergers and acquisitions starting in the late 1980s.  Exhibit 1 provides an overview of Consolidated Products and its five primary business units.  The corporate staff is surprisingly small, comprised of general management, legal staff, and human resources.  Part of the reason for this small staff is due to the eclectic array of businesses housed within one corporate entity.  A Business Week editor recently commented that “Consolidated Products could easily be broken up into five separate companies, since at one time it was five separate companies.”  The editor also said that if the company “ever learned how to leverage its size in the marketplace, Consolidated Products could be a Wall Street powerhouse!”
    While Consolidated Products is a global corporation with facilities around the world, it operates each business unit as a highly independent and decentralized company.  The corporate culture is best described as entrepreneurial, with each business unit being headed by an executive vice president who has complete profit and loss accountability.  This case focuses on the Engineered Materials business unit. 

ENGINEERED MATERIALS
The Engineered Materials business unit, acquired in 1999, is the newest and smallest addition to Consolidated Products portfolio of companies.  Part of this business unit’s efforts over the last year have centered on becoming more integrated across the various functional groups that make up the business unit.  Unfortunately, this unit was previously part of Andreas Manufacturing, an old-line company with a strict hierarchical culture.  Executive managers at Consolidated Products knew this purchase would present some interesting challenges regarding how this unit would fit in with the entrepreneurial culture that Consolidated Products has tried to create.  Unfortunately, Engineered Materials is struggling.  In fact, internal problems created by the efforts to change the culture helped push 2003 sales down 8 percent as the rest of the industry increased by 5 percent.
Executive management believes that the use of cross-functional teams is a primary way to change the unit’s culture while achieving major performance improvement savings.  One of the teams that management expects to deliver major cost savings is the composite materials team.  This team, chartered in November 2002, had initial savings targets of 15 percent cost and productivity savings, which translated to $3 million in annual savings.  The team, which has been meeting on a regular basis for 12 months, has struggled to develop a purchasing strategy for composite materials.  Unfortunately, this team is not working well together or making much progress, which has frustrated executive management and has affected the financial projections for 2004 and 2005.  The team has fallen far short of its expectations.  While no one has formally identified the exact reason(s) for the less than optimal performance, an internal consultant has interviewed several team members.  Examples from comments made by these team members include—
?    Some of the team’s members are not that committed to the assignment.  One even commented that his regular job responsibilities come first.  After all, that’s where his manager really holds him accountable.  And, he continued, what is really the risk of not supporting the team?  The way this member sees it, the real risk comes from putting in too much time on the team and neglecting “the real work.” 
?    Some of the team members maintain they do not really understand the team’s goals.  The goals that the team developed are vague, or simply address team behavior.  For example, one goal is for the team to “meet once a week.”
?    While the team has a formally designated leader, he spends too much time talking and not enough time listening.  He also gets angry when team members don’t agree with his position on an issue.  Several members commented how rude he can be to team members.
?    Some members perceive that management is not forthcoming with the necessary resources.  In the opinion of one member,” Team members spend too much time requesting the necessary resources rather than working together on team assignments.”
?    One member asked what qualified him to be on a team.  He said he was never on a cross-functional team in his 20 years with the company.  How is he supposed to know what it takes to be part of a “higher performance work unit?”  This member further questioned whether the Engineered Materials unit, given its history and culture, is ready for team-based management.
Although the methodology was not rigorous, the internal consultant quickly determined that the use of teams at this business unit was in serious need of help.
Questions:

1.    Gaining team member commitment is critical to team success.  Discuss how this unit can use its employee performance evaluation and reward system can encourage members to support cross-functional project teams.  Be sure to provide examples of the kinds of rewards available to team members.
2.    Goal setting is also important to team success.  Discuss how organizations and teams should establish goals, and why having team goals is important.
3.    Research has demonstrated a strong link between effective team leadership and cross-functional team success.  Describe the characteristics of an effective team leader.  Next, describe the responsibilities and requirements of cross-functional team leaders.
4.    Identify the kinds of resources, in general, that cross-functional sourcing teams should be provided to be successful.  (Note: A specific team could differ in its needs compared to other teams)
5.    Identify the types of training that team members at Engineered Materials will likely require before they can effectively support team interaction and activities.

