ignou mba assignments 2015
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS-01
Course Title : Management Functions and Behavior
Assignment Code : MS-01/TMA/SEM-II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 2015 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. How does MIS affect the efficiency and effectiveness of an organisation? Explain and discuss with the help of the organisational example you have come across or, known to you. Briefly describe the essential details of the organisation, you are referring to, along with basic components of the MIS and reporting relationships currently existing in the organisation.
2. Compare and evaluate the relevance and suitability of various decision making models in different organisational set ups and situations. Explain the decision making model decision making which is / was predominately suitable in an organisation, you are aware of or familiar with and why? Briefly describe basic details of the organisation, you are referring to, for better understanding of the context and hierarchical structure.
3. What are the essential pre-requisites and significant key considerations in effecting effective delegation of authority in an organisational set up and why? Critically evaluate with examples, known to you by way of working in an organisation or having acquaintance with. Briefly explain the situation/s and the organisation being referred by you.
4. Present a comparative brief of various leadership styles. Explain in detail the leadership style you are currently faced with in the organisation you are working for or you are aware of. Which leadership style/s, in your opinion, boosts efficiency of the organisation and commitment of the employees towards the organisational goals, in general, and why? Substantiate your answer with suitable organisational examples along with describing its essential features.
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS-02
Course Title : Management of Human Resources
Assignment Code : MS - 02/TMA/SEM-II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. “In the prevailing context of business world wide, the organizations are faced with five critical challenges viz; Globalisation, Profitability through growth, Technology, Intellectual capital and Change, and Change and more change, Collectively these challenges require building new capabilities.” Elaborate this statement and discuss the underlying concepts with respect to the organisational efforts in the directions of addressing these challenges and their fall out / impact, from the experience you have had while working in an organisation or from the ones you are familiar with. Give relevant details of the organisation/s you are referring to.
2. Present a brief account of various Performance Appraisal methods and the problems generally encountered in the processes. Does a particular method of Performance Appraisal suit a particular type of organisation? If yes, why? , if no why? Explain and critically evaluate the Performance Appraisal you have come across while working in an organisation, or having familiarity with. Briefly explain the organisation, you are referring to.
3. “An organisation can be defined as a system of Roles, while a role itself is a system.” “The system of various roles which the individual carries and performs, and the system of various roles of which his / her role is a part.” Elaborate the statements and explain with relevant examples as to how and why these statements assume importance and play significant role in processes of various dimensions of Role Efficacy in an organisational set up. Give relevant and essential details of the organization and the Roles you are referring to.
4. “Motivational Systems and Reward Management are assuming greater importance day- by-day in the formal organisational set up.” Critically evaluate this statement and explain with your organizational experience or the ones you are familiar with, the reason and their inevitability, if any, in the functioning / sustainability of an organisation in today’s competitive environment. Briefly describe the organisation and the situation you are referring to.
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS-03
Course Title : Economic and Social Environment
Assignment Code : MS-03/TMA/SEM-II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 2015 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. A thorough understanding of economic and social environment of business is essential for running enterprises successfully. Briefly discuss the statement citing examples.
2. What are the different viewpoints about the role of Government? Analyse the role of Government in today’s world.
3. Discuss the role and importance of Small Scale Industry (SSI) in a developing economy in the present context.
4. Briefly analyse the impact of regulatory and promotional policy framework on industrial structure and performance.
5. Collect data on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for the past decade and analyse its implications.
6. Highlight the basic concept, of the theory of public finance and explain how do they help in understanding the fiscal system of an economy.
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS-04
Course Title : Accounting and Finance for Managers
Assignment Code : MS-04/TMA/SEM-II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. Discuss the activities performed by accounting personnel and the role and responsibilities that they undertake in an organisation.
2. You are required to prepare Funds Flow Statement and Cash Flow Statement for the year ending 31 st March 2015, based on the information given below.
Balance Sheet
(As on 31st March)
3. Explain briefly the technique of Marginal Costing. In what ways you consider this technique useful in Management Accounting.
