Pi-Kit 2022
Pi-Kit 2022
Pi-Kit 2022
UPCOMING CAMPUS
I I M B O D H G A Y A
This kit will help you prepare for the upcoming interviews.
graduation-specific questions.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
TIPS FOR VIRTUAL INTERVIEW • P. 4-5
REFERENCE MATERIAL
MARKETING • P. 24-32
STRATEGY • P. 33-42
FINANCE • P. 43-51
ECONOMICS • P. 52-56
STATISTICS • P. 57-63
OPERATIONS • P. 64-72
CONSULTING • P. 76-78
04
DOS AND DON'TS FOR
VIRTUAL INTERVIEW
DOs
Familiarize yourself with the technology beforehand. Try talking to a friend through it the
day before your interview.
Interview in a room where you are not going to be disturbed.
Ensure the room's lighting is good, and make sure that whatever is behind you is
appropriate.
Prepare as though you would for a face-to-face interview.
Do set the camera up so that you'll be visible from the waist up.
Do test your internet connection on the day of the interview to be confident is working.
Do dress professionally & be well-groomed.
Do turn off your cell phone and close any other browsers so that you are no distracted.
Do clean the camera so that you don't appear blurry on the other end.
Do look straight into the camera so that it looks like you are looking directly at the
interviewer.
Do remember all essential nonverbal traits, including eye contact, smiling, and posture.
Do leave a pause after every question the interview panel asks. There might be a delay,
and you could end up interrupting the interviewer.
Do speak conversationally and try your best to build up a rapport with the interviewer.
Do follow the same basic etiquette as you would a regular interview.
DON'Ts
Don't refuse a video interview altogether.
Don't neglect your hygiene. Make sure you wash your face so that you still look
professional.
Don't have an unprofessional username. Always set the username mentioned by the
institute usually CATID_Name.
Don't go overboard on patterns or colors in your attire. Keep it professional.
Don't answer by looking into any notes beside. You should know what you want to talk
about off the top of your head.
Don't switch tabs unnecessarily.
Don't move around a lot in your chair.
Don't get distracted by anything going on at the interviewer's side of the conversation,
and don't have other programs open on your computer that could distract you.
Don't get flustered if there are glitches or connection problems. Glitches are an inherent
risk when dealing with online interviews, and there is often nothing you can do to prevent
them or stop them once they are occurring.
05
PI QUESTIONS
GENERAL QUESTIONS
06
PI QUESTIONS
07
PI QUESTIONS
What is debit and credit, & its significance? What is internal reconstruction?
Major differences between e-commerce & brick What is B.C.D.? It is from GST Basic Custom Duty2
and mortar stores. What is Break-even point?
How does a bank earn money? How is goodwill for a Sole proprietorship
How can you say a company is financially stable? calculated?
What are GAAPs? What is the operating cycle?
What are accounting standards and what is the Explain about Negotiable instruments Act
use of them? What are the different methods of calculating
Difference between common size and comparative depreciation
balance sheet. Your thoughts on the latest budget.
What is standard deviation & give a practical What is capital budgeting?
implication of it. What is STP analysis? STP analysis of organization
Accounting concepts, their significance and of your choice?
examples. What is your take on the current economy of India
What are the types of cash flow? and where is it going?
How to calculate GDP. What is the difference Tell us about the financial statement. Describe the
between real and nominal GDP. balance sheet, P&L, Trial Balance and its terms
What is CSR, SLR, CRR, repo rate, banking and briefly. (terms like contingent liabilities)
lending rates, economic affairs. What are derivatives?
Difference between accounting profit and What is inflation? What are the causes of inflation?
economic profit. Types of shares. Yesterday’s stock market closed
Types of accounting and general accounting rules. on?
Draw the graph of Put options. Difference between monetary policy and fiscal
Formula of weighted average cost of capital? policy.
Why balance sheet balances.
08
PI QUESTIONS
Difference between AC and DC? Automation and its applications and uses in
What is a Transformer? Give a Practical the industry.
example of working of transformer How can you control the automated
Can a DC transformer exist? Why or why not? machines? Say a robotic arm?
Why is the frequency of AC in India 50 Hz while How can you control the automated
in America it's 60Hz? machines? Say a robotic arm?
What is HVDC? What is the difference between normality and
Can we transmit electricity underwater? molality?
What is an Electric Vehicle? Explain about Which company is the largest employer in the
working. world?
Explain the difference between DC, Servo and Explain the equations of the Higgs Boson
Stepper Motor? particle?(EEE)
Are electric vehicles viable in India, why or why Technologies for making websites
not? On which technology IIM BG website is
How has transistor revolutionised the running
electronic industry? Can you draw anything that you analyse during
How is the Shutdown process carried out? your code optimization and draw a graph of
What are different types of Salts found? Give how it varies with respect to LOC(Lines of
their chemical compositions. Code)?
What are different types of interference? Draw any SDLC model.
Real life example with respect to incoherent Tell me about Hibernate and Struts framework
interference? What’s meant by R-DBMS?
What are the 3 laws of motion? Tell me what is the difference between R-
DBMS and DBMS?
Different types of software development
methods ?
What is the difference between Waterfall
Model and Agile Model?
09
PI QUESTIONS
10
PI QUESTIONS
BSC BACKGROUND QUESTIONS
ZOOL O G Y ( HONS.) STAT S
All of a sudden from bio background to MBA. What do you mean by skewness? Which
Any specific reason? distribution has skewness .Also, can you draw
What do you know about coronavirus? How does that on the graph and what does that implies
it work? What's the difference between correlation and
What is the term called when a disease is covariance?
transferred from animal to human? Which error is used while hypothesis testing and
What is RNA? why?
