CASE I:

Maxwell, a Bangalore-based electronics retailer and one of the growing retailers

in India, offered a comprehensive range of electronic gadgets with a great deal
of promotional offers from all the key brands (global) available. Maxwell
attempted to offer many on the spot promotional offers targeted at impulsive
buyers. As its promotional offers attracted huge customers, it had grown to
become a popular electronics retailer – selling all types of electronic gadgets
including multi-brand handsets, accessories, network connections, providing
repair services, etc. Since its inception in 2010, it had increased its range of
products available at its store.

However, John Mitchel (John), the founder of Maxwell was of opinion that the
growth was minimal. In order to improve the growth and top line of the
company he wanted to increase Maxwell’s customer base. John approached a
strategic consultant in Bangalore, who suggested, “Let us consider the purchase
decisions of sample customers and based on that we will get inferences.” On a
given day, the consultant came to the retailer store and observed the purchase
decisions of three random customers who entered the store. On the basis of past
experience, the store manager estimates the probability of purchase of a given
customer as 0.30.

Dear Students,
The case is shared. Problem statement will be given during examination.
 Case II:

Xavier’s College of Social Sciences, Trivandrum, Kerala, India, is popular for

its students committee elections. For many of the illustrious political leaders in
Trivandrum this college was their stepping stone of their political career. In
April 2014, the college administration announced election notification for office
bearers of the students committee. With support of his classmates and friends
Thomas Kurien (Thomas) decided to contest in the forthcoming elections.
Thomas, a final year graduation student of Political Science, popular for his
achievements in studies, voluntary social services, sports and friendliness gave
his nomination for the post of Chairman. He was one of the three candidates for
the post. Biju Menon, the close competitor, had strong support from political
parties.

Thomas’ supporters were of the belief that he will win 50.01% of the vote in
the election to be held in another 2weeks. But due to Biju Menon’s increasing
political strength, Thomas had a doubt on his winning the elections. Thomas
had a series of discussions with his close friends and supporters. Koshy Joseph
(Joeshp), a close friend suggested Thomas to conduct a survey among the
students, which he readily agreed to. With Joseph’s guidance Thomas
conducted a survey with a sample of 300 prospective voters. The respondents
were asked who they would vote for in this election. The responses were
recorded (Exhibit I).
 Exhibit I: Survey Responses
1 Thomas 45 Thomas 89 Thomas 133 Thomas
2 Biju 46 Biju 90 Biju 134 Biju
3 Biju 47 Thomas 91 Thomas 135 Thomas
4 Biju 48 Biju 92 Biju 136 Biju
5 Thomas 49 Thomas 93 Thomas 137 Thomas
6 Thomas 50 Biju 94 Biju 138 Biju
7 Biju 51 Thomas 95 Thomas 139 Thomas
8 Biju 52 Biju 96 Biju 140 Biju
9 Thomas 53 Thomas 97 Thomas 141 Thomas
10 Biju 54 Biju 98 Biju 142 Biju
11 Thomas 55 Thomas 99 Thomas 143 Thomas
12 Biju 56 Biju 100 Biju 144 Biju
13 Thomas 57 Thomas 101 Thomas 145 Thomas
14 Biju 58 Biju 102 Biju 146 Biju
15 Thomas 59 Thomas 103 Thomas 147 Thomas
16 Biju 60 Biju 104 Biju 148 Biju
17 Thomas 61 Thomas 105 Thomas 149 Thomas
18 Biju 62 Biju 106 Biju 150 Biju
19 Thomas 63 Thomas 107 Thomas 151 Thomas
20 Biju 64 Biju 108 Biju 152 Biju
21 Thomas 65 Thomas 109 Thomas 153 Thomas
22 Biju 66 Biju 110 Biju 154 Biju
23 Thomas 67 Thomas 111 Thomas 155 Thomas
24 Biju 68 Biju 112 Biju 156 Biju
25 Thomas 69 Thomas 113 Thomas 157 Thomas
26 Biju 70 Biju 114 Biju 158 Biju
27 Thomas 71 Thomas 115 Thomas 159 Thomas
28 Biju 72 Biju 116 Biju 160 Biju
29 Thomas 73 Thomas 117 Thomas 161 Thomas
30 Biju 74 Biju 118 Biju 162 Biju
31 Thomas 75 Thomas 119 Thomas 163 Thomas
32 Biju 76 Biju 120 Biju 164 Biju
33 Thomas 77 Thomas 121 Thomas 165 Thomas
34 Biju 78 Biju 122 Biju 166 Biju
35 Thomas 79 Thomas 123 Thomas 167 Thomas
36 Biju 80 Biju 124 Biju 168 Biju
37 Thomas 81 Thomas 125 Thomas 169 Thomas
38 Biju 82 Biju 126 Biju 170 Biju
39 Thomas 83 Thomas 127 Thomas 171 Thomas
40 Biju 84 Biju 128 Biju 172 Biju
41 Thomas 85 Thomas 129 Thomas 173 Thomas
42 Biju 86 Biju 130 Biju 174 Biju
43 Thomas 87 Thomas 131 Thomas 175 Thomas
44 Biju 88 Biju 132 Biju 176 Biju

