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paper solutions)
9825183881
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GUJARAT
TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
MBA – SEMESTER -
3– • EXAMINATION – WINTER 2015
Subject Code: 2830001 Date:
30/11/2015
Subject Name: Strategic
Management
Time: 10.30 AM to 01.30 PM
Total
Marks: 70
Instructions:
1. Attempt all
questions.
2. Make suitable
assumptions wherever necessary.
3. Figures to the
right indicate full marks.
Q.1 (a)
[06]
1.
______ are returns in excess of what
an investors expects to earn from other investments with a similar amount of
risk.
A.
Above-average returns B. Risk
C.
Average returns D. Strategy
2.
Which model checks an attractiveness
of an industry?
A.
I/O Model B. Five Force Model
C.
Resource Based Model D. PESTEL Model
3.
______ allow the firm to exploit
opportunities or neutralize threats in its external environment.
A.
Non-substitutable capabilities B. Rare
Capabilities
C.
Costly to imitate capabilities D. Valuable
Capabilities
4.
_______ is a strategy through which
two firms agree to integrate their operations on a relatively coequal basis.
A.
Acquisition B. Take over
C.
Merger D.
Restructuring
5.
The establishment of a new wholly
owned subsidiary is referred to as a ______
A.
Joint Venture B. Greenfield Venture
C.
Franchising D. Hostile Takeover
6.
______ is a strategy in which firms
work together to achieve a shared objectives.
A.
Corporate Strategy B. Business Level Strategy
C.
Cooperative Strategy D. Internationalization Strategy
Q.1 (b) Explain the following terms: [04]
1.
Tangible Resources
2.
Low Cost Strategy
3.
Global Strategy
4.
Corporate Governance
Q.1 (c) Explain : Strategic Group Mapping [04]
Q.2 (a)
Explain in detail: Reasons for diversification. [07]
(b)
Discuss: Why and How an Indian IT firms or any other firms of any
Industry has grown to be a world-class industry. [07]
OR
(b)
What reasons account for firm’s decisions to use acquisition
strategies as a mean to achieve strategic competitiveness? [07]
Q.3 (a)
Explain SBU Structure and Network Structure [07]
(b)
Describe the major concerns of financial, marketing, operations,
personnel and information management plans and policies. Point out the
significance of each functional area’s plans and policies for strategy
implementation. [07]
OR
Q.3 (a)
Explain Balance Score Card with suitable example. [07]
(b)
Discuss the salient features of structures for the business
strategies of cost leadership, differentiation, and focus. [07]
OR
Q.4 (a)
Explain the concept of Value Chain Analysis with suitable example. [07]
(b)
Suppose there is an NGO that works in the tribal areas for
spreading health awareness against indiscriminate use of tobacco and alcohol.
Propose an effective system of strategic evaluation and control that could be
used by such an NGO. [07]
OR
Q.4 (a)
Explain in brief: Strong Culture & Weak Culture. [07]
(b)
How can corporate governance foster ethical strategic decisions and
behaviors on the part of managers? [07]
Q.5 CASE:
Vishala Printers – Challenges of Differentiation in Cluttered Markets: [14]
THE
FIRM:
Associated
Business Corporation (ABC) is a diversified, multi-divisional company having
business presence in capital-industrial products, consumer durables, and
service industries. Through use of strategic planning tools, the company has
successfully evolved a strategy of high-specialization and high
–differentiation for its products. Combined with the company’s philosophy of
high –ethic practices, the firm has established for itself a reputation for
high quality products in each of its three businesses. Customers perceive the
firm and its products as extremely reliable and give full value for money. As
such they readily pay higher prices charged by the company for the superior
products and services. All the three businesses have an equal prominence in the
firm’s business portfolio in terms of contribution to sales and net profits and
each business units has a healthy, though intense, rivalry with the other two
for superior results each year.
THE
PRINTING DIVISION:
Vishala
Printers is a division of Associated Business Corporation, which specializes in
publishing of scientific journals, annual reports, and business catalogues. The
firm has a most modern laser printing and computer typesetting unit. It takes
pride in the amount it invests (approximately 10 percent of its annual sales)
in maintaining the technological leadership through continuous development of
employees skills and purchase of latest computer hardware and software. The
chief executive of this division, Vipul Mehta,38 is a co-founder of ABC. He is
professionally qualified engineer and an MBA from one of the premier management
institutes of the country. He personally believes that each and every product
that comes out from the Printing Division must be impeccable in quality. He
started the venture in partnership with two others, after having worked for
three years in multination company in India. Over the past few years, the firm
has shown consistent pattern and rate of growth and profitability. The
market-to-book ratio has usually been above five for the previous three years.
