NMIMS SEMESTER 4 MARKETING ASSIGNMENTS

NMIMS Sem 4 December 2023 Marketing Assignments

Business: Ethics, Governance & Risk

1. Choose any ONE listed company from the BSE/NSE list of top 150 companies by turnover. Locate the Business Responsibility & Sustainability Report or ESG Report (under Statutory Report) in the Annual Report of 2022-23. Read through the following;

• Section C, Principle 6 (in BRSR)
• Chairman and/or CEO’s letter (in annual report)
• Business strategy (in annual report)
• Risk management (in annual report)
• ESG performance (in annual report/ BRSR)
• Company website (ESG / sustainability)
• Sustainability/Integrated report (if available)

Explain in your own words the company’s relationship with water as a resource including what are its water related risks, opportunities and financial implications. How does business manage/approach all its water related issues and initiatives as an overall business strategy such that it minimizes its negative impact on the environment as well as the local communities. (use quantitative data to support your answer where required). DO NOT copy paste.

2. Go through the Code of Conduct and all other corporate policies published on the company’s website. (Can use the same company as in Q1 or another company from the same list) Write an executive summary in your own words about all the key points/parameters covered in the code of conduct plus ONE other policy (NOT csr policy). Conclude with your observations and insights about what both of them are meant to achieve. DO NOT copy paste.

3. Today pollution is a growing health concern globally. It is seen as an essential evil on the path of economic growth and social development. Yet it needs to be addressed for all of us to have a reasonably good quality of life and access to clean air and water is a basic Human Rights. a. Do you think pollution is ethically consumer responsibility as well? Why do you think so?  b. Explain atleast two ethical dilemmas faced by companies while trying to reduce their pollution levels.

Research Methodology

1. Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative research methods. Apollo hospitals wants to investigate the factors contributing to patient satisfaction in their hospitals. Develop a research plant using mixed-method approach and outline the steps you would take to conduct research.

2. Netflix is interested in examining the relationship between user interface design and customer satisfaction. How would you design an experimental study to investigate this relationship, and what variables would you manipulate and measure?

3. The once-promising metaverse, envisioned as the future of virtual reality, has faced a remarkable and abrupt downfall. Its rise and fall present a unique opportunity to explore the intricate challenges of constructing interconnected virtual worlds. This article investigates the contributing factors to the metaverse’s demise and examines the valuable lessons learned from this ambitious venture. Originally introduced as “Meta,” an offspring of popular media such as “Tron” and “Second Life,” the metaverse gained significant attention and investment frenzy. However, a lack of clear direction and coherent vision for the product ultimately led to its decline. As the tech industry shifted its focus to generative AI, the fate of the metaverse was sealed, landing it among the failed ideas in the tech industry’s graveyard. This short-lived and inglorious ending of the metaverse serves as a harsh critique of the tech industry that once championed its creation. a. Develop qualitative questions for conducting interview to understand if Metaverse has actually failed?

b. Interview 4-5 respondents for with the questions formulated and generate themes to evaluate the future of metaverse?

Digital Marketing

Ms. Sophia envisions establishing an innovative app called “Jewels4All” dedicated to offering a wide range of jewelry pieces. Jewels4All will act as a comprehensive aggregator platform for jewelry vendors, both established brands and independent artisans, to showcase and sell their products. The app will also feature a collection of exquisite jewelry designed and manufactured in-house. The app’s unique selling proposition (USP) will be providing customers access to high-quality jewelry at competitive prices, enabled by bulk purchasing and a robust digital marketing strategy. The company plans to exclusively focus on digital marketing, forgoing traditional media channels.

1. How will you promote Jewels4All on the online platforms?

2. Assume you plan to launch a campaign to promote the Jewels4All where the main objective is to create brand awareness for the masses. The campaign will be done at the national level with a very high budget. Explain the seven stages for setting up a marketing campaign for the brand Jewels4All.

a. Explain the key activities involved in the campaign set up for the Brand Jewels4All.

b. What are the key activities involved in monitoring the campaign for Jewels4All?

Marketing Research

1. Apple Inc. sees a decline in sale of iPhone in India. They perceived that the new launches such as foldable smartphones by competitors are a threat to their products. They hire you in a role of market researcher and give a task to understand customer preferences for foldable smartphones. Develop a survey questionnaire that captures consumers’ opinions and features, design, price, and brand reputation.

2. Fab India wants to introduce a new clothing line targeting millennial. As a market researcher, develop a questionnaire to conduct in-depth interviews with a representative sample of millennial to understand their fashion preferences, lifestyle, and purchasing behavior. List down the questions and analyze them using thematic analysis.

3. UrbanHomes Developers, a renowned real estate company, is exploring the idea of building a new and innovative housing project in the bustling city of Navi Mumbai, India. The vision is to create a modern living haven that combines contemporary design,sustainable features, and a vibrant community lifestyle. As the project’s market researcher, the goal is to understand potential buyers’ preferences, budget constraints, and location preferences to shape the development according to their needs and aspirations.

A. As a market researcher, design a survey based questionnaire to assess potential buyers’ preferences, budget constraints, and location preferences for the new housing development. The survey must include both qualitative and quantitative questions.

B. Identify the Target Market and characteristics of ideal respondents.

Services Marketing

Q1. You are the owner of a retail chain. You currently have consumer durables, groceries and private label clothing range for kids, men, and women. The price point is low and the quality you offer is fantastic. You have more than eighty percent repeat customers. In most of the customer, surveys that you have conducted with market research agencies have pointed this unique feature of your store. You have successfully operated your business in Delhi. You have about 15 stores operating across the state. During the last five years, you have spread your offerings to the other northern states, and you have seen a wonderful response. You are encouraged, and you decide to take this down south.

You have encouraged about twenty five percent of your best staff member to open the first store in Bangalore. (With a salary hike) They are your top performers. The vacant positions in the north will be filled up temporarily and the staff members deputed would be called back after 3 years from the start of the operation. The store opens as scheduled. The initial response is good, but within six months, you see a plethora of complaints coming in and customers are unhappy with their overall experience. Your cash counters seem to become empty with footfalls and profits coming down.

This comes to you as a big shock as you had not expected this to happen. You are unwilling to give up and you need to understand why? Is it the mindset of the people, a consumer whom you have never encountered before, or is it the issue of training your people and re designing of your service offerings? But will you be able to turn this around?

Do you feel that there is a difference in consumer mindset in the South vis a vis the North? Can you point some of them? What data do you need to reach to a conclusion and what steps should you take to plug the footfalls? (10 Marks)

Q2. You have worked in the industry for a decade, and you are now fed up with the boring work environment around you. The entrepreneurial bug has bitten you and a food business is in your mind. There are numerous challenges, however. In your city, the working population is large enough to sustain the business, disposable incomes are high, and you feel that there is a niche offering that needs to be created for your restaurant, for example a Japanese or a Korean cuisine. The problem however with a niche is adoption to local tastes, preferences, and the biggest challenge of whether customer would be interested in them. The next big challenge would be for you to reach out to the right set of customers. This might take you some time, and your biggest fear is that the initial buzz that you may create at the start may not sustain after a point. Also, if you are successful, there may be copycats coming in. You are therefore considering a second alternative of ‘tiffin services’ to people around you. This may not have the glamour but will make you cash bells ringing from day 1 if your product is right. There may not any need for branding or the need to position yourself. It is a dilemma that you are facing.

How would the service offering be different in case of a restaurant vis a vis tiffin service? (7Ps) and how would you plan to market the service offerings? (restaurant vis a vis tiffin service)

Q3. Trail Blazers academy is a coaching academy, providing training, coaching, and counselling services for students. Their primary revenue source is from the coaching they do for medical and JEE. Established a decade ago, it is now a well-known brand, but faces sever competition from the crowded market of the coaching space. The quality of the students passing out are well know and many candidates are able to crack the JEE and medical exams. However, in the last couple of years, the company has tried to expand using the franchise model. This was possibly the best model available. But with tremendous amount of competition happening online and offline, the pricing model of the academy has changed. The fees for the course are on the brochure but is charged variably. There are no standardizations followed. Many of the franchisees charge whatever they want to, essentially to maintain a minimum threshold of students flowing into the organisation. Sometimes the center heads of the franchise encourage existing students to bring in new candidates, there by incentivizing them. Some of the hard negotiators are able to settle down at a lower price point that what others are paying. In many cases, students were allowed just with a token money with more than the usual EMIs. Everything seems to be as per the flexibility of the center managers. While some of the franchises are happy, others are not. The location of the center, number of enrolments drive the pricing. The parents are unhappy with this mechanism and there are complaints floating in the social media about Trail Blazers. The franchises are incentivized on the total revenue they add to the parent group. Many of them therefore have started the recent practice of creating fake candidates, thereby making themselves eligible for more incentives.

