M.B.A. DEGREE EXAMINATION, NOVEMBER 2017.
First Semester
MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS
(CBCS 2016 onwards)
(Common for M.B.A.
Time 3 Hours Maximum 75 Marks
Part A x 3 15)
Answer all questions.
1. Write a note on Universality of Management.
2. Explain decision making process.
3. What is centralization Give an example.
4. Write a note on motivation
5. Explain Total quanlity management
Part B 10 50)
Answer all questions choosing either or
All questions carry equal marks.
6. Discuss the nature scope and functions of
management in detail.
Or
Discuss the concept of decision making. How does
decision making process considered under condition
of certainty and uncertainty?
Sub. Code
622101/
632101/
641101/
643101/
652101
RW-781
2
Sp4
7. Point out the nature importance and planning
process in detail.
Or
Explain in detail about joint ventures and Strategic
alliances with suitable examples.
8. Briefly discuss in detail about general principles of
staffing and its importance with live example.
Or
Explain the concept of transformational leadership
and its merits and de-merits in detail.
9. Explain the concept of six sigma in detail with
suitable example.
Or
What is business process reengineering? List out its
merits and de-merits in detail.
10. Do you agree that six sigma is a controlling
technique.
Or
List out the sources of manpower recruitment. What
sources will you prefer to recruit management
personnel and why?
Part C 10 10)
(Compulsory)
11. Over the last few decades, the United States beer
industry has been characterized by a very clear trend
toward an increase in the concentration of the market.
Today, some 80% of all beer consumed in the United
States is produced by just three companies—Anheuser-
Busch (which is now owned by InBev of Belgium), SABMiller,
and Molson Coors—up from 57% of the market in
1980. Anheuser-Busch had almost 50% of the market in
2008, up from just 28.2% in 1980. SAB-Miller (formed in
RW-781
3
Sp4
2002 when South African Breweries merged with Miller
Beer) had around 19% of the market, and Molson Coors
(formed in 2005 when Canada's Molson merged with
Coors) had 11% of the market.
Anheuser Busch, SAB-Miller, and Molson Coors dominate
the mass market segment of the industry, where
competition revolves around aggressive pricing, brand
loyalty, distribution channels, and national advertising
spending. In contrast, there is another segment in the
industry, the premium beer segment, which is served by
a large number of microbrewery and importers, the
majority of which have a market share of less than 1%.
The premium segment focuses on discerning buyers.
Producers are engaged in the art of craft brewing. They
build their brands around taste and cover higher product
costs by charging much higher prices—roughly twice as
much for a six pack as the mass market brewers. The
microbrewery and importers have been gaining share and
currently account for about 11% of the total market.
Over the last two decades, the industry has changed in a
number of ways. First, consumption of beer in the United
States has been gradually declining (even though
consumption of premium beer has been increasing). Per
capita consumption of beer peaked at 30 gallons in 1980
and fell to a low of 21.8 gallons in 2007. The decline in
consumption was partly due to the growing popularity of
substitutes, particularly wine and spirits. In 1994
Americans consumed 1.75 gallons of wine per capita By
2006, that at figure had risen 2.16 gallons. Consumption
of spirits increased from 1.27 gallons per capita in 1994 to
1.34 gallons per capita over the same period.
Second, advertising spending has steadily increased,
putting smaller brewers at a disadvantage. In 1975, the
industry was spending $0.18 per case on advertising; by
2002 it was spending $0.40 per case. (These figures are in
inflation adjusted for constant dollars.) Smaller massmarket
brewers could not afford the expensive national
RW-781
4
Sp4
TV advertising campaigns required matching the
spending of the largest firms in the industry, and they
saw their market share shrink as a result.
Third, due to a combination of technological change in
canning and distribution and increased advertising
expenditures, the size that a mass-market brewer has to
attain to reap all economies of scale—called the minimum
efficient scale of production—has steadily increased. In
1970, the minimum efficient scale of production was
estimated to be 8 million barrels of beer a year,
suggesting that a market share of 6.4% was required to
reap significant economies of scale. By the early 2000s,
the minimum efficient scale had increased to 23 million
barrels, implying that a market share of 13.06% was
required to reap significant economies of scale.
By the early 2000s, only 24 mass-market brewers were
left in the United States, down from 82 in 1970. Among
the remaining mass-market brewers, Anheuser Busch is
the most consistent performer due to its superior
economies of scale. The company's ROIC has been high,
fluctuating in the 17% to 23% range between 1996 and
2008, while net profits grew from $1.1 billion in 1996 to
billion in 2008. In contrast, both Coors and Miller,
along with most other mass market brewers, have had
mediocre financial performance at best. Coors and Miller
merged With Molson and SAB respectively, in an attempt
to gain economies of scale"?
Questions:
Why has the United States brewing industry
become more concentrated over the last two
decades?
Are there different strategic groups in the industry?
What are they? Do you think the nature of
competition varies between groups?