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Principles and Practice of Management
CASE STUDY (20 Marks)
The ancient skills Training Company was started by Abu Ibrahim as a major house dealing in silken upholstery and carpets. He sold most of the products directly through the retail chains and also through his own boutiques in metro cities. Two years ago, he entered into a partnership with an old friend, running a direct marketing company to form Ancient skills Pvt Ltd, a small order business. His partner had good exposure to this line and they used one of his old factories at Delhi as head office cum warehouse. The business took off reasonably well but it was slower than what Ibrahim had expected. It also required considerable capital to set up the stocks, computer systems for enquires and follow ups, etc. Recently Ibrahim received an offer from his old agent, a buying house in Mumbai for large quantity of hand woven rugs. The transportation costs were very high and also their profit was dependent on how well the agent sold the rugs. The risk was that if the rugs didn’t sell in high volume, the margin would be very low and also disposing off these unsold rugs would be difficult. They would need to either sell these through their own store in Mumbai or include these in mail order category. Both will require large advertising expenses, thus reducing the profit margin. Still the offer was big enough to give a second thought with 50% chances making a good deal.
Answer the following question.
Q1. Should Ibrahim accept the offer? Give reason for your choice of answer.
Q2. If the rugs failed to succeed in this sale deal, what options should Ibrahim exercise for selling the unsold rugs?
CASE STUDY (20 Marks)
You are the head of a large department and several supervisors report to you. Recently you were confronted with a knotty problem. It seems that one of the supervisors had gotten into a loud and disagreeable argument with an employee. You called the supervisor to your office to hear his story. The supervisor admitted losing his temper and shouting at the employee, but he believed it was justified. He had been observing the employee over the year the man had been with the company. During this period the employee had been frequently late, and his absentee rate was above average. In addition, the supervisor went on to say that the employee was a socializer on the job, frequently leaving his work to talk to other employees and to use the telephone for personal calls. The supervisor then said that the proverbial last straw caused his outburst. The employee had come in late, and after about an hour of work he made a telephone call which the supervisor had timed as lasting 14 minutes. The supervisor then started his tirade. The employee denied being on the telephone that long, the supervisor called him a liar, and they continued the vituperative exchange which ended when you called the supervisor to your office. After listening to the supervisor, you asked him if he had disciplined the employee before, since apparently he had a poor record. You also asked if the employee had been placed on probation or had been warned. The supervisor looked at you sheepishly and seemed reluctant to answer. You pressed him, for an answer, and he finally blurted out that he was afraid to discipline the employee because he was black. He stated that the impression he had from you and higher management was that black employees should be given special treatment so that they would feel welcome and not discriminated against. He felt the company wanted to impress the public with its forward looking employment practices and didn’t want any trouble with the black community. As a result, he was lax in discipline and had kept a hands off approach with all black employees until his outburst. He said he couldn’t stand it anymore, and the 14mintue telephone call caused him to lose his temper.
Answer the following question.
Q1. Why would a supervisor find it difficult to communicate with a black employee?
Q2. Could the company have done anything to offset the misunderstanding the supervisor apparently had about the treatment of black employees?
Q3. To what extent did the supervisor’s lack of communication encourage the employee to think his behavior was satisfactory? Explain.
Q4. What would you now tell the supervisor?
CASE STUDY (20 Marks)
Mary Roberts had been with the company three years when she was promoted to manager of the tax department which was part of the controller’s division. Roberts started with the company when she graduated from college as an accounting major. She entered the organization as a management trainee, and during the one year program she demonstrated considerable leadership ability as an informal leader her peers. Mary also impressed many senior managers in the company with her sense of responsibility and her willingness to work hard. All of her training assignments were completed on time with considerable skill for an inexperienced person. Since she was very interested in tax accounting, Roberts was assigned to the tax department to be developed further as staff
accountant. Within four months she became a supervisor of ten staff as staff accountants to fill a vacancy created by an unexpected early retirement. Her superior believed her to be the most qualified individual to fill the position even though others in the department had more experience in tax accounting. None, however, demonstrated leadership ability or the commitment to work that Mary possessed. The tax department manager was promoted to fill a vacancy in the financial planning department eight months later, and he recommended to the controller that Mary Roberts be promoted to fill the position he was leaving. He mentioned that her work was excellent and that she was a very effective supervisor. The tax department had 45 employees including 3 supervisors, 10 clerical employees, and 3 typists. Several people in the department were senior personnel with 10 to 30 years of experience in tax work. Some of these were more technically knowledgeable in taxation than Mary. There was some resentment in this group that so young a person was made a department head, and three of these people were particularly upset because they desired the promotion and felt they deserved it. What made them even more upset was the fact that the tax manager did not discuss the promotion with them.
Answer the following question.
Q1. What can Mary Roberts do about the resentful senior employees?
Q2. Can higher management do anything to help Roberts make the transitions to greater responsibility? Explain.
Q3. Will her lack of technical knowledge hinder Mary’s managerial effectiveness? Justify.
Q4. Should Mary’s superior have discussed the promotion with the senior employees before announcing it? Explain
CASE STUDY (20 Marks)
After surviving from an attack on her life from Taliban, Malala intensified her efforts to fight for the Children’s rights and girls’ education. In her endeavor to achieve the objectives, she had been awarded the Nobel peace prize award for the year 2014. This case therefore focuses on the life and work of Malala and provides a discussion point on the management concepts of motivation and leadership. On December 10, 2014, Malala Yousafzai (Malala) became the youngest person and the first Pakistani to receive the Nobel Peace Award. She received the award along with Indian child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi . Speaking at the event, Malala described herself as a committed and stubborn person aiming to look at a world where every child would have access to quality education, every woman would have equal rights, and where there would be peace in every corner of the world. She also spoke about the passion young girls had for education in her region. She said in a simple yet strong message: “We had a thirst for education, because our future was right there in that class room, we would sit and learn and read together.” Malala had a lot of dedication and motivation towards education and believed it was a boon to all human beings, especially children.
Answer the following question.
Q1. Explain the leadership qualities in Malala.
Q2. Discuss the life and work of Malala.
Q3. Explain the motivation behind Malala’s activities.
Q4. Discuss the reasons for awarding the Nobel peace prize to Malala.
Assignment Solutions, Case study Answer sheets
Project Report and Thesis contact
ARAVIND – 09901366442 – 09902787224
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