Students preparing for Board Exams often get confused with Case Studies. Here are 4 Super Tips to Solve Case Studies in Business Studies Class 12, explained with the help of 30 Case Studies, on the basis of Board Question Papers (modified) for the ultimate guidance of students.
After reading the previous two articles on Case Studies along with this one thoroughly (links given at the bottom), It is a surety that ‘The student can score 100% marks after reading NCERT books.
Case Studies are not a matter of Rote-Learning. Practice will definitely help you.
Following main points must be specially considered for solving Case Studies for 100% marks:
4 Super Tips to Solve Case Studies in Business Studies Class 12
- Study NCERT books
- Memorize Headings as per NCERT books.
- Learn proper Diagrams and Examples of NCERT books.
- Revise Keywords and brief notes
- Read the last sentences of the question carefully to check the requirement of the question.
- Then, read the case twice to answer the questions asked.
- Always answer these questions on the basis of case given.
Special Instruction:
- In these case studies, underlined words indicate the answer/hints.
- Words in RED focus on the question.
4 Super Tips to Solve Case Studies in Business Studies Class 12
Case Study- 1
Nature and Significance of Management
Somesh’s father is working as a section in-charge in a government office. Identify the level of management at which he is working? State any five functions that he has to perform at this level.
Answer:
- Lower level of management.
- Then write five functions of lower level of management
Case Study- 2
ABC Power Ltd. set up a factory for manufacturing solar lanterns in a remote village as there was no reliable supply of electricity in rural areas. The revenue earned by the company was sufficient to cover the costs and the risks. As the demand of lanterns was increasing day- by-day, the company decided to increase production to generate higher sales. For this/they decided to employ people from a nearby village as very few job opportunities were available in that area. The company also decided to open schools and crèches for the children of its employees.
Identify and explain the objectives of management discussed above.
Answer:
- Organisational objectives and Social Objectives, (as evident from lines underlined in question.)
- Then explain these two.
Case Study – 3
Sumona works as a designer in an export house. As per the terms of an order received by the export house, she has to get 1000 units of denim jackets made in 15 days @ ₹2000 per jacket. She is able to complete her target production in 20 days because in order to complete the order in 15 days she would have made the workers work overtime. As a result, the cost of production per jacket may have increased by ₹100.
In the context of the above case, Is Sujata efficient in her work? Explain by giving a suitable reason in support of your answer.
Answer:
- Yes, Sumona is efficient.
- As she has been able to get 1000 units of denim jackets made @ ₹2000 per jacket.
Case Study – 4
Ramesh joins an IT firm as a system analyst after completing his masters in Computer Science. As the nature of his work demands he has to work in very close coordination with all the departmental heads in the firm, very soon Ramesh realizes that each departmental head has own individual style of working. They differ greatly in their day-to-day approach to work. They tend to deal with a given situation, an issue or a problem through a combination of their own experience, creativity, imagination, initiative and innovation.
In the context of the above case, Identify and explain the nature of management highlighted in the above case.
Answer:
- Management - art.
- Then explain Management as an art.
Case Study – 5
Principles of Management
Sachin after completing his entrepreneurship course from abroad returned to India and started a coffee shop ‘Aroma Coffee Can’ in a famous mall in New Delhi. The speciality of the coffee shop was the special aroma of coffee and a wide variety of flavours to choose from. Somehow, the business was neither profitable nor popular. Sachin was keen to find out the reason. He appointed Sakshi, an MBA from a reputed college, as a manager to find out the causes for the same.
Sakshi took feedback from the clients and found out that though they loved the special unique aroma of coffee but were not happy with the long waiting time being taken to process the order. She analysed and found out that there were many unnecessary obstructions in between which could be eliminated. She fixed a standard time for processing the order.
She also realised that there were some flavours whose demand was not enough. So, she also decided to stop the sale of such flavours. As a result, within a short period Sakshi was able to attract the customers.
Identify and explain any two techniques of scientific management used by Sakshi to solve the problem.
Answer:
- The two techniques of scientific management used by Sakshi (any two)
- Time study
- Simplification (Standardisation and Simplification):
- Motion study
- Then explain these techniques.
Case Study – 6
Telco Ltd. manufactures files and folders from old clothes to discourage the use of plastic files and folders. For this, they employ people from nearby villages where very less job opportunities are available. An employee, Harish, designed a plan for cost reduction but it was not welcomed by the production manager. Another employee gave some suggestions for improvements in design, but it also was not appreciated by the production manager. State the principle of management that is violated in the above paragraph.
Answer:
- Principle of Initiative.
- Then explain it.
Case Study – 7
The principles of Taylor and Fayol are mutually complementary. One believed that management should share the gains with the workers while the other suggested that employees’ compensation should depend on the earning capacity of the company and should give them a reasonable standard of living.
