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



Sunday 31 December 2017

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


CASE 1:    Spirituality in the workplace

Traditionally, the workplace and spirituality did not mix in America. But things are changing. Andre Delbecq, a Professor in Santa Clara University, a Jesuit institution, said: “There were two things I thought I’d never see in my life, the fall of the Russian empire and God being spoken about in a business school.” Now management books and conferences (including the annual meeting of the Academy of Management) deal with the various aspects of how God can be brought into the organizational environment. To be sure, people who want to integrate spiritual dimensions into the workplace are still considered rebels. But ServiceMaster, a Fortune 500 company with some 75,000 employees, created a spiritual organization culture many years ago. Indeed, Peter Drucker, one of the most prolific writers on management, had high regards for the company that is known for its products such as Terminix (pest control), TruGreen, Merry Maids, and others.
    When people in the US were asked if they believe in God, some 95 per cent said yes. It is in a spiritual context that business people under the daily pressure can discuss their inner feelings. As the baby boomers, now in their 50s, are reaching the top in the organizational life, they begin to wonder what life is all about. They lived through the youth culture of the 1960s and the 1980s that was dominated by greed. They are now questioning the real meaning of life and the ethical dimension of work. Jose Zeilstra, an executive at Price WaterhouseCoopers worked around the world, practicing her Christian principles in different cultures. During her assignment in China, she strongly argued against the practice of giving “very expensive gifts.” As a result the business transaction did not work out. Yet, in the long run, while integrating her personal beliefs with her work, resulted in a very successful career. Academic institutions such a the University of St. Thomas, the University of Denver, and the Harvard Divinity School are following and studying the movement of spirituality. Other schools such as Antioch University in Los Angeles, the University of New Haven in Connecticut, the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, Santa Clara University in California as well as institutions abroad such as the University of Bath in England and the Indian Centre for Encouraging Excellence in Bombay, India, are conducting research, conferences, or lecture on spirituality.
    The cover story of Business week (November 1, 1999) discussed how company outlets such as Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and McDonald’s as well as the Xerox Corporation pay attention to spiritual needs of their employees. Some companies claim an increase in productivity, decrease in turnover, and a reduction in fear. A research study by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. in Australia showed that firms with spiritual programmes showed reduced turnover and improved productivity. Professor Ian I Mitroff at the University of Southern California even stated, “Spirituality could be the ultimate competitive advantage.” But there is also the concern that cult members and groups with a radical perspective could use the workplace for their own aims. Still, employees in companies that integrate spirituality in their work place count on the potential benefits of greater respect for individuals, a more humane treatment of their fellow workers, and an environment that permeates their organization with greater trust.

Question:
1.    What is spirituality?
2.    Is this topic appropriate for businesses?
3.    What are the arguments for and against its inclusion in business?































CASE  2:  Coke’s European Scare

What seemed like an isolated incident of a few bad cans of Coca-Cola at a school in Belgium turned into near disaster for the soft drink giant’s European operations. In June 1999, Coke experienced its worst nightmare—a contamination scare resulting in the recall of 14 million cases of Coke products in five European countries and a huge blow to consumer confidence in the quality and safety of the world’s most recognizable brand.
    After the initial scare in Bornem, Belgium, Coke and Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), a bottler 40 per cent owned by Coca-Cola, thought they isolated the problem. Scientists at the CCE bottling plant in Antwerp found that lapses in quality control had led to contaminated carbon dioxide that were used in the bottling of a recent batch of Coke. Company officials saw the contamination as minor problem and they issued an apology to the school.
    At the same time that the problems were being dealt with an Antwerp, things were breaking down at Coke’s Dunkirk, France, bottling plant. In Belsele, 10 miles from Bornem, children and teachers were complaining of illnesses related to drinking Coke products. The vending machines at the school were stocked with Coke from the company’s Dunkirk plant and were thought to be safe. Now a second bottling plant’s practices were being questioned. What initially seemed like an isolated incident was now a crisis.
    Immediately following the second scare, Belgium’s health minister banned the sale of all products produced in the Antwerp and Dunkirk plants. Things got worse when Coke gave an incomplete set of recall codes to a school in Lochristi, Belgium, resulting in 38 children being rushed to the hospital. Immediately following this incident, French officials banned the sale of soft drinks produced in the Dunkirk plant. It was believed that fungicide on wooden shipping pallets were the cause of the illnesses at the Dunkirk plant.
    On June 15, 1999, 11 days after the initial scare in Bornem, Coke finally issued an explanation to the public. Most Europeans were not satisfied. Coca-Cola officials used vague language and often contradicted one another when making statements. France’s health minister, Bernard Kouchner, stated, “That a company so very expert in advertising and marketing should be so poor in communicating on this matter is astonishing”
    After three weeks of testing by both Coke officials and French government scientists, it was concluded that the plants were safe and that there was no immediate threat to the health of consumers. Coke has destroyed all of the pallets in Dunkirk and tightened quality control on co2.
    How could this happen to the company that is revered worldwide for its quality control and the superiority of its products? Coke has spent decades building its reputation overseas and the European market now represent 73 per cent of total profits. While the scare has had some effect on Coke’s profits in Europe, the company is more concerned with damages to its reputation and consumer confidence in its products.
    Many critics say that Coke’s slow response time, insisting that no real problem existed and belated apology have severely damaged the company’s reputation in Europe. Some would disagree and feel that Coke handled the situation as best it could. “I think that Coke acted in a responsible, diligent way,” says John Sitcher, editor of Beverage Digest. “Their first responsibility was to ascertain the facts in a clear and unequivocal way. And as soon as Coke knew what the facts were, they put out a statement to the Belgium people.”
    The character and quality of a company can often be measured by how it responds to adversity. Coca-Cola believes that this crisis has forced the company to re-examine both its marketing and management strategies in Europe. Coke executives in Brussels are predicting that the company will double its European sales in the next decade and that this setback will only make the company stronger. Wall Street analysts seem to agree. Only time will tell.


Question:
1.    What are the management issues in this case?
2.    What did Coke do and what could have been done differently?
What are the key factors that were or should have been considered by management?













CASE  3  Trials and Challenges For Barrett at Intel
Intel Corporation is best known for its processors. The sign “Intel Inside” is familiar to most people using a computer. There is, for example, the Pentium 3 and 4 and the new generation Itanium. For servers and workstations, Intel produces Xeon. The colorful CEO Andy Grove led the company for many years. By 2001,  however, the Chief Executive Officer Craig R. Barrett faces many challenges, including criticism.
    The new strategy of moving into new markets such as information appliances, communications, and Internet services was costly and so far less than successful. In fact, the move beyond its core businesses may have detracted from its core business of computer chips. These new directions resulted in frequent reorganizations resulting in organizational uncertainties for the managers. While some think that the frequent changes were necessary to adapt to new situations and to keep the organization agile, others disagree.
    Barrett’s leadership and his moves into various directions is quite different from Grove’s carefully crafted strategy that focused on chips. Barrett’s personal strengths lie in manufacturing. He invested heavily in research and development. But new products such as the Itanium require several years before they show results, and Barrett has only a few more years before his retirement. Investing in new manufacturing technologies with the aim of achieving virtually automated plants results in the reduction of manufacturing costs of chips. But the PC market is stagnated in the early 21st century and wireless communication and cell phones are becoming important in the market. In the cell phone market, for example, Motorola and Texas Instruments are developing new digital signal processors and Intel would have to work hard to catch up. A key to success of Intel may be whether the company can become an important player in the wireless market. Barrett made a number of costly acquisitions, including Level One Communications. But the question remains if the heavy investments in new technologies will result in profitable businesses. This may determine the legacy of Craig Barrett.
Question:
1.    What is your assessment of Barrett’s performance and his vision for Intel? Is he the right person for the job at Intel?
2.    What are some problems associated with frequent reorganization?
3.    What are the pros and cons for focusing on the distant futures and the heavy investments in new technologies?


