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Assignments of One Year MBA

Semester - I

Total Marks :1001. Students are requested to go through the instructions carefully.

2. The Assignment is a part of the internal assessment.

3. Marks will be awarded for each Assignment, which will be added to the total marks. Assignments carry equal marks.4. Assignments should submit in your 'portal' on/before the 'completion date' mentioned.1. Principles and Practices of Management

How will you influence people to strive willingly for group objectives in your organization (target based industry)? Apply your interpersonal influence through communication process towards attaining your specialized goals?.ANSWER

Influencing people in an organization is often about problem solving, working through perceived barriers to meet effective and sustainable outputs. Influencing people at workplace invariably involves managing change changing perceptions, attitudes and in some cases work environments.Finally, influencing to achieve better employment outcomes from employees is about leadership and role modelling demonstrating how to support people with inadequate knowledge of working culture towards attaining objectives thereby enabling themselves to leading their own organization. Once the people feel as one, they are more likely to work together for the common good of the company.Key driver for achieving group objectives:Effective implementation of strategy is a key driver for achieving group objectives.Organizations that fail to fully engage their workforce in the business strategywill fail to produce reliable, sustainable business results. The link between employee engagement factors and successful strategy execution is vital.There are some fundamental relationships between organizational elements that work together to deliver a well-executed strategy through an engaged workforce, resulting in a great customer experience, high performance, and profitability: A fit for purpose structure where people understand expectations and accountabilities People systems and processes that drive the right behaviors Capable and credible leadership A positive work environmentThere are a number of processes that need to be in place to ensure leaders are supported to take action and that the right changes occur and are embedded within the organization.

A communication process that reaches all key stakeholders and clearly covers the why, what, when, and how.A process for communicating the findings quickly and transparently.A developmental process to ensure leaders have the knowledge and skills to take action.A process for effectively cascading engagement initiatives throughout the entire workforce.Leadership support that ensures resources and energy are aligned with the strategy.A process for business leaders to report progress and draw ideas and support from their leaders and peers.A process for measuring success and return on investment. Identify success measures.Delivering Workforce Excellence:The key elements for achieving group goals as illustrated in the figure below, are needed to drive employee engagement in an organization. Engagement influences the customers experience and, ultimately, the overall performance of an organization in terms of productivity and profitability.Leaders role:Fewer than half of all employees work in an organization that is perceived as having capable leaders and people systems that drive the right behaviors. Leaders play a key role in creating a culture of engagement by directly or indirectly impacting all factors of engagement. They can directly influence engagement by valuing employees and providing career developing opportunities. Leaders also indirectly impact engagement by ensuring employees have the resources needed to be successful in their roles.Interpersonal communication:Interpersonal communication is also largely relational.WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATEWe would probably all agree that effective communication is essential to workplace effectiveness. And yet, we probably dont spend much time thinking about how we communicate, and how we might improve our communication skills. The purpose of building communication skills is to achieve greater understanding and meaning between people and to build a climate of trust, openness, and support.To a large degree, getting our work done involves working with other people. And a big part of working well with other people is communicating effectively. Sometimes we just dont realize how critical effective communication is to getting the job done. Real communication or understanding happens only when the receivers impression matches what the sender intended through his or her expression.Strive to maintain the self-confidence and self-esteem of others when interacting with themKnowing the purpose and stating it.Organizing ones thoughts for easy understanding and impact.Adapting communicationboth words and nonverbalto the needs of your audienceUsing appropriate languageUsing precise languageWorking from what is familiar to what is unfamiliar when communicating with otherFocusing messages on the situation, topic, issue, or behavior, rather than on the personEnsuring nonverbal and verbal communications matchAsking for feedbackTraits of leadership:Innovative Approach to Leadership:The new, unique and different way to see, understand and handle.Leadership for Innovation:Leaders must be capable to promote and cultivate the innovative culture within an organization, by motivating other to bring new ideas and provide a proper infrastructure to convert them into realityThere are some attributes that is to be possessed by a leader to make successful in any situation. The traits included the following:vPhysical vitality and staminavIntelligence and action-oriented judgmentvEagerness to accept responsibilityvTask competencevUnderstanding of followers and their needsvSkill in dealing with peoplevNeed for achievementvCapacity to motivate peoplevCourage and resolutionvTrustworthinessvDecisivenessvSelf-confidencevAssertivenessvAdaptability/flexibilityDesigning Process to Support Action:There are a number of processes that need to be in place to ensure leaders are supported to take action and that the right changes occur and are embedded within the organization.These include:vA communication process that reaches all key stakeholders and clearly covers the why, what, when, and how.vA process for communicating the findings quickly and transparently.vA developmental process to ensure leaders have the knowledge and skills to take action.vA process for effectively cascading engagement initiatives throughout the entire workforce.vLeadership support that ensures resources and energy are aligned with the strategy.vA process for business leaders to report progress and draw ideas and support from their leaders and peers.vA process for measuring success and return on investment.2.Human Resources Management

The present state of recession in the IT Industry - as a Human Resource Manager how are you going to undertake Human Resource Planning at Macro Level to tide over this crisis?

ANSWER

HRM Role in RecessionThe recession is healthy, from time to time. The recession helps to stop the businesses, which are not bringing value added and the human capital is transferred to more vital businesses at lower costs. In the companies, which survive the recession, the HRM Role is very important.

The recession is very dangerous for the companies. During the times, when the business grows dramatically, the HRM Function introduces different policies, which are focused on spending money. The company was able to carry all the costs and the employees started to take the policies as the standard.

In time of the recession, the HRM Role is to make cost cuts and the HRM Function has to provide the list of the policies and the procedures to be cancelled or discontinued. The employees do not like it, but the company has to return to the healthy basis for the future growth.

The HRM Function has to be able to identify the top potential in the organization quickly as the company needs to make the cuts in the human capital of the organization. The HRM Function needs to provide the tools to managers to inform their key employees about the security, the company wants to offer to key employees.

