UGC NET June 2014 Management paper II solved

1. In case the price (P), quantity (Q), and changes (D) are represented by respective symbols given in the brackets, the price elasticity of demand (Ed) is measured by

(A) Ed = DQ/DP
(B) Ed = (DQ/Q)/(DP/P)
(C) Ed = DP/DQ
(D) Ed = (DP/P)/(DQ/Q)

Answer B

2. Law of Diminishing Return applies when the gaps among the successive ‘multiple-level of output’ isoquants

(A) decreases
(B) remains constant
(C) increases
(D) remains irregular

Answer C

3. In case the demand elasticity under imperfect competition is unity, the marginal revenue will be

(A) more than utility, but less than infinity.
(B) equal to unity.
(C) less than unity, but more than zero.
(D) equal to zero.

Answer D

4. Rise in general price level alongwith declining output in the economy is called

(A) Inflation
(B) Deflation
(C) Stagflation
(D) Demand-pull inflation

Answer C

5. National income equilibrium is not at the level where

(A) aggregate investment equals aggregate savings
(B) aggregate expenditure equals aggregate income
(C) inflationary and deflationary gaps are absent
(D) aggregate consumption is constant

Answer D

6. Which of the following is a correct match ?

(A) McClelland – ERG Theory
(B) Skinner – Reinforcement Theory
(C) Vroom – Equity Theory
(D) Locke – Expectancy Theory

Answer B


7. The study of gestures and body postures for their impact on communication is known as

(A) Kinesics
(B) Proxemics
(C) Semantics
(D) None of the above

Marketing - Role and Relevance of Segmentation and Positioning

Market Segmentation

Market segmentation is the process of dividing the whole market into different segments to identify the smaller markets that exists with in a larger market. A consumer market is the sum of consumer who vary in their characteristics and buying behaviour.

"It is the process of dividing the heterogeneous market for any product into different segments of relatively homogeneous markets."

According to Philip Kotler "Market segmentation is the sub-dividing of a market into homogeneous sub-sect of customers where any sub-sect may conceivably be selected as a market target to be reached within a distinct marketing mix."

Bases of Segmentation

1. Geographic segmentation: Segmentation on the basis of geographical units such as nations, regions, states, etc.

2. Demographic segmentation: Segmentation on the basis of age, sex, income, family size, expenditure patterns, education, etc.

3. Psychographic segmentation: Segmentation on the basis of lifestyle, personality traits, social class, etc.

4. Behavioural segmentation: Segmentation on the basis of consumers buying behaviour such as consumers' usage rate, usage type, benefits sought from the product, brand loyalty, usage occasions, etc.

Properties of an effective segment

1. Distinguishable
2. Measurable
3. Accessible
4. Servable
5. Growing
6. Profitable
7. Appropriate size

Advantages of Market Segmentation

1. Focusing target market: It helps a marketer in targeting a particular market to which it can focus to sell its products. Like McDonalds targets college students or similar people for its "aloo tikki" burger who would like to spend less while eating out.

2. Market expansion: Marketer by way of market segmentation gets to know the needs of the customers better. Therefore they are able to introduce new innovative products which already has acceptance in the same market segment. Like Rekitt Benckiser company which deals mainly in home care, personal care, fabric care, etc segments introduced vanish shakti O2 in indian markets targeting people who were looking for some product especially for removing stains effectively.

3. Reducing risk: It helps in reducing the risk of time and money by marketing the right product to the right customer.

4. Increasing efficiency: Segmentation helps in increasing efficiency by making more focused efforts to the most profitable segments suited for a particular product.

Target Marketing

Target marketing is focusing one's marketing efforts to one or more selected market segments. It involves developing separate marketing mixes for each segment that is selected as target market.

Target market selection

In evaluating different market segments two factors are to considered:

1. The segment's overall attractiveness and 

2. The company's objectives and resources

Lets assume Ms as market and Ps as products.

1. Single segment concentration
In single segment concentration a firm focuses one product for one market segment only and it helps it to establish a strong market presence for that product.

	M1	M2	M3
P1
P2
P3

2. Selective specialisation
In selective specialisation a firm focuses different products for different markets. Like HUL offers different kind of products to different market segments.

	M1	M2	M3
P1
P2
P3

3. Product specialisation
In product specialisation the firm sells a particular product to the different segments of  the market. Like Colgate offers tooth pastes to different segments, it offers different tooth pastes for kids, youngsters, for people having sensitive teeth, etc.

