Professional Documents
Culture Documents
MS 91
MS 91
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ASSIGNMENT
Course Code: MS - 91
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 30th April, 2018 to
the coordinator of your study center.
Cost Leadership: Cost leadership narrows the scope of strategy down to containing
operational costs better than the competitors' efforts. If a company can lower its operating
costs, it increases the profit margin by default because it spends less money to make money.
Prices of products sold stay generally competitive with the market. In other words, the
company doesn't bank on one brand name super-product to rake in millions of dollars. The
company stays steady. In some cases, a company using cost leadership chooses to lower
prices and rake in more revenue through more sales; however, they can only do this if they
feel confident that they've lowered operational costs enough to still make a profit. Costco and
Walmart practice a low cost strategy with great success. Companies that succeed using this
strategy usually have the following attributes:
• A low-cost base to begin with, such as low materials cost to make products.
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differentiation strategy. Companies that find success with this strategy have the following
attributes:
• Good innovation.
Focus: A focus strategy begins by selecting a market niche to serve. This niche is only a
portion of a wider market, but your company hopes that by focusing on a smaller segment,
you can concentrate marketing efforts more effectively. Plus, you can better understand your
market because your company is focusing on the needs of a smaller group. Once you've
decided on your niche, then you revert to either the Cost Leadership or Differentiation
strategy, hence, Cost Focus or Differentiation Focus. For the Focus strategy to be effective,
you have to create something special in your strategy to serve that market. You can't simply
focus on the smaller market--you have to capitalize on the need of the group. For example,
if you have a widget to sell that cleans all types of houses, you can decide to target a
particular household, either two-parent or single parent, dual-income or one-income. In the
Forbes article Why Niche Marketing Matters, author Lois Geller states the important of niche
marketing when expanding your business. She mentions reaching out to groups to help list
your business in their resources and in turn, build your niche.
Selecting a Strategy: The strategy you select should help you achieve competitive
advantage. Leaders often recommend doing a SWOT analysis before selecting your strategy.
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A SWOT analysis helps you identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Once you do this, you'll know what position you're in to capitalize on a strategy. For
example, if your biggest strength is your ability to make distinctive products, then the
Differentiation strategy might be right for you.
Today, we are amongst one of the few steel companies that has its operations fully integrated
– from mining to manufacturing and marketing of finished products.
Their manufacturing strategy has always focused on ensuring raw material security. This
goes a long way in enabling cost competitiveness and efficiencies, and has enabled Tata Steel
to become the lowest cost producer of steel in Asia.
Their Raw Material Division operates captive iron ore and coking coal mines in the Indian
states of Jharkhand and Odisha. Key manufacturing functions, are performed by the raw
materials and iron making groups, while Shared Services provides support for a smooth
production. The downstream and allied business activities are structured into profit centres
such as Ferro-alloys and Minerals, Tubes, Wires, Bearings, Agrico, Industrial by-Products
Management & Tata Growth Shop.
Corporate Strategies in Tata Steel: JSW Steel has had a history of acquiring stressed
companies at attractive valuations and turning them around the most recent major acquisition
being that of Ispat Industries in 2010. The company has grown from 1.6 million tonnes
company in 2002 to 18 million tonnes now, and a significant portion of that is by way of
acquisitions. With five more stressed steel assets up for grabs through the insolvency
proceedings, Sheshagiri Rao, joint managing director and group CFO tells FE’s Shubhra
Tandon on what these acquisitions could mean for JSW Steel. Excerpts:
You have shown interest in some of the stressed steel assets on the block. What is the quality
of these assets?
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Will not be able to comment on the quality of these assets, but we have to look at our return
on capital employed. We are number two in terms of our ROCE and we would like to
maintain that position. Our ROCE is 13% at present, and it should be around that. Also, the
acquisitions that we have made are not just for the purpose of acquiring or for just volumes.
Board responsibilities must be clearly outlined to majority shareholders. All board members
must be on the same page and share a similar vision for the future of the company.
Ethical behavior violations in favor of higher profits can cause massive civil and legal
problems down the road. Underpaying and abusing outsourced employees or skirting around
lax environmental regulations can come back and bite the company hard if ignored. A code of
conduct regarding ethical decisions should be established for all members of the board.
Business transparency is the key to promoting shareholder trust. Financial records, earnings
reports and forward guidance should all be clearly stated without exaggeration or "creative"
accounting. Falsified financial records can cause your company to become a Ponzi scheme,
and will be dealt with accordingly.