CENTRAL
INDIA MANUFACTURING CORPORATION (CIMC):
One
of Vishala Printers’ Major customers is Central India Manufacturing
Corporation. CIMC is a high –profile public sector unit manufacturing strategic
goods for the country. It is one of the few PSUs making consistent profits. The
yearly volume of business that CIMC provides to Vishala Printers is roughly 20
percent of the latter’s annual turnover. CIMC’s top management regularly
publishes performance reports, catalogues, brochures, periodicals, field survey
reports etc. Some are sent at the highest levels of Government of India
including the Prime Minister and the concerned Cabinet Minister.
Of late, some competitors of Vishala
Printers who are in day-to-day printing jobs in which quality, requirements are
not stringent, have been pressing the Finance and Accounts (F/A) people in CIMC
‘to do something’ so that they can also get a share in the seemingly
high-margin quality jobs. These are the works which presently Vishala Printers
undertakes for CIMC. The printers had also developed personal contacts with
some influential persons in the organization. Some officers and staff form
(F/A) and Stores offices has earlier visited Mr. Mehta and tried to negotiate
with him an understanding so that the obligation could have become mutual. They
have also dropped suitable arm-twisting hints that ‘although we could have done
so, but we have never delayed your payments or made any adverse comments on the
bills presented for payments.’ Mr. Mehta has clearly instructed his staff not
to encourage such activities or dealings, and hence the F/A people were
politely refused.
THE
DECISION PROBLEM:
Recently
the Stores Department of CIMC has taken a policy decision that all printing
jobs will be awarded to one firm on a yearly contract basis. The acceptance of
the tender and final award will be based purely on lowest rate offered. The
rates, once accepted, will be valid for a period one year and would remain
frozen till the end of the period. Mr. Mehta feels that this is a trick devised
by some vested interests in the F/A and Stores sections in connivance with
other printers to eliminate his organization from future contracts with the
CIMC. It is universally known that the rates charged by Vishala Printers are as
much as 40-50 percent higher than the other ‘local’ printers. Mr. Mehta
justifies the difference by saying, “despite the apparently high differential
in rates, the net margins for us are only about 15-18 percent on the quoted
price. Our competitors in their ignorance do not realize the additional fixed
and variable costs that we incur and also the extent of expertise involved”.
Mr. Mehta feels that his rates are extremely reasonable and fair and any downward
price revision will not justify the amount of his personal and organizational
expertise and investments made in executing a high-quality printing work.
With
the consolidation of all printing work on an yearly basis, even the Director of
CIMC would not be able to use has discretionary powers to award others to
Vishala Printers as the value of one single contract will far exceed his
authority. Till the new policy, the Director was using his discretionary
authority to overrule the F/A office’s recommendations on lowest quotations for
the prestigious and time-bound works. Another usual practice has been to form
job-committees for important jobs. The purchase committee chairman could place
orders directly on the firm on the basis of recommendations of the individual
job-committees. These committees took decisions takings into consideration
several other factors such as the nature of job, its purpose, timeliness of
delivery, quality of workmanship required which in turn depended upon the
skills and other resources that the printer had, and past experience of the
printer in undertaking similar jobs among others. The committee members even
visited the printer’s premises to make an on-the-spot assessment. Now this
would also not be possible as under the new rules all printing orders were to
be given only to the approved firms. According to Mr. Mehta, “the work involves
lot of value-addition particularly in respect of intangibles, and these
additions cannot be neatly quantified for the purpose of calculating and
evaluating the rates offered by different competitors. The top management and
scientists of CIMC know that nobody else can provide the kind of service we
require-yet they cannot put this down on paper”.
One senior executive of CIMC made this
comment on the quality provided by Vishala Printers: “Previously, we had to run
around the printers and chase them for getting the job done”. The proofs
usually got delayed and once they were received, carried many mistakes. The
superscript and subscript notations and particularly mathematical equations
used in our scientific papers were never done properly even after we corrected
the proofs. The aesthetic appeal of the catalogue or report would always give
impressions of shoddiness and corner cutting. I cannot say exactly why the
final product was never upto the mark, but the causes probably lay in a
combination of factors such as: the quality of inks used, the layout
perspective of the designers employed by the presses, the quality of skills of
the machine-men operating the offsets, or God knows what! now since Vishala
Printers started doing our prestigious jobs, all our seem to have been taken
care of. It is they who chase us for expediting the proof reading and return.
