Management Paper 2012

The first question in 2012 paper of management, B.Com, Bahaudin Zakariya University, Multan was a set of 10 short questions. The solution to the first 5 short questions is as under:

Define management

Management is the process of getting things done, effectively and efficiently, through and with other people. Managers attain organizational goals in an effective and efficient manner through the management; they use planning, organizing, leading and controlling of peoples and resources while managing them to get to the goals.

What are the different functions a manager needs to perform?

Managers use planning, organizing, leading and controlling of peoples and resources while managing them to get to the goals.

Name the major theories in the classical approach to management.

There are three major approaches: scientific management, administrative management, and bureaucratic management.

List the major components of external environment of an organization.

The external environment of an organization has five elements: political changes, economic changes, social changes, technological changes, and legal changes.

What is innovation?

Innovation is the action or process of innovating. Innovation is not invention; it is use of a better and novel method, but not a creation of something new. One common example is technological innovation: use of technology to do something in a better way.

Innovation-strategy is to perform and grow using improvements as a tool to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, quality, and market share. This strategy adds value to an organization by changing old practices and methods with new ones.

Why businesses use innovation-strategy?

Businesses use innovation strategy to acquire or sustain competitive advantage.

Having and sustaining competitive advantage is a matter of survival for businesses. Presently, businesses increasingly focus on innovation; the obvious reason is increased and continuously growing competition in the business world. Moreover, after becoming lean and cutting cost to the extreme, businesses do not have many options to choose from the short list of actions for achieving competitive advantage. In economic downturn, business may innovate at business and corporate levels to build competitive advantages over its competitors.

In macro environment around a business, many factors demands for a strategy to innovate. Such demanding factors include trends as increasing focus on new technologies, changing government legislation on various sectors including health, and changing landscape of banking sector, etc. These trends require significant change and innovation from business.

In economic downturn, business may innovate at business and corporate level to build competitive advantages over competitors

Why Competitive Advantage is so much important?

Business world has seen the rise and fall of many businesses; however, only a small number of businesses survive and grow in the face of cruel market forces operating around them. Even many large organizations struggle in difficult time, laying off workers and closing plants.

What is the lesson to be learned from the failures?

The answer is that a business must have and must sustain competitive advantage. It is all about a business in a competitive war to survive and win. Of course  a business without a competitive advantage over its competitors cannot make money for a long time. It needs to be better than its competitors. A business has four dimensions to focus for gaining and sustaining competitive advantage: innovation, quality, service, speed, and cost competitiveness.

To gain and sustain competitive advantage a business may use one or more of the following tools:

1-       It may acquire people and resources to deliver high quality;

2-       It may innovate to deliver more value to its customers;

3-       It may render high quality services to its customers;

4-       It may deliver product or service with speed;

5-      It may prove itself cost competitive for its customers.

How can a business use innovation, quality, service, speed, and cost competitiveness for competitive advantage?

Past Papers Management, Bahaudin Zakariya University, Multan

B.COM PART II

1st annual examination, 2012

Principles of Management (Paper 1)

Time Allowed 3 Hours

Note: Total 9 questions are given.

Attempt any five questions.

Question No. 1 is compulsory.

Attempt any four questions from question no. 2 to 9

Each Question carries equal marks=20    Total Marks =100

Question No.1.  (10 short questions each carries equal marks=2)                       Total Marks=20

1.       Define management.

2.       What are the different functions a manager needs to perform?

3.       Name the major theories in the classical approach.

4.       List the major components of external environment.

5.       Define organizational culture.

6.       List the eight steps in the decision-making process.

7.       What is involved in planning?

8.       List the six key elements in organizational design.

9.       List the early theories of motivation.

10.   What are the three steps in the control process?

Question No.2.  Discuss the Fayol’s 14 principles or fundamental rules of management that could be applied to all organizational situations.

Question No.3.  Discuss how today’s managers use Taylor’s Scientific Management Principles.

Question No.4.  Describe different decision-making styles and discuss how biases affect decision-making.

Question No.5.  Classify the types of goals organizations might have and the plans they use.

Question No.6.  Explain and discuss how Frederick Herzberg’s two-factor theory proposes that intrinsic factors are related to job satisfaction, while extrinsic factors are associated with job dissatisfaction of employees.

Question No.7.  Discuss how Maslow’s theory explains employee’s motivation.

Question No.8.  Define leader and leadership. Also, differentiate between Managers and Leaders.

Question No.9.  Discuss what it means to be socially responsible and what factors influence that decision.