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1. Dear students get fully solved assignments
Send your semester & Specialization name to our mail id :
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AN ISO 9001 : 2008 CERTIFIED INTERNATIONAL B-SCHOOL
SUBJECT : GENERAL MANAGEMENT
Total Marks : 80
CASE-1 : ATTEMPT ANY 4 CASES, EQUAL MARKS PER CASE (20 Marks)
Case on Discomfort in a factory and Management Decision Making
Mohan rememberedthe call fromthe headoffice ashe putsdown the telephone receiver. His boss
fromheadoffice he said,"Ijust readyour analysisandIwant youto go downto our plant in Kollakal
nearMysore rightaway.You knowwe cannot affordthisplantany more - the costs are just toohigh.
So go downthere,checkoutwhat wouldbe our operational costs would be if we move, and report
back to me in a week."
Mohan knewthe challenge quitewell asthe branchmanagerof the Good will SpecialtyProducts.His
company is into manufacturing of special apparel for injured and people with other medical
conditions.
He needs to deal with high-cost labor in a remote village not so sophisticated plant, unionized
manufacturingplant.Althoughhe haddone the analysistherewere 480people whomade a livingat
this facility and if it is closed most of them will find it very difficult to get another job in the small
town consisting of about 10 000 people.
Insteadof the Rs.20/- per hour paid to the Kollakal workers the wages paid to the migrant workers
nearAurangabadwill be muchcheaperRs.7/- hourworkinginsubhumanconditions.This provides a
savingof 15 lakhsto the company fora year,which,can now be used to meet the costs for training,
transportation and other matters.
Aftertwodays of talkingwithMigrantworkers association and representatives of other companies
usingthe same services in the town, Mohan had enough information to formulate alternative plan
for
production and the cost figures for production and transportation. What was bothering him was
only
the thoughtthat howis goingto handoverthe termination of service noticeto the Kollakal workers.
The plant inKollakal hadbeeninoperationsince 1930smakingspecial apparel for persons suffering
from injuries and other medical conditions. Mohan has often talked to the employees who would
recount stories of their fathers and grant fathers working in the company plant-the last of the
original
manufacturing operations in the town.
But friendship aside competitors had already edged past Good will in terms of price and were

2. dangerously close to overtaking it in product quality. Although Mohan and his Boss had tried to
convince the union to accept the lower wages, union leaders resisted it. In fact, in one occasion
when
Mohan tried to discuss a cell manufacturing approach, which would cross train employees to
perform
up to three differentjobs,local unionleaders could barely restrain their anger. Yet probing beyond
their anger Mohan sensed their vulnerability, but could not break through.
Tomorrow he will discuss his report with the CEO. Mohan does not want to be responsible for
dismantling of the plant at Kollakal, an act, which Mohan believes is personally wrong, but he is
helpless.Mohansaidtohimself "The costsare too high,the union's unwilling to cooperate, and the
companyneedstomake a betterreturnon itsinvestment if it has to continue at all. It sounds right,
but it feels wrong. What should I do?
Questions :
1. Assume you want to lead the change to save the Kollkal plant. Describe how you would
proceed?
2. What is the primary type of change needed - technology, product, structure or people/culture?
3. What techniques would you use to overcome union resistance and implement change?
CASE-2 (20 Marks)
A small groupof managersat FalconComputermetregularly on Wednesday mornings to develop a
statement capturing what they considered to be the 'Falcon Culture'. Their discussions were
wideranging,
covering what they thought their firm's culture was, what it should be and how to create it.
Theywere probably influenced by other firms in their environment since they were located in the
Silicon Valley area of California. Falcon computer was a new firm, having been created just eight
monthsearlier.Since the corporation was still in the start- up phase managers decided it would be
timely to create and instill the type of culture they thought would be most appropriate for their
organization. After several weeks of brain storming, writing, debating, and rewriting, the
management
group eventually produced a document called 'Falcon Values', which described the culture of the
companyas they saw it. The organizational culture statement covered such topics, as treatment of
customers,relationsamongworkcolleagues,preferred style of social communication, the decision
making process, and the nature of working environment.
Peter Richards read over the Falcon values statement shortly after he was hired as a software
trainer.
