3rd Sem April 2020 Nmims Solved Assignments

Course: Brand management
Internal Assignment Applicable for April 2020 (last date 28 March 2020) Examination
1. An entire generation of Indian TV viewers grew up on some terrifying advertising.

Cease Fire commercials had conflagrations breaking out in urban settings as
householders went about, oblivious. And then there was the ad for Saffola, full of
ambulance lights and sirens, panic-stricken faces and heart rate monitors. The brand
called itself ‘Life Insurance’, positioning the oil as a bulwark against heart disease. And
the strategy worked with Saffola being among the first brands to talk about health —
albeit in a very panic inducing manner. The longevity of the `1000 crore plus brand can
be traced to that strong positioning. Chief marketing officer, Anuradha Aggarwal says:
“Very early in the journey, we found an amazing, unique place of heart health.
Someone with fore- sight chose to do fear oriented ads and the rest, as they say, is
history.” But only a small chunk of history. Over the years, Saffola realised merely
scaring consumers into buying was perhaps not the best strategy. From fear it moved to
convincing at risk consumers to adopt better, healthier practices. Aggarwal says, “We
moved from pure fear to things that strike fear: the signs of the unhealthy heart.”
The brand also acknowledged the difficulty in getting people adopting a healthier
lifestyle with its ‘Kal Se’ commercial about a serial procrastinator, who’d rather let his
kid ride the exercise cycle, or who changes into gym clothes only to fall asleep again.
However, consumers and the category were moving a lot faster than the brand. Even as
Saffola pitched itself to consumers showing the first signs of slowing down, the broad
trend was preventive: not allowing one or one’s family members to get to that stage in
the first place. Says Aggarwal, “We realised Saffola was in danger of becoming the oil
for the unhealthy as opposed to the oil for people who want to be healthy and have an
active, fit heart.” The brand is now about a continuous investment in health. A strategy
that’s driven its expan- sion into adjacent categories. Saffola has the credibility required
for consumers to comfort- ably place its products on the dining table. Besides, through
variants like flavoured oats — a category that Saffola claims leadership in — the brand
can comfort- ably ride the everyday health wave. Saffola is gunning for ` 200 crores in
this space by 2018, according to its 2015-16 annual report. Says Aggarwal, “We are
market leaders in flavoured oats because we’ve been cracked a fantastic product
suitable for the Indian palate.” Saffola continues to be the undisputed leader in
premium health oil, according to Aggarwal.
Even at a time when the affluent Indian’s obsession with health is leading to them buy
super premium olive oils at two or three times the price. The brand is meeting the
challenge with new blends like Aura a combination of olive and flaxseed oil. On the
communication front, Saffola has moved past its scare mongering on TV. It runs its own
website fitfoodie which has healthy recipes of traditional favourites ratified by
nutritionists and dieticians. Under Saffola life, an initiative begun in 2005, the brand
promotes healthy lifestyles and organises heart health checks. When asked how
malleable the brand is, Aggrawal believes, “We’ve succeeded when there was a fit and
coherence and a fundamental difference from the rest of the world. We are strongly
positioned on proactive and preventive heart health, and these conditions have to be
met.” It also explains why variants like finger food brand Zest failed. Says Aggarwal,
“We needed a go to market that understood impulse purchases and the product was not
as good. After that, we’ve made sure we have very hard internal guidelines for product
development. Unless we meet those standards, the products don’t go out.” Saffola’s
brand journey finds favour with an Indian marketer with considerable retail and
FMCG experience, who wishes to remain anonymous. He says, “Given there was no
awareness of health, Saffola used fear and people bought it. But now with the entire
country having a consciousness of health and gym culture coming in, it’s the right
transition.” He believes the expansions make sense given Marico’s two flagships:
Parachute and Saffola earn their spurs in categories where growth potential is limited.
And so, it’s necessary for Parachute to extend into skin and body care and Saffola to
take on a more overarching health platform. He believes, “20 or 30 years ago, people
worried about health only once they discovered they had problems. Today, everyone is
conscious of being healthy and wanting to look young.” He however believes Saffola
needs to make a stronger play for the millennial demographic: “It’s seen as mama papa
brand. But the 30 year and younger demographic are willing to pay premium. Brands
need to change with the world. Can it be health for youngsters or does it want to be an
older consumer’s health brand is an answer only Saffola can give.
(Source:https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/business-ofbrands/
the-saffola-story-from-scare-to-care/59765523)
Evaluate the positioning of Saffola and discuss how the positioning strategy has led to
the brands success.
Answer: Brands are everywhere in our life. A product is anything that can be offered to a
market for attention, use, or consumption that might satisfy a need or want. A product is a
physical good, service, retail store, person, organisation, place, or idea. A brand helps the
customer to distinguish the goods of one producer from another. Let us understand the
conceptual meaning of the term brand. A person is known by a name. Likewise, a product is
known by a brand name, which enables the consumers to distinguish it from other products.
A brand name of a product or service means many things to a consumer. It may mean a
symbol of quality or it may be associated with his/her lifestyle. In fact, consumers buy brand
images rather than products. Certain brands strike a chord as soon as the product is
announced. For example, 'Coke' or 'Pepsi' as a soft drink, 'Vicks vaporub' as a solution for
cold, 'Dettol' as an antiseptic for everyday scratches and cuts. These are a few illustrative
examples to signify the role of brands in consumer buying behaviour. Some brand images
remain in the consumers’ mind forever and they come to stand for an entire range of ideas,
sentiments, etc. This helps you to
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2. Bollywood star Salman Khan is returning to the cola space after a gap of three years,
this time to endorse brand Pepsi, a move that has surprised a few experts. The two-year
deal is estimated at Rs 15 crore, two external industry officials said. A PepsiCo
spokesperson confirmed the signing up of Khan as new brand ambassador of Pepsi but
declined to confirm the financials of the deal. “The year 2020 will see brand Pepsi create
a scale 360-degree campaign that will reflect the self-confidence of today's youth as
effortless as Salman,” the person said. Brand Pepsi will base its summer 2020 campaign
on Khan’s upcoming action comedy movie Dabangg 3, the spokesperson said. A few
marketing experts expressed surprise at the PepsiCo move, considering Khan’s macho
image vis-à-vis Pepsi’s more romantic, playful image, plus the actor’s age and some
controversies he has been associated with. To amplify these efforts, Pepsi released the
Har ghoont mein swag “anthem” featuring Patani, Shroff and rapper Badshah.
Released by T-Series the song is available for streaming on YouTube, Gaana, Jio Saavn,
Hungama, Amazon Prime Music, Spotify, Wynk, iTunes and Apple Music. With music
and dance covered, next up was cricket. PepsiCo which has an on-going partnership
with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) leveraged its sport association
during India versus Australia series in February. There the swag symbol took center
stage in stadiums and on TV screens. Says Bhagat, “This allowed us to bring music and
cricket together as one popular music performer announced the ‘Swagster of the
match’, after each match, during the India-Australia series. For a ‘culture brand’, it is
important to dive into all these three streams.” Hooked or not?
“Even as the cola companies are trying to move towards water and juices, the healthier
drinks, the two companies cannot give up on their mainstay brands just yet, that is, the
colas,” says Sunil Alagh, founder and chairman, SKA Advisors, a consultancy firm.
Alagh believes the use of social media allows these companies to keep chatter alive
around their main brands. Industry watchers believe this campaign has helped Pepsi
get its “mojo” back. Says brand consultant Harish Bijoor, “Pepsi has reclaimed its
position among the youth. Through the campaign Pepsi can be seen talking to
millennials in their language.” Former marketing director, PepsiCo India, Vani Gupta
Dandia agrees. “Using TikTok and music streaming apps to release the anthem is a
good way to extend the campaign. This allowed Pepsi to rebuild its brand equity,” says
Dandia. While the brand’s old tagline ‘Yeh dil maange more’ might be tweaked to ‘Yeh
dil maange more swag’, what remains to be seen is how Pepsi’s newfound swagger
converts to sales.
The Endgame
For categories like beverages, and particularly colas, distribution is the make-or-break
game. Under the company’s ‘Away from home’ strategy, the beverage maker has tied-
up with quick service restaurants Domino’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King and Subway
and multiplex operator PVR. Says PepsiCo’s Tarun Bhagat, “An aggressive agenda has
been drawn by the team to increase distribution across offline stores and online
channels over the next five years.”
Swag Not War

