Principles and Practices of Management

 

BBA 1 SEMESTER OF AMITY UNIVERSITY

MODULE I : INTRODUCTION OF MANAGEMENT

 

Case Study

 

Mohan Automobile Ltd. is engaging in the business of repairing and overhauling of automobiles. They have about 40 employees working in the workshop. Current practices gave led to an extreme amount of customer dissatisfaction due to very high waiting time, discourteous behaviour of workforce with the customers, poor quality of workmanship and high cost of repairing automobiles. As a result of it, the customers have started their cars servicing elsewhere. The owner is very keen to improve the situation but he finds that his people are not motivated by a spirit of service basically because of poor wages and indifferent supervision.

This operation is located in environmentally alert community and they have also been complaining to the local municipal authority that the nasty way in which operations are handled and waste water disposed off is causing a lot of inconvenience in that locality. The owner manager wants your help in raising the level of productivity of the employees and effectiveness of the operations.

You have been asked to look into the operations of the company , analyse the whole situation and make necessary recommendations.

 

Question 1: To improve productivity and enhance effectiveness of operations, which one option should not be the focus area?

a. Poor quality of workmanship

b. Discourteous behavior of employees with the customers

c. Unfavourable attitude of the community

d. Low cost of repairing

 

Question 2. Which is the cause of the problem?

a. Lack of motivation

b. Lack of required training to the employees

c. Dissatisfactory wage system

d. All these options

 

Question 3. Which is not the root cause of lack of motivation?

a. Good wage system

b. Lack of spirit of service

c. Unfriendly environments

d. Nasty way of handling operations

 

Question 4. Which measure should be adopted to design motivation system?

a. Studying and analysing needs and wants of the people

b. Incentive wage system should be installed

c. Productivity linked bonus to be introduced

d. All these options

 

Question 5. Which one applies to make community attitude favourable?

a. Local people should be given priority in employment

b. Company should contribute to provide overall welfare of the community

c. Paying attention to corporate social responsibility

d. All these options

 

Question 6. Which one does not apply to improve interpersonal relations with customers?

a. Create mutual trust

b. Build confidence

c. Ignore the slogan ” Customer is the king”.

d. Improve quality of service

 

Question 7. Which one is not applicable for supportive supervision?

a. Help and guidance to employees

b. Inspiration to work efficently

c. Work related problems to be promptly solved

d. All these options

 

Question 8. Which one is not the cause of the problem?

a. Indifferent supervision

b. Environmental alertness among the people of the community

c. Ineffective waste disposal system

d. All these options

 

Question 9. Which one is the recommended solution?

a. Scientific training to the employees

b. Improve workmanship

c. Examplary behavior pattern

d. All these options

 

Question 10. Which one option is not the problem area?

a. Customer dissatisfaction

b. Increased market share

c. Decline in the volume of business

d. High waiting time

 

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MODULE II : PLANNING PROCESS

Case Study

The Sweet Dreams Motel is a 40-unit, no-frills operation in the less scenic part of a major Queensland resort town. The owner, Mr. Smith, firmly believes that there is a need for his style of low-cost family accommodation amid the luxury and beauty of the area. His rooms are large, family –style rooms (there is no television, for example). Although, there is plenty of room for future expansion, the grounds are fairly bare with a bit of landscaping, but mostly grass.

Mr. Smith can serve breakfast to the rooms and provide tea-making facilities. There are now a lot of good restaurants and take-aways in the area. Mr. Smith’s prices are less than half of what similar motels charge and only a fraction of what the big five-star properties are charging. And, really, he isn’t all that far away from the beach, shops and other attractions.

The problem is occupancy. He has some regulars who come every holiday period (and have been doing so for the four years he has owned the property). Overall, the occupancy is about 50 % year round and he knows from the local tourist office that the other properties average around 68 % occupancy year round. New developments could mean trouble. This lack of occupancy can be quite frustrating for Mr. Smith. Cars pull in, drive round the parking areas, then drive away.

Currently, Mr. Smith does very little advertising in local district guides and the holiday papers, mainly because he really thinks word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising. He is a member of the local tourist committee, but too busy to go to meetings. However, he does receive the local statistics and knows the average stay in the area is 3.8 nights, and that local families and couples and increasingly overseas visitors are his potential customers.