Wednesday 29 July 2015

IIBM Exam Papers/Case studies : Contact us for answers at assignmentssolution@gmail.com


Note: Both the sections are Compulsory

SECTION 1: Solve both the case studies

CASE – 1   MEDIA RELATIONS

Indefinite Strike by Employees—Role of PR: The VSNL Experience

VSNIL—the erstwhile Overseas Communication Service (OCS), and Navratna Central Public Enterprise—had always had a very cordial employee-employer relationship. The problem started when the Government of India decided to allot PSU employees shares of the company they worked in. while other Navratna companies allotted shares to their employees, VSNL did not do so. The reason for the delay VSNL was going for a GDR (global depository receipt) issue at that time, and the ministry of communications wanted to complete the issue before allotting the shares to the employees.

But after the GDR issue, a technical problem about the price at which the shares were to be issued to employees arose. The VSNL employees demanded a share price that was in accordance with the first disinvestments to the institutional investors in 1992—Rs 216 per share or Rs 10 each. But the ministry maintained that since the shares were not allotted to employees at that time for whatever reason, they could be allotted now only according to market rates, with a 15 per cent discount as per finance ministry rules.

The market value of the shares at that time was in the range of Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,100. For the employees, buying their quota of shares at those prices was a very costly proposition. They demanded that they should not be penalized for the government’s inability to issue the shares to them at the time of the first disinvestments. This was not acceptable to the government. Hence the employees decided to go on indefinite strike to compel the government to allot shares to them at Rs 216 each, instead of market rates with a 15 per cent discount as suggested by the government.

Stakeholders and the public

Obviously, the prime target group, in this situation was the employees and their leaders. However, at the same time there were other target groups who had to be reached and communicated with, and who would directly or indirectly help in resolving the problem, and maintaining the good image of the company, internally and externally. These other target groups were:

1.    Non-striking employees who did not participate in the strike call.
2.    Government and legal/labour authorities.
3.    Trade, customers and suppliers.
4.    Media, especially the national and international press.
5.    Industry leaders and industry associates.
6.    Last but not the least, subscribers of the corporation’s services.

Communication

1.    The company’s objectives for this industrial relations and image problem were to instill discipline, and achieve the required productivity level.
2.    To put across the issue in its right perspective to the various target publics.
3.    To help in resolving the issue by communicating to the employees the management’s stand, and its fairness to both parties.
4.    To keep the morale of other employees high, and gain support through appropriate communications to them via various internal media.
5.    The company, in the true spirit of its past harmonious relationship with employees, took a fair and just stand in all respects. Despite determined efforts by union activitists to paralyse the working of the corporation, the management of the corporation on many occasions met union representatives to break the deadlock. But the union was adamant as it considered its demand legitimate.
6.    The PR department organised press relations meetings and briefings, supported by information and facts on the situation at different times.

Eventually the government decided to accept the employees’ demand as a very special consideration, keeping in view the importance of the international telecommunications facility to customers. Besides, VSNL was going in for a second GDR issue, and the government did not want to give a wrong impression to international investors about the unhealthy industrial relations in VSNL. However, the government decided on a three-year lock-in period during which employees could not sell the allotted shares. This was to ensure that employees, being shareholders, took all possible steps to ensure the progress and achievements of VSNL, especially its high profit-earning position.



Question:

1.    What measures would you take if you were the PR of BSNL

2.    What according to you was the outcome of the solution taken by PR of BSNL?




















CASE – 2   MEDIA RELATIONS

NEEPCO Ltd: Accidental Death of a Woman Worker—Role of PR

The corporate office of the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd (NEEPCO) is located in Shillong (Meghalaya). The company had a major hydroelectric project at Kopili, in the Jayantia district of Meghalaya, 90 km from Shillong. The main project building was under construction when big marble tiles on its walls began falling. Realising the consequences of these tiles falling on anybody, NEEPCO project officials put rope barriers around the building to keep people away from danger.
Unfortunately however, a big piece of marble fell on a woman worker’s head when she wandered into the roped-off area. A huge crowd soon started gathering at the place, and they soon turned against the corporation, accusing it of carelessness. The victim was rushed to the nearby civil hospital by the project management, where she was declared dead.

Stakeholders and public
First, people gathered at the place of accident. Subsequently, the relatives of the victim arrived at the accident spot, followed by journalists who wanted to know the exact nature of the accident resulting in the death of the woman.