Their usual practice is to sit with us for about two hours and understand every
detail of the job before commencing work on it. As customers, we were first
uncomfortable with this attitude from a supplier but then understood that
ultimately we were the beneficiaries in terms of a superior product, timely
delivery, and sustained commitment-this keeps everybody on the toes. You know
what, once they even refused to go ahead with our job because our man failed to
deliver the proofs for two days, and were ready to bear as losses all the costs
that they has incurred till then on the work. They often improve upon the
grammar of the sentences. I am not a technical man but the scientist admits
that errors of scientific and technical notations (otherwise hard to detect)
which inadvertently creep in the original typed manuscript get corrected at
Vishala. Probably, Mr. Mehta’s engineering and management background is the
reason behind this. We even got appreciation for improved quality and
presentation of our reports from our top boss – the Secretary in the Ministry.
With this new rule about annual rate contract being introduced, I do not know
how we will tackle a new printer.”
The
time is 8:55 in the morning. Mr. Mehta has called a meeting of his senior
managers at 10:00 a.m. to discuss the situation. By 2:00 p.m. the firm has to
submit its bid in a sealed envelope. All the quotations received till the
deadline will be opened in front of those present at 3:00 p.m.
As
he sits in his car, Mr. Mehta is not panicky, but in a reflective mood.
Questions:
1.
As a strategic manager for the firm,
what will you do or suggest to the Chief Executive to do in the given
situation?
2.
Given the nature of competition, VP’s
overall business strategy, and the fact that much business is lost because of
the values it holds, should (n’t) the firm change its norms of ethical
practices? Will the current values be sustainable in the long-run?
OR
CASE:
Misplace Leadership Lessons
Mumbai
residents were enjoying their early morning tea on August 2 when local TV
channels started flashing screen-blasting “Breaking News”: 489 management students held for ‘rave party’ and “Police
bust friendship day booze party”. The night of August 1-2 was a nightmarish
experience for the MBA students of Atheros Institute of Management Studies
(AIMS-One of the premier management institutes in India). They were celebrating
their “Fresher’s and friendship day” party at a farmhouse “Badhu” at Theur, a
temple village located about 27 K.M away from Mumbai. Students had excitedly
arrived at the farmhouse in 10 buses around 8:30 PM.
It was raining heavily on the night of
August 1 at the green, beautiful village. The day too had a profound religious
significance and sentiments leading to huge rush of devotees coming to visit
the famous temple. It was around 11 pm when local police station received
complaints from nearby villagers that some students were creating a nuisance
and playing loud music. According to police “the organizers claimed to have
permission from the excise customs department, but when we cross-checked, it
was found that no permission was taken. We saw bottles of alcohol, lying around
and some of the students were heavily drunk. We detained them along with eight
more students which included Amar and Asish Kar who had organized the party.
There were 235 girls among 489 students, 302 bottles of liquor and beer were
recovered from the spot. The medical tests of 235 girls at the venue were done
by 7 am on August 2, after which they were released.
Rural Police Chief Pradeep Mashelkar
said permission was not taken to serve alcohol. He said that “the raid was
carried out because of complaints from the villagers about loud music, road
blockage and other public nuisance. It is illegal to give any premises for ‘bar
activity’ without permission”. Some students were unaware of the fact that they
had to take permission for liquor. According to some of the girl students they
had paid Rs.300 each and that the seniors had forced them to attend the party
at farm house. The Atheros School’s management arranged the money for the
students’ bail admitting that, “Students cannot be left on their own, so we
have arranged the bail money”.
School’s Version:
Dr. Mahima Lonavala, director of the
institute said she was worried when students did not return by 12:30 a, next
morning- the time limit permitted by the institute to the students for a late
out. The students had sought permission of hostel authorities for only a late
out. On that day and not for organizing and attending the party. The director
claimed ignorance of the party saying that “usually students go for late
evening movies or dinners and come back by permitted timings”. According to
her, the institute cannot hold responsible for what the students did outside
campus. She added an inquiry panel had been set up since the students violated
hostel rules. We have now formed a committee under the chairmanship of the vice
chancellor and other teachers who will decide upon the further course of
action. Atheros International is a private college and has the privilege of
Deemed University status. It has a comprehensive code of conduct which
prescribes the duties and responsibilities of the students. It also prescribes
the punishments in case of misconduct of other violation of the code.
