MEM 801 BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

UNIT I
Introduction:
Historical evolution of business management in the past, present and its future.
Characteristics, function, and importance. Forms of Business Ownership.

UNIT II
Strategic Management:
Strategy Planning. Business Vision. Business Strategies. Levels of Strategy. Porter's
Generic Strategies. Core Competencies.

Business Organization:
Definitions & importance. Organizational Structure. Types of Organizational Structures:
Functional, Divisional, Line and Matrix. Delegation & Elements of Delegation.
Authority. Types of Authority Relationships.

UNIT III
Inventory Management:
Principles of Inventory Management. Economic Order Quantity. Integrated Logistics and
Supply Chain Management. The Value Chain Concept. Information technology for
Inventory Management. Enterprise Resource Planning and Management Information &
Decision Support Systems.

Quality Management:
Total Quality Management. Quality Specifications and Cost of Quality. Zero Defects.
Continuous Improvement. The Shingo System. ISO 9000 Specification.

UNIT IV
Marketing Management:
The Marketing vs. Selling Concept. Marketing Mix. Marketing Research. Product
Development and Sales Promotion.

Human Resource Management:

Importance of the Human Resource. Staffing the Organization. Leadership &
Motivation. Manpower and Employee Development. Incentives for Effective
Performance.

UNIT V
Financial & Accounting Management:
Nature, Function and Use in Planning and Control. Financial Statements, Analysis of
Financial Statements. Depreciation. Book Keeping.

Suggested Reading:
K.B. Chung. Management: Critical Success Factors. Allyn & Bacon. 1987.
P. Drucker. Managing In Turbulent Times. Harper & Row. 1980.
H. Koontz, C. O’Donnel, H. Weirich. Managernent. McGraw-Hil1, 1984.
P. Kotler. Marketing Management. PHI. ]995.
T.J. Peters, R.H. Waterman. In Search of excellence. Harper & Row, 1982.
R. J. Schonberger. Japanese Manufacturing Systems. Free Press, 1982.
MEM 801 BUSINESS MANAGEMENT QUESTION BANK

UNIT 1: Introduction

1. What do you understand by the term 'Business'? Elaborate on the different types of
business activities.
2. What is Management? Explain various characteristics of management.
3. Discuss the various managerial objectives?
4. Discuss the contributions of the Robert Owen, Charles Babbage and James Watt Jr.
in the period of management awakening
5. Expand on the general principles of Scientific Management as propounded by F.W.
Taylor.
6. What were the major contributions of Henri Fayol to management theory? Expand
on Fayol’s Administrative Theory of Management'. Discuss its relevance to
management practices today.
7. What were Elton Mayo’s principal contributions to management theory?
8. Enumerates the various contributions of Gilbreth to the Theory of Management?
9. Explain the Gantt approach to the theory of management.
10. What are the different forms of Business Ownership? Expand on the advantages and
limitations of Sole Proprietorship or Single Ownership.
11. What do you understand by the term Partnership? What are the salient points to be
included in a Partnership Deed? Discuss the advantages and limitations of a
partnership.
12. What are the important features of a Joint Stock Company? Mention the various
steps and procedures to be carried out for the formation of a Joint Stock Company
(JSC). What are the methods for raising funds for (a) starting, and (b) expansion of
a JSC?
13. What are the important features of Cooperative Organization or Society? Discuss its
advantages and disadvantages with respect to other forms of Ownership.
14. What do you mean by Public Sector? How it is managed? Discuss its advantages and
disadvantages with respect to other forms of Ownership.
UNIT II: Strategic Management & Business Organization