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controls TISCO Group to achieve its sustainable business and social objectives, maximize the
shareholders’ value and benefit other stakeholders.
TISCO Board is elected by the shareholders of the company and except for those matters
specially reserved to the shareholders, acts and makes decisions on behalves of shareholders.
Among the most important decisions of TISCO Board are to select the TISCO Group’s Chief
Executive Officer (Group CEO) and to oversee the Group CEO and other senior management
in their execution of TISCO Group’s businesses.
TISCO Board establishes TISCO Corporate Governance Policy to oversee and monitor the
management of TISCO Group. TISCO Corporate Governance Policy are based on the
internationally accepted Corporate Governance Principles, Memorandum and Articles of
Association, rules and regulations covering financial institutions and listed companies on the
Stock Exchange of Thailand.
TISCO Corporate Governance Policy is applied to TISCO and its subsidiaries. It divides the
functions of TISCO and its subsidiaries, specifies the distribution of rights and
responsibilities of the shareholders, board of directors, management and other employees, and
other stakeholders, and sets the rules and procedures for decision making in corporate affairs
while pursuing TISCO’s objectives. It also provides the mechanism for monitoring the
corporate policies, decisions and actions.
Ans: Foreign market entry modes or participation strategies differ in the degree of risk they
present, the control and commitment of resources they require, and the return on investment
they promise.
There are two major types of market entry modes: equity and non-equity modes. The non-
equity modes category includes export and contractual agreements. The equity modes
category includes: joint venture and wholly owned subsidiaries.
Exporting: Exporting is the process of selling of goods and services produced in one country
to other countries.
Direct Exports: Direct exports represent the most basic mode of exporting made by a
(holding) company, capitalizing on economies of scale in production concentrated in the
home country and affording better control over distribution. Direct export works the best if
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the volumes are small. Large volumes of export may trigger protectionism. The main
characteristic of direct exports entry model is that there are no intermediaries.
Passive exports represent the treating and filling overseas orders like domestic orders.
Types
Importing distributors: Importing distributors purchase product in their own right and resell
it in their local markets to wholesalers, retailers, or both. Importing distributors are a good
market entry strategy for products that are carried in inventory, such as toys, appliances,
prepared food.
Indirect exports: Indirect export is the process of exporting through domestically based
export intermediaries. The exporter has no control over its products in the foreign market.
Types
Export trading companies (ETCs): These provide support services of the entire export
process for one or more suppliers. Attractive to suppliers that are not familiar with exporting
as ETCs usually perform all the necessary work: locate overseas trading partners, present the
product, quote on specific enquiries, etc.
Export management companies (EMCs): These are similar to ETCs in the way that they
usually export for producers. Unlike ETCs, they rarely take on export credit risks and carry
one type of product, not representing competing ones. Usually, EMCs trade on behalf of their
suppliers as their export departments.
Export merchants: Export merchants are wholesale companies that buy unpackaged
products from suppliers/manufacturers for resale overseas under their own brand names. The
advantage of export merchants is promotion. One of the disadvantages for using export
merchants result in presence of identical products under different brand names and pricing on
the market, meaning that export merchant’s activities may hinder manufacturer’s exporting
efforts.
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purposes only. We encourage you to use our material as a research and study aid only. Plagiarism is a crime,
and we condone such behavior. Please use our material responsibly, and avoid academic fraud.
Confirming houses: These are intermediate sellers that work for foreign buyers. They
receive the product requirements from their clients, negotiate purchases, make delivery, and
pay the suppliers/manufacturers. An opportunity here arises in the fact that if the client likes
the product it may become a trade representative. A potential disadvantage includes
supplier’s unawareness and lack of control over what a confirming house does with their
product.
Nonconforming purchasing agents: These are similar to confirming houses with the
exception that they do not pay the suppliers directly – payments take place between a
supplier/manufacturer and a foreign buyer.
Ans: Web-based Business Models: Internet business models are categorized as business-to-
consumer, business-to-business, and more recently, consumer-to-consumer. Business-to-
consumer and business-to-business models typically sell goods and services or provide
information designed to help visitors make purchase decisions. Consumer-to-consumer
models involve consumer-to-consumer information or product exchange.