177 Thomas 208 Biju 239 Thomas 270 Biju

 178 Biju 209 Thomas 240 Biju 271 Thomas
179 Thomas 210 Biju 241 Thomas 272 Biju
180 Biju 211 Thomas 242 Biju 273 Thomas
181 Thomas 212 Biju 243 Thomas 274 Biju
182 Biju 213 Thomas 244 Biju 275 Thomas
183 Thomas 214 Biju 245 Thomas 276 Biju
184 Biju 215 Thomas 246 Biju 277 Thomas
185 Thomas 216 Biju 247 Thomas 278 Biju
186 Biju 217 Thomas 248 Biju 279 Thomas
187 Thomas 218 Biju 249 Thomas 280 Biju
188 Biju 219 Thomas 250 Biju 281 Thomas
189 Thomas 220 Biju 251 Thomas 282 Biju
190 Biju 221 Thomas 252 Biju 283 Thomas
191 Thomas 222 Biju 253 Thomas 284 Biju
192 Biju 223 Thomas 254 Biju 285 Thomas
193 Thomas 224 Biju 255 Thomas 286 Biju
194 Biju 225 Thomas 256 Biju 287 Thomas
195 Thomas 226 Biju 257 Thomas 288 Biju
196 Biju 227 Thomas 258 Biju 289 Thomas
197 Thomas 228 Biju 259 Thomas 290 Biju
198 Biju 229 Thomas 260 Biju 291 Thomas
199 Thomas 230 Biju 261 Thomas 292 Biju
200 Biju 231 Thomas 262 Biju 293 Thomas
201 Thomas 232 Biju 263 Thomas 294 Biju
202 Biju 233 Thomas 264 Biju 295 Thomas
203 Thomas 234 Biju 265 Thomas 296 Biju
204 Biju 235 Thomas 266 Biju 297 Thomas
205 Thomas 236 Biju 267 Thomas 298 Biju
206 Biju 237 Thomas 268 Biju 299 Thomas
207 Thomas 238 Biju 269 Thomas 300 Biju

Dear Students, the case is shared. The problem statement will be supplied
during examination.
 CASE III
It was the third Saturday of July 2015. As per schedule, the Quarterly Review
meeting was in progress and all members of the senior management were in
attendance. The meeting was chaired by the CEO, Raj Singh; other senior
members in attendance were Rajesh Subramaniam (CFO); Piyush Sharma
(Marketing and Sales Head) and Suresh Mhatre (Operations head). Piyush, the
Sales and Marketing Head was making his presentation; sales for the April-
June 2015 quarter were down by 30% compared to the same period last year.
He insisted that something had to be done and done really fast, if Clear Picture
TV Co. was to survive in the market.

Clear Picture TV Co.

Clear Picture TV Co. was established in the year 1979 to manufacture black and
white colour televisions. The company manufactured and marketed two models
– 14 inch and 21 inch televisions. Growth was robust in the initial years; by the
year 1985, the company had a 30% share of the black and white television
market in India. Colour transmission was introduced in India in 1982 to
coincide with the Asian Games in New Delhi. In 1984, Clear picture TV Co.
entered the colour television market. It imported the colour picture tubes and
few other critical components (Annexure I) from Taiwan and assembled the
TVs at its manufacturing facility near Mumbai. As sales picked up over the next
5 years, the company realized that it would be beneficial if it could manufacture
all the components including picture tubes in house; and set up a colour picture
tube manufacturing unit with foreign collaboration in 1990. By 2016, Clear
Picture TV Co. became an integrated manufacturer and marketer of televisions:
black and white and colour televisions. The company manufactured all the
components including the picture tube in various manufacturing facilities across
the country; final assembly was done at its factory in Mumbai. Clear Picture TV
Co. catered to the urban and semi rural customer, where cost, product quality
and reliability were the key factors in the purchase decision.