Trail Blazers have also realized that due to competitive pressure, they are unable to make good margins in the business and wants to expand their offerings. They are now planning to start a HR recruitment consulting firm. The CEO can drive this, because of his previous experience in this area. He also has a team, which is capable enough. The CEO has invited you, as a consultant. They are in a dilemma on whether they should use the Trail Blazers brand name to the recruitment consulting firm or use a new name. Trail Blazers sound to be a great name for the consulting firm and matches with the nature of work that they intend to do. However, many of the other managers opine that these two businesses are different and not related and therefore the brand extension is not suitable for the new offerings. Even if they use the same name, how would they position themselves?

1. How do you price their services better? (5 marks)
2. Is venturing into a new service offering a sensible proposition for Trail Blazers? What are the potential benefits and challenges that you see as a consultant?

NMIMS SEMESTER 4 FINANCE ASSIGNMENTS

NMIMS Sem 4 December 2023 Finance Assignments

Business: Ethics, Governance & Risk

1. Choose any ONE listed company from the BSE/NSE list of top 150 companies by turnover. Locate the Business Responsibility & Sustainability Report or ESG Report (under Statutory Report) in the Annual Report of 2022-23. Read through the following;

• Section C, Principle 6 (in BRSR)
• Chairman and/or CEO’s letter (in annual report)
• Business strategy (in annual report)
• Risk management (in annual report)
• ESG performance (in annual report/ BRSR)
• Company website (ESG / sustainability)
• Sustainability/Integrated report (if available)

Explain in your own words the company’s relationship with water as a resource including what are its water related risks, opportunities and financial implications. How does business manage/approach all its water related issues and initiatives as an overall business strategy such that it minimizes its negative impact on the environment as well as the local communities. (use quantitative data to support your answer where required). DO NOT copy paste.

2. Go through the Code of Conduct and all other corporate policies published on the company’s website. (Can use the same company as in Q1 or another company from the same list) Write an executive summary in your own words about all the key points/parameters covered in the code of conduct plus ONE other policy (NOT csr policy). Conclude with your observations and insights about what both of them are meant to achieve. DO NOT copy paste.

3. Today pollution is a growing health concern globally. It is seen as an essential evil on the path of economic growth and social development. Yet it needs to be addressed for all of us to have a reasonably good quality of life and access to clean air and water is a basic Human Rights. a. Do you think pollution is ethically consumer responsibility as well? Why do you think so?  b. Explain atleast two ethical dilemmas faced by companies while trying to reduce their pollution levels.

Research Methodology

1. Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative research methods. Apollo hospitals wants to investigate the factors contributing to patient satisfaction in their hospitals. Develop a research plant using mixed-method approach and outline the steps you would take to conduct research.

2. Netflix is interested in examining the relationship between user interface design and customer satisfaction. How would you design an experimental study to investigate this relationship, and what variables would you manipulate and measure?

3. The once-promising metaverse, envisioned as the future of virtual reality, has faced a remarkable and abrupt downfall. Its rise and fall present a unique opportunity to explore the intricate challenges of constructing interconnected virtual worlds. This article investigates the contributing factors to the metaverse’s demise and examines the valuable lessons learned from this ambitious venture. Originally introduced as “Meta,” an offspring of popular media such as “Tron” and “Second Life,” the metaverse gained significant attention and investment frenzy. However, a lack of clear direction and coherent vision for the product ultimately led to its decline. As the tech industry shifted its focus to generative AI, the fate of the metaverse was sealed, landing it among the failed ideas in the tech industry’s graveyard. This short-lived and inglorious ending of the metaverse serves as a harsh critique of the tech industry that once championed its creation. a. Develop qualitative questions for conducting interview to understand if Metaverse has actually failed?

b. Interview 4-5 respondents for with the questions formulated and generate themes to evaluate the future of metaverse?

International Finance

1. How International Finance as a Subject covers most of Crucial aspects of Macro Economics and Global Financial Management as a whole? Elaborate the views (10 Marks)

2. Before Mint Parity system in last few decades, which System was prevalent & accepted by close to 50 Countries Delegates in International Finance regime for Foreign Trade & Exchange Rate? Explain the paradigm (10 Marks)

3a) Out of many Theories of International Trade & Finance, which Theory stands out as most different and Why? (5 Marks)

3b) Explain which Foreign Bank Account can be termed as Fundamentally most Important in Foreign Transactions? (5 Marks)

Strategic Financial Management

Question 1

A company is evaluating two investment projects, Project A and Project B, each with different levels of risk and an initial investment of Rs. 3,00,000. The risk-free rate of return is 5%. The expected cash flows and their probabilities for each project are as follows:

Project A: Expected Cash Flow in Year 1: Rs.100,000 Expected Cash Flow in Year 2: Rs.150,000 Expected Cash Flow in Year 3: Rs.200,000

Project B: Expected Cash Flow in Year 1: Rs.80,000 Expected Cash Flow in Year 2: Rs.120,000 Expected Cash Flow in Year 3: Rs.180,000

The company’s financial analysts have determined that Project A has a beta of 1.2, while Project B has a beta of 0.8. The market risk premium is 8%.

Calculate the risk-adjusted discount rate for each project using the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and then determine which project the company should choose based on the risk-adjusted Net Present Value (NPV) criteria. (10 Marks)

Question 2 There are several ways in which Mergers and Acquisitions can be categorized. Explain the different types of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) that companies can pursue to achieve strategic objectives and growth. Provide examples of each type and discuss the reasons behind their adoption. (10 Marks)

Question 3a

A stock option is for 100 shares of the underlying stock. Ayush, a trader buys one call option contract on stock of Alpha Ltd. with a strike price of Rs.25. He pays Rs.150 for the option. Assuming on the option’s expiration date, Alpha Ltd.’s shares are selling for Rs.35; compute the gain/loss incurred by Ayush. (5 Marks)

Question 3b

Xenon Ltd., is a multinational manufacturing company, and its management team is evaluating the financial performance of its various divisions. They want to assess each division’s contribution to shareholder value using Economic Value Added (EVA). The company’s cost of capital is 10%.

Division A		Division B
Total Capital Employed	Rs.20,000,000		Rs.15,000,000
Operating Profit	Rs.3,500,000		Rs.2,800,000
Tax Rate	30%		25%

Calculate the Economic Value Added (EVA) for each division and determine which division is creating more value for the shareholders.

Financial Institutions and Markets

Q1. Mr Raman is one of the director in XYZ ltd company. The company is engaged in hotel sector ,which has recently witnessed a steady downfall in its revenue and value of its assets due to a downward trend persisting in the market. The periodical financial result of the company were to be declared in the fortnight time. Mr. Raman being an insider, had to access to unpublished price sensitive information related to it. Consequently, he sells the major portion of his holding in an anticipation of fall in the market price of the shares of the company subsequent to announcement of periodical financial result of the company. On conducting a probe, SEBI finds Mr. Raman guilty of insider is trading. In context to the above case – State the importance of SEBI and its various functions. (10 Marks)

Q2. Rima buys a financial asset from the RBI. This financial asset is an instrument of short-term borrowing. He has bought it because he doesn’t want to take risk and wants an assured return. This instrument is a promissory note. It is highly liquid. The instrument is also known as zero coupon bonds. On this instrument, it is written T-91 Based on the above case study, Identify the financial asset indicated in the above case. elaborate why this instrument is called as zero coupon bonds and mention what are functions of these instruments and why this is called as T-19? (10 Marks)

Q3. Nishanth was working in the portfolio management department of Beta Ltd and had new recruits to whom he was supposed to provide training on the risks associated with the financial market as apart from earning returns they should be well aware of the risks that can be managed and which ones cannot be managed in a portfolio. He decided to broadly classify the risks in two categories and explain the different types of risks associated with each one. If you are Nishanth, a) Explain different types of risks associated with systematic risk. (5 Marks) b) Explain different types of risks associated with unsystematic risk. (5 Marks)

NMIMS SEMESTER 4 HRM ASSIGNMENTS

NMIMS Sem 4 December 2023 HRM Assignments

Business: Ethics, Governance & Risk

1. Choose any ONE listed company from the BSE/NSE list of top 150 companies by turnover. Locate the Business Responsibility & Sustainability Report or ESG Report (under Statutory Report) in the Annual Report of 2022-23. Read through the following;

• Section C, Principle 6 (in BRSR)
• Chairman and/or CEO’s letter (in annual report)
• Business strategy (in annual report)
• Risk management (in annual report)
• ESG performance (in annual report/ BRSR)
• Company website (ESG / sustainability)
• Sustainability/Integrated report (if available)

Explain in your own words the company’s relationship with water as a resource including what are its water related risks, opportunities and financial implications. How does business manage/approach all its water related issues and initiatives as an overall business strategy such that it minimizes its negative impact on the environment as well as the local communities. (use quantitative data to support your answer where required). DO NOT copy paste.

