MAY 20, 2010

Dear Student,

Congratulations and Welcome to MDI!!

We are proud that you are joining the MDI community. We are sure that your
two year stay at MDI will be the beginning of a new educational experience and
the start of a lifelong association. By choosing to pursue a course in
management in one of India’s premier Business school, you can look forward
to a rewarding and challenging professional career.

At MDI we firmly believe that Management is an equal mix of learning

through application and internalizing theoretical frameworks. Please find
enclosed a pre-session assignment, which will kick start the learning process
right away in this direction.

The evaluation criterion defined in subsequent pages is designed to evaluate

you on multiple parameters which are reflection of the evaluation of managers
in their corporate life. In case of any clarifications, please mail to the email ids
mentioned in the instructions below.

We look forward to meeting you at MDI.

All the Best!!

Best Regards,

Chirag Gala,
Deepak Bodla
Heads, Academic Council,
MDI
Pre Session Assignment 2010-12

Table of Contents

INSTRUCTIONS...................................................................................3

Section A- PERSONAL.........................................................................5

Section B- EXPERTISE.........................................................................6

Section C- INTELLECT.........................................................................7

Sections D- CEREBRATE.......................................................................8

Section E - MARKET SURVEY.............................................................10

Section F- CONCEPTS........................................................................10

IMPORTANT INFORMATION…………………………………………………………11

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Pre Session Assignment 2010-12

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Pre-Session Assignment comprises of 6 sections with the respective deliverables of

each section.

PART SECTION DELIVERABLES

A PERSONAL SECTION Word Document
B EXPERTISE Word Document
C INTELLECT Word Document
D CEREBRATE Word Document
E MARKET SURVEY Word Document/Excel and
Manually filled responses
F CONCEPTS Test at MDI

2) The evaluation criterion for the assignment is as:

PARAMETER % COMPONENT
Adherence to guidelines 25%
Original Ideas 50%
Detailed Research and analysis 25%
Total 100%

3) The guidelines for the preparation of the document of assignment are as:
a) Font: Arial
b) Font Size: 10
c) Line Spacing: 1.5

4) Deadline for submission for Part A, B, C, D and E only is as under

Softcopy: June 14, 2010, 23:59:59 p.m.

5) The submissions to be made to the following email ids:

a) For PGPM Mail to: pg_rep@mdi.ac.in
b) For PGP-IM and PGHR Mail to: pghr-rep@mdi.ac.in

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6) Mailing guidelines are as:

a. Every section of the word document should have name in the following format:
"Name_<CATREGNo>_Part No.doc E.g. Gaurav_954212_PART A

b. Mail to above mentioned id should contain a ZIP file with the name
Name_<CATREGNo>.ZIP e.g Gaurav_954212.zip

c. The subject of the mail should be in format Assignment_Name_CATREGNO.

Example: Assignment_Gaurav_954212

7) Plagiarism, professional misconduct, and failure to adhere to instructions will invite

strict penalty. Any assignment found with more than 10% of response directly copied
from any other original source will lead to serious consequences. Students are advised
to be as original as possible.

8) Strictly adhere to the word limits (if mentioned) in the various sections. Failure to
adhere to them will invite negative marking in the respective section

9) The following will be the grading system for the assignment and the rest of your
course.
A+ 10 C+ 4
A 9 C 3
A- 8 C- 2
B+ 7 D 1
B 6 F Fail
B- 5 I Incomplete

10) Besides the academic evaluation for deciding grades for one credit, the submissions
will also be used for evaluating a candidate’s eligibility for membership to various
student driven clubs, events and committees

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Pre Session Assignment 2010-12

Section A- PERSONAL

1) “Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam”. Comment on this citing examples from your own
life. (250 words)

2) According to you, what are the key competencies for a management student?
What, according to you, would be the bare qualities that one should have in
order to be a good manager(750 words)

3) Draw your personality sketch/profile based on the 'Big Five' leadership theory,
quoting valid examples. (750 words)

4) What are your expectations from your course at MDI? What do you expect to
gain in these 2 years of your Life at MDI? (750 words)

5) Summer internship would be the most important real time corporate

interaction you would face as part of your course. In this context describe what
Summer Internship is all about, and which area of management would you
want to work in? (500words)

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Section B- EXPERTISE

1) “A good manager is a Jack of all Domains and King of One”. In this context,
answer the below questions:

 What constitutes domain expertise - (10-15 bullet points)

 List the domains available in the market for you to pick from (list to be
as exhaustive as possible)
 There are exceptions to the above. Cite at least 3 examples and justify
the same

{Discuss with Consultants, Functional Heads, and Middle /Top managers of firms
(your own previous employer would be a good source) and get a holistic picture of
the domain aspects and its importance in today’s job market.}

2) Consulting (Functional, IT, HR), I-Banking, Brand Management, SCM, the profiles
which a top B-school graduate sees himself in the next 5 years. Make your pick
and describe in detail the KSA aspects necessary to reach such a position.

