CS Inter :: Management Information Systems and Corporate Communication : June 2006

The growth and development of textile industry in India in the past was constrained due to lack of up-gradation and modernisation, lack of necessary infrastructure, inadequate availability of quality cotton at competitive prices, intensification of competition from countries like, China, Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia, Mexico and Egypt; and distorted fiscal structure. As a consequence, Indian textile companies’ top-line and bottom-line were under severe pressures. Fortunately, in the recent past, the government through its budgetary exercise has tried to remove distortions in its fiscal structure and provide level-playing field to various segments of the textile industry in India. These efforts of the government have provided necessary boost to Indian textile industry. But, still the most serious concern of the industry is lack of adequate domestic supply of quality cotton at competitive prices.

To take on the challenge of inadequate supply of quality cotton at competitive prices in India, Sintex Cotton & Textile Ltd. (SCTL) has taken new initiatives in the form of e-angan (a virtual place where farmers can come together). The motivation behind such initiative is — ‘to have a direct dialogue and direct interaction with the farmers’ so that the company can convey its own requirements and obtain desired quantity of cotton, eliminate intermediaries so as to procure cotton at economical prices and to provide good prices to farmers of their produce. The basic philosophy behind such initiative comes from the change in the business model adopted by the company.

Now, SCTL looks every stakeholder as a ‘partner’ in the new model. The top management has a strong belief that sustainable growth and development can not be achieved unless and until the relations with stakeholders are based upon the principle of ‘fairness and equity’. As a consequence, the farmers are being looked as important partners in the growth of the company and hence, e-angan programme has been initiated. Under this, SCTL has to provide every Gram Panchayat Ghar a computer and internet facility with necessary software. Initially, the company is planning to concentrate in the State of Gujarat and, therefore, the interface provided is in Gujarati. Through this, the company can communicate its requirements of desired quality of necessary quantity of cotton so that the farmers can plan their crop pattern in advance. Also by flashing the latest market prices, the farmers are more or less sure about the prices they can receive of their produce. By the end of 31st March, 2006, the company has started achieving some good results from the initiatives of e-angan.
In the light of above, you are required to answer the following :

Describe the features of inter-organisational information system to be incorporated into design of e-angan to make it successful.

Ashish owns a company that makes pins for athletes in sporting events. The business is successful and Ashish is ready to expand his business by adding production facilities in two other cities. He wants to include an e-business division to take advantage of advances in information technology so that his two new offices could be accessed by his system remotely via internet connections. He has heard that Telnet and Virtual Private Networks (VPN) could provide these services. As Ashish’s consultant, you are required to provide the information about the most important criteria in evaluating these services and also explain how these services work.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Futuristic Ltd., a multi-product multi-location company in the automobile industry, is not satisfied with the MIS reports tabled to him periodically. The MIS manager is redesigning the MIS reports to enable the CEO to use these reports for strategic purposes, but finds it difficult to extract information from the system. He has heard about data mining and its power to navigate to prospective and proactive information. He is interested to know more about data mining. Elaborate the concept of ‘data mining’. Also discuss any two techniques of data mining with their benefits and limitations.

“Internet and e-mail have become the standard communication tools in the business world.” In the light of this statement, you are required to —

(i)	Identify the general concerns that an employer may have regarding employees using the internet and e-mail.
(ii)	Identify the general policies that employers should establish for employees using the internet and e-mail.

More and more multimedia applications are being adopted by business. State with reasons why the multimedia applications are important.

The following communication situation occurred between Rahul and Sanjay : “Be sure to follow these blue-prints just the way Amit has drawn them. We don’t want any slip-ups –– if this model isn’t ready by Thursday, we will lose an important contract.” With this admonition, Rahul, the supervisor of the development department of a large electrical company, placed a set of blue-prints for a new control device on the model maker Sanjay’s bench. Sanjay nodded, but inside he was smouldering with repressed anger. Once more, he felt, Rahul had shown his favoritism toward Amit, the blue-print maker. It was Amit who got the major share of credit for the job well done. Amit was the one Rahul always consulted when he had a problem, while Sanjay’s ideas usually got a brush off.

When Rahul left the lab, Sanjay examined the blueprints — and his eyes widened with sudden interest. So Rahul wanted him to follow Amit’s blue-prints exactly did he ? That’s just what he would do…. Sanjay finished the complicated model on Thursday, right on schedule. As Rahul hurried off with it, Sanjay gave his retreating figure a mock salute. An hour later, the supervisor was back, his face contorted in anger.

“The model didn’t work,” he snapped. “We don’t have a chance of getting the contract now, and my boss is screaming. What went wrong, Sanjay ?”
Sanjay scratched his head and looked baffled, “I can’t understand it,” he said. “I followed Amit’s blue-prints exactly, just as you told me to. May be he made a mistake !”

Identify the semantic noise in the above situation and analyse the contention that some degree of emotional content is present in the human communication situations.

“Speaking and listening go hand in hand.” Do you agree ? Discuss in brief the features of good speaking. Also, explain the role of eyes in listening.

Read the following passage in a press release by Indian Stock Exchange (ISE) and identify a sentence that should not be present : “The Regional Stock Exchange (RSE) served as the largest stock market for the Indian investor. But due to infrastructure problems and the mode by which investors from far flung areas of India transacted, made and received payments on buying and selling of financial scripts, resulted in varying time periods for completion of the deal. Further, transactions had no transparency and were irregular and at times resulted in uncertainties. There was a need for a stock exchange to bring in uniformity, transparency and seamless flow of information for the benefit of the nation as a whole. The RSE has its office at Pune with a 20 floor building and 457 computers connected on an operating system. A stock exchange, which would merge the financial markets of India into one whole unit. The birth of the Indian Stock Exchange (ISE) fulfills this need.”

“While attempting to communicate, a leader is in a better position if he knows the other person’s primary representational system. He then will be able to transmit message in a way that the person can better understand and, therefore, accept.” Elucidate.

The following is the curriculum vitae (CV) of Vivek, whom you have decided to shortlist and call for an interview for a job involving mobility, due to branch network of the company across the country. Examine the CV and list the areas that you think should be probed during the interview :

Marital Status : Married with 3 dependents Health : Good Education : B.Com from Delhi University : MBA : Certificate in Systems Management
Employment History:

Write short notes on any five of the following :

(i)	Empathy
(ii)	Effective speaking
(iii)	Clarity in thinking
(iv)	Knowledge management
(v)	Creativity in groups
(vi)	Coercive power
(vii)	Network planning.