4. A company manufactures a single product in its factory utilizing 60% of its capacity. The selling price and cost details are given below:
Rs. Sales (6,000 units) 5,40,000
Direct materials 96,000
Direct labour 1,20,000
Direct expenses 18,000
Fixed overheads: Factory 2,00,000
Administration 21,000
Selling and Distribution 25,000
12.5% of factory overheads and 20% of selling and distribution overheads are variable with production and sales. Administrative overheads are wholly fixed.
Since the existing product could not achieve budgeted level for two consecutive years, the Company decides to introduce a new product with marginal investment but largely using the existing plant and machinery. The cost estimates of the new product are as follows:
Cost elements Rs. per unit
Direct materials 16.00
Direct labour 15.00
Direct expenses 1.50
Variable factory overheads 2.00
Variable selling and distribution overheads 1.50
It is expected that 2,000 units of the new product can be sold at a price of Rs. 60 per unit. The fixed factory overheads are expected to increase by 10%, while fixed selling and distribution expenses will go up by Rs. 12,500 annually. Administrative overheads remain unchanged. However, there will be an increase of working capital to the extent of Rs. 75,000, which would take the total cost of the project to Rs. 8.75 lakh. The company considers that 20% pre-tax and interest return on investment is the minimum acceptable to justify any new investment. You are required to (a) Decide whether the new product be introduced. (b) Make any further observations/recommendations about profitability of the Company on the basis of the above data, after making assumption that the present investment is Rs. 8 lakh.
5. How do you envisage your role as a Finance Manager in matters related to dividend policy? What are the alternatives and factors that you may consider before finalizing your views on dividend policy?
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS-05
Course Title : Management of Machines and Materials
Assignment Code : MS-05/TMA/SEM-II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. Why is it more difficult to increase productivity of a service system as compared to a production system? Elaborate by giving suitable examples.
2. What is the importance of materials handling in designing a layout? How will you go about selecting the materials handling system?
3. It is usually presumed that ‘resistance to change is a characteristic attributed to people’. What would be your personal reactions, if some work design analyst came to your work station to conduct a study of your work?
4. What is the distinctive feature of job production as compared to mass and batch production systems? Elaborate with examples.
5. “Inventory management for slow moving expensive items should focus more on lead time reduction than anything else”. Critically examine the statement.
6. Write short notes on the following: a) Product design b) Work Measurement c) Modular Production and Group Technology d) Purchasing Organization
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 06
Course Title : Marketing for Managers
Assignment Code : MS-06/TMA/SEM - II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note : Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. (a) “Distinguish between Product Marketing Vs. Services Marketing with suitable illustrations”. Explain why service marketing is considered as more challenging than product marketing. Elaborate with suitable examples.
(b) Marketing involves much more than selling and adverting” Discuss.
2. (a) What are the major objectives of Sales Promotion initiated by firms? Discuss the role and responsibilities of a Sales Managers in conceiving and executing such sales promotion programs of any FMCG, company of your choice.
(b) Discuss the major considerations involved in designing Marketing Organization. Explain taking one example from the following: i) a consumer durable company of Pan-India operations . ii) an FMCG Company with operation in South India.
3. (a) What is Segmentation? Why and when marketers undertake segmentation activity? Discuss the Segmentation variable you will consider to segment.
i) an FMCG product of your choice
ii) a 650 C.C. motorcycle targeted at Urban India
(b) What do you understand by the term Marketing Research and discuss its scope and challenges in the Indian business environment.
4. (a) As a distribution logistics manager of an e-tailer /on line marketer what are the various physical distribution tasks that you would consider and why?
(b) Discuss the 4 PS of Marketing mix with suitable examples. Discuss the role of packaging as a tool for market development with suitable illustrations.
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 07
Course Title : Information Systems for Managers
Assignment Code : MS-07/TMA/SEM - II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note : Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. What is the purpose of a computer aided decision support system? What are the major components of such a system? How does it help the decision making process?
2. What are the determinants of MIS design according to Zani? Explain the following statement, “there is a two way relationship between organization and Information Systems”.
3. Distinguish between data, information and knowledge. Discuss the importance of information system for business decisions.
4. In which phase of system life cycle the following are performed? Defining the problem, identifying its causes, specifying the solution, and indentifying the information requirements.