 Do you see a need for “domain expertise” to be the successful person

you want to be? (500words)

3) Describe in detail the IPL’s Business Model and your views of how good/bad a
manager Lalit Modi has been. Also include the ethical aspects of management in
the discussion. (750 words)

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Section C- INTELLECT

1) The paradox is really the pathos of intellectual life and just as only great souls are
exposed to passions it is only the great thinker who is exposed to what we call
paradoxes.
Comment. How true is this in the context of the Indian political environment? Give
suitable examples (750 words)

2) A self does not amount to much, but no self is an island; each exists in a fabric of
relations that is now more complex and mobile than ever before.
Comment. How has the growth of the telecommunication industry made it more
complex for businesses to grow? Justify your answer. (750words)

3) “Chess is an infinitely complex game, which one can play in infinitely numerous
and varied ways”—Vladimir Krammik
Is this statement factually correct? (Either Yes or No) Prove it with substantial logical
deductions. Clearly state any assumptions made. (750words)

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Section D- CEREBRATE
1) Mr. Kunal had just graduated from Management Development Institute (MDI),
Gurgaon, and joined his family's small business, which employs 25 semi-skilled
workers. After observing Kunal during the first week on the job his father called him
in and said, "Kunal, I have had a chance to observe your working with the men and
women for the past two days and although I hate to say something but I must. You
are just too nice to people. I know they taught you human relations stuff at MDI but it
just does not work here. I remember when the Hawthorne Studies were first reported
and everybody in the academic field got all excited about them, but believe me, there
is more to managing people than just being nice to them".
 Do you think Kunal's father understood and interpreted the Hawthorne
Studies correctly? (500 words)
 How would you react to your father's comments if you were
Kunal?(500words)

2) You are the Chief Product Manager of Info systems Inc. Mr. Ram Bihari, the General
Secretary of Akhil Bhartiya Party has approached you with a different kind of project.
He wants you to design an IT based Information System for his party which would
help ABP in the forthcoming elections. In not more than 1000 words, identify the
requirements and goals for such a system and give an IT based solution. Please
remember that you are not a programmer, but an IT consultant. Hence you are not
required to write codes.

3) Maruti Udyog Ltd ,a joint venture between Suzuki Motors of Japan (eleventh largest
vehicle manufacturer in the world and the fourth largest manufacturer in Japan) and
the Indian government, is the leader in India's automobile market. Maruti has the
widest product range among Indian car manufacturers, with ten basic models and
more than 50 variants. In 2003, Maruti produced 359,960 vehicles, operating at a
capacity utilisation of 103%, against the industry average of 57.8%. Even though
Maruti is well ahead of its other rivals, its market share has been declining. As
competition intensifies, Maruti has realised the importance of getting closer to its
customers. Suggest a few (6-8) measures that Maruti can implement for the same.
(750words)

4) What will be the best selection process for a B school? Discuss the pros and cons of all
selection process that you have attended (minimum 3). Benchmark MDI’s selection
process and suggest suitable changes in the selection process of MDI with the aim of
making MDI a school for THOUGHT LEADERS and CHANGE MASTERS. (1000words}

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5)
1
1 2
3

2 4

5
3

Across
1 Producer: Consumer = Marketer:??
2 The marketing tool published in "Strategies for Diversification" in the Harvard
Business Review (1957)
3 A paperless picking system that is directed by light
4 The action of a customer in a waiting queue to depart prematurely resulting in a lost
sale
5 Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing and Microsoft adCenter
6 Personalization that allows the customer to modify (technically, customize) a product
or service according to their needs
7 The pace at which consumers demand a product--production scheduling at that pace
Down
1 Discipline within marketing analysis which uses geographic information in the process
of planning and implementation of marketing activities.
2 Preliminary design or layout of an advertisement or other promotional material.
3 Adults who buy products that are predominantly aimed at children.
4 sequence of steps that a product follows through a manufacturing plant as it moves
from machine to machine
5 Uses functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to record conscious and
subconscious responses to advertising, products or brands.

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Section E- MARKET SURVEY

Attached with this document is a questionnaire. The questionnaire is to be used to get
feedback/responses from at least 10 shoppers. The questionnaire has to be filled manually by the
shopper and the responses and analysis has to be emailed as part of the pre session assignment.
Filled responses by the shoppers have to be submitted on the date of joining, i.e, June 21, 2010.

Section F – CONCEPTS SECTION

(This Section is not part of the written assignment to be submitted. However, a test will
be taken based on these concepts on 21st June, 2010)

Read about the following topics. These concepts will be essential to sail you through the
various terms. You will be tested on these topics in quizzes from the day the session starts.

