PI Kit

FOR MBA
2024
By Admissions Committee,
IMI New Delhi

A reference guide for aspirants

This kit will help you prepare for the upcoming personal interviews. It contains interview
tips, generic questions and information on all the domains of management.

www.Imi.edu/delhi | 011-47194176/194 | admissions@imi.edu

 Preface
International Management Institute (IMI) is India’s first corporate sponsored Business School

founded in 1981 with the original campus in New Delhi. The corporate sponsors include RPG

Enterprises (lead sponsor), ITC, Nestle, Tata Chemicals, British Oxygen, SAIL, and Williamson

Magor. Over the last four decades, IMI has emerged as one of the best Business Schools in the

country and continues to uphold its reputation of developing the best business leaders & provid-

ing high quality management education. IMI New Delhi has global linkages with leading schools

in Europe, North America, and Asia. The institute is accredited by the AMBA, the SAQS, the

AACSB, the NBA and approved by the AICTE. Located in the heart of the city, IMI has easy

access to the major corporate houses. The institute boasts of its intellectual capital as the learn-

ing comes from distinguished and renowned professors. IMI has a long list of alumni (7000+)

widely spread throughout the globe holding notable positions in companies such as Morgan

Stanley, Google, Bain & Co, Microsoft, Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Co, Airbus, CBRE,

etc.

The institute provides excellent summer internship and final placement opportunities with top

recruiters recruiting for various roles in the domain of Banking and Financial Services, Insurance,

E-Commerce, FMCD, FMCG, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Consulting, Edtech, IT, ITES and Tele-

com.

IMI New Delhi is a student-driven institute that stands strong on its four pillars: corporate competi-

tions, live projects, seminars & student bodies. The 18 student bodies and 10 societies at IMI,

provide a plethora of opportunities to learn and shine. The institute gives multiple challenging

platforms to the students through case study competitions, live projects, seminars, Business

Thought Leadership (BTL) sessions, and guest lectures to prepare them for the corporate world.
 Table of Contents

Interview Basics
● Tips for Virtual Interview

● Tips for In - Person Interview

● PI Question Bank

● Work Experience Related Questions

Extempore Topics
Domain Preparation
● Marketing

● Operations

● Economics

● Human Resource Management

● Banking & Financial Services

● Consulting and Strategy

● Information Systems

● Data Analytics
 Virtual
Interview

Video interviews can be intimidating, but this is because you have never given one before. With practice, they will feel
like any regular interview. The same basic principles of an in-person interview needs to be abided by on camera. As
video interviews are becoming more prevalent, it would be useful to acquaint yourself with the technology before the
interview. By following these tips, you will be in a great position to excel in the interview in no time.

Virtual Interview Tips

1. Practice your pace: It is advisable to speak a bit slower than usual when you’re interviewing over video. Speaking
slower ensures what you're saying isn't missed if your internet connection temporarily slows down. Rushing through your
answers can make you appear less confident.

2. Look at your camera, not your screen: It is counterintuitive, but maintaining eye contact on video means looking at
your web camera and not the person on your screen. The interviewers will feel more engaged when it seems you have
eye contact with them.

3. Dress for success: Make sure you look polished and professional. Dressing well helps make a great first impression with
your interviewer and helps you feel more confident.
4. Test your technology: Avoid potential technical glitches by testing your equipment before the interview. Prior to the
interview and on the day, make sure you check:

● Connectivity
● Speakers and microphones
● Webcamera
● Camera Angle
5. Stay Calm: Try to remain calm, confident and proactive. It is crucial that you communicate your skills and experience
with clarity which is possible only if you remain composed.

6. Show up on time: Be ready for that impending call by preparing yourself minutes or even hours beforehand. Being on
time will help you to cut down on stress.
7. Mind your body language: Body language boils down to what you're communicating without speaking. Sit up
straight, smile, and keep the camera at eye level to avoid looking up or down.

8. Stay professional: Make sure your username and email address look professional. Double-check your Zoom profile
name. It should be your first and last name, preferably not a nickname.

9. Check your background: Make sure where you’re sitting looks clean and organized. Allow for natural lighting if
possible, so that your face can be seen clearly. Switch off your mobile phone, close any other computer programmes
and sit in a comfortable, distraction-free zone.

10. Be Yourself: A key task for the interviewer is determining whether you would be a good fit for the B-school. Therefore,
try to be as authentic as possible during the interview.

The list is not exhaustive in nature. This is just for reference.

 Personal
Interview
Questions

1. Tell us something about yourself.

2. Why MBA?
3. Why MBA after engineering (or whichever field you are from)?
4. Why MBA after having job experience in a non-related field?
5. Why are you changing your stream? (Ex: Why marketing after Electrical Engineering?)
6. If not MBA, then what?
7. How do you deal with criticism?
8. What are your strengths?
9. What are your weaknesses?
10. How do you make the most out of your resources?
11. Share an instance when you dealt with an interpersonal conflict while working in a diverse group.
12. Describe your time management skills.
13. What are your short-term goals?
14. What are your long-term goals?
15. Describe your role in the last job you did?
16. Give me an example of your creativity.
17. What are the recent newspaper headlines that grabbed your attention?
18. How would your boss describe you in five sentences?
19. How would your friends describe you?
20. What excites you the most?
21. What is unique about you?
22. Tell us about your family background.
23. What are the challenges you’ve faced in life? How did you cope with them?
24. Explain your gap year.
25. Why should we select you over any other candidate?
26. Are you a good team player? Give some instances to justify the same.
27. What do you know about this College?
28. Give us any instance when you exhibited leadership skills.
29. What is your greatest achievement and why?
30. What are your career goals?
31. Why this particular programme or specialization?
32. How will you contribute to the college if we choose you?
33. What makes you angry?
34. Who is your role model?
35. Who inspires you?
36. Share a time when you had to make a moral decision. What was your solution?

The list is not exhaustive in nature. This is just for reference.

 Work
Experience
Related
Questions

1. By the time you join IMI New Delhi (if you get selected), you would have around x months of work experience. Why do you want
to make a switch at this point in your career?
2. Describe the roles & responsibilities, and a project that I was working at that time in the firm.
3. Tell me 3 things that you learned from your job.
4. What are the reasons for you leaving the job?
5. How would you handle a situation where one of your team members is not working hard enough?
6. Tell us an incident where you stood against your superiors.
7. Describe a situation where you had a conflict with your colleagues.
8. Tell me about a time where you had trouble at work while working on a project.
9. Tell me about a time where you displayed leadership skills.
10. Describe a situation where you messed up.
11. Do you consider yourself a team player?
12. What are the qualities of a Leader? What is the difference between a Leader and a Manager?
13. What are your key learnings from your work experience?
14. Have you ever tackled any situation where you had limited resources and you had to manage it ? What was your approach ?
15. After MBA , JOB or enterpreneurship ?
16. Tell me about your Professional (marketing , finance etc.) experience.
17. What qualities of a marketer do you possess?
18. Why do you want to pursue marketing? Sell me this object (things like pen, bottle or any other thing).
19. What qualities of a marketer do you possess?
20. Your favorite company/companies? Why?
21. Which is your recent favorite ad? Why?

The list is not exhaustive in nature. This is just for reference.

 Extempore Topics
Abstract Topics Non-Abstract Topics

● Red vs Blue ● Make in India vs Make for India

● Mythology vs management ● New Education Policy
● Ignorance is bliss
● Recent Initiatives by the Government of India
● Joy and sorrow go hand in hand
● Citizenship Amendment Act
● Innovation Vs invention
● Unemployment in India
● Happy versus successful
● Rise of social entrepreneurship in India
● Modernization is not westernization
● Covid-19 & Ensuring Public Health
● Only thing constant is change

● Ethics and values are utopian words ● Climate Justice

● Is hope also a strategy? ● Is Work-Life Balance a Myth?

● Shortcuts - useful or unsustainable ● Women empowerment

● Do we need more entrepreneurs or managers? ● Privatization

● Communication skills in the 21st Century ● Inflation
● Infinity
● Reservation in India
● Zero vs Shunya
● Data theft by social media platforms
● What will happen if one rupee becomes equal
to one dollar? ● Net neutrality

● Business Lobbying

● Make in India- ground realities and leaps with China

● India’s space program: achievements and challenges

● India or China: the next superpower

● Ayushman Bharat Yojana

● Rising population of India could be turned into an asset

● Russia vs Ukraine

● Subsidy for Fertilizers

● Metaverse

● Gig economy

● Cryptocurrency and NFTs

● Moonlighting

● Indian Economy

● Machine Learning.

● Threats in Robotics
 Marketing

“Marketing is a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want by
creating and exchanging products and value with others” - Philip Kotler. The basic purpose of marketing is to know and
comprehend the customers and their needs and wants thoroughly. The focus of marketing management is on
achieving desired exchange outcomes with the target markets.

Marketing Vs Sales :
Many people confuse Selling and Marketing as one and the same term. While marketing is a broader area that
includes Selling, Sales is about aggressively making the deal, therefore selling is a Pull strategy. Salespeople typically
focus on short-term actions to close deals and meet revenue goals. For B2B, service-centric businesses, salespeople are
particularly indispensable because customers are relationship-driven and want the comfort of working with a
salesperson who understands their company and unique needs. The sales cycle can be very long and needs a
dedicated person to doggedly hunt the deal down until it's closed. The average transaction size can be very large,
which means that it’s essential to have multiple face-to-face meetings to close sales.
Marketing on the other hand, involves a whole range of activities relating to planning, pricing, promoting and
distributing the products that satisfy customer’s needs.

Marketing Concepts:

● Production Concept – The idea that consumers will favor products that are available and highly affordable, so, the
organization should focus on improving production and distribution efficiency.

