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PROVIDED CASE STUDY SOLUTIONS, PROJECT REPORTS
PROJECT GUIDANCES,
ASSIGNMENT ANSWERS ETC…
OF
MBA – EMBA-MSW-BBA-BBM-BMS-BCOM
ALL INDIAN & FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES
UPES, IGNOU, ISBM, IIBM, KSBM, PSBM, ISMS, NIBM, IIBMS, XAVIER
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CONTACT: DR PRASANTH MBA PH.D. DME
Mob: +91 9447965521 OR +91 9924764558
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.casestudyandprojectreports.com
OPERATION MANAGEMENT
Answer the question in one line.
Q1.
Suzan has a part-time “cottage-industry” producing seasonal plywood yard ornaments for resale at local craft fairs and
bazaars. She currently works a total of 4 hours per day to produce 10 ornaments. a. What is her productivity? b. She
thinks that by redesigning the ornaments and switching from use of a wood glue to a hot-glue gun she can increase her
production to 20 ornaments per day. What is her new productivity? c. What is her percentage increase (or decrease) in
productivity?
(10 marks)
Q2.
Ahmet grows domatoes in his 100 by 100 meters garden. He then sells the crop at the local farmer’s market. Two
summers ago, he was able to produce and sell 1200 kgs of tomatoes. Last summer, he tried a new fertilizer that
promised a 20% increase in yield. He harvested 1350 kgs. Did the fertilizer live up to its promise?
(10 marks)
Q3.
Ahmet Uslu makes wooden boxes in which to ship motorcycles. Ahmet and his three employees invest 40 hours per day
making the 120 boxes. a. What is their productivity? b. Ahmet and his employees have discussed redesigning the
process to improve efficiency. If they can increase the rate to 125 per day, what would be their new productivity? c. What
would be their increase in productivity?
(10 marks)
Q4. Magusa Metal Works produces cast bronze valves on an assembly line. On a recent day, 160 valves were produced
during an 8-hour shift. Calculate the productivity of the line. (10 marks)
Q5. Describe briefly the steps to develop a forecasting system. (10 marks)
Q6. Describe briefly the “Delphi Method”. (10 marks)
Q7. What is production/operations? (10 marks)
Q8. What factors distinguish between production and service operations? (10 marks
GENERAL MANAGEMENT
Answer the question in one line.Q1. Define management. What are the characteristics of management? (10 marks)Q2. Is management an art, science and profession (10 marks)Q3. What are the steps in decision making? (10 marks)Q4. Define organization Explain the classical theory of organization (10 marks)Q5. What are the prerequisites for effective Human resource planning? (10 marks)Q6. How to forecast human resource demand? (10 marks)Q7. What are the sources of recruit? (10 marks)Q8. What are the types of employment tests? (10 marks
MARKETING MANAGEMENT
Answer the question in one line.Q1. Define marketing and explain how marketing has evolved to the current state as it is practiced? (10 marks)Q2. What is Marketing planning? And what are the steps involved in corporate planning process? (10 marks)
Q3. What is Importance of Marketing as a subject of study? (10 marks)Q4. State and explain the contents of a Marketing plan? (10 marks)Q5. what is Marketing management process? (10 marks)Q6. What r the Steps in demand forecasting? (10 marks)Q7. What are main Elements of Branding? (10 marks)Q8. what are main Objectives of Pricing Policies?
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Answer the question in one line.Q1. What is a bad news message? (10 marks)Q2. What do you understand by the phrase ‘Readers responses are sharpened by Situation’? (10 marks)Q3. Differentiate between Direct and Indirect Approach? (10 marks)Q4. What are the basic strategies for writing bad-News Messages? (10 marks)Q5. Define the term ‘Stylistic Accuracy’. (10 marks)Q6. What is resume deception and personal data in resume writing? (10 marks)Q7. Why is a claim letter written? (10 marks)Q8. Define communication. Discuss the importance of communication with reference to an individual and an organization. (10 marks
Subject:- HOTEL MANAGEMENTQ1) What are the minor operating departments of a hotel? Explain each.Q2) What are the basic principles in requisitioning guest and cleaning supplies?Q3) Write short notes on the following (Any 2)a) Role of the housekeeping control desk.b) Lost and found procedurec) Responsibilities of the Public area supervisor.Q4) How can we reduce physical stress?Q5) What are the types of notices in a house keeping operation?Q6) How do small hotels survive?Q7) Explain briefly what services dos a franchisor provide to a franchisee?Q8) Explain the role of maintenance (engineering department)?Q9) Discuss the relationship between management and supervisors?Q10) Explain the meaning of the various occupancy codes?
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Answer the question in one line.Q1. How do differences in culture affect in international business? (10 marks)Q2. Write a detailed note on foreign direct investment (10 marks)Q3. Explain theory of global competitiveness alignment (10 marks)Q4. Explain global human resource management (10 marks)Q5. Explain five features of globalization (10 marks)Q6. What is agricultural & village industry facility in special focus initiatives? (10 marks)Q7. What is cost & freight (CFR)? (10 marks)
Q8. What is DDU? (10 marks
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Answer the question in one line.Q1. Discuss three different criteria for ethical decision making (10 marks)Q2. What is self-efficacy? (10 marks)Q3. Explain the three job redesign options. (10 marks)Q4. Discuss whether there are gender differences regarding emotions (10 marks)Q5. What is team efficacy? (10 marks)Q6. What is communication apprehension? (10 marks)Q7. What are the key dimensions that underlie the concept of trust? (10 marks)Q8. What are defensive behaviors? (10 marks)
PRINCIPLE AND PRACTISE MANAGEMENT
Answer the question in one line.Q1. Explain different roles of a manager. (10 marks)Q2. Distinguish between management and administration. What is an importance of management? (10 marks)Q3. Which are the skills are required by a manager? (10 marks)Q4. a)What are the important features of Bureaucratic administration? b)State its contributions and limitations. (10 marks)Q5. Define a management (10 marks)Q6. Comment on a true nature of management. Is it a science or an art? (10 marks)Q7. a)Why Taylor is regarded as the Father of Scientific Management? b)State the limitations of Scientific Management. (10 marks)Q8. a)What are the important features of bureaucratic administration? b)Describe its dysfunctional consequences.
SUBJECT: SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENTTotal Marks: 80CASE - 1 (20 Marks)E-TENDERING IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT-VENDOR SELECTIONThe e-tendering process has meant a transformation from a traditional vendor selection processthrough tenders to an online process making huge advances in efficiency, transparency and DataStorage solutions and retrieval systems. Wipro Infotech Enterprise application practice through its eprocurementapplication development service has ensured a smooth migration for governments.The e-tendering service offering allows vendors to electronically upload and download documents,access project details as well as enabling you to maintain a track on the overall status of the tenders.The key benefits of our E-tendering service offering include: Reducing collusion among vendors and making the process fair and competitive Enabling systematic documentation of the complete tendering process and hence reducingadministrative costs and minimising human error Ensuring significant reduction in processing time and tender cycle time Ensuring timely completion of tendering process thereby resulting in better utilisation ofavailable funds from financial institutions Providing onsite service and training to ensure that government adopts the new system
without any difficultiesQuestions How has technology helped SCM ? Is e-tendering a good process to select vendors?
SUBJECT:-SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Total marks 80
Group A
Case 1 (14 Marks )
Supply Chain Management at Bose Corporation
Bose Corporation manufactures audio premium speakers used in automobiles, high-fidelity systems and
consumer and commercial broad-casting systems. Head quartered in Framingham, Massachusetts, Bose
Corporation has plants in Massachusetts and Michigan as well as in Canada, Mexico and Ireland. Bose
speakers are the best sellers in Japan, the world leader in consumer electronics. Bose’s competence is in
its electronic engineering skills, ‘but the company attributes much of its business success to its tightly
controlled materials management and excellent Integrated supply chain management.
Bose purchases most of its electronic and other components from independent suppliers scattered around
North America, the Far East and Europe. About 50 percent of its purchases are from foreign suppliers,
the majority of them are from the Far East. Its purchasing organisation while decentralized has some
overlap that requires coordination between sides. Bose attempts to coordinate its globally dispersed
supply chain so that material holding and transportation costs are minimised. This requires component
parts to arrive at Bose’s Massachusetts assembly plant just in time to enter the production process. But
because Bose must remain responsive to its customers, it sometimes must respond quickly to increases in
customer demand for certain speakers so as to remain competitive. Since Bose does not want to hold
extensive inventories at its Massachusetts plant, this need for responsiveness requires Bose’s globally
dispersed supply chain o respond rapidly to increased demand for component parts.
Bose’s materials management function is responsible for coordinating the supply chain to meet both
objectives — minimising transportation and inventory holding costs and yet responding quickly to
customer demands. This function achieves coordination through a sophisticated logistics operation. Most
AN ISO 9001 : 2000 CERTIFIED INTERNATIONAL B-SCHOOL
2
of Bose’s imports from the Far East come via ships to the West coast and then across North America to
its Massachusetts plant via train. Most of the company’s export also move by ocean freight. Bose does
not hesitate to use airfreight when goods are needed urgently.
Bose has a long standing relationship with W.N. Procter. a Boston based freight forwarder and customs
broker. Procter handles customs clearance and shipping from suppliers to Bose. Procter provides Bose
with up-to-the minute electronic data interchange (EDI) capabilities which enable Bose to track parts as
they move through its global supply chain. Procter provides several other services to Bose such as
selecting overseas agents who can help move goods out of the Far East.
Procter’s well-established network of overseas contacts is especially useful when shipments must be
expedited through foreign customs. Procter also is electronically linked into the US customs system,
which allows it to clear freight electronically as much as five days before a ship arrives at a US port or
hours before an international airfreight shipment arrives - This helps to get goods to Bose’s
manufacturing plant several days sooner.
Bose has developed a detailed supplier performance system that measures on-time delivery, quality
performance, technical improvements and supplier suggestions. A report is generated twice a month from
this system to be sent to the suppliers providing feed-back about supplier performance.
Bose has written contracts with suppliers. After six months of delivery without rejects. Bose certifies the
suppliers as qualified suppliers.
Bose uses a sophisticated transportation system which is the best EDI system n the US. This j system
operates close to real time and allows two-way communication between every one of the freighthandlers’
230 terminals and Bose. Information is updated several times daily. This state-of- the art
system helps Bose’s managers to proactively manage logistics time elements in pursuit of better customer
service.
Perhaps one of the most unique features of Bose’s procurement and logistics system is the development
of JIT II. The basic premise of JIT H is: “the person who can do the best job of ordering and managing
inventory of a particular item is the supplier itself” Bose negotiated with each supplier to provide a full—
time employee at the Bose plant who was responsible for ordering. shipping and receiving materials from
that plant, as well as managing on-site inventories of the items. This was facilitated through an EDT
connection between Bose’s plant and the supplier’s facility.
Questions:-
1. Briefly present the salient features of the integrated supply chain management system at Bose?
2. Discuss how the strategy development process might work at a company like Bose?
3. What should be the relationship between Bose’s supply management strategy and the development of
its performance measurement system?
4. Discuss the importance of quality of purchased components to Bose?
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Case 2 (14 Marks)
SKF Bearing’s Best Practices
“SKF’S outbound logistics outsourcing is characterised by strong control over quality norms and delivery
schedules by SKF personnel”
SKF Bearings is one of the world’s biggest ball bearing manufacturing units, and they have: a sizeable
presence i India. As part of its supply chain management practice. SKF Bearings handles the training,
implementation and quality control activities themselves, while outsourcing the actual
operations to logistic solution providers. Outbound warehousing and transportation practices outsourced
to logistic solution providers and national transporters.
(A) Inbound transportation and warehousing: Complete vendor outsourced, i.e. transportation and
warehousing managed and handled by vendors.
B) Outbound transportation : Handled predominantly by national fleet operators, with some
responsibilities of contingency transportaton outsourced to organised players.
(C) Outbound warehousing : Completely outsourced to organised players with five players handling
different warehouses of the company.
SKF’s outbound logistics outsourcing is characterized by strong control over quality norms and delivery
schedules by SKF personnel. Outbound warehousing which is a completely outsourced activity is
controlled by SKF personnel by integrating the warehouses through their in-house developed ERP
software platform.
Training of logistics company personnel to load/unload goods, assemble and disassemble and for
integrating scheduling and supply orders is imparted by SKF. Through this, they have managed to
achieve 100 percent order cycle fulfillment, bring down damaged/ short/over delivery instances to almost
0.25 percent of total annual order and train logistic personnel to meet all in-house developed quality
norms.
Even though majority of their logistics partners have IT capabilities of their own, SKF Bearings doesn’t
use them as they have integrated their own IT platform to schedule orders, keep track of consignments
and to manage both effective and efficient distribution. Their warehousing costs are higher than their
outbound transportation costs because of the extensive warehousing practices, but they have achieved
gains through the application of internal control over implementation of quality norms, strict adherence
to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and a robust system of IT implementation throughout their
supply chain, Future Plans: Moving slowly towards Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) for inbound
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sourcing and also looking at outsourcing more warehouse management responsibilities. Looking to
implement more definitive 3PL solutions for outbound activities of the supply chain, but will still, keep
operational control in its own hands.
Questions
1. Discuss the activities involved in the supply chain of SKF Bearings?
2. Explain how .SKF establishes strong control over its outbound logistics?
3. What is meant by vendor managed inventory (VMI)?
4. What meant by third party (3PL) logistics solutions? Explain how SKF will be able to implement the
same?
Case 3 (14 Marks)
Chrysler Unseats its Competition with Supplier Partnerships
When Lee lococea gave the co ahead to Chrysler’s Neon Project in I NO, he \\ as taking a big risk. Until
that time; no American subcompact ear had been able to turn a profit for its manufacturer. l3ut Chrysler’s
Neon ultimately reversed this trend: mainly because of the unprecedented partnerships Chrysler entered
into with its suppliers in the earliest stages ot the Neon Project.
