Discuss Vishal Sikka’s leadership styles

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Principles and Practice of Management

1200 words

Case (20 Marks)

MAM (Meetings, Agenda, and Minutes) is the hallmark of all business activity. The objective of all businesses is growth and success. In order to achieve success and projected growth, the organization should have a vision, translate the vision into an objective, accord a proper direction to achieve the objective, generate ideas, and decide on a course of action, decide the budgets, get proper approvals, and above all, translate all the oral or verbal transactions into recorded documents. Meetings are the simplest means of bringing together people in the organization and discussing the situation or the problem at hand. Meetings have to be conducted in an orderly manner to meet the stated objective and ensure that the team spirit is sustained. They have to be conducted within a fixed time frame. Disorderly meetings result in a lot of time being wasted. Apart from that, the participants come out of it with a lot of dissatisfaction and dissonance.

Answer the following question.

 Q1. Discuss the MAM (Meetings, Agenda, Minutes) and its importance.

Q2. What are the procedures and protocols for formal business meetings?

Q3. Prepare the agenda for a sales conference/ product launch, assuming the various relevant points

Q4. Prepare the minutes of meeting held on a sales conference/ product launch showing resolutions.

Case (20 Marks)

The banking sector is still reeling under the impact. The new American Bank has been in India for the past twenty years with branches in metropolitan of the recent economic crisis cities. The bank can boast of various innovations in the field of consumer banking. Their customer service and finance divisions have been the best of all foreign banks. But the business going through a bad phase from last two years. The vice president asked Mahesh Rao, to draw together a small group to examine and recommend improvement in the current structure and managerial practices within the bank. Though Mahesh was, as manager, training and development, at a lower level then GMs and directors, the VP trusted his abilities to handle the training and improvements. In the month’s time Mahesh reported back with a plan for management training base on job structures. The plan was based on key performance areas identified for various levels and consisted of in­house and external programs. All development programs covered the key areas, which directly affect the performance and development of specific levels of manager. One hundred and twenty managers were earmarked to attend two three programs depending upon the analysis done by Mahesh. Over the next four months, almost 80% of the managers attended programs on managerial skill and on their specific area of work. By the end of these four months, most senior managers indicated that improvement in work place is visible. Most of the trainers themselves reacted positively to the training program.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Agreement between boss and subordinates regarding their goals is vital for the success of Management by objectives. Comment.

Q2. What benefits can you expect from the training program based upon MBO.  

Case (20 Marks)

Infosys Ltd., (Infosys), the India­based multinational Indian software company, was founded in 1981. One of the seven founders, Narayana Murthy (Murthy), retired as Chairman in 2011. After his retirement, Infosys experienced slower growth than its peers in the Indian InfoTech industry The case is about Vishal Sikka, CEO of Indian software company Infosys, his background, his beliefs, and the steps he took to revive Infosys within a year of his joining the company. The case first discusses why he was selected for the post of CEO during the leadership crisis at Infosys. It then describes the views of different experts on Sikka’s leadership style and personality. The case discusses the ways and means that Sikka adopted to communicate with stakeholders along with the several initiatives he took to revive Infosys. In a letter to all Infosys employees, Sikka praised their talent and said, “I’ve met so many talented people amongst you. Your enthusiasm to learn and create new ways of working is amazing.” At the same time, he also mentioned the need for improvement and transition. He said, “The task before us now is to lay out the way forward. We must continually get better at everything that we do today without disrupting the foundation that has got us to where we are.” He also showcased his commitment to improving the effectiveness of the workforce and working closely with them. He said, “By laying greater emphasis on improving our ability to learn and to identify opportunities of the future, we will build a sustainable business.” In a face­to­face with the media, Sikka said, “I am told Info scions have lost the can­do spirit. I will bring it back.”

Answer the following question.

Q1. Discuss Vishal Sikka’s leadership styles. Q2. Explain the various leadership styles.

