UNIVERSITY OF MAURITIUS

FACULTY OF LAW AND MANAGEMENT

SECOND SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS

MAY 2015

PROGRAMME BSC (HONS) HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (FEE PAYING)

MODULE NAME PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF MANAGEMENT

DATE Friday MODULE CODE MGT 1067Y(1)

22 May 2015

TIME 09:30 – 12:30 DURATION 3 Hours

Hours

NO. OF NO. OF QUESTIONS

6 4
QUESTIONS SET TO BE ATTEMPTED

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

There are 2 Sections in this paper : Section A and Section B.

Section A is COMPULSORY. Answer ALL Questions from Section A.

Section B consists of FIVE Questions. Answer ANY THREE (3) Questions from
Section B.
 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF MANAGEMENT – MGT 1067Y(1)

SECTION A – COMPULSORY

Question 1 - 40 marks
The McFarlane Companies

While in high school, Todd McFarlane dreamed of playing major league baseball.
When his dream didn’t come true, he decided he had to go to college and earn a living.
But McFarlane didn’t want to just go to “work” every day; he wanted to do something
he enjoyed. As a teenager, he liked to draw comic book superheroes. While in high
school and college, he taught himself to draw. After sending out hundreds of samples
and receiving hundreds of rejections, he was offered a job at Marvel Comics. At first
working for meagre pay on obscure comics, meeting deadlines with high-quality work
earned him a reputation as an excellent worker. He was given the opportunity to work
on well-known comics like Batman, The Hulk and Spider Man. He brought Spider Man
from relative obscurity to the number one comic book with record sales. Over time,
McFarlane became the highest paid artist in the industry. However, he quickly became
frustrated with the restrictions he faced at Marvel. He wanted to try new ideas but was
discouraged by the lack of excitement at the company. He decided it was time to quit
and start his own comic book business, and so he persuaded several of his best
coworkers to come with him.

Industry insiders expected his company to last a year at most. But McFarlane never
considered failure, and he did anything but fail. His first comic, Spawn, sold 1.7 million
copies- and the rest is history. Today, he’s creating comics, producing movies, directing
music videos, and running one of the most successful toy companies in the world. His
path to success was similar to that of other entrepreneurs who learned about their
business working for a large company.

Entrepreneurs like McFarlane, however, face many challenges in the business

environment. He takes advantage of the latest in technology to creatively make toys,
movies, and video games. The Internet provides a way to reach his key customers.

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 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF MANAGEMENT – MGT 1067Y(1)

McFarlane loves to see rivals turn out shoddy goods because they can’t compete with
his high-quality toys and other products that are well worth the extra few cents.

What about his major league dream? Part of McFarlane’s dream started coming true
when he bought Mark McGuire’s record-breaking 70th home run ball, with a price tag
of $3 million. When the record was broken the next year by Barry Bonds, McFarlane
had to re-evaluate. He combined McGuire’s ball with other McGuire and Sammy Sosa
balls he had purchased to form the McFarlane collection. He sent the collection on a
tour of every major league stadium. In addition to providing great public relations for
the firm, this move helped develop a relationship with people in professional sports
and management that led to licensing rights to produce major league toys. The $3
million ball will likely lead to $20 million in profit.

Did his boyhood dreams come true? Well, he doesn’t have a baseball career, but every
toy contract with a major league team includes what you might call a signing bonus-the
right for McFarlane to hit batting practice in every ballpark that shows his collection.
While that’s not the same as being a player, McFarlane’s not complaining.

Question 1

(a) What are the major challenges faced by Todd McFarlane as a manager in today’s
business world? Provide evidence to support your answer. [15 marks]

(b) Managers are classified into three basic levels. What are they? In which level
would you place Todd McFarlane? [10 marks]

(c) Managers need to develop three principle skill sets as per Robert Katz. Define
each of these skill sets and discuss about McFarlane’s proficiency in each of these
areas. [15 marks]

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 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF MANAGEMENT – MGT 1067Y(1)

SECTION B – Answer ANY THREE Questions

Question 2

Planning is one of the four managerial functions. Why do companies believe in

planning as an important activity for managers? Critically assess its relevance in the day
to day running of an organization. Support your answer using relevant examples.
[20 marks]

Question 3

Write short notes on the following concepts :

(a) Marketing as a functional area of management [5 marks]

(b) Matrix Structures [5 marks]
(c) Corporate Social Responsibility [5 marks]
(d) Conflict Management [5 marks]

Question 4

Communication is the lifeblood of an organization.

(a) Outline the communication process highlighting the potential barriers to

communication. [10 marks]

(b) How can these barriers be overcome? [10 marks]

Question 5

What is the relevance of understanding employee’s attitudes, perception and

personality for a manager? Support your answer with relevant examples. [20 marks]

Question 6

(a) Differentiate between a group and a team. [5 marks]

(b) Describe the different stages in the development of a group. Illustrate your
answer with examples. [15 marks]

- END OF QUESTION PAPER -

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