What is the difference between RNA and DNA? What are options? And then what's the
What is the latest model of DNA that we study difference between options and future
today? contracts?
Take a paper and pen and draw the structure of Also why a general MBA in finance and not
double helix model of DNA. 'stats, data analytics or actuarial science'?
CS CHEM I S T R Y
Tell us something about carbon and its
What is a super computer and where do we use isomers with their structural formulas and a
it? peculiar thing about each isomer. Which
Difference between IOS and Android?(operating isomer of carbon is football shaped?
system based) What is the difference between isobar, isotope
What is cloud? Where is it used? and isomers?
Write a program of printing the first 10 prime We fill air that is of normal temperature in a
numbers (C language)An easy integration cycle tyre. But if we ever let that air out, it’s
problem. cold. How and why?
Difference between Object and procedural Tell us something about Wuhan and the virus.
based programming? Which stream from chemistry do you like?
If you are to order t-shirts for a coaching class Why?
having 300 students, then how much quantity of What gives colour to transition metals?
each size will you order? In the lab, if someone gets burnt by an acid like
Where do you use c language? Which type of H2SO4. What should be put on it? What kind of
language is it? Base (weak or strong?)
Why is insulin different from other proteins
chemically?
11
NAT I O NAL I S S U ES /
EVENT S /NEWS
12
NATI OI ONAL
NAT NALI SI SSSUUES
ES/ /
EVENT
EVENTS S /NEWS
/NEWS
INDI A I N T O KYO OLYM PICS 2021
India finished 48th on the medal tally in Tokyo, its highest ranking in over four decades with 7 medals (1
Gold, 2 Silvers, and 4 Bronze)
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/tokyo-olympics/india-in-tokyo/tokyo-olympics-2020-india-
finishes-48th-best-in-four-decades-33rd-in-terms-of-overall-medals-won/articleshow/85168821.cms
FARM B I L L S REPEALED
In a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi apologized to the farmers and
announces repealing of three Farm Bills following a year long farmers' protest in borders of Delhi.
At long last, farmers call off year-long protests as govt agrees to all demands | Latest News India - Hindustan
Times
13
I NTERNATI O NAL
EVENT S 2 0 2 1
2021 in 6 minutes by Vox
https://youtu.be/sTTvilkyTLY
While the whole world is already suffering from the pandemic, all of a sudden, the sea route transport got
disrupted by one cargo ship and made all the ships in the Indian ocean stay where ever they are
https://www.dogonews.com/2021/3/29/massive-cargo-ship-blocking-the-suez-canal-is-finally-dislodged
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I NTERNATI
I NTERNAT I O NALO NAL
EVENTS
EVENT2S0 2 0 2 1
AMER I C A N TROOPS WITHDRAW FROM AFGHA N I S T A N
US military personnel leave Afghanistan amidst many issues after staying for over two decades. Is military
expenditure only the primary issue, or is there any other concern?
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53656220
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/29/world/asia/us-taliban-deal.html
15
BU S I NES S AND
T ECH NO L O GY
GST C O U N C IL DECIDES TO DEFER RATE HIKE O N T E X T I L E S
FROM 5 % T O 12%
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Friday put on hold proposed changes in the levy on textiles
that were to take effect from January 1. It held back the hike to 12% from 5% that was approved in
September.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/gst-council-decides-to-defer-rate-hike-on-
textiles-from-5-to-12/articleshow/88627329.cms?
utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
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BU
BUSSIINES
NESSS AND
AND
TTECH
EC HNO
NOLLOOGY
GY
GST C O L L E CTIONS AT RECORD 1.3 L CRORE F O R 6 T H M O N T H
IN A R O W , C OLLECTIO NS GROW 13% IN DEC.
India's goods and services tax (GST) revenue posted another strong month, rising 13% from a year ago to
₹1.30 lakh crore in December, official data released Saturday showed.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/gst-revenue-collection-at-rs-1-29-lakh-crore-in-
december/articleshow/88632698.cms
17
BU
BUSSIINES
NESSS AND
AND
TTECH
EC HNO
NOLLOOGY
GY
FACE B O O K TO META
GFacebook rebrands its holding company as Meta which will encompass Facebook, the applications like
Instagram, WhatsApp and the virtual reality product company Oculus.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/oct/28/facebook-name-change-rebrand-meta
RISE O F N FT
The NFT market has boomed exponentially in 2021 as the market was able to generate a massive trading
volume of over $23 billion.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/dec/16/nfts-market-hits-22bn-as-craze-turns-digital-images-
into-assets
18
BU
BUSSIINES
NESSS AND
AND
TTECH
EC HNO
NOLLOOGY
GY
THE F A C E B OOK GLITCH
Massive internet outage across globe caused by Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram went down for hours.
https://www.india.com/news/world/breaking-massive-internet-outage-across-globe-some-of-worlds-biggest-
sites-reported-down-4724336/
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S PO RTS
MAX V E R S T APPEN WON HIS MAIDEN F1 WO R L D D R I V E R S '
CHAM P I O NSHIP
Red Bull's Max Verstappen finishes P1 seals his maiden F1 title by beating title rival Lewis Hamilton of
Mercedes in a last-lap thriller at the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP.
https://news.sky.com/story/formula-1-lewis-hamilton-misses-out-on-record-eighth-f1-world-title-after-drama-at-
abu-dhabi-grand-prix-12491965
20
S PO RTS
AUST R A L I A WON THE T 2 0 W ORLD CUP TIT L E
Australia won their maiden T20 World Cup title as they defeated New Zealand in the final by 8 wickets. A
target of 173 in a global final is never easy, but Marsh and David Warner achieved the target in 18.5 overs.
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/14/sport/t20-world-cup-final-new-zealand-australia-spt-intl/index.html
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CREATING VALUE
MARKETING
WHAT IS MARKETING?
