MBA 2023

Department
of Management
Studies
IIT ROORKEE
 1

2 Analytics
18 Consulting
27 Finance
33 Human Resource
49 Marketing
54 Operations

Department
TABLE OF

of Management
Studies
IIT ROORKEE
 2

Sample Interview
Questions
 3
General analytics and technology-
based questions:

1. What at are data and information? How do they differ from each other?
Data is an individual unit that contains raw materials which do not carry any specific
meaning. Information is a group of data that collectively carries a logical meaning. Data
doesn't depend on information. Information depends on data.

2. What is the difference between artificial intelligence, machine learning, and

deep learning?
Artificial Intelligence is the concept of creating smart intelligent machines. Machine
Learning is a subset of artificial intelligence that helps you build AI-driven applications.
Deep Learning is a subset of machine learning that uses vast volumes of data and complex
algorithms to train a model.

3. What are blockchain and cryptocurrency?

Blockchain is a system of recording information in a way that makes it difficult or impossible to
change, hack, or cheat the system.
Blockchain is the technology that enables the existence of cryptocurrency (among other
things). Bitcoin is the name of the best-known cryptocurrency, the one for which blockchain
technology was invented.
A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that is secured by cryptography, which makes
it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double-spend. Many cryptocurrencies are decentralized
networks based on blockchain technology— a distributed ledger enforced by a disparate
network of computers.

4. What is the difference between analytics and analysis? Tell us two (minimum)
real-world applications of analytics?
In simple terms, Data Analytics is the process of exploring the data from the past to make
appropriate decisions in the future by using valuable insights. Whereas Data Analysis helps in
understanding the data and provides required insights from the past to understand what
happened so far.
 4
Application of Analytics in Different Fields:
• Data analytics can be applied to help in improving transportation systems and
intelligence around them.
• Logistics and Delivery
• Web Search or Internet Web Results
• Manufacturing
• Security
• Education
• Healthcare
• Military

5. What is forecasting?
Forecasting is a technique that uses historical data as inputs to make informed estimates that
are predictive in determining the direction of future trends.

6. What is "Time Series Analysis"?

A time series is a sequence of data points that occur in successive order over some period. a
time series tracks the movement of the chosen data points, such as a security’s price, over a
specified period of time with data points recorded at regular intervals. There is no minimum
or maximum amount of time that must be included, allowing the data to be gathered in a
way that provides the information being sought by the investor or analyst examining the
activity.

7. What are the characteristics of a good data model?

The main four criteria of a good data model:
I. Data in a good model can be easily consumed.
II. Large data changes in a good model are scalable.
III. A good model provides predictable performance.
IV. A good model can adapt to changes in requirements, but not at the expense of 1-3.

8. Explain the terms database and data warehouse.

A database is any collection of data organized for storage, accessibility, and retrieval. A data
warehouse is a type of database the integrates copies of transaction data from disparate source
systems and provisions them for analytical use.
 5
9. What are the types of Machine learning algorithms? There
are four types of machine learning algorithms:
supervised, semi- supervised, unsupervised and reinforcement.

10.What is a matrix?
Matrices are the building blocks of data science. The matrix in its most basic form is a collection of
numbers arranged in a rectangular or array-like fashion. This can represent an image, or a
network or even an abstract structure.

11.What are the types of matrices?

The various types of matrices are row matrix, column matrix, null matrix, square matrix, diagonal
matrix, upper triangular matrix, lower triangular matrix, symmetric matrix, and antisymmetric
matrix.

12.What are the practical applications of a matrix?

They are used for plotting graphs, statistics and to do scientific studies and research in almost
different fields. Matrices can also be used to represent real world data like the population of people,
infant mortality rate, etc. They are the best representation methods for plotting surveys.

13.What is your take on the word Analytics? How is management related to

Analytics?
Analytics is the systematic computational analysis of data or statistics. It is used for the discovery,
interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data. It also entails applying data
patterns towards effective decision-making. Businesses can use data analytics to improve
management in many ways. By gathering data on customers and utilizing machine learning,
businesses can analyse a customer’s interaction with the business’ website and past purchasing
habits. The improvements that can be made to their website performance with this information will
result in a better overall customer experience.
 6
Statistics Based Questions:
1. What is the difference between sample and population?

2. What is Central Limit Theorem and state it’s one real-life Applications?
The Central Limit Theorem (CLT) states that the distribution of a sample mean approximates the
normal distribution, as the sample size becomes larger (>=30), assuming that all the samples
are similar, and no matter what the shape of the population distribution.
Biologists use the central limit theorem whenever they use data from a sample of organisms to
draw conclusions about the overall population of organisms. For example, a biologist may
measure the height of 30 randomly selected plants and then use the sample mean height to
estimate the population mean height.

3. Explain the univariate, bivariate, multivariate analysis?

Univariate analysis is the simplest of the three analyses where the data you are analysing is only
one variable. The most common univariate analysis is checking the central tendency (mean,
median and mode), the range, the maximum and minimum values, and standard deviation of a
variable.
Bivariate analysis is where you are comparing two variables to study their relationships. These
variables could be dependent or independent to each other.
Multivariate analysis is like Bivariate analysis, but you are comparing more than two
variables. For three variables, you can create a 3-D model to study the relationship (also
known as Triradiate Analysis). However, since we cannot visualize anything above the third
dimension, we often rely on other software's and techniques for us to be able to grasp the
relationship in the data.
 7
4. What do you understand by the term "outlier"?
Outliers can be defined as the data points within a data set that varies largely in comparison to
other observations. Depending on its cause, an outlier can decrease the accuracy as well as
efficiency of a model. Therefore, itis crucial to remove them from the data set.

5. What are the different types of random variables?

There are three types of random variables- discrete random variables, continuous random
variables, and mixed random variables.
• Discrete Random Variables: Discrete random variables are random variables, whose range
is a countable set.
• Continuous Random Variables: Continuous random variables, on the contrary, have a
range in the forms of some interval, bounded or unbounded, of the real line.
• Mixed Random Variables: Lastly, mixed random variables are ones that are a mixture of
both continuous and discrete variables

6. What is the meaning of six sigma in statistics?

Six sigma in statistics is a quality control method to produce an error or defect- free data set.
Standard deviation is known as Sigma or σ. The more the standard deviation, the less likely that
process performs with accuracy and causes a defect. If a process outcome is 99.99966% error-
free, itis considered six sigma.

7. What is the Pareto principle?

Also known as the 80/20 rule, the Pareto principle states that 80% of the effects or results in an
experiment are obtained from 20% of the causes. A simple example is – 20% of sales come
from 80% of customers.