The HRM Function is not a department to make employees happy, the role of HRM Function is also about the cuts in the costs of the organization and the HRM Functions role is about minimizing the damages to the organization.

The recession can be a very interesting period for the HRM Function. The HRM Professionals can design, develop and implement a lot of new HRM Processes in the recession, which are simple and really efficient. But they need to have a clear vision of the HRM behavior in the recession to be really successful.

The HRM Management has to define the HRM Vision for the Recession. The employees in Human Resources have to understand the goals for the difficult period of the recession. Many activities in the organization can be cancelled, but the HRM Employees have to understand the reasons.

The HRM Vision for the Recession is needed for the employees of the HRM Function as they should serve the organization as the change agents. Many procedures, policies and processes can be cancelled during the recession or they can be strongly changed and the HRM Employees have to be able to explain the reasons for the change or cancellation of the policies.

The HRM Management has to push the top management to define the vision of the organization for the recession as the roles in the organization can be clearly defined. The top management has to set the vision for the strategic initiatives as the whole organization can share the same goals. It is very painful for the top management to define such goals, but the employees and managers can support the painful way to prosperity, when they believe and trust their leaders.

The HRM Function can serve as the navigator and facilitator for employees, but the HRM Vision for the recession has to be defined and clearly communicated and explained to HRM employees. The HRM Management has to communicate the full story as the HRM Employees have usually access to confidential information and they can build a good picture of the organizations health very quickly.

The HRM Vision for the Recession should be about the trust and honesty. The HRM Employees have to understand the need to make changes and to make the cuts in the procedures they introduced and run for the organization. The HRM Management has to be proud to announce the cutting of job positions in the HRM Function and to explain the reasons for selecting the employees to be fired.

The HRM Vision for the Recession can play a significant role in the success of the HRM Function in the recession. The HRM Management Team has to set it as a priority and the vision has to be transformed into actions quickly.

Main HR Recession InitiativesThe HR Function has to conduct severalHR Recession Initiativesas soon as the recession is recognized in the organization. The organization can grow rapidly, when the recession ruins companies around your organization. But, when the organization feels the pain from the recession, the HRM Function has to start several HR Recession Initiatives.

TheHR Recession Initiativeshave to be focused on the analysis of the current situation and the unlocking the potential for the future growth. The HR Recession Initiatives are not just about the cost cutting, the recession initiatives have to be focused in more areas:

Cost Cutting

Key Groups of Employees

Process Efficiency

Honest Information for Employees

Management Consulting

The HR Recession Initiatives have to be balanced well. The cost cutting is about the immediate activities to decrease the personnel expenses of the organization, but the HR Recession Initiatives have to be focused on the future as well.

The employees are told to be the best capital of the organization and the HR Recession Initiatives cannot be focused on the full destroy of the human capital of the organization. The employees to be fired have to be selected carefully and the rest of employees have to sure about the future of the organization. The organization has to guarantee the future for the most important employees the key employees, high potentials and the managers.

The HRM Function has to focus on the honest communication in the recession. The HRM Function has to inform the employees fairly about the bonuses, salaries and number of employees in the organization in advance as the employees can prepare themselves.

The HRM Function has to have a good balance in theHR Recession Initiatives. The employees and managers have to feel the fairness and transparency in the initiatives as they can build the trust to the HRM Function.

HRM Priorities and RecessionTherecession changes the priorities of the organization. The change of the organizations priorities should be reflected in the HRM Function priorities and HRM Strategy as well. The HRM Function cannot live alone; it has to follow the general business strategy.

TheHRM Priorities in the Recessioncan change quickly or they need to be adjusted at least. The organization has no resources to add to the new initiatives and the HRM Function can be asked to produce cost savings on current programs.

The HRM Management has to make a quick scan of current procedures and policies to be prepared for the cancellation or change, when asked to make an urgent cost cut. The recession is about cost cuts and designing efficient, cheap HR Processes.

The HR Priorities have to be assessed using a simple tool for selecting the processes and policies to be discontinued. The best tool is to use the simple matrix, which divides the processes and procedures according their costs and impact on the organization.

Generally, the HRM Function should cancel the processes and procedures with the highest costs and lowest impact on the organization. The HRM Function has to be very careful as cancellation of some policies can be very sensitive for employees. Those are the processes and procedures with the highest impact.

Therecession changes HRM Priorities. The HRM Function has to make a quick response to changed conditions by the cancellation of the least important procedures and policies, but the HRM Function has to change the HR Strategy to have a consistent approach during the whole recession period.

TheHRM Function has to adjust the HRM Priorities in the recession very sensitive wayas the employees feel some security and consistency and that they can trust the organization and its success in the war with the recession. The HRM Function has to keep the role of the employee advocate and this should be reflected in the decision matrix as well. The recession is not a chance to change and cancel everything, the corporate culture should not be touched by the change of the HRM Priorities during the recession.

The recession is about the creative Human Resources Management. The HRM Function is asked to bring new ideas, to change the HRM Processes and to develop or change the procedures. And this effort has to be cheap or it has to cut the costs of the organization. The HRM Innovation is easy in times of the business growth, but the recession is not good for big innovative HRM Initiatives.

On the other hand, the top management understands the effort to innovate the HRM Processes better. The top management is in the search for the potential cost savings and they count every single penny brought by the line management. The HRM Costs are usually a very significant cost to the organization and the HRM Function has to be proactive.

The HRM Function has to focus on unpopular innovations during the recession as the role of Human Resources during the recession is to save money to the organization. The top management expects all the support functions to bring innovative solutions, which will have to make the organization stronger, when the next growth era comes.

The HRM Innovation during the recession has to focus on the following topics:

1. Reduce the number of employees in the organization

2. Strategic initiatives to increase the productivity and efficiency of the whole organization

3. Redesign of the compensation scheme

4. Cancellation of several benefit schemes

5. Training and Development Programs cutting

On the other hand the HRM Function has to find innovative solutions for the following topics:

1. Identifying the real key employees and to keep them in the organization

2. Identifying the real top potentials and to strengthen their development program

The second two topics have to be done with the minimum additional costs and it is a really hard task to accomplish. The HRM Function has to have priorities in mind and the strategic impact of the HRM Innovations in the recession time. The role of the HRM Function is not to cut the costs for the time being, but to make the organization stronger and ready for the future growth.

