MS1 test papers

June 2007
1. What are the characteristics of a professional manager? Briefly discuss the profile of various tasks performed by a professional manager in an organisational set-up, with suitable examples.
2. "A decision maker may not have complete knowledge about decision alternatives, outcome of chosen alternative. These conditions of knowledge are often referred to as 'States of Nature'". Elaborate on the state and discuss the underlying concepts with suitable examples.
3. Why is communication important for smooth functioning of an organisation ? Explain with examples, the various channels of formal and informal communication in an organisational set-up.
4. What is delegation ? What are the basic elements of delegation of authority and problems faced in doing so in an organisational set-up. Explain with suitable examples.
5. Write short notes on any three of the following :
(i) Leadership styles
(ii) Group formation
(iii) Conflict Handling Strategies
(iv) Building Interpersonal Skills
(v) Span of control and Manageria levels
SECTION - B
6. Please read the case and answer the questions given at the end.
Ms. Renu had graduated with a degree in foreign languages. As the child of a military family, she had visited many parts of the world and had travelled extensively in Europe. Depsite these broadening exeriences, she had never given much thought to a career until her recent divorce.
Needing to provide her own income, Ms. Renu began to look for work. After a faily intense but unsuccessful search for a job related to her foreign language degree, she began to evaluate her other skills. She had become a proficient typist in college and decided to look into secretarial work. Although she still wanted a career utilizing her foreign language skills, she felt that the immediate financial pressures woudld be eased in a temporary secretarial position.
Within a short period fo time, she was hired as a clerk/typist in a typical pool at Life Insurance Company. Six months later, she became the top typist in the pool and and was assigned as secretary to Mrs. Khan' manager of marketing research. She was pleased to get out of the pool and to get a job that had more variety in the tasks to perform. Besides, she also got a nice raise in pay.
Everything seemed to proceed well for the next nine months. Mrs. Khan was pleased with Renu's work, and she seemed happy with her work. Renu applied for a few other more professional jobs in other areas during this time. However, each time her application was reiected for lack of related education and/or experi ence in the area.
Over the next few months, Khan noticed changes in Renu. She did not always dress as neatly as she had in the past, she was occasionally late for work, some of her lunches extended to two hours, and most of her productive work was done in the morning hours. Khan did not wish to say anything because Renu had been doing an excellent job and her job tasks still were being accomplished on time. How ever, Renu's job behaviour continued to worsen. She began to be absent frequently on Mondays or Fridays. The two-hour lunch periods became standard, and her work performance began to deteriorate. In addition, Khan began to suspect that Renu was drinking heavily, due to her apearance some mornings and behavior after two-hour lunches.
Khan decided that she must confront Renu with the problem. However, she wanted to find a way to held her without losing a valuable employee. Before she could set up a meeting, Renu burst through her fdoor after lunch one day and siad:
"I want to talk to you Mrs. Khan"
"That's fine," Khan replied. "Shall we set a convenient time?"
"No! I want to talk now."
"OK, why don't you sit down and let's talk?"
Khan noticed that Renu was slurring her words slightly and she was not too steady.
"Mrs. Khan, I need some vacation time."
"I'm sure we can work that out. You've been with company for over a year and have two weeks vacation coming."
"No, you don't understand. I want to start it tomorrow."
"But, Renu, we need to plan to get a temporary replacement. We can't just let your job go for two weeks".
"Why not ? Anyway anyone with an IQ above 50 can do my job. Besides,I need the time off. "
"Renu , are you sure you are all right ?"
"Yes, I just need some time away from the job."
Khan decided to let Renu have the vacation, which would allow her some time to decide what to do about the situation.
Khan thought about the situation the next couple of days. It was possible that Renu was an alcoholic.
However, she also seemed to have a negative reaction to her job. Maybe Renu was bored with her job. She did not have the experi ence or job skills to move to a different type of job at present. Khan decided to meet with the Personnel Manager and get some help developing her options to deal with Renu's problem.
Questions :
(a) What is the problem in your opinion ? Elaborate.
(b) How would you explain the behaviour of Renu and Mrs. Khan? Did Mrs. Khan handle the situation timely and properly?
(c) Assume that you are the Personnel Manager. What are the alternatives available with Mrs. Khan?
(d) What do you consider the best alternative? Why?