It is an object It is a process or
Societal Marketing Concept – The idea that a an activity.
company’s marketing decisions should
consider consumers’ wants, the company’s Transfer of No transfer
requirements, consumers’ long-run interests, ownership of ownership
and society’s long-run interests.
25
MARKETING MIX CONCEPT?
The marketing mix is a crucial tool to help understand what
the product or service can offer and how to plan for a
successful product offering. The marketing mix is most
commonly executed through the 4P’s of marketing: Price,
Product, Promotion, and Place. An extension of this concept
also includes the 4C’s.
Price : It's the amount that the customer pays Cost : Cost not only includes price of the
to purchase the product. Discount, payment item, but also may include things such as the
terms & credit period is considered. time it takes for the customer to get to your
location in order to buy your product, or
the cost of gas that it takes to get them there.
Place : The market where the product is sold
is known as place. These are the ways of
Convenience : The goal is to make the
distribution, channel & logistics via which the product cost effective and simple enough to
product reaches the customer. make it convenient for the customer to attain
the product without having to jump through
Promotion : It's a method of communication hoops.
by which the marketer provides information
about a product. It includes personal selling, Communication : It involves interaction
between the buyer & seller. This marketing
advertisements, word of mouth publicity etc.
strategy can very easily be implemented
through the use of social media.
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WHAT IS PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE?
Products, like people, have life cycles. The product life
cycle is broken into four stages: introduction,
growth, maturity, and decline. This concept is used by
management and by marketing professionals to decide when
it is appropriate to increase advertising, reduce prices,
expand to new markets, or redesign packaging.
B2B B2C
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WHAT IS SWOT ANALYSIS?
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths describe what an organization Weaknesses stop an organization from
excels at & what separates it from the performing at its optimum level. Weakness
competition: a strong brand, loyal customer can be of any form : a weak brand, higher-
base, a strong balance sheet and so on. It than-average turnover, high levels of debt, an
tells about the aspects of the business that inadequate supply chain or lack of capital.
provide value to the product or service.
Opportunities refer to favorable external Threats refer to the factors that have the
factors that could give an organization a potential to harm an organization. For
competitive advantage. For example, example, a drought is a threat to a wheat-
mergers, joint ventures, moving into new producing company, as it may destroy or
market segments, market vacated by a reduce the crop yield. Other common threats
competitor. include things like rising costs for materials,
increasing competition, tight labor supply and
so on.
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WHAT IS BRANDING?
Branding is a marketing practice in which a company
creates a name, symbol or design that is easily
identifiable as belonging to the company. This helps to
identify a product and distinguish it from other products
and services.
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DIFFERENT TYPES OF SEGMENTATION
GEOGRAPHIC DEMOGRAPHIC
Target customers based on a predefined The process of dividing a market through
geographic boundary. Differences in variables such as age, gender, education level,
interests, values, and preferences vary family size, occupation, income and more. This
dramatically throughout cities, states, is one of the most wildly used strategies
amongst marketers.
religions, and countries.
PSYCHOGRAPHIC BEHAVIORAL
Focus on the intrincsic traits the target Break down the way customers go through
consumer has. Psychographic traits can their decision making and buying processes.
range from values, personalities, interests, Attitudes towards the brand, the way they use
attitudes, conscious and subconscious it, and their knowledge base are all behavioral
motivators, lifestyles, and opinions. examples.
SELLING MARKETING
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GENERAL TERMS
Market – The set of all actual and potential SOME MORE IMPORTANT
buyers of a product and service.
Needs – State of felt deprivation.
QUESTIONS
Wants – The form human needs take as they (ANSWERS VARY
are shaped by culture and individual
INDIVIDUALLY)
personality.
Demands – Human wants that are backed by Why do you want to pursue marketing?
buying power. Sell me this object (things like pen,
Product – Product is anything that can be bottle or any other thing).
offered to a market for attention, acquisition Tell me about your marketing experience
or consumption. (if you have any).
Service - Any act or performance that one What qualities of a marketer do you
party can offer to another that is essentially possess?
intangible and does not result in the Your favourite company/companies?
ownership of anything. It’s production may or Why?
may not be tied to a physical product. Which is your recent favourite ad? Why?
REFERENCES
Principles of Marketing by Kotler, Armstrong and Agnihotri
https://www.mbaskool.com/business-concepts/marketing-and-strategy-
terms/6778-4-ps-of-marketing.html
https://catmediatheagency.com/4-ps-of-marketing-strategy/
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/swot.asp
https://www.brandingmag.com/2015/10/14/what-is-branding-and-why-
is-it-important-for-your-business/
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STRATEGY
STRATEGY
NEED A MASTER PLAN?
WHAT IS BCG MATRIX
BCG matrix is a framework created by Boston Consulting
Group to evaluate the strategic position of the business
brand portfolio and its potential. It classifies business
portfolio into four categories based on industry
attractiveness (growth rate of that industry) &
competitive position (relative market share).
BCG MATRIX
Question marks are the brands that require Stars operate in high growth industries and
much closer consideration. They hold low maintain high market share. Stars are both
market share in fast growing markets cash generators and cash users. They are the
consuming large amount of cash and primary units in which the company should
incurring losses invest its money, because stars are expected
Strategic choices : Market penetration, to become cash cows and generate positive
market development, product development, cash flows.
divestiture. Strategic choices : Vertical integration,
horizontal integration, market penetration,
Dogs hold low market share compared to market & product development.
competitors and operate in a slowly growing
market. In general, they are not worth Cash cows hold high market share but
investing in because they generate low or operate in slowly growing market. They are
negative cash returns. most profitable for the brand and generate
Strategic choices : Retrenchment, divestiture, high volumes of cash.
liquidation. Strategic choices : Product development,
diversification, divestiture, retrenchment.