Identify and explain the principles of Favol and Taylor referred to in the above paragraph.
Answer:
- ‘Remuneration of employees’ and ‘Harmony, Not Discord’.
- Then explain both.
Case Study – 8
Rajeev works as a plant superintendent in a carpet making factory. In order to complete the export orders on time, the production manager asks him to make the workers work overtime whereas the finance manager is strictly against this practice because it will increase the cost of production. Moreover, Rajeev feels that since the company is manufacturing handmade carpets as well as machine made carpets there is a lot of overlapping of activities. Therefore, there should be two separate divisions for both of them wherein each division should have its own in charge, plans and execution resources.
In context of the above case:
- Identify and explain the principle of management which is being violated.
- Also identify the principle of management that Rajeev feels should be implemented in the factory.
Answer:
- Unity of command.
- Unity of direction
Case Study – 9
After finishing her BBA degree course, Tanu gets a job of Assistant Manager in a retail company through the reference of her cousin Taru who works in the same company as a Senior Manager. Taru decides to guide Tanu through her experience by making her aware of the important facts about management in practice. She tells her that neither the principles of management provide any readymade, straitjacket solutions to all managerial problems nor they are not rigid prescriptions, which have to be followed absolutely.
In context of the above case: Identify the two features of principles of management mentioned in the above paragraph by quoting lines from the paragraph.
Answer:
- The two features of principles of management
- General guidelines
- Flexible
- Then underlined portion is to be shown in commas for quoting.
4 Super Tips to Solve Case Studies in Business Studies Class 12
Case Study – 10
Business Environment
After completing her MBA, Beni took up a job with a multinational company named Fortio. The company paid good salaries and perks to its employees. The wages were within the paying capacity of the company that provided the employees with a reasonable standard of living. The company also had a good work-culture, and the behaviour of superiors was very good towards their subordinates. Beni was very happy in this organisation but due to long working hours, she did not have time to cook her meals. She had to depend upon outside food which was deteriorating her health.
She observed that this problem was faced by many of her colleagues, not only in her company but also in many other companies. This was because of increase in the number of working women and non-availability of hygienic home-cooked food. She identified this as a great opportunity and decided to give up her job to supply packaged home-cooked food to officegoers at a reasonable price. At the end of the day, she also distributed the leftover food to the nearby night-shelters.
- State the dimension of business environment being discussed above.
- State the principle of management being followed by Fortio.
Answer:
- Social Environment
- ‘Remuneration of employees.
Case Study – 11
After completing his MBA from the USA, Mr. Ajay came to India to start a new business under the banner Ecom Creations Ltd. He launched a new product in e-learning for senior secondary school students in the commerce stream which already had an established market in the UK and the USA but not in India. His business started flourishing in India. As a result, more Indian companies entered into the market with other subjects also.
Identify and quote the lines from the above paragraph which highlight the significance of understanding business environment.
Answer:
- Helps in assisting in planning and policy formulation
- It enables the firm to identify opportunities and getting the first mover advantage
- It helps in improving performance of an enterprise through continuous monitoring
- It helps the firm to identify threats and early warning signals
Case Study – 12
The court passed an order to ban polythene bags as:
- These bags create many environmental problems which affect the life of people.
- Society at large is more concerned about the quality of life.
The government decided to give a subsidy to the jute industry in order to promote this business. As a result —- Innovative techniques are being developed to manufacture jute bags at low rates.
- Incomes are rising and people can afford to buy these bags.
Identify the different dimensions of business environment by quoting lines from the above particulars.
Answer:
- Legal Environment:
- Social Environment:
- Political Environment:
- Technological environment:
- Economic Environment:
Case Study – 13
Planning
Suhasini, a home science graduate from a reputed college, has recently done a cookery course. She wished to start her own venture with a goal to provide ‘health food’ at reasonable prices. She discussed her idea with her teacher (mentor) who encouraged her. After analysing various options for starting her business venture, they short listed the option to sell readymade and ‘ready to make’ vegetable shakes and sattu milk shakes. Then, they weighed the pros and cons of both the short-listed options.
- Name the function of management being discussed above and give any one of its characteristics.
- Also briefly discuss any three limitations of the function discussed in the case.
Answer:
Planning, write one feature, then write its limitations.
Case Study – 14
Two years ago, Madhu completed her degree in food technology. She worked for some time in a company that manufactured chutneys, pickles and murabbas. She was not happy in the company and decided to have her own organic food processing unit for the same. She set the objectives and the targets and formulated an action plan to achieve the same.
One of her objectives was to earn 10% profit on the amount invested in the first year. It was decided that raw materials like fruits, vegetables, spices, etc. will be purchased on three months’ credit from farmers cultivating only organic crops. She also decided to follow the steps required for marketing of the products through her own outlets. She appointed Mohan as the Production Manager who decided the exact manner in which the production activities were to be carried out. Mohan also prepared a statement showing the number of workers that will be required in the factory throughout the year. Madhu informed Mohan about her area wise sales target for different products for the forthcoming quarter. While working on the production table, a penalty of ₹100 per day for not wearing caps, gloves and apron was announced.