 Case (20 Marks)

The case discusses US based SC Johnson's involvement in designing and testing the Base of Pyramid (BOP) protocol. Since its inception, the company had initiated several corporate social responsibility initiatives for the benefit of its employees, environment and the communities in which it operated. When BOP protocol was launched in the year 2004, SC Johnson proactively extended its support to the protocol. In order to test the protocol, a team was sent by SC Johnson to Kenya to create mutual value for the company and the communities. The team went about testing the protocol in three stages and established a new channel to market SC Johnson's products to the BOP consumers. The company also worked with the Pyrethrum farmers in Kenya to Find a sustainable source of natural pyrethrum. The success in a few of the BOP ventures led SC Johnson Lunch new products targeted specifically at BOP consumers.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Discuss the concept of BOP (Base of Pyramid).

Q2. Examine the needs of consumers at BOP.

Q3. Analyze Johnson’s efforts towards creating mutual value for the company and the communities in which it operated.

Q4. Evaluate sustainable business opportunities for MNCs in the BOP markets.

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Discuss the MAM (Meetings, Agenda, Minutes) and its importance

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ARAVIND – 09901366442 – 09902787224

Principles and Practice of Management

1200 words

Case (20 Marks)

MAM (Meetings, Agenda, and Minutes) is the hallmark of all business activity. The objective of all businesses is growth and success. In order to achieve success and projected growth, the organization should have a vision, translate the vision into an objective, accord a proper direction to achieve the objective, generate ideas, and decide on a course of action, decide the budgets, get proper approvals, and above all, translate all the oral or verbal transactions into recorded documents. Meetings are the simplest means of bringing together people in the organization and discussing the situation or the problem at hand. Meetings have to be conducted in an orderly manner to meet the stated objective and ensure that the team spirit is sustained. They have to be conducted within a fixed time frame. Disorderly meetings result in a lot of time being wasted. Apart from that, the participants come out of it with a lot of dissatisfaction and dissonance.

Answer the following question.

 Q1. Discuss the MAM (Meetings, Agenda, Minutes) and its importance.

Q2. What are the procedures and protocols for formal business meetings?

Q3. Prepare the agenda for a sales conference/ product launch, assuming the various relevant points

Q4. Prepare the minutes of meeting held on a sales conference/ product launch showing resolutions.

Case (20 Marks)

The banking sector is still reeling under the impact. The new American Bank has been in India for the past twenty years with branches in metropolitan of the recent economic crisis cities. The bank can boast of various innovations in the field of consumer banking. Their customer service and finance divisions have been the best of all foreign banks. But the business going through a bad phase from last two years. The vice president asked Mahesh Rao, to draw together a small group to examine and recommend improvement in the current structure and managerial practices within the bank. Though Mahesh was, as manager, training and development, at a lower level then GMs and directors, the VP trusted his abilities to handle the training and improvements. In the month’s time Mahesh reported back with a plan for management training base on job structures. The plan was based on key performance areas identified for various levels and consisted of in­house and external programs. All development programs covered the key areas, which directly affect the performance and development of specific levels of manager. One hundred and twenty managers were earmarked to attend two three programs depending upon the analysis done by Mahesh. Over the next four months, almost 80% of the managers attended programs on managerial skill and on their specific area of work. By the end of these four months, most senior managers indicated that improvement in work place is visible. Most of the trainers themselves reacted positively to the training program.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Agreement between boss and subordinates regarding their goals is vital for the success of Management by objectives. Comment.

Q2. What benefits can you expect from the training program based upon MBO.  

Case (20 Marks)