Recession and Employees career optionsThe employees are themost important assets of the organization. In times of the recession, the employees have to be secure about their future and the organization should announce a clear plan to them.

The HRM Function is responsible for the employees as their employee advocate and the change agent. The HRM Function has to be involved in all the communication plans, the communication toward employees.

The recession brings a panic to the organization. The rumors about the recession and the layoffs spread quickly around the organization and the HRM Function has to monitor the emotions in the employee population. The rumors are the most important danger for the successful survival of the recession. When the employees start to speak about the recession, the key employees and top talents can leave the organization within several weeks, as they feel no future in the organization.

Therole of the HRM Function in Recessionfor the employees is being their real advocate. The HRM Function should prepare the proper communication and it should manage to get the buy in from the top management.

The employees feel the danger from the recession, the top management has to inform all the employees honestly about the outlook for the organization and it has to provide them with the vision to follow.

Affected HR Processes by the RecessionThe recession affects different HRM Processes. Some HR Processes can be affected by the recession very hardly and other processes can be completely immune from the recession impact. The HRM Function has to react very quickly and the response has to include the whole HRM team as all employees have to help the most affected employees to keep the level of the satisfaction.

The organization needs to save the costs and it needs to identify and potential additional source for the cost saving and starting a new growth era. The HRM Function has to prepare a new HRM Vision and a new HR Strategy for the coming period as the cost cutting is not the only way to build a stronger organization fighting with the recession.

The most affected HR Processes are the following:

1. Recruitment The first HR Process with the change in the recession. The job vacancies are cancelled and the HRM Function should come with a new recruitment strategy. The organization can hire a new set of skills and competencies to strengthen the position of the organization on the market

2. Training The training are cancelled as it is a quick cost cut. The training can be later focused on more specialized training session and more internal training courses can be introduced.

3. Compensation and Benefits The department can be asked to bring a new compensation scheme, which will save the costs and motivate employees to be more proactive.

4. HR Front Office The HR Front Office have to be present at clients all the time as they will need a strong guidance and facilitation during the recession.

TheHR Processes are heavily affected by the recession, but the HRM Function has to take this as the opportunity to change and to bring new ideas on the scene. The recession is the best time to design a completely new approach of the organization to its human capital.

The HRM Function should be ready for the recession, which comes from time to time. The HRM Function should be always very careful about the costs added to the organization as cost cutting always hurt. The HRM Function has always to predict, the recession will come and the nice initiatives can be then very painful initiatives. The HRM Function has to prepare the HRM Recession Quick Wins.

The HRM Recession Quick Wins should include the following actions:1. Stop and prioritize the recruitment process. The vacancies should be cancelled and all the vacancies should be strategically re-shifted. The organization can need a completely different set of jobs to survive the recession. Why the continuing recruitment process should make the situation even worse?

2. The FTEs in the organization has to be evaluated. The number of FTEs can be fine, but the structure has to be reviewed. There is no company in the world, which cannot decrease the number of FTEs. The HRM Function has to offer the methodology for the FTEs review and the HRM Function has to act as the facilitator in the process of the FTEs review.

3. The bonus schemes have to be reviewed. The bonus scheme can support the organization in the time of the strong growth, but it can de-motivate employees in time of the recession. The HRM Function has to prepare a good analysis of the bonus scheme performance and its impact on the motivation of employees. The HRM Function can propose additional changes to the bonus scheme to provide the employees with some kind of the stability.

4. The talents have to move around the organization to play their strategic rolein the change of the organization during the recession. The organization needs to awake its creativity and the shift of the talents can help a lot.

The HRM Recession Quick Wins are not hard, but they need a lot of courage from the HRM Function. The HRM Function has to reflect itself and it has to be proud to say, it made some mistakes in the past. The recession is always about the restart and the HRM Function needs to restart its processes quickly at the beginning of the recession.

HRM Communication in RecessionThe HRM Function is always responsible for themass communication to employees in the recession. The HRM Function should be responsible for the consistency, transparency and fairness of the crisis communication to employees. The recession is usually not about the good news, but the HRM Function has to be the employee advocate and the messages should provide the employees with the clear outlook of the future.

Thecrisis and recession communication have to be targeted, as not all the employees should receive the same amount of the information. The Sales employees should have completely different details from the Operations guys.

The HRM Communication in the Recession is about defined and agreed target groups. The organization cannot publish the details about its business position to all the employees, but some groups of employees have to know more to feel comfortable and more secure.

TheHRM Communication is one of the strongest tools for the retention of key groups of employees.The talents and key employees have to receive more information from the organization to keep their own security and their value for the organization.

The organization needs to raise the level of the motivation and the honest communication is one of the best tools for motivation. But the HRM Function has to act as the consultant to make sure, the employees are not de-motivated and frustrated by the amount of messages and the details provided.

The HRM Function has to provide the advice on the communication channels used as not all the messages should be sent via email. The HRM Function is the only function in the organization to have a general picture of the target groups and it can provide useful consultancy in the description of the target communication groups.

TheHRM Communication in Recessionis about a clear description of the organizations position on the market, the economic outlook for the next period and about the strategic products and services, which will be the leading the growth in the era after the recession. The employees should know about these topics as they can prepare themselves.

Talent Management in Recession

Thetalentsare the best assets in the recession, as the organization needs to mobilize the entire top potential in the company to bring new and innovative solutions to fight with the recession.

The talent management is under a huge pressure in the recession. Each manager tries to protect the resources in the unit and the HRM Function has to leverage the resources of the organization.

Thetalent managementhas to define a clear group of employees to be separated from their current units in the finding a new successful way to the future. The HRM Function has to have a mandate from the top management in the decision about the staffing of the special task force to define a new and bright future of the organization.