Communication
The NEEPCO management became very concerned about criticism resulting from the accident. They called the PR chief and asked for his advice. Initially, the management wanted to hush up the incident; they wanted to discuss the matter only with the relatives of the victims, and defuse the situation by paying compensation. They felt that if the incident was publicised, it could have serious repercussions. So they thought it better to put an end to the matter at that point.
But the PR chief did not agree with this suggestion. He felt it was dangerous to hide the information from the press, and that it would be better to issue a press release giving details of the incident. This way, they could explain the company’s viewpoint and clarify the corporation’s role in getting medical aid to the victim promptly, and its willingness to help the victim’s family in suitable manner—either through monetary compensation or giving a job to the victim’s next of kin.
The NEEPCO PR chief pointed out to the management that if the matter was not explained then, the press would come to know of the incident from other sources. They could then form a different opinion about the motives of the NEEPCO management, conclude that the corporate wanted to hide the matter deliberately, and criticise it for inefficiently handling the matter. 
Ultimately, the NEEPCO management agreed to the PR chief’s suggestion. It issued a press release, and also called some journalists for a meeting, where the PR chief explained the company’s viewpoint. Two company directors and the PR chief went to the residence of the victim, met her relatives, and assured them of all possible assistance.
The next day, the press coverage of the incident was very mild, with opinion going in the company’s favour.

Question:

1.    Explain in detail the management’s point of view and PR’s point of view on the accidental death of woman worker?

2.    What would have been the situation if neepco didn’t face the press?


SECTION 2: Solve any 4 Questions:



1.    What is public relations? How is it a two-way communications process?

2.    “Style has many meanings in journalism.” Discuss.

3.    Discuss the duties and responsibilities of a reporter.

4.    Discuss the various features of pictorial journalism.

5.    Discuss Media Relation. Explain why it is so important for public relations.

6.    Discuss the role of new information technology media in public relations.

Tuesday 28 July 2015

IIBM Exam Papers/Case studies : Contact us for answers at assignmentssolution@gmail.com

Case 1   Disaster Recovery at Marshall Field’s (Another Chicago River Story)


Early in the morning on April 13, 1992, basements in Chicago’s downtown central business district began to flood. A hole the size of an automobile had developed between the river and an adjacent abandoned tunnel. The tunnel, built in the early 1900s for transporting coal, runs throughout the downtown area. When the tunnel flooded, so did the basements connected to it, some 272 in all, including that of major retailer Marshall Field’s.
    The problem was first noted at 5:30 A.M. by a member of the Marshall Field’s trouble desk who saw water pouring into the basement. The manager of maintenance was notified and immediately took charge. His first actions were to contact the Chicago Fire and Water Departments, and Marshall Field’s parent company, Dayton Hudson in Minneapolis. Electricity—and with it all elevator, computer, communication, and security services for the 15-story building—would soon be lost. The building was evacuated and elevators were moved above basement levels. A command post was quickly established and a team formed from various departments such as facilities, security, human resources, public relations, and financial, legal, insurance, and support services. Later that day, members of Dayton Hudson’s risk management group arrived from Minneapolis to take over coordinating the team’s efforts. The team initially met twice a week to evaluate progress as the store recovered. The goal of the team was to ensure the safety of employees and customers, minimize flood damage, and resume normal operations as soon as possible. The team hoped to open the store to customers 1 week after the flood began.
    An attempt was made to pump out the water; however, as long as the tunnel hole remained unrepaired, the Chicago River continued to pour into the basements. Thus, the basements remained flooded until the tunnel was sealed and the Army Corps of Engineers could give approval to start pumping. Everything in the second-level basement was a loss, including equipment for security, heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, fire sprinkling, and mechanical services. Most merchandise in the first-level basement stockrooms also was lost.
    Electricians worked around the clock to install emergency generators and restore lighting and elevator service. Additional security officers were hired. An emergency pumping system and new piping to the water sprinkling tank were installed so the sprinkler system could be reactivated. Measures were taken to monitor ventilation and air quality and dehumidifiers and fans were installed to improve air quality. Within the week, inspectors from the City of Chicago and OSHA gave approval to reopen the store.
    During this time, engineers had repaired the hole in the tunnel. After water was drained from the Marshall Field’s basements, damaged merchandise was removed and sold to a salvager. The second basement had to be gutted to assure removal of contaminants. Salvageable machinery had to be disassembled and sanitized.
    The extent of the damage was assessed and insurance claims filed. A construction company was hired to manage restoration of the damaged areas. Throughout the ordeal, the public relations department dealt with the media, being candid yet showing confidence in the recovery effort. Customers had to be assured that the store was safe and employees kept apprised of the recovery effort.
    This case illustrates crisis management, an important aspect of which is having a team that moves fast to minimize losses and quickly recover damages. At the beginning of a disaster there is little time to plan, though companies and public agencies often have crisis guidelines for responding to emergency situations. Afterwards they then develop more specific, detailed plans to guide longer-term recovery efforts.