Cola marketing has come a long way from the days of the legendary Cola Wars. Pepsi’s
‘Nothing Official About It’ that took the fizz out of the official sponsor of the 1996
Cricket World Cup is perhaps one of the greatest examples of ambush marketing.
Pepsi’s current campaign couldn’t be farther from that traditional tactic. Says Lloyd
Mathias, former head of PC marketing, HP Asia Pacific and Japan, “Cola as a category
has lost its relevance among consumers, as electronics, apparels took over.” He adds,
“As a result, ‘cola war’ as a marketing concept became redundant.”
(Source:https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/advertising/salman-
khan-is-pepsis-new-face/articleshow/72449728.cms)
(Source: https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/marketing/blast-
from-the-past-as-pepsi-comes-back-with-swag-this-summer/69657939)
Examine the brand personality of Pepsi and its relevance in a promising market like
India.
Answer: Consumers tend to attribute various descriptive “personality-like” traits or

characteristics to different brands that signify the constituents of brand personality.
Consumers also link personality factors to specific colours and in some cases products and
brands are linked to certain colours with personality-like meanings. For example, Pepsi is
associated with blue that denotes authority.
The personality of a brand can be divided into five dimensions:

1. Sincerity of the brand – The image of the brand as being down to earth, very honest and
cheerful. Brands that are sincere always fulfil their promises. Consumers can be sure to get
the desired benefits out of them. Some brands such as Himalaya and Hero Honda Passion are
viewed as sincere brands, as people trust these brands and they never disappoint consumers.
Pepsi is one of the oldest and successful brands present in our country. It has large customer
base all over the country irrespective of the
3. Hair oil and edible oil maker Marico will enter the Rs 4,500-crore skincare market in
the country by extending its two-decade-old coconut hair oil brand, Parachute, to body
lotion and other skincare products, a person directly involved with the development
said. First off the block will be a body lotion at entry-level pricing to compete in the
mass segment, the person said on condition of anonymity. The company has carried out
a low-key test exercise in the east, The strategy is aimed at reducing dependence on
Parachute hair oil,” the person said. “In this case, the company hopes to ride on
Parachute’s purity and value-for-money attributes.” Marico CEO (consumer products
business) Saugata Gupta declined comment. The company will enter the cluttered
skincare market under the Parachute Advansed umbrella and compete with Hindustan
Unilever’s Vaseline and Pond’s, German company Beiersdorf ’s Nivea, L’Oreal’s
Garnier and Johnson & Johnson’s Neutrogena. Analysts and industry watchers say the
success of the move will depend on how much marketing and distribution muscle
Marico can infuse in the brand. “Success of brand extensions are generally linked
closely to the parent brand’s attributes; and depends on how closely these are aligned to
the consumer’s perception of the brand,” says consulting firm AT Kearney Partner and
VP Debashish Mukherjee. The success of extensions of strong brands is not always
certain. Cereal maker Kellogg’s extension to biscuits flopped. Marico hasn’t had much
success with brand extensions But Reckitt Benckiser’s Dettol is a classic succession of an
antiseptic medicinal liquid to antiseptic soap. Marico so far has had limited success with
brand extensions.
Also, there is strong competition in the skincare market, although with an annual rate
of 20% it’s one of the fastest-growing consumer product categories. About six years ago,
Marico had extended Parachute to shampoos, positioned on the ‘naturals’ platform. But
that did not succeed. But Parachute Advansed has various haircare variants like styling
products and after-shower gels. Marico has a skincare presence with its Kaya skincare
clinics. But it does not have a presence in the packaged skincare segment. Marico’s hair
oil brands include category leader Parachute and Nihar, which it had acquired in 2006
for close to Rs 220 crore.
(Source:https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/fashion-/
cosmetics-/-jewellery/marico-to-launch-parachute-into-skincare-
market/articleshow/9865069.cms)
a. Evaluate the brand extension strategy of Parachute.
b. Comment on the success probability of the brand extension and the potential benefits
to the parent brand?
Answer: a) Brand extension is a strategy in which company uses one of its familiar brand
names for new product category’s items. Brand extension may hurt the parent brand
reputation in the market if it fails. A brand line can have similar as well as dissimilar products
in its line. A brand mix is the set of all the brand lines that a multi-product firm offers to the
market. Companies can also launch branded variants in which they have a range of specific
brands for specific distribution channels or specific product-market situations. The brand
variants are available in the market due to
Course: Commercial banking

1. Sundarajan Pvt.Ltd., Bangalore based company are engaged in exporting sea food to
various countries. They entered in a contract with Japanese Company, Ziomei Pvt
Limited for the exporting cuttle fish. Ziomei Pvt Limited asked XYZ Limited to issue
the letter of credit. Sundarajan ‘s owner doesn’t have much idea on letter of credit. He
visits the bank to get an idea of how the letter of credit works. As a bank manager, you
are required to explain him the procedure of how letter of credit works as its
advantages from buyer’s as well as seller’s point of view.
Answer: A letter of credit (L/C) is an instrument signed by the importer’s banker that
promises to make payment to the exporter if he follows the conditions mentioned in the L/C
and if the specification about the quantity and quality of exports matches with those
mentioned in the L/C. It is a letter of promise and not a letter of guarantee of the underlying
commercial transaction. The issuing bank gets a fee for making the L/C. An L/C serves the
interest of both the parties. Exporter is assured that he will get the payment and he will try to
hedge against foreign exchange risk, credit risk, political risk, country risk etc. by trading in
the derivative market. Also, the importer will make the payment when he is in receipt of the
goods.
For example, assume that the buyer of certain merchandise is in Mumbai, India, and the seller
of the said merchandise is in the USA. The buyer and the seller do not know each other and,
therefore, the seller will ask for the payment in advance for shipping the merchandise to the
buyer. On the other hand, the buyer feels that it may not be prudent for him to make advance
payment to the overseas seller whom he does not know. Under this circumstance, no trade
can take place unless there is an intermediary who can bridge the lack of trust between the
buyer and the seller. The commercial bank can play the role of this intermediary and inspire
confidence among the two parties. This can be done by issuing an LC at the instance of the
buyer in favour of the
2. You are an operational trainer in a bank. You are asked to prepare a presentation on
the various types of fund based credit facility of a bank. Describe the same.
Answer: Types of fund based credit facility

