PREVIOUS YEAR SOLVED PAPERS - January 2017
- Option : B
- Explanation : PERT was originally developed in 1958 and 1959 to meet the needs of the ‘age of massive engineering’ where the techniques of Taylor and Gantt were inapplicable. The Special Projects Office of the U.S. Navy, concerned with performance trends on large military development programs, introduced PERT on its Polaris Weapon System in 1958, after the technique had been developed with the aid of the management consulting firm of Booz, Allen, and Hamilton. Since that time, PERT has spread rapidly throughout almost all industries. At about the same time, the DuPont Company initiated a similar technique known as the critical path method (CPM), which also has spread widely, and is particularly concentrated in the construction and process industries.
In the early 1960s, the basic requirements of PERT/time as established by the Navy were as follows:
∎ All of the individual tasks to complete a program must be clear enough to be put down in a network, which comprises events and activities; i.e., follow the work breakdown structure.
∎ Events and activities must be sequenced on the network under a highly logical set of ground rules that allow the determination of critical and subcritical paths. Networks may have more than one hundred events, but not fewer than ten.
∎ Time estimates must be made for each activity on a three-way basis. Optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic-elapsed-time figures are estimated by the person(s) most familiar with the activity.
- Option : A
- Explanation : Upward Communication occurs when lowerlevel employees communicate with those at higher levels—for example, when a subordinate tells a manager about a problem employees are having meeting a customer’s request. Encouraging upward communication can help managers check that subordinates understand their goals and instructions, keep managers informed of employee challenges and complaints, and cultivate acceptance and commitment by giving employees the opportunity to express ideas and suggestions. Despite its potential benefits, getting subordinates to give upward feedback can be challenging. Subordinates often filter bad news, fearing that their boss does not really want to hear it. Being approachable, accessible, and creating a culture of trust and openness can help subordinates feel more comfortable giving upward feedback. Managers should avoid overreacting, becoming defensive, or acting blameful, and should respect confidentiality when a subordinate shares potentially controversial or negative information. Attitude surveys, an open-door policy, and regular face-to-face meetings with subordinates can also foster upward communication. One of the best ways to make subordinates comfortable sharing information may be sympathetically listening to them during your daily informal contacts with them in and outside of the workplace. This can build the trust required for subordinates to share their ideas and honestly communicate negative information.
- Option : D
- Explanation : Henry Fayol, a Frenchman, was the first person
who issued a complete statement on a theory
of general management. Born from relatively
well-to-do parents, Fayol was graduated as a
mining engineer and started his career as a
junior executive of a coal mining and iron
foundry company in 1860. In 1888, when the
company was near bankruptcy, Fayol took
over as Managing Director and rapidly
transformed the company into a financially
sound organization. After his retirement in
1918, Fayol spent his remaining years lecturing
and popularizing his theory of administration.
He became especially interested in the
application of administrative theory to
government.
Although he published earlier papers outlining his general thinking, Fayol’s major contribution, Administration Industrielle et Generale, was published in 1916. Unfortunately, this work was not translated into English until 1930 and there was only a very limited number of copies. The book was not readily available in English until 1949.
Possibly the most significant of Fayol’s work was his discussion of management principles and elements. Fayol stated the following 14 “principles of management”, stressing that managers should be flexible in the application of these principles and that allowances should be made for different and changing circumstances. These 14 principles are (1) division of work, (2) authority, (3) discipline, (4) unity of command, (5) unity of direction, (6) subordination of individual interests to the general interests, (7) remuneration, (8) centralization, (9) scalar chain/line of authority, (10) order, (11) equity, (12) stability of tenure personnel, (13) initiative and (14) esprit de corps.
Fayol developed his list of principles from those practices which he had used most often in his work. He used these principles as broad and general guidelines for effective management. The real contribution made by Fayol was not the 14 principles themselves, for many of these were the products of the early factory system, but rather his formal recognition and synthesis of these principles. In presenting his “elements of management”, Fayol was probably the first person who outlined what today are called as management functions. Fayol listed planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling as elements of management. However, he placed the greatest emphasis on planning and organizing because he viewed these elements as primary and essential for the other functions.
| List–I | List–II |
| (a) Directly similar products | 1. OLA Taxi and Metro Rail |
| (b) Available substitutes | 2. Mercedes and BMW |
| (c) Unrelated products | 3. PVR and Amusement park |
CODES
| (a) | (b) | (c) | |
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