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ANSOFF MATRIX
The Ansoff Matrix is a strategic planning tool that provides
a framework to help executives, senior managers, and
marketers devise strategies for future growth. The matrix
suggests that a business’ attempts to grow depend on
whether it markets new or existing
products in new or existing markets.
Products
Exisiting New
Exisiting
THE
ANSOFF
Markets
MATRIX
New
Primary Activities
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PORTER'S FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS
Porter's Five Forces is a model that identifies and analyzes
five competitive forces that shape every industry and helps
determine an industry's weaknesses and strengths. Porter's
model can be applied to any segment of the economy to
understand the level of competition within the industry and
enhance a company's long-term profitability.
Bargaining power of suppliers - Strong Rivalry among existing competitors - This force
bargaining power allows suppliers to sell is the major determinant on how competitive
higher priced or low-quality raw materials to and profitable an industry is. In competitive
their buyers. This directly affects the buying industry, firms have to compete aggressively for
firms’ profits because it has to pay more for a market share, which results in low profits.
materials.
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PESTEL ANALYSIS
A PESTEL analysis is a framework or tool used by
marketers to analyse and monitor the macro-environmental
(external marketing environment) factors that have an
impact on an organisation. The result of which is used to
identify threats and weaknesses which is used in a
SWOT analysis.
PESTEL ANALYSIS
Rise in inflation rate These factors pertain to There are certain laws that
would cause companies to innovations in technology that affect the business
increase the prices may affect the operations of environment in a certain
the industry and the market country
favorably or unfavorably
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COCA-COLA : BRAND CONSISTENCY
Coca-Cola is one of the most well-known brands in the world. Their red and
white logo is recognized in countries all around the world and people
identify their brand with feeling good and staying refreshed. They have
kept their brand identity and product consistent for over 130 years, and
their logo has stayed relatively the same and their marketing slogans and
taglines have continued to promote the same message. It is this level of
consistency for over 130 years that has made Coca-Cola one of the
biggest brands in the world.
Today, Coca-Cola owns a huge percentage of the beverage market and has
numerous products under different names and brands, however their most
popular product, the infamous, iconic can of Coke, has remained relatively
untouched. This just goes to show that when it comes to developing a
recognizable and popular brand, consistency can go a very long way.
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APPLE (CREATING A MOVEMENT)
Apple did not fall into success over night. For anyone who has followed the
story of the company, they would know that Apple had many road blocks to
navigate through before making it to the top of their game. The one thing that
helped Apple on its race to the top, however, was their ability to create a
movement. This movement helped the brand to create a
cult like following that over the years, has stood the test of time.
In all of their marketing efforts, Apple have not just showcased their
products but they have also created the image that their products are
visionary and life changing. Sure, they have developed some amazingly
advanced technologies, however, in order to get average people excited by
this, they have created beautiful, aesthetically pleasing gadgets that are not
just for tech nerds. Their marketing has also helped to convey this by making
people feel as if they need their products in order to enhance their life in
some way. They have worked hard to win over consumers and have created a
tribe of followers who are consistently excited about every product and every
new announcement.
Even though there are now many competing brands with similar technology
like Microsoft or Samsung, it is Apple products that people line up overnight
for, it is Apple products that make headlines in the news. Creating this type
of fandom does take a few special ingredients. Once you have been able to
identify what makes your product or service so awesome, you have to market
it in a simple and thought-provoking way. Look at Apple’s ads for instance.
There is nothing fancy about them, they are simple, clear and create a feeling
of being part of something ultra-modern and ultra-innovative. On top of that
you also have to deliver exceptional customer experiences. Remember, to
develop a tribe that is going to follow your brand, you have to make them
absolutely fall in love with what you are offering.
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COLGATE (CREATES TRUST)
Colgate has taken a very different approach over the years and has chosen to
educate consumers instead of forcing them. This strategy has helped the
brand to not only sell tubes of toothpaste but to also become one of the
leading and most trusted toothpaste products in the world. In marketing
there are a few ways to promote trust, but nothing is more effective than
educating customers and proving just how your product can work to benefit
your consumers.
Studies have also shown that when you offer something of value to your
consumers for free, they are more likely to order from you in the future and
are more likely to recommend your brand. Colgate may have a multi-million-
dollar marketing budget to make spiffy videos and create content, however
all you really need to do is go into the minds of your consumers and deliver
to them what they really want. With even the smallest budget you can create
blogs, e-books, videos, emails and even e-courses which can all help to
educate your customers, generate long-term relationships and build trust.
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STARBUCKS (SOCIAL STRATEGY)
Starbucks also run promotions and competitions through their social media
platforms and many have gone on to be viral sensations around the web. Most
recently, Starbucks became a trending news topic over their red Christmas coffee
cups and pumpkin flavored coffees.
Starbucks definitely spends a huge portion of their marketing budget on social
media and has teams of people to help organise and orchestrate everything,
however there is still room for your smaller brand to learn from them. Running
successful social media is not necessarily about thinking of some grand scheme
to get people hooked (like red Christmas cups). Rather, it is about making
connections with your fans and offering them more of what they are looking for.
Craft a social feed that reflects your support and dedication towards your fans, as
well as your knowledge in your industry. This includes sharing articles and images
and responding to comments, tweets and messages. Combine all of this with
some soft entertainment value and some frequent promotions and you will be well
on the way to creating a solid social presence.
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NIKE (SELL A STORY)
Nike offers consumers information but of a different kind. For every new pair
of runners, for every new bit of technology, Nike offers a story not just
product specs. Even on their main homepage, Nike paints a story about some
of their famous shoes and the journey they have taken from idea to
conception. Nike sells the story, which in turn helps to sell their products.
