EXECUTIVE M.B.A. DEGREE EXAMINATION, MAY 2017
First and Second Years
A-MARKETING
Sales Advertising Management
Time 3 Hours Maximum Marks: 70
SECTION-A × 5 15)
Answer Three questions
Q1) Distribution management.
Compensation.
Cost analysis.
Marketing planning.
Marketing schedule.
Publicity.
SECTION-B × 15 45)
Answer Three questions.
Q2) What are the various skills required by sales personnel?
Q3) Describe the recruitment process of marketing executives.
Q4) How do you prepare a budget of sales? Explain.
Q5) Discuss about present scenario of promotion practices in India.
Q6) Enumerate the measuring process of advertisement effectiveness
Q7) Explain the management of client agency relationships.
SECTION-C
Compulsory
Q8) Case study
HB electrical supplies company, Bangalore, manufactured a wide line of
electrical equipment used in both home and industry. The sales force called on
both electrical wholesalers and industrial buyers with the greater part of their
efforts concentrated on industry buyers. The industrial products required
considerable technical expertise upon the part of salespeople. Sales offices
situated in twenty cities spread over the country had two hundred sales personnel
operating out of them. In the past eight years sales volume increased by more
than to percent, the fast rise in sales volume and the accompanying plant
expansion created a problem in that more sales personnel were needed to keep
up with the new accounts and to make sure the additional plant capacity was
used profitably. In addition, HB sales recruiting problem was compounded by
noticeable decline in the number of college seniors wanting a selling career. HB
recruiters had observed this at colleges and universities where they went
searching for prospective salespeople. Another indication of the increased
difficulty in attracting good young people into selling was aggressive recruiting
by more and more companies. These factors combined to make the personnelrecruiting
problem serious for HB. Consequently, management ordered an
evaluation of recruiting methods. Virtually all HB salespeople were recruited
from twenty-five engineering colleges by district sales managers. Typically, HB
recruiters screened two hundred college seniors to hire ten qualified sales
engineers. It was estimated to cost HB Rs. 6000 to recruit a candidate
management believed the collage recruiting program was deficient in light of the
high cost and the fact that only 5 percent of the candidates interviewed accepted
employment with HB. Evaluation of the college recruiting program began with
the college recruiting division of the company asking district sales managers for
their appraisals. Some district managers felt that HB should discontinue college
recruiting, for various reasons including the time required for recruiting the
intense competition, and the candidates' Lack of experience. Other district
managers, however, felt the program should continue with a few medications,
such as recruiting college juniors for summer employment more or less on a trial
basis, concentrating on fewer schools and getting on friendly terms with
placement directors and professors. HB general sales manager favored
abandoning the college recruiting program and believed the company should
adopt an active recruiting program utilizing other sources. He reasoned that,
while engineering graduates had a fine technical background, their lack of
maturity inability to cope with business type problems, and their lack of
experience precluded an effective contribution to the HB Selling operation. The
general sales manager felt that the two hundred sales engineers currently
working for HB were an excellent source of new recruits. They knew
the requirements for selling for HB line and were in continual contact with other
salespeople. By enlisting the support of the sales force, the general
manager foresaw an end to HB's difficulty in obtaining sales engineers. The
president preferred internal recruiting from the no selling divisions, such as
engineering, design and manufacturing. HB claimed that their familiarity with
HB and their proven abilities were important indicators of potential success as
sales engineers. A complete analysis of HB's entire personnel recruiting
program was in order, and regardless of the approach finally decided upon, it
was paramount that the companies have a continuous program to attract
satisfactory people to the sales organization.
Questions:
Evaluate HB's recruiting program, suggesting whether or not the company
should have continued its college recruiting of sales engineers.
What alternative recruitment program would you suggest for HB? Justify
your answer.