June 2007
1. "The degree of involvement of managers with various management processes may differ from manager to manager. But all managers have to be concerned with all the processes in an organizational set-up." Elaborate this staterrlent and discuss briefly the underlying concepts with suitable examples.
2. Explain the term 'Bounded Rationality'. What are the factors leading to bounded rationality and satisficing decisions ? Discuss.
3. How is Strategic Planning different from Operational Planning ? Discuss with suitable examples. What are the essential steps in formulating a plan ? Describe with illustration.
4. What is the significance of Organisation Structure and Organisation Chart in the functioning and efficiency of an organisation ? Discuss with examples, the factors which influence the choice of the structure of an organisation.
5. Write short notes on any three of the following :
(i) Theories of Leadership
(ii) Johari Window
(iii) Organisation Culture
(iv) Control Process
(v) M.B.O.
SECTION B
6. Please read the case and answert he questions given at the end.
John was rapidly becoming the main topic of discussion for the workers on E-shift. For the past year, he had been working in the jeep-transportation department at a large manufacturing plant. His record of attendance was good and his work was considered far above average by his immediate supervisor. His supervisor also considered John the informal leader of the transportation department. This feeling was shared by the foreman and the other workers.
Lately, though, John had been seen by several supervisors breaking different safety regulations. Most of the violations would have been of no more consequence than a god talking to, so the supervisorsl et them slide.
Finally, John was caught by the plant safety supervisor without his safety glasses on. This resulted in his being laid off without pay for five working days.
It was was the plant's policy that safety glasses must be to gain admittance to the plant and must be wom times in the plant. This policy was to ensure that no employee would lose his eye-sightfrom an accident or from a resulting fire.
This written policy stated that an employee who was caught not wearing his safety glasses would for the first offence get a five day lay-off and then for a second oflence get another five day suspension. After John returned to work, he was again observed not wearing his safety devices. Within a few days of his return, John was caught by the same safety supervisor without his safety glasses. The supervisor informed John in an angry voice, "l m getting tired of writing you up for stupid mistakes." At this point, John replied, "Why don't you go home and smash your head. " The supervisor then struck John, dt which point John proceeded to beat the supervisor unconscious.
John was laid off from work until the company could decide what action to take regarding the fight. After a brief meeting the next day, Mr. Prasad, the transportation supervisor, informed John that he was terminated. A union steward then asked Mr. Prasad about the fate of the supervisor. Mr. Prasad replied, "He will remain at work as far as I know. " The union steward immediately stepped to the telephone and called the union president. From the ensuing conversation, Mr. Prasad learnt that a wild cat strike might be ordered over the firing of John and not the supervisor.
Mr. Prasad knew that it was the company's stated policy that whoever started or was involved in a fight would be terminated immediately. Mr. Prasad was beginning to wonder whether the company had rnade a mistake in its decision and what should be done now.
Questions:
(a) What is the problem in the case ?
(b) How do you see the behaviour of the safety supervisor ? What would you do if you were the safety supervisor ?
(c) How do you see the change in John's behaviour from an informal leader to the one involved in a fight with a supervisor vis-d-vis the company's policy ?
(d) Could Mr. Prasad and the safep supervisor have prevented John's case at the initial level ?