Every product or service that you offer has some kind of story and if you can
get creative enough, you may be able to turn that story into something
powerful for your brand.
Writing a blog or using social media tools like Instagram, is also a great way
to paint a visual story of your brand. Out of all the Fortune 500 companies,
Nike has one of the strongest presences on Instagram and they use the
platform in a very clever way. They promote strength and fitness, they
promote health, they promote things that are so much bigger than just a pair
of runners. This indirect style of marketing is what gets consumers
interested in a brand or product and it is also what keeps them following
along with the story. This ultimately helps to keep your brand fresh in their
mind.
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FINANCE
MANAGING CAPITAL
FINANCE
WHAT IS FINANCE?
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ACCOUNTING EQUATION
The fundamental accounting equation, also called the
balance sheet equation, represents the relationship
between the assets, liabilities, and owner's equity of a
person or business. It is the foundation for the double-
entry bookkeeping system. Assets=Liability+Equity.
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS BY
GAAP V/S IFRS
RATIOS
Liquidity ratios-
GAAP- Generally accepted accounting
Current ratio = Current assets / Current
equation. (USA)
liabilities
IFRS- International financial reporting
Cash ratio = Cash and Cash equivalents /
standards.
Current Liabilities
IAS- Indian accounting standards. (India;
Financial leverage ratios-
derived from IFRS) Debt ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets
Debt to equity ratio = Total liabilities /
The primary difference between the two Shareholder’s equity
systems is that GAAP is rules-based and Interest coverage ratio = Operating income /
IFRS is principles-based. Interest expenses
Efficiency ratios-
Asset turnover ratio = Net sales / Total assets
Days sales in inventory ratio = 365 days /
AMMORTIZATION V/S Inventory turnover ratio
DEPRECIATION Profitability ratios-
Gross margin ratio = Gross profit / Net sales
Operating margin ratio = Operating income /
Amortization is the practice of spreading
Net sales
an intangible asset's cost over that asset's
Return on equity ratio = Net income /
useful life. Intangible assets are
Shareholder’s equity
not physical assets, per se.
Market value ratio-
Book value per share ratio = Shareholder’s
Depreciation is the expensing of a fixed
equity / Total shares outstanding
asset over its useful life. Fixed assets are
Earnings per share ratio = Net earnings / Total
tangible assets, meaning they are physical
shares outstanding
assets that can be touched. Price-earnings ratio = Share price / Earnings
per share
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TIME VALUE OF MONEY
The time value of money (TVM) is the concept that
money available at the present time is worth more than
the identical sum in the future due to its potential
earning capacity.
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WHAT IS A BOND?
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WHAT ARE SHARES/STOCKS?
TYPES OF SHARES/STOCKS
Common stocks- This stock may benefit Preferred stocks-preferred stock typically
shareholders through appreciation and does not offer appreciation in value or voting
dividends, making common stock riskier than rights in the corporation. However, the stock
preferred stock. Common stock also comes typically has set payment criteria; a dividend
with voting rights, giving shareholders more that is paid out regularly, making the stock
control over the business. In addition, certain less risky than common stock. Also,
common stock comes with preemptive rights, preferred stock may often be redeemed at a
ensuring that shareholders may buy new more beneficial price than common stock.
shares and retain their percentage of Because preferred stock takes priority over
ownership when the corporation issues new common stock, if the business files for
stock. bankruptcy and pays its lenders, preferred
shareholders receive payment before
common shareholders.
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HOW TO RAISE CAPITAL?
There are 3 types of financing instruments that an
organization utilizes to raise capital- common shares,
bonds and preference shares.
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WHAT IS HEDGING?
Derivatives are tools or securities that an Arbitrage occurs when an investor buys and
investor uses for different reasons sells related assets simultaneously in order to
take advantage of temporary price
including hedging. These securities are
differences. Because of the technology now
called derivatives because they are derived
employed in the markets, the only people who
from some underlying asset.
can truly take advantage of arbitrage
opportunities are traders with sophisticated
software since price inefficiencies often close
WHAT IS A MUTUAL FUND? in a matter of seconds.
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WAR-CHEST FOR FINANCE
ECONOMICS
WHAT IS ECONOMICS?
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WHAT IS MICROECONOMICS?
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WHAT IS MACROECONOMICS?
Repo Rate : Repo Rate, or repurchase rate, is CRR : CRR stands for Cash Reserve Ratio.
the key monetary policy rate of interest at Cash Reserve Ratio is the share of a bank’s
which the central bank or the Reserve Bank of total deposit that is mandated by the Reserve
India (RBI) lends short term money to banks, Bank of India (RBI) to be maintained with the
essentially to control credit availability, latter in the form of liquid cash. The objective
inflation, and the economic growth. Repo Rate of CRR is to keep inflation under control.
in India is the primary tool in the RBI’s During high inflation in the economy, RBI
Monetary and Credit Policy. raises the CRR to lower the bank’s loanable
funds.
Reverse Repo Rate : The interest rate at which
the RBI borrows money from banks for the SLR : SLR stands for Statutory Liquid Ratio. In
short term is defined as Reverse Repo Rate. India, the Statutory liquidity ratio is the
The Reverse Repo Rate helps the RBI get Government term for the reserve requirement
money from the banks in times of need. In that commercial banks are required to
return, the RBI offers attractive interest rates maintain in the form of cash, gold reserves,
to them. The banks also voluntarily park Reserve Bank of India (RBI)- approved
excess funds with the central bank as it securities before providing credit to the
provides them with an opportunity to earn customers. The SLR to be maintained by
higher interest on surplus money lying idle. banks is determined by the RBI in order to
control the expansion.