CASE: 4   Profiles of Two Visionaries—Bill Gates & Steve Jobs
Two men have their hearts and souls for developing their visions have driven the personal computer revolution. However, the way in which each of these men went about this quest has been different. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have changed the way the world does business, but the story of their leadership styles is even more compelling than the success spawned Apple and Microsoft.
    Gates and Jobs: The Early Years  Bill Gates started developing his computer skills with his childhood friend Paul Allen at Lakeside School in Seattle. At the age of 14, the two had formed their first computer company. After high school, Allen and Gates left Seattle for Boston. Gates was off to Harvard and Allen began working for Honeywell. After only two years at Harvard, Gates and Allen left Boston for Albuquerque to develop a computer language for the new Altair 8080 personal computer. This computer language would become BASIC and was the foundation for Microsoft, which was created as a partnership in 1975.
    After five years in New Mexico, Microsoft relocated to Bellevue, Washington in 1980 with BASIC and two other computer languages (COBOL and FORTRAN) in its arsenal. Later that year IBM began developing its first PC and was in need of an operating system. Microsoft developed the Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS) for IBM while two other companies created competing systems. Gates’ determination and persuasion of other software firms to develop programs for MS-DOS made it the default IBM platform.
    As Microsoft became more successful, Gates realized that he needed help managing Microsoft. His enthusiasm, vision, and hard work were the driving force behind the company’s growth, but he recognized the need for professional management. Gates brought in another one of his friends from Harvard, Steve Ballmer. Ballmer had worked for Proctor & Gamble after graduating from Harvard and was pursuing his MBA at Stanford University. Gates persuaded Ballmer to leave school and join Microsoft. Over the years, Ballmer has become an indispensable asset to both Gates and Microsoft. In 1983, Gates continued to show his brilliance by hiring Jon Shirley who brought order to Microsoft and streamlined the organizational structure, while Ballmer served as an advisor and sounding board for Gates. Microsoft continued to grow and prosper in the 1990s and Gates became the richest man in the world with Microsoft dominating the operating systems market and the office suite software market with Microsoft Office.
    Gates recognized that his role was to be the visionary of the company, but that he needed professional managers to run the operations of Microsoft. He combined his unyielding determination and passion with a well-structured management team to make Microsoft the giant it is today.
    The other visionary, Steve Jobs, and his friend Steve Wosniak started Apple Computer in Job’s garage in Los Altos, California in 1976. In contrast to Bill Gates, Jobs and Wosniak were hardware experts and started with the vision for a personal computer that was affordable and easy to use. When Microsoft offered BASIC to Apple, Jobs immediately dismissed the idea on the basis that he and Wosniak could create their own version of BASIC in a weekend. This was typical Jobs: decisive and almost maniacal at times. However, Jobs eventually agreed to license Microsoft’s BASIC while pursuing his vision of developing a more usable and friendly interface for the PC.
    Jobs, seen by some as the anti-Gates, is a trailblazer and a creator as opposed to Gates who is more of a consolidator of industry standards. Jobs, whose goal was to change the world with his computers, was very demanding of his employees. Jobs was not a hard-core computer programmer, but he sold the idea of the personal computer to the public. He changed the direction of Apple by developing the Macintosh (Mac) that used a new Graphical User Interface (GUI) that introduced the world to the mouse and on-screen icons. With all this success, there was a major problem developing at Apple: Steve Jobs was overconfident and did not see Gates and Microsoft as a serious threat to Apple.
    Soon after the release of the Macintosh computer, Jobs asked Microsoft to develop software for the Mac operating system. Gates obliged and proceeded to launch a project copying and improving Apple’s user interface. The result of this venture was what became Microsoft Windows.
     Jobs’ cocky attitude and the lack of management skills contributed to Apple’s problems. He never bothered to develop budgets and neglected his relationship with his employees. Wosniak left Apple due to differences with Jobs. In 1985, John Scully, formerly CEO of PepsiCo, was hired to replace Steve Jobs as president and CEO of Apple Computers. Differences between Scully and Jobs developed which eventually resulted in the dismissal of Jobs.
Microsoft and Apple at the turn of the Century: An Industry Giant and a Revitalized Leader      With the success of Windows, the Office application suite, the Internet Explorer, Microsoft has become a household name and Bill Gates has been hailed as a business genius. The fact that Microsoft’s competitors, the press, and the US Justice Department have called Microsoft a monopoly reinforces Gates’s determination to succeed. Some people even questioned whether Microsoft can survive the Justice Department’s decision. But Bill Gates has shown that he is the master of adapting to changing market conditions and technologies.
    In the 1990s, Apple went in the opposite direction. The outdated operating system and falling market share eventually led to a decrease in software development for the Mac. Something needed to be done. In 1998 Steve Jobs returned to Apple as the “interim” CEO. His vision, once again, resulted in an innovative product: the iMac. In the 80s he created the simple-to-operate Macintosh to attract people who were using IBM PCs and their clones. Now he developed a simple, stylish, and Internet-friendly computer that added some much-needed excitement to the computer market. Jobs had also changed as a manager and a leader. He had matured and looked to his professional staff for advice and ideas. The Mac is an expression of his creativity and Apple as a whole is an expression of Steve, leading to continuing the success for Apple and a renewed battle between Gates and Jobs.
Gates and Jobs in 2006   Bill Gates, one of the richest men, has also become one of the biggest charitable givers. He and his wife Linda have donated some $31 billion to philanthropic causes. When Bill Gates read the World Development Report by the World Bank, he realized that he could improve the health of people in poor countries by supplying drugs and treatment. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation also provides scholarships for students with different backgrounds. While Gates is very much in philanthropy, Microsoft is preparing the new Windows Vista which helps users in enhancing their computing experience.
    Steve Jobs’ career also took some interesting turns. After he was fired by Scully (the person he hired), he started a company called NeXT and Pixar, the firm that created the first computer animated feature film. When Apple got into trouble, Jobs was rehired, doing some amazing things. When he was diagnosed with cancer—which fortunately could be successfully treated—his outlook on life changed. In the 2005 commencement address at Stanford University he said: “Because almost everything—all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure—these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.” In 2006, Jobs can look back with exciting new products such as computers and the best selling iPods: the Nano and the Video. Now, the pundits are wondering, what will be Steve’s next innovation?
Question:
1.    Compare and contrast the careers of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.
2.    Compare and contrast the leadership styles and managerial practices of Gates and Jobs.
3.    What do you think about the future of Microsoft and Apple Computers?
What is the outlook on life of the two computer nerds?

CASE 5:   INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT AMERICAN AIRLINES
The information system at American Airlines has become an integral part of the overall strategy to gain a competitive edge in the industry. The extensive use of computers began in the 1950s in payroll and inventory control and extended to customer service. In the early 1960s, American developed the widely known SABRE system (SABRE stands for Semi-Automated Business Research Environment). It is one of the most sophisticated passenger reservation system used by travel agents and customers.
    Shortly after implementing SABRE, American also used the system for other tasks, such as controlling freight shipments, as well as dispatching and tracking flights. When the government deregulated the airline industry in 1978, the information system became an even more important tool for competing against the low-cost airlines whose labour costs were as much as 40 to 50 per cent lower. American Airlines’ strategy was to use the information technology to compete in a variety of ways. One application was to have as many aircrafts seats as possible filled without having many passengers “bumped” through overbooking. Another application was to obtain the proper balance between discount and regular fares. It was estimated that revenues could be increased dramatically by shifting only one per cent of discount fares to the full fare—clearly a competitive advantage in a market where price change occur daily and even hourly. Still another application of the information system was to find the most efficient way to fly in order to reduce fuel cost, which is the second largest expense. Some airplanes have sensors on board to monitor essential equipment; the operational information is sent to the ground station. Maintenance can then be planned effectively and performed more efficiently when the aircraft lands. Still another application of the computer was to determine the most profitable routes. The complexity of scheduling over 13,000 pilots and flight attendants on 1300 daily flights is horrendous. The high cost of overtime can put an airline at a competitive disadvantage.
    Robert L Crandall, the former chairman and president of American Airlines, thinks that information systems are the key for success. He stated: “We have taken what was once a basic reservation system and built it into an integrated information system that drives our corporate strategy as much as it is driven by that strategy.” While American Airlines has been the industry leader in the use of information technology, competition developed. The 1992 program of the European Community (EC, now the European Union or EU) was designed to eliminate trade and many political barriers. The European airline industry also became deregulated than engaging in mergers, some airlines are now integrated into a network linking selected carriers together. An illustration of the cooperation among airlines involves the two computer reservation systems called Galileo and Amadeus. Thus, American Airlines—with a strategy of expanding in the European market, the largest market in the industrialized world—has ample competition. Recently, the five biggest US Airlines (Continental, Delta, Northeast, United Airlines, and now also American Airlines) developed a common website called Orbitz.com (www.orbitz.com), which could also affect SABRE.
    Technology that may have given once a competitive advantage to a company may, in time, become obsolete unless it adapts to new demands and develops new applications. Max Hopper, the architect of the SABRE system, suggests that old models are no longer sufficient. Those who can use the available tools and modify them will gain a competitive edge. The trend is away from stand-alone applications to platforms that facilitate new approaches to problem solving and decision making. SABRE is not only a reservation system, but also a system for inventory control, making flight plans, and scheduling flight crews. Other data-basses were added for car rentals, hotel reservations, and theatre shows. SABRE has become an electronic travel supermarket.
Questions:
1.    Discuss the evolving use of information technology at American Airlines?
2.    Should American Airlines expand its position in Europe? What are the arguments for and against this expansion?

AIMA assignments : Contact us for answers at assignmentssolution@gmail.com

DOM03
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Assignment – I

Assignment Code: 2017DOM03B1                                 Last Date of Submission: 15th November 2017
                                                    Maximum Marks: 100
Section-A
Each question carries 25 Marks.
1.       a.      What   are some of  the key environmental forces that have changed the way projects?
are managed? What are the effects of these forces on the management of projects?

b.    What do you understand by the term Demand Forecasting? Enumerate various methods
of demand forecasting. How are you going to cope up with the uncertainties in demand forecasting?

2.    a.    Why it is important to assess the culture of an organization before deciding what project
management structure should be used to complete a project ‐ Discuss.
b.    What considerations go in for a project to be taken as a part of The Functional Organization, The Pure Project Organization and The Matrix Organization? Explain their advantages & disadvantages.