Quoting lines from the above paragraph, identify and explain the different types of plans discussed.
Answer
- Objectives
- Policy
- Procedure
- Rule
- Budget
Case Study – 15
Organising
Alliance Ltd. is engaged in manufacturing plastic buckets. The objective of the company is to manufacture 100 buckets a day. To achieve this, the efforts of all departments are coordinated and interlinked, and authority-responsibility relationship is established among various job positions. There is clarity on who is to report to whom. Name the function of management discussed above.
Answer
Organising
Case Study – 16
Kiran Industries is a company dealing in office furniture. The company chose to diversify its operations to improve its growth potential and increase market share. As the project was important, many alternatives were generated for the purpose and were thoroughly discussed amongst the members of the organisation. After evaluating the various alternatives, Sukhvinder, the Managing Director of the company, decided that they should add ‘Home Interiors and Furnishings’ as a new line of business activity.
Name the framework, which the diversified organisation should adopt, to enable it to cope with the emerging complexity?
Answer
Divisional structure
4 Super Tips to Solve Case Studies in Business Studies Class 12
Case Study – 17
Staffing
Alpha Enterprises is a company manufacturing water geyser. The company has a functional structure with four main functions - Production, Marketing, Finance and Human Resource. As the demand for the product grew, the company decided to hire more employees.
Identify the concept which will help the Human Resource Manager in deciding the actual number of persons required in each department.
Answer
Workload analysis.
Case Study – 18
Sahil, the director of a garments company, is planning to manufacture bags for the utilisation of waste materials from one of his garments units. He decided that his manufacturing unit will be set up in the rural area of Odisha where people have very less job opportunities and labour is available at a very low rate. He also thought of giving equal opportunities to men and women.
For this, he selected S. Chatterjee, Inderjeet Kaur, Aslam and Sarabjeet as heads of the Sales, Accounts, Purchase and Production Departments.
- Identify and state the next two steps that Sahil has to follow in the staffing process after selecting the above heads.
Answer:
- Placement and Orientation:
- Training and Development:
Case Study – 19
Directing
Mr. Shubhendu Bose is the owner of Bikmac Enterprises carrying on the business of manufacturing various kinds of biscuits. There was a lot of discontentment in the organisation and the targets were not being met. He asked his son, Naval, who had recently completed his MBA, to find out the reason.
Naval found that all the decision-making of the enterprise were in the hands of his father. His father didn’t believe in his employees. As a result, both the employer and the employees were not able to understand each other’s messages in the same sense. Thus, the employees were not happy, and targets were not met.
Identify any two communication barriers because of which Bikmac Enterprises was not able to achieve its target.
State one more barrier each of the types identified in (1) above.
Answer:
- Organisational barriers: Organisational Policy
- Psychological barriers: Distrust.
Organisational barriers: Status:
Psychological barriers: Premature evaluation:
Case Study – 20
Rajat, a sales manager, achieved his sales targets one month in advance. This achievement was displayed on the notice board and a certificate for the best performance was awarded to him by the CEO of the company.
- Name the incentive provided to Rajat.
- Identify the type of incentive.
- List two other incentives of the type identified in part (2).
Answer:
- Recognition.
- Non-financial incentive.
- Job security and Status.
Case Study – 21
Controlling
Hina Sweets is a renowned name for quality sweets since 1935. Harsh the owner of Hina Sweets was worried as the sales had declined during the last three months. When he enquired from the Sales Manager, the Sales Manager reported that there were some complaints about the quality of sweets. Therefore, Harsh ordered for sample checking of sweets.
Identify the step taken by Harsh that is related to one of the functions of management.
Answer:
Measurement of actual performance is the step in controlling process being described.
Case Study – 22
‘AS Ltd.’ is a large company engaged in assembling of air-conditioners. Recently the company had conducted the ‘Time’ and ‘Motion’ study and concluded that on an average, a worker can assemble ten air-conditioners in a day. The target volume of the company in a day is assembling of 1,000 units of air-conditioners. The company is providing attractive allowances to reduce labour turnover and absenteeism. All the workers are happy. Even then the assembling of air-conditioners per day is 800 units only. To find out the reason, the company compared actual performance of each worker and observed through CCTV that some of the workers were busy in gossiping.
Identify the function of management discussed above.
State the steps in the process of the function identified which are discussed in the above paragraph.
Answer:
Controlling.