2. Go through the Code of Conduct and all other corporate policies published on the company’s website. (Can use the same company as in Q1 or another company from the same list) Write an executive summary in your own words about all the key points/parameters covered in the code of conduct plus ONE other policy (NOT csr policy). Conclude with your observations and insights about what both of them are meant to achieve. DO NOT copy paste.

3. Today pollution is a growing health concern globally. It is seen as an essential evil on the path of economic growth and social development. Yet it needs to be addressed for all of us to have a reasonably good quality of life and access to clean air and water is a basic Human Rights. a. Do you think pollution is ethically consumer responsibility as well? Why do you think so?  b. Explain atleast two ethical dilemmas faced by companies while trying to reduce their pollution levels.

Research Methodology

1. Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative research methods. Apollo hospitals wants to investigate the factors contributing to patient satisfaction in their hospitals. Develop a research plant using mixed-method approach and outline the steps you would take to conduct research.

2. Netflix is interested in examining the relationship between user interface design and customer satisfaction. How would you design an experimental study to investigate this relationship, and what variables would you manipulate and measure?

3. The once-promising metaverse, envisioned as the future of virtual reality, has faced a remarkable and abrupt downfall. Its rise and fall present a unique opportunity to explore the intricate challenges of constructing interconnected virtual worlds. This article investigates the contributing factors to the metaverse’s demise and examines the valuable lessons learned from this ambitious venture. Originally introduced as “Meta,” an offspring of popular media such as “Tron” and “Second Life,” the metaverse gained significant attention and investment frenzy. However, a lack of clear direction and coherent vision for the product ultimately led to its decline. As the tech industry shifted its focus to generative AI, the fate of the metaverse was sealed, landing it among the failed ideas in the tech industry’s graveyard. This short-lived and inglorious ending of the metaverse serves as a harsh critique of the tech industry that once championed its creation. a. Develop qualitative questions for conducting interview to understand if Metaverse has actually failed?

b. Interview 4-5 respondents for with the questions formulated and generate themes to evaluate the future of metaverse?

Strategic HRM

Q.1 Motocrop is a mid-sized manufacturing firm that specializes in producing automotive parts. Over the years, the company has seen a steady growth in its operations and market presence. However, the industry is rapidly evolving, with technological advancements such as automation, robotics, and AI becoming integral to manufacturing processes. Motocrop recognizes the need to adapt and invest in these technologies to remain competitive and efficient. As the Head of Human Resources, you have been tasked with developing a strategic human resource plan to guide the company through this technological transformation.

Q.2 You are the HR Manager of a rapidly growing technology start-up. The company has been experiencing a high rate of employee turnover, particularly among top-performing employees who are leaving for better opportunities elsewhere. This turnover is not only affecting the company’s productivity but also hindering its ability to innovate and stay competitive in the industry. As the HR Manager, you are tasked with developing some retention strategies.

Q.3 InnovateTech is a mid-sized technology-consulting firm known for its innovative solutions and expertise in emerging technologies. However, the company has been facing challenges related to employee engagement and retention. Despite offering competitive compensation, some top-performing employees have been leaving the company for opportunities elsewhere. InnovateTech’s leadership recognizes the need to implement a Career Planning for the employees and needs to work on the same.

a. Discuss the initiatives taken by the organisation for Career Development & Planning for employees.

b. Explain the significance of a well-designed process of succession planning increasing employee satisfaction and retention rates at InnovateTech?

Employee Development & Talent Management

Q1. ‘The Jaipur Collective’ is a textile manufacturing unit located in the city of Jaipur with enough infrastructure and a good workforce. The organization is specialized in block printing particularly, the supplies that are done in Rajasthan only. The organization is run by the CEO who is commonly known as well educated, experienced, a businessman with a humane approach. He considered the employees as a competitive advantage of his organization and want to keep the workforce always motivated and updated to face the challenges from their competitors. What points should be considered by the CEO for framing effective motivational strategies?

Q2. Cyber Gateway is an IT firm located in Mumbai. Career planning has always been a pretty low-priority item for the firm. The HR manager believes that just getting workers to come to work and then keeping them honest is enough of a problem. Over a period of time he realized that many of their employees had been with them for years and it would be good to help them gain a better perspective on what they want to do. He also believed that career support would have an effect on improving company’s employee retention. Outline the career planning process you would propose for the designers working with the company.

Q3. Infinity Ltd. is an IT based company that provides software packages to its users. It was doing well until it observed a lack of cooperation among its employees and the management, which affected its business performance. It was observed that employees at various levels were either demotivated or were frustrated. The management asked the HR department to look for a reason behind the rising number of demotivated and frustrated employees. The HR manager worked with managers from other departments and found out that a new technology was introduced by the organisation around a year back to develop software. Most of the employees in the organisation were not aware of this technology; thus, they were having a hard time using it. This reflected on their performance which eventually leads to unsatisfied appraisals, thus increasing frustration among employees and no cooperation with the management.

The HR department was asked to suggest a solution for the problem as soon as possible. The department then came up with an idea of conducting employee development program that aimed at making employees aware of the new technology so that they can perform better.

a. Considering the situation given in the case, explain the benefits of conducting employee development programs in the company.

b. Is it essential to evaluate the employee development programme? Justify

International HR Practices

Q1. STPL Steel India Limited, planning to set up its manufacturing plant in Vietnam. You have been appointed as a Global HR Head of the company on undertaking International Human Resource Planning. Explain important issues and challenges of Human Resources Planning at global level, Which you will be addressing in a meeting with management.

Q2. XYZ Limited an Indian-based IT company opens a subsidiary in Germany. Many employees applied for Internal Job postings and out of 20 applicants, 3 got the opportunity to work in a German subsidiary. After 4 months, one of the employees wishes to come back to their home country and he reaches out to you (the HR team). He says it’s difficult for him to sustain in Germany with the current compensation as the cost-of-living rising day-by-day and too high to stay in Europe. You did review the situation. What are the causes you could identify and how will you address them? What factors could have been considered before moving employees to a foreign subsidiary? Which approach or structure of international compensation, does the Company could have been offered to the ex-pats?

Q3. Ace Engineering is Mumbai, India-based heavy engineering company specializing in transformer manufacturing and setup projects. It’s now planning to set up a project management office in Warsaw, Poland. For this, there will be a team of 15 project experts moving from India and 2 from France to Poland for 6 months and will return to their home countries after 6 months, including a senior manager coming from France.

a. How will you (in the Global HR role) plan and prepare for the repatriation process for these returnees?

b. What could be the challenges faced by repatriates while returning to their homeland?

NMIMS SEMESTER 4 OPERATIONS ASSIGNMENTS

NMIMS Sem 4 December 2023 Operations Assignments

Business: Ethics, Governance & Risk

1. Choose any ONE listed company from the BSE/NSE list of top 150 companies by turnover. Locate the Business Responsibility & Sustainability Report or ESG Report (under Statutory Report) in the Annual Report of 2022-23. Read through the following;

• Section C, Principle 6 (in BRSR)
• Chairman and/or CEO’s letter (in annual report)
• Business strategy (in annual report)
• Risk management (in annual report)
• ESG performance (in annual report/ BRSR)
• Company website (ESG / sustainability)
• Sustainability/Integrated report (if available)

Explain in your own words the company’s relationship with water as a resource including what are its water related risks, opportunities and financial implications. How does business manage/approach all its water related issues and initiatives as an overall business strategy such that it minimizes its negative impact on the environment as well as the local communities. (use quantitative data to support your answer where required). DO NOT copy paste.

2. Go through the Code of Conduct and all other corporate policies published on the company’s website. (Can use the same company as in Q1 or another company from the same list) Write an executive summary in your own words about all the key points/parameters covered in the code of conduct plus ONE other policy (NOT csr policy). Conclude with your observations and insights about what both of them are meant to achieve. DO NOT copy paste.

3. Today pollution is a growing health concern globally. It is seen as an essential evil on the path of economic growth and social development. Yet it needs to be addressed for all of us to have a reasonably good quality of life and access to clean air and water is a basic Human Rights. a. Do you think pollution is ethically consumer responsibility as well? Why do you think so?  b. Explain atleast two ethical dilemmas faced by companies while trying to reduce their pollution levels.

Research Methodology

1. Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative research methods. Apollo hospitals wants to investigate the factors contributing to patient satisfaction in their hospitals. Develop a research plant using mixed-method approach and outline the steps you would take to conduct research.

2. Netflix is interested in examining the relationship between user interface design and customer satisfaction. How would you design an experimental study to investigate this relationship, and what variables would you manipulate and measure?