Robert Marcell. head of Chrysler’s small -car division, knew that such partnerships held the key to
Chrysler’s success. In order to make a profit, Marcell had to meet stringent production schedules for
which he had to bring suppliers on board early. This is crucial because outside companies would be
furnishing 70 percent of the value of the car in the form of tyres seats,suspension, and other components.
In an unprecedented move, Marcell allowed engineers from key potential suppliers to dose the first
Neon prototype during an October 1990 meeting. His team then issued a cost challenge. inviting
suppliers to make use of sensitive Chrysler financial data and ideas in a mutual effort to Cut costs.
Companies who entered into this unique partnership found that collaborating with Chrysler was a twoway
street. For exarple Johnson controls, Inc was initially to make the Neon’s seats within Chrysler’s
price targets, but Chrysler was unhappy with their safety. Weight and comfort. After the supplier
partnership agreement, ten Chrysler engineers moved into Johnson controls’ firm near Detroit to work
with the engineers of Johnson controls. After working together for five days together the partners agreed
on new weight, cost and performance standards that were so on target that they didn’t have to be changed
again.
As a result of this unique partnership, Chrysler was able to accept higher component Costs from Johnson
controls because of overall savings for Chrysler. At Chrysler’s request Johnson designed some rear seats
with the capability of folding down to expand trunk space. But Chrysler engineers insisted that Johnson
design the special seats so that they could be installed the same as other seats. This made each seat cost
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more, but Chrysler ultimately could save about $ one million overall in final assembly costs. Thanks to
its successful partnership with Johnson controls and other major suppliers, Chrysler met its stringent cost
and time deadlines for the Neon- and came out with Detroit’s first profitable subcompact car in the
bargain.
Questions
1. Discuss the approach of Chrysler’s operations managers in developing arid building the Neon model?
2. Discuss the relevance of this case to the study of supply chain management?
3. What benefits a manufacturing firm can achieve from its suppliers, through outsourced manufacturing?
4. Discuss the differences between outsourcing and out-partnering?
Case 4 (14 Marks)
Delphi Automotive Setting New Norms
“Logistics service provider and transporter evaluation is done on the basis of requirement levels met,
which is 100 percent for any component before it goes on to the line”.
Delphi Automotive India Ltd. is the Indian arm of the global giant Delphi Automotive. The major
components that Delphi supplies in the country are steering columns, half shafts, AC Units, Engine
Management systems, Catalytic Converters and Wiring Harnesses. The Company also takes up sourcing
requirements of clients based out of India.
Suppliers are generally selected on the basis o their proximity to the company’s four manufacturing units
in India, which are located in Bangalore, Karnataka (two plants), one in Noida, Uttar Pradesh and one in
Gurgaon (Haryana). Delphi believes in efficient sourcing from its suppliers. Nearby suppliers are
required to supply the plant everyday while far flung suppliers are required to supply 2-3 times in a week.
Delphi has streamlined the inbound process by procuring high volume, low cost items from nearby
suppliers and high cost, low volume items from far flung suppliers.
Delphi Automotive India has outsourced the entire inbound sourcing part of the supply chain to its
suppliers, totaling about 150. They are responsible for the inbound transportation and warehousing of
components before the latter reaches any of Delphi’s manufacturing plants.
For outbound trá1sportation and warehousing. the company works with a mixture of national transporters
and organised logistics solution providers, Its outbound warehousing has been outsourced to a trading
company with capabilities in warehouse management.
To make sure that quality norms are adhered to and supply schedules are met, logistics service 1?rovider
and transporter evaluation is done on the basis of requirement levels met, which is 100 percent for any
component before it goes on to the line. This is a very Important service level definition on which logistic
solution providers and transporters are evaluated.
Since the stock and inventory checking aspects of the supply chain have been automated, details of stocks
and status of delivery can be tracked. Web enabled
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consignment tracking facilities are provided by Delphi India to its foreign customers enabling the latter to
track the status and location of their’ consignments at any given point in time. Indian customers are
slowly being provided with this facility. Also, Indian customers can place orders from Delphi using the
company’s extranet system as and, when the requirement arises.
Future Plans: Will slowly move towards a more structured system of logistics outsourcing, which would
mean that it will increasingly start looking at more 3PL outsourcing arrangements.
Questions
1. Explain the supply chain of Delphi Automotive.
2. Explain how Delphi Automotive manages its inbound sourcing.
3. Explain how Delphi Automotive manages its outbound logistics.
4 Suggest a suitable strategy for Delphi Automotive to Improve its supply chain effectives.
Group B
Case 5 (24 Marks)
Karnataka Engineering Company Limited
By 1983 (the case time context), the two-wheeler market had been liberalised and companies had to deal
with the new realities. Logistics was one of the business activities which got a strong look. The case of
Karnataka Engineering Company Limited (KEC) provides the background for analysing a key set of
logistical concerns.
Strengthening the distribution network for finished products is one of the most direct ways of improving
service effectiveness and cost efficiency of a firm’s marketing related operations. The cost of selling up
and operating different facilities in the distribution network have to be viewed vis-à-vis the recurring
transportation and inventory costs in the distribution network and increasingly, service measures such as
response time to different sets of downstream customers.
In this case, the logistics manager s faced with the issue of designing a distribution network. ‘Twowheelers
have to be distributed from a single factory to several dealers. For illustrating the nature of the
decision, one state (Andhra Pradesh) is taken up for detailed analysis. Here, it is assumed that distribution
will be done state-wise, because of commercial (tax) considerations.
Five hierarchical decisions have to be made in this case; deciding on the number of warehouses, the
location of those warehouses, the allocation of demand points to a warehouse, the selection of a shipment
size, and an order processing and routing policy for the actual distribution from warehouse to demand
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points. Here, shipments from depots to dealers are through trucks or LCVs. Depending on the order
processing discipline that is selected, one could have the possibility of meeting the demands of two or
more dealers with a single trip. This would need a routing procedure.
Questions
1. At what volumes is the opening of a warehouse in a state justified primarily on the grounds of the 4 per
cent central sales tax for transactions across states?
2. How many warehouses do you think are required for the distribution of KEC’s products in Andhra
Pradesh? What could the candidate locations of the warehouses be? What would be the criteria on which
to select the candidates?
3. Determine the optimal selection of warehouses and the best allocation of demand points to the selected
warehouses?
4. What are the best choices for shipment (truck) size from warehouses to demand points? Given the size,
what routing would you recommend for a typical dispatch run?
Approach for Analysis
The problem here is a relatively complex one, in theory, because of the number of different but
interrelated decisions that have to he made. Two options are suggested to approach this problem. One is
to decompose the decision areas (typically in the order of the hierarchy described above) and calculate
only the aggregate contributions from other decisions. For example, a shipment size can be assumed
while deciding the number and location of warehouses (and that would determine the relevant costs), and
this can be repeated for each significant option.
Another approach is to explicitly and simultaneously consider two or more interrelated decisions. This is
a very common practice in, for example, location allocation models. This makes decision-making more
accurate. But this is not always possible.
A combination of these two approaches may be helpful here. A reasonable set of scenarios for shipment
size for making the upper-level decisions, a combined model for location and allocation, and again an
aggregate consideration for deciding the number of warehouses (based on the fixed costs vis-à-vis the
maximum savings in transportation) can be prepared. The routing decision can be separately made after
the allocation decisions are made, for each shipment size possibility. For the location-allocation decision,
even the number of warehouses to be opened can be left open, and a model developed based on Mixed
Integer Linear Programming. The model size should be kept small enough that a simple solution should
be obtained by running the model on a PC. Extensions of such models in m1aitleve1 distribution, where
explicit consideration of warehouse location costs and transport link fixed costs have been combined with
allocation decisions, have been among the most successful applications of models to practical decisionmaking.
Karnataka Engineering Company Limited (KEC)*
8
Karnataka Engineering Company Limited, Raichur, entered the two-wheeler industry in 1981 with the
production of mopeds. In 1983, they set up a scooter production line in Raichur. The two-wheeler scene
in India was very much a seller’s market in the early years, with waiting times of several months for
potential customers.
In 1987, there was a slump in the Two-wheeler market which affected all manufacturers badly. The
market became extremely competitive. This forced KEC to look for ways to tackle the increased
competitiveness. It was felt by the Staff Vice-President (Corporate Planning) that the physical
distribution function was a source of competitive advantage which, if properly handled, could yield
substantial dividends that would be visible in the immediate future.
KEC had set up a team to aggressively lead their marketing efforts in the slumping markets, called ‘Go
For It’. At a meeting of ‘Go For It’, the Staff VP (Corp. Planning) put forth his ideas for rationalising the
management of the physical distribution function, which was accepted by everyone, including the
Managing Director. Prior to this meeting, he had circulated a letter to all concerned (Exhibit
1). The organisation structure of KEC is given in Exhibit 2. Value added by KEC based on 1986-1987
financial data is given in Exhibit 3
Present Distribution
From Raichur, the two-wheelers are transported by specially adapted trucks, which can carry either 80
mopeds or 50 scooters or a combination of both. This phase of the distribution, called primary
transportation, is organised at Raichur itself by the central marketing office.
KEC has 19 branches spread all over India. Exhibit 4 gives a list of the branches (along with the
states/Uts) and their rnonh1y offtakés with sales value. Every branch is manned by a branch manager,
who is the 501C KE.C employee there. He wage labour for the loading and unloading operations. The
econda1y tansport arrangements transport from the branch to the dealers arc made by KEC Marketing
offices located in most states. A list of the marketing offices is given in Exhibit 5.
The consultant, based on discussions with the Staff VP arid Chief Operating Officer, arrived at a
framework for analysis, quite similar to the one outlined in Exhibit 1.
Branch Operating Costs and Locations
The operating expenses of a branch were estimated to be Rs 17,000 per month. The break-up is given in
Exhibit 6. However, the actual average expenses were closer to Rs 21,000 per month. The inventory cost
for each branch has been determined by examining the average branch inventory as given in Exhibit 7. It
should be kept in mind that the period January-July 1988, on which the data is based, represents a slump
in the market resulting in higher than normal inventories.
Given the costs, it can be determined that at 4 per cent central sales tax, the minimum throughput that
would justify the setting up of a branch in a state would be Rs 4.25 lakh per month. This translates into
78 mopeds (at Rs 5,500 per moped) or 33 scooters (at Rs 13,000 per scooter) per month or any
combination thereof. From Exhibit 4 it can be seen that it would be advantageous to locate branch
warehouses in 18 states/UTs. New branches need to be set up in Goa, Orissa and Pondicherry.
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The branch in Jammu and Kashmir can be discontinued. The north-eastern part of the country should be
examined in greater detail with a state with break up
For the states where a branch location is deemed Essential the next task was to determine how many
branches should be opened iii each state arid where exactly they should be located.
The principal factor to examine when considering whether more than one branch is justified would be to
see if the savings in total transportation costs (primary and secondary transportation costs) would be more
than the additional cost of a new branch.
Distribution in Andhra Pradesh
The logistics expert decided to examine the case of AP in detail for an interim presentation to KEC. The
existing position was that KEC had two branch warehouses at Adoni and Mahbubnagar,f serving roughly
the northern and southern halves of AP. Exhibit 8 shows the locations of the dealer points on a map.
Exhibit 9 gives the actual average monthly offtake to the dealer points in Al’ based on January-July 1988
data.
The marketing office at Hyderabad would collate the orders and issue instructions by telephone to the
branch manager at Adoni and Mahbubnagar regarding secondary despatches. Actual routing decisions
were the responsibility of the branch manager. Both the branch managers found it difficult to get through
to dealers by telephone. Further, the Mehboobnagar branch manager frequently complained about
difficulties in arranging secondary transport. It must be mentioned here that the principle that motivated
KEC to select Adoni and Mahbubnagar as branch locations is that they are the first major towns in AP
after crossing the border.
Transportation and Routing
To get a good handle on the nature of transportation cogs, the consultant defined a unit called the moped
unit km. where one moped unit km is performed by transporting one moped unit for a distance of one
kilometre. One scooter was taken as equivalent to 1.6 moped units as a full truckload carries 1.6 times
more mopeds than scooters. He further set out to determine an average1 figure of the transport cost per
moped unit km, both for primary and secondary transportation.
The truck rates for various truck sizes are given in Exhibit 10. An important decision here is the optimal
size of shipment (which size truck to use). Exhibit 11 gives the distance math between the dealer points
and potential branch locations. The potential locations were selected based on offtake levels, demand
spread, quality of life, etc.
For primary transportation, it was found that the trucks were generally run at full capacity The 80 moped
units capacity truck was normally used. To determine primary transport cost, the distance figures from
Raichur to the potential branch locations are given as Adoni (70 km) Cuddappah (270 km), Hyderabad
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(190 km), Kurnool (100 km—not a good road, 170 km—by good road), Mehboobnagar (100 km) and
Vijayawada (480 km via Hyderabad). For secondary transportation. six sample routings as given in
Exhibit 12 were chosen to determine the transport cost per moped unit km.
The average pipeline inventory was also a cost consideration. At the national level, average pipeline
inventory for primary transportation can be calculated given the average lead for mopeds as 700 km and
for scooters as 900 km. A truck does average of 350 km per day. Secondary transport pipeline inventory
was negligible, accept in large states.
The consultant now felt that he was ready to analyse the alternatives for branch location shipment size,
etc.
EXHIBIT I
From Staff VP (Corporate Planning)
To COO (Chief Operating Officer)
All members of Go For It
The recent slump in the market for two-wheelers is hitting not only our bottomline but also the morale of
the staff. We have been caught almost unaware by this and our sales forecasts look ridiculous. We are
faced with the all too visible problem of a build-up in finished goods inventory at Raichur and the
branches on account of lower offtake. The problem is so severe that sometimes trucks have had to wait
for more than a week to unload at branch points.
An important, but unfortunately neglected area to which we must pay attention is our logistics function.
If the right decisions are taken here, the potential to save money and provide an optimum level of service
to the consumer exists. Studying our logistics requirements should lead to savings in transportation costs
and inventory costs. The other benefit would be that our response time to orders would be acceptable to
the customer without imposing unjustifiable additional costs. As a first step, it would be useful for us to
recognise the significance of logistics costsas a proportion of value added to products. As I see it, the
first-level decision should be to make up our minds as to which states we should have branches in. The
financial advantage of having a branch warehouse in a state is that we then don’t have to pay the 4 per
cent central sales tax which is based on interstate sales.