Current Repo Rate: 5.15% (as of 4th Oct, 2019)
Current Reverse Repo Rate: 4.90% (as of 4th Current SLR of RBI: 18.50%
Oct, 2019) Current CRR of RBI: 4%
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WHAT IS ECONOMIES OF SCALE?
Economies of scale are the cost advantages that a
firm obtains due to its increase in the level of
production. It reduces the per-unit fixed cost. As a
result of increased production, the fixed cost gets
spread over more output than before.
INTERPRETING DATA
STATISTICS
WHAT IS STATISTICS?
Statistics is the science that deals with the collection,
classification, analysis, and interpretation of numerical
facts or data, and that, by use of mathematical theories of
probability, imposes order and regularity on aggregates of
more or less disparate elements.
Mean : The arithmetic mean is the most Looking at the retirement age distribution (which
common measure of central tendency. It is has 11 observations), the median is the middle
simply the sum of the numbers divided by the value, which is 57 years:
number of numbers. The symbol "μ" is used 54, 54, 54, 55, 56, 57, 57, 58, 58, 60, 60
When the distribution has an even number of
for the mean of a population. The symbol "M"
observations, the median value is the mean of the
is used for the mean of a sample.
two middle values.
In the following distribution, the two middle values
The formula for μ is shown below: are 56 and 57, therefore the median equals 56.5
μ = ΣX/N, where ΣX is the sum of all the years:
numbers in the population and N is the 52, 54, 54, 54, 55, 56, 57, 57, 58, 58, 60, 60
number of numbers in the population.
Mode : The mode is the most commonly
occurring value in a distribution. Consider this
The formula for M is essentially identical:
dataset showing the retirement age of 11 people,
M = ΣX/N, where ΣX is the sum of all the
in whole years:
numbers in the sample and N is the number 54, 54, 54, 55, 56, 57, 57, 58, 58, 60, 60
of numbers in the sample. The below table shows a simple frequency
distribution of the retirement age data.
Median : The median is the middle value in The most commonly occurring value is 54;
distribution when the values are arranged in therefore the mode of this distribution is 54 years
ascending or descending order. Age Frequency
The median divides the distribution in half 54 3
(there are 50% of observations on either side
55 1
of the median value). In a distribution with an
odd number of observations, the median 56 1
value is the middle value.
57 2
58 2
60 2
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POPULATION IN STATISTICS
COVARIANCE
Covariance is a measure of the relationship Where:
between two random variables. The metric rxy – the correlation coefficient of the linear
evaluates how much – to what extent – the relationship between the variables x and y.
variables change together. In other words, it xi – the values of the x-variable in a sample
is essentially a measure of the variance x̅ – the mean of the values of the x-variable
between two variables (note that the variance yi – the values of the y-variable in a sample
of one variable equals the variance of the ȳ – the mean of the values of the y-variable
other variable). However, the metric does not Correlation can be of three types:
assess the dependency between variables. Positive Correlation – when the value of one
The formula for calculating covariance of variable increases with respect to another.
sample data is shown below. Negative Correlation – when the value of
one variable decreases with respect to
another.
No Correlation – when there is no linear
dependence or no relation between the
x = the independent variable two variables.
y = the dependent variable
n = number of data points in the sample
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TWO MAIN STATISTICAL METHODS
Descriptive statistics, which summarize data from a
sample using indexes such as the mean or standard
deviation, and inferential statistics, which draw
conclusions from data that are subject to random
variation (e.g., observational errors, sampling variation).
BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION
When you roll a fair die, the outcomes are 1 to 6. The probabilities of getting these outcomes are
A distribution where only two outcomes are possible, such as success or failure, gain or loss, win
or lose and where the probability of success and failure is same for all the trials is called a
Binomial Distribution. There are only two possible outcomes. Head denoting success and tail
denoting failure. Therefore, probability of getting a head = 0.5 and the probability of failure can
be easily computed as: q = 1- p = 0.5. The mathematical representation of binomial distribution is
given by:
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POISSON DISTRIBUTION EXPONENTIAL DISTRIBUTION
A distribution is called Poisson distribution when Exponential distribution is widely used for
the following assumptions are valid: survival analysis. From the expected life of a
1. Any successful event should not influence the machine to the expected life of a human,
outcome of another successful event. exponential distribution successfully delivers
2. The probability of success over a short interval the result.
must equal the probability of success over a A random variable X is said to have an
longer interval. exponential distribution with PDF:
3. The probability of success in an interval f(x) = { λe-λx, x ≥ 0
approaches zero as the interval becomes smaller. Typical graph of an exponential distribution
Some examples are: The number of emergency is shown in the below figure
calls recorded at a hospital in a day, number of
customers arriving at a salon in an hour, number
of printing errors in each page of a book, etc.
The PMF of X following a Poisson distribution is
given by : for x=0,1,2...
NORMAL DISTRIBUTION
Normal distribution represents the behavior of most of the situations in the universe. The large sum
of (small) random variables often turns out to be normally distributed, contributing to its widespread
application. Any distribution is known as Normal distribution if it has the following characteristics:
1. The mean, median and mode of the distribution coincide.
2. The curve is bell-shaped and symmetrical about the line x= μ
3. The total area under the curve is 1.
4. Half of the values are to the left of the center and the other half to the right.
The PDF of a random variable X following a normal distribution is given by:
The mean and variance of a random variable X which is said to be normally distributed is given by:
Mean -> E(X) = µ; Variance -> Var(X) = σ^2
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REGRESSION
Regression is a statistical measurement used in finance, investing, and other disciplines that
attempts to determine the strength of the relationship between one dependent variable (usually
denoted by Y) and a series of other changing variables (known as independent variables).
Regression is of two types: Linear regression and multiple linear regression.
