Notes

Course Title : Project Management
Q What are the different functions of the PMIS ?
Project Management Information System (PMIS) are system tools and techniques used in project management to deliver information. Project managers use the techniques and tools to collect, combine and distribute information through electronic and manual means. Project Management Information System (PMIS) is used by upper and lower management to communicate with each other.
Project Management Information System (PMIS) help plan, execute and close project management goals. During the planning process, project managers use PMIS for budget framework such as estimating costs. The Project Management Information System is also used to create a specific schedule and define the scope baseline. At the execution of the project management goals, the project management team collects information into one database. The PMIS is used to compare the baseline with the actual accomplishment of each activity, manage materials, collect financial data, and keep a record for reporting purposes. During the close of the project, the Project Management Information System is used to review the goals to check if the tasks were accomplished. Then, it is used to create a final report of the project close.
To conclude, the project management information system (PMIS) is used to plan schedules, budget and execute work to be accomplished in project management.

There are many types of PMIS, and equally diverse ways of applying these types of systems for optimal benefit to the organization.

The components of a project management information system are:

Scheduling
Estimating
Resources
Project documents and data
Portals and dashboards
Collaborative work management tools
Social media
Project control
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Q What do you understand by Project Evaluation ?
The project evaluation process uses systemic analysis to gather data and reveal the effectiveness and efficiency of your management. This crucial exercise keeps projects on track and informs stakeholders of progress.

Every aspect of the project is measured to determine if it’s proceeding as planned, and if not, inform how project parts be improved. Basically, you’re asking the project a series of questions designed to discover what is working, what can be improved and whether the project is in fact useful. Tools like project dashboards and trackers help in the evaluation process by making key data readily available.

The project evaluation process has been around as long as there have been projects to evaluate. But when it comes to the science of project management, project evaluation can be broken down into three main types: pre-project evaluation, ongoing evaluation and post-project evaluation. So, let’s look at the project evaluation process, what it entails and how you can improve your technique.

Three Types of Project Evaluation
There are three points in a project where evaluation is most needed. While you can evaluate your project at any time, these are points where you should have the process officially scheduled.

Pre-Project Evaluation
In a sense, you’re pre-evaluating your project when you write your project charter to pitch to the stakeholders. You cannot effectively plan, staff and control a new project if you’ve first not evaluated it. Pre-project evaluation is the only sure way you can determine the effectiveness of the project before executing it.

Need help making a project charter? Download our free project charter template.

Ongoing Evaluation
To make sure your project is proceeding as planned and hitting all the scheduling and budget milestones you set, it’s crucial that you are constantly monitoring and reporting on your work in real-time. Only by using project metrics can you measure the success of your project and whether or not you’re meeting the project’s goals and objectives.

Post-Project Evaluation
Think of this as a postmortem. The post-project evaluation is when you go through the project’s paperwork, interview the project team and principles, and analyze all relevant data so you can understand what worked and what went wrong. Only by developing this clear picture can you resolve issues in upcoming projects.
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Q Distinguish between project and production management, by giving examples.

Defining Product Management and Project Management
Product management is an organizational function within a company that deals with the planning, forecasting, and production or marketing of a product or products at all stages of the product life cycle.

Project management, on the other hand, consists of the application of processes, methods, knowledge, skills, and experience to achieve the objectives of a specific project.

What is a Product Manager?
Successful Product Managers take complete responsibility for the overall and continuous success of a product throughout the ENTIRE product lifecycle.

It is the responsibility of a Product Manager to focus on the “what” more than the “how.” This means that his or her job is to take a long-term view, and decide what direction the product should grow in based on the evolutionary trajectory of customer needs.

The ultimate goal of a Product Manager is to aim to maximize value and create new revenue streams.

Responsibilities that fall under a Product Manager include:

Gathering and prioritizing product and customer requirements
Defining the product vision
Working with sales and marketing to ensure revenue and customer satisfaction goals are met
What is a Project Manager?
A Project Manager is responsible for the successful delivery of a project within a specific deadline and budget. Project Managers oversee and manage the development of the product by aligning available resources and managing issues and risks.

One of the most difficult tasks for a Project Manager is managing the scope of the project, as they must balance time, cost, and quality. For example, if the deadline of a project is shortened, Project Managers must either increase costs or reduce the scope in order to maintain quality.