QUESTIONS

1.    In what ways are the Marshall Field’s flood disaster recovery effort a project? Why are large-scale disaster response and recovery efforts projects?
2.    In what ways do the characteristics of crisis management as described in this case correspond to those of project management?

3.    Who was (were) the project manager(s) and what was his or her (their) responsibility? Who was assigned to the project team and why were they on the team?

4.    Comment on the appropriateness of using disaster recovery efforts such as this.

5.    What form of project management (basic, program, and so on) does this case most closely resemble?
Case 2        Flexible Benefits System Implementation at Quick Medical Center

The management committee of Quick Medical Center wanted to reduce the cost and improve the value and service of its employee benefits coverage. To accomplish this it decided to procure and implement a new benefits system. The new system would have no meet four goal; improved responsiveness to employee needs, added benefits flexibility, better cost management, and greater coordination of human resource objectives with business strategies. A multifunctional team of 13 members was formed by selecting representatives of departments at Quick that would rely most on the new system—Human Resources (HR), Financial Systems (FS), and Information Services (IS). Representation from each department was important to assuring all departmental needs would be met. The team also included six technical experts from the software consulting firm of Hun and Bar Software (HBS).

    Early in the project a workshop was held with team members from Quick and HBS to clarify and finalize project objectives and develop a project plan, milestones, and schedules. Project completion was set at 10 months. In that time HBS had to develop and supply all hardware and software for the new system; the system had to be brought on-line, tested, and approved; HR workers had to be trained how to operate the system and load existing employee data; all Quick employees had to be educated about and enrolled in the new benefits process; and the enrollment data had to be entered in the system.

    The director of FS was chosen to oversee the project. She had a technical background and, prior to serving as director, had worked in the IS group where she assisted in implementing Quick’s patient care information system. Everyone on the team approved of her appointment as project leader, and many team members had worked with her previously. Two team members had worked with her previously. Two team leaders were also selected, one each from HR and IS. The HR leader’s task was to ensure that the new system met HR requirements and the needs of Quick employees, and the IS leader’s task was to ensure that the new software interfaced with other Quick systems.

    Members of the Quick team were committed to the project on a part-time basis. Roughly 50 percent of the time they worked on the project; the rest of the time they performed their normal daily duties. The project manager and team leaders also worked on the project part-time. When conflicts arose, the project took priority. Given specific performance requirements and time deadlines, the Quick top management committee made it clear that successful project completion was imperative. The project manager was given authority over functional managers and project team members regarding all project related decisions.

QUESTIONS

1.    What form of project management (basic, program, and so on) does this case most closely resemble?

2.    The project manager is also the director of FS, only one of the departments that will be affected by the new benefits system. Does this seem like a good idea? What are the pros and cons of her selection?

3.    Comment on the team members’ part time assignment to the project and the expectation that they give the project top priority.

4.    Much of the success of this project depends on the performance of team members who are not employed by Quick, namely the HBS consultants. They must develop the entire hardware/software benefits system. Why was an outside firm likely chosen for such an important part of the project manager in meeting project goals?








Case 3   Glades County Sanitary District

Glades Country is a region on the Gulf Coast with a population of 600,000. About 90 percent of the population is located in and near the city of Sitkus. The main attractions of the area are its clean, sandy beaches and nearby fishing. Resorts, restaurants, hotels, retailers, and the Sitkus/Glades County economy in general rely on these attractions for tourist dollars.

