PI KIT 2023 A comprehensive guide for Aspirants By PR and Media Committee IIM Sambalpur /IIMSBP /iim_sambalpur PI KIT | 2023 Dear Aspirants Greetings from PR and Media Committee of IIM Sambalpur! The IIM Sambalpur fraternity congratulates you on making the shortlist for the PI round! IIM Sambalpur has designed the PI Kit 2023 to help you prepare for upcoming interview processes. This booklet provides information to assist you in preparing for and acing the final phase of the rigorous B-School admissions process. We will gladly assist you with any further inquiries or clarifications. We will be happy to assist you with any additional questions or clarifications. Best of luck! Disclaimer: This package is provided for informational reasons only and does not imply that the IIM Sambalpur administration endorses it. This kit is not comprehensive, and we recommend that REACH OUT TO US (click/tap to redirect) you simply utilize it to improve your preparation so that you can give it your all on D-day. Official Website Instagram PagalGuy LinkedIn Facebook YouTube Twitter Telegram PI KIT | 2023 TABLE OF CONTENTS 01 Pre-Interview 02 Introducing yourself 03 Personal Questions 07 Work-Ex Questions 09 Interviewer's Note 10 Academic Background 12 Behavioural Questions asked 13 Background Questions asked 16 GA Questions asked 17 Work-ex Questions asked PI KIT | 2023 TABLE OF CONTENTS 18 Current Affairs 25 Marketing 35 Human Resource 42 Entrepreneur -ship 48 Finance 54 IT/Analytics 61 Product Management 67 Consulting 76 Operations PI KIT | 2023 PRE INTERVIEW PREPARATION DOs VIDEO INTERVIEWS: Get acquainted with the technology beforehand. Set up a dry run through a demo meeting Be seated in a room where a sufficient amount of light is available. Check your surroundings and choose one with minimal noise and other distractions Ensure that your background is clean and appropriate for a professional meeting. Using a plain white virtual background is recommended. Ensure proper setting of the camera such that you’re visible till your wrist. Check your mic and speaker beforehand Dress professionally and be well groomed as you would dress up for a face-to-face interview Check your internet connectivity interview to ensure proper flow interview before during the the Switch off your phone, close all tabs for minimum distraction and clean your screen and camera, so you don’t appear blurry to the interviewer Look at the camera; this will ensure that interviewers see you as you're looking at them Sit straight and ensure proper posture. Also, take care of non-verbal gestures such as eye contact, hand movement, etc Leave a slight pause after the interviewer is done with asking a question so that if in case there’s a lag, it doesn’t look like you’re interrupting the interviewer Prepare yourself as you would do for a face-to-face interview Inform the interviewer if you are/will face a disturbance out of your control during the interview Page 01 You may be nervous about giving a video interview since you may have never done one before. However, once you have done a few, you should get comfortable. The same basic ideas apply for the most part, with the exception that you are now on camera. Because video interviews are becoming more common, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the technology ahead of time. You willl be in a terrific position to ace the interview if you follow these suggestions, and it will be a great chance to demonstrate your technological prowess. DONTs Avoid slouching in your chair or appearing overly relaxed, as this may create the impression that you are disinterested and lack seriousness It is not acceptable to read answers to prospective questions through the screen. Even if interviewers can't see you doing it, they can hear you, and you won't sound natural Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Your Interviewer to Repeat the Question Don’t let awkward pauses occur in meeting. Keep the conversation going Don't be distracted by what's going on on the other side of the screen with the interviewer, and don't have any other apps open on your computer that could distract you Don’t get distracted by the technical glitches. Acknowledge the glitches as they are not under your control PI KIT | 2023 INTRODUCING YOURSELF The question to start all questions. Introduce yourself is a fundamental question when it comes to MBA interviews. It sets the tone of the interview. This question allows you to guide the interview in your desired direction. Whenever you introduce yourself, plant "planned" pointers in your introduction such that it attracts the attention of the interviewer, which makes it very likely for them to make a follow-up on the planted pointer. These planted pointers are things like your achievements, for example, awards in any field, volunteer work, good academic record, publications, etc. Remember always to plan and prepare indepth about these planted pointers beforehand. Introducing yourself gives you an opportunity to decide the flow of your interview and highlight yourself in a unique light. The best way by far is always to begin answering this question with a storyline. For example, Start from where you were born and gradually take it ahead to make it look like a story. Do not forget to add your achievements, your roles and responsibilities, and your strengths during these phases of storytelling. A good example always consists of a balance of hard and soft skills. It is preferred that the ending of this question includes some part of soft skills and hobbies. Highlight the things you are confident about in this question and do not mention something you are not comfortable talking about. An excellent example to initiate can be - Thank you for giving me this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is X. I was born and brought up in Delhi. I did my 10th from Y in 2016. While growing up, I was a curious and lively girl interested in sports. This made me take up sports in my school. I was the captain of my U-19 handball team, represented my school at the national level, and won twice the gold medal. Human biology seemed very interesting to me; hence I took up science as my stream in 12th. During that time, I also won a bronze medal in the National Science Olympiad and passed school with 94.6% in 2018..... Page 02 PI KIT | 2023 PERSONAL QUESTIONS BANK 01 DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN 5 WORDS Tip: Choose simple words which highlight your personality and can be backed up by your life instances. 02 WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES? Tip: Choose your strengths and weaknesses wisely. Always mention, by giving real-life instances, why you feel these are your strengths and weaknesses. Also, mention what you are doing to overcome your weaknesses. 03 WHY DOES AN MBA COURSE APPEAL TO YOU? Tip: Mention three or four precise reasons which will add value to your life and your expectations from the course. 04 WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO APPLY TO [BUSINESS SCHOOL]? Tip: Be very specific in mentioning your reasons for applying to that specific business school. Show that you have done some research. If possible, talk to alums of that institute and highlight their insights. 05 WHICH SPECIFIC SKILLS ARE YOU LOOKING TO ACQUIRE FROM AN MBA? Tip: Express some specific 3 - 4 skills that you wish to gain from MBA; also, be prepared with why you feel these skills are essential in life and how MBA will help you attain them. 06 WHAT IF YOU DON'T GET SELECTED FOR A PREMIUM B-SCHOOL? Tip: This question is to understand interests and actual reasons for an MBA. Approach this question by highlighting your vision in life and what other alternatives you can take to fulfil that vision. Page 03 PI KIT | 2023 PERSONAL QUESTIONS BANK ...CONTD... 07 SPECIALISATION OF INTEREST? Tip: Demonstrate your interests, backing them up with knowledge of that domain and your reason as to why you feel you will be a good fit for that specialization. 08 WHAT ARE YOUR LONG-TERM GOALS AND SHORTTERM GOALS? HOW WILL MBA HELP YOU IN ACHIEVING THEM? Tip: Your short-term goals should be specific and attainable, and your long-term goals should align with your interests, personality, and vision in life. Specify 1 – 2 reasons why MBA will be the path to achieving your goals. 09 TELL US ABOUT YOUR HOBBIES AND INTERESTS Tip: Through this question, the interviewer is trying to understand you as a person. Mention your hobbies and interests along with any extracurricular activities related to them. 10 WHY SHOULD WE SELECT YOU? Tip: Your personality is what differentiates you from others. Focus on your 'brand' and answer this question with your skills, qualities, and interests. 11 DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A TEAM PLAYER? Tip: Answer this question by highlighting an example from your life where you’ve demonstrated teamwork skills. 12 WHAT KIND OF LEADER DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE? EXAMPLE OF EXCEPTIONAL LEADERSHIP? Tip: Provide an action-based example with tangible results. Be crisp and concise without getting lost in details. Page 04 PI KIT | 2023 PERSONAL QUESTIONS BANK ...CONTD... 13 BIGGEST CHALLENGES SO FAR? Tip: Make sure the answer you provide shows your problem-solving abilities. Give context to give a clear idea of how you handle these types of situations. 14 DESCRIBE A FAILURE IN YOUR LIFE? HOW DID YOU OVERCOME IT? Tip: While responding to this question, take responsibility and don't make excuses for the failure. Also, mention how you’ve used this experience to become a better person. 15 WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT? Tip: While answering this question, highlight your journey for this achievement. Mention the challenges you faced, the actions you took, and what results you achieved. 16 WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL? WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM THEM? Tip: To answer this question, think of people who embody the qualities you most admire and the steps you have taken to inculcate those qualities in your personality. 17 WHICH DECISIONS DO YOU REGRET THE MOST IN LIFE? Tip: Don’t say you don’t have any regrets. Mention an education or a work-related regret. Describe how you handled it and what you learned from it. 18 IF GIVEN A CHANCE, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE? Tip: Don’t say "nothing". Answer this question with an example from the education or professional front where you could have put more effort. Page 05 PI KIT | 2023 PERSONAL QUESTIONS BANK ...CONTD... 19 WHY DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR DOMAIN OF GRADUATION? Tip: Respond with your actual reason thereby mentioning your reason for doing an MBA. Also mention how both the courses align with each other in fulfilling your vision in life. 20 GAP YEARS? Tip: Through this question, the interviewer wants to know what you learned through the year and your reasons to choose the same, add about internships/certifications/NGO work. 21 DESCRIBE A SITUATION WHERE RESULTS WENT AGAINST EXPECTATIONS AND HOW DID YOU ADAPT? Tip: Do a SWOT analysis of yourself and be ready to discuss scenarios where your strengths came in handy when you attempted to overcome the situation. 22 GRADES LOW/DRAMATICALLY DECREASED/NOT IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY? Tip: Whatever may be the reason, be truthful and try to showcase what you are trying to improve upon and the efforts you have made to do better. 23 DISCUSS A TIME WHEN YOU HAD TO MANAGE YOUR TEAM THROUGH A DIFFICULT SITUATION Tip: The interviewer wants to evaluate leadership qualities and how you handle challenging situations through this question. Set up the situation in a proper narrative sequence, you can also be specific about team size to add a more realistic touch to it and then focus your answer on the action you took. 24 WHAT ARE YOUR LONG-TERM GOALS? Tip: Talk about how 10-15 years down the lane you will be an asset for the company and how you will contribute to society in general. Also, try to add a personal touch that shows your value system. Page 06 PI KIT | 2023 WORK EXPERIENCE QUESTION BANK What are/were you working in? What are/were your primary responsibilities at the job?/ Describe your job profile. Who are the target customers of your company? How do/did you sell your goods to your consumers? How are/were the standards set in your industry? How does/did your company/product conform to the standards set in the industry? How do/did you do the market survey? Introduce your organization. Tell us about your projects. How will your current experience help you if you go on to become a manager? Are you not happy with your job? Then why do you want to leave the company? What kind of challenges have you faced at your workplace? Describe the corporate structure of your organization. Did you face problems motivating your team? Do/Did you have foreign clients? Describe the appraisal process at your company. How can you improve upon the current profile that you are working in? What are the various services offered by your company? Apart from your regular work, what else have you done in your company? How did your company perform in the post-pandemic work setup? What are the challenges that your company faced? On which technology did/do you work? What are the recent acquisitions of your company? Why was your company merged with/sold to XXX? What challenges did the employees go through a post that? Page 07 PI KIT | 2023 WORK EXPERIENCE QUESTION BANK ...CONTD... Tell us about any creative project that you undertook in your job. There are five people working under you. How will you motivate and manage them? What are the latest happenings in your industry? What change would you like to bring to the management of your previous organization? What changes and advancements did you bring about in your company? What differentiates your company from others in the same industry? What are your three key takeaways from your job? What is the annual revenue that your company generates? What is/was the team size that you are/were leading? What is your business strategy? What kind of training did you receive in your job? What projects were you involved in during your job? Who are your major competitors? Who is the founder of your company? Who tells you what to do in your job? What are/were the parts of your job that you like/liked? What are/were the parts you dislike/disliked? Why did you change your job? Why did/do you switch jobs so early? What skills did you learn at your job and how are they relevant to MBA? Why do you want to switch over from IT to management? Would you take the risk of giving an important task to your subordinate knowing that he/she might not do it well and you could incur a loss? Page 08 PI KIT | 2023 INTERVIEWER'S NOTE The most valuable tips are from the interviewer's perspective! We took inputs from our interviewing faculty to put down these essential tips. Good Communication Skill Good communication is highly crucial as it is the first trait that would help you make an immediate impression. However, do not forget to be your own self and refrain from using any unnecessary accent while conversing. Speak clearly and concisely in an audible voice. Be honest in your responses You may be completely unaware of specific questions thrown at you, but understand that the interviewer sometimes just wants to test how candidates tackle such situations. Be honest and politely say, “I am unsure, but may I take a guess?” and then proceed. The panel easily recognizes dishonest answers or bluffs as they hold years of experience and expertise. Be thorough with the basics of the courses you have pursued For example, suppose you have done mechanical engineering three years ago and are asked a simple question on strength of materials/thermodynamics/machine drawing, and you cannot answer it. In that case, it may leave a bad impression. If at all you cannot recall the answer at the moment, politely convey the same and do not try to take wild guesses. Be thorough with all the projects you have undertaken Details about the projects during your work experience are almost certain to be asked in the interview. It is crucial to answering them