5. What do you understand by Artificial Intelligence? What are the factors that highlighted the need of developing AI? What are the goals of AI?
6. Write short notes on the following: a) Metadata b) Fuzzy Logic c) Enterprise Information System d) Open Source Software
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 8
Course Title : Quantitative Analysis for Managerial Applications
Assignment Code : MS-8/ TMA /SEM - II /2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
- The frequency distribution of total annual emoluments of a sample of 100 executives working in multinational companies is given below:
2. A population consisting of a certain proportion of defective items has mean µ = 2. If a sample of 4 items is examined and repeated 200 times, obtain a) probability of an item being defective, b) probability of getting 2 defective items in the sample, c) expected frequency of getting 2 defective items, and d) expected frequency of getting at the most 2 defective items. Is the resultant distribution skewed?
3. A research organization claims that the monthly wages of industrial workers in district X exceeds that of those in district Y by more than Rs 150. Two different samples drawn independently from the two districts yielded the following results: District X: District Y: Verify at 0.05 level of significance whether the sample results support the claim of the organization.
4. The following data relate to marketing expenditure in Rs lac and the corresponding sales of a product in Rs crores. Estimate the marketing expenditure to attain a sales target of Rs 40 crores.
5. Write short notes on:
i) Adjoint of a matrix
ii) Skewness and its measures
iii) Business forecasting
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS-9
Course Title : Managerial Economics
Assignment Code : MS-9/TMA/SEM-II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 2015 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. “The traditional objective of the firm has been profit maximization. It is still regarded as the most common and theoretically the most plausible objective of business firms.” Discuss.
2. With reference to the marketing approach of demand measurement explain any two important sources of data used in demand forecasting.
3. Given the total cost function: C=16q2 + 10q+36 (where q is the output) Find: (i) values of q for which ATC is falling, and (ii) values of q for which ATC is rising.
4.“A Tata Sky Direct - to - Home (DTH) service provider charges a base fee for booking into its system and then charges extra for base packs, add-on packs, active packs and special packs.” Explain this statement in terms of the Two- Part Tariffs used as pricing strategy by the company.
5. Explain the profit maximizing output for a perfectly competitive firm in the long run.
6. Write short notes on the following:
(a) Breakeven output level
(b) Marginal rate of technical substitution
(c) Average variable cost
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 10
Course Title : Organisational Design, Development and Change
Assignment Code : MS-10/TMA/SEM-II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 2015 to the coordinator of your study center.
1. Describe the factors that affect organisational design and explain different approaches in assessing organisational effectiveness with the help of examples.
2. Discuss the concept of ‘process-based change’. Cite organizational examples where process based change has taken place successfully.
3. Describe and discuss the trends in the present day work organisations and the role of management in ‘quality of work life’.
4. Explain the concept of organizational diagnosis. Describe any two methods of diagnosis and its benefits and limitations with the help of examples.
5. What are the different sources of resistance to change? Describe the process of overcoming resistance to change. Discuss with examples.
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 11
Course Title : Strategic Management
Assignment Code : MS-11/TMA/SEM - II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. Chose an organization of your choice from the manufacturing sector. Perform a SWOT analysis on the organization. Based on the SWOT analysis performed, list out the challenges the organization is facing, which can be converted into opportunities.
2. How does Focus strategy create competitive advantage for an organization? Illustrate your answer with the help of an example.
3. List and explain various strategic issues arising when an organization follows diversification as a part of its growth strategy.
4. Describe different leadership styles of Top Management with the help of real world examples.
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 25
Course Title : Managing Change in Organisations
Assignment Code : MS-25/TMA/SEM - II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. Discuss the important factors responsible for change. Explain with the help of examples what makes excellent companies tick?
2. Discuss the concept of ‘turnaround management’. Cite organizational examples where turnaround management has taken place successfully.
3. Explain the concept of ‘intervention’ and types of interventions with the help of examples.
4. Enlist the key roles in managing change citing suitable organisational examples.
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 26
Course Title : Organisational Dynamics
Assignment Code : MS-26/TMA/SEM - II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. What is alienation? Explain the Sociological and Psychological approach to alienation. Discuss how alienation can be dealt with an example.
