MB0046 – Marketing Management


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MB0046_MBA_Sem2_Fall/August 2012
Master of Business Administration - MBA Semester 2
MB0046 – Marketing Management - 4 Credits
Assignment Set- 1 (60 Marks)

Note: Each question carries 10 Marks. Answer all the questions.

Q.1 Marketing involves satisfaction of consumer needs’. Elucidate the statement.
Answer :  Customer satisfaction refers to the extent to which customers are happy with the products and services provided by a business. Customer satisfaction levels can be measured using survey techniques and questionnaires. Gaining high levels of customer satisfaction is very important to a business because satisfied customers are most likely to be loyal and to make repeated orders and to use a wide range of services offered by a business.
The need to satisfy customer for success in any commercial enterprises is very obvious. The income of all commercial enterprises is derived from the payments received for the products and services to its external customers. Customers are the sole reason for the existence of commercial establishments.
Since sales are the most important goal of any commercial enterprise, it becomes necessary to satisfy customers. For customer satisfaction it is necessary to establish and maintain certain important characteristics like:
a. Quality
b. Fair prices
c. Good customer handling skills
d. Efficient delivery
e. Serious consideration of consumer complaints.
Satisfaction is the feeling of pleasure or disappointment attained from comparing a products perceived performance (outcome) in relation to his or her expectations. If the performance falls short of expectations, the customer is dissatisfied. If the performance matches the expectations, the customer is satisfied. If the performance exceeds expectations, the customer is highly satisfied or delighted.

A. Discovering Consumer Needs
Marketing's first objective is discovering the needs of prospective consumers.
·         The Challenge of Launching Winning New Products Discovering and satisfying needs can be difficult.
·         Companies invest huge sums on marketing and technical research that reduces, but cannot eliminate, new-product failures. 
·         Discovering needs involves looking carefully at prospective customers.
·         A firm’s marketing department must understand


o   what its customer needs,
o   industry trends,
o   competitors’ products,
o   and needs of a customer’s customer.

Consumer Needs and Consumer Wants
·         A need occurs when a person feels physiologically deprived of basic necessities, such as food, clothing, and shelter.
·         A want is a felt need that is shaped by a person’s knowledge, culture, and personality. Marketing does not create the need for a product, but shapes a person’s wants.
ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ALERT

·         Potential consumers make up a market,
·         which is people with
o   the desire and
o   with the ability
·         to buy a specific product.


B. Satisfying Consumer Needs
·         An organization does not have the resources to satisfy the needs of all consumers.
·         It focuses on the needs of its target market
Target Market   one or more specific groups of potential consumers toward which an organization directs its marketing program.

Global Competition, Customer Value, and Customer Relationships
·         Intense domestic and global competition has prompted many firms to focus on providing customer value.
·         Firms try to place a dollar value on a loyal, satisfied customer.
Customer value                the unique combination of benefits received by targeted buyers that includes quality, price, convenience, on-time delivery, and both before-sale and after-sale service.

Relationship Marketing and the Marketing Program
1. Easy to Understand
       1.Relationship marketing links the organization for mutual long-term benefits to
·         individual customers,
·         employees,
·         suppliers,
·         other partners.
2.Difficult to implement on a long term basis
3. critical in developing effective customer relationships

C. The Marketing Program:  marketing program                a plan that integrates the marketing mix to provide a good, service, or idea to prospective buyers.
·         This process is continuous:
·         Consumer needs trigger product concepts
·         that become actual products
·         that stimulate further discovery of consumer needs.


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Q.2 Conduct a SWOT analysis for any one automobile brand of your choice. How will this analysis help in planning marketing strategies for the brand?

Q.3 Explain in brief the process involved in personal selling.

Q.4 Describe the stages of business buying process.

Q.5 Why is rural market important? What should marketers keep in mind when catering to this market?

Q.6 Explain the core concepts of marketing. Define service and explain its relevance in modern society



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MB0046_MBA_Sem2_Fall/August 2012
Master of Business Administration - MBA Semester 2
MB0046 – Marketing Management - 4 Credits
Assignment Set- 2 (60 Marks)

Note: Each question carries 10 Marks. Answer all the questions.

Q.1 Explain the various steps involved in the design of a distribution channel.

Answer : Distribution is one of the classic “4 Ps” of marketing (product, promotion, price, placement a.k.a. “distribution”). It’s a key element in your entire marketing strategy — it helps you expand your reach and grow revenue.