After observing managerial and employee behaviors at Falcon for a few weeks, he was struck by
wide
discrepancybetweenthe valuesexpressed inthe documentandwhathe observedasactual practice
withinthe organization.Forexample the Falconvaluesdocument-containedstatementssuchasthis:
"Quality; attention to detail is our trademark; our goal s to do it right the first time. We intend to
deliver defect free products and services to customers on the date promised."
HoweverRichardshadalreadyseenshippingreportsshowingthata numberof defective computers
were beingshippedtocustomers.Andhispersonal experience supported his worst fears. When he
borrowed four brand-new Falcon computers from the shipping room for use in a training class he
found that only two of them started up correctly without additional technical work on his part.

3. Another example of the difference between the Falcon Values document and actual practice
concerned
thisstatementoncommunication:"Managingbypersonal communicationis part of the Falcon way.
We value andencourage open,direct,persontopersoncommunicationaspartof ourdailyroutine."
Executives braggedabouthowtheyarrangedtheirchairsina circle to show equalityandtofacilitate
open communications whenever they met to discuss the Falcon values document Richards had
heard
the "open communication" buzzword a lot since coming to Falcon, but he hadn't seen much
evidence
of such communication. As a matter of fact all other meetings used a more traditional layout with
top
executivesatthe front of the room. Richards believed that the real organizational culture that was
developing at Falcon was characterised by secrecy and communications that followed the formal
chain
of command. Even the Falcon values document Richard was told had been created in secret.
Richards soon became disillusioned. He confided in a coworker on afternoon "the falcon values
documentwasso at avarice withwhatpeople saw everydaythatveryfew of themtookitseriously."
Employees quickly learned what was truly emphasized in the organization-hierarchy, secrecy, and
expediency and focused on those realities instead, ignoring many of the concepts incorporated in
the
values document. Despite this frustration Richards stayed with Falcon until it filed for bankruptcy
two
year later. "Next time" he thought to himself as he cleaned out his desk "ill pay more attention to
what
is actually going on, and less to what top management says is true. Furthermore, I guess you just
can't
create values."
Questions
1. What is more important the statement in a corporate culture document or actual managerial
behaviour?
2. Why did the Falcon executives act as they did?
3. Why didn't employees like Richards blow the whistle on Falcon, challenging the inconsistency
between values and behaviour?
4. How can executives go about changing the old values that govern an organization?
CASE-3 (20 Marks)
Study the case below.Discuss customer insight? Define CRM,role and advantages for todays
management?
Archana Tuli (Ownerof awater purifier): Look at my water purifier. Last week a person came to my
house sayingmyservice contractwas upfor renewal.Mindyou,thatwas the first time in 10 months
I
was seeinganyone fromPurifo.Ididnotlike his barging into my time without prior notice. But that
did not bother him. He had a list to clear, never mind if I was in the midst of cooking lunch.
I asked him about the servicing, since under the maintenance contract the company should have
serviced the unit twice that year. " You should have called the company," he said. But that was a
preventive maintenance contract and it was for the company to call and take a date.
Finally, he set about servicing the machine. I found that his handling of the machine was rather
clumsy.He dropped the casing twice and strewed the carbon all over the sink. I discovered that he
was

4. justfour monthsoldinthe Company.Before that, he used to sell plastic boxes. Is this what I get for
being your customer?
Then he said the filter candle needed to be changed which I would have to pay for. That annoyed
me. I
showed him the contract, which clearly stated that the company would replace the candle once a
year
at its cost.He didnot knowthat.Wouldyou believe that?Clearlysuchservice contracts are simply a
means to make money. There is no attitude to servicing. He came because it was February and he
had
contract renewal targetstocomplete.He came withoutcalling,expectingwe woulddropeverything
else to serve him. He had no clue as to what he had to give the customer for the contract. He
messed up
my kitchen and did not even attempt to tidy it up.
The worst was that when I started the machine, the water would not flow. I was furious. Purifo
sends
incompetent,inexperienced people to cut costs. I carry the responsibility of providing my family a
safe,hygienicenvironmentathome,soI am preparedto pay for preventive maintenance. But what
did
I get?
But it is a good product and I am an informed consumer who knows how to work around a
manufacturer'sinefficiency.Isimplygave the service contract to a private firm. I don't want to have
anything to do with Purifo.