He’s not desperate yet, but he’s getting worried and disillusioned. He thought he would be overrun with guests, but that hasn’t happened.

 

Question 1: What is Mr. Smith’s biggest problem?

a. Cars pull in, drive around and drive away

b. Low occupancy rate

c. Existance of lot of good restaurants and take aways in the area

d. There is no television in the rooms

 

Question 2. What is not the peculiarity of the motel rooms?

a. Large size

b. Absence of television

c. Family-style room

d. No tea making facilties in rooms

 

Question 3. What is the duration of average stay in the area as per local statistics?

a. 3.8 nights

b. 8.3 nights

c. 5 nights

d. None of the these options

 

Question 4. What is the station avarage occupancy year around as per local tourist office statistics?

a. 0.5

b. 0.68

c. 0.75

d. None of the options

 

Question 5. Which advertisement strategy is best as per Mr. Smith ?

a. Publishing in holiday papers

b. Local district guides

c. Word-of-mouth publicity

d. District tourism department

 

Question 6. Which is not the strength of this motel ?

a. Nearness to beach, shops and other attractions

b. Plenty of room for expansion

c. Regular customers who come every holiday period

d. Location in the less scenic part of Queenland resort town

 

Question 7. Which is not the weakness of this motel ?

a. Grounds are fairly barren

b. Prices are very reasonable and less than half of other similar properties

c. No inhouse restaurant service for serving lunch and dinner

d. Rooms are not provided with television

 

Question 8. Which is the firm belief of Mr. Smith, the motel owner?

a. Need for his style of low cost family accomodation

b. Have three star culture

c. No need of luxary and beautification

d. Landscaping has no significance

 

Question 9. Which opportunity does exist for Mr. Smith to improve upon his motel occupancy rate?

a. Take advantage of and attend all local tourist commiittee meetings

b. Provision of lunch and dinner by outsourcing to some nearby restaurant

c. Add on a bar/spa/ gym etc

d. All these options

 

Question 10. Who are the potential customers of Sweet Dreams Motel?

a. Students touring batches

b. Honey mooning couples

c. Youth forums

d. Overseas visitors

 

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MODULE III: ORGANISING

Case Study

 

Dr. Bhardwaj is the President of Bhardwaj Hospital, Noida. He has a Personal Secretary (Dolly) to assist him. There are two different departments in the hospital and each of them has a manager – (i) the Finance & Administration Manager (Deepak) and (ii) the Patients Care Manager (Dr. Aarti). The Finance & Administration department is further broken down into three parts with three supervisors – (i) the Accounts Supervisor (Mayur) with three accounts clerks Rishika, Rupali and Shruti reporting to him; (ii) the Marketing Supervisor (Vikas) with two public relations staff members (Sonali and Manali) reporting to him; and (iii) Adminstration Supervisor ( Ankit) with four administrative clerks ( Mahesh, Rajesh, Nilesh and Yogesh) reporting to him.

 

In the patient care department under its Manager (Dr Aarti), there are three speciality areas with a Superintendent for each one – Emergency Ward ( Dr. Manoj), Children’s Ward ( Dr. Amandeep), and Intensive Care Ward (Dr. Inderjeet). Each of these three wards Superintendents have a resident doctor each (Charu, Sakshi, and Belma respectively) under them who further control 5 nurses each in these three wards.

 

22+ 15=37

 

Question 1: How many total staff employees are under Finance & Administration Manager Deepak?

 

a. Three

b. Five

c. Ten

d. Twelve

 

Question 2.The chain of command of President Dr Bhardwaj includes _____

 

a. Dr Aarti; Ankit; Sonali

b. Deepak; Dr Inderjeet; Charu; Nurses

c. Dr Aarti; Dr Amandeep; Sakshi; Nurses

d. Dolly; Dr Aarti; Dr Manoj; Belma; Nurses

 

Question 3. The downward chain of command of Deepak includes __________

 

a. Mayur; Rishika

b. Mayur; Manali

c. Ankit; Shruti

d. Vikas; Yogesh

 

Question 4. The upward chain of command of clerk Nilesh includes ________

 

a. Rajesh; Mahesh; Yogesh; Ankit.

b. Ankit; Deepak; Dr Bhardwaj

c. Ankit; Deepak; Dolly

d. Ankit; Vikas; Mayur; Deepak

 

Question 5. What is the grand total of employees on the rolls of Bhardwaj Hospital, Noida?