Industry Overview

Since the early 2000s the Indian TV industry witnessed drastic changes in terms
of intensity of competition, and technology up gradation by the key players.
Aggressive marketing, product quality and price sensitivity were the key factors
to controlling the market. LG, ONIDA, Samsung, Videocon, Panasonic and
Sony were the key players in this intensely competitive market place. Along
with rising disposable incomes, there was an increase in awareness of quality
and technology innovations and features among the customer base. The growth
of the Korean and Japanese multinationals dramatically altered market
dynamics. The company’s market position was under serious threat.

Declining Sales

Everyone was listening with rapt attention as Piyush tried to explain the reasons
and his suggested plan of action to revive the dropping sales. Piyush explained
that competition in the sector had increased sharply over the previous year, as
the other major players including new entrants offered 5 years warranty on their
picture tubes. Clear Picture TV Co. offered a 3 year warranty. Given that most
colour TVs had the same technological features, it was very difficult to
differentiate based on technical attributes. Customers started viewing the
increased warranty offered by competitors as an indication of better quality, and
so started preferring competitors’ products to those of Clear Picture TV Co.
Piyush concluded his presentation saying that Clear Picture Co. would have no
choice but to offer at least 5 years warranty on their picture tubes; and he also
outlined a new advertising campaign the agency had designed on this theme.
There were murmurs of agreement around the table; Rajesh the CFO was not so
sure. He said, “If we continue our manufacturing the way it is being done, will
not offering a higher warranty affect the replacement cost we will have to incur?
Will this add to our cost thereby reducing the profit?”
“Of course, it will” interjected Suresh, the Operations Head. “Our
manufacturing process
currently gives us a certain level of quality and failure rate for the picture tubes
and the additional warranty will certainly increase replacement costs.” “In that
case, can you please do the number work and tell us the additional cost when we
meet after the lunch break?” asked Raj Singh. At this point the meeting
adjourned for lunch

Dilemma

When the meeting re convened, Suresh took centre stage. After reviewing the
QC data on the life of the picture tubes (Exhibit I), he said that an additional
proportion of TV tubes would have to be replaced if they would go for a 5 year
warranty. Piyush had projected a sale of 100,000 units for next year. Rajesh
quickly consulted his costing data and came up with the rupee value and he said
that this amount would directly go from the bottom line. According to him, the
cost of production of the picture tubes was INR5000 each. The selling price of
the TVs was projected to be INR10,000 per unit and contribution per TV was
INR3000.
 Exhibit I: Testing of Colour Picture Tubes
Sample size : 70 tubes
Life in Years No. of Tubes
4.5 10
5 15
5.5 10
6 5
6.5 10
7 10
8 10

“But all these TV tubes will not fail in the next year itself, isn’t it?” queried Raj.
“In that case shouldn’t the replacement cost have to be distributed over the 5
years?” he continued. “Rajesh, can you work out how the additional cost can be
distributed across the 5 years, keeping our auditors and Accounting Standards in
mind?” he instructed.