Accounting: Debit\Credit rules, Journal entries, Balance sheet, P&L statement, Cash Flow
Statement, Transfer Pricing, Direct/ Indirect Cost

Economics: Basic elements of Demand and Supply, Elasticity of Demand and Supply,
Market forms viz. Monopoly, Oligopoly, Perfect Competition, Monopsony etc, Incremental
Capital Output Ratio, IS-LM curves

Statistics: Frequency, Measures of Central Tendency (Mean, Median, Mode), Probability,

Normal Distribution, Correlation & Regression, Analysis of Variance, Probability (Basics,
Applications, Normal Distribution)

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION
1. EDUCATION LOAN: Last year, most of the students had taken an education loan from
State Bank of India. This year, your student body is working on the tie up with other banks
to facilitate and ensure smooth loan process.

2. LAPTOP BULK DEAL: A Student Driven Laptop Bulk deal takes place after you reach the
campus. This is facilitated by the Students Body and you can expect to save about 15-20% in
the deal. The Students’ Body is talking to various Laptop manufacturers to ensure best deal
for students. You can also bring a Desktop Computer in case you do not want to have a
laptop. However, you are required to have one of the two.

3. CLOTHING: First impression may not be the last impression but it is lasting impression. To
groom the future business leaders students are expected to dressed up according to
occasion. Apart from casual wears, make sure you have the following:

 For Men:
1. Two or three Full Sleeve Shirts in Solid colors like White, light blue etc. No stripes
or checks of any kind are permitted for industry interactions.
2. Two pair of formal Trousers.
3. Formal Black Shoes. No other color shoes permitted for industry interactions

4. At least 1 Business Formal Blazer and a formal tie.

5. At least two plain T shirts with collar. This is required for the company presentations.

 For Ladies:
1. Western Formals (compulsory) and Saris (optional).
2. Western formals include collared formal tops, trousers and blazers.
3. Formal Black Shoes. No other color of shoes permitted for industry interactions.

4. FACILITIES AVAILABLE ON CAMPUS: All daily necessities and stationary are available here
on campus at the student run co-operative store called 'Prayas'. It also provides you with
mattresses, buckets, etc during the start and would also arrange for Blankets during winters.

5. BOOKS AND STUDY MATERIAL: MDI will provide you with all the necessary books and
study material required in the two year of studies at MDI. You need not to purchase any
books from the market.

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6. OTHER FACILITIES: There are two photocopy shops inside campus which remain open till
late night. Photostat of any documents is on paid basis. MDI provides you free printer
facility. MDI has state of the art computer centre with all latest facilities available in it. All
major Sbuildings, including Academic block and dining hall in hostel, are Wi-fi enabled and
work is going on to make students’ rooms also wi-fi enabled. For students staying in IDPL
hostel, all facilities are same as in Change Masters hostel.

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Shopper Questionnaire

Information Area Questions to be asked Response

Shopper Profile Who are you?
1. Name
2. Age
3. Members in family?
4. Education level?
5. Upbringing where?
6. Hobbies?
7. Are you brand-conscious?
8. Something unique about you?
9. What is most important – convenience, value
or quality? – rank them
10. Where do you stay?
11. How many rooms? How many regularly used
bathrooms?
Shopping Habits How do you shop?
1. How often do you shop –weekly, monthly?
2. Do you carry a shopping list with you?
3. Are you an impulsive buyer?
4. Do you enjoy shopping or are you bothered by
the act of shopping?
5. Do you think it is a necessary evil and do it
grudgingly?
6. Are you an involved shopper? Do you know
about ongoing offers? – From ads maybe?
7. Are you price conscious – value seeker?
8. Variety seeker – Do you compare brands
before buying?
9. Do you take kids/someone else with you to
shop?

Where do you shop?

1. How far do you go to shop?
2. Do you use Car/Bike or public conveyance?
3. Do you shop from one regular place?
4. Do you regularly shop in minimarts/hyper
marts?

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5. Are you a one-stop shopper?

6. Do you know about fashion trends and follow
them?
7. How conscious are you about other brands of a
category (other than the one you are using)
8. For how long do you stand in queues?
9. Do you watch TV ads/ notice around in
queues?
10. Do you buy from POS displays at cashier?
11. Do you actively utilize hyper marts loyalty
cards?

What do you notice in a shop?

1. How big is the Store?
2. Are the goods neatly arranged?
3. What is the ambience?
4. Does the store look full?
5. What is the Lighting? Is there any smell?
6. Is it colourful? Is there any
attractive/innovative hoardings/stand or TV
advertising in store?
7. Are there discounts announced in bold?
8. The salesman? – are you irritated by them?
Brand Perceptions 1. Are you Brand Loyal or do you experiment?
2. Are you aware of the brand’s quality?
3. Do you prefer the brand because regularly it
gives offers? (price discount / something free)
4. Have you been recently converted to the brand
you use now?
5. Do you seek more every time you use it or are
happy with what you get?
6. Do you buy imported brands?
7. Do you feel imported stuff is better? Even at
the cost of higher price?
8. Do brand endorsers have an effect on your
choice? Which kind – sports, movie stars?

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