UPSC Mains 2018 Management Optional Paper II questions

34 questions from the Civil Services (Main) Examination 2018. Official UPSC paper (PDF) · All Management Optional PYQs

1. The manager of a hotel based in New Delhi reports that the mean number of rooms rented out per night is at least 212 based on his observation for the past several months. One of the corporate officials feels that this number might be somewhat over-estimated. A sample of 150 nights produces a mean of 201-3 rooms and a standard deviation of 45-5 rooms. If these results suggest the manager has inflated his report, he will be given a warning. At 5% level, what is the manager's fate? [Normal distribution table is placed at the end of the booklet] id

2. A small firm intends to increase the capacity of a bottleneck operation. by adding a new machine. Two alternatives A and B, have been identified and the associated costs and revenues have been estimated. Annual fixed costs would be * 4,00,000 for A and F 3,00,000 for B. Variable costs per unit would be = 100 for A'and = 110 for B. Revenue per unit would be = 150. (i) Determine each alternative's break-even point. (ii) At what volume of output would the two alternatives yield the

3. A new software which has been designed for providing e-business solutions can be sold both as a product and also as a service. Consider two examples of software as product and service and discuss the pricing and promotional strategy for the same.

   10 marks

4. What are the differences in respect of supply chain management practices between a brick and mortar firm and an online firm? Illustrate by taking examples from Walmart and Amazon.com encompassing supply chain activities of sourcing, storage, distribution and retailing.

5. The probability that a new advertising campaign will increase sales is 0-80. The probability that the cost of developing the new advertising: campaign can be kept within the original budget allocation is 0-40. Assuming that the two events are independent, what is the probability that the cost is not kept within budget or the campaign will not increase sales? freatatas arc & fear men 2: senna (@)

6. You are the manager of a small steel mill and all your inputs except labour are fixed in the short-run. You suspect that as the input of labour increases, the output of steel will also increase. But you would like to know more about the nature of this relationship so that you can predict the output of steel associated with any level of labour input and use this information to determine the optimal level of labour input. To achieve this goal, you conducted an experiment in which the level of labour input is varied for 8 working days. This is shown in the following table:. Tons of steel a as a 15 (i) Draw a scatter diagram. fii) Develop the predictive regression model after finding out the values of intercept and slope. (iii) Ifthe number of workers is increased up to 10, what would be the output of steel 7

7. Cryptography (ii} Ethical Hacking

   15 marks

8. What is the difference between Production and Operations Management? Illustrate with the help of examples. fii) Service operations often face more difficulty in planning than their manufacturing counterparts. However, service does have certain advantages that manufacturing does not have. Explain service planning difficulty and the advantages. Compare by taking one example from a service organisation (e.g.

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10. Case Study X¥2 Machine and Electronics Early in 2016, Shekhar Sharma, Director of Supply Management in XYZ Machine and Electronics, met his company's President at the President's request, to discuss reducing material costs. The meeting centred on the company's historical position as a buyer of only domestic products due to constraints in government contracts, that had recently been removed. The company could now consider global sources. The meeting concluded with Sharma receiving authorization to explore the cost-saving potential of global sourcing. XYZ Machine and Electronics XYZ Machine and Electronics is a division of a worldwide conglomerate that specializes in precision machined products and aerospace electronics. While largely government and defence oriented, the company has one commercial aviation electronics division among its 15 autonomous operating groups. Total sales for XYZ during 2015 was approx. 15,000 crores with over = 5,000 crores being spent by supply management departments of various groups. Supply management function is divided among 15 autonomous divisions. Each has its own supply management department, which reports to division management but adheres to corporate policies and procedures, There is a relatively small corporate supply management staff concerned with corporate: policy and common goods and services. ' The Cost Reduction Objective To maintain its competitive position, XYZ needed to explore all possible ways to reduce costs. In addition to analyzing and working with its domestic suppliers, Shekhar believed it was necessary at this time to begin considering global sources.

11. Global Sourcing Until 2016, XYZ had only purchased globally as part of an offset countertrade requirement. The other exception was the Commercial Aviation Electronics (CAE) division, which had been acquired in 2015 as a means of diversifying XYZ's electronics markets. CAE not only had been buying from foreign sources but also had established a factory in Singapore to source and manufacture one of its product lines. C.AE's offshore experience began before being acquired by XYZ. At first, parts ' were purchased from Singapore and other East Asian sources. These parts were then assembled in this country. Soon CAE began to buy assemblies in East Asia and finally all factory operations were shifted to their own Singapore facility. When Shekhar contacted each of the other's supply managers, he was surprised to discover that each one had a collection of horror stories of past attempts to establish global sources of supply and was unwilling to try again. Most of these stories centred around problems of communication, quality control, credibility and understanding. Shekhar again contacted the CAE supply manager to discuss details of the Singapore operation, Not only did the Singapore factory build a product line, but also the Singapore supply department sourced components for that product line from throughout East Asia. Initial cost savings from first buys including engineering, test fixtures and other start-up costs ranged from 10% to 18%, Subsequent purchases yielded savings in the 25% to 40% range compared to domestic sources. Quality and delivery problems were minimal. Following that conversation, Shekhar wondered what he might do next. (i) What are the problems being faced by the organisation? (ii) What choices for starting a global sourcing programme exist 7? (ii) Would XYZ benefit from an international supply management office in Asia?

