NMIMS LATEST APRIL ASSIGNMENT 9773820734

Total Quality Management
1. If you are a part of the top management of a Foods Product Company, how would you involve staff and workers in operating Total Quality Management program & what should be criteria for performance measures?

2. Customer decides Quality . Justify the statement with examples. Who are internal & external customers for a Company and how should you deal with them?
(10 Marks)
3. TQM has been highly successful in Japan, but its success in India is mixed.

a. How did Japan achieve high success by implementing TQM? (5 Marks)

b. What are reasons of low success in India and how could we improve?

Taxation - Direct & Indirect
Question 1
Kabra builders is a contractor and AV Ltd is liable to make payment to the contractor for certain transactions executed during the year. Discuss the obligations of AV Ltd as a tax deductor and the consequences if tax is not deducted as required.

Question 2
Amman is going to participate in a general awareness quiz at his college. However, he is confused about GST, its various components of GST and how they differ from each other. As a friend of Amman how you will address his confusion? Comment.
Question 3

Mr. Verma owns two residential houses at Chennai. The essential details are as under

Particulars House I House II
Municipal valuation 133500 142500
Fair Rent 144500 135500
Standard Rent 144000 148700
Municipal taxes payable 10000 7500
Repairs 15000 3000
Insurance premium 2500 2000
Interest on loan 45000 50000

Advise him which property he should treat as
i. self-occupied and (5 Marks)
ii. deemed to be let out, in a manner beneficial to him

Supply Chain Management
1. Globalization and the advent of Information and communication technologies have influenced substantial changes in forms of supply chain management. Discuss the need and importance of warehouse management. Explain in detail the various types of technology that can be used to manage the warehouse operations with reference to a retailer like Reliance Trends, Pantaloons, etc. (10 Marks)

2. Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) is a technological innovation tool that was first registered as a trademark by the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Standards (VICS) Association (1998) and is defined as a web-based approach which can coordinate the diverse process of supply chain management including production and purchasing planning, demand forecasting. It is a collection of new business practices that leverage the internet and EDI in order to achieve two goals: radically reduce inventories and expenses while improving customer service. Give an example of a pharmaceutical company where the different phases of CPFR have been successfully adopted. (10 Marks)

3. Over the past several decades, logistics activities have increasingly been sourced out to specialized third-party logistics providers (3PLs). In recent years, however, 3PLs have increasingly been challenged by new disruptive business models and digital technologies. For example, platforms such as Cargomatic and Uber Freight enable cost-efficient, real-time, on-demand arrangements of transports that cut into the domain of logistics services. E-commerce providers such as Amazon, which used to be a business partner to 3PLs, has started building up its own online-based logistics solutions. Similarly, vehicle manufacturers have started to leave their traditional business field and provide their own digitalized fleet management and mobility services, which used to be domains of 3PLs as well. As pointed out in a study by the consultancy company Oliver Wymann, logistics start-ups from the USA and Asia with high financing volumes are transforming the entire logistics industry. This puts significant pressure on traditional logistics markets such as Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands, with their established market players. Experience from other industries such as travel and retail shows that digital disruptions may change entire markets within a very short time. In the course of these changes, business models that have been dominant for decades are replaced by new ones. (Source: Hofmann, E., & Osterwalder, F. (2017). Third-party logistics providers in the digital age: Towards a new competitive arena? Logistics, 1(2))

a. Highlight any two examples of third-party logistics providers (3PLs) startups in India and how have they transformed the ecommerce space. (5 Marks)

b. How do these startup companies disrupt the already existing established domestic logistics players?
Treasury Management in Banking
1. Rohan got placed as a treasurer in reputed bank. In order to gauge his basic understanding, his manager ask him to prepare a short presentation on the various functions of Treasury Management. Help Rohan with his assignment.

2. You are appointed as a career counsellor in a reputed Business School of Management. A final year student pursuing his specialization in Banking and Treasury approaches you to get the guidelines on the career prospects in treasury Management. Help him with his query (10 Marks)

3. a) Banks are subject to various kinds of risk. As an operational manager prepare a presentation on the various kinds of risk that impacts the operations in treasury department. (5 Marks)
3. b) Also describe in brief the various methods which are adopted by the bank Treasurer/Regulators in measuring these risk.

Strategic HRM

1. How to design an effective Management Development Program for the senior managers of a manufacturing firm? And explain in depth, how you would prefer developing your midlevel employees as a Vice President -HR of a ten thousand employees manufacturing firm. (10

2. In December 2018, after the $3.8 billion Unilever-Glaxo SmithKline deal was announced, the two sides are said to be forming teams to decide on the integration or Separation of GSK consumer Health care s 3,800 employees. The merger of GSK Consumer into Hindustan Unilever will give the Indian unit of Unilever rights to Horlicks, Boost and Maltova malted beverages. Keeping the nature of deal please explain the cultural issues in merger and acquisitions along with the effects on performance of both GSK Consumer Healthcare and Hindustan Unilever. (10 Marks)