2. What is organizational Stress? Briefly describe the strategies to cope with stress at individual and organizational levels. Cite few instances how you deal with organizational stress that you have faced.
3. Discuss the importance of delegation and the forces which influence delegation. Describe how delegation improved the effectiveness of an organisation with an example.
4. Describe the importance of ethics in present day environment of organisations. Discuss how organisations can promote ethical behavior. Illustrate.
5. Discuss and describe various dimensions of Diversity and the approaches to deal with Diversity.
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 27
Course Title : Wage and Salary Administration
Assignment Code : MS-27/TMA/SEM - II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note : Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre. s
1. Explain the functions and responsibility in a compensation programme of any organization you are familiar with. Discuss the issues and current trends of the compensation programme.
2. Define wages under various labour legislation. Discuss, how minimum wage differs from need based minimum wage?
3. Define job evaluation. Explain the methods and systems of job evaluation have been followed in any organization you are familiar with. Discuss, how job evaluation is linked to wage fixation.
4. Define and discuss incentives and pre-requisites of effective incentive scheme. Explain the various individual and group incentive plans and their respective merits and demerits.
5. Explain the concept of tax planning. Discuss the tax planning on employee compensation. What is the distinction between tax planning and tax avoidance?
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 28
Course Title : Labour Laws
Assignment Code : MS-28/TMA/SEM - II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note : Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. What are the sources of Industrial jurisprudence? Explain the genesis, objectives and classification of labour legislation in India.
2. Discuss the scope and coverage of the Mines Act, 1952. Explain the process of enforcement of the Act.
3. Discuss the object, scope and coverage of the Industrial Employment (standing orders) Act, 1946. Explain the concept, nature and certification process of standing orders.
4. Explain the objectives, scope and coverage of the minimum wages Act, 1948. Discuss the powers which the Government can exercise under the Minimum Wages Act.
5. Discuss the genesis and applicability of the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948. Explain the procedure for registration of a factory or an establishment under the Act. State the various benefits payable under the Act?
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 29
Course Title : International Human Resource Management
Assignment Code : MS-29/TMA/SEM - II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1) Explain cultural differences and similarities in a global perspective. Enlist the strategies for dealing with cultural differences in global organisations citing examples.
2) Describe the ‘five-phase’ systematic approach to designing cross-cultural training programmes. What are the challenges faced in training expatriate managers? Cite illustrations.
3) Discuss the barriers to cross-cultural communication citing suitable examples.
4) Explain the issues and concerns of international industrial relations scenario with the help of relevant examples.
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 44
Course Title : Security Analysis and Portfolio Management
Assignment Code : MS-44/TMA/SEM - II /2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 2015 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. What do you understand by investment risk? Classify the traditional sources of investment risk and mention whether they are general sources of risk or specific sources of risk. How is interest rate risk related to inflation risk?
2. Define the various forms of the market efficiency. State the anomalies in the Efficient Market Hypothesis.
3. Discuss the CAPM and its application in portfolio selection. Explain the relationship between SML, CML and Characteristic Line.
4. What are the basic assumptions of Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT)? Discuss the problems associated with the empirical testing of APT.
5. Distinguish between performance measurement and performance evaluation of an investment portfolio. Describe the Sharpe, Treynor and Jensen measures of portfolio returns.
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 45
Course Title : International Financial Management
Assignment Code : MS-45/TMA/SEM - II /2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. Explain in detail how the international financial architecture evolved over a period of time.
2. Explain Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) relationship and its applications. What are the reasons for deviations from such relationship?
3. Describe different types of foreign exchange exposures. Explain the techniques used for management of transaction exposure.
4. Explain in detail the Credit Insurance Policies and Maturity Factoring services offered by Export Credit Guarantee Corporation.
5. Discuss the basic steps involved in evaluating foreign projects. Why should a foreign project be evaluated individually as well as from its parent company's viewpoint?
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 46
Course Title : Management of Financial Services
Assignment Code : MS-46/TMA/SEM - II /2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 2015 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. Choose any Financial Institution of your choice and discuss the impact of technology on the services provided by this Institution in the past two to three years.