Infosys Ltd., (Infosys), the India­based multinational Indian software company, was founded in 1981. One of the seven founders, Narayana Murthy (Murthy), retired as Chairman in 2011. After his retirement, Infosys experienced slower growth than its peers in the Indian InfoTech industry The case is about Vishal Sikka, CEO of Indian software company Infosys, his background, his beliefs, and the steps he took to revive Infosys within a year of his joining the company. The case first discusses why he was selected for the post of CEO during the leadership crisis at Infosys. It then describes the views of different experts on Sikka’s leadership style and personality. The case discusses the ways and means that Sikka adopted to communicate with stakeholders along with the several initiatives he took to revive Infosys. In a letter to all Infosys employees, Sikka praised their talent and said, “I’ve met so many talented people amongst you. Your enthusiasm to learn and create new ways of working is amazing.” At the same time, he also mentioned the need for improvement and transition. He said, “The task before us now is to lay out the way forward. We must continually get better at everything that we do today without disrupting the foundation that has got us to where we are.” He also showcased his commitment to improving the effectiveness of the workforce and working closely with them. He said, “By laying greater emphasis on improving our ability to learn and to identify opportunities of the future, we will build a sustainable business.” In a face­to­face with the media, Sikka said, “I am told Info scions have lost the can­do spirit. I will bring it back.”

Answer the following question.

Q1. Discuss Vishal Sikka’s leadership styles. Q2. Explain the various leadership styles.

 Case (20 Marks)

The case discusses US based SC Johnson's involvement in designing and testing the Base of Pyramid (BOP) protocol. Since its inception, the company had initiated several corporate social responsibility initiatives for the benefit of its employees, environment and the communities in which it operated. When BOP protocol was launched in the year 2004, SC Johnson proactively extended its support to the protocol. In order to test the protocol, a team was sent by SC Johnson to Kenya to create mutual value for the company and the communities. The team went about testing the protocol in three stages and established a new channel to market SC Johnson's products to the BOP consumers. The company also worked with the Pyrethrum farmers in Kenya to Find a sustainable source of natural pyrethrum. The success in a few of the BOP ventures led SC Johnson Lunch new products targeted specifically at BOP consumers.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Discuss the concept of BOP (Base of Pyramid).

Q2. Examine the needs of consumers at BOP.

Q3. Analyze Johnson’s efforts towards creating mutual value for the company and the communities in which it operated.

Q4. Evaluate sustainable business opportunities for MNCs in the BOP markets.

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Discuss the good Telephone Manners and their importance in business communications

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Business Communication

CASE STUDY (20 Marks)

Shoppers ‘Delight’s large retail store, had above­ average quality and competitive prices. It advertised its retail promotions in local newspapers. Its TV advertising was mainly aimed at building store image and did not address retail promotions. The management knew it well that they had to advertise their retail promotions more, but they did not feel comfortable with the effectiveness of present efforts and wanted to better understand the impact of their present promotions. To better understand the effectiveness of the present efforts, a study of advertising exposure, interpretation, and purchases was undertaken. Researchers conducted 50 in-depth interviews with customers of the store’s target market to determine the appropriate product mix, price, ad copy and media, In addition, the stores image and that of its two competitors were measured. Based on the research findings, different product lines that would appeal to the target customer were selected. The retail promotion was run for a full week . Full-page advertisements were released each day in the two local Hindi newspapers, and also in one English newspaper that devotes six pages to the coverage of the state. Each evening, a sample of 100 target market customers were interviewed by telephone as follows:1 .Target customers were asked if they had read the newspaper that day .This was done to determine their exposure to advertisement.2.After a general description of the product lines, the respondents were asked to recall any related retail advertisements they had seen or read.3.if the respondents were able to recall, they were asked to describe the ad, the promoted products, sale prices, and the name of the sponsoring store.4.If the respondents were accurate in their ad interpretation ,they were asked to express their intentions to purchase.5.Respondents were also asked for suggestions to be incorporated in future promotions targeted at this consumer segment .Immediately after the close of promotion,500target market customers were surveyed to determine what percentage of the target market actually purchased the promoted products. It also determined which sources of information influenced them in their decision to purchase and the amount of their purchase. Results of the study showed that ad exposure was 75% and ad awareness level was 68% and was considered as high. Only 43% respondents exposed to and aware of the ad copy could accurately recall important details, such as the name of the store promoting the retail sale. Just 43% correct interpretation was considered as low. Of those who could accurately interpret the ad copy ,32% said they intended to respond by purchasing the advertised products and 68 per cent sad they had no intention to buy. This yields an overall intention to buy of 7%.The largest area of lost opportunity was due to those who did not accurately interpret the ad copay. The post­ promotion survey indicated that only 4.2% of the target market customers made purchases of the promoted products during the promotion period. In terms of how these buyers learned of the promotion,46% mentioned newspaper A(Hindi) ,27% newspaper B (Hindi),8% newspaper c( English), and 15% learned about sale through word-of-mouth communication. The retail promotion was judged as successful in many ways, besides yielding sales worth Rs.900,000.However ,management was concerned about not achieving a higher level of ad comprehension, missing a significant sales opportunity. It was believed that a better ad would have at least 75% correct comprehension among those aware of the ads. This in turn would almost double sales without any additional cost.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Give an overview of the case