	M1	M2	M3
P1
P2
P3

4. Market specialisation
In market specialisation the firm offers different products to the same market. Like again Colgate offers toothpastes, tooth brushes, mouth washes, etc for oral care market.

	M1	M2	M3
P1
P2
P3

5. Full market coverage

In this case the firm offers all the products to all the market segments. Like Maruti offers cars for almost all the segments of the market.

	M1	M2	M3
P1
P2
P3

Product Positioning

UGC NET Dec 2013 Management paper II solved

1. The Marshallian utility analysis is based on a less valid assumption of
(a) cardial measurement of utility
(b) constant marginal utility of money
(c) diminishing marginal utility of goods
(d) additivity of the utility

Answer b

Marshall's assumption of constant marginal utility of money is impractical. Sundaramponnusamy gives clarification on this click here to read

2. An appropriate pricing strategy for a new product to be introduced in the market will be
(a) Average/Marginal cost-plus pricing
(b) Skimming/Penetrating pricing
(c) Product line pricing
(d) Differential pricing

Answer b

Skimming pricing is setting high price for new products to gain maximum revenue by low sales volume and penetrating pricing is setting low price for new product to attract maximum customers and to gain revenue by high sales volume. click here to know more

3. Economic capacity of a plant represents the firm's capability for
(a) Maximum physical output
(b) Maximum marginal output
(c) Break even level of output and sale
(d) Output that equates average and marginal costs

Answer d

4. Multi stage approach to product pricing in a firm involves considerations for setting the price as follows:
i. Selection of firm's objective
ii. Composition of marketing mix
iii. Selection of target market
iv. Selection of pricing policy and strategy
Indicate incorrect sequence:
Codes:
(a) iv , ii, i, iii
(b) iii, i, ii, iv
(c) ii, iv, iii, i
(d) i, iii, ii, iv

Answer b

5. Which one of the following practices is not sought to be regulated under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986?
(a) Sales of defective goods
(b) Supply of services having some deficiency
(c) Misleading advertiesments
(d) Goods supplied free of charge

Answer d

6. The leadership prototype
(a) is useful primarily for selection and training of employees
(b) uses LPC (Least preferred Co-worker) as an important component
(c) depicts the image of a model leader
(d) emphasises leadership development

Answer c

7. Which is not a perceptual process stage?
(a) Attention/selection
(b) Interpretation
(c) Follow-through
(d) Retrieval

Answer a

8. Which statement is correct?
(a) Goals act as the set of constraints that an organisation must satisfy
(b) Deterministic goals specify the end or direction towards which the organisation applies its efforts, and they can be fairly determined
(c) Goals may be categorised as deterministic and constraint goals
(d) All of the above

Answer d

9. According to Fiedler's Contingency Model of Leadership, which one of the following is not a situational variable?
(a) Leader-Member relations
(b) Task structure
(c) Position power
(d) Maturity of followers

Answer d

10. Which is not a centralised communication network system?
(a) Wheel Network
(b) Y - shaped Network
(c) Circle Network
(d) Chain Network

Answer c

11. Why is 'procedural justice' important in the context of the management of mis conduct?
(a) It reflects on the integrity of HR professionals
(b) It ensures that individuals have a sense that they have been treated fairly.
(c) It reflect on the values and attitudes of top management.
(d) It protects the interest of daily wage earners.

Answers b

12. To be effective a points based rating system requires
(a) Close management control
(b) Comprehensive, reliable and consistent information
(c) Objectivity in assessments
(d) 360 degree assessment

Answer b

13. Too much of reliance on internal recruitment can result in
(a) Reduced job performance
(b) High labour turnover
(c) Internal conflict
(d) Poor group dynamics

Organisational Behaviour - Classical Theories of Organisational Structure

Classical management theories can be divided into three areas as follow:

1. Scientific Management Theory (Taylorism): Frederick Taylor (1856-1915) is the father of Scientific Management theory. He proposed in this theory that how productivity of workers can be improved by applying scientific methods to their work. He advocated for incentive wage system through which workers can earn extra for their extra work and the management can earn extra revenues. Which also helps in building employees' motivation to work at their full capacity. He used different scientific techniques such as time and motion studies, Gnatt chart, etc for developing scientific methods of performing tasks.