Dear Students,
The case is shared. Problem statement will be given during examination
 CASE - IV
The Resort, a growing multi-theme park based in Hyderabad, India, owned and managed by
Krishna Kumar Rao (Rao) came into the business in 2010. Within 3 years of its inception the
park became a well-known name among its contemporaries. The resort attracted visitors
with a plethora of entertaining sports like – Alpine Slide, Bumper Cars, Carousel, Cliffhanger,
Black Hole, Madhouse, Snowboarding, Double Shot, Freefall, Space Shot, Turbo Drop, Ferris
Wheel, Flying Scooters, Gyro Tower, Helter Skelter, Hurricane, Loop-O-Plane, Octopus,
Orbiter, Paratrooper, Pendulum Rides, Looping Starship, Pirate Ship, Screamin' Swing, Speed
Swing Boat, Topple Tower, Power Surge, Rainbow, Reverse Bungee, Rock-OPlane, etc. The
Resort also provided accommodation for the visitors. However, the revenue of The Resort
was purely dependent upon the entertainment it provided. In order to increase the demand
and revenue for the resort, Rao consulted an expert in marketing. The expert recommended
Rao to go for corporate and group discounts. He also suggested to use social media for
announcing the promotions. Rao started implementing the expert’s recommendations and
within a few days of announcing new promotion schemes, the number of visitors increased.
Accordingly, Rao wanted to effectively plan the facilities to provide entertainment to the
registered visitors.
In addition to other requirements, before the summer season sets in and the visitors flow
increases, Rao decided to be prepared with all the necessary arrangements. For instance, he
planned to take the snowmaking equipment on lease for the season. If the equipment is
leased and the power-cut is less, the resort will be able to operate full-time with cost
effectively. Otherwise, the park had to take lease of generator too for continuous operating
of snowmaking equipment. But he was not able to predict the number of visitors in order to
plan other things like food and accommodation.
Rao tabulated the number of visitors registered each of 27 randomly selected days in a
month (Exhibit I).
 Exhibit I: Number of Visitors per Day
(Randomly
Selected Days)
Day No. of visitors
1 61
2 57
3 53
4 60
5 64
6 57
7 54
8 58
9 63
10 59
11 50
12 60
13 60
14 57
15 58
16 62
17 63
18 60
19 61
20 54
21 50
22 54
23 61
24 51
25 53
26 62
27 57

ASSIGNMENT QUESTION
CASE IV
Question:
1.Rao wanted to estimate the park's average daily registration of visitors on any given day.
2.He also wanted to estimate an interval of mean visitors on a given day.
 CASE STUDY GROUP - 6

Heavenly Chocolates Website Transactions

heavenly Chocolates manufactures and sells quality chocolate products at its plant and retail
store located in Saratoga Springs, New York. Two years ago the company developed a website
and began selling its products over the internet. Website sales have exceeded the company’s
expectations, and management is now considering strategies to increase sales even further. To
learn more about the website customers, a sample of 50 heavenly Chocolate transactions was
selected from the previous month’s sales. Data showing the day of the week each transaction
was made, the type of browser the customer used, the time spent on the website, the number
of website pages viewed, and the amount spent by each of the 50 customers are contained in
the file named Shoppers. A portion of the data are shown in Table 3.12.
heavenly Chocolates would like to use the sample data to determine if online shoppers
who spend more time and view more pages also spend more money during their visit to the
website. The company would also like to investigate the effect that the day of the week and
the type of browser has on sales.
Find

1. Use appropriate descriptive statistics to summarize each of the three variables

2. If there is any correlation between Time and amount spent?
3. If there is any correlation between Page viewed and amount spent.?
1. Develop a 95% confidence interval estimate of the population mean amount spent and
population mean time for Heavenly chocolate. Interpret your results.
 Case V
Quickfire, a well-established manufacturer of safety matches in South India
since 1990, supplied cardboard and wax matchsticks. The company used
automatic machines, skilled and semi-skilled employees for the entire process
including packaging. Once the matchsticks were ready, they were stored in
cardboard boxes. Each box had 70/80/100 matchsticks. These boxes were
packed in a corrugated cardboard carton. Each carton would have the counting
of 1,000 match boxes. With its reliable quality at affordable prices, the
company witnessed a steady growth and soon occupied a remarkable position
in the domestic and international markets. The Founding Director found to his
dismay that past success is not getting converted into substantial sales. So, the
company announced few special offers like increased margin for distributors,
incentive schemes, etc., to attract new customers. Mohan Kumar (Kumar), a
potential customer from Chennai interested in procuring match boxes from
Quickfire, approached the company and had a pre-order discussion. While
discussing about the packaging he had doubts on the number of boxes in a
carton pack. But based on the past experience the premises supervisor claimed
that they are normally distributed with a mean of 1,008 with a standard
deviation of 45. However, Kumar informed the Quickfire management that he
will take a random sample of 50 packs from the batch and compute the sample
mean. If the sample mean is within the interval of 1,000 ±10, then he would
confirm the order.

Dear Students,
The case is shared. Problem statement will be given during examination