Q2. How do you think survey helps to determine the preferences and other needs of consumers?

Q3. Prepare a survey questionnaire of any company of your choice?

Q4. Surveys are suitable of certain types of products and brands. Comment.

CASE STUDY (20 Marks)

Do you have good telephone etiquette (or manners) at work? Do you know the right thing to say when answering the phone in English? Do you get nervous when you have to call a business and speak English? Speaking on the phone and having proper business telephone etiquette in English is something that takes practice. It is difficult to do because you can’t see the person that is speaking. You have to train your ears to listen closely in English to what the caller is saying or asking for. Below you will find many common English phrases that are used when calling a business or answering a business’s phone. Answering the Phone: • Good Morning, Thank you for calling ABC Company. How can I help you today? • Good afternoon, this is Stephanie. How may I direct your call? • Thank you for calling Peterson’s. • Marketing Department. Evelyn Speaking. How may I help you this afternoon? Asking for the Caller’s Name: • Who is calling? • Can I get your name, please? Introducing yourself: • This is Kelly Erickson from West Marketing. • Hi, this Paloma from Tidy Cleaning Service. • Hello, my name is Janet. I am one of your customers. Asking to Speak with someone: • Is Paulo Rodriguez available? • Can I speak to the head of the marketing department? • Is Mary Smith there? • I’d like to speak to the person in charge of the upcoming Gala. Person Caller Wants to Talk to someone that is Not Available: • Mr. Berg is not taking calls right now. Can I take a message? • I’m sorry; Ms. Thorsen is in a meeting until 10. Would you like to call back again later? • Jonathan is out today. Can I forward you to his voicemail? • He’s with a patient right now. Would you like to hold? • She’s on the phone now. Can I have her call you back later? Transferring/Connecting the Caller to Another Person: • Please hold, while I connect you to him. • I’ll put you through to Mr. Shapiro’s phone. If you get disconnected for some reason his direct extension is 4562. • I’m connecting you right now. Problems: • I’m sorry I can’t hear you. Could you speak a little louder? • I’m sorry, I didn’t get that. Could you repeat yourself?

Answer the following question.

Q1. Give an overview of the case.

Q2. Discuss the good Telephone Manners and their importance in business communications.

CASE STUDY (20 Marks)

The challenges of communicating with nine previously independent businesses spread across a number of countries and speaking three different languages (English, Dutch and Papiamento) were significant. Hamlet had no single tool that would enable her to communicate across all the different territories. Email servers on the same network were only operational in the businesses in the English-speaking locations (Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica), whereas the businesses in the Dutch Caribbean (Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba and Sint Maarten) were operating different email platforms. While Hamlet concluded that there were fewer cultural differences between the countries than she had anticipated, she found that employees were more connected to the local business brands they worked for rather than seeing themselves as members of a larger group. So it was vital to Hamlet that the solution she implemented gave her the ability to communicate the group’s new vision, mission and values in a consistent and engaging way. She also needed to ensure that communications did not come across as “Trini­centric” (Trinidad being the location of the Head Office of the group) or come across as imposing to employees. Hamlet’s research into a software solution that would allow her to communicate more effectively with the distributed workforce led her to the SnapComms internal communication software and in July 2012 Guardian implemented four of the communication channels — Desktop Alert Software, Scrolling Desktop Tickers, Employee Newsletter and Internal Staff Survey tool. Instrumental in her choice was the fact that she could deploy the internal communication tools immediately and would have no ongoing reliance on her IT department to administer them. Hamlet has been pleasantly surprised by the fact that the SnapComms software delivers on its promise and really is as easy to use as it is claimed.