Term Lending
Term lending facilities refer to those financing instruments through which banks meet the
non-working capital requirements of the customer. Term loans are availed by the borrower
with repayment in periodic installments over a pre-specified period. Banks also provide
advisory services to companies for syndication of the term loans to a wide spectrum of
financial institutions.
Short term finance

These are normally
3. The Basel Accords primarily focuses on prudential norms for bank capital under the
aegis of which banks are required to ensure adequate capital to cover losses on account
of significant risks in their business. In regard to the above statement answer the below
questions.
a. Elaborate on Basel I, Basel II, Basel III.
b. Highlight the significance of Basel III in context to Indian banks?
Answer: a) Basel I Accord

The Basel Committee on banking supervision (BCBS) had released the guidelines on capital
measures and capital standards in July 1988 which were accepted by the Central Banks in
various countries including RBI. This Accord is known as the Basel I Accord. It took into
account the elements of risk in various types of assets in the balance sheet as well as off-
balance sheet business. Essentially, under the above system, the balance sheet assets, non-
funded items and other off-balance sheet exposures are assigned weights according to the
prescribed risk weights and banks have to maintain unimpaired minimum capital funds
equivalent to the prescribed ratio, on the aggregate of the risk weighted assets and other
exposures, on an

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Course: Consumer behavior
1. Advertisers today face a challenge of “sensory adaptation”. It has become

increasingly difficult to get the attention of and impress consumers. In terms of
consumer perception, what is the relationship between sensory adaptation and absolute
threshold? Name 3 ways in which marketers are overcoming the challenge of sensory
adaptation.
Answer: Reality to an individual is that individual’s perception is a personal phenomenon, on

the basis of which the individual acts or reacts and not on the basis of objective reality. For
this reason, marketers are particularly interested in consumers‟ perceptions than their
knowledge of objective reality. Simply put, perception is “how we see the world around us.”
Schiffman and Kanuk have defined perception as “the process by which an individual selects,
organises and interprets stimuli into a meaningful and coherent picture of the world.” A
stimulus is any unit of input to a sensory receptor. In a marketing context, the stimuli include
brand names, advertisements, colours, sounds and packages etc.
There are numerous marketing-related stimuli that affect
2. Pooja is a stationary enthusiast. She loves collecting antique fountain pens, limited
edition notebooks, state-of-the-art mechanical pencils, post-it notes in rare shapes, etc.
She has an extensive collection of stationary which she has proudly built over many
years. What is Fixated Consumption and Compulsive Consumption? What are the
characteristics of a fixated consumer and a compulsive consumer? Which of the 2
behaviours is Pooja exhibiting?
Answer: Consumer behaviour is a rapidly growing discipline of study. It means more than
just how a person buys products. It is a complex and multidimensional process and reflects
the totality of consumers’ decisions with respect to acquisition, consumption and disposal
activities. You, as a consumer, exhibit very significant differences in your buying behaviour
and play an important role in local, national or international economic conditions. One of the
very few aspects common to all of us is that we are all consumers and the reason for a
business firm to come into being is the presence of consumers who have unfulfilled, or
partially fulfilled needs and wants. Our consumption related behaviour influences the
development of technology and introduction of new and improved products and services.
Consumer behaviour study helps in identifying the unfulfilled needs and wants of consumers.
This requires examining the trends and conditions operating in the marketplace, consumers’
lifestyles, income levels and emerging influences. A review of market opportunities often
helps in identifying distinct consumer segments with very distinct and unique wants and
needs. Identifying these groups, learning how they behave and how they make purchase
decisions enables the marketer to design and market
3. a. Using an example, explain the 4 elements of Consumer Learning.

3. b. Gifting is an interesting aspect of Consumer Behaviour because gifts represent
more than ordinary purchases. They are associated with important and special events
(e.g., Mother’s Day, birthdays, engagements, weddings, etc.) What are the different
types of Gifting behaviours consumers may exhibit?
Answer: a) How consumers learn is of great concern to marketers because they are interested
in teaching consumers about products, product attributes and potential consumer benefits,
about where to buy their products, how to use them, maintain them and even dispose them.
Marketing strategies are based on interactions with consumers directly though advertisements
or indirectly through product appearance, packaging, price and distribution channels. The aim
of marketers is to have consumers notice, believe, remember and recall their
communications. Hence, marketers have an interest in every part of the learning process.
Four components are fundamental to most learning situations.

Motivation – Motivation is the driving force that impels individuals to action and is based on
needs and goals. Motivations function as a spur to learning with needs and goals acting as
stimuli. For example, a badminton enthusiast will learn all about the sport and may seek
information about prices, quality, etc. of a badminton racquet if he/she ‘learns’ that a good
racquet would help in playing a good game. Marketers attempt to uncover consumer motives
and then teach motivated consumer segments why their products will best satisfy consumer
needs.
Cues – Cues are stimuli that provide direction to motivated pursuit. For example, an
advertisement for a badminton coaching

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Course: Corporate Finance

1. ABC Ltd. is considering two financing plans to raise ₹ 8,00,000. The key information
is as follows:
TABLE GIVEN BELOW:
Plan Equity Debt Preference Shares
1 50% 50%
2 50% 50%
Expected EBIT is ₹ 2,40,000.
Cost of Debt is 10% and cost of Preference Shares is 10%.
Tax rate is 50%.
Equity shares of the face value of ₹ 10 each will be issued at a premium of ₹ 10 per
share.
Calculate Earnings per share for plan 1 and 2 and suggest which one is better.
Answer: Calculation of Earnings per share
Earnings per share = Profit available for equity shareholders

Number of equity shares
PARTICIULARS PLAN 1 PLAN 2

EBIT 240000 240000
LESS: INTEREST 40000 0
EBT 200000 240000
LESS: TAX @ 50% 100000 120000
EAT 100000 120000
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2. A Project costs ₹ 60,000 and is expected to generate cash inflows as:
Year Cash inflows(₹)
1 10000
2 12000
3 15000
4 18000
5 20000
6 22000
Calculate Net Present Value and Profitability Index. Comment whether project should
be accepted or not. Assume cost of capital is 10%. Enumerate the steps of calculation of
NPV.
Answer: Steps involved in NPV method involve:

● Forecasting the cash flows, both inflows and outflows of the projects to be taken up
for execution
● Decisions on discount factor or interest factor. The appropriate discount rate is the
firm’s cost of capital or required rate of return expected by the investors
● Computation of the present value of cash inflows and outflows using the discount
factor selected
● Calculation of NPV by subtracting the PV of cash outflows from the present value of
cash
3. The following information is given for Alpha Ltd.
Earnings per share ₹ 12
Dividend per share ₹3
Cost of Capital 18%
Internal Rate of Return on Investment 22%
Retention Ratio 75%
Calculate the market price per share using
a. Gordon’s Dividend Model
b. Walter’s Dividend Model
Answer: Given:
E = Earnings is ₹12 per share
k = Cost of capital is 18%
r = Return on investment of 22%
Course: Cost and Management Accounting

