Total No. of Questions [Total No. of Pages 02
MBA DEGREE EXAMINATION, MAY 2017
Second Year
HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATION
Strategic Management
Time 3 Hours Maximum Marks 70
Section A
Answer any three × 5 15]
Q1) Strategic Management in Hospital
Strategic alliances
Corporate ethics
Importance of value chain analysis
Technological factors in environment
Strategic surveillance
Section B
Answer any three × 15 45]
Q2) Elaborate strategic management process.
Q3) Explain about external environment and the effect of factors on it.
Q4) Explain the various problems unsolved in corporate social responsibility in Hospitals.
Q5) What is Internal analysis and in detail explain the key resource around the functional
areas?
Q6) Describe the possible factors for assessing the sources of differentiating in support and
primary activities in hospitals.
Q7) Explain the six sigma approach being followed in hospitals.
Section C
Compulsory
Q8) Case study
Analyse the following case and answer the questions given at the end:
ITC's Diversification Strategy
In February 2001, the Government of India GOI announced a ban on advertising by
cigarette companies and restrictions on the sale and consumption of tobacco products. The
proposed Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation) Bill 2001
prohibits smoking in public places and the sale of tobacco products to people under the
age of 18. According to the Bill, no tobacco related business would be allowed to
advertise in any type of media. Even surrogate advertising, like sponsoring sports and
cultural events, by such companies was to be banned.
international brands, however continued to advertise on satellite TV channel Naturally,
this put the domestic players at a disadvantage. To make matters worse, tobacco
companies had already been badly affected by rising excise duties and competition from
smuggled products. In fact, the number of cigarettes sold declined between 1997 and
2002, and major cigarette companies saw a decline in sales volumes. The declining sales
of cigarettes, the proposed ban on advertising, the increasing anti-tobacco campaigns and
the experience in developed countries seemed to suggest that tobacco would no longer be
a profitable business in the future. Consequently ITC decided to diversify into nontobacco
businesses. ITC made its first foray into a non-tobacco business long back in the
1970s, when it entered the hotel industry Since then the company has diversified into a
variety of other businesses sportwear. greeting cards, ready to serve packaged foods,
confectionery and branded staples reduce its dependence on its cigarette business. ITC
diversified into retailing and merchandising of sports goods and premium apparel under its
cigarette brand. "Wills" and ran holiday packages under another cigarette brand, "Gold
Flake", These businesses helped keep alive the existing brands. However, so far ITC
hasn't been, able to earn significant profits through any of its non-tobacco businesses.
ITC's code business, cigarettes. contributes almost 85 per cent to its revenues, while
almost all the other diversified businesses put together contribute only 15 per cent.
Analysis feel that ITC's ability to grab a sizable share of the markets it has entered and
progressively make profits is doubtful, because it has diversified into areas where there is
intense competition.
Questions:
Do you justify ITC's diversification from its core competency?
Outline the strategies required for managing a highly diversified company like ITC.
Examine the scope for synergies in the context of ITC's diversified portfolio.