Answer the following question.

Q1. How it was possible to communicate across multiple languages and platforms? Explain.

Q2. Discuss about Snap Comms software.

CASE STUDY (20 Marks)

This company is a voice and data company, providing innovative market leading products, services and customer focus to the business, government, wholesale and residential sectors. They have the backing of and are wholly owned by one of Australia’s largest telecommunications company. They wanted to: Ensure staff had the information they needed when and where they needed it. • Cut through email clutter as well as reduce email traffic. • Remind staff of corporate messages, our business strategy and staff benefits. • Be able to alert staff immediately a situation arose. • Let staff know about our current marketing campaigns and customer offers. How a leading telecommunications company used the SnapComms tools to meet its objectives The company adopted the Snapmag tool to circulate a digital newsletter “Info line”. In addition, a desktop pop­up message was designed to have the same look and feel as the magazine and is used to notify staff when editions are published. Hence staff working in any location and at any time of the day or night know it’s there.

Answer the following question.

Q1. What the company needed for their staff? How they fulfilled it?

Q2. Give an overview of the case.

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Discuss the concept of BOP (Base of Pyramid).

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Project Report and Thesis contact

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Principles and Practice of Management

1200 words

Case (20 Marks)

MAM (Meetings, Agenda, and Minutes) is the hallmark of all business activity. The objective of all businesses is growth and success. In order to achieve success and projected growth, the organization should have a vision, translate the vision into an objective, accord a proper direction to achieve the objective, generate ideas, and decide on a course of action, decide the budgets, get proper approvals, and above all, translate all the oral or verbal transactions into recorded documents. Meetings are the simplest means of bringing together people in the organization and discussing the situation or the problem at hand. Meetings have to be conducted in an orderly manner to meet the stated objective and ensure that the team spirit is sustained. They have to be conducted within a fixed time frame. Disorderly meetings result in a lot of time being wasted. Apart from that, the participants come out of it with a lot of dissatisfaction and dissonance.

Answer the following question.

 Q1. Discuss the MAM (Meetings, Agenda, Minutes) and its importance.

Q2. What are the procedures and protocols for formal business meetings?

Q3. Prepare the agenda for a sales conference/ product launch, assuming the various relevant points

Q4. Prepare the minutes of meeting held on a sales conference/ product launch showing resolutions.

Case (20 Marks)

The banking sector is still reeling under the impact. The new American Bank has been in India for the past twenty years with branches in metropolitan of the recent economic crisis cities. The bank can boast of various innovations in the field of consumer banking. Their customer service and finance divisions have been the best of all foreign banks. But the business going through a bad phase from last two years. The vice president asked Mahesh Rao, to draw together a small group to examine and recommend improvement in the current structure and managerial practices within the bank. Though Mahesh was, as manager, training and development, at a lower level then GMs and directors, the VP trusted his abilities to handle the training and improvements. In the month’s time Mahesh reported back with a plan for management training base on job structures. The plan was based on key performance areas identified for various levels and consisted of in­house and external programs. All development programs covered the key areas, which directly affect the performance and development of specific levels of manager. One hundred and twenty managers were earmarked to attend two three programs depending upon the analysis done by Mahesh. Over the next four months, almost 80% of the managers attended programs on managerial skill and on their specific area of work. By the end of these four months, most senior managers indicated that improvement in work place is visible. Most of the trainers themselves reacted positively to the training program.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Agreement between boss and subordinates regarding their goals is vital for the success of Management by objectives. Comment.

Q2. What benefits can you expect from the training program based upon MBO.  