with enough clarity. Exhibit an analytical mind For example, if you are asked a question on a current affair, do not just state facts about it but present your own critical analysis of the situation. Be polite during the interview, and never argue Try to bypass arguments intelligently but still make your point (it is possible that a panel member may be intentionally saying something wrong to see if you would engage in an argument). Avoid stereotypical answers Answers like “I want to pursue MBA because I have always been interested in becoming an entrepreneur” “I have wanted to pursue an MBA ever since childhood”, and “I work with an NGO” (ghost ones mostly to create an impression); panel realizes those hoaxes immediately. Try to figure out an answer which would be honest but convey it in a manner that does not create a negative impact. Always be on time for the interview Being late creates an immediate negative impact. Page 09 PI KIT | 2023 ACADEMIC BACKGROUND IMPORTANT TOPICS AND QUESTIONS BBA Why study business again? The specialization you're targeting (Specialization-based questions, Usually the basics, i.e., frameworks in case of marketing, ratios in case of finance, theories in case of HR) What books did you read as part of your course? Questions based on the books/courses taken Difference between administration and management PURE SCIENCE Why such a drastic shift from science to business? What can your background bring to the table? Practical application-based questions based on your curriculum Technical questions based on your 12th Grade or First-year courses Favourite subject and why Page 10 ENGINEERING CSE/IT Data Structures Machine Learning & AI Concepts of Object Oriented Programming Cloud Computing Big - O Algorithms ECE Electronic devices and circuits Logic Gates and Integrated Circuits Analog and Digital Communication VLSI Embedded systems Digital Electronics EEE Electric Machines Power Systems Control Systems MECHANICAL Carnot cycle Law of thermodynamics Questions about engines and automobiles Refrigeration cycle PI KIT | 2023 ACADEMIC BACKGROUND IMPORTANT TOPICS AND QUESTIONS COMMERCE Concept of Debit and credit Differences between e-commerce & brickand-mortar stores How does a bank earn money? How can you say a company is financially stable? GAAP Accounting standards Difference between common size and comparative balance sheet Standard deviation and its practical implications of it Accounting concepts Types of cash flow Difference between accounting profit and economic profit Types of accounting and general accounting rules The formula of weighted average cost of capital Internal reconstruction B.C.D. Break-even point How is goodwill for a Sole proprietorship calculated? Operating cycle Negotiable instruments Act Methods of calculating depreciation Capital budgeting STP analysis STP analysis of the organization of your choice What is your take on the current economy of India, and where is it going? Financial statement, balance sheet, P&L, Trial Balance, and its terms briefly. Derivatives Types of shares Yesterday's stock market closed on? Why balance sheet balances Page 11 ECONOMICS Economic Survey Budget Chief Economic Advisor of India Function and Governors of RBI, NABARD, SEBI, and other federal bodies GDP, GNP, GDP at PPP, NIA, Nominal and real GDP, NDP, NNP, GDP Deflator Ranking Of India in Ease of Doing Business, GDP Inflation, stagflation Balance of Payments Monetary and Fiscal Policy, Exchange rates The repo rate, Reverse Repo rate, Bank rate, Cash Reserve Ratio, Statutory Liquidity Ratio Fiscal deficit, Budget deficit, Deficit financing Trade Cycles PPP GST, Goods Exempted from GST Demand, Supply, Elasticity Inferior goods, Giffen goods, Veblen goods, public goods, private goods, complements and substitutes Consumer and Producer surplus Externalities - Positive and negative Economies and diseconomies of scale, economies of scope Different kinds of Market Structures (Perfectly competitive, Monopoly, Monopolistic, Oligopoly, etc. ) Indifference Curves, axioms of IC, the slope of IC Marginal Utility, Diminishing Marginal Utility Direct and Indirect taxes PI KIT | 2023 BEHAVIORAL QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED TO THE STUDENTS Why MBA? Tell us something about yourself? Your strengths and Weakness? Give us one situation where you showed leadership? What motivated you towards MBA? What are you hobbies and interests? Your favourite books? Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years? Do your SWOT analysis? Justify gap year ? Why shouldn't we select you? What stream are you most interested in and why? What are your ways of making decisions while deciding the fate of future actions? You will be pressured during any moment of interview to check your capabilities to handle any situation where they will try to confuse you or will try to make you think you are answering wrong. Examples in college you showed leadership? Tell something about your family? Extra curricular activities Page 12 What brought you here? Questions related to Positions of Responsibilities held Biggest turning point in your life? Explain about a leadership conflict that you faced. Why didn't you take up NSS in undergraduation if you were already a member in +2? Biggest success and failure PI KIT | 2023 BACKGROUND QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED TO THE STUDENTS Microbiology: Structure of DNA Viral genome structure Fungi and bacterial differences. Agriculture: Explain each of the three laws of the farm bill and the reason for revolt Your opinion on the same Chemistry: Types of Titration Experiments Electronegativity Carbon and its compounds Chromatography Zoology: The life cycle of butterfly & frog What is the difference between wolf, jackal, fox? Difference and similarity between lungs and gills Homology, analogy Biotechnology (Btech): Differentiate between type 1 and 2 diabetes, What's DNA? What is transformation? How can you alter DNA? What is the future of the biotechnology industry? Name any 5 biotechnology companies and women entrepreneurs. Every interview asked questions about Covid, what are vaccines? How are they made? Type of vaccines? Engineering: What is noise? Petroleum Engineering: Crude Oil Prices per Barrel? How many gallons are in one Barrel? Some common processes Page 13 PI KIT | 2023 BACKGROUND QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED TO THE STUDENTS Mechanical Engineering: What is a factor of safety and how do you calculate it? What do you think might be the factor of safety for XYZ Structure? Different kinds of suspensions in a vehicle and their functioning What CAD software are you aware of and can you use it? Electrical Engineering: Give some examples of where renewable energy is produced in India. types of renewable energy sources Significance of star rating in appliances, use of RGB cables BCA: Bubble shorting program Matrix multiplication Web developer: Is it possible to automate web development? BBA: What are training and development? What is performance appraisal? 4P's of marketing. Commerce: What is the fundamental difference between Sole Proprietorship and Company? Accounting journal entries. Marketing-related questions. What is TDS? Where is TDS shown in Balance Sheet?, What is contingent liability? Page 14 PI KIT | 2023 BACKGROUND QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED TO THE STUDENTS Hospitality administration/Hotel management and Tourism studies: What is Siliguri corridor? What is and what is the difference between green tourism, environmental tourism and floral tourism? What would you serve a minister of a state if he comes to your hotel without having any data on him nor you are allow to find anything about him? What would you do if I give him a bottle of alcohol brought from outside the hotel, and he will have to like it which alcohol do you suggest? Name 5 most expensive wine and whiskey. 5 most expensive wine and whiskey in India as well. Page 15 PI KIT | 2023 GENERAL AWARENESS QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED TO THE STUDENTS President of India CM of your state Countries touching boundaries with India Latest elections results List of president List of CM of your state Directions of various places in your city History of the transport system in your city What do you know about Russia Ukraine war? Basic questions related to Home Town (eg. Who is the MP/MLA). Who is the Finance Minister? What's new in the Budget? Which states are elections being held? Why are following awards given? a. Dada sahab phalke award b. Arjun award Name 5 least known prime ministers of India What is the national song of India? Who is the author of the national anthem of India? Three qualities of Rabindranath Tagore. Name any music director. Name 2 central government women ministers, education minister, science minister, who governs the biotech department? Chief minister of Bengal, odisha, education minister of Delhi government, how long their term has been? Page 16 PI KIT | 2023 WORK EXPERIENCE RELATED QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED Questions on previous job profile? Why you want to leave job and join MBA when salary is good? What is six sigma? I was given a situation in that I had to apply six sigma. I mentioned about auditing so they asked about types of audit. Names of the projects worked on and the best one amongst them. Responsibilities handled during Work Ex Why did you leave your job? You left your job just for CAT preparation, so you don't seem to be a multitasker Which all departments did you work in? What were your responsibilities at Indigo? Describe what kind of work you did there? Explain your daily work. Any conflict during work tenure, how did you manage it Explain your work ex, why only healthcare? Page 17 PI KIT | 2023 Current Affairs BY Career Development Committee Page 18 PI KIT | 2023 CURRENT AFFAIRS QUESTIONS IMPORTANT TOPICS AND QUESTIONS 1. Do you know about the Russia-Ukraine conflict? Current status Name some neighbouring countries of Ukraine where people are migrating to. Which country is supporting Russia? Is India’s neutral stance justified? 2. Which countries are manufacturing semiconductor chips? Why is India not manufacturing them? What problems are we facing due to this? Tell us 3. Who is the Governor of Odisha? 4. Tell us about the Zomato-Blinkit merger. Why do you think companies go for mergers? 5. Tell us about a socio-political issue which you read about recently. 6. Who won the FIFA World cup 2022? 7. Brexit and its impact on UK and EU? 8. Highlights of the Green growth programme that has been announced in the budget? 9. Who has been rewarded with the Lifetime Achievement Awards by the India-UK Achievers Honours? 10. Highlights of Budget 2023-24 11. Adani- Hindenburg allegations 12. Bharat OS 13. How many rivers flow through Odisha? 14. What are the main historical sites present in odisha? Sample topics Here are just a few sample topics which you should be prepared for. There could be a situation when the interviewer could randomly ask you for your opinion on any such topic. 1. Scope of AI in India 2. Digital currency 3. Is the growing expense of space research and exploration justified? 4. India-China relations 5. Privatization of Air India 6. Mission to MARS – Can India afford to spend a fortune on such projects? 7. Walmart and Flipkart Deal: Impact on the Indian Economy 8. Start-up boom in India and Unicorns 9. Tapering by Federal reserve 10. Role of EV to achieve net zero targets by 2070 Page 19 PI KIT | 2023 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. Farm laws repealed Moonlighting Your opinion about the layoff of employees in organizations like Google, Meta, SAP, Microsoft etc. Current economic crisis in Pakistan Chat GPT & AI platforms and their potential advantages and disadvantages India's G20 presidency 2023 India as the 5th largest economy The rise of gig economy E-learning- cons and pros BharOS Can you share a brief overview of your background and experiences? In your response, consider including: A chronological sequence of your work experience and education Your chosen MBA specialization Hobbies and achievements One of the top three highlights from your CV Additionally, please highlight three of your strengths by using the following structure: Describe a situation Detail the action you took Outline the outcome Lastly, share three areas of improvement by using this structure: Identify a situation Explain the effect it had on you Discuss the steps you are taking to correct or improve the situation. Page 20 PI KIT | 2023 Marketing BY Emporia Page 21 PI KIT | 2023 MARKET(ING) A market is a collection of buyers and sellers who transact over a particular product or class of products. When marketers talk about the term ‘market’, they generally refer to the customer segments who are most likely to buy the product. Marketing is the activity of creating, communicating, and delivering value to the target customer at a profit, better than the competition. Sales is the function of selling your individual or company’s products or services for an agreed-upon price to the buyers and, in turn, developing and maintaining relationships with the customers and/or distributors. NEEDS, WANTS, AND DEMANDS- Needs - These are the states of felt deprivation without which humans cannot survive. These can be physical needs like food, clothing, safety, and social needs like affection. These do not require a push. Wants - Wants are desires which are not needed for survival. These include cultural and personal preferences. These are a step ahead of needs and are largely dependent on the needs of humans themselves. Demands - When an individual wants something which is premium, but he/she also has the ability to buy it, then these wants are converted to demands. The basic difference between wants and demands is the ability to buy. Page 22 PI KIT | 2023 ATL , BTL , AND TTL MARKETINGATL Marketing- It stands for ‘Above the Line Marketing.’ This kind of marketing has an extensive reach and is mainly untargeted. It is primarily used for building brand awareness and goodwill. Ex: Television, radio, print advertising. BTL Marketing- It stands for ‘Below the Line Marketing.’ This kind of marketing targets specific groups of people with a focus. It is best for conversions and direct responses. Ex: Sponsorship, Brand activation. TTL Marketing- It stands for ‘Through the Line Marketing.’ This kind of marketing is an integrated approach, where a company would use both BTL and ATL marketing methods to reach their customer base and generate conversions. This kind of marketing delivers both a broad reach and a focus on conversions. Ex: Social Media, Events. DIGITAL MARKETINGDigital marketing refers to advertising delivered through digital channels such as search engines, websites, social media, email, and mobile apps. Digital marketing is how businesses promote their products, services, and brands using various online media platforms. Marketing Sales It is about satisfying wants and needs It is about selling goods and services It is targeted towards specific groups It is directed at everybody The objective is to maximize customer satisfaction The objective is to maximize sales revenues It has an outward orientation It has an inward orientation Page 23 PI KIT | 2023 B2B VS B2CB2B B2C Target Market Small and Niche Large and Broad Buyer Company/Business Entity Individual Buying Process Longer/Multiple Steps Simple/Single Step Sales Funnel More complicated/Calculated Shorter term/Spontaneous Sales Driver Value Proposition/Social Proof/Relationships Brand Awareness/Repetition STPSTP marketing is an acronym for Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning which is a three-step model that analyses a company's products or services as well as how it conveys its benefits to specific customer segments. Segmentation: The process of splitting a market into smaller groups with similar product needs or identifiable characteristics, for the purpose of selecting appropriate target markets. Targeting: The proactive selection of a suitable market segment (or segments) with the intention of heavily focusing the firm’s marketing offers and activities towards this group of related consumers. Positioning: The target market’s perception of the product’s key benefits and features, relative to the offerings of competitive products. Link for reference: https://youtu.be/0srjdRDh99Y Page 24 PI KIT | 2023 4 PS OF MARKETINGProduct: The product is either a tangible good or an intangible service that seems to meet a specific customer’s need or demand. All products follow the product life cycle (PLC), and it is vital for marketers to understand and plan for the various stages of PLC and their unique challenges. The benefits offered by the product need to be understood, and a unique selling proposition of the product needs to be put forward. Place: Place or placement deals with where a company sells a product and how the product will be provided to the customer. Distribution is a key element of placement. The placement strategy will help in determining how to deliver a particular product to the market. Price: Price is the cost customers pay for a product. Marketers must link the price to the product’s real and perceived value (i.e., how much customers are willing to pay for a product depending upon the perceived benefits). They must also consider supply costs, seasonal discounts, and competitors’ prices. Promotion: Promotion refers to the marketing communication strategies and techniques which show the consumers why they need a certain product and pay a certain price for it. This includes advertising, public relations, and promotional strategy. Moreover, marketers tend to tie promotion and placement elements together so they can reach their core audiences. Link for reference- https://youtu.be/Mco8vBAwOmA 7PS OF MARKETINGThe 7Ps are generally used in the service industries. Extending the marketing mix by adding Physical Evidence, Process, and People to 4P, bring the marketing function closer to human resource management and operations. The remaining 3P's of the 7P's apart are: People: The people in the framework represent the employees, consultants, and freelancers who deliver the service to customers. People are the most critical factor in providing knowledge-based services as they add value to the consumer's experience. Hence, training, personal selling, and customer service are key ways to ensure good service from the employees facing consumers. Examples: Waiters of a restaurant, Hairstylists in a Salon, business analysts in IT companies, etc. Process: The processes are the steps required to deliver the service to a customer. All service companies aim to have a seamless process flow, making it more manageable. Physical Evidence: The physical evidence combines the environment and branding where the service is provided to a customer Page 25 PI KIT | 2023 5 CS OF MARKETINGCustomer: It is important to identify our customers and determine which of their needs we are attempting to satisfy and what tangible and intangible benefits are the customers seeking. Company: It involves an analysis of the company’s product line, its culture, goals and objectives, and image in the market. It also involves the company’s technology and experience. Collaborators: Collaborators are businesses or entities that can help the company achieve its goals and objectives. Collaborators: Collaborators are businesses or entities that can help the company achieve its goals and objectives. Competitors: We need to know whom we are competing with in meeting our customer’s needs. Is the other company a potential threat or an active competitor? Climate (Context): When looking at climate, we are assessing macro-environmental factors, i.e., external factors, the economic environment, political environment, and regulatory environment, to mention a few. PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE (PLC)The product life cycle describes the stages a product goes through from when it was first introduced until it finally is removed from the market. Not all products reach this final stage. Some continue to grow, and others rise and fall. The main stages of the product life cycle are: 1. Introduction – Launching the product into the market. 2. Growth – When sales are increasing at their fastest rate. 3. Maturity – Sales are near their highest, but the growth rate is slowing down, e.g., new competitors in the market or saturation. 4. Decline – Final stage of the cycle when sales begin to fall. Link for reference- https://youtu.be/_26E6QR_hmU Page 26 PI KIT | 2023 MOMENT MARKETINGMoment marketing is a strategy that focuses on capitalizing on current events, trends, or cultural moments to create timely and relevant marketing campaigns. The goal is to tap into the public's current mindset and emotions to create an impactful and memorable message. GUERRILLA MARKETINGGuerrilla marketing is an unconventional and low-cost marketing approach aiming to generate maximum impact and visibility. The goal is to use innovative and creative tactics to reach and engage target audiences in new and unexpected ways. Page 27 PI KIT | 2023 MEME MARKETINGMeme marketing is a strategy that leverages internet memes to reach and engage audiences. Brands create or use existing memes to promote their products or services in a humorous and relatable way, tapping into the potential for memes to go viral and reach large audiences quickly. Successful meme marketing requires careful consideration, including understanding the target audience and choosing memes that align with the brand image and messaging. Memes must also be used with sensitivity and respect to avoid misinterpretation or loss of the brand's message. Meme marketing can be an effective way to connect with audiences and create a memorable and impactful message. SWOT ANALYSISSWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, and SWOT Analysis is a technique for assessing these four aspects of a business. Page 28 PI KIT | 2023 Strengths - Strengths are things that an organization does exceptionally well or in a way that distinguishes it from competitors. Weaknesses - Weaknesses, like strengths are inherent features of an organization, so it should focus on its people, resources, systems, and procedures. It should also think about what it could improve and the practices it should avoid. Opportunities - Opportunities are opportunities for something positive to happen, but the organization needs to claim them for itself. Threats - Threats include anything that can negatively affect the business from the outside, such as supply chain problems, shifts in market requirements, or a shortage of recruits. It is vital to anticipate threats and take action against them before the organization becomes a victim of them and its growth stalls. PRODUCT AND SERVICE ATTRIBUTESProduct and service attributes are the distinctive characteristics and features that set one product or service apart from others on the market. They include, among other things, design, quality, price, packaging, and warranty. These characteristics are essential in customer decision-making and influence their purchasing behaviour. Companies can get a competitive advantage by understanding the most important traitsof consumers and producing products and services to fulfil those needs. For example, if a company's target market prioritises environmental stewardship, it may concentrate on manufacturing products made from ecologically friendly materials or manufactured using environmentally friendly procedures. BRAND AND BRANDINGA brand is a distinguishing feature that distinguishes a company's products or services from its competitors. Logos, trademarks, taglines, and visual images, among other things, can be used to develop a brand. The process of creating and managing a brand to ensure that it resonates with target consumers and reaches the desired recognition and reputation is referred to as branding. Good branding can assist businesses in developing a devoted client base, increasing brand recognition and awareness, and increasing brand equity. Page 29 PI KIT | 2023 CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR MODELSThese models try to explain and predict how consumers make purchasing decisions. These models, which might be based on psychological, sociological, or economic theories, can help businesses better understand their target markets. A psychological model, for example, would concentrate on the emotions and motivations that drive consumers' purchase decisions, whereas an economic model might focus on the rational decision-making process involved in selecting a product or service. Page 30 PI KIT | 2023 AIDA MODELThe AIDA Model is a popular paradigm for understanding customers’ phases while making purchasing decisions. AIDA is an acronym that stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. According to the concept, consumers first become aware of a product or service, develop an interest in it, want to own it, and act to purchase it. Companies can utilise the AIDA model to design marketing strategies and create advertising campaigns that effectively interact with their target demographic and drive sales. BCG MATRIXA technique for assessing the potential of a company's product portfolio, the BCG Matrix. Products are divided into four quadrants: stars, cash cows, dogs, and question marks. Cash cows are low-growth, high-market-share products that create considerable profits, dogs are low-growth, low-market-share products that may be discontinued, and question marks are high-growth, low-market-share effects that may have the potential to become stars or dogs. The BCG matrix assists businesses in adequately allocating resources by prioritising investment in goods with high growth potential. Page 31 PI KIT | 2023 ANSOFF MATRIXThe Ansoff Matrix is a strategic planning tool that assists businesses in determining their product and market growth strategy. It provides four growth options: market penetration, market development, product development, and diversification. Market penetration is the increase of sales of existing products in existing markets; market development is the sale of existing products in new markets; product development is the introduction of new products in existing markets; and diversification is the introduction of new products in new markets. The Ansoff Matrix assists businesses in assessing the possible risks and rewards of various growth plans. INFLUENCER MARKETINGInfluencer marketing is a type of marketing that entails collaborating with people who have a substantial following on social media sites like Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok to promote a product or service. These influencers, often known as "social media influencers," can reach big audiences and assist businesses in developing more personal and real connections with their target consumers. Companies often compensate influencersfor promoting their products, creating content for their social media platforms, or taking part in sponsored posts. Consumers are more likely to accept suggestions from people they follow and like; thus, influencer marketing may be quite effective in increasing brand exposure and credibility. Organisations should carefully identify influencers who agree with their brand values and target market to minimise backlash or legal difficulties and properly declare sponsored material. Page 32 PI KIT | 2023 CONSUMER VS CUSTOMERWhile the phrases "consumer" and "customer" are sometimes used interchangeably, there is a distinction between the two. A consumer is someone who buys goods or services for personal use. In contrast, a customer is someone who has a commercial relationship with a company and can buy for both personal and professional reasons. Understanding the distinction between consumers and customers can assist businesses in tailoring marketing strategies to match the needs of each category better. BRAND EQUITYThe value a brand brings to a company's products or services is referred to as brand equity. A strong brand can boost consumer loyalty, minimise price sensitivity, and give a company a competitive advantage. Brand equity can be measured in various ways, including brand awareness, brand associations, and brand loyalty. Building good brand equity requires time and work but can pay off in the long run with improved sales and profitability. Page 33 PI KIT | 2023 PORTER’S FIVE FORCES ANALYSISPorter's Five Forces is a simple but powerful tool for understanding the competitiveness of a business environment and for identifying the potential profitability of the company’s strategy. There are five forces that make up the competitive environment and can affect the company’s or industry's profitability. These five forces are: Competitive Rivalry Supplier Power Buyer Power Threat of Substitution Threat of New Entry REFERENCESHow to sell a pen- https://youtu.be/StyMO11em_c How to start a pitch- https://youtu.be/StyMO11em_c How to tackle a selling pitch- https://youtu.be/StyMO11em_c Some more questions to ponder on- https://youtu.be/StyMO11em_c (Apply your unique thought process to impress the interviewer) Do you think marketing is all about showmanship? Name your top 3 favourite brands and why do you like them? Tell me about your top 3 favourite advertisements. Why do you want a career in marketing? Page 34 PI KIT | 2023 Human Resource BY HRidaya Page 35 PI KIT | 2023 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Human Resource Management (HRM) is managing an organization's workforce. It is responsible for attracting, selecting, training, assessing, and rewarding employees, overseeing organizational leadership and culture and ensuring employment and labour laws compliance. HRM is a system for managing people within an organization and is designed to maximize employee performance to meet the organization's goals and objectives. Key Functions of HR Page 36 PI KIT | 2023 Roles and responsibilities of a human resource manager in 2023 1. Developing and executing human resources strategies, plans, and procedures that align with the organization's mission and vision. 2. Ensuring compliance with labour laws and related regulations. 3. Recruiting, interviewing, selecting, and onboarding new employees. 4. Developing and managing performance evaluation systems, including setting objectives, coaching, and providing feedback. 5. Developing and implementing effective employee retention strategies. 6. Managing employee relations, including resolving conflicts and grievances. 7. Administering employee benefits and compensation plans. 8. Managing payroll, time and attendance, and other HR operations. 9. Identifying and implementing HR technology solutions. 10. Developing and administering training and development programs. 11. Analysing HR data and trends to identify opportunities for improvement. 12. Serving as an organizational change agent and championing organizational culture initiatives. 13. Ensuring compliance with safety regulations and standards. 14. Assessing, developing, and monitoring HR budgets. 15. Establishing and maintaining relationships with external partners, such as vendors and government agencies. 16. Serving as a mentor and coach to other HR professionals. 17. Creating and managing succession plans. 18. Supporting organizational restructuring initiatives. 19. Assisting with an employee relocation. 