The second-level decision should be to determine where in a state the branch should he located and
whether more than one branch would be justified. Related decisions would be the size of shipment,
frequency of shipment. inventory positioning at branches and routing of primary and secondary transport.
As we do not have any suitable person in KEC who is qualified to examine the issues involved, I have
identified an external management logistics expert to conduct the study.
11
EXHIBIT 3
Value Added Statement for 1986-87
Mopeds Scooters Total
Sales 63.20 41.10 104.30
Raw Material and Component Cost (67%
for mopeds) (69% for Scooters)
42.34 28.36 70.70
Value Added 20.86 12.74 33.60
EXHIBIT 4
12
State/UT-wise Monthly Average Sales (January-July 1988)
S.No State/UT Branch Location Mopels Scooters Sales Value (Rs 000)
1 Andhra
Pradesh
Adoni/M nagar 465/1460 78/210 3571.5/10760
2 Bihar Ranchi 360 125 3605
3 Daman Daman 15 300 3982.5
4 Delhi Delhi 65 30 747.5
5 Goa - 55 50 952.5
6 Gujarat Vadodara 80 70 1350
7 Haryana Faridabad 60 20 590
8 Himachal
Pradesh
- 10 10 185
9 Jammu &
Kashmir
Ja 5 25 352.5
10 Karnataka R 2400 150 15150
11 Kerala Cochin 80 60 1220
12 Madhya
Pradesh
Bhopal/Raipur 290/300 80/60 2635/2430
13 Maharashtra Mumbai 180 360 5670
14 North-east - 30 35 620
15 Orissa - 60 20 590
16 Pondicherry - 65 25 682.5
17 Punjab &
Chandigarh
Chandigarh 300 180 3990
18 Rajasthan Jaipur 210 120 2715
19 Tamil Nadu Vellore 1100 120 7610
13
20 Uttar Pradesh Luknow/Varanasi 750/300 170/70 6335/2560
21 West Bengal Medinipur 100 40 1070
Total 8740 2408 79374
Exhibit 5
Marketing Officer
Tamil Nadu Chennai
Karanataka Bangalore/Raichur
Andhra Pradesh Hyderabad
Kerala Cochin
Maharashtra Mumbai
MP Bhopal
UP Lucknow
Bihar Ranchi
West Bengal Calcutta
Rajasthan Jaipur
Gujarat Ahmedabad
J & K Srinagar
Punjab & Haryana Chandigarh
Delhi Delhi
Exhibit 6
Branch Opening Cost
Item Rs/Month
14
Utility ect 2000
Rent 4000
Salary 4000
Inventory 11000
Total 21000
Exhibit 7
Average Inventory Position at Branches (January-July 1988)
1 Adoni 63 24
2 M’nagar 58 30
3 Ranchi 30 14
4 Daman 39 91
5 Delhi 20 32
6 Vadodara 96 112
7 Faridabad 0 0
8 Jammu 29 25
9 Cochin 0 0
10 Bhopal 143 132
11 Raipur 55 59
12 Mumbai 63 109
13 Chandigarh 75 119
14 Jaipur 115 53
15 Vellore 53 32
16 Lucknow 165 146
15
17 Varanasi 86 146
18 Medinipur 50 32
Average Inventory at Branches 63.33 64.22
19 Raichur (including finished goods inv.)1122 768
Exhibit 8
Andhra Pradesh-KEC Branches
16
17
EXHBIT 9
Average Monthly Offtake in Andhra Pradesh (January –July 1988)
Mopeds Scooters moped-units
From Adoni
1 Adoni 25 10 41
2 Chittoor 90 10 106
3 Nellore 20 15 44
4 Ongole 20 0 20
5 Chirala 50 3 54.8
6 Cuddappah 55 4 61.4
7 Hindupur 60 7 71.2
8 Anantapur 60 10 76
9 Kurnool 20 3 24.8
10 Tirupati 65 16 90.6
From M’nagar
11 Guntur 95 15 119
12 V’Wada 205 30 253
13 Khammam 80 15 104
14 Warangal 65 15 89
15 R’Mundry 80 0 80
16 Kakinada 70 4 76.4
17 Vizag 115 6 124.6
18 V’nagram 30 5 38
19 M’nagar 20 10 36
20 Hyderabad 600 80 728
18
21 Nizamabad 45 15 69
22 K’nagar 55 15 79
Total 1925 288 2385.8
EXHIBIT 10
Truck Rates (Rs per km)
Transporter 80 Mopeds or 50
Scooters(large truck)
56 Mopeds or 35
Scooters(medium
truck)
20 Mopeds or 12
Scooters (LCV)
PC Rao Brother 6.00 4.80 -
Raichur Roadways 6.00 4.80 -
Adoni Travels 6.50 5.00 4.00
Mehboobnagar
Trucking Society
6.90 5.50 4.60
EXHIBIT 11
AP Distance Matrix
S No. Adoni Cuddappah Hyderabad Kurnool M’nagar V’wada
1. Adoni 0 200 240 125 150 540
2.
Anantapur
110 120 340 130 240 400
3. Chirala 360 210 380 280 280 90
4. Chittoor 340 140 515 320 450 420
5. 200 0 365 180 280 310
19
Cuddappa
6. Guntur 390 270 320 250 410 30
7.
Hindupur
230 180 475 240 330 470
8.
Hyderabad
240 365 0 175 90 290
9.
Kakinada
740 520 500 390 590 210
10.
K’nagar
420 615 250 320 270 280
11.
Khammam
430 400 190 290 270 130
12.
Kurnool
120 180 175 0 125 290
13.
M’nagar
150 280 90 125 0 380
14. Nellore 280 130 470 260 360 240
15.
Nizamabad
435 515 150 330 285 360
16. Ongole 320 160 425 240 290 125
17.
R’mundry
680 460 440 370 530 150
18. Tirupati 330 130 485 310 440 390
19. V’wada 540 310 290 290 380 0
20. Vizag 900 680 660 590 750 370
21.
V’nagaram
950 730 710 640 800 420
22. 380 480 120 310 230 210
20
Warangal
EXHIBIT 12
Sample Routings for Dealer Point Delivery (Based on Invoice Statements)
Shipment
Number
Routing
From 1 To 2
Offtake at 2
Mopeds3 Scooters4
Offtake at
2
Sector
Distance
1 Adoni Anantpur 12 __ 12 110
Anantapur Hindupur 8 __ 8 120
2 Adoni Trupati 10 25 50 330
Triupati Nellore __ 15 24 120
3 Adoni Cuddappah 40 __ 40 200
Cuddappah Nellore 40 __ 40 130
4 M’ Nagar Hyderabad __ 30 48 90
Hyderabad Warangal __ 20 32 120
5 M’nagar Hyderabad 24 20 56 90
6 M’nagar Vijayawada 30 __ 30 380
Vijayawada R’mundry 30 __ 30 150
R’mundry Kakinada 20 __ 20 60
Analyze in minute details this Case with reference to the Principles of Logistics and supply chain
Management
AUDIT MANAGEMENT
1. Focus of the auditor is no longer on the routine audit but rendering value added services like cost efficiency and decision making. Critically examine the statement with particular emphasis on the changing computer environment?
2) How can the auditor be useful in achieving the objectives of a Charitable Trust or Society and a Co-operative Society? What is the legal position under the relevant status?
3) It is the job of the directors to prepare the accounts of a company, auditor only reports on it. Elucidate and describe the types of audit report?
4) The thrust area of an auditor is “True and Fair” and not “True and Correct” Elucidate in the light of statutory provision under the Companies Act 1956.
5) Discuss the three types of audits, which although not mandatory under the Income Tax Act 1961, are get done by the assessee to avail certain benefits under the act?
7) The auditor only audits the books of account, he does not guarantee them, Elucidate
8) Tax auditor is a Catalyst of Revenue Collection, function of the State on the one hand,
and a Consultant to the tax payer on the other, discuss?
9) Who can be appointed as an auditor of co-operative societies? What are the rights and duties of auditor under Maharashtra co-operative societies Act?
10) An auditor is protected from unceremonial removal from office enabling him to maintain his independence? Do you agree with the statement? If so discuss the position of the auditor in the regard in the light of statutory provision under the companies Act 1956?
AUDITING
Q1) H.W.P Private Ltd. Is having only two members H and W. During the audit of accounts for the year ended 31st March 2000, you as a auditor find that :
a) H, who is incharge of purchase has introduce fictitious purchase bills of Rs 50 lakhs.b) W, who is incharge of sales has sold goods worth Rs 1 crore without brining the same in
the books of accounts. You raise the matter with H and W in their capacity as directors. They contest that as this is a position know to them and within their own fold, you should not report the same under the Company’s Act 1956. Discuss whether the above arguments are acceptable under the Company’s Act 1956 for non-reporting?
Q2) As an auditor, how would you react to the following situation? The company produced photocopies of fixed deposit receipts as the original receipts were kept in the iron safe of the director finance who was presently out of the country on company business?
Q3) ABC Private Limited is engaged in the wholdesale business of buying and selling silk sarees. The accounts are maintained under the Companies Act from 1st October to 30th September each year. The Chief Accountant of the company is requesting the tax auditor to conduct tax audit U/S 44 AB of the I.T. Act for the period for which accounts have beeen maintained under the Company’s Act. As the tax auditor of ABC Private Limited, how will you react to the Chief Accountant request?
Q4) Comment: The Auditor is responsible for failure to disclose the affairs of the company kept out of books and concealed from him.
Q5) Comment: Balance confirmations from debtors/creditors can only be obtained for balance standing in their accounts at the year end?
Q6) Give your comments and observations on the following many cheques have been received by the auditor on the last day of the year, but not yet deposited with the bank?
Subject: International Business
Question 1.
What are the functions of UNO?
Subject: Organizational BehaviourQuestion 1.
Theorists have attempted to define organizational cultures into specific taxonomies. How useful has this profiling work been to our understanding of cultural effectiveness?
Subject : Corporate Law
Question 1.Explain concept need not be in writing.
Question 2. Discuss restrictive trade agreements.
Subject : Financial and Cost accounting
Question 1. “Cost accounting is better understood as a cost control and cost reduction exercise and not a more cost ascertainment process”. Discuss.
Question 2. “Cost accounting is a system of foresight like prenatal care, but financial accounting is just a postmortem examination”. Critically examine this statement.
Question 3Define costing critically evaluate the arguments for the installation of costing system in an industry
Subject : Operations Management
Answer the following question.Q1.Suzan has a parttime
“cottageindustry”producing seasonal plywood yard ornaments for resale at local craft fairsand bazaars. She currently works a total of 4 hours per day to produce 10 ornaments. a. What is her productivity? b.She thinks that by redesigning the ornaments and switching from use of a wood glue to a hotgluegun she canincrease her production to 20 ornaments per day. What is her new productivity? c. What is her percentage increase(or decrease) in productivity?(10 marks)
Q2.Ahmet grows domatoes in his 100 by 100 meters garden. He then sells the crop at the local farmer’s market. Twosummers ago, he was able to produce and sell 1200 kgs of tomatoes. Last summer, he tried a new fertilizer thatpromised a 20% increase in yield. He harvested 1350 kgs. Did the fertilizer live up to its promise?(10 marks)
Q3.A company has asked YOU to evaluate the firm’s productivity by comparing this year’s performance with last year’s.The following data are available: ______________Last Year This Year OUTPUT 10 500 units 12 100 units LabourHours 12 000 13 200 Utilities 7 600 MU 8 250 MU Capital 83 000 MU 88 000 MU Has the company improved itsPRODUCTIVITY during the past year?(10 marks)
Q4.A firm cleans chemical tank cars in the Bay Gazimagusa area. With standard equipment, the firm typically cleaned60 chemical tank cars per month. They utilized 10 gallons of solvent, and two employees worked 20 days per month,6 hours a day. The company decided to switch to a larger cleaning machine. Last February, they cleaned 60 tankcars in only 15 days. They utilized 12 gallons of solvent, and two employees worked 6 hours a day. a. What was
their productivity with the standard equipment? b. What is their productivity with the larger machine? c. What is thechange in productivity?(10 marks)
Q5.Serra’s Ceramics spent 3 000 MU on a new kiln last year, in the belief that it would cut energy usage 25 % over theold kiln. This kiln is an oven that turns “greenware” into finished pottery. Serra is concerned that the new kiln requiresextra labour hours for its operation. Serra wants to check the energy saving of the new oven, and also to look overother measures of their productivity to see if the change really was beneficial. Serra has the following data to workwith: Last Year This Year Production (finished units) 4000 4000 Greenware (pounds) 5000 5000 Labour (hrs) 350375 Capital (MU) 15000 18000 Energy (kWh) 3000 2600 Were the modifications BENEFICIAL?(10 marks)
Q6.The CoolTechCo. produces various types of fans. In May, the company produced 1728 window fans at a standardprice of 40 MU. The Co. has 12 direct labour employees whose compensation (including wages and fringe benefits)amounts to 21 MU/hour. During May, window fans were produced on 9 working days 9of 8 hours each), and otherproducts were produced on other days. a. Determine the productivity of the window fans. b. In June, the CoolTechCo. produced 1 730 fans in 10 working days. What is the percentage in labour productivity of windows from May?(10 marks)
Q7.Mr. Ilhan DALCI makes billiard balls in his Beyarmudu plant. With a recent increase in taxes, his costs have gone upand he has a newfound interest in efficiency. Mr.Dalci is interested in determining the productivity of his organisation.He would like to know if his organisation is maintaining the manufacturing average of 3% increase in productivity. He
has the following data representing a month from last year and an equivalent month this year.__________________Last year Now Units produced 1 000 1 000 Labour (hours) 300 275 Resin (kg.s) 50 45 Capitalinvested (MU) 10 000 11 000 Energy (BTU) 3 000 2 850 Show the productivity change for each category and thendetermine the IMPROVEMENT for labourhrs,the typical standard for comparison.(10 marks)
Q8.Ilhan’s, a local bakery, is worried about increased costs – particularly energy. Last year’s records can provide a fairlygood estimate of the parameters for this year. Ilhan Balci, the owner, does not believe things have changed much,but he did invest an additional 3 000 MU for modifications to the bakery’s ovens to make them more energy efficient.The modifications were supposed to make the ovens at least 15 % more efficient. I. Balci has asked you, as abrilliant graduate of EMU, to check the energy savings of the new ovens and also look over other measures of thebakery’s productivity to see if the modifications were beneficial. You have the following data to work with: Last YearNow Production (dozen) 1 500 1 500 Labour (hours) 350 325 Capital Investment (MU) 15 000 18 000 Energy (kwhrs)3 000 2 750
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Section A (Marks-15)
Barry and Communication Barriers
One common complaint employee’s voice about supervisors is inconsistent messages – meaning one
supervisor tells them one thing and another tells them something different. Imagine you are the
supervisor/manager for each of the employees described below. As you read their case, give consideration
to how you might help communicate with the employee to remedy the conflict. Answer the critical thinking
questions at the end of the case then compare your answers to the Notes to Supplement Answers section.