8. What is the Law of Large Numbers in statistics?

According to the law of large numbers, an increase in the number of trials in an experiment will
result in a positive and proportional increase in the results coming closer to the expected value.
As an example, let us check the probability of rolling a six-sided dice three times. The expected
value obtained is far from the average value. And if we roll a dice many times, we will obtain
the average result closer to the expected value (which is 3.5 in this case).
 8
Topics you should be thorough with:
• Matrix (terminologies + Practical applications) Probability
• Types of distributions
• Basic Microsoft Excel
• Functions (One to one, One to many)

Some questions that were asked in past during their Personal Interview Round
based on their profile:

❖ House price prediction model using regression

❖ If you are passionate about analytics, why don't you pursue technical courses in analytics rather
than Management courses?
❖ State some examples from your professional life where you have been analytical?
❖ Looking back at your life, what could have been better had you had good analytical
skills?
❖ How to curb covid in a locality using analytics?
❖ Fourier and Laplace Transformation.
❖ How database of genes can be deployed to make Corona Vaccine
❖ What is a boxplot ad how to calculate IQR and normal distribution?
❖ How Grocery shops use analytics?
❖ Why is median not considered to calculate standard deviation?
❖ Difference between Neural Network and Deep Neural network.
 9

Sample Interview
Questions
 10
1. What is Consulting?
Consulting is the practice of providing advice and experience to businesses to improve their
operations, profitability, management, structure, and strategy. The demand for consulting
employment is growing exponentially, resulting in consulting is one of the most sought-after
professional paths.
Management consultants assist firms in solving problems and creating new and better ways to do
things, allowing them to enhance their performance and flourish. A job in management consulting
might be for you if you're interested in how a firm operates - its strategy, structure, management,
and operations.

• Rapidly Get Industry Exposure: You'll gain experience working on projects in a variety of sectors
and with a variety of clients, and you'll learn how your decisions affect them.
• Help Your Clients Make Big-Picture Decisions: You'll assist your clients in making big business
decisions.
• Continually learn: You'll be working on projects that will demand you to keep learning and
adapting to new industry trends.
• Work in a team environment: You'll have the opportunity to collaborate with people inside your
business and clients who share your interests and experience.

2. What is Strategy?
The continual planning, monitoring, analysis, and assessment of everything required for a
company to fulfil its goals and objectives is referred to as consulting and strategic management.
Firms must think and act strategically in response to fast-paced innovation, evolving technology,
and customer expectations to stay successful. The strategic management process assists
business executives in assessing their company's current status, developing plans, implementing
them, and evaluating the efficacy of those initiatives. The strategic management process requires
analyzing before adopting cross-functional business choices. Strategic management typically
involves:

• Examining the strengths and weaknesses of both internal and external factors.
• Making plans of action
• Putting plans into action.
• Assessing the effectiveness of action plans and making modifications as needed when
expected outcomes are not achieved.
 12
3. SWOT Analysis:
SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. SWOT analysis provides
overall evaluation of an organization’s internal and external environment. It helps an organization
to understand its strengths and overcome its weaknesses. This in turn helps to tap into new
identified opportunities and win over threats form the external environment.

4. BCG Matrix:
BCG Matrix was designed by Boston Consulting Group in 1968 and is also known as
Growth Share Matrix. It provides an organization with insights into the functioning
of its different Strategic Business Units (SBU) based on growth and relative market
share. This analysis helps an organization to assign resources effectively to its
SBUs.
 13
Each of the four quadrants of a BCG Matrix represents a specific combination of relative market
share and growth:
Low Growth, High Share - Companies should milk these “cash cows” for cash to reinvest.
High Growth, High Share - Companies should significantly invest in these “stars” as they have
high future potential.
High Growth, Low Share - Companies should invest in or discard these “question marks,”
depending on their chances of becoming stars.
Low Share, Low Growth - Companies should liquidate, divest, or reposition these “dogs”.
3C Frameworks for Consultant
We explain seven frameworks that can be used across disciplines to answer some of the most
common business questions:
The 3C: Corporation, Competitor and Customer
The 3C analysis business model was originally created by Kenichi Ohmae, a Japanese business
strategist.
It has been used as a strategic business model for many years and is often used in web marketing
today.
This method has you focusing your analysis on the 3C’s or strategic triangle: the customers, the
competitors and the corporation. The primary goal should be the interest of the customer and not
those of the shareholders because a company that is genuinely interested in its customers will
automatically take care of shareholder interests.

Porter’s 5 Forces
Porter’s five forces is a business framework that helps entrepreneurs to shape their strategy to
drive profitability. This model analyses how a company’s customer, supplier and competitor
interact with it, also how new entrants and substitute might threaten the company’s position in
the industry.
Strategic analysts often use Porter’s five forces to understand whether new products or services
are potentially profitable. By understanding where power lies, the theory can also be used to
identify areas of strength, to improve weaknesses and to avoid mistakes. (Bonus: Sixth force:
Complementary products)
 14
McKinsey 7S Model
The McKinsey 7S Model refers to a tool that analyzes a company’s “organizational design.” The
goal of the model is to depict how effectiveness can be achieved in an organization through the
interactions of seven key elements – Structure, Strategy, Skill, System, Shared Values, Style, and
Staff.

The focus of the McKinsey 7s Model lies in the interconnectedness of the elements that are
categorized by “Soft Ss” and “Hard Ss” – implying that a domino effect exists when changing one
element in order to maintain an effective balance. Placing “Shared Values” as the “center”
reflects the crucial nature of the impact of changes in founder values on all other elements.
Structure of the McKinsey 7S Model
Structure, Strategy, and Systems collectively account for the “Hard Ss” elements, whereas the
remaining are considered “Soft Ss.”
1. Structure
Structure is the way in which a company is organized – chain of command and accountability
relationships that form its organizational chart.

2. Strategy
Strategy refers to a well-curated business plan that allows the company to formulate a plan of
action to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage, reinforced by the company’s mission and
values.

3. Systems
Systems entail the business and technical infrastructure of the company that establishes
workflows and the chain of decision-making.

4. Skills
Skills form the capabilities and competencies of a company that enables its employees to achieve
its objectives.
 15
5. Style
The attitude of senior employees in a company establishes a code of conduct through their ways
of interactions and symbolic decision-making, which forms the management style of its leaders.
6. Staff
Staff involves talent management and all human resources related to company decisions, such as
training, recruiting, and rewards systems
7. Shared Values
The mission, objectives, and values form the foundation of every organization and play an
important role in aligning all key elements to maintain an effective organizational design.