Section-B (50 Marks)
Case Study

Apache Metals is an original equipment manufacturer of metal working equipment. The majority of Apache's business is as a supplier to the automotive, appliance, and building products industries. Each production line is custom designed according to application, industry, and customer requirements.

Project managers are assigned to each purchase order only after the sales department has a signed contract. The project managers can come from anywhere within the company. Basically, anyone can be assigned as a project leader. The assigned project leaders can be responsible for as many as ten purchase orders at one time.

 In the past, there has not been enough emphasis on project management. At one time, Apache even assigned trainees to perform project coordination. All failed miserably. At one point, sales dropped to an all-time low, and cost overruns averaged 20--25 percent per production line.

 In January 1997, the Board of Directors appointed a new senior management team that would drive the organization to excellence in project management. Project managers were added through recruitment efforts and a close examination of existing personnel. Emphasis was on individuals with good people and communication skills.





The following steps were implemented to improve the quality and effectiveness of the project management system:

•     Outside formal training for project managers.
•     Development of an apprenticeship program for future project manager.
•    Modification of the current methodology to put the project manager at the focal point
•    involvement of project managers to a greater extent with the customer


Case Questions:

1.    What problems can you see in the way project managers were assigned in the past?
2.    Will the new approach taken in 1997 put the company on a path to excellence in project management?
3.    What skill set would be ideal for the future project managers at Apache Metals?
4.    What overall cultural issues must be considered in striving for excellence in project management?
5.    What time frame would be appropriate to achieve excellence in project management? What assumptions must be made?

DOM03
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Assignment – II

Assignment Code: 2017DOM03B2                                 Last Date of Submission: 15th November 2017
                                                    Maximum Marks: 100
Section-A
Each question carries 25 Marks.
1.    a.     “Cost   of   a   project  represents the total of all items of outlay associated with a project
which are supported by long-term funds”? List and briefly describe these items.  

b.    Discuss   the   application of capital asset pricing model (CAPM) to the calculation of cost
of equity? Discuss the factors affecting the weighted average cost of capital (WACC).   

2.    a.    Describe various components which make up working capital requirement.
b.    Discuss broad sources of finance available for project financing.   

Section-B (50 Marks)
Case Study

Rocket Aerial Target System (RATS)

An introduction to the RATS project is found at the beginning of Chapter 10.

Bill Williams immediately called a staff meeting of his key people to get their ideas on proceeding with the project. It was generally agreed that this was a piece of business the operation should pursue. The question was: How could the operation go after this new business and still successfully produce and deliver its other products? It was conceded that the new business was so important that if the key personnel were satisfied with what they heard from marketing tomorrow, an all out effort should be expended to win the contract.

The meeting the next morning resolved most of the operation's questions. Ivor Kaney informed Williams that Corporate was so impressed with the prospects of RATS that the operation had Corporate's approval to spend up to a half million dollars in securing the contract, a very high trust, and high priority allotment. All the department heads agreed that some sacrifice would have to be made by them to succeed in this new effort. Each of them would be asked to give up one or two key employees to serve on the project team. Williams decided to commit the operation to an all out effort on the project.

The next day the project team was announced:

Project manager—Cris Jacobs, a young recent MBA with an undergraduate degree in management. She was selected because she was perhaps the best administrator in the operation and she had great rapport with the other units of the company.

Flight engineer—Jim Sherry, head of quality assurance/propulsion.

System design specialist—Roberto Mendez, expert design engineer, brilliant development specialist.

Production engineer—Jim Dawson, production manager of the propulsion generator department.

Safety and security officer—Inez Thompson, director of loss prevention.

Cost engineer—Wallace Potter, industrial engineer.

These individuals would be assigned to the project full time for its duration. If the contract were won, all of them would carry their knowledge about RATS back to their home departments, thus aiding in the conversion from development to production.

Rocket Aerial Target System (RATS)  Continued

The team developed the following list of project activities, time estimates, and precedence relationships as part of the project plan:
                                                       Estimated
                                                        Time To
                                           Immediate    Complete
                                           Predecessor  Activity
Activity                                   Activities)   (Weeks)
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Product Development
a. Preliminary propulsion design                --         4
b. Preliminary flight system design             --         5
c. Static tests A                                a         2
d. Propulsion design modifications               c         2
e. Static tests B                                d         2
f. Flight tests A                                b         3
g. Flight system design modifications           e,f        3
h. Flight tests B                                g         3
i. Demonstration to customer                     h         2

Bid Package
j. Material and component costs                 e,f        6
k. Labor and overhead costs                     e,f        6
l. Processing of bid package through company    j,k        2
m. Delivery of bid package to customer           l         1
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Case Questions:

1.    Draw a CPM network for the project.

2.    Use the CPM computer program in the POM Software Library, to develop a CPM analysis of the project. What is the estimated duration of the project? What activities are on the critical path?


3.    How long would the project take to complete if Activity b were delayed 2 weeks? How long would the project take to complete if Activity f were delayed 2 weeks? How long would the project take to complete if both Activities b and f were delayed 2 weeks? Discuss the care that must be taken in interpreting the meaning of the activity slack values.

4.    Explain how the project would be affected if some resources could be shifted to Activity j and that activity's duration was reduced by 1 week.

5.    Discuss how the assumptions and criticisms of CPM should cause us to modify our interpretation of our analysis of the RATS project.



Saturday 30 December 2017

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


CASE: 1       GEORGE DAVID

George David has been CEO of United Technologies Corporation (UTC) for more than a decade. During that time he has received numerous accolades and awards for his performance as a CEO. Under his leadership UTC, a $343 billion conglomerate whose operating units include manufacturers of elevators (Otis Elevator), aerospace products (including Pratt & Whitney jet engines and Sikorsky helicopters), air conditioning systems, and fire and security systems, has seen earnings grow at 10–14 percent annually—impressive numbers for any company but particularly for a manufacturing enterprise.

According to David, a key to United Technologies’ success has been sustained improvements in productivity and product quality. The story goes back to the 1980s when David was running the international operations of Otis Elevator. There he encountered a Japanese engineer, Yuzuru Ito, who had been brought in to determine why a new elevator product was performing poorly. David was impressed with Ito’s methods for identifying quality problems and improving performance. When he was promoted to CEO, David realized that he had to lower the costs and improve the quality of UTC’s products. One of the first things he did was persuade Ito to work for him at UTC. Under David, Ito developed a program for improving product quality and productivity, known as Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE), which was subsequently rolled out across UTC. The ACE program has been one of drivers of productivity improvements at UTC ever since.
Early in his tenure as CEO, David also radically reorganized UTC. He dramatically cut the size of the head office and decentralized decision making to business divisions. He also directed his accounting staff to develop a new financial reporting system that would give him good information about how well each division was doing and make it easier to hold divisional general managers accountable for the performance of the units under them. He then gave them demanding goals for earnings and sales growth and pushed them to improve processes within their units by implementing the ACE program.
At the same time David has always stressed that management is about more than goal setting and holding people accountable. Values are also important. David has insisted that UTC employees adhere to the highest ethical standards, that the company produce that have minimal environmental impact, and that employee safety remain the top consideration in the work-place.

When asked what his greatest achievement as a manager has been, David refers to UTC’s worldwide employee scholarship program. Implemented in 1996 and considered the hall-mark of UTC’s commitment to employee development, the program pays the entire cost of an employee’s college or graduate school education, allows employees to pursue any subject at an accredited school, provides paid study time, and awards UTC stock (up to $10,000 worth in the United States) for completing degrees. Explaining the program, David states, “One of the obligations that an employer has is to give employees opportunities to better themselves. And we feel it’s also very good business for us because it generates a better workforce that stays longer.”

David states that one of his central tasks has been to build a management team that functions smoothly over the long term. “People come to rely upon each other,” he says. “You have the same trusting relationships. You know people; they know you. You can predict them; they can predict you. All of that kind of begins to work, and it accelerates over the tenure of a CEO. If you have people bouncing in and out every two to three years, that’s not good.”


According to Sandy Weill, former chairman of Citicorp and a UTC board member, David has the right mix of toughness and sensitivity. “When somebody can't do the job he’ll try to help; but if that person is not going to make it work, that person won't be on the job forever.” At the same time Weill says, “He does a lot of things that employees respect him for, I think he is a very good manager. Even though David is demanding, he can also listen—he has a receive mode as well as a send mode.”


Questions

1.    What makes George David such a highly regarded manager?
2.    How does David get things done through people?
3.    What evidence can you see of David’s planning and strategizing, organizing, controlling, leading, and developing?
4.    Which managerial competencies does David seem to posses? Does he seem to lack any?


