The ultimate goal of a Project Manager is to aim to maximize quality while minimizing risk.

Responsibilities that fall under a Project Manager include:

Building a product
Adding new features to an existing product
Creating new versions or extensions of a product
Managing a team of designers and developers, and tracking their work
Keeping the project on time and within budget while giving transparency to the client
Using a variety of project management tools to accomplish their task like Invisionapp, Dashable, Basecamp, Trello, and Github.
Explaining The Dynamic Between Project Managers and Product Managers
A Project Manager is akin to a midwife. The person in this role delivers the project and moves on to the next one. He or she cares for the product up until the product is delivered, and then hands the responsibility over to the ‘mother’ (in this case, the Product Manager).

The Product Manager is similar to the mother in this situation because he or she conceives the idea, develops it for months, eventually brings the product to market, and is responsible for it until it becomes obsolete.

Conclusion
Product and project management are similar concepts, but in order to create a successful product, you need to understand how these concepts differ.

Project management focuses internally to achieve specific objectives and complete a given project on time and under budget. Once the project is completed, it is no longer ‘managed’.

Product Management takes a broader view, and focuses externally on the customer and the overall and continued success of the project.

Although it’s possible to have one person fill both the product and project manager roles, it’s ideal to separate these roles to avoid conflicts of interest and underperformance.

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Q Differentiate AON and AOA

The Different Between AoA and AoN
Both activity on arrow (AoA) and activity on node (AoN) come under the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), which is a well-known method that is used to analyze various tasks when it comes to completing a project, especially when it comes to the time that is required to complete each task and the minimum amount of time that is required to complete the entire project.

Traditionally, activity sequence diagrams utilize boxes or even rectangles in order to show the activities, which are known as nodes. These nodes are made to connect with other nodes by the use of arrows; this would indicate the dependencies that are present between the connected activities.

A project network usually shows the association that is present between tasks within a project. Illustrating these activities by using nodes or even using arrows between the event nodes, are the main ways you can draw those relationships.

When it comes to AoA diagrams, showing the finish-to-start relationships is a limited affair. What this means is that the arrow represents the time span from the event at the start of the arrow to the event at the end. Activities that are represented as arrows have to be added to illustrate some of the more complicated relationships and dependencies that are present between the activities.
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Q Write a short notes on traditional cost control.

Traditional cost accounting procedures were developed years ago and were built around three product costs: direct material, direct labour and overhead. During that period, overhead cost was low when compared to direct material and direct labour resulting in products costs that were dominantly variable.

Under traditional cost accounting system, the main steps in accounting for overheads are:

First, allocation and apportionment of overheads to various production departments and service departments.

Second, reapportionment of service departments overheads to production departments.

Third, absorption of production departments overheads by the end- products. Thus, overheads are aggregated at the production cost centre and are assigned to units produced.

Assignment or absorption is based on average rate(s) determined by dividing the overhead expenses by the volume of units produced e.g., labour hours or machine hours or direct wages etc. These rates assume that products which take more time to manufacture, generate more overheads. Thus, in the traditional cost accounting system high volume products are over-costed and low volume products are under-costed.

Again, use of an average rate calculated using volume as denominator, for assigning overhead expenses to products or services distorts product or service cost, if the firm produces variety of products. Usually the demand of different products on resources or activities is not uniform.

Over the last few decades, changes in manufacturing and business environments, global competitions and other developments have forced companies to develop in all aspects of their business, including performance measurement and cost management.

Automation and other radical technological changes have decreased labour costs and increased the overhead costs. Nowadays overhead costs have assumed greater importance and there is a need for a more sophisticated system for accounting of overhead cost.
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Consumer Behavior & Advertising Management
Q Discuss why you feel recent definitions of IMC are or are not an improvement
upon earlier definitions.

The advent of integration is causing marketers to take a fresh look at all the components of marketing, specifically the unique dimension that public relations bring to the marketing mix. Public relations people, in turn, are seizing the opportunity that integration offers them to make a difference where it counts most to their companies and clients – on the bottom line.

IMC is the culmination of the shift that began in the post – World War II period, from selling what the companies make to making what the consumers want. IMC focused on what to know about products and services, not what the marketers want to tell them in order to sell them.

Meaning and Definition of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC):
It is essential for organizations to promote their brands well among the end-users not only to outshine competitors but also to survive in the long run. Brand promotion increases awareness of products and services and eventually increases their sales, yielding high profits, and revenue for the organization.

