This Paper has 47 answerable questions with 10 answered.
F–P13(MSM)
Syllabus 2008 |
| Time Allowed : 3 Hours | Full Marks : 100 |
| The figures in the margin on the right side indicate full marks. |
SECTION I (60 Marks)
(Strategic Management) |
Answer Question No. 1 and any other two more questions from the rest in this section.
(Please answer all part of the question at one place) |
| Marks |
| 1. | (a) | In each of the cases/statements given below,one out of four alternatives is correct.Indicate the correct answer. | 1x10 | |
| | | (i) | Tata Steel’s famous advertising campaign of "we also make steel" was meant to gain buyer loyalty to its products: | (A) | Inform new buyers about its product portfolio | | (B) | Enhance product quality preception | | (C) | Achieve corporate social responsibility | | (D) | Charge a price premium |
| | (1) |
| | | (ii) | The acquisition of IPCL,Vadodar by Reliance petrochemicals would be good example of: | (A) | Horizontal integration | | (B) | Vertical integration | | (C) | Concentratic diversification | | (D) | Diversification |
| | (1) |
| | | (iii) | Indian Airlines reducing the airfare on the Delhi–Mumbai sector following the introduction of the no frills airlines would be an example of: | (A) | Cost leadership | | (B) | Price leadership | | (C) | Product leadership | | (D) | Focus |
| | (1) |
| | | (iv) | Which one of the following is not part of changes in ownership structure? | (A) | Joint Ventures | | (B) | Exchange offers | | (C) | Share repurchases | | (D) | Leveraged buyouts |
| | (1) |
| | | (v) | Directional policy Matrix is the same as: | (A) | The BCG model | | (B) | The 9– Matrix | | (C) | The life cycle portfolio Analysis | | (D) | The PIMS Matrix |
| | (1) |
| | | (vi) | Which of the following is NOT an entry barrier to industry? | (A) | Expected competitor retaliation | | (B) | Economics of scale | | (C) | Customer product loyalty | | (D) | Bargaining power of suppliers |
| | (1) |
| | | (vii) | Benchmarking is: | (A) | The alalytical tool to identify high cost activities based on the ‘Pareto Analysis’ | | (B) | The search for industries best practices that lead to superior performance | | (C) | The simulation of cost reduction schemes that help to build commitment and improvement of actions | | (D) | The framework that earmarks a linkage with suppliers and customers |
| | (1) |
| | | (viii) | Value chain includes: | (A) | Customer Service,Distribution and Marketing | | (B) | Production ,product & Service and Process design | | (C) | Research and development | | (D) | all of the above |
| | (1) |
| | | (ix) | Delphi Model: | (A) | Develops analogies to the past through judgement | | (B) | Averages past data to project the future based on the average | | (C) | collect and analyses the opinions of the panel of experts | | (D) | None of the above |
| | (1) |
| | | (x) | Gap analysis is the analysis of: | (A) | Difference between master budget and flexible budget | | (B) | Difference between past targets and past performance | | (C) | Difference between planned targets and existing performance | | (D) | Difference between past performance and present performance |
| | (1) |
| | (b) | State whether the following statements,based on the quoted terms,are ‘TRUE’ or ‘FALSE’ with justifications for your answer.If any statement is false,you are required to give the correct terms,duly quoted.No credit will be given for any answer without justification | 1x5 | |
| | | (i) | Brand loyalty is the differential effect on a customer whose response to a product or service is through the knowledge of the brand comparison with other brands. | | (0) |
| | | (ii) | The degree to which a firm owns its upstream suppliers and its downstream buyers is referred as ‘Vertical Integration’. | | (0) |
| | | (iii) | Value migration suggests the need to monitor on a continuous basis to detect and measure the changes happening in value flows between the industries, between companies and between division of a company. | | (0) |
| | | (iv) | Through Horizontal Integration a company extends its operation in either backward or forward direction. | | (0) |
| | | (v) | ‘Strategic Planning’ focuses on forecasting the future by using economic and technical tools. | | (0) |