School Administration’s Action:
After a detailed enquiry, examining the
reports, documents and evidence and recoding relevant statements, the committee
found that the code had been violated and deliberated on various punishments
mentioned in the code, including the rustication of the students. There was,
however, a consensus that such action would be unduly harsh and could
jeopardize the careers of students. It was noted that the police had already
initiated proceedings and that the law would take its own course. Since this
was their first deviation from the university norms, the committee recommended
a corrective and reformative approach without compromising on the punitive
aspect.
On the recommendation of the six member
committee constituted by AIM authorities, five organizers of the party (all
students) were suspended for 15 days and also had to undertake community
service. Rest of the students were also asked to do community service at a
local NGO, supervised by the director herself. All the participating students
had their late nights and night out curtailed for the three months and return
to hostel in the evening had been advanced by an hour. Counseling sessions were
organized for the students to create awareness of legal norms and the health
risks of alcohol consumption, substance abuse and partying.
Legal Action:
After hearing the students and the
lawyer, the Judicial Magistrate released 81 students on cash surety of Rs.2000
each. The seven organizers of the party were taken to the court and released on
cash surety of Rs.10,000 each. All the 88 students had been booked under
sections 66(1) (B), 65 (K) (D) (E), 86 of the Bombay Prohibition act an 110,
112 and 117 of the Bombay Police Act.
The farm house owner who had rented the
premises out and the person who provided the music for the party were also
prosecuted. According to the law in India, One must be 21 years or over to get
a drinking permit. If liquor to be served, permission under the Bombay
Prohibition Act is required. If Public music is to be played, permission under
Bombay Police Act is required. Regarding loud music (loud speaker etc.) Supreme
Court’s strict guideline is that no loud music can be played between 10 P.M. to
6. P.M.
Stakeholder’s Reactions:
This incident and punishments led to
divergent views among various sections of society including common citizens,
intellectuals, academicians, students’ parents, student community, and lawyers.
Some opined that the police action was justified and needed to improve the
wellness of the society.
Students: As expected, students
severely criticized the police action. They said they were all adults and had
the right to party. According to them, the party was at a private bunglow and
the students were not doing anything illegal like taking drugs. Gaurav Laskar,
a second year student at Atheros Law School, said, “All the students attending
the party were above 18 and they knew what they were doing. They also had the
permission from the college to stay out late. So, why did the police make such
a big issue of the whole incident?”Vidya, a student of Atheros Junior
Management College, accused the police of over-reaction saying “the students
were all adults”.
Academicians: Educationist Devika
Nadig too blamed the police, “There was nothing vulgar happening. I felt very
bad seeing the pictures of the young girls in the newspaper in the new papers.
You can’t do this to young adults.” Vasant Wagh, former principle of Fergusson
College said, “the police had merely done their job and it is important for
college students not to cross the limits.”
Former University Grant Commission
chairman and city’s leading citizen, Dr. Arun Nigvekar said, “Students want to
enjoy and there is nothing wrong with that. Institutes must create a platform
where parties can be held in healthy manner. This party was held in a public
place and the local residents may have complained,” he said.
Mr. Sureshchandra Bhosale, Dean of Law
Faculty, felt that, “the police should have issued a warning instead of
detaining the students. The party was at a private place. The police should
also have waited for the report of the chemical analysis before charging them. The
image of students has been needlessly tarnished – they’ll have a jail record
because of the extreme action of the police.”
Civil Society: One of the local
industrialists wondered, “ it’s legitimate event, especially in the life of
youth. I think the students have a right to party. It’s really unfair of them
(the police) to say that the girls wore skimpy clothes. The girls were wearing
skirts, which is a respectable garment across the world. And none of them were
doing drugs.” Lawyer Amitabh Mehta said that such parties were not uncommon and
the police saw these as soft targets. “The provisions of Bombay Prohibition Act
1949 that calls for a person consuming liquor to hold a liquor permit is
unrealistic,” he said.
Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Julio
Ribeiro said, “ Of course, one can’t help it if the police go by the book and
insist on a permit to serve liquor. But I feel the police should not take an
extreme view in such matters. They could have given the students a warning and
let them off. After all, there was no drug involved.”
Police and State: The rural
police chief, however, justified the police action and said, “we medically
examined the students. Those who had consumed liquor without permits were
prosecuted according to the law.” One of the elderly citizens of The State, Mr.