Talent Management under Pressure

Thetalent managementworks nice in the time of the economic growth. In the recession, the talent management gets under a huge pressure from the line management and the top management, as their interests are not aligned, at least fully.

The HRM Function has to be able to mobilize all the talents across the whole organization and the line management can be fully confused by such an activity. The top management can have a nice plan to use the top talents of the organization to have a new opportunity to win the war with the recession, but the line management likes to have the talents in their units to have the smooth operations certainty.

The talents usually like the challenges and the recession is the challenge for them. The HRM Function has to find the plan to allow the top potentials to be freed from their current units and to propose a good plan to the line management to keep their satisfaction and buy-in.

The talent management is usually set as the long-term activity of the HRM Function. The recession makes the whole talent management a lot quicker. The talents have to be set to new teams, they have to learn to co-operate quickly and they have to learn to make quick decisions.

The talent management in the recession is about the quick assessment of the top talents of the organization and assigning them to the special tasks from the top management. The role of the line management has to be minimized as they have no chance to prefer their own task above the strategic tasks of the top management.

Recession and Recruitment

Recruitmentis one of the mostaffected HR Processesby the global recession on the market. The companies do not offer vacancies, the number of job applicants grows rapidly and the organization has to manage the recruitment smartly.

The organization has to change the focus of the recruitment and the recession is a good moment to focus on the recruitment process development and redesign.

The talents on the job market

Therecession is a good moment to hire the top potentialsfrom the job market and other competitors. The HRM Function has to act quickly to hire the best class employees before their current employers take the action to protect them.

The HR Recruiters should always ask the managers and key employees of the organization about the excellent people, they know on the job market. The HR Recruiters should have a list of the job candidates, who can be asked to join the organization.

Thetalents are usually known in the industryand the recession can make them to be more sensitive to the job offers from the competitors. When the organization has a clear plan for the fight with the recession, the talents from the job market do increase the personnel expenses of the organization, but they can bring new sources of the revenue and they hugely increase the trust of the existing customers.

The role of the HRM Function is in the quick reaction to the recession, making the proposal to the top management and having a good contact with the recruitment agencies to start the hiring process as soon as possible.

The HRM Function has to co-operate closely with the top management, as the talents from the job market need to know the clear plan and clear expectations from them. The HRM Function cannot communicate the clear expectations itself, but it can co-operate with the middle management of the job positions, which can be created for the top talents from the job market.

The HRM Function has to monitor the personnel expenses added to the payroll of the organization as the company does not exceed the agreed rules and the HRM Function has to co-operate closely with the recruitment agencies to get the best class employees from the job market. The recession is a tough time and the top talents from the job market will definitely help to win the battle on the market.

3. Financial ManagementWhat will your outlook towards maintenance of liquid assets to ensure that the firm has adequate cash in hand to meet its obligations at all times?

ANSWER

Maintenance OF LIQUID ASSETS TO ENSURE ADEQATE CASH IN HANDA common problem for small business owners is the struggle to maintain adequate cash flow levels. Without cash, a business must eventually close its doors. Understanding and managing the companys cash flow will help to measure the amount of cash on hand and prepare for cash flow shortfalls in the future.

[a] Do the MathCash flow is the movement of money in and out of a business. Cash inflow is the movement of money into your business, and most likely comes from the sale of goods or services to your customers. Cash outflow is the movement of money out of your business, and is generally the result of paying expenses. By projecting the inflow and outflow of your businesses cash, you can determine the amount of cash that will be available during a designated period of time.

[b] Prepare Your Profit and Loss StatementYour business plan should contain several financial statements. If youre a start-up businessman, base your estimates of cash inflow and outflow on the revenues and expenses listed in your profit and loss statements. Complete your profit and loss statement before completing your cash flow statement. Over time, you will be able to base cash inflows and outflows on actual historical data.

[c] Develop a Cash Flow StatementA cash flow statement measures cash flow over time. During your first year in business, you should include a month-by-month cash flow statement in your business plan. If youre seeking a loan, an important feature of your cash flow statement is that it will show the lender exactly how youre going to afford loan payments.

In order for a business to stay afloat, it must maintain an adequate level of cash. These are some which we can apply to improve the cash flow in our organization. Adequate cash means that you can meet your obligations. It is to remember that cash is king and life blood of the organization. The following points help make it easier to maintain the adequate cash level and an improvement in cash position can be seen sooner rather than later:

1. Check Customers Credit HistoriesDecide the type of customer to whom you want to extend credit. Do you want to have a particular cut-off credit score? If you extend credit to customers with questionable credit histories or low credit scores, you may experience late payments or no payments, which will slow down your cash flow and increase your collection costs.

2. Keep Track of Your Customers PaymentsHave up-to-date payment records. Keep accurate payments records by using a specialized accounting software program that will keep track of your invoices and when payments are made. If customers are late with their payments, it could cause a cash flow bottleneck for you. Accurate recordkeeping will help solve this problem.

3. Set Appropriate Credit Terms and Offer a Cash DiscountMake sure your customers understand how long they have to pay their bill. In order to speed up the cash they pay, you might want to offer a cash discount to any customer that pays in a short period of time, designated by you, or to a customer who pays cash.

4. Extend Your Timetable for Making Cash PaymentsPay your bills on time and take advantage of any cash discounts your suppliers offer you. However, hold onto your cash as long as possible. Dont pay bills weeks earlier than they are due. Your company can use that cash balance, rather than letting your supplier use your companys cash.

5. Cut Back on Spending Wherever PossibleDo you really need to take money out of your business for a Hawaiian vacation right now? Cut back on spending until it is less than your revenue on a month-by-month basis. If an emergency happens, then you will be prepared from a cash standpoint.

6. Increase Your SalesMake sure you arent holding on to obsolete inventory. If you are, mark it down and sell it. Storing it is costing you money and selling it at a lower price is better than not selling it at all. The longer you hold on to obsolete inventory, the less likely it is to sell.

7. Think before investingThe price and value of investments and their income fluctuates: you may get back less than the amount you invested. Remember that how an investment performed in the past is not a guide to how it will perform in the future.