20. Developing and facilitating diversity and inclusion initiatives. Page 37 PI KIT | 2023 Current Trends in HR Emphasis on Employee Wellness: Businesses are investing in programs to support employees in maintaining their physical and mental health as they increasingly understand the value of employee wellness. These initiatives cover yoga classes, mental health and mindfulness programs, fitness challenges, and more. Focus on Talent Retention: Instead of constantly seeking out new talent, businesses are making more effort to keep their current staff members engaged and content. This entails increasing learning and development opportunities and benefit packages. Use of Automation: HR procedures like hiring, onboarding, and performance management are being made more efficient with the help of AI and automation. The application of technology can aid in accelerating and improving processes. More Diversity and Inclusion: Businesses are trying to foster a more inclusive and diverse workplace. In order to do this, more inclusive job descriptions must be written, candidates from more underrepresented groups must be considered, and diversity and inclusion training must be offered. Emphasis on Employee Engagement: Many businesses are putting much effort into developing a positive workplace environment that inspires workers. This entails implementing flexible work schedules, opportunities for feedback, and offering rewards and recognition. Page 38 offering PI KIT | 2023 Important Current Affairs Regarding HR in India India’s Minister of Labour and Employment, Santosh Kumar Gangwar, has announced plans to amend the Minimum Wages Act of 1948 to provide better wages and working conditions for the country’s workers. On April 30, 2021, the Indian government announced the launch of the National Career Service (NCS) portal, which will help job seekers find employment with the help of Artificial Intelligence. The Indian government has recently implemented the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to employ rural citizens. The Indian government has recently launched the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Scheme (PM-SYM), a pension scheme for unorganized workers. The Government of India has recently launched the Employment State Insurance (ESI) Scheme to provide social security benefits to Indian workers. The Indian government recently launched the Skill India mission to promote skill development among Indian youth and increase their employability. The Indian government has recently launched the Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) to incentivize employers and expand employment opportunities in the country. The Indian government recently introduced the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) employment opportunities. Page 39 to promote apprenticeships and create PI KIT | 2023 Moonlighting The Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, has issued a notification allowing employees to moonlight. The notification states that all employers must allow their employees to work a second job, as long as it does not interfere with their regular work. The notification also states that the employees must obtain approval from their employers before taking up a second job. The Supreme Court of India has recently ruled that moonlighting does not affect the rights of employees under labour laws. The court observed that the right to earn an honest living is a fundamental right and that employees should not be denied the right to take up a second job. The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) has issued a statement supporting the decision of the Supreme Court and has called on the government to provide more clarity on the issue of moonlighting. The CII also stated that employers should provide flexibility to employees when it comes to moonlighting. The Department of Labour and Employment, Government of India, has issued guidelines for employers to ensure that employees are not exploited when engaging in moonlighting. The guidelines outline the responsibilities of employers, such as ensuring that all employees are given fair and equal opportunities to take up a second job and that wages for moonlighting jobs are paid on time. The stance of big companies in India on moonlighting depends on their individual policies. Generally, most companies discourage moonlighting as it can lead to conflicts of interest, fatigue and a lack of focus on the job. However, some companies may be more lenient and allow their employees to take on moonlighting jobs if they are able to manage their workload and personal commitments. Ultimately, it is up to the individual company to decide their stance on moonlighting and to outline the rules and regulations to their employees. Wipro’s Chairman Rishad Premji - “There is a lot of chatter about people moonlighting in the tech industry. This is cheating - plain and simple.” Page 40 PI KIT | 2023 Industrialization 5.0 Industrialization 5.0 is an emerging concept that seeks to combine the best of modern technology with traditional industrial approaches to create a new era of manufacturing. It is based on the idea that the “internet of things” (IoT) and other new technologies can be used to create a more efficient and productive manufacturing environment. Industrialization 5.0 seeks to utilize the latest technology to reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve sustainability in the global manufacturing industry. This could include the use of robotics, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics to automate production processes and reduce human labor. Additionally, Industrialization 5.0 looks to embrace new technologies like blockchain, 3D printing, and virtual reality to revolutionize the production process and increase efficiency. Ultimately, Industrialization 5.0 seeks to create a new era of efficient and sustainable production that will benefit both businesses and the environment. Role of HR in Industrialisation 5.0 The role of Human Resources in the new industrial revolution is to provide the necessary skills and capabilities to ensure a successful transition to more advanced, innovative and automated processes. The HR department will need to identify, recruit and develop the right skillsets, and also provide access to training and development opportunities. This will help to ensure that the employees are equipped with the knowledge and skills to perform their roles. Additionally, HR will need to lead the way in developing cohesive and supportive organizational cultures that prioritize innovation and automation. HR must also ensure that the organization is leveraging the latest technology to facilitate the industrialization process, as well as analyse and measure the impact of the new processes on the overall productivity and profitability of the organization. Page 41 PI KIT | 2023 Entrepreneurship BY Innovation & Incubation Centre Page 42 PI KIT | 2023 ENTREPRENEURSHIP Entrepreneurship is developing something new and taking calculated risks to convert it into a profitable business. It entails recognizing a business opportunity, developing a business plan, launching a product or service, and managing the organization as it expands. It is a notion that encompasses a wide range of actions, such as beginning a business, creating a new product or service, innovating, and improving an existing firm through the initiative. Entrepreneurship needs innovative thought, problem-solving, and measured risktaking. To achieve also requires skills, talent, effort, and commitment. Major Terminology Entrepreneur: A person who identifies an opportunity and assembles the necessary resources to exploit it. Angel Investor: An individual with a high net worth who provides capital to a business in exchange for an equity stake in the company. Bootstrapping: Starting a business with limited resources and capital. Business Plan: A startup blueprint that outlines the business's goals and objectives, along with the strategies and tactics to achieve them. Exit Strategy: A plan for when a business will be sold or liquidated. Franchising: An agreement wherein a parent company grants a third party the right to use its brand and products in a particular market. Intellectual Property: The legal rights to inventions, ideas, and creative works, such as copyrights, trademarks, and patents. Pitch: A presentation to potential investors and customers explaining a business's value proposition. Crowdfunding: The practice of obtaining capital from many individuals, typically via the internet, to fund a project or business. Lean Startup: Launching and running a business that efficiently uses resources and rapid prototyping. Scalability: The ability to grow a business by increasing production or services in response to increases in demand. Page 43 PI KIT | 2023 Significant roles in a startup Founder: The founder of a startup is the individual who conceives and launches the business. They often take on a leadership role in the company, providing direction and guidance to the other startup team members. CFO: A startup's chief financial officer (CFO) is responsible for the business's financial health, overseeing the company's financial strategy and operations. CTO: A startup's chief technology officer (CTO) is responsible for the technical infrastructure of the business. They manage the development, implementation, and maintenance of the company's systems, software, and technology. CMO: A startup's chief marketing officer (CMO) is responsible for the company's marketing efforts. They lead the development and execution of the company's marketing strategy, branding, and communications activities. VP of Sales: The vice president of sales is responsible for building and managing the startup's sales team and driving revenue growth. They are responsible for setting the company's sales goals and leading the team to meet them. HR Manager: The human resources manager of a startup is responsible for recruiting, hiring, and managing the startup's staff. They handle employee relations and ensure the company complies with all relevant employment laws. Qualities of an entrepreneur 1. Self-motivated: Entrepreneurs have the passion and drive to succeed and are not content with mediocrity. They are determined to reach their goals and are not afraid to take risks. 2. Creative: Entrepreneurs have an eye for innovation and are always looking for new and creative ways to solve problems. They are fearless in thinking outside the box and coming up with unique solutions. 3. Risk-taker: Entrepreneurs understand that risk is involved in any venture and are willing to take calculated risks to achieve their goals. 4. Visionary: Entrepreneurs have a clear vision of what they want to achieve and can communicate that vision to others. They can see opportunities and turn them into successes. 5. Problem solver: Entrepreneurs can identify and solve problems quickly and effectively. They are always looking for solutions to challenges and are fearless in taking action to make them happen. 6. Leader: Entrepreneurs can lead and motivate others. They have excellent communication skills and can inspire others to follow their lead. 7. Passionate: Entrepreneurs are passionate about their work, which shows in everything they do. They strongly believe in what they are doing, which drives them to succeed. Page 44 PI KIT | 2023 Startups Startups are businesses that are typically small and new but that have the potential to grow quickly. They are usually developed by entrepreneurs who have great ideas and want to make them a reality. Startups typically require hard work, dedication, and creative problem-solving. They can often be risky but can also lead to great rewards. An entity shall be considered a Start-up: 1. If it is formed as a private limited company (as defined by the Companies Act, 2013) or registered in India as a partnership firm (under section 59 of the Partnership Act, 1932) or a limited liability partnership (under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008). 2. Up to 10 years from its incorporation/registration date. 3. If its annual revenue for any of the years since its incorporation or registration has stayed within INR 100 billion. 4. If it is pursuing innovation, development, or improvement of products, processes, or services, or if it is a scalable company model with a strong potential for job creation or wealth creation. 5. Any entity formed through the division or rebuilding of an existing business shall not be deemed a startup. The scenario of Start-ups in India The start-up ecosystem in India has seen significant growth in recent years, with increasing numbers of entrepreneurs starting new businesses. As of 2023, there are over 100+ unicorns (start-ups valued at over $1 billion) in India, making it one of the largest start-up ecosystems in the world. The Indian government has been supportive of start-ups and has introduced various schemes to promote entrepreneurship and provide funding and other resources: 1. Startup India initiative: A flagship program to promote entrepreneurship and support start-ups. 2. Atal Innovation Mission: Focuses on promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in the country, particularly among students and young entrepreneurs. 3. Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS): A government-led venture capital fund aimed at providing funding to start-ups. 4. Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme: A scheme that provides collateral-free loans to start-ups. 5. Tax incentives: Tax exemptions and other benefits for start-ups, such as a reduced corporate tax rate. Page 45 PI KIT | 2023 The technology sector has been a significant driver of start-up growth in India, with many new companies focused on areas such as e-commerce, fintech, and software development. The growing middle class and expanding digital infrastructure have created new opportunities for start-ups in various industries. Despite the growth and support, starting a business in India can still be challenging due to various factors, such as the complex regulatory environment, limited access to funding, and a shortage of skilled talent. For more information about Unicorns in India, Refer to the website below: https://www.ventureintelligence.com/Indian-Unicorn-Tracker.php Legal Registrations: 1. Intellectual Property 2. Trademark 3. Copyright 4. Patent Company Registration: 1. Sole Proprietorship 2. Llp ( Limited Liability Partnership) 3. Partnership Firms 4. Private Limited Company Stages of StartUp Funding Page 46 PI KIT | 2023 Business Incubator A business incubator is an organization that provides resources and services to help new and existing businesses grow and succeed. These services include office space, access to capital, mentorship, networking opportunities, and educational programs. Business incubators are typically created to stimulate regional economic growth and foster innovation and job creation. Many incubators focus on specific industries or types of businesses, such as technology or social enterprises. Entrepreneurs and start-ups often use them to launch their businesses and give them an advantage in the marketplace. Role of a business incubator 1. Business incubators provide a supportive environment to help startups succeed. 2. They provide early-stage entrepreneurs with a range of resources and support. 3. They offer access to mentorship, capital, and other resources to help startups progress from ideas to successful businesses. 4. They provide access to a network of experts and potential partners. 5. They provide a physical space for startups to work and collaborate. 6. They offer access to affordable office space and equipment. 7. They provide access to educational workshops and seminars. 8. They help entrepreneurs with marketing, strategy, and business planning. 9. They offer assistance with legal and financial services. 