A

Practice (Module 5)

On

AMBUJA CEMENT LTD.

Submitted To:-

Narandas Jethalal Sonecha Management & Technical Institute

Chanduvav (Veraval)

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENT OF THE AWARD FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

In

Gujarat Technological University, Ahmadabad

Prepared By:-

Academic year: -2017-2018.

Enrolment No Name Of Student MBA Semester

188170592014 Jotva ashok Sem 2

188170592027 Pandya kandarp Sem 2

Guided By:-

Mr. Bharat Barad (Asst. Professor)

 Introduction

Ambuja Cements Ltd. has a long tradition of contributing to solutions on socio-

economic and environmental issues. ACL engages with community stakeholders and works
on two fronts: stakeholder engagement and community development. Currently a fleet of
seven ships with a capacity of 20500 DWT ferries bulk cement by sea and thus sustains cost
advantage.

The Company improved efficiency of its kilns to get more output for less power.
Thereafter it set up a captive power plant at a substantially lower cost than the national grid.

The company sourced a cheaper and higher quality coal from South Africa and better
furnace oil from the Middle East. As a result today, the company is in a position to sell excess
power to the local state government.

First cement company to receive the ISO 9002 quality certification. Ambuja also has
ISO 14000 Certification for environmental systems.

Ambuja Cements has always prided itself on its world class performance. In order to
continue to deliver and improve upon performance, a project aptly titled ‘People Power’ has
been launched at the Ambujanagar plant, with the aim of nurturing ‘highly productive people
and healthy plants.’

The only cement company to be awarded the National Quality Award in recognition
of total quality management. The parameters adopted by the Government for this award are
on the lines of the most prestigious international awards such as the Malcolm Baldrige
National Quality Award of the USA, the Deming prize of Japan and the European Quality
Award.

About 75% of all the cement produced goes into ready-mix concrete, which is used
for buildings, bridges, sidewalks, walls and all types of structures. The rest is used for
building materials such as concrete blocks, pipes and pre-cast slabs in road building and
repairs and other nation building applications.

The main raw materials used in the cement manufacturing process are Clinker, Fly
Ash Metric, Gypsum, Silica, Iron ore, and Limestone. The main material, limestone, is
usually mined on site while the other minor materials may be mined either on site or in
nearby quarries. Another source of raw materials is industrial by-products. The use of by-
product materials to replace natural raw materials is a key element in achieving sustainable
development.

Produced at Ambuja Cements are:

 Portland Pozzolana cement (PPC)
 Ordinary Portland cement (OPC)
 PPC is manufactured by blending a mixture of ordinary Portland cement and pozzolana
materials such as fly ash, in proportions not less than 15 per cent and not over 35 per cent by
weight of cement.OPC contains a mixture of Portland clinker and gypsum ground to a very
fine powder.
At par with the best in the world. The pollution levels at all cement plants are lower than
the rigorous Swiss standards of 100 mg/NM3.
SANGHI, ACC, Birla, JK Laxmi, Shree, Ultra-tech etc are the close competitors
Of the Ambuja Cement Ltd.
 Glorious History and development of the unit
The AMBUJA CEMENT LTD. Plant situated at Kodinar was the first plant among
the plant of the company in India. It was established in the year 1983 in the month of
September by Narotam Sekhsaria with partner, Suresh Neotia with the initial investment of
Rs. 86 Crores. Company, initially called Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd

Originally the project was planned to be located near the Mahuva in Bhavnagar. All
the procedures were completed in the early May 1984. Due to the non co-operation and legal
proceeding of villagers, the management decided to change the site of the project. Finally the
plant is located at the Vadnagar, 5 km away from Kodinar in Junagadh district. The
production was started in the year 1986. ‘KRUPP POLISIUS AG WEST GERMANY’ one of
the biggest name in cement group.

The AMBUJA CEMENT LTD. Company has been promoted by Gujarat Industrial
and Investment Corporation Ltd.

The global cement major Holcim acquired management control of ACL in 2006.
Holcim today holds little over 50% equity in ACL. The Company is currently known as
Ambuja Cements Ltd.

Ambuja Cement Ltd. has grown dynamically over the past decade. Its current cement
capacity is about 27.25 million tonnes. The Company has five integrated cement
manufacturing plants and eight cement grinding units across the country.