CASE: 2        BOOM AND BUST IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS

In 1997 Michael O'Dell, the chief scientist at World-Com, which owned the largest network of “Internet backbone” fiber optic cable in the world, stated that data traffic over the Internet was doubling every hundred days. This implied a growth rate of over 1,000 percent a year. O'Dell went on to day that there was not enough fiber optic capacity to go around, and that “demand will far outstrip supply for the foreseeable future.”
Electrified by this potential opportunity, a number companies rushed into the business. These firms included Level 3 Communications, 360 Networks, Global Crossing, Qwest Communications, World-Com, Williams Communications Group, Genuity Inc., and XO Communications. In all cases the strategic plans were remarkably similar: Raise lots of capital, build massive fiber optic networks that straddled the nation (or even the globe), cut prices, and get ready for the rush of business. Managers at these companies believed that surging demand would soon catch up with capacity, resulting in a profit bonanza for those that had the foresight to build out their networks. It was a gold rush, and the first into the field would stake the best claims.
However, there were dissenting voices. As early as October 1998 an Internet researcher at AT&T Labs named Andrew Odlyzko published a paper that de-bunked the assumption that demand for Internet traffic was growing at 1,000 percent a year. Odlyzko’s careful analysis concluded that growth was much slower—only 100 percent a year! Although still large, that growth rate was not nearly large enough to fill the massive flood of fiber optic capacity that was entering the market. Moreover, Odlyzko noted that new technologies were increasing the amount of data that could be sent down existing fibers, reducing the need for new fiber. But with investment money flooding into the market, few paid any attention to him. WorldCom was still using the 1,000 percent figure as late as September 2000.
As it turned out, Odlyzko was right. Capacity rapidly outstripped demand, and by late 2002 less than 3 percent of the fiber that had been laid in the ground was actually being used! While prices slumped, the surge in volume that managers had bet on did not materialize. Unable to service the debt they had taken on to build out their networks, company after company tumbled into bankruptcy—including WorldCom, 360 Networks, XO Communications, Global Crossing. Level 3 and Qwest survived, but their stock price had fallen by 90 percent, and both companies were saddled with massive debts.

Questions

1.    Why did the strategic plans adopted by companies like Level 3, Global Crossing, and 360 Networks fail?
2.    The managers who ran these companies were smart, successful individuals, as were many of the investors who put money into these businesses. How could so many smart people have been so wrong?
3.    What specific decision-making biases do you think were at work in this industry during the late 1990s and early 2000s?
4.    What could the managers running these companies done differently that might have led to a different outcome?





CASE: 3       DOW CHEMICAL

A handful of major players, compete head-to-head around the world in the chemical industry. These companies are Dow Chemical and Du Pont of the United States, Great Britain’s ICI, and the German trio of BASF, Hoechst AG, and Bayer. The barriers to the free flow of chemical products between nations largely disappeared in the 1970s. This, along with the commodity nature of bulk chemicals and a severe recession in the early 1980s, ushered in a prolonged period of intense price competition. In such an environment, the company that wins the competitive race is the one with the lowest costs. Dow Chemical was long among the cost leaders.
For years Dow’s managers insisted that part of the credit belonged to its “matrix” organization. Dow’s organizational matrix had three interacting elements: functions (such as R&D, manufacturing, and marketing), businesses (like ethylene, plastics, and pharmaceuticals), and geography (for example, Spain, Germany, and Brazil). Managers’ job titles incorporated all three elements (plastics marketing manager for Spain), and most managers reported to at least two bosses. The plastics marketing manager in Spain might report to both the head of the worldwide plastics business and the head of the Spanish operations. The intent of the matrix was to make Dow operations responsive to both local market needs and corporate objectives. Thus the plastics business might be charged with minimizing Dow’s global plastics production costs, while the Spanish operation might determine how best to sell plastics in the Spanish market.
When Dow introduced this structure, the results were less than promising: Multiple reporting channels led to confusion and conflict. The many bosses created an unwieldy bureaucracy. The overlapping responsibilities resulted in turf battles and a lack of accountability. Area managers disagreed with managers overseeing business sectors about which plants should be built where. In short, the structure, didn’t work. Instead of abandoning the structure, however, Dow decided to see if it could made more flexible.
Dow’s decision to keep its matrix structure was prompted by its move into the pharmaceuticals business is very different from the bulk chemicals business. In bulk chemicals, the big returns come from achieving economies of scale in production. This dictates establishing large plants in key locations from which regional or global markets can be served. But in pharmaceuticals, regulatory and marketing requirements for drugs vary so much from country to country that local needs are far more important than reducing manufacturing costs through scale economies. A high degree of local responsiveness is essential. Dow realized its pharmaceutical business would never thrive if it were managed by the same priorities as its mainstream chemical operations.
Accordingly, instead of abandoning its matrix, Dow decided to make it more flexible to better accommodate the different businesses, each with its own priorities, within a single management system. A small team of senior executives at headquarters helped set the priorities for each type of business. After priorities were identified for each business sector, one of the three elements of the matrix—function, business, or geographic area—was given primary authority in decision making. Which element took the lead varied according to the type of decision and the market or location in which the company was competing. Such flexibility that all employees understand what was occurring in the rest of the matrix. Although this may seem confusing, for years Dow claimed this flexible system worked well and credited much of its success to the quality of the decisions it facilitated.
By the mid-1990s, however, Dow had refocused its business on the chemicals industry, divesting itself of its pharmaceutical activities where the company’s performance had been unsatisfactory. Reflecting the change in corporate strategy, in 1995 Dow decided to abandon its matrix structure in favor of a more streamlined structure based on global product divisions. The matrix structure was just too complex and costly to manage in the intense competitive environment of the time, particularly given the company’s renewed focus on its commodity chemicals where competitive advantage often went to the low-cost producer. As Dow’s then-CEO put it in a 1999 interview, “We were an organization that was matrixed and depended on teamwork, but there was no one in charge. When things went well, we didn’t know whom to reward; and when things went poorly, we didn’t know whom to blame. So we created a global divisional structure and cut out layers of management. There used to be eleven layers of management between me and the lowest-level employees; now there are five.


Questions
1.    Why did Dow Chemical first adopt a matrix structure? What benefits did it hope to derive from this structure?
2.    What problems emerged with this structure? How did Dow try to deal with them? In retrospect, do you think those solutions were effective?
3.    Why did Dow change its structure again in the mid-1990s? What was Dow trying to achieve this time? Do you think the current structure makes sense given the industry in which Dow operates and the strategy of the firm? Why?
































CASE: 4       REBRANDING MCJOBS

As with most fast-food restaurant chains, McDonald’s needs more people to fill jobs in its vast empire. Yet McDonald’s executives are finding that recruiting is a tough sell. The industry is taking a beating from an increasingly health-conscious society and the popular film Supersize Me. Equally troublesome is a further decline in the already dreary image of employment in a fast-food restaurant. It doesn’t help that McJob, a slang term closely connected to McDonald’s, was recently added to both Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary as a legitimate concept meaning a low-paying, low-prestige, dead-end, mindless service job in which the employee’s work is highly regulated.
McDonald’s has tried to shore up its employment image in recent years by improving wages and adding some employee benefits. A few years ago it created the “I’m loving it” campaign, which took aim at a positive image of the golden arches for employees as well as customers. The campaign had some effect, but McDonald’s executives realized that a focused effort was needed to battle the McJob image.
Now McDonald's is fighting back with a “My First” campaign to show the public—and prospective job applicants—that working at McDonald's is a way to start their careers and develop valuable life skills. The campaign’s centerpiece is a television commercial showing successful people from around the world whose first job was at the fast-food restaurant. “Working at McDonald's really helped lay the foundation for my career,” says ten-time Olympic track and field medalist and former McDonald's crew member Carl Lewis, who is featured in the TV ad. “It was the place where I learned the true meaning of excelling in a fast-paced environment and what it means to operate as part of a team.”
Richard Floersch, McDonald's executive vice president of human resources, claims that the company’s top management has deep talent, but the campaign should help to retain current staff and hire new people further down to hierarchy. “It’s a very strong message about how when you start at McDonald's, the opportunities are limitless,” says Floersch. Even the McDonald's application form vividly communicates this message by showing a group of culturally diverse smiling employees and the caption “At McDonald's You Can Go Anywhere!”
McDonald's has also distributed media kits in several countries with factoids debunking the McJob myth. The American documentation points out that McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner began his career working the restaurant’s front lines, as did 40 percent of the top 50 members of the worldwide management team, 70 percent of all restaurant managers, and 40 percent of all owner/operators. “People do come in with a ‘job’ mentality, but after three months or so, they become evangelists because of the leadership and community spirit that exists in stores,” says David Fairhurst, the vice president for people at McDonald's in the United Kingdom. “For many, it’s not a job, but a career.”
McDonald's also hopes the new campaign will raise employee pride and loyalty, which would motivate the 1.6 million staff members to recruit more friends and acquaintances through word of mouth. “If each employee tells just five people something cool about working at McDonald's, the net effect is huge,” explains McDonald's global chief marketing officer. So far the campaign is having the desired effect. The company’s measure of employee pride has increased by 14 percent, loyalty scores are up by 6 percent, and 90-day employee turnover for hourly staff has dropped by 5 percent.
But McDonald's isn't betting on its new campaign to attract enough new employees. For many years it has been an innovator in recruiting retirees and people with disabilities. The most recent innovation at McDonald's UK, called the Family Contract, allows wives, husbands, grandparents, and children over the age of 16 to swap shifts without notifying management. The arrangement extends to cohabiting partners and same-sex partners. The Family Contract is potentially a recruiting tool because family members can now share the same job and take responsibility for scheduling which family member takes each shift.
Even with these campaigns and human resource changes, some senior McDonald's executives acknowledge that the entry-level positions are not a “lifestyle” job. “Most of the workers we have are students—it’s a complementary job,” says Denis Hennequin, the Paris-based executive vice president for McDonald's Europe.