 

a. Thirty –seven

b. Thirty-six

c. Twenty- three

d. Forty-five

 

Question 6. What is the total number of employees on staff role under President Dr Bhardwaj?

 

a. Thirty-six (wrong answer)

b. Fourteen

c. Thirteen

d. Twenty

 

Question 7. What is the total number of line employees under Patients Care Manager Dr Aarti?

 

a. Twenty-one

b. Six

c. Three

d. Seven

 

Question 8. What is the total number of persons in the span of control of Administration Supervisor Ankit ?

 

a. Two

b. Three

c. Four

d. Eight

 

Question 9. What is the total number of persons in the span of control of Dr. Bhardwaj?

 

a. Three

b. Two

c. Thirty six (wrong answer)

d. Nine

 

Question 10. What is the total number of staff in Children Ward under Dr Amandeep?

 

a. One

b. Six

c. Twelve

d. Eighteen

 

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MODULE IV: STAFFING/ HRM

 

Case Study

 

Mr Muthu Swamy, the chairman of S K Pharma Company had set up its plant at Mysore (Karnataka state) in the year 2002 and kept the corporate office at state capital, Bangalore. The plant is manufacturing and marketing drugs, medicines and glucose water. The company has met severe competition from large pharma companies with foreign collaboration. Mr K V Nayak, Vice- president marketing, has been with the company, for the last two years. He has ambitious plans for capturing a sizable share of the markets in Karnataka, Kerala and south Andhra Pradesh. As the company is medium-sized, Mr Nayak has kept his marketing department and team lean and trim. The medical representatives were given aggressive targets and were pushed to reach their respective targets. The representatives as well as Mr Nayak worked very hard to complete their respective targets. However, there was no formal appraisal and reward system in S K Pharma. During the last year, more than 25 medical representatives had left the company due to unsatisfactory increments, no proper promotion policy and poor HR practices. Those who left the company were excellent workers. Mr Nayak did not care for this high turnover. He was overconfident that he would be able to hire freshers since S K Pharma had enjoyed a reputation of being a good employer, who paid the highest salary in the industry with many attractive perks/ privileges. Mr Nayak also felt that he could select candidates who were not happy with their remunerations in other companies. Mr Nayak had never communicated to the medical representatives about their performance or reasons for not recognising their outstanding performance.

 

Question 1: High turrnover of medical representatives was not due to ___________

 

a. Unsatisfactory increments and promotions

b. Non recognition of outstanding performance

c. Poor HR practices

d. Highest salary package in the industry

 

Question 2: How old is S K Pharma Company?

 

a. Less than 5 years old

b. 5 to 10 years old

c. 10 to 15 years old

d. More than 20 years old

 

Question 3: The ambitious plan of the company to capture sizable market share does not include ______

 

a. South Andhra Pradesh

b. North Tamil Nadu

c. Kerala

d. Karnataka

 

Question 4: The manufacturing plant of S K Pharma is located at ______

 

a. Bangalore

b. Belgaon

c. Karnataka

d. Mysore

 

Question 5: What is not the product line of S K Pharma company?

 

a. Drugs

b. Medicines

c. Fruit juices

d. Glucose water

 

Question 6: What strategy was not adopted to get maximum work from the medical representatives?

 

a. Given aggressive targets

b. Pushed to achieve their targets

c. Left to their own whims and fancies and working styles

d. Made to work hard along with Vice -president marketing

 

Question 7: What was the appraisal and reward system like in the company?

 

a. Excellent

b. Fair

c. Poor

d. No system existed

 

Question 8: Which one was not the reason for over confidence of Mr K V Nayak that he will be able to hire fresh medical representatives?

