43-q5 42-q6 40-Q3 and Q5 46-q3 and q6 44-3, 4,5,6

Q5. Assume yourself as an HR Manager of a publishing house. You find that the morale of the employees is generally low. What steps would you take to improve employee morale? The three stage approach to lift morale Stage 1 - Listen Get feedback and ideas. Stage 2 - Communicate with solutions to business issues and employee concerns. Stage 3 - Recognize business and employee accomplishments and successes. Strage 1: Listen to employees Relationships between the organization and employees are fractured following a period of upheaval. And this situation wont improve on its own. Companies must take a proactive approach, beginning with listening to employees and getting their concerns out into the open. Leaders must acknowledge employee issues and be motivated to make improvements. Of vital importance is publicizing that employee feedback is encouraged and necessary and that the organization values their ideas. Decide the messages behind the listening activities deployed, and use them consistently, for example: We know staff morale is low and want your help. We need to save money and are looking for ideas on how to best achieve that. We want to add to our top line and need your feedback on opportunities to look at. Leaders should be visible, approachable and well-briefed, so that they canfield employee questions. Interaction should be face-to-face whenever possible. Key messages should also be developed and be used as part of regular, ongoing communication activities. Managers need to believe in and support all listening activities. They should be briefed on the rationale and approach for these activities before they meet with employees, and asked for their ideas on how listening activities should be implemented. Leaders should be visible, approachable and well briefed, so they can field questions. Listening activities Employee survey - This can encompass routinely scheduled company surveys or those designed expressly to communicate change. Employee discussion/focus groups - Include as many employees as possible. Managers with the right people skills (listening, questioning, for example) can be trained to run these groups. Management discussion groups - Led by a facilitator, these sessions are designed specifically as management briefings. Managers are guided through a process that will enable them to run

employee discussion groups and to get feedback on specific topics. (This approach works best with cost saving or similar topics, rather than morale and trust issues.) Stage 2: Communicate your solutions to business issues and employee concerns The next stage is communication. The listening activities should have created lots of ideas and feedback. In this stage, it's important to build a shared understanding of your companys future, including substantive solutions to business issues and progress being made. Build a shared understanding of your companys future, including solutions to business issues and progress being made. Who does what in stage 2? Company leaders focus on addressing concerns expressed by employees in the listening stage and briefing managers on issues. The purpose is to create a shared understanding of the challenges and solutions facing the organization. Managers undertake specific efforts to communicate these outputs. They must create opportunities for dialogue and discussion, which leads to higher levels of employee engagement. Managers should also assure employees that they can expect honest and timely information. They should show their willingness to discuss anything on employees minds and help employees feel comfortable asking questions and sharing solutions. Employee advisory work groups should be set up to address a number of challenges most critical to the organization. Because this program thrives on momentum, these groups should have clear objectives and a limited shelf life. Potential activities must be honed down to focus only on their most important issues. A kick-off meeting can define the teams scope, role and timescales. Work groups should also encourage leaders to communicate progress through all communication channels. Communication activities Public forums - Communication should take place in person through Town Hall and team meetings, site visits and brown bag lunches. Gossip is curtailed if managers become more transparent with performance data, such as sales figures and customer information. A highly visible and approachable leadership team shows that senior management cares about its workers. This alone serves to foster a more positive employee work environment. One-on-One dialogues Discussions between managers and direct reports enhance personal communication and increase trust. Electronic media - Emails, web casts and other means of rapidly reaching out across boundaries should be employed to reinforce messages and speed the flow of information. Stage 3: Recognize business and employee accomplishments and successes Focusing on quick wins and success stories and recognizing employee accomplishments will help keep morale as high as possible. No one is immune from becoming despondent and unproductive when they work ina doom and gloom environment. Negativity is often exacerbated outside the workplace by personal issues and a constant onslaught of negative news stories. Focusing on quick wins and success stories and recognizing employee accomplishments will help keep morale as high as possible. Leaders and managers seek out successes and recognize and thank employees for their contributions to the company and/or team initiatives. Every effort should be made to point out quick wins, for example, a project deadline met, a new order placed, or success in a key objective. Recognition activities Formal initiatives - include established companywide