Case (20 Marks)

Infosys Ltd., (Infosys), the India­based multinational Indian software company, was founded in 1981. One of the seven founders, Narayana Murthy (Murthy), retired as Chairman in 2011. After his retirement, Infosys experienced slower growth than its peers in the Indian InfoTech industry The case is about Vishal Sikka, CEO of Indian software company Infosys, his background, his beliefs, and the steps he took to revive Infosys within a year of his joining the company. The case first discusses why he was selected for the post of CEO during the leadership crisis at Infosys. It then describes the views of different experts on Sikka’s leadership style and personality. The case discusses the ways and means that Sikka adopted to communicate with stakeholders along with the several initiatives he took to revive Infosys. In a letter to all Infosys employees, Sikka praised their talent and said, “I’ve met so many talented people amongst you. Your enthusiasm to learn and create new ways of working is amazing.” At the same time, he also mentioned the need for improvement and transition. He said, “The task before us now is to lay out the way forward. We must continually get better at everything that we do today without disrupting the foundation that has got us to where we are.” He also showcased his commitment to improving the effectiveness of the workforce and working closely with them. He said, “By laying greater emphasis on improving our ability to learn and to identify opportunities of the future, we will build a sustainable business.” In a face­to­face with the media, Sikka said, “I am told Info scions have lost the can­do spirit. I will bring it back.”

Answer the following question.

Q1. Discuss Vishal Sikka’s leadership styles. Q2. Explain the various leadership styles.

 Case (20 Marks)

The case discusses US based SC Johnson's involvement in designing and testing the Base of Pyramid (BOP) protocol. Since its inception, the company had initiated several corporate social responsibility initiatives for the benefit of its employees, environment and the communities in which it operated. When BOP protocol was launched in the year 2004, SC Johnson proactively extended its support to the protocol. In order to test the protocol, a team was sent by SC Johnson to Kenya to create mutual value for the company and the communities. The team went about testing the protocol in three stages and established a new channel to market SC Johnson's products to the BOP consumers. The company also worked with the Pyrethrum farmers in Kenya to Find a sustainable source of natural pyrethrum. The success in a few of the BOP ventures led SC Johnson Lunch new products targeted specifically at BOP consumers.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Discuss the concept of BOP (Base of Pyramid).

Q2. Examine the needs of consumers at BOP.

Q3. Analyze Johnson’s efforts towards creating mutual value for the company and the communities in which it operated.

Q4. Evaluate sustainable business opportunities for MNCs in the BOP markets.

Assignment Solutions, Case study Answer sheets

Project Report and Thesis contact

aravind.banakar@gmail.com

www.mbacasestudyanswers.com

ARAVIND – 09901366442 – 09902787224

Discuss the business and regulatory problems faced by multinational companies in China

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Project Report and Thesis contact

aravind.banakar@gmail.com

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ARAVIND – 09901366442 – 09902787224

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

CASE STUDY (20 Marks)

Google, the leading Internet search engine based in the US, started providing its services in China in the year 2000. Though the company became one of the leading search engines in the Chinese market, it started losing its market share rapidly to the local players like Baidu. In order to remain competitive, Google decided to launch a Chinese website www.google.cn and agreed to censor the content, in January 2006. Though Google was criticized by the industry experts for its decision to censor the content, the company defended its stance by claiming that providing censored results was better than not providing any details at all. However, soon Google started facing problems, and its website was blocked several times for its quality of censorship, spreading obscene content etc. The company remained second to Baidu in the local search engine market. Google's other services like YouTube, Blogger, and Picasa were also blocked. By the end of 2009, Google realized that its website was being attacked and the attacks originated in China. Google also found that Gmail accounts of some of the advocates of human rights in China were broken into. In January 2010, Google reported that its corporate infrastructure had been subjected to a targeted attack from China and announced that it would not censor its results anymore and was ready to shut down its Chinese operations, if required. The events leading to its decision to stop censoring the search results in China, adversely affected Google's operations in China.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Discuss the business and regulatory problems faced by multinational companies in China. 