10. They guide how to access government funding and grants. How Union Budget 2023 will impact Start-ups and entrepreneurship in India: https://m.economictimes.com/tech/newsletters/morning-dispatch/budget2023-special/articleshow/97538790.cms Page 47 PI KIT | 2023 Finance BY Bears n Bulls Page 48 PI KIT | 2023 FINANCE Finance is the lifeblood of any business, and financial management determines what, when, and where to spend money. In addition, it assists the organization in managing its financial assets and generating additional revenue. It also includes monitoring the company's financial health and standing, assisting in determining corporate strategy and direction, and contributing to the organization's goals. Finance professionals are responsible for the organization's financial management, i.e., selecting where to obtain funds and how to spend them to achieve the highest returns with the lowest risk. They look for strategies to ensure the flow of capital in order to maximize profits and minimize expenses. ACCOUNTING Accounting is a systematic way of recording and reporting the monetary transactions of a BLOCKCHAIN business. The that primary objective ofandaccounting is ofto information regarding the Blockchain is a digital ledger records transactions securely transparently. Think it asprovide a decentralised database that keeps a permanent and public recordsolvency of all transactions within network. Once data isto recorded on a blockchain, it cannot be alteredstatement. or deleted, making it a secure way to track and store status ofitsthe company the readers of the financial information. This makes blockchain valuable technology for things like managing financial transactions, monitoring supply chains, and protecting personal data. The decentralised of blockchainsclassified means they can into operate without a centralAccounting, authority, making them more secure and resistant to fraud or manipulation. It can nature be broadly Financial Management Accounting, Cost Descriptive analytics: accounting, and Tax Accounting.Answers the question “What has happened?” The objective is to analyse historical trends to gain insights COLLATERAL A collateral is a property or other asset that a borrower offers to a lender to secure a loan at a lower interest rate. If the borrower stops making the promised loan payments (due to insolvency or another event), the lender can seize the collateral and become the owner of the property. MORTGAGE A mortgage is a loan taken to purchase a property having the same property as collateral. DEPRECIATION Depreciation is an accounting method of allocating the cost of a tangible asset over its useful life and is used to account for the decline in value. AMORTIZATION It is an accounting term that refers to the process of allocating the cost of an intangible asset over a period of time. Page 49 PI KIT | 2023 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Financial statements are a compilation of records and reports detailing an organization's transactions. It helps determine the financial health, profitability, and performance of a business. There are 3 major financial statements. Balance Sheet Income Statement/ Profit and Loss Statement Cash Flow Statement Balance Sheet The balance sheet provides an overview of a company's current liabilities, assets, and equity. It outlines a company's financial status. It is based on: Assets = Liabilities + Shareholders’ Equity Fixed assets - Assets purchased for the longBLOCKCHAIN term cannot be easily converted into cash. It includes Blockchain is a digital ledger that records transactions securely and transparently. Think of it as a decentralised database that keeps a permanent and public buildings, land, machinery, etc. record of all transactions within its network. Once data is recorded on a blockchain, it cannot be altered or deleted, making it a secure way to track and store Current assets - Assets that can beforquickly intotransactions, cash. It includes market instruments, information. This makes blockchain valuable technology things likeconverted managing financial monitoringmoney supply chains, and protecting personal data. The decentralised nature of blockchains means they can operate without a central authority, making them more secure and resistant to fraud or manipulation. debtors, etc. Descriptive analytics: Answers the question “What has happened?” Liabilities define what the company owes to other entities. It is usually taken upon to fund the The objective is to analyse historical trends to gain insights activities of the business. It is classified as a current liability if due within the next 12 months. Shareholder’s equity represents the number of business holdings that weren't purchased using debt (loans). Income Statement The income statement reports the revenue generated, expenses incurred and the profits or losses generated during a period of time. It is defined as: Revenue – Expenses = Income Revenue is the amount of money that is received by the company during a particular period. It is also known as "TopLine". Expenses are deductions from the income. It is done before assessing taxes. Income is the net cash inflow or other assets during any accounting period. Cash Flow Statement Cash flow statements map the cash inflows and outflows of the firm. It has three major elements: Cash flow from operating activities: This consists of cash generated by the company's day-to-day operations, typically the purchase and sale of goods and services. Cash flow from investing activities: This includes the purchase and sale of investments such as real estate, machinery, and equipment. Cash flow from financing activities: This comprises the sale, buyback, and issuing of shares. Page 50 PI KIT | 2023 FINANCIAL RATIOS Liquidity Ratios Current Ratio = Current Assets / Current Liabilities Quick Ratio/Acid-test Ratio: Current assets – Inventories / Current Liabilities Operating cash Ratio: Operating cash flow / Current Liabilities Cash Ratio: Cash & Cash Equivalents / Current Liabilities Leverage Ratios Debt to Equity Ratio: Total Liabilities / Shareholder’s Equity Interest Coverage Ratio: Operating Income/Interest Expenses Profitability Ratios Return on Equity Ratio: Net Income / Shareholder’s Equity BLOCKCHAIN Return onledger capital Employed: + Long Term Blockchain is a digital that records transactionsEBIT/(Equity securely and transparently. Think of it asDebt) a decentralised database that keeps a permanent and public record of all transactions within its network. Once data is recorded on a blockchain, it cannot be altered or deleted, making it a secure way to track and store EPS: Net Income / Total outstanding shares information. This makes blockchain valuable technology for things like managing financial transactions, monitoring supply chains, and protecting personal data. The decentralised of blockchains they can operate without a central Price tonature Equity Ratio:means Share Price / Earnings Perauthority, Sharemaking them more secure and resistant to fraud or manipulation. Descriptive analytics: Price to Book Value: Share Price/ Book Value “What per has Share Answers the question happened?” The objective is to analyse historical trends to gain insights Shares In simple words, a Share is a unit of the company owned by you. Suppose company X is divided into 10000 shares. Thus, 1 share = 0.01% corporate ownership. In the case of a Public limited company, the shares are registered and traded on the stock exchange. In the case of Private Limited, shares are not traded freely. They can be bought or sold between existing owners or a company Thus, the companies we see being traded (bought/sold) on various exchanges such as the NSE and BSE are public companies. Shares of companies can be traded in two ways: Primary Markets IPO or Initial Public Offer is a primary offer in which a company offers to sell its shares to the general public for the first time. FPO or Further Public Offer is a primary offer in which a company offers for sale its shares to the general public after the first offer is made. In such situations, the shares are already being traded. New shares are issued to the market. Secondary Markets Different offerings to the public: In a primary offer, the company sells the shares of a company to the general public through IPO or FPO. Once the IPO is done, and the stock is listed, they are traded in the secondary market. In the primary market, investors receive securities directly from the company through initial public offerings (IPOs), but in the secondary market, investors purchase securities from other investors willing to sell the same. The primary products of a secondary market are equity shares, bonds, preference shares, Treasury bills, debentures, etc. The regulator of the same is SEBI. Page 51 PI KIT | 2023 SENSEX The S&P BSE Sensex index, commonly known as Sensex, is the benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in India. Sensex is comprised of 30 of the largest and most actively traded stocks on the BSE and is a reliable indicator of India's economy. The composition of the index is reviewed annually in June and December. The Sensex was first compiled in 1986, making it the oldest stock index in India. Analysts and investors use the Sensex to track the expansion and contraction of the Indian economy and the development of certain industries. NIFTY The NIFTY 50 index is the benchmark broad-based stock market index for the Indian equities market as calculated by the National Stock Exchange of India. National Stock Exchange Fifty is the full name of NIFTY. One of India's two primary stock indices, it measures the weighted average of 50 Indian company equities across 12 categories. India Index Services and Products (IISL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the NSE Strategic Investment Corporation Limited, owns and manages Nifty. SEBI BLOCKCHAIN Blockchain is a digital ledger that records transactions securely and transparently. Think of it as a decentralised database that keeps a permanent and public recordSEBI of all transactions within its network. Once data is recorded a blockchain, altered or deleted, making it aregulating secure way to track and store Securities and Exchange Board of on India (SEBI)it cannot is a be government agency Indian information. This makes blockchain valuable technology for things like managing financial transactions, monitoring supply chains, and protecting personal data. capital markets. By enforcing laws and regulations, it monitors and and controls securities The decentralised nature of blockchains means theycertain can operate without a central authority, making them more secure resistantthe to fraud or manipulation. Descriptive analytics: market and protects the interests of investors. SEBI's mission is to ensure that the Indian capital Answers the question “What has happened?” The objective to analyseinvestors historical trends gain insights market functions systematically and isoffers a totransparent environment in which to participate. REPO Rate: A country's central bank (in India, the Reserve Bank of India) loans money to commercial banks at a repo rate in the event of a cash shortage. The repo rate is utilized by monetary authorities to control inflation. As of 7 December 2022, the rate in India is 6,25%. Reverse REPO Rate: A country's central bank (in this case, the Reserve Bank of India) borrows money from domestic, and commercial banks at the reverse repo rate. It is a monetary policy instrument that can regulate a nation's money supply. 3.5% is the current Reverse Repo Rate. Non-Performing Assets: A non-performing asset (NPA) is a loan or advance for which the principal or interest payment remained overdue for a period of 90 days. Banks are required to classify NPAs further into Substandard, Doubtful, and Loss assets An NPV profile is a graph that maps the relationship between a company's cost of capital and the project's NPV. The IRR rule states that if the internal rate of return on a project or investment is greater than the minimum required rate of return, typically the cost of capital, then the project or investment can be pursued. The payback period refers to the amount of time it takes to recover the cost of an investment Page 52 PI KIT | 2023 NEWS AND READINGS e-RUPI What Is a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)? (investopedia.com) Adani vs Hindenburg: What is short selling? - Business Today Russia and Ukraine conflict: Economic implications - KPMG Global Budget Highlights 2023 Inflation in India Adani vs Hindenburg Research: All you need to know | Times of BLOCKCHAIN Blockchain is a digital ledger that records transactions securely and transparently. Think of it as a decentralised database that keeps a permanent and public record of all transactions within its network. Once data is recorded on a blockchain, it cannot be altered or deleted, making it a secure way to track and store information. This makes blockchain valuable technology for things like managing financial transactions, monitoring supply chains, and protecting personal data. The decentralised nature of blockchains means they can operate without a central authority, making them more secure and resistant to fraud or manipulation. Descriptive analytics: Answers the question “What has happened?” The objective is to analyse historical trends to gain insights India (indiatimes.com) Page 53 PI KIT | 2023 IT/Analytics BY R-Squared Page 54 PI KIT | 2023 ANALYTICS Analytics refers to the process of collecting, processing, and transforming data into meaningful insights and information. It involves using quantitative and statistical methods, mathematical models, and technology to analyse data patterns and trends to draw insights & conclusions from them. Analytics is used in various industries such as business, healthcare, marketing, and sports, to make informed decisions, optimise operations, and achieve strategic goals. Different types of Analytics Data analytics is broken down into four types. BLOCKCHAIN Blockchain is a digital ledger that records transactions securely and transparently. Think of it as a decentralised database that keeps a permanent and public record of all transactions within its network. Once data is recorded on a blockchain, it cannot be altered or deleted, making it a secure way to track and store information. This makes blockchain valuable technology for things like managing financial transactions, monitoring supply chains, and protecting personal data. The decentralised nature of blockchains means they can operate without a central authority, making them more secure and resistant to fraud or manipulation. Descriptive analytics: Answers the question “What has happened?” The objective is to analyse historical trends to gain insights BLOCKCHAIN Blockchain is a digital ledger that records transactions securely and transparently. Think of it as a decentralised database that keeps a permanent and public record of all transactions within its network. Once data is recorded on a blockchain, it cannot be altered or deleted, making it a secure way to track and store information. This makes blockchain valuable technology for things like managing financial transactions, monitoring supply chains, and protecting personal data. The decentralised nature of blockchains means they can operate without a central authority, making them more secure and resistant to fraud or manipulation. Page 55 PI KIT | 2023 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Artificial intelligence is a wide-ranging branch of computer science concerned with building intelligent machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. AI is the ability of a computer program to function like a human. It includes algorithms that imitate the intelligence exhibited by humans and can solve problems in ways considered “smart”. MACHINE LEARNING Machine learning is an application (Subset) of artificial intelligence (AI) that provides systems the ability to automatically learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed for a particular task. As evident from the name, it gives the computer, which makes it more similar to humans, i.e., The ability to learn. Types: a) Supervised Learning “Train Me!”: In supervised learning, we have a dataset whose role is to train the model or the machine. Once the model is trained, it can start making predictions or decisions when new data is given. b) Unsupervised Learning “I am self-sufficient in learning”: The model learns through observation and finds structures in the data. Once the model is given a dataset, it automatically finds patterns and relationships in the dataset by creating clusters in it. c) Reinforcement Learning “My life My rules! (Hit & Trial)”: An agent can interact with the environment and determine the best outcome. The agent is rewarded or penalised with a point for a correct or a wrong answer, and based on the positive reward points gained, the model trains itself. K-MEANS CLUSTERING K-means clustering is a machine learning algorithm to partition a dataset into "k" clusters, where "k" is a user-defined parameter. The algorithm works by first randomly selecting "k" points from the dataset, which serve as the initial centroids of the clusters. Then, the algorithm iteratively assigns each data point to the closest centroid and updates the centroid locations based on the mean of the data points assigned. This process is repeated until the centroid locations no longer change, or a stopping criterion is reached. The end result of the algorithm is "k" clusters of data points, where each cluster represents a group of data points that are similar to each other. K-means