Ambuja Cement Ltd. enjoys a reputation of being one of the most efficient cement
manufacturers in the world. Its environment protection measures are on par with the finest in
the country. It is one of the most profitable and innovative cement companies in India

Ambuja Cement Ltd. is the first Indian cement manufacturers to build a captive port
with three terminals along the country’s western coastline to facilitate timely, cost effective
and environmentally cleaner shipments of bulk cement to its customers. The Company has its
own fleet of ships.
 Company Profile
 Name of the unit: - Ambuja Cement Ltd.

 Registered Office:- P. O. Ambujanagar

Taluka Kodinar,

Junagadh.

 Corporate Office:- Elegant Business Park

MIDC Cross road-B

Off- Andheri- Kurla Road

Andheri (E)

Mumbai-400059

 Form of Organization:- Public ltd. Company

 Phone Number:- (02795)221137 , 232009

Fax- 220328, 232032

 Website:- www.ambujacement.com

 Chairman Emeritus:- Mr. Suresh Neotia

 Board of Directors: - Mr.N. S. Sekhsaria (Chairman)

Mr.Paul Hugentobler (Vice Chairman)

Mr. Bernard Fontana (Director)
 Mr. M L Bhakta (Director)
Mr. Nasser Munjee (Director)
Mr.Rajendra P Chitale (Director)
Mr.Shailesh Haribhakti (Director)
Mr. Omkar Goswami (Director)
Mr. Naresh Chandra (Director)
Mr. Bernard Fontana (Director)
Mr. Onne van der Weijde (Managing Director)
Mr. B.L.Taparia (Whole- Time Director & CS)

 Promoters:- Mr. Narotam Sekhsaria

Mr. Suresh Neotia

 Bankers:- Bank of India

Bank of Baroda
Dena Bank
ANZ Grindlays Bank
HSBC
Punjab National Bank
Credit Lyonnais

 Auditors:- M/s. S.R. Batliboi & Co.

P. M. Nanabhoy & Co.
Vision & Mission
 Achievements

 Environment protection measure that conforms to the world’s best.

 Benchmarking quality standards for the industry.

 Reinventing cement transportation.

 Ambujanagar has won 'Best Environmental Excellence in Plant

 Operation' – National award by NCBM 2009

 'Certificate of Appreciation' for Accident Free million man hour our worked – Gujarat
Safety Council – Baroda 2009
 Product Gallery
PPC Product Gallery

OPC Product Gallery

 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Recruitment process:-

Recruitment is a process of finding and attracting the potential resources for filling up
the vacant positions in an organization. It sources the candidates with the abilities and
attitude, which are required for achieving the objectives of an organization.

Recruitment process is a process of identifying the jobs vacancy, analyzing the job
requirements, reviewing applications, screening, short listing and selecting the right
candidate. To increase the efficiency of hiring, it is recommended that the HR team of an
organization follows the five best practices (as shown in the following image). These five
practices ensure successful recruitment without any interruptions. In addition, these practices
also ensure consistency and compliance in the recruitment process.

Recruitment Planning
Recruitment planning is the first step of the recruitment process, where the vacant positions
are analyzed and described. It includes job specifications and its nature, experience,
qualifications and skills required for the job, etc.

A structured recruitment plan is mandatory to attract potential candidates from a pool

of candidates. The potential candidates should be qualified, experienced with a capability to
take the responsibilities required to achieve the objectives of the organization.
Recruitment Strategy

Recruitment strategy is the second step of the recruitment process, where a strategy is
prepared for hiring the resources. After completing the preparation of job descriptions and job
Specifications, the next step is to decide which strategy to adopt for recruiting the potential
candidates for the organization.

While preparing a recruitment strategy, the HR team considers the following points:

Make or buy employees

Types of recruitment
Geographical area
Recruitment sources

The development of a recruitment strategy is a long process, but having a right strategy is
mandatory to attract the right candidates. The steps involved in developing recruitment
Strategy includes:

Setting up a board team

Analyzing HR strategy
Collection of available data
Analyzing the collected data
Setting the recruitment strategy

Searching the Right Candidates

Searching is the process of recruitment where the resources are sourced depending upon the
requirement of the job. After the recruitment strategy is done, the searching of candidates will
be initialized. This process consists of two steps:

Source activation: Once the line manager verifies and permits the existence of the
vacancy, the search for candidate’s starts.