December, 2005
Section A
1. Enumerate various systems and processes involved in managing an organisation. Briefly explain system concept and its inter-relationship with sub systems in an organisational set-up.
2. Discuss various techniques used in decision making. Describe what are the main barriers to effective decision making. Explain with examples.
3. How do Traditional, Behavioural and lnteractionist views explain the process of conflict ? Evaluate the changes which take place within and between the groups as a result of long standing inter-group conflict.
4. "Various multi-faceted task and activities of an organisation have to be differentiated into smaller, manageable components to facilitate efficient achievement of objectives" . Elaborate this statement and discuss underlying issues with suitable examples.
5. Write short notes on any three of the following :
(i) Responsibilities of a manager towards society
(ii) MBO
(iii) Organisational culture and climate
(iv) Span of control and levels of management
(v) Leadership styles
SECTION B
6. Please read the case and answer the questions given at the end :
Case
One afternoon in June 1972, Seth, the industrial engineer of ABC Company, was called to the office of his immediate superior Kapil, the production manager. Kapil said, "Seth. I want to discuss a situation in the production department. A lot of people feel that Joshi is not the right man for the Assistant Superintendent's position. The President and others have decided that I have got to fire Joshi or at least move him out of production. Everyone wants to fire Joshi, but I won't do it to him. I was talking with Bhal this morning, and we decided that you might be able to make use of Joshi in your department."
Seth was surprised by both the information, and the proposal.
Kapil concluded his comments with, "Seth I am asking you to take Joshi. You can say 'No'. But then he gets fired. I have told Joshi this. Also, Joshi knows that if he goes with you he will take a pay cut. However, I think you can make use of him both to your own and his satisfaction. You are, anyway, carrying out an in-process quality control, and you might be able to make good use of Joshi in view ol his long technical experience of production work. Think it over, and let me know by tomorrow".
Seth thought over the matter.
ABC Company had bear a successful enterprise until March 1972 at which time it suffered a sharp decline of profits : sales had fallen off, and production costs had risen. The President adopted three measures which he hoped would improve the condition. First, by creating an Industrial Engineering department for establishing work standards on all production operations, to determine which manufacturing costs were out of line and where remedial action should be taken. Seth, 28 yeals old, who had been wiih the company for two years in the Purchasing department, was selected Seth had B.E. and M.B.A. degrees to his credit. What he lacked in his business experience he made up by his eagerness to learn. He was ambitious and liked by his associates. He wanted a translet from Purchasing to Production for better opportunities for advancement.
Secondly, he consulted a Management Consultation firm to make a study of the Production Department. They pointed out that the chain of command was too long from Production Manager through Plant Superintendent through Assistant Superintendent to Foremen. They recommended the elimination of the position of Assistant Superintendent.
Thirdly, he engaged an Industrial Psychologist to appraise all the Supevisory, Personnel.
Joshi had been with the Company for 20 years since its founding, and during this period had worked on every production operation, and his last 11 years had been in supervisory capacity. His manners were rough and aggressive, and he had little formal education. The Industrial Psychologists report about Joshi contained the following points :
(i) Evaluation for the position of Assistant Superintendent, Not good enough.
(ii) Capacity for good human relations in supervision : Will have friction frequently.
(iii) Need for development counselling : Counselling greatly needed.
(v) General evaluation : Joshi had a good ability profile. He suffers from a sense of inferiority. He does not like the responsibility of making decisions. His supervision is that of Autocratic type. Though he has the ability, as far as his personality make-up is concerned, he is out of place in the present position.
Questions :
(a) What is the core problem in the case ? Explain.
(b) Explain Joshi's behaviour and work experience vis-a-vis the psychologist's report.
(c) How do you see Kapil's suggestion to Seth ? Give reasons.
(d) What are Seth's considerations in taking a decision ? What should he do ? Explain.