clustering is used in various applications, such as market segmentation, image compression, and anomaly detection. In simple language, k-means clustering is a method to divide a large group of data into smaller groups based on their similarity. DEEP LEARNING Deep Learning is a Subset of Machine Learning. These techniques aim to achieve a goal or an artificial intelligence power that teaches computers to task and the ability to understand anything. The algorithms permit software to train itself to perform tasks like speech and image recognition. Page 56 PI KIT | 2023 BIG DATA Big Data is a collection of data that is huge in volume yet growing exponentially with time. It is data with such a large size and complexity that no traditional data management tools can store or process it efficiently. Types of Big Data: Structured: Any data that can be stored, accessed, and processed in the form of a fixed format is termed 'structured' data. Data stored in a relational database management system is one example of 'structured' data. Unstructured: Any data with an unknown form or structure is classified as unstructured data. Semi-Structured: Semi-structured data can contain both forms of data. Semi-structured data is data represented in an XML file. CLOUD COMPUTING Cloud computing delivers computing services—including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence—over the Internet (“the cloud”) to offer faster innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale. Cloud computing differs from traditional IT hosting services. In the cloud, the consumer generally doesn’t own the infrastructure needed to support their programs or applications. Instead, those elements are held and operated by a third party, and the end-user pays only for the services they use. Types of Clouds Public Clouds: These are owned and operated by a third-party cloud service provider, which delivers their computing resources like servers and storage over the Internet. Private clouds: These are owned and operated by a single business or organisation. Private clouds can be physically located on the company’s on-site datacentre Hybrid clouds: Hybrid clouds are the combination of both public and private clouds, which are bound together by technology that allows data and applications to be shared between them. A hybrid cloud gives you greater flexibility in business, provides more deployment options, and helps to optimise the existing infrastructure, security, and compliance CRYPTOCURRENCY Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography to secure and verify transactions and control the creation of new units. Cryptocurrencies are decentralised, meaning they are not governed by a single entity such as a government or financial institution, and they operate on a technology called blockchain, which is a distributed ledger that records all transactions. Bitcoin, the first and most well-known cryptocurrency, was created in 2009. The benefits of cryptocurrency are Easier to transfer funds, Secure Transfers, Minimal processing fees, and Transparent technology. Examples of cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin, Litecoin etc. INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) Internet of Things (IoT) is an ecosystem of connected physical objects that are accessible through the internet. It depends on a host of technologies – such as application programming interfaces (APIs) that connect devices to the Internet. Real-World Applications of IoT: Smart Home, Smart City, Connected Car, Connected Health (Digital health/Telehealth/Telemedicine) and Smart farming. Page 57 PI KIT | 2023 INDUSTRY 4.0 Industry 4.0 refers to the fourth industrial revolution, characterised by the integrating of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things (IoT), and robotics into manufacturing processes, leading to a more connected, automated and data-driven industry. It aims to create smart factories that can interact and cooperate with each other and their human operators in real-time, resulting in improved efficiency, flexibility, and customisation. PROCESS AUTOMATION Process automation is the use of technology to control and manage industrial processes without human intervention. This involves deploying software, sensors, and other digital technologies to monitor and control various aspects of a manufacturing process, such as production, quality control, and supply chain management. Process automation aims to improve efficiency, accuracy, and reliability while reducing costs and minimising human error. AUGMENTED AND VIRTUAL REALITY Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that enhances the physical world with computer-generated content, allowing users to view a combination of the real world and virtual objects in real time. This is achieved by using a device such as a smartphone or a tablet camera to display virtual elements in the real world, enhancing the user's experience. Virtual Reality (VR) is a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real way. VR can be experienced using a headset that covers the user's eyes and ears, immersing them in a completely artificial world. The goal of VR is to create a sense of presence in a virtual environment, allowing users to experience and interact with it as if it were real. Both AR and VR have various applications across multiple industries, including gaming, education, tourism, and healthcare. DATA MINING Data mining is a process used by companies to turn raw data into useful information. By using software to look for patterns in large batches of data, businesses can learn more about their customers to develop more effective marketing strategies, increase sales, and decrease costs. Data mining depends on effective data collection, warehousing, and computer processing. How Does Data Mining Work? Data mining involves exploring and analysing large blocks of information to glean meaningful patterns and trends. It can be used in various ways, such as database marketing, credit risk management, fraud detection, spam Email filtering, or even to discern the sentiment or opinion of users. The data mining process breaks down into five steps. First, organisations collect data and load it into their data warehouses. They store and manage the data, either on in-house servers or the cloud. Business analysts, management teams, and information technology professionals access the data and determine how they want to organise it. Application software sorts the data based on the user's results. The end-user presents the data in an easy-to-share format, such as a graph or table. Page 58 PI KIT | 2023 5G – 5TH GENERATION INTERNET 5G is the fifth generation of mobile network technology, a vital part of the IT (Information Technology) landscape. 5G is designed to provide faster, more reliable, and more efficient internet connectivity compared to previous generations of mobile networks (such as 4G). Some key features of 5G Include High speed, Low latency, Increased capacity, Improved Reliability 5G technology has the potential to transform a wide range of industries, including healthcare, education, entertainment, and transportation, by enabling new and innovative use cases and applications. For example, 5G can support the development of autonomous vehicles, connected factories, and smart cities. As such, 5G is a critical component of the IT industry. Its continued development and deployment will significantly shape the future of technology and the digital world. BUZZ WORDS CHAT GPT ChatGPT is a conversational AI model developed by Open AI. It uses machine learning algorithms to generate human-like text based on the input provided. The model is trained on large amounts of text data, which enables it to answer questions and engage in conversation with users. Simply put, ChatGPT is a type of AI language model that can respond to written prompts with text generated by the model. METAVERSE The metaverse is a virtual world where people can interact and experience things in a digital environment, just like in the real world. It's a shared space that combines elements of physical and virtual reality and can be used for things like gaming, socialising, shopping, and learning. Think of it like a giant online world where you can meet and interact with other people and digital objects in real time. QUANTUM COMPUTING Quantum computing is a type of computing that uses the principles of quantum theory, a branch of physics, to perform operations on data. Unlike traditional computers, which use bits to represent information as either 0 or 1, quantum computers use quantum bits or qubits, which can exist in multiple states simultaneously. This allows quantum computers to perform specific calculations faster and more efficiently than classical computers. EXTENDED REALITY (XR) Extended Reality (XR) is a term used to describe a set of technologies and applications that blend digital and physical environments to create immersive experiences. XR encompasses various forms of reality, including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and others. The goal of XR is to create a seamless integration of digital and physical elements, where the virtual and real worlds merge and interact with each other in real time. Page 59 PI KIT | 2023 SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 1. What is the difference between Data Analytics and Business Analytics? 2. Can you explain the current trends in Information Technology? 3. What is Your opinion on start-ups that are mainly based on the latest technologies like Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning? 4. Can you explain a few applications of Artificial Intelligence in the Health sector? 5. What is the Impact of Artificial intelligence on jobs? 6. What is your understanding of cloud computing and its benefits for businesses? Page 60 PI KIT | 2023 Product BY Management BY Alpha Beta Page 61 PI KIT | 2023 PRODUCT MANAGEMENT Product management is an organizational function that guides every step of a product’s lifecycle — from development to positioning and pricing — by focusing on the product and its customers first and foremost. To build the best possible product, product managers advocate for customers within the organization and make sure the voice of the market is heard and heeded. Thanks to this focus on the customer, product teams routinely ship better-designed and higher-performing products. In tech, where entrenched products are quickly uprooted by newer and better solutions, there is more need than ever for an intimate understanding of customers and the ability to create tailored solutions for them. That’s where product management comes in. WHO IS A PRODUCT MANAGER? A product manager connects business strategy, design knowledge, and customer needs in order to develop a product that is relevant, feasible, and valuable. PMs are focused on optimizing a product to achieve the business goals and user necessities while maximizing return on investment. The product manager manages all of the white space around the product. Think of the product manager as connective tissue - they tackle everything that falls outside of the bounds of any of the three core groups. TYPES OF PRODUCT MANAGERS: There are a lot of product manager types. Each type defines a list of competencies required for this job. TECHNICAL PM A technical product manager spends more time with the internal teams — development, operations, support, and training. This role often exists in complicated products with a super technical domain area like payments, fraud detection, voice software, and hardware. The focus will be on the technical side of the product. API PM API (Meaning, Application Programming Interface that allows two different applications to communicate with each other) product managers can be considered as the head of the API department. They’re responsible for the vision of all APIs, and they also help identify third-party APIs that are needed for business success. Once the vision is finalized, API PMs communicate that vision with the developers, upper management, customers, and any other stakeholders. After the vision, an API product manager has to ensure that the API follows the product lifecycle. That means everything from new product development, product roadmaps, and functionality demos to product strategy and more. USER EXPERIENCE PM Typically, this kind of product manager works with a product in a very competitive domain where a great user experience (UX) is a must; the excellent user experience is one of the competitive advantages. Page 62 PI KIT | 2023 HARDWARE PM The hardware product manager needs to define and finalize the requirements of the product before any development begins. This will guide the engineers on which parts and components to choose during product development. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PM AI product manager focuses on using artificial intelligence, deep learning, or machine learning to enhance, improve, create, and shape products. The final goal, as always, is to solve the customer’s issue. In this case, using AI. AI is just a tool that helps you create a product people love. STARTUP PM Startup PMs, also known as “first product managers,” are responsible for setting up the very foundations of product management at a newly established company. They are a crucial part of their company's foundational team. They do everything and can get experience in multiple disciplines and be involved in the overall business running. GROWTH PM A growth product manager is focused on the user base and certain metrics growing by running experiments. Typically, the growth team is not the same as a regular team, it has sales and marketing and UX people inside it to run quick experiments. ENTERPRISE PM Enterprise Product Management involves working with stakeholders (internal or external) to support their business needs through a defined product, and iterate/innovate on those needs, for example, Amazon Web Services (AWS). BASIC CONCEPTS What entails Product Management? 1. Planning: Defining the problem statement (setting the product vision, understanding the customer and the market) Defining the product strategy based on ideas and feedback Prioritizing ideas based on organizational goals and understanding how the product/feature will achieve it Building a product roadmap 2. Development Collaborating to get things done (building user stories, mocks, wireframes, collaborating with the engineering team, design team and user research team) 3. Testing and Release Building test cases Launching the product 4. Focusing on Feedback post-launch Page 63 PI KIT | 2023 PRODUCT ACTIVITIES FRAMEWORK: The Product Activities Framework identifies all the product management-related activities that should take place in any company with products. Strategic Product Activities are about working out what the right product is for the business. Inbound activities mean working within the business to help deliver the product. Outbound Activities are assisting the business to sell the product. The framework is depicted alongside. CIRCLES METHOD: The CIRCLES framework provides a comprehensive framework for answering design-related concerns. It enables what needs to be designed and why. The approach provides a checklist for appropriate questions to ask while putting together a thorough and well-organized solution to a design question. It keeps user requirements at the forefront by guiding PMs on who are they building the product for and for what reasons. The framework helps in prioritizing things such as product features, execution, user feedback, and product roadmap. There are seven steps in the process: C – Comprehend the situation I – Identify the customer R – Report the customer’s needs C – Cut, through prioritization L – List solutions E – Evaluate trade-offs S – Summarize your recommendations Page 64 PI KIT | 2023 RICE FRAMEWORK: Product managers prioritise what is put down on a product roadmap using the scoring system known as the RICE framework. This can include products, features and other initiatives. The acronym RICE stands for reach, impact, confidence, and effort, and these four elements play a role in determining what receives priority. For the purpose of creating a product roadmap, a strategy for prioritising becomes imperative. When faced with a long list of potential areas for improvement and user inputs, the RICE framework aids product managers in deciding what to tackle first. REACH Getting an idea of how many people you think your effort will reach in a specific timeframe is the first step in calculating your RICE score. You must choose the time period in which you want to assess reach as well as what "reach" implies in this context. You can select any time frame—a month, a quarter, etc.