4.Marketing Management

If you are working in a super market, what techniques/ tools you will use in data collection. How are you going to analysis the data and make inferences? How will you finally apply your market research to improve sales and win over customers?

ANSWER

Supermarket shopping is often categorized as a self-service retail environment. For supermarket retailers who want to build relationships with their customers, its essential to track their levels of satisfaction with the key elements of the supermarket environment. From the retailers perspective the aim is to minimize the reasons for complaints and dissatisfaction and establishing a track of direct feedback from customers about their reactions to those key elements.

DATA COLLECTION

The type of research would be a descriptive research, which uses survey method. The data used for research is primary data. The data collection could be done using questionnaire as well as schedule method. Leisure shoppers can be given questionnaire where as data can be collected by schedule method. The respondents are those who come for the supermarket for shopping.

An evaluation of supermarket is done using a questionnaire that emphasizes on the key elements of such as :

Accessibility Customer service Range of products Availability of products Store reputation Ethical business Quality of products Product availability Pricing, enjoyment of shopping Parking Cleanliness Hygiene

The questionnaire is designed using a five-point scale that ranges from5-Strongly Agree 4- Agree 3-Neutral 2-Disagree 1-Strongly disagreeThe rating of satisfaction with specific attributes can be done by question such as,How satisfied are you in general with the following aspects of customer service of the supermarket/s where you generally do your shopping? and Willingness to recommend supermarkets can be got byWould you recommend the following supermarkets toyour best friend for regular purchases?.More questions should be framed covering all the key elements and questionnaire should be easy to understand and to fill.

DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTSWhat customer data to collectYou need to collect as much of the following as possible: Name and contact details:( Allows you to market directly to them.( Also lets you make communications personalised.( You may also need to contact them if an order is running late.( Transaction history:( Indicates user preferences - which products they're most inclined to buy, when and how often.( Reveals how valuable a customer they are: how much they spend and how often.( Communications from you to customers and any response they make:( You need to keep records of this to make sure you space out your communications correctly (i.e. not too often).( It also lets you monitor how effective different types of communication are and which the customer best respond best to. If you compare their transaction history with the communications record, you may find one method of communication encourage them to buy more than others.( Profile: age, gender, profession, income, hobbies, and so on:( This information is harder to obtain (see advice below), but can be useful for more advanced marketing strategy.( Once you have the info for a number of customers, you can build up clearer picture of who exactly your target customer is.( It allows you to better focus your advertising and marketing efforts, as well as affiliate opportunities and sponsorships. If you know your target customer goes to the gym three times a week, it opens up a new place to advertise, a new line of gym-related products and an opportunity to do a deal with the local gym to offer discounted membership if they shop with you X number of times.( Knowing their age and profession (and so an idea of their income) helps with pricing strategy.(( The better and more detailed picture you have of your target customer, the more you can tailor and develop products to please them. Spending habits: how your customers shops - such as impulse buys, considered purchases, comparing the prices from different businesses, always with you on a regular basis, and so on:( You can display goods and structure deals around consumers' spending habits - think of how supermarkets put magazines and chocolate bars at the checkout: impulse buys.( Can be difficult to assess - you may need the help of a market research agency or detailed surveys with trusted customers. Or you can try out different strategies and see which work. You can also take an educated guess based on your knowledge of the market.( Birthdays:( Sending out a birthday text or card can add a personal touch and make a customer feel valued.( Whether or not they pay on time:( This is obviously important for cashflow reasons rather than marketing ones, but it's worth adding to the list anyway if you're thinking about data collection.(How to collect customer data First and foremost, do not harass customers for data. Endless form filling is enough to put a consumer off a purchase. Data collection has to be either unintrusive or incentivised. Collect it bit by bit to build up a fuller picture of your customer gradually and in a non-annoying way.( From orders:( Obtain contact details and name from orders and begin building a transaction history, whether on or offline (although online makes things even easier as data can automatically be entered into a database).( You can add in a birth date as optional.( If the transaction is happening online, you can add in an optional section requesting more information. Phrase it in a way that appeals to the customer, such as: "So that we can learn more about you and provide you with a service more suited to your personal needs, please fill in...." You can also use this technique if a customer has to register an account with you at any point.( Surveys:( If you run a survey on your business, you can obtain a fair amount of information by asking details about their profile (gender, age, etc). While some respondents may be reluctant to give their name, some will. For those that don't, you get a clearer picture of your overall target customer anyway, which is the aim here.( Competitions:( Run a competition asking for( email address and a couple of other details - customers will be more inclined to share personal data when they have something to gain from it. Online:( Online can help you track spending habits and user preferences, though you may only be able to get an overall picture of your target customer rather than profiles of specific users - use Google Analytics.( Research:( Statistics and research already out there can help you build a more detailed picture of your target customer (though of course they won't provide information on individuals).( Look at demographic-related reports and spot trends. There's almost certainly other people targeting the same demographic as you, which means you can simply look at the research they've done and any statistics on the matter to find out more about your target audience.( A market research agency will be able to provide you with the most detailed picture of your target customer and their habits, but this is quite an expenditure. You probably only need to go into this much depth when you're marketing techniques are very advanced - and you'll recognise your need for an agency as and when that happens.( Noticing things when you see customers face-to-face can of course also give you a very general idea about who the bulk of your customer are and what demographic and age group they're part of.(How to store customer data Initially, you can store things on Excel or similar spreadsheet software.( But as your data becomes more detailed, you'll need specific database software to manage your customer data.( Ask a software and computer shop or supplier to recommend you some software, explaining your needs both present and future to make sure they provide you with the right level of complexity. You don't want to end up with something either far too complicated or far too basic for your needs.( Make sure your data collection spans all different departments and members of staff. Everyone should be contributing to the same document. Use CRM software to manage this.(Guidance and the law on storing customer data There are complex laws surrounding business' collection of data.( See our guide on the data protection act to find out more and to make sure you don't accidentally break the law.( Make sure you ask customers' preferences when you take their contact details. Allow them to opt out of receiving marketing material - you don't want to get on the wrong side of them, after all.(Jargon busterCRM software: customer relationship management software. Software that allows different departments and members of a company to contribute to individual data files of customers, and track their orders and so on without having to ask other members of the company. An up-to-date, shared database of all customer communications and transactions and other details.THE DATA CAN BE UTILIZED FOR DEVELOPING STRATEGIES/ TACTICS/ PLANS FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS1.CUSTOMER RECEPTION.2.SALESASSISTANT TRAINING.3.PRODUCT MERCHANDISING4.STOCKING /RESTOCKING5.CUSTOMER SERVICING6.CASH COUNTER MANAGEMENT7.CUSTOMER RELATIONS BUILDING8.CUSTOMER LOYALTY PROGRAMS9.STORE MANAGEMENT TRAINING