Application of the McKinsey 7S Model

The subjectivity surrounding the concept of alignment concerning the seven key elements
contributes to why this model seems to have a complicated application. However, it is suggested
to follow a top-down approach – ranging from broad strategy and shared values to style and
staff.
Step 1: Identify the areas that are not effectively aligned
Step 2: Determine the optimal organization design
Step 3: Decide where and what changes should be made
Step 4: Make the necessary changes

PESTEL Analysis
Pestel Analysis is a strategic framework used to
evaluate the external environment of a business by
breaking down the opportunities and risks into
Political, Economic, Social, Technological,
Environmental, and Legal. Factors are as follows:
• Political – government policies, foreign trade
policies, etc.,
• Economic – Economic Growth, Inflation,
Unemployment Rate etc.,
• Social – Demographics, Buying Pattern,
Population Growth Rate, etc.,
• Technological – Automation, Tech Transfer, etc.,
• Environmental– Temperature Change, Pollution,
etc.,
• Legal- Labor laws, Industry Regulations, IPR,
etc.,
 16
Other Frequently Asked Questions
❖ Guesstimate Questions such as How many tennis balls can you stuff inside an airplane?
❖ What makes a good consultant?
❖ Market Sizing problems.
❖ Business case studies, its approach and solution.
❖ What is the need of consultants in the market?
❖ What are the skills required to be a consultant?
❖ Explain top-down approach?
❖ General Questions such as SWOT, PESTLE, BCG etc.,
❖ How does a consultant segment a particular market?
❖ How consulting is different from strategy?
 17

Sample Interview
Questions
 18
Finance: Finance is a broad term describing the study and system of money, investments, and
other financial instruments. Bonds, Stocks, Derivatives, Mutual Funds are some examples of
financial instruments.
Finance is classified into –
● Public Finance includes tax systems, government expenditures, and
budget procedures. The government oversees the allocation of resources, distribution
of income, and stabilization of the economy.
● Corporate Finance - To put it simply, corporate Finance involves managing assets and
debts. Calculating whether a project would give considerable returns on a given
investment comes under Corporate Finance.
● Personal Finance - The proper management of an individual's income
and expenses. Retirement planning is one example of this.
● Behavioral Finance seeks to understand the emotional, social, and psychological
reasons behind financial decisions. An example would be studying investors' reactions to
a lawsuit against a company.
What is Accounting?
Accounting is the systematic and comprehensive recording of financial transactions about a
business and the process of summarizing, analyzing, and reporting these transactions.
Three Main Financial Statements
1. Income Statement - Income Statement reports how much revenue the company generated,
the expenses incurred, and the resulting profits or losses during a period (usually the financial
year).
The basic equation underlying the income statement is Revenue – Expenses = income
• Revenue, also known as "Top Line", is the company's amount of money during the period.
• Before assessing income tax, expenses are summarized and charged in the income
statement as deductions from the income statement.
• Income increases the net inflow of cash or other assets during an accounting period.
2. Balance Sheet - The Balance Sheet shows a company's assets, liabilities, and equity. It can be
viewed as a statement of sources and usage of funds. The Balance Sheet summarizes a
company's assets, liabilities, and shareholder's equity at a particular point in time. It presents a
snapshot of the financial position of the company.
It is based on the following accounting model: Assets= Liabilities + Shareholders
 19
Assets are of two types:
1) Fixed assets- Assets that are purchased for the long term. E.g., Building, Land etc.

2) Current assets- Assets that can be quickly converted into cash. E.g.-Cash and cash
equivalents (Mutual Funds). 20 Liabilities are obligations of the company, payable to another
entity. Liabilities are incurred to fund the ongoing activities of a business. If the commitment is
due within 12 months,
it is classified as a current liability. Shareholder's equity represents the number of business
holdings that aren't purchased using debt(loans).
3. Statement of Cash Flows/Cash Flow Statement: The Cash Flow Statement provides
information about the cash flows associated with the period's operations and the entity's
investing and financing activities during the period. The cash flow statement tabulates how
much cash is coming into the firm and going out.
There are three significant elements in the cash flow statement:
•Cash flow from operating activities encompasses cash generated from a
company's day-to-day operations.
•Cash flow from investing activities pertains to the purchasing and selling
investments, including property, plant, and equipment.
•Cash flow from financing activities- This includes obtaining or repaying capital. This
consists of the stock sale, stock repurchase, and issuance of dividends.
BASIC ACCOUNTING CONCEPTS
Accounting Principles - Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or GAAP, which the
companies must follow while reporting the financial data.
Key GAAPs are as follows: -
• Going Concern Concept: This principle assumes that a business will continue in
the foreseeable future without finite life. We use this principle to project cash
flows in the future.
• Legal Entity: The business is an entity separate from owners, even if it's a small, one-
person business running out of home. Therefore, the business accounts are taken
separately from the owners.
• Conservatism: Be cautious and conservative while recording transactions. Recognise
income only when it's definite.
• Accrual Concept: Income and expense are recognised /recorded when a transaction
occurs- not when cash changes hands.
• Matching Concept: The business must match the expenses incurred for a period to
the income earned during that period.
• Cost Concept: All assets are recorded on the books at purchase price, not a market
price, with some exceptions.
 20
SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Is ten a high P/E ratio?
Ans. We'll have to compare the P/E ratios of a specific industry to know if the ratio s high or not.
P/E ratios vary from company to company.
2. Why did the stock price of XYZ Company decrease yesterday when it announced
increased quarterly earnings?
Ans. Share prices tend to decrease when the earnings release is not up to the general
public's expectations.
3. Can you tell me about a recent IPO you followed?
Ans. Give information regarding the last IPO that you followed and if it's a very old one, tell them
that you last tracked this IPO and haven't had a chance to follow the more recent ones.
4. If you read that a given mutual fund achieved 50 per cent returns last year, would you invest
in it?

Ans. 10% in its entirety is a good number, but we'll have to do some due diligence and
comparation before going ahead.
5. When should a company issue debt instead of issuing equity?
Ans. When a company owner does not want to dilute its stake, or a company is new and wants to
look for cheaper sources to finance its growth if it is growing at a faster rate, the company can
issue debt instead of equity. A company's capital structure should be a mix of both debt and
equity. A ratio of around 1:1 is good.
When the company has more debt, it also saves tax on its interest payments.
6. Why do companies resort to equity financing and don't fund their real needs
through debt financing?
Ans. Equity financing refers to funds generated by the sale of stock. The main benefit of
equity financing is that funds need not be repaid. Since equity financing is a greater risk
to the investor than debt financing is to the lender, the cost of equity is often higher than
debt.
7. What does a high debt-equity ratio indicate?
Ans. A high debt to equity ratio indicates that the company has more debt than equity.

8. Why is an Income Statement known as a Profit and Loss Statement and not a Profit or
Loss Statement?
Ans. The word "and" denotes that it consists of items of profits (income) as well as items of
losses (expenditure) before we arrive at a net profit or net loss.
 21
9. Why do we prepare a Cash Flow Statement when we have Income Statement?

Ans. The cash flow statement tells the cash inflow and outflow of a company. It tells the real
profit in cash and not in terms of credit. In contrast, the income statement tells us the profit in
terms of both credit and cash.