Questions

1.    Discuss McDonald's current situation from a human resource planning perspective.
2.    Is McDonald's taking the best approach to improving its employer brand? Why or why not? If you were in charge of developing the McDonald's employer brand, what would you do differently?
3.    Would “guerrilla” recruiting tactics help McDonald's attract more applicants? Why or why not? If so, what tactics might be effective?

































CASE: 5       TRANSFORMING REUTERS

London-based Reuters is a venerable company. Established in 1850 and devoted to delivering information around the world by the fastest means available—which in 1850 meant a fleet of 45 carrier pigeons—by the late 1990s the company had developed into one of the largest providers of information in the world. Although Reuters is known best to the public for its independent, unbiased news reporting, 90 percent of Reuters’ revenues are generated by providing information to traders in financial markets. In the 1990s the company used a proprietary computer system and a dedicated telecommunications network to deliver real-time quotes and financial information to Reuters terminals—devices that any self-respecting financial trader could not function without. When Reuters entered the financial data business in the early 1970s, it had 2,400 employees, most of them journalists. By the late 1990s its employee base had swelled to 19,000 most of whom were on the financial and technical side. During this period of heady growth Reuters amassed some 1,000 products, often through acquisitions, such as foreign-language data services, many of which used diverse and sometimes incompatible computer delivery systems.
The late 1990s were the high point for Reuters. Two shocks to Reuters’ business put the company in a tailspin. First came the Internet, which allowed newer companies, such as Thompson Financial Services and Bloomberg, to provide real-time financial information to any computer with an Internet connection. Suddenly Reuters was losing customers to a cheaper and increasingly ubiquitous alternative. The Internet was commoditizing the asset on which Reuters had built its business: information. Then in 2001 the stock market bubble of the 1990s finally broke; thousands of people in financial services lost their jobs; and Reuters lost 18 percent of its contracts for terminals in a single year. Suddenly a company that had always been profitable was losing money.
In 2001 Reuters appointed Tom Glocer as CEO. The first nonjournalist CEO in the company’s history, Glocer, an American in a British-dominated firm, was described as “not part of the old boys’ network.” Glocer had long advocated that Reuters move to an Internet-based delivery system. In 2000 he was put in charge of rolling out such a system across Reuters but met significant resistance. The old proprietory system had worked well, and until 2001 it had been extremely profitable. Many managers were therefore reluctant to move toward a Web-based system that commoditized information and had lower profit margins. They were worried about product cannibalization. Glocer’s message was that if the company didn’t roll out a Web-based system, Reuters’ customers would defect in droves. In 2001 his prediction seemed to be coming true.
Once in charge, Glocer again pushed an Internet-based system, but he quickly recognized that Reuters’ problems ran deeper. In 2002, the company registered its first annual loss in history, £480 million, and Glocer described the business as “fighting for survival.” Realizing that dramatic action was needed, in February 2003 Glocer launched a three-year strategic and organizational transformation program called Fast Forward. It was designed to return Reuters to profitability by streamlining its product offering, prioritizing what the company focused on, and changing its culture. The first part of the program was an announcement that 3,000 employees (nearly 20 percent of the workforce) would be laid off.
To change its culture Reuters added an element to its Fast Forward program known as “Living Fast,” which defined key values such as passionate and urgent working, accountability, and commitment to customer service and team. A two-day conference of 140 managers, selected for their positions of influence and business understanding rather than their seniority, launched the program. At the end of the two days the managers collectively pledged to buy half a million shares in the company, which at the time were trading at all-time low.


After the conference the managers were fired up; but going back to their regular jobs, they found it difficult to convey that sense of urgency, confidence, and passion to their employees. This led to the development of a follow-up conference: a one-day event that included all company employees. Following a video message from Glocer and a brief summary of the goals of the program, employees spent the rest of the day in 1,300 cross-functional groups addressing challenges outlined by Glocer and proposing concrete solutions. Each group chose one of “Tom’s challenges” to address. Many employee groups came up with ideas that could be rapidly implemented—and were. More generally, the employees asked for greater clarity in product offerings, less bureaucracy, and more accountability. With this mandate managers launched a program to rationalize the product line and streamline the company’s management structure. In 2003 the company had 1,300 products. By 2005 Reuters was focusing on 50 key strategic products, all delivered over the Web. The early results of these changes were encouraging. By the end of 2004 the company recorded a £380 million profit, and the stock price had more than doubled.


Questions

1.    What technological paradigm shift did Reuters face in the 1990s? How did that paradigm shift change the competitive playing field?
2.    Why was Reuters slow to adopt Internet-based technology?
3.    Why do you think Tom Glocer was picked as CEO? What assets did he bring to the leadership job?
4.    What do you think of Glocer’s attempts to change the strategy and organizational culture at Reuters? Was he on the right track? Would you do things differently?

AIMA assignments : Contact us for answers at assignmentssolution@gmail.com

DMM09
Customer Relationship Management
Assignment – I

Assignment Code: 2017DMM09B1                                          Maximum Marks: 100
   Last date of Submission: 15th November 2017

    Section-A
Each question carries 25 Marks.
1.    Prepare a study of Indian Banking Industry and analyse the changes that took place in the relationship practices of this industry?

2.    Explain the concepts of customer retention and customer recall management?
Section-B (50 Marks)

Case Study

Customer Relationship Management in Shopper’s Stop

The foundation of Shopper’s Stop Ltd. was laid on 27th October, 1991 by K. Raheja Corp. Group of Companies.  Being amongst India’s biggest hospitality and real estate players, the Group sets another milestone with their lifestyle venture. The objective was to create a fashion and lifestyle store for the entire brands for the same. It tried to bridge the gap between the unprofessionally managed and poorly stocked merchandise and ill-mannered staff, and the growing urban upper middle class who had money to spend but were asking for a quality environment. The objective was to create a fashion and lifestyle store for the entire brands. It tried to bridge the gap between the unprofessionally managed and poorly stocked merchandise, ill-mannered staff and the growing urban upper middle class who had money to spend but were asking for a quality environment.

From its inception, Shopper’s Stop has progressed from being a single brand shop to becoming a leading fashion & lifestyle store for the family. A pioneer of organized retailing in India, today, it has become the highest benchmark for the Indian retail industry. Its stores are present across various Indian cities such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Gurgaon, and Kolkata. It has a national presence of over 6,00,000 square feet of retail space, stocking over 250 brands of garments and accessories.
In fact, the company’s continuing expansion plans aim to help it meet the challenges of the retail industry in an even better manner than it does today. Its vision is to be a global retailer in India and maintain its No.1 position in the Indian market in the Department store category. Being at the helm of a customer centric business, there is a strong emphasis on customer satisfaction which, in turn, translates into taking all aspects of the business very seriously.

CRM Practices
The retail chain major is eyeing 50% sales growth from its CRM initiatives. The company has also line up an aggressive expansion plan, targeting smaller towns and cities in the country. According to Managing Director and CEO of the company, it has given a new direction to its CRM initiatives after acquiring business intelligence software called “Business Solutions”.

The new software helps generate intelligent data from Shopper’s Stop customer base of about 2,30,000. The company then collects this data and touches base with customers via direct mailers informing them about the upcoming events. A company release says: “Last year, about 50 % of our sales came from repeat customers and this year too we are expecting this number to grow “. The company claims that it has taken its CRM initiatives to a new height and now calls its loyalty programmes.

CEM  Initiatives
Overanalysing of the company’s sales trends and pattern helped realize that most of the sales were coming from the old customers primarily through repeat purchases it thought of focusing on those customers. The company tried to leverage data by providing information and the company may ultimately be benefited. As, if a customer had bought a pair of trousers, it tells him about a new range of shirts that it has just brought into the store.

Under the CEM programme, the members are called “First Citizens”
At the Shopper’s stop, the First Citizens are given the following exclusive benefits and privileges:
•    Reward points every time they shop
•    Exclusive offers
•    Updates on what one can look forward to shop for
•    Exclusive benefits and privileges
•    Exclusive cash counters so that they can spend more time shopping rather than waiting in a line.
There are three membership categories:
1.    Classic moments
2.    Silver edge
3.    Golden glow
The company believes in providing the best experiences possible, including the best benefits and privileges. The programme gets as rewarding as one makes it since it depends on the membership status which is upgraded when one qualifies with the necessary purchases during the membership period.

Co-branded CRM initiatives: Shopper’s Stop has been launching several schemes to benefit its profitable customers and has been coming up in partnership with several leading players who matter for retailing industry. One such programme partner is Citibank.

First Citizen Citibank Credit card: The First Citizen Citibank Credit Card – The first citizen credit card – India’s only co-branded store card combines the benefits of Shopper’s Stop loyalty programme. First Citizen and the advantages of a Citibank Credit card. This entitles customers to the benefit of:

a)    Earn double reward points
b)    0% EMI scheme

First citizen Citibank debit card: The First Citizen ATM/debit card is India’s first co-branded ATM/debit card in the retail sector. While this card can be used as a regular debit card and at an ATM to withdraw cash, it also helps a customer collect reward points every time he purchases merchandise at any shopper’s stop outlet. This also provides automatic membership to First Citizen Shopper’s Stop Loyalty programme for those who are not First Citizen members yet. The company had also gone in for massive IT initiative to support the customer support it had planned for. It chose software tools for facilitating, the analysis of the customer data. They have been using a combination of business objects and the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) solutions for trend analysis, promotion, management, consumer behaviour, segmentation, buying basket analysis, profitability and lifecycle analysis.