Barry is a 27-year old who is a foodservice manager at a casual dining restaurant. Barry is responsible for
supervising and managing all employees in the back of the house. Employees working in the back of the
house range in age from 16 years old to 55 years old. In addition, the employees come from diverse
cultural and ethnic backgrounds. For many, English is not their primary language.
Barry is ServSafe® certified and tries his best to keep up with food safety issues in the kitchen but he
admits it’s not easy. Employees receive “on the job training” about food safety basics (for example,
appropriate hygiene and handwashing, time/temperature, and cleaning and sanitizing). But with high
turnover of employees, training is often rushed and some new employees are put right into the job
without training if it is a busy day. Eventually, most employees get some kind of food safety training. The
owners of the restaurant are supportive of Barry in his food safety efforts because they know if a food
safety outbreak were ever linked to their restaurant; it would likely put them out of business. Still, the
owners note there are additional costs for training and making sure food is handled safely.
One day Barry comes to work and is rather upset even before he steps into the restaurant. Things haven’t
been going well at home and he was lucky to rummage through some of the dirty laundry and find a
relatively clean outfit to wear for work. He admits he needs a haircut and a good hand scrubbing,
especially after working on his car last evening. When he walks into the kitchen he notices several trays of
uncooked meat sitting out in the kitchen area. It appears these have been sitting at room temperature for
quite some time. Barry is frustrated and doesn’t know what to do. He feels like he is beating his head
against a brick wall when it comes to getting employees to practice food safety.
Barry has taken many efforts to get employees to be safe in how they handle food. He has huge signs
posted all over the kitchen with these words: KEEP HOT FOOD HOT AND COLD FOOD COLD and WASH
YOUR HANDS ALWAYS AND OFTEN. All employees are given a thermometer when they start so that they
can temp food. Hand sinks, soap, and paper towels are available for employees so that they are
encouraged to wash their hands frequently.
Questions:
1. What are the communication challenges and barriers Barry faces?
2. What are some ways Barry might use effective communication as a motivator for employees to follow
safe food handling practices?
3. What Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) would be helpful for Barry to implement and enforce?
Case -2 Outsourcing Backlash Gets Abusive, Ugly Marks-15
“I don’t want to talk to you. Connect me to your boss in the US,” hissed the American on the
phone. The young girl at the Bangalore call center tried to be as polite as she could.
At another call center, another day, another young girl had a Londoner unleashing himself on her.
“Young lady do you know that because of you Indians we are losing jobs.”
The outsourcing backlash is getting ugly. Handling irate callers is the new brief for the young men
and women taking calls at these outsourced job centers. Supervisors tell them to be “cool”.
Avinash Vashistha, managing partner of NEOIT, a leading US-based consultancy firm says,
“Companies involved in outsourcing both in the US and India are already getting lot of hate mail against
outsourcing and it is hardly surprising that some people should behave like this on the telephone.”
Vashistha says Indian call centers should train their operators hoe to handle such calls.
Indeed, the furore raised by the Western media over job losses because of outsourcing has made
ordinary citizens there sensitive to the fact that their calls are being taken not from their midst but in
countries, such as India and the Philippines.
The angry outbursts the operators face border on the racist and sexist, says the manager of call
center in Hyderabad. But operators and senior executives of call centers refused to go on record for fear of
kicking up a controversy that might result in their companies’ losing clients overseas.
“It’s happening often enough and so let’s faces it,” says a senior executive of a Gurgaon call
center, adding, “This doesn’t have any impact on business.”
[Source-Hindustan Times,
December 21, 2003, New Delhi]
Question:-
1. Assume you are working as an operator at a call center in India and are receiving irate calls from
Americans and Londoners. How would you handle such calls? Imagine a situation and state you
response.
2. “Keep your cool.” What does it mean in terms of conversation control?
3. Do you agree with the view that such abusive happenings on telephone do not have any impact on
business? Give reason for your answer.
Case – 3 A reply sent to an erring Customer Marks-15
ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS ALL AROUND THE WORLD
“He wouldn’t look me in the eye. I found it disconcerting that he kept looking all over the room but rarely
at me,” said Barbara Walters after her interview with Libya’s Colonel Muammar al-Qadhafi. Like many
people in the United States, Walters was associating eye contact with trustworthiness, so when Qadhafi
withheld eye contact, she felt uncomfortable. In fact Qadhafi was paying Walters a compliment. In Libya,
not looking conveys respect, and looking straight at a woman is considered nearly as serious as physical
assault.
Nonverbal communication varies widely between cultures, even between subcultures, and the differences
strongly affect communication in the workplace. Whether you’re trying to communicate with your new
Asian American assistant, the Swedish managers who recently bought out your company, the African
American college student who won a summer internship with your firm, or representatives from the
French company you hope will buy your firm’s new designs, your efforts will depend as much on physical
cues as on verbal ones. Most Americans aren’t usually aware of their own nonverbal behavior, so they
have trouble understanding the body language of people from other cultures. The list of differences is
endless.
* In Thailand it’s rude to place your arm over the back of a chair in which another person is sitting.
* Finnish female students are horrified by Arab girls who want to walk hand in hand with them.
* Canadian listeners nod to signal agreement.
* Japanese listeners nod to indicate only that they have understood.
* British listeners stare at the speaker, blinking their eyes to indicate understanding.
* People in the United States are taught that it’s impolite to stare.
* Saudis accept foreigners in Western business attire but are offended by tight – fitting clothing and by
short sleeves.
* Spaniards indicate a receptive friendly handshake by clasping the other person’s forearm to form a
double handshake.
* Canadians consider touching any part of the arm above the hand intrusive, except in intimate
relationships.
It may take years to adjust your nonverbal communication to other cultures, but you can choose from
many options to help you prepare. Books and seminars on cultural differences are readily available, as are
motion pictures showing a wide range of cultures. You can always rent videos of films and TV shows from
other countries. Examining the illustrations in news and business magazines can give you an idea of
expected business dress and personal space. Finally, remaining flexible and interacting with people from
other cultures who are visiting or living in your country will go a long way toward lowering the barriers
presented by nonverbal communication.
Career Applications :
1. Explain how watching a movie from another country might help you prepare to interpret nonverbal
behavior from that culture correctly.
2. One of your co-workers is originally from Saudi Arabia. You like him, and the two of you work well
together. However, he stands so close when you speak with him that it makes you very uncomfortable. Do
you tell him of your discomfort, or do you try to cover it up ?
.
Section B Marks-35
Attempt all the question:- (Each question carried 5 Marks)
1) Discuss the question of how much personal communication should be permitted in a business
organization. Defend your view.
2) Define and give examples of active and passive voice. Explain when each should be used.
3) Explain the logic of using negative words in email and memorandums to fellow employees that you
would not use in letters carrying similar messages.
4) What is meant by parallelism of headings?
5) Explain the differences between the present-time viewpoint and the past-time viewpoint.
6) What types of problems are written up as letter reports? As email reports? Explain the differences.
7) How do the elements of talking help us communicate better?
BUSINESS STRATEGY
Case – 1 Marks-16
Leisure and entertainment usually gain prominence in an economy that is growing; fast and provides leeway
to the consumer to spend on things other than necessities India’s entertainment and media industry is one
of the sunrise industries, growing at a Compound annual growth rate of 18 per cent, much faster than the 9
per cent national economic growth rate. According to a study conducted by the Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry and PricewaterhouseCoopers the industry size is Rs. 437 billion
presently and is projected to grow to Rs. 1 trillion by 2010. Positive measures taken by the government,
technological advancement and entry of large corporate houses in all the segments of the industry are
fuelling the impressive growth.
Among the various segments of the industry, there, are radio, television, films, out-of-home advertising arid
live entertainment While radio and television make up the fastest growing segments, film entertainment
growing at 16 per cent annually, is another potential segment. The film entertainment segment of the
entertainment and media industry has several strategic groups that could be roughly categorized along the
value chain of film making and distribution These strategic groups could be production, distribution, retail,
music and home video. While many of the companies operate in more than one activity area on the value
chain, such as Yash Raj Films operating in all activity areas except retail, there are a few that concentrate
on just one or two activity areas, such as RGV Film Factory that operates only in production of films. Size
based on revenue could be another basis for categorization of the film entertainment companies in India.
Among the large size companies are Adlabs, Sahara, Percept, Yash Raj Films and UTV, that could touch or
exceed Rs. 1000 revenues by 2010. The middle-rung is of companies of revenue size of Rs. 300 — 500
crore, such as pure retail distribution companies such as lnox Leisure, P’SR Cinemas, Pyramid Saimira and
Valuable Group pure content companies such as Pritish Nan Communications Vishesh Films or RGV F
Factory. The third category is of emerging companies in the revenue size range of Rs. 1OC — 300 crore,
such as Real Image, Red Ice and Seven Entertainment Major investments in the media and entertainment
industry in recent years have been ploughed into infrastructure, largely into multiplex chains and digital
theatre chains. These investments are made by companies that are pure retail and distribution companies.
Among the major ones in this strategic group is the Chennai-based Pyramid Saimira Theatre Limited (PSTL)
- India’s largest theatre chain company with over 29 multiplexes operation, with over 371 screens in 2007,
project to increase to 2000 screens by 2010. It was incorporated in 1997 as Pyramid Films international
Private Limited and has gone through severe changes of name to emerge as Pyramid Saimira Theatre
Limited, reflecting its concentration on the theatre business, though it operated in film production and TV
content production in the past Film making and distribution in India has been traditionally an unorganized
and fragmented industry, managed through experience rather than systems. In recent years, one trend in
the film industry is corporatization Under corporatization the traditional organizations dealing with the
various aspects of film making’ and distribution. Become formal organizations registered under the legal
process, such as the Companies Act, 1956. Along with corporatization comes increasing professionalization
in the management of organizations. Technology, especially information and communication technology, has
played its part in heightening the chances of making corporatization and professionalization successful A
new breed of organization has emerged on the horizon that deals with the various activities in an organized
and Systematic manner. Pyramid Saimira intends to be of such organizations. The people behind Pyramid
Saimira include Mr. V. Natarajan, a Gemini-studio’s veteran of the Tamil film industry, Mr. P. S.
Saminathan, the finance and technology brain behind the flagship project and Mr. N.Narayanan, the
management man. The financials for the year 2006-2007, show net sales of Rs 1661.52 crore and net profit
of Rs. 158.82 crore on equity capital of Rs. 282.76 crore.
The flagship project of the Pyramid Saimira is the mega digital. Theatre chain project being implemented in
two phases, with a total cost of Rs. 414.5 crore. This is an information technology driven venture that is a
first-mover in the film industry in India. The basic idea is to have a chain of theatres for exhibition of films
that have been encrypted in the digital medium. The theatres are linked through a satellite-based
communication network. The films are released in the digital format and simultaneously exhibited in the
digitally- enabled theatres through the satellite network. The one-stroke release and exhibition of films is
claimed to reduce the chances of films being pirated, which is the Achilles’ heel of the film
industry in the world. It also avoids the use of costly film rolls and reels now used to photograph and
distribute films. The digitized theatres also offer the potential of developing them as value-added service
providers, enlarging their role from that of entertainment providers to commercial infrastructure providers
such as shopping malls, exhibition spaces and education and training venues.
The business model of the digital theatre concept is based on a vertically-integrated theatre chain on longterm
lease, where the revenue streams emanate mainly from the ticket sales at the individual theatres at
the demand end, much like it does now. The critical difference is on the supply side where the distribution,
retailing and exhibition of films are done in an integrated manner through digital means connected through
a communication network. This effectively eliminates the film distributor and tries to achieve economies of
scale through volume sales. The centralized network operating centre is the nodal supply point.
A standardized delivery process makes the process operationally low-cost, albeit at a high initial investment.
Additional revenue streams, generated through exploitation of the theatre infrastructure to provide other
services than entertainment, help to recoup the high initial investment. Creating a franchise system for a
long-term lease enables sharing of the initial high costs7 of realty by engaging partners who own the
theatre space but use Pyramid Saimira’s digital distribution and exhibition facilities at a price. There are
additional possibilities of creating content library of films, extending networks abroad and building
integrated family entertainment centers.
The digital theatre is a compact model, having various elements such as digital projectors, servers,
connectivity equipments, high-definition recorder and telecine, system integration and software solution
providers. For each of these, there are in-house and external agencies in partnership. For instance,
connectivity equipments are being provided by Tata Net while servers are arranged by a partnership of
Saimira Access Technologies with Real Image Media.
Pyramid Saimira’s SWOT analysis indicates the following factors:
• Strengths Established organization, experienced promoters and networking with financially strong and
capable partners.
• Weaknesses Lack of in-depth technological experience, risks of being the first-mover and limited financial
capability.
• Opportunities Favorable demographics, increasing spending on entertainment, potential expatriate
demand, availability of technological infrastructure such as broadband and digitized films a regenerative
asset that has multiple uses.