● Product Concept - The idea that consumers will favor products that offer the most quality, performance & features;
so, the organization should devote its energy to making continuous product improvements.

● Selling Concept – The idea that consumers will buy enough of the firm’s products unless the firm undertakes a
large-scale selling and promotion effect.

● Marketing Concept – A philosophy in which achieving organizational goals depends on knowing the needs and
wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions better than competitor’s do.

● Societal Marketing Concept – The idea that a company’s marketing decisions should consider consumers’ wants, the
company’s requirements, consumers’ long-run interests, and society’s long-run interests.
7P’s of Marketing :
Product - This signifies the product or the service the company is bringing to the market, its key features,
its USP’s (Unique Selling propositions).

Place - This signifies the placement of the product/service. It includes where the product will be visible to
the consumers and where they can buy it.

Price - This signifies the pricing strategy of the product. It includes at what price point the product/service
will be sold to the target segment.

Promotion - This involves the strategy with which the company will attract customers and promote its
product in various media (print, TV, social).

People - The ‘people’ element of the 7Ps involves anyone directly, or indirectly, involved in the
business-side of the enterprise. People who are involved in selling a product or service, designing it,
managing teams, representing customers etc.

Physical Evidence - Physical evidence often takes two forms: evidence that a service or purchase took
place and proof or confirmation of the existence of your brand. Physical evidence brings a brand to the
forefront of the game, and sets it apart from your competitors by showing you as professional, authentic
and informed.

The basis of segmentation can be:

• Geography
• Demographics
• Behaviors
• Psychographics

Targeting
It is the act of choosing whether to consider or not to consider from the above-segmented groups to
cater to them with the intended product/service.

Bases for Targeting are:

1. Market size – Sustainability
2. Expected growth - Future potential
3. Competitive position – Attractiveness
4. Cost of reaching the segment – Accessibility
5. Compatibility with the organization’s objectives & resources

Positioning

Positioning defines where your product (item or service) stands in relation to others offering similar
products and services in the marketplace as well as the mind of the consumer. A good positioning
makes a product unique and makes the users consider using it as a distinct benefit to them. A good
position gives the product a USP (Unique selling proposition). In a marketplace cluttered with lots of
products and brands offering similar benefits, a good positioning makes a brand or product stand out
from the rest, confers it the ability to charge a higher price, and staves off competition from the others.
 Hostel Fee for Academic
Year 2022-23
1,87,000

2,12,000

3,18,000

2,22,000

3,34,000

Product Life Cycle

A product is a tangible item that is put on the market for acquisition, attention, or consumption, while a
service is an intangible item, which arises from the output of one or more individuals.

Phases -

Introduction :

This is the phase when a new product is first brought to the market. Sales are low and creep along slowly.
This phase includes a substantial investment in advertising & a marketing campaign to make consumers
aware of the product & its benefits.

Growth :

Demand begins to accelerate and the size of the total market expands rapidly. It might also be called
the “Take-off Stage”. Demand grows, production is increased, and its availability expands.

Maturity :

As a product matures, it enters its most profitable stage, while the costs of producing and marketing
decline.

Decline :

The product tends to lose consumer appeal & sales drift downward because of the increased
competition as other companies emulate its success, sometimes with enhancements or lower prices.

Brand:

A brand is the way a product, company, or individual is perceived by those who experience it. Much
more than just a name or a logo, a brand is the recognizable feeling these assets evoke.

Branding :

Branding is the act of shaping how a company, organization, or individual is perceived. For example,
customer perceptions themselves don’t go out and buy iPhones. But they are critically important for one
reason: perceptions dictate behavior. Even perceptions that we’re unaware of have the ability to
profoundly affect how we act. Research in experimental social psychology has shown that while we might
think we’re in total control of our actions, our behavior is often influenced by stimuli we’re completely
unaware of. How an individual perceives a brand (consciously or unconsciously) wholly
Hostel Fee for determines how
Academic
he or she will engage with that brand. The power of branding hinges a Yearvery 2022-23
important truth about
perceptions: Perceptions are malleable. Branding has the power to shape our perceptions
1,87,000 because those
perceptions are susceptible to being shaped. They practically cry out for it. Whether we know it or not, we
2,12,000
are constantly searching for meaning and order in the world around us. Without it, we’re lost. We want our
3,18,000
realities to make sense.
2,22,000

Why is Branding Important ?

3,34,000

Branding is absolutely critical to a business because of the overall impact it makes on your company.
Branding can change how people perceive your brand, it can drive new business and increase brand
awareness. Branding is what makes a memorable impression on consumers but it allows your customers
and clients to know what to expect from your company. It is a way of distinguishing yourself from the
competitors and clarifying what it is you offer that makes you the better choice. Your brand is built to be a
true representation of who you are as a business, and how you wish to be perceived.

General Terms

Market – The set of all actual and potential buyers of a product and service.
Needs – State of felt deprivation.
Wants – The form human needs take as they are shaped by culture and individual personality. Demands –
Human wants that are backed by buying power.
Product – Product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition or consumption.
Service - Any act or performance that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and
does not result in the ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be tied to a physical product.

Some additional terms to be considered for greater understanding:

Green Marketing: Unilever,H&M, IKEA etc
Social Media Marketing: Sugar & Mama Earth
Global marketing: Nike, Coca Cola, Apple

Some More Important Questions (Answers May Vary from Individual to Individual)

Why do you want to pursue marketing? Sell me this object (things like pen, bottle or any other thing).
What qualities of a marketer do you possess?
Your favorite company/companies? Why?
Which is your recent favorite ad? Why?
Product
Life Cycle

Introduction : This is the phase when a new product is first brought to the market. Sales are low and creep
along slowly. This phase includes a substantial investment in advertising & a marketing campaign to make
consumers aware of the product & its benefits.

Maturity : As a product matures, it enters its most profitable stage, while the costs of producing and
marketing decline.

Growth : Demand begins to accelerate and the size of the total market expands rapidly. It might also be
called the “Take-off Stage”. Demand grows, production is increased, and its availability expands.

Decline : The product tends to lose consumer appeal & sales drift downward because of the increased
competition as other companies emulate its success, sometimes with enhancements or lower prices.

Brand:
A brand is the way a product, company, or individual is perceived by those who experience it. Much
more than just a name or a logo, a brand is the recognizable feeling these assets evoke.

Branding :
Branding is the act of shaping how a company, organization, or individual is perceived. For example-
Customer perceptions themselves don’t go out and buy iPhones.
But they are critically important for one reason: perceptions dictate behavior.

Even perceptions that we’re unaware of have the ability to profoundly affect how we act. Research in
experimental social psychology has shown that while we might think we’re in total control of our actions, our
behavior is often influenced by stimuli we’re completely unaware of.

How an individual perceives a brand (consciously or unconsciously) wholly determines how he or she will
engage with that brand. The power of branding hinges a very important truth about perceptions:

Perceptions are malleable.

Branding has the power to shape our perceptions because those perceptions are susceptible to being
shaped. They practically cry out for it. Whether we know it or not, we are constantly searching for meaning
and order in the world around us. Without it, we’re lost. We want our realities to make sense.

Why is Branding Important ?

Branding is absolutely critical to a business because of the overall impact it makes on your company.
Branding can change how people perceive your brand, it can drive new business and increase brand
awareness. Branding is what makes a memorable impression on consumers but it allows your customers and
clients to know what to expect from your company. It is a way of distinguishing yourself from the competitors
and clarifying what it is you offer that makes you the better choice. Your brand is built to be a true
representation of who you are as a business, and how you wish to be perceived.

General Terms

Market – The set of all actual and potential buyers of a product and service.
Needs – State of felt deprivation.
Wants – The form human needs take as they are shaped by culture and individual personality.
Demands – Human wants that are backed by buying power.
Product – Product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition or consumption.
Service - Any act or performance that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does
not result in the ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be tied to a physical product.

Some More Important Questions (Answers May Vary from Individual to Individual)

Why do you want to pursue marketing? Sell me this object (things like pen, bottle or any other thing).
What qualities of a marketer do you possess?
Your favorite company/companies? Why?
Which is your recent favorite ad? Why?
 Operations

Operations is the “the Science and Art of ensuring that the goods and services are created and delivered
successfully to the customers.”

Operations management refers to the business function responsible for planning, coordinating, and
controlling the resources needed to produce products and services for a company. It is important for
reducing the cost of production drastically while maintaining the quality of the product intact. In the modern
management process, it includes the entire range of supply chain processes, i.e. right from procuring the raw
materials to sending the finished products to the warehouse; the importance of Operations management is
everywhere.

Key terms:
Product Design - The process of deciding on the unique and specific features of a product.
Process Selection - An excellent product design is worthless if a process for its creation cannot be developed.
Process Control - Process control is the ability to monitor and adjust a process to give a desired output. It is
used in industry to maintain quality and improve performance.
Efficiency - Efficiency is the ability to avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time in doing
something or in producing a desired result.
Effectiveness - Effectiveness is the capability of producing a desired result or the ability to produce desired
output.
Quality management - The process used to ensure the quality of a product, including measuring quality and
identifying quality issues.
Total quality management (TQM) - A philosophy that seeks to improve quality by
eliminating the causes of product defects and by making quality standards, the responsibility of every
individual in the organization.
Reengineering - The process of redesigning a company’s processes to increase its production efficiency,
improve quality, and reduce costs.
Project Management - Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all
project goals within the given time, money, personnel, and other implementation constraints.
Supply Chain
Supply chain is sourcing and moving both the raw materials and the finished product. Operations
Management is the part in the middle where the product is created from the raw materials. Supply chain is
how you get the raw materials from the suppliers (upstream) and how you get the finished products to the
customers (downstream).

Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management is the management of the flow of goods and services and includes all processes
that transform raw materials into final products. It involves the active streamlining of a business's supply-side
activities to maximize customer value and gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Inbound Logistics: The logistics associated with initial movement of the raw material to the manufacturing
unit and subsequent movement within the unit.

Outbound Logistics: The logistics associated with movement of the finished goods from the end of the
manufacturing production line till the end user.
Marketing and Sales: Involve gathering customer requirements and then fulfilling them through an exchange
process.

Service: The activities associated with the delivery of the product eg. in-store staff and post-sales service,
fulfilling warranty, etc.

Support Areas: Financial management, Human Resource Management, Legal Control, Quality departments
which are indirectly involved in the production of the product.

Procurement: Purchase of raw material or services which are transformed into or used to reach the final
product.
Six Sigma
Six-Sigma is a business management strategy, originally developed by Motorola that today enjoys
wide-spread application in many sectors of industry. Six Sigma seeks to identify and remove the causes of
defects and errors in manufacturing and/or service delivery and business processes. It uses a set of
management methods, including statistical methods, and creates a dedicated infrastructure of people
within the organization who are experts in these methods. Six-Sigma aims to deliver Breakthrough
Performance Improvement from current levels in business and customer relevant operational and
performance measures.

Six Sigma believes that-

● Continuous efforts to achieve stable and predictable process results (i.e., reduce process variation) are of
vital importance to business success.
● Manufacturing and business processes have characteristics that can be measured, analyzed, improved
and controlled.
● Achieving sustained performance and quality improvement requires commitment from the entire
organization, particularly from top-level management.

Features that differentiate Six Sigma apart from previous quality improvement initiatives include:

● A clear focus on achieving measurable and quantifiable financial returns from any Six Sigma project.
● An increased emphasis on strong and passionate management leadership and support.
● A special organization infrastructure of "Champions," "Master Black Belts," "Black Belts”, “Green Belts” etc.to
lead and implement the Six Sigma approach.

Six Sigma defines 2 key methodologies – DMAIC and DMADV

● DMAIC is used to improve an existing business process.

● DMADV is used to create new product or process designs.
 ECONOMICS

Definition
"Economics is the science which studies human behavior as a relationship between given ends and scarce
means which have alternative uses" - former London School of Economics professor Lionel Robbins
Economics is the social science of how individuals and groups make decisions with limited available
resources to best satisfy their wants, needs, and desires.

Microeconomics
Microeconomics is the branch of economics which studies the decisions made by individuals, to use the
resources, interactions between the individuals for utilization and distribution of the scarce resources. It deals
with what choices people make, what factors influence their choices and how their decisions affect the
goods markets by affecting the price, the supply and demand.

Demand
Demand of a commodity is the quantity of that commodity which the consumer wishes to buy at a given
price from the market.
The law of demand states that as the price of a commodity increases, the quantity demanded by the
consumer decreases.

Supply
Supply is an economic concept that describes the total amount of a specific good or service that is available
to consumers.
The Law of supply states that holding all other factors constant, with an increase in quantity
supplied,increases the price of the commodity. Simply, as the price rises for a given product/service, suppliers
are willing to supply more.

Equilibrium
The market equilibrium is formed at the point where the demand and supply curves intersect. The intersection
price is the market price of the product or service. Factors affecting demand and supply are ever-changing.
Thus, the state of equilibrium does not exist in real life, and the demand and supply keep changing.

Elasticity
Elasticity is the measurement of the change in an economic variable due to a change in another variable.
Elasticity can be quantified as the ratio of the percentage change in one variable to the percentage
change in another variable.
Macroeconomics
Macroeconomics is a branch of economics that studies how an overall economy - the market systems that
operate on a large scale - behaves. Macroeconomics studies economy-wide phenomena such as inflation,
price levels, rate of economic growth, national income, gross domestic product (GDP), and changes in
unemployment. It deals with the sum total of the decisions made by individuals in a society. For e.g.: how
does a change in
Interest rates influence national savings.

GDP
Gross Domestic Product is the value of all the final goods and services produced within the boundary of the
nation during the period of one year. It is the summation of national private consumption, gross investment,
government spending and trade balance.

NDP
Net Domestic Product (NDP) is the GDP minus the depreciation of the goods and services produced.

GNP
Gross National Product is the summation of the GDP of a nation and the income of the nation from outside of
the nation. GNP indicates both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the economy.

NNP
Net National Product (NNP) is the GNP minus the depreciation of the economy.

Inflation
The rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services is rising, and, subsequently, purchasing
power is falling. A general price increase across the entire economy is called inflation. When prices decrease,
there is deflation. Economists measure these changes in prices with price indexes.

Deflation
Deflation is a general decline in prices for goods and services, typically associated with a contraction in the
supply of money and credit in the economy.Deflation is a decrease in the general price level of goods and
services. It occurs when the inflation rate falls below 0%.

Stagflation
Stagflation is an economic cycle characterized by slow growth and a high unemployment rate
accompanied by inflation.

Recession
A recession is a significant, widespread, and prolonged downturn in economic activity. A popular rule of
thumb is that two consecutive quarters of decline in gross domestic product (GDP) constitute a recession.

Depression
An economic depression is a period of sustained, long-term downturn in economic activity in one or more
economies. It is a more severe economic downturn than a recession, which is a slowdown in economic
activity over the course of a normal business cycle.

Direct Tax-
A direct tax is a tax that a person or an organization pays directly to the entity that imposed it. Examples
include income tax, real property tax, personal property tax, and taxes on assets, all of which are paid by an
individual taxpayer directly to the government.
Indirect Tax
Indirect tax is the tax levied on the consumption of goods and services. It is not directly levied on the income
of a person. Instead, he/she has to pay the tax along with the price of goods or services bought by the seller.

GST
The goods and services tax (GST) is a value-added tax (VAT) levied on most goods and services sold for
domestic consumption. The GST is paid by consumers, but it is remitted to the government by the businesses
selling the goods and services.

Repo Rate
Repo rate is the rate at which the central bank of a country (Reserve Bank of India in case of India) lends
money to commercial banks in the event of any shortfall of funds. Repo rate is used by monetary authorities
to control inflation.

Reverse Repo
Reverse repo rate is the rate at which the central bank of a country (Reserve Bank of India in case of India)
borrows money from commercial banks within the country. It is a monetary policy instrument which can be
used to control the money supply in the country.

CRR
Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) is a specified minimum fraction of the total deposits of customers, which
commercial banks have to hold as reserves either in cash or as deposits with the central bank. CRR is set
according to the guidelines of the central bank of a country.

SLR
Statutory Liquidity Ratio or SLR is a minimum percentage of deposits that a commercial bank has to maintain
in the form of liquid cash, gold or other securities. It is basically the reserve requirement that banks are
expected to keep before offering credit to customers.

Types of Market:

1. Perfect Competition- The term perfect competition refers to a theoretical market structure. Although
perfect competition rarely occurs in real-world markets, it provides a useful model for explaining how supply
and demand affect prices and behavior in a market economy.
Under perfect competition, there are many buyers and sellers, and prices reflect supply and demand.
Companies earn just enough profit to stay in business and no more. If they were to earn excess profits, other
companies would enter the market and drive profits down.

2. Monopoly- A monopoly is a market structure where a single seller or producer assumes a dominant position
in an industry or a sector. Monopolies are discouraged in free-market economies as they stifle competition
and limit substitutes for consumers.

3. Oligopoly- An oligopoly is a market characterized by a small number of firms who realize they are
interdependent in their pricing and output policies. The number of firms is small enough to give each firm
some market power.
Some potential recent events you should study:

Global Economic Events:

Russia-Ukraine conflict and its impact on energy prices and supply chains.
Rising interest rates in the US and its ripple effects on global markets.
The ongoing trade war between the US and China and its implications for international trade.
COP26 Climate Conference: Outcomes impacted industries related to renewable energy, sustainability, and
emissions reduction.

Indian Economic Events:

The implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and its impact on businesses and consumers.
The Indian government's recent push for privatization and its potential economic benefits.
The rise of digital payments in India and its impact on the financial sector.
COVID-19 Pandemic: Examine its impact on global trade, supply chains, and economic growth.
 OB & Human
Resource
Management

What is OB?
Organizational behavior is the academic study of how people interact within groups and its principles are
applied primarily in attempts to make businesses operate more effectively.

Organization:
A social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet a need or to pursue collective goals. All
organizations have a management structure that determines relationships between the different activities
and the members, and subdivides and assigns roles, responsibilities, and authority to carry out different tasks.
Organizations are open systems--they affect and are affected by their environment. An organization's key
characteristics are reflected by their choice of structure.

Determinants of Organizational Structure:

● Size - Refers to the capacity, the number of personnel, outputs and resources.
● Strategy - The strategy of an organization determines the fluidity and flexibility with which the organization
designs its structure.
● Technology - Organizational structure is closely linked with its primary system of production, making its
structure predictable in terms of technology employed.
● Power & Control - Centralization and decentralization of resources and decision making power.
● Chain & Span - The chain of command along which orders and decisions are passed down from the top to
the bottom of the hierarchy.
● Integration & Differentiation - There is no best way to organize the structure. Different parts of the same
organization adapt in different ways which leads to integrated differentiation.

What is Motivation?
Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be continually interested and
committed to a job, role or subject. Motivation results from the interaction of both conscious and unconscious
factors.

Maslow's Need Hierarchy Theory is a motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model of human
needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. Maslow stated that people are motivated to
achieve certain needs and that some needs take precedence over others. Our most basic need is for
physical survival.Once that level is fulfilled the next level up is what motivates us, and so on.
Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory
Herzberg’s Motivation Theory model or Two Factor Theory argues that there are two factors that affect
motivation in the workplace. These factors are:
Motivators: Motivators encourage employees to work harder.
Hygiene factors: Hygiene factors prevent dissatisfaction. They do not necessarily motivate employees to work
harder but absence of them can cause dissatisfaction.

