Please write in given space only

Part A:
Q1: To ensure business continuity, having an emergency scenario is essential. In the current
COVID 19 Pandemic situation, it is vital to react as fast as possible in order to mitigate
impacts and other risks and to prepare the organisation for the further development of the
COVID-19 pandemic and its possible scenarios. Business continuity management covers
infrastructure, cyber, employee, business, operational and communication risks, with the
aim of managing an organisation that has to face new challenges and risks and wants to
ensure continuity of operations and production. In normal operation activities and in
reaction to common events (e.g. breakdowns), business continuity management sets a
strategic and operational framework to actively increase corporate resilience. The objective
is clear: to prevent suspension of operations or services.

How can your organisation ensure continuity of business? Think and evolve a structured
framework for organisational resilience? (MM 40, Restrict your answer in less than 250
words)

Ans.
Actions proposed Explanation
Restoration basics Initiation after receipt of Government
directives and assessment of prevailing risks
Sequential opening of factories
Opening in phased manner with scaled down
operations (30 to 40% workforce1)) –
multiple shifts/staggering
Implementation of following mandatory
guidelines:
· No entry without PPEs (Masks, hand
sanitizers, disinfectant wipes)
· Covid-19 Log in for employees
· No entry without thermal
screening/self declaration.
· Symptomatic persons will not be
allowed inside
· Maintain Social Distancing at all
times inside premises
· Restricted entry for third party
personnel
· No usage of public transport
· Strict enforcement in line with
Business Conduct guidelines
Offices to be opened at a later date, possibly
1st. Week of May. WFH will be encouraged
even after opening
Infrastructure Risks 1. It should be ensured that expired material
such as inflammable material, material with
short shelf life, material that is exposed to
environment etc. is been properly disposed.
2. Protective measures should be taken to
safeguard high cost machinery, material,
digital equipment’s at factory location since
physical security is closed.
3. Remote monitoring of the manufacturing
 location and material lying in warehouses,
stores using cameras, etc.
4. Access to company servers, remote SAP
access should be securely done using Pulse-
cure, Zscaler as per company guidelines by
all concerned employees.
5. IT helpdesk should be made available at
specific time hours in case of system or
server failures.
6. Make sure that weak point in IT
infrastructure are identified and ensure that
they can handled remotely.
7. Conducting online meetings using Siemens
Circuit app, Microsoft Teams and ensure that
all necessary people are able to access it.
8. Appoint people who have the necessary
permit to travel and visit the factory/
warehouse (with proper safety measure) on
period basis.
Cyber Risks 1. Awareness should be given for installing
any new malicious software’s which is
followed by masses in pandemic period e.g
Zoom app used by masses.
2. Awareness should be given to employees
for non-distribution of company data to third
parties/competitors.
3. Make sure that the remote access is
secured through VPN and other encryption.
Educate the employees (using company
computers through remote access) of the risks
of engaging in suspicious websites and
ensure that are prevented to visit these
websites.
4. Upgradation of Antivirus / Anti malware
software and firewalls.
Employee Risks 1. Keep tabs of the whereabouts of all
employees and their current location.
2. Ensure that the employees report about
their health to their manager & HOD when
they meet online for updating on work done.
3. Ensure that the employees well-being is
taken care of by the company i.e. hospital
bills are covered under insurance.
4. Company should support employees who
are stuck at site due to lockdown and cannot
travel back to home country/native place.
5. Keep employees motivated and ensure
they are not stress out due to uncertainty.
6. Set up proper action plan for employee
safety once the operations resume.
7. Arrange for proper work distribution
among the employees are every level.
Business Risks 1.Collaborating with Customers, Suppliers &
competitors as well for taking decisions:
2. Prepare scenarios worst case scenario and
best case scenario and prepare accordingly
 3. Take pay cuts instead of layoff the
employees
4. Think of transferring employee where
there is need.
Operational Risks 1. Note getting material on time - Make sure
that the supply chain is ready when the
operations resume.
2. Make sure that all cost control measures
have been identified and actions are taken
once the operation resumes
3. This is a good time to plan and improve.
So, all manager related to production, can
work on planning to improve the working of
their plant.
4. Set up disaster management plans
(quarantine rooms, ambulance etc.) in case of
any extreme situation.
5. Employees that are in RED Zones are
asked to work from home.
6. Absenteeism and loss of skilled operators –
Make sure that operators are confident about
their safety and arrange for logistics for their
pickup from their hometown and keep in
constant communication with the identified
skilled employees.
Communication Risks 1. Zero communication -
a. Set up mechanisms for proper
communication to all employees
b. Have daily meetings and reviews
c. Create LinkedIn groups to share
information about how company is
fighting the current situation and what
measure are to be taken in future.
2. Wrong-communication
a. Setup various single point of
contact (for each team, function or
department) on various issues to
prevent mis-communication
b. Release of written communication
(can be regional language also) and
sent out from all mediums (emails,
whatsapp, publish on company portal,
website etc.)