10. What is Investment Banking? How is it different from Advisory/Research?

Ans. Investment banking is a particular segment of banking operations that helps individuals
or organisations raise capital, and it also provides financial consultancy services to them. An
investment bank is limited to advisory services, supports IPO issuance, and helps in mergers
and acquisitions.
 33

Sample Interview
Questions
 34
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Self-based questions
1. Tell me something about yourself.
2. Tell me something about yourself that is not present in your …..resume/profile.
3. Describe yourself in one word.
4. Tell me something about your family. How do you believe the culture and education
of …..your family played a role in your upbringing ?
5. Where do you belong to? Tell me few unique things about that ……city/town/village.
6. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Mention three of each relating it to any
….of your past experiences or instances.
Covid-19 related questions
1.How did you spend your time during the lockdown / What new skills did you acquire
during the lockdown?

2. What are the pros and cons of WFH?

3.Would you prefer WFH or at the workplace? 4.Was

lockdown a boon or bane?

5. Did covid-19 change the way you foresee your career?

6.How do you feel about eventual return to work?

Academics
1.Which has been your favourite subject in school/college? Why? (Followed by few
follow up questions)

2. Tell me something about your school/college.

3. What are a few take-aways you got from your previous education?
4.Have you participated in any non-academic co-curricular activities? How important
do you think these activities are in general?
5.Why did you choose this (your branch of engineering or any other selection of
course/degree/stream)?
6.Why are your grades low or have decreased/not improved significantly?
 35
1. MBA related
2. Why do you want to pursue an MBA?
3. Why do you think you are the right candidate to be a part of an IIT Roorkee?
4.Tell me a few instances from your experience where you have shown your
management skills.

5. Which specialization do you want to opt for? And why?

6. Why do you want to pursue an MBA instead of pursuing masters in your own domain
(doesn’t apply to BBA graduate)?
6.Which department do you think (amongst Sales and Marketing, Operations, Finance,
IT, HR and Strategy) is the most important one for an organization?
7.What are your short term (3-5 years) and long term (8-10 years) goals? How do you
think pursuing MBA can help you achieve those?

Work-ex
1. Tell me something about your previous company.
2. Tell me something about your role at your previous company.
3.Why did you decide to pursue MBA and not establish yourself in the same
organization or industry? In other words, why do you want to leave your job?

4. What are three key learning you have got from your experience in corporates?
5. Mention any instances where you have made your team or company proud of
yourself. Mention few where you haven’t worked at the level expected from you.
6. Where do you see your company / industry five years down the line?
Situation based
1.Give an instance where you stepped in, took charge, mustered support & influenced
the outcome of a project by taking on a leadership role.

2. What has been the best decision of your life? How?

3. What has been the most difficult decision you made in your life? How?
4. What are the decisions you regret in your life? Why?
5.Discuss any ethical dilemma you have faced in your organization. How did you
resolve it?
6.Have you ever been in conflicting relations or disagreed with your manageror team-
head? How have you reacted to such situations?
 36
7.What has been the biggest challenge of your life? How did you overcome it? What
did you learn?

8. What has been the biggest failure of your life? What did you learn from it?
9.Describe a situation where you have completed a project on a very short deadline or
under a time constraint. How did you solve the problem? What did you learn from it?

Hypothetical scenarios
1.Suppose you have an important work to do in office which, if delayed, might result into
a huge loss for the company. At the very same time, you have got a call from your
home asking you to be there because of some emergency. There’s only you who could
handle the tasks, both at home and at the office. What would you do?
2.You’re working on a project with a tight deadline, but you find that you’re unable to
complete your section because your co-workers and your supervisor are unavailable to
answer a few key questions. How do you deal with the situation?

3. You’re a team leader. What would you do if the work of one of your subordinate
team members was not up to expectations?
Abstract topics
1. Money or fame. Why?
2. Money or power. Why?
3.If you could go back and change one thing related to your life, what would it be and
why? 4. Define success.

5. What is the probability of you cracking this interview?

6. Luck or hard work. Why?
7.Do you believe in God? Justify your answer.
GD/WAT topics

1. RCEP Agreement: Is it a step in the right direction?

2. India’s approach towards fulfilling job needs of young India.
3.Data protection bill is a step forward to protect an individual’s data from private
companies but two steps backward in placing safeguards from government
surveillance.

4. Corporate Tax cut: Is it a step in the right direction?

5.Modern technologies are changing the way we live, work, and play, sooner than we
think. 6. Urgent reforms in the Indian Banking system are necessary and imperative to
boost the economy.
 37
7.Gender sensitisation and wider societal changes are needed to end sex crimes
prevalent in our country.

8. Challenges faced by Indian Automotive Industry.

9.If we need to tackle climate change, sensitivity towards it needs to be incorporated as
a way of life right from our foundation years till the very end.
10.Big Data and Information Privacy – A futurechallenge. 11.Is
India ready for 5 G ?

12. The success of start-ups in India- Challenges and Recommendations

13. Opportunities and challenges of Brexit to global trade

14.US-Iran tensions: is the drone strike on the now-deceased Iranian military

commander justified for US security, or is it a political move to secure Trump’s second term
in office? 15.We are amid a resurgence of right-wing leaders around the world. Will
these leaders bring an era of authoritarianism or would they strengthen democracy?
16.Global suppression of Freedom of the press - a needed step for progress, or a lethal
threat to democracy?

17. Comment on the Finance Bill 2022.

18.“The biggest fear prevalent in the modern economy is that of an imminent recession.”
Comment.
19.Tata vs Mistry, the crisis at WeWork, and more - comment on the current corporate
governance scenarios.

20. Is the mega venture capital world we live in today sustainable.

What is HR?
Human resources (HR) are the division of a business that is charged with finding,
screening, recruiting, and training job applicants, as well as administering employee-
benefit programs. HR plays a key role in helping companies deal with a fast-changing
business environment and a greater demand for quality employees in the 21st century.
Additional human resources responsibilities include compensation and benefits,
recruitment, firing, and keeping up to date with any laws that may affect the company
and its employees.
An HR department, regardless of the size of the company, is a necessary component of
any corporation. An HR department's job is to increase employee productivity while also
protecting the organisation from any problems that develop in the workplace.
 38

Compensation and benefits, recruitment, dismissal, and staying up to date on any

regulations that may affect the organisation and its employees are all part of HR's
responsibilities.
According to research conducted by The Conference Board, a member-driven
economic think tank, HR must efficiently perform six important people-related activities in
order to contribute value to a firm.

These are some of them:

• Effectively managing and utilising people

• Performance evaluation and compensation are linked to competencies.
• Individual and organisational performance can be improved through
developing competences.
• Increasing the essential levels of innovation, creativity, and flexibility to boost
competitiveness.

What is Human Resource Management?

Human Resource Management, or HRM, is the practice of managing people to
achieve better performance. It’s about optimizing company performance through
better management of human resources.