McClelland’s Acquired Needs Motivation Theory

The theory states that humans have a total of three core types of emotional needs which they acquire as a
result of their life journeys. The three needs are the following:
● Achievement (To achieve tasks/goals)
● Power (To exercise influence over others)
● Affiliation (To build good relationships)

Goal-Setting Theory (Edwin Locke)

The theory that specific and difficult goals, along with feedback, lead to higher performance is called Goal
setting Theory.

Equity Theory
Individuals compare their job inputs and outcomes with those of others and then respond to eliminate any
inequities.

Human Resource Management

Human Resource Management (HRM) is a collective term for all the formal systems created to help in
managing employees and other stakeholders within a company. The role of HRM is to find the best way to
increase the productivity of an organization through its employees.
Functions of HRM:

1. Human Resource Planning

Human resource planning (HRP) is the continuous process of systematic planning to achieve optimum use of
an organization's most valuable asset - quality employees. Human resources planning ensures the best fit
between employees and jobs while avoiding manpower shortages or surpluses.

2. Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment and Selection is an important function in HRM, designed to maximize employee strength in order
to meet the employer's strategic goals and objectives. Recruitment is the process of actively searching and
hiring applicants for a job role while selection is the process of choosing suitable applicants from the
shortlisted candidates. It is an important process that helps the HR to identify the difference between
qualified and unqualified applicants.

The recruitment process begins with identification of sources of recruitment and finding suitable candidates
for employment. Both internal and external sources of manpower are used depending upon the types of
personnel needed.The selection process starts with the receipt of applications for various jobs from the
interested candidates. Totally unsuitable candidates are rejected at the screening stage.The human
resource (HR) departments take various kinds of tests to determine if the candidates would be able to do their
job efficiently. Those passing this stage are called for an employment interview. Candidates found suitable for
employment are required to go through medical examination and references checking. The employment
process is completed when appointment letters are issued to the candidates found suitable for employment.

3. Training and Development

Training and Development is one of the main functions of the human resource management department.
Training refers to a systematic setup where employees are instructed and taught matters of technical
knowledge related to their jobs. It focuses on teaching employees how to use particular machines or how to
do specific tasks to increase efficiency. Whereas, Development refers to the overall holistic and educational
growth and maturity of people in managerial positions. The process of development is in relation to insights,
attitudes, adaptability, leadership and human relations.

4. Performance Management System

HR professionals are also responsible for managing the performance management program in their
organizations. This requires you to establish goals and Key Responsibility Areas (KRAs) for each role in the
organization and measure the performance of employees against them. It also involves giving feedback to
employees on their performance and taking feedback on what they expect from the organization.

5. Compensation and Benefits

The employee compensation and benefits package is one of the most important aspects of running a
business. It can help a company flourish and compete in its respective industry. Compensation is the
payment made to employees in exchange for their service or labor. The scope of employee benefits
encompasses salaries, incentives, perks and payroll management. These benefits are both monetary (cash
bonuses) and non-monetary (flexible work hours, wellness policy) in nature. Many organizations offer a
competitive package of benefits to retain or attract quality employees.
6. Employee Relations
Since HR is all about managing people and keeping them satisfied, the function of employee relations gains
all the more prominence. It is not only at the professional level that HR needs to think about employees, but
also at making their personal lives better. Because happy employees equal productive and happy
workplaces! You also have to look at conflict management and labor union relations.

7. Career Succession
Career succession is the process of conversion of a personal career plan into action in order to achieve
career goals. There are three key heroes who share responsibility for an employee’s career succession- the
employee, the organization, and the manager.

Career succession is indispensable for implementing career plans. It consists of activities undertaken by the
individual employees and the organization to meet career aspirations and job requirements. An important
requirement of career succession is that every employee must accept his/her responsibility for development
as all development is self-development.

8. International Human Resource Management (IHRM)

International HRM is concerned with identifying and understanding how the MNC’s manage their
geographically dispersed workforce in order to leverage their HR resources for obtaining local as well as a
global competitive advantage.

9. HR Analytics
HR analytics, also referred to as people analytics, workforce analytics, or talent analytics, involves gathering
together, analyzing, and reporting HR data. It enables your organization to measure the impact of a range of
HR metrics on overall business performance and make decisions based on data. In other words, HR analytics
is a data-driven approach toward Human Resources Management.

Benefits of HR Analytics:
Transforms the role of HR as a strategic partner
Improves HR performance
Identifies best performing talent
Identifies attrition and its causes
Predicts skills and positions in demand within organizations

10. Employee Wellbeing- The focus on holistic wellbeing has increased and corporates are no exception.
Crucial in today's stressful workplaces, it boosts engagement, retention, and performance. Companies
address it through flexible work, mental health resources, financial wellness programs, and fostering positive
work cultures. It's a win-win, building happy, productive employees and thriving businesses.

11. Employee Experience(EX) - It is the sum of all interactions an employee has with a company, shaping
their perception and feelings- onboarding, work environment, company culture, manager relationships In
today's competitive talent market, a positive EX attracts and retains top performers, boosts engagement and
productivity, and fosters innovation. Happy employees are productive employees!
Companies do it by- Investing in onboarding, Promoting work-life balance Fostering a positive company
culture, Investing in employee development and Empowering employees
12. Diversity and Inclusion:
Diversity is the sum total of all the differences which make individuals who they are and their ability to contribute to the goals
of an organization. Managing diversity in human resource management is the deliberate effort to value and respect the
differences among employees and use them as a source of strength and competitive advantage.
 BANKING &
FINANCIAL
SERVICES

Banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) is the industry's umbrella term for companies that provide a
range of such financial products or services. This includes universal banks that provide various financial
services or companies that operate in one or more of these financial sectors. Over the last decade, India's
banking sector has evolved significantly, from being a major lender to the industry to being the majority
provider of personal loans, vehicle loans, credit cards, and housing loans. The rise of e-banking, essential to
providing customers with better services, is a recent change in the banking industry. Some of the new ways
that have taken the place of conventional methods of completing transactions include Internet banking,
e-wallets, and mobile banking.

Banking Structure in India:

● Public sector banks: PSBs are a major type of government-owned banks in India, with the Ministry of Finance
of the Government of India or the State Ministry of Finance of various State Governments of India holding a
majority stake (i.e. more than 50%). These banks' shares are traded on stock exchanges.

● Private Banks: Private banks are those that are owned by non-government Indian entities such as
corporations and individuals.

● Foreign Banks: Foreign Banks are those owned by multinational/non-Indian entities.

● Regional Rural Banks: RRBs are scheduled commercial banks owned by the government which operate at
the regional level in different states of India. Their aim is to focus on providing banking activities in rural areas
and serve the underbanked population.

● Urban co-operative banks: A group of members form a cooperative bank. UCBs' are financial institutions
operating in the urban and semi-urban areas in India. Their traditional mission has been to mobilize savings
from middle and low-income urban groups and provide credit to their members, many of whom are from the
poorer sections of society.

● State Co-operative banks: To support rural and agricultural development, SCBs are formed through
collaborations with state governments.

The Central Bank

The ‘Central Bank’ (CB) is the only financial entity which holds the authority to create, distribute and control
money in an economy. The Reserve Bank of India is our central bank. It acts as a regulator as well as the bank
of last resort for other banks.
Responsibilities of a Central Bank
● Conducting the country's Monetary Policy: directing interest rates in the economy

● Maintaining a sufficient pool of funds by increasing or decreasing the

money supply to manage inflation.
● Announce the credit and monetary policy.
● Controller of Credit both Quantitative and Qualitative.
● Quantitative measures of control include Cash reserve ratio, bank rate,
statutory liquid ratio, and open market operations.
● Qualitative measures of control include publicity, rationing of credit,
regulation of consumer credit, moral suasion, and variation in margin
requirements.

Non Performing Assets (NPA)

A non performing asset (NPA) is a loan or advance
which remains overdue for a period of 90 days in case
of banks and180 days in case of NBFCs.Banks or
Lenders must create a provision for NPAs, which means
they must keep aside a certain portion of their income
to provide for the losses against these NPAs.

A non-performing asset (NPA) is a loan or an advance where:

● Interest and installment of principal remain overdue for more than 90 days in respect of a term loan
● The account remains ‘out of order, in respect of an Overdraft/Cash Credit (OD/CC)
● The bill remains overdue for more than 90 days in the case of bills purchased and discounted,
● The installment of principal or interest thereon remains overdue for two crop seasons for short-duration
crops,
● The installment of principal or interest thereon remains overdue for one crop season for long-duration crops.

Categories of NPA – Based on periods & realisability of due-

● Substandard asset – with effect from 31st March 2005 a substandard asset would be one, which has
remained an NPA for a period less than or equal to 18 months
● Doubtful assets- with effect from 31st March 2005, an asset would be classified as doubtful if it has remained
in the substandard category for 18 months or more
● Loss asset- a loss asset is one, where the bank or the internal or external auditors or the RBI inspector has
identified the loss but the amount has not been written off wholly.
Non-Banking Financial Company
A business that deals in loans, advances, the purchase
of shares, stocks, bonds, hire-purchase insurance, or
chit-funds. This excludes institutions involved in
agriculture, industrial activity, the purchase or sale of
goods (other than securities), the provision of services,
or the sale, purchase, or construction of real estate.
NBFCs generally do not accept deposits. Only those
NBFCs can take deposits, that

■ Hold a valid certificate of registration with authorization to accept public deposits.

■ Have minimum stipulated Net Owned Funds (NOF – i.e. owners’ funds)
■ Comply with RBI directions such as investing part of the funds in liquid assets, maintaining reserves, rating
etc. issued by the bank.