The general form of each type of regression is:
Linear regression: Y = a + bX + u
Multiple regression: Y = a + b1X1 + b2X2 + b3X3 + ... + btXt + u, where:
· Y = the variable that you are trying to predict (dependent variable).
· X = the variable that you are using to predict Y (independent variable).
· a = the intercept.
· b = the slope.
· u = the regression residual.
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OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT
MANAGING SYSTEMS
OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
decisions.
It is a preventive action taken before hand to
ensure the product that developed are defect
INVENTORY MANAGEMENT free.
They must arrange the inventory in the
warehouse. They also facilitate the movement It is a systematic action necessary to provide
of inventory from the warehouse to the retail enough confidence that a product or service will
facilities or the customer. satisfy the given requirements for quality.
QUALITY PRINCIPLES
System approach to management Customer focus
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SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Inbound Logistics: The logistics associated Service: The activities associated with the
with initial movement of the raw material to the delivery of the product eg. in-store staff and
manufacturing unit and subsequent movement post-sales service, fulfilling warranty, etc.
within the unit. Support Areas: Financial management, Human
Outbound Logistics: The logistics associated Resource Management, Legal Control, Quality
with movement of the finished goods from the departments which are indirectly involved in the
end of the manufacturing production line till the production of the product.
end user. Procurement: Purchase of raw material or
Marketing and Sales: Involve gathering services which are transformed into or used to
customer requirements and then fulfilling them reach the final product.
through an exchange process.
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LEAN OPERATIONS
There are several areas of waste that Inventory : Having too much stock on hand is a
companies should consider reviewing when waste of money for a company because it costs
taking on lean operations. money to store inventory. The longer it sits
Jobs : Salaries and benefits are not cheap for around not being sold, the more it costs your
an organization. It’s not good business practice company. However, you need to make sure to
to eliminate necessary positions or to squeeze have enough stock to meet customer demand
your workforce. However, it’s vital to ensure and this is where optimization comes into play.
that all employees in an organization serve an Your company should keep an optimal level of
essential function and that they are adequately inventory at the right time and at the right
trained to do so. Lean operations would clean place, no more and no less, to ensure lean
up these messes, and make sure that each operations.
employee is doing a necessary job to the best of
their ability. Transportation : Transportation is another area
where waste and inefficiency can cause a
Production times : Inefficiency and waste can company to bleed money. Your company
rear their heads in the production process. Lean shouldn’t be transporting goods unnecessarily
operations require that you eliminate any or transporting them at the wrong times.
inefficiencies or delays in production process.
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Q U A LITY
ABC INVENTORY
LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT
CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
Inventory optimization is critical in order to Logistics management is a supply chain
keep costs under control within the supply management component that is used to meet
chain. Yet, in order to get the most from customer demands through planning, control
management efforts, it is efficient to focus on and implementation of the effective movement
items that cost most to the business.The and storage of related information, goods and
Pareto principle states that 80% of the overall services from origin to destination. Logistics
consumption value is based on only 20% of management helps companies reduce
total items. In other words,demand is not expenses and enhance customer service.
evenly distributed between items: top sellers
vastly outperform the rest. When the flow of goods is from the customer
The ABC approach states that, when reviewing back to the manufacturer, it is known as
inventory, a company should rate items from A reverse logistics, for example in cases of
to C, basing its ratings on the following damaged goods or for product recycling.
rules:
A-items are goods for which annual Logistics management involves numerous
consumption value is the highest. The top elements, including:
70-80% of the annual consumption value of Selecting appropriate vendors with the
the company typically accounts for only 10- ability to provide transportation facilities
20% of total inventory items.
C-items are, on the contrary, items with the Choosing the most effective routes for
lowest consumption value. The lower 5% of transportation
the annual consumption value typically
accounts for 50% of total inventory items. Discovering the most competent delivery
B-items are the inter-class items, with a method
medium consumption value. Those 15-25%
of annual consumption value typically Using software and IT resources to
accounts for 30% of total inventory items. proficiently handle related processes
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SIX SIGMA
Six Sigma strategies seek to improve the quality of the output
of a process by identifying and removing the causes of defects
and minimizing variability in manufacturing and business
processes. Six-Sigma approach requires a maximum of 3.4
defects per million opportunities (of making defects).
Define – Definition of the problem, goals within production systems, as well as response
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RISK
Operational risk summarizes the uncertainties a company
faces when it attempts to do its day-to-day business
activities. It can result from breakdowns in internal
procedures, people and systems, known as systematic
risk.It can be classified as a variety of unsystematic risk,
which is unique to a specific industry.
Cycle time is the average time between Lead time is the time difference between the
completions of successive units in a process . product order and the receipt of the product.
Ideally, takt time should be equal to cycle time.
In case cycle time is less than takt time, there Throughput Time
are chances of overproduction and over- Throughput time is the time taken for the
staffing. product to pass through the manufacturing
process. This duration includes the time
In case cycle time is more than takt time, it required for the production process as well as
means the firm is not able to meet customer the other time periods associated with
demand, leading to dissatisfaction. converting raw materials into finished goods.
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WARCHEST FOR OPERATIONS
KEY DEFINITIONS
Break-Even Point : The volume of output at Perpetual Inventory System : System that
which total cost and total revenue are equal. keeps track of removals from inventory
continuously thus monitoring current levels of
Value Analysis : Examination of the functions each item. It employs RFID, Barcode etc.
of parts and materials in an effort to reduce
cost and/or improve product performance . Carrying Cost : Cost to hold an item in the
inventory for a particular period of of time,
Material Requirement Planning : It is a planning usually a year.
technique that creates a schedule for producing
or ordering all the items in an end item's bill of Purchasing Cycle : Series of steps that begin
materials based on fixed manufacturing lead with a request for purchase and end with
times. notification of shipment received in
satisfactory condition.