—and specify whether reach refers to the number of customer transactions, free-trial signups, or the number of current users who use your new product. IMPACT The impact can represent a measurable objective, such as the number of new conversions your project will generate when consumers come across it. The five-tiered scoring system is used for estimating impact: 3 = Massive impact 2 = High impact 1 = Medium impact 0.5 = Low impact 0.25 = Minimal impact CONFIDENCE The confidence component of your RICE score aids in controlling for projects where your team relies more on intuition than data for one facet of your score. The options for determining confidence scores are: 100% = High confidence 80% = Medium confidence 50% = Low confidence Consider shifting your priorities if the confidence level turns out to be less than 50%. EFFORT The other three components of RICE are all potential benefits when seen through the lens of a cost-benefit analysis, while effort is the only number that represents costs. Your score is just an estimation of the entire number of resources (product, design, engineering, testing, etc.) required to accomplish the endeavour in a certain amount of time, usually measured in "person-months." RICE Score = (Reach x Impact x Confidence) / Effort Page 65 PI KIT | 2023 PRODUCT MANAGEMENT LIFESTYLE The Product Management Lifecycle shows the process companies typically use to develop, launch and manage products. The cycle is shown below: QUESTIONS AND REFERENCES What do you see as a Product Manager’s main role within product development? How can a product manager stay user focused? What main changes would you make to your favorite product? What are the latest technology trends and why are they important? LATEST DEVELOPMENTS Top Technology Trends https://www.simplilearn.com/top-technology-trends-and-jobs-article Product Management Trends https://www.productboard.com/blog/6-trends-define-product-management-2023/ Page 66 PI KIT | 2023 Consulting BY Consiglio Page 67 PI KIT | 2023 CONSULTING Consulting is the branch of management that deals in providing expertise to businesses and organizations to solve typical and most pressing business problems related to domains such as growth, strategy, operational excellence, etc. The goal of consulting is to help organizations identify and solve problems, capitalize on opportunities, and achieve their objectives. Consulting projects can range from short-term, focused engagements to long-term, comprehensive programs. Consulting can be done in-house or by external consultants who work for consulting firms. A few of the renowned consulting firms are McKinsey, Bain & Co, Boston Consulting Group, A.T Kearney, KPMG, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, and PwC. Consultant: A consultant is someone who has a level of expertise that a particular group of people finds valuable, and people within that group are willing to pay the consultant to access their expertise. It is imperative for a consultant to possess excellent business acumen, industry knowledge, awareness about trends in specific domains, and most importantly, superior analytic and problemsolving prowess. A consultant works across a wide range of roles, industries, and geographies and typically engages in providing objective analysis of a problem and spends a considerable amount of time researching and analysing data using statistical tools to discover meaningful insights . Types of Consultants: The consultancy industry is one of the most diverse markets within the professional services industry, and, therefore, a number of different types of consultants are found in the industry. Branch-specific associations and analysts have developed various definitions in order to categorize the diverse types of consultants active in the field. Six core types of consultants within the consulting industry are: Strategy Consultant Management Consultant Operations Consultant Financial Advisory Consultant Human Resources Consultant IT Consultant Page 68 PI KIT | 2023 Strategy: Strategy is a set of goal-directed actions a firm takes to gain and sustain superior performance relative to competitors. To achieve superior performance, companies compete for resources. New ventures compete for financial and human capital. Existing companies compete for profitable growth. Charities compete for donations and universities compete for the best students and professors. Sports teams compete for championships, while celebrities compete for media attention. Therefore, a good strategy enables a firm to achieve superior performance. BASIC TOOLS: SWOT Analysis: A SWOT analysis allows the strategist to evaluate a firm's current situation and future prospects by simultaneously considering internal and external factors. The SWOT analysis encourages managers to scan the internal and external environments, looking for any relevant factors that might affect the firm's current or future competitive advantage. The focus is on internal and external factors that can affect - in a positive or negative way - the firm's ability to gain and sustain a competitive advantage. To facilitate a SWOT analysis, managers use a set of strategic questions that link a firm's internal environment to its external environment to derive strategic implications. In a first step, managers gather information for a SWOT analysis in order to link internal factors (Strengths and Weaknesses) to external factors (Opportunities and Threats). Managers use the SWOT matrix to develop strategic alternatives for the firm using a four-step process: Strengths: This details the strengths that an organization possesses that give it an advantage over others. Weaknesses: The shortcomings that an organization possesses that the other players in the industry might exploit. Page 69 PI KIT | 2023 Opportunities: Events or changes in the external environment that an organization could use to its advantage. Threats: Events or changes in the external environment can cause the organization to lose its competitive advantage. Page 70 PI KIT | 2023 Porter’s five forces: Michael Porter developed the highly influential five forces model to help managers understand the profit potential of different industries and how they can position their respective firms to gain and sustain competitive advantage. Porter's model identifies five key competitive forces that managers need to consider when analyzing the industry environment and formulating competitive strategy, those are as follows: Bargaining Power of suppliers: A competitive market with limited suppliers brings with it a high level of bargaining power of suppliers. Bargaining Power of buyers: Multiple products of the same category give the buyers an advantage in bargaining, thus the high bargaining power of buyers exists in multi-brand products. Threat of new entrants: The threat of new entrants to the market determines the sustainability of the estimated market share. It is evaluated in terms of market entry barriers which may be in the form of high fixed cost, product differentiation etc. Threat of substitutes: There is always a threat of substitute products replacing the existing product(s) of a firm. Rivalry among existing competitors: The existing rivalry between firms can take a firm's profit to zero and may lead to shut down. In a competitive environment, a firm's decision is highly influenced by what the competitors do. Page 71 PI KIT | 2023 PESTEL Analysis: The PESTEL model provides a relatively straightforward way to scan, monitor, and evaluate the important external factors and trends that might impinge upon a firm. PESTEL is used as a tool by companies to track the environment they're operating in or are planning to launch a new project/product/service etc. PESTEL is a mnemonic which in its expanded form denotes P for Political, E for Economic, S for Social, T for Technological, E for Environmental, and L for Legal. It gives a bird's eye view of the whole environment from many different angles that one wants to check and keep a track of while contemplating a certain idea/plan. All the aspects of this technique are crucial for any industry a business might be in. More than just understanding the market, this framework represents one of the vertebras of the backbone of strategic management that not only defines what a company should do but also accounts for an organization's goals and the strategies stringed to them. Page 72 PI KIT | 2023 BCG Matrix: The Boston Consulting product portfolio matrix (BCG matrix) is designed to help with long-term strategic planning, to help a business consider growth opportunities by reviewing its portfolio of products to decide where to invest, to discontinue or develop products. It's also known as the Growth/Share matrix. The Matrix is divided into 4 quadrants based on an analysis of market growth and relative market share. Dogs: Products in low-growth market with low market share. Question marks: Products in high-growth markets with low market share. Stars: Products in high-growth markets with a high market share. Cash cows: Products in low-growth markets with a high market share. Page 73 PI KIT | 2023 Market Sizing Questions: How many garden hoses were sold in the US last year? Your answer should be based on logic and assumptions. Structure: Listen to the question, then determine the type of case. Always think aloud when you are solving such questions. Ask clarifying questions only if you don't understand the question or terminology. Layout your structure first and the steps you'll need to answer the question; then go back through it with the numbers. Assumptions: Do not worry if your assumptions are off; the interviewer is more interested in your thought process than whether your assumptions are correct. Base your assumptions on some sort of logic; otherwise, the interviewer might press you on how you drew that conclusion. Do-the-math: Estimate or round off numbers to make calculation easier Write all numbers down Possible Answer: The population of the US is 300 million people. The average US household is made up of 3 people, so we are talking about 100 million households. I am going to estimate that 50 percent of the households are either suburban or rural. That makes 50 million households. I will also assume that 20 percent of those homes are apartments or condos. That narrows us down to 40 million houses that most likely use a garden hose. Garden hoses are relatively inexpensive, so people are likely to have a hose in the front and a hose in the backyard. That makes 80 million hoses. I want to add another 10 million hoses, which can be found in nurseries, zoos, and other outdoor facilities. Most of those businesses have at least two hoses. We are now up to 90 million garden hoses. Hoses aren't replaced every year. I'd say that they are replaced every 3 years unless they are run over by a lawnmower or get torn by a pet dog. So, we take 90 million hoses, divide that number by 3 and come up with 30 million garden hoses sold each year. Page 74 PI KIT | 2023 Sample Questions: What is SWOT Analysis? When PESTEL analysis is used? What are the skills required to be a consultant? Why do you want to pursue consulting? What do you know about Big 3? Explain BCG matrix? Estimate the number of 5G network users in India as of today? What is Big 4 in consulting domain? Explain how your strengths and weaknesses will serve you well in the consulting domain? References: Questions/Areas to prepare on: Aligning your interests and achievements to the realm of Consulting Data Analytics fundamentals Market Research Puzzles Numerical Aptitude Questions Logical Reasoning Questions Reference books: Strategic Management, Frank. T. Rothaermel Case-In-Point, Marc. P. Consentino Page 75 PI KIT | 2023 Operations BY Sigmato Page 76 PI KIT | 2023 Operations management (OM) is the administration of business practices to create the highest level of efficiency possible within an organization. It is concerned with converting materials and labor into goods and services as efficiently as possible to maximize the profit of an organization. Operations management handles various strategic issues, including determining the size of manufacturing plants and project management methods and implementing the structure of information technology networks. Other operational issues include the management of inventory levels, including work-in-process levels and raw materials acquisition, quality control, materials handling, and maintenance policies. Cycle Time: Cycle time is the time gap between two consecutive outputs from a process, as defined by the manufacturer or customer. Lead time: It represents the time between the moment the customer places the order and the moment he receives it. Throughput time: It is the time required for a product to pass through a manufacturing process, thereby being converted from raw materials into finished goods. Flow rate: It is also known as Throughput. It is defined as the number of flow units (e.g. customers, money, produced goods/services) going through the business process per unit time, e.g. customers served per hour. Bottleneck: A point of congestion in a system that occurs when workloads arrive at a given point more quickly than that point can handle them. The inefficiencies brought about by the bottleneck often create a queue and a longer overall cycle time. The primary objective of a manager in the operations department is to eliminate the bottleneck that exists in the process. Page 77 PI KIT | 2023 Inventory Management Inventory is the goods or materials a business intends to sell to customers for profit. Inventory management, a critical element of the supply chain, is the tracking of inventory from manufacturers to warehouses and from these facilities to a point of sale. The goal of inventory management is to have the right products in the right place at the right time. This requires inventory visibility - knowing when to order, how much to order, and where to store stock. The basic steps of inventory management include: 1.Purchasing inventory: Ready-to-sell goods are purchased and delivered to the warehouse or directly to the point of sale. 2.Storing inventory: Inventory is stored until needed. Goods or materials are transferred across your fulfillment network until ready for shipment. 3.Profiting from inventory: The amount of product for sale is controlled. Finished goods are pulled to fulfill orders. Products are shipped to customers. Economic order quantity (EOQ) is a term for the ideal quantity a company should purchase to minimize its inventory costs, like shortage or carrying costs. The overall goal of economic order quantity is to decrease spending; its formula is used to identify the greatest number of units needed (per order) to reduce buying. 1. D = Annual Demand in units 2. S = Order cost 3. H = Holding costs (per unit, per year) Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) Formula EOQ = √ [2DS/H] Lean Tools Kanban Kanban is a Lean method that originated as a scheduling system for Lean manufacturing and workflow management. In Japanese, the word “kanban” means “visual board” or a “sign”. The main features of Kanban are visual boards and Kanban cards. 