• Threats Unorganized film industry, fickle nature of demand for films, powerful industry bodies with political
lobbying capabilities, high entertainment taxes, piracy, high cost of infrastructure and faulty governmental
policy implementation.
Pyramid Saimira’s global ambitions are reflected in its vision statement, which is ‘to be the largest vertically
integrated theatre chain in the world carving a unique space in mass access using theatre infrastructure to
deliver education, entertainment and information at affordable cost to all sections of society’. The digital
theatre project is being implemented in Tamil Nadu and is planned to be expanded throughout India and
abroad in areas where there are a large number of Indian expatriates such as South East Asia, Europe and
the U.S. The acquisition of the Texas-based Fun Asia made through the subsidiary Pyramid Saimira
Entertainment America, targeting the Asian film market, marked the entry of Pyramid Sairnira in the U.S.
and Canada. There are subsidiaries operating in Singapore and Malaysia, where there is a substantial
number of people of Indian origin.
Questions:- (Any Two)
1. Attempt a Porter’s five- forces analysis for the Indian film industry, highlighting the factors relevant for
Pyramid Saimira’s strategic planning.
2. Attempt a strategic groups analysis highlighting the factors relevant for Pyramid Saimira’s strategic
planning.
3. Identify the subjective factors that may have an impact on the strategic choice made Pyramid Saimira.
Case –2 Marks-16
The origins of Deepak Nitrite—the flagship comp any of the Deepak group of industries-go back to 1970
when Chimanlal K. Mehta, an entrepreneur, sensing an opportunity in India’s drive towards self- sufficiency
and import substitution and relying on his trading and manufacturing experience, ventured into the
chemicals industry. The Company was originally incorporated as Deepak Nitrite Private Limited in 1970,
under the Companies Act, 1956 and was subsequently converted into a public limited company in the name
of Deepak Nitrite Limited in 1971. The company’s registered office is at Vadodara and its corporate office is
at Pune with manufacturing plants in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Net sales for the year ending March 2007
are about Rs. 4172 million and net profit is Rs. 357 million. Exports constitute nearly half of the sales.
Overt he years, Deepak Nitrite has grown impressively through a judicious use of integration, related
diversification and internationalization strategies, using the means of acquisition and restructuring. In 1983,
adopting a horizontal integration strategy, the company used foreign collaboration to start commercial
production of ammonia. In 1989, the group employed ammonia-based forward integration and also
diversified into the chemicals related area of methanol. In 1992 came the commercial production of lowdensity
ammonium nitrate, nitro phosphate and nitric acid, resulting in a multi-product portfolio consisting
of organic, inorganic, fine and specialty chemicals. Deepak Nitrite has made tremendous progress over the
years and has posted impressive financial results as well as excellent export performance. It (the growth of
the company), was born out of a process of deep thinking, strategy and planning,’ said the managing
director Deepak Mehta, who claims that planned strategy has led to growth. Environmental scanning led to
foreseeing the threats coming from a dismantled duty regime. Anticipating this, the company went about
implementing strategies that would convert these threats into opportunities. The strategic approach was to
build on its strengths in niche areas of the chemicals market, leverage strong R & D and a robust lab to
product ion skills, bring the strengths up to global levels and work towards a leadership position.
The success of Deepak Nitrite could be attributed to its focused strategy. Implementation capabilities. A
series of plans, programmes and project have been initiated and implemented over the years, in alignment
with its corporate and business strategies. For instance, it has worked on a number of R&D projects over
the years to develop its skills to swiftly transfer products from the labs through production to the markets.
It has effectively developed differentiating capabilities by planning and implementing projects for handling
bulk products to handling batch products, transforming from a commodity supplier to a value-added,
branded product supplier with customization skills. Projects in supply chain management have helped the
company in extending its ability to source its own raw material to tracking customers’ delivery and
inventory scheduling. Cost control has been attempted through wider sourcing; including international vend
ors, and investing in energy-saving equipments.
In the course of strategy implementation, Deepak Nitrite has to deal with a host of government agencies for
procedural implementation. For example, raising finance has taken it to SEBI. A continual interaction takes
place with the export and import regulatory authorities. For instance, anti-dumping duties have been levied
on the comp any for sourcing cheap materials from China. Being in the chemical processing industry, the
company is under the scrutiny of environmental protection agencies. It has been a signatory to the
‘Responsible Care’ initiative of the global chemical industry. It has also achieved the ISO 14001 certification.
Dealing with explosives, the company has to seek licenses from the Department of Explosives, Industrial
Safety and Health Departments and State Pollution Boards of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Apart from these
are the regulatory requirements dealing with taxation purposes. Resource generation has been through
raising money in the capital markets on the basis of its good reputation, internal accruals, loans from
commercial banks and financial institutions and sale of factory land at Pune.28
Questions:-
1. Identify and discuss briefly, the three themes of strategy implementation of activating strategies,
managing change and achieving effectiveness in the case of Deepak Nitrite.
2. picking up data from the case, demonstrate how formulation and implementation of strategy are
interdependent.
Case –3 Marks-16
Synergos# is a young management and strategy consulting firm based at Mumbai. It was established in
1992 at a time when there were a lot of expectations among the industry people from the liberalization
policies that were started the previous year by the Government of India.
The consulting firm is an entrepreneurial venture started by Urmish Patel, a dynamic person who worked
with a multinational consulting-firm at the He left his comfortable position there to venture into the
management consultancy industry the motivation was to be ‘the master of his own destiny’ rather than
being an employee working for others. Urmish comes from an upper middle-class Gujarati family, settled in
a small town in Rajasthan. His father was a government servant who retired with a meagre pension. His
mother is a housewife. His other siblings are all educated and well-settled in their respective careers and
professions. Urmish is a creative individual, uncomfortable with the status-quo. During his student days at a
college at Jaipur, he was continually coming up with bright ideas that some of his friends found to be
preposterous. To him, however, these were perfectly achievable ideas. He studied biotechnology and then
went to the US on a scholarship to do his Masters. After a semester at a well-known university there, he lost
interest and switched to pursue an MBA. He liked it and soon settled down to work with n American
consultancy firm and toured several countries on varied assignments during the seven years he worked
there. In 1992 came the urge to Urmish to chuck his job and be on his own. It was a risky, yet an exciting
step to take. His accumulated capital was limited— just enough to rent office space, buy a few computers
and hire an assistant. There were no consultancy assignments for the first three months. But an
acquaintance soon came to his aid, introducing him to the CFO of a major family business group who
needed advice on a performance improvement project they wanted to launch. The opportunity came in
handy though the returns were nothing to write home about. That project was the first step to many more
that came gradually. Synergos started gaining presence in the competitive management consultancy
industry and attracting attention from the people whom they worked for. Word-of-mouth publicity led them
from one project lo another for the first three years till 1995. Synergos took up whatever came its way,
delivering a cost-effective solution to its clients. A team of four had formed by now, each member of the
team specializing in services rendered to the clients. For instance, one of the members is a specialist in
engineering projects, while another has expertise in finance. The third one is a service sector specialist, also
having experience in dealing with government matters.
The phase of rapid growth started some time in 1995 when the Synergos team decided to focus on the
small and medium enterprises (SMEs). These were firms that realized they had problems needing specialist
advice; but were apprehensive to app roach the big firms on account of their limited outlay and
inexperience of dealing with such firms. Synergos came to their aid by tailoring their services as near as
possible to their needs. Another differentiation platform Synergos offered to its client was a fully-integrated
consultancy service where it got involved right from the stage of planning down to its implementation and
monitoring.
Presently, Synergos has grown to be a medium- sized consultancy firm, serving clients in India and abroad,
working for industries ranging from auto components to financial services and for manufacturing
organizations to service providers. Somehow, nearly half of the assignments it has worked on have been for
mid-sized, upcoming family- owned businesses, a niche it has served well. These organizations typically
need a boutique sort of consultancy that can offer customized services dealing with a broad range of
practices related to strategy, organization design, mergers and acquisitions and operational matters such as
logistics and supply-chain management. Synergos fits in with their requirements owing to its personalised
service and reasonable-commission structure. The organizational structure at Synergos has a board at the
top, consisting of seven people, including the four founding members and three independent directors. One
of the independent directors is the chairman of the board. Urmish, as the founder CEO, also heads an
executive management committee with each of the founding. Members, leading three other top-level
committees dealing with business portfolio, service management and executive recruitment.
The management team is called the professional group. The rest of the employees are ref erred to as the -
staff. -The professional group has young women and men who are graduates from some of the best
institutions in India and abroad. They are assigned to taskforces based on their qualifications, experience
and interests. The departmentation at Synergos is flexible, based on -an interplay of the three categories:
skill, service and specialty. For instance, a professional may have IT skills, may have worked to provide
supply- chain management services and developed expertise in handling operational assignments for
medium-sized food and beverage firms. There is a lot of multi-tasking however, to utilise the wide - range
of skills and special expertise that the professionals have For administrative matters the professionals are
assigned to client-service departments of industry solutions, enterprise solutions and technology solutions.
The flexibility that such an organisational arrangement affords seems to have been the major reason for the
evolution of the organization structure at Synergos over the years.
The staff group of employees consists of the support people who provide a variety of services to the
professionals. Among these are research assistants, industry analysts, documentation experts and
secretarial staff. There is no set pattern for assignment of staff to the administrative departments and
generally, a need-based approach is followed, depending on the workload at a particular time.
Recruitment for professionals is stringent. Synergos typically looks for a good combination of education and
experience and lays much emphasis on the compatibility of the prospective employee with the shared
values. Creativity, broad range of professional interests, intellectual acumen, team- working and physical
fitness to undertake demanding tasks and work for long hours are the criteria for hiring. There are not many
training opportunities except the on-the-job learning. New professionals are assigned to a mentor for some
time till they a ready to handle assignments autonomously. The staff members are usually recruited from
fresh graduates, with good degrees from reputed institutions, in arts, sciences and commerce. The staff
positions are also open for persons wanting to work on part-time or project-bases. Emphasis is given to the
ability of the prospective staff to undertake multi-tasking and work with documentation and word processing
and presentation software packages.
The compensation system consists of a base salary with commission and bonus depending on performance.
There are other usual elements such as medical reimbursement, loan facility and gratuity and retirement
benefits. The performance appraisal is informal, with at least one of the four founding members being part
of the evaluation committee for a professional. Usually, the found-c member closest to the work area of the
employee is involved in determining the rewards to be give’. The time-cycle for appraisal is one year.
Management control is discreet and performance-based rather than behavior-based. The means for control
are informal, such as direct supervision. Urmish is a strong proponent of the emergent strategy and is not in
favor of tying Synergos to a fixed strategic posture. So are the other founder members, though at times
they do talk about deciding on a niche such as the SME organizations as clients and enterprise solutions as
the core competence. In the highly fragmented consultancy industry where it is possible for even one
person to s up an office in a commercial area and leverage corrections to secure projects, Synergos is open
opportunities as they emerge, while trying to maintain the flexibility that has made it successful till no
Questions :- (Any Two)
1. Identify the type of organization structure being used at Synergos and explain how t works. What are the
benefits of using this type of structure? What are the pitfalls?
2. Express your opinion about whether the structure is in line with the requirements of the strategy that
Synergos is implementing.
3. Based on the information related to the information, control and reward systems available in the case,
examine whether these systems are appropriate for the type of strategy being implemented.
Case – 4 Marks-16
‘In a free enterprise, the community is not just another stakeholder in business, but is in fact, the very
purpose of its existence.’ This is a statement of the founder of the Tata group of companies, Jamsetji N
Tata. The thinking behind the statement probably drives the corporate social responsibility initiatives at the
Tata group of companies.
The Tata group describes itself as ‘India’s oldest, largest and most respected business conglomerates’, a
depiction that seems to be quite justified. The group’s businesses operate globally through 98 companies—
27 of them publicly-listed—in seven business sectors. There are nearly 2,90,000
employees working in these companies that have about 3 million shareholders. The group’s turnover in
2006-2007 was about Rs. 130,000 crore .There are five core values that guide the Tata group’s business
decisions: integrity, understanding, excellence, unity and responsibility. The value of integrity means
conducting business fairly, honestly and with transparency. Understanding involves caring, showing respect,
compassion and humanity for colleagues, customers and community. Excellence denotes striving constantly
to achieve high standards in work and quality. Unity implies building strong relationships with colleagues,
customers and business partners. Responsibility signifies giving back to the community and society.
The tradition of CSR is embedded in the history of the Tata group. The J. N. Tata Endowment Scheme was
established in 1892. Over the years, individual family members have created a constellation of trusts and
endowments that contribute to a wide range of CSR activities. In the words of J. J. Irani, ex-managing
director of Tata Steel: ‘Some people consider social responsibility as an additional cost; we don’t. We see it
as part of an essential cost of business, as much as land, power, raw materials and employees.’ This is seen
in the quantum of funding that is channeled into CSR. The Tata group contributes nearly 30 per cent of its
profit after tax, which is an unusually high figure, when other companies or business groups may take pride
in putting in just one per cent of profits into CSR. The high social investment come from the Tata trusts that
have a controlling interest in the holding company, Tata Sons. This ensures that the dividends paid out are
directed to CSR, making the Tata group companies unique in ensuring that personal wealth is converted into
social capital.
The Tata group has created a formal structure to direct CSR activities. The Tata Council for Community
Initiatives is a centralized agency consisting of the Tata companies’ CEOs, charged with the responsibility of
directing and coordinating the CSR activities across the group. It is headed by a member w of the group
corporate centre, one of the two 9overnance bodies, the other being the group executive office. This is an
indication of the high priority accorded by the Tata group to CSR. In order to create accountability, the Tata
group has a 1ctive evaluation system called the Tata Index Sustainable Human Development. The Index is a
set of guidelines for Tata companies looking to their social responsibilities. In the words of G. Nadkarni, vice
president, group corporate sustainability, ‘We have adopted a business model to drive social responsibility
efforts within the group because that way, you ensure a huge network. The index helps structure our
efforts and quantify their effect on the communities and people they are aimed at.’ Of significance is the fact
that the Tata Index for Sustainable Human Development is built around the Tata Business Excellence Model
that drives business decisions of the group companies. One of the several areas of business performance in
the model is of governance and social responsibility, indicating the strategic priority given to this issue by
the Tata group. Typically, business organizations have considered social responsibility as far removed from
their mainline business activities. Not so at the Tata group where CSR is a key element in the business
model. It is the responsibility of every company in the group to make CSR a component of its strategic plan.