B2B and B2C companies can sell through a single channel or through multiple channels that may include:

·         Wholesaler/Distributor
·         Direct/Internet
·         Direct/Catalo
·         Direct/Sales Team
·         Value-Added Reseller (VAR)
·         Consultant
·         Dealer
·         Retail
·         Sales Agent/Manufacturer’s Rep

: Here are three distribution examples
DIRECT TO END USERS
SELL THROUGH A DEALER NETWORK
SELL THROUGH A VAR (VALUE-ADDED RESELLER)
You have a sales team that sells directly to Fortune 100 companies.
You have a second product line for small businesses. Instead of using your sales team, you sell this line directly to end-users through your website and marketing campaigns.
You have two markets and two distribution channels.
You sell a product through a geographical network of dealers who sell to end-users in their areas. The dealers may service the product as well.
Your dealers are essentially your customers, and you have a strong program to train and support them with marketing campaigns and materials.
You sell a product to a company who bundles it with services or other products and resells it. That company is called a Value Added Reseller (VAR) because it adds value to your product.
A VAR may work with an end-user to determine the right products and configurations, and then implement a system that includes your product.

To create a good distribution program, focus on the needs of your end-users.

·         If users need personalized service, you can utilize a local dealer network or reseller program to provide that service.
·         If your users prefer to buy online, you can create an e-commerce website and fulfilment system and sell direct; you can also sell to another online retailer or distributor that can offer your product on their own sites.
·         You can build your own specialized sales team to prospect and close deals directly with customers.
Wholesalers, resellers, retailers, consultants and agents already have resources and relationships to quickly bring your product to market. If you sell through these groups instead of (or in addition to) selling direct, treat the entire channel as a group of customers – and they are, since they’re buying your product and reselling it. Understand their needs and deliver strong marketing programs; you’ll maximize everyone’s revenue in the process.
Best Case
Neutral Case
Worst Case
You’ve used one or more distribution channels to grow your revenue and market share more quickly than you would have otherwise.
Your end-users get the information and service they need before and after the sale.
If you reach your end-user through wholesalers, VARs or other channel partners, you’ve created many successful marketing programs to drive revenue through your channel and you’re committed to their success.
You’re using one or more distribution channels with average success. You may not have as many channel partners as you’d like, but your current system is working moderately well.
You devote resources to the program, but you wonder whether you’d be better off building an alternative distribution method — one that could help you grow more aggressively than you are growing now.
You probably aren’t hitting your revenue goals because your distribution strategy is in trouble.
With your current system, you may not be effectively reaching your end-users; your prospects probably aren’t getting the information and service they need to buy your product.
Your current system may also be difficult to manage. For example, channel members may not sell at your suggested price; they don’t follow up on leads you deliver; they don’t service the product very well and you’re taking calls from angry customers.

Distribution Channels Key Concepts & Steps
Before you begin

You can evaluate a new distribution channel or improve your channel marketing / management at any time. It’s especially important to think about distribution when you’re going after a new customer segment, releasing a new product, or looking for ways to aggressively grow your business.

Evaluate how your end-users need to buy
Your distribution strategy should deliver the information and service your prospects need. For each customer segment, consider:

·         How and where they prefer to buy
·         Whether they need personalized education and training
·         Whether they need additional products or services to be used along with yours
·         Whether your product needs to be customized or installed
·         Whether your product needs to be serviced


Match end-user needs to a distribution strategy

·         If your end-users need a great deal of information and service, your company can deliver it directly through a sales force. You can also build a channel of qualified resellers or consultants. The size of the market and your price will probably dictate which scenario is best.
·         If the buying process is fairly straightforward, you can sell direct via a website/catalo or perhaps through a wholesale/retail structure. You may also use an inbound telemarketing group or a field sales team.
·         If you need complete control over your product’s delivery and service, adding a channel probably isn’t right for you.

Identify natural partners

If you want to grow beyond the direct model, look for companies that have relationships with your end-users. If consultants, wholesalers or retailers already reach your customer base, they’re natural partners.

Build your distribution channel

If you’re setting up a distribution channel with one or more partners, treat it as a sales process:

·         Approach the potential channel partner and “sell” the value of the partnership.
·         Establish goals, service requirements and reporting requirements.
·         Deliver inventory (if necessary) and sales/support materials.
·         Train the partner.
·         Run promotions and programs to support the partner and help them increase sales.

Minimize pricing conflicts
If you use multiple channels, carefully map out the price for each step in your channel and include a fair profit for each type of partner. Then compare the price that the end-user will pay; if a customer can buy from one channel at a lower price than from another, your partners will rightfully have concerns. Pricing conflict is common, and it can jeopardize your entire strategy, so do your best to map out the price at each step and develop the best solution possible.

Drive revenue through the channel

Service your channel partners as you’d service your best customers and work with them to drive revenue. For example, provide them with marketing funds or materials to promote your products; run campaigns to generate leads and forward them to your partners.