The seven HR basics

When we talk about Human Resource Management, several elements are
considered cornerstones for effective HRM policies. These cornerstones are:

1. Recruitment & selection

2. Performance management
3. Learning & development
4. Succession planning
5. Compensation and benefits
6. Human Resources Information Systems
7. HR data and analytics
 39

Objectives of Human Resource Management:

Why Is Human Resource Management Important?
“Managing human capital,” says Remley, “is all about adding value to the organization.”
There are many areas in which human resource management can impact companies,
including the following:
• Improves Productivity: To seek out and hire a better class of employee is where all
businesses need to start increasing their productivity — this fall to HR departments. HR
departments not only recruit and interview potential candidates, but also pick out the
standouts and leave the rest. In cooperation with other managers, human resources
managers should build a benefits menu to attract ‘rock stars’ and develop a hiring
process that targets motivated, productive employees.

• Reduces Costs: “For every $10,000 in the salary of a key employee who decides to
leave,” says Remley, “the company loses approximately six days of productivity.”
Keep turnover low with ongoing employee satisfaction surveys and non-monetary
benefits. Another retention tool is training and mentoring, which reduces turnover and
internal strife. Managers can also cross-train team members so they can capably fill
in when colleagues are on vacation or ill.

• Strengthens Brand: Top brands tend to top lists of the best places to work. Powerful
brands attract powerful talent, but they are also built by powerful teams of talented
individuals. Employees who are engaged are more productive and
 40
less likely to quit. They can also become brand ambassadors for your company
and a recruitment source for new hires.

• Enables Financial and Intellectual Company Growth: Human Resources must be

able to facilitate strategy execution by building and sustaining organizational
capability. This role cannot be automated, outsourced, or offshored: It comes from
inside knowledge of a business’s strategy and the existing company capabilities. It
includes maximizing employee performance in service of the company’s strategic
objectives, preparing for current and long-term needs, and listening and
responding to employees. It may also consist of re-engineering organizational
processes. Every strategy is executed by people who are trained, supported, and
equipped to fulfil the company’s strategic vision.

• Manages Transformation and Change: Creating a company that is adaptable

to market shifts includes effective communication with team members to ease job
security concerns during periods of change. It’s a necessity: Change is the new
constant in everyone’s work environment, everywhere. A typical organization has
had five major changes in the past three years. Most change success factors
relate to talent, which means human resources faces increasing pressures. Learn
more by reading the Essential Guide to Everything Change Management.

Functions of HRM
Human Resources management has an important role to play in equipping
organizations to meet the challenges of an expanding and increasingly competitive
sector. Increase in staff numbers, contractual diversification and changes in
demographic profile which compel the HR managers to reconfigure the role and
significance of human resources management.
Human Resource or Personnel Department is established in most of the organisations,
under the charge of an executive known as Human Resource/Personnel Manager. This
department plays an important role in the efficient management of human resources.

Some of the major functions of human resource management are as follows:

· Managerial Functions
· Operative Functions
· Advisory Functions.
 41

HR Theories:
Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology comprising a
five- tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a
pyramid. Maslow stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs and
that some needs take precedence over others. Our most basic need is for physical
survival, and this will be the first thing that motivates our behaviour. Once that level is
fulfilled the next level up is what motivates us, and so on. This five-stage model can be
divided into deficiency needs and growth needs.
The first four levels are often referred to as deficiency needs (D-needs), and the top-
level is known as growth or being needs (B-needs).
 42

Big Five Model of Personality

Personality is an easy concept to grasp for most of us. It’s what makes you “you”. It
encompasses all the traits, characteristics, and quirks that set you apart from everyone
else.
Human resources professionals often use the Big Five personality dimensions to help
place employees. The Big Five traits are

▪Openness - Openness includes traits like being insightful and imaginative and having
a wide variety of interests.
Conscientiousness - People that have a high degree of conscientiousness are reliable
and prompt. Traits include being organized, methodic, and thorough.

▪Extroversion - Extraverts get their energy from interacting with others, while introverts get
their energy from within themselves. Extraversion includes the traits of energetic, talkative,
and assertive.

▪Agreeableness - These individuals are friendly, cooperative, and compassionate.

People with low agreeableness may be more distant

▪Neuroticism - Neuroticism is also sometimes called Emotional Stability. This dimension

relates to one’s emotional stability and degree of negative emotions.
 43
▪Attitude - “My personality is who I am and my attitude is who you are.” Our behaviour
towards an individual, group or people surrounding us changes but our personality is
rigid, it does not change.

▪Emotional intelligence - The intelligence that we acquire on interacting with individuals

and adapt accordingly in a conversation with the individual is termed as emotional
intelligence.

▪Decision-making process - In psychology, decision-making is regarded as the

cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among
several alternative possibilities.

Herzberg’s Motivation Theory – Two Factor Theory

Herzberg’s Theory of Motivation tries to get to the root of motivation in the workplace. You
can leverage this theory to help you get the best performance from your team.

The two factors identified by Herzberg are motivators and hygiene factors.
Motivating Factors - The presence of motivators causes employees to work harder. They
are found within the actual job itself.
Hygiene Factors - The absence of hygiene factors will cause employees to work less
hard. Hygiene factors are not present in the actual job itself but surround the job.
 44

Motivating factors include:

Achievement: A job must give an employee a sense of achievement. This will provide
a proud feeling of having done something difficult but worthwhile.
Recognition: A job must provide an employee with praise and recognition of their
successes. This recognition should come from both their superiors and their peers.
The work itself: The job itself must be interesting, varied, and provide enough of a
challenge to keep employees motivated.
Responsibility: Employees should “own” their work. They should hold themselves
responsible for this completion and not feel as though they are being
micromanaged.

Advancement: Promotion opportunities should exist for the employee.

Growth: The job should give employees the opportunity to learn new skills. This can
happen either on the job or through more formal training.

Hygiene factors include:

Company policies: These should be fair and clear to every employee. They must also
be equivalent to those of competitors.
Supervision: Supervision must be fair and appropriate. The employee should be given
as much autonomy as is reasonable.
Relationships: There should be no tolerance for bullying or cliques. A healthy, amiable,
and appropriate relationship should exist between peers, superiors, and subordinates.
 45
Work conditions: Equipment and the working environment should be safe, fit for
purpose, and hygienic.
Salary: The pay structure should be fair and reasonable. It should also be competitive
with other organizations in the same industry.
Status: The organization should maintain the status of all employees within the
organization. Performing meaningful work can provide a sense of status.
Security: It is important that employees feel that their job is secure and they are not
under the constant threat of being laid-off.

McClelland’s Acquired Needs Motivation Theory

Also known as the Expectancy Value Theory of Motivation, it states that humans have
a total of three core types emotional needs, which they acquire as a result of their life
journeys. The needs the model considers are:

• Achievement (getting things done)

• Power (having influence over others)
• Affiliation (having good relationships)

Achievement
People motivated by achievement need challenging, but not impossible, projects. They
thrive on overcoming difficult problems or situations, so make sure you keep them
engaged this way. People motivated by achievement work very effectively either alone
or with other high achievers.
 46
Affiliation
People motivated by affiliation work best in a group environment, so try to integrate them
with a team (versus working alone) whenever possible. They also don't like uncertainty
and risk. Therefore, when assigning projects or tasks, save the risky ones for other people.

