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ANNAMALAI SITY
FIRST YEAR

UNIVER

DIRECTORATE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

M.B.A. (HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT)

Academic Year 2012 - 2013 ASSIGNMENT TOPICS This booklet contains assignment topics. Students are asked to write the assignments for EIGHT papers as per instructions. Last date for submission : 28-02-2013
Last date for submission with late fee ` 300/NOTE: 1. Assignments sent after 15-03-2013 will not be evaluated. 2. Assignments should be in the own hand writing of the student concerned and not type-written or printed or photocopied. 3. Assignments should be written on foolscap paper on one side only. 4. All assignments (with Enrolment number marked on the Top right hand corner on all pages) should be put in an envelop with superscription MBA Assignments and sent to The Director, Directorate of Distance Education, Annamalai University, Annamalainagar 608 002 by Registered post. : 15-03-2013

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P.T.O. 5. No notice will be taken on assignments which are not properly filled in with Enrolment Number and the Title of the papers. 6. Students should send full set of assignments for all papers. Partial assignments will not be considered.

ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Write assignments on any TWO topics in each paper out of the FOUR. For each topic the answer should not exceed 15pages. Each assignment carries 25 marks. (2 topics)

Dr. S. B. NAGESWARA RAO

DIRECTOR

1 1.1 PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT

1.

a) "Management is a series of functions to be performed in a sequential order". Explain the statement describing Management Process in short. b) "Unplanned actions may lead to a mess". Elucidate the statement with the help of significance of planning.

2.

"Man power can be procured from with in the organization as well as from out side the organization? Do you agree? "Write the sources of procuring man power. "A misconceived and incapable leader may take his followers to dangers of life". Explain the statement. Describe the qualities and trait of any two successful, Entrepreneurs in India.

3.

4. Discuss the importance of different types of plans in an organization. Explain how these plans are made in government sectors and in an I.T. Company.

2 1.2 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

1. "As organizations become more global, HRP becomes more important and complex" Elucidate. 2. Design a process for promoting internal candidates. How does the process differ from the one used for selecting external applicants. State its impact on the satisfaction level of employees. 3. a) As a frontline supervisor, what indicators would you need in order to decide whether a lowperforming subordinate was a selection mistake are merely needs training? Illustrate this dilemma with suitable examples. b) Many managers describe performance appraisal as the responsibility which they like the least. Why is this so? What could be done to change the perception? 4. Should central and state governments be able to legislate minimum wages rather than adopting a laissez-faire attitude that would allow employers operating on a slim profit margin to pay only what they could afford? Discuss.

3 1.3 PRODUCTION AND MATERIALS MANAGEMENT

1. "The guiding principles in the search for a location should be for a place where the cost of the raw materials and of fabrication, plus the cost of the marketing of the finished product will be minimum". Elaborate. 2. "An ideally laid out plant goes a long way in reducing manufacturing costs through materials handling, reduced personnel and equipment requirements and reduced in process inventory" -Elaborate. 3. a) 'Materials handling and plant layout are complementary to each other'. Discuss the statement. (b) You are appointed as a materials management consultant for a company engaged in manufacturing electric motors, and you are required to evaluate the inventory performances. How would you go about it. 4. (a)'In sugar factory what type of maintenance are followed'. Explain. (b) Bring out the arguments for and against 'make' or 'buy' decisions. How is the problem of make-or-buy resolved? Explain this by considering a bike manufacturing company

4 1.4 MARKETING MANAGEMENT

1. Do you think the market segmentation criteria bring market opportunities to product marketer? If so, identify them. Also identify some leading brands currently positioned for women in these segments. Can you think of few for your own innovative product concepts targeted at these segments? 2. a) What are the characteristics of habitual problem solving by consumers? What strategies should a marketer adopt for such products where consumers exhibit habit forming behavior? b) Explain the dynamics of consumer roles in the decision making process? 3. If a new airline began operating in your area and offered every day fares that were only 90 percent of the price of its nearest competitor. How likely would you fly on that airline regularly? What if they were 50 percent of the price? What if they were 10 percent of the price? 4. Several competing philosophies such as the selling concept, production concept and product concept exist. How are these different from one another? Quote appropriate examples

