WINTER 2015
Exam APRIL/MAY 2016
Masters of Business Administration
MBA Semester 1
MB0038 – Management Process & Org. Behavior
Assignments
Q. No 1 Define the terms ‘strategy’. Explain the following:
a) Corporate strategy
b) Business strategy
c) Functional strategy
Ans.1
Strategy:
Strategy means the grand plan and the term is borrowed from the military which distinguished
between the grand plan and actual action by calling the former strategy and the latter tactics.
Strategy in organizations can be divided into three:
These are as follows:
 Corporate strategy
 Business strategy
 Functional strategy
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 Corporate strategy
If you are a big company like Tata, you will have several businesses under you and a corporate
headquarters which controls these. Each of these businesses may be run by an independent
company much like Tata motors runs the vehicle business and Tata consultancy service runs the
it business (they both are different companies). The corporate headquarters will have grand
plans on how each business should operate.
For example, it might say that that Tata motors should design, develop, and manufacture an
indigenous small car nano or that TCS should expand business to china.
 Business strategy
Every business, small or big, will have a business strategy. This is the grand
plan for doing
business. For example, rajucan make a grand plan of expanding his business to another district
or having branches. He can take a decision to be the provider of low cost furniture or highly
differentiated furniture, household furniture only, modular
furniture only, a supplier of all
furniture needs, etc. This is what business strategy is. If you were a Tata company, each
business of tata would have their own business strategy in conformation with the corporate
strategy.
 Functional strategy
Once you have a business strategy, each independent department will need its own strategy.
For example, the HR of Tata motors will need a strategy quite different from the hr of Tata
consultancy service. So, the operations, marketing, finance, hr, etc of each business will make
their own grand plan or strategy and this is called functional strategy. In the case of raju, he
might plan to hire more carpenters and pay daily wages or wages per piece. This is the hr
strategy (of course it is only one element of hr strategy but illustrates what functional strategy
means). In other words, the grand
plan made by each functional area is called functional
strategy. Usually organizations have operations strategy, finance strategy, marketing strategy,
and hr strategy.
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If you are large and
well diversified, you may have an information strategy,
supply chain strategy, etc. Also and
this depends to some extend on the nature of your
business.
For example,
strategy
if you are In retail chain business like big bazaar, you may have a merchandise
as these are very important to business success.
Q. No 2 Define the term ‘management’. Explain the Behavioral science theory and Systems
theory.
Ans.2
Definition and importance of management
According to koontz,
in formally
management is an art of getting things done through and with people
organized groups. It is an art of creating an environment in which people can
perform as individuals and can co-operate towards the attainment of group goal.
According to F.W. Taylor, “management is an art of knowing what to do, when to do,
and see that it is done in the best and cheapest way”. Let us modify the definition of Harold
koontz and define management as ‘the process of designing and maintaining an environment in
which the individuals working in groups efficiently employ resources and accomplish the
selected goals of self and the organization’. This definition brings to fore the following key
issues of management:
 It is about people and other resources
 There are goals but goals of the individual and the organization has to be managed
 It involves creating an environment where people and resources interact to produce the
goals.
 Behavioral science theory:
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The thought was originated by
pareto in 1896, and he researched on organization and
management relationship. Later, hugo munsterberg applied psychology to increase industrial
production in 1912 and around the same time, walter dill scott applied psychology to
advertising, marketing, and personnel in 1910 and 1911. But it was elton mayo and F.J.
roethlisberger who made an impact on the behavioral science theory through their hawthorne
experiments in western electric company in 1933. These experiments proved that good working
relationship with the supervisor and
colleagues
and the idea of challenge in the job
accounted for higher productivity. Challenge is created through setting high goals which cannot
be normally achieved but
which can be achieved with a little additional effort. These
experiments brought to fore the importance of behavioral
science in
Extending the idea sometime in 1946 and 1947, max weber propounded
management.
the thereof
bureaucracy.
 Systems theory :
Though the systems theory can be traced to biology, where we have cardiovascular system,
nervous system, etc which are fairly independent yet interdependent, it was chester barnard
who extended this into management area through his writing ‘functions of the executive’ in
1938. In systems theory, we perceive that organizations have a number of fairly independent
systems such as purchase system, operations system, marketing system, financial system, etc.
Q. No 3 Give the definition and importance of planning in an organization and explain the
steps in planning.
Ans3.
Definition of planning:
Planning can be defined as a basic management function which
purpose of the business, and
how
the
resources
enables one to select the
should be mustered to achieve that
purpose to include using the available
resources optimally to do that. Planning implies goal
setting for the organization keeping in
mind the constraints, opportunities, and threats as
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much as what the person or business which is planning wants to do. Thus, a plan is a blueprint
for goal achievement, a blue print that specifies the necessary resource allocations, schedules,
tasks, and other
actions to achieve the purpose.
A goal is a desired
future
state
that the organization
attempts to reach. Goals are
important because an organisation exists for a purpose, and goals define and state that
purpose. Goals specify future ends; plans specify the means to do that.
Importance of planning:
Planning is important for the following reasons:

It helps the management to clarify, focus, and research their businesses or project's
development and prospects.

It provides a considered and logical framework within which a business can develop
and pursue business.

It offers a benchmark against which the actual performance can be measured and
reviewed.

It plays a vital role in helping to avoid mistakes or recognize hidden opportunities.

In
the business context, it guides the development of
products, management,
finances, and most importantly, markets and competition.

It helps in forecasting the future and makes the future visible to some extent.

It bridges between where we are and where we
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want to go.
Steps in planning:
Let us now discuss steps in detail.
1. Being aware of opportunities – this means being aware of the customer needs, market,
competition, our strengths, and weaknesses.
2. Establishing objectives – this implies establishing what we want to be and what we want to
accomplish and when and in relation to which market segment. At the highest level, this is done
through vision and mission building.
3. Developing premises – Deciding on the environment (both external and internal) in which
our plans are going to operate. Business has external environment created by political factors
to include legislation, legal framework, etc. For example, foreign companies cannot invest
directly in multi-brand retail in India.
4. Determining alternative courses – identifying the most promising alternatives to accomplish
what we want to. This is done by combining the information about the opportunities, threats,
and own strength and weaknesses. This is done through another framework called tows matrix
which we will handle in some detail in a subsequent section in this unit
5. Evaluating alternative courses – comparing the alternatives to find out which of them will
meet our goals and at optimal cost and profit keeping sustainability into mind.
6. Selecting a course – selecting the course that we want to follow.
7. Formulating plans – this implies making plans that support the course of action by buying
equipment, space, planning the type of hr, etc.
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8. Qualifying plans by budgeting – identifying the cost involved, how the financial resources
will be mobilized, what is capital expenditure, what is operational expenditure, the working
capital, etc.
Q.No. 4 Define the term controlling. What are the pre-requisites of effective control?
Q. No .5 What are ‘attitudes’? Explain the components and functions of attitudes.
Q .No. 6 Define the term ‘leadership’. Write a brief note on “Contingency Theories of
Leadership.”
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