Power
Those with a high need for power work best when they're in charge. Because they enjoy
competition, they do well with goal-oriented projects or tasks. They may also be very
effective in negotiations or in situations in which another party must be convinced of an
idea or goal.
When providing feedback, be direct with these team members. And keep them
motivated by helping them further their career goals.

Interview tips:
Body language during interview plays a very important role in making or breaking your
career. The expression “actions speak louder than words” holds very true, especially
during job interviews. The way you present yourself leaves a significant impact on your
interviewer.

Everything – right from your outfit to your hairstyle, accessories, and all other things you
might be carrying – are judged! From the moment you enter the meet, you’re perceived
with different opinions by different people.

1. Maintain good eye contact.

Looking directly at your interviewer is important during any interview, but especially so for
a video interview.
Make it a point to look directly into the camera, rather than your computer screen.
Looking at yourself on the screen will show that your eyes are looking elsewhere and
may cause the interviewer to feel a disconnect. Just as you would look directly at the
interviewer in an in-person interview, and not to the left or right, focus your attention on
them during a video interview as well. You’ll establish a better connection.

2. Sit up straight.
 47
Having good posture during your interview shows that you’re alert, interested, and
engaged. Slouching in your seat can look unprofessional and make it seem like you’re a
little too casual—and therefore not as interested in the position as you should be.
If you think that you might start to sink into your seat as the interview goes on, prop yourself
up with a small—and unsightly—pillow. It’ll keep you sitting straight and paying attention.

3. Lean in, but not too far.

Usually, when someone is saying something interesting, the natural response is to lean in
closer. But if you’re doing a video interview, there’s only so far you can lean in before
you’re just one big eyeball to your potential employer.
When you feel it’s natural to do so, you can lean in as the interviewer is speaking…but not
too far. Just leaning forward a few inches is often enough during a video interview to
express your interest.

4. Try to keep gesturing to a minimum.

Many people gesture as they speak to animate their stories or to get their point across.
Problem is, most people don’t realize how often they use their hands until they see
themselves on video. During your video interview, you can gesture as you speak but to a
certain extent. After all, no one is expecting you to sit on your hands for the duration of your
video interview—it would look odd if you didn’t gesture once in a while.

If you’re concerned that you might move your hands too much, you can always practice
pre-interview to make sure your motions are kept to a minimum.

5. Don’t cross your arms.

In an attempt to keep from gesturing wildly, you might be tempted to fold your arms in
front of you. Unfortunately, you might come across as closed off or upset by doing so.
Since that’s not the image you want to present to an interviewer, keep your arms
comfortably at your sides to make yourself look more open and engaged.

6. Nod when necessary.

You don’t want to interrupt your interviewer with a boisterous, “That sounds amazing!”
when they’re telling you about the institution. That’s where the art of the nod comes in. You
should nod as your interviewer is speaking; this conveys a connection between the two of
you and shows that you’re listening to what they’re saying.
 48
While nodding once in a while is encouraged during your video interview—nodding so
often that you give yourself a headache isn’t. So be selective with your nods; do it often
enough so that your interviewer knows you understand what they’re saying, but not too
much as to look comical or not genuine.

7. Smile genuinely.
Of course, smiling is a great way to show friendliness and approachability. When
people try to force a smile, though, it can come across as fake, which can be a big turn
off for an interviewer. So be sure to smile during your job interview when it feels right. It’s
been shown that smiling while speaking also makes you sound friendlier and can give
you a more upbeat tone to your voice. And if your interviewer says something funny,
smile and laugh!

Being aware of your body language during a video interview can be the difference
between presenting yourself as a confident or nervous candidate.

• Looking Presentable: The goal is to treat the online interview as if it were a traditional
offline interview, which means showing up in correct formal apparel, grooming
yourself, and looking presentable to stand out.

• Choosing the Best Location/Camera Angle: De-clutter your space and create a
clutter-free setting conducive to an interview. Maintaining a professional setup also
requires assuring a great camera angle by keeping it at eye level and having
appropriate lighting (ideally not in the backside).

• Testing the Network/Audio Connection: To avoid last-minute stress, signing in

ahead of time and checking your device's network and audio connection should
be at the top of your priority list. It’s a good idea to have a backup internet
connection on hand throughout the event.

• Recording Yourself or Having a Mock Interview with a Senior/Friend: Recording

yourself or having a mock interview with a senior/friend will go a long way in
determining whether you come across correctly or not.
 49

Sample Interview
Questions
 50
Question - WHAT IS MARKETING?
Answer - According to Mr. Philip Kotler (The Father of Modern Marketing), marketing is
the process by which companies engage customers, build customer relationships,
and create customer value in order to capture value from customers in return.

Question - 4P'S OF MARKETING?

Answer –
Product : The product can either be tangible or an intangible service. Customers
usually focus on quality, price, design, features and functionality of the product.
Price : It's the amount that the customer pays to purchase the product. Discount,
payment terms & credit period is considered.
Place : The market where the product is sold is known as place. These are the ways of
distribution, channel & logistics via which the product reaches the customer.
Promotion : It's a method of communication by which the marketer provides information
about a product. It includes personal selling, advertisements, word of mouth publicity etc.

Question - 4C'S OF MARKETING?

Answer –
Customer Value : Instead of focusing on the product itself, the first C focuses on filling a
void in the customer’s life. The customer makes the purchase decision & is, therefore, the
most valuable resource.
Cost : Cost not only includes price of the item, but also may include things such as the
time it takes for the customer to get to your location in order to buy your product, or the
cost of gas that it takes to get them there.
Convenience : The goal is to make the product cost effective and simple enough to
make it convenient for the customer to attain the product without having to jump through
hoops.
Communication : It involves interaction between the buyer & seller. This marketing
strategy can very easily be implemented through the use of social media.
 51
Question – What is SEGMENTATION, TARGETING & POSITIONING?
Answer - Market Segmentation can be defined as the process of splitting a market into smaller
groups with similar product needs or identifiable characteristics, for the purpose of selecting
appropriate target markets.
Targeting (or target market selection) refers to an organization’s proactive selection of a suitable
market segment (or segments) with the intention of heavily focusing the firm’s marketing offers and
activities towards this group of related consumers.
Positioning (also referred to as product positioning) is the target market’s perception of the
product’s key benefits and features, relative to the offerings of competitive products.

Question - Brand Equity?

Answer - Brand Equity is the value premium that a company realizes from a product with a
recognizable name as compared to its generic equivalent.
Companies can create brand equity for their products by making them memorable, easily
recognizable and superior in quality and reliability. Mass marketing campaigns can also help
to create brand equity.
The additional money that consumers are willing to spend to buy Coca Cola rather than the store
brand of drink is an example of brand equity.
Brand equity is the set of assets and liabilities associated with a brand, such as the positive image
of Coca Cola in terms of a recreational beverage, or its negative image in terms of health and the
consumption of sugar.