3. The once-promising metaverse, envisioned as the future of virtual reality, has faced a remarkable and abrupt downfall. Its rise and fall present a unique opportunity to explore the intricate challenges of constructing interconnected virtual worlds. This article investigates the contributing factors to the metaverse’s demise and examines the valuable lessons learned from this ambitious venture. Originally introduced as “Meta,” an offspring of popular media such as “Tron” and “Second Life,” the metaverse gained significant attention and investment frenzy. However, a lack of clear direction and coherent vision for the product ultimately led to its decline. As the tech industry shifted its focus to generative AI, the fate of the metaverse was sealed, landing it among the failed ideas in the tech industry’s graveyard. This short-lived and inglorious ending of the metaverse serves as a harsh critique of the tech industry that once championed its creation. a. Develop qualitative questions for conducting interview to understand if Metaverse has actually failed?

b. Interview 4-5 respondents for with the questions formulated and generate themes to evaluate the future of metaverse?

Lean Six Sigma

1. Assume that you are working in a business process outsourcing (BPO) company. Identify a process in your organization that needs some improvement and create a broad outline for using the DMAIC methodology for process improvement. Also, assuming that you are the project leader of a Six Sigma project. Create a list of a few rules that you would lay down for your team to abide by to avoid any situations of conflict.

2. Imagine yourself to be a Six Sigma project leader in a big multi-specialty hospital. Prepare a schedule for all activities starting with patient admission till the patient occupies the bed. Also, draw a process map for the process of a patient admission to the hospital at the point of registration till occupying the bed.

3. Suppose you work in an organization that provides computer software and web-based business tools to other organizations.

a) Identify a particular process (any 1) in your organization and break it down into smaller activities to identify Non-Value Added (NVA), Business Value Added (BVA), and Value Added (VA) activities.

b) Assuming you are the project leader of a Six Sigma project undertaken based on the identified process in part a, list down the responsibilities covered under different six sigma belts such as Master Black Belt (MBB), Black Belt (BB), Green Belt (GB), Yellow Belt (YB) and White Belt (WB).

New Product Development and Managing Innovation

1. Vinesh works as a product manager for a large multi-national automobile company (eg. Volkswagen, Ford etc.). The company would like to create a new car targeted at youngsters in the age group of 25-35 years. Vinesh is responsible for the end to end product development process. Describe the approach across the different steps in generic product design and development process that he should follow.

2. Vinesh (from the previous example) has done good job assembling a team. He now has to generate product ideas. What are different idea generation strategies that he can use and what are the characteristics of each.

3a. Consider that you work for an Android app development company, NeuApps. The company needs your help in analyzing the different types product features for a new fitness tracking app they are developing, using the Kano model? Give a brief description of Kano model and explain the different types of features described by it in the context of a smartphone.

3b. You are a product manager at a new age start up. A friend of yours is setting up a company and would like understand the nuances of Intellectual Property Rights? Explain the different types of IPR and the need for considering IPR during a new product development. Provide an example for each type of IPR.

World Class Operations

Q1. As a consultant dealing with TQM practices, you are concerned with the objectives or the principles for implementing TQM. In this regard, explain the principles for which TQM is implemented.

Q2. In order to develop and maintain quality in processes, products and services, there are factors that need to be considered. Please explain the factors with suitable examples.

Q3. a) Quality Awards act as motivation for the companies to carry on with the world class standards in manufacturing. There are some awards, which are international, and some are domestic. Refer to one international and one domestic award and explain how are they different.

b) With reference to Quality Awards how Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence assesses for the award?

NMIMS SEMESTER 4 OPERATIONS ASSIGNMENTS

NMIMS Sem 4 December 2023 Operations Assignments

Business: Ethics, Governance & Risk

1. Choose any ONE listed company from the BSE/NSE list of top 150 companies by turnover. Locate the Business Responsibility & Sustainability Report or ESG Report (under Statutory Report) in the Annual Report of 2022-23. Read through the following;

• Section C, Principle 6 (in BRSR)
• Chairman and/or CEO’s letter (in annual report)
• Business strategy (in annual report)
• Risk management (in annual report)
• ESG performance (in annual report/ BRSR)
• Company website (ESG / sustainability)
• Sustainability/Integrated report (if available)

Explain in your own words the company’s relationship with water as a resource including what are its water related risks, opportunities and financial implications. How does business manage/approach all its water related issues and initiatives as an overall business strategy such that it minimizes its negative impact on the environment as well as the local communities. (use quantitative data to support your answer where required). DO NOT copy paste.

2. Go through the Code of Conduct and all other corporate policies published on the company’s website. (Can use the same company as in Q1 or another company from the same list) Write an executive summary in your own words about all the key points/parameters covered in the code of conduct plus ONE other policy (NOT csr policy). Conclude with your observations and insights about what both of them are meant to achieve. DO NOT copy paste.

3. Today pollution is a growing health concern globally. It is seen as an essential evil on the path of economic growth and social development. Yet it needs to be addressed for all of us to have a reasonably good quality of life and access to clean air and water is a basic Human Rights. a. Do you think pollution is ethically consumer responsibility as well? Why do you think so?  b. Explain atleast two ethical dilemmas faced by companies while trying to reduce their pollution levels.

Research Methodology

1. Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative research methods. Apollo hospitals wants to investigate the factors contributing to patient satisfaction in their hospitals. Develop a research plant using mixed-method approach and outline the steps you would take to conduct research.

2. Netflix is interested in examining the relationship between user interface design and customer satisfaction. How would you design an experimental study to investigate this relationship, and what variables would you manipulate and measure?

3. The once-promising metaverse, envisioned as the future of virtual reality, has faced a remarkable and abrupt downfall. Its rise and fall present a unique opportunity to explore the intricate challenges of constructing interconnected virtual worlds. This article investigates the contributing factors to the metaverse’s demise and examines the valuable lessons learned from this ambitious venture. Originally introduced as “Meta,” an offspring of popular media such as “Tron” and “Second Life,” the metaverse gained significant attention and investment frenzy. However, a lack of clear direction and coherent vision for the product ultimately led to its decline. As the tech industry shifted its focus to generative AI, the fate of the metaverse was sealed, landing it among the failed ideas in the tech industry’s graveyard. This short-lived and inglorious ending of the metaverse serves as a harsh critique of the tech industry that once championed its creation. a. Develop qualitative questions for conducting interview to understand if Metaverse has actually failed?

b. Interview 4-5 respondents for with the questions formulated and generate themes to evaluate the future of metaverse?

Lean Six Sigma

1. Assume that you are working in a business process outsourcing (BPO) company. Identify a process in your organization that needs some improvement and create a broad outline for using the DMAIC methodology for process improvement. Also, assuming that you are the project leader of a Six Sigma project. Create a list of a few rules that you would lay down for your team to abide by to avoid any situations of conflict.

2. Imagine yourself to be a Six Sigma project leader in a big multi-specialty hospital. Prepare a schedule for all activities starting with patient admission till the patient occupies the bed. Also, draw a process map for the process of a patient admission to the hospital at the point of registration till occupying the bed.

3. Suppose you work in an organization that provides computer software and web-based business tools to other organizations.

a) Identify a particular process (any 1) in your organization and break it down into smaller activities to identify Non-Value Added (NVA), Business Value Added (BVA), and Value Added (VA) activities.

b) Assuming you are the project leader of a Six Sigma project undertaken based on the identified process in part a, list down the responsibilities covered under different six sigma belts such as Master Black Belt (MBB), Black Belt (BB), Green Belt (GB), Yellow Belt (YB) and White Belt (WB).

New Product Development and Managing Innovation

1. Vinesh works as a product manager for a large multi-national automobile company (eg. Volkswagen, Ford etc.). The company would like to create a new car targeted at youngsters in the age group of 25-35 years. Vinesh is responsible for the end to end product development process. Describe the approach across the different steps in generic product design and development process that he should follow.

2. Vinesh (from the previous example) has done good job assembling a team. He now has to generate product ideas. What are different idea generation strategies that he can use and what are the characteristics of each.

3a. Consider that you work for an Android app development company, NeuApps. The company needs your help in analyzing the different types product features for a new fitness tracking app they are developing, using the Kano model? Give a brief description of Kano model and explain the different types of features described by it in the context of a smartphone.

3b. You are a product manager at a new age start up. A friend of yours is setting up a company and would like understand the nuances of Intellectual Property Rights? Explain the different types of IPR and the need for considering IPR during a new product development. Provide an example for each type of IPR.

World Class Operations

Q1. As a consultant dealing with TQM practices, you are concerned with the objectives or the principles for implementing TQM. In this regard, explain the principles for which TQM is implemented.

Q2. In order to develop and maintain quality in processes, products and services, there are factors that need to be considered. Please explain the factors with suitable examples.

Q3. a) Quality Awards act as motivation for the companies to carry on with the world class standards in manufacturing. There are some awards, which are international, and some are domestic. Refer to one international and one domestic award and explain how are they different.

b) With reference to Quality Awards how Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence assesses for the award?