Q2. Examine the reasons for media censorship in China. Q3. Give an overview of the case

Case (20 Marks)

Progressive Chemical Industries Ltd, is engaged in Manufacturing and export of specialty chemicals, having turnover of Rs 300 crores. The Company is growing and having good export orders. The CEO is in mood to expand the business and aiming to reach turnover of Rs 1000(thousand) crores in next 5 (five) yrs. The CEO is worried about the increase in input costs and workers demands. Union has threatened to go on strike indefinitely. Union has demanded 50% increase in salary and other benefits, But is not agreeing to link it to productivity. It has also raised issues like unsafe, hazardous working conditions, leakage of poisonous gases affecting the health of workers. The consultant has advised the CEO to be strict and take strict action against the erring employees and be ready to declare lockout if situation warrants.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Prepare a draft agreement for the above situation which could be acceptable for Management and Union.

Q2. As a HR Head how would you convince the Union and workers?

Q3. Do you feel management policies/practices are right?

Q4. What are the various laws which could be applicable in the above problems?

CASE STUDY (20 Marks)

EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Steven Vanackere representing the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), and the Korean Minister for Trade Kim Jong­Hoon today signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the EU and South Korea. This FTA is the most ambitious trade agreement ever negotiated by the EU and the first with an Asian country. Today’s signature signals a significant step on the road to its implementation and is one of the main events of the EU­Korea Summit taking place in Brussels today. "The agreement between the EU and South Korea marks a significant achievement in improving our trade links. It will provide a real boost to jobs and growth in Europe at this critical time. This wideranging and innovative deal is a benchmark for what we want to achieve in other trade agreements", said Commissioner De Gucht. "Tackling the more difficult non­tariff barriers to international commerce can cut the costs of doing business as much if not more than getting rid of import duties." The text of the FTA was initialed between the European Commission and South Korea on 15 October 2009. Since then the text of the Agreement was translated into Korean and 21 EU languages. All EU Member States have signed the FTA ahead of today's official signing ceremony. The date of provisional application will be 1 July 2011, provided that the European Parliament has given its consent to the FTA and the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council implementing the bilateral safeguard clause of the EU­South Korea FTA is in place. The EU Member States will have to also ratify the agreement according to their own laws and procedures. One study estimates that the deal will create new trade in goods and services worth €19.1 billion for the EU; another study calculates that it will more than double the bilateral EU­South Korea trade in the next 20 years compared to a scenario without the FTA. The agreement will remove virtually all import duties between the two economies as well as many non­tariff barriers. It will relieve EU exporters of industrial and agricultural goods to South Korea from paying tariffs. Once the duties are fully eliminated, EU exporters will save € 1.6 billion annually. Half of these savings will be applicable already on the day of the entry into force of the Agreement. The FTA will also create new market access in services and investment and will make major advances in areas such as intellectual property, procurement, competition policy and trade and sustainable development.

Answer the following question.

Q1. What are the objectives and contents of the recent free trade agreement signed between the European Union and South Korea?

Q2. What are the economic underlying principles of this agreement?

Q3. Why has the agreement been questioned both in the EU and South Korea?

Q4. Why are Japanese businessmen worried about the agreement? Why are Japanese policy­makers trying to sign a similar deal with the EU?

CASE STUDY (20 Marks)

The cases discusses, UK based home improvement retailer, B&Q's foray into China. B&Q entered the Chinese market in the year 1999 by opening a store in Shanghai through a joint venture with Home Decorative Building Materials Limited, a Shanghai based property developer. At that time, the Do­it­Yourself (DIY) concept had not gained popularity in China. Overcoming the initial challenges, B&Q was able to establish itself firmly in the Chinese market. B&Q modified its stores to suit the Chinese consumers and introduced the concept of 'Buy­it­Yourself.' The company's growth coincided with the rapid infrastructural development in the country, and increased activity in the housing sector. The rapid growth of the Chinese home improvement industry led several leading international companies like IKEA to expand their operations in the country. By late 2006, B&Q faced stiff competition from foreign as well as local companies like Orient Home. The case examines the entry and expansion strategies of B&Q in China and how the company is positioned to face increasing competition in the Chinese home improvement industry.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Analyze the entry and expansion strategies of B&Q in China.

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