1. Analyzing and making decisions in relation to cost requires in-depth study of various
costs involved. The process of managerial decision making classify costs into certain
specific head so as to be precise in evaluating various business proposals. Discuss any
five such costs with relevant examples which are significant for managerial decision
making.
Answer: Cost is the amount of resources given up in exchange of some goods and services.
The resources are expressed in money or money’s equivalent. CIMA defines the term cost as
“the amount of expenditure (actual or notional) incurred on or attributable to a given thing”.
The given thing may be taken as a product, service or any other activity. While the actual
expenditure refers to the amount spent, the notional expenditure does not involve in any cash
outlay. It does not reflect itself in the accounting records. But, it is important for the purpose
of comparison of cost and in decision making.
Objectives of Costing
● It aims to serve the information needs of management for planning, control and
decision making.
● It helps to determine product cost. They are important in inventory valuation, decision
regarding pricing of the product.
● It facilitates planning and control of regular business activities. Different alternative
plans are evaluated in terms of respective cost and associated benefits. In control
process the data generated can be compared with budgets and estimates.
● It supplies information
2. Standard costing is the process where standard costs of various components and
resources are predetermined. Further, there are certain specific objectives for adopting
the standard costing techniques in management accounting, Discuss in brief, the
distinguished objectives of adopting standard costing in any organization.
Answer: Standard costing may be defined as a technique of cost accounting which compares
the standard cost of each product or service with the actual cost to determine the efficiency of
the operation so that any remedial action may be taken immediately: Brown and Howard.
According to J. Batty “standard costing is a system of cost accounting which is designed to

show in detail how much each product should cost to produce and sell when a business is
operating at a stated level of efficiency and for a given volume of output”.
The meaning of standard costing is focused on the method of financial control. It compares
the predetermined and actual costs. It is normally associated closely with budgetary control.
Many organizations use both the systems although one can be used without the other.
Standard costing is mainly applied to products and processes. Therefore, it is a technique that
is more commonly used in manufacturing organization, though it may also be useful in
service industries. As in
3. Puppies and Rabbits, a soft toy manufacturing company requires 1250 units per
month, of the soft toy named “COCO Rabbit”. The ordering cost is Rs 1000 per order.
The cost of carrying inventory is 10% per annum. The cost of manufacturing one unit
of COCO Rabbit is Rs 200
a. Determine the most economic lot size
b. The minimum total variable cost for the economic lot size
Answer: Given:
D (Annual Demand) = 1250*12 = 15000 Units
K (Ordering cost) = Rs.1000 per order
Cost of manufacturing one unit = Rs. 200
Kc (Carrying cost) = Rs.10% of Rs. 200 = Rs. 20
Formula:
A) EOQ = √(2DK/K)
= √(

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Course: Customer relationship maangement
1. In your opinion should marketers challenge their customers’ communities because

they are not official? Justify your views with valid examples from the industry.
Answer: In all businesses, Customer is the king as you cannot survive in the market without
good customer base. It is the duty of all service providing companies to take special care of
their customers as sales is not the only motive but there should be excellent after sales service
as well. Companies must do everything to satisfy their customers as Customer satisfaction is
the best indicator of how likely a customer will make a purchase in the future. Asking
customers to rate their satisfaction on a scale of 1-10 is a good way to see if they will become
repeat customers or even advocates. In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete
for customers; customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator. Businesses who succeed
in these cut-throat environments are the ones that make customer satisfaction a key element
of their business strategy. Satisfaction plays a significant role in how much revenue a
customer generates for your business. Successful businesses understand the importance of
customer lifetime value (CLV). If you increase CLV, you increase the returns on your
marketing rupee. Many studies have proved that it is cheaper to retain customers rather than
acquire new ones. You should measure satisfaction level of your customers on regular basis
and take necessary
2. Frame the 10 most critical criteria to develop a rich customer profile in your industry
and specify the source of data collection for the same with appropriate examples.
Answer: Organisations exist because of customers. No customer means, no business.

Organisations’ survival depends on how they meet the needs and wants of the customers and
provide them with maximum benefits. Failure to do so will result in a failed business
strategy. Learning from segmentation is based on the fact that customers do vary and it is
possible to group them or classify them on the major dimensions and develop differentiated
product offers for each of the segments than trying to sell a product to anybody in the market.
Customer profiling is the process to learn about customer’s characteristics including

demographic (age, gender, life stage), geographic (location), and psychographic
characteristics (influencers, interests, lifestyle), as well as past buying behaviour to
understand who they are
3. Aditi works in the US for a biomedical organization. They have clients located in
different parts of the globe. Off late one of their most loyal clients from the Europe has
been expressing their concern over service issues faced by them. Next quarter their
contract ends and will be time for renewal. Aditi is unsure whether they will be able to
sustain the business from their European client.
a. As per your understanding analyze the course of the relationship between the
customer and the supplier in the above scenario?
b. What hampers trust and commitment in a relationship and how can it be
maintained?
Answer: a) One of the most difficult things to get from customers is trust. Not only is it hard
to obtain, it is equally difficult to sustain. Traditionally, all it entailed was the practice of
getting to know the preferences of customers. However, this was not without the awareness
of increased competition and demands. It has now become important to initiate new programs
and methodologies in order to forge better one-on-one ties with customers.
Relationship is a process which includes various phases such as exploratory, growth,

saturation and decline. During the exploratory phase, the customer sees the promises made
during communication fulfilled for the first time. The first introduction makes an important
impression
on the relationship. The level of satisfaction during the exploratory phase is still relatively
low; the customers have little to

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Course: International business
1. Analyze the financial accounts in the Balance of payments statements of any two
countries in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) for different types
of capital flows.
Answer: Balance of payments (BOP) is one of the oldest and the most important statistical
statements for any country, especially the more open economies. The BOP is ‘a systematic
record of all economic transactions between the residents of a given country and of the
residents of the rest of the world in an accounting period (viz. a year).’ The system of BOP
accounting, some of the concepts and terminologies used in the BOP expression and the
interpretation of the BOP categories are of utmost importance to any student of international
economics. Despite efforts by international organizations to secure uniformity of
classification and
2. Being an exporter of garment house, discuss how letter of credit can be used for
processing export contracts.
Answer: A letter of credit (L/C) is an instrument signed by the importer’s banker that
promises to make payment to the exporter if he follows the conditions mentioned in the L/C
and if the specification about the quantity and quality of exports matches with those
mentioned in the L/C. It is a letter of promise and not a letter of guarantee of the underlying
commercial transaction. The issuing bank gets a fee for making the L/C. An L/C serves the
interest of both the parties. Exporter is assured that he will get the payment and he will try to
hedge against foreign exchange risk, credit risk, political risk, country risk etc. by trading in
the derivative market. Also, the importer will make the payment when he is in receipt of the
goods.
For example, assume that the buyer of NMIMS

