Business Management: CASE STUDY 1

Please read the PDF or any text on Planning: Meaning, features, importance, steps, and types. Before attempting this
case study please go through the video @teams for planning advantages and limitations and also for types of plan. Then
try to solve the cases by providing answers to the cases.
Case studies are meant for increasing your skills for solving problems, enhancing your thinking capabilities and
perceptions. It also guides you in studying for your examinations with more clarity.

Guidelines
A case study analysis requires you to investigate a business problem, examine the alternative solutions, and
propose the most effective solution using supporting evidence.
❖ Read and Examine the Case Thoroughly
Take notes, highlight relevant facts, underline key problems.
❖ Focus Your Analysis
Identify two to five key problems.
Why do they exist?, How do they impact the organization?, Who is responsible for them?
❖ Uncover Possible Solutions/Changes Needed
Review course readings, discussions, outside research, your experience.
❖ Select the Best Solution
Consider strong supporting evidence, pros, and cons. Is this solution realistic?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Example of case study :
Josh Ltd. is one of the largest two-wheeler manufacturers in India. It has a market share of about 42% in
the two-wheeler category. The company had witnessed almost a 35% drop in the booking as the currency
crunch was prompting people to withhold new purchases due to demonetization. Therefore, the production
manager of the company had decided to align production to factor in slower sales in the market.
In the context of the above case:
Identify and explain the function of management being discussed in the above lines.
Which limitations of the function of management as identified in part (a) of the question were the production
manager trying to overcome due to demonetization?
Answer:
Planning is the function of management which is being discussed in the above lines.
Planning is deciding in advance what to do, how to do, when to do and who has to do it. Thus, it involves
setting objectives and developing an appropriate course of action to achieve these objectives.
The production manager is trying to overcome the following limitations of planning:
Rigidity
Planning may not work in a dynamic environment
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Case 1
Flipkart is an e-commerce company founded in the year 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal. The
company is registered in Singapore but has its headquarters in Bengaluru, India. The company seeks to
increase traffic (more clicks on their products) and boost sales and revenue through the integration of Mobile
Apps, Display, Pay Per Click, and Search Engine Optimization. In order to dispel the fear of people related to
shopping online, Flipkart was the first company to implement the popular ‘Cash on Delivery’ facility. All the
products sold by the company under a particular category may have different return/replacement periods.
Flipkart allows multiple payment options such as cash on delivery, credit or debit card transactions, net
banking, e-gift voucher, and card swipe on delivery. The company operates both ways when an order is
received. The products for which it holds inventory are dispatched by it directly. For the products they do not
store in the inventory, they just send the order received by them to the supplier who ships it. The company
plans to spend about 75 crores on e-Commerce advertising in the year 2016. Flipkart reserves the right to
terminate your membership and/or refuse to provide you with access to the website if it is brought to
Flipkart’s notice or if it is discovered that you are under the age of 18 years. This is because as per the
Indian Contract Act, 1872, minors, un-discharged insolvents, etc. are not eligible to use the website.
In the context of the above case, identify and explain the different types of plans being used by Flipkart by
quoting lines from the paragraph.

Case 2
Rajender has been running a successful business of manufacturing traditional wedding wear for women
including sarees and lehengas. His friend Surinder who is engaged in the business of providing web designing
solutions to his clients, suggests him to explore the option of selling his products online. Rajender agrees to his
suggestion and decides to venture into an online business, keeping in view the various e-commerce regulations
in order to avoid the imposition of any penalty. In order to facilitate the sale of his products, Rajender
decides to offer multiple payment options such as cash on delivery, credit or debit card transactions, net
banking to the buyers etc. In the context of the above case:
1. Identify the two different types of plans mentioned in the above paragraph that relate to the
online portal that Rajinder intends to start by quoting lines from the paragraph.
2. Distinguish between the two types of plans as identified in part (a).
Case 3
Apna Ghar/ a company dealing in consumer durables plans to increase the sale of its products by 25%
around Diwali this year. Moreover, in order to cash on the implementation of the seventh pay commission by
that time, which is likely to raise the income of 47 lakh serving employees of the Central government and 52
lakh pensioners, the company has created 30 advertisement films which will be aired across 85 national and
regional channels until Diwali.
In the context of the above case:
 1. Identify the two different types of plans that ‘Apna Ghar’ proposes to implement by quoting lines from
the paragraph.
2. Distinguish between the two types of plans as identified in part(i).