Integrated Marketing Communication defined as the coordination and integration of all marketing communication tools, avenues, and sources within a company into a seamless program that maximizes the impact on customers and other end-users at a minimal cost.

This integration affects all firm business-to-business, marketing channels, customer-focused, and internally directed communications. It is a management concept that is designed so that all the marketing communication which consists of advertising, sales promotion, public relation, and direct marketing work together as a unified force rather than each of those marketing communication work in isolation.

Explain Management As a Control System!
Besides, it acts as an aggressive marketing plan because it sets and tracks marketing strategy that captures and uses the extensive amount of customer information. It also ensures that all forms of communication and messages carefully linked together to achieve a specific objective.

Definitions of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC):
The American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), defines it as:

“A concept of marketing communication planning that recognizes the added value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication disciplines, e.g. general advertising, direct response, sales promotion and public relations – and combines these disciplines to provide clarity, consistency and maximum communication impact.”
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Q Discuss the main characteristics of organizational buying.
Many elements of the sociocultural environment discussed earlier influence organizational as well as consumer buying, but some additional forces are salient only in the organizational setting. In particular, each organization has its own business philosophy that guides its actions in resolving conflicts, handling uncertainty and risk, searching for solutions, and adapting to change. For example, Peabody Coal, which is part of a declining industry, relies on a conservative purchase strategy in an attempt to maintain its status quo.

Five characteristics mark the organizational buying process:

1 In organizations, many individuals are involved in making buying decisions.

2 The organizational buyer is motivated by both rational and quantitative criteria dominant in organizational decisions; the decision makers are people, subject to many of the same emotional criteria used in personal purchases.

3 Organizational buying decisions frequently involve a range of complex technical dimensions. A purchasing agent for Volvo Automobiles, for example, must consider a number of technical factors before ordering a radio to go into the new model. The electronic system, the acoustics of the interior, and the shape of the dashboard are a few of these considerations.

4 The organizational decision process frequently spans a considerable time, creating a significant lag between the marketer's initial contact with the customer and the purchasing decision. Since many new factors can enter the picture during this lag time, the marketer's ability to monitor and adjust to these changes is critical.

5 Organizations cannot be grouped into precise categories. Each organization has a characteristic way of functioning and a personality.

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Q What are the variations in cultural values ?

Other Oriented Values of Culture
The relationship influences marketing practices. If society values collective activity decisions will be taken in a group.It gives rise to following questions which affect consumer behaviour:
Individual/collective: Whether individual initiation has more value than collective activity?

Romantic orientation: This depicts whether the communication is more effective which emphasises courtship or otherwise. In many countries, a romantic theme is more successful.
Adult/child theme: Is family life concentrated round children or adults? What role do children play in decision-making?

Masculine/Feminine: Whether the society is made dominant or women dominant or balanced.

Competitive/Cooperation: Whether competition leads to success. This is achieved by forming alliances with others.

Youth/age: Are prestige roles assigned to younger or older members of the society. American society is youth oriented and Korean is age oriented. Decisions are taken by mature people in Korea.

Environment-oriented Values

Cleanliness: If a culture lays too much stress on cleanliness, there is scope for the sale of beauty creams, soaps, deodorants, insecticides, washing powder, vacuum cleaner, etc. In western countries, a lot of emphasis is placed on this aspect and perfumes and deodorants are widely used.

Performance Status: A status-oriented society cares for higher standards of living, and chooses quality goods and established brand names and high-price items. This is true for the United States, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and most of the Arabian countries.
In performance-oriented societies, where rewards and prestige is based on an individuals performance, less importance is given to brand names. Products which function equally well and may not be big brand names are used. Germans do not give the same amount of emphasis to brand names. The marketeers adopt strategies accordingly.

Tradition/change: Tradition-oriented societies stick to the old product and resist innovation or new techniques. In traditional societies, there is less scope for new products, and old traditional products are in greater demand. In some societies, which are upwardly mobile,consumers are looking for modern methods, new products, new models and new techniques.
Risk-taking/security: An individual who is in secure position and takes a risk can be either considered venture some or fool hardy. This depends on the culture of the society. For developing, new entrepreneurs risk taking is a must. It leads to new product development,new advertising themes and new channels of distribution. Security-oriented societies have little chances of development and innovation.

