BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
FEDERAL PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION FOR RECRUITMENT TO POSTS IN BS-17 UNDER THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, 2006
TIME ALLOWED: THREE HOURS MAXIMUM MARKS:100
Attempt any five questions including Question No.7, which is compulsory. Select at least one question from each part. Extra attempt of any question will not be considered.
Table of Contents
PART – I (Management)
Q.1 (a) what is negotiation ? What are the major negotiation strategies ? How do the two major bargaining strategies differ? (4+10+6)
Q.2 How can a manager serve as change agent? Describe the major organizational development techniques used to facilitate the change process. (4+16)
Part II (Principles of Management)
Q.3 Retailers can position themselves at four of service. List and describe those level. Also discuss supply chain management.
Q.4 Diamond Machine Technology makes a tool for sharpening the blades of pruning sheers and glass clippers. The company has invested $ 250,000 in developing this sharpener. This tool is about the size of a piece of chewing gum and costs $ 3 to make. Fixed costs for the sharpener is $ 10,000. The company expects to sell 100,000 sharpeners this year. Diamond Machine’s markup on sales is 30 % and it wants to earn a 20 % ROI. Calculate its markup price and its target-return price, as well as its breakeven volume at both prices. Which price should Diamond Manufacturing use? (4+4+4+4+4)
PART – III (Financial Management)
Q.5 General Electric Company has annual sales (all on credit) of $ 1.6 million. Their average collection period is 40 days and they typically have an inventory turnover of 8. Their gross profit margin is 20 percent. Assume, for ease of collection, a 360 day year:
(a) Calculate the company’s accounts receivable.
(b) Calculate the amount in inventory. (10+10)
Q.6 Cavalier Construction Company is considering buying one of two machines, A or B; the respective costs and benefits of each are listed below:
Machine Cost Life of Machine Savings for Company
A $ 100,000 4 years $ 56,000
B $ 125,000 5 years $ 60,000
(a) Calculate the after-tax cash flow for each machine. Assume, for ease of calculation, straight –line depreciation and no salvage value for either machine. The firm’s tax rate is 40 percent and its required rate of return is 16 percent.
(b) Calculate the NPV of each machine and which would you select and why? (10+10)
COMPULSORY QUESTION
Q.7 (A) write true (T) or false (F) in your answer boo. Do not reproduce the question:
1) The three stages of marketing practices through which a company may pass are entrepreneurial marketing, formulate marketing and entrepreneurial marketing.
2) The continual segmenting or fragmenting of markets impedes the new product development process.
3) Reverse-flow channels refer to situations where one channel level acquires a level back in the channel, such as Sears owning its own suppliers
4) Planning is concerned with defining an organization’s goals and objectives and how to integrate and coordinate activities.
5) Leadership and management are two terms for the same process.
6) Effective control systems monitor everything happening in the organization.
7) In informal planning, the organization’s objectives are rarely verbalized.
8) The trait approach to leadership has identified a specific set of personality characteristics that determine leader success.
9) A brand is an offering from a known source.
10) The concept of compounding deals with finding the future value of a present sum.
11) Short term creditors would be most interested in the firm’s of leverages ratios.
12) Working capital management includes in part the administration of case, marketable securities, receivables and inventories.
(B) Write only the correct answers:
13) Which of the following is NOT one of the four specific drivers that underpin the new economy?
a. Industry convergence
b. Disintermediation and reintermediation
c. Customer delivered value
d. Customization and customerization
e. Digitalization and connectivity
14) ___ lays out the target markets and viable propositions that the organization will offer based on an analysis of the best market opportunities
a. the strategic market plan
b. the portfolio analysis
c. the human resource plan
d. the tactical marketing plan
e. marketing research
15) the attractiveness of a market offering is based:
a. on the product, its placement, its price and its promotion
b. on the match between customer needs and wants and distribution and pricing of the product
c. almost entirely on the product being offered
d. on product features and quality, services mix and quality, and price appropriateness
e. entirely on the match between perceived product and actually product
16) High levels of efforts are unlikely to lead to favourable job performance unless:
a. technology is also considered
b. quality of the effort is also considered
c. team work is also considered
d. management efforts are also considered
17) In order to bring about effective organizational change, changes in technology need to be accompanied by making changes in _____:
a. Strategies b. Structure c. People d. Both (b) and (c)
18) A capital investment is one that:
a. has the prospect of short term benefits
b. has the prospect of long term benefits
c. is only undertaken by large corporations with large amounts of capital
d. applies only to investment is fixed assets
19) If the general level of interest rates rises, the prices of already issue bonds will:
a. Rise b. Remain unchanged c. Fall d. Fluctuate
20) If the EOQ for an item decreases, the average level of inventory will:
a. Decrease b. Increase c. Remain the same d. There is no relationship between EOQ and inventory levels