Principles of Scientific Management

Taylor's four important principles of scientific management are as follow:

1. Develop a science for each task of a man's work and replace it with the old rule of thumb.
2. Scientifically select and then train, teach and develop the workman.
3. Management should heartily cooperate with the workers so that it ensures that all the work has been done in accordance with the scientific methods which have been developed.
4. Divide equally the work and responsibility among management and workers. The management take over almost all the work for which they are better fitted than the workmen.

2. Administrative Management  Theory (Fayolism)

3. Bureaucratic Management Theory

Organisational Behaviour - Max Weber's Bureaucratic Management Theory

Max Weber (1864-1920) a German sociologist is the father of bureaucratic theory of management. He wrote the book "The Theory of social and Economic Organisation." According to him Bureaucracy is the organisational structure with highly routine operating tasks performed under formalised rules and regulations with tasks assigned to various departments. It is the formal system of organisation and administration designed to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.

Principles of Bureaucracy

1. Division of work: Work is divided into simple, routine and well defined tasks and categorised on the basis of competency and specialisation.
2. Hierarchy: Positions in an organisation are organised in an hierarchy where superiors control their subordinates.
3. Rules and Regulations: The organisation is governed by certain rules and regulations which have to be strictly followed. It governs decision making and leads to impersonal relationships.
4. Impersonal relations: The conduct of a manager should be highly formal and impersonal, not affected by his personality and personal relations. He should treat all the employees equally.
5. Employment: Selection of the employees is totally formal based on his performance in selection exam and technical knowledge. There is a probation period and after that employee is a full time employee protected from arbitrary dismissal.
6. Jurisdiction: Jurisdiction of work is clearly defined by rules and official duties and is not governed by superior's order only.
7. Departmentalisation: Similar kind of tasks are grouped into functional departments.
8. Records: A written record of day to day all the official activities is maintained in files.
9. Rationality: Decision making is based on rationality on the prescribed rules and regulations and not upon ones liking.
10. Compensation: Compensation of the bureaucrats is not based on work done by them but on the basis of rank held by them in the organisation. They are compensated by regular salary and facility of pension for their old age.

Organisational Behaviour - Fayol's Administrative Management Theory

Henry Fayol (1841-1925) was a French management theorist. He developed Administrative theory of management and wrote the book "General and Industrial Administration". This theory is also known as Fayolism. He developed 14 principles that can be used by management to coordinate the internal (administrative) activities of an organisation. Other theorists who contributed to to administrative management theory were James D. Mooney, Sheldon, Urwick, Luther H. Gulick.

Fayol's functions of management:

1. Planning
2. Organising
3. Commanding
4. Coordinationg and
5. Controling

Fayol classified business operations into six major activities:

1. Technical
2. Commercial
3. Financial
4. Security
5. Accounting and
6. Managerial

Fayol's 14 Principles of Management:

1. Division of work: Work of all kind must be divided and subdivided and then allotted to various persons according to their expertise in a particular area. Specialisation leads to efficiency and economy in business.
2. Authority: Authority and responsibility comes together. Managers must be given authority for performing tasks.
3. Discipline: Discipline means sincerity, obedience, respect of authority and observance of rules and regulations of the enterprise. It can be enforced by the effective leadership and punishment can be applied judiciously whenever required.
4. Unity of command: Subordinates should receive orders from only one superior at a time and they should be accountable to their orders only.
5. Unity of direction: There should be one plan for activities having similar objectives and these activities should be grouped together. They should also be under the command of a particular manager.
6. Equity: Managers should be fair and impartial while dealing with the subordinates.
7. Order: There should be systematic arrangement of things and people in the organisation.
8. Subordination of individual interest to the general interest: There should be harmony between individual and organisation's interests. Organisation's interest should prevail over individual interest.
9. Remuneration: Remuneration paid to the employees should be fair, reasonable, satisfactory and rewarding to the efforts.
10. Centralisation and decentralisation: Centralisation is concentration of power to the management and decentralisation is disseminionation of power to subordinates. Degree of centralisation and decentralisation depends on size of business, experience of superiors, dependability and ability of subordinates, etc.
11. Scalar Chain: It is the chain of authority from top most level to the lowest level. Normally communication is done following the chain of authority. But if there is urgency communication should be done directly between the sender and ultimate receiver cutting short the chain of authority which is known as Gang Plank.
12 Stability of Tenure: Tenure of employee at a particular job should be fixed so that he get used to that work and become efficient at it which will increase quality as well as quantity of his work.
13. Initiative: Management should provide healthy environment to his employees to take initiative, suggest ideas, experiences and new and improved methods of performing jobs. Monetary and non monetary incentives can be useful in this.
14. Espirit De' Corps: Encouraging team spirit, understanding, and trust among work groups helps them to perform better and they offer their best towards the organisation.