Problem solving/fatalist: A society can be optimistic and have a problem-solving attitude or, be inactive and depend on fate. This has marketing implications on the registering of complaints when consumers are dissatisfied with the purchase of the products. Advertising plays an important part and gives guidance to the consumer, and removes these doubts to a great extent.
Nature: There are differences in attitude over nature and its preservation. Consumers stress on packing materials that are recyclable and environment friendly. Some countries give great importance to stop environmental pollution and to recycling of products.
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Q Write a short note on Ethical & Social issues in Advertising.

Social and Ethical Issues in Advertising
Advertising is criticized of manipulating the buyers to make a decision against theirwill or interest. Playing on the sub-conscious mind, motives and various form of appeals. Theappeals generated by the advertisements are sometimes so strong that the consumer fullybelieve in them and does not apply his/her mind to make a decision and buys it without muchthought.

Advertising has also been criticized to be in bad taste because of:

Moral concerns about advertising of harmful products—Tobacco, Alcohol etc.

Objection to over emphasis on sex—sex appeals.

Objection to occasion of exposure when children are present with the adults.

Objection to advertising strategy of excessive repetition of the Ad.

It is accused of attaching too much importance to the material aspects of life.

It promotes certain individuals as stereotypes. Women are always shown in the roleof a mother or a housewife, instead of

business executives except in few cases. Similarly, business executives are shown with a cigar. Women are shown to create a romanticsituation.
Too much advertising on children is considered a matter of great concern.

Advertising provides sensitivity to price. It shows differentiation among closelyresembling brands.

Advertising causes insecurity by making people worry about tooth decay, body odours, lack of self-confidence. It creates fear in the mind of the consumer e.g. ,

L.I.C. “Get your selfinsured for the future is not known”.
“We will all get old one day—Let us help each other”.

In spite of the above criticism, the advertisement has come to stay in the system. It communicates and makes goods available. It promotes purchases and stimulates consumption. It is an essential part of marketing strategy. It promotes a number of social issues and bringsawareness in the masses. The subject of family planning, health care, prevention of accidentsare the major themes. If certain codes, rules and regulations are followed advertising benefitsoverweigh those of criticism. The Ad must be legal, honest, truthful and decent. This will ensure the expansion of the advertising both in India and abroad.
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Q What is e-commerce & e-marketing ?

Ecommerce, also known as electronic commerce or internet commerce, refers to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, and the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions. Ecommerce is often used to refer to the sale of physical products online, but it can also describe any kind of commercial transaction that is facilitated through the internet.

Whereas e-business refers to all aspects of operating an online business, ecommerce refers specifically to the transaction of goods and services.

E-Marketing (a.k.a. electronic marketing) refers to the marketing conducted over the Internet. Two synonyms of E-Marketing are Internet Marketing and Online Marketing which are frequently interchanged. E-Marketing is the process of marketing a brand (company, product, or service) using the Internet through computers and mobile devices mediums. By such a definition, eMarketing encompasses all the activities a business conducts via the worldwide web with the aim of attracting new business, retaining current business and developing its brand identity.

Advantages of e-Marketing

Ability to target your customers faster and cheaper

Reduction of marketing costs through automation of electronic media

Near real-time interaction between the marketer and the end user

Ability to quantify and collect user data

One-to-one marketing experience

Increased interactivity

Ability to implement marketing strategies in a short time-frame

Ability to scale with the market

Appeal to specific interests

Geo-targeting
The history of ecommerce begins with the first ever online sale: on the August 11, 1994 a man sold a CD by the band Sting to his friend through his website NetMarket, an American retail platform. This is the first example of a consumer purchasing a product from a business through the World Wide Web—or “ecommerce” as we commonly know it today.

Since then, ecommerce has evolved to make products easier to discover and purchase through online retailers and marketplaces. Independent freelancers, small businesses, and large corporations have all benefited from ecommerce, which enables them to sell their goods and services at a scale that was not possible with traditional offline retail.

=================== Corporate Governance, Values & Ethic

Q Write notes on Vector.


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Q Write notes on Synergy.

Synergy is the concept that the combined value and performance of two companies will be greater than the sum of the separate individual parts. Synergy is a term that is most commonly used in the context of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Synergy, or the potential financial benefit achieved through the combining of companies, is often a driving force behind a merger.