NMIMS SEMESTER 4 BUSINESS MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENTS

NMIMS Sem 4 December 2023 Business management Assignments

Business: Ethics, Governance & Risk

1. Choose any ONE listed company from the BSE/NSE list of top 150 companies by turnover. Locate the Business Responsibility & Sustainability Report or ESG Report (under Statutory Report) in the Annual Report of 2022-23. Read through the following;

• Section C, Principle 6 (in BRSR)
• Chairman and/or CEO’s letter (in annual report)
• Business strategy (in annual report)
• Risk management (in annual report)
• ESG performance (in annual report/ BRSR)
• Company website (ESG / sustainability)
• Sustainability/Integrated report (if available)

Explain in your own words the company’s relationship with water as a resource including what are its water related risks, opportunities and financial implications. How does business manage/approach all its water related issues and initiatives as an overall business strategy such that it minimizes its negative impact on the environment as well as the local communities. (use quantitative data to support your answer where required). DO NOT copy paste.

2. Go through the Code of Conduct and all other corporate policies published on the company’s website. (Can use the same company as in Q1 or another company from the same list) Write an executive summary in your own words about all the key points/parameters covered in the code of conduct plus ONE other policy (NOT csr policy). Conclude with your observations and insights about what both of them are meant to achieve. DO NOT copy paste.

3. Today pollution is a growing health concern globally. It is seen as an essential evil on the path of economic growth and social development. Yet it needs to be addressed for all of us to have a reasonably good quality of life and access to clean air and water is a basic Human Rights. a. Do you think pollution is ethically consumer responsibility as well? Why do you think so?  b. Explain atleast two ethical dilemmas faced by companies while trying to reduce their pollution levels.

Research Methodology

1. Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative research methods. Apollo hospitals wants to investigate the factors contributing to patient satisfaction in their hospitals. Develop a research plant using mixed-method approach and outline the steps you would take to conduct research.

2. Netflix is interested in examining the relationship between user interface design and customer satisfaction. How would you design an experimental study to investigate this relationship, and what variables would you manipulate and measure?

3. The once-promising metaverse, envisioned as the future of virtual reality, has faced a remarkable and abrupt downfall. Its rise and fall present a unique opportunity to explore the intricate challenges of constructing interconnected virtual worlds. This article investigates the contributing factors to the metaverse’s demise and examines the valuable lessons learned from this ambitious venture. Originally introduced as “Meta,” an offspring of popular media such as “Tron” and “Second Life,” the metaverse gained significant attention and investment frenzy. However, a lack of clear direction and coherent vision for the product ultimately led to its decline. As the tech industry shifted its focus to generative AI, the fate of the metaverse was sealed, landing it among the failed ideas in the tech industry’s graveyard. This short-lived and inglorious ending of the metaverse serves as a harsh critique of the tech industry that once championed its creation. a. Develop qualitative questions for conducting interview to understand if Metaverse has actually failed?

b. Interview 4-5 respondents for with the questions formulated and generate themes to evaluate the future of metaverse?

Sales Management

Q.1 Assume you are a sales manager. You will be opening a new branch for which you intend to promote one of the existing salespersons as a branch sales manager. What criteria or qualities would you look for in selecting a person for the position of branch sales manager?

Q.2 Take any product/service of your own choice & explain the Personal Selling process. (10 Marks)

Q.3 Read the case & answer the questions based on the case:

Krishna Kumar, the marketing manager of MM Marketing Company was thinking how to go about designing sales territories, assigning salespeople to the territories and setting sales quotas, particularly as the product was new. The new product, called Swishflow fan was a unique kind of a table fan with attractive air-conditioner like looks. Considering the initial production capacity of 1,00,000 numbers in the first year, Krishna Kumar decided to market the product in and around Mumbai, where the marketing and sales office was located. The target consumers were household as well as commercial organizations, who could use this product as table-fan and wall-mounted fan.

Krishna Kumar thought that the territory design should include geographical areas with high market potential for achieving the sales budget of 1,00,000 numbers in the first year and a growth of 25 % per year for subsequent four years. He calculated a sales force size of seven numbers, and decided to launch the product initially in major metros and cities in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Krishna Kumar was of the view that sales quotas should consider sales volume, selling expense, and also number of sales calls per day, in order to have a proper control on salespeople. He wondered how to design sales territories, what criteria should he consider while assigning salespersons to territories, and how to design the sales quotas considering the factors mentioned above.

Questions: a) If you were Krishna Kumar, how would you design the sales territory? (5 Marks)

b) Suggest a suitable selling strategy for the new launch

Corporate Finance

1) Calculate the WACC for M/s Antara Limited with the following information

Capital Structure

BV

Share Capital

50,00,000

Retained Earnings

2,50,000

Debentures

15,00,000

Bank Loan

2,00,000

Share price of M/s Antara Limited at the beginning of the year was Rs. 50 and end of the year was Rs. 55 per share. Dividend declared was Rs. 5. Beta of the Company was pegged at 0.6. M/s Antara had floated its Debentures at 8% fixed interest for 5 years. The bank had extended a loan on floating rate basis. Interest paid during the year was Rs. 10000. Government securities are earning a return of 4% currently.

2) Calculate the Gross and the Net Operating Cycle for Vishal & Co. Ltd. using the following information. (Assume 360 days in a year).

Amt. in Rs.
Opening Balances
Raw Material	200,000
WIP	60,000
Finished Goods	600,000
Debtors	250,000
Creditors	550,000
Closing Balances
Raw Material	300,000
WIP	65,000
Finished Goods	725,000
Debtors	215,000
Creditors	575,000
Annual Purchase of Raw Material	3,200,000
Manufacturing Expenses	550,000
Selling & Distribution Costs	300,000
Sales	4,480,000

3) a) What should be the amount to be invested:

i) To receive Rs. 2,00,000 per annum in perpetuity at an interest rate of 8%.

ii) In addition to conditions of point (i) above, if a growth rate of 3% is expected every year.

To receive Rs. 4,00,000 per annum in perpetuity at an interest rate of 5%.

b) Calculate the current ratio and Acid Test Ratio with the following information

Debtors

500,000

Cash and Bank

200,000

Inventory

400,000

Trade Payables

150,000

Bank OD

50,000

Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Management

Q1. “Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.”

Q2. Kritika is a final year hotel management student, who is very much interested in starting her own business of bakery. She is thinking of taking a loan and has approached you for advice. What would you advise her?

Q3. Vicky, Charvi and Anjli are going to start a business, which is basically a PR firm which helps different organizations to create brand image and communicate to public to attract customers to those organization. Vicky and Charvi is of opinion that they should form it as a private limited company and Anjli feels it should be LLP.

A) How do Vicky and Charvi justify formation of private limited company?

B) How do Anjli justify formation of LLP?

NMIMS SEMESTER 4 BANKING & FINANCE ASSIGNMENTS

NMIMS Sem 4 December 2023 Banking & Finance Assignments

Business: Ethics, Governance & Risk

1. Choose any ONE listed company from the BSE/NSE list of top 150 companies by turnover. Locate the Business Responsibility & Sustainability Report or ESG Report (under Statutory Report) in the Annual Report of 2022-23. Read through the following;

• Section C, Principle 6 (in BRSR)
• Chairman and/or CEO’s letter (in annual report)
• Business strategy (in annual report)
• Risk management (in annual report)
• ESG performance (in annual report/ BRSR)
• Company website (ESG / sustainability)
• Sustainability/Integrated report (if available)

Explain in your own words the company’s relationship with water as a resource including what are its water related risks, opportunities and financial implications. How does business manage/approach all its water related issues and initiatives as an overall business strategy such that it minimizes its negative impact on the environment as well as the local communities. (use quantitative data to support your answer where required). DO NOT copy paste.

2. Go through the Code of Conduct and all other corporate policies published on the company’s website. (Can use the same company as in Q1 or another company from the same list) Write an executive summary in your own words about all the key points/parameters covered in the code of conduct plus ONE other policy (NOT csr policy). Conclude with your observations and insights about what both of them are meant to achieve. DO NOT copy paste.

3. Today pollution is a growing health concern globally. It is seen as an essential evil on the path of economic growth and social development. Yet it needs to be addressed for all of us to have a reasonably good quality of life and access to clean air and water is a basic Human Rights. a. Do you think pollution is ethically consumer responsibility as well? Why do you think so?  b. Explain atleast two ethical dilemmas faced by companies while trying to reduce their pollution levels.

Research Methodology

1. Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative research methods. Apollo hospitals wants to investigate the factors contributing to patient satisfaction in their hospitals. Develop a research plant using mixed-method approach and outline the steps you would take to conduct research.

2. Netflix is interested in examining the relationship between user interface design and customer satisfaction. How would you design an experimental study to investigate this relationship, and what variables would you manipulate and measure?