June, 2005SECTION A
1. Briefly discuss the various managerial skills. Discuss with suitable examples the interplay between the different skills and contextual domains. (15)
2. Describe the various channels of communication in an organization. What are the characteristics of grapevine as summarized by Keith Davis ? (15)
3. What is 'control' in context to an organization ? Explain the prerequisites and characteristics of an effective control Do you agree with the statement "Delegation of auihority is not same as Division of work" ? Explain the various elements of Delegation. (15)
4. What do you understand by Line and Staff relationships ? What is Matrix structure of Organization ? (15)
5. Write short notes on any three of the following : (15)
(i) MBO
(ii) Determinants of Organizational Culture
(iii) Types of Organizational Conflict
(iv) The Domino effect
(v) Span of Control
SECTION B
7. Read the case carefully and answer the questions given at the end. (40)
Ceylon Fertilizer is a urea manufacturing unit having a capacity of 500 tonnes per day. The total work force of the plant is around 2,000. Being a self-contained plant, it has its own workshop in order to take care of regular maintenance work. The workshop functions in two shifts a day under ; shift incharge for each shift who is in the cadre of AEE. The workers have been grouped into two groups, i.e., Relay 'A'and 'B'. The shift routine changes once a week, Sunday being the weekly holiday Besides the two shifts, there are a group of people under a Senior AEE attending in general shift hours.
The Relay 'A', consisting of 18 workers is placed under the charge of Shri Muthu who is a graduate in mechanical engineering. After undergoing training for a period of six months in various divisions in fertilizers, he had acquired a thorough knowledge of works to be undertaken by the Workshop After being a Relay Supervisor for 3 years, he has been recently promoted to the post of AEE, who is the shift incharge. When he joined the workshop, he found that the tasks were done with the application of thumb-rules and higher officers had to be satisfied with such a quality of work.
Shri Muthu, on witnessing this, started to instruct his workers in various theoretical aspects of welding, machining etc.. which he had studied in his college. They all highly appreciated the skill and techniques he had taught. The workers now learnt to do things in a better way. Thus, he gained the confidence of workers. As he was able to finish his work in time and in a better way than Relay 'B', more work orders were allotted to his group. A few workers in this group started to grumble and one of the Foremen came and told Mr. Muthu that the "other relay workers do not have much work load and our workers too do not want to strain much and they are murmuring over getting more work." Muthu, however, convinced the Foreman that extra work should be taken as a credit and recognition, and they should do their best. After this had happened some workers even tried to get transferred to the other Relay.
One morning, Muthu was making arrangements for the work to be taken and was giving instructions to his foreman. Turner, Kali, came and told him, "Sir, father of Fitter Sami expired last night and we all want to go and attend the funeral" and added "it is customary for the men in the workshop to attend such funerals and the shift-incharge has to arrange a lorry or any conveyance for the people to go to Sami's house, which is nearly eight km from the Plant. Since Muthu joined the company, this was the first such instance occurring and as he had to finish some urgent work orders. He told the worker Kali, "You all need not go to the funeral. I can, however, permit a few of you as representatives of Relay 'A' to go and offer condolences to Sami's famiiy." Further, he regretted that he would not make any arrangements for conveyance, This statement created a turbulence among the workers and a group of workers stopped the work and started demanding that they be allowed to attend the funeral or else they wanted to stop work in the coming shifts. The Foreman hurried up to AEE, Mr. Muthu to explain the turbulent situation on the shop-floor.
On hearing this, Muthu told his Foreman, "I have given you an alternative and I have already told the urgency of work and I am going to allocate the work as per plannlng schedule. If the work is not done, I may have to take action against you." Then the group of workers started discussing among themselves as to what to do next. A Turner came forth and said, "You are not considerate enough on human matters and if yoll are still adamant we may prefer half-a-day wages cut as we must go and attend the funeral. Anyhow you have to make arrangements f r our conveyance." Muthu at this instance noted that a small group, who were usually complaining about the workload and were murmuring, were keenly interested in the affair. He decided to face the situation as a matter of prestige. He issued the gate pass to whoever wished to go, still emphasizing that he would not arrange any conveyance. Nearly 25 per cent of the workers remained and the others collected money from all for the funeral and went off.
On that day, Muthu could finish only a part of the work as planned and he had to explain what had happened in his Relay, to his boss.
When he came the next morning, it was rumoured that only a few of the workers attended the funeral and the others had gone to the cinema theatre near the village. Muthu got irritated by the workers' behaviour and started writing memos to those who had received the gate pass the previous day. Some workers got annoyed by this action of Muthu and they aproached the union to intervene. The news had spread to other divisions and there was an air oI protest at all places in the Fertilizer Plant.
Questions :
(a) What is your view of the action taken by Mr. Muthu ?
(b) What are the weakness and strong points, as you consider, of Mr. Muthu as a Manager ?
(c) How would you have tackled the situation, if you were Mr. Muthu ?

December, 2002
SECTION A

1 Describe various tasks and responsibilities of a professional manager in today’s context. Cite suitable examples from your experience.