2. Select any Non-Bank Finance Company or Financial Institution that issues debt instruments to raise funds from the market. Discuss in detail the instruments raised by that company.
3. Discuss different types of schemes which a mutual fund normally launches and compare their features.
4. Explain the guidelines issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India in 2000 for regulating the Venture Capital Funds and Venture Capital Companies in India.
5. For your business if you were to take non-life insurance products, which ones you would prefer and why. Discuss the policies you have chosen in detail.
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 55
Course Title : Logistics and Supply Chain Management
Assignment Code : MS-55/ TMA/SEM - II /2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. “Logistics is the function that is responsible for the flow of materials into, through and out of an organisation”. Elaborate! Take the case of a Book Publisher and describe the input and output of materials from the Logistics point of view.
2. Explain (i) Global sourcing and its advantages and disadvantages (ii) World-class management model with respect to SCM.
3. Write a brief note on the following: a. Electronic commerce b. Electronic Data Interchange c. Bar Coding and Scanning d. Data Warehouse
4. “The most common method for evaluating non-economic factors in a facility location study is to use a scoring model” Why? Give justifications.
5. Explain how a company can select a third party logistics (3PL) firm on the basis of customer orientation, level of specialization, asset ownership status and price of the service.
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 56
Course Title : Materials Management
Assignment Code : MS-56/ TMA/SEM - II /2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. “Materials management contains an integrated process of materials flow, in, through and out of an organization”. Comment and talk about the reasons behind it!
2. Comment:
a. Sound ethical principles contribute toward better buyer-seller relationships.
b. Management of supplier network has become a contemporary and critical issue?
3. “Certain elements of JIT, like JIT purchasing, can be incorporated in a batch production environment using MRP II, and MRP with JIT may be quite useful and effective in bringing down inventory levels, particularly WIP inventory”. State the reasons behind this.
4. State the role of backlog list in a CONWIP system. Also compare the Kanban and CONWIP systems for controlling WIP inventories?
5. What are the objectives of a good warehouse layout? Is it always not possible to implement a good warehouse layout? Comment on the management strategy keeping cost and time factors in mind.
6. Write short notes on:
a. BIN Cards
b. Closed/Open stores system
c. Preservation of materials
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS-57
Course Title : Maintenance Management
Assignment Code : MS-57/TMA/SEM-II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. What are the life cycle cost components for any plant? Which are the factors affecting life cycle profits of any industrial plant?
2. Explain what is meant by cost absorption and cost apportionment? Illustrate each with two examples from maintenance department. Discuss the methods of cost absorption and state which method do you consider to be the best and why?
3. The liberalized economy is forcing Indian companies to establish Total Quality Management Systems. It is a struggle, which has just begun and Indian companies will continue to do so just to be in the race – lest they perish. Quality will be just a qualifier, not a competitive advantage anymore. Do you agree? Why?
4. What are the various techniques, which can be used for scheduling and monitoring of projects? Why is network analysis preferred? What is the basic difference between CPM and PERT?
5. Are the jobs in maintenance department popular with the young engineering graduates? What would you suggest to make the maintenance function more attractive?
6. Write the short notes on the following a) Lube Oil Monitoring b) Opportunistic Maintenance c) Zero Based Budgeting d) Maintainability
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS-58
Course Title : Management of R&D and Innovation
Assignment Code : MS-58/TMA/SEM-II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. Creativity in an organization, to a large extent, depends upon the environment that prevails. Examine the statement and bring out the factors that can create an environment of creativity in the organization.
2. How do partnerships in innovation and R & D activity come into being? Do partnerships happen by accident or by conscious planning? Give some examples of agencies in different countries which facilitate partnering in innovation and R & D.
3. How would you distinguish Theory X from X from Theory Y of McGregor? Do you agree with these theories? If so, Why?
4. Discuss the rationale of co-operation between industry, institution and Government. Make an assessment of the kind of co-operation that is exited in India in the light of the co-operation that exists in some other countries like Japan and U.S.A. for promotion of R & D and technology development.
5. Should a consultant be associated with an R & D project from its inception to completion or a consultant should be approached only when his advice is required at some stage or for a specific problem only? Justify your views.