15. What is a ‘strategy’? Differentiate clearly between ‘intended’ and ‘realized’

strategies.
16. What do you understand by Strategic Management? Why is strategic management
important?
17. 'Strategic analysis is the foundation for the strategic management process'. Expand
on this statement.
18. Expand on each of the following in the context of strategic management: (a)
Strategic analysis; (b) Strategy formulation; and (c) Strategy implementation.
19. What do you understand by the term 'value chain'? Expand in detail on the various
values creating activities within a firm.
20. ‘Value chain analysis is a useful framework for systematically identifying a firm's
internal strengths and weaknesses.’ Expand on this statement.
21. What do you understand by the term 'competitive advantage'? How does competitive
advantage accrue to a firm?
22. By far, the most influential writer on the topic of ‘competitive advantage’ is Michael
Porter. Expand on Porter's ‘generic strategies’ in the context of strategic
management.
23. Differentiate clearly between ‘product differentiation’ and ‘cost leadership’ in the
context of Porter’s generic strategies.
24. Define the term Organization. Why is it necessary to have a sound organization in an
industrial enterprise?
25. ‘A sound organization can contribute greatly to the continuity and success of the
enterprise’. Expand on the importance of ‘organization’ in the context of the above
statement.
26. What do you understand by the term Organizational Structure? Comment on the
importance of a sound organizational structure in an industrial enterprise. What are
the basic elements of any organizational structure?
27. Describe the various steps involved in the process of designing a company’s
organizational structure.
28. Describe the Line, Military or Scalar Organization. Explain its advantages,
disadvantages and applications.
29. Explain the Functional Organization. Discuss its advantages and disadvantages with
respect to other type of organization structure.
30. Discuss the structure of Line and Staff organization. What are its advantages and
disadvantages?
31. Write short notes on the following types of organization structure:
(a) Project Organization (b) Matrix Organization
32. What do you understand by the term Authority? What are the types of authority?
Discuss the characteristics of authority.
33. What do you mean by Delegation of Authority? What are the principles of
Delegation of Authority?
34. Discuss the various problems of Delegation of Authority?
35. What do you understand by Centralization and Decentralization of authority?
36. Explain the term Departmentation as applied to an organization. What are the
methods of Departmentation?

UNIT III: Inventory Management & Quality Management

37. What do you mean by the term Inventory management? What is the importance of
sound inventory management in a manufacturing industry?
38. What are the objectives of Inventory Management? How inventory is controlled in a
manufacturing industry?
39. What are the advantages and disadvantages of stocking inventory? What are the
primary reasons for stocking inventory?
40. Differentiate clearly between independent demand and dependent demand items.
Identify appropriate inventory management policies with each of the above
categories.
41. What are the various costs involved in inventory control? Explain with suitable
examples.
42. What do you understand by Material Requirement Planning (MRP)? What are the
various inputs to MRP?
43. What do you understand by Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)? What are its
typical advantages and application areas? Enumerates some commonly utilized ERP
packages.
44. A product structure tree for end item X is given below:

(a) Determine the quantities of B, C, D, E, and F needed to assemble one X

(b) Determine the quantities of these components that will required to assemble 10
Xs, taking into account the quantities on hand (i. e., in inventory) of various
components:
45. Write short notes on (a) ABC inventory analysis; (b) Decision Support System (DSS)
in the context of inventory management.
46. Derive the Wilson’s Economic Lot Size formula for determining the Economic
Order Quantity (EOQ) stating explicitly any assumptions made.
47. A certain item costs Rs. 250/- per tonne. The monthly requirement is 5 tonnes and
ordering costs work out to Rs. 120 per order. With an interest carrying rate of 10% of
the value of the stock per year, calculate (i) the EOQ; (ii) the reorder point, assuming
the lead time of three months; (iii) the intervals after which the orders should be
placed.
48. Classify the inventory items as A, B, or C based on annual dollar value also show it
by means of graph, given the following information:
Item Annual Demand Unit Cost ($)
1 1,000 4,300
2 5,000 720
3 1,900 500
4 1,000 710
5 2,500 250
6 2,500 192
7 400 200
8 500 100
9 200 210
10 1,000 35
11 3,000 10
12 9,000 3
49. A local distributor for a national tire company expects to sell approximately 9,600
steel belted radial tires of a certain size and tread design next year. Annual carrying
cost is $16 per tire, and ordering cost is $75. The distributor operates 288 days a
year.
a) What is the EOQ?
b) How many times per year does the store reorder?
c) What is the length of an order cycle?
d) What is the total annual cost if EOQ quantity is ordered?
50. Piddling Manufacturing assembles security monitors. It purchases 3,600 black-and-
white cathode ray tubes a year at $65 each. Ordering costs are $31, and annual
carrying costs are 20 percent of the purchase price. Compute the optimal quantity
and the total annual cost of ordering and carrying the inventory. Also comment on
the results.
51. Define Supply Chain Management (SCM). What is the need of SCM?
52. What do you understand by the term Total Quality Management (TQM)? Expand in
detail on the principles of TQM.
53. What are various obstacles to implementing TQM?
54. What do you mean Dimension of Quality? Explain various dimensions of quality
with suitable example.
55. Expand on terms Quality of design and Quality of conformance.
56. What do you understand by the term Cost of Quality? What are its primary
determinants?
57. What is ISO 9000, and why is it important for global businesses to have an ISO 9000
certification?
58. In context of quality management, what is meant by Continuous Improvement (CI)?
Expand on the different tools and procedures of CI.