2 Explain briefly the major elements of management processes. what new skills would a manager require as he/she moves from middle to top management level? Discuss.

3 Differentiate between the decision-making models and techniques. Explain with suitable examples.

4 What are the various determinants of organistional culture? How does leadership influence the culture of an organisation? Discuss.

5 Identify major sources of conflict in an organisation. What approaches will you suggest for managing conflict in a service organisation in today’s context?

6 Describe the inter-personal needs in terms of expressed behaivour and wanted behaviour. Give suitable examples.

7 Write short notes on any three of the following :
(i) Delegation and Decentralisation
(ii) Process of organizational change
(iii) Johari Window model of communication
(iv) Enriching relationship with others
(v) Group dynamics

SECTION B

8 Read the case and answer th question given at the end.

The ABC Manufacturing Company is a plant under the direction of a plant manager who is known as a strict disciplinarian. One day a strict disciplinarian. One day a foreman noticed Bhola,one of the workers, at the time-clock punching out two cards- his own and the card of Nathu, a fellow worker. Since it was the rule of the company that each man must punch out his own card, the foreman asked Bhola to accompany him to the Personnel Director,who interpreted the incident as a direct violation of a rule and gave immediate notice of discharge to both workers.

The two workers came to see the Personnel Director on the following day. Nathu claimed innocence on the ground that he had not asked for his card to be punched and did not know at the time that it was being punched. He had been offered a ride by a frienf who could not wait for him to go through the punch-out procedure. Nathu was worried about his wife who was ill at home and was anxious to reach home and was anxious to reach home as quickly as possible. He planned to take his card to the foreman the next morning for reintatement, a provision sometimes exercised in such cases.

These circumstances were verified by Bhola. He claimed that he had punched Nathu’s card the same time he punched his own, not being conscious of any wrongdoing.

The Personnel Director was inclined to believe the story of the two men but did not feel he could reverse the action taken. He recognized that these men were good workers and had good records prior to this incident. Nevertheless, they had violated a rule for which the penalty was immediate discharge. He also reminded them that it was the policy of the company to enforce the rules without exception.

A few days later the Personnel Director, the plant Manager, and the Sales Manager sat together at lunch. The Sales Manager reported that he was faced with the necessity of notifying one of their best customers that his order must be delayed because of the inability of one department to conform to schedule. The department in question was the one from which the two workers had been discharged. Not only had men to date, but disgruntlement over the incident had led to significant decline in the cooperation of other workers.

The Personnel Director and the Sales Manager took the position that the discharge of these two valuable men could have been avoided if there had been provision for considering the incident was costly to the company in the possible loss of a costomer,in the dissatisfaction within the employee group, and in the time and money that would be involved in recruiting and training replacements.

The Plant Manager could not agree with this point of view. “ We must have rules if we are to have efficiency; and the rules are no good unless we enforce them. Further more, if we start considering all these variations in circumstances, we start considering all these variations in circumstances, we will find ourselves loaded down with everybody thinking he is an exception.” He admitted that the grievances were frequent but countered with the point that they could be of little consequence if the contract agreed to by the union was followed to the letter.

Questions

1 Place yourself in the position of the Personnel Director in this situation. Which of the following courses of the information which he has available at the time of the decision?
(a) Would you have discharged both men?
(b) Would you have discharged Bhola only?
(c) Would you have discharged Nathu only?
(d) Would you have discharged neither of them?

Justify your choice of decision.

2 What policy and procedural changes would you recommend for the handling of future cases of this type?

December, 2001
SECTION A

1 “Coordination is imperative for the success of any organization.” Explaining the need for coordination suggest the ways to achieve effective coordination in a decentralised private sector manufacturing organisation.

2 Describe the interpersonal needs in terms of expressed and wanted behavior. Cite suitable examples to support your views.

3 Why do managers need to acquire different skills at various levels? What are the skills conceptualized by Katz? Explain how they are proving useful for Indian managers at different levels.

4 Discuss various strategies used in implementing organisational change in the context of a large public sector manufacturing organisation.