Key differences between a Bank and NBFC are:

● An NBFC cannot accept deposits which are repayable on demand. Some can accept fixed-term deposits.
So, it does not have access to low-cost CASA (Current Account Saving Account) deposits.
● Any deposits accepted by NBFCs (these will be of fixed maturity as explained above) are not insured.
● Only banks can participate in the payment system; hence NBFCs cannot issue cheque books to their
customers.
● NBFCs do not have to maintain any reserve ratio such as Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) or Statutory Liquidity
Ratio (SLR) like banks.

IPO (Initial Public Offering)

An IPO is a new stock issuance in the public domain by a private corporation to raise fresh share capital.

The top 6 biggest IPOs of the Year 2023 are: (Mention Based on issue size)
● Tata Technologies Limited | Rs 3,042 crore
● IREDA | Rs 2,150 crore
● Inox India | Rs 1,459 crore
● DOMS | Rs 1200 crore
● ISFC Limited | Rs 1,200 crore
● Happy Forgings Limited | Rs 1,009 crore

Financial Services
Banking, mortgages, credit cards, payment services, tax preparation and planning, accounting, and
investing are all part of the financial services industry. Financial products are the financial instruments that
specialists offer their clients, whereas financial services are frequently the exclusive domain of businesses and
professionals.

The financial services industry offers financial services to both individuals and businesses. A wide range of
financial businesses, including banks, investment houses, lenders, financing companies, real estate brokers,
and insurance companies, make up this sector of the economy.
The International Monetary Fund's development division defines financial services as the procedures via
which consumers or businesses acquire economic goods. If a payment system provider receives and
distributes money between payers and recipients, it is providing a financial service. Accounts cleared by
cheques, credit and debit cards, electronic fund transfers, and similar methods are a few other examples of
financial services.

Money is managed by businesses in the financial services sector. For instance, a financial advisor works on
behalf of a customer to manage his/her assets and provide recommendations. The advisor doesn't offer
investments or other products directly; instead, they help money travel between investors and the companies
that create securities and other financial instruments. Rather than being a physical asset, this service is a
transitory activity.

Banking Services
The financial services sector is built on the banking industry. While the financial services sector includes
investments, insurance, risk redistribution, and other financial activities, it is primarily focused on direct saving
and lending. Large commercial banks, neighborhood banks, credit unions, and other organizations all offer
banking services.

Investment Services
Through investing services, people can gain access to financial markets like stocks and bonds. In exchange
for a commission, brokers - human or self-directed internet services—help investors buy and sell assets. To build
and manage a well-diversified portfolio, financial advisors may make multiple trades and charge an annual
fee based on assets under management (AUM).

Insurance Services
Another significant segment of the financial services sector is insurance. There are insurance services
provided for protection against liability or lawsuits, property loss or damage, or against death or injury (for
example, life insurance, disability income insurance, and health insurance, etc.).

Consulting
Consulting is the process of providing expertise to businesses and organizations to solve typical and most
pressing business problems related to domains such as growth, strategy, operational excellence, etc. The true
meaning of consulting is helping people solve problems and move from their current state to their desired
state. Consulting is more than just giving advice. It involves a hierarchy of purpose:

1. Providing information to a client.

2. Solving a client's problems.
3. Making a diagnosis, which may necessitate the redefinition of the problem.
4. Making recommendations based on the diagnosis.
5. Assisting with the implementation of recommended solutions.
6. Building a consensus and commitment around corrective action.
7. Facilitating client learning on how to resolve similar problems in the future.
8. Permanently improving organizational effectiveness.
Types of Consultants
The consultancy industry is one of the most diverse markets given the widespread area in which a consultant
can work. There is a wide spectrum of types of consultants in the industry.

1. Strategy Consultant - The term Strategy Consulting is used to describe consultants who operate at the
highest level of the consultancy market, focusing on strategic topics like corporate and organizational
strategy, economic policy, government policy, and functional strategy. Their focus lies more on
quantitative/analytics skills, and their job description revolves more around advising and overseeing
implementation.

2. Operations Consultant - Operations consultants are consultants who help clients improve the performance
of their operations. Consultancy activities in this segment vary from advisory services to hands-on
implementation support for primary functions (e.g., Sales, Marketing, Production, etc.) and secondary
purposes (e.g., Finance, HR, Supply Chain, ICT, Legal, etc.).

Capital in Banks
There are two types of capital measured for banks:

Tier 1 capital: Consists of Items that were supposed to be Core Capital components or items that are
considered to be permanent. Equity Capital (Paid Up), Free Reserves and Retained Profits would be counted
here.
Tier 2 capital: Also known as Supplementary Capital. It consists of items that would give cushion to depositors
but at the same time are not core. Examples include Preference capital, Subordinated Debt or Hybrid
Financial Instruments, etc.

CRAR = (Tier One Capital + Tier Two Capital )/Risk-Weighted Assets.

Also known as "Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR)."

Some Important Banking/ Finance Terms:

Cash Reserve Ratio: The cash reserve Ratio (CRR) is the number of cash funds that the banks have to maintain
with RBI. If RBI decides to increase the percentage of this, the available amount with the banks comes down.
RBI doesn’t pay any interest on CRR deposits.

Coupon rate: The interest rate on a bond. The bond’s coupon rate multiplied by its par value equals the
annual interest owed to the bondholders.

Current ratio: A liquidity ratio calculated as current assets divided by current liabilities.

Derivatives: Contracts (agreements to do something in the future) that derive their value from the
performance of an underlying asset, event, or outcome.

Inflation: The percentage increase in the general price level from one period to the next; a sustained rise in
the overall level of prices for products and services.

Monetary policy: Actions taken by a nation’s central bank to affect aggregate output and prices through the
money supply or credit.
Net Owned Funds: Essentially NOF is Owners’ Equity – i.e., money belonging to the owners (Owner’s equity –
losses) Non-investment-grade bonds: Bonds rated BB+ or lower by Standard & Poor’s and Fitch and Ba1 or
lower by Moody’s. Also called high-yield bonds or junk bonds.

Repo Rate: Repo Rate is the rate at which banks obtain loans from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) by selling
qualifying securities. Higher the repo rate costlier is the loan.
It is also known as the repurchase agreement, rate of repurchase and rate of discount. It acts as a
mechanism to control or create credit in the market.

Retained earnings: The accumulated net income that is retained by the company rather than distributed to
its owners (shareholders) as dividends.

Reverse Repo Rate: This is the inverse of the Repo rate. The reverse repo rate is the interest rate paid by the RBI
to commercial banks on their excess funds held by the RBI. Because of the attractive interest rates, an
increase in the reverse repo rate may cause banks to transfer more funds to the RBI.

Statutory Liquidity Ratio: It is the ratio fixed by RBI of total deposits of a bank which is to be maintained by the
bank itself in the non-cash form prescribed by the Government.

Zero-coupon bonds: Bonds that do not offer periodic interest payments during the life of the bond. The only
cash flow offered by a zero-coupon bond is a single payment equal to the bond’s par value to be paid on
the bond’s maturity date. They are generally issued at a discount and redeemed at par. Hence, also called
deep discount bonds.

Ratios Current Rates (September 2022)

Repo Rate 5.90%
Reverse Repo Rate 3.35%
Cash Reserve Ratio CPR Rate 4.50%
Bank Rate 6.15%
Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) Rate 18%
 Consulting
and Strategy

Consulting

Consulting is the process of providing expertise to businesses and organizations to solve typical and most
pressing business problems related to domains such as growth, strategy, operational excellence, etc. The true
meaning of consulting is helping people solve problems and move from their current state to their desired
state. Consulting is more than just giving advice. It involves a hierarchy of purpose:

1. Providing information to a client.

2. Solving a client's problems.
3. Making a diagnosis, which may necessitate the redefinition of the problem.
4. Making recommendations based on the diagnosis.
5. Assisting with the implementation of recommended solutions.
6. Building a consensus and commitment around corrective action.
7. Facilitating client learning-teaching clients how to resolve similar problems in the future.
8. Permanently improving organizational effectiveness.

Types of Consultants
The consultancy industry is one of the most diverse markets and given the widespread area in which a
consultant can work. There are a wide spectrum of types of consultants found in the industry.

1. Strategy Consultant - The term Strategy Consulting is used to describe consultants who operate at the
highest level of the consultancy market, focusing on strategic topics like corporate and organizational
strategy, economic policy, government policy, and functional strategy. Their focus lies more on
quantitative/analytics skills, and their job description revolves more around advising and overseeing
implementation.

2. Operations Consultant - Operations consultants are consultants who help clients improve the performance
of their operations. Consultancy activities in this segment vary from advisory services to hands-on
implementation support for primary functions (e.g., Sales, Marketing, Production, etc.) and secondary
purposes (e.g., Finance, HR, Supply Chain, ICT, Legal, etc.).

3. Financial Advisory Consultant - This segment generally works on questions that address financial
capabilities and, in many cases, the analytical capabilities within an organization. A financial consultant
often works with a company's CFO or the strategic consultant to help the business align its financial goals
(e.g., overhead costs, return on investments, profit margins, etc.) with strategic goals.
4. Human Resources Consultant - HR consultants help clients with human capital challenges within their
organizations and improve the HR department's performance. Chief topics central to HR consultants' job
descriptions are organizational changes, change management, terms of employment, learning &
development, talent management, and retirement.

5. IT Consultant - Technology consultants, also known as IT, ICT, or digital consultants, focus on helping clients
with the development and application of Information Technology (IT) within their organization. IT consultants
focus on transitions (projects) in the ICT landscape, contrary to regular IT employees, who work on day-to-day
IT operations (so-called 'business as usual’ activities).