Question – SWOT Analysis?

Answer - A SWOT analysis allows the strategist to evaluate a firm’s current situation and prospects
by simultaneously considering internal and external factors. The SWOT analysis encourages
managers to scan the internal and external environments, looking for any relevant factors that
might affect the firm’s current or future competitive advantage. The focus is on internal and external
factors that can affect—in a positive or negative way—the firm’s ability to gain and sustain a
competitive advantage.
Strengths: This details the strengths that an organization possesses that give it
an advantage over others.
Weaknesses: The shortcomings that an organization possesses that the other players in the
industry might exploit.
 52
Opportunities: Events or changes in the external environment that an organization could use to its
advantage.
Threats: Events or changes in the external environment that can cause the organization to lose its
competitive advantage.

Question – Why do you want to pursue marketing?

Question – Sell me this object (things like pen, bottle or any other thing).
Question – Tell me about your marketing experience (if you have any).

Question – What qualities of a marketer do you possess?

Question – Your favourite company/companies? Why?

Question – Which is your recent favourite ad? Why?

Question – Porter’s Five Forces?

Answer -

-
 53

Question – Marketing and Sales?

Answer - Marketing and sales are used very generically; sometimes
even interchangeably. However, veteran marketers find them to be two different aspects
when looked at a fine level. Before we look at the differences, the formal definition
of marketing as per The American Marketing Association: The activity, set of
institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging
offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

Marketing activities include:

1. Consumer research to identify the needs of the customers
2. Product development – designing innovative products to meet existing or latent needs
3. Advertising the products to raise awareness and build the brand
4. Pricing products and services to maximize long-term revenue

On the other hand, Sales activities are:

1. Focused on converting prospects to actual paying customers
2. Involves direct interaction with the prospects
3. Synonymous with having a short-term perspective
 54

Sample Interview
Questions
 55
1. Define The Term Operations Management?
Operations management manages the resources needed to produce the company’s products
and services. It involves managing people, machines and information.

2. Explain The Decisions Operations Managers Make?

Operations managers must plan the production schedule. This entails deciding how
much to produce and in what order. This information would be used to make purchasing and
staffing decisions.
Operations managers must manage inventory. They must arrange the inventory in the
warehouse. They also facilitate the movement of inventory from the warehouse to the retail
facilities or the customer. Operations managers also must manage quality levels. This may
include inspection of materials, and the use of quality tools such as control charts.

3. Describe The Transformation Process Of A Business. Give Three Examples. What Constitutes
The Transformation Process At An Advertising Agency, A Bank, And A Tv Station?
The transformation process involves taking the various inputs and transforming them into
outputs. An advertising agency would transform the time of its staff into an advertising
campaign. A bank may use the time of a teller, an input computer, and a bank branch to
accept a deposit. A TV station could use the time of its production crew, the video equipment,
and the studio to produce a news story.

4. What Are The Three Major Business Functions, And How Are They Related To One Another?
Give Specific Examples.
The three major business functions are finance, marketing and operations. Operations entail the
production of a product or service and must manage the inputs to production such as workers'
time, aluminum, and machine time to create airplane parts Finance manages the assets, such
as the building used for production, investments and cash flows related to production, such
as providing the needed machines. Marketing generates sales of the product or service, such
as finding customers for the proposed airplanes.

5. Identify The Two Major Differences Between Service And Manufacturing Organizations. Find
An Example Of A Service And Manufacturing Company And Compare Them.
Manufacturing organizations produce a physical product that can be stored in inventory. Service
organizations cannot create an inventory of the service since it is intangible. For example, Ford
Motors is a manufacturer. It makes automobiles, customers have little contact with the
operation, and they can create an inventory of vehicles. McDonalds is an example of a service
organization. Customers go directly to the restaurant where they are served quickly by the
staff.

6. What Are The Three Historical Milestones In Operations Management? How Have They
Influenced Management?
Three historical milestones are the industrial revolution, total quality management (TQM) and
global competition. The industrial revolution changed production processes from a labor focus
to a machine focus. TQM caused managers to be more focused on quality and preventing
defects. Finally, global competition caused managers to further increase their focus on quality,
realizing that to not improve was to “lose the race.”
 57
7. Identify Three Current Trends In Operations Management And Describe Them. How Do You
Think They Will Change The Future Of OM?
The lean systems concept is a current trend in operations management. This involves taking a
total system approach to creating an efficient operation. This includes concepts such as just-
in-time (JIT), total quality management (TQM), continuous improvement, resource planning,
and supply chain management (SCM).
Companies are using the Internet to reach out to customers, and suppliers
directly. Amazon.com has been able to sell books and many other items directly from
its warehouse to people like you and me. The Internet is changing how the supply chains
work since we can now eliminate the “middleman” or distributor by selling directly from the
factory to the final or end customer. Companies can also ease transactions between
businesses, known as B2B commerce, by using electronic trading networks.
Large information systems, called Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, are allowing
companies to increase efficiency. These large, sophisticated software programs coordinate,
across the entire enterprise, the activities involved in producing and delivering products to
customers.
Each of these concepts makes intensive use of information and cooperation between
partners. OM will most likely continue to be more information intensive and require greater
cooperation among all the players in the value chain.

8. Define The Terms Total Quality Management, Just-in-time, And Reengineering. What Do
These Terms Have In Common?
Total quality management (TQM) is a philosophy that focuses on meeting the needs of the
customer. TQM is not inspection, but the prevention of defects. It involves everyone in the
organization. Just-in-time is a philosophy that focuses on reducing inventory and other
wastes and on the production of the right number of items at the right time. Reengineering
focuses on improving business processes in order to improve efficiency. Each of these
techniques strives to allow more responsive and more efficient production leading to higher
quality and higher customer satisfaction.

9. Describe Today’s OM Environment. How Is It Different From That Of A Few Years Ago?
Identify Specific Features That Characterize Today’s OM Environment.
Today’s OM environment is more global, more service oriented, and uses more information
technology than that of even a few years ago. Companies can​ outsource steps of their
operation easier. Now even service operations are outsourced off-shore. Information
technology allows companies to cooperate more closely, creating tighter supply chains, quicker
response and less waste. Specific features include greater outsourcing, greater use of
information technology, and deeper cooperation in the supply chain.
 58
10. Is Operations Management important In All Types Of Organization?
In some types of organization, it is relatively easy to visualize the operations function and what
it does, even if we have never seen it.
For example, most people have seen images of automobile assembly. But what about an
advertising agency? We know vaguely what they do – they produce the advertisements that we
see in magazines and on television – but what is their operations function?
The clue lies in the word ‘produce’. Any business that produces something, whether tangible or
not, must use resources to do so, and so must have an operations activity. Also, the automobile
plant and the advertising agency do have one important element in common: both have a higher
objective – to make a profit from producing their products or services. Yet not-for-profit
organizations also use their resources to produce services, not to make a profit, but to serve
society in some way.