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Q.2 Will the pricing and product policy of a multinational firm be different in a developed and an underdeveloped country? Justify your answer.
Q.3 Explain the consumer decision making process

Q.4 What is integrated marketing communication? Explain the integration marketing communication development process.
Q.5 Explain the types of advertisements and characteristics of major media.

Q.6 What are the advantages of branding? What value does the organisation and customers get out of the branding process?


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MB0044 : Productions & Operations Management


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MB0044_MBA_Sem2_Fall/August 2012
Master of Business Administration - MBA Semester 2
MB0044 – Productions & Operations Management- 4 Credits
Assignment Set- 1 (60 Marks)
Note: Each question carries 10 Marks. Answer all the questions.


Q.1 What do you understand by Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI)?
Answer :  Vendor-managed inventory (VMI) is a family of business models in which the buyer of a product provides certain information to a supplier of that product and the supplier takes full responsibility for maintaining an agreed inventory of the material, usually at the buyer's consumption location (usually a store). A third-party logistics provider can also be involved to make sure that the buyer has the required level of inventory by adjusting the demand and supply gaps.

As a symbiotic relationship, VMI makes it less likely that a business will unintentionally become out of stock of a good and reduces inventory in the supply chain. Furthermore, vendor (supplier) representatives in a store benefit the vendor by ensuring the product is properly displayed and store staff are familiar with the features of the product line, all the while helping to clean and organize their product lines for the store.
One of the keys to making VMI work is shared risk. In some cases, if the inventory does not sell, the vendor (supplier) will repurchase the product from the buyer (retailer). In other cases, the product may be in the possession of the retailer but is not owned by the retailer until the sale takes place, meaning that the retailer simply houses (and assists with the sale of) the product in exchange for a predetermined commission or profit (sometimes referred to as consignment stock). A special form of this commission business is scan-based trading whereas VMI is usually applied but not mandatory to be used.

This is one of the successful business models used by Wal-Mart and many other big box retailers. Oil companies often use technology to manage the gasoline inventories at the service stations that they supply (see Petrolsoft Corporation). Home Depot uses the technique with larger suppliers of manufactured goods (i.e. Moen, Delta, RIDGID, Paulin). VMI helps foster a closer understanding between the supplier and manufacturer by using Electronic Data Interchange formats, EDI software and statistical methodologies to forecast and maintain correct inventory in the supply chain.

Vendors benefit from more control of displays and more customer contact for their employees; retailers benefit from reduced risk, better store staff knowledge (which builds brand loyalty for both the vendor and the retailer), and reduced display maintenance outlays.

Consumers benefit from knowledgeable store staff who are in frequent and familiar contact with manufacturer (vendor) representatives when parts or service are required. Store staff have good knowledge of most product lines offered by the entire range of vendors. They can help the consumer choose from competing products for items most suited to them and offer service support being offered by the store.



Q.2 Explain briefly the four classification of scheduling strategies & its approaches.

Q.3 Define production management. What are the various functions involved in production management?

Q.4 Explain the various phases in project management life cycle.

Q.5 Explain the ingredients of a business process. Explain Physical Modelling.

Q.6 Define the term quality. Explain the concept of quality at source.


MB0044_MBA_Sem2_Fall/August 2012
Master of Business Administration - MBA Semester 2
MB0044 – Productions & Operations Management - 4 Credits
Assignment Set- 2 (60 Marks)
Note: Each question carries 10 Marks. Answer all the questions.
Q.1 What is value engineering? Explain the steps involved in Value analysis.
Answer :  Value engineering (VE) is a systematic method to improve the "value" of goods or products and services by using an examination of function. Value, as defined, is the ratio of function to cost. Value can therefore be increased by either improving the function or reducing the cost. It is a primary tenet of value engineering that basic functions be preserved and not be reduced as a consequence of pursuing value improvements.[1]

In the United States, value engineering is specifically spelled out in Public Law 104-106, which states “Each executive agency shall establish and maintain cost-effective value engineering procedures and processes." [2]
Value engineering is sometimes taught within the project management or industrial engineering body of knowledge as a technique in which the value of a system’s outputs is optimized by crafting a mix of performance (function) and costs. In most cases this practice identifies and removes unnecessary expenditures, thereby increasing the value for the manufacturer and/or their customers.