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3. Alphabet unit Google was hit with a record-breaking 4.34 billion euro ($5.04 billion)
fine on Wednesday, topping the 2.4 billion euros it was ordered to pay in another case
last year. EU antitrust regulators accused it of abusing the dominance of its Android
smartphone operating system by blocking rivals. Below is a timeline of Google’s
antitrust cases in Europe:
18 July 2018 - EU antitrust regulators hand down a 4.34 billion euro fine to Google after
a three-year long investigation.
27 June 2017 - EU fines Google 2.4 billion euros for thwarting rivals of shopping
comparison websites.
14 July 2016 - EU sets out another charge against Google’s shopping service. It also
accuses the company of preventing third parties using its Adsense product from
displaying search advertisements from Google’s competitors - a third case against the
company.
20 April 2016 - EU sends a charge sheet to Google outlining the company’s
anticompetitive practices with regard to Android smartphone makers and apps makers.
15 April 2015 - EU opens investigation into Google’s Android smartphone operating
system.
15 April 2015 - EU charges Google with blocking competitors of its shopping service.
Sept 2014 - Almunia says he will not be able to wrap up the Google case before his
mandate ends in October.
May 2014 - Joaquin Almunia, European Competition Commissioner at that time, says
feedback from complainants will be crucial to determining whether he accepts Google’s
concessions.
5 Feb 2014 - Google improves its concessions related to online search.
2013 - Lobbying Group Fair Search files a complaint about Google’s Android business
practices to the European Commission.
25April 2013 - EU seeks feedback from rivals and users to Google’s concessions.
a. Discuss how the legal aspects of business environment impacting Google in Europe.
b. Discuss all the other aspects of the business environment that provide complexity to
international business operations like cultural aspects for companies engaged in
International business.
Answer: a) The European complaints against Google run deep and wide. Originally,
Microsoft and others, including a tiny British company called Foundem, complained that
Google was favoring its own services, such as Google Maps and Google Product Search, on
its Internet search engine, which controls roughly 90 percent of its market on the continent.
The newer cases stretch into very different territory. Critics complain that the company forces
smartphone makers to favor its services when building phones with Android, and they allege
Google requires online outfits to show a certain percentage of Google ads when using its
search engine on their websites.
Google and the EU have now argued over these cases for years. But whatever the strengths
and weaknesses of the various arguments, the political climate in the EU over that time has
decidedly shifted against Google and other big US Internet companies. European officials
deny they're showing an anti-American bias. But Google now faces enormous amounts of ill-
will in the EU, and not only from
Course: International marketing
1. India is trying to promote ‘Make in India’ and has also recently opened up Defense
sector. You are a strategy manager at Dassault, one of leading manufacturers of defense
equipment. However, your boss wants to set up a new venture in Brazil. Please justify
using Business Environment why you would like to set up in India instead of Brazil.
Answer: The definition of business environment means all of the internal and external factors
that affect how the company functions including employees, customers, management, supply
and demand and business regulations. An example of a part of a business environment is how
well customers' expectations are met.
Location specific advantages refer to alternative countries and regions carrying out value
added activities in different locations. Location advantages include abundant labour, low
wages, special taxes or tariffs and availability of cheap raw materials. Nowadays, a large
number of companies are conducting business on the basis of location specific advantages.
Firms choose to augment
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2. You are the CEO of a competing brand of Starbucks but claim to offer more value
for money. Your products cost less than Starbucks. You have also decided to enter
India after seeing success of Starbucks. Evaluate any 3 entry options to enter into India.
Which of the market entry options would you finally choose & why?
Answer: Entry modes may vary from company to company or even for a single company
depending upon a variety of factors as discussed below:
● Size of the company – Generally, larger companies have large financial resources
and manpower skill to handle international operations in a competitively better
manner.
● Market potential – In markets with considerable size and growth opportunities, a
company may enter by way of putting more resources and investment.
● Company objectives – Depending upon the company’s objectives in the target
market, the firm may decide
3. Lemon Tree operates mid-premium hotels in India and position it for cost conscience
corporate travelers. They have decided to enter European market now with 4
properties, two each in Germany & France.
a. Suggest what should be their pricing strategy for the European market.
b. Suggest the possible brand positioning for their European market.
Answer: a) Various pricing strategies are as follows:

● Market penetration strategy – Under this strategy, exporters offer a very low
introductory price to speed up their sales, thereby widening the market base. It aims at
capturing a sizeable share in the market, especially if the quality of the product is
proved with its wide acceptance.
● Probe pricing strategy – Fixing a low price for a product may have an adverse effect
on the image of the firm and of the product. It may raise doubts in the minds of the
buyers about the quality of the product if it is lower than the price of competitors or if
it is reduced
Course: Marketing of financial services

1. Develop a Public Relations campaign for IRDA to create awareness about Life Insurance
sector and to educate policyholders about their rights.
Answer: The insurance sector fulfils not only an economic purpose but also a social one. This
sector provides social security and promotes individual welfare. It reduces risk and also helps
increase productivity in the economy. Life insurance is intended to mitigate the adverse
financial consequences that may follow because a person does not live long enough or
because he lives too long. Every possible adverse consequence that requires to be taken care
of constitutes a need for insurance.
The important activities in a life insurance company are:

• Procuring applications or proposals from prospective buyers of life insurance
• Scrutinizing and making decisions on the proposals for insurance. This is called
underwriting.
• Issuing the policy document, incorporating the terms and conditions of the insurance cover.
• Keeping track of the performance of the insurance contract by either party, like payment of
premium
2. Your client, Ashwin Motwani client had avoided investing in equities for his long term goals.
He found equity investments too risky and did not understand when to time his entry and exit in
the market. Explain some investment techniques that help negating the biases involved in
investing.
Answer: Equity market/stock market is an organisation in which shares are issued and traded
through exchanges. It gives access to capital and a portion of the ownership to investors in a
company. Equity market is splited into primary and secondary market. The large scale
companies are enlisted with BSE and NSE. The small and medium scale companies are listed
with OTCEI (Over the Counter Exchange of India). The functions of Indian equity market are
supervised by SEBI as well.
ROI of common equity shares is always volatile due to rapid fluctuations in prices. Price
fluctuations are caused by multiple factors. However, there is one crux for all the factors
mentioned —if
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3. You are a Financial Planner. Your client Raj Shah (age 34 years) works with an IT company
earning Rs. 15 lakhs per annum. His wife Deepti (age 32 years) is a homemaker. They have one
daughter Rimmi (age 3 years). The couple requires your help to make some financial decisions.
(You can make any assumptions to further build up your case.)
a. Raj wants to buy a Pure Risk Life Insurance cover of Rs 1.5 crore. He is confused whether he
should buy a ULIP, Endowment or a Term Plan. Recommend the product best suited for his
requirement.
b. Raj and Deepti want your help to invest for Rimmi’s higher education which they estimate
would be required after 18 years.
Answer: a) Life Insurance is an agreement providing for payment of a sum of money to the
person secured. You require life insurance only if someone relies on you for help and
support. Your life insurance premium depends on the type of insurance you take, the amount
you pay for it and your chance of death while the policy is in effect.
There are different types of life insurance schemes in India. These include:
Term life insurance: Under a Term life contract, the insurance company pays a specific
amount to the designated receiver in case of the death of the insured. These policies are
usually for 5, 10, 15, 20 or 30 years. Term life insurance was popular in advanced countries.
In India, these policies are becoming popular after the entrance of the private operators. The
premium on such type of policies is moderately quite low when compared with other types of
life insurance policies, mainly

