Question 1: What role do you think objectives and strategies would play in planning the change

in direction that you need in your personal life? Provide me with three important objectives that
you'd like to pursue for yourself in the coming 12 months and support each of them with well-
defined strategies. (200 words)

Answer: An objective is a specific result that a person or an organization plans to achieve. A

strategy is a method or plan that is laid out to achieve that objective. In business terms, an
objective is a short term or long-term goal of an organization while strategy is the roadmap for
achieving that objective. Objectives and strategies play an important role in our personal life as
an individual can achieve success by setting pragmatic objectives and an effective strategy to
achieve them.

Financial security, a better job, and an international vacation are the three objectives that I want
to pursue in the coming 12 months.

a) To ensure the financial security, I would start saving a portion of my salary for investment in
mutual funds and fixed deposits.

b) To secure a better job, I would take an additional diploma and certificate course in my field of
expertise. I would also take speaking classes to effectively communicate in my job interviews.

c) For an international vacation, I would search the top-visited international destinations along
with their package details. I would also visit local travel agents and travel sites for a better
understanding of the tour fares and packages.

Question 2: Describe how BCG Matrix can be used to help an organization manage its corporate
strategies. In other words how BCG Matrix elements can be connected with a firm's strategies?
Suggest some examples for your defense. (200 words)

Answer: The BCG matrix is represented by a quadrant that consists of four symbols namely star,
question mark, cow, and dog. 

a) The upper left quadrant is symbolized by a star that represents products with a high share in
high growth markets. These products are a major source of income for the company but also
consumes a large amount of expenditure.

b) The upper right quadrant of the matrix is symbolized by a question mark that represents
products with high growth, low market share, and high expenditure. 

c) The business organizations should use these products to extract as much profit as they can and
use it for covering administrative costs, research, and development, and pay dividends to the
shareholders.
d) These products do not generate much revenue for the company and could be repositioned,
liquidated, or sold.

The three types of corporate strategies that are pursued by business organizations are
growth, stability, and renewal. 

a) In a growth strategy, a company enters new market segments with new products or acquire
new businesses to gain more market share.

b) In a stability strategy, a company maintains its current strategy like offering the same quality
of products service to its customers or maintaining the current market share.

c) In a renewal strategy, a company changes its strategy due to increased financial losses and
fierce competition.

Question 3: Explain "Mission Statement" Identify three major characteristics of a mission

statement from internet research (not from text book) and explain them in your words. Write two
mission statements. One for an airliner and the other one for a kindergarten school. (200 words)
Answer: A company can't showcase all of its activities, strategies, or goals to the customers.
Therefore, a company creates a small statement to showcase its purpose of existence and this
statement is called a mission statement. The statement is precise, distinctive, and feasible.
A mission statement for an airliner and kindergarten school is given below:

Meaning and three major characteristics of a mission statement:

A mission statement helps a business in defining its purpose for existence. It comprises of
philosophies, identity, image, and character of the organization.

Three major characteristics of a mission statement are:

a) Distinctive

A mission statement helps a company to create distinctiveness in the market.

b) Feasible

Mission statements are feasible. The term feasible means that the statement is realistic and
possible to achieve.

c) Precise form
A mission statement is not an exaggerated version of the company's mission.

Mission statement: Airlines

"We provide the highest quality of customer service served with a sense of warmth and
friendliness."

Mission statement: Kindergarten School

“Every kid is special and that is why we intend to provide a homely environment to your kids by
treating them as our own".

Question 4: Explain Bureaucratic organization and its four major pillars. Make a comparative
argument in favor of it and against it using telephone interview of your family members who are
government bureaucrats or you can go for deep internet research. Make sure you supply the
names of the persons you interviewed. This is an investigative type essay. (250 words)

Answer: An organization that is built on strict command and principles is called a bureaucratic
organization. An explanation and the four pillars or a Bureaucratic organization are given below:

Bureaucratic organization and its four major pillars

An organization with a pyramidal command structure is called as a bureaucratic organization.

The bureaucratic organizations are highly formal and well-organized. These companies work on
organizational charts that comprises of various tasks, roles, and responsibilities for employees.
These organizations include a strict command structure. These organizations are known to be
fair, orderly, and highly efficient. Every employee of the organization has responsibilities but the
authority is usually centered at the top-level management.

Every bureaucratic organization is structured on four pillars namely:

1) A clear hierarchy

Every bureaucratic follows a chain of command that defines the roles and responsibilities of
every person. The flow of command or authority flows from top to bottom level of management.
Without a chain of command, employees will become clueless regarding their roles.

2) Specialization

The term specialization refers to the expertise of personnel over a specific department or
subject.
3) A division of labor

The division of labor is essential in a bureaucratic organization. It means that the organization
divides its tasks and responsibilities into small components.

4) Formal rules

The term formal rules mean the standard operating procedures that have to be followed by the
whole bureaucratic organization.

All these characteristics together structure a Bureaucratic organization. In other words, a

bureaucratic organization cannot work in the absence of any of these pillars.