3. The once-promising metaverse, envisioned as the future of virtual reality, has faced a remarkable and abrupt downfall. Its rise and fall present a unique opportunity to explore the intricate challenges of constructing interconnected virtual worlds. This article investigates the contributing factors to the metaverse’s demise and examines the valuable lessons learned from this ambitious venture. Originally introduced as “Meta,” an offspring of popular media such as “Tron” and “Second Life,” the metaverse gained significant attention and investment frenzy. However, a lack of clear direction and coherent vision for the product ultimately led to its decline. As the tech industry shifted its focus to generative AI, the fate of the metaverse was sealed, landing it among the failed ideas in the tech industry’s graveyard. This short-lived and inglorious ending of the metaverse serves as a harsh critique of the tech industry that once championed its creation. a. Develop qualitative questions for conducting interview to understand if Metaverse has actually failed?

b. Interview 4-5 respondents for with the questions formulated and generate themes to evaluate the future of metaverse?

Treasury Management in Banking

1. In view of poor Balance of Payment management by Govt/RBI, higher interest rates and inflation, INR is expected to depreciate further. Suggest ways/ Internal/external Techniques to manage Currency Risk by Corporates for their ECB’s and Import payments

2. Explain the role played by SWIFT, Nostro, Vostro, Special Vostro Account for settlement of International Trade & Treasury products. Explain the term Globalization of INR used by Govt / RBI.

3.“To control double digit inflation, US & other major Central Banks have increased interest rates, which resulted in the failure/consolidation of SVC Bank, First Republic Bank & Credit Suisse?

a. Discuss the impact of increase in interest rates on Treasury Investment Portfolios of Banks.

b. How the increase in interest rates will control inflation, when there is a huge liquidity in the system?

International Banking & Foreign Exchange Management

Q1. Mr. Patel, a resident of India, frequently travels abroad for business purposes and earns foreign income. He wants to know more about Resident Foreign Currency (RFC) and Exchange Earners’ Foreign Currency (EEFC) accounts to manage his foreign earnings efficiently. Distinguish between Resident Foreign Currency Account and Exchange Earners Foreign Currency account. Mr. Patel is an exporter and earns foreign income in USD. He is interested in opening an Exchange Earners’ Foreign Currency (EEFC) account. Describe the purpose and benefits of an EEFC account for Mr. Patel, and how he can utilize it effectively.

Q2. Explain the role and functions of international financial institutions such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), World Bank, and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the global economy. Provide examples of their initiatives and projects to promote economic development and financial stability in different regions.

Q3. ABC Corp, a multinational company, operates in both the United States and Europe. The company frequently engages in currency exchange transactions to manage its international operations efficiently. Recently, the company had to exchange a significant amount of euros (EUR) to US dollars (USD) and vice versa.

a) ABC Corp has received a payment of 500,000 euros (EUR) from a European client. Calculate the equivalent amount in US dollars (USD) using the direct quote method, given the exchange rate is 1 EUR = 1.20 USD.

b) On the same day, ABC Corp needs to pay its European suppliers 250,000 euros (EUR). Calculate the equivalent amount in US dollars (USD) using the indirect quote method, given the exchange rate is 1 USD = 0.85 EUR.

Insurance & Risk Management

1. Whenever any Human being as insured opts for any kind of Insurance Cover from Insurer as Insurance Company, what could be the most important features/ principles for Insurance Contract?

2. Apart from the Life Insurance, what could be other Facets of Insurance seen in General Society? Elaborate the common benchmarks.

3. a.) How the Risk Management process can be more advantageous for Human as well as for Organization? Explain from Risk Management paradigm point of view

3. b) How an Insurance Function can be elaborated as Production cum Marketing Agency? Elaborate the views.

NMIMS SEMESTER 4 ITSM ASSIGNMENTS

NMIMS Sem 4 December 2023 ITSM Assignments

Business: Ethics, Governance & Risk

1. Choose any ONE listed company from the BSE/NSE list of top 150 companies by turnover. Locate the Business Responsibility & Sustainability Report or ESG Report (under Statutory Report) in the Annual Report of 2022-23. Read through the following;

• Section C, Principle 6 (in BRSR)
• Chairman and/or CEO’s letter (in annual report)
• Business strategy (in annual report)
• Risk management (in annual report)
• ESG performance (in annual report/ BRSR)
• Company website (ESG / sustainability)
• Sustainability/Integrated report (if available)

Explain in your own words the company’s relationship with water as a resource including what are its water related risks, opportunities and financial implications. How does business manage/approach all its water related issues and initiatives as an overall business strategy such that it minimizes its negative impact on the environment as well as the local communities. (use quantitative data to support your answer where required). DO NOT copy paste.

2. Go through the Code of Conduct and all other corporate policies published on the company’s website. (Can use the same company as in Q1 or another company from the same list) Write an executive summary in your own words about all the key points/parameters covered in the code of conduct plus ONE other policy (NOT csr policy). Conclude with your observations and insights about what both of them are meant to achieve. DO NOT copy paste.

3. Today pollution is a growing health concern globally. It is seen as an essential evil on the path of economic growth and social development. Yet it needs to be addressed for all of us to have a reasonably good quality of life and access to clean air and water is a basic Human Rights. a. Do you think pollution is ethically consumer responsibility as well? Why do you think so?  b. Explain atleast two ethical dilemmas faced by companies while trying to reduce their pollution levels.

Research Methodology

1. Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative research methods. Apollo hospitals wants to investigate the factors contributing to patient satisfaction in their hospitals. Develop a research plant using mixed-method approach and outline the steps you would take to conduct research.

2. Netflix is interested in examining the relationship between user interface design and customer satisfaction. How would you design an experimental study to investigate this relationship, and what variables would you manipulate and measure?

3. The once-promising metaverse, envisioned as the future of virtual reality, has faced a remarkable and abrupt downfall. Its rise and fall present a unique opportunity to explore the intricate challenges of constructing interconnected virtual worlds. This article investigates the contributing factors to the metaverse’s demise and examines the valuable lessons learned from this ambitious venture. Originally introduced as “Meta,” an offspring of popular media such as “Tron” and “Second Life,” the metaverse gained significant attention and investment frenzy. However, a lack of clear direction and coherent vision for the product ultimately led to its decline. As the tech industry shifted its focus to generative AI, the fate of the metaverse was sealed, landing it among the failed ideas in the tech industry’s graveyard. This short-lived and inglorious ending of the metaverse serves as a harsh critique of the tech industry that once championed its creation. a. Develop qualitative questions for conducting interview to understand if Metaverse has actually failed?

b. Interview 4-5 respondents for with the questions formulated and generate themes to evaluate the future of metaverse?

Digital Payments

1)  Outline  the  steps  involved  in  implementing  digital  wallets,  and  then  evaluate  the opportunities they provide to both businesses and customers.

2) Explain how blockchain technology is utilized in digital payments and evaluate its potential impact on the future of the financial industry.

3) You are a business consultant working with a small retail store that specializes in handmade crafts. The store primarily operates with cash transactions and has a limited customer base.  The store owner is  interested  in  exploring digital  payment  options to improve customer convenience and expand their business. As a consultant, you need to recommend and analyze the implementation of digital payment solutions.

a) Suggest and justify two suitable digital payment options that the small retail store can implement to enhance customer Consider  factors  such  as  ease  of  use, security, and cost-effectiveness in your recommendations.

b) Analyze the potential impact of adopting digital payments on the small retail store’s business growth and customer acquisition. Discuss how digital payments can help reach a broader customer base and improve overall sales.

IT Security and Risk Management

1. As a term, people, process, and technology (PPT) refers to the methodology in which the balance of people, process, and technology drives action: People perform a specific type of work for an organization using processes (and often, technology) to streamline and improve these processes. What do you mean by security awareness for people, process, and technology?

2. Access control is a method of guaranteeing that users are who they say they are and that they have the appropriate access to company data. Companies often grant access to information and assets to staff even if it is not relevant to that member of staff’s role. Describe access control methodologies and implementation for purpose of security? Give detailed justifications for your recommendations.

3. Bangladesh Bank is the central bank of Bangladesh, responsible for managing the country’s monetary and financial stability. In February 2016, cybercriminals launched a sophisticated attack on the bank’s foreign exchange reserves, attempting to steal hundreds of millions of dollars.

Incident Details:

SWIFT  Transactions:  The  attackers  used  the  Society  for  Worldwide  Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network to initiate fraudulent fund transfers. They sent  multiple payment  requests  to  the Federal  Reserve Bank  of  New York, requesting the transfer of approximately $951 million from Bangladesh Bank’s account to various accounts in the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

Authentication Bypass: The cybercriminals managed to compromise the bank’s SWIFT terminal and gain access to the SWIFT system using stolen credentials. They were able to manipulate SWIFT messages to make the transactions appear legitimate.