Strategy

Business (or Strategic) management is the art, science, and craft of formulating, implementing, and
evaluating cross-functional decisions that will enable an organization to achieve its long-term objectives. A
business strategy must take into account a number of factors including the market, competitors, and the
business environment, as well as the company's structure, strengths and weaknesses. It is the process of
specifying the organization's mission, vision, and objectives. It involves developing policies and plans, often in
terms of projects and programs, which are designed to achieve these objectives, and then allocating
resources to implement the policies and plans, projects, and programs. Strategic management seeks to
coordinate and integrate the activities of various functional areas of a business in order to achieve long-term
organizational objectives.

Important Concepts in Consulting and Strategy

BCG Growth share MatrixIt is a portfolio planning tool developed by Bruce H. Henderson for the Boston
consulting group in 1970. BCG matrix is used to determine what priority should be given to a product in a
product portfolio of business. The BCG matrix has two dimensions called market growth and market share. To
sustain in the market and create long term value, it is necessary that companies have products which are in
high growth segments as well as which produce a lot of cash for the company.

Products can be placed in 4 categories in the BCG matrix.

1. Stars (high growth, high market share) - Generates large
amounts of cash due to their leadership in business but also
consumes a lot of cash. Every effort should be made to hold
shares as rewards will be great when the growth rate declines,
and it turns into a cash cow.

2. Cash Cows (low growth, high market share) - High cash and
profit generation due to huge market share. Least investments are
required to sustain; Foundation of any company.

3. Dogs: (low market share as well as growth rate) - Milk them as

long as you can without any further investment. Avoid any big
turnaround plan for the product; if the product is not generating
cash, liquidate them.
4. Question marks (high growth, low market share) - High demand but low return due to low market share.
Absorb a lot of cash to if steps are not taken increase the market share and later turns into a dog. Either invest
heavily to shift them to star category or sell off or invest nothing and generate whatever cash can be
generated.

PESTLE Analysis

PESTLE analysis is used as a tool by companies to track the environment they’re operating in or are planning
to launch a new project/product/service etc. PESTLE is a mnemonic which in its expanded form denotes P for
Political, E for Economic, S for Social, T for Technological, L for Legal and E for Environmental. It gives a bird’s
eye view of the whole environment from many different angles that one wants to check and keep a track of
while contemplating on a certain idea/plan. It is very critical for one to understand the complete depth of
each of the letters of the PESTLE. It is as below:

Political: These factors determine the extent to which a government may influence the economy or a certain
industry. For example, a government may impose a new tax or duty due to which entire revenue generating
structures of organizations might change. Political factors include tax policies, Fiscal policy, trade tariffs etc.
that a government may levy around the fiscal year, and it may affect the business environment (economic
environment) to a great extent.

Economic: These factors are determinants of an economy’s performance that directly impacts a company
and have resonating long term effects. For example, a rise in the inflation rate of any economy would affect
the way companies’ price their products and services. Adding to that, it would affect the purchasing power
of a consumer and changing demand/supply models for that economy. Economic factors include inflation
rate, interest rates, foreign exchange rates, economic growth patterns etc. It also accounts for the FDI
(foreign direct investment) depending on certain specific industries who’re undergoing this analysis.

Social: These factors scrutinize the social environment of the market, and gauge determinants like cultural
trends, demographics, population analytics etc. An example for this can be buying trends for Western
countries like the US where there is high demand during the Holiday season.

Technological: These factors pertain to innovations in technology that may affect the operations of the
industry and the market favorably or unfavorably. This refers to automation, research and development and
the amount of technological awareness that a market possesses.

Legal: These factors have both external and internal sides. There are certain laws that affect the business
environment in a certain country while there are certain policies that companies maintain for themselves.
Legal analysis considers both of these angles and then charts out the strategies in light of these legislation. For
example, consumer laws, safety standards, labor laws etc.

Environmental: These factors include all those that influence or are determined by the surrounding
environment. This aspect of the PESTLE is crucial for certain industries particularly for example tourism, farming,
agriculture etc. Factors of a business environmental analysis include but are not limited to climate, weather,
geographical location, global changes in climate, environmental offsets etc.
SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis using SWOT diagrams or matrices is a key part of any business planning or analysis. SWOT stands
for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors and
opportunities, and threats are external factors. A SWOT diagram analyzes a project or business venture by
focusing on each of these factors. It typically consists of four boxes, one for each area, but the exact shape
may vary depending on the design.
SWOT diagrams can be especially useful when trying to decide whether or not to embark on a certain
venture or strategy by visualizing the pros and cons. By clearly outlining all positives and negatives of a
project, SWOT analysis makes it easier to decide whether or not to move forward.

• Strengths: characteristics of the business or project that give it an advantage over others.
• Weaknesses: characteristics of the business that place the business or project at a disadvantage relative to
others.
• Opportunities: elements in the environment that the business or project could exploit to its advantage.
• Threats: elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the business or project.
1. Competitive Rivalry: This looks at the number and strength of your competitors. How many rivals do you
have? Who are they, and how does the quality of their products and services compare with yours? Where
rivalry is intense, companies can attract customers with aggressive price cuts and high-impact marketing
campaigns. Also, in markets with lots of rivals, your suppliers and buyers can go elsewhere if they feel that
they're not getting a good deal from you. On the other hand, where competitive rivalry is minimal, and no
one else is doing what you do, then you'll likely have tremendous strength and healthy profits.

2. Supplier Power: This is determined by how easy it is for your suppliers to increase their prices. How many
potential suppliers? How unique is the product or service that they provide, and how expensive would it be
to switch from one supplier to another? The more you have to choose from, the easier it will be to switch to a
cheaper alternative. But the fewer suppliers there are, and the more you need their help, the stronger their
position and their ability to charge you more. That can impact your profit.

3. Buyer Power: Here, you ask yourself how easy it is for buyers to drive your prices down. How many buyers
are there, and how big are their orders? How much would it cost them to switch from your products and
services to those of a rival? Are your buyers strong enough to dictate terms to you? When you deal with only
a few savvy customers, they have more power, but your power increases if you have many customers.

4. Threat of Substitution: This refers to the likelihood of your customers finding a different way of doing what you
do. For example, if you supply a unique software product that automates an important process, people may
substitute it by doing the process manually or by outsourcing it. A substitution that is easy and cheap to make
can weaken your position and threaten your profitability.

5. Threat of New Entry: Your position can be affected by people's ability to enter your market. So, think about
how easily this could be done. How easy is it to get a foothold in your industry or market? How much would it
cost, and how tightly is your sector regulated? If it takes little money and effort to enter your market and
compete effectively, or if you have little protection for your key technologies, then rivals can quickly enter
your market and weaken your position. If you have strong and durable barriers to entry, then you can
preserve a favorable position and take fair advantage of it.

The 3 Cs

The 3C model is one of the most basic strategy models that is used for analyzing intrinsic and extrinsic factors
to develop sustainable solutions. The 3Cs are:

Customers- This is a very important segment as nowadays customers’ needs and wants are constantly
evolving and business must evolve with them.By analyzing the customers, an organization will be able to
cater them and realize a competitive advantage.

Corporation-Analyzing the client's corporations is a crucial part. Knowing their strengths and weaknesses can
help in deriving a better solution to their problems.

Competition- Your competitors are one of the largest pressures that your company faces when trying to
maximize profits. They are the reason why you can’t exercise monopoly pricing strategies and are forced to
reinvest into R&D efforts.Companies constantly flow in and out of the market, so it is crucial to consistently
conduct environmental scans.
MCkinsey 7S

The McKinsey 7S Framework is an excellent tool to help you find and fix internal organizational problems.
McKinsey 7S Framework is a strategic planning tool designed to help an organization understand if it is set up
in a way that allows it to achieve its objectives. It is used for:

● Organizational change
● Mergers and acquisitions
● Implementation of a new strategy
● Understanding the weaknesses (blind spots) of an organization

Resources and Capabilities

Analyzing the Resources: the VRIO Framework VRIO is a business analysis framework that forms part of the
firm's larger strategic scheme. The basic strategic process that any firm goes through begins with a vision
statement, and continues on through objectives, internal & external analysis, strategic choices (both
business-level and corporate-level), and strategic implementation. The firm will hope that this process results
in a competitive advantage in the marketplace they operate in.

The Question of Value: "Is the firm able to exploit an opportunity or neutralize an external threat with the
resource/capability?"
The Question of Rarity: "Is control of the resource/capability in the hands of a relative few?"
The Question of Imitability: "Is it difficult to imitate, and will there be a significant cost disadvantage to a firm
trying to obtain, develop, or duplicate the resource/capability?"
The Question of Organization: "Is the firm organized, ready, and able to exploit the resource/capability?" "Is
the firm organized to capture value?

Value Chain Analysis

Value is the total amount (i.e., total revenue) that buyers are willing to pay for a firm's product. The difference
between the total value and the total cost performing all of the firm's activities provides the margin. Margin
implies that organizations realize a profit margin that depends on their ability to manage the linkages
between all activities in the value chain. In other words, the organization is able to deliver a product / service
for which the customer is willing to pay more than the sum of the costs of all activities in the value chain. A
value chain concentrates on the activities starting with raw materials till the conversion into final goods or
services. The sources of the competitive advantage of a firm can be seen from its discrete activities and how
they interact with one another. The ultimate goals in performing value chain analysis are to maximize value
creation while also monitoring and minimizing costs.

Primary Activities:
Primary activities are directly concerned with creating and delivering a product. They can be grouped into
five main areas: inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service.
Support Activities:
Support activities assist the primary activities in helping the organization achieve its competitive advantage.
There are four main areas of support activities: procurement, technology development (including R&D),
human resource management, and infrastructure (systems for planning, finance, quality, information
management etc.). They include:

Competitive Advantage and Innovation

Competitive advantage is a condition or circumstance that puts a company in a favorable or superior
business position. To gain and maintain a competitive advantage, an organization must be able to
demonstrate a greater comparative or differential value than its competitors and convey that information to
its desired target market. For example, if a company advertises a product for a price that's lower than a similar
product from a competitor, that company is likely to have a competitive advantage. The same is true if the
advertised product costs more but offers unique features that customers are willing to pay for.