recognition programs as well as rewards such as small bonuses and plaques. Informal gestures include such things as a warm "thank you" for a job well done, or a congratulatory email or hand-written note. Public recognition - includes acknowledging an employee or work groups contributions in a meeting with their peers, or in company publications. Being recognized publicly often has the added bonus of encouraging and motivating peers to strive for similar successes MB0040 Q3.
In a management class of 100 students three languages are offered as an additional subject viz. Hindi, English and Kannada. There are 28 students taking Hindi, 26 taking Hindi and 16 taking English. There are 12 students taking both Hindi and English, 4 taking Hindi and English and 6 that are taking English and Kannada. In addition, we know that 2 students are taking all the three languages

a) If a student is chosen randomly, what is the probability that he/she is not taking any of these three languages? b) If a student is chosen randomly, what is the probability that he/ she is taking exactly one language?

1.

An elementary school is o ering 3 language classes: Spanish, French, and German. These classes are open to any of the 100 students in the school. There are 28 students in the Spanish class, 26 in the French class, and 16 in the German class. There are 12 students that are in both Spanish and French, 4 in both Spanish and German, and 6 in both French and German. In addition, there are 2 students taking all three classes. (a) If a student is chosen randomly, what is the probability that he or she is not in any of the classes? Let S, F, and G denote the events of taking Spanish, French, and German, respectively. By inclusion-exclusion, P(S [ F [ G) = P(S) + P(F) + P(G) ???? P(SF) ???? P(SG) ???? P(FG) + P(SFG) = 28 + 26 + 16 ???? 12 ???? 4 ???? 6 + 2 100 = :5: Thus the probability of not taking any of the classes is 1 ???? :5 = :5. (b) If a student is chosen randomly, what is the probability that he or she is taking exactly one

language class? In the sum #S + #F + #G ???? 2#SF ???? 2#SG ???? 2#FG + 3#SFG; students taking only one language class are counted one, students taking two language classes are counted 1 2 ???? 2 = 0 times, and students taking all three language classes are counted 1 3 ???? 2 3 + 3 = 0 times. Thus the probability of taking exactly one language class is P(S) + P(F) + P(G) ???? 2P(SF) ???? 2P(SG) ???? 2P(FG) + 3P(SFG) = 28 + 26 + 16 ???? 2(12 ???? 4

1.

(a) If a student is chosen randomly, what is the probability that he or she is not in any of the classes? Let S, F, and G denote the events of taking Spanish, French, and German, respectively. By inclusion-exclusion,

S=28, F=26, G=16, SF=12, SG=4, FG=6, SFG =2 P(S [ F [ G) = P(S) + P(F) + P(G) P(SF) P(SG) P(FG) + P(SFG) 28 + 26 + 16 -12 4 6 + 2=50 (b) If a student is chosen randomly, what is the probability that he or she is taking exactly one language class? P(S) + P(F) + P(G) ???? 2P(SF) ???? 2P(SG) ???? 2P(FG) + 3P(SFG) =28+26+16-2(12)-2(4)-2(6)+3(2)=32

5. Define population and sampling unit for selecting a random sample in each of the following cases. a) Hundred voters from a constituency b) Twenty stocks of National Stock Exchange c) Fifty account holders of State Bank of India d) Twenty employees of Tata motors.

Ans: Population: A population is a collection of data whose properties are analyzed. The population is the complete collection to be studied, it contains all subjects of interest. A

population can be defined as including all people or items with the characteristic one wishes to understand. Because there is very rarely enough time or money to gather information from everyone or everything in a population, the goal becomes finding a representative sample (or subset) of that population. A sample is a part of the population of interest, a sub-collection selected from a population. Random sampling: A sample is a subject chosen from a population for investigation. A random sample is one chosen by a method involving an unpredictable component. Random sampling can also refer to taking a number of independent observations from the same probability distribution, without involving any real population. The sample usually is not a representative of the population from which it was drawn this random variation in the results is known as sampling error. In the case of random samples, mathematical theory is available to assess the sampling error. Thus, estimates obtained from random samples can be accompanied by measures of the uncertainty associated with the estimate. This can take the form of a standard error, or if the sample is large enough for the central limit theorem to take effect, confidence intervals may be calculated. Types of random sample A simple random sample is selected so that all samples of the same size have an equal chance of being selected from the population. A self-weighting sample, also known as an EPSEM (Equal Probability of Selection Method) sample, is one in which every individual, or object, in the population of interest has an equal opportunity of being selected for the sample. Simple random samples are self-weighting. Stratified sampling involves selecting independent samples from a number of subpopulations, group or strata within the population. Great gains in efficiency are sometimes possible from judicious stratification. Cluster sampling involves selecting the sample units in groups. For example, a sample of telephone calls may be collected by first taking a collection of telephone lines and collecting all the calls on the sampled lines. The analysis of cluster samples must take into account the intra-cluster correlation which reflects the fact that units in the same cluster are likely to be more similar than two units picked at random. The most widely known type of a random sample is the simple random sample (SRS). This is characterized by the fact that the probability of selection is the same for every case in the population. Simple random sampling is a method of selecting n units from a population of size N such that every possible sample of size an has equal chance of being drawn. An example may make this easier to understand. Imagine you want to carry out a survey of 100