10.BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMSETC ETC5.Organizational Behaviour

If you are made the campaign leader for a particular political party. How will you use your leadership skills to motivate your party men to ensure success of the party nominee in the elections? (Focus on the individual, motivate and apply leadership style).

ANSWER:A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they dont necessarily want to go but ought to be.Bringing unity and coherence to a group of people is perhaps one of the most difficult tasks, which require effective leadership qualities. Be it politics, business or even sports, leaders are required in any situation that calls for a joint effort. Every leader has his / her own unique leadership style. Broadly speaking, there can be several effective leadership styles, which are as follows:

[A] Effective Leadership Styles: Directors ApproachThis leadership style is somewhat authoritarian in its approach since the leader has a specific goal in mind and directs the team towards the goal according to his plan of action. The leader identifies the requirements of the situation and creates a plan to handle the situation. The leader is completely in charge of division of work and specifically assigns roles for each and every team member. In this style of leadership, the leader has the final word on all the decisions and rarely asks for suggestions from the team members. The leader, who uses a directors approach for leading a team, usually supervises and evaluates the work of every individual.

[B] Effective Leadership Styles: The Coaching StyleThis leadership style involves more mutual interaction of the leader and the team. In this style, the leader sets the goals and identifies the problems; however the leader consults with his team members and encourages a healthy dialogue to facilitate exchange of ideas that can be beneficial for the team as a whole. The leader usually arrives at the decisions after having consulted the team members. This style of leadership displays more respect for individual opinions since the leader is more considerate towards the team members. The leader tends to encourage and appreciate the efforts of his team and constantly provides encouragement for the team by inculcating a sense of team spirit. The leader evaluates the performance of the leaders.

[C] Effective Leadership Styles: The Facilitating ApproachThis is a more flexible leadership style in which the leader allows the team members to be a part of almost every process starting from the role-delegation, goal setting, problem solving as well as the evaluation and overview. The leader acts more like a facilitator who inspires the team to reach their goal, by giving them a nudge every now and then. The leader tries to inculcate a sense of individual responsibility within every individual and hence creates an effective team that can function with minimum supervision.

[D] Effective Leadership Styles: The Delegating ApproachThe delegating style of leadership is more democratic than any other styles of leadership. In this style of leadership, the employees and the leader are a part of every process. The leader empowers the team members and allows them to be a part of the planning and decision making process and decide their own roles and responsibilities. In this style of leadership, the leader accepts the decisions of the team members, allows them to evaluate their own work. This sense of leadership tends to develop a team, which functions as a cohesive and responsible team.

Thus there exist several effective leadership styles, which are suited for various setups and organizations. The success of the team and the satisfaction of team members as a cohesive group are the two important indicators of an effective leadership style.

The Leadership QualitiesLeadership can be defined as ones ability to get others to willingly follow. Every political party needs leaders at every level. Leaders can be found and nurtured if you look for the following character traits.

Leadership is nothing but the quality which makes a person stands out different from other ordinary members. It is associated with such a person who has aggressiveness in speech and action, love for the party men, and who can handle pressure under different circumstances and a person who is always ready to fight for the rights of followers. A leader is useless without followers. It is the followers who make a person as a leader and if required overthrow him.

Leaders play a critical role during change implementation, the period from the announcement of change through the installation of the change. During this middle period the organization is the most unstable, characterized by confusion, fear, loss of direction, reduced productivity, and lack of clarity about direction and mandate. It can be a period of emotionalism, with employees grieving for what is lost, and initially unable to look to the future.

In addition to forecast and amiability, the characteristics that leader must have are ability to recognize employees talents, the know-how to make teams work and an open mind.

Leadership does vary to some extent as per the positions i.e. it may be slight different for manager and different for a union leader but the basic qualities of leadership does not change.

VisionA leader withvisionhas a clear, vivid picture of where to go, as well as a firm grasp on what success looks like and how to achieve it. But its not enough to have a vision; leaders must also share it and act upon it. Good leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it to completion.

Leadership qualities are different for different position. For a CIO he must be thinking for stabilizing the current business and always looking for future scope of expansion. He has to be able to look beyond where we are today, know where the business is going, and be able to use that vision to move the company forward. Being able to do this is a rare skill indeed.

Good communication skillCommunication is the key to be a great leader. The reason for this is simple: if he possesses the other nine leadership qualities but if he fails to communicate well, he will never be great leader.

What he can do is communicate with others in the team about what can do to move the party forward. In other words, good communication is the key for developing good political relationships. If he cant establish a good political working relationship, he is not going to be that leader, that team player. He will not be able to communicate how it can add long-term value to the company. The modern leaders must therefore be equipped with good communicational skill and use new ways to do effective communication.

DisciplineA good leader must have the discipline to work toward the vision single-mindedly, as well as to direct the actions and those of the team toward the goal. Action is the mark of a leader. A leader does not suffer analysis paralysis but is always doing something in pursuit of the vision, inspiring others to do the same.

IntegrityIntegrity is the integration of outward actions and inner values. A person of integrity is the same on the outside and on the inside. Such an individual can be trusted because he or she never veers from inner values, even when it might be expeditious to do so. A leader must have the trust of followers and therefore must display integrity.