6. Write short notes on the following:
a) Technology Package
b) Benchmarking
c) R & D Budgeting
d) Innovative Capability
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 66
Course Title : Marketing Research
Assignment Code : MS-66/TMA/SEM - II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note : Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 2015 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. a) What is Marketing Research? When and why firms undertake marketing research. Illustrate with suitable example.
b) Explain the basis of classification of various types of research design available to the marketer.
2. a) Distinguish Data firm Information. What are the different types of data needed in conducting Marketing Research Project? Briefly discuss their merits and limitations.
b) Explain the importance of Questionnaire in a Marketing Research project. Describe in detail the format and steps involved in designing a questionnaire for a leading private sector bank to ascertain the customer perception of the services being offered by the bank.
3. a) What are the various types of scales used in Marketing Research to measure the attitude of different respondent towards a product / service explain them briefly.
b) Distinguish between qualitative research from quantitative research and highlight the major differences with suitable examples.
4. a) What is the significance of Data Processing in an Marketing Research Project? Discuss the various components or elements which are involved in data processing task and highlight their importance in the final analysis.
b) What is cluster analysis? Discuss the possible application areas by taking any two examples of your choice.
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 68
Course Title : Management of Marketing Communication and Advertising
Assignment Code : MS-68/TMA/SEM - II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note : Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. (a) What are the major objectives of Marketing Communication? Discuss with two suitable examples the role and its implication in the promotion of a firms Product or Service offering.
(b) What do you understand by Creative Association? Explain the various kinds of creative associations in the following situation
i) Home Appliance targeted at working women.
ii) Automatic variant of small car targeted at young urban professional.
2. (a) What are the various techniques to allocate promotions budget? Which technique would you suggest to the following and why?
i) An established consumer durable company re launching an improved food processor in the market.
ii) An FMCG firm adding a new fragrance to the existing range of premium soaps for women.
(b) Explain the various steps involved in media planning. Discuss how media planning would differ in the following product categories.
i) A toothpaste brand
ii) Washing machine
iii) 150 CC motorcycle brand of your choice
3. (a) What do you understand by the term timing pattern in advertising. What are its benefits and limitations? Suggest and justify timing pattern with reference to.
i) Woolen garments
ii) Lemonade (Lime Juice)
iii) Launch of new smart phone
(b) What are the major reasons for the growth of internet marketing across major cities in India? Elaborate the major advantages and limitation of Internet Marketing.
4. (a) Being considered as a spokesperson of an enterprise bring out the role and responsibilities of a Public Relation Manager of a firm you are associated or familiar with in the promotion and positioning a firm’s image both internal and external to the enterprise.
(b) What is pre-testing and post testing in advertising. Discuss any two methods of your choice.
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS-91
Course Title : Advanced Strategic Management
Assignment Code : MS-91/TMA/SEM-II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. Define corporate policy and explain the policy formulation process.
2. Read the case study on ‘Corporate Governance at TISCO’. Highlight the policies and practices adopted by TISCO which appeal to you most and what suggestions would you like to offer for TISCO to adopt good Corporate Governance practices.
3. What are the various pricing strategies available/suitable for different market structures? Discuss.
4. Describe the techniques which have been developed to enhance creativity.
5. Discuss the nature of Corporate Philanthropy and the relevance of Strategic Philanthropy for business organizations.
6. Write short notes on the following:
a) Business Ethics and Internal Environment
b) Competitive Advantage and R&D
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 94
Course Title : Technology Management
Assignment Code : MS-94/TMA/SEM - II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note : Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. Explain how R & D can be a source of competitive advantage for a business organization. Illustrate your answer with the help of an example.
2. Differentiate between appropriate and inappropriate technologies giving examples. List out the accepted criteria for selecting appropriate technology in the contemporary situation.
3. Discuss the concept of Relevance Tree Technique. Explain the use of this technique in the present context.
4. What are the various source of technology information? How are they useful at the enterprise level in the present context? Explain.
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 95
Course Title : Research Methodology for Management Decisions
Assignment Code : MS-95/TMA/SEM - II /2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 2015 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. Discuss the various experimental designs as powerful tools to study the cause and effect relationships amongst variables in research.