    In the last decade, Glades Country has experienced a near doubling of population and industry. One result has been the noticeable increase in the level of water pollution along the coast due primarily to the increased raw sewage dumped by Glades County into the Gulf. Ordinarily, the Glades County sewer system directs effluent waste through filtration plants before pumping it into the Gulf. Although the Glades County Sanitary District (GCSD) usually is able to handle the county’s sewage, during heavy rains the runoff from paved surfaces exceeds sewer capacity and must be diverted past filtration plants, directly in to the Gulf. Following heavy rains, the beaches are cluttered with dead fish and debris. The Gulf fishing trade also is affected; pollution drives away desirable fish. Recently, the water pollution level has become high enough to damage both the tourist and fishing trade. Besides coastal pollution, there is also concern that as the population continues to increase, the county’s primary fresh water source, Glades River, will also become polluted.

    The GCSD has been mandated to prepare a comprehensive water waste management program that will reverse the trend in pollution along the Gulf Coast as well as handle the expected increase in effluent wastes over the next 20 years. Although not yet specified, it is known that the program will include new sewers, filtration plants, and stricter anti-pollution laws. As a first step, GCSD must establish the overall direction and mission of the program.

    Wherever possible, answer the following questions (given the limited information, it is okay to advance some logical guesses; if you are not able to answer a question for lack of information, indicate how and where, as a systems analyst, you would get it):

Questions:
1.    What is the system? What are its key elements and subsystems? What are the boundaries and how are they determined? What is the environment?

2.    Who are the decision makers?

3.    What is the problem? Carefully formulate it.

4.    Define the overall objective of the water waste management program. Because the program is wide-ranging in scope, you should break this down into several sub- objectives.

5.    Define the criteria or measures of performance to be used to determine whether the objectives of the program are being met. Specify several criteria for each sub-objective. As much as possible, the criteria should be quantitative, although some qualitative measures should also be included. How will you know if the criteria that you define are the appropriate ones to use?

6.    What are the resources and constraints?

7.    Elaborate on the kinds of alternatives and range of solutions to solving the problem.

8.    Discuss some techniques that could be used to help evaluate which alternatives are best.








Case 4        West Coast University
        Medical center

(This is a true story.) West Coast University Medical Center (Pseudonym) is a large university teaching and research hospital with a national reputation for excellence in health care practice, education, and research. Always seeking to sustain that reputation, the senior executive board at the Medical Center (WCMC) decided to install a comprehensive medical diagnostic system. The system would be linked to WCMC’s computer servers and be available to physicians via the computer network. Because every physician’s office at WCMC has a PC, doctors and staff could access the system from these offices as well as from their homes or private-practice offices. By simply clicking icons to access a medical specialty area, then keying in answers to queries about a patient’s symptoms, medical history, and so on, a physician could get a list of diagnostics with associated statistics.

    The senior board sent a questionnaire to manager in every department about needs in their areas and how they felt the system might improve doctor’s performances. Most managers felt it would save the doctor’s time and improve their performances. The hospital computing and information systems (CIS) group was assigned to investigate the cost and feasibility of implementing the system. CIS staff interviewed medical-center managers and software vendors specializing in diagnostic systems. The study showed high enthusiasm among the respondents and a long list of potential benefits. Based on the study report, the senior board approved the system.

    The CIS manager contacted three well-known consulting firms that specialized in medical diagnostic systems and invited each to give a presentation. Based on the presentations, he chose one firm to assist the CIS group in identifying, selecting, and integrating several software packages into a single, complete diagnostic system.

    One year and several million dollars later the project was completed. However, within a year of its completion it was clear that the system had failed. Although it did everything the consultants and software vendors had promised, the few doctors that did access it complained that many of the system “benefits” were irrelevant, and that certain features they desired were lacking.

QUESTIONS

1.    Why was the system a failure?

2.    What was the likely cause of its lack of use?

3.    What steps or procedures were absent or poorly handled in the project conception phase?




















Case 5        X-philes Data Management
        Corporation


X-philes Data Management Corporation (XDM) requires assistance in tow large projects it is about to undertake: Agentfox and Mulder. Although the projects are comparable in terms of size, technical requirements, and estimated completion time, they are independent and will have their own project managers and teams. Work for both projects is to be contracted to outside consultants.