RitikantSharma(CreditCardholder):Everymonth,Ireceive acreditcard bill andmypaymentissent
the verynextday.Five monthsago,the bill didnotcome onthe 22nd eveningasitnormallywould. I
receivedthe bill 10days later with a charge of Rs. 675/- for overdue interest. I was taken aback and
called up by the bank. But the bank manager argued that the bill had been sent earlier. It was my
word
against his.
I wrote to Monet Bank, protesting against this undue charge. Eventually, after six letters from me,
includingone tothe managing director, the bank " waived" the interest. But I was left with a bitter
taste
inmy mouth.I wonderedwhy the bank did this to me. Did I deliberately delay payment? I had this
card for three years and not once had I defaulted on payment.
I alsowonderedif the bankconsideredthe cost of this argument to me. Was it worth the Rs. 675/-?
Why was the customer not right this time? And what about all those times when I paid four days
before the due date? I was amazed that the bank treated me like an errant schoolboy. Since then I
have
not felt good about using the Monet credit card.
Worse, every month the bill continues to show the overdue interest and every month there is a
fresh
exchange of letters on the matter. Only last week I received an invitation to become a member of
another credit card company. I am planning to surrender the Monet Card.
Divya Mathur (Owner of a washing machine): You say I am an important customer of Crysta. Great.
But for your customer service cell, I am just a number. For six months now, I have been having
problemswiththe washing machine. Last month, when I called the customer service cell to follow
up
an oldcomplaintaboutthe motor,the ladywho tookthe call asked me to repeat the details: model
number, date of purchase, and the like. When I pointed out that all these details had been given
several
times before and all she needed to do was check the complaint order number, her response was
shocking. " May be, but I can't boot the system. I am only standing in for someone who has not

5. reported today. So, you have to give the details again." She said.
Tell me what am I getting for being your customer? Respect? Good handling? No. Now you come
here
and ask me personal detailslike familyincome,numberof members,husband'sdesignation.Youstill
haven't told me why you need all this information. You are researching. Are you collecting this
information to help your company or me?
Thenthere wasthe problemwiththe V-belt.Within a day of replacing it, there were some cracking
sounds.The engineersaidhe wouldhave to wait for the senior supervisor to examine it. Reason? "
We
recentlychangedoursupplierandall hispiecesare turningouttobe defective."Iwastakenaback. It
frightened me to know that there was no quality check at your end. We outsource a lot of stuff for
our
garment business, but every button and needle is checked before it is used. We are not a
multinational,
just an old family-managed business.
RadhikaIyer(School Teacher):Thatfeelingforthe customerissimplynotthere. The customer is not
a
person but a collective noun. If the customer was important, wouldn't my water purifier Company
tell
me whenitchanged the service agent? When I called the number in my contract card, I discovered
that
the numbernowbelongedtoacouriercompany.I had to call the headoffice in Mumbai and get the
new service agent's number in Delhi.
Is thisfair?Or doesitmatter? I guessthe Company'sattitude was: " If a customer needs service, let
her
break her back and spend money to find out who the new agent is. " The only motives are profits
and
salesvolumes.Notcustomerloyaltyorservice.Thereforeacustomer is one who buys your product,
not one who has bought your product. Once you've bought the product you are a 'has been'. Why
would you want to invest energy in a set of people to whom a sale has been made? You spend
energy
as longas a sale isnotmade.Once a sale isdone,itisfor the customerto investenergyinsustaining
hisrelationship withthe manufacturer.Isn'tthathow it is? The manufacturer's attitude is-you need
me
more than I need you, so guess who should work harder?
And everyone once in a while, there is a new face at my door asking me if I own a Zento purifier.
Dammit,don'tyou have a customerfile?No,he says.We go fromdoor to door.Splendid.Thenwhat
do you do with all the data you collect? And every one of these men asks me the same questions:
when
did you buy it, what is your model number, is it working properly? The worst is: " What is your
address?" I don't care what the information is being used for. But I don't want to be disturbed for
information, which you already have.