Case Questions:

1.     Shopper’s Stop was the first among the organized retail players to initiate CRM     practices. What do you find from the above case study to substantiate this view? 

2.     Shopper’s Stop has initiated many things in the direction of keeping customers for life.     What are those initiatives?

3.     If you were in the place of Incharge of relationship management practices, what     innovation would you have done?                               (15+15+20)


DMM09
Customer Relationship Management
Assignment – II
Assignment Code: 2017DMM09B2                                         Maximum Marks: 100
   Last date of Submission: 15th November 2017

    Section-A
Each question carries 25 Marks.
1.    “CRM programmes are a costly affair, but the long-term reward it generates is much more beneficial than the revenue it generates“. How far do you agree with the statement and why?

2.    Consider yourself as a Business Manager of an insurance company in a city. How would you design a system to study customer feedback of your services and delivery? Explain in full detail.
Section-B (50 Marks)

Case Study

A)    Infosys was recruiting a German. When the candidate was asked why he wanted to join Infosys, he replied he wanted to join the company where Mr. Narayana Murthy works. This shows that the employees remain with the organization with full dedication as long as they are taken care of properly.

Q1.     “Employee care is must in organization today before performance results”. Comment on     the statement.                                        (15 marks)

B)    Once the CEO of Relocation Management Resources found one of his best customer service managers during a frustrating experience at the airport. Upon finding out his flight was cancelled, the CEO called the airline company to complain –bitterly. The women who took the call remained poised despite the CEO‘s self-described ranting and raving. By the end of the conversation, the CEO made the woman a job offer, which she later accepted.
Q2.      “Winning customers through employee behaviour is the key to retain customers”. Comment on the statement?                                    (15 marks)

C)    Cognizant, an IT company celebrates its major milestones with employees, usually by giving them a choice of gifts such as TVs, DVD players, and music systems. This is because the company believes that employee delight is the basis for Customer Delight in a service company. Cognizant believes this is the only way to keep employees happy and make them feel to be a part of the company which may otherwise seem impersonal to most employees if they only maintain an arm’s length relationship.

Q3.      Establishing employee relations by giving gifts in kind is a better option as followed by cognizant or giving financial benefits is far better or recognizing the skills, talents, worth and giving due respect to their existence is the best solution to have employee delight and finally customer delight.  Give your views on this statement?                (20 marks)


Friday 29 December 2017

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


Case 1: Zip Zap Zoom Car Company
   
Zip Zap Zoom Company Ltd is into manufacturing cars in the small car (800 cc) segment.  It was set up 15 years back and since its establishment it has seen a phenomenal growth in both its market and profitability.  Its financial statements are shown in Exhibits 1 and 2 respectively.
    ……………..
    To maintain an annual dividend of 10 per cent, an additional Rs. 35 crore has to be kept aside.  Hence, the expected available net cash inflow is Rs. 185.27 crore (i.e. Rs. 220.27 – Rs. 35 crore)
Question:
Analyse the debt capacity of the company. 



CASE – 2   GREAVES LIMITED

Started as trading firm in 1922, Greaves Limited has diversified into manufacturing and marketing of high technology engineering products and systems. The company’s mission is “manufacture and market a wide range of high quality products………………



Questions

1.    How profitable are its operations? What are the trends in it? How has growth affected the profitability of the company?
2.    What factors have contributed to the operating performance of Greaves Limited? What is the role of profitability margin, asset utilisation, and non-operating income?
3.    How has Greaves performed in terms of return on equity? What is the contribution of return on investment, the way of the business has been financed over the period?


















CASE – 3   CHOOSING BETWEEN PROJECTS IN ABC COMPANY

ABC Company, has three projects to choose from. The Finance Manager, the operations manager are discussing and they are not able to come to a proper decision. Then they are meeting a consultant to get proper advice. As a consultant, what advice you will give?

The cash flows are as follows. All amounts are in lakhs of Rupees.

Project 1:
Duration 5 Years
Beginning cash outflow = Rs. 100
Cash inflows (at the end of the year)
Yr. 1 – Rs 30; Yr. 2 – Rs 30; Yr. 3 – Rs 30; Yr.4 – 10; Yr.5 – 10

Project 2:
Duration 5 Years
Beginning Cash outflow Rs. 3763
Cash inflows (at the end of the year)
Yr. 1 – 200; Yr. 2 – 600; Yr. 3 – 1000; Yr. 4 – 1000; Yr. 5 – 2000.

Project 3:
Duration 15 Years
Beginning Cash Outflow – Rs. 100
Cash Inflows (at the end of the year)
Yrs. 1 to 10 – Rs. 20 (for 10 continuous years)
Yrs. 11 to 15 – Rs. 10 (For the next 5 years)

Question:
If the cost of capital is 8%, which of the 3 projects should the ABC Company accept?




















CASE – 4   STAR ENGINEERING COMPANY

Star Engineering Company (SEC) produces electrical accessories like meters, transformers, switchgears, and automobile accessories like taximeters and speedometers.
    SEC buys the electrical components, but manufactures all mechanical parts within its factory which is divided into four production departments Machining, Fabrication, Assembly, and Painting—and three service departments—Stores, Maintenance, and Works Office.
    …………………
    The accountant who had to visit the company’s banker, passed on the papers to you for the required analysis and cost computations.

REQUIRED

Based on the data given in Exhibits A and B, you are required to:

1.    Complete the attached “overhead cost distribution sheet” (Exhibit C).
Note: Wherever possible, identify the overhead costs chared directly to the production and service departments. If such direct identification is not possible, distribute the costs on some “rational basis.

2.    Calculate the overhead cost (per direct labour hour) for each of the four producing departments. This should include share of the service departments’ costs.

3.    Do you agree with:
a.   The procedure adopted by the company for the distribution of overhead costs?
b.   The choice of the base for overhead absorption, i.e. labour-hour rate?



Case 5: EASTERN MACHINES COMPANY

Raj, who was in charge production felt that there are many problems to be attended to. But Quality Control was the main problem, he thought, as he found there were more complaints and litigations as compared to last year. With the demand increasing, he does not want to take any chances.

……………………
Namdeo: We should ask somebody from our statistics dept. to attend to this problem.

As a Statistician, advice what kind of Sampling schemes can we consider, and what factors will influence choice of scheme. What are the questions we should ask Mr. Namdeo, who works in the assembly line?

AIMA assignments : Contact us for answers at assignmentssolution@gmail.com

DMM 08
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
Assignment – I

Assignment Code: 2017DMM08B1                                             Maximum Marks: 100
   Last date of Submission: 15th November 2017

Section-A
Each question carries 25 Marks.
1.     a.      Elucidate why Product Life Cycle is a useful tool for helping managers organizes their
thinking about the   product strategy and management.
           b.      Give   a detailed account of product lifecycle stages of the following product (a) Laptops
(b) Digital camera (c) luxury watches. Justify the position giving appropriated information.                                

2.     a.     “Positioning is the   fountainhead   from   which   flows   the   decision of marketing mix”
Substantiate this statement with examples.
b.     Discuss    the   positioning   adopted   by   one   brand   in the following product category
(a) Soap (b) medium size car (c) Smartphone

Section-B (50 Marks)

Case Study
Tropicana
Tropicana is a very famous brand that sells fruit juice worldwide. PepsiCo experienced great success with its Tropicana brand, acquired in 1998. Then in 2009, the company launched a redesigned package to “refresh and modernize” the brand. The goal was to create an “emotional attachment by ‘heroing’ the juice and trumpeting the natural fruit goodness.” Arnell Group led the extreme makeover that led to an entirely new look, downplaying the brand name, raising the prominence of the phrase “100 percent orange pure & natural,” and replacing the “straw in an orange” graphic on the front of the package with a close-up of a glass of orange juice.


We thought it would be important to take this brand and bring it or evolve it into a more current or modern state.” stated Peter Arnell, director of the creative agency Arnell in his speech explaining the strategy chosen for the Tropicana product.
“Historically, we always show the outside of the orange. What was fascinating was that we had never shown the product called the juice.”
The agency decided then to take the orange and move it to the lid of the bottle. The idea is creative and interesting, as we can see that the cap really has the shape and texture of half an orange that you can squeeze to obtain a fresh orange juice. This message goes along with the new advertising campaign launched by the same time, and both the packaging and the ad include the statement “Squeeze, it’s a natural”.
Tropicana invested 35 million dollars in an advertising campaign that promoted the new packaging for the fruit juice brand. Both the packaging design and the advertising campaign were created by the same agency; Arnell. On January 8th 2009, Tropicana launched the new packaging for its best-selling product in North America – Tropicana Pure Premium, with sales revenues reaching more than 700 million dollars per year.
A few days later, consumers started criticizing the new design, especially on social networks. Consumer response was swift and negative. The package looked “ugly” or “stupid,” and some even confused it with a store brand. Two months later, sales dropped by 20%, and this spectacular decrease in sales represented a loss of 30 million dollars for Tropicana.
Meanwhile, Tropicana’s competitors took advantage of the “Tropicana crisis” and gained the sales lost by the fruit juice brands. After only two months, PepsiCo management announced it would revert to the old packaging On February 23rd 2009, Tropicana announced that it would return to its original packaging design, and within a few months, the old packaging was back for good on all supermarket shelves. In total, this initiative cost Tropicana more than 50 million dollars.