Infomediary and Affiliate Models: Infomediaries are similar to infomercials because they
give information designed to subtly sell a product or service. The automobile information
site, Edmunds.com, is an example of an infomediary. Affiliate programs offer products and
services that website visitors would probably be interested in purchasing. Amazon has
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purposes only. We encourage you to use our material as a research and study aid only. Plagiarism is a crime,
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developed an extensive affiliate program by helping individual websites link to specific
products Amazon offers. An affiliate often recommends or reviews products and posts that
information on the Amazon site.
Manufacturer’s Direct Model: Cisco, the digital electronic parts manufacturer, has an
online product catalog that is an example of the manufacturer’s direct model. An individual
or business can go directly to Cisco’s website to purchase systems and parts, which allows
Cisco to operate with fewer field sales representatives. Dell Computer also uses this business
model, giving the consumer the ability to customize his computer according to his needs.
Subscription and Utility Models: Publications such as the Wall Street Journal, content
aggregators such as HighBeam Research, services such as GoToMyPC, and the various
intranet sites such as Sharepoint and Salesforce.com, where users pay a fee to access web-
based software programs, are all examples of subscription and utility models.
Web 3.0: The future is the Semantic Web, called Web 3.0 because it is the next step from the
Social Web or Web 2.0 currently going through the maturation process. The Semantic Web
will collect a database of all your web activities and use it to provide a customized personal
experience, like a web concierge. Although the Semantic Web is still being developed, there
are a few attempts being made in the form of Bing, Facebook's advertising model, and
Amazon's suggested products model. All of these learn your likes and dislikes through your
repeated use of particular websites.
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purposes only. We encourage you to use our material as a research and study aid only. Plagiarism is a crime,
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services. In some sectors, such as finance, new forms of competition have emerged from
organizations adopting e-business techniques.
Strategic: The European Commission reported in “ICT and e-Business Impact Studies --
2009” that e-business components were now an essential element of business. Many
organizations have taken the strategic decision to integrate e-business solutions into
production processes, quality management, marketing, logistics and customer services. In
fact, 97 percent of respondents to the study reported that their new processes are supported by
information and communication technologies.
Productivity: Productivity gains are an important benefit of e-business. A report by the U.K.
Office for National Statistics found that organizations with automatic links between key
business process and their e-commerce activities have higher average labor productivity than
firms without the links. The productivity gains result from e-business investment in
processes, such as workflow, access to data and communication tools.
Supply Chain: E-business has had a significant impact on the efficiency of supply chain
operations. Partners exchange transaction data, schedules, requests and market information
over secure networks. The ability to share information on market changes ensures that the
entire supply chain can respond effectively, reducing risk and eliminating waste. A study by
Ruhr-Universität Bochum -- "The Impact of e-business on the Organization of the German
Automobile Supply Industry" -- found that e-business helped to reduce transaction costs and
improved the efficiency of the most critical supply chain activities -- exchange of information
and workflow.
E-commerce: Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau highlight the importance of e-commerce,
particularly in the business-to-business sector, which accounted for 92 percent of e-commerce
activity. The E-commerce Report showed that in 2008, e-commerce grew faster than total
economic activity in three of the four sectors covered by the Bureau’s E-Stats report.
Retailers’ e-commerce sales increased by 3.3 percent with a volume of $142 billion.
Customer Service: Many organizations have used e-business processes to transform the
delivery of customer service. Facilities, such as online ordering, self-service technical support
and community forums, have improved service quality and reduced costs.
New Competition: Organizations in many sectors face new forms of competition from
businesses that utilize e-business processes to offer customers a high-quality service at lower
cost than established businesses. In the financial sector, for example, a study by Bruce Perrott
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purposes only. We encourage you to use our material as a research and study aid only. Plagiarism is a crime,
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of the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, found that e-business was transforming
the structure of the banking industry with the emergence of non-traditional competitors, such
as retailers or other financial institutions.
Ans: The practice of companies by which they target their respective charitable and
philanthropic activities around a specific issue or cause that will in turn support their own
business objectives. In other words, companies look to use philanthropy as a means to
simultaneously and directly benefit their business interests and those of a beneficiary
organization.
Attributes:
The act of giving in any form is based on research, creative planning, careful
execution, analysis of the results, and strategy revisions if company is not seeing their
desired results.
Is mutually beneficial for both the donor company and the non-profit.
The donating company (or brand) can increase its reputation in the eye of the
consumer as well as participation by leveraging the positive imagery affiliated with
the recipient non-profit.
Likewise, the non-profit stands to increase: brand value through affiliation with a
corporation, a higher level of awareness of the cause with which they are involved,
attract new sponsors, donors, and volunteers.