Mohan Dharia (a former minister in the central government) conducted with the
view of the chief and said he did not think that police over reacted. Ayub
Pathan Legal Advisor to the State CID, The State, said, “If liquor is to be
served and music is to be played, then a permission under the Bombay
Prohibition Act and Bombay Police Act is required”.
College Board Public Apology: Mr.
Banerjee, Founder Director AIM, and member of Atheros Governing Society,
expressed regret over the incident, “I am repentant over what happened and I
express my regrets to the people of Mumbai. After the party there was a hue and
cry that such parties were an attack on the city’s culture. But I want to
assure people that the city’s culture is not so fragile that it will be
destroyed by such incidents.”
Parents of some of the students caught
in the muddle explained that “last year too, they had attended a
Fresher-cum-Friendship Day Party in Badhu, but there were no problems then. The
party was thrown by the second year MBA students as a welcome to the freshers.”
If we parents have no objection, why do the police have any??
Questions:
1. Is
this a case of much a do about nothing? What are the major emerging issues?
2. Was
there any better way to avoid and handle such incidents?
3. Seeing
that students did not indulge in any criminal act, were the punitive actions
taken by AIM administration justifiable?
4. What
would you have done/say had you been in the role of”
· Student
· School Management
· Citizen
· Police
· Villager living in vicinity of
disturbed village
***
GUJARAT
TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
MBA – SEMESTER 3
– • EXAMINATION – SUMMER 2016
Subject Code: 2830001 Date:
28/04/2016
Subject Name: Strategic
Management (SM)
Time: 10.30 AM TO 01.30 PM
Total
Marks: 70
Instructions:
1. Attempt all
questions.
2. Make suitable
assumptions wherever necessary.
3. Figures to the
right indicate full marks.
Q.1 (a) Multiple Choice Questions [06]
1.
Product differentiation refers to the:
a. ability
of the buyers of a product to negotiate a lower price.
b.
response of incumbent firms to new
entrants.
c.
belief by customers that a product is
unique.
d.
fact that as more of a product is
produced the cheaper it becomes per unit.
2.
Which of the following is NOT an entry barrier to an industry?
a. expected
competitor retaliation
b.
economies of scale
c.
customer product loyalty
d.
bargaining power of suppliers
3.
To be a core competency, a capability must satisfy all of the
following criteria EXCEPT:
a.
be technologically innovative.
b.
be hard for competing firms to
duplicate.
c.
be without good substitutes.
d.
be valuable to customers.
4.
A company pursuing a differentiation or focused
differentiation strategy would
a. have
highly efficient systems linking suppliers' products with the firm's production
processes.
b.
use economies of scale.
c.
have strong capabilities in basic
research.
d.
make investments in easy-to-use
manufacturing technologies.
5.
Competitive rivalry has the most effect on the firm's ____
strategies than the firm's other strategies.
a. business-level
b.
corporate-level
c.
acquisition
d.
international
6.
Which of the following would be an example of a strategic
action?
a. a
"two movies for the price of one" campaign by Blockbuster Video
b.
use of product coupons by a local
grocer
c.
entry into the European market by Home
Depot
d.
fare increases by Southwest Airlines
(b)
Explain the following terms [04]
1.
Mission 2. Value Chain 3. Strategy 4. Core competency
(c)
Write a short note on Balance score card. [04]
Q.2 (a) Explain the characteristics of an effectively
worded strategic vision. [07]
(b)
Explain the Blue Ocean Strategy as a special kind of offensive. [07]
OR
(b)
Carry out the SWOT analysis for any industry/company and also
explain what are the real values associated with SWOT analysis [07]
Q.3 (a) “The five forces determine industry
profitability because they influence the prices, costs, and required
investments of firms in an industry.” Analyze the statement and explain the
five-force model for industry analysis. [07]
(b)
“A company’s overall strategy is a collection of strategic
initiatives and actions devised by managers and key employees up and down the
hierarchy”. Discuss the company’s strategy making Hierarchy [07]
OR
Q.3 (a) Using PEST framework as a guide, undertake an
audit of the microenvironment of a chosen industry or sector. What are the key
influences on organizations in that industry? What are the main drivers of
change? [07]
(b)
What is a strategic alliance? Discuss the six factors that decide
what extent company benefits from entering into strategic alliances. [07]
Q.4 (a) What is competitive strategy? Discuss in brief
five generic competitive strategies. [07]
(b)
When a low cost provider strategy works best? [07]
OR
Q.4 (a) Discuss the four approaches to manage
company’s ethical conduct. [07]
(b)
Discuss the components of the strategy execution process. [07]
Q.5 DD is the
India’s premier public service broadcaster with more than 1,000 transmitters
covering 90% of the country’s population across an estimated 70 million homes.