We believe thatbecause IndianowmanufacturesCoke andMercedes,we have progressed. But this
new market is no different from the gray market, where you can buy anything but cannot expect
service. For instance, I bought a packet of macaroni, which said I had to boil it in 250 ml of water. I
didthat, but after the prescribed five minutes of boiling, there was enough water left in the pan. I
then
boiled it for another three minutes, and the pasta dissolved into a unrecognizable mass.
One day, I met someone who worked for this macaroni company. I told him about my experience.
He
saidI shouldletthe panrest forfive minutesafterturningoff the heat.The residual waterwouldget

6. absorbed. That worked. Couldn't the firm have said so on the pack? Or is it cheaper to let the
customer
learn? Does the Company use experienced hands-on cooks while designing these products or are
they
MBAs who can't tell a stove from a cigarette lighter?
I bought a jar of mayonnaise the other day. The label said it should be used within six months. Of
what? Of the date of manufacture or of the date of opening the seal? Do I refrigerate it or not? It
takes
us back to whatI saidbefore:once the sale hasbeenmade,the consumerdoesnotmatteranymore.
The sale is noton the customer'sinvolvement, loyalty or satisfaction. It never was; it will never be.
DIPANKARBARUAH(Cell PhoneOwner): There are numerous messages that are flashed on the cell
phone to announce the sale of wedding suits, printers, shoes, or TV programmes, or updates on
cricket
scores. These messages usually send out a single, short beep. Only personal messages are
announced
witha long,continuousbeep.Lastweek,Iwasdistractedbysix ad messages for a chocolate. And all
of them were long beeps. It made me mad because I was in the midst of meeting clients and that
kind
of triviality is distracting.
The cell phone isa great device.Ithelpsme catch messages, which I would otherwise have missed.
But I don't wantit to distract me during a meeting. Please respect my privacy. The cell phone is for
my
convenience, not for the convenience of callous advertisers. Now, I leave the cell phone with the
secretary and she calls me only if the message is a personal one.
Tell me,hasthe advertiserbenefited? He sought to get his messages across to 1,50,000 subscribers
at
one go. It appearsto me that mycell phone hasbecome a cheapmediumforadvertising.Since ithas
done me the favour of selling me the cell phone, the cell phone operator can pass on my personal
detailstoadvertiserswithoutevenaskingme.The cell phone isaprivate mediumof communication,
not a public address system like a radio.
We have allowed a million new products to enter the country but along with that, we have not
allowed
the market mindset to evolve or grow. Few people realize that the customer needs to be treated
with
respect.
BERYL DIAS (owner of a laser printer): This printer cost me Rs. 28,000. My company did not fund it.
I saved for it for a year. Saving that kind of money was not easy. I wanted the best, which is what I
thoughtI got whenIboughtit.,It workedverywell andI know it is a good product. But that's where
my ecstasy ends.
One day, the paper jammed and I needed help. So I called up the company. The lady who took the
call
said:" You will have to bring the printer here, we are not going to come there." I felt that was very
hostile.Iexpressedsurprise thattheirserviceengineerswouldnotcome to my home. The lady gave
me a sillyreason."If yourmixie breaksdownwouldn'tyoutake itto the service center?"Maybe she
tookthe libertytotalkdownto me because Iwas a womanand I operatedahome office.Butthere's
a
world of difference between a Rs. 2,500 mixie and a Rs. 28,000 printer. But she was surly from the
word go. Worse, their office was located very far from where I lived and going there would mean
wasting an entire morning.
It was her surly behaviour that angered me the most. I recall how the sales engineers hovered
around

7. me when I had first contacted the company for a brochure. For three weeks someone from the
company would call me practically daily. They virtually pushed me into buying the printer. I
remember I still had the last Rs.1,500 /-to save up, when they decided to give me a Rs.1,000/-
discount
to hasten my decision. Their sales pitch mesmerized me. Today, I am just a statistic. I can almost
hear
themsaying:"Youhave no choice.If your printerisnotworking,that'syour problem.If youlive afar,
that's also your problem.!"
I had not considered the after - sales trauma when I brought the printer. I assumed that the
company
wouldcome home torepairit, as othercompaniesdoforotherproducts.Theydid not tell me about
theirservice termsatthe time of the sale.Itwas notimportant,I guess.For,all they wanted was my
Rs.28, 000/-.