Selling: Here, the organization selects the media through which the communication of
vacancies reaches the prospective candidates.
Screening / Short listing
Screening starts after completion of the process of sourcing the candidates. Screening is the
process of filtering the applications of the candidates for further selection process.
Screening is an integral part of recruitment process that helps in removing unqualified or
irrelevant candidates, which were received through sourcing.

Evaluation and Control

Evaluation and control is the last stage in the process of recruitment. In this process, the
effectiveness and the validity of the process and methods are assessed. Recruitment is a costly
process; hence it is important that the performance of the recruitment process is thoroughly
evaluated.

The costs incurred in the recruitment process are to be evaluated and controlled effectively.
These include the following:

Salaries to the Recruiters

Advertisements cost and other costs incurred in recruitment methods, i.e., agency fees.
Administrative expenses and Recruitment overheads
Overtime and Outstanding costs, while the vacancies remain unfilled
Cost incurred in recruiting suitable candidates for the final selection process
Time spent by the Management and the Professionals in preparing job description, job
Specifications and conducting interviews.

Finally, the question that is to be asked is, whether the recruitment methods used are valid or
not? And whether the recruitment process itself is effective or not? Statistical information on
the costs incurred for the process of recruitment should be effective.
 Marketing management
Marketing mix:-

The marketing mix refers to the set of actions, or tactics, that a

company uses to promote its brand or product in the market. The 4Ps make up a typical
marketing mix - Price, Product, Promotion and Place. However, nowadays, the marketing
mix increasingly includes several other Ps like Packaging, Positioning, People and even
Politics as vital mix elements.

Products in the marketing mix of Ambuja Cement

Ambuja Cement is basically a manufacturer of cement and clinkers; the enterprise has close
relations with government and other private institutions. Ambuja cement has contributed to
the infrastructure rise in the country like never before. By supplying cements of high quality,
they have made an incomparable contribution to the development of country by supplying to
many government projects.

Ambuja Cement has seen varied ups and downs but they have never compromised on the
quality of product they produce.

our products from the house of Ambuja Cement are:

 Ambuja Plus Cement

 Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC)

Place in the marketing mix of Ambuja Cement

Ambuja cement was founded on the soils of Gujarat but the headquarters are in Mumbai. The
brand aims to take on the contemporaries in a very unique way. The strong relations with
government and other building institutions have helped Ambuja Cement beat contemporaries
like ACC and Ultra Tech. The throat cutting competition saw a new height when the likes
started manufacturing products similar to those of Ambuja Cement.

Ambuja Cement has always believed in rapid expansion, they have monitored their business
growth quite intricately and have taken expansion measures whenever required. With the
expansion through India and its sub-continent, they have developed a good base of users.

Ambuja Cement manufactures cement for two purposes only

1. For domestic use and

 2. For exporting it to the world

The slow but solid expansion has helped brand create a base that is loyal and will incur huge
profits in coming times. The slow and steady expansion has also contributed to the rise of
share value.

Price in the marketing mix of Ambuja Cement

The business development team at Ambuja Cement keeps a meticulous eye on all of its
contemporaries and competitors. They have worked a way out through which they can
manage the prices well. Ambuja Cement basically deals in normal packets of cement, which
can be used for building prosperous homes with great ease.

Ambuja Cement PPC is available for a meager price of 280 INR. People from the remotest
corners of India can buy this cement at the listed price while the international prices are going
to differ based on the taxation rates in the particular country.

Competitors like ACC and Ultra Tech have listed their products very closely; some of them
have listed their cement packets at 295 and 300 INR. The neck breaking competition is taking
toll on almost every enterprise but Ambuja Cement seems to be firmly placed and satisfied.

Promotion in the marketing mix of Ambuja Cement

There’s no other cement manufacturer in the country that can even come closer to Ambuja
Cement when it is about marketing the project well. ‘Tutegi Kaise Ambuja Cement Se Jo
Bani Hai!’ is one of those rare taglines you will find every kid and oldie chanting. Besides
this, the other tagline “Iss cement mein jaan hai” is synonymous with Ambuja cement and is
famous nationwide.

Ambuja Cement not only has a tagline that is easy to remember and addictive but a series of
ad campaigns that aims to touch hearts. From creating ads that showcased the rift between
siblings to enrolling the great Khali for an emotional advertisement.

The ad that portrayed famous wrestler Khali is one of the most popular TV ads of recent time.
It not only promotes the product smartly but also creates a connection with the people
watching. The ad has touched the right chord of family, relationships and love.