Despite having a centralized network and structural arrangements, the individual Tata companies are
autonomous to choose whatever CSR initiatives suit the requirements of the communities they work with.
The strategy that each company evolves is required to be focused on the needs of the communities in which
the company works in. There is a conscious effort to match the strengths and cornpetencies of the company
to the developmental needs of the communities being served. Thus, the company is left free to determine
the scope of its CSR initiatives, be it in the area of arts and culture, civic amenities, education, environment,
health or infrastructure. For instance, the Tata Steel Rural Development Society works at Tata Steel for the
rural communities around the operational units, while the Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development
does similar work for Tata Chemicals. Voltas for Women is an exclusively female society consisting of female
employees and wives of employees, who work on health and education issues for women. The Tata family
trusts consist of the Sir Dorabji Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust besides the J. N. Tata Endowment. Some of
the prominent Tata-funded institutions are the Indian Institute of Science, Tata Institute for Fundamental
Research and Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
Questions: -
1. Collect evidence from the case to support the argument that social responsiveness at the Tata group is
closely aligned with its strategic management,
2. How would you respond to a critic who says that the Tata group engages in CSR activities to enhance the
reputation of the Tata brand and thereby, benefit economically from its social responsibility initiatives?
Case – 5 Marks-16
Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited (KRIBHCO) is a cooperative society set up for fertilizer manufacturing,
registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 1985. It was promoted by the Government of
India, Indian Farmers Fertilizers Cooperative Ltd. and National Cooperative Development Corporation and
other agricultural cooperative societies spread all over the country. It has more than 6000 members who
have contributed nearly Rs.400 crore as capital. KRIBHCO basically operates in the three business areas of
bio-fertilizers, urea and seeds. Its fertilizer complex is located at Hazira near Surat in Gujarat, seed plants
at various locat ions in eight states of India and service centers called Krishak Bharti Seva Kendra at various
places in the country. KRIBHCO has equity participation in fertilizer companies within India and in one
company in Oman. The cooperative is managed by a board of directors, senior management headed by a
managing director and functional heads in the areas of operations, finance, marketing and vigilance.
The vision of KRIBHCO is stated as: ‘We want to be a world class organization that represents the farmer
community and maximizes returns to them through specialization in agricultural inputs and products and
other diversified businesses that maximize stakeholder value.’ The mission is ‘to act as a catalyst to
agricultural and rural development by Selecting, financing and managing projects that are both socially
desirable and commercially profitable. The objectives are: to increase the urea installed capacity while
maintaining its market share to ensure optimum utilization of existing plant machinery and to diversify into
other core sectors like power, LNG terminal/port, chemicals etc.
The equity capital has been subscribed by ‘Government of India (67.6%) and other cooperative societies
(32.4%). Its, net worth is Rs. 22Sf crore, constituting equity of Rs. 396 crore and re serves of Rs. 1892
crore. It earned a post-tax pr* of Rs. 193 crore in 2006-2007 and has declared a dividend of 20% for the
last three years. The Cooperative has the distinction of paying the highest dividend and maximum taxes in
the cooperative sector in India. KRIBHCO markets its fertilizers through an extensive marketing network
spread over 16 states of India, through cooperative and institutional agencies and through its own outlets.
The cooperatives agencies in its marketing network are located at ferent levels such as apex, district and
taluka lea. and village-level societies. The institutional agencies typically involved are the agro-industries
corporations and land reclamation agencies.
KRIBHCO is an lSO-9001: 2000 and ISO-140C” certified company. It produced and dispatched
more than 34 lakh tonnes of urea in 2006-2007. Various functions of bagging, handling and loading in the
product handling plant are performed through manual product handling processes as well as through
mechanized bagging machines. Mechanical improvements have also been affected for smooth transfer and
conveying of bags in the bagging plant. These efforts have resulted in minimizing product loss, avoiding
shortfall or excess in loading quantities, minimizing the loading time and reducing the specific bag
consumption.
KRIBHCO has formal policies in the areas of energy, environment, quality and safety. It has declared its
energy policy and has volunteered its commitment towards energy conservation. The energy policy is aimed
at an optimum utilization of the various forms of energy in a cost-effective manner to conserve energy
resources. The Cooperative has set up a quality policy and an environment policy, which have been framed
after integrating the energy saving objectives and goals as well. The safety policy of the Cooperative
emphasizes on the importance of safety and to an adherence to safe practices. A safety department
performs the functions of ensuring compliance with safety standards.
KRIBHCO has a modest human resource development set-up where it arranges in-house training and
sponsors employees to external training programmers.
The management information system at KRIBHCO covers its internal operations and the marketing network
using the relational database management system, using client/server technology. An integrated system at
plant-level comprises of financial accounting, payroll, fixed assets, purchases, stores, production,
maintenance, transport ion, personnel & administration and MIS. Administrative and marketing offices have
financial accounting, inventory management, payroll and provident fund management systems. E-mail,
intranet and Internet facilities are provided at all offices. Computer training is provided to staff on a regular
basis. Information security is done through installation and upgrading of anti-virus programmers. With the
IT infrastructure being accessed from various locations, network and data security are important concerns.
The society has an official website at http://kribhco.net/english.
Vigilance is considered important at KRIBHCO, on par with other functional areas. It is aimed at preventive
as well as punitive vigilance and at en- swing transparency and accountability. The vigilance department
works for systems improvement and simplification and codification of rules and procedures for the smooth
functioning of the Society. There is a chief vigilance officer at the head office and vigilance officers at plant
and zone levels. There is a three-pronged vigilance policy in place, aimed at creating awareness, preventing
unethical activities and punishing misdemeanors. The board of directors oversees vigilance through sixmonthly
reviews. An internal enquiry was recently instituted to investigate allegations against the serving
marketing director, indicating the efficacy of the vigilance function.
KRIBHCO is exploring the possibility of setting up a joint venture fertilizer project in Algeria. KRIBHCO is in
the process of signing a memorandum of understanding with the Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board
(CSEB) to set up a 2000 MW power project. It is planning to enter the DAP mark et in India. KRIBHCO had
put in Rs. 50 crore for an all-India rail operations license for railway container operations. International
consultant KPMG is reported to have submitted a business plan to KRIBHCO for running container trains in
the area of Gujarat, Northern Maharashtra and Western Madhya Pradesh. KRIBHCO had signed a deal with
the Railways in 2007 for the operation of container trains for 20 years. It would tie up with other operators
to run the depot. KRIBHCO is keen on a roll out for the procurement of wagons. There have been problems
in the past between KRIBHCO and IFFCO as rivals in the fertilizer industry. Equity investment of Rs. 97
crore was retired by KRIBHCO to IFFCO which had equity participation. There have also been issues related
to the alleged interference of the Department of Fertilizer, Government of India, in the internal affairs of
KRIBHCO.
Questions:-
1. Keeping in view the status of KRIBHCO as an organization in the governmental cooperative sector,
comment on the adequacy of the functional policies in the light of what you have studied in this chapter.
2. Suggest directions for KRIBHCO’s top management regarding functional policies, in view of its ambitious
future Plans.
GENERAL MANAGEMENT
Section ACASE 1: (Marks 20)Ms. Subhashini had graduated with a degree in foreign languages. As the child of a militaryfamily, she had visited many parts of the world and had traveled extensively in Europe.Despite these broadening experiences, she had never given much thought to a career untilher recent divorce from Mr. Srinivas.Needing to provide her own income, Ms. Subhashini began to look for work. After a fairlyintense but unsuccessful search for a job related to her foreign language degree, she beganto evaluate her other skills. She had become a proficient typist in college and decided tolook into secretarial work. Although she still wanted a career utilizing her foreign languageskills, she felt that the immediate financial pressures would be eased in a temporarysecretarial position.Within a short period of time, she was hired as a clerk/typist in a typing pool at LifeInsurance Company. Six months later, she became the top typist in the pool and wasassigned as secretary to Mrs. Arora, manager of marketing research. She was pleased to getout of the pool and to get a job that had more variety in the tasks to perform. Besides, she
also got a nice raise in pay.Everything seemed to proceed will for the next nine months. Mrs. Arora was pleased withSubhashini’s work, and she seemed happy with her work. Subhashini applied for a few othermore professional jobs in other areas during this time. However, each time her applicationwas rejected for lack of related education and/or experience in the area.Over the next few months, Arora noticed changes in Subhashini. She did not always dress asneatly as she had in the past, she was occasionally late for work, some of her lunchesextended to two hours, and most of her productive work was done in the morning hours.Arora did not wish to say anything because Subhashini had been doing an excellent job andher job tasks still were being accomplished on time. However, Subhashini’s job behaviorcontinued to worsen. She began to be absent frequently on Mondays or Fridays. The twohourlunch periods became standard, and her work performance began to deteriorate. Inaddition, Arora began to suspect that Subhashini was drinking heavily, due to herappearance some mornings and behavior after her two-hour lunches.Arora decided that she must confront Subhashini with the problem. However, she wanted tofind a way to help her without losing a valuable employee. Before she could set up ameeting, Subhashini burst through her door after lunch one day and said: “I want to talk toyou Mrs. Arora.”“That’s fine,” Arora replied, “Shall we set a convenient time?” “No ! I wantto talk now.”“OK, why don’t you sit down and let’s talk?” Arora noticed that Subhashini was slurring herwords slightly and she was not too steady. “Mrs. Arora, I need some vacation time.” “I’msure we can work that out. You’ve been with the company for over a year and have twoweeks’ vacation coming.” “No, you don’t understand. I want to start it tomorrow.” “But,Subhashini, we need to plan to get a temporary replacement. We can’t just let your job gofor two weeks.” “Why not? Anyway anyone with an IQ above 50 can do my job. Besides, Ineed the time off.” “Subhashini, are you sure you are all right?”. “Yes, I just need some timeaway from the job.” Arora decided to let Subhashini have the vacation, which would allowher some time to decide what to do about the situation.Arora thought about the situation the next couple of days. It was possible that Subhashiniwas an alcoholic. Hoever, she also seemed to have a negative reaction to her job. MaybeSubhashini was bored with her job. She did not have the experience or job skills to move to
a different type of job at present. Arora decided to meet with the Personnel Manager andget some help developing her options to deal with Subhashini’s problem.Questions:1. What is the problem in your opinion? Elaborate.2. Assume that you are the Personnel Manager. What are the alternatives available withMrs. Arora?3. What do you consider the best alternative? Why?CASE 2: (Marks 20)The company Ross was founded in the name of its president, Michael Ross, about twelveyears ago. Mr. Ross had developed highly sensitive equipment, which instantly found use indefense and civilian production fields. As a consequence, the company grew very rapidly. Ithad fifteen employees at the beginning. After ten years of its successful operation thestrength of the employees increased to 1,000.As of today, the company’s top management consists of Mr. Ross’s earliest associates, manyof whom are around fifty years of age. They are a highly self-confident group who haveworked together closely over the years. However, trouble started when the company had toface severe competition from other companies. This led to considerable decline in profitmargins. Also the cost of manufacturing rose too high, and there was much confusion anddivided responsibility in management. Most decisions were made by the top managementgroup and there was little delegation of authority. Many recently hired executivescomplained that their ideas were given very little consideration by the top management andthat there was a little or no chance for their upgradation. As a consequence, some of therecently hired executives had started leaving the company to join elsewhere.Questions:1. What sort of strategy for change management do you suggest for this company?2. As a professional manager what would be your role in introducing organisationdevelopment activities?3. What type of leadership style will be most suitable for this organization and why?CASE 3: (Marks 20)Patil, RK Materials, is very angry, anxious and restless. He bumped into Mehta, RK Materials,threw the resignation letter on his table, screamed and walked out of the room swiftly.Patil has a reason for his sudden outburst. Details of the story will tell the reasons for Patil’sanger and why he put his resignation, only four months after he took up his job.In the year 2000 Patil quit his prestigious Mittal plant at Vishakhapatnam. As a managerMaterials, Patil had various powers like he could even place an order of materials worth
Rs.50 Lakhs. He required nobody’s prior consent.Patil Joined a pulp-making plant located at Kerala, as RK Materials. The plant is part of amulti-product and multi-plant conglomerate owned by a prestigious business house in India.The perks, reputation and designation of the conglomerate attracted Patil away from thepublic sector steel monolith.When he joined the eucalyptus pulp making company, little did Patil realize that he neededprior approval to place an order for materials worth Rs.25lakh. He thought that he had theauthority to place an order for materials by himself worth half the amount of what he used toas at the Mega Steel maker. He placed the order, materials arrived, were received,accepted and used up in the plant. Trouble started when the bill for Rs.25 lakh came fromthe vendor. The accounts department withheld the payment for the reason that the bill wasnot endorsed by Mehta. Mehta refused to sign on the bill as his approval was not taken byPatil before placing the order. Patil felt very angry and cheated. A brief encounter withMehta only made the situation worse. Patil was rudely told that he should have knowncompany rules before venturing. He decided to Quit.Questions:1. Do you think the company has any orientation programme? If yes, discuss itseffectiveness.2. If employees were properly selected, there should be no need for an orientationprogramme”. Comment on the statement.3. If You were Patil, how would you react to the above situation?4. Discuss the purpose of orientation. What are various requisites of an effectiveprogramme?Section BQuestions: (Any any 04)1. Horizon Ltd is a retail outlet .The attrition rate has been increasing in the organization ata consistent rate. The organization feels that there is something going wrong whileselecting the employees and the people selected are wrong fit to the organization. Youbeing hired as a consultant, study the drawbacks in the selection process and suggestand ideal selection process with the top management of the company.(Marks 5)2. Wellness Ltd is a pharmaceutical company. There is a problem in the productivity andthe motivational level of the workers. You playing the role of Frederick Taylor, pleasesuggest the necessary changes. (Marks 5)3. Design a BCG Matrix from any one of the 3 organizations; (Marks 4)· Reliance· Hyundai· Godrej
· Parle4. How do Traditional, Behavioral and Interactions views explain the process of conflict?Evaluate the changes, which take place within and between the groups as a result oflong–standing inter-group conflict.(Marks 6)5. Why should management be willing to rehabilitate employees through an employeeassistance program when so many workers have been downsized in recent years?(Marks 5)6. For what type of leadership situation might a transformational leader be inappropriate?(Marks 5)
HUMAN RESORCE MANAGEMENT
Case 1: Vêtements Ltée
Vêtements Ltée is a chain of men’s retail clothing stores located throughout the province of
Quebec, Canada. Two years ago, the company introduced new incentive systems for both
store managers and sales employees. Store managers receive a salary with annual merit
increases based on sales above targeted goals, store appearance, store inventory
management, customer complaints, and several other performance measures. Some of this
information (e.g., store appearance) is gathered during visits by senior management, while
other information is based on company records (e.g., sales volume).