Porter's techniques for creating superior performance (Generic Competitive Strategies):

Cost leadership strategy - Should the product or service be offered at a lower price than the competitors’?
Differentiation strategy - Should the product or service have unique features or benefits that are so appealing
that customers are willing to pay a premium price?

Focus strategy - Should the product or service target niche markets that are overlooked or underserved by
competitors?

MECE Model

The MECE model is used by consulting firms to describe a way of organizing information. The ECE principle
suggests that to understand and fix any large problem, you need to understand your options by sorting them
into categories that are: Mutually Exclusive– Items can only fit into one category at a time and Collectively
Exhaustive – All items can fit into one of the categories.

Guesstimates no-1

Estimate the number of cups of tea that is consumed in Mumbai in a month? As a primary step, assume that
every day of the week is being thought about equally. Tea consumption would possibly lower throughout the
weekend as individuals don’t go to the workplace. We will go along with the primary assumption.

The population of Mumbai can be roughly estimated to be about 2 crores. 20% of These inhabitants are
assumed to be youngsters who don’t drink tea. One other assumption is that of the remaining inhabitants,
20% are ordinary drinkers, 30% are common drinkers, 20% are occasional drinkers, and 10% are non-drinkers.
The ordinary drinkers could also be mentioned to have three cups of tea in a day. Common drinkers could
also be mentioned to have one cup of tea in a day. The tea consumption of event drinkers possibly would be
a cup per week, and that of non-drinkers none in any respect.

Calculating proportions
Recurring – 3 x 0.2 x 7 = 4.2
Common – 1 x 0.3 x 7 = 2.1
Occasional – 1 x 0.2 x 1 = 0.2
Non – 0
Whole = 6.5
Whole cups per week = 6.5 x 1.6 crore = 10.4 crore

Guesstimates no-2

How many garden hoses were sold in the US last year? The population of the US is 300 million people. The
average US household is made up of 3 people, so we are talking about 100 million households. I’m going to
estimate that 50 percent of the households are either suburban or rural. That makes 50 million households. I’ll
also assume that 20 percent of those homes are apartments or condos. That narrows us down to 40 million
houses that most likely use a garden hose. Garden hoses are relatively inexpensive, so people are likely to
have a hose in the front and a hose in the backyard. That makes 80 million hoses. I want to add in another 10
million hoses, which can be found in nurseries, zoos, and other outdoor facilities. Most of those businesses
have at least two hoses. We are now up to 90 million garden hoses. Hoses aren’t replaced every year. I’d say
that they are replaced every 3 years unless they are run over by a lawn mower or get torn by a pet dog. So,
we take 90 million hoses, divide that number by 3 and come up with 30 million garden hoses sold each year
Information
System

An information system can be defined as a set of interrelated components that collect (or retrieve), process,
store and distribute information to support decision making and control in an organization. In addition to
supporting decision making, coordination and control, an information system also helps managers and
workers analyze problems and visualization in an organization.
Information systems contain information about significant people, places and things within the organization
or in the environment surrounding it.

Data & Information

Data are streams of raw facts representing events occurring in organizations or the physical environment
before they have been organized and arranged into a form that people can understand and use. E.g.
supermarket checkout data. There are three activities an information system produces that organizations
need to make decisions, control operations, analyze problems, visualize complex subjects and create new
products or services. These activities are input, processing, and output.

● Input: the capture or collection of raw data from within the organization or from its external environment for
processing in an organization.
● Processing: the conversion, manipulation and analysis of raw input into a form that is more meaningful to
humans.
● Output: The distribution of processed information to the people who will use it or to the activities for which it
will be used.

Information is data that has been shaped into a form that is meaningful and useful to human beings. The
characteristics of good information are; relevance, timeliness, accuracy, cost-effectiveness, reliability,
usability, exhaustiveness, and aggregation level. Information is relevant if it leads to improved decision
making.

Information Quality
Dimensions of Information that impacts on quality
 TIME CONTENT FORM ADDITIONAL CHARACTERISTICS
Timeliness Accuracy Clarity Confidence in source
Currency Relevance Detail Reliability
Frequency Completeness Order Appropriateness
Time Period Conciseness Presentation Received by correct person
Scope Media Sent by correct channels

Value of Information
Information has a great impact on decision making, and hence its value is closely tied to the decisions that
result from its use. Information does not have an absolute universal value. Its value is related to those who use
it, when it is used, and in what situation it is used. In this sense, information is similar to other commodities
Information systems also require feedback, which is output that is returned to appropriate members of the
organization to help them evaluate or correct the input stage.

Information Management Challenges

Information management’ is an umbrella term that encompasses all the systems and processes within an
organization for the creation and use of corporate information. Information management therefore
encompasses: people, process, technology, content Common information management problems include:

a) Large number of disparate information management systems.

b) Little integration or coordination between information systems.
c) Range of legacy systems requiring upgrading or replacement.
d) Direct competition between information management systems.
e) No clear strategic direction for the overall technology environment.
f) Limited and patchy adoption of existing information systems by staff.
g) Poor quality of information, including lack of consistency, duplication, and out of date information.
h) Little recognition and support of information management by senior management.
i) Limited resources for deploying, managing or improving information systems.
j) Lack of enterprise-wide definitions for information types and values (no corporate-wide taxonomy).
k) Large number of diverse business needs and issues to be addressed.
l) Lack of clarity around broader organizational strategies and directions.
m) Difficulties in changing working practices and processes of staff.
n) Internal politics impacting on the ability to coordinate activities enterprise-wide.

Categories of information systems

Informal information systems example office gossip. Formal information systems which could be manual or
computer-based
Dimensions of information systems
Information systems are more than computers. Using information systems effectively requires an
understanding of the organization, management and information technology shaping the systems. Thus an
information system can be described as organizational and management solutions to challenges posed by
the environment.
● Organization Involves the organization’s hierarchy, functional specialities, business processes, culture, and
political interest groups. Information systems are an integral part of the organizations. The key elements of an
organization includes; its people, structure, business processes, politics and culture. Information systems help
automate business processes and in some cases, the organization’s culture is embedded in its information
systems.
● Management: leadership, strategy, and management behavior. Information systems can help managers in
design and delivery of new products and services, and redirecting and redesigning the organizations.
● Technology: computer hardware, software, data management technology, and networking /
telecommunications technology (including the Internet).The internet has created a new ‘Universal”
technology platform on which to build new products, services, strategies and business models.

Why information systems

We are in the midst of a swiftly moving river of technology and business innovations that is transforming the
global business landscape. An entirely new Internet business culture is emerging with profound implications
for the conduct of business. You can see this every day by observing how business people work using
high-speed Internet connections for e-mail and information gathering, portable computers connected to
wireless networks, cellular telephones connected to the Internet, and hybrid handheld devices delivering
phone, Internet, and computing power to an increasingly mobile and global workforce.
The emerging Internet business culture is a set of expectations that we all share. We have all come to expect
online services for purchasing goods and services, we expect our business colleagues to be available by
email and cell phone, and we expect to be able to communicate with our vendors, customers, and
employees any time of day or night over the Internet. We even expect our business partners around the world
to be fully connected. Internet culture is global.
Information systems are the foundation for conducting business today. In many industries, survival and the
ability to achieve strategic business goals are difficult without extensive use of information technology.
Business today use information systems to achieve six major objectives:

● Operational excellence: businesses continuously seek to improve the efficiency of their operations in order
to achieve higher profitability
● New products, services and business models: Information systems and technologies are a major enabling
tool for organizations to create new products and services as well as entirely new business models. A business
model describes how an organization produces, delivers and sells a product or service to create wealth.
● Customer/supplier intimacy: Information systems are used to improve on customer’s relationship
management (CRM) and customer profiling.
● Improved decision making: Information systems and technology have made it possible for managers to use
real-time data from the marketplace when making decisions.
● Competitive advantage: By improving the operations, facilitating the creation of new products, services
and business models, improving on Customers relationship management and improving on decision making,
information systems help an organization achieve competitive advantage.
● Day-to-day survival: organizations invest in information systems and technologies because they are
necessities of doing business.

Information Systems Success

Information systems are successful only if they are used. There are six dimensions of IS success proposed by
Delone and McLean IS success model, and this includes; information, system and service quality, (intention
to) use, user satisfaction, and net benefits. It is anticipated that information quality, system quality, and service
quality influence the use or intention to use and user satisfaction. As a result of using the system, certain
benefits will be achieved, which its net benefits will either positively or negatively influence user satisfaction
and further use of the information system.

System Quality: measure of the information processing system itself

Information Quality: measure of information system output
Information Use: measure of recipient consumption of the output of an information system
User Satisfaction: measure of recipient response to the use of the output of an information system
Individual Impact: measure of the effect of information on the recipient
Organizational Impact: measure of the effect of information on organizational performance.

Why information systems matter

A business perspective on information system Managers and business firms invest in information technology
and information systems because they provide real economic value to the business. In a business perspective
an information system creates value to the firm through increasing revenue by providing information that
help managers make better decisions or improve the execution of business processes.. Every business has an
information value chain in which raw information is systematically acquired and then transformed through
various stages that add value to that information. The value of an information system to a business, as well as
the decision to invest in any new information systems is in part determined by the extent to which the system
will lead to better management decisions, more efficient business processes and higher firm profitability.

