Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) is a major player in the tractor and
certain segments of the automobile market in India, after an impressive
growth for a few years, the tractor market in India has been stagnating
during 98-99, 2000-01.
M&M has been selling its tractor and utility vehicles in foreign markets
including USA. Some of the components for its products have been sourced
from abroad. M&M has a 100% subsidiary in USA, Mahindra USA, with a
strong network of 100 dealers. Mahindra has a five-percent market share in
the US market in the 28-30 horse power (HP) range. As a part of the
strategy aimed at building a global supply chain, Mahindra USA has signed
a memorandum of understanding (Mou) with the Korean tractor major
Tong Yang, apart of the $ 2 bn Tong Yang Moolsam group, according to
which Mahindra will source high horse power (mostly 25-40 hp range) and
sell them around the world under the M&M brand name. To start with the
premium ranges of tractors will he sold in the US.
M&M?s current tractor range is more utility oriented and lacks the
aesthetic appeal that Tong Yang?s tractors, have, a must for a strong
presence in the US market.
Questions :
(a) What are the advantages and disadvantages of global sourcing?
(b) What are the possible risks of the alliance? How can they be overcome
/ minimised?
(DEMB 3)
EXECUTIVE M.B.A. I Year Assignments ? May?10
Paper III ? MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS
Assignment ? I
1. (a) Demand schedule
(b) Micro economics
(c) Sunk cost
(d) Equilibrium firm
(e) Accounting profit
(f) Systematic risk.
2. How is economic analysis useful for decision making?
3. Explain different methods of estimating price and income elasticity of
demand.
4. Discuss the relationship between cost and output in the long run.
Assignment ? I
5. Describe the pricing strategies employed in the introductory stage.
6. Examine behavioural theory of the firm.
7. State the factors that may be considered in public investment decisions.
8. The Manager of a company now producing at 70% of its productive
capacity considers whether he can profitably make use of his spare
capacity by increasing his sales. The price of his product in the home
market is Rs. 100 per unit and his profit is 10% of turnover. Full costs are
Rs. 90 per unit. Of these, fixed costs are Rs. 30 per unit and Rs. 60 per
unit are costs which vary with output mainly labour and raw materials.
The manager discovered that he can sell his product at Rs. 75 per unit in
the export market. He wanted to know whether or not he should take up
the export business and therefore referred the matter to the cost
accountant of the company. The cost accountant who was a believer in full
costing made certain calculations and arrived at the following estimates :
Situation 1 ? Home market : Profit Rs. 10 per unit
Situation 2 ? Home market : Profit Rs. 19 per unit
Export market : Loss Rs. 6 per unit
His conclusion was that the export business is unprofitable and should not
be taken.
Questions :
(a) How did the cost accountant arrive at his estimates?
(b) Do you agree with the view that export business should not be taken
up?
(DEMB 4)
EXECUTIVE M.B.A. I Year Assignments ? May?10
Paper IV ? ACCOUNTING FOR MANAGERS
Assignment ? I
1. (a) Going-concern postulate.
(b) Contingent liability.
(c) Forfeiture.
(d) Pro-rata allotment.
(e) Inflation accounting.
(f) Semi-variable cost.
2. What objectives does management seek to achieve by using accounting
information?
3. Explain the significance of separate entity postulate in recording transactions
and events of an entity.
4. How does a funds flow statement differ from balance sheet and income
statement?
Assignment ? II
5. On 1st January, 2007 A Ltd made an issue of 10,000 12% debentures of Rs. 100/-
each at Rs.98/- per debenture. According to the terms of issue, commencing from
2008. The company should redeem 500 debentures either by purchasing them
from the open market or by drawing lots at par at the company?s option. Profit of
any, an redemption is to be transfered to capital reserve. The company?s
accounting year ends on 31st December. Interest is payable on 30th June and 31st
December.
During 2007, the company wrote off Rs.5,000/- from debenture discount account.
During 2008, the company purchased and cancelled the debentures as given
below.
(a) Rs. 20,000 at Rs. 97 per debenture on 30th June, and
(b) Rs. 30,000 at Rs. 96 per debenture on 31st December.