Ambuja Cement is not only beating contemporaries but also emerging as a brand that loves
its country, values relationships and aims for enigmatic growth
 Production and operation management

Plant location :-
Plant location refers to the choice of the region where men, materials,
money, machinery and equipment are brought together for setting up a business or factory.

Plant Location Decisions and Factors Affecting Plant Location

Plant location refers to the choice of the region where men, materials, money, machinery and
equipment are brought together for setting up a business or factory. A plant is a place where
the cost of the product is kept to low in order to maximize gains. Identifying an ideal location
is very crucial, it should always maximize the net advantage, must minimize the unit cost of
production and distribution. Plant location decisions are very important because once the
plant is located at a particular site then the organization has to face the pros and cons of that
initial decision.

While taking plant location decision organizations need to consider various factors such as
availability of men, materials, money, machinery and equipment. At the same time plant,
location decisions should also focus on expanding and developing facilities, the nearness of
the market, transport facilities, availability of fuel and power, availability of water and
disposal of water etc. There is no exact method of analysis or assurance for the selection of an
optimal location. But an extent of analysis and study can help in maximizing the probability
of finding the right locations.

If an organization is placed in a potentially satisfactory location then it can fulfill the

objectives smoothly in the long run, on the other hand, opt for a poor location does not give
the expected results due to the non-availability of raw materials, problems from local people,
problems associated with availability and disposal of water, power supply problems, etc.
However following a systematic method in order to evaluate the better location can give
maximum results in generating profits.

Factors affecting the plant location

Decisions regarding selecting a location need a balance of several factors. These are divided
into primary factors and secondary factors; here both the factors can influence the business in
the long run.

Primary factors

Availability of raw materials

Availability of raw materials is the most important factor in plant location decisions. Usually,
manufacturing units where there is the conversion of raw materials into finished goods is the
main task then such organizations should be located in a place where the raw materials
availability is maximum and cheap.

Nearness to the market

Nearness of market for the finished goods not only reduces the transportation costs, but it can
render quick services to the customers. If the plant is located far away from the markets then
the chances of spoiling and breakage become high during transport. If the industry is nearer
to the market then it can grasp the market share by offering quick services.
Availability of labor

Another most important factor which influences the plant location decisions is the availability
of labor. The combination of the adequate number of labor with suitable skills and reasonable
labor wages can highly benefit the firm. However, labor-intensive firms should select the
plant location which is nearer to the source of manpower.

Transport facilities

In order to bring the raw materials to the firm or to carrying the finished goods to the market,
transport facilities are very important. Depending on the size of the finished goods or raw
materials a suitable transportation is necessary such as roads, water, rail, and air. Here the
transportation costs highly increase the cost of production, such organizations can not
complete with the rival firms. Here the point considered is transportation costs must be kept
low.
Availability of fuel and power

Unavailability of fuel and power is the major drawback in selecting a location for firms. Fuel
and power are necessary for all most all the manufacturing units, so locating firms nearer to
the coal beds and power industries can highly reduce the wastage of efforts, money and time
due to the unavailability of fuel and power.

Availability of water

Depending on the nature of the plant firms should give importance to the locations where
water is available.

For example, power plants where use water to produce power should be located near the
water bodies.
Secondary factors

Suitability of climate

Climate is really an influencing factor for industries such as agriculture, leather, and textile,
etc. For such industries extreme humid or dry conditions are not suitable for plant location.
Climate can affect the labor efficiency and productivity.

Government policies

While selecting a location for the plant, it is very important to know the local existed
Government policies such as licensing policies, institutional finance, Government subsidies,
Government benefits associated with establishing a unit in the urban areas or rural areas, etc.

Availability of finance

Finance is the most important factor for the smooth running of any business; it should not be
far away from the plant location. However, in the case of decisions regarding plant location,
it is the secondary important factor because financial needs can be fulfilled easily if the firm
is running smoothly. But it should be located nearer to the areas to get the working capital
and other financial needs easily.

Competition between states

In order to attract the investment and large scale industries various states offer subsidies,
benefits, and sales tax exemptions to the new units. However, the incentives may not be big
but it can help the firms during its startup stages.

Availability of facilities

Availability of basic facilities such as schools, hospitals, housing and recreation clubs, etc can
motivate the workers to stick to the jobs. On the other hand, these facilities must be provided
by the organization, but here most of the employees give preference to work in the locations
where all these benefits/facilities are available outside also. So while selecting plant location,
organizations must give preference to the location where it is suitable for providing other
facilities also.