| | (c) | Define the following terms (in not more than two sentences): | 1x5 | |
| | | (i) | PPP model | | (0) |
| | | (ii) | Spider Web Strategy | | (0) |
| | | (iii) | Whistle blower policy | | (0) |
| | | (iv) | Merger through abosrption | | (0) |
| | | (v) | Leadership strategy | | (0) |
| 2. | (a) | "Corporate Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility" are two mutually exclusive terms used in implementation of Corporate Strategy. Do you agree? Give necessary reason for your answer. | 5+10+5 | (0) |
| | (b) | What are the strategic options available to the companies pursuing a restructuring strategy? | | (0) |
| | (c) | Technology forecasting is a crucial input in strategy formulation. Suggest the best method to forecast the technological changes with reasons and explain the method. | | (0) |
| 3. | (a) | Describe and critically examine the implications of the term Profit Impact of Market Share (PIMS) as an important technique for internal analysis. | 10+10 | (0) |
| | (b) | In a competitive business environment, the role of a Management Accountant in relation to Human Resources strategy is crucial.—Discuss highlighting the strategic area/issues. | | (0) |
| 4. | Write short notes on the following: | 5+5+
5+5 | |
| | (a) | Lean Organization | | (0) |
| | (b) | Inclusive Growth | | (0) |
| | (c) | Societal Marketing | | (0) |
| | (d) | Strategic role of logistics | | (0) |
SECTION II (40 Marks)
(Risk Management) |
Answer Question No.5 and any other two more questions from the rest in this Section.
(Please answer all part of the question at one place) |
| 5. | (a) | In each of the cases/statements given below, one out of four alternatives is correct. Indicate the correct answer. | 1x5 | |
| | | (i) | Risk Management Techniques do not include: | (A) | Risk avoidance | | (B) | Risk premium | | (C) | Risk retention | | (D) | Risk reduction |
| | (0) |
| | | (ii) | ECOR in risk management means: | (A) | Expected cost of ruin | | (B) | Expected cost of opportunity loss | | (C) | Economic cost of ruin | | (D) | None of the above |
| | (0) |
| | | (iii) | Performance related risk measures do not include: | (A) | Operating earnings | | (B) | EBITDA | | (C) | WACC | | (D) | Shortfall risk |
| | (0) |
| | | (iv) | Variability in return on investments in the market is referred to as: | (A) | Market risk | | (B) | Physical risk | | (C) | Financial risk | | (D) | Pooling risk |
| | (0) |
| | | (v) | The instruments that hedge against risk do not include: | (A) | Letter of Credit | | (B) | Guarantee | | (C) | Underwriting | | (D) | Rights issue |
| | (0) |
| | (b) | State whether the following statements, based on the quoted terms, are ‘TRUE’ or ‘FALSE’ with justifications for your answer. If any statement is false, you are required to give the correct terms, duly quoted. No credit will be given for any answer without justification: | 1x5 | |
| | | (i) | CAPM attempts to measure the risk for capital assets of a company. | | (0) |
| | | (ii) | ‘Option’, a derivative, is used as a hedging mechanism against risk. | | (0) |
| | | (iii) | The IRDA regulates all kinds of insurance related activities in India. | | (0) |
| | | (iv) | EPD in risk management means ‘Expected Policyholder Deficit’. | | (0) |
| | | (v) | Standard Deviation (SD) measures ‘risk’. | | (0) |
| 6. | (a) | What is Risk? Discuss the important objectives of Risk Management. | 3+4 | (0) |
| | (b) | What are the different elements of Corporate Risk Governance? | 5 | (0) |
| | (c) | What are the characteristics of Insurance Exposures? | 3 | (0) |
| 7. | (a) | Hedging is an important tool used by the fund managers in the case of mutual funds.—Explain | (i) | how hedging is done by mutual funds in their products, and |
| (ii) | how the high risk in equity market can be hedged otherwise? |
| 3+3 | (0) |
| | (b) | What are the types of ‘Project Risk’? Discuss the different methods of measurement of Project Risk. | 3+6 | (0) |
| 8. | Write short notes on the following: | 5+5+5 | |
| | (a) | Use of Exchange Rate Risk Management | | (0) |
| | (b) | Probability of Ruin | | (0) |
| | (c) | Portfolio Management | | (0) |