Honest dealings, predictable reactions, well-controlled emotions, and an absence of tantrums and harsh outbursts are all signs of integrity. A leader who is centered in integrity will be more approachable by followers.

DedicationDedicationmeans spending whatever time or energy is necessary to accomplish the task at hand. A leader inspires dedication by example, doing whatever it takes to complete the next step toward the vision. By setting an excellent example, leaders can show followers that there are no nine-to-five jobs on the team, only opportunities to achieve something great.

HonestyThe most valuable asset of a leader is honesty. He must be honest with both his employees and the management committee. Another part of his features is integrity. Once a leader compromises his or her integrity, it is lost. That is perhaps the reason integrity is considered the most admirable trait. The leaders therefore must keep it above all else.

ConsistencyLeadership effectiveness is impossible without consistency. Every leader has an approach that is unique to them. Dont change your personal style radically after all; it got you in a leadership position. Modify the rough spots but take care not to confound your staff by displaying inconsistency. Your expectations, though subject to modification based on ever-changing business needs, should remain as constant as possible. The business world is confusing enough without you adding unwelcome surprises into the mix. Keep things simple and consistent.

MagnanimityMagnanimitymeans giving credit where it is due. A magnanimous leader ensures that credit for successes is spread as widely as possible throughout the company. Conversely, a good leader takes personal responsibility for failures. This sort of reverse magnanimity helps other people feel good about themselves and draws the team closer together. To spread the fame and take the blame is a hallmark of effective leadership.

HumilityLeaders withhumilityrecognize that they are no better or worse than other members of the team. A humble leader is not self-effacing but rather tries to elevate everyone. Leaders with humility also understand that their status does not make them a god. Mahatma Gandhi is a role model for Indian leaders, and he pursued a follower-centric leadership role.

OpennessOpennessmeans being able to listen to new ideas, even if they do not conform to the usual way of thinking. Good leaders are able to suspend judgment while listening to others ideas, as well as accept new ways of doing things that someone else thought of. Openness builds mutual respect and trust between leaders and followers, and it also keeps the team well supplied with new ideas that can further its vision.

CreativityCreativityis the ability to think differently, to get outside of the box that constrains solutions. Creativity gives leaders the ability to see things that others have not seen and thus lead followers in new directions. The most important question that a leader can ask is, What if .? Possibly the worst thing a leader can say is, I know this is a dumb question ..

FairnessFairnessmeans dealing with others consistently and justly. A leader must check all the facts and hear everyone out before passing judgment. He or she must avoid leaping to conclusions based on incomplete evidence. When people feel they that are being treated fairly, they reward a leader with loyalty and dedication.

AssertivenessAssertivenessis not the same as aggressiveness. Rather, it is the ability to clearly state what one expects so that there will be no misunderstandings. A leader must be assertive to get the desired results. Along with assertiveness comes the responsibility to clearly understand what followers expect from their leader.

Many leaders have difficulty striking the right amount of assertiveness, according to a study in the February 2007 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, published by the APA (American Psychological Association). It seems that being under assertive or overassertive may be the most common weakness among aspiring leaders.

Sense of HumourAsense of humouris vital to relieve tension and boredom, as well as to defuse hostility. Effective leaders know how to use humour to energize followers. Humour is a form of power that provides some control over the work environment. And simply put, humour fosters good camaraderie.

Intrinsic traits such as intelligence, good looks, height and so on are not necessary to become a leader. Anyone can cultivate the proper leadership traits.

Selecting a good teamA good CIO although he possesses sound technical skills he assures that the team he selects is efficient enough to back up any skill he lacks. Choosing the best people for such team is a skill. A CIO after all is a human being and does not have answer for everything. But by working together he creates an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect; the team then always find the best solution.

Ability to stand against criticsAs the success rate increases your critics multiply and become louder. Come to peace with the fact that you will always have a camp of people who critique every decision you make. They are generally the ones who are excellent problem-identifiers rather than problem-solvers. Develop your skills of repelling such critics so that they do not diminish your confidence or enthusiasm.

It takes focus and confidence not to be adversely affected by criticism. Strong leaders learn the art of listening to critics, but ultimately making decisions for the good of the department, not to simply please the critics. The following quote sums it up nicely: Some of the most talented people are terrible leaders because they have a crippling need to be loved by everyone.

Action speaks louder than wordsManagers must be able to put aside their concerns to listen to (and appear to listen to) those around them. As a result, they come know what is going on, and know what is both said, and said between the lines. They have the knack of appearing to know what people need even if those needs are not expressed directly. However, knowing what is going on, and identifying the needs of those around them is not sufficient. The responsive manager also acts upon that knowledge, attempting to help fulfill the needs of employees, superiors, etc. Responsive managers wield influence to solve problems for those around them, often before even being asked.

Ability to motivate people aroundA good leader must always keep motivating his team mates for good work and should maintain healthy environment. He must give first priority to safety of workers and see that they are not exploited by superiors.

6.Principles of Economics

Suppose the price elasticity of demand for text books is two and the price of the text book is increased by 10%. By how much does the quantity demand fall? Inter the result and discuss reasons for the fall in quantity demand?

ANSWER

f Ped > 1, then demand responds more than proportionately to a change in price i.e. demand is elastic. For example a 20% increase in the price of a good might lead to a 30% drop in demand. The price elasticity of demand for this price change is 1.5

elasticity of demandPed measures the responsiveness of demand for a product following a change in its own price.The formula for calculating the co-efficient of elasticity of demand is:Percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in priceSince changes in price and quantity nearly always move in opposite directions, economists usually do not bother to put in the minus sign. We are concerned with the co-efficient of elasticity of demand.Understanding values for price elasticity of demand If Ped = 0 then demand is said to be perfectly inelastic. This means that demand does not change at all when the price changes the demand curve will be vertical If Ped is between 0 and 1 (i.e. the percentage change in demand from A to B is smaller than the percentage change in price), then demand is inelastic. Producers know that the change in demand will be proportionately smaller than the percentage change in price If Ped = 1 (i.e. the percentage change in demand is exactly the same as the percentage change in price), then demand is said to unit elastic. A 15% rise in price would lead to a 15% contraction in demand leaving total spending by the same at each price level. If Ped > 1, then demand responds more than proportionately to a change in price i.e. demand is elastic. For example a 20% increase in the price of a good might lead to a 30% drop in demand. The price elasticity of demand for this price change is 1.5=========================================IN THIS EXAMPLE OF TEXT BOOKS1.PRICE ELASTICITY OF DEMAND ==22==% CHANGE IN QUANTITY--------------------------------------% CHANGE IN PRICE