5 Identify major barriers of communication and explain why do they arise. Explain ways to overcome these barriers with suitable examples.

6 Write short notes on any three of the following :
(i) Delegation and Decentralisation
(ii) Line and Staff functions
(iii) Theory X and Y
(iv) Domino Effect
(v) Organisational culture and climate

SECTION B

7 Read the case carefully and answer the questions given at the end.

One afternoon in June 1972, Rao, industrial engineer of P.M.A. company, was called to the office of his immediate superior V.R. Naik, the production manager. Naik said, “Rao, I want to discuss a situation in the production department. A lot of people feel that Govindan is not the right man for the Assistant Superintendent’s position. The President and others have decided that I have got to fire Govindan or at least move him out of production. Everyone wants to fire Govindan, but I won’t do it to him. I was talking with Bhadra this morning, and we decided that you might be able to make use of Govindan in your department.”

Rao was surprised by both the information, and the proposal.

Naik concluded his comments with, “Rao I am asking you to take Govindan. You can say ‘No’. But then he gets fired. I have told Govindan this. Also, Govindan knows that if he goes with you he will take a pay cut. However, I think you can make use of him both to your own and his satisfaction. You are, anyway, carrying out an in-process quality control, and you might be able to make good use of Govindan in view of his long technical experience of production work. Think it over, and let me know by tomorrow.

Roa thought over the matter.

PMA company had been a successful enterprise until March 1972 at which time it suffered a sharp decline of profits : sales had fallen off, and production costs had risen. The President adopted three measures which he hoped would improve the condition. First, by creating an Industrial Engineering department for establishing work standards on all production operations, to determine which manufacturing costs were out of line and where remedial action should be taken. Rao, 28 years old, who had been with the company for two years in the Purchasing department, was selected. Rao had B.E. and MBA degrees to his credit. What he lacked in his business experience he made up by his eagerness to learn. He was ambitious and liked by his associates. He wanted a transfer from Purchasing to Production for better opportunities for advancement.

Secondly, he consulted a Management Consultation firm to make a study of the Production Department. They pointed out that the chain of command was too long from Production Manager through Plant Superintendent through Assistant Superintendent to Foremen. They recommended the elimination of the position of Assistant Superintendent.

Thirdly, he enagaged an Industrial Psychologist to appraise all the Supervisory Personnel.

Govindan had been with the Company for 20 years since its founding and during this period had worked on every production operation, and his last 11 years had been in supervisory capacity. His manners were rough and aggressive, he had little formal education. The Industrial Psychologist’s report about Govindan contained the following points :

1. Evaluation for the position of Assistant Superintendent : Not good enough.

2. Capacity for good human relations in supervision : Will have friction frequently.

3. Need for development counselling : Counselling greatly needed.

4. General evaluation : Govindan had a good ability profile. He suffers from a sense of inferiority. He does not like the responsibility of making decisions. His supervision is that of Autocratic type. Though he has the ability, as far as his personality make-up is concerned, he is out of place in the present position.

Questions :

(a) What is the problem in the case? Explain.

(b) Explain Govindan’s behaviour and work experience vis-a-vis the psychologist’s report.

(c) How do you see Naik’a suggestion to Rao? Give reasons.

(d) What are Rao’s considerations is taking a decision? What should he do? Explain.

June, 1999SECTION A

1(a) What kind of decisions is a manager generally required to make in the organisational context? Explain with examples as to which of these correspond to programmed and non-programmed categories.

(b) Discuss various strategies used in implementing organisational change in the context of a large manufacturing company.

2(a) What is the system approach to management? Explain the salient features of this approach.

(b) Describe various managerial skills briefly. Discuss the roles these skills could play in building an institution.

3(a) Distinguish between the individual and the group decision making, explaining the advantages and disadvantages of group decision making.

(b) Distinguish between individual change and organisational change.

4 Write short notes on any three of the following :
(i) Domino Effect
(ii) Functional and Dysfunctional conflict
(iii) Formal and Informal groups
(iv) MBO
(v) Organisational Culture and Climate

SECTION B

5 Refer Dec 2001 question 7(sec B).