    Two managers at XDM, one assigned each to Agentfox and Mulder, prepare RFPs and send them to several contractors. The RFP for Agentfox includes a statement of work that specifies system performance and quality requirements, a desired completion deadline, and contract conditions. As an incentive, the contractor will receive a bonus for exceeding minimal quality measures and completing the project early, and will be charged a penalty for poor quality and late completion. The project will be tracked using precise quality measures, and the contractor will have to submit detailed monthly status reports. The REP for Mulder simply includes a statement of the type of work to be done, an expected budget limit, and the desired completion date.

    Based on proposals received in response to the REPs, the managers responsible for Mulder and Agentfox each select a contractor. Unknown to either manager is that they select the same contractor, Yrisket Systems. Yrisket is selected for the Mulder project because its specified price is somewhat less than the budget limit in the REP, and Yrisket has a good reputation in the business. Yrisket is chosen for the Agentfox contract for similar reasons—good price and good reputation. In responding to the Agentfox REP, Yrisket managers had to work hard to get the price down to the amount specified, but they felt that by doing quality work on the project they could make a tidy profit through the incentive offered.

    A few months after the projects are underway, some of Yrisket’s key employees quit their jobs. Thus, to meet their commitments to both projects, Yrisket workers have to work long hours and weekends. It is apparent, however, that these extra efforts might not be enough, especially because Yrisket has a contract with another customer and will have to start a third project in the near future.

QUESTIONS

1.    What do you think will happen?

2.    How do you think the crisis facing Yrisket will affect the Mulder project? The Agentfox project?






















Case 6        Star-Board Construction/West-Starr Associates

Star-Board Construction (SBC) is the prime contractor for Gargantuan Project, a large skyscraper project in downtown Manhattan. SBC is working directly from drawings received from the architect, West-Starr Associates (WSA). Robert Starr, owner and chief architect of WSA, had designed similar buildings and viewed this one as similar to the others. However, one difference between this building and the others is in its facing, which consists of very large granite slabs—slabs much larger than traditionally used and larger than anything with which either WSA or SBC has had prior experience.

    Halfway into project, Kent Star, owner and project manager for SBC, started to receive reports from his site superintendent about recurring problems with window installation. The windows are factory units, premanufactured according to WSA’s specifications. Plans are to install the granite facing on the building according to specifications that allow for dimensional variations in the window units. The architect provided the specification  that a ½-inch tolerance for each window space be made (that is, the window space between granite slabs could vary as much as ¼ inch larger or smaller than the specified value). This created a problem for the construction crew that found the granite slabs too huge to install with such precision. As a result, the spacing between slabs is often too small, making it difficult or impossible to install window units. Most of the 2,000 window units for the building have already been manufactured so it is too late to change their specifications, and most of the granite slabs have been hung on the building. The only recourse for making window units fit into tight spaces would be to grind away or reinstall the granite. It is going to be very expensive and will certainly delay completion of the building.

QUESTION

1.    What steps or actions should the architect and contractor have taken before committing to the specifications on the window units and spacing between granite slabs the would have reduced or eliminated this problem?


Monday 27 July 2015

IIBM Exam Papers/Case studies : Contact us for answers at assignmentssolution@gmail.com


All case are compulsory:-
Case I
HAZARDS OF HILLS   

INTRODUCTION

This case is based on an actual incident which took place in an Army Unit deployed in field area. A part of a Battery (about ¼ of an Artillery Regiment) was deployed in a snow bound high altitude area of Kashmir. This was the first time, an artillery unit was deployed in an area with roads and tracks still under development. Preparation of this area for such a development needed a lot of digging for guns, pits for ammunition storage, living place of the personnel, slit trenches and weapon pits for local ….
incident very sympathetically and promised to assist in whatever way he could. This officer was a contemporary of the unit in a previous station and had excellent relations and interaction with the unit. Some items were offered by the workshop officer and replaced accordingly. The vehicle was made roadworthy again within a fortnight and put on road for duty. All the enquiries were dispensed with and there was no loss of face by anyone at any level. It is pertinent to mention that it had snowed in that location as soon as the recovery party came out of the hills.