Examples:
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purposes only. We encourage you to use our material as a research and study aid only. Plagiarism is a crime,
and we condone such behavior. Please use our material responsibly, and avoid academic fraud.
Chrysler: Chrysler drastically altered its giving priorities from the general field of education
to specifically training prospective employees. Not only were they giving skill training to
workers who needed skills to entire into the automotive industry, but they also ensured more
efficient employees would be available for hire and reduce the need and cost of in-house
training
Wachovia: Wachovia paired with Teach For America and has seen an increase in employee
engagement, retention, and satisfaction. Teach for America allows Wachovia employees to
help train incoming teachers at Teach for America’s Summer Training Institute and also
volunteer in classrooms across the country. Thus Teach for America has gained access to the
knowledge of experienced professionals whose participation, for example in from Humans
Services employees, has shaped how Teach for America is run. Likewise, Wachovia
employees accepted to Teach for America can defer their employment for two years to teach,
thus gaining significant work and leadership experience. Wachaovia also looks to hire Teach
for America participants for internships and full time positions.
Kmart: Kmart partnered with the March of Dimes in 1984 and since then, through corporate
volunteerism, fundraising, and sponsorship (don’t worry, a term I will define in a later entry)
the company has raised over $55 million dollars for the cause. In addition to supporting the
March of Dimes, through this partnership Kmart has also increased its consumer traffic,
brand image, and employee satisfaction levels.
Some economists advocate dropping traditional morality and encouraging people to think
only of themselves. Christians cannot accept this option, so we need a better option. We need
a theory of economic behaviour that does not contradict Christian morality. The solution is
not to drop Christian morality, but to understand that modern economic theory is incorrect in
assuming that all economic behaviour is motivated by self-interest. This assumption only
explains some economic behaviour. For example, most people care for their families. Many
people show amazing generosity to people in need.
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Sometimes it is self-serving, but often it is not. Economic thinking has to go beyond self-
interest to explain altruistic behaviour.
Q6.How do Lupin Human Welfare and Research Foundation built up long term supply
arrangements and manufacturing capacity?
Ans: The Code of Conduct report for LUPIN HUMAN WELFARE AND RESEARCH
FOUNDATION (LHWRF) evaluates the company’s adherence to various code of conduct
parameters. The study examines and comments upon the common minimum indicators such
as:
• Loan Appraisal
SMERA believes that LHWRF exhibits an above average level of adherence to all parameters
and consequently complies well with the code of conduct laid out. This document details
SMERA’s approach and methodology for this study and gives observations of its assessment
team while conducting the evaluation. The Approval; Documentation; Dissemination and
Observance (ADDO) framework has been used for assessment and measuring Lupin
Foundation’s adherence towards ethical operational practices.
Agrawal, Mr. Jagdish Khatri, Mr. Anil Kumar Garg, Mr. Chanrakant Garg and Mr. Vijay
Goyal as members. The objective of LHWRF is to provide an alternative model of holistic
rural development in the country, which is sustainable, replicable and ever evolving.
LHWRFs’ operations are spread across more than 2,200 villages in India located in five
states namely Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. .
The microfinance operations started in the year 1995 and spread in Rajasthan, Maharashtra
and Madhya Pradesh with the headquarters based at Bharatpur, Rajasthan.
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LHWRF is managed by a team of experienced management professionals. Mr. Sita Ram
Gupta (Executive Director) holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and has worked with
Rajasthan State Electricity Board (RSEB) and has been associated with the LHWRF since
inception. Dr. Swati Samvatsar has recently joined LHWRF as a Chief Programme Manager.
LHWRF has adopted the group lending model and individual lending model for carrying out
microfinance activities. Group lending model i.e. Self Help Group (SHG) approach wherein
10 to 20 women members come together to form a group and Joint Liability Group (JLG)
approach wherein 05 members come together to form a group. Individual loan model is
primarily for the entrepreneurs’ for meeting requirements of their micro enterprises. Subject
has implemented an innovative model in Rajasthan, named “Lupin Gram Vikas Panchayat
(LGVP)” a voluntary committee consisting of president, secretary, treasurer and members
representing each section of borrower community.
LHWRF does not come under the purview of regulatory framework applicable to NBFC-
MFIs, as it’s been registered as a society and a trust under the Rajasthan Societies
Registration Act, 1958 and Indian Trust Act, respectively.
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