5S The 5S is a lean method for workspace optimization that consists of 5 consecutive steps. They allow teams to organize their workplace for maximum process efficiency. The 5s comes from the Japanese words Seiri (Sort), Seiton (Set in order), Seiso (Shine), Seiketsu (Standardize), and Shitsuke (Sustain). Jidoka Jidoka was invented in 1896. The primary innovation Jidoka brought to lean manufacturing is the idea of examining a manufacturing issue in the middle of the process rather than at the end. Inspecting throughout the manufacturing process can play a key role in preventing defects and fixing problems before they cause significant damage. Page 78 PI KIT | 2023 PokaYoke Poke Yoke was developed by Toyota and is very similar to Jidoka. The idea of Poka Yoke is to prevent mistakes from becoming defects. Mistakes, it argues, are inevitable, but defects that actually reach customers are preventable. The goal is to create a form of quality control that highlights defects automatically and eventually takes humans out of the equation. Heijunka Heijunka is the Japanese word for “leveling.” Heijunka is meant to level the type and quantity of production while reducing batching. Ford Motor was once known for manufacturing cars in batches. Toyota used Heijunka to minimize batching and create a more efficient manufacturing process. Cellular Manufacturing Cellular Manufacturing is the process of producing similar products in one cell. The product, in Cellular Manufacturing, moves through the production process in a single unit without interruptions. In Cellular Manufacturing, similar products can be produced on the same assembly line. Total Productive Maintenance Total Productive Maintenance is a lean tool used to prevent machine downtime within the production process. The goal is to limit downtime as much as possible in order to increase production efficiency Total Productive Maintenance includes three main components: Preventative maintenance These included planned maintenance activities that are regularly scheduled. The crew will perform these periodically throughout the year. It includes checking all equipment for problems and fixing any issues. Corrective maintenance Managers and crew check equipment and determine whether problematic equipment needs to be replaced altogether. Oftentimes, it is more cost-effective to replace equipment before they break. Replacing equipment can often increase efficiency and profits. Maintenance prevention This procedure makes sure that all equipment bought is exactly what’s needed. Buying faulty or incorrect equipment can result in increased maintenance responsibilities and production inefficiencies down the line. Total Quality Management Total Quality Management is an organizational effort to improve the quality of a manufactured product. The goal is to increase the quality of every single step in an organizational workflow. Page 79 PI KIT | 2023 There are a few main principles of Total Quality Management: Focus on the customer - The goal of Total Quality Management is to improve the product offered to customers and therefore keep customers satisfied. Strategy - Total Quality Management requires a strategic approach that utilizes a set methodology. Continuous improvement. Ensuring quality takes time and it must be analyzed and improved annually. 7 Wastes In lean manufacturing, 7 Wastes refers to seven typical places manufacturers have waste. Using the 7 Wastes tool, manufacturers can determine where they have waste and can improve their processes in each area. The method was invented by Toyota and is an integral part of the Toyota production system. Seven wastes are Overproduction, Waiting, Transporting, Inappropriate processing, Unnecessary inventory, Excessive motion, and Defects. 5S Method The 5S Method refers to five Japanese and English terms that begin with an “S” and provide a workplace organization method. Sort (Seiri): Decide which items in a factory are necessary and which ones are not. Get rid of the ones that are not. Straighten (Seiton): Make sure every item in a factory is in the right place. Items should be easy to find and access. Shine (Seiso): Clean the factory regularly. By getting rid of dirt, garbage, etc. you can more easily identify problems in the manufacturing process. Standardize (seiketsu): Create standards to ensure a clean and neat factory floor. Sustain (shitsuke): Create habits that ensure standards are met over the long term. Set responsibilities for managers and operators to ensure that habits are set. PDCA PDCA stands for Plan-Do-Check-Act and is a four-step method for creating and carrying out change. The PDCA method is a cycle and is repeated over and over again in order to drive continuous improvement. When is PDCA used PDCA is primarily used when: ·Conducting an improvement project. ·Designing a repetitive work process. ·Developing a new process or product design. ·Implementing changes in the manufacturing process. Page 80 PI KIT | 2023 5 Whys 5 Whys is a lean method used to determine the root cause of a problem. Managers repeat the question “Why?” and each answer forms a basis for the next question. This process continues until a conclusion is reached. The 5 Whys technique was developed by Sakichi Toyoda and has been used by Toyota to improve its manufacturing processes. The 5 Whys technique generally requires persistence and determination for it to work effectively. Supply Chain Management Supply chain management is the handling of the entire production flow of a good or service — starting from the raw components all the way to delivering the final product to the consumer. A company creates a network of suppliers (“links” in the chain) that move the product along from the suppliers of raw materials to those organizations that deal directly with users. Supply Chain Management refers to coordinating these activities to ensure the smooth and uninterrupted flow of products through the various stages of processing. For traditional products, an efficient Supply Chain is preferred. However, for products where continuous innovation is required, the Supply Chain needs to be responsive to cater to variations in product design. The activities involved in the Supply Chain are: Inbound Logistics: The logistics associated with the initial movement of the raw material to the manufacturing unit and subsequent movement within the unit Outbound Logistics: The logistics associated with the movement of the finished goods from the end of the manufacturing production line to the end-user Marketing and Sales: Involve gathering customer requirements and then fulfilling them through an exchange process. Service: The activities associated with the delivery of the product eg. in-store staff and post-sales service, fulfilling warranty, etc Support Areas: Finance, Human Resource Management, Legal, Control, and Quality departments that are indirectly involved in the production of the product Procurement: Purchase of raw materials or services that are transformed into or used to reach the final product. Page 81 PI KIT | 2023 Make to Stock (MTS): This is a traditional production strategy that is used by businesses to match production and inventory with consumer demand forecasts. Manufacture products for stock based on demand forecasts, which can be regarded as push-type production. MTS has been required to prevent opportunity loss due to stock out and minimize excess inventory using accurate forecasts. Build-tostock is frequently considered an appropriate solution for products where there are few product lines and long changeover times between costly products. Assemble to Order (ATO): Companies typically use assemble to order, for items they do not want to stock because they expect to customize them to customer requests or because they want to minimize the inventory carrying cost. Make-to-order (MTO): This is a manufacturing process in which manufacturing starts only after a customer's order is received. Manufacturing after receiving customers’ orders means starting a pulltype supply chain operation because manufacturing is performed when demand is confirmed, i.e., being pulled by demand. Engineer to order (ETO): This is a manufacturing process defined by demand-driven practices in which the component is designed, engineered, and built to specifications only after the order has been received. It is a more dramatic evolution of a Build-To-Order supply chain. This approach is only appropriate for specific and rare items, such as large construction projects or Formula 1 cars. Logistics It is the science of obtaining from, producing, and distributing material and products in the proper place and in the proper quantity. Logistics management activities typically include inbound and outbound transportation management, fleet management, warehousing, materials handling, order fulfillment, logistics network design, inventory management, supply/demand planning, and management of third-party logistics service providers. To varying degrees, the logistics function also includes sourcing and procurement, production planning and scheduling, packaging and assembly, and customer service. Logistics management is an integrating function that coordinates and optimizes all logistics activities, as well as integrates logistics activities with other functions, including marketing, sales manufacturing, finance, and information technology. Six Sigma Six Sigma is one of the most important concepts of Operations management. It is a process-driven approach that emphasizes continuous improvement and focuses on customer needs. It is an approach to achieve less than 3.4 PPM defects through continuous improvement. Six Sigma is a set of management tools and techniques designed to improve the capability of the business process by reducing the likelihood of error. Six Sigma is a data-driven approach that uses a statistical methodology for eliminating defects, defect reduction, and profit improvement. Page 82 PI KIT | 2023 There are two types of Six Sigma Processes: 1. DMAIC: It stands for – Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. This is used for existing processes. 2. DMADV: It stands for – Define, Measure Analyze, Design, and Verify. This is used for new processes. Lean v/s six sigma Six Sigma focuses on reducing process variation and enhancing process control, while lean— originally known as lean manufacturing and now broadly accepted as lean enterprise— drives out waste (nonvalue added activities) through value-stream mapping and promotes work standardization. Six Sigma practitioners should be well-versed in both lean and Six Sigma methodologies. Most practitioners advocate implementing lean first to remove wastes and standardize processes, and then implement Six Sigma to reduce variability and make the process efficient. Effectiveness before efficiency. Cost Of Quality Cost of quality (COQ) is defined as a methodology that allows an organization to determine the extent to which its resources are used for activities that prevent poor quality, that appraise the quality of the organization’s products or services, and that result from internal and external failures. Having such information allows an organization to determine the potential savings to be gained by implementing process improvements. Cost of poor quality (COPQ) Appraisal costs Internal failure costs External failure costs Prevention costs COQ and organizational objectives COQ resources Page 83 PI KIT | 2023 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems Enterprise resource planning, sometimes known as ERP, is a form of business management software that is used by companies to manage the day-to-day operations of their companies, including accounting, purchasing, project management, risk management and compliance, and supply chain operations. ERP systems facilitate the flow of data between a variety of different business processes by linking these operations together. ERP systems remove data duplication and create a single source of authentic data, which contributes to improved data integrity. This is accomplished by gathering an organization’s shared transactional data from different sources. ERP is a very essential technology and the core of many organizations processes and activities. https://www.oracle.com/in/erp/what-iserp/#:~:text=started%20with%20ERP-,Definition%20of%20enterprise%20resource%20planning%20(ERP ),compliance%2C%20and%20supply%20chain%20operations. NLP The National Logistics policy (NLP) of India, launched on 17th September 2022, is an effort by the Indian government to unify the transportation systems of the country and to improve the efficiency of logistics within the entire country. The current logistics around the country is a cost-heavy process and involves various permissions from different authorities for the transportation and movement of goods across the country. NLP intends to unify these different processes and permissions of different states under a standardized national process in a single and digitized process. Logistics cost constitutes up to 16% of our GDP, and the government aims to reduce it to 8% by 2030. Three key projects were previously launched by the government to enhance the NLP, which were Gati Shakti – to improve roadways and railways connectivity, Sagarmala to improve the coastline and waterways infrastructure and the Bharatmala, which focuses on minimizing crucial infrastructure gaps to improve road traffic circulation nationwide. https://www.investindia.gov.in/team-india-blogs/national-logistics-policyindia#:~:text=The%20National%20Logistics%20policy%20is,the%20developing%20entire%20logistics%2 0ecosystem. Blockchain in Supply Chain Management Blockchain is a technology that focuses on decentralization in contrast to traditional systems. It includes characteristics such as a distributed notes and storing mechanism, consensus algorithm, smart contracts, and asymmetric encryption to assure the security, transparency, and visibility of the network. Blockchain records every transaction, connecting warehouses, manufacturers, suppliers, manufacturing locations, distribution centers, and retail partners. The network stores and shares all records. Such transparency helps producers manage product origins, traceability, recalls, and perishables. Manufacturers can view consumer-level demand in real time to forecast and plan manufacturing and restocking. Inventory management before blockchain used reactive or predictive models to order replenishments when inventory ran out. Blockchain allows warehouse inventory management to estimate demand properly and always have the right type and quantity of products. The technology optimizes revenue, profitability, and sales risk. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7522652/ Page 84 PI KIT | 2023 AI in operations and supply chain management Supply chain and operations have always been working on increasing the efficiency of processes. AI gives a new and better-optimized solution to many problems faced in the supply chain and operations. An integrated approach that encompasses the entire end-to-end process can take into account the opportunities and limitations of all business operations, from product procurement to marketing and sales. Because AI can analyze enormous amounts of data, understand relationships, provide visibility into processes, and assist in improved decision-making, artificial intelligence has the potential to completely transform the landscape. Tools for data analytics can be utilized by organizations to have a greater understanding of the supply chain as a whole. This can result in increased operational efficiency as well as better management of working capital, increased openness and accountability, more precise delivery forecasts, and fewer supply disruptions. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/19/how-ai-can-help-companies-manage-the-semiconductor-supplychain.html#:~:text=By%20crunching%20through%20the%20massive,shipments%20around%20them%2 C%20Tandon%20said. 5G It is anticipated that 5G would improve connectivity as well as boost the speed at which data can be transferred. Because of this, faster connectivity will be possible, and real-time data processing and system monitoring will be facilitated. Due to this, AI tools will be able to process and produce results more quickly, which will result in a reduction in the amount of time spent on analysis. In the future, automation and gadgets connected to the internet of things (IoT) will play an important part in the operations of many companies. 5G will make it possible for these systems to link with one another and operate more effectively and efficiently. Page 85 PI KIT | 2023 Developed by PR & Media Committee Abjad Mazumder Alisha Annesha Phukon Arnab Saha Durgesh Chaudhary Kartikeya Singh Kashak Jambhulkar Mukta Tanaya Rohan Anand Vaishali Kumari