Errors Detected: A few of the fraudulent transfer requests contained spelling errors that raised suspicions at the Federal Reserve Bank. This prompted further scrutiny. Prevented  Losses:  While  the  attackers  successfully  transferred  $81  million  to  the Philippines, an alert official at the Federal Reserve Bank noticed the spelling errors in subsequent transfer requests. This raised suspicions and led to the cancellation of several transactions, preventing further losses.

Investigation: After the attack was discovered, Bangladesh Bank launched an investigation and sought assistance from law enforcement agencies and cybersecurity experts.

Consequences:

Bangladesh Bank lost approximately $81 million in the successful transactions.

The incident raised concerns about the security of the global financial system and the vulnerabilities in SWIFT’s infrastructure.

It also highlighted the importance of cybersecurity for financial institutions worldwide.

Attribution: While the cybercriminals responsible for the Bangladesh Bank heist were never conclusively identified, there have been suspicions that North Korean hackers, specifically the Lazarus Group, were involved due to similarities with other attacks attributed to them.

a) In the Bangladesh Bank Cyber Heist case, what were the key vulnerabilities and security lapses that allowed the cybercriminals to compromise the bank’s systems and attempt a fraudulent transfer of funds? Provide specific examples from the case to support your answer.

b) Discuss the role of international cooperation and information sharing in responding to cyber attacks on financial institutions, as illustrated by the Bangladesh Bank Cyber  Heist.  What lessons  can  be drawn from  this  case regarding the importance of cross-border cooperation in cybersecurity?

Managing Business Process Outsourcing

1. Many companies have considered outsourcing a broad range of business processes, including IT services, to achieve critical cost savings. Although this kind of agreement can be structured in many ways, a thoughtful contractual arrangement, with appropriate cost sharing, pass-through mechanisms and pricing adjustments, allows the parties to share certain risks and at the same time establish a productive and profitable relationship. Explain BPO contract negotiation and monitoring and their risk impact?

2. Organizations typically undertake periodic process improvement that are focused on specific business processes and may or may not align with the business strategy. In order to realize all the benefits of sometimes disparate BPM efforts, there needs to be an ongoing, organization-wide effort to assess and measure the results and continue to use the successful implementations. A process portfolio is widely considered the answer. What are the benefits of effective process portfolio management?

For    ALPHA CallCenter, a leading healthcare BPO company based out of Gulf approached MeraBPO with a requirement to improve their BPO process. The customer’s BPO division handles over a million customer calls every month, but their customer satisfaction levels were plummeting downwards. Even their CSAT was as low as 47%. Since the customer was a part of the healthcare industry, it was unacceptable for the company to find a low level of satisfaction from their customers. MeraBPO’s role was to nail down the causes for the low CSAT levels and then to provide a customized BPO solution that would help the company’s performance to soar.

At the onset of the project, the BPO team at MeraBPO decided to dissect the problem and get to the root cause. Through a detailed analysis, they identified some of the critical issues in the process that were affecting the customer’s BPO’s performance. The following were the requirements of the customer:

There was a linguistic and cultural mismatch between the BPO’s personnel and the client’s customers. The client’s customer base was native Arabs while the BPO employees of the customer (5 male agents and 5 female agents) were not native Arabic speakers. This language barrier made it difficult for the employees to effectively address the culture-specific requirements of the customers. There  was  a  critical  need  to  align  the  BPO  support  team  with  the  standard processes that govern BPO functioning. The BPO team also required intensive training in BPO platform management

The BPO’s turnaround time lagged over a period of 7 days in contacting their customers after discharge

The support BPO team worked only 5 days a week (Monday to Friday) and only between 9 am to 5 pm. This posed a serious limitation for the customers who wanted to contact our client

The customers wanted to make sure that they were talking to an Arab agent and would ask the BPO employees for their last name

Female patients of our client would submit contact numbers of the male members of their family instead of their own

The customer reach percentage was less than 2%

After identifying the unique problems that were affecting our client’s BPO, they deployed  one  their  best  teams  to  implement  a  customized  BPO  platform. MeraBPO’s skilled BPO team refurbished the entire BPO process of the customer by adopting the following measures:

1. BPO Service Timings: they increased the support time span by a period of 4 hours. Next, they made the support center available from 7 AM to 7 PM. To match the working week of UAE, they decided to change the work days of the BPO to to Thursday instead of Monday to Friday. Multiple shifts was also introduced to meet the time demand with WFM.

2. Local BPO Agents: they hired a team of native speaking Arabs to eliminate the cultural gaps.
3. Support Infrastructure: they enhanced the infrastructure for the customer’s BPO center and included best-of-breed voice, email and internet facilities. This helped in substantially reducing the turnaround time of the BPO team.
4. Value Added Support Services: they also offered a host of value added services, such as the following:

they extended the 24 hour call support for excess processing requirements during peak hours

The BPO agents were given customized ‘Last Names’ to suit the caller’s country

The DID number was masked based on the caller’s country

The BPO agents were given 20% hand-outs

Culture specific provisions were specially created to record rebuttals  from the objections raised by the male family members of female patients

The BPO process of the customer was continuously improvised and enhanced based on Lean and Six Sigma methods

The database of the customer was always kept up-to-date

The BPO application was rectified periodically

Within a short time span of just 2 months, they were able to present the following results to our customer. From an unsatisfactory 47% the CSAT galloped to a whopping 85% – 87%.

The turnaround time was improved by 24%.

a. What were the cultural challenges faced by ALPHA call center and how were these specific cultural challenges met by ALPHA call center.

b. What are the advantages of outsourcing call center operations of a hospital to a BPO like ALPHA call center?

NMIMS SEMESTER 4 SUPPLY CHAIN ASSIGNMENTS

NMIMS Sem 4 December 2023 Supply chain Assignments

Business: Ethics, Governance & Risk

1. Choose any ONE listed company from the BSE/NSE list of top 150 companies by turnover. Locate the Business Responsibility & Sustainability Report or ESG Report (under Statutory Report) in the Annual Report of 2022-23. Read through the following;

• Section C, Principle 6 (in BRSR)
• Chairman and/or CEO’s letter (in annual report)
• Business strategy (in annual report)
• Risk management (in annual report)
• ESG performance (in annual report/ BRSR)
• Company website (ESG / sustainability)
• Sustainability/Integrated report (if available)

Explain in your own words the company’s relationship with water as a resource including what are its water related risks, opportunities and financial implications. How does business manage/approach all its water related issues and initiatives as an overall business strategy such that it minimizes its negative impact on the environment as well as the local communities. (use quantitative data to support your answer where required). DO NOT copy paste.

2. Go through the Code of Conduct and all other corporate policies published on the company’s website. (Can use the same company as in Q1 or another company from the same list) Write an executive summary in your own words about all the key points/parameters covered in the code of conduct plus ONE other policy (NOT csr policy). Conclude with your observations and insights about what both of them are meant to achieve. DO NOT copy paste.

3. Today pollution is a growing health concern globally. It is seen as an essential evil on the path of economic growth and social development. Yet it needs to be addressed for all of us to have a reasonably good quality of life and access to clean air and water is a basic Human Rights. a. Do you think pollution is ethically consumer responsibility as well? Why do you think so?  b. Explain atleast two ethical dilemmas faced by companies while trying to reduce their pollution levels.

Research Methodology

1. Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative research methods. Apollo hospitals wants to investigate the factors contributing to patient satisfaction in their hospitals. Develop a research plant using mixed-method approach and outline the steps you would take to conduct research.

2. Netflix is interested in examining the relationship between user interface design and customer satisfaction. How would you design an experimental study to investigate this relationship, and what variables would you manipulate and measure?

3. The once-promising metaverse, envisioned as the future of virtual reality, has faced a remarkable and abrupt downfall. Its rise and fall present a unique opportunity to explore the intricate challenges of constructing interconnected virtual worlds. This article investigates the contributing factors to the metaverse’s demise and examines the valuable lessons learned from this ambitious venture. Originally introduced as “Meta,” an offspring of popular media such as “Tron” and “Second Life,” the metaverse gained significant attention and investment frenzy. However, a lack of clear direction and coherent vision for the product ultimately led to its decline. As the tech industry shifted its focus to generative AI, the fate of the metaverse was sealed, landing it among the failed ideas in the tech industry’s graveyard. This short-lived and inglorious ending of the metaverse serves as a harsh critique of the tech industry that once championed its creation. a. Develop qualitative questions for conducting interview to understand if Metaverse has actually failed?

b. Interview 4-5 respondents for with the questions formulated and generate themes to evaluate the future of metaverse?