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Course: Marketing strategy
1. Identify and explain the four key factors/characteristics affecting customer buying
behaviour, specifically for developing product/pricing/distribution/promotion strategy
of the following products/brands/organisations: (1) Indian Railways, (2) Wakefit
(mattresses), (3) Statue of Unity, and (4) Yogabar (protein bars).
Answer: The consumer decision process explains the internal process as well as individual
behaviour for making product or service-based decisions. The consumption process is
influenced by external factors such as cultural, social, personal, and psychological factors.
When the marketing and other stimuli come in contact with buyers, their decision process is
initiated. The marketers have to correctly read buyers’ conscious or unconscious behaviour to
generate positive response. Every person has his/her distinct set of standards of judgment.
The consumers follow a decision process characterised by problem recognition, information
search, alternative evaluation, purchase decision and post-purchase behaviour.
Indian railways
Culture factors: We all had sweet memories of having various train journeys in our
childhood with our families when we just used to enjoy it. It was like a culture to travel from
one place to other in a train and
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2. Explain various stages in industry life cycle with examples from passenger vehicles
industry in India, with specific comments regarding (1) Product, (2) Pricing, (3)
Distribution, and (4) Promotion strategies of market leaders in the current stage of the
passenger vehicles industry in India.
Answer: India became the fourth largest auto market in 2018 with sales increasing 8.3 per
cent year-on-year to 3.99 million units. It was the seventh largest manufacturer of
commercial vehicles in 2018. The Two Wheelers segment dominates the market in terms of
volume owing to a growing middle class and a young population. Moreover, the growing
interest of the companies in exploring the rural markets further aided the growth of the sector.
India is also a prominent auto exporter and has strong export growth expectations for the near
future. Automobile exports grew 14.50 per cent during FY19. It is expected to grow at a
CAGR of 3.05 per cent during 2016-2026. In addition, several initiatives by the Government
of India and the major automobile players in the Indian market are expected to make India a
leader in the two-wheeler and four-
3. a. Explain low cost strategy and differentiation strategy, highlighting 3 key
differences between the two strategies, and two supporting examples from Indian
FMCG/Retail sector for each strategy.
3. b. The Finance Minister, India announced reduction in corporate tax rates in Sep-
2019; why is it important for companies in Indian FMCG/Retail sector, and what are 5
ways (with examples of companies) in which leading companies in the sector can benefit
from the development from the point of view of Marketing Strategy?
Answer: a) Low cost strategy

The Overall cost leadership strategy is a strategy followed by an organization to design,
develop and market the product at a lower cost than its competitors. It is also known as the
low cost strategy. This strategy requires developing the policies that aim at becoming the
lowest-cost producer and distributor in the market. Customer prefers to spend on low rate
products or services, therefore, an organization minimises the overall cost incurred in
developing the product. An organization can minimize the overall cost by minimising the
costs included in the construction of efficient-scale facilities, overheads, operating expenses,
input costs, labour costs, marginal customer accounts cost and lower distribution costs. This
strategy is mostly useful for organization selling unbranded commodities such as beef or
steel.
Differentiation strategy
Product differentiation involves “developing and promoting an awareness of difference
between the advertiser’s product and competitor’s product.” When product differentiation
strategy is used, it enables a company to come out of price competition so that it may
compete on a non-price basis. The company may show that its product is different from or
even better than the competitor’s products. It is possible to differentiate on quality, design,
brand, or packaging. This strategy works in markets, which are reasonably homogeneous in
their wants, and the products are

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Course: Operations management

1. Explain how the operations strategies are different when applied to a service
company such as “Tata Sky” versus a manufacturing company such as “Tata Steel”.
Answer: Operations strategy involves developing the long-term plan for using major
resources of the organisation to achieve the desired corporate objectives. The plan includes
long-term decisions related to capacity, location, processes, technology and timing.
Following issues are addressed in operations strategy:
● How the resources should be structured?
● What activities should take place?
● How to ensure the quality of goods and services?
● What type of processes to install for manufacturing goods and services?
Operations strategy involves key operations decisions that are aligned with the overall
strategic objectives of an organisation. This helps an organisation in gaining an edge over its
competitors. The

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2. What are the key factors that firms consider while designing a facility layout? List
five major factors. What kind of layout is best suited for a Pharmaceuticals
manufacturing firm?
Answer: Typically, a layout refers to the arrangement of facilities connected with production,
support, customer service, and other activities. It involves the physical arrangement of work
centers, storage, space for material handling and movement, utility areas and other essential
spaces required for production and operations. Plant layout is also defined as the organization
of a company's physical facilities to promote the efficient use of equipment, material, people
and energy. The primary objective of plant layout is to increase productivity and also to
ensure employee satisfaction and lowering the costs. A model facility layout should be able
to provide an ideal relationship between raw material, equipment, manpower and final
product at minimal cost under safe
3. Indian Railways is a name synonymous to an operational activity at a large scale.

Give your views on the following aspects of Indian railways
a. There have been several instances & reports of problems faced by customers during
booking of tickets through its online portal. What should Indian railways do to make
this system world class?
b. Discuss the concept of inventory management with reference to any one aspect (Food
served/ hospitality/ safety, etc.) of Indian Railway.
Answer: a) Each industry would have progressed over the years or decades improving their
processes and products. During this development, the materials would have changed and
processes would have changed. As all products or services are meant to serve the needs of the
customers, they undergo continuous changes both in configuration and features.
The customer is undoubtedly an important asset of any organisation. An organisation’s

success depends on how many customers it has, how much they buy the company’s products,
and how often they buy. Hence, there is the popular saying - customer is king. If you look
around carefully, you will find that many organisations are actually serving their clients like
their kings. This is
Course: Organization theory

1. SmallSoft Ltd is a technology giant which over the years had built a huge
organization, servicing customers globally. Started by a visionary founder, the
organization’s products had almost a monopolistic control over the markets they
operated in. However, the last decade saw them being taken over by smaller, more agile
organizations. The Board realized that the current way of working would not help them
retain their growth or their profitability and hence they decided to go in for a changed
strategy. A new CEO was brought in, who quickly realized that the organization was
stuck in the past ways of doing business and that its vision and mission were now
redundant in the current technology scenario. Also, the teams were working in silos and
the company structure needed to be integrated. The CEO called you, the Head-HR to
discuss this. She has asked your help as the Head HR help transform the company and
drive this change. You recommend that the company follow Kotter’s 8-step model to
drive this change. Detail out the steps to be followed for Change Management as per
Kotter’s 8-step model, adding on any specific points mentioned in the case.
Answer: Change is a phenomenon that pushes us out of our comfort zone. It is for the better
or for the worse, depending on how it is viewed. Change has an adjustment time line that
varies from person to person. Change has a negative effect on those who do not want to let
go. Being flexible is the key. For instance, a roller coaster ride can symbolically be indicative
of change—it can be fun if you know when to lean and create balance. Change is not related
to the mantra ‘just hang in there’, but the mantra ‘you can make it’. It is not associated with
worrying. Change spurs you to achieve your best. It will help you to learn. Change is
inevitable. It is the management’s duty to see that change is managed properly. Organizations
must keep a watch on the environment and incorporate suitable changes that the situation
may demand. Change is a continuous phenomenon. Organizations must be proactive in
effecting change. Even in the most stable organizations, change is necessary just to maintain
a certain level of stability. The major environmental forces that make change necessary are
technology, market forces and socio-economic factors. Resistance to change is
counterproductive for
2. Jahazi Company is a company that is into operating boats for leisure cruises in
Kerala. The owner of this company, Mr. Nair, now wants to move into International
waters by setting up a base in Singapore, to provide these services in South East Asia.
Your firm has been tasked with doing an External Analysis prior to the move. Detail
out the techniques you would follow for doing an External Analysis using PESTLE
method for this company.
Answer: The environment consists of various forces that affect the company’s ability to
deliver products and services to its customers. The environment can affect a company in
many ways. A company can have the best technologies, employees, and the best of suppliers
but it can fail miserably if any of the factors like exchange rate, policies of the host
government, changing needs of customers, etc. start to act against it. On the other hand, a
mediocre company can be spectacularly successful if the factors in the external environment
start favouring its strategies and policies. It is imperative that companies keep a close watch
on the environment factors that may affect them, and prepare themselves adequately to face
the emerging challenges.
Environmental analysis is the assessment of environmental factors which affect marketing