3. Case study: Assault case
For Bata, labor had always posed major problems. Strikes seemed to be a perennial problem. Much before the assault case, Bata's chronically restive factory at Batanagar had always plagued by labor strife. In 1992, the factory was closed for four and a half months. In 1995, Bata entered into a 3-year bipartite agreement with the workers, represented by the then 10,000 strong BMU, which also had the West Bengal government as a signatory.
On July 21st,1998, Weston was severely assaulted by four workers at the company s factory at Batanagar, while he was attending a business meet. The incident occurred after a member of BMU, Anup Dutta, met Weston to discuss the issue of the suspected employees. Dutta reportedly get into a verbal duel with Weston, upon which the other workers began to shout slogans. When Weston tried to leave the room the workers turned violent and assaulted him. This was the second attack on an officer after Weston took charge of the company, the first one being the assault on the chief welfare officer in 1996.
In February 1999, a lockout was declared in Bata s Faridabad Unit. Middleton commented that the closure of the unit would not have much impact on the company s revenues as it was catering to lower end products such as canvas and Hawai chappals. The lock out lasted for eight months. In October 1999, the unit resumed production when Bata signed a three-year wage agreement.

On March 8, 2000, a lockout was declared at Bata's Peenya factory in Bangalore, following a strike by its employee union. The new leadership of the union had refused to abide by the wage agreement, which was to expire in August 2001. Following the failure of its negotiations with the union, the management decided to go for a lock out. Bata management was of the view that though it would have to bear the cost of maintaining an idle plant (Rs. 3 million), the effect of the closures on sales and production would be minimal as the footwear manufactured in the factory could be shifted to the company's other factories and associate manufacturers. The factory had 300 workers on its rolls and manufactured canvas and PVC footwear.

In July 2000, Bata lifted the lockout at the Peenya factory. However, some of the workers opposed the company's move to get an undertaking from the factory employees to resume work. The employees demanded revocation of suspension against 20 of their fellow employees. They also demanded that conditions such as maintaining normal production schedule, conforming to standing orders and the settlement in force should not be insisted upon. In September 2000, Bata was again headed for a labour dispute when the BMU asked the West Bengal government to intervene in what it perceived to be a downsizing exercise being undertaken by the management. BMU justified this move by alleging that the management has increased outsourcing of products and also due to perceived declining importance of the Batanagar unit. The union said that Bata has started outsourcing the Power range of fully manufactured shoes from China, compared to the earlier outsourcing of only assembly and come down by 58% from the weekly capacity of 0.144 million pairs. These steps had resulted in lower income for the workers forcing them to approach the government for saving their interests.

PS: Weston resigned on January 30, 2001. This came as a severe setback to the Bata management.
Questions:
a. Maintaining good industrial relations have always been a problem for Bata. Why? How do you think Bata can maintain sound industrial relation practices? (5 Marks)

b. The role played by the Bata Mazdoor Union (BMU) seems to have been more of a destructive one than constructive
Strategic Financial Management

1. Fusion Limited s dividend is growing at a rate of 12% per annum. This growth rate is expected to continue for 3 years. Thereafter, the growth rate will decline to 8% for the next 2 years. After that, the year on year growth in dividends is expected to be a stable 6% rate forever. If the last dividend was Rs 6 per share and the required rate of return on equity is 20%, what is the fair value per share.

2. Mr. Rathi is about to retire. His employer offers him post-retirement benefits by way of the following two options
a) A consolidated amount of Rs 15 lacs
b) An annual pension of Rs 3 lacs in the 1st year, Rs 4 lacs in the 2nd year, Rs 5 lacs in the 3rd year and Rs 6 lacs in the 4th year.
Which option should Mr. Rathi go for, assuming a discount rate of 10%?
(10 Marks)

3. Alpha Limited has a debt equity ratio of 3:2. The pre-tax cost of debt is 12%. Effective tax rate for the company is 30%. The equity beta of Alpha is 1.5. Market risk premium is 8% and the risk-free rate is 7%.

a) Discuss and Compute the cost of equity of Alpha Limited (5 Marks)

b) Discuss WACC and determine the WACC based on after tax cost of debt and cost of equity?
Project Management
Q 1. You are working for a small but growing construction company as a Project Manager. Your CEO has asked you to evaluate few project management software tools and select one of them for the company. Make a comparative evaluation of three software project management tools of your choice and justify selection of one of them. Please make suitable assumptions but specify them explicitly.
Q 2. You are involved in a project that has got nine activities A1 to A9. The project start date is 1st April and estimated end date is 8th July. The project review date is 1st June. Please draw the Gantt chart as it would look on 1st June. Also comment on how Gantt charts help in scheduling and monitoring the project. (10 Marks)

Q 3. "I am lost! How can I know how much time this Turnaround Time (TAT) improvement project will take? I can t do crystal gazing! Ninad got so frustrated when he was asked by his boss to start working on a project to improve Turn Around Time (TAT) for support queries. Don t worry. I suggest meet Vandana ma am. She knows how to manage projects and she is very helpful , Nupur, his colleague tried to calm Ninad down as they were speaking at lunch table. That seems to be a good idea. I have never spoken with Vandana ma am but I know she is too good and helpful. Let me contact her immediately after lunch. Ninad seemed to have got relaxed with this idea.

a. Which are the methods that Vandana ma am would suggest to Ninad for performing project planning estimation? Which one she would recommend for the TAT improvement project? (5 Marks)

b. Which are the estimation tools that Vandana ma am would suggest to Ninad? Which one would she recommend for the TAT improvement project?