 

a. S K Pharma paid highest salary in the industry

b. S K Pharma enjoyed a good reputation as an employer

c. S K Pharma had attractive perks and privileges for their employees

d. Newly employeed team of medicl representatives will produce wonders from their very starting day

 

Question 9: Who is the Vice-president Marketing of S K Pharma?

 

a. Mr Muthu Swamy

b. Mr Namo Narain

c. Mr R K Pillai

d. Mr K V Nayak

 

Question 10: Who were the real competitors of S K Pharma?

 

a. Large pharma companies with foreign collaboration

b. Local drugs and medicines companies

c. Ayurvedic and Unani medicines manufaturers in India

d. No competitors existed at all

 

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MODULE V: MANAGEMENT CONTROL

 

ASSIGNMENT 2

Case Study

Mr. Ramchandran is the President of ABC Ltd. Recently, it was decided by the Board of Directors that it would be profitable for the corporation to open its own Marketing Department. Mr. Ramchandran has been directed to internally pick up a person who he feels is capable of heading the department, and then putting this person in-charge of getting the department on its feet. After considering a number of good men, Mr. Ramchandran has narrowed the field down to two possible choices: Rajesh Mehta and Pramod Kumar. Rajesh Mehta has good track record with the company. He was hired eight years ago, and through the years, he has shown a good deal of drive and initiative in all of his endeavors. He is an aggressive young man, and has received the nickname of go-getter in his department. Although Mehta seems to be more concerned at times with ends rather than means, he is very efficient and he is considered as a good leader by those who work under him. As one worker stated, “Although he can get rough with you at times, you always know where you stand with him, and when you have done a good job, he lets you know it.” Mehta is also credited with accepting full responsibility, in all cases, and making quick decisions when action is called for. Pramod Kumar has been with the company for 11 years. He is well liked by all in his department , and his work is first rate. Kumar’s leadeship style differs from Mehta’s in that Kumar is not that aggressive and quick to act as Mehta. Before Kumar makes a decision, he generally consults others who he feels can contribute further information on a given subject. This often includes those who work under him. Those who work under Kumar consider him a good leader, and state that the atmosphere of participation produced by Kumar really encourages their utmost individual output while on the job. This can be seen by the production increase which soon occured when Kumar became the head of his work-force.

 

Question 1: President narrowed the field down for choosing marketing department head to how many choices?

 

a. One

b. Two

c. Three

d. Four

 

Question 2: What change came in when Kumar became the head of his work-force?

 

a. Production stagnated

b. Production declined

c. Production increased

d. Quality complaints enhanced

 

Question 3: What has been the length of service of Pramod Kumar with the company?

 

a. 15 yeas

b. 13 years

c. 11 years

d. 8 years

 

Question 4: What has been the length of service of Rajesh Mehta with the company?

 

a. 6 years

b. 8 years

c. 10 years

d. 12 years

 

Question 5: What is the leadership style of Pramod Kumar?

 

a. Autocratic

b. Democratic / Participative

c. Laissez-faire

d. Task-centred

 

Question 6: Which one is NOT the characteristic of Pramod Kumar?

 

a. Very aggressive

b. Slow decision making

c. Is first rate in his work

d. Believes in involving all subordinates

 

Question 7: Which one is NOT the characteristic of Rajesh Mehta?

 

a. Good past track record

b. Drive and determination

c. Aggressive spirit

d. Non bothered type

 

Question 8: Which one was the drawback of Rajesh Mehta?

 

a. Apppreciating the good job of sub-ordinates

b. Quick decisions

c. At times, getting rough with workers

d. Taking full responsibility

 

Question 9: Which one was not the direction given to Mr. Ramchandaran?

 

a. To oversee himself the functioning of marketing department

b. To pick up a person internally to head the marketing department

c. Make that person in-charge

d. Make the department stand on its own feet

 

Question 10: Who took the decision to open a marketing department?