VE follows a structured thought process that is based exclusively on "function", i.e. what something "does" not what it is. For example a screw driver that is being used to stir a can of paint has a "function" of mixing the contents of a paint can and not the original connotation of securing a screw into a screw-hole. In value engineering "functions" are always described in a two word abridgment consisting of an active verb and measurable noun (what is being done - the verb - and what it is being done to - the noun) and to do so in the most non-prescriptive way possible. In the screw driver and can of paint example, the most basic function would be "blend liquid" which is less prescriptive than "stir paint" which can be seen to limit the action (by stirring) and to limit the application (only considers paint.) This is the basis of what value engineering refers to as "function analysis".[3]

Value engineering uses rational logic (a unique "how" - "why" questioning technique) and the analysis of function to identify relationships that increase value. It is considered a quantitative method similar to the scientific method, which focuses on hypothesis-conclusion approaches to test relationships, and operations research, which uses model building to identify predictive relationships.

Value engineering is also referred to as "value management" or "value methodology" (VM), and "value analysis" (VA).[4] VE is above all a structured problem solving process based on function analysis—understanding something with such clarity that it can be described in two words, the active verb and measurable noun abridgement. For example, the function of a pencil is to "make marks". This then facilitates considering what else can make marks. From a spray can, lipstick, a diamond on glass to a stick in the sand, one can then clearly decide upon which alternative solution is most appropriate.

The Value Analysis process

Value Analysis is based on the application of a systematic work plan that may be divided in six steps, as shown in figure 3.
Figure 3
Steps involved in the application of Value Analysis
http://eu.wiley.com/legacy/wileychi/innovate/website/media/IMAGE29.GIF


1: orientation/preparation

Identify what is to be analysed. This will typically be one of:

·         A manufactured item. This can be anything from a screw to an engine, although a more complex item is likely to result in a more complex and time-consuming analysis.
·         A process or service. Again, all levels can be analysed, from a hand assembly process to a complete customer service organisation.
2: information

Identify and prioritise the customers of the item from step 1. This may include external customers, such as 'auto suppliers' and internal customers, such as 'finance manager'.

Note that external customers are usually more important than internal customers, and that seniority does not necessarily equate with priority. A customer's preference for a product feature should be more important than the opinion of a senior designer.

3: analysis

In this phase the functions of the product are analysed by Functional Analysis, which is aimed at identifying functions given by a product or part of it. Functions have an importance (weight) and a cost. These costs are quantified and this leads to a list of functions ordered by their importance and value. This means that there is an analysis of how each function satisfies customer needs, and then, an analysis of what the cost of those functions is.

This phase of Value Analysis may be considered as the key one of the whole methodology as it represents the translation of needs to functions (see the specific technique).

4: innovation/creativity

For this phase it is necessary to use creative techniques that generate alternatives. Starting from the analysis of functions and costs, there is a search for means that allow elimination, change or improvement of components and functions.

It is important to look for different ways of satisfying the basic functions, even if it means rejecting the current approach and starting again with a clean drawing board. This requires the product or process to be 'mentally destroyed' and then rebuild a new one.

5: evaluation

It represents a confrontation of ideas, a collection of information about the feasibility and cost of those ideas, and measures the value of the best alternatives.

This analysis or evaluation uses the same techniques of value measurement that have been used in previous steps. At this point an examination is done about the grade of functional accomplishment and the economical analysis of those alternatives that offer the higher value. Some of the techniques are well-known such as Cash-flow analysis and break-even point.

The team involved in Value Analysis needs an objective analysis of the ideas generated through the innovation phase. The evaluation phase is carried out in two main steps:

·         A qualitative analysis of value regarding objectives in design, cost, implementation facilities, etc.
·         A quantitative analysis using numerical techniques of value measurement that leads to a few alternatives of high value that will be analysed in depth.
This process usually involves determining the cost and select those ideas that can be practically implemented. This may include work to develop and refine promising ideas into practical and optimum solutions.

6: implementation and monitoring

In this phase it is necessary to prepare a report that summarizes the work that has been done, including conclusions and specific proposals. It will be also necessary to describe actions plans for implementation, in which project management techniques would be useful.

Finally a plan should be included for monitoring of the actions. This should be based in the accomplishment of objectives.

The application of Value Analysis only needs to make use of Basic Techniques such as matrixes, pare to chart, pert and Gantt diagrams, etc., in most of the Value Analysis steps.

Table 2
Specific techniques to be applied in Value Analysis
Value analysis step
Specific technique
1
orientation/preparation
basic techniques
2
information
3
analysis
functional analysis, basic techniques
4
innovation/creativity
basic techniques
5
evaluation
6
implementation and monitoring

Nevertheless, there is one very specific technique worth to be mentioned, such as Functional Analysis, described in a specific section.

Q.2 Describe dimensions of quality. Which are the quality control tools?

Q.3 What are the objectives of layout? Explain the classification of layouts.

Q.4 List the benefits of forecasting. Discuss the role of forecasting in modern business context.

Q.5 Mention the significance of plant location decision. Explain the location decision sequence.

Q.6 What is meant by business process? Explain logical process modelling?


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