As per product and marketing experts, after the company designs its packaging, it must test it. Engineering tests ensure that the package stands up under normal conditions; visual tests, that the script is legible and the colors harmonious; dealer tests, those dealers find the packages attractive and easy to handle; and consumer tests, that buyers will respond favorably. Eye tracking by hidden cameras can assess how much consumers notice and examine packages.

Case Questions:

1.     Discuss the importance and the process of concept testing.
2.     Describe the factors that contribute to the failure of new product packaging of Tropicana.
3.     Study the current packagings used by Tropicana on internet, and critically evaluate the effectiveness in Indian market.

DMM 08
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
Assignment – II

Assignment Code: 2017DMM08B2                                             Maximum Marks: 100
   Last date of Submission: 15th November 2017

Section-A
Each question carries 25 Marks.
1.     How does the idea of a product portfolio relate to that of an investment portfolio? Is this analogy useful?

2.     What are the main components of a business analysis foe new product?

Section-B (50 Marks)

Case Study

The global auto industry is in the midst of dramatic growth and change, the likes of which it hasn’t experienced since the industry’s inception. In 2010, a shift in the balance of power within the global auto industry occurred when the world’s emerging growth market led by China, India, Brazil, and Eastern Europe accounted for slightly more than one-half of the 73.2 million light vehicles sold worldwide. Unlike some of the other emerging markets where market shares are more fragmented, the Indian small vehicle segment has been dominated by three major players – Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motors and Tata Motor’s. These players with their strong product portfolio, particularly in the small car segment, extensive distribution and servicing reach and strong brand franchise (created over several years) have maintained their market position for years together.
Tata Motor’s targeted this segment for itself in the Indian automobile industry with its Tata Nano. Tata Nano a small car from a big idea attained immortality the moment it was unveiled at the Auto Expo in New Delhi, causing a seismic shift in the automotive world. The creation of Tata Nano is a result of innovation leading to new market creation to tap latent opportunities lying at the bottom of the pyramid in the automobile, four wheeler segment. The car has been widely publicized as the world's cheapest car at Rs.1 lakh that would bring greater mobility to the masses of India and, eventually, the world.  The financial times reported- "If ever there were a symbol of India’s ambitions to become a modern nation, it would surely be the Nano, the tiny car with the even tinier price-tag.
Tata Motor’s wanted to develop the effective positioning strategy for Tata Nano in India. Since one of the most important aspects of successfully marketing a product is “Positioning. In fact, brands can succeed – or fail – depending on how they are positioned.  As the target customers for Tata Nano were lower and middle income families, who aspire to upgrade to 4- wheelers from being 2-wheeler users and since many of such families stay away from purchasing 4- wheelers primarily due to the affordability factor .Management at Tata Motor’s tried to focus on the price factor and developed “Price Positioning Strategy” for Tata Nano. Tata Nano tried to position itself as the most Affordable Car in the world. The former Chairman of Tata, Mr. Ratan Tata, has envisioned Tata Nano to become a “People’s car.” The car was positioned as a people’s car since it offers comfort and affordability to every person but inadvertently Tata Nano got positioned as the “Poor Man’s Car” and “Cheap Car”.
Combining the predictions about car ownership in India with the growth in GDP per Capita in India, predicted that automobile sector, especially the small car market is one of the most competitive sectors in India. In a market like this, a car like Tata Nano had the potential to sell like hot cakes. But those ambitions stalled. Despite a booming economy and strong consumer outlook, Tata Nano failed to leverage this opportunity to gain a foothold in this segment and after four years it was repositioned.
Too Many Crises – Since its launch with great fanfare in 2009, the Nano has swerved from one crisis to another. There was opposition to Tata’s original plans to site the factory in West Bengal, forcing a last-minute scramble to switch the site to Sanand.  The orders then petered out. To make matters worse, a few cars burst into flames, raising fears about the Nano’s safety. Sales, which had been predicted to be 20,000 a month, fell as low as 509 in November 2009. Sales recovered to 10,000 a month in the spring, but fell back again to 3,260 in July, 2010 amid a slump in the Indian car market caused by rising interest rates and fuel prices.
As per experts, Nano was a consumer behavior assessment failure. The brand managers positioned the car as the next upgrade for a family of four with a two wheeler. But every such household had an aspiration to move to something better and not necessarily cheaper. Even if the consumer was in that income bracket, he aspired for something cooler. This point was not taken into consideration while the brand managers were coming up with the positioning.
The next campaign focused on the tier 2 cities with bad roads and little or no inclination to move things along. This further hit the car sales. Finally now the Nano has been positioned as a cool car to have fun with. Also the colors and the powerful AC are being positioned as the differentiators along with the classic adage of better fuel efficiency that has helped its sales. The road ahead for Tata Motor’s continues to be challenging, yet full of opportunities but Tata Motor’s is committed to improve its customer-centricity, to better understand customer needs and translate them into exciting and appropriate products for their markets in order to increase the "perceived value" of its aspirational venture Nano .
After four years of it commercial launch Tata Nano, decided to  create a new niche for itself in august 2013 , by managing to move away from tag like the “world’s cheapest car to "smart city car". Thus they are repositioning Tata Nano as a "smart city car" by focusing on the youth to rejuvenate its image.    Tata Motor’s have repositioned Tata  Nano  by boasting  of some “intelligent features” like  power steering option, improved interior and exterior of the car and  improved fuel efficiency  and additional features like remote keyless entry, twin glove boxes, and a four-speaker Amphi Stream music system with Bluetooth, USB and auxiliary connectivity. The new Nano is available with new personalization kits- Jet, Alpha, Remix, and Peach.  Focusing on the youth to rejuvenate its image because, its buyer profile has been getting younger since the launch of the 2012 edition. About 45% of the buyers are younger than 35 years. Thus moving away from the concept of being an affordable four-wheeler. With the upgrades, Tata Motor’s is trying to increase the value for money proposition it offers to customers.
Although Tata Motors have developed proper repositioning strategies this time that will make the product cater to a larger number of customer segments. Changing perceptions of consumers is not so easy and it will take time. And Jack Trout, one of the world’s leading international marketing strategists has given the Tata Motor’s unsolicited advice to just ‘kill the brand’.

CASE QUESTIONS:

1.     Do you think this  repositioning will transform the Tata Nano's fortunes? - Is there a future for the product? 

2.     What could have been done to position the car better? Discuss 2 alternative positioning stands.

3.     Should the company “kill the brand” as advised by Jack Trout, critically discuss and justify.

Thursday 28 December 2017

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



        N.B.: 1)    Attempt any Four Questions
             2)    All questions carry equal marks.
NO. 1
COOKING LPG LTD
DETERMINATION OF WORKING CAPTIAL
Introduction
Cooking LPG Ltd, Gurgaon, is a private sector firm dealing in the bottling and supply of domestic LPG for household consumption since 1995. The firm has a network of distributors in the districts of Gurgaon and Faridabad. The bottling plant of the firm is located on National Highway – 8 (New Delhi – Jaipur), approx. 12 kms from Gurgaon.  The firm has been consistently performing we.”  and plans to expand its market to include the whole National Capital Region.
    The production process of the plant consists of receipt of the bulk LPG through tank trucks, storage in tanks, bottling operations and distribution to dealers.   During the bottling process, the cylinders are subjected to pressurized filling of LPG followed by quality control and safety checks such as weight, leakage and other defects.  The cylinders passing through this process are sealed and dispatched to dealers through trucks.  The supply and distribution section of the plant prepares the invoice which goes along with the truck to the distributor.
Statement of the Problem :
Mr. I. M. Smart, DGM(Finance) of the company, was analyzing the financial performance of the company during the current year.  The various profitability ratios and parameters of the company indicated a very satisfactory performance.  Still, Mr. Smart was not fully content-specially with the management of the working capital by the company.  He could recall that during the past year, in spite of stable demand pattern, they had to, time and again, resort to bank overdrafts due to non-availability of cash for making various payments.  He is aware that such aberrations in the finances have a cost and adversely affects the performance of the company.  However, he was unable to pinpoint the cause of the problem.
    He discussed the problem with Mr. U.R…….
•     10 per cent.  However, during other months the power consumption remains the same as the decrease owing to reduced production is offset by increased consumption on account of compressors /Acs.
•    Additional amount of Rs. 3 lakh is kept as cash balance to meet exigencies during winter.
•    No change in time schedules for any payables / receivables.
•    The storage of finished goods inventory is restricted to a maximum 5,000 cylinders due to statutory requirements. 