2==% CHANGE IN QUANTITY ?--------------------------------------==_________% CHANGE IN PRICE 10%PRICE ELASTICITY OF TEXTBOOK UP BY 10%

QUANTITY DEMAND IS DOWN BY = - 20%==========================================What Determines Price Elasticity of Demand?Demand for rail servicesAt peak times, the demand for rail transport becomes inelastic and higher prices are charged by rail companies who can then achieve higher revenues and profits

The number of close substitutes for a good / uniqueness of the product the more close substitutes in the market, the more elastic is the demand for a product because consumers can more easily switch their demand if the price of one product changes relative to others in the market. The huge range of package holiday tours and destinations make this a highly competitive market in terms of pricing many holiday makers are price sensitive The cost of switching between different products there may be significant transactions costs involved in switching between different goods and services. In this case, demand tends to be relatively inelastic. For example, mobile phone service providers may include penalty clauses in contracts or insist on 12-month contracts being taken out The degree of necessity or whether the good is a luxury goods and services deemed by consumers to be necessities tend to have an inelastic demand whereas luxuries will tend to have a more elastic demand because consumers can make do without luxuries when their budgets are stretched. I.e. in an economic recession we can cut back on discretionary items of spending The % of a consumers income allocated to spending on the good goods and services that take up a high proportion of a households income will tend to have a more elastic demand than products where large price changes makes little or no difference to someones ability to purchase the product. The time period allowed following a price change demand tends to be more price elastic, the longer that we allow consumers to respond to a price change by varying their purchasing decisions. In the short run, the demand may be inelastic, because it takes time for consumers both to notice and then to respond to price fluctuations Whether the good is subject to habitual consumption when this occurs, the consumer becomes much less sensitive to the price of the good in question. Examples such as cigarettes and alcohol and other drugs come into this category Peak and off-peak demand - demand tends to be price inelastic at peak times a feature that suppliers can take advantage of when setting higher prices. Demand is more elastic at off-peak times, leading to lower prices for consumers. Consider for example the charges made by car rental firms during the course of a week, or the cheaper deals available at hotels at weekends and away from the high-season. Train fares are also higher on Fridays (a peak day for travelling between cities) and also at peak times during the day The breadth of definition of a good or service if a good is broadly defined, i.e. the demand for petrol or meat, demand is often fairly inelastic. But specific brands of petrol or beef are likely to be more elastic following a price change

Demand curves with different price elasticity of demand

Elasticity of demand and total revenue for a producerThe relationship between price elasticity of demand and a firms total revenue is a very important one. The diagrams below show demand curves with different price elasticity and the effect of a change in the market price.

When demand is inelastic a rise in price leads to a rise in total revenue for example a 20% rise in price might cause demand to contract by only 5% (Ped = -0.25)When demand is elastic a fall in price leads to a rise in total revenue - for example a 10% fall in price might cause demand to expand by only 25% (Ped = +2.5)The table below gives a simple example of the relationships between market prices; quantity demanded and total revenue for a supplier. As price falls, the total revenue initially increases, in our example the maximum revenue occurs at a price of 12 per unit when 520 units are sold giving total revenue of 6240.Price Quantity Total Revenue Marginal Revenue per unit Units s s20 200 4000 18 280 5040 1316 360 5760 914 440 6160 512 520 6240 110 600 6000 -38 680 5440 -76 760 4560 -11Consider the price elasticity of demand of a price change from 20 per unit to 18 per unit. The % change in demand is 40% following a 10% change in price giving an elasticity of demand of -4 (i.e. highly elastic). In this situation when demand is price elastic, a fall in price leads to higher total consumer spending / producer revenueConsider a price change further down the estimated demand curve from 10 per unit to 8 per unit. The % change in demand = 13.3% following a 20% fall in price giving a co-efficient of elasticity of 0.665 (i.e. inelastic). A fall in price when demand is price inelastic leads to a reduction in total revenue.Change in the market What happens to total revenue?Ped is inelastic and a firm raises its price. Total revenue increasesPed is elastic and a firm lowers its price. Total revenue increasesPed is elastic and a firm raises price. Total revenue decreasesPed is -1.5 and the firm raises price by 4% Total revenue decreasesPed is -0.4 and the firm raises price by 30% Total revenue increasesPed is -0.2 and the firm lowers price by 20% Total revenue decreasesPed is -4.0 and the firm lowers price by 15% Total revenue increasesElasticity of demand and indirect taxationMany products are subject to indirect taxation imposed by the government. Good examples include the excise duty on cigarettes (cigarette taxes in the UK are among the highest in Europe) alcohol and fuels. Here we consider the effects of indirect taxes on a producers costs and the importance of price elasticity of demand in determining the effects of a tax on market price and quantity.

A tax increases the costs of a business causing an inward shift in the supply curve. The vertical distance between the pre-tax and the post-tax supply curve shows the tax per unit. With an indirect tax, the supplier may be able to pass on some or all of this tax onto the consumer through a higher price. This is known as shifting the burden of the tax and the ability of businesses to do this depends on the price elasticity of demand and supply.Consider the two charts above. In the left hand diagram, the demand curve is drawn as price elastic. The producer must absorb the majority of the tax itself (i.e. accept a lower profit margin on each unit sold). When demand is elastic, the effect of a tax is still to raise the price but we see a bigger fall in equilibrium quantity. Output has fallen from Q to Q1 due to a contraction in demand. In the right hand diagram, demand is drawn as price inelastic (i.e. Ped