Sales employees are paid a fixed salary plus a commission based on the percentage of sales
credited to that employee over the pay period. The commission represents about 30 per
cent of a typical paycheck and is intended to encourage employees to actively serve
customers and to increase sales volume. Because returned merchandise is discounted from
commission, sales staff are discouraged from selling products that customers do not really
want.
Soon after the new incentive systems were introduced, senior management began to
receive complaints from store managers regarding the performance of their sales staff. They
observed that sales employees tended to stand near the store entrance waiting for
customers and would occasionally argue over “ownership” of the customer. Managers were
concerned that this aggressive behaviour intimidated some customers. It also tended to
leave some parts of the store unattended by staff.
Many managers were also concerned about inventory duties. Previously, sales staff would
share responsibility for restocking inventory and completing inventory reorder forms.
Under the new compensation system, however, few employees were willing to do these
essential tasks. On several occasions, stores experienced stock shortages because
merchandise was not stocked or reorder forms were not completed in a timely manner.
Potential sales suffered from empty shelves when plenty of merchandise was available in the
back storeroom or at the warehouse. The company’s new automatic inventory system could
reduce some of these problems, but employees must still stock shelves and assist in other
aspects of inventory management.
Store managers tried to correct the inventory problem by assigning employees to inventory
duty, but this has created resentment among the employees selected. Other managers
threatened sales staff with dismissals if they did not do their share of inventory management.
This strategy has been somewhat effective when the manager is in the store, but staff
members sneak back onto the floor when the manager is away. It has also hurt staff morale,
particularly relations with the store manager.
To reduce the tendency of sales staff to hoard customers at the store entrance, some
managers assigned employees to specific areas of the store. This also created some
resentment among employees stationed in areas with less traffic or lower-priced
merchandise. Some staff openly complained of lower paychecks because they were
assigned to a slow area of the store or were given more than their share of inventory duties.
Questions
1. What symptom(s) exist in this case to suggest that something has gone wrong?
2. What are the root causes that have led to these symptoms?
3. What actions should the organisation take to correct these problems?
Case 2: Crisis Blown Over
November 30, 1997 goes down in the history of a Bangalore-based electric company as the
day nobody wanting it to recur but everyone recollecting it with a sense of pride.
It was a festive day for all the 700-plus employees. Festoons were strung all over, banners
were put up; banana trunks and leaves adorned the factory gate, instead of the usual red
flags; and loud speakers were blaring Kannada film songs. It was the day the employees
chose to celebrate Kannada Rajyothsava, annual feature of all Karnataka-based organisations.
The function was to start at 4 p.m. and everybody was eagerly waiting for the big event to
take place.
But the event, budgeted at Rs 1,00,000, did not take place. At around 2 p.m., there was a
ghastly accident in the machine shop. Murthy was caught in the vertical turret lathe and was
wounded fatally. His end came in the ambulance on the way to hospital.
The management sought union help, and the union leaders did respond with a positive
attitude. They did not want to fish in troubled waters.
Series of meetings were held between the union leaders and the management. The
discussions centred around two major issues—(i) restoring normalcy, and (ii) determining
the amount of compensation to be paid to the dependants of Murthy.
Luckily for the management, the accident took place on a Saturday. The next day was a
weekly holiday and this helped the tension to diffuse to a large extent. The funeral of the
deceased took place on Sunday without any hitch. The management hoped that things would
be normal on Monday morning.
But the hope was belied. The workers refused to resume work. Again the management
approached the union for help. Union leaders advised the workers to resume work in all
departments except in the machine shop, and the suggestions was accepted by all.
Two weeks went by, nobody entered the machine shop, though work in other places
resumed. Union leaders came with a new idea to the management—to perform a pooja to
ward off any evil that had befallen on the lathe. The management accepted the idea and
homa was performed in the machine shop for about five hours commencing early in the
morning. This helped to some extent. The workers started operations on all other machines
in the machine shop except on the fateful lathe. It took two full months and a lot of persuasion
from the union leaders for the workers to switch on the lathe.
The crisis was blown over, thanks to the responsible role played by the union leaders and
their fellow workers. Neither the management nor the workers wish that such an incident
should recur.
As the wages of the deceased grossed Rs 6,500 per month, Murthy was not covered under
the ESI Act. Management had to pay compensation. Age and experience of the victim were
taken into account to arrive at Rs 1,87,000 which was the amount to be payable to the wife of
the deceased. To this was added Rs 2,50,000 at the intervention of the union leaders. In
addition, the widow was paid a gratuity and a monthly pension of Rs 4,300. And nobody’s
wages were cut for the days not worked.
Murthy’s death witnessed an unusual behaviour on the part of the workers and their leaders,
and magnanimous gesture from the management. It is a pride moment in the life of the
factory.
Questions
1. Do you think that the Bangalore-based company had practised participative
management?
2. If your answer is yes, with what method of participation (you have read in this chapter) do
you relate the above case?
3. If you were the union leader, would your behaviour have been different? If yes, what
would it be?
4. If you were in the management, would your attitude have been different? If yes, what
would it be?
Case 3: A Case of Misunderstood Message
Indane Biscuits is located in an industrial area. The biscuit factory employs labour on a daily
basis. The management does not follow statutory regulations, and are able to get away with
violations by keeping the concerned inspectors in good books.
The factory has a designated room to which employees are periodically called either to hire
or to fire.
On the National Safety Day, the Industries Association, of which Indane Biscuits is a member,
decided to celebrate collectively at a central place. Each of the members was given a
specific task.
The Personnel Manager, Indane Biscuits, desired to consult his supervisors and to inform
everybody through them about the safety day celebrations. He sent a memo requesting
them to be present in the room meant for hiring and firing. As soon as the supervisors read
the memo, they all got panicky thinking that now it was their turn to get fired. They started
having ‘hush-hush’ consultations. The workers also learnt about it, and since they had a lot of
scores to settle with the management they extended their sympathy and support to the
supervisors. As a consequence, everybody struck work and the factory came to a grinding
halt.
In the meantime, the personnel manager was unaware of the developments and when he
came to know of it he went immediately and tried to convince the supervisors about the
purpose of inviting them and the reason why that particular room was chosen. To be fair to
the Personnel Manager, he selected the room because no other room was available. But the
supervisors and the workers were in no mood to listen.
The Managing Director, who rushed to the factory on hearing about the strike, also couldn’t
convince the workers.
The matter was referred to the labour department. The enquiry that followed resulted in all
irregularities of the factory getting exposed and imposition of heavy penalties. The
Personnel Manager was sacked. The factory opened after prolonged negotiations and
settlements.
Questions
1. In the case of the Indane Biscuits, bring out the importance of ‘context’ and ‘credibility’ in
communication.
2. List the direct and indirect causes for the escalation of tension at Indane Biscuits.
3. If you were the Personnel Manager what would you do?
Case 4: The Resentful Emloyee
It was a bitterly cold night, and even at the far end of the bus the east wind that raved along
the street cut like a knife. The bus stopped, and two women and a man got in together and
filled the vacant places. The younger woman was dressed in sealskin, and carried one of
those little Pekinese dogs that women in sealskin like to carry in their laps. The conductor
came and took the fare. Then his eye rested with cold malice on the beady-eyed toy dog. I
saw trouble brewing. This was the opportunity for which he had been waiting, and he
intended to make the most of it. I had marked him as the type of what Mr. Wells has called
the Resentful Employee, the man with a general, vague grievance against everything, and in
particular, a grievance against passengers who came and sat in his bus while he shivered at
the door.
“You must take that dog out”, he said with sour venom.
“I shall certainly do nothing of the kind. You can take my name and address”, said the
woman, who had evidently expected the challenge and knew the reply.
“You must take the dog out—that is my order”.
“I won’t go on the top in such weather. It would kill me”, said the woman.
“Certainly not”, said her lady companion. “You have got a cough as it is”.
“It is nonsense”, said her male companion.
The conductor pulled the bell and the bus stopped.
“This bus does not go on until that dog is brought out”. And he stepped on the pavement
and waited.
It was his moment of triumph. He had the law on his side and a bus-full of angry people
under his thumb. His embittered soul was having a real holiday.
The storm inside rose high. “Shameful”, “Why is not he in the army?” “Call the police”, “Let
us all report him”, “Let us make him give us our fares back”, “Yes, that is it, let us make him
give us our fares back”. Everybody was on the side of the lady and the dog.
That little animal sat blinking at the dim lights in happy unconsciousness of the rumpus of
which he was the cause.
The conductor came to the door. “What is your number?” Said one taking out a pocketbook,
with a gesture of terrible things, “There is my number”, said the conductor
imperturbed. “Give us our fares back—you have engaged to carry us—you can not leave us
here all night”. “No fares back”, said the conductor.
Two or three of the passengers got out and disappeared into the night. The conductor took
another turn on the pavement, then went and had a talk with the driver. Another bus, the last
on the road, sailed by, indifferent to the shouts of the passengers to stop. “They stick by
each other, the villains”, was the comment.
Someone pulled the bell violently. That brought the driver round to the door. “Who’s
conductor of this bus?” He said, and paused for a reply. None coming, he returned to his
seat and resumed beating his arms across his chest. There was no hope in that quarter. A
policeman strolled up and looked in at the door. An avalanche of indignant protests and
appeals burst on him. “Well, he has got his rules you know”, he said generally. “Give your
name and address”, “That is what he is being offered and he won’t take it”. “Oh”, said the
policeman, and he went away and took his stand a few yards down the street, where he was
joined by two more constables.
And still the little dog blinked at the lights, and the conductor walked to and from on the
pavement like a captain on the quarter-deck in the hour of victory. A young woman whose
voice had risen high above the gale inside, descended on him with an air of threatening and
slaughter. He was immovable as cold as the night and hard as the pavement. She passed on
in a fury of importance to the three policemen who stood like a group of statuary up the
street watching the drama. Then she came back, imperviously beckoned her “Young man”
who had sat a silent witness of her rage, and vanished. Others followed. The bus was
emptying. Even the dashing young fellow who had demanded the number, and who had
declared he would see this thing through if he sat there all night, had taken an opportunity to
slip away.
Meanwhile the Pekinese party was passing through every stage of resistance to abject
surrender.
“I will go on the top”, said the sealskin lady at last. “You must not.” “I will”. “You will have
pneumonia”.
“Let me take it” (This from the man). “Certainly not—she would die with her dog”. When
she had disappeared
up the stairs the conductor came back, pulled the bell, and the bus went on. He stood sourly
triumphant while his conduct was savagely discussed in his face by the remnant of the party.
Then the engine struck work, and the conductor went to the help of the driver. It was a long
job, and presently the lady with the dog stole down the stairs and re-entered the bus. When
the engine was put right the conductor came back and pulled the bell. Then his eye fell on
the dog and his hand went to the bell-rope again. The driver looked around, the conductor
pointed to the dog, the bus stopped, and the struggle recommenced with all the original
features, the conductor walking on the pavement, the driver smacking his arms on the box,
the little dog blinking at the lights, the sealskin lady declaring that she would not go on the
top and finally going.
Questions
1. Which theory of motivation do you use to motivate the bus crew? Why?
2. If you were the conductor what would you do?
3. If you were the lady with the pet dog, what would you do?
4. Role play(a) the conversation between the conductor and the lady with sealskin, (b)
between policeman and the fellow passengers, and (c) between the conductor and the
driver.
Case 5: Backfired Surmise
Naik, AGM Materials, is fuming and fretting. He bumped into Kamath, GM Materials, threw
the resignation letter on his table, shouted and walked out of the room swiftly.
Naik has reason for his sudden outburst. He has been driven to the wall. Perhaps, details of
the story will tell the reasons for Naik’s bile and why he put in his papers, barely four months
after he took up his present assignment.
The year was 1995 when Naik quit the prestigious SAIL plant at Vishakapatnam. As a
manager materials, Naik enjoyed powers—he could even place an order for materials worth
Rs 25 lakh. He needed nobody’s prior approval.
Naik joined a pulp-making plant located at Harihar in Kanataka, as AGM Materials. The plant
is a part of the multi-product and multiplant-conglomerate owned by a prestigious business
house in India.
Obviously, perks, designation and reputation of the conglomerate lured Naik away from the
public sector steel monolith.
When he joined the eucalyptus pulp making company, little did Naik realise that he needed
prior approval to place an order for materials worth Rs 12 lakh. He had presumed that he
had the authority to place an order by himself worth half the amount of what he used to do at
the mega steel maker. He placed the order, materials arrived, were received, accepted and
used up in the plant.
Trouble started when the bill for Rs 12 lakh came from the vendor. The accounts department
withheld payment for the reason that the bill was not endorsed by Kamath. Kamath refused
to sign on the bill as his approval was not taken by Naik before placing the order.
Naik felt fumigated and cheated. A brief encounter with Kamath only aggravated the
problem. Naik was curtly told that he should have known company rules before venturing.