Q2. Your consulting team has been hired by Unilever, a multinational corporation that
owns many of the world’s consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning
agents and personal care products. Dove is a personal care brand owned by Unilever.
Dove’s product lines include: antiperspirants/deodorants, body washes, beauty bars,
lotions/moisturizers, hair care, and facial care products. Recently Unilever has noticed
that it is losing market share in the soap product and suspects that its pricing is to
blame. The company currently charges $1.20/bar for the Dove soap as opposed to
$1.00/bar for the Safeguard soap charged by major competitor Procter & Gamble Co..
Should Unilever lower its price to $1.00?
Additional information:
Dove soaps are currently selling 15 million bars/year; were selling 20 million bars/year
before the brand started losing market share. The soap market is a mature industry (not
growing rapidly). The marketing department of Unilever believes that lowering its price
to $1.00/bar would boost volume back to 20 million bars/year. (How would you test
this? Consider a demand analysis using demand instruments.) Unilever has a reputation
of producing the highest-quality product on the market and Dove is a highly recognized
brand. The soap market is dominated by four main competitors. Currently the client’s
market share is 12 percent. The four competitors (Procter & Gamble, Johnson &
Johnson, Henkel, L’Oreal) have market shares of 30, 20, 17 and 10 percent respectively.
Currently, the client Unilever has the capacity to handle virtually any increase in
demand. The company cannot specify the overall cost of a unit (except that it is less than
$1.00 and greater than $0.80), but it does know the cost structure to be the following:30
percent labor; 20 percent inputs; 20 percent general and administrative; 20 percent
overhead; 10 percent other.

Ans.
· The Analytic Hierarchy Process is a powerful and understandable methodology that
allows groups or individuals to combine qualitative and quantitative factors in
decision making process
· The decision of reducing the price of Dove soap from $1.20/bar to $1.00/bar by
Unilever has to be analysed both using
1) Quantitative factor (Refer excel sheet)

2) Qualitative factor:

Business Market:

· Dove soaps are currently selling 15 million bars/year; were selling 20 million
bars/year before the brand started losing market share.
· The soap market is a mature industry (not growing rapidly).
· The marketing department of Unilever believes that lowering its price to $1.00/bar
would boost volume back to 20 million bars/year. (How would you test this? Consider
a demand analysis using demand instruments.)