 

a. Mr. Ramchandaran

b. Vice President of ABC Ltd.

c. CEO of ABC Ltd.

d. Board of Directors

 

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Assignment 2

 

Case Study

 

Kavita is the chief editor of a top woman’s magazine “Women’s Era” published from Mumbai. She is a very hard working, dedicated and well-organised leader who is very passionate about her work. She also has a family of devoted husband, and two young children (a son and a daughter). Even though it is not easy for her to balance her family life and her career, she has always tried to be home by 7 p.m. each night to spend time with her children. The job is a high pressure one and sometimes she brings the work home. While at home, she is readily available to take official calls, and attend to SMS’s and e-mails. Her husband is a sales manager in a local middle size FMCG company, and his timings are not fixed, so that he cannot always be at home in the early evening to be with the kids. Moreover, he is often travelling on official tours for atleast two days in a week. This has made her role as a mother even more responsible, cumbersome and tiring. She has hardly any time to relax and rest and it has started telling on her health. Her staff considers her to be an ideal boss. She was an excellent and sympathetic listener, very cooperative and good team builder who always kept her door open to everyone. She was well respected by her staff and her staff depended upon her too much. Even for little problems, that the staff members could solve themselves, they approached Kavita who was very helpful. One unexpected outcome of her openness, easy approachability and helpful nature was that she got an excuse to sit late at her desk upto 9 p.m. and sometimes even later. Her love for the job kept her late in the office , which meant that she could not pay much attention to her family. One day, she calmly analysed the issue of her staff’s too much dependency on her. She observed that as a leader, she had not delegated the decisional powers to her subordinates and further more she was easily accessible. She came with the idea of empowering her staff to take more responsibility. She met with her staff, one by one, to discuss their area of responsibility. Her staff acknowledged that they really did not need her input on many decisions. They had just got used to meeting with her on every trivial issue. She asked the staff members their suggestions to improve the coordination and interdependency among the staff themselves, rather than depending on her. She thanked everyone and implemented almost all of their suggestions. With proper delegation, higher responsibility and accountability and appropriate powers for making decisions, the staff members felt very good about their jobs, and also it added onto their own development and growth. Kavita felt so happy and relaxed, since she was now relieved from many trivial problems and could devote more time to her family.

Question 1: How is Kavita’s husband employed?

 

a. Medical representative in a pharma company

b. Sales Manager of a FMCG company

c. Entrepreneour

d. Manager- marketing of a middle sized company

 

Question 2: Which one is the correct name of the magazine published from Mumbai in which Kavita is employed?

 

a. Femina

b. Cosmopolitan

c. Women’s Era

d. Graha-shobha

 

Question 3: Which one factor was not true in making Kavita’s role as a mother very crucial?

 

a. Husband’s support and his easy availability for sharing family responsibilities

b. Bringing office work at home

c. Not adequate time for her own rest and relaxation

d. Be readily available to attend calls , SMSs and e-mails even at home

 

Question 4: Which one is not applicable in Kavita’s love for her job?

 

a. Office is office and home is home, and there is no chance to mix the two

b. Bringing work home

c. Be readily available to attend calls , SMSs and e-mails even at home

d. High pressure job

 

Question 5: Which one is not Kavita’s personality trait?

 

a. Hard working

b. Dedicated

c. Irresponsible

d. Passionate for work

 

Question 6: Which one is the correct designation of Kavita?

 

a. Editor

b. Chief Editor

c. Press reporter

d. Jouranalist

 

Question 7: Which one point should have also formed her implementation strategy to find some time for her family?

 

a. Giving higher responsibilty and developing them for their growth

b. Giving power to make decisions

c. Delegating authority and make them accountable

d. Little autonomy to make mistakes and learn from them

 

Question 8: Which one point was not relevant in her analysis of her leadership position?

 

a. Non-delegation

b. No empowerment to lower staff to make decisions

c. Too much of dependency of staff on her

d. Maintaining proper distance from her sub-ordinates staff

 

Question 9: Which one was not the reason for Kavita’s late evenings at office?

 

a. Love for work and open nature

b. Good team builder and helpful attitude for staff

c. Excellent and sympathetic listener

d. Non-approachable

 

Question 10: Who all constitute Kavita’s family?

 

a. Husband, a son and a daughter

b. Husband, mother-in-law and father-in-law

c. Husband and two sons

d. Husband and two daughters

 

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