Case 4
After completing a diploma in Bakery and Patisserie, Payai sets up a small outlet at Goa Airport to provide a
healthy food option to the travelers. To begin with, she has decided to sell five types of patties, three types of
pizzas, and low sugar muffins in four flavors. Thus, by deciding in advance what to do and how to do, she is
able to reduce the risk of uncertainty and avoid overlapping and wasteful activities. But sometimes her
planning does not work due to some unavoidable circumstances like cancellation of flights due to bad weather
conditions, government alert etc. which adversely affects her clientele.
In the context of the above case:
1. Identify and explain the points highlighting the importance of planning mentioned in the
above paragraph.
2. Describe briefly the limitation of planning which adversely affects Payal’s business
Case 5
‘Agile Ltd.’ is a well-known automobile manufacturing company in India. The company plans to increase the
sale of its sedan cars by 20% in the next quarter. In order to achieve the desired target, the marketing team
of the company considers the impact of the policy of the government towards diesel vehicles and the level of
competition in this segment of cars. They explore the various available options like offering more discounts to
dealers and customers, providing more customer-friendly finance options, lucky draws on test drives,
increasing advertising, offering more of free accessories on the purchase of the car, etc. A thorough analysis
of the various available options is done keeping in view the relative viability of each option. The company
decides to pursue the option of offering more discounts to dealers and customers in order to boost the sale of
sedan cars. In order to implement the plan, they determine the various discount packages and communicate
the same to their product dealers. To make the prospective consumers aware of the newly available benefits,
advertisements are made through various sources of print and electronic media. The market analysts of the
company keep a close watch on the revenue from the sedan cars to study the effect of new initiatives by the
company to promote its sales.
In the context of the above case:

1. Name the function of management described in the above paragraph.

Case 6
Arush joins as a sales manager of a company dealing in naturotherapy products. Being proficient in his work,
he knew that without good planning he will not be able to organize, direct, control, or perform any of the
other managerial functions efficiently and effectively. Only on the basis of sales forecasting, he would assist
in the preparation of the annual plans for its production and sales. Besides, he will have to prepare sales
plans regularly on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and half-yearly basis. While preparing the sales forecasts,
he undertakes intellectual thinking involving foresight, visualization, and issued judgment rather than
wishful thinking or guesswork. Most importantly, all these planning activities will be meaningful only if they
will coincide with the purpose for which the business is being carried out.
In the context of the above case, identify the various features of planning highlighted in the above paragraph
by quoting lines from it.

Case 7
Holistic Education Public School in Bahadurgarh decides to implement the literacy program of the government
in the school. It is decided that within the year, the forty-five support staff employees of the school will be
made literate by the school counselors and social workers. In order to enhance the learning process, the school
decides to use audio-visual aids. To start the program, the school has to first procure the literacy books from
State Resource Centre at Jamia. Besides the curriculum, each literacy book contains a series of nine tests that
the volunteers have to get completed by the learners during the program. Moreover, by implementing the plan
of ‘each one teach one’, each student of the school from classes fifth to tenth will be encouraged to make one
person literate. The student volunteers may select a learner by adopting any one of the two ways; either from
the slum areas adopted by the school or on their own within the vicinity of their residence. As per the norms
of the Delhi Government, it is mandatory for the volunteers to send back the filled copy of only the ninth test
paper in the series to the authorities as conclusive proof of the completion of the course, else the certificate of
commendation will not be awarded to them. Considering the implementation of the program to be a part of its
corporate social responsibility initiative, the school has decided to spend around Rs. 50,000 on the
distribution of free stationery items, refreshments of the learners, etc.

In the context of the above case:

1. Identify the various types of plans being used by Holistic Education Public School in order to
implement the literacy program in their school by quoting the lines from the paragraph.
2. Categorize the various types of plans as identified in part (a) into single-use plans and
standing plans.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...