voters from a constituency with a population of 1,000 eligible voters. With in a constituency, there are old-fashioned ways to draw a sample. For example, we could write the names of all voters on a piece of paper, put all pieces of paper into a box and draw 100 tickets at random. You shake the box, draw a piece of paper and set it aside, shake again, draw another, set it aside, etc. until we had 100 slips of paper. These 100 form our sample. And this sample would be drawn through a simple random sampling procedure at each draw, every name in the box had the same probability of being chosen. If you are collecting data on a large group of people (called a population), you might want to minimize the impact that the survey will have on the group that you are surveying. It is often not necessary to survey the entire population. Instead, you can select a random sample of people from the population and survey just them. You can then draw conclusions about how the entire population would respond based on the responses from this randomly selected group of people. This is exactly what political pollsters do they ask a group of people a list of questions and based on their results, they draw conclusions about the population as a whole with those often heard disclaimers of plus or minus 5%. If your population consists of just a few hundred people, you might find that you need to survey almost all of them in order to achieve the level of accuracy that you desire. As the population size increases, the percentage of people needed to achieve a high level of accuracy decreases rapidly. In other words, to achieve the same level of accuracy: Larger population = Smaller percentage of people surveyed Smaller population = Larger percentage of people surveyed

MB0046 Q3 : Silver Line Manufacturers produce several varieties of automobile components. They have 3 to 5 suppliers who supply materials regularly. Recently, procurement manager of Silver Line discussed in the meeting that they have to look out for new suppliers since they would be expanding their business operations to many places. How do you think Silver Line have to go about this situation? Answer : Silver line manufacturers expanding their business operation to many places and they looking for new suppliers. Following are given below the criteria for new supplier: Supplier Selection Strategies and Criteria Supplier selection criteria for a product or service category should be defined by a crossfunctional team of representatives from different sectors of your organization. In a manufacturing company, members of the team typically would include representatives from purchasing, quality, engineering and production. Team members should include personnel with technical/applications knowledge of the product or service to be purchased, as well as members of the department that uses the purchased item.

Supplier selection criteria:

Previous experience and past performance with the product/service to be purchased. Relative level of sophistication of the quality system, including meeting regulatory requirements or mandated quality system registration (for example, ISO 9001, QS-9000). Ability to meet current and potential capacity requirements, and do so on the desired delivery schedule. Financial stability. Technical support availability and willingness to participate as a partner in developing and optimizing design and a long-term relationship. Total cost of dealing with the supplier (including material cost, communications methods, inventory requirements and incoming verification required). The suppliers track record for business-performance improvement. Total cost assessment.

Methods for determining how well a potential supplier fits the criteria:

Obtaining a Dun & Bradstreet or other publicly available financial report. Requesting a formal quote, which includes providing the supplier with specifications and other requirements (for example, testing). Visits to the supplier by management and/or the selection team. Confirmation of quality system status either by on-site assessment, a written survey or request for a certificate of quality system registration. Discussions with other customers served by the supplier. Review of databases or industry sources for the product line and supplier. Evaluation (SUCH AS prototyping, lab tests, OR validation testing) of samples obtained from the supplier.

MB0046 Q6 : Consider the company, Maruthi Udyog Limited. Elaborate on the companys marketing mix and give examples related to the 4 Ps.
Posted by: Nikhat S Khan on: October 19, 2011

In: Assignments | MB0046-Marketing Management Assignments | MBA (SMU) | MBA 2nd Semester | Set - 1 Comment!