It has more than 20,000 employees managing its metro and regional channels.
Recent years have seen growing competition from many private channels numbering
more than 65, and the cable and satellite operators (C & S). The C & S
network reaches nearly 30 million homes and is growing at a very fast rate.
DD’s business model is based on selling half-hour slots of commercial time to
the programme producers and charging them a minimum guarantee. For instance,
the present tariff for the first 20 episodes of a programme is Rs. 30 lakhs
plus the cost of production of the programme. In exchange the producers get 780
seconds of commercial time that he can sell to advertisers and can generate
revenue. Break-even point for producers, at the present rates, thus is Rs.
75,000 for a 10 second advertising spot. Beyond 20 episodes, the minimum
guarantee is Rs. 65 lakhs for which the producer has to charge Rs. 1,15,000 for
a 10 second spot in order to break-even. It is at this point the advertisers
face a problem – the competitive rates for a 10 second spot is Rs. 50,000.
Producers are possessive about buying commercial time on DD. As a result the
DD’s projected growth of revenue is only 6-10% as against 50-60% for the
private sector channels. Software suppliers, advertisers and audiences are deserting
DD owing to its unrealistic pricing policy. DD has three options before it.
First, it should privatize, second, it should remain purely public service
broadcaster and third, a middle path. The challenge seems to be to exploit DD’s
immense potential and emerge as a formidable player in the mass media.
Do
the SWOT analysis of DD and analyze all three alternatives [14]
OR
Q.5 Airlines
industry has always been a very challenging one to operate in. Very few
companies are actually earning profit in this industry. Kingfisher Airlines, a
dream venture of Vijay Mallya also ventured into this industry to make a
difference and to redefine the experience of flying. But Kingfisher Airlines
once known for its premium quality and class is in the deep crisis now and is
actually struggling for its space in the sky. The Directorate General of Civil
Aviation (DGCA) had suspended Kingfisher’s SOP on October 19, 2012 till further
orders after a lockout and its failure to come up with a viable plan of
financial and operational revival. DGCA had said Kingfisher had failed to run a
“safe, efficient and reliable operations.” State Bank of India (SBI), the lead
bank to ailing Kingfisher Airlines, cautioned the carrier that it “will not
fly” if it fails to bring in fresh capital by November 30, 2012. India will not
renew Kingfisher Airlines’ license to fly if the ailing carrier fails to
provide a turnaround plan. The government is now concerned about how the
cash-strapped carrier would pay the salary dues to employees and the dues to
its service providers, including airport operators, and oil companies. 'I am
taking things personally,' Vijay Mallya, chairman of Kingfisher Airlines, says
when it comes to running his airline. Perhaps this is one reason why the
airline is in shambles. Lack of delegation is being talked about as the major
move that Mallya did not undertake when running the airline. Unlike his other
two major businesses - the spirits and beer segments - which have been running
exceptionally smoothly under the helm of managing directors, the airline has
been crash landing because of one trouble or another with frequent changes in
strategy and direction as well as the absence of no long term CEO or MD. While
Mallya is indeed closely associated with strategic decisions at United
Breweries (UB-India's largest brewer) and United Spirits (India's largest
spirits player), he is understood to have been more than closely associated
with day to day operations of the airline. Started as a full-service carrier,
Kingfisher Airlines then added a low-cost model, expanded it further, only to
fold it up and go back to the initial focus of full service - all this in a
period of just six years. When the idea of starting an airline was debated at
the UB headquarters, there was strong opposition from his close aides. But
Mallya prevailed. 'We had a series of discussions and many of us said that if
we have to start a new business, mobile telephony is an option instead of an
airline. Leveraging the Kingfisher brand in the mobile telephony space would
have worked wonders to expand our empire, but somehow we could not convince
Mallya out of the idea of an airline business,' a board level official of UB
Group told Business Standard.
Discuss
in detail the failure of Kingfisher airline from strategic management point of
view. [14]
****************************************************************
Note: Answer with Dotcom Books
www.dotcombooks4u.com
(Last 5 year solved question
paper solutions)
9825183881
***************************************************************
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