Disposal of waste

Disposal of waste is a major problem particularly for industries such as chemical, sugar, and
leather, etc. So that the selected plant location should have provision for the disposal of
waste.
 Entrepreneurship
Quality of entrepreneur:-
It means the right attitude towards a business and the determination and grit to achieve
success. A successful entrepreneur has a strong inner drive that helps him or her to succeed.
Let us take a look at the qualities that go into making a successful entrepreneur.

The Qualities Of Successful Entrepreneur

Being a successful entrepreneur means more than starting new ventures every other day. It
means the right attitude towards a business and the determination and grit to achieve success.

A successful entrepreneur has a strong inner drive that helps him or her to succeed. Let us
take a look at the qualities that go into making a successful entrepreneur.

An entrepreneur should be excited by the prospect of work. They should always have a strong
drive to succeed and overcome obstacles. They should not only set big goals for themselves
but also see that they are actually committed to achieving them regardless of the countless
setbacks that occur.

A successful entrepreneur always has a strong sense of self confidence and a healthy opinion
of their skills and abilities. Their personality is assertive and strong. They are always focused
and do not really dilly dally with the issues at hand. This is what makes them different from
the rest.

An entrepreneur should always be on the lookout for new innovations and ideas in order to
emerge as a winner. They should constantly reinvent themselves and think of better ways to
run a business and improvise on the products and services offered by them.

Another important quality of a successful entrepreneur is openness in adopting change. They

should not be headstrong and stubborn when it comes to choosing other options. Change is
the only thing that is constant in business no one can make any profits on age old methods.

The path to success lies in evolution, whether it is evolution of ideas, services and products or
technology. An entrepreneur should have an open mind and eagerness to learn new things. It
is imperative to understand that the only way to keep at the top is to keep on changing and
evolving with the time. An entrepreneur should be aware of the latest service techniques and
technology in order to serve the clients in a better way.

Competition should never scare an entrepreneur. In fact, competition is what a successful

entrepreneur thrives on. Monopoly is never a good thing. This is because in monopoly there
is no scope for improvisation or change.

An entrepreneur should be highly energetic and motivated. He or she should always be on the
go. At the same time, the commitment levels have to be pretty high. Only when a person is
motivated can he do justice to his line of work.

Accepting rejection or constructive criticism can go a long way in making an entrepreneur

successful. Criticism shows what he or she is not doing properly or where change is needed.
However it must be remembered that accepting criticism is a very important way of getting
success. This is because a person will then be aware of the shortcomings of his business and
accordingly make amends. Hence accepting criticism is actually a good way of improvising.

Passion, resourcefulness, willingness to improvise and listen to others and strong

determination to succeed is what makes an entrepreneur successful. And this is what you
have to keep in mind as well if you want to be a successful entrepreneur yourself.

Successful business people have many traits in common with one another. They are confident
and optimistic. They are disciplined self starters. They are open to any new ideas which cross
their path (Side note: Rich20Something is a great book about this, it covers the mindset of
millennial entrepreneurs). Here are ten traits of the successful entrepreneur.

1. Disciplined
These individuals are focused on making their businesses work, and eliminate any hindrances
or distractions to their goals. They have overarching strategies and outline the tactics to
accomplish them. Successful entrepreneurs are disciplined enough to take steps every day
toward the achievement of their objectives.

2. Confidence
The entrepreneur does not ask questions about whether they can succeed or whether they are
worthy of success. They are confident with the knowledge that they will make their
businesses succeed. They exude that confidence in everything they do.

3. Open Minded
Entrepreneurs realize that every event and situation is a business opportunity. Ideas are
constantly being generated about workflows and efficiency, people skills and potential new
businesses. They have the ability to look at everything around them and focus it toward their
goals.

4. Self Starter
Entrepreneurs know that if something needs to be done, they should start it themselves. They
set the parameters and make sure that projects follow that path. They are proactive, not
waiting for someone to give them permission.

5. Competitive
Many companies are formed because an entrepreneur knows that they can do a job better than
another. They need to win at the sports they play and need to win at the businesses that they
create. An entrepreneur will highlight their own company’s track record of success.