5 1.5 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

1. "Investment, Financing and Dividend decisions are interrelated." Evaluate this statement. 2. "There is nothing like an optimum capital structure for a firm" - Critically examine this statement. 3. The following information are related to Sun Ltd. Paid-up equity capital ` 10,00,000 Earnings of the company ` 1,00,000 Dividend paid ` 80,000 Price - Earning ratio (PIE) ` 20 No. of equity shares ` 1,00,000 Find out whether the dividend payout of Sun Ltd., is optimal. [Use Walter's model]. 4. The following information are available in respect of companies M and N
Company Company M N ` ` Equity share capital (`10 20,00,000 10,00,000 each) 14% Debentures 5,00,000 15,00,000 EBIT 5,00,000 5,00,000 Return on capital 20% 20% employed Tax rate 40% 40%

From the above information, calculate: a) Financial leverage b) Rate of return on equity share capital c) Earnings per share Also state which company's shareholders are in a better position financially?

6 1.6 BUSINESS MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS

1. A random sample of 1000 workers from south India shows that their mean wages are `47/- per week with a standard deviation of `28/-. A random sample of 1500 workers from north India gives a mean wage of `49/- per week with a standard deviation of `40/-. Is any there any significant difference between their mean level of wages? 2. In a test given to two groups of students drawn from two normal populations, the marks obtained were as follows: Group A Group B 1 8 2 9 2 0 2 8 3 6 2 6 5 0 3 5 4 9 3 0 3 6 4 4 3 4 4 6 4 41 9 the two

Examine at 5% level, whether populations have the same variance. 3. From the following data X 2 5 Y 1 8 2 2 1 5 2 8 2 0 2 6 1 7 3 5 2 2 2 0 1 4 2 2 1 6 4 0 2 1

2 18 0 1 14 5

a) Calculate regression equation X on Y and Y on X.

b) Estimate X when Y = 20 c) Estimate Y when X=20 d) Calculate Karl Pearson's coefficient of correlation e) Check whether Regression line is a good fit. 4. An index is at 100 in 1991. it rises 5% in 1992. falls 6% in 1993, falls 5% in 1994, and rises 4%

in 1995 and 7% in 1996. Calculate the index numbers for all these years with 1991 as base.

8 1.7 ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

1. Do you think there might be any positive and significant relationship between the possession of certain personal values and successful career progression in organizations like Infosys, Tata group of companies and Apollo Hospital? Discuss 2. "High cohesiveness in a group leads to higher group productivity. Do you agree or disagree? Justify your stand. What might motivate you to join a group? 3. Various theories of motivation approach the problems of motivation from different perspectives, but they all emphasize similar set of relationships. Are workaholics and high achievers the same thing? Comment. 4. "It is said that effectiveness results from a leader using a behavioural style that is appropriate to the demands of the environment. Therefore, the key for leaders is learning to diagnose the environment". Examine the variables that you would analyse in diagnosing the environment for this purpose.

9 1.8 MANAGERIAL COMMUNICATION

1. Mobile communication is the best example for paperless communication. Identify some unexplored areas where it can be effectively used. Also compare its effectiveness with other forms of communication. 2. The President of the company has asked for a study of the employee's attitude over company's personnel policies. Write a research proposal on the specific topic of your choice. 3. a) Discuss the models for understanding interpersonal relationship. b) List and describe the process variables associated with effective team performance. 4. a) "Ineffective communication is the fault of the sender". Do you agree or disagree? Discuss the above statement in detail in a corporate set up. b) Define conflict management. Explain the transitions in conflict through organizational structure