NO. 2
M/S HI-TECH ELECTRONICS
M/s. Hi – tech Electronics, a consumer electronics outlet, was opened two years ago in Dwarka, New Delhi. Hard work and personal attention shown by the proprietor, Mr. Sony, has brought success.  However, because of insufficient funds to finance credit sales, the outlet accepted only cash and bank credit cards.  Mr. Sony is now considering a new policy of offering installment sales on terms of 25 per cent down payment and 25 per cent per month for three months as well as continuing to accept cash and bank……
– off basis.  The proprietor feels that the new policy will lead to bad debts of 1 per cent.
(a)    As a financial consultant, advise the proprietor whether he should go for the extension of credit facilities.
(b)    Also prepare cash budget for one year of operation of the firm, ignoring interest.  The minimum desired cash balance & Rs. 30,000, which is also the amount the firm has on January 1.  Borrowings are possible which are made at the beginning of a month and repaid at the end when cash is available.




















NO.3
SMOOTHDRIVE TYRE LTD
Smoothdrive Tyre Ltd manufacturers tyres under the brand name “Super Tread’ for the domestic car market.  It is presently using 7 machines acquired 3 years ago at a cost of Rs. 15 lakh each having a useful life of 7 years, with no salvage value.
    After extensive research and development, Smoothdrive Tyre Ltd has recently developed a new tyre, the ‘Hyper Tread’ and must decide whether to make the investments necessary to produce and market the Hyper Tread.  ……
debt will be a tax-deductible expenses.
    As a finance analyst, prepare a report for submission to the CFO and the Board of Directors, explaining to them the feasibility of the new investment.
No. 4
COMPUTATION OF COST OF CAPITAL OF PALCO LTD
In October 2003, Neha Kapoor, a recent MBA graduate and newly appointed assistant to the Financial Controller of Palco Ltd, was given a list of six new investment projects proposed for the following year.  It was her job to analyse these projects and to present her findings before the Board of Directors at its annual …..
of these sources of funds to determine its cost of capital.  In discussion with the current Financial Controller, the point was raised that while this served as an appropriate calculation for external funds, it did not take into account the cost of internally generated funds.  The Financial Controller agreed that there should be some cost associated with retained earnings and need to be incorporated in the calculations but didn’t have any clue as to what should be the cost.
    Palco Ltd is subjected to the corporate tax rate of 40 per cent.
    From the facts outlined above, what report would Neha submit to the Board of Directors of palco Ltd ? 







NO. 5
ARQ LTD
ARQ Ltd is an Indian company based in Greater Noida, which manufactures packaging materials for food items.  The company maintains a present fleet of five fiat cars and two Contessa Classic cars for its chairman, general manager and five senior managers.  The book value of the seven cars is Rs. 20,00,000 and …..
the PC, mobioe phone and so on.
    The company’s effective tax rate is 40 per cent and its cost of capital is 15 per cent.
Analyse the financial viability of the two options.  Which option would you recommend ?  Why ?

AIMA assignments : Contact us for answers at assignmentssolution@gmail.com

DMM 06
INTERNET MARKETING
Assignment – I
Assignment Code: 2017DMM06B1                                                                                         Maximum Marks: 100
   Last date of Submission: 15th November 2017

Section-A
Each question carries 25 Marks.
1.     What is a search engine, and how does it works? Why is search engine optimization so important?

2.     Discuss the various online revenue models? What is pay per click (PPC) search engine advertising? Discuss this model in detail.


Section-B (50 Marks)

Case Study

In 2013, Asia-Pacific emerged as the strongest business-to-consumer (B2C) eCommerce region in the world with sales of around 567.3 billion USD, a growth of 45% over 2012, ranking ahead of Europe (482.3 billion USD) and North America (452.4 billion USD). The top three were followed by Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, according to Ecommerce Europe1. Globally, B2C eCommerce sales increased by 24% over 2012. This reflects the huge untapped potential of eCommerce by retail companies, both in their country of origin and across borders.
 eCommerce or electronic commerce, deals with the buying and selling of goods and services, or the transmitting of funds or data, over an electronic platform, mainly the internet. These business transactions are categorised into either business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), consumer-to-consumer (C2C), consumer-to-business (C2B) or the recently evolved business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C).
 eCommerce processes are conducted using applications, such as email, fax, online catalogues and shopping carts, electronic data interchange (EDI), file transfer protocol and web services and e-newsletters to subscribers. eTravel is the most popular form of eCommerce, followed by eTail which essentially means selling of retail goods on the internet conducted by the B2C category. According to Ecommerce Europe, country-wise, the US, UK and China together account for 57% of the world’s total B2C eCommerce sales in 2013, with China having total sales of 328.4 billion USD. As against this, India had sales of only 10.7 billion USD, 3.3% of that of China in 2013 with fifth position in AsiaPacific. This is despite the fact that India enjoys high demographic dividends just like China. India’s internet penetration with total e-households at 46 million against China’s 207 million is one of the reasons behind India’s poor B2C sales growth.
Online business models: To get the maximum benefit from eCommerce business, a large number of companies are adopting different innovative ideas and operating models including partnering with online marketplaces or setting up their own online stores. Some key operating models include the following
•     Marketplace and pick-up & drop are a model where sellers often partner with leading marketplaces to set up a dedicated online store on the latter’s website. Here sellers play a key role of managing inventory and driving sales. They leverage on high traffic on the marketplaces’ website and access their distribution network. However, the sellers have limited say on pricing and customer experience.
•     Self-owned inventory is a model where the eCommerce player owns the inventory. The model provides better postpurchase customer experience and fulfilment. It provides smoother operations due to ready information on the inventory, location, supply chain and shipments, effectively leading to better control over inventory. On the flipside, however, there are risks of potential mark downs and working capital getting tied up in inventory.
•     Private label reflects a business where an eCommerce company sets up its own brand goods, which it sells through its own website. This model offers a wide-ranging products and pricing to its customers and competes with branded labels. Here, margins are typically higher than third-party branded goods.
•     White label involves the setting up of a branded online store managed by the eCommerce player or a third party. The brand takes the responsibility of generating website traffic and providing services by partnering with payment gateways. It helps build trust, customer affinity and loyalty and provides better control of brand and product experience. Online business models To get the maximum benefit from eCommerce business, a large number of companies are adopting different innovative ideas and operating models including partnering with online marketplaces or setting up their own online stores.
 CASE QUESTIONS
1.      List out the major ecommerce companies in India. Map them on the basis of product category and revenue.
2.      Categories the above listed companies on the basis of ecommerce model discussed in case study. Which of the above business model is most used model by Indian ecommerce companies?
3.     What is the future of ecommerce in India? List of the major challenges and opportunities for e-retailers in India.


DMM 06
INTERNET MARKETING
Assignment – II

Assignment Code: 2017DMM06B2                                                                                         Maximum Marks: 100
   Last date of Submission: 15th November 2017

Section-A
Each question carries 25 Marks.
1.     What exactly is email marketing? What are dos and don’ts of an email marketing campaign?

2.      Marketers must support the buying process online and offline. Justify. Why are mixed models preferred? What are the main web sites based KPIs. 

Section-B (50 Marks)

Case Study
DOMINO’S DILEMMA

Social media sites are so much part of mainstream culture that the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) recently reported they have exceeded the reach of television.  Social media marketing describes the use of social media to engage with customers to meet marketing goals.  It’s about reaching customers via online dialogue.  According to Lloyd Sammons, chairman of the IAB, it’s really about brands having conversations.

But sometimes social media backfires for companies.  Domino’s the national pizza delivery company, found itself in a crisis in April 2009.  Two employees of a North Carolina Domino’s store posted a YouTube video of themselves in the kitchen as they performed disgusting practices with pizza ingredients:
In about five minutes it’ll be sent out on delivery
Where somebody will be eating these, yes, eating
Them, and little did they know that cheese was in his
Nose and that there was some lethal gas that ended
Up on their salami….. that’s how we roll at Domino’s.

What steps should a company take when it faces a social media marketing disaster like this?  Should Domino’s just ignore the videos and assume that the buzz will die down, or should it take quick action?  Domino’s did nothing for the first 48 hours but eventually – after more than one million people viewed the spot-got the video removed from YouTube.  Domino’s also posted a YouTube clip of its CEO who stated:
We sincerely apologize for this incident.  We thank
members of the online community who quickly
altered us and allowed us to take immediate
action.  Although the individuals in question claim
it’s a hoax; we are taking this incredibly seriously.

Domino’s also announced the store where the videos were taken was shut down and sanitized.  In addition, the company opened a Twitter account to deal with consumer questions.  The two employees involved were charged with the felony of delivering prohibited foods and Domino’s is preparing a civil lawsuit against them.
Was this a strong enough response by Domino’s?  Most social media marketing experts grade Domino’s actions as excellent but a bit delayed.  In fact, an Advertising Age survey revealed that 64 percent of readers believed that the company did the best it could to deal with the crisis.  Still, there’s no doubt this incident was a pie in the eye for the company.

Case Questions:

1.    Describe how the video would influence a consumer during the information search stage of this purchase decision.

2.    How might this incident affect brand loyalty for Domino’s in the short-term?  In the long-term?

3.    Would you have done anything differently if your employees posted a disparaging or obscene video?