MB0046 Q6 : Consider the company, Maruthi Udyog Limited. Elaborate on the companys marketing mix and give examples related to the 4 Ps. Answer : MUL was a joint venture created in February 1981 between Japans Suzuki Motor

Company and the Indian Government when the latter decided to produce small, economical cars for the masses. The intention from the beginning was to produce a peoples car. To get the project off the ground MUL took over the assets of the erstwhile Maruti Ltd., which was set up in 1971 and closed in 1978. Market The Indian car market is one of Asias largest and most competitive. Over 1,030,068 passenger cars, multi and sports utility vehicles were sold during 2003/04, growing the market by 32% With models in every segment of the automobile market, Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL), is well positioned to see how demand is shifting. Due to drop in prices and low interest rates there has been a sharp migration of car buyers to the compact car or B segmentfrom the entry-level A segment. This segment now accounts for 52% of the total passenger car market (excluding MUVs/SUVs). Compact car sales have raced ahead in January 2004 by 82% to touch 40,649 units. This is more than 22,297 units sold in December 2003. These segments are two of the success stories for the car industry. Maruti Udyog Limited Companys marketing mix Product MUL manufactures leading models in all segments of the car market. Maruti 800 rules the A1 segment. In the A2 segment, it has the Zen, WagonR and Alto, whose combined sales rose to 176,132 units in 2003/04, up 46% as compared to 2002/03. In the A3 segment, it offers the Esteem and Baleno, while Omni and Versa stake out MULs presence in the MUV market. The Gypsy King marks Maruti Suzukis presence in the rough-terrain sector, and up a couple of notches in the luxury SUV market is the Grand Vitara. Pricing The price of the Maruti car is between Rs. 210000 to Rs. 1500000. Maruti 800 is the lowest price car of this company. Alto, Omni, Wagonr, are also the low price car of the company. Zen and Esteem are the mid price car of the company. But Grand Vitrara is the high price model of the company. The price of car is decided according to its product Varity, quality, design etc. Place The place of the car is in the whole world. Maruti udyog Limited decides its distribution channels for selling car, like use some time on level or some time two level marketing channels. They decide areas in which they deal with customers. They show the permanent location for selling the car. They provide the many useful inventories. They define the transport facility of the company for company to market and market to consumers. Many showroom of Maruti Udyog limited is in our India. Promotion

MUL strongly believes in attribute-oriented advertising. In an attempt to reposition M800 as a choice for those upgrading from a two-wheeler, MULs campaign of a child playing with a toy M800 drives home the fuel-efficiency factor: the car never stops because the fuel never finishes. The future communication strategy that MUL has envisioned for M800 is a snap of a typical middle-class family commuting on their two-wheeler. Next to them is another family except that this one is comfortably ensconced in a Maruti 800. One of MULs most ambitious television campaigns launched the Zen Predator. Positioning it as strong, sleek and sexy, the commercial showcases the variants new styling through the theme of predator and prey in the context of a modern jungle. The theme is one of a chase that ends in willing surrender, brought home in the baseline: Surrender to the new Zen. The Zen Predator is being aggressively promoted in print. MUL bought the entire advertising space on The Weeks first issue of 2004. Additionally, MUL is the first Indian automobile corporate to utilise the internet for a complete branding exercise, using interactive and page domination techniques. Recently, MUL has turned its marketing focus to corporate TV commercials to promote its entire range of vehicles. The company has rolled out a new corporate TV campaign, featuring the Maruti Puttar. The rationale behind a second TVC featuring the same child model as the M800 campaign is to leverage the brand recall of the earlier commercial, driving home the point that A Maruti Suzuki family is a happy family. MUL is involved in a wide range of sponsorship activities, placing particular emphasis on motor sports. It was the founding sponsor of Raid De Himalaya, and in its fifth year continues to be closely involved with it. The company regularly holds car rallies for amateur drivers and aspiring rallyists. MUL now has plans to host golf and polo events. Brand Values In 1983, Brand Maruti Suzuki was defined as the peoples car. These values have remained consistent ever since. Over the years, MUL has set the stage for the successful launch of Suzukis international range in the Indian market, all backed by the inherent value proposition of high quality, fuel efficiency and, compared with competition, low price. This formula has been largely responsible for a new generation of Indian car users swearing by the Maruti Suzuki brand name