EMBA - Business Management

Group A : Long answer type questions Answer two questions. Q. no. 1 is compulsory. 1. Read the following case and answer the adjoined questions: 2* 14 = 28

Life Time Employment in Japan

One aspect of Japanese management widely misunderstood is life time employment. Many Japanese workers legally have never had life time employment guarantees. Even among managers, it frequently is not a legal requirement contractually agreed on between companies and their managerial personnel. Thus some non-Japanese observers have argued that it does not play nearly so important a role in Japanese management as is frequently assumed. On the other hand, although life time employment is seldom a legal contract, it is a social contract. Japanese people are expected to be loyal and stay with one employer for life, and that employer is expected to be loyal and to employee them for life. Because of such social contracts, some estimates are that up to two-third of Japans workers expect life time employment in some form or another. But just as laws can be rewritten and contracts renegotiated. Customs and traditions can change, although they are so slow to do so. The worst Japanese economic recession in decades began in the early 1990s. Initially, many companies tried to provide protection for some employees, trimming bonus and over time compensation rather than personnel. When that proved insufficient, companies such as IBM Japan resorted to early retirement packages to reduce employment and hence labor costs. Performance based compensation advancement systems are being implemented but their impact will be gradual and long term. But even these changes may not be sufficient. Executives of numerous Japanese companies believe that many business institutions are proving to be liabilities instead of assets and will need to change. These institutions include the Keiretsu system, seniority based compensation system, aspects of management structure such as consensus decision making and the expectation of life time employment. Reengineering that stresses improvement in economic value added of the production process instead of just reducing numbers of employees is becoming common in Japan but life time employment is being maintained thus far, indeed, when Pioneer Electric Corporation announced that it planned to lay off thirty five top level employees, the outcry was so strong and widespread that it cancelled the lay-offs. Part-time and contract employees are not covered by life time employment expectations and so are increasingly being used as yet another way to reduce costs. These employees frequently work ten hours a day hence, contribute substantially to the work being performed. Expanding the use of part-time and contract employees, then, could reduce labor costs while continuing the concept of life time employment for a core of full time employees. Other approach to reduce the cost includes granting leaves of absence to workers while they seek new jobs and reducing new hires. In addition, many companies are reducing lower skilled positions held by women and cutting female career track positions because women were never expected to have life time employment. Indeed, in

1993 at the Nissan Motor Company, 180 persons were hired, only 5 of whom were women. A. What are the major features of Japanese management? In what way do they seem to be helping and hindering the adjustment of Japanese companies to changing economic conditions? B. What are the long term effects likely to be of the techniques being used by Japanese companies to reduce labor costs while maintaining some semblance of lifetime employment? C . What would be the costs and benefits of lifetime employment to a U.S. company? 2. Do you think that knowing business management is essential to all the managers? Why? Show the impact of political and ethical issues in managing an organization. 3. Is change the key to business success? What do you know about innovation? Do you think change help to innovation? Explain the various types of innovation. Group B : Short Answer Type Questions Answer four questions 4* 8 = 32

4. Describe the key functions of a manager. 5. As a manager of an organization, what sort of motivational theory do you use? Critically analyze whether the theory implemented is succeeded or failed. 6. Show your acquaintance with value chain management. Describe the six requirements for successful value chain management. 7. As an executive of your organization, you used to encounter with various complex problems how do you take decisions for solving such complex problems? 8. Effective leadership is the key factor for the successful operation of a business. But every managers claim themselves as effective leader. What sort of issues do you find in governing effective leadership? 9. Write short notes on any two a. Organic organization b. Controlling process c. Relationship between planning and decision making

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