Periodic Inventory System : Physical count of
items in inventory made at periodic intervals. Pegging : The process of identifying the
parent items that have generated a given set
Kanban : A manual system that signals the need of material requirements for an item
for parts or materials.
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DRIVING DECISIONS
IT
IT ANALYTICS
ANALYTICS
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
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MANAGING EXPERTISE
CONSULTING
CONSULTING
WHAT IS CONSULTING
Consulting is the business of providing expert advice to a specific
group of people. Management consulting is the practice of
helping organizations to improve their performance. Organizations
may draw upon the services of management consultants for a
number of reasons including gaining external (& presumably
objective) advice and access to the consultants' specialized
expertise.
GENERAL QUESTIONS
Why consulting as a career? How do you think MBA will help you to
Describe any instance in your work become a consultant?
experience that triggered you to pursue this Do you know SWOT analysis?
domain. What is your expectation from a Consulting
Describe your most important leadership job?
experience and the impact that you had as a Where do you see yourself 5 years down the
leader. line?
What is big 4 in consulting domain? Which What is your contingency plan if consulting
among big 4 is your dream company?why? is not an option in the future?
Identify your strengths and weakness and What is difference between consulting and
describe how they would help you in strategy?
consulting domain. Describe a situation where you failed. What
Describe any instance from your life where did you learn about yourself and how did
you took some strategic decisions. you change as a result?
According to you what are the skill and What are three main types of consulting?
qualities that a consultant must pose? Why do companies hire consultants?
GUESSTIMATE QUESTIONS
How many people travel by air in India every day?
How many vehicles are there in Delhi?
How many kangaroos live in Australia?
How many people prefer Ola in Mumbai?
How many children are born in the world daily?
How many cans of Coke are sold in Kolkata
every month?
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ROLE OF A CONSULTANT
A big online retail firm is not making profits despite high volume of sales. What could be
going on?
An electronic products manufacturing company is making huge profits despite reduction in sales
over the years. What could be going on?
Our client wants to enter into the alcohol market, how should they go about doing so?
Our client is thinking of acquiring a company that produces certain electronic device. How should
they go about doing so?
How should a nuclear plant deal with waste products?
Describe the marketing strategy of the company you like the most. Tell any two major strategic
decisions it has taken recently.
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OB AND HRM
MANAGING PEOPLE
OB AND HRM
WHAT I S HRM?
“Human Resource Management is planning, organizing,
directing, controlling of procurement, development,
compensation, integration, maintenance and separation of
human resources to the end that individual, organizational
and social objectives are achieved.” -Edwin Flippo
ORGANIZATION
A social unit of people that is structured SIZE- Refers to the capacity, the number of
and managed to meet a need or to pursue personnel, outputs and resources.
collective goals. All organizations have a
management structure that determines STRATEGY- The strategy of an organization
relationships between the different determines the fluidity and flexibility with
activities and the members, and subdivides which the organization designs its
and assigns roles, responsibilities, and structure.
authority to carry out different tasks.
Organizations are open systems--they affect TECHNOLOGY- Organizational structure is
and are affected by their environment. An closely linked with its primary system of
organization's key characteristics are production, making its structure predictable
reflected by their choice of structure. in terms of technology employed.
STRUCTURE
CHAIN & SPAN- The chain of command
along which orders and decisions are
Size passed down from the top to the bottom of
Strategy the hierarchy.
Technology
Chain INTEGRATION & DIFFERENTIATION- There
Span is no best way to organize the structure.
Power Different parts of the same organization
Control adapt in different ways which leads to
Differentiation-Integration integreated differentiation.
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ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
It is a system that outlines how certain activities are
directed in order to achieve the goals of an organization.
The structure also determines how information flows
between levels within the company. For example, in a
centralized structure, decisions flow from the top down.
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WHAT IS PERSONALITY?
The word personality is derived from a Greek
word “persona” which means “to speak through.” Personality
is the combination of characteristics or qualities that forms
a person’s unique identity. Every individual has a unique,
personal and major determinant of his behavior.
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BIG 5 MODEL (O.C.E.A.N.)
Many contemporary personality psychologists believe that
there are five basic dimensions of personality, often
referred to as the "Big 5" personality traits. The five broad
personality traits described by the theory are extraversion
(also often spelled extroversion), agreeableness,
openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism.
NEGOTIATION TECHNIQUES
OUR WANTS AND NEEDS
STRESS CURVE
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HRM PROCESSES
Human Resource Management is the process of recruiting,
selecting, inducting, providing orientation, imparting training,
appraising the performance, deciding compensation and
providing benefits, motivating, maintaining proper relations
with employees, ensuring safety, welfare and health measures
in compliance with labor laws of the land.
HRM PROCESS
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION
Upward communication- is when the Diagonal communication- approach
lower levels of an organization occurs when interdepartmental
communicate with the upper levels of an communication occurs with people at
organization. Oftentimes human resource different levels of the organization. for
departments may develop a survey such instance, when the human resources
as this to find out how satisfied the assistant speaks with the marketing
employees are with things such as manager about the hiring of a new
benefits. Employees might also engage in employee in marketing.
upward communication in a given work
situation. Horizontal communication- occurs when
people of the same level in an
organization, for example, a marketing
Downward communication- is the manager and a human resource manager,
opposite of upward communication, in communicate usually to coordinate work
that the communication occurs from the between departments. An accounting
upper levels of an organization down to manager might share information with a
the lower levels of the organization like a production manager so the production
manager explaining how to do a task to manager knows how much budget they
employees. have left.
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WA R - CHE S T F O R H R M
ANAKSHEE
ARUNDHATI
KARTIKEYA
KUSHAGRA
RANIT
SHIVAM
YASWANTH
YATHARTH