11. What Is Operations Management In The Smaller Organization?

Operations management is just as important in small organizations as it is in large ones.
Irrespective of their size, all companies need to produce and deliver their products and services
efficiently and effectively. However, in practice, managing operations in a small or medium-size
organization has its own set of problems. Large companies may have the resources to dedicate
individuals to specialized tasks, but smaller companies often cannot, so people may have to do
different jobs as the need arises. Such an informal structure can allow the company to respond
quickly as opportunities or problems present themselves. But decision making can also become
confused as individuals’ roles overlap. Small companies may have exactly the same operations
management issues as large ones, but they can be more difficult to separate from the mass of
other issues in the organization.

12. What Is Operations Management In Not-for-profit Organizations?

Terms such as competitive advantage, markets and business, which are used in this book, are
usually associated with companies in the for-profit sector. Yet operations management is also
relevant to organizations whose purpose is not primarily to earn profits. Managing the
operations in an animal welfare charity, hospital, research organization or government
department is essentially the same as in commercial organizations. Operations must take the
same decisions – how to produce products and services, invest in technology, contract out some
of their activities, devise performance measures, and improve their operations
performance and so on.
However, the strategic objectives of not-for-profit organizations may be more complex and
involve a mixture of political, economic, social and environmental objectives. Because of this
there may be a greater chance of operations decisions being made under conditions of
conflicting objectives. So, for example, it is the operations staff in a children’s welfare
department who must face the conflict between the cost of providing extra social workers and
the risk of a child not receiving adequate protection.
 59
13. What Is The Input–transformation–output Process?
All operations produce products and services by changing inputs into outputs using an ‘input-
transformation-output’ process. Put simply, operations are processes that take in a set of input
resources which are used to transform something, or have transformed themselves, into
outputs of products and services. And although all operations conform to this general input–
transformation–output model, they differ in the nature of their specific inputs and outputs. For
example, if you stand far enough away from a hospital or a car plant, they might look very
similar, but move closer and clear differences do start to emerge. One is a manufacturing
operation producing ‘products’, and the other is a service operation producing ‘services’
that change the physiological or psychological condition of patients.

14. What Is The Input–transformation–output Process?

All operations produce products and services by changing inputs into outputs using an ‘input-
transformation-output’ process.
Although all operations conform to this general input–transformation–output model, they
differ in the nature of their specific inputs and outputs.
For example, if you stand far enough away from a hospital or a car plant, they might look very
similar, but move closer and clear differences do start to emerge. One is a manufacturing
operation producing ‘products’, and the other is a service operation producing ‘services’
that change the physiological or psychological condition of patients.

15. What Is The Processes Hierarchy?

All operations consist of a collection of processes (though these processes may be called
‘units’ or ‘departments’) interconnecting with each other to form a network. Each process acts
as a smaller version of the whole operation of which it forms a part and transformed resources
flow between them. In fact, within any operation, the mechanisms that transform inputs into
outputs are these processes.
A process is ‘an arrangement of resources that produce some mixture of products and services.
They are the ‘building blocks’ of all operations, and they form an ‘internal network’ within an
operation. Each process is, at the same time, an internal supplier and an internal
customer for other processes. This ‘internal customer’ concept provides a model to
analyse the internal activities of an operation. It is also a useful reminder that,
by treating internal customers with the same degree of care as external
customers, the effectiveness of the whole operation can be improved.

16. What Is Mixed High- And Low-visibility Processes?

Some operations have both high- and low-visibility processes within the same operation.
In an airport, for example: some activities are totally ‘visible’ to its customers such as
information desks answering people’s queries. These staff operate in what is termed a front-
office environment. Other parts of the airport have little, if any, customer ‘visibility’, such as the
baggage handlers. These rarely-seen staff perform the vital but low-contact tasks, in the
back-office part of the operation.
 61
17. What Are Implications Of The 4 V’s Of Operations Processes?
All 4 dimensions have implications for the cost of creating the products or services.
Put simply, high volume, low variety, low variation and low customer contact all help to keep
processing costs down. Conversely, low volume, high variety, high variation and high customer
contact generally carry some kind of cost penalty for the operation. Therefore, the volume
dimension is drawn with its ‘low’ end at the left, unlike the other dimensions, to keep all the
‘low cost’ implications on the right. To some extent the position of an operation in the four
dimensions is determined by the demand of the market it is serving. However, most
operations have some discretion in moving themselves on the dimensions.

18. What Are The Activities Of Operations Management?

Operations managers have some responsibility for all the activities in the organization which
contribute to the effective production of products and services.
And while the exact nature of the operations function’s responsibilities will, to some extent,
depend on the way the organization has chosen to define the boundaries of the function, there
are some general classes of activities that apply to all types of operation.

❖ Understanding the operation’s strategic performance objectives. The first responsibility of

any operations management team is to understand what it is trying to achieve. This means
understanding how to judge the performance of the operation at different levels, from
broad and strategic to more operational performance objectives. This is discussed.
❖ Developing an operations strategy for the organization. Operations management involves
hundreds of minute-by-minute decisions, so it is vital that there is a set of general principles
which can guide decision-making towards the organization’s longer-term goals. This is an
operations strategy.
❖ Designing the operation’s products, services and processes. Design is the activity of
determining the physical form, shape and composition of products, services and processes.
It is a crucial part of operations managers’ activities.
❖ Planning and controlling the operation. Planning and control is the​ activity of deciding what
the operations resources should be doing, then making sure that they really are doing it.
various planning and control activities.
❖ Improving the performance of the operation. The continuing​ responsibility of all operations
managers is to improve the performance of their operation.
❖ The social responsibilities of operations management. It is increasingly recognized by many
businesses that operations managers have a set of broad societal responsibilities and
concerns beyond their direct activities.

19. What Is The Model Of Operations Management?

The first is the input–transformation–output model and the second is the categorization of
operations management’s activity areas. The model now shows two interconnected loops of
activities.
The bottom one corresponds to what is usually seen as operations management, and the top
one to what is seen as operations strategy.
 62
Additional Questions:
❖ What do you understand by Supply Chain Management? What is Lean Manufacturing?
❖ What is Just in Time Manufacturing? What is an Activity Chart Diagram? Explain Procure to
Pay cycle?
❖ What is Capacity Planning? What is TQM? Define it
❖ What are the different Inventory analyses?
❖ What do you mean by Lead Time? What is Kaizen?
❖ What is the difference between ABC and XYZ analysis?
❖ What is Cycle Time?
❖ What is Bullwhip effect in supply Chain, how it affects the supply chain and how would you
reduce it
❖ What is EOQ? Define it.