Synergy is the concept that the value and performance of two companies combined will be greater than the sum of the separate individual parts.
If two companies can merge to create greater efficiency or scale, the result is what is sometimes referred to as a synergy merge.
The expected synergy achieved through a merger can be attributed to various factors, such as increased revenues, combined talent and technology, and cost reduction.
In addition to merging with another company, a company can also create synergy by combining products or markets, such as when one company cross-sells another company's products to increase revenues.
Companies can also achieve synergy between different departments by setting up cross-disciplinary workgroups in which teams work cooperatively to increase productivity and innovation.
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Q Discuss the reports of Committees on Corporate governance.

The corporate governance report should contain a section that lists the powers, functions, roles and responsibilities of board directors. The report includes information about committees and sub-committees and any delegated powers and duties. This section of the report should include conformance and transformative functions.

Shareholders may be particularly interested in reading information about board directors in the corporate governance report. Such information may include the company’s procedures for appointing directors, board development, succession planning and remuneration by shareholding members.

Disclosures often describe the corporation’s mechanisms for monitoring the board’s performance, as well as the performance of individual board directors. It also includes information about related party transactions, conflicts of interest and how the board handled them.

A section of the annual report details the overall organizational plan, and how it relates to business plans and budgets; operational and performance measures; and a description of risk management and internal control procedures. These reports provide evidence of accountability and transparency and support generally accepted accounting and auditing standards. Sections on accounting also specifically disclose the company’s relationship with internal and external auditors.

Disclosure statements also cover such issues as communications with shareholders and stakeholders, legal compliance, and codes of conduct for the board, CEO, management and staff.

Finally, statements usually detail the nature of the business and its future prospects. Shareholders are interested in knowing the company’s outlook for growth, sustainability and innovation, and how the corporation plans to factor future market trends into their strategic planning.

As an example of a good corporate governance report, take a look at this sample of a corporate governance report for Infosys Limited.
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Q Write notes on Business Level Strategy.

Business Level Strategy Explained

A Business-Level Strategy can help your organization achieve a competitive advantage in the marketplace. They provide a way to provide value to customers by exploiting your organization’s core competencies.

This sounds complex but isn’t. When you shop for clothes which do you prefer?

Budget clothes that do the job?
Mid-range clothes that perhaps have a recognizable brand name?
Haute couture? Luxury clothes from brands such as Gucci and Ermenegildo Zegna?
When it comes to buying clothes for yourself, you have many options. Competition is intense for your money. To get you to spend your hard-earned cash clothes retailers must stand out in the marketplace by differentiating themselves from the competition. One way to think about how you differentiate yourself is in terms of business-level strategies.

One retailer might seek to minimize costs, passing those savings on to you. Another might try to have a strong brand that stands for something you identify with. Another might focus on top-end luxury with no expense spared on materials combined with a luxury shopping experience.
What Are Business-Level Strategies?
Business-Level Strategies are a mechanism for a business to achieve a competitive advantage.

According to the Business-Level Strategies theory, there are two types of competitive advantage that an organization must choose between:

Cost Leadership: ensuring you cost less than your competitors.
Differentiation: ensuring you are different from your competitors.
There are also two types of competitive scope than an organization must choose between:
Broad market: serving a diverse market.
Narrow market: focusing on a niche market.
Plotting all of the above factors on to a matrix gives us five generic business-level strategies.

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Q What are “moral Rights”

The term "moral rights" is a translation of the French term "droit moral," and refers not to "morals" as advocated by the religious right, but rather to the ability of authors to control the eventual fate of their works. An author is said to have the "moral right" to control her work. The concept of moral rights thus relies on the connection between an author and her creation. Moral rights protect the personal and reputational, rather than purely monetary, value of a work to its creator.

The scope of a creator's moral rights is unclear, and differs with cultural conceptions of authorship and ownership, but may include the creator's right to receive or decline credit for her work, to prevent her work from being altered without her permission, to control who owns the work, to dictate whether and in what way the work is displayed, and/or to receive resale royalties. Under American Law, moral rights receive protection through judicial interpretation of several copyright, trademark, privacy, and defamation statues, and through 17 U.S.C. §106A, known as the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA). VARA applies exclusively to visual art. In Europe and elsewhere, moral rights are more broadly protected by ordinary copyright law.