Give the journal entries in the books of A Ltd. for both the years and show
how these items will appear in the financial statements for 2008, giving the
corresponding figures for the previous year.
6. ??Disclosure of significant accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the
financial statements enhances the intelligibility of financial statements??. Discuss.
7. Explain why knowledge of cost behaviour is useful information for a manager to
have.
8. Prepare a statement showing the amount of depreciation under. ?Current Cost
Accounting? (CCA) method for each of the four year as well as the back log
depreciation for a certain item of the asset from the following details :
Cost of machine Rs.50,000
Estimated life 4 years
Residual value Nil
Inflation factor 10% p.a.
Assume straight line method of depreciation.
(DEMB 5)
EXECUTIVE M.B.A. I Year Assignments ? May?10
Paper V ? QUANTITATIVE TECHNIQUES FOR MANAGERIAL DECISIONS
Assignment ? I
1. (a) Geometric mean.
(b) Sampling errors.
(c) Poisson distribution.
(d) Coefficient of variation.
(e) Seasonal variations.
(f) Mutually exclusively event.
2. State the applications of correlation analysis in managerial decision making.
3. Explain the merits and demerits of any two measures of central tendency.
4. How do you select a good sample from the universe?
Assignment ? II
5. The marginal cost function of a product is given by C ? 6 ?10 x ? 3x 2
The total cost of manufacturing one unit is Rs. 80. Find the total cost function
and the average cost function.
6. A normal distribution is known to have the following parameters:
Mean = 25, S.D. = 2.5 and n ? 1000.
Determine the heights of the ordinates of the curve at :
(a) 19.5
(b) 21.5
(c) 26.5 and
(d) 32.
7. The lines of regression of a bivariate population are 8x ?10 y ? 66 ? 0
40 x ?18 y ? 214
The variance of x is 9. Find
(a) The mean value of x and y .
(b) Correlation coefficient between x and y .
(c) Standard deviation of y .
8. The total sales of a firm selling products A and B are given by the
relationshipsV ? a ? bx ? cy . The data for 3 months period is given below:
Months Volume of sales (V) (Rs.) x y
April 15,000 3 4
May 18,000 5 2
June 20,000 6 3
Using determinant method, determine the sales in the next month when it sells 8
units of x and 5 units of y . If a, b, c are all positive and the pth, qth and rth terms
of a Geometric Progression (GP), then prove that
0
log 1
log 1
log 1
?
c r
b q
a p
.
(DEMB 6)
EXECUTIVE M.B.A. I Year Assignments ? May?10
Paper VI ? INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND COMPUTER
APPLICATIONS
Assignment ? I
1. (a) Personal computer.
(b) Computer based HRM.
(c) Computer viruses.
(d) Topologies of computer networks.
(e) Machine language.
(f) LAN.
2. Explain the role of computers in information management.
3. State the managerial applications of spread sheet software.
4. What are the features of computer based inventory systems?
Assignment ? II
5. Elucidate the legal dimensions of computerisation.
6. What are the perspectives MIS?
7. Illustrate structured query language statements with suitable example.
8. Sandal, shoe, and bookmaker Deckers Outdoor Corporation recently
switched to an Internet networking technology called virtual private
networks to interconnect their global company.
Virtual private networks (VPNs) use the power of the Internet instead of
using private telecommunications lines or other network links. A virtual
private network is a secure and encrypted connection between two points
across the Internet. It transfers information by encrypting and
encapsulating telecommunications traffic into packets and sending the
packets over the Internet. Most VPNs are built and run by Internet service
providers. Companies that go with a VPN from an Internet service provider
essentially outsource their networks to save money on having to acquire
and manage their own wide area network equipment and bandwidth
requirements.
Deckers is a $100 million company whose 20-person office in Hoek Van
Holland, the Netherlands, collaborates on product development with its
staff in Goleta, California. The VPN cost roughly $31,000 to implement and
saves Deckers $10,000 per month compared with leasing their previous
high-speed network connections.