QUESTIONS:
1.    What are the qualities of a good leader? In this case, how were they applied?
2.    Which factors contributed to motivate the troops to go ahead for such a difficult task as recovering a damaged vehicle from such a difficult and treacherous terrain and getting it repaired in such a short time?
3.    Which incidents indicate the importance of good interpersonal relationships with juniors, peers and superiors and what is the importance of good interpersonal relationships?

Case II
Checking Out a Guest

A guest walked up to the front desk agent in an upscale hotel, ready to check out. As she would normally do when checking out a guest, the agent asked the guest what his room number was. The guest was in a hurry and showed his anxiety by responding, “I stay in a hundred hotel rooms and you expect me to remember my room number?”
    The agent then asked for the guest’s name, to which he responded, “My name is Mr. Johnstein.” After thanking him, the agent began to look for the guest’s last name, but the name was not listed in the computer. Because the man had a heavy accent and the agent assumed that she had misunderstood him, she politely asked the guest to spell his last name. He answered, “What? Are you an idiot? The person who checked me in last night had no problem checking me in.” Again, the agent looked on the computer to find the guest.

    The guest, becoming even more frustrated, said, “I have a plane to catch and it is ridiculous that it has to take this long to check me out. I also need to fax these papers off, but I need to have them photocopied first.” The agent responded, “There is a business center at the end of the counter that will fax and photocopy what you for it. Haven’t you ever heard of customer service? Isn’t this a five-star hotel? With your bad attitude, you should be working in a three-star hotel. I can’t believe they let you work here at the front desk. Haven’t you found my name yet?”
    The agent, who was beginning to get upset, asked the guest again to spell out his full name. The guest only replied, “Here are my papers I want faxed if you are …
was finally able to find his name on the computer and checked him out, while he continued to verbally attack her. The agent finished by telling the guest to have a nice flight.

Questions:
1.    Is it appropriate to have the manager finish the check-out? Or, should the front desk agent just take the heat?
2.    Would you have handled the situation in the same manner?
3.    What would you have done differently?
4.    Communication improvement is required for both of the parties involved or any one of them? Justify your opinion.

CASE III
EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW OF R P SINHA
    Mr. R P Sinha is a MBA.  He is being interviewed for the position of Management Trainee at a reputed company.  The selection committee’s is chaired by a lady Vice – President.  Mr. Sinha’s interview was as follows :
Committee : Good morning !
Mr. Sinha : Good morning to Sirs and Madam ! 
Chairperson : Please, sit down.
Mr. Sinha : Thank you (sits down at the edge of the chair, keeps his portfolio on the table)
Q. Chairperson : You are …
for those starting as Management Trainee.  The Chairperson thanks Mr. Sinha.  Mr. Sinha promptly says in reply, “you are welcome,” and comes out.

Questions :
1.    Do you find Mr. Sinha’s responses to various questions effective? Give     reasons for your view on each answer given by Mr. Sinha.
2.    Rewrite the responses that you consider most effective to the above questions in a job interview.
3.    Mr. Sinha has observed the norm of respectful behaviour and     polite
conversation.  But, do you think there is something gone wrong in his case ?  Account for your general impression of Mr. Sinha’s performance at the interview.

Case IV
Outsourcing Backlash Gets Abusive, Ugly

I don’t want to speak to you. Connect to your boss in the US,” hissed the American on the phone. The young girl at a Bangalore call centre tried to be as polite as she could.

At another call centre, another day, another yound girl had a Londoner unleashing himself on her, “ Yound lady do you know that because of you Indians we are losing jobs.”

The outsourcing backlash is getting ugly. Handling irate callers is the new brief for the young men and women taking calls at these outsourced job centers. Supervisors tell them to be “cool”.
Avinash Vashistha, managing partner of NEOIT, a leading US-based consultancy firm says,” Companies involved in outsourcing both in the US and India are already getting a lot of hate mail against outsourcing and it is hardly surprising that some….
.

“It’s happening often enough and so let’s face it,” says a senior executive of a Gurgaon call centre, adding, “This doesn’t have any impact on business.”

Questions:
1.    Assume you are working as an operator at a call centre in India and are receiving irate calls from Americans and Lodoners. How would you handle such calls? Conceive a short conversation between you and your client, and put it on paper.
2.    “Keep your cool.” What does this mean in term of conversation control?
3.    Do you agree with the view that such abusive happenings on the telephone do not have any impact on business? Justify.