    20 marks

12. What are the nine pillars of Digital India? Explain. How are these going to help in achieving the objectives of Digital India? Discuss.

13. An organisation has been receiving complaints with regard to the work-related stress problems being faced by young employees. In order to address this problem, the organisation has hired a professionally qualified counsellor who has been assigned the task of counselling the young recruits. It is found that the young employees' arrival at the counsellor's office fits a Poisson distribution with an average of 5-2 employees every 20 minutes. However, the counsellor is concerned that if too many employees need the services, a crowding problem may develop. ti) The counsellor must determine the probability that four employees will arrive during any 20-minute interval, which could create crowding problem. (i) The counsellor must also calculate the probability that more than four employees will arrive during any 20-minute period. 5+10=15 {Poisson distribution table is attached with this problem]

14. Poisson Distribution —

15. What is the difference between cluster sampling and stratified - sampling? Explain with the help of examples.; (ii) A manufacturer of machine tools claims that the mean amount of time required to assemble their top-of-the-line electric saw is 80 minutes with a standard deviation of 40 minutes. Data was collected from a random sample of 64 past purchases of this electric saw. What is the probability that the sample mean will be greater than 88 minutes 7? §+J0=15 [Normal distribution table is placed at the end of the booklet]

16. What is the difference between data and information? Introduce the key concept of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and how ERP can help in Managing organisational resources and operational planning. If you have to implement ERP in your organisation, what will be the key considerations for deciding on the system?

17. Why do items managed or procured by an organisation need to be classified? How does ABC analysis help the organisation in this regard? (ii) What trade-offs are involved while determining economic order quantity for an organisation 7 (iii) As part of an insurance company's training program, participants learn how to conduct an analysis of clients' insurability. The goal is to have participants achieve a time in the range of 30 to 45 minutes. Test results for three participants were: Shyam, a mean of 38 minutes.and a standard deviation of 3 minutes; Mohan, a mean of 37 minutes and a standard deviation of 2-5 minutes and Kaushik, a mean of 37-5 minutes and a standard deviation of 1-5 minutes, Which of the participants would you judge to be capable? Explain.

18. Discuss the key objectives of the Public Distribution System (PDS), How are these objectives being delivered by our existing system? Examine how efficient our PDS is and if it can be improved by involving private

19. Mlustrate with examples, how do MNCs set transfer pricing to take advantage of differential tax rates in different countries.

20. What is the difference between Strategy and Tactics? Discuss the various approaches for turning around a sick company. What will be your approach for turning around Air India without going for

21. Discuss an approach for macro-economic analysis of the business environment. How do you determine industry attractiveness? Discuss a framework for analyzing industry structure.

    10 marks

22. Discuss the various perceived risks for a company from a developed economy planning to invest in a new project in a developing and underdeveloped country. How do you propose to mitigate these perceived risks?

    10 marks

23. A conglomerate is operating in five business verticals and has reported performance as given in Table 1 below: Table 1: Performance Data

24. No. of competitors operating 6 16 3 in same vertical =

25. Industry growth rate 16:0 (% in value) Total size of the industry

26. Business unit profitability, of sales of the business unit from its international operations The company is evaluating the different divisions in its portfolio and would like to consider (i) the BCG and (ii) GE-McKinsey framework to decide on which of these divisions to focus its resources and also which of the divisions to divest, giving reasons why.

27. What are the salient features of the Companies Act, 2013 that would promote Business Initiatives, Corporate Governance, Corporate Social Responsibility and protect investors?

28. Diseuss key considerations of identifying a joint venture partner. Why do we go for JVs in business? What are the various types of JVs that can be formed and what would be their management challenges?

    15 marks

29. Global firms face three possible types of foreign currency exposure namely, Transaction, Translation (Accounting) and Economic. What are the different strategies organisations can adopt to deal with these exposure risks? amt faite st aaa & ore ere thre We have many industries and services managed and controlled by the Government and run as Public Sector Undertakings. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the government managing these corporations, taking examples under each category. Also give your recommendation, giving reasons why.

    20 marks

30. What are generic strategies? Why can generic strategies not deliver above average performance? Discuss briefly, business strategy development process.

31. What is the current definition of MSME sector? Discuss the contribution of SME sector in our economy. Mention five broad policy initiatives that can help growth of SME sector in India.

    15 marks

32. Elucidate the concept of core competency. How does it help an organisation to create competitive advantage? How do organisations identify, develop and protect its core competencies?

    15 marks

33. Why are Free Trade Agreements signed? What are their advantages and disadvantages? Discuss the stages of evolution of a domestic corporation to finally emerge as a global conglomerate.

    20 marks

34. The Normal Distribution