6. Creativity
One facet of creativity is being able to make connections between seemingly unrelated events
or situations. Entrepreneurs often come up with solutions which are the synthesis of other
items. They will repurpose products to market them to new industries.

7. Determination
Entrepreneurs are not thwarted by their defeats. They look at defeat as an opportunity for
success. They are determined to make all of their endeavors succeed, so will try and try again
until it does. Successful entrepreneurs do not believe that something cannot be done.

8. Strong people skills

The entrepreneur has strong communication skills to sell the product and motivate
employees. Most successful entrepreneurs know how to motivate their employees so the
business grows overall. They are very good at highlighting the benefits of any situation and
coaching others to their success.

9. Strong work ethic

The successful entrepreneur will often be the first person to arrive at the office and the last
one to leave. They will come in on their days off to make sure that an outcome meets their
expectations. Their mind is constantly on their work, whether they are in or out of the
workplace.

10. Passion
Passion is the most important trait of the successful entrepreneur. They genuinely love their
work. They are willing to put in those extra hours to make the business succeed because there
is a joy their business gives which goes beyond the money. The successful entrepreneur will
always be reading and researching ways to make the business better.

Successful entrepreneurs want to see what the view is like at the top of the business
mountain. Once they see it, they want to go further. They know how to talk to their
employees, and their businesses soar as a result.
 Business analytics

A Market Intelligence system focuses on the systematic collection and processing of

information from all the relevant sources to ascertain the changing trends in the marketing
environment. In simple words, the marketer gathers data from all the available sources and
process these into meaningful information that can be used to make critical business
decisions.

In order to obtain the market intelligence the marketer uses several sources such as
newspapers, magazines, books, trade publications, social media, and feedback from
customers, suppliers, distributors who cover the entire gamut of an external environment. The
more information about the market environment is gathered the more accurate business
decision will be and will enhance the efficiency of business operations.

Every business tries to inculcate the market intelligence in its employees, and this can be
done by following several steps given below:

1. Training and Motivation Programs for Sales Force: Several training modules are
conducted to encourage sales force who are in direct touch with ultimate customers to collect
all the relevant information related to the product along with the customer’s experience of
using it. A market intelligence is acquired when the sales force is motivated to give the
 valuable feedback and suggestions about the product offers and the opportunities prevailing
in the market to their managers, who then convert these into the actionable plan.

2. Encouraging Distributors and Retailers to seek Market Intelligence: Companies

hire some specialist who visits several stores and showrooms to check the customer
experience with the product or service. Also, retailer or a service provider send its own
person as a“mystery guest” who acts as a customer himself and check the quality of a
product and the way employees are handling the customer’s queries.

3. Keeping a check on the Competitors: In order to sustain in the market, the

companies should have complete knowledge about the doings of its competitors. One of the
major market intelligence tools is the internet where every information about the competitor’s
product and its variants, the price and easy pay schemes, services, and its feedback is
available, and the same can be used to have a comparative study. Also, the information about
the competitor’s activity can be acquired through the distributors, retailers and other
intermediaries who are sitting in the market and know the whereabouts of each player.

4. Customer Suggestion Panel: Companies using their internal market intelligence

prepare a list of their customers who frequently make the purchases and among those set up a
panel who give their expert advice to new customers about the product and its benefits.This
method is very useful as people rely heavily on others experiences and a try a product or a
service at least once. It is most commonly seen in schools & colleges where the community
of alumni is created who give their expert comments on the quality of teaching and the
courses to be opted in a particular educational institute.

5. Government Data Resources: Government Resources are also the means to gain
market intelligence. The population census is considered crucial through which population
density, trends, demographic characteristics, etc. is determined, and the same can be used to
make judicious market plans. Also, the data about the literacy level, agricultural production,
inflation and recession, are provided by the government that acts as an important tool for
information. Thus, government data resources are useful to gather relevant information about
the prevailing market trends.

6. Information from Outside Suppliers: The companies can also purchase the
information from other companies who are specialists in doing the researches and prepare the
reports about the other market players. Acting as an important aide to market intelligence,
these research companies can provide detailed information about the competitor’s product
and service that can act as an important tool in designing the market plans.

7. Customer Feedback System: The most common and easy way to gain market
intelligence is through the use of customer feedback system. Generally, it is online, where the
customer is required to give his valuable feedback or suggestion on company’s website about
the product or service consumed by him. Also, the feedback can be taken in person by asking
the customers to fill up a form after they have availed the services. This is a more reliable
form of information since it is directly provided by the customer himself.