activities. An examination is made of both positive and negative affect for adjusting
marketing activities in NMIMS Fully solved assignment available
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3. Funky TV is a music television channel that is very popular amongst youngsters. It is

considered a fun channel and has a great brand recall value, but due to high content
costs and other expenses, it is not very profitable. The channel is successful because of
the new formats and interesting ideas it keeps introducing regularly on air. The
employees are mostly in the age group of 22-30. There are a few other employees from
older age groups as well. The company prides itself on being a Crazy and Cool
workplace. Each employee at the time of joining is given decorating material and lots of
colorful paper to help them decorate their workplace. This is an open office layout. All
employees including the senior management sit in the same area and there are small
meeting rooms for people who wish to have a quiet conversation. Every evening at 6 pm,
one employee is randomly selected by draw of lots and gets to choose a playlist to play
on the public address system. There is no dress code and employees are inspired to
discover their individual style. The employees are encouraged to speak their mind,
share their ideas and disagreements are considered healthy. Managers avoid taking
unilateral decisions and prefer to have a consensus-based approach. The culture is also
such that it attracts talented people from across all walks of life. The current channel
programming in charge was a professor of physics before he joined the channel.
Though the company faces stiff competition in the music television space and is not the
best paymaster, it still has low levels of attrition.
a. Describe the basic features of Schein’s model of culture and classify the elements of
culture mentioned in the case into Schein’s framework
b. What is the Function of culture? Give example from the case to show the function of
culture for the employees of Funky TV.
Answer: a) Edgar Schein has defined culture as ‘a pattern of basic assumptions invented,
discovered or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external
adaptation and internal integration worked well enough to be considered valuable and
therefore, to be taught to new members as a correct way to perceive, think and feel, in
relation to those problems’.
Features of Schein’s model of culture

According to Edgar Schein’s organisational model, the three cognitive levels of
organisational culture are as follows:
At the first level, the artefacts of the organisation are present. They include the office
facilities, the furnishing, the rewards, the way employees dress and interact, the slogans,
mission statements, etc. Artifacts are visible, but that does not mean that they can be
understood easily and by everyone alike. In fact, artifacts can be confusing for an observer
who is tempted to use readily available labels and stereotypes upon noticing them. Thus, the
shapers of culture as well as student should avoid going too much into detail of an artifact, as
well as overgeneralizing and labeling.
In the given case, employees of the company enjoy various facilities at the workplace like no
dress code, decoration at workplace, open
Course: Retail banking

1. Banking today has become a competitive industry. Discuss how the internet and
mobile banking is ice breaker to the tradition banking industry. Highlight how internet
and mobile banking have brought digitalization in the banking Industry and is helping
the industry to pave its way to success.
Answer: Revolutionary changes have taken place in business and business places due to
developments in telecommunication and information technology. Implementation of
technology in business has reduced the constraints of space and time and the cost of doing
business. Technology is being widely used in the banking services, as the demands from the
customers are more and they expect the services offered in banks abroad. Banks, by
implementing technology, have freed themselves from the constraints of physical branches.
Now, banks are able to offer service to the customers round the clock, throughout the year
nonstop, thanks to the implementation of Internet banking, phone banking, automated teller
system and mobile banking service. These services have reduced the need for physical
presence of customers at the branch. McKinsey, a noted international management
consultancy firm
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2. Shriram has recently graduated from a reputed MBA college and got placed in a
private sector bank. His manager asks him to prepare a short note the different types of
lending which are carried by banks in day to day operations. Help him to prepare his
notes.
Answer: The term ‘banking’ in terms of section 5(b) of the Banking Regulation Act indicates
acceptance of deposits for lending or investment. Obviously, lending or granting of loans
forms the core of banking business. Lending is either for a short term or for a long term. It
may be secured or unsecured as the case is. Banks grant loans for a variety of purposes.
Reserve Bank of India issues directions from time to time, to regulate the lending operations
of banking companies stated in section 21 in exercise of these powers vested under section
21. It may also be noted that, general powers to give directions are also available under
section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act. The lending function of banks is so very
important in modern times,
3. “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who
have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” - Franklin D.
Roosevelt
Despite witnessing progressive growth in economy post liberalization, yet nearly 75 %
of the households even today are deprived to access to any funds-institutional or
otherwise. Banks play a vital role in bridging the social divide and achieving robust and
sustainable economic growth. Financial inclusion is viewed as a promising step towards
achieving financial equality and stability.
a. Discuss the various initiatives taken by RBI for promoting financial inclusion
b. Highlight the barriers that impends financial inclusion
Answer: a) Financial inclusion in the Indian context has been defined as the provision of
affordable financial services, viz., access to payments and remittance facilities, savings, loans
and insurance services by the formal financial system to those who tend to be excluded. The
Indian policy approach towards financial inclusion since 2000 has been focused on ensuring
inclusion at the individual and household level. Accordingly, the scheme of no frills accounts
(no pre-condition, low minimum balance maintenance) was initiated by the RBI in 2005 to
provide an easy financial savings facility to the population at large, which can act as a means
of their entry into the formal banking system. At the end of March 2017, 80.6 million no-
frills accounts were opened by the banking system. While no-frills accounts have grown
phenomenally, an important challenge before the banking system is to keep these accounts
operational, as many such accounts are found to be dormant since the poor often find it
difficult to save and deposit money into these accounts. In order to keep these accounts
operational, banks have been advised to provide small overdrafts in such accounts; up to
March, 2017, `Rs. 217.54 crore

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Course: Sales management
1. Bajaj Electronics administers a Quarterly performance review for all its sales
employees. The below mentioned table provides the number of sales calls done by the
sales people for the month of Oct- Dec 2019. You are the Area manager in charge of
their performance. The performance standard set by the company is that every sales
person must do 150 sales calls in every quarter.
Name of the executive No. of sales calls
Ramnath 142
Tapan 160
Jeetendra 87
Saurabh 125
Bhaskar 92
How will you evaluate the performance of the sales executives as an Area Manager?
What are the steps you can take to improve the performance?
Answer: Basically, a sales executive has two sets of functions: Operating and Planning. The
relative emphasis that sales executive offers to the operating and planning function varies
with (1) the type of products, (2) the size of company, and (3) the type of supervisory
organisation. Customarily, sales executive at all organisational levels devote more time and
attention to planning function than to operating function.
Sales executive is required for face to face interaction with the customers. Hence, he should
have a pleasing personality and great communication skills. He should have intelligence to
change the indifferent attitude of the customers’/buyers attitude towards similar brands in the
market and ends with them placing an order. He should have a thorough knowledge of the
product he is selling so that he is able to handle any query posed by a prospective buyer of
the product. He should be a team player, and an ability to interact and devise good sales plans
should come naturally to him.
As mentioned in the question, every salesperson must do 150 sales calls in every quarter so
this is the basis of
2. Take an appointment and meet with a senior sales person from two industries –
Pharma industry (such as Sun Pharma, Lupic, Dr. Reddy’s, Glaxo or any other
company) and Engineering industry (such as L&T, BHEL, ABB, Siemens or any other
company). Study and prepare the sales organization structure of these two companies.
Answer: An organization can be viewed as a body formed with an objective of achieving

specified goals. The design of the organization pertains to its structure, the path chosen for
achieving set goals, the process adopted and myriad variables. The structure, which is one of
the core elements defining an organization is also not static and evolves over time, as per the
perceived need to fulfil the goals. If sound practices are followed in setting up the sales
department, the resulting structure takes on features of one or more of four basic types: line,
line and staff, functional and committee. The grouping of activities into positions and the
charting of relationships of positions causes the organisation to take on structural form.
Type of sales organization structure