UNIT IV: Marketing Management & Human Resource Management

59. Differentiate clearly between the marketing concept and sales concept.
60. What do you mean by marketing? What are the Marketing Principles?
61. What is meant by Market Research? Mention its objectives for a progressive
manufacturing company.
62. What is Market Research procedure? Explain the various Market Research
Techniques in detail.
63. What do you understand by the term Marketing Mix? Expand on its importance in
the context of a company’s marketing strategy.
64. What is meant by Sales Promotion? Explain the various Sales Promotion Methods in
detail.
65. Define Personnel Management. What are its objectives and functions within an
organization?
66. What are the principles/characteristics of a good Personnel Policy?
67. ‘The most important resource in any industrial/business enterprise is the human
resource’. Expand on this statement by highlighting the objectives and importance of
Human Resource Management within an industrial organization.
68. What is Manpower Planning? State its objectives and discuss its importance in any
industrial concern.
69. What do you understand by the term ‘Recruitment’? Provide a classification scheme
for the recruitment processes carried out in any large industrial concern.
70. Why is on-the-job training necessary? What are its objectives and advantages?
71. What do you understand by the term Performance Appraisal? What are its aims?
Mention the different methods of performance appraisal.

UNIT V: Financial and Accounting

72. What do you understand by Depreciation? What are the reasons that cause an asset to
depreciate?
73. Explain any two commonly used methods of depreciation, stating their advantages
and limitations.
74. A melting unit for a steel foundry was purchased for Rs. 30,000. Rs. 5,000 more
were spent on its erection and commissioning. The estimated residual value after ten
years was Rs, 7,000. Calculate the annual rate of depreciation. Also determine the
depreciation fund collected at the end of seven years after the purchase of the melting
unit.
75. An old car was purchased for Rs. 32,000. Its life was estimated as ten years and the
scrap value as Rs. 18,000. Using the reducing balances method, calculate the
depreciation rate (%). Also estimate the depreciation fund at the end of two years.
76. Two machines are purchased, each for Rs. 12,000. The estimated useful life of the
machines is 5 years. The estimated scrap value is Rs. 2,000. For machine A, the
straight line method and for machine B reducing balance method with depreciation
rate = 30% is used to calculate the depreciation every year. Compare the depreciation
charged in each case.
77. What do you mean by Financial Statement? What is the purpose of financial
statements by the business entities?
78. What do you understand by Bookkeeping? What are the bookkeeping systems?
79. Explain the following: (a) Journal (b) Ledger (c) Balance Sheet
80. Explain the Double Entry System of accounts? Why is it so called?
81. What do you mean by Financial Ratios? Discuss in detail the various financial ratios
used for analysis together with their purpose.
82. For the transactions given below, prepare the Journal, Ledger and Trial Balance.
2008, May 1: Opened a hardware shop with Rs. 10,000/-
3: Brought grinding wheels worth Rs. 6,000/-
5: Sold grinding wheels to A Rs. 4,000/-
6: Commission paid Rs. 50/-
9: Paid to bank Rs. 1,000/-
12: Shop rent paid Rs. 300/-
14: Purchased conduit pipes Rs. 3,000/-
16: Conduit pipes sold Rs. 2,000/-
17: Brought welding electrodes Rs. 1,000/-.
83. For the transactions given below, prepare the Journal, Ledger and Trial Balance.
2009, May 2: Ram Das started business with Rs. 50000/-
3: Purchased goods Rs. 5000/-
4: Sold goods to A Rs. 1000/-
5: Purchased goods from B Rs. 1000/-
7: Purchased furniture for Rs. 500/-
10: Purchased goods from C Rs. 500/-
11: Goods returned by A Rs. 250/-
12: Commission paid Rs. 100/-
15: Goods returned to B Rs. 1000/-
20: Paid to C Rs. 1000/-. Discount received Rs. 80/-.
24: Withdrawn for personal use Rs. 2000/-.
25: Sold goods to D Rs. 4500/-.
31: Paid rent of office Rs. 300/-.
31: Paid salary to Staff Rs. 1500/-.