?We needed a network that would serve as the foundation for our
international expansion,? says Steve Miley, MIS director at Deckers. ?It will
be critical ... because our offices will use it to make sure projects are done
on time?.
Employees at the two sites use the VPN to update the status of product
development projects through Lotus Notes groupware databases. The VPN
supports Notes? ability to replicate databases of project information at each
work site, which is crucial to groupware support of project team
collaboration.
VPN performance ?is slow but workable for interactive Notes database
access?, Miley says. And as the quality of Internet service improves, VPN
performance can only improve, be adds.
Security, a reported shortcoming of virtual private networks, is improved
with NetFortress software from Fortress Technologies. It automatically
changes encryption keys every 24 hours. ?We feel, very secure with their
products on our network?, he says.
Offices for production management in Hong Kong, Mexico, and Macao will
be added to the VPN this year, Miley says. Those sites currently use
expensive international telephone calls to access servers in Goleta. Desktop
videoconferencing over the VPN, to cut international travel costs, is also
planned.
Decker doesn?t mind being among the first to implement a virtual private
network. ?VPNs are here to stay?, Miley says. ?And we?re on the leading
edge, not the bleeding edge?.
Questions :
(a) What are the business benefits of Deckers? switch to a virtual private
network?
(b) What can be done to overcome several limitations of virtual private
networks?
(c) Does it make business sense for any company to use the Internet as
their private telecommunications network? Why or why not?
(DEMB 7)
EXECUTIVE M.B.A. I Year Assignments ? May?10
Paper VII ? FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Assignment ? I
1. Answer all of the following:
(a) Objectives of financial management.
(b) Money market.
(c) Capital rationing.
(d) Net Operating approach.
(e) Marginal cost of capital.
(f) Dividend capitalization.
2. How is the finance function in a firm organised? What are the functions
that financial officers perform in a large firm?
3. What is meant by the term ?the firm?s break ?even sales level?? Does the
break-even point as defined consider financing costs?
4. From the following selected data determine the value of the firms ; P and
Q belonging to the homogeneous risk class under
(a) The NI approach and
(b) The NOI approach.
Levered firm Unlevered firm
P Q
EBIT Rs. 2,00,000 Rs. 2,00,000
Inertest at 10% 50,000
Equity -capitalization rate 15%
Corporate tax rate 50%
Which of the two firms has an optimal capital structure under the
(i) NI approach and
(ii) NOI approach?
Assignment ? II
5. What is stable dividend policy? Why should a firm follow such a policy?
6. Length of operating cycle is the major determinant of working capital
needs of a business firm? Explain.
7. What are the motives for holding cash? Discuss the objectives of cash
management.
8. A company is considering on investment proposal to instal milling
controls. The project will cost Rs. 50,000. The facility has a life expectancy
of 5 years and no salvage value. The company?s tax rate is 55% and no
investment allowance is allowed. The firm uses straight line depreciation.
The estimated cash flows before tax (CFBT) from the proposed investment
proposal are as follows :
Year CFBT
Rs.
1 10,000
2 11,000
3 14,000
4 15,000
5 25,000
Compute the following :
(a) Pay back period
(b) Average rate of return.
(DEMB
EXECUTIVE M.B.A. I Year Assignments ? May?10
Paper VIII ? OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
Assignment ? I
1. (a) Duties of production manager.
(b) Heat treatment.
(c) Flow Process chart.
(d) Surface treatment.
(e) TQM.
(f) Just-in-time.
2. Describe how production function is organised in a manufacturing firm
with the help of an organisational chart.
3. Discuss the various factors involved in the location of a plant.
4. What is meant by ??experience curve??? What is its use in long range
capacity planning?
Assignment ? II
5. What do you mean by ??operation planning??? Explain briefly the objectives
of operation planning.