1. Line sales organisation: The line sales organisation is the oldest and simplest sales
organisational structure. It is widely used in smaller firms. For instance, smaller
companies that cover a limited geographic area or sell a

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3. Raymond Fibres Ltd is a fibre making company in India. They are predominantly in
fashion wear from men and women. The fibre market is divided into natural and
synthetic fibres. The company has 5 plants in India and employs over 700 sales people.
The company competes with the Reliance group which is one of the leading synthetic
fibre makers along with some global players such as DuPont. However, the company
has been hit with the economic slowdown in the country. To make things worse, cheaper
imports of fashion wear from China and e-commerce has affected store sales. The sales
people in the company are feeling demotivated. The sales people have put pressure on
the top management to improve their salary.
a. What alternatives will you suggest to the top management to improve the salary plan
to the sales employees?
b. What are some of the non-financial tools of motivation that you can use.
Answer: a) Motivation is “the process that account for an individual’s intensity, direction,
and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal.” Motivation is important to an individual
because:
● Motivation helps to achieve personal goals.
● Motivation gives job satisfaction.
● Motivation helps in self-development of individual.
● An individual would always gain by working with a dynamic team.
Similarly, motivation is important to a business because:

● The more motivated the employees are, the more empowered the team is.
● The more is the team work and individual employee contribution, more profitable and
successful is the business.
● During period of change, there is more adaptability and creativity.
● Motivation leads to an optimistic and challenging attitude at work place.
Productivity is generally defined as the output
Course: Taxation- Direct and indirect

1. Leo Messi, a football player visits India for 110 days in every financial year. This has
been his practice for the past ten years. Explaining the conditions to determine the
residential status, find out his residential status for the assessment year 2019-20. Also,
comment on whether he is resident but not ordinarily resident during the previous year
2018-19.
Answer: The computation of total income of a person and incidence of tax depends on his
residential status. The residential status has nothing to do with the citizenship of a person.
The residential status of an assessee is determined with reference to his residence (stay or
physical presence) in India during the previous year. To determine the taxable income of a
person the residential status is required to be determined for each assessment year.
Why to determine residential status?
Section 6 is the charging section which governs the residential status of an Individual. Since
the total income of an assessee varies according to his residential status in India, the
incidence of tax shall also very according to such residential status in India. The basic rules
for determining residential status of an assessee are:
(i) Determine residential status for each category of persons separately e.g. there are
separate set of rules for determining the residential status of an individual, firm,
AOP, companies, etc.
(ii) Determine residential status for the previous year and not the assessment year
because the total income is determined of the previous year only.
(iii) Determine every year the residential status of a person on the basis of number of
days stay in India. It may change from year to year.
(iv) Residential status of a person is applicable to all source of income.
(v) Citizenship of a country and residential status are separate concepts. A person
may be an India citizen, but may not be a resident in India. On the other hand, a
person may be a foreign national / citizen, but he may be a resident of India.
Rules for determining
2. GST has made tax structure simple and clear. It brings better compliance and
ensures more transparency in business affairs. GST has facilitated desired competition
and coordination between central and state authorities. Discuss any five points
highlighting the benefits of GST.
Answer: GST is a comprehensive indirect tax levy subsuming all central and state levies with
a single unified value added tax transforming the nation into one single market. Major
Central and State taxes are subsumed into GST which will reduce the multiplicity of taxes,
and thus bring down the compliance cost. As per Article 366 of The Constitution (One
Hundred & First Amendment) Act, 2016 Goods and services tax means any tax on supply of
goods, or services or both except taxes on the supply of the alcoholic liquor for human
consumption. Consequently, GST can be levied on supply of all goods and services except
alcoholic liquor for human consumption.
First of all Mr. Bob needs to understand the levy of GST. It determines the point at which tax
would be levied, i.e. the taxable event. GST has brought a single and unified taxable event
which is supply, i.e., tax would be payable on the

APRIL 2020,


1 hour.
Contact no is +91 87-55555-879.
3. a. Mr. Abraham is one of the whole time director of Sidha Shila Group of companies
He receives Rs 50000 per month as sitting fees from the company for the financial year.
He is also an active partner in Sankalp LLP (limited liability partnership) from where
he receives Rs 50000 as salary per month for the financial year. Discuss about
chargeability of such income in the hands of Mr. Abraham, for the financial year 2019-
20.
Answer: The Companies Act, 2013 does not have any provisions restricting payment of
sitting fees to Managing Director(MD) or Whole-time/Executive Director(WTD/ED).
Therefore, they can be paid sitting fees for attending meeting of Board of Directors of a
company.
Though generally the Managing / Whole-time Directors of companies are not paid any sitting
fees for attending meeting of board of directors of the company. Mostly, this is because of the
remuneration terms fixed for them by the board of directors and approved by the shareholders
and also generally, the articles of associations of most of the companies contains an article
which restricts payment of sitting fees to Managing /
3. b. Mr. Mohsin is an employee of L& T Infra. The company provides an interest free
loan to Mr. Mohsin for three years. The loan amount was Rs 75000 for medical
treatment in respect of tuberculosis. Discuss with suitable reasons, the value of the
benefit to the assesse resulting from the interest free loan provided by the company to
Mr. Mohsin.
Answer: A ‘perquisite’ is a benefit offered by the employer to an employee based on his job
designation. Such a benefit is considered under the head ‘Salary’ for tax purposes. Similarly,
an interest-free or concessional loan provided by an employer is taxable as a ‘perquisite’ for
an employee. Therefore, the employer should deduct tax at source (TDS) on the interest
chargeable on the loan, as part of the employees’ salary.
Method of calculation
● Step 1: Find out the aggregate

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Course: Brand management

1. An entire generation of Indian TV viewers grew up on some terrifying advertising.

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Swag Not War

Answer: Consumers tend to attribute various descriptive “personality-like” traits or

The personality of a brand can be divided into five dimensions:

Course: Commercial banking

Answer: Types of fund based credit facility

Short term finance

Answer: a) Basel I Accord

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1. Advertisers today face a challenge of “sensory adaptation”. It has become

Answer: Reality to an individual is that individual’s perception is a personal phenomenon, on

There are numerous marketing-related stimuli that affect

3. a. Using an example, explain the 4 elements of Consumer Learning.

Four components are fundamental to most learning situations.

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Course: Corporate Finance

Answer: Calculation of Earnings per share

Earnings per share = Profit available for equity shareholders

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Answer: Steps involved in NPV method involve:

Course: Cost and Management Accounting

According to J. Batty “standard costing is a system of cost accounting which is designed to

K (Ordering cost) = Rs.1000 per order

Cost of manufacturing one unit = Rs. 200

Kc (Carrying cost) = Rs.10% of Rs. 200 = Rs. 20

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1. In your opinion should marketers challenge their customers’ communities because

Answer: Organisations exist because of customers. No customer means, no business.

Customer profiling is the process to learn about customer’s characteristics including

Relationship is a process which includes various phases such as exploratory, growth,

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For example, assume that the buyer of NMIMS

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Answer: a) Various pricing strategies are as follows:

Course: Marketing of financial services

The important activities in a life insurance company are:

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Answer: a) Low cost strategy

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Course: Operations management

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