UGC NET Examination

SCHEME OF EXAMINATION
i)	The Test consist of three papers. All the three papers consist of only objective type questions and will be held in two separate sessions as under:
	Session Paper Marks Number of Question Duration First I 100 60 out of which 50 question to be attempted 1¼ Hours (09.30 A.M. to 10.45 A.M.) First II 100 50 questions all are compulsory 1¼ Hours (10.45 A.M. to 12.00 NOON) Second III 150 75 questions all are compulsory 2½ Hours (01.30 P.M. to 4.00 P.M.)
	Paper-I is of general nature, intended to assess the teaching/research aptitude of the candidate. It is primarily  designed to test reasoning ability, comprehension, divergent thinking and general awareness of the candidate. It consists of Sixty (60) multiple choice questions of two marks each, out of which the candidate is required to answer any fifty (50). In the event of the candidate attempting more than fifty questions, the first fifty questions attempted by the candidate would be evaluated.
	Paper-II consist of 50 objective type compulsory questions based on the subject selected by the candidate. Each question carries 2 marks.
	Paper-III consist of 75 objective type compulsory questions from the subject selected by the candidate. Each question carries 2 marks. All questions of Paper-II and Paper-III are compulsory, covering entire syllabus (including all electives, without options). The candidate requires to mark the responses for questions of Paper-I, Paper-II and Paper-III on the Optical Mark Reader (OMR) sheet provided along with the Test Booklet. The detailed instructions for filling up the OMR Sheet will be uploaded on UGC website (www.ugcnetonline.in or www.ugc.ac.in). PROCEDURE & CRITERIA FOR DECLARATION OF RESULT: This comprises of following steps: Step I: Minimum marks to be obtained in NET for considering a candidate for the award of JRF and eligibility for Assistant Professor: The candidates are required to obtain following minimum marks separately in Paper-I, Paper-II and Paper-III as given below:
	CATEGORY Minimum Marks (%) to be obtained PAPER – I PAPER – II PAPER– III GENERAL 40 (40%) 40 (40%) 75 (50 %) OBC(Non-creamy layer) 35 (35%) 35 (35%) 67.5 (45 %) rounded off to 68 PWD/SC/ST 35 (35%) 35 (35%) 60 (40 %)
	Step II: Amongst those candidates who have cleared step I, a merit list will be prepared subject-wise and category-wise using the aggregate marks of all the three papers secured by them. Step III: Top 15% candidates (for each subject and category), from the merit list mentioned under step II, will be declared NET qualified for eligibility for Assistant Professor only. Step IV: A separate merit list for the award of JRF will be prepared from amongst the NET qualified candidates figuring in the merit list prepared under step III. It may be noted that the above qualifying criteria decided by UGC is final and binding.
ii)	For Persons with Disability (Visually Challenged candidates) thirty minutes’ compensatory time shall be provided separately for paper-I and Paper-II. For paper-III, forty five minutes’ compensatory time shall be provided. They will also be provided the services of a scribe who would be a graduate in a subject other than that of the candidate. Those Persons with Disability (Physically Challenged) candidates who are not in a position to write in their own hand-writing can also avail these services by making prior request (at least one week before the date of UGC-NET) in writing to the Co-ordinator of the NET Coordinating Institution. Compensatory time and facility of scribe would not be provided to otherPersons with Disability (Physically Challenged) candidates. The facility of Scribe is applicable only for candidates with disability of 40% or more. The candidate has the discretion of opting for his/her own scribe or has to request the Co-ordinator of the Coordinating Institution for the same in writing at least one week in advance of the test. In such instances the candidate is allowed to meet the scribe a day before the examination so as to verify whether the scribe is suitable or not. Those candidates who opt for their own scribe have to produce the scribe before the Co-ordinator along with her/his certificates of educational qualifications at least one day before the test.
iii)	Syllabus of Test: All questions of Paper-II and Paper-III will be compulsory, covering entire syllabus (including all electives, without options). Syllabi for all NET subjects can be downloaded from the UGC Website www.ugc.ac.in and are also available in the libraries of all Indian Universities. UGC will not send the syllabus to individual candidates.
iv)	In case of any discrepancy found in the English and Hindi versions, the questions in English version shall be taken as final. Source www.ugcnetonline.in