To repair the printer, I went through an agent, who lost my complaint order papers, forgot to
intimate
the company about the part I wanted and made me wait for four weeks before the printer was
repaired.
ThenI discoveredithadnotbeenrepairedat all. I decided then that I wouldn't have anything to do
with the company ever again. I sold that printer and brought another brand after ascertaining that
there
was a service agent close by. My old printer was state of the art, but the real differentiator is the
effort
a firm is willing to put into customer service.
CASE-4 : (20 Marks)
Company Social Responsibility & AIDS
The AIDS epidemic today is unparalleled in the challenges it poses to the world, and it is clearly an
issue that no one can address alone. Business is an essential partner in the response to AIDS. The
private sectorlike the other sectors is not immune from AIDS. Involvement of the private sector in
the
response to HIV/AIDS is crucial to the success of our country's efforts against the epidemic.
Questions
1. What is the impact of AIDS on businesses? Do you agree that businesses in the near future
would
be actively interested in addressing the issue of AIDS? Justify your answer
2. ABC Corporation wants to partner withan NGOand address the issue of AIDS around its factory,
discuss what steps should ABC Corporation take to initiate, manage and sustain its partnership
with the NGO .
CASE-5 : (20 Marks)
Read the following case study and answer the questions that follow

8. Prakash Gupte is a sales representative with Beta Water Purifiers. Prakash is a star sales
representative
withthe highestsalesturnoverrecord for 5 consecutive months. He is an aggressive and a dynamic
salespersonwithastrong target-orientation.HismarketingmanagerShreyansDesai isveryproudof
hisaccomplishments. Based on his performance appraisal, Prakash has been promoted to the rank
of
AssistantManager(Marketing).He isnow requiredtosupervise the work of 6 sales representatives
and to manage sales targets for his area.
After assuming charge as an Asst. Marketing Manager, Prakash set the targets for the first month
and
communicated these to the sales representatives in a direct and explicit manner. 4 sales
representatives
found the targets to be too ambitious but reserved their comments. After the meeting they
discussed the
issue informally and dispersed. Prakash called the fortnightly review meeting to take stock of the
situation. He was extremely disappointed to know that all the six representatives were trailing
behind
intarget achievement.He wasverybluntincommunicatinghis disappointment and told their team
to
gettheirtargets by the end of the month. After the meeting, all the six representatives expressed
their
displeasure with the meeting and found the demand of Prakash unreasonable. They commonly
perceivedhim to be a difficult person to deal with. They thought of approaching Shreyans for this.
Harishand Sameer,twoof the representativesmetShreyans and discussed this with him. Shreyans
was
a little upset with Prakash, but he thought to himself that Prakash is very efficient but lacks tact to
work with people. He assured the duo that he will speak to Prakash in this regard.
ShreyanscalledPrakashforaninformal chat andadvisedhimtogo a little easywithpeople. Prakash
was clearly agitated about this since he took this as a personal affront, as he sensed during this
meeting
that someone musthave complainedabouthisbehaviortoShreyans.Insteadof going easy with the
team,he turnedmore bitterinhisapproach. He calleda meetingof all the sales representatives,and
indirectly communicated his displeasure with the incident. He once again made it clear that the
targets
were attainable but needed a greater sense of commitment from the group. Obviously the sales
representatives did not like this. At the month-end briefing, Prakash was absolutely disappointed
with
the team forhavingunder-achievedonthe targets’ count. He rebuked them for going slow on their
work and told them sternly to adhere to the targets in the next month. Deepak, on of the sales
representatives, objected to highly monthly targets and suggested that the targets be made more
reasonable. To this Prakash retorted by saying that the targets were absolutely reasonable.
Obviously
the team was disheartened with this. They all decided to collectively approach Shreyans this time
and
seekhisintervention.WhentheymetShreyans to brief him about the situation, Shreyans was sure
that
he had made a mistake somewhere.
QUESTIONS:

9. 1) What happened when Prakash got promoted to the position of Asst. Manager (Marketing)?
Why
did this happen?
2) If you were entrusted with the responsibility of managing 6 sales representatives & creating an
effective sales team, how would you do it
Dear students get fully solved assignments
Send your semester & Specialization name to our mail id :
help.mbaassignments@gmail.com
or
call us at : 08263069601