● Value Chain: primary and supporting activities that add value to an organization’s products and services to
achieve competitive advantage.
While many managers are familiar with the reasons why managing their typical resources such as equipment
and people are important, it is worthwhile to take a moment to examine four reasons why managing
information systems and technology are just as important.

a) Capital Management As the text states, "Investment in information technology has doubled as a
percentage of total business investment since 1980, and now accounts for more than one-third of all capital
invested in the United States…" That's a lot of money that businesses are spending on a relatively new
component of many organizations. The business world has come a long way very rapidly in the last twenty
years in terms of the amount of dollars spent on technology. Unfortunately, many companies haven't made
the same advances in learning how to properly manage all these new corporate assets.

b) Foundation of Doing Business Take a look around you and see if you can find a business that does not
depend on information technology in one form or another. The local restaurant probably manages their
lunch-time crowds using hand-held devices that allow the waiter or waitress to communicate menu
orders directly to the kitchen. The rental car company uses information technology to track not only customer
orders but may also use global positioning systems that relay the exact position of every car wherever it is.
Your local dry cleaners may also use information technology to keep track of all their chemical processes to
ensure regulatory compliance. In short, there are very few businesses and organizations that do not currently
use some form of information technology.

c) Productivity Simply put, effectively managing your organization's information technology and resources will
increase the productivity and effectiveness of your company. With the right technology workers can increase
the amount of work they are able to accomplish in less time than ever before.

d) Strategic Opportunity and Advantage Businesses and organizations simply can't stick their heads in the
sand and ignore all of the improvements and inventions that are available nowadays. If they choose to do
so, chances are their competition won't. It's not just the improvements in current processes that are available
but the opportunities for new products or services that businesses can take advantage of with information
technology.

Information Systems (IS) Structure

The structure of an information systems can be described in terms of four separate but related aspects-
● Operating elements
● Decision support
● Management activity
● Organizational function

Operating elements of an information system The operating elements include the physical components,
processing functions and outputs to the users.

Physical elements The physical components required for an business / organizational information system are
● Hardware: Physical computer equipment and associated devices. Hardware must provide for the five
major functions;- Input, Output, Secondary storage for data and programs, Central processor and
communication
● Software: instructions that direct the operations of the computer i.e. systems software and application
software
● Database: storage facility of the data and computer programs
● Procedures: formal operating procedures for the various system users. Three major types; user instructions,
data preparation instructions, and system operating instructions.
● Operations Personnel: Information system users.

Processing functions The major processing functions include

● Process transactions data entry, process, report, confirm or explain the performance and communicate the
report.
● Produce reports: produce schedule and ad hoc reports
● Process enquiries: respond to database enquiries
● Process interactive support applications: support planning, analysis and decision making
Output to Users
Outputs can be classified into
● Transaction documents or screens
● Preplanned reports
● Preplanned inquiry responses
● Ad hoc reports and inquiry responses
● User-machine dialog results.

Reports, inquiry responses and dialog results provide four types of information
● Monitoring information - information that confirms that an action have been taken and reports status in
financial or other terms.
● Problem finding information - information presented in a format that promotes identification of problems
● Action information - the information presented with action specified or implied.
● Decision support - report oriented to performing analysis and making decisions

Information systems to support Decision making

Information systems differ depending on the type of decision supported.
● Structured, Programmable Decisions: this type of decisions can be pre-specified and can be completely
automated. IS to support structured decisions are clear and unambiguous procedures for entering the
required data, validating procedures to ensure correct and complete input, processing of the output using
decision logic and output of the programmed decision in a form that is useful for action.

● Unstructured, Non-programmable Decisions: have no pre-established decision procedures either because

the decision is too infrequent to justify development of such procedures, or the decision process is not well
understood, or too dynamic to allow for a development of stable pre-established procedures. Data
requirements are not known in advance and thus the system must allow for ad-hoc data retrieval requests.

IS Structure based on the Management Activity

Information system structure based on the hierarchy of management planning and control i.e. the three
levels of management
 Level Comments \ functions
Strategic Planning Definition of goals, policies and general
guidelines charting course of organization.
Determination of organization’s objectives
Management control and Acquisition of resources, Acquisition of
tactical planning tactics, new products Establishment and
monitoring of budgets

Operational planning Effective and efficient use of existing

and Control facilities and resources to carry out
activities with budget constraints

Information system for management control

Management control information is required by managers to measure performance, decide on control
actions, formulate new decision rules to be applied by operational personnel and allocate resources.
Summary information is required and this type of information includes

● Planned performance
● Variances from planned performance
● Reasons for variances
● Analysis of possible decisions or courses of action

The processing requirements to support management control activities are

● Planning and budget models to assist managers in finding problems in direction and preparing and revising
plans and budgets
● Variance reports programs to process scheduled reports showing performance and variances from
planned performance or other standards such as competitor’s performance.
● Problem analysis models to analyze data to provide input for decision making.
● Decision models to analyze a problem situation and provide possible solutions for management evaluation

IS Structure based on Organizational Function

Based on the organization function which uses information. Example:
● Sales and marketing subsystem
● Production sub-system
● Logistics sub-system
● Personnel Sub-system
● Finance and Accounting Sub-system
● Information processing Sub-system
● Top Management Sub-system
Issues with IS structure
● Extent of formal and non-formal information systems
1. Public Formal structured and Public Informal unstructured systems
2. Private Formal and Private informal information systems
3. Management resistance to formal information systems

● The extent of integration of files and processing

● The extent of user-machine interactions
● Generalized versus individualized systems
 Business
Analytics

Business analytics involves the systematic gathering of unprocessed data. The processing is conducted by
taking into account the specific requirements of the user and employing it to make informed decisions. Data
analysts and data scientists engage in the process of analysing data. Data cleansing, inspection,
transformation, and modelling are employed in this process to get comprehension of data in its original state.
A significant volume of data is in an unorganised format, necessitating its collection from many sources. Data
analytics is a necessary component for business intelligence to carry out its functions. This tutorial provides the
necessary requirements and fundamental concepts for software professionals who aspire to acquire
knowledge in data analytics.

Categories of Business Analytics

Business Analytics may be categorised into four fundamental forms –

1. Descriptive Analytics: This pertains to the analysis and interpretation of historical data to provide a
comprehensive understanding of past events and trends within a specific timeframe. Has the viewership
increased? Is the sales performance this month superior to that of the previous month?

2. Diagnostic Analytics: This discipline primarily investigates the underlying causes and reasons behind a
certain event or phenomenon. This entails incorporating a wider range of data sources and engaging in
some conjecture. Did the weather have an impact on beer sales? Has the most recent marketing effort had
an effect on sales?

3. Predictive Analytics: This pertains to forecasting future events or outcomes in the short term. What was the
impact on sales during the previous hot summer? What is the number of weather models that forecast a hot
summer this year?

4. Prescriptive Analytics: This provides a recommended line of action. If the probability of a hot summer,
calculated as the mean of these five meteorological models, exceeds 58%, it is advisable to implement an
evening shift at the brewery and lease an extra tank to augment production.

Practical uses of fundamental business analytics

● In the field of healthcare, understanding distinct cases of various diseases and analysing the data can assist
● in helping patients comprehend the risks and identify the sickness more readily. This facilitates the
administration of appropriate medical care to the patients.
● Database analytics facilitates internet searches by utilising many data sources to gather information.

● The analytics aid in picture identification and speech recognition. One of the uses of Data analytics is to
cluster photos and determine their groupings.

● Business analytics is a readily attainable skill that may be acquired by anybody possessing fundamental
knowledge of computer programming and analytics. This facilitates consumers in acquiring a deeper
understanding of data.

● Business analytics facilitates the provision of website recommendations to clients and is particularly
beneficial for users proficient in data analytics.

Tools for Analysing Data

Multiple data analysis tools are readily available in the market, each with its unique array of features. The
choice of tools should be determined by the nature of the study conducted and the characteristics of the
data manipulated. Below are many intriguing tools for Data Analysis.

1. Microsoft Excel

It possesses a multitude of captivating characteristics, and when supplemented with further plugins, it is
capable of managing an enormous volume of data. If you possess data that falls outside the range of
important data, Excel can serve as a versatile instrument for data analysis.

2. Tableau

It belongs to the category of Business Intelligence (BI) tools and is specifically designed for data analysis.
Tableau's core functionality is around the Pivot Table and Pivot Chart, which aim to present data in a most
intuitive manner. Furthermore, it possesses a data cleansing capability in addition to its exceptional analytical
functionalities.

3. Power BI

Originally conceived as an Excel plugin, it subsequently separated from Excel to evolve into one of the
foremost data analytics tools. There are three versions available: Free, Pro, and Premium. PowerPivot and its
DAX language enable the implementation of complex advanced analytics, comparable to writing formulas
in Excel.

4. Fine Report

Fine Report offers a user-friendly drag and drop feature that facilitates the creation of diverse reports and the
development of a data-driven decision analysis system. The software has the capability to establish direct
connections with many databases, and its structure closely resembles that of Excel. Furthermore, it offers a
diverse range of dashboard templates and other internally built visual plug-in libraries.
5. R and Python

These programming languages possess significant strength and versatility. R excels in statistical analysis,
particularly in areas such as normal distribution, cluster classification techniques, and regression analysis.
Additionally, it conducts personalised predictive analysis, such as analysing client behaviour, spending
patterns, favoured items based on browsing history, and other relevant factors. Furthermore, it encompasses
principles of machine learning and artificial intelligence.

6. SAS

It is a programming language specifically designed for the purpose of data analytics and data manipulation.
It possesses the capability to effortlessly retrieve data from any given source. SAS has unveiled an extensive
range of customer profiling solutions for web, social media, and marketing analytics. It has the ability to
forecast their actions, oversee, and enhance communications.
 For details & queries
please contact:

Sagnik Bagchi +91 79803 79285

Gunjan Panjabi +91 96187 93608
Vrinda Gupta +91 82878 40943
Smriti Choudhary +91 72096 14173

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International Management Institute,
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