Naik decided to quit.
Questions
1. Does the company have an orientation programme? If yes, how effective is it?
2. If you were Naik what would have you done?
---The End
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Case 1:
Ellen Crenshaw – A dissatisfied banker
Ellen Crenshaw has been employed by Third State bank since her graduation from State
University five years ago. At State University, she received a degree in general business and
came to work for the bank in its management-training program. The program, which lasted
for one year, gave her an exposure to all phases of the bank’s operation. Form the training
program, Crenshaw was assigned to the bookkeeping and records department as the
assistant manager. Two years ago, she was promoted to manager of the same department.
Several complaints and dissatisfactions have been building up in her mind since she
completed the training program four years ago, but she has been reluctant to mention them.
Her feelings have become so strong however, that she has now sought out her supervisor,
Parker Ferrell, assistant vice president for bank operations, and is telling him several things
she finds disturbing about her job with the bank. The following statements are part of her
conversation with Ferrell:
I don’t know about everyone’s salary here at the bank, but I do know that my salary and
some other women’s salaries are somewhat lower than many of the men’s salaries. I know
for a fact that some of the male college graduates hired for the training program last month
are being paid only a few dollars per month less than what I’m being paid, and I have five
years of experience working with the bank. The pay scale seems to be unfair to women.
It also seems to me that women are treated unfairly when job assignments are given out.
Women always seem to get the secretarial, clerical, routine jobs, while the men get the
more exciting, prestigious jobs. And it looks to me like women are being routinely diverted
into staff jobs where they are to act as ‘’helpers’’ while men are channeled into line jobs,
where they have real decision-making authority. I think men believe all women enjoy
routine work, but it just isn’t true. Some women may, but I for one would enjoy something
that challenges my abilities more fully.
That brings me to another point. I think women are being bypassed for promotions to better
jobs. I’ve applied for a transfer to the personal loan department and to the savings
department on two different occasions, but I was turned down, and the jobs were given to
men just coming out of the training program. I was given no reasons for the rejection of my
requests except that I was needed in my present position.
Questions:
1. Which of Ellen Crenshaw’s complaints on the surface appear to be valid if they are true?
Why? Which ones (if any) are not reasonable? Why?
2. What misconceptions does the case reveal in the attitudes many people have toward
women at work?
3. If Mr. Ferrell uses the correct counseling techniques, what will his attitude and comments
be during the conversation with Ellen? If these complaints accurately portray the
situation in the bank, what steps should the bank take to correct the problems? Please be
specific.
Case2:
THE CASE OF THE WRONG MANGOES
In due course, you find yourself out of school and holding a good ‘’normal’’ job working for
a firm that specializes in producing canned fruit. Your boss calls you in and announces that
the firm has made a major decision: it will be moving immediately to set up a subsidiary in
Jamaica to produce canned mangoes. ‘’It’s a whole new concept,’’ your boss explains.
‘’Nobody else is canning mangoes, so we should make a fortune. Did you know that the
Jamaicans grow over thirty varieties of mangoes?’’ You didn’t and furthermore you don’t
even like mangoes but you agree to go and help with the start-up.
When you reach Jamaica, however, it’s clear that all is not well. The firm is getting ready to
start production and the employees and the management team (consisting of a group of
British, Australian, and American managers from the firm’s home location) are already at
odds. You discover that while the top management team was regarded as excellent at home,
none of the team has even been to Jamaica before. ‘’Shouldn’t be a problem, though,’’
remarks the British general manager. ‘’After all, Jamaica was a colony of ours for years.
They’ve inherited our laws and customs, and they even speak our language.’’ The last
comment, you soon discover, is something of an overstatement. In fact, the Jamaicans speak
a patois, a combination of French, Spanish, African, and English, the result of their slave
heritage. They can understand ‘’standard’’ English when it is spoken slowly and clearly but
are also masters at not understanding when it seems convenient.
As for the customs and manner of thinking of the people, you are somewhat at a loss. As best
you can tell, their religion consists of a veneer of Christianity overlaying several forms of
voodoo-like worship stemming from their African heritage. In addition, Rastafarianism has
taken on an important role. It is a highly passive-seeming worship the ‘’Rastas’’ simply
smoke the local “ganga’’ all day and await the second coming of Christ, who is to be
incarnated in the form of an emperor of Ethiopia. Things reach a crisis when the first canning
operation is an utter failure. The mangoes taste all right (though you still don’t like
mangoes), but the texture is terrible a ghastly, stringy, soupy mixture. You are present when
the general manager holds a fact-finding meeting. The few Jamaicans who are present say
nothing. Finally, under intense questioning, one of them offers, “Well, saar’’ (this is how they
refer to anyone perceived as a “boss’’), “the problem is the mangoes, you know.’’ “What on
earth do you mean?’’ bellows the general manager. “They were plenty fresh and ripe,
because we checked carefully.’’ “Of course, saar,’’ replies the subordinate, “but they were
the wrong kind, you know. Those were sucking mangoes, not chewing mangoes. The
chewing ones are the only kind you can eat. “Insubordination!’’ responds the general
manager. “What now?’’ you wonder.
Questions:
1. There’s clearly a communication problem in the Jamaican operation. What factors are
contributing to the lack of communication between the Jamaicans and the management
team? What should be done?
2. Perhaps differences in values are creating problems. How would you guess that the
Jamaicans would rate on the values that Hofstede talks about? What about the British
general manager?
3. The British general manager believes that the Jamaican subordinate is “insubordinate.’’
Is this true? Why does the manager believe it? Explain in terms of the attribution process
and communication.
Case3:
FAIRFIELDS NURSING HOME
Fairfields Nursing Home is a well-respected facility established primarily to provide
medical attention to the elderly and to other invalid or semi-invalid persons. The home is
owned by five businesspeople, and one of the men, Lewis Starrker, serves as full-time
administrator. The patients or their relatives pay rather sizeable monthly fees for the
continuing care provided. The service and attention given by the home is considered by
most to be excellent. In the early years, the home was rather small, and the administrative
problems were few. As the capacity of the home was increased and the volume of patients
began to grow, the duties of the administrator grew too large for starker to handle alone.
About five years ago, an assistant administrator was hired and given the duties of
overseeing the business office, building and grounds maintenance, and laundry and
housekeeping activities. Complete authority was given to the assistant administrator over
these activities. In addition, the assistant administrator was designated to serve in the full
capacity of the administrator when the administrator was away from the nursing home. In
this event, all workers were under his jurisdiction. About a year ago, the position of assistant
administrator became vacant, and Bentley Cantrell was hired to fill the position. The current
duties of the assistant administrator remain basically identical to the responsibilities
outlined five years ago.
Cantrell is well qualified for his position. He has a bachelor’s degree in management with a
good foundation in accounting. For two years prior to coming to Fairfields Nursing Home, he
was office manager in a position where he supervised purchasing, receiving and delivery,
and payroll and book-keeping. On occasion he also worked on the problems of the physical
plant of the hospital and its upkeep. Mr Starrker is somewhat disappointed in Cantrell’s
performance over the past year. Cantrell knows how the work should be done, and he gets
along with the employees; but he fails to handle problems promptly. He puts off telling his
subordinates what to do and is especially reluctant to correct them when they make a
mistake. The reluctance to act apparently cannot be explained by ignorance, because when
Starrker confronts Cantrell with the need for action, Cantrell always proposes a good
solution. However, when Cantrell is instructed to move ahead, he expresses doubt that the
supervisors and employees beneath him will be able to follow his instructions. Many times
he elects to do a job himself rather than direct his subordinates to handle it.
Questions:
1. Consider the organizational chart for Fairfields Nursing Home. What problems, if any,
do you see in the planned structure for the nursing home? Do the spans of supervision
seem to be about right?
2. How are the supervisors of the three shifts and the nurses, helpers, and therapist who
report to them different from other workers at the nursing home according to the
planned structure?
3. Does the organization need a mechanistic structure or an organic structure? Why?
4. How would the organization structure look if the organization was organized as a
network structure? Who would the partners be? What would be their responsibilities?
5. What problems exist at the nursing home that aren’t related to its structure?
Case 4:
THE SUPERIOR INSURANCE COMPANY
The superior Insurance Company was experiencing phenomenal growth. Operations were
being expanded to other states and territories, and sales efforts had been increased. As a
result of the major client expansion, the physical plant facilities at the home offices were
enlarged. On a space of land adjoining the existing offices of superior, a large addition was
constructed and passageways were opened to connect the new and old buildings. The
claims office was one of the areas that needed expansion. The claims office in the old
building was housed on the third floor in a very conventional setting. Private offices for
executive and supervisory personnel were provided. Computer terminals and printers were
located in a room that was off-limits to everyone except statistical and computer personnel.
Small groups of clerks and typists were located in spaces throughout the floor and were
partitioned from other groups by room dividers.
When the new part of the building was constructed alongside the existing structure, a new
office on the third floor was established for the expansion of the claims department. The old
and the new claims offices were connected by a hallway. The design of the new claims office
(a room with more than 18,000 square feet) was quite different from that of the old office. The
new office was developed using an open floor plan in which no permanent partitions were
constructed, and only a few five-foot dividers were placed to hide some filing cabinets.
Supervisors sat surrounded by those for whom they were responsible. Flowers and other
plants were sprinkled liberally throughout the new area. The lighting was bright and
colorful. It was decided that the old part of the building would be remodeled in a couple of
years and would be reconstructed in the same type of design used in the new building.
Since the workers in each part of the building were performing similar types of duties, it was
decided to take some of the more experienced workers from the old building and disperse
them among newly hired and trained workers so that the ratio of old-to-new employees in
each of the claims department areas would be about the same.
At the end of the first three months of operation in the new arrangement, some interesting
statistics were beginning to take shape. Errors and mistakes in the handing of forms and
other records were up noticeably. Absenteeism had increased over the prechange pattern.
At the end of the second three-month period, the data were the same, and a turnover rate
higher than in any previous period was noted. When the error-absenteeism-turnover figures
were isolated by work area, it was discovered that it was the employees in the new room
that were making the errors and otherwise showing less desirable performances. A morale
survey was taken: workers in the new room were found to be less satisfied with their jobs
and working conditions than the personnel in the older, more conventional workspace.
Questions:
1. From the brief facts provided here, what would you expect to be the causes of low
levels of accuracy in performance and the high rates of absenteeism, turnover, and job
dissatisfaction?
2. What truths about the workplace should we be able to draw from this situation?
3. What are the advantages of the open-space plan? What are the disadvantages?
4. What are the advantages of the more conventional, closed-off kind of office desing?
What are the disadvantages?
5. What should the people at superior do about their newly identified problem?
Case 5:
THE CASE OF THE ‘’HUNGRY’’ ACTRESS
After finishing school, you set out to look for a job and are determined to get something
really different, something with a challenge. Of course, that’s what everybody wants, but in
your case, it turns out to be exactly what you got. The only problem is that now you’re
wondering if a really challenging and different job is all that great: You had just happened to
see an ad in the paper for positions in a newly forming company, and you called to see what
it was about. The organization (if you can actually call anything that disorganized an
organization) is Talent Unlimited, and its founders describe it to you as “the world’s first
talent management organization run entirely by the talent themselves.’’ Talent, in this case,
refers to theater-related talent – actors, actresses, directors, bit players, and the like. You
learn that with the recent emphasis on the culture of your area, there is a steady stream of
films being made where you live, and gradually a nucleus of per formers, even beyond the
local talent, has settled here. That group has started Talent Unlimited. You ask what job is
open since they’ve already told you that they run everything them-selves. “Well, it’s not
exactly management,’’ says Lola LaRue (you suspect that’s her stage name; in any case, she
is more or less taking on the role of spokesperson for the group). “You see, we want an
administrator,’’ she continues. “We want to make all of the major decisions, but nobody
wants to be concerned with the day-to-day running of things. In fact, I’m afraid things are in
a bit of a mess.’’
You are hired on the spot. In fact, the group is amazed when they learn you have a business
degree.
“You mean you can do numbers and all that?’’ asks Lola, eyes open wide. You quickly learn
what’’ a bit of a mess’’ really means. Not only are the books in chaos, the schedule a
disaster, and plans nonexistent, but there’s considerable dissension in the organization.
There appear to be two main factions. At the very top, acting as a sort of ‘’kitchen cabinet’’
making decisions, are five or six performers who have really made it. They’re living the
lifestyle of the rich and famous and are interested in using the organization as an easy way to
advance their careers without running into heavy agents’ fees. Lola is typical of this group,
and one day you run into her having a discussion with Marla Mallory, who’s decidedly in the
other camp. The other camp consists of the vast majority of members – hopefuls who haven’t
yet had a break. Like most, Marla lives a hand-to-mouth existence, supplementing her
meager theatrical earnings by hourly work as a cashier in a local supermarket. Most of this
group with Marla among them are pretty discouraged; they see Talent Unlimited as a last
hope that maybe by banding together they can get some work. Marla is telling Lola that she
wants Talent Unlimited to try to get some bit parts for her in a Broadway road show that is
coming to town soon.
“Now, really, you must stop being so childish,’’ exclaims Lola. “All you people do is think of
yourselves. Look at me. I’ve devoted my life to this profession, and I’m literally starving to
death. Why, I’ve just learned that upstart Kitty Kelly is getting $750,000 for a five-minute
cameo slot, while I get only $425,000 for a similar one. Those are the real problems Talent
Unlimited is going to have to deal with.’’
Questions:
1. Which steps of the positively based cognitive-needs concept are shown in this case so
far as Lola is concerned? What does this case reveal about expectancy theory?
2. How would the director of a play or movie motivate Lola? What incentives could be
used?
3. What does this case illustrate that is in keeping with equity theory? Lola says she is
“starving to death.’’ Has she lost her mind? Explain according to equity theory.
4. Marla is currently working as a cashier in a grocery store. Suppose her boss decides
she needs to become more motivated and wants to redesign her job. Briefly discuss
Hackman and Oldham’s theory and apply it to Marla’s situation.
---The End