2. Explain Stratified Random Sampling. Describe proportional allocation and optimum allocation with the help of an example.
3. A physical instructor claims that a particular exercise when done continuously for 7 days, reduces body weight at least by 3.5kg. Five overweight girls did the exercise for 7 days and their body weights were found as under: Girls 1 2 3 4 5 Weight before exercise 70 72 75 71 78 Weight after exercise 66 70 72 66 72 Making use of the sign test, verify the claim at α = 0.05 that the exercise reduces weight by at least 3.5kg.
4. Explain the different parts of a typical research report. Also prepare a sample Index page of such report.
5. Write short notes on:
i) Dependent and Independent variable
ii) Copy Reading
iii) Discriminant Analysis.
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 96
Course Title : Total Quality Management
Assignment Code : MS-96/TMA/SEM - II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note : Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. Ford Company has adopted the Deming philosophy. Based on your learning about the Deming philosophy, explain how Ford Company has complied with the philosophy.
2. Why is strategic planning important for implementing TQM? Explain using an example from the business world.
3. Refer to the published material on ISO 26000 and explain how business organizations can operate in a socially responsible way.
4. Chose an organization of your choice having a specific quality programme. Discuss the quality programme followed by the organization and how it has helped the organization sustain in the competitive world.
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS-97
Course Title : International Business
Assignment Code : MS-97/TMA/SEM-II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. Discuss the factors which influence foreign investment decisions. Explain how a firm makes choices of location for doing business.
2. Classify the planning modes adopted by the MNEs. Give illustrations.
3. Explain the need for control in multinational operations. Examine the interrelationship between ownership and control of foreign subsidiaries.
4. Select a multinational enterprise (name and describe the MNE) and discuss the management practices adopted by it.
5. What are the objectives of trade groupings? Briefly discuss their individual success in achieving these objectives.
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 611
Course Title : Rural Marketing
Assignment Code : MS-611/TMA/SEM - II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note : Attempt all the questions and submit them to the Co-ordinator of your study centre latest by 31 st October, 2015.
1. You are a marketer of fast moving consumer goods with strong roots in the urban markets. You now want to expand in rural areas. What would be the specific marketing challenges presented by rural markets? Explain with the help of examples.
2. Briefly explain the rural economic and technological environment. How do these environmental factors affect the marketing decisions and opportunities in case of mobile phones?
3. Explain the role of reference groups in the context of rural markets. What in your opinion would be the most influential reference groups for the following product categories? Give reasons for your choice. a) Tractors b) Refrigerators
4. What are the challenges involved in the distribution of products in the rural markets? What would you advise to the marketers of consumer durables to address these challenges?
5. Explain the concept of promotional pricing in the context of rural markets giving suitable examples.
6. What are the various media options that are available for rural markets? Discuss their relative advantages and disadvantages.
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 612
Course Title : Retail Management
Assignment Code : MS-612/TMA/SEM - II/2015
Coverage : All Blocks
Note : Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 31 st October, 201 5 to the coordinator of your study centre.
1. a) Distinguish a retailer from retail business in the Indian context. Explain why the neighborhood small retailers still continue to be favored by the customer.
b) Discuss the major factors which lead to unprecedented growth of retailing in the Indian scenario.
2. a) Distinguish traditional retail formats from modern retail formats with suitable illustrations.
b) What do you understand by the term “Atmospherics” in retail business? What are the key components of atmospherics that retailer should consider for increased foot falls. .
3. a) Critically evaluate the significance of Locational Decisions in retail business . What are the factors that the following retail businesses should consider before finalizing the site for their respective store.
i) chain of chemist stores
ii) leading two wheeler motorcycle dealership iii) private brand grocery retailer
b) Define Merchandizing. Discuss the major objectives of merchandising in retail business and elaborate on the role and responsibilities of a merchandizing Manager in achieving the firms merchandise objectives.
4. a) Discuss and distinguish transactional marketing from relationship marketing with suitable examples. Taking any retail business of your choice suggest ways to establish customer loyalty.
b) What are the major growth drivers of Non-Store retail business in India? Discuss the challenges for their sustenance.
