ANNAMALAI UNIVERSITY

DIRECTORATE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

M.B.A.
FIRST YEAR

Academic Year : 2018 - 2019

ASSIGNMENT TOPICS
This booklet contains assignment topics. Students are asked to write the
assignments for EIGHT papers as per instructions.
Last date for submission : 28-02-2019
Last date for submission with late fee ` 300/- : 15-03-2019

NOTE:
1. Assignments sent after 15-03-2019 will not be evaluated.
2. Assignments should be in the own handwriting of the student concerned and
not type-written or printed or photocopied.
3. Assignments should be written on A4 paper on one side only.
4. All assignments (with Enrolment number marked on the Top right hand corner
on all pages) should be put in an envelop with superscription “MBA
Assignments” and sent to The Director, Directorate of Distance Education,
Annamalai University, Annamalainagar – 608 002 by Registered post.
5. No notice will be taken on assignments which are not properly filled in with
Enrolment Number and the Title of the papers.
6. Students should send full set of assignments for all papers. Partial assignments
will not be considered.

ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Write assignments on any TWO topics in each paper out of the FOUR. For each
Topic the answer should not exceed 15 – pages. Each assignment carries 25 marks
(2 topics).

Dr. M. ARUL
DIRECTOR
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1.1 PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT

1. Management can be defined as " A process of bringing about improvement in
knowledge, skill, habit and attitudes of the employees in an organization".
Discuss.
2. "Decision making is the most critical managerial task." Discuss the above
statement in light of decision-making process.
3. Select a business or political leader whom you admire, and identify his or her
style of leading by applying the managerial grid or the continuum-of-behaviour
model of Tannenbaum and Schmidt.
4. ‟The only planning tool we need in the company is the budget. If everyone meets
his or her budget, we need nothing else, and management by objectives would
be an unnecessary frill”. Comment.

1.2 ACCOUNTING FOR MANAGERS

1. What are the significant assumptions we make while comparing financial ratio
of various companies in the same industry? Discuss the implications of the
above assumptions for a user of financial ratios.
2. Suppose you are the co-owner and manager of a retail store that sells and
repairs mountain bikes. Provide one example of a financial accounting report
that would be useful to you and your co-owner. Provide two examples of
managerial accounting reports that would be useful to you as the manager.
3. Discuss how internal rate of return (IRR) method differs from the net present
value method (NPV). Be sure to include an explanation of what the IRR method
is and what the NPV method is.
4. Imagine that, you are the owner of a business. Pass journal entries with 20
different transactions. Prepare a position statement after every transaction. Did
your firm earn profit or made a loss at the end of all transaction? Make a small
comment on your firm’s position at the end.

1.3 MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS

1. Decision making is the most important function of business managers. Decision
making is the central objective of Managerial Economics. Discuss - Scope of the
Economics in Decision Making and Different Decision Making Models.
2. Monopolistic Competition is a special case of imperfect completion. It stance
between monopoly and perfect completion and accordingly the pricing decision
are determined by the market forces – Discuss.
3. Since different decision are affected by difference type of cost, it is essential for a
manager to understand the relevant cost in decision making. Comment in
detail.
4. The concept of price velocity is very useful in the total revenue planning of your
firm. Comment on the validity of this statement. Derive a relationship between
price velocity and marginal revenue of a firm.
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1.4 LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS

1. Enumerate and explain the characteristics of contracts and differentiate from
Government contract. Assess the present methods of discharge of a contract.
2. Classify negotiable instruments. In what way the negotiable instruments differ
from one another. Discuss the recent amendments in negotiable instruments.
3. Describe the principles of law of insurance. How do these characteristics differ
for marine, life and fire insurance?
4. Describe the essentials of an arbitration agreement. Explain the composition
and jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals.
1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND STATISTICS
1. Assume that you want to evaluate a training programme. Discuss various types
of experimental research designs that can be adopted and give suitable
situations for each type.
2. Prepare a questionnaire to study the attitude of students who are pursuing
Masters’ programme in Business Administration through distance education
mode.
3. Consider mobile phone as a product. List the attributes that are considered by
consumers while buying the product. Assume that you need to segment the
product market. What analysis you will use for this objective and how you
progress to reach it.
4. Assume that there are three judges evaluating the candidates appearing for
selection process at preliminary level. At final level you wish to have only two of
them and how will you decide which two can be selected for final process of
selection. Assume that an individual’s performance is based on his education,
experience, ability, emotional intelligence and self confidence. Explain
independent and dependent variables in this case. Assume that you are
applying regression analysis what are the criterion you will look for to interpret?

1.6 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

1. Discuss the impact of recent global financial meltdown on the prospects of
world trade. Give your suggestions to overcome the crisis.
2. What are the control devices used by authorized dealers in regulating foreign
exchange in the country?
3. State the balance of payment position of India. What steps that government,
public and corporations can take to improve the position.
4. Assume that you are interested in starting an export firm. Explain the
procedure for getting license for exporting.
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1.7 MANAGERIAL COMMUNICATION

1. Assuming you are a Chief Personnel Manager of a leading MNC, draft a letter
calling a candidate for an interview in reply to his application for the position of
Chief Financial Executive.
2. Assume yourself as a Customer Relationship Manager of a bank. You have received
a letter from your customers who have complained to you about the rude
behaviour of a computer clerk. Since the customer is an important person, write a
letter to convince the customer.
3. Communication is lifeblood of an organization and without it organization cannot
exists. Discuss this statement.
4. The problem of communication arises because there are various obstacles which
may entirely prevent a communication or filter part of it, or present it incorrect.
Comment and discuss.

1.8 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

1. Understanding the basic concepts of Organizational Behaviour prepare a
Behavioural frame work for a newly established IT company in Chennai. –
Student can imagine the size and turnover of the industry.
2. To understand the importance of the concepts personality, perception, and
attitude of employees in an organization, prepare an interview schedule,
conduct an interview with 2-3 executives of any one organization and present
the results.
3. After listing out the qualities and theories of leadership, have a discussion with
one or two real world leaders of your choice and present the outcome.
4. Identify a suitable case to understand Organizational Culture, analyze the case
and present it with issues and strategies.
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M.B.A. - 1ST Year – Assignment- UAP/551/C-700

ANNAMALAI UNIVERSITY PRESS 2018 - 2019