World class operations

Q1. As a consultant dealing with TQM practices, you are concerned with the objectives or the principles for implementing TQM. In this regard, explain the principles for which TQM is implemented. (10 Marks)

Q2. In order to develop and maintain quality in processes, products and services, there are factors that need to be considered. Please explain the factors with suitable examples. (10 Marks)

Q3. a) Quality Awards act as motivation for the companies to carry on with the world class standards in manufacturing. There are some awards, which are international, and some are domestic. Refer to one international and one domestic award and explain how are they different. (5 Marks)

b) With reference to Quality Awards how Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence assesses for the award? (5 Marks)

International logistics & Supply chain management

Q1. An Indian tea estate based in Assam auctions its tea leaves to beverage companies who process the tea leaves into their brands of tea powder & instant tea premixes for sale in different consumer markets. The management of the tea estate has decided to embark on forward integration of tea processing and launching their own brand of tea powder & instant tea premixes to be sold pan India. It is confident of seeing stable, strong demand for its new brand of tea after the initial introductory phase during which the demand could be low and require promoting & pushing the product in the market. How can the tea estate go about its supply chain planning, and suggest appropriate supply chain strategy / strategies for its forward integration project. (10 marks)

Q2. An Indian chemical company is planning to expand its markets by exporting its products to the European market. What are the various factors it must consider in planning the logistics for the exports, and suggest the appropriate choice of logistics strategy (in-house / outsourcing, etc.) for the same. (10 marks)

Q3. An Indian manufacturer of home appliances sources raw material & components from suppliers in India & China.

a. Compare the various options of transportation modes to source the required raw material & components explain the choice of the appropriate transportation modes for the same. (5 marks)

b. The manufacturer plans to launch its range of smart home appliances for which it will need to import chips from reliable suppliers abroad. From which countries can the manufacturer source such chips? How can it facilitate such procurement process over the long term in a consistent & reliable manner? (5 marks)

Advanced Supply Chain Management

Q.1 AquaFilter, a manufacturer of water purifier, operates in a crowded market where several other water purifiers are present. Discuss, a planning tool and its various methods, that may helpAquaFilter in discovering the uncertainties of future and provide a competitive edge.

Q.2 AquaFilter approaches you for implementing Aggregate Planning. Discuss, what four elements that you will suggest AquaFilter should follow and the trade-offs it has to make for an effective aggregate planning strategy.  (10 marks)

Q.3 Maruti Suzuki has been steadily increasing the localization of its components, which means using more locally-sourced materials. This helps to reduce the company’s dependence on imported materials, which can be more expensive and less reliable.

a) Discuss successful sourcing strategies that may help an organization in efficient procurement process. (5 marks)

b) Since sourcing has a direct impact on the performance of an organization, what four stages of sourcing decision would you recommend while making “Make or Buy” decision process?

NMIMS SEMESTER 4 INTERNATIONAL TRADE ASSIGNMENTS

NMIMS Sem 4 December 2023 International Trade Assignments

Business: Ethics, Governance & Risk

1. Choose any ONE listed company from the BSE/NSE list of top 150 companies by turnover. Locate the Business Responsibility & Sustainability Report or ESG Report (under Statutory Report) in the Annual Report of 2022-23. Read through the following;

• Section C, Principle 6 (in BRSR)
• Chairman and/or CEO’s letter (in annual report)
• Business strategy (in annual report)
• Risk management (in annual report)
• ESG performance (in annual report/ BRSR)
• Company website (ESG / sustainability)
• Sustainability/Integrated report (if available)

Explain in your own words the company’s relationship with water as a resource including what are its water related risks, opportunities and financial implications. How does business manage/approach all its water related issues and initiatives as an overall business strategy such that it minimizes its negative impact on the environment as well as the local communities. (use quantitative data to support your answer where required). DO NOT copy paste.

2. Go through the Code of Conduct and all other corporate policies published on the company’s website. (Can use the same company as in Q1 or another company from the same list) Write an executive summary in your own words about all the key points/parameters covered in the code of conduct plus ONE other policy (NOT csr policy). Conclude with your observations and insights about what both of them are meant to achieve. DO NOT copy paste.

3. Today pollution is a growing health concern globally. It is seen as an essential evil on the path of economic growth and social development. Yet it needs to be addressed for all of us to have a reasonably good quality of life and access to clean air and water is a basic Human Rights. a. Do you think pollution is ethically consumer responsibility as well? Why do you think so?  b. Explain atleast two ethical dilemmas faced by companies while trying to reduce their pollution levels.

Research Methodology

1. Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative research methods. Apollo hospitals wants to investigate the factors contributing to patient satisfaction in their hospitals. Develop a research plant using mixed-method approach and outline the steps you would take to conduct research.

2. Netflix is interested in examining the relationship between user interface design and customer satisfaction. How would you design an experimental study to investigate this relationship, and what variables would you manipulate and measure?

3. The once-promising metaverse, envisioned as the future of virtual reality, has faced a remarkable and abrupt downfall. Its rise and fall present a unique opportunity to explore the intricate challenges of constructing interconnected virtual worlds. This article investigates the contributing factors to the metaverse’s demise and examines the valuable lessons learned from this ambitious venture. Originally introduced as “Meta,” an offspring of popular media such as “Tron” and “Second Life,” the metaverse gained significant attention and investment frenzy. However, a lack of clear direction and coherent vision for the product ultimately led to its decline. As the tech industry shifted its focus to generative AI, the fate of the metaverse was sealed, landing it among the failed ideas in the tech industry’s graveyard. This short-lived and inglorious ending of the metaverse serves as a harsh critique of the tech industry that once championed its creation. a. Develop qualitative questions for conducting interview to understand if Metaverse has actually failed?

b. Interview 4-5 respondents for with the questions formulated and generate themes to evaluate the future of metaverse?

International Logistics & Supply Chain Management

Q1. An Indian tea estate based in Assam auctions its tea leaves to beverage companies who process the tea leaves into their brands of tea powder & instant tea premixes for sale in different consumer markets. The management of the tea estate has decided to embark on forward integration of tea processing and launching their own brand of tea powder & instant tea premixes to be sold pan India. It is confident of seeing stable, strong demand for its new brand of tea after the initial introductory phase during which the demand could be low and require promoting & pushing the product in the market. How can the tea estate go about its supply chain planning, and suggest appropriate supply chain strategy / strategies for its forward integration project. (10 marks)

Q2. An Indian chemical company is planning to expand its markets by exporting its products to the European market. What are the various factors it must consider in planning the logistics for the exports, and suggest the appropriate choice of logistics strategy (in-house / outsourcing, etc.) for the same. (10 marks)

Q3. An Indian manufacturer of home appliances sources raw material & components from suppliers in India & China.

a. Compare the various options of transportation modes to source the required raw material & components explain the choice of the appropriate transportation modes for the same. (5 marks)

b. The manufacturer plans to launch its range of smart home appliances for which it will need to import chips from reliable suppliers abroad. From which countries can the manufacturer source such chips? How can it facilitate such procurement process over the long term in a consistent & reliable manner? (5 marks)

International Finance

1. How International Finance as a Subject covers most of Crucial aspects of Macro Economics and Global Financial Management as a whole? Elaborate the views (10 Marks)

2. Before Mint Parity system in last few decades, which System was prevalent & accepted by close to 50 Countries Delegates in International Finance regime for Foreign Trade & Exchange Rate? Explain the paradigm (10 Marks)

3a) Out of many Theories of International Trade & Finance, which Theory stands out as most different and Why? (5 Marks)

3b) Explain which Foreign Bank Account can be termed as Fundamentally most Important in Foreign Transactions? (5 Marks)

International Marketing

Q1. Your company is a manufacturer of Incense sticks, also called Agarbatti, from India and are keen on expanding your business globally. Discuss the challenges of marketing your product globally. (10 Marks)

Q2. The government of India initiative is to encourage local industry and consume as locally as possible, and to use the long-term effects of increased demand to develop domestic industry and gradually become self-sufficient. “Vocal for Local” is a term that is having resonance with countries today to promote Local consumption. In your view is it positive for nations to produce locally and avoid globalization? (10 Marks)

Q3. Read the following case study carefully and then answer the questions that follow:

Chinese e-commerce platforms ship these goods ordered by Indians by claiming them to be “gifts” as those under Rs 5,000 are not subjected to customs duty. Authorities have seized many such shipments trying to evade customs duty. Chinese retailers like Club Factory, Ali Express and Shein will be affected the most by this move. To reduce these illegal imports, the tax department is planning to charge a mix of integrated goods and services tax (IGST) and customs duty on products ordered from Chinese e-commerce companies and will impose it on buyers at the payment stage, sources said to the paper. “The government is looking to bring in payment gateways on board on the scheme and when the consumer pays the money, IGST and customs duty will be included in the price,” said one source to the paper. Since the government started its crackdown on the imports from Chinese e-tailers, the numbers have gone down. According to a Bloomberg report taken from a customs document, imports of shipment worth below Rs 1,00,000 has fallen sharply by 55 percent in Mumbai.

a) What in your opinion should the Government of India take measures to stop the malpractice by Chinese firms? (5marks)

b) Explain antidumping duty and how can the Government apply these duties without violating the WTO rules, of Free Trade. (5 Marks)