Once the data is collected from all the possible sources, it is sorted into a meaningful
information which is then used by the management to design the marketing strategies.
 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT (3529203)
Net Present Value (NPV)
Net Present Value (NPV) is the difference between the present value of cash inflows and the present
value of cash outflows over a period of time. NPV is used in capital budgeting to analyze the
profitability of a projected investment or project.

Capital budgeting decisions criteria

Step 1:- generate cash flow

Step 2 :- present value as per table

Step 3:- multiply cash flow with table value

Step 4:- using excel formula

 Research methodology
Questionnaires

Questionnaires can be classified as both, quantitative and qualitative method depending on

the nature of questions. Specifically, answers obtained through closed-ended questions with
multiple choice answer options are analyzed using quantitative methods and they may
involve pie-charts, bar-charts and percentages. Answers obtained to open-ended questionnaire
questions are analyzed using qualitative methods and they involve discussions and critical
analyses without use of numbers and calculations.
For a standard 15,000-20,000 word business dissertation, including 25-40 questions in
questionnaires will usually suffice. Questions need be formulated in an unambiguous and
straightforward manner and they should be presented in a logical order.

Advantages of questionnaires include increased speed of data collection, low or no cost

requirements, and higher levels of objectivity compared to many alternative methods of
primary data collection. However, questionnaires have certain disadvantages such as
selection of random answer choices by respondents without properly reading the question.
Moreover, there is usually no possibility for respondents to express their additional thoughts
about the matter due to the absence of a relevant question.

There are following types of questionnaires:

Computer questionnaire. Respondents are asked to answer the questionnaire which is sent
by mail. The advantages of the computer questionnaires include their inexpensive price, time-
efficiency, and respondents do not feel pressured, therefore can answer when they have time,
giving more accurate answers. However, the main shortcoming of the mail questionnaires is
that sometimes respondents do not bother answering them and they can just ignore the
questionnaire.

Telephone questionnaire. Researcher may choose to call potential respondents with the aim
of getting them to answer the questionnaire. The advantage of the telephone questionnaire is
that, it can be completed during the short amount of time. The main disadvantage of the
phone questionnaire is that it is expensive most of the time. Moreover, most people do not
feel comfortable to answer many questions asked through the phone and it is difficult to get
sample group to answer questionnaire over the phone.

In-house survey. This type of questionnaire involves the researcher visiting respondents in
their houses or workplaces. The advantage of in-house survey is that more focus towards the
questions can be gained from respondents. However, in-house surveys also have a range of
disadvantages which include being time consuming, more expensive and respondents may
not wish to have the researcher in their houses or workplaces for various reasons.
Mail Questionnaire. This sort of questionnaires involve the researcher to send the
questionnaire list to respondents through post, often attaching pre-paid envelope. Mail
questionnaires have an advantage of providing more accurate answer, because respondents
can answer the questionnaire in their spare time. The disadvantages associated with mail
questionnaires include them being expensive, time consuming and sometimes they end up in
the bin put by respondents.

Questionnaires can include the following types of questions:

Open question questionnaires. Open questions differ from other types of questions used in
questionnaires in a way that open questions may produce unexpected results, which can make
the research more original and valuable. However, it is difficult to analyze the results of the
findings when the data is obtained through the questionnaire with open questions.

Multiple choice questions. Respondents are offered a set of answers they have to choose
from. The downsize of questionnaire with multiple choice questions is that, if there are too
many answers to choose from, it makes the questionnaire, confusing and boring, and
discourages the respondent to answer the questionnaire.

Dichotomous Questions. This type of questions gives two options to respondents – yes or
no, to choose from. It is the easiest form of questionnaire for the respondent in terms of
responding it.

Scaling Questions. Also referred to as ranking questions, they present an option for
respondents to rank the available answers to the questions on the scale of given range of
values (for example from 1 to 10).
Survey Monkey represents one of the most popular online platforms for facilitating data
collection through questionnaires. Substantial benefits offered by Survey Monkey include its
ease to use, presentation of questions in many different formats and advanced data analysis
capabilities.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books

Production and operation management

Financial management

Cost of management accounting

Human resource management

Advance marketing management

Entrepreneurship

Business analytics

Research methodologies

Websites

‫܀‬ WWW.Ambuja.com

Annual report of Ambuja cement ltd