6. What is statistical quality control? What are its advantages?
7. What is materials control cycle? What are the various steps involved in it?
8. From the following data draw an ABC analysis graph after classifying A,B
& C class items :
Item Unit Price Annual Consumption
(Units)
1 200.0 3,000
2 20 60,000
3 5000.0 20
4 12.5 200
5 9.0 350
6 25.0 6,000
7 1000.0 40
8 70 300
(DEMB 9)
EXECUTIVE M.B.A. I Year Assignments ? May?10
Paper IX ? MARKETING MANAGEMENT
Assignment ? I
1. (a) Marketing orientation.
(b) Demographical environment.
(c) Marketing budget.
(d) Buying motive.
(e) Brand equity.
(f) Value pricing.
2. What are marketing concepts? Distinguish between various concepts of
marketing.
3. ??The legal environment for marketing decisions is basically a positive
environment??. Comment.
4. Explain in brief, the importance of marketing planning.
Assignment ? II
5. Discuss how and why the field of consumer behaviour was developed.
6. What is Product life cycle? Show a similarity between product life cycle
and human life cycle.
7. Explain the importance of pricing in a marketing mix. What are the
determinants in pricing a product?
8. Case study :
Arion Auto was a dealer for the Hanuman Motor Company, India?s
most popular car maker. Aimed at the first time buyer, this company had
notched up 80 per cent market share at one time. Gradually, with the
entry of new players, the share has come down to about 50 per cent by
2003, but there was still a large market for its 800 cc car. In other
segments, the company had a much lower share.
A customer who had just bought the car from Arion was upset, as
the car had developed a couple of significant problems within a week. It
had an unexplained noise in the engine while turning, and its rear
bumper had come loose. The customer claimed that he had been sold a
defective car, and that the dealer should replace it with a new one.
The service manager at Arion motors tried to communicate to the
buyer that it was company policy to rectify any problem within the
warranty period free of cost, and that he would do the same, as per the
policy. However, the customer was not satisfied, as he would have to
suffer great inconvenience on account of it.
Being a businessman on the move, he had many important
engagements, and he would be severely hampered in his movements
without a car. What should the Arion service manager do?
(DEMB 10)
EXECUTIVE M.B.A. I Year Assignments ? May?10
Paper X ? HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Assignment ? I
1. (a) HR Department.
(b) Job Design.
(c) HR Planning.
(d) Placement.
(e) Counselling.
(f) Learning Employee.
2. Explain different types of incentives available to employees.
3. State the indicators of employee Job satisfaction.
4. What are the essentials of an effective employee grievance redressal
procedure?
Assignment ? II
5. Discuss different techniques of performance appraisal followed in the
Indian Industry.
6. Enumerate the tools used in the selection of employees.
7. Describe the methods of conducting job analysis.
8. The Frank Home Oil Service has had a long-standing tradition of
promotion from within, largely on the basis of length of service. Men were
hired as labourers and moved up through several Promotional ladders to
higher-paying positions, including maintenance work. Older workers
typically ?bid? the mechanics? jobs when there were openings, because this
work was easier than delivery and pumping jobs. Recently the company
became concerned that its maintenance mechanics were less skilled than
those of its competitors. As new and more complicated equipment was
purchased, the company found itself without adequate maintenance
personnel.
The company was finally able to negotiate an agreement with the union
permitting it to use aptitude tests in selecting new mechanics. The steady
stream of older workers bidding on these jobs was now halted. To fill
openings as they occurred, the company for the first time was able to go
outside the organisation and hire young trade?schooled graduates who
quickly learned the requisites skills. Over time the older mechanics who
had come into their jobs ?unscreened? were shifted to the less-skilled work
in the department-largely building - maintenance work.
The immediate problem is that declining business is forcing a cutback in
the size of the maintenance department. Normally, department seniority
is used to determine who will, be laid off. The result in this case will be
that nearly all of the relatively new and more able younger mechanics will
be laid off, except those who have enough seniority to ?bump? the few
unskilled labourers in the department. The company fears that its
maintenance work will be crippled and that a good share of the mechanics
will leave the company permanently to take jobs elsewhere.
Questions :
(a) How would you analyze the company?s problem? What mistakes have
been made that other organizations can profit from?
(b) What are the alternative solutions, and how would you go about trying
to put any of them into effect?