The steps involved in the process of controlling:
- Setting standards of performance:
- Measurement of actual performance:
- Comparison of actual performance with the standards:
- Analysing deviations:
4 Super Tips to Solve Case Studies in Business Studies Class 12
Case Study – 23
Financial Management
“A business that doesn’t grow dies”, says Mr. Shah, the owner of Shah Marble Ltd. with glorious 36 months of its grand success having a capital base of RS.80 crores. Within a short span of time, the company could generate cash flow which not only covered fixed cash payment obligations but also create sufficient buffer. The company is on the growth path and a new breed of consumers is eager to buy the Italian marble sold by Shah Marble Ltd. To meet the increasing demand, Mr. Shah decided to expand his business by acquiring a mine. This required an investment of ₹120 crores. To seek advice in this matter, he called his financial advisor Mr. Seth who advised him about the judicious mix of equity (40%) and Debt (60%). Mr. Seth also suggested him to take loan from a financial institution as the cost of raising funds from financial institutions is low. Though this will increase the financial risk but will also raise the return to equity shareholders. He also apprised him that issue of debt will not dilute the control of equity shareholders. At the same time, the interest on loan is a tax-deductible expense for computation of tax liability. After due deliberations with Mr. Seth, Mr. Shah decided to raise funds from a financial institution.
Identify and explain the concept of Financial Management as advised by Mr. Seth in the above situation. State the four factors affecting the concept as identified in part (1) above which have been discussed between Mr. Shah and Mr. Seth.
Answer:
Capital structure
The four factors affecting capital as discussed above:
- Cash flow position:
- Risk Consideration:
- Tax rate:
- Control:
Case Study – 24
Tata International Ltd. earned a net profit of ₹50 crores. Ankit, the finance manager of Tata International Ltd. wants to decide how to appropriate these profits. Discuss any five factors which will help him in taking this decision.
Answer:
Five factors affecting dividend decision are to be discussed.
Case Study – 25
‘Apparels’ is India’s second largest manufacturer of branded Lifestyle apparel. The company now plans to diversify into personal care segment by launching perfumes, hair care and skin care products. Moreover, it is planning to open ten exclusive retail outlets in various cities across the country in next two years.
In context of the above case: Identify the two factors affecting the fixed capital needs of the company by quoting lines from the paragraph.
Answer:
- Diversification:
- Growth prospects:
Case Study – 26
Financial Market
Supriya’s grandmother who was unwell, called her and gave her a gift packet. Supriya opened the packet and saw many crumpled share certificates inside. Her grandmother told her that they had been left behind by her late grandfather. As no trading is now done in physical form, Supriya wants to know the process by adopting which she is in a position to deal with these certificates.
- Identify and state the process.
- Also give two reasons to Supriya why dealing with shares in physical form had been stopped.
Answer.
- Dematerialization
- Problems with dealing in physical form to be written.
Case Study – 27
Marketing
Identify the Marketing Management philosophy adopted in the following cases:
- Mansi, a shoe manufacturer for school students, decided to maximize her profit by producing and distributing at large scale and thereby reducing the average cost of production.
- Nisha, a school bag manufacturer decided to improve the product for profit maximization and thus added a water bottle holder to the existing design.
- Jasdeep, a dealer in school uniforms, decided to maximize his profit by using different aggressive promotional efforts.
- Amar is engaged in manufacturing of refrigerators. He surveyed the market and found that customers need a refrigerator with a separate provision of water cooler in it. He decided to launch the same refrigerator in the market.
Answer.
- Production concept
- Product concept
- Selling concept
- Marketing concept
Case Study - 28
“Every time I travelled, people asked me to bring them chips, khakra and pickles from all over the country,” says Anoushka. Finally, she and her colleague, Sumeet, decided to make out of it. They launched a face book bags, asked people what they wanted, and they came up with a list of about 100 places and tried up with two dozen vendors to begin with. They were servicing people from Jaipur who wanted spices from Kerala, people form Panipat who wanted halwa from Jammu and people from Delhi who ordered for fresh tea leaves form Darjeeling. Through their business they wished to bridge the gap between sellers and buyers. The business is now worth millions.
Explain any two important activities that Anoushka and Sumeet will have to be involved in for making the goods available to the customers at the right place, in the right quantity and at the right time.
Answer.
Activities / Components of Physical Distribution: (any two)
- Order processing
- Transportation
- Warehousing
- Inventory Control
Case Study - 29
Consumer Protection
Pragya bought an iron of a reputed brand for ₹1500 but it caused an electric shock while it was being used. Pragya wants to exercise her ‘Right’. Identify the ‘Right’ under which she can be protected.
Answer.
Right of safety
Case Study - 30
Dushyant, who was a vegetarian, went to a snack bar for having French fries and later on found out that it has non-vegetarian content. Neither the advertisement nor the packing of the product displayed that the product has non-vegetarian content. Will Dushyant be able to claim compensation? Which right of the consumer is violated?
Answer
- Yes
- The seller has violated the Right to information.
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