Industry overview:

· Unilever has a reputation of producing the highest-quality product on the market and
Dove is a highly recognized brand.
· The soap market is dominated by four main competitors. Currently the client’s market
share is 12 percent. The four competitors (Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson,
Henkel, L’Oreal) have market shares of 30, 20, 17 and 10 percent respectively.
· Currently, the client Unilever has the capacity to handle virtually any increase in
demand.
Factors for cost structure:

The company cannot specify the overall cost of a unit (except that it is less than $1.00 and
greater than $0.80), but it does know the cost structure to be the following:

· 30 percent labor
· 20 percent inputs
· 20 percent general and administrative
· 20 percent overhead
· 10 percent other

Based on the data the analysis provided in attached excel:

· We can observed that by assuming per unit cost $.80 the total production cost for
company $12 Mn and if the company produce another 5Mn units then the Admin,
implies that Overhead, Other cost will remain same as Unilever was producing 20Mn
unit with this production capacity only.
· Producing extra 5Mn it will acquire additional cost of $2 Mn. It can be seen that the
addition of another 5Mn will increase the market share for Dove by 4% but the profit
will remain same to $6Mn.
· We can assume Unilever’s production capacity and system are of superior quality and
at par with other major competitors. So if they are costing dove at $.80 per unit, for
competitors also it will be nearly same.
· Once the competitors face the market share shortage it will be difficult for them to
continue with $1.00 sale price. So they will increase the price subsequently and that
will make space for Dove to increase market share further and by adding profit into
the company’s book.
· By reducing the price though company will not acquire extra profit immediately but it
will gain additional 4% market share and future growth scope to penetrate more into
this perfectly competitive market where profit is driven by volume.
· Dove is an established brand & does not focus on the bottom market. The customer
segment of Dove is high end or upper middle class and hence reducing the price is not
the right path to take.
· Instead to get back the customers, I would suggest to diversify the products with new
scents, new size or packaging (sell more than one bar in each package), diversify the
soaps for different skin types, etc.
Q3. Our client Optical Fiber Solutions (OFS) manufactures and markets leading-edge fusion
splicers, optical fiber, optical cable, fiber to the home (FTTX), connectivity and optical
components. Headquartered in Norcross in the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia, USA, Optical
Fiber Solutions is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese telecom and electric company
Furukawa Electric Co. An optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made of glass (silica),
slightly thicker than a human hair. It can function as a waveguide, or “light pipe”, to transmit
light between the two ends of the fiber. Optical fiber has volume advantages to copper wire
and is mainly used by the telecom, cable and mobile phone industries. It’s made in glass
strands and rolled onto 25 km spools. Our client Optical Fiber Solutions’ customers (who are
generally major Telecoms networks like AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon) would buy a
huge quantity, bundle it up, dig a trench and put the bundle of optical fibers in the ground.
Recently, the client has seen a 50% decline in revenues, and has recently brought in a new
CEO. The new CEO of OFS would like you to help address three questions: (MM 30)
1. Why did revenues drop 50% in one year?
2. Can he expect an improvement, and if so in what timeframe?
3. How does our company compare to our competitors?
Ans.
Q.3.1)Possible reasons for decline in revenue by 50%:
1) Matured market :
· The client OFS is operating in US which is a developed country and with good
internet connectivity already well established and need for new fibre optics cables
is no longer required.

2) Costs:
· Laying of cables is an expensive process which involves digging, laying and
covering etc. and possibly the costs are increasing because of which the customers
(telecom service providers) are opting for cheaper alternatives.

3) Alternative technology / Technology disruption:

· The company should analyse if there is a technological disruption happening in
the industry. For example- wireless optical fibres etc. and the customers are
switching to the new technology.

4) Competition:
· Considering that US is a mature market for fibre option, it is possible the thereare
many competitors in the market offering the same product at a lower price.

5) Product life:
· Optic fibres have long life and do not require replacements frequently.
Q.3.2) Possibility of improvement and timeframe
Ans.
Refer below points:
1) Cost cutting:
· In order to improve revenues in matured market, the company should focus on
reducing costs and offering better prices to customer.

2) Alternate markets:
· Company should work on developing markets as growth strategy

3) New technology:
· Company should invest and work on developing new technology.

Q.3.3) Competitor comparison

1. The company seems to be lacking way behind the competition.

2. There is less